Somewhere unknown, within a cavern.
The cavern was deep and inscrutable, darkness like an invisible net shrouding every inch. The silence was unsettling; only flickering candlelight clung on.
A kimono-clad woman knelt at the far end, head bowed, eyes closed in thought.
Then the ground behind her split open.
Literally split—as if drilled through from below. A burly man emerged from the hole like a ninja's Earth Release. Strangely, though he came from underground, not a speck of dust clung to him.
Beside him, a whirlwind of flames rose. When the blaze dissipated, another figure appeared—a slimmer man. Though he stepped out of fire, there was no scorch on him or his clothes.
"T-Bone. Blaze."
The woman still sat with her back to them, eyes closed.
Both bowed respectfully.
"Lady Sarina."
They were the remaining two of the Four Monarch: Blaze, wielder of the Firestorm Monarch, and T-Bone, wielder of the Rock Monarch.
"Your brothers failed," Sarina said calmly.
"Yes. Regrettably."
Blaze set a hand on his hip.
"Looks like Frost and Thunder paid the price for their arrogance. I always thought their mindset would be a problem sooner or later."
He glanced at his companion.
"But we're different. Right, T-Bone?"
"Mm." T-Bone nodded.
"Rest assured, Lady Sarina. Now that we're acting, there won't be any more mistakes," Blaze said confidently. "We'll handle Revolver and that pesky Knights of Hanoi hounding us.
Give us three days—we guarantee they won't be a problem afterward."
Sarina slowly opened her eyes, only to sigh lightly.
"You always say that. But what use are words?"
Blaze's face tightened.
"We aren't like those two, Lady Sarina," he said. "I promise—"
"Enough."
Sarina stood and turned around.
"It was my error to expect too much. I should remember—you're only human. Ordinary, mundane humans."
"Perhaps we were mediocre, but now we're different!" Blaze blurted. "You've granted us power! With that power, no one will—"
"Yes, but I've changed my mind. You're useless now."
Expressionless, she pronounced their sentence.
"Return your power to me."
Both men were shocked.
"If you hand it over quietly, you can go back to being ordinary men. Or—"
Sarina raised her pale hands and wove a sign.
"Would you rather be turned into cards—empty shells without souls—like the others?"
As she formed the seal, a sinister light bloomed above her head, condensing into a strange mirror that flashed dangerously.
Their hearts seemed to stop. They knew Sarina's method well—anyone struck by the mirror's beam would be sealed into a card.
"Wait!" T-Bone cried. "Just one day—give us today! We'll take down Revolver within the day. We won't let you down!"
Sarina paused.
"Oh?"
She regarded them with interest.
"One day?"
With no other option, Blaze also nodded quickly. "Just today—we'll finish it soon."
Sarina tilted her head, as if thinking.
"Fine."
"At least one last chance. But I'll increase your stakes."
Her gaze passed over both and settled on T-Bone.
"T-Bone, if I recall, you're the strongest among my Four Monarchs. I've always had faith in your potential; I still do."
They stayed silent.
Unlike Frost and Thunder, these two got along well. Blaze recognized T-Bone's strength; calling him the strongest was fair.
"Then allow me to help you a little."
Sarina formed another seal.
The mirror moved, angling to one side, and fired a beam of light. It struck Blaze, who yelped and vanished, absorbed into a card.
"Blaze!"
T-Bone reached out instinctively.
But then that card shot into T-Bone's Duel Disk deck slot like a meteor into the night, disappearing.
T-Bone looked up in shock. "Lady Sarina, this is—"
"In this way, Blaze's power is yours too."
Sarina spoke blandly, then flicked her sleeve. Two more cards materialized from nowhere, flying straight toward T-Bone.
He reflexively caught them.
He looked and found they were Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Mobius the Frost Monarch.
The two Monarchs originally belonging to the other two.
"This is...!?"
He looked up.
"As you see: the Thunder Monarch and the Frost Monarch. Unfortunately, the ones imbued with spirit power were in Thunder and Frost's hands and have now been taken."
Sarina said calmly.
"But this gives you a new task: defeat Revolver and reclaim the Thunder and Frost Monarch cards from him. Understood?"
T-Bone glanced at his deck and nodded heavily.
He could feel it—he was stronger. Even without dueling yet, he sensed surging energy in his deck.
But it wasn't just his deck anymore. It felt heavy, like it carried his brothers' weight.
The Thunder and Frost she gave him were merely rarer monsters. Only his own Rock Monarch, and his brother's Firestorm Monarch, possessed spirit power—the genuine Monarchs.
"Now the power of the Four Monarchs is in your hands."
Sarina said.
"I always favored you, T-Bone. If anyone can complete this mission, it's you.
Prove yourself—and prove the strength of the Four Monarchs, T-Bone."
She turned, sat again, and closed her eyes to rest.
"Do not disappoint the Society of Light."
T-Bone bowed.
"Yes."