The torrential rain fell like countless steel needles crashing down from the sky, washing over Star City's streets with a strange mix of noise and deathly stillness.
With the power cut, the city had become a breeding ground for darkness. Only the towering spire at the center, piercing straight into the clouds, emitted a chilling dark purple glow like a venomous needle stabbed into the fabric of reality.
Rikka ran wildly through this chaotic curtain of rain.
Her oversized black coat was already soaked through, clinging heavily to her body, its hem dragging through pooled water.
Yet strangely, her steps did not slow under the weight. With every breath she took, white motes of light appeared out of thin air. Those tiny particles persisted stubbornly amid the downpour, gradually tracing behind her a vast, sacred, and imposing silhouette.
It was a dragon shimmering with the brilliance of the stars, striving to manifest its unyielding will in the real world.
There was nothing in Rikka's vision except that tower. The air in her chest burned, and every heartbeat came with a sensation like stardust exploding within her.
So this is what it feels like? The feeling of being chosen by a monster card… this sense of destiny?
She leapt across a large puddle, water splashing. In the shadow beneath the tower, bathed in dark purple light, a figure stood still.
Long purple hair whipped wildly in the storm, and the black high-collared leather coat gleamed with a cold, oppressive sheen in the rain.
"You're the one behind this attack, aren't you?!"
Rikka came to a stop, her right hand sweeping aside the wet hair obscuring her vision, while her Duel Disk on her left arm lit up with a brilliant blue glow.
Though her voice still carried a girl's natural clarity, in this grim setting it held an undeniable force.
The figure that looked like a "Serpentine Scorpion King" tilted his head, his golden slit pupils glancing at her like a venomous serpent.
There was no warmth in that gaze; no trace even of mockery toward this "insignificant obstacle." He merely looked at her, as if Rikka were no different from a rain-soaked stone by the roadside.
He withdrew his gaze and instead looked up toward the sky, shrouded in heavy clouds.
BOOOOM!!!
The sky seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand, ripped into a massive rift. Within the churning, dark green storm clouds, something enormous moved in and out of view.
It was a bolt of deep green lightning—no, something more tangible than lightning. It lacked the bulky limbs of a typical dragon; its long body coiled through the clouds like a serpent. It had no claws, yet possessed massive wings reminiscent of a Western dragon. With every beat of those wings, the air across the entire city resonated violently.
Suddenly, the lightning dragon dove.
It plunged straight toward the ground as a green meteor bent on annihilation, targeting the white-haired girl who dared to stand beneath the tower.
Rikka did not retreat. Her blue eyes, illuminated by the blinding light, turned almost translucent. The white particles around her surged explosively, forming a semi-transparent protective barrier. She raised her Duel Disk sharply, and a crisp metallic click rang out from its card slot.
"Duel! Start!"
Just as the lightning dragon was about to collide with her, the massive creature abruptly traced an impossibly sharp angle in midair, screeching deafeningly as it came to an emergency stop ten meters in front of her.
Wild currents of electricity lashed through the rain, crackling with scorching bursts.
The raging lightning did not disperse. Instead, it rapidly converged and condensed in the air. Under Rikka's astonished gaze, a jagged, deep green Duel Disk formed entirely of solid lightning and slowly took shape along the dragon's phantom spine.
Watching this, the Scorpion King finally showed the faintest, coldest curve of a smile on his pale face. He had no intention of participating in this contest, nor did he spare another glance at the girl confronting the lightning dragon.
"So, even materialized Duel Monsters still abide by the rules of dueling? That makes things easier."
Leaving behind that emotionless remark, he turned and disappeared into the dense purple shadows at the tower's entrance.
His objective lay at the top; something there was far more worthy of his hunt.
Thunder roared again.
Beneath the tower, only a white-haired girl remained, locked in a standoff with the colossal and deep green dragon amid the storm. Rain lashed against Rikka's straight back, bursting into fine sprays of mist.
Nearby, a fallen streetlamp emitted one last sputtering spark before going all dark.
High above, the deep green lightning dragon slowly lowered its head. Its emotionless eyes locked onto Rikka, while the lightning Duel Disk on its back let out a hoarse, fully charged growl.
