Venti_______Simp
In this world, every few years, a grand competition of duels opens once more-after long years sealed in mystery. Children become Card Fighter Trainers, stepping out from their quiet hometowns into the sprawling skies of the Battle of the Sky Region, where silver towers pierce the clouds and echo with the crackle of energy from card battles. They wander through storm-lit arenas and bustling market squares, collecting rare cards shimmering with elemental light, honing their reflexes, and testing courage against rivals who burn just as brightly with ambition-all dreaming of becoming the Card King of Fighters Champion.
Maruku stands among them-the weakest of all, his hands trembling each time he draws a card. Luck barely keeps him afloat; sweat trickles down his temple as he scrapes through match after match, only to fall hard in the finals to his rival. The crowd's roar fades into numb silence. His rival's final strike sends him tumbling into the lower brackets-a dark pit where broken hopes gather like dust, and every card feels heavier than before.
Yet, the next day, a simple moment-a quiet meeting in the sunlit classroom with his closest friend-restores a sliver of his pride. Her voice anchors him, reminding him who he is. That spark of dignity keeps his name alive for one last chance-to face the newly crowned champion and settle the rivalry that haunts him like a shadow. His rival has forgotten that crushing victory, his memory wiped clean-but Maruku remembers, every sting of defeat etched deep.
Then came the incident.
At midnight, the clocktower's labyrinth trembled. Marble floors whispered under ghostly wind, gears groaned in the heart of the tower, and lights flickered in eerie rhythms. Something twisted inside that sacred place-something wrong.
He wasn't the only one pulled back for a second chance.
But this time... it wasn't his rival.
And whoever had come-they didn't come to make friends.