Ashes Beneath the Petals - Silence After Fire

“Ascension!”

“Anti-War Maiden Zwei: Frederica Regillus!”

Vio shouted as she placed a card from her Extra Deck atop her Guide.

In the world of Guide Rise, Ascension is one of the core mechanics. To perform an Ascension, a player must first pay the required cost—3 OP for regular followers, or 5 OP for a Guide. Then, the designated Ascendant Card, marked specifically for that unit, is placed directly on top of the target card on the field.

Ascendant cards are stored in the Extra Deck, a special side deck separate from the main deck. Each player may include up to 23 cards in their Extra Deck, with a maximum of four copies of any single card.

When an Ascendant leaves the field—whether destroyed by battle, card effect, or through expulsion (Expel)—it does not return to the Extra Deck. Instead, both the Ascendant and the card beneath it are considered removed from the arena.

In the case of Ascendant Guides, when they leave the arena, the base Guide beneath them is returned to the Guide Zone, while the Ascendant card is sent either to the Rest Zone or Expelled, depending on the method of its removal.

“When Frederica Regillus is Ascended, I can activate her first effect for free!”

“I summon two ‘Anti-War’ followers from my hand, Rest Zone, or deck!”

“I call Anti-War Maiden, Claris and Anti-War Maiden, Vanessa—straight from my deck!”

“Because of Anti-War Dogma, my Battle Phase is automatically skipped!”

“Turn End!”

“At the end of my turn, Frederica Regillus’s second effect activates!”

“If I skipped my Battle Phase this turn, I inflict 1,500 points of Direct Damage to my opponent’s LP!”

“Impact Blast!”

Lisa LP: 6,000 → 4,500

“…You really are aiming to win, aren’t you?” Lisa remarked, eyeing her dwindling LP. Her voice had calmed, but that unhinged grin still lingered on her face.

“Of course,” Vio replied firmly.

“I’m honestly pissed, you know?” she added, glancing sideways at Liora. But Liora, focused intently on the cards arrayed across the playmat, didn’t notice the look at all.

“Right now, I’m not just trying to make you talk—”

“I want to prove to someone that I’m not weak.”

“Not now. Not ever.”

“…Not bad,” Lisa smirked, drawing a card from her deck as her turn began.

“But I’ll be the one who wins.”

“The path each Guide walks doesn’t always end the same!” Vio shot back, her voice burning with defiance.

“OP Limit increase!” OP 6 → 7

“I summon Pyro Dragon, Salamandra by paying 2 OP!”

“When Salamandra is summoned, I get to call a follower with a cost of 2 or less from my hand for free!”

“I summon Slasher Dragon, Gladius!”

“Gladius’s effect activates! I choose one of my followers—its ATK increases by 1,000 until the end of the turn!”

“I choose Ashendoom!”

Ashendoom ATK: 3,000 → 4,000

“But I’m not done yet!”

“I activate Ashendoom’s second effect! By paying 3 OP, I destroy all my own followers on the field. Ashendoom gains +1,000 ATK!”

Ashendoom ATK: 4,000 → 5,000

“Still not over!”

“I use Ashendoom’s first effect again! I pay 2 OP and Expel two followers from my Rest Zone!”

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“Until the end of the turn, Ashendoom can attack twice and gains Piercing!”

"One more thing!"

“There’s still more?!” Vio cried out, almost hysterical.

“Of course there is!” Lisa declared triumphantly, thrusting her fist into the air.

“I activate Frontier Protocol!”

“Since my LP is lower than yours, Ashendoom’s ATK increases by the difference in our LP—”

“—and all damage dealt to your LP by Ashendoom is doubled!”

“Scatter over the world... Petals of Hellrose!”

Ashendoom ATK: 5,000 → 6,500

“Frontier Protocol…?” Vio echoed, stunned as the phrase triggered a memory—

A phrase she’d heard so many times in her duels against Liora.

“That’s the same ability… Liora’s Guide has it too…”

"A skill that turns LP loss into an advantage... and doubles the damage to the opponent's LP."

Liora muttered under her breath.

To her, Lisa’s Guide was terrifying—its abilities were simple, but absolutely lethal.

“Battle!” Lisa shouted with fiery passion.

“Ashendoom, attack her Guide!”

Ashendoom soared even higher into the sky before diving down. With feral force, it slashed into Frederica, sinking its claws into her mechanical wing.

With a vicious spin, the dragon hurled her down to the ground. The impact left a massive crater where she landed.

Frederica struggled, using the energy cannon on her right arm as a crutch to push herself up…

But she collapsed.

“Looks like this is the end…” Lisa muttered after a quick mental calculation of the game state.

