Descartes Town, though not large in area, is a necessary stop along the route from XYZ Academy to the Imperial Capital.
Because the Empire strictly forbids anything related to magic stones, carriages remain the most common means of transportation within the Varian Empire.
Traveling by carriage from XYZ Academy takes two days to reach the capital, so Descartes Town naturally becomes the best place to rest for the night along the way.
"The world has been rather unsettled lately."
After enjoying the dinner provided by the inn, Korys Diane, who had a habit of taking a walk after meals, strolled alone by the lakeside outside the town.
Though she spoke of troubled times, she was still a beautiful girl who dared to walk alone after sunset.
Well, even if someone harbored ill intentions toward Korys, the moment they saw the Spirit Eyes on her arm, they would abandon any such thoughts.
For an ordinary person to pick a fight with a Duelist was practically the same as courting death.
"I hope Mother is alright."
Casually picking up a stone by the lakeside, Korys skipped it across the water, creating five perfect ripples.
The reason she said the world was unsettled was that Korys Diane, who was still studying at XYZ Academy, had received news from her sister Sylvia that their mother had suddenly fallen ill.
Although it was hard to describe the situation through the brief message sent via Recorder Bug,
Korys still learned that her mother's illness was related to the extremely exaggerated duel between a god and tofu that had taken place in the sky over the Spirit Continent a few nights ago.
As the Diane family, which governed religious faith within the Varian Empire, their own god had been defeated by a piece of tofu. It was no wonder that her mother, as the head of the family, had collapsed from the shock.
Looking at the lake surface, which rippled and then gradually calmed, Korys sighed. "I have a feeling something big is about to happen."
This wasn't just baseless intuition.
Even if it sounded a bit self-congratulatory, Korys's intuition was extremely accurate.
As for why, Korys Diane was, after all, the holder of one of the Millennium Items, the Millennium Necklace.
The primary ability of the Millennium Necklace was to allow its wearer to glimpse the near future.
"So… have you seen this future, Korys Diane?"
From the darkness, a figure appeared without warning beside the silent lakeshore, instantly putting Korys on high alert.
Dressed in a black robe at night, approaching, and already having activated their Spirit Eyes before revealing themselves.
There was no need to think; they were hostile.
"Seen the future?" Korys caught the keyword precisely. "So you also know the secret of the Millennium Necklace?"
"Heh, sorry. None of the Millennium Items are a secret to me."
From the chest of the black-robed figure, an artifact slowly emerged, the sound of metal clinking faintly in the wind.
"That's… the missing Millennium Ring!"
The shocking revelation left Korys Diane, who usually appreciated beauty, with no attention to spare for the graceful figure hidden beneath Alice's black robe.
"Don't worry. In a moment, the Millennium Necklace around your neck will also gain the prefix 'missing.'"
"I see. So that's your target."
Following the destiny that Millennium Item holders are drawn to one another, Korys gently touched the Millennium Necklace resting against her neck.
"Is there no room for negotiation?"
By the time Korys came back to her senses, a Shadow Game barrier had already sealed off the area around her body; The opponent had no intention of leaving her any chance to escape.
Within a Shadow Game, once a duel begins, the outcome is either death or severe injury.
"Oh? And how do you propose we negotiate? Let's hear it." Alice was not someone devoid of mercy.
"There's no need to negotiate." Korys suddenly changed her tone. "I've already seen it. The future!"
The brief exchange of words just now had given Korys enough time to use the power of the Millennium Necklace to glimpse a short fragment of the future.
If that future was true, there would indeed be no need for negotiation.
Thus, having seen the future, Korys decisively made what she believed to be the best choice.
The girl raised both hands above her head.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
There was no way to win.
That was the future Korys had seen.
A Deck that devoured everything… was that kind of power really real? The one standing before her was a genuine monster.
From just a few fleeting images of the future, Korys had already grasped the overwhelming gap in strength between them.
