The sky above Velmoria began to shift from deep black to a muted gray. Dawn was creeping over the city, casting long shadows through the alleyways, but the streets were still quiet. It was that rare hour where even thieves and informants took their rest, the moment before the city roared back to life.
Hikaru leaned against the old desk, flipping a card between his fingers, the sound of rustling paper filling the silence. The Old Archive District was still, the dust in the air catching faint streams of morning light through the broken window. Selene sat near the bookshelves, cross-legged, her injured wrist wrapped tightly in fresh bandages. Budi stood near the door, arms crossed, his eyes sharp as he watched the outside world through a crack in the wooden panels.
"So," Budi muttered, "any second now, Renholt is either going to get himself arrested, murdered, or cause an absolute riot."
Hikaru grinned. "That's the beauty of it. We don't know how the Magisterium is going to react. We just made sure they have to."
Selene exhaled. "If they eliminate Renholt too quickly, it will confirm his research. If they try to suppress him, he'll make even more noise. Either way, the city starts asking questions they can't afford to answer."
Budi shook his head. "You're playing with fire."
Hikaru smirked. "I always do."
The waiting was the hardest part.
The first sign of the Magisterium's reaction came in the form of a shift in the air. It wasn't something most people would notice, but Hikaru had spent his life reading the invisible tells of a game before the cards were even played.
The city was holding its breath.
Budi stiffened, his hands flexing slightly. "Something's happening."
Hikaru sat up, listening.
The distant sound of armored boots. Not the usual slow patrols of city guards. Something heavier. Faster.
Selene stood, pulling her cloak tighter. "They're moving."
Budi exhaled. "How fast?"
Hikaru's smirk widened. "Fast enough."
They had taken the bait.
Hikaru moved to the window, peering through the gaps in the wooden shutters. The streets below were still mostly empty, but figures moved through the mist of morning—hooded, careful, pretending to be ordinary travelers.
The Magisterium's shadow agents.
Budi cursed under his breath. "They're already covering the district."
Hikaru exhaled. "Good. That means Renholt made his move."
Selene stepped forward. "And what's our next move?"
Hikaru flicked his card into the air, catching it. "We make sure we're watching their game while they're too busy watching everyone else."
The real trick wasn't in running or hiding.
It was in staying exactly where you needed to be.
Without being noticed.
Hikaru adjusted his glasses, his grin never fading.
"Let's go see what chaos we started."
The Guild District was alive.
Not with its usual hum of merchants and craftsmen, but with tension. It clung to the air like fog rolling in from the harbor—thick, creeping, unavoidable.
People spoke in hushed voices, their eyes flicking toward the central plaza where a crowd had begun to form. Hikaru, Budi, and Selene moved effortlessly through the growing mass of bodies, keeping to the edges, unseen but watching everything.
Renholt was there.
He stood on the stone steps of a public forum, his wild white hair illuminated by the rising sun. He held a page in his hands—the one Hikaru had given him.
And he was reading it aloud.
Hikaru's smirk widened. Perfect.
Budi muttered, "You really gave an exiled historian the equivalent of a lit torch in a room full of explosives."
Hikaru grinned. "And look how beautifully it's burning."
Selene's silver eyes narrowed. "We need to watch for the Magisterium's response."
They didn't have to wait long.
A group of official-looking enforcers moved in from the edges of the crowd, their dark cloaks betraying no insignias—but their movements were too coordinated.
Hikaru whispered, "Not city guards. Magisterium."
Budi tensed. "They're going to shut him down."
Renholt either didn't notice or didn't care. His voice rose.
"…and here! Here is the proof they erased history! The Forgotten Ones were not myths! They were real! And they were locked away because they were feared!"
The crowd stirred.
The Magisterium's enforcers stepped forward.
Hikaru acted before they could reach him.
He flicked a card into his palm. [Skill Activated: ♠10 – Phantom Shuffle]
The moment the enforcers moved, the crowd shifted.
Hikaru's ability took effect—not a grand illusion, but something smaller, more precise.
For just a few seconds, Renholt was somewhere else.
The enforcers reached the steps—and grabbed empty air.
Hikaru had already moved him five feet to the left.
The crowd erupted.
Shouts. Confusion. People realizing what was happening. The Magisterium had acted too openly, too quickly, and now?
Now the public knew they were hiding something.
Selene's voice was barely a whisper. "You just turned this into a riot."
Hikaru's grin widened. "That's the idea."
Budi grabbed his sleeve. "We need to leave now."
The enforcers were recovering, scanning the crowd, searching.
Hikaru turned. "Fine, fine. Let's go before—"
The air dropped in temperature.
A shadow fell over the plaza.
Budi froze.
Selene's expression hardened.
Hikaru felt it too—a presence. Heavy. Controlled. Inevitable.
He didn't have to turn to know who it was.
Sir Aldric Vaelmont.
The kingdom's strongest knight.
The man Hikaru had tricked once before.
And who was now standing at the edge of the chaos, watching everything unfold exactly as Hikaru had planned.
Except.
Aldric wasn't moving.
He wasn't sending knights after them.
He wasn't ordering the enforcers to silence Renholt.
He was watching Hikaru.
Directly.
As if he knew.
Hikaru exhaled slowly.
Budi's voice was tense. "He sees us."
Selene's fingers twitched toward a defensive sigil.
Hikaru adjusted his glasses.
Aldric took one step forward.
Hikaru flicked a card into his hand.
The game wasn't over.
It was just getting started.