Strangely, there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Frederica Regillus ATK: 3,000

Ashendoom ATK: 6,500

Piercing Damage: 6,500 - 3,000 = 3,500 × 2 = 7,000

Vio LP: 6,000

Vio was—

“Not yet!!”

Vio’s voice rang out, loud and clear.

Lisa’s eyes widened in disbelief.

By any logical measure, Vio should have lost—there was no way to block that much damage.

“Claris’s effect activates!

When an enemy follower’s ATK is at least 1,000 higher than the total ATK of the ally it's attacking—

—this effect becomes free!

I send Claris and Vanessa to the Rest Zone, and cancel the attack!”

“What!?” Lisa growled, grinding her teeth.

She never expected Vio to have a trick like that hidden up her sleeve.

Thanks to Claris, Frederica managed to push herself back to her feet.

Ashendoom growled, furious. Its jaws opened wide, ready to breathe out its final, world-ending inferno.

“If you think that’s enough—Ashendoom can attack again!”

“HELL DESTRUC—”

“Vanessa’s effect in the Rest Zone activates!” Vio cut her off.

“When Vanessa is sent to the Rest Zone by a card effect, I can choose one of your followers. That follower can’t attack this turn!”

Just as Ashendoom prepared to unleash its annihilating breath, a streak of blue light fired from above—

—slamming into the dragon and knocking it off course, interrupting its attack.

Lisa snarled, stomping the floor in frustration again and again.

Then, after a few heavy breaths, she exhaled deeply.

She looked calm now—

Calmer than ever, even.

But her expression... somehow looked even brighter than before.

“Turn end...” she muttered quietly.

Ashendoom’s ATK returned to normal.

Vio, meanwhile, could do nothing but watch Lisa’s frustration unfold.

She wasn’t in the mood to enjoy it.

Her breathing was ragged.

She had no idea how she even survived that relentless assault.

To her, it didn’t feel real.

“Draw...”

Vio drew her next card.

Her voice trembled with exhaustion.

“OP limit increase,”

Vio: OP 6 → 7

“I activate Frederica Regillus’s effect by paying 3 OP. I summon two ‘Anti-war’ followers directly from my hand, Rest Zone, or deck.”

“I summon from the deck: Anti-war Automaton, Sinker Recover, and Anti-war Maiden, Claris.”

“Sinker Recover’s effect activates—I recover the Support card ‘Anti-war Dogma’ from the Rest Zone.”

“I pay 2 OP to activate ‘Anti-war Dogma’.”

“But you don’t control any non-Guide followers on the field,” Lisa pointed out.

“So it’s basically useless.”

“Not quite,” Vio replied calmly.

“I can use the second effect instead: If I control any ‘Anti-war’ followers, I inflict 500 damage to your LP for each one I control.”

“I set three cards in my Support Zone.”

Lisa LP: 4,500 → 3,000

“Due to Anti-war Dogma, my battle phase is skipped this turn.”

“...Turn end.” Vio’s voice was barely more than a whisper.

“End phase—”

“You’ll deal 1,500 damage to my LP,” Lisa cut in smoothly.

“Right?”

Vio gave a tired nod.

The duel with Lisa had drained nearly every drop of energy she had left.

Lisa LP: 3,000 → 1,500

Just one more turn…

I can win this...

Vio’s thoughts echoed quietly in her heart.

She only needed to survive this next turn, and her three set cards would be enough to do that.

“Draw…”

Lisa stared at the card she’d drawn in silence.

“I see…”

“OP limit increase…”

Lisa: OP 8 → 9

“I pay 5 OP and activate—”

“End of the World.”

“Every card on the field is destroyed. Battle Zone or Support Zone—it doesn’t matter.”

“Everything… is gone.”

Vio blinked in disbelief. Her entire board was wiped clean.

There was nothing left.

No defense.

No hope.

“Guide Call—Ashendoom.”

“Then I pay 2 OP each to summon two Gladius from my hand.”

“Their effects activate—Ashendoom’s ATK increases to 5,000.”

“Battle.”

Lisa’s voice was low, eerily calm—far more chilling than the wild, aggressive persona she’d shown before.

“First Gladius—direct attack.”

Vio LP: 6,000 → 4,500

“Second Gladius—direct attack.”

Vio LP: 4,500 → 3,000

“Final attack.”

That quiet declaration pierced the hearts of both her opponent and the silent spectators.

“Ashendoom—direct attack.”

“...Hell Destruction Burst.” Lisa whispered.

Vio LP: 3,000 → 0

“I win.”

Lisa’s victory announcement echoed into silence.

The room was still.

No cheers.

No movement.

Vio exhaled deeply, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion.

Liora said nothing, stunned by such a brutally anticlimactic ending.