Duel Academy Island.
Gamma moved through the dense forest, stopping frequently to crane his neck and look around, desperately trying to find a landmark.
He was lost.
Though it seemed rather unprofessional for an intruder, he had to face the cruel reality: he had no idea where he was.
But in his mind, it wasn't his fault. It was this damn Duel Academy's fault for being built on a primitive island, and such a massive one at that.
Getting lost in the deep woods felt like being trapped in a complex painting. The textures of the trees stretched and overlapped, their lush foliage weaving an endless canopy that blocked out the moonlight, leaving what little light remained to wander aimlessly.
"The seal... the seal..."
Gamma muttered to himself as he forged ahead, finally breaking through a thicket. The soil beneath his feet was soft and damp, every step accompanied by the rustle of fallen leaves.
Everything around him looked exactly the same. Whether it was the straight trunks or the dense crowns, the entire journey felt like a repetitive loop of copy-and-paste. He couldn't distinguish this area from the one he had just passed.
"Advance six hundred meters toward the four o'clock position, then exit the bushes..."
Gamma recited the route instructions from memory and pushed through a final line of shrubbery. Suddenly, the view opened up.
It was a wide, empty clearing. There was nothing there.
"Dammit, where is the Sacred Beast Seal hidden?"
Gamma felt a wave of frustration, beginning to reflect on which step he had gotten wrong.
Then, a female voice rang out from behind him. "Who are you?"
It was Alexis, who happened to be passing by on this path while returning to the Obelisk Blue dorm.
"A student of Duel Academy?"
Gamma glanced at her, pondered for a moment, and then let out a low chuckle.
"You've come at the perfect time. I was just worrying about finding my way. Since you're here, you can be my guide."
Alexis took two steps back, her guard up. "You're an intruder?"
Gamma didn't say another word. He raised his arm. Mechanical components shifted and assembled into the shape of a Duel Disk. A ripple of pale blue light erupted from the device, quickly sweeping across the area and forming a sort of barrier that encased both of them.
"The Duel Domain has been deployed. You have nowhere to run now," Gamma shouted, clenching his fist. "We'll do this your academy's way let's duel! If I win, you will take me to my destination!"
Though she didn't know why things had escalated so quickly, Alexis was never one to back down from a card game. She stepped back, her expression sharp as she deployed her own Duel Disk.
"If it's a duel you want, I'll accompany you anytime."
"Duel!" x2
After the alarm sounded, Youxuan and the other two immediately headed back toward the dorms. Alexis belonged to the blue dorm and took a different path, so they parted ways mid-journey.
As they neared the yellow dorm, Youxuan suddenly came to a halt.
"Bastion, why don't you head back first?" he said.
Bastion looked back, confused. "The school is on lockdown and they said there's an intruder. Where do you think you're going?"
He paused as a thought occurred to him. "You aren't planning to go looking for them, are you...?"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Youxuan said with a wave of his hand. "See you tomorrow."
Bastion thought to himself, I know you'll be fine. It's the other people I'm worried about...
"Alright then. Just be careful."
After parting with Bastion, Youxuan stopped heading toward Ra Yellow and instead turned back into the woods.
"Have you found the target? Are you sure it's an intruder?" Youxuan asked.
In their spiritual forms, Silent Magician and Jinzo floated out to his left and right, both nodding with certainty.
"They're watching me?"
Silent Magician nodded again.
"Strange," Youxuan muttered as he walked. "Where did this new batch of fans come from..."
Alpha stood in the shadows, narrowing his eyes as he observed Youxuan.
"Fujiki Youxuan, a first-year Ra Yellow student, yet he has several staggering records on file," Alpha whispered to himself. "What exactly makes you so special?"
He watched Youxuan part ways with Bastion and then suddenly head back into the forest. Alpha followed silently.
Is this guy not planning to return to his dorm? Alpha wondered.
Pushing his doubts aside, he trailed him into the woods. The two of them twisted and turned through the trees, one following the other. Although Alpha didn't know where the boy was going, the direction was clearly leading away from the student activity areas and deeper into the heart of the forest.
Alpha felt this was a good sign. His mission was to take this student named Youxuan away, and the less noise he made, the better. Remote locations were the perfect place to strike.
Night fell heavily, the moon shrouded by thick clouds. The weak, eerie light made the forest feel increasingly sinister. The outlines of trees loomed in the dark like ghosts, and the branches swayed in the wind, sounding like hidden creatures whispering to one another.
Alpha gradually began to feel uneasy.
After taking a turn, he focused his gaze, only to realize with a shock that the figure ahead of him had vanished.
Where did he go?
Alpha looked around blankly.
Looking at the forest now, it felt like being in the center of a giant maze. Patches of moonlight were sliced into fragments by the branches of towering trees, casting distorted shadows, while an unnamable mist filled the air.
A voice spoke softly behind him. "You saw me?"
Alpha reflexively leaped forward and spun around. To his horror, he saw Youxuan standing behind him with his hands clasped behind his back. Enveloped by the moonlight and the hazy mist, the boy looked positively chilling.
Alpha's heart skipped a beat.
Wait, I'm the intruder and the stalker here. Why did the tables turn so suddenly? Why did it feel like the person across from him was the big villain and he was just the fodder in a horror movie?
He put some distance between them, quickly regaining his composure.
"I see. It seems you truly possess some incredible power," Alpha said in a low voice. "I knew Father wouldn't designate a specific student for no reason."
"Father," Youxuan repeated. "So, you guys are a family gang?"
Alpha didn't answer the question. He simply said, "I came for you, Fujiki Youxuan. Father believes your abilities are valuable to us. Join us, and you will gain resources beyond your imagination, as well as the chance to stand at the top of the world."
"Well, before that, I should at least know who you people are, right?"
"You'll only be qualified to know that after you join," Alpha replied. "But I can tell you this: our goal is to subvert this world and seize the ultimate power... to rip it from the hands of that tyrant, Seto Kaiba."
Youxuan raised an eyebrow.
Based on that goal alone, it was essentially decided that they would never see eye to eye.
First off, Youxuan hadn't finished reaping all the benefits he could from Kaiba, and their relationship was actually quite decent. Secondly, as long as Yugi Muto remained in retirement, the President was essentially the favored son of the universe. With Kaiba's dueling skills, resources, and authority, anyone trying to go against him...
Youxuan just wanted to tell them: If you want to die, don't drag me down with you.
"A refusal? Heh, as expected. But unfortunately, since I'm here, I haven't left you the option to say no."
The mechanical components on Alpha's arm shifted and reassembled, transforming directly into a Duel Disk.
"In that case, I'll just take you back by force through a duel."
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