Fall of 346, A.D.
Kai had just left another bouquet at Ariel’s and was on his way to help Sunny in the workshop. It was sad, really. On the only evening without a bonfire, the best use of his time was fixing old machines. But working with Sunny brought a kind of comfort—steady, quiet, and distraction enough from everything else.
At least things couldn’t get any worse. Alex was gone, Ariel was angry at him, and his relationship with the sector was fraying. He’d hit rock bottom. Surely the only way left was up.
As he turned onto the street where the workshop stood, he was surprised to find Trudy waiting there.
“Hello, Kai.”
That wasn’t like her. Trudy usually spent her free evenings asleep, buried under thick blankets. Something about seeing her standing here, so still, put him on edge.
“Hey, Trudy. What’s up?”
“Why don’t we go have some tea together?” she said. “Let’s walk back to my house. Clara brought me some herbs the other day, and I think you’ll like the brew I’ve put together.”
The invitation wasn’t strange on its own—Trudy often made time for tea. But there was something off. Her voice, the careful choice of words, the way she didn’t quite meet his eyes.
A strange heaviness settled over him, like the light had shifted without the clouds moving. Was this about Ariel? He studied Trudy’s face more closely and caught a flicker of pity.
His stomach dropped.
“Is something wrong?”
She said nothing.
The silence was enough. The gears in his head turned, one thought clicking into another until a shape formed. Sunny was the only person who lived on this street.
“Is Sunny okay? What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, child.”
“I have to see it.”
“Don’t, Kai. The street’s in quarantine.”
But he was already running.
Through his mind rushed the memory of his parents’ death and the outbreak that had nearly decimated the entire sector. Not again. It couldn’t be. Where could she have even caught it?
When the workshop came into view, his worst fear was confirmed. A thick black 'X' had been painted across the door. Even from here, the precision of it struck him. Sunny had marked it herself.
Kai fell to his knees.
Sunny had caught the Blight.
*
Present, 353rd Daisy exams, Round of 32.
Recipes hadn’t just helped him unlock the legendary [Scrapdroid] card last round—they’d also revealed more about how Daisy thought, and how the Trials were really structured.
The ones in the library, in particular, offered insight into capturing abstract concepts on camera.
I just hope these lead to a powerful card too.
Kai reached for the components he needed to recreate the recipe.
Sadness ?? (Common) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 2
Knowledge ?? (Uncommon) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 3
Affection ?? (Uncommon) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 3
Loyalty ?? (Rare) ×2
HP: 1 | VP: 6
Each of these cards only had one hit point, making them single-use in crafting. Even if he wanted to heal them, he didn’t know how.
“Here goes nothing,” Kai muttered as he followed the recipe.
[Sadness ??] + [Knowledge ??]
?? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Wisdom ??].
Wisdom ?? (Rare)
The ability to use knowledge and discernment, making good practical decisions.
HP: 1
VP: 6
“Not bad.” He tried the next recipe.
[Affection ??] + [Loyalty ??]
?? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Love ??].
Love ?? (Legendary)
Unwavering attachment to something or someone. The most powerful human emotion.
HP: 1
VP: 10
How about that? Love is a legendary card!
Kai felt a flicker of hope return. Maybe there was still a way to close the gap with his opponent. If [Scrapdroid] had taught him anything, it was that following a line of logic could lead to something incredible.
He just had to see what happened when these two came together.
Kai set the [Wisdom] card on the table. As he reached for [Love], he hesitated.
He always got nervous when crafting with legendary cards.
The table hummed to life... then quickly went dark.
[Love ??] + [Wisdom ??]
?? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting failed!
“What a letdown.”
Kai took a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the scoreboard. Things weren’t looking good. These recipes had led him nowhere.
He scanned the table, hoping something—anything—would spark an idea. But nothing came to mind. [Spider Web] looked promising, but he couldn’t think of a single card it might pair with.
He had over sixty [Ash] cards courtesy of [Fire], but they were only useful with [Water]—and he was out.
Then his eyes landed on [Child]. The weakest card he had ever collected. Suspiciously weak.
“What can a [Child] card be merged with?” he asked aloud, trying to get his creative gears turning.
Maybe, like animal cards, it would work with tools... but he didn’t have any left. His [Fire Axe] was spent. Besides, the idea of equipping a child with an axe felt deeply wrong.
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His gaze drifted to the pile of emotion cards—and froze.
Could it really be that simple?
Emotions were a human thing. If anything could evolve a [Child], it would be them.
He hesitated. Last time he’d trusted his instincts, he’d burned through a massive number of cards chasing fire upgrades. He glanced at the empty space where his uncommon pile used to sit.
“In for a penny, in for a pound,” he muttered.
Even though he’d burned through all his uncommon cards, he still had plenty of commons left to feed the photocopier. It would cost him four victory points, but he sacrificed two [Ash] cards to copy [Sadness] and test the theory.
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Ash ?????] and [Ash ?????] for [Sadness ??].
