"The match is decided!"
Inside the magnificent arena, the stands were packed with a surging ocean of spectators. The referee held a microphone, his voice filled with passion as he made the high-pitched announcement.
"The winner of the finals and our new Duel King has been born! His name is Fujiki Yugen!"
The applause and cheers were so intense they seemed to set the very air on fire. Before the referee could even finish his sentence, the stadium erupted. The thunderous roar of the crowd instantly drowned out everything else. Spectators stood as one, waving flags emblazoned with the winner's name.
Standing in the center of the arena, Yugen found the lights somewhat blinding. Surrounded by the deafening shouts and the sudden surge of supreme glorysymbolizing his arrival at the absolute peak of this worldhis first reaction wasn't excitement, but a sense of profound confusion.
Wait a minute, how did I get here?
He felt a sudden sense of déjà vu, as if he had somehow missed an entire season's worth of plot development.
Yugen frowned.
He remembered infiltrating a company called Aviak alongside Kaiba and Alister. They had successfully entered through the sewer system, hacked the direct elevator with Mokuba providing remote assistance, and entered the server room...
And then, he had somehow ended up here? Just like that, he had become the Duel King.
But that wasn't all. He quickly realized that the balance in his bank account had grown to a staggering number of zeros. He had a garage full of luxury cars and more mansions under his name than he could count.
One of them, for instance, was this sprawling manor on the outskirts of Battle City, Domino City.
Walking through the vast grounds and the magnificent architecture, looking at the exquisite gardens, fine sculptures, and artworks, Yugen felt like a spectator viewing his own life from a first-person perspective. It was as if he were watching his life on an alternate timelinea version of himself who had won everything through dueling and reached the summit.
"Master Yugen, your bathwater is ready."
He turned around to find a young maid standing in the manor. Her skirt was light and airy, her white silk stockings clung tightly to her slender, well-proportioned legs, and her outfit revealed an exquisite collarbone and a mysterious, breathtaking curve that looked as soft as a cloud.
"Would you like to bathe now, Master?"
The little maid was all smiles. As she spoke, she began to unfasten her belt.
"Wait a second." Yugen raised an eyebrow and made a gesture to stop her. "What exactly are you doing?"
The maid blinked, looking perfectly composed. "I am inviting you to enjoy some seafood, Master."
Yugen: "..."
Seeing that things were about to spiral out of control, Yugen let out a dry cough.
"Silent."
As the word left his lips, the scene instantly froze.
The massive mansion, the dreamlike maideverything began to twist and warp before his eyes. The colors turned blurry and chaotic, and the once-clear outlines grew indistinct.
Immediately after, everything shattered like a broken mirror, tearing into countless fragments. Every vivid detail vanished in an instant, replaced by a void of chaos and darkness, as if he were standing in an endless abyss.
Only a long, narrow passage appeared before him, leading to parts unknown.
The figure of Silent Magician materialized beside him.
"Was that... an illusion?" Yugen knit his brows slightly. "An opponent's hallucinatory ability?"
Silent Magician shook her head.
Yugen looked down at his right hand. At first, it felt slightly off, but he soon seemed to realize something.
"I see..." Yugen murmured. "This feeling... this state is..."
A virtual body.
He wasn't in the real world; he was in a digital state, much like being inside the Link System. This was a technological principle similar to KaibaCorp's advanced "black tech." At some unknown point, his consciousness had been accelerated and pulled into an artificially created virtual world. Everything he had just seen was a data projection.
With the help of his spirit's power, he had broken through the false imagery, but he was still within this virtual space. He had simply peeled back a layer to see the underlying reality.
Yugen looked down at the road stretching out beneath his feet.
"I see. It's an invitation." He chuckled softly and looked at Silent Magician. "What do you say? Should we accept the challenge?"
Silent Magician nodded to him, lifting her staff before her chest to indicate she was ready.
And so, Yugen took great strides forward into the pitch-black tunnel.
He soon noticed that the walls of the passage resembled mirrors. As he advanced, distorted images began to surface within them.
Yugen recognized them; he knew every person in the reflections.
For example, Rex Raptor.
His face was a mask of hatred and resentment as he glared at Yugen. "My qualifying match, my chance... You took everything from me!"
"Oh."
Yugen responded nonchalantly, passing him by without a backward glance, leaving Rex Raptor in the dust.
Rex Raptor: "You @#%&!"
Then there was Sol of Doma, his face equally full of malice. "How does it feel to be the winner while stepping over countless corpses, having stolen my most important deck and even my life?"
"It's not bad." Yugen shrugged. "Your cards are actually quite useful."
Sol: "You motherf"
But he never got to finish. Yugen didn't stop for a second, continuing his trek forward and leaving Sol behind.
Yugen quickly realized that the figures appearing in these mirrors were all opponents he had defeated in the past.
Some accused him of taking everything they had; some claimed his dueling built happiness upon their pain; others said he used any means necessary to win.
But Yugen only smiled and kept walking.
Eventually, he came to a halt and spoke calmly to the darkness ahead. "You can stop this meaningless exhibition now.
"You must realize that these are all just people I've already beaten, right? You didn't think a bunch of losers I've already triumphed over would actually make me feel fear, did you?"
A brief silence followed.
Then, a faint blue light emerged from the darkness. Streams of data converged, forming a humanoid figure clad in a black trench coat that stepped slowly into view.
Judging by his features alone, he bore a slight resemblance to Seto Kaiba.
"I have seen your file and I understand your situation, Fujiki Yugen," the man said coolly. "Based on recorded duels at least, it seems you have never tasted defeat. Although your evaluation in the intelligence archives is quite high, if you ask me, you are still an underrated duelist."
He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "However, on your path to victory, you have never truly looked your opponents in the eye or accorded them the respect due to a duelist."
Yugen understood. This person was spouting a theory much like the one Zane Truesdale held in his early days. Zane had always duelled with the primary goal of respecting his opponent, viewing it as the spirit of a duelist; until he met Aster Phoenix, he had even valued that respect more than victory itself.
However, even Zane had abandoned such naive persistence after experiencing the "brutal beatings" of the professional league.
Yugen laughed softly.
"Dueling, from its very inception, was designed as a ritual that produces only one winner," Yugen said plainly. "Call it cruel or call it unscrupulous.
"But at the end of the day, only the winner gets to stand here."
He paused for a beat before continuing calmly.
"Of course, bearing the resentment of the defeated is also the responsibility of the victor. This is the resolve any duelist should have the moment they step onto the battlefield."
A mocking smile played across his lips.
"I don't know who you are, but if you think pulling out a bunch of my past victims would shake me, isn't that a bit ridiculous?"
The man narrowed his eyes and remained silent for two seconds.
"I see." He nodded. "It seems I underestimated you. Fujiki Yugen, it is rare indeed to find a duelist with your level of means and talent who is also so steadfast and devoid of doubt. It seems Seto Kaiba saw more in you than just your talent for dueling..."
As he spoke, he raised his arm, and streams of data materialized into a Duel Disk.
"Then let me reintroduce myself. My name is 'Delta.' I have been ordered by my father to take you down here." He stated, "Since you won't listen to reason, then prove your way through here with a duel."
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