"Which one should we open first?" Zero asked, his eyes darting between the three shimmering packs hovering in the air.
"Let's do the smug Cecil one," Soma decided, pointing at the pack with the self-satisfied, clipboard-wielding god on the front. "He looks like he knows something we don't. Maybe it's a good sign."
Zero let out a small chuckle and reached out, his fingers closing around the pack. It felt warm and crackled with a faint, contained energy. He tore it open with the practiced motion of someone who had opened far too many trading card packs in a past life. Eleven cards, their backs swirling with a cosmic design, slid into his hand.
He took a deep breath and flipped the first one over.
[+10 Magical Energy]
The card shimmered for a second before dissolving into a puff of gentle, golden dust that was absorbed into Zero's body.
"Here it comes," Zero muttered under his breath, a familiar sense of dread creeping in. "A long, painful series of +10 Magical Energy."
Sure enough, he flipped the next card. It was another [+10 Magical Energy]. It too vanished in a golden shimmer. Then another. And another.
Soma started to laugh. "It's still the early cards," he said, trying to be reassuring. "It's usual for the packs to be filled with junk at the start. Besides," he added pragmatically, "you need the energy if you want to make more clones anyway."
"Well, I guess you're right," Zero conceded, though his eye was twitching slightly. He flipped through the next few cards in quick succession. Five, six, seven, eight, nine... all of them the same. The small pile of golden dust motes floating in the air was growing, but their hopes were shrinking.
As he held the tenth card—another god-damned [+10 Magical Energy]—Zero looked at the final, unrevealed card with a desperate hope. Soma crossed his fingers, leaning in closer. This was it. The guaranteed rare. The character card.
Zero flipped it over.
The card shimmered with a slightly brighter light than the others. The text on it glowed with a more potent energy.
[+100 Magical Energy]
The vibe in the café floor, once buzzing with anticipation, dropped into a dead, profound silence. The card vanished, adding a slightly larger puff of gold dust to the air.
The silence was broken by a snort from Soma. Then a giggle. Then a full-blown, roaring laugh that echoed off the walls of the empty café. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You got the dupe pack! The consolation prize!"
Zero's face, which had been a mask of hopeful concentration, twisted into one of pure, unadulterated rage. He threw his hands up to the ceiling, shaking his fists at the heavens.
"CECIL, YOU LOW-CLASS BITCH!" he screamed, his voice filled with the fury of a thousand betrayed Gacha players. "HOW DARE YOU! I PRAYED TO YOU! I WISHED YOU WELL! I CURSE YOU! MAY YOUR DIVINE STAPLER JAM FOR ETERNITY! I HOPE YOUR CELESTIAL COFFEE IS FOREVER LUKEWARM!"
If any customers had been present, they would have witnessed the truly bizarre spectacle of the café's demon owner screaming curses at the ceiling while his red-haired chef clutched his stomach, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
After Zero's celestial cursing fit subsided, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, while Soma wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Okay, okay," Soma said, still trying to compose himself. "Let's do the peace sign pack next. It has to be better than... whatever that was."
Zero grumbled but picked up the second pack, the one with Cecil giving a cheerful peace sign. He ripped it open, a little less ceremoniously this time. He fanned out the eleven cards.
"Let's just get this over with," he muttered, flipping the first one. [+10 Magical Energy]. It vanished. The second, third, fourth... a flood of the same useless card. By the time he got to the ninth card, he was completely deadpan.
"Okay, the last two cards," Zero said with a sigh. "This next one is probably just more energy, so why bother getting excited." He listlessly flipped the tenth card over.
A bright, pure white light flared from the card, catching both of them completely off guard. It was different from the simple golden shimmer of the energy cards.
"Shit," Soma breathed, leaning forward. "That's a character card."
As the light subsided, the image resolved itself. Like Soma's card, it was designed like an ornate tarot card. The illustration depicted a tall, handsome man with neatly parted blond hair, piercingly intense blue eyes, and a stern, commanding expression. He wore a distinctive military uniform with a green hooded cloak bearing a crest of two wings, one white and one blue.