So rather than stubbornly fighting in a Shadow Game she knew she couldn't win; it was better to decisively surrender, so at least she could save her life.
"After all, your goal is just the Millennium Necklace, right? I'm willing to hand it over."
"..."
Alice fell silent for quite a while.
Korys Diane was a well-known, strong Duelist among the third-years at XYZ Academy, at least strong enough to represent the academy in exchange duels.
So before coming here, Alice had already prepared herself for an intense battle.
In the end, she hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
The situation had progressed so smoothly that all the emotions Alice had been building up felt wasted.
Elra: "As expected of the Millennium Necklace that can glimpse the future! What a genuinely practical ability, hahaha!"
From within the Millennium Ring, Elra's tone and laughter made her good mood unmistakable.
With the addition of the Millennium Necklace, the number of Millennium Items Alice possessed had already reached five.
Only two remained: the Millennium Key sleeping beneath Fusion Academy, and the Millennium Puzzle on Aisha Carlos.
"Very well. I accept your surrender."
Alice gave a slight nod, but remained extremely cautious. She did not deactivate her Spirit Eyes, nor did she dispel the Shadow Game barrier, leaving Korys with no way to escape even if she wanted to.
For the sake of survival, no matter how unwilling she was, Korys still removed the Millennium Necklace from her neck.
"You said earlier that none of the Millennium Items are a secret to you, right? Then do you know this?"
Korys carefully placed the removed Millennium Necklace into Alice's hand.
"I can still see the future one last time. At the moment the Millennium Necklace leaves its holder, they will glimpse the future one final time.
"And this time, it won't be brief."
Unlike the usual short glimpses of a few minutes ahead, this was fundamentally different.
It was as if the Millennium Necklace itself was leaving behind a final legacy for its holder.
In that instant, Korys saw the most distant future she had ever witnessed in her life.
"Do you think what you're doing is worth it?" Korys asked meaningfully, having glimpsed that distant future.
"Whether it's worth it or not doesn't matter. Someone has to bear this darkness."
After taking the Millennium Necklace, Alice did not linger; she concealed her presence and turned to leave.
The lakeside of the town returned to silence. Korys hugged her knees and sat on the ground outside.
"Someone will stop you in my place. Definitely!"
Among the scenes of that distant future, there was one that left the deepest impression on Korys.
The girl she liked, Ren Austin, picked up the Millennium Key of her own accord to stop all the Millennium Items from being gathered by the Millennium Ring.
---
The next day, inside the Imperial Palace.
Miles once again stood before the Emperor's throne.
Perhaps knowing that Miles and the others would be leaving the Empire tomorrow, Quaedes had specially summoned him… alone.
The familiar cold grand hall, the familiar cold throne, and the familiar cold girl.
Two days ago, Miles had been directly abducted here and nearly forced into something.
Now, returning to the palace, Miles stood as the hero who had saved the Varian Empire.
Sometimes, the way things developed was just that strange.
"Miles, although I have already expressed my gratitude, mere words are not enough to convey my respect for you saving the Empire. So before you leave, ask for whatever reward you desire from me."
"So it's a reward?"
Before coming here, Miles had imagined all sorts of reasons why Quaedes would summon him alone.
Perhaps the memories Quaedes left him that night were simply too vivid.
All the reasons he imagined were subconsciously tied to things like being forced, passing on genes, or having children.
And yet, it turned out to be just about rewarding him.
But if it was only about a reward, did Quaedes really need to go through the trouble of summoning him alone before the throne, avoiding everyone else?
Seeing Miles remain silent, Quaedes frowned and pressed further, "What is it, Miles? Is there nothing you wish to ask of me as a reward?"
What he wanted… faced with such a solemn question from the Emperor, Miles found himself at a loss for an answer.
Rare cards?
With the support of the Republic Knight badge, Miles no longer lacked high-tier Spell Cards.
Wealth and money?
The millions of gold coins Kaima had given him were already more than he knew how to spend.
Power and status?
