Panda_Novel

In the mystical city of Yūrei-no-Machi, where destiny is dictated by enchanted playing cards, the legendary Kagura Mei reigns as the Scarlet Queen. Gifted with the power to alter fate with a single draw, Mei is both feared and worshiped, her decisions shaping the rise and fall of empires. But when the exiled prince Ryūji Takeda seeks her aid to reclaim his lost throne, Mei finds herself caught in a dangerous game against unseen forces who seek to control fate itself. As treachery weaves through the shadows and the boundary between destiny and free will blurs, Mei must wager everything—including her own heart—to uncover the truth behind the cursed deck that holds the world’s future.

Scarlet Queen Of Fate

The temple ruins stood on the verge of collapse. Dust and shattered stone swirled through the air, obscuring the battlefield where Yue Rin and the masked warrior clashed. Their weapons gleamed under the blood-red moon, their movements too fast for the ordinary eye to follow.

The masked warrior's black blade pulsed with ominous energy, while Yue Rin's spear burned like a miniature sun, its flames casting wild shadows across the broken walls.

Yue Rin exhaled sharply, blood trickling from the wound on her shoulder. She tightened her grip on her spear, her body aching, but her spirit unyielding.

The masked man tilted his head, golden eyes gleaming with something akin to approval.

"You're still standing," he mused, voice calm despite the destruction around them. "Impressive. But you haven't shown me your true power yet."

Yue Rin gritted her teeth. "You want to see my true power?"

A sudden shift in the air—like the calm before a storm.

She took a step forward, her spear trembling as a surge of energy burst from her core. The golden flames flickering around her weapon turned scarlet, twisting and raging as if feeding off her anger.

The masked man narrowed his eyes.

"Ah," he murmured. "So you've finally tapped into it."

The ground beneath Yue Rin shattered, an explosion of energy erupting outward. The ruins trembled as the sky above twisted, turning darker, as if reacting to the shift in her power.

The flames around her spear coiled like a living beast, its heat suffocating.

The masked man barely had time to react before she moved.

Yue Rin vanished from sight, reappearing behind him in a burst of speed. Her spear whipped around, the flames extending into a blazing arc aimed directly at his back.

The masked man turned at the last second, his blade rising to parry—

The impact sent him skidding backward, his boots leaving deep gouges in the ground.

She pressed forward, attacking relentlessly, her spear a blur of golden-red fury.

Each movement faster and stronger than before.

The masked man, so composed before, now struggled to keep up. His blade met her attacks, but for the first time—it wavered.

She lunged, twisting mid-air and driving the tip of her spear straight toward his chest—

A shockwave exploded outward as her spear connected. The masked man was sent flying, crashing through a half-collapsed wall. The rubble buried him in an instant.

Yue Rin stood in the middle of the ruins, chest rising and falling rapidly. The air around her still burned with the lingering heat of her power.

She clenched her fist, feeling the raw energy coursing through her veins.

For the first time in this battle—

From beneath the rubble, a low chuckle echoed.

And then, with a terrifying burst of dark energy, the masked man rose from the wreckage.

A thin line of blood ran down his jaw, but his smile remained.

"…Now that," he said, brushing off the dust, "was fun."

Yue Rin's breath caught in her throat.

The Crimson Awakening