The island had barely begun to recover from the Seal of Wrath when a chilling fog descended upon Duel Academy. It rolled in from the sea like a silent tide, blanketing the campus in an unnatural frost. Trees iced over in seconds, and the temperature plummeted despite it being midday.
Kaito stood outside the Obelisk Blue dorm, his breath visible in the air. Students nearby huddled together, shivering not just from the cold—but from the creeping sense of dread.
"It's starting," Kaito whispered.
Inside the academy's command center, Bastion brought up satellite images of the island. "The center of the cold front is moving inland from the coast," he reported. "At the eye of it—unreadable energy signatures, but there's no mistaking it. The fourth seal has opened."
Zane's gaze was hard. "This isn't just climate manipulation. The frost is spiritual. It's attacking the core of Duel Energy itself."
Pegasus appeared again via hologram, his expression grave. "The Seal of Despair. Its purpose is to sever hope. Duelists will lose more than their cards. They'll lose their will."
Chancellor Sheppard turned to the others. "We have to contain this before it spreads to the mainland."
As snow fell over the island, a haunting melody echoed across the academy grounds.
In the heart of the frozen forest near the cliffs, the seal pulsed—an icy glyph etched into a frozen lake. A pale figure stood at its center: Saphira, the long-missing student who vanished weeks ago.
She was no longer the same.
Clad in crystalline armor and crowned with a tiara of frost, her Duel Disk shimmered with ice. Her once warm aura now radiated silence.
A cloaked messenger of Veylorn emerged behind her.
"Your despair birthed this seal, Saphira. Now use it. Bury their hope beneath your sorrow."
Her eyes—cold and hollow—narrowed. "I remember now. How they left me behind. Forgotten. I'll make them feel the same emptiness."
Kaito, Jaden, and Alexis traced the energy trail to the frozen lake. As they approached, ice coated their boots and Duel Disks crackled with interference.
"There!" Jaden pointed. "That's—Saphira?!"
She turned slowly, the seal glowing beneath her feet.
"You didn't look for me," she said, her voice monotone. "None of you did."
Kaito stepped forward. "We thought you were lost. We didn't give up."
"But you did," she replied. "You just moved on. Like I never existed. So now, I'll erase all of you."
She activated her Duel Disk. "Face me. If you still care, show me through the cards."
DUEL!
Saphira: 4000 LP
Kaito: 4000 LP
She began by summoning Cryo Wraith – Alure, followed by her field spell: Despair's Domain, turning the battlefield into a wasteland of broken statues and ice-covered ruins.
"Each turn, your monsters lose 500 ATK. This is my despair. Slow, inescapable."
Alure struck directly, and Kaito's LP dropped to 3000.
Kaito drew, unfazed. "I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and equip Crystal Flame Lance!"
Even with the ATK reduction, Blue-Eyes roared to life, launching a searing blast that shattered Alure.
Saphira didn't flinch. "You don't understand. I don't want to win. I want to make you feel helpless."
On her next turn, she played Frozen Monarch – Glaciera, freezing Blue-Eyes in place and halving its stats.
Kaito grimaced. The ice wasn't just physical—it numbed his bond with Blue-Eyes.
Watching from afar, Jaden clenched his fists. "She's not dueling to win. She's dueling to break him."
Alexis nodded. "She's drowning in her own pain."
Kaito closed his eyes. "Blue-Eyes… we're not giving in."
From his deck, a pulse of light. He drew his next card.
"I summon Azure Vanguard – Kaelion!"
The knight-like dragon exploded onto the field in radiant blue armor. "And with his effect, I free Blue-Eyes from its ice."
Blue-Eyes' wings shattered the frost as Kaelion raised his shield. Together, they launched a combo attack, reducing Saphira's LP to 800.
But instead of fear, she smiled.
"I wanted this pain to end. I wanted someone to reach me." She raised one final card. "Then prove it, Kaito. End this duel... and don't look away."
Kaito nodded. "With everything I have... Final turn!"
He activated Azure Unity, fusing Kaelion and Blue-Eyes into Azure Monarch – Aetherion, a dragon of radiant purity.
"Aetherion, Divine Wrath Flare!"
The seal cracked with the explosion. Saphira collapsed into Kaito's arms, tears thawing the frost on her cheeks.
Later that night, with the seal broken and Saphira in recovery, Kaito stood on the cliffs, staring into the mist-covered horizon.
"That's four seals now," Alexis said beside him.
"And each one cuts deeper," Kaito replied.
From below, the ocean glowed with strange light.
A new voice drifted on the wind. Cold. Confident.
"Despair was only the beginning. Now comes the Seal of Chaos."