Mirror Realm Unsealed × Joker's Theater[Edge of Mirror Realm - Magic Tower Restricted Zone] A shimmering gate silently opens, activated by the Magic Club's master formation. Inside, a space of shifting mirrors and fragmented dimensions looms.
Yorumi Sou stands before the gate, clad in his black-silver battle robes, red sigils glowing in his eyes.
Kōdō Saya approaches slowly, dressed in the special battle gear of the Archery Club, her silver hair dancing in the night wind.
"Are you ready?" he asks.
Saya nods, her gaze steady. "This time, I won't just be the support behind you."
Together they step into the Mirror Realm.
[The moment they enter, the world changes.
Endless darkness surrounds them - buildings upside down, warped layers of space, twisted clocks and fragments of memories floating in the void.
Yorumi looks into the distance. Suspended in the air, an eerie theater structure stands inverted above the void.
[The Joker's Theater] "This is the place," he says softly. "The Red Joker's stage."
Saya frowns slightly. "Are these... all illusions from the past?"
"Yes," Yorumi nods. "Each fragment is a lingering echo of Red Joker's memories."
As they proceed cautiously, the room suddenly trembles. Before them, a guardian of countless shattered mirrors takes shape.
[Mirror Construct - Arbiter Lv.7] Traits: Illusion Reflection / Memory Feedback / Emotion Control Yorumi flips his cards - Queen and Jack appear, trailing a red-blue magic arc.
Saya immediately draws her bow.
"I'll shatter the mirrors. You take out the core."
A perfect combination - one strikes, one shatters.
"Disruption technique: Sevenfold Labyrinth!"
"Archery Skill: Starwheel Penetration!"
With a thunderous crash, the guardian shattered, and the room shook violently.
At that moment, the curtain of the distant theater slowly rises.
[Red Joker Appears × Dream Stage Begins] On the stage, a figure slowly steps out of the red mist.
He wears a tattered vintage suit and a half-mask that both weeps and smiles. His blood-stained cape flutters, and his eyes gleam with chilling amusement.
He raises his hand like a director opening a play:
"Welcome, both of you, to my unfinished dream."
Yorumi's pupils contract. "You are Red Joker?"
"I was the first mage and your reflection in the future," Red Joker smiles. "I never died - just sealed in the theater I created."
Saya steps forward. "You destroyed your own identity, all for power. That is not the way of a true magician!"
Red Joker shakes his head gently.
"Wrong. Magic has always been deception... and sacrifice. You're nothing but playing-card vessels that have yet to awaken."
He suddenly throws a glowing red card - [King - Unnumbered] Yorumi reels as his mind convulses. The Queen and Jack cards pulse wildly, and his inner personalities begin to distort.
[Personality Sync Disrupted] [Queen: Near Rampage] [Jack: Rational Counterbalance] The red joker spreads his arms.
"Well then... let the show begin."
[Outside Battlefront - Hakuran & Karuma's Defensive Line] Meanwhile, outside in the real world - on the outskirts of Tōun Academy - Hakuran and Karuma lead the Magic Club in defending the Illusion Core.
The Purification Army of the school's central authority advances. Three Judges of Personality launch an attack.
Hakuran uses his Five-Mirror Phantasm to stall the purification units, whispering to himself:
"Yorumi... don't you dare die in there."
Karuma lashes out with flaming whips:
"Anyone who touches the Magic Club... will have to step over my corpse."
[Red Joker's Whisper] Back inside the theater, Yorumi's consciousness fades. Amidst the twisting power of the cards, he once again sees a vision - Jack of Hearts standing amidst blood and torn scripts.
Jack asks quietly:
"The one you really want to protect - is it Kōdō Saya, or... yourself?"
Yorumi remains silent, clutching the card tightly.
Outside the stage, red mist rises. Red Joker's shadow multiplies into a thousand reflections, slowly closing in on him and Saya.
"Choose, Yorumi Sou - become the next Joker or perish in this 'performance.'"