The Protocol.

The tension in the air was so thick it could slice steel.

I stood at the edge of the raised platform, clutching the midnight Bey like a lifeline. The crowd encircling me stared with eyes wide and wary—not just curious anymore, but afraid. And I couldn't blame them.

Because even I felt it.

The moment Nox Phantom landed in my palm, something changed in the atmosphere around me. Like reality bent—ever so slightly—to accommodate a new variable. A glitch in the system.

"You didn't answer my question," The League Enforcer said again, his voice a low thunder.

I straightened my back, lips trembling but firm.

"I… I don't know where it came from. I just woke up here. It chose me."

Gasps echoed again.

"Chose…?" someone repeated under their breath.

The Enforcer narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand the weight of what you're saying, girl?"

Before I could reply, Kiyo stepped in front of me protectively.

"Hey, back off! She just woke up here like a minute ago, and you're already interrogating her like she's some criminal? Come on, man!"

The pale blue-haired guy followed beside him. "The bond is real," he said. "That was a true Spirit Protocol activation. You saw the vortex."

A flicker of hesitation passed across the Enforcer's face. For a moment, just a flicker. Then he waved his hand. A tiny drone buzzed from his shoulder and scanned the Bey in my hand.

[SCANNING... ERROR: NOX PHANTOM – UNRECOGNIZED ID]

[CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN]

[WARNING: POTENTIAL SIGMA-TIER ENTITY DETECTED]

"Sigma-tier…" the glacier guy whispered. "That's impossible."

The Enforcer gritted his teeth.

"This isn't something we can just let pass. You've activated a Bey that doesn't exist in any known registry, equipped with a full Spirit Link and a live core signature. That's not just unusual. It's dangerous."

I clenched the Bey tighter.

"I don't know how I got here, or what this thing is. But it feels like it belongs to me. And I'm not giving it up."

The Enforcer's stare was cold steel. "Very well. Then you'll prove it—by battle. Now."

"I already said she's not ready!" Kiyo barked.

"She doesn't have a choice,"

The Enforcer replied flatly.

"The rules of the Battle Nexus are clear. An unregistered Spirit Bond must be verified by a sanctioned duel. If she wins, she won't be restricted . If she loses… the Bey will be confiscated. And she will be detained."

"Detained? For what?" I snapped.

"For illegal Bey activation, Spirit-Tier class weaponry without proper control, and suspected breach of inter-dimensional regulations."

My mouth went dry.

What the hell did I fall into? But now...

It's better to face what's happening.

"Fine," I said, voice shaking. "I'll fight."

Kiyo turned toward me. "Are you sure?"

"No," I said honestly. "But I don't think I have another option."

Let's use all the observation of the bayblade matches I've seen so far.

He exhaled, then slapped a launcher into my palm.

"This is an ArcTrigger X-210. Standard in this city. Connect your Bey and trust your instincts. Let Nox Phantom guide the spin. Just remember—you're not alone in that battle."

I looked at the launcher. Sleek. Chrome blue. It felt light in my hand, yet powerful.

I gaze upon Nox Phantom.

A pause. A minute.

"Lets go for it buddy!"

For a sec my body felt that trusting Nox is my most perfect decision of life maybe.

With a foggy buzz Nox sparked at corner giving me a subtle smile on me.

I clicked Nox Phantom into place.

"Platform initializing," the announcer's voice echoed through the plaza.

The crowd pulled back as the arena dome around us retracted, revealing the combat stage: a massive circular steel surface, patterned with a glowing spiral grid. Mechanical launch pads hovered at both ends, their energy fields pulsing with neon rings.

A figure walked to the opposite platform.

My opponent.

A tall boy with visor goggles and a jacket lined with silver plates. He stepped onto the field with calm precision, launcher already resting in his gloved hand.

"This is Agen Rykel," the Enforcer announced. "Top 50th ranked Spinner in national tournament of bay Nexus."

"You'll battle with him. Show your skills, are they enough to control the bay so strong ."

He said this with back towards me .

He walked mid way near the stadium and looked toward Agen.

