Chapter 6: Three Flames in the Fog

The summons came at dawn.

Three cards, glowing with shifting silver runes, floated into their camp like leaves caught on the wind. Caesar reached out first, grabbing one. The message burned into his thoughts without sound.

> [Tier Ascension Protocol – Level Two: Initiate Team Duel]

Participants: Caesar. Leo. Jack.

Arena: Fogvault.

Format: 3v3 — Elimination.

Time: Sunset.

Failure: Tier Penalty. Lockout: 3 Days.

Reward: Key to Tier Three. Bonus Deck Slot Upgrade.

Caesar's stomach tensed. He looked at Leo and Jack. Their expressions told him they'd received the same message.

"A team duel," Jack said. "We were waiting for it. Can't climb without one."

Leo grinned. "Finally."

"Fogvault," Caesar repeated. "Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't," Jack muttered, already pulling out one of his hacked info-slates. "It's one of the rotating arenas. They change layouts. No clear line of sight. Think smoke, gas, moving platforms. High tension."

Caesar stared at the card again. "We win, we move up."

Leo cracked his knuckles. "Then let's win."

---

They had six hours to prepare.

Jack upgraded his Barrier Link into a new support card — Resonant Grid, which could distribute shared shields across teammates. "We'll need coordination," he said. "No solos this time."

Leo replaced his old Pulse Arc with Twin Fang Breakers, giving him double-strike capability with recoil mitigation. "Close combat, close quarters. Let me go front."

Caesar made one change. He slotted the Echo Sigil card Nyra had given him. He hadn't accepted her House's offer formally—but this card… it felt like a key he'd need soon.

And deep inside, the Beast Core – Hollow Maw pulsed, quiet but aware.

The sun dipped below the island's jagged cliffs.

Time to fight.

---

Fogvault Arena floated on a jagged platform suspended in the clouds — a fortress of iron walkways, hanging bridges, and dense fog generators.

The dueling interface appeared before them, projecting their opponents:

> Opponents: House of Sky – Team "Peregrine Strike"

Aerial recon, speed-focused tacticians. Tier 2 veterans.

Three figures stood on the opposite platform. Light armor. Cloaks like wings. Decks hovering at their backs.

Caesar heard Jack whisper, "Sky players. Damn. They're fast."

The announcer's voice echoed across the void.

> Team Duel: Begin. Three versus Three. No Respawns. Fog active.

And then the mists rose.

---

They lost track of each other instantly.

Fog swallowed the arena. Platforms shifted with mechanical groans. Lights blinked in and out. Caesar activated his Focus Glyph, sending a pulse outward. He detected two life signatures—one behind, one above.

The first dive came fast.

A female duelist from Sky dropped from a bridge above, twin daggers flashing. Caesar barely ducked, countering with Chainshot — but she spun midair and vanished into the fog.

"Fast," he growled.

Then—Leo roared.

Somewhere left. A burst of flame. A shockwave.

Caesar followed the sound, sprinting across a twisting walkway. His Echo Sigil picked up residual data — movement trails, recent duels — enough to see glimpses of what happened moments ago.

Leo was fighting two opponents.

One was already downed.

Caesar dove into the fray, activating Ember Fist and slamming the remaining Sky duelist mid-lunge. Together, he and Leo finished the strike.

> Enemy Downed: Kera, Sky Class

Leo wiped sweat from his brow. "Where's Jack?"

Caesar frowned. "Didn't catch him. He peeled right."

Then a scream echoed through the fog.

Jack.

---

They ran.

Across steel planks and spinning gears, across a narrow arch barely holding. When they found him, Jack was cornered—shield flickering, bleeding from the side.

His opponent wasn't using conventional cards.

He was chanting.

A floating ring of glyphs surrounded him, and with each chant, his deck accelerated unnaturally. A Sky Ritualist—rare, but dangerous. He launched a wind vortex straight at Jack, nearly throwing him off the platform.

Caesar moved first. "Wild Echo!"

He duplicated Jack's Barrier Pulse, throwing a double-shield between the vortex and their friend. It cracked but held.

Leo hit next, appearing from the side with a Twin Fang Breaker slash that disoriented the Ritualist mid-chant.

Then Caesar finished it.

Hollow Maw.

The beast tore through the mist like thunder, tusks glowing with stolen sigils. It gored the Ritualist, sent him crashing into the fog.

> Enemy Downed: Tolen, Sky Class

The silence returned.

Jack coughed. "Thanks. That guy was nuts."

"One left," Caesar said.

They regrouped, forming a triangle. Jack reloaded shields. Leo flexed his fists, bruised but burning with energy.

And then—

A whistle.

It wasn't a signal.

It was a trap.

---

The final duelist was the Sky Captain. Name: Ryne.

She didn't attack head-on.

She weaponized the fog.

A card none of them had seen before activated: Mist Warden's Shroud. The fog deepened, then sharpened. Turned solid in flashes. Blades. Walls. Illusions.

They were isolated again—this time on purpose.

Caesar heard Leo shouting, but it was distant, warped. Jack vanished behind a shifting wall.

The Echo Sigil pulsed — trying to track patterns — but Ryne moved between layers of mist. Like she existed on a higher plane.

Then she was there, behind Caesar.

The dagger grazed his ribs.

He spun, bleeding, and lashed out with Ember Fist, but she vanished again.

A voice whispered:

"You're not like the others. What are you really?"

He didn't answer.

He activated the Maw again—but the beast flailed, confused in the mist.

> Hollow Maw – Disoriented. Vision Obscured.

He needed clarity.

So he gambled.

Echo Sigil – Overdrive

The card pulsed harder than ever before. The fog stuttered. Time slowed.

He saw her. Ryne was weaving through fog portals. Using mist mirrors. It was a Mirror Fog Deck — extremely rare. He mapped her path.

Then launched Chainshot – Predictive Arc.

The chain curved, ricocheted off a mirror, and struck her mid-phase.

She shrieked.

The mist thinned.

Jack and Leo reappeared—battered but holding their own.

Together, they advanced.

Leo struck first. Breaker Smash cracked her mirrored defenses.

Jack threw down Resonant Grid — strengthening their combined shields.

Caesar used the last of his energy to unleash a Wild Maw Echo, fusing his Beast Core with Leo's fire—creating a flame-covered Hollow Maw.

It charged. She fell.

> Victory: Caesar. Leo. Jack.

Team Duel Won. Tier 2 Cleared. Tier 3 Access Unlocked.

Deck Limit +1. Card Evolution Options Available.

Fogvault Arena Cleared. Reward Stored: [Whispered Sigil]

---

They exited into daylight.

Tier Three's gate was open — a massive obsidian stair curling into the clouds. Beneath their feet, a glyph branded itself onto the stone.

Leo looked up. "We're really doing it. One tier at a time."

Jack smirked, holding his ribs. "Three more to go, right?"

Caesar stared at the Whispered Sigil reward card.

Another gift.

Another mystery.

But for now… they had won.

And Tier Three awaited.

---

End of Chapter 6