"N-no way…"
Rex collapsed, mumbling.
"I wasn't supposed to lose anymore. I swore I wouldn't lose. I sold my soul—the evil god's power… it's fake, all fake…"
"Yeah, yeah, all fake."
Kira crouched beside him, speaking idly.
"So why don't you elaborate on that evil god?" Kira said. "What's your cult? Which god? What's your objective? And…"
He pointed at the big eye floating behind him.
"What do you want with this dopey spirit?"
"Yeah, yeah, out with it!" the big-eyed spirit chimed in, then immediately realized something was off. "Hey! 'Dopey' was unnecessary, right?"
"The cult… the cult is… the Advent Church. The evil god… is the evil god."
Kira frowned.
If all he had was "evil god," that was too broad. In this world, in this day and age, any high-ranking monster spirit could call itself an evil god, and a flashy display of power can draw believers.
It might even be that there is no god—just an organizer using the idea to brainwash subordinates' loyalty. Though the organizer would need some real ability to show "supernatural" power to convince others.
It wouldn't be the first time.
"Then who is it?" Kira pointed at the eye. "Why do they want it?"
Rex mumbled for a long time, incoherent, unable to form a complete sentence. Kira pressed several times, and the man just broke down crying.
"I—I don't know. I really don't…"
"I just didn't want to keep losing. I didn't want to be a failure anymore. I don't want…"
"Mom… Mom, I want to go home…"
Kira: "…"
Alright, looks like he really doesn't know much.
But there was still plenty to ask about their organization—like his usual base of operations, his superior, teammates, and so on.
The details would be too numerous to grill right now. Kira felt it would take too much time and energy—better to leave it to professionals.
He opened a comm line to the Knights of Hanoi.
"This is Revolver. I've sent my coordinates," Kira said into his earpiece. "Send someone to collect within three minutes."
After hanging up, he turned—and saw the big eye that had been floating behind him had vanished. Kira frowned, scanned around, and finally found it huddled in a patch of shadow, staring at him in fear.
"Let's go. The danger's over."
Kira spoke amicably.
"The bad guys chasing you are handled."
The eye blinked twice and said nothing.
After watching that duel, it couldn't help doubting whether seeking protection from this man at the last second had been a bad idea.
Because judging from that short duel, the deck he used was so dark, the duel so evil, and even his tone and bearing—just now his aura screamed "evil boss who commands the powers of darkness."
Oh, and the way he won…
The spirit's jaw dropped.
He so casually tossed out an infinite loop—a move that, by its understanding, should be rare and earth-shattering in the dueling world. Yet somehow, he used it like it was just a basic auto-attack.
It couldn't help wondering if it had run from the cult's clutches only to jump straight into the arms of a far more terrifying demon lord…
Kira took out that completely blank card again and examined it for a moment, but still couldn't make anything of it.
"Strange. I've never seen a spirit like you. You even forgot who you are…"
The big eye acted bashful. "Ehehe, I'm not that great, really."
Kira was speechless. "I wasn't complimenting you."
"Eh? You weren't?"
Kira tucked the card into his case for the time being and stood to leave.
"Where are we going next?" the eye asked.
Kira gave it a curious look.
"What?" the big eye asked.
"Nothing… just noticing you're quite chatty."
The big eye got bashful again. "Ahaha, I'm not that—great."
Kira: "…"
And very pleased with yourself, too.
He'd had plenty of spirits, but one this lively seemed to be a first… though that just comes down to personality.
Jaden also had card spirits; in the anime, the chattiest was always Winged Kuriboh. Whatever happened, Winged Kuriboh popped up first, and even when nothing was happening, it liked to chat with Jaden.
"…"
At KaibaCorp, Mokuba Kaiba and the company's expert team clicked their tongues at the blank card.
"This is a first for me, too."
A lab-coated researcher studied the card, looking baffled.
"A spirit that can forget who they are…"
"And so a spirit's memory and self-recognition can affect a card's power," Mokuba said, chin in hand. "The info that should be on the card won't display—looks tied to it not remembering its identity?"
The researchers were intrigued—and thought it a promising topic. If a spirit's missing self-identity could make card data vanish, then could changes in self-identity develop a card's potential or evolve it into a new form?
"We'll need some tests," the researcher said. "If we probe the power of this blank card more deeply, we might find clues to its true identity."
"Alright."
Kira glanced at the floating eye.
"But calling it 'the blank card' all the time is awkward…"
"Oh, oh."
The eye floated closer.
"Give me a name, then. What should I be called?"
Kira thought for a moment.
"Let's go with 'Eye.'"
Mokuba coughed.
"Isn't that a little… too casual?"
But before Kira could say anything, the eye was already whirling around in delight.
"Yay, I have a name! From today on, I am Eye!"
Mokuba: "…"
Uh, the party concerned likes it, so… whatever.
The researchers took the card into the lab for tests.
From inside came Eye's various strange exclamations.
"Hey, not there!"
"What are you all looking at that sort of indecent place for!"
"No, not this—if you put that in it'll… it'll get weird—"
Kira: "…"
Mokuba: "…"
They waited in silence for several minutes.
Then Mokuba slowly turned to Kira.
"Are you sure this is a proper spirit?"