The dreamscape collapsed. The tower of the mind was sinking.
Alone, Yoru Mikage walked through the spiral tower formed by countless playing cards, each step peeling away fragments of his own personality.
Finally, he reached the throne at the bottom.
A massive black and gold throne, forged from memories, illusions and desires, stood before him. It was empty, yet its presence weighed more than a mountain.
The ghostly images of the cards Queen and Jack appeared at its sides.
The Queen whispered:
"Having come this far... there is no going back."
Jack murmured:
"The 'King' - is the origin of all Personality Cards, and also their ultimate end."
Yoru Mikage slowly reached out and touched the throne.
In an instant, a golden-black figure rose in his consciousness.
A being clad in full royal armor, its face shrouded in mist, except for a pair of piercing golden eyes that stared at him silently.
"You are... King?"
The golden eyes opened, emitting thunderous waves of will.
[King]:
"I am the 'true end' you never chose, Yoru Mikage.
Can you bear the price of carrying the source of illusions?"
"When you ascend, the world you know will cease to exist."
Yoru was silent for a few seconds, then he asked quietly:
"Then tell me - if I become 'King,' can I protect everyone?"
King:
"You would go beyond mere protection.
You would become the one who dictates the rules of the world itself."
Queen and Jack shook violently!
--The personality system began to shake. [Sovereignty Transition Protocol] activated!
Yoru felt countless shards of his memories and beliefs rushing through him.
Even that fleeting look and tear from Saya Huangtang began to be buried under the King's pressure.
"If I become you... will I still be Yoru Mikage?"
At that moment, he almost succumbed to the temptation of the golden throne.
Until a voice called out to him.
Outside the Illusion Tower - Cry of the Phoenix].
Outside the collapsing tower, Saya Huangtang stood, battered and broken, her bow shattered.
"Outside the Illusion Tower - Cry of the Phoenix
Outside the collapsing tower, Saya Huangtang stood, battered and broken, her bow shattered and her arrows exhausted.
Still, she stubbornly defended the last barrier with her own body.
She looked up to the top of the tower, tears streaming down her face, but burning with fierce determination.
"Yoru Mikage... you are not someone who would be consumed by power."
"You are the Magic King I have always believed in."
"Personality Throne - Final Choice
The Queen:
"She's waiting for you."
Jack:
"I can no longer interfere with your choice."
Yoru closed his eyes.
Then, in silence - he reached out, not to sit on the throne,
but -
to smash the King's face with a single touch.
BOOM!!!
The structure of the tower shook in reverse; King's control was broken.
At the core of the tower, a new personality emerged:
The hybrid King-Night Joker.
Queen and Jack smiled faintly as they dissolved into light and merged with Yoru's back.
"So you chose neither of us after all."
"You took the third path."
Yoru stood up, his cloak fluttering, his eyes rekindled with the fire of his own will:
"I am Yoru Mikage-not king, not anyone's pawn."
[Battlefield Reversal × Magic Awakening]
Outside, the Saniku Purifiers' final assault culminated.
"Destroy the Personality Tower!"
But at that moment.
[Personality Core - Yoru Mikage] reappeared!
Wearing a black and gold cloak, his right hand held a hybrid card, [Night Joker],
Queen's Rose Illusions in his left hand,
and Jack's Short Sword and Heart Wheel loomed behind him.
"The king you sought - he no longer exists.
"Now I, an independent soul, will redefine illusion magic."
--[Rule Rewrite: Core Renaming - Night Joker Established].
The Cleansers' systems collapsed.
The Eastern Cloud's defenses counterattacked!
[Shock at the High Command]
At the Saniku Corporation Headquarters-
Several council members in black robes stared grimly at the revived Tower Heart.
An elder spoke darkly:
"We have lost control... The king has not been born."
Another said:
"But this 'Night Joker'... may be even more dangerous."
In the deepest shadow, a figure whispered:
"Initiate the next phase: the reconnection of the Otherworld."
"Let the Lost King return.