The chamber was silent. Not the kind of quiet that came from absence, but a heavy, unnatural stillness that pressed against their skin. The figure standing before them wasn't just hidden by its cloak—it was wrong.
Hikaru felt it instantly. The way the air around them shifted, like reality itself was trying to correct an error.
Budi's hands clenched at his sides. "I hate this already."
Selene stepped forward, her silver eyes locked on the figure. "What are you?"
The voice that answered was calm, measured.
"Something that should have remained forgotten."
Hikaru flicked a card between his fingers. "And yet, here you are."
The figure tilted its head slightly. The movement was slow, deliberate—too controlled, too precise.
"You do not understand the game you are playing, trickster."
Hikaru smirked. "Then why don't you enlighten me?"
The air grew colder.
Then—the figure moved.
Not fast. Not aggressively.
Just… closer.
A single step.
But the distance between them didn't change.
Hikaru's mind immediately calculated the impossibility of what just happened.
Budi stiffened. "What the hell?"
Selene's fingers twitched toward a defensive sigil. "It's distorting space."
Hikaru clicked his tongue. "Great. Love that."
The figure spoke again. "You do not belong here. He does."
The way it said he sent a chill through Hikaru's spine.
Budi's stance shifted. "Who are you talking about?"
The figure didn't answer.
Instead, it raised a hand.
And for the first time—Hikaru saw what was beneath the cloak.
Not skin. Not bone.
Something shifting. Twisting. Layered, like overlapping faces caught between moments of existence.
It was not a person.
And yet, it was trying to be one.
Hikaru flicked a card into his palm. [Skill Activated: ♠Q – Mirage Shuffle]
The air shimmered, distorting the figure's perception of them. To anyone watching, Hikaru had just moved three steps to the left.
The figure didn't react.
Because it hadn't been looking at Hikaru.
It had been looking at Budi.
And Budi didn't move.
The masked fighter exhaled, his muscles tensing. "Hikaru. This thing isn't looking at you."
Hikaru's smirk faded slightly. "Yeah. I noticed."
Selene moved first. She wasn't reckless—she never was—but she recognized a threat. Her magic flared, silver runes flickering into existence around her hands. A binding spell.
The figure didn't react.
Not until the runes actually touched its cloak.
Then—
The entire room shook.
The pillars cracked. The air splintered like glass, the walls themselves warping.
And the figure turned.
Not toward Hikaru.
Not toward Selene.
Toward Budi.
"You are the one we remember."
Budi's body tensed, his mask darkening. "I don't like that."
Hikaru adjusted his glasses. "I don't like that."
Selene released her spell immediately. The moment her runes vanished, the chamber stabilized.
Hikaru exhaled. "Okay. So maybe don't touch the ancient, terrifying void creature."
Selene's silver eyes remained unreadable. "It wasn't attacking."
Budi's jaw clenched. "It doesn't need to."
The figure took another impossible step forward.
"You wear their faces," it whispered.
Budi stiffened. "What?"
The figure raised a hand again. Not in aggression.
In recognition.
"You are not him. But you are his echo."
Budi's entire posture shifted. His mask darkened further.
Hikaru's brain raced. The masked warrior had always been an enigma, even to him. Budi's ability—his ancestral masks—had always been a mystery.
But this thing—it knew something.
And Hikaru needed to know what.
Before he could ask, the figure lowered its hand.
"The knight seeks the gate. But the gate is not yet open."
Hikaru frowned. The knight.
Aldric.
Selene inhaled sharply. "The gate…?"
The figure's form flickered. For the first time, it seemed to be straining to stay.
"The forgotten ones stir," it whispered. "The cycle turns again."
Hikaru took a step forward. "What cycle?"
The figure looked at him.
Not through him.
At him.
"You are not his chosen. But you will play your part."
Hikaru smirked. "I do love a good part."
The figure slowly receded. The twisting non-space around it unraveled, its form flickering into the darkness.
Budi exhaled. "That was… horrifying."
Selene adjusted her cloak. "And informative."
Hikaru grinned. "See? I thought that was fun."
Budi groaned. "You are the worst."
Hikaru chuckled, but his mind was racing.
The knight seeks the gate.
Aldric was looking for something down here.
And now—so was Hikaru.