"No holding back . Launch at your fullest. "

What... This is gonna be hard for you steeva.

Hearing words from Enforcer Agen Rykel nodded once, no emotion on his face. His Bey shimmered with golden circuitry—a lion-shaped emblem with crackling plasma bolts coiling around it.

"Ready!?"

the announcer called.

I trust you Nox Phantom. Let's give our fullest.

Both of us positioned our launchers.

I steaded my hand as if I'll perform an operation.

"Set!"

I could feel Nox Phantom buzzing—not with sound, but sensation. Like static just under there.

And with the announcer even crowd howled―

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"LET IT RIIIIIP!!"

Our Beys exploded onto the stadium.

Agen's—'Voltigris Fang'—blazed across with an aggressive spiral pattern, carving plasma trails that seared the metal beneath. It was fast. Controlled. Refined. Every movement was deliberate.

Mine—

Nox Phantom didn't roar. It slithered.

It weaved in patterns that made no sense to the eye, flowing like mist across the field, phasing between the arcs of Voltigris's attacks with unsettling precision.

Voltigris missed almost many chances to make a hit on Nox and with this unsymmetrical pattern that made no sense while spinning, for a moment of relief I was thankful to the launch I regretted at start.

Even the crowd murmured.

"What kind of pattern is that?"

"It's like it's dancing with shadows—"

"Target lock," Rykel muttered.

Voltigris ignited, launching into a special move.

" SHADOW BREAKER!"

A spiral of plasma bolts shot toward Nox Phantom.

It looks amazing enough to please eyes yet horrifying enough to make me realize it's shooting for me, my blade Nox Phantom.

But then—

Everything felt slowed.

The world discern muted.

And I heard it.

A voice.

Not external—but from within.

Cold. Whispered. Calm.

"Bend, not break."

I blinked.

A moment of realization. I geathered my surgical focus back but unconsciously...., I tugged the launcher cord slightly. Phantom tilted off-axis and spun sideways—sliding along Voltigris's energy arc like it was surfing the blast itself.

The audience exploded in cheers and disbelief.

Even Rykel's eyes widened.

"That's… impossible."

Left from him in low.

Nox Phantom countered—

—and SLAMMED into Voltigris from behind.

A shockwave detonated from the impact. Voltigris skidded, spun sideways—and then...

"BURST!!"

Bits of golden parts scattered, with clinking noise.

Silence.

Then—

[NOX PHANTOM WINS WITH BURST FINISH. VICTORY OF STEEVA ]

All froze me.

I won?

I barely even understood what I just did.

Kiyo shouted like a madman, pumping fists into the air. The glacial guy smiled faintly. "She's not just new. She's chosen."

The Enforcer stepped forward again, his face unreadable.

"Well," he said. "Looks like you're not just a Spinner—you're something else entirely."

I looked down at Nox Phantom, still spinning gently in place before returning to my hand like it had a mind of its own.

"What am I…?" I whispered.

He didn't answer. Instead, he held out a black card with a red digital core in the center.

"Keep this safe " he said giving me .

He leaned in more. "Don't trust anyone. Not even the League. That Bey of yours—it's not just rare. It's forbidden. And if it awakened now…"

He paused.

"…then something worse is about to wake up next."

"Follow me, talk about this is necessary " he whispered in low dark voice.

World felt hollow for a blink.

I hesitated.

What's this man is up to. Are the thoughts stabing me . But—

The Enforcer's words weren't a warning—they felt like a veiled prophecy. One that chilled my bones more than this battle . I clutched Nox Phantom tighter, its core still pulsing faintly against my palm like a second heartbeat.

He turned without another word and walked toward a side corridor—dimly lit, veined with humming blue circuitry. No crowd, no cameras. Just shadow and silence.

Kiyo moved to follow, but the Enforcer raised a hand.

"Just her."

Kiyo froze.

"No way. She's not going in alone."

The pale-haired guy stepped between them. "Kiyo. Let her go. For now."

He scowled. "I don't trust him."

"Neither do I," he said. "But that's exactly why we have to know what he knows."

