"I'll go first."
The Puppeteer Who Controls the Dead raised its skeletal hand, transparent threads hooking onto the top of its deck.
"My turn. I draw!"
A card left the deck slot, and the bone bell around its neck rang once.
It scanned its hand, its jawbone slowly spreading into a grin.
"Human, your luck is terrible."
"You can tell that on the first turn?"
Yūki glanced at its face, which was nothing but bone. "Do you divine envoys tell fortunes on the side?"
"Hmph! Once you see this card, you won't be laughing."
The Puppet Master slapped a card from its hand into its Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card, [Painful Choice]!"
A sickly green light lit up the Spell Zone. Five slender black shadows emerged from the Puppet Master's deck, unfolding into five cards in midair.
A withered hand appeared beneath the cards, each of its five fingers supporting one as it waited for the opponent to decide.
Yūki's expression froze for half a second.
Fuck!
Why this thing?
It was a famously godlike graveyard-loading card in his previous life, one that had landed on the forbidden list early, with its cell door welded firmly shut.
He had never expected it would be his turn to get a taste of it.
"[Painful Choice]'s effect lets me select five cards from my deck and show them to you."
The Puppet Master spread its arms as black mist churned behind it.
"You may choose only one. The card you choose is added to my hand, and all four remaining cards are sent to the Graveyard."
Snowstorm Princess hugged her ice hammer and tilted her head at the five cards in confusion.
"Throwing four cards into the Graveyard just for one card. It certainly deserves the name Painful Choice."
"Yeah,