"Words are the sharpest weapons. Willpower-the deepest prison."
-Fonk's Notes, "Fragments from the Tower of Magic"
[Act I - The Incoming Third Seat]
Location: Outer Trial Grounds, Tower of Magic, Eastcloud Academy
A lone figure approaches in the biting wind. He wears the tattered robes of a fallen cleric, an ancient scroll in his hand, and walks like a dreamer lost in sleep.
Calon, the Apostle of Sinful Poetry, ranks third in the Azure Academy.
He does not fight with blade or fist.
His only weapon are the verses he chants aloud.
"Verse Seven... Prayer of the Drowned."
The space around them shakes with each word, as if pulled into another dimension.
The outer barrier of the tower shatters of its own accord.
"Forbidden Verse Technique - Empathy Abyss."
Nightzora Cang reacts first, using Queen's Illusion Domain to block the mental corruption.
But the illusion is immediately twisted by Calon's chant.
"All resistance... returns to the prison of the self."
Sayo Hōdō is caught - her senses are drawn into a hallucination:
A world where Nightzora has betrayed her.
Karuma's eyes redden, his breath is chaotic - visions of his father's death assault his mind.
In an instant, the entire Magic Club is trapped within Calon's Domain of Chanting Dominance.
"Act II - Nightzora's Chanting Duel
Nightzora closes her eyes.
In the depths of his consciousness, Jack of Hearts whispers:
"He's a minstrel. You're a gambler. A gambler doesn't answer poetry with poetry - he plays an unpredictable hand".
The card system will automatically draw a new card:
🂽 Hearts No.2 - Crimson Verse Card
A card that embodies emotional counterplay.
Nightzora sings aloud, not to reflect - but to counter:
"If verse is the sacrifice of guilt, then I will use trust as my wedge."
Sayo's illusion crumbles instantly.
He continues:
"If you dig an abyss, I pierce it with the blade of instinct."
Calon staggers.
"You can... dismantle my poetic domain?!"
Nightzora opens her eyes, the card floating in her palm.
"You are a sinner-poet. I am a gambler-bard."
"You bind hearts-I gamble with them to break your odds."
The counter-chant ignites:
[Gambler's Chant - Verse Three: Wager of Will]
Their minds collide.
Calon and Nightzora are locked in direct mental warfare.
Act III - The Fall of Calon].
Calon turns pale, staggering as blood drips from his lips.
His trembling hand clutches the scroll.
"You... have no fear in you..."
Nightzora counters:
"You said that poetry defines the sins of mankind...
But which sin did you run from?"
Calon lowers his head and whispers his last verse:
"I... am the unfinished third verse..."
Behind him, a memory projection flickers.
A destroyed lecture hall, children once laughing as they sang,
and a single boy walking away in tears.
The poetic realm collapses completely.
Calon kneels before Nightzora.
"...You have won... My verses are now silent."
Fonk steps forward and gently presses a seal-shaped emblem to Calon's chest:
"Perhaps your verses... will be sung again elsewhere."
[Act IV - The Shadow of the Forbidden Chanter]
As Nightzora turns to leave, the Queen whispers again:
"Jack is leaving the field... but the King has already written your final chapter."
Meanwhile, Fonk is having a secret conversation with the Vice Principal.
The Vice Principal's look is cold:
"Are you still interfering with these duels, Fonk?"
Fonk replies evenly:
"I'm just curious... which card will fall last."
The vice principal chuckles and turns away.
Beneath his robes, a seal of the Otherworld pulsates faintly.
The turmoil inside the Magic Club
On the tower, Sayo Hōdō watches Nightzora's distant figure.
"You've changed... you're not the same anymore."
Nightzora doesn't turn around. He answers quietly:
"Perhaps... I was never 'the same' to begin with."
At that moment, old sealed letters begin to surface from the depths of the Magic Tower.
Fonk opens one, his brow furrowing.
"The plan to dissolve the Magic Club... has already been approved?"