Kai hurriedly tried pairing it with [Child] next.
[Child ??] + [Sadness ??]
?? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
[Child ??] has upgraded to [Sad Child ????].
Sad Child ???? (Common)
A child who is dealing with hardship and faces bouts of sadness.
HP: 1
VP: 1
Kai wasn’t sure whether to feel pleased for being onto something—or cry at how bleak this recipe was.
Poor kid. He’d just taken a card showing an innocent little angel and turned it into one of the saddest things he’d ever seen.
He hated himself for what he was about to do next. But he had to know how deep this rabbit hole went.
[Sad Child ????] + [Anger ??]
???? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
[Sad Child ????] has upgraded to [Rebellious Adolescent ??????].
Rebellious Adolescent ?????? (Uncommon)
A teenager who is going through a rebellious phase and struggles with excessive negativity and anger.
HP: 1
VP: 3
Kai had to give it to Daisy. Even if Albert claimed she wasn’t creative, there was no denying her imagination now. He could see exactly where this path was heading.
He was creating a little monster—but he had to know what would happen if he kept going.
A glance at the scoreboard and timer made his stomach sink. Only ten minutes left, and his opponent still held a 100-point lead. It was almost certain he wouldn’t make it to the next round.
In that moment, he felt like the card in his hand—caught in a storm of sadness and anger. He and Ariel weren’t going to get Allcure.
No more playing it safe. Even if these choices cost him a mountain of points, he had to follow the thread. He had to see it through.
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Oryx Lumberjack ???????] and [Oryx Lumberjack ???????] for [Loyalty ??].
These were the last two [Oryx Lumberjack] cards left, but he needed to create a safety net as he experimented.
[Rebellious Adolescent ??????] + [Loyalty ??]
?????? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
[Rebellious Adolescent ??????] has upgraded to [Radicalized Adult ??????].
Radicalized Adult ?????? (Rare)
A person whose strong convictions have hardened into action, often at the cost of nuance.
HP: 1
VP: 8
Interesting…
Up to this point, the stat lines of child-related cards had been underwhelming. But with this last upgrade, the numbers finally crossed an important threshold—surpassing what most similarly graded cards could offer.
If I keep going, there’ll be something special at the end. Something worth a lot of points.
Just in case, Kai made a copy of the [Child] card before continuing his experiments.
Copy successful! You’ve exchanged [Ash ?????] and [Ash ?????] for [Child ??].
Another four victory points down the drain.
It didn’t matter. He recreated the cards from Daisy’s recipes.
[Sadness ??] + [Knowledge ??] = [Wisdom ??]
[Affection ??] + [Loyalty ??] = [Love ??]
Kai took a deep breath. The time had come to follow what Daisy had intended with those recipes in the library.
[Child ??] + [Wisdom ??]
?? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
[Child ??] has upgraded to [Enlightened Child ????].
Enlightened Child ???? (Uncommon)
A young soul gifted with rare insight—innocence shaped by deep understanding.
HP: 1
VP: 5
It’s even better than the last one.
After merging [Child] with [Sadness], all he’d gotten was a slightly stronger common card. This time, though, the result had jumped straight to the uncommon tier—and its stats outclassed most cards at that level.
It also made more sense now why [Wisdom] and [Love] hadn’t worked out. They had nothing to stick to. But a child? A child was a clean canvas—one that could absorb and reflect those traits, elevating them into something greater.
Kai moved on to the next recipe. There were no do-overs. This was it.
[Enlightened Child ????] + [Love ??]
???? | HP: 1 → 0
?? | HP: 1 → 0
[Enlightened Child ????] has upgraded into [Benevolent Adolescent ??????].
Benevolent Adolescent ?????? (Rare)
A growing spirit who channels wisdom and compassion to guide others.
HP: 1
VP: 12
“Now we’re talking!” Kai exclaimed, grabbing the new card.
He studied the artwork. It showed an adolescent dressed in white, a gentle smile on his face. With children, the beauty was in their innocence—but here, he saw the beauty of potential.
Too bad there was nothing he could do to elevate it further.
Just as he was about to set it down, he froze.
Or was there?
Enlightened…
The word stirred a memory—of a card that now sat forgotten in his collection. One he barely used anymore.
He glanced at the scoreboard and the clock. Still behind. Still running out of time.
He shrugged. He had nothing to lose.
Time to trust his instinct.
[Benevolent Adolescent ??????] + [Light ?]
?????? | HP: 1 → 0
? | HP: +00 → +00
[Benevolent Adolescent ??????] has upgraded into [Illuminating Adult ???????].
Illuminating Adult ??????? (Legendary)
A human who has been forged in the fires of wisdom and love, now shining as a beacon for others.
HP: 0
VP: 20
Kai smiled as he held the new legendary card with pride.
Its artwork showed a man with a radiant smile and contagious joy. Just looking at it brought back memories of the people who’d raised him in the sector—stubborn Neil, whimsical Albert, pragmatic Sunny, and ever-paranoid Seth.
