Under the rising moonlight, as the shadows deepened across the Academy's vast campus, Luna wandered through the Duel Park. She stopped, drawing her deck from its holster. "A story? That's absurd," she muttered to herself. "A deck is built for one thing: victory."
Her thoughts were violently shattered by a blood-curdling scream, followed by a monstrous roar. She raced toward the sound, arriving just in time to see the end of a duel. She gasped, recognizing the loser immediately—Maximilian Anderson, the top student of the third year. He was an Academy legend, set to graduate early to begin his professional career.
However, she didn't recognize the other duelist. He wore a long, white coat that billowed in the wind created by his monster's final blow. His face was obscured by a mask—triangular lenses with curved edges that pointed downward, covering his cheeks but leaving his nose, mouth, and chin visible. His long black hair fell loosely down his back.
Towering behind him was a massive red dragon, a sight that turned Luna's blood to ice. It was the one and only legendary Red Dragon Archfiend.
The masked duelist looked down at the unconscious Maximilian. As the dragon began to fade into digital pixels, he spoke with a cold, piercing voice:
"Weak. Your deck is hollow. It communicates nothing to me. You haven't seen the fires of hell, and your deck was never truly there to save you."
Luna stepped forward, her heart hammering. "What have you done?" she shouted, snapping her Duel Disk into position. "Who are you?"
The masked man turned his gaze toward her. "If I were you, I'd hurry him to the infirmary. Besides, at your level, you and your deck would only end up just like him."
"What's that supposed to mean? You haven't even seen my deck!"
"I don't need to see it," he replied flatly. "I can look at it sitting in your Duel Disk and tell it's incomplete. I feel nothing from it. Don't waste my time."
Without another word, he turned and vanished into the darkness. Stunned, Luna helped Maximilian up and headed back toward the Academy.
The next day, Luna sat at a cafeteria table, her deck laid out before her as she brooded over the previous night. Suddenly, Leo appeared with his relentless, bright smile, accompanied by a smaller boy.
"Hey there!" Leo chirped. "Meet my new friend, Alex."
"I know who he is," Luna said distractedly. "He's the son of the Academy's sponsor."
"Right! He's in our class," Leo said. "And I asked him to track down four specific cards so your deck can finally tell its story."
"Are we back to that nonsense again?" Luna looked exasperated. "Haven't you heard? The top student was attacked! How can you think about 'stories' right now?"
"A deck without a story is an incomplete deck," Leo said calmly, his tone surprisingly serious. "And that is more important than anything else."
Luna froze. Incomplete? Was that the same word the masked duelist used? She looked at Alex, who was holding a few cards in his hand.
"Fine. What are these 'story' cards anyway?" she asked.
"Honestly, I don't get it either," Alex admitted, placing the cards face-down on the table. "But Leo is a strange guy, and he's pretty convincing."
Leo grabbed Luna's deck and began leafing through it.
"Hey! Give that back!" Luna snapped.
"I just need this card to tell the tale," Leo said, pulling out The Sanctuary in the Sky. "You think this is just a 'story' that fits your deck? No. This is the story that completes your deck."
He flipped the first card Alex had brought: Warrior of Zera.
"This is the legendary warrior," Leo began enthusiastically. "A man with a spirit so strong he could summon the heavens themselves." He flipped the second card: Zeradias, Herald of Heaven. "With the heavens come the angels—your 'Agent' monsters. But a mortal cannot fight alongside angels forever, so he was transformed into one himself."
He flipped the third card: Angel of Zera. "He fought so bravely that he earned the rank of an archangel." Finally, he revealed the fourth card: Archlord Zerato. "Isn't it phenomenal?"
"Whoa," Alex whispered, genuinely impressed. "I've never looked at cards that way before."
Luna remained silent. While she wasn't one for fairytales, she recognized that these were powerful cards that synergized perfectly with her strategy. she accepted them, her mind already set on the coming night. She was going to find that masked stranger and challenge him.