Erwin Smith
Character Origin: Anime (Attack on Titan)
Traits: A brilliant, charismatic, and ruthless military commander. Master strategist and tactician, capable of inspiring unwavering loyalty and devotion in his soldiers. Possesses an indomitable will and is willing to make monstrous sacrifices—including his own humanity—to achieve victory for his people.
"Attack on Titan?" Soma said, squinting at the unfamiliar title. "What the hell is that?"
Zero shrugged, studying the card. "I don't know. Seems like you; this one must have come out after I died."
"Dang, we missed a lot of good anime, huh?" Soma mused. "Meeh, it's probably mid anyway."
"It says here he's the '13th Commander of the Survey Corps'," Zero read aloud. "Whatever that is, it sounds like a military or police-type organization." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Do you think... with a clone like this, we could infiltrate the Kingdom's Watchers?"
"You mean that corrupt police group the Captain was talking about?" Soma's eyes lit up with a dangerous idea. "We could become the catalyst for a grand reformation! Clean up the city from the inside!"
Zero let out a small laugh. Their grand ideas were still far off for now. "One step at a time." He looked at the final card in his hand. "Let's see what our last prize is." He flipped it over.
The same brilliant white light flared again.
"Holy shit!" Soma yelled. "It's another character card! A double pull!"
As the light faded, they saw the illustration of a character they both knew instantly, a nostalgic icon from their past lives.
"Let's go!" Zero shouted, his previous disappointment forgotten. "We got Detective Conan!"
"Uhh, Zero..." Soma said, leaning in closer to read the fine print. "You got Conan Edogawa. Not Shinichi Kudo."
"What the fuck are you talking about? They're the same person," Zero shot back impatiently. But as he looked closer at the card's details, his triumphant grin slowly melted away into horror. The illustration was indeed of Conan Edogawa: the tiny, elementary-school-aged child, complete with his oversized red bowtie, blue blazer, and round glasses.
Conan Edogawa (Shinichi Kudo)
Character Origin: Anime (Detective Conan)
Traits: Possesses the brilliant deductive mind and vast knowledge of the master teen detective, Shinichi Kudo. However, this intellect is trapped within the frail, physically weak body of a seven-year-old child due to the effects of the experimental poison, APTX 4869. Relies on gadgets to overcome his physical limitations.
Zero stared at the card, his eye twitching violently.
"FUUUUCCKKK!" he screamed, his voice cracking with despair. "WHAT THE FUCK AM I GONNA DO WITH A CHILD CHARACTER?!"
"Hey, think about it," Soma said, trying to find a silver lining in the face of Zero's despair over the child detective card. "I'm Soma, but my body still has your Archdemon strength, remember? On the day of the competition, I picked up that heavy wooden crate with no problem. Maybe Conan's physical limitations can be nullified by your base body."
Zero sighed, the logic doing little to soothe his Gacha-induced pain. He dejectedly reached for the last pack, the one with Cecil's tear-streaked face, which now seemed to be openly mocking him. "Let's just open this last one and get it over with."
He tore it open. As expected, it was filled with the familiar, disappointing sight of [+10 Magical Energy] cards. One after another, they vanished in puffs of golden dust. Zero could only sigh with each one, while Soma snickered quietly beside him, thoroughly enjoying his misery.
As they reached the tenth card, it glowed with that slightly brighter, more potent light. Soma slammed his hand on the bar table. "What?! Another double-card pack?!" he yelled, his eyes wide.
As the card revealed itself to be [+100 Magical Energy], Soma lost it completely. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You should have seen your own hopeful face!" he howled, pointing at Zero. "You thought it was another character, didn't you?! You got duped again!"
"Ha... ha... very funny," Zero mock-laughed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Shut up." He looked at the final card, the very last pull of their session, with absolutely zero expectation. He flipped it over.
A brilliant white light flared, silencing Soma's laughter.
Zero sighed in profound relief, a genuine smile finally returning to his face. "Thanks, Cecil," he whispered to the ceiling. "At least you gave me three character cards for 3000 Gacha points. I guess I can forgive you."
