High atop a towering mountain among the blue clouds stood two mighty gods. They faced each other without moving, while gentle winds stirred their robes like a mischievous child seeking attention. Yet nothing could break the concentration of either side.
All around them lay countless corpses. A brutal battle had taken place, and they were the final two survivors. Strangely, neither of them carried even the slightest killing intent in their eyes. What remained was only respect and a sense of inevitability.
"The end of the world cannot be avoided, Sol. Everything will eventually decay until nothing remains but memories. This is how the universe functions. You cannot stop the inevitable."
The man in black shouted, his eyes bloodshot as the sword in his hand erupted with dark black flames. The fire spread in every direction, burning all the corpses around them into piles of ash.
In contrast, the white bearded old man remained calm and smiled gently. He breathed heavily before collapsing onto the ground, allowing the flames to slowly consume his body. Perhaps the man in black was right. The apocalypse truly could not be avoided. He had tried everything, yet all his efforts had ultimately been in vain.
"Still worth trying, is it not? Even if I failed this time, the next one will be different. Ha ha ha."
The old man gently held the black flame in his hand as though it were a priceless treasure. Then he closed his eyes as the dark fire engulfed his body. But it did not stop there. The flames spread farther and farther without any sign of slowing. Like a greedy serpent, it sought to devour the entire world.
In the end only the man in black remained sitting there. Alone. Cold. Everything had finally come to an end.
Suddenly a faint light flickered from where the old man's corpse had been. It formed into a white card before vanishing instantly. The man in black smiled and did not try to stop it. His mission had already been completed.
"Next time, Sol."
…
Today was an extremely important day for the children of Star City. At the vast Awakening Square countless children gathered, waiting for their turn to awaken their Destiny Card.
Like every other child, Most clenched his fists and hoped he would draw a powerful card. In this world, the Destiny Card determined one's social status. The stronger the Destiny Card, the greater the potential for growth, and the brighter the future of a Card Master.
More than fifty years had passed since Memory descended upon this world. Spatial rifts began to appear everywhere, and from within them countless monsters poured out, slaughtering humanity at terrifying speed. It was a catastrophic disaster. Against those creatures, humans were nothing more than weak fish on a chopping board waiting to be carved apart. The firearms and nuclear warheads humanity once took pride in became nothing more than harmless toys. Under the overwhelming power of the monsters, less than ten percent of humanity survived.
It seemed that humanity would perish completely.
But they did not.
Card Masters appeared. They wielded abilities drawn from Memory and launched a counterattack, pushing the monsters back into their rifts. Card Masters brought hope and officially opened a new era for the new humanity.
"Blue. My god. It is Blue."
On the awakening platform a child was surrounded by a strange light emitted from a transparent sphere. This awakening sphere was a special artifact capable of connecting directly with Memory. Every child under the age of fifteen had only one chance to draw their Destiny Card from it.
There were five card ranks distinguished by color. White, Green, Blue, Gold, Purple.
Of course there was another rank beyond those. The beings who possessed it were considered great existences among Card Masters and were classified by the Alliance as SSS rank. But the probability of such a card appearing was extremely low. Throughout more than a hundred years of human history, only five SSS rank Card Masters had ever appeared. They were the pillars of humanity, the leaders who created the final surviving environment for mankind in this world.
"Velena. Destiny Card awakening Blue rank Six Winged Queen Bee. Candidate Card Master rank C. Congratulations."
Velena jumped excitedly. A rank C Card Master was already quite impressive in a small city like Star. Once they completed their Deck in the future, they would become mid tier powerhouses. Some rank C Card Masters with special abilities were even comparable to rank B.
"Very fortunate. Velena is a smart child. With the Six Winged Queen Bee's venom ability she will likely grow into a decent Card Master."
An old man sitting not far away stroked his beard with a smile. He was the mayor of this city and a powerful rank C Card Master. His Deck also belonged to the Insect type, which was why he admired Velena and hoped to accept her as his disciple.
Beside the old man sat a beautiful middle aged woman. She said nothing, her gaze cold and distant. Perhaps the awakening quality in this small city was not enough to catch her interest. Although she was also a rank C Card Master, her status was clearly far from ordinary.
"Next. Most. Final year student of Moonlight High School."
The moment the announcer called his name, whispers spread through the Moonlight section.
"It is that orphan."
"That useless brat actually has the chance to awaken."
"Both his parents were rank F. If you ask me, that kid will not surpass that boundary either. Ha ha ha."
"His parents were fools. They offended people they should never have offended. Even if he awakens above rank C, he probably will not survive the day."
Ignoring the murmurs, Most slowly walked toward the awakening platform. Since childhood he had endured countless insults and humiliations from others. His will had long been tempered into something firm and unbreakable.
Most placed his hand on the transparent sphere. A chill spread from it, making him shiver. He closed his eyes tightly and gradually sank into Memory, searching for his Destiny Card.
Inside the endless white space his mind floated aimlessly. He drifted and drifted until he suddenly saw a white card lying silently alone. The card trembled as if choosing him. It shot toward Most like a streak of light and finally merged into his body.
"White. Ha ha ha. It is White. Did you see that. I told you he is nothing but trash."
The announcer shook his head. White was the lowest rank in the Card Master system. He seemed to know something about Most's past. A white card meant Most would never be able to avenge anything.
"Most. Destiny Card awakening White rank Skeleton. Candidate Card Master rank F."
When the white light appeared, the cold gaze of the middle aged woman softened slightly. It seemed her purpose for coming here no longer needed to be fulfilled. A mere rank F candidate Card Master would never amount to anything.
"Just a piece of trash. He will never become a threat to my family."
Everyone laughed and mocked him, enjoying another person's misery.
Only Most stood silently.
At this moment his mind was entirely focused on the white card before him. Something about it was wrong. No, it was extremely strange. The card itself was pure white, yet its edges were surrounded by a bizarre black flame.
More importantly, the card had a name.
Yes.
A white card with its own name.
"White Card. Skeleton Sol."
Impossible. Sol. Were white cards not supposed to be nothing more than insignificant cannon fodder?
Most trembled slightly. Suppressing his excitement, he slowly walked down from the platform. Those who mocked him believed he was in despair. The whispers and laughter grew louder and louder.
But only Most knew.
His card was very special.
It possessed not one, but two extremely powerful abilities.
Ability One: Apocalypse Flame
Decompose inactive cards to produce Enhancement EssenceLimited to White rank cards
Enhancement Essence can be used to strengthen and evolve cards
Ability Two: Memory of Sol
Monsters defeated by Sol can be transformed into Consumable CardsConsumable Cards are limited to White rank
Most clenched his fists tightly. A dark hatred flashed in his eyes.
"With these two abilities, I can avenge my parents."