At this point, news that You Ye had obtained his own complete deck had not yet spread.
He hadn't even stepped out to duel publicly.
But once he did, his Runick-based engine would surely attract attention—and counter-tech.
Unlike Mu Ning, the spirit of the Runick archetype, who possessed every card from her world, You Ye had only a single copy of the field spell.
Any opponent with half a brain would side-deck cards like Cosmic Cyclone to banish it.
If his field was gone, the whole Runick engine would collapse.
But with two copies of Runick Fountain, that was a different story.
Not only would it give him insurance, it would also unlock alternate combos.
After all, Fountain's effect isn't once-per-turn by name!
"I was thinking the same thing," You Ye said with a small smile.
"But since you've helped me so much, Kitkallos, it's only fair that I show you the strongest form of Tearlaments."
"Strongest form?" she blinked, puzzled.
Wasn't Tearlaments already powerful enough? What other form could there be?
"Watch closely," he said, eyes glinting.
"The two cards I'm fixing for this duel are Herald of Orange Light and Agido the Ancient Sentinel."
"Eh?" Kitkallos looked even more confused.
A Herald card from the Herald archetype, and a monster she didn't even recognize—how could either be related to her Tearlaments?
They seemed completely unrelated!
But before she could ask further, the duel began.
The system asked if You Ye wanted to chain to Maxx 'C'.
Of course, he did.
"Obviously, I'll chain! Chain 2—Herald of Orange Light!"
"When the opponent activates a monster effect, I can send this card and one other Fairy-Type monster from my hand to the Graveyard; negate that activation, and destroy it.
I sent Agido the Ancient Sentinel together with it to the Graveyard!"
Effect resolution:
Chain 2 — Herald of Orange Light resolves successfully.
Chain 1 — Maxx 'C' is negated and destroyed.
"You Ye, that was touching, but throwing your whole hand away just to stop Maxx 'C' is a bit—huh?"
Kitkallos stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening.
Because the moment Agido hit the Graveyard, its effect triggered.
"When Agido the Ancient Sentinel is sent from the hand or Deck to the Graveyard: both players mill the top 5 cards of their Decks."
As the glowing text appeared, You Ye gave her a teasing look.
"So, what were you saying just now?"
"Y-You're awful!" Kitkallos huffed, her cheeks flushing red.
As the true spirit of Tearlaments, she knew exactly what "mill 5" meant in a setup duel where the deck order could be freely arranged.
And sure enough, his five mills were absurd.
Four cards with activated Graveyard effects, including another Agido,
And even the "dead draw" among them turned out to be King of the Swamp.
You Ye couldn't help but think of that old parody lyric he'd once read online:
"Tearlaments arise, Herald mills Agido,
Agido mills Kelbek—
and the opponent gets flattened like a fool~"
"I activate the effects of all the cards that were sent to the Graveyard—
let's stack the chain!"
"Chain 1—Shaddoll Beast, to draw 1;
Chain 2—Tearlaments Merrli, to Fusion Summon using monsters from my hand, field, or Graveyard;
Chain 3—Tearlaments Scream, to add one Tearlaments Trap from the Deck to the hand;
Chain 4—Agido the Ancient Sentinel, both players mill 5 again!"
Before he could even finish resolving the chain, the entire duel simulation froze.
The field, the visuals, everything locked up—no further inputs allowed.
It didn't skip, it didn't end—the system simply paused,
like a replay stopped at a single frame.
After about ten seconds, the duel table vanished entirely.
The Duel Rules themselves had declared his victory.
You Ye: "?"
"My chain just started, and you're already running away?"
"Incredible!" Kitkallos exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
"Even the Duel Rules are afraid of you!
When I get back, I'm adding Herald of Orange Light and Agido the Ancient Sentinel to my own build—
let's see if those Kshatri-La maniacs still dare banish my family again!"
"Normal operation," You Ye said, waving his hand casually.
"That's just standard play for modern Tearlaments."
As his words faded, the empty white void began to glow faintly blue.
From within that light, four cards materialized in Kitkallos's hands.
At the same time, a glowing blue "Yellow" symbol slowly appeared on You Ye's arm—
The mark of his first duelist rank.
His journey as a true Duelist had officially begun.
When the glow finally receded, Kitkallos threw her arms around him excitedly,
holding out the cards for him to see.
"You Ye, look! I can finally give you new cards—our Tearlaments end-bosses:
Tearlaments Rulkallos and Tearlaments Kaleido-Heart,
plus our signature Traps—Tearlaments Cry Heart's Echo and Tearlaments Sorrowful Choir!"
"With these, we're almost complete! Aside from one useless field spell, our pure Tearlaments lineup is whole!
Once you get duplicates of these cards, you'll finally be able to use me!"
"Use you?"
He accepted the cards with a mischievous grin, looking at the flustered mermaid spirit.
"N-No! I mean, use Tearlaments!"
Her cheeks flushed crimson as she jumped back from his embrace.
"Don't run," he said, laughing softly.
"Consider that a little interest for all your help. Next time we meet, we'll settle the rest."
He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.
The scene dissolved instantly—
The world shifted, colors faded,
and when You Ye opened his eyes again,
he was back on the stone altar.
Only the four new cards in his hand proved that the experience had been real.
"Congratulations, Senior! You've completed your certification—and even obtained new cards!"
Chang Xingge hurried forward with a bright smile.
Her eyes darted to the four cards in his hand, shining with genuine admiration.
"Yeah," You Ye nodded with a grin.
"That was worth it.
Not only satisfying—very rewarding."
With the core Tearlaments cards now complete, and the generic staples he'd redeemed earlier,
he only needed a handful of Graveyard-effect monsters and a few Extra-Deck pieces to be ready to launch.
"Satisfying?" Chang Xingge and Mu Ning exchanged curious glances.
"Yeah," You Ye sighed dramatically.
"Too bad it ended halfway through—
the Duel Rules fled before I could even finish my combo."
The two women inhaled sharply.
The Rules themselves had run away?
It sounded unbelievable—but they both believed him without question.
Mu Ning had seen his strength firsthand,
and Chang Xingge knew no Yellow-Rank duelist in recorded history had ever been rewarded with four new cards.
Even a King-Rank duelist had only received two.
For You Ye to get four… the implications were staggering.