Academy War God: Unrivalled Magic

Amidst the Maze × The Price of PowerYorumi Sou stood in the middle of the empty training ground, a faint illusion of the Queen card slowly rising from his palm.

It was a Queen surrounded by violet flames, her eyes devoid of warmth, staring with an endless gaze of judgment.

"She's watching me."

Sou muttered under his breath as the strange yet familiar whisper echoed once more in his mind:

"You are the one among us who is closest to the end."

He frowned, trying to suppress the tremor in his body.

The power of the Queen's Card - though mighty - felt like it was tearing away a piece of his will every time he used it.

And this deck... was nothing like what he imagined to be "controllable".

"You still can't control it."

A voice came from behind him - calm and measured.

Sou turned to see the man who always appeared at key moments, cloaked in the role of Discipline Director - Vonke.

Even now, he approached slowly, idly spinning the signature Rubik's Cube in one hand.

"The queen's card is not just a weapon," Vonke said in a low voice, his eyes solemn.

"It is a test on the path to fractured identity. If you don't understand its origin, it will consume you."

Sou gritted his teeth.

"You say she whispers... but it's more like... she's guiding me. She's showing me another version of myself - one consumed by a desire for destruction."

Vonke stopped his cube and locked eyes with him.

"That is the Queen's nature - the embodiment of power and its price."

"And her whispers are nothing but echoes of your own heart. She's not leading you - she's revealing the part of you you've always been afraid to face."

He paused, then offered a faint smile.

"But you're not the first to walk this path."

Sou's pupils dilated.

"You... you've also...?"

Vonke said nothing, just smiled slightly.

He pulled out an old, yellowed card and slowly turned it over - revealing the corner of the King card.

"I thought I could take it," he whispered. "But the price... was far beyond what I could have imagined."

A tremor ran through Sou's chest.

Vonke continued:

"I was once a member of the Magic Division, the last generation before your time.

Back then, magic wasn't used for tournaments or honor. It was used to fight off invasions from the Otherworld."

He looked up at the distant sky, where dark clouds were gathering.

"You think these cards - these powers - were created by us? They were never of this world. They are... remnants.

And we - we are merely vessels chosen to carry them."

Vonke's voice dropped lower: "And your queen... she is the most unstable card in the deck.

She is not the key to victory - she is the gateway to ruin."

Sou fell silent, cold sweat dripping down his back.

At that moment, something stirred in his pocket.

A playing card slid out by itself - Black Jack.

It floated in the air, trembling slightly, as if it resonated with Vonke's revelation.

Vonke gave it a calm look.

"You are already approaching your second phase."

"And the closer you get to the queen, the closer you are... to her core."

Sou looked down at his palm.

The Queen spun slowly in the air, casting flickering shadows and lights across the room.

He knew Vonke wasn't lying.

The Queen was not just a vessel of power - she was the deepest crack in him.

Elsewhere, in the Magic Division meeting room, the leaders of the other divisions began to gather.

Houdou Saya sat with a conflicted look on her face while Hakuran stared silently out of the window.

Gikumaru Setsura leaned against the wall without expression.

"Sou's changes... have been drastic," Saya said quietly with concern in her eyes.

Hakuran sighed.

"His magical fluctuations can no longer be analyzed using standard frameworks.

The queen's 'resonance' is affecting the environment.

This isn't just a matter of personal power anymore - it's a variable that affects the safety of the academy."

Gikumaru said coldly, "Uncontrolled power is nothing but disaster.

For a moment, the room fell into a heavy silence.

Everyone understood - the real storm was just beginning.

Vonke's Whisper × The Unfolding Plot Night fell.

Vonke stood in front of the old Magic Division building, staring at its worn, broken sign.

Gently turning the cube in his hand, he murmured to himself:

"The queen has awakened.

The King's shadow is rising.

And the Joker... will finally show his true face."

"The Seiyu Foundation has yet to act... but time is running out."

"Yorumi Sou - if you truly wish to change your fate, then first... you must accept its breaking."

He slowly turned and walked away, leaving only a last whisper:

"The true labyrinth... has just begun."