Soma and Zero leaned in to look at the card. Like the others, it was styled like a tarot card, depicting an elderly but powerfully built man with short, impeccably neat white hair, dignified face. He wore a flawless black butler's suit, and his posture was one of absolute, unwavering servitude, yet his eyes held a hint of immense power.
Sebas Tian
Character Origin: Anime (Overlord)
Traits: Head Butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. A Dragonoid whose true form is sealed. In his human guise, he is a master of unarmed combat, possessing immense physical strength and expert hand-to-hand martial arts skills. Embodies unwavering loyalty to his master and a powerful, innate sense of justice. Can switch from a polite, gentle servant to a terrifyingly formidable warrior in an instant.
"Oh, we got a butler-looking character," Soma observed. "Sebas Tian... not Sebastian, huh?"
"Nope, it's separate," Zero confirmed, reading the details. He was genuinely impressed. "It says he's from an anime called Overlord." He flipped the card around, showing the powerful image to Soma. "He looks pretty cool and formidable, right?"
Soma rubbed his chin, giving the card a critical look. "Meh," he said with a dismissive shrug. "His cooking won't be better than mine, though."
"Shut up, you cocky chef," Zero shot back, a grin on his face. "You didn't even win the competition, anyway." He gathered the three new character cards—the commander, the child detective, and the battle butler—and started walking toward the stairs leading to their living quarters.
"Hey!" Soma shouted after him. "I was too good to compete! That's why they kicked me out!"
Zero just waved a hand over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. "Yeah, yeah," he called back teasingly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night!"
Soma headed upstairs, expecting to find Zero still geeking out over the new character cards. Instead, he found him sitting perfectly still, cross-legged in the middle of the living room floor, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and even. The new cards were laid out in a neat row in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Soma asked, tilting his head.
"I'm feeling my energy," Zero replied, his voice distant, as if coming from far away. He didn't open his eyes. "The new points... they changed something inside me. A new capacity."
Soma watched him for a moment, intrigued. "So? Can you make more clones now?"
Zero didn't answer. He remained perfectly still, his focus turned entirely inward. Soma knew that look. It was a state of concentration so deep that the outside world barely existed. He wasn't just sitting; he was exploring. He could feel the familiar, warm thread of energy that connected him to Soma, a tangible link that hummed with life. But now, alongside it, he could sense something else. A loose, unconnected strand of potential. An empty anchor waiting for a ship. This was it. Another clone could be created.
Understanding that Zero needed time and space, Soma just shrugged and decided to make himself useful. He spent the afternoon reading the history book he'd borrowed from the Royal Library, then meticulously cleaned and organized the entire kitchen. As the hours passed and the sun began to dip lower in the sky, he got bored, then hungry. Finally, he decided to cook.
It was the rich, savory scent of chicken and simmering curry that finally pulled Zero back to the surface. His eyes fluttered open, his mind slowly returning to the physical world. He saw Soma sitting at the large dining table, already halfway through a plate of food.
"Ah, you're awake," Soma said casually, noticing the movement. "Come on, eat your dinner."
Zero blinked, his mind still foggy from the deep meditation. "What do you mean, dinner?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse. "It's not even lunch yet."
Soma gave him a look like he'd grown a second head. He pointed with his fork toward the large loft windows. "It's already dark, dumbass," he said. Outside, the sky was a deep indigo, and the magical streetlamps in the city below were beginning to glow.
Zero stood up, a wave of disorientation washing over him. "Whoa," he breathed, walking over to the window. "I... I only felt like I was sensing my energy for a short time."
"Well, you were sitting there completely still, like some kind of meditating monk, for hours," Soma said, taking another bite. "So, about the clone? Can you make more?"
Zero sat down at the table, his stomach suddenly reminding him how much time had actually passed. He took the plate Soma had prepared for him and began to eat, the delicious food grounding him. "Yeah," he said after a moment, a determined look on his face. "I can feel the thread. We'll do this after I'm done eating."
Soma, who had already finished his own meal, picked up his empty plate. "Alright," he said with a grin, heading for the sink. "Let's meet the new recruits."
**A/N**
~Read Advance Chapter and Support me on [email protected]/SmilinKujo~
~🧣KujoW
**A/N**