The torrential rain fell like an endless silver curtain, shrouding the entire spire in a hazy, deadly stillness. Raindrops slammed against the ground, kicking up sprays nearly half a meter high, twisted and chilling beneath the dark purple beam of light.
"My turn!"
Rikka's voice cut sharply through the raging wind. A pure white radiance belonging to the "Starry Night" spilled from between her fingers, forcefully carving out a sacred domain within the pitch-black rain. Her oversized coat was whipped upward by the surging air, and before the terrifying pressure of the lightning dragon, her figure seemed slender yet stood unyielding.
"I Normal Summon [Starry Knight Rayel]!"
With the click of the Duel Disk's slot, a knight clad in white-gold armor descended from a circle of light, translucent wings spread behind him. Rayel's spear angled toward the ground, and the rain evaporated into rings of white vapor the moment it touched his armor, as if repelled by a gentle warmth.
"I activate Rayel's first effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, add one 'Starry Knight' Spell or Trap from my Deck to my hand."
The moment Rikka's fingers touched her Deck, the deep green lightning dragon let out a furious roar. Its body of lightning twisted violently in midair, emerald bolts cracking outward like a web, as if enraged that the girl dared to invoke a ritual under this sacred altar. The low thunder carried a primal fury, as though questioning the violation of its rules.
Rikka did not retreat. She raised a finger, brushing away a drop of rain from the corner of her eye, her gaze locked onto those massive, lightning-filled slit pupils.
"'Starry Knight is exactly that: Starry Knight. And the card I'm adding to my hand is this Continuous Spell—[Starry Knight Ceremony]. Its full name is 'Starry Knight Ceremony,' and it belongs to the 'Starry Knight' archetype. So this is not a misplay!"
Each of her words rang with clarity. The restless lightning actually calmed slightly under her crisp declaration. The lightning dragon slowly lowered its head, as if reassessing the girl who spoke its "true name."
Rikka gave her opponent no time to breathe. She slammed the glowing golden Spell Card onto her Duel Disk.
"I activate the Continuous Spell [Starry Knight Ceremony]!
"Then I activate its first effect: During my Main Phase, I reveal a LIGHT Fairy monster in my hand; add one Level 7 LIGHT Dragon monster from my Deck to my hand, then return the revealed monster to the bottom of the Deck!"
She could feel the heat within her Deck… This light urged her to illuminate the darkness.
"I reveal [Starry Knight Flamel] in my hand, and call upon the first summoning from my Deck! [Starry Night, Starry Dragon], come to my hand! After that, Flamel returns to the bottom of the Deck!"
The points of light around Rayel rapidly gathered, forming a streak of brilliance that shot into the sky before condensing in Rikka's hand into a card bearing the image of a radiant dragon.
She did not rush to summon the divine beast of culmination. Instead, she deftly drew out another card from her hand.
"I'm not done yet! I activate the first effect of [Starry Knight Ciel] in my hand: If this card is in my hand, return one 'Starry Knight' monster I control, except this card, to the hand, then Special Summon this card!"
Under that sacred guidance, Rayel dissolved into starlight and returned to the girl's hand. In his place, the light reformed into a more agile guardian wielding a short cross-shaped blade.
"Come back, Rayel. So, I can Special Summon Ciel in Defense Position!"
Ciel knelt on one knee, driving the short blade into the pooled water. From that small motion, a semi-transparent barrier rapidly expanded, shielding Rikka. Raindrops struck the barrier with sharp, ringing impacts.
"I set one card, and end my turn."
Rikka exhaled softly. The pale color in her face was now tinged with a faint, healthy flush from the intensity of the duel.
Beneath the spire, her field now held Ciel in a state of absolute defense.
Behind it, [Starry Knight Ceremony] radiated a steady glow, like a lamp that would never go out in the darkness.
Behind Ciel was also the unknown set card; as Rikka stood with one hand in her coat pocket, her gaze piercing through the rain as she stared coldly at the deep green dragon, which had already begun gathering lightning once more.
The thunder in the sky grew heavier. The lightning dragon spread its enormous wings, countless fine golden arcs dancing wildly around its clawless body, warping the surrounding raindrops into curls of scorched black mist.
On its back, the lightning-formed Duel Disk emitted its first harsh, grating hum.
...
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