The morning after his training match with Seta-sensei, Rai awoke before the Academy bells had even begun to chime. He sat cross-legged on his futon, breath calm, eyes half-lidded as he waited for the system's soft pulse of acknowledgment.
It came as a warm flicker behind his eyes.
Daily Draw Available.
Without hesitation, he whispered the command:
"Draw."
The glowing interface appeared briefly before him, cards shifting in a slow spiral of motion. One brightened and slipped forward like it had chosen him.
> [Swords of Revealing Light]
Spell Card – Continuous
"Flip all monsters your opponent controls face-up. This card remains on the field for 3 turns. As long as it remains on the field, your opponent cannot declare an attack."
Rai blinked.
This one felt different.
The card had weight—not physical, but spiritual. A presence. He summoned it with a slow breath, focusing chakra into the construct.
Three radiant blades of light shimmered into the air around him, floating like slow-moving comets. The moment they stabilized, Rai felt a steady drain in his core. Not overwhelming, but constant.
He stood and faced one of the practice dummies. Though it didn't move, Rai imagined a threat advancing—and the blades glowed faintly in response, extending just slightly as though reacting to intent.
Then, ten seconds later, the swords shimmered and blinked out.
He staggered slightly as the drain ceased.
That was nothing like Shrink, he thought.
Where Shrink hit like a snap—a ten-second pulse of power that left nothing behind—Swords had anchored itself into the world. Even when doing nothing, it demanded chakra. It had lingered, visible and reactive. A ward, not a strike.
It was the first clear differentiation he'd seen between cards that ended this turn and those that remained on the field.
---
Later that day, Rai discussed the experience with Seta during a private session.
"So it lasted the full ten seconds," Seta said, scribbling notes onto a thin chakra-sealed slate. "But only when you continued to feed it."
Rai nodded. "The moment I stopped fueling it, it faded. Like a jutsu with a long seal chain, except the card holds the seal."
"And Shrink?"
"One burst. Like tossing a flash tag. No upkeep."
Seta grunted. "Two types of spells, then. Tactical and sustained. Chakra cost defines duration for one, but not the other."
Rai let out a slow breath. The Reliquary wasn't a game. It was chakra manipulation at the highest level, filtered through ancient logic.
---
By evening, the Raikage's office received another report.
> "Swords of Revealing Light," the aide said, setting the file down. "A containment effect. Rai is beginning to experiment with battlefield control."
The Raikage leaned back, fingers steepled.
"Good. Let him explore. Give him the time and resources he needs."
He glanced at the ceiling.
"The more we understand about these cards, the better our chances if others like him ever appear."
---
Outside, Rai walked home with the card floating quietly behind him like a silent guardian.
Tomorrow, he would test it in a spar.
And he was beginning to understand: not every draw was a weapon.
Some were tools.
Some were answers.