That was probably what Miles hated the most. There was no way he'd waste such a valuable reward opportunity asking for something he despised.
However, thinking about it this way, Miles suddenly realized something.
He seemed to have almost no desires at all!
But looking at Quaedes's extremely serious expression, it felt like if Miles didn't ask her for something, he would be disrespecting her position as Emperor.
"Go on, Miles, tell me," Quaedes urged. "No matter what you want, it's fine."
"Really? Anything I want?"
"An emperor does not go back on their word."
Since Quaedes had said that much, Miles decided to ask for something a bit extra.
"Then give me this ring."
Miles raised his hand. The ring on his finger was precisely the Emperor's Ring, which he hadn't yet returned to Quaedes; the one ring that sealed the strongest emperor's Water Xyz power.
"You want the Emperor's Ring, Miles?" Quaedes raised an eyebrow.
"So it's not possible after all."
Miles also knew that his request might be a bit unreasonable.
After all, this was a national-level Magic Tool passed down through generations of emperors.
The fact that Quaedes had lent him the ring during the decisive battle was already an unprecedented exception under special circumstances.
"If not, then forget—"
"No problem."
"Huh? Really?"
"I already said, an emperor does not go back on their word."
Miles had actually managed to get the ring.
Even so, the fact that Quaedes handed over the Emperor's Ring, something that should never be given to an outsider, so easily, instead made Miles feel uneasy.
Could it be that Quaedes was planning something strange, like some kind of ring retrieval scheme later on?
"To begin with, since I gave you this ring before the duel, I never intended to take it back," Quaedes said.
"But this ring is passed down among emperors. If I, an outsider, take it away, wouldn't that break the Empire's traditions?" Miles confirmed again.
"Miles, you need to understand.
"Right now, I am the Emperor. Whether something is tradition or not is something I decide with a single word."
As expected of the Empire's strongest emperor… truly willful, a personality Miles quite liked.
"However, what I didn't expect was that you would choose the Emperor's Ring as your reward. Taking something I didn't even plan to reclaim as your reward… are you sure that's fine? If you have any other requests, feel free to say them."
"There's nothing else, Quaedes," Miles said honestly. "I don't have anything else I want right now. Even if you force me to think of something, I can't come up with anything."
"I see. Very well." Quaedes nodded.
"Since you can't think of anything to ask me, I have a suggestion. I wonder if you're interested."
"A suggestion?"
"Tell me, Miles… do you want to go to the Spirit Sanctuary this year?"
"The Spirit Sanctuary!"
This was indeed the place Miles most wanted to go right now.
However, within the Spirit Continent, the restrictions for entering the Sanctuary were so strict that they were practically elevated to the level of world rules.
The Spirit Sanctuary only allowed third-year Duel Academy students to enter once per year.
Everyone else, including the academy's instructors leading the group, could only wait outside.
Even if Miles wanted to go, as a first-year student at Fusion Academy, he would still have to wait more than two years before he could truly enter the Sanctuary.
"Can I really go this year?"
"I have my ways. You only need to answer me. Do you want to go to the Spirit Sanctuary or not?"
"I want to go!" Miles answered without any hesitation.
"Understood. You may leave for now. Just wait for my arrangements."
After leaving the palace, Quaedes still hadn't told Miles how she planned to get him in.
It wasn't until the next day, when Miles and the others were preparing to leave the Varian Empire, that Crown Prince Homar came rushing over with a document in hand.
"What is going on here?!"
"Brother, what happened?" Nova tilted her head curiously.
Pushing the document in front of everyone, Homar asked Miles in disbelief,
"Miles, when did you decide to transfer schools?"
"Transfer? There's no way I'd transfer."
This sudden question left Miles baffled.
However, the document in Homar's hand rendered him speechless.
"Transfer Approval. First-year student Miles of Fusion Academy is temporarily transferred into the third year at XYZ Academy."
At the bottom of the document were the signatures of two vice principals, along with Emperor Quaedes.
---
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