Although both of these guys are total strangers but my heart whispers I won't loose anything trusting them.

My eyes met Kiyo's. Rear, which hold guards and worry.

"It's okay," I said softly. "I need answers."

He gritted his teeth, then finally nodded. "Shout if anything goes sideways."

But I'm self-sufficient boy I can move my arms and legs to damage if something happens but for some reason these words assured me first time in life I lived so far.

I offered a smile. "I'll scream loud enough to crack the glass around."

Then I followed the Enforcer into the dark.

We walked in silence for what felt like an eternity.

The corridor narrowed, leading to a chamber deep beneath the Nexus Arena. Giant holographic panels lined the walls—maps of energy readings, Bey IDs, burst ratios, anomaly spikes. One panel flickered with a simulation of my match. Nox Phantom's energy signature was unlike anything else—it wasn't spiky or volatile. It rippled, like gravity in motion.

"Sit," he said.

I didn't argue.

He stood in front of a massive screen, tapping a command into his wrist interface. A glowing image appeared: an ancient Bey. Dark steel. Crimson glyphs etched around its ring.

"This," he said, "was Phantom Thanatos. A Bey forged over two centuries ago during the Spirit Catalyst War."

My lips curved down . "I've never heard of that."

Sure there was no mention of such term in all those many seasons I watched.

Is it a back story, that never showed?

"You wouldn't. It was erased from all League records—scrubbed, forbidden. Because it wasn't just a Bey… it was a core bearer. One of the Seven Sigmas."

"Sigmas… like what your drone said? 'Sigma-tier'?"

He nodded grimly. "Sigmas aren't just powerful Beys—they're alive. Fully awakened. They don't follow code. They rewrite it. And every time one awakens, something cracks in the Nexus. Something big."

He turned toward me slowly.

"Nox Phantom… is the eighth in my precision."

The words hit me like a brick.

"But you said there were only seven."

"There were. Until today."

The chamber dimmed as the screen shifted again. It now showed footage of a rift—space itself tearing open over a remote mountain range. Out of it, spiraled what looked like Bey fragments—but glowing, twitching, pulsing with dark ether.

"We've been monitoring anomalies like this for six weeks. We thought they were dimensional echoes. Fractures. But then you appeared—out of nowhere—your Bey fully formed, bonded, and functional. That's not coincidence."

"You think… I came from one of those rifts?"

"I don't think." He leaned closer. "I know."

My mind spun, a dozen questions fighting for attention.

Sure this travel of mine here and this bay which poped out of no where in my hand is more big deal to me than to you Mr. Enforcer.

"But why me? Why now?"

"We don't know." He lowered his voice. "But the League will want to dissect your Bey. Maybe even you. That card I gave is a leash more than a shield."

I stood slowly, heart pounding. "So what do I do?"

"You run. You learn. You train. You survive long enough to figure out why Nox Phantom chose you. And you stay far away from League headquarters until we know who's pulling strings behind the curtains."

"We?"

He smirked, just faintly. "Not every Enforcer drinks the Nexus tea."

This didn't fall to my concept .

He handed me a silver chip, no larger than a fingernail. "Encrypted coordinates. Hidden Spinner dojo outside the city. Only trust those who bleed in battle beside you." 

"Or Hide what you hold."

I took it. "What's at the dojo?"

"People who've seen what the League hides. Survivors of Sigma Bonds. Ghosts of the first war."

As I pocketed the chip, a distant alarm blared faintly through the walls. Something had shifted again. Something urgent.

He turned toward the exit. "Your fight isn't over, Steeva. It's just begun."

I exhaled, trying to steady my nerves. My Bey vibrated once in my hand, like it was agreeing.

As we stepped out of the chamber, Kiyo and the blue-haired guy rushed forward.

"You okay?" Both asked in unison.

I nodded. "Yeah. And we need to leave. Now."

The boy in blue raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Is something the matter?"

I looked over my shoulder as the Enforcer disappeared back into shadow.

"Because this Bey isn't just rare. It's a signal. And someone's already coming to seize it."

"Let's leave."

I'll enlighten you guys on way.

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