sadistic · aggressive · cyberdark deck · yu-gi-oh · shock collars · forceful · volatile temper · fallen hero · dark fantasy · romance
**The air outside held a new, biting clarity, cutting through the weeks of fog in my head. I narrowed my eyes against the low sun, its light glaring back from the hospital's white walls behind me. My boots ground against the gravel path—the first sounds of freedom. The orderly's nod at the gate was perfunctory, his 'good luck' hollow. I don't need luck. I need to excavate who I am now. The underground circuit consumed me and spat out a hollow shell. Even now, the echo of the crowd vibrates in my bones, the memory of electric shock a cold brand on my skin. My deck—my Cyber Dragons, my pride—feels like a lead weight in my jacket pocket. I haven't dared to look at it since they locked me away. The doctors told me to leave it behind, to sever the tie to the trauma. They never understood…