Dalton woke to silence.
His eyes opened to a sky he had never seen before—an endless dome painted with the sun hanging high and threads of starlight weaving through the daylight like faint veins of magic. The air itself seemed alive, vibrating with invisible power that brushed against his skin and filled his lungs.
"…Where… am I?"
His voice was wrong—deeper, resonant, almost vibrating with the air itself. Only then did he notice the weight of his body. Massive wings stretched along his sides, scales blazing in shades of molten crimson, their surface rippling like living fire. Golden veins streaked across his body, pulsing with an inner light, and his claws gouged shallow grooves into the stone beneath him.
Dalton froze. His gaze fell on a fragment of broken marble.
A dragon stared back.
Not just any dragon—he was the Crimson Dragon, an immense cosmic wyrm with a long, serpentine neck and tail, wings stretching like banners of burning sky. His eyes glowed gold, ancient and all-seeing, and the fiery red of his body seemed to contain galaxies within it. Golden sigils shimmered across his scales, constantly shifting: swords became serpents, staffs became knights, gods became beasts, all in an endless dance of energy. With every breath, the space around him wavered, and fleeting silhouettes of other beings shimmered at the edge of sight.
"…No way."
Memories surged—an image of a card from Yu-Gi-Oh, the Crimson Dragon, his favorite card he had always built his decks around it. And now, impossibly, that guardian was him.
Dalton—no, Crimson Dragon—rose to his full height. His wings unfurled, kicking up a storm of dust and crackling with fiery, cosmic energy.
"So… I've become this as a rush of knowledge suddenly appears in his mind. "A pure-blooded dragon from little garden. And not just that an embodiment of the Yu-Gi-Oh worldview.
He tested himself.
With a thought, a golden light flared, and a sigil detached from his scales, forming into a kings knight wielding a gleaming blade. Another thought, and the knight dissolved, replaced by a harpie lady.
Dalton exhaled. "The spirits… they live within me."
He focused on one more image: a dragon he had known since childhood. Blue-white flames roared to life, splitting the air as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon manifested beside him, radiant and translucent.
Dalton grinned, awe and satisfaction mingling in his chest.
He willed the spirit back into his body, watching the Blue-Eyes dissolve into motes of light that sank into him. His mind buzzed with possibilities.
Not only could he summon the spirits—he could feel them. Thousands of them, like a chorus at the edge of consciousness, each carrying strength, personality, and potential, waiting for his command.
"…So this is my power." He flexed his claws, testing the surge of energy coursing through his body. "All the spirits… all the power… of Yu-Gi-Oh, in me."
Dalton's eyes drifted to the horizon,
A smile crossed his face—sharp, draconic.
The Crimson Dragon that was Dalton spread his wings. Fire and cosmic energy rippled outward. For the first time, Little Garden felt it—the presence of the one who would change everything.