He chuckled, thinking of the days spent hiking through the mountains with Clara, or all the long, winding conversations he’d had with Trudy. The name of the card fit them perfectly. They were illuminating adults.
Without them, Kai knew, he could’ve easily turned out like the bitter, rebellious figure on the card from before. But thanks to their influence, despite everything, he and Ariel were happy. That thought brought another smile to his lips.
Maybe that made it okay. At least they would die knowing they had been happy.
He scanned the table and picked up [Radicalized Adult]. His thoughts turned to Alex.
Before he left, Alex had been lost—sad, angry, blindly loyal to Cassie. That loyalty had pulled him away from them. Kai had often wondered if he could’ve done more to help. Should he have pushed harder? Insisted Alex talk to someone?
If he’d opened up to the others… could it have changed anything?
He didn’t know. But maybe—just maybe—it wasn’t too late for the little figure now resting in his hand.
He reached for [Illuminating Adult].
[Illuminating Adult] + [Pharmacy]
Illuminating Adult | HP: 0→3
Pharmacy | HP: 4→0
Now that [Illuminating Adult] was healed, Kai placed it on the table, then reached for [Radicalized Adult].
“Hey, Daisy,” he said softly, speaking into the room. “Remember Alex? From my sector?”
He looked at the card in his hand. “Do you think he could’ve stayed?”
There was no real answer coming.
But Kai would let the crafting table decide.
[Illuminating Adult] + [Radicalized Adult]
Illuminating Adult | HP: 3→2
Radicalized Adult | HP: 1→0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Illuminated Adult].
Illuminated Adult (Legendary)
A human who has seen darkness but has been brought back into light.
HP: 0
VP. 10
“That’s what I thought.”
Kai wiped the tears from his face and checked the score. Despite everything, his opponent still led by 130 points. He was done.
The tears came harder now. He pictured the moment he'd have to go home and tell Ariel the truth.
They hadn’t made it.
He sat there, hollow and numb, until the horn sounded—marking the end of the round.
Crafting round is over!
Uh?
Kai frowned. In previous rounds, he’d always been told what score he had received. This time, the system simply declared that the round had ended. No total. No breakdown. Why had the notifications changed?
A new message blinked onto the screen.
A solar breeze blows through your opponent’s cards. All enemy cards with zero HP are destroyed.
He stared at the notification, then glanced at the scoreboard. His opponent’s score dropped—174 points gone in an instant.
“What…?”
For a moment, he stood frozen. The numbers didn’t lie. He had closed the gap. He was ahead.
He had won.
“I’ve won…” he said, dazed. “I’ve won. I’ve won!”
The rush hit all at once. Just seconds ago, he had accepted his loss, his death. And now? He was alive—and victorious.
Once the initial shock passed, he reread the system messages. For a while, he’d questioned whether investing so much into that upgrade had been worth it. All those cards poured into feeding fire. The cost of evolving it into a mythic card.
But now he understood.
The upgrade baked into Red Star hadn’t just been powerful—it had been brutal. A silent, sweeping attack that gutted his opponent’s board in the final seconds.
Just how many cards had it destroyed?
Congratulations! You’ve earned 178 points. Your 178 victory points have been converted to 178 upgrade coins.
The following cards will now be destroyed:
[Pharmacy ??]
[Sadness ??] ×3
[Wisdom ??] ×2
[Love ??] ×2
[Affection ??] ×2
[Loyalty ??] ×3
[Lye ??] ×2
[Illuminating Adult ???????]
Kai almost felt bad for his opponent. They must have received the same notifications—just in reverse. First, their cards with zero HP had been destroyed. Only afterward were their remaining points calculated.
I’ve lost fewer cards than in the last few rounds, he realized, scanning the short list.
Thanks to the addition of the [Photocopy Machine], most of the cards he’d spent on crafting had been reused to produce more. He was finally making his points count.
That thought jolted him.
He hadn’t stored anything in the fridge. He’d been so convinced he was going to lose that he’d stopped planning for the next round.
He scrambled to act, stuffing [Illuminating Adult] and [Unicorn] into the fridge just in time.
A few seconds later, another notification appeared.
[Light ?] | HP: +∞
[Lightning Rod ??] ×2 | HP: 1 → 0
[Mega Scrapdroid ????] | HP: +∞
[Power Outlet ??] | HP: 3 → 2
[Red Star ??] | HP: +00
[Spider Web ???] | HP: 2 → 1
[Spider Web ???] | HP: 3 → 2
Congratulations! You’re among the 32 trial runners who passed through to the next round.
You have 4 hours and 13 minutes to select your upgrades and rest.
Kai collapsed on the ground, exhausted. He’d made it. He had made it through to the next round.
[Curiosity ??] + [Future ??]
?? | HP: 2 → 2
?? | HP: 1 → 0
Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [Early Access ????].
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