"We did it, Miles! It's our victory!"
Little Kaima jumped nearly half a meter high; clearly, the loli-sized Kaima was truly overjoyed.
How long had it been since Kaima last felt a victory this exhilarating? She herself could no longer remember.
The noble, beautiful Deep-Eyes White Dragon shining in the sky—the Dragon Card that existed in her Soul Room, the one rooted deepest in Kaima Seth's heart—felt as if it had truly carried her back to the time this body once lived.
Such pure joy in victory… she had only ever felt it when she first began dueling.
Back when every battle, every play, every direction was still an unknown. When she fought to illuminate the road ahead with the still-fragile light of the White Dragon.
"Miles really granted my selfish request…"
Touching the Spirit Eyes that had reappeared on her wrist, Kaima gradually realized… it was time for her to move forward again as a Duelist.
"Here. Yours, Kaima."
Miles lightly patted the head of the small girl whose height barely reached his waist, then removed the White Dragon Deck from his Duel Disk and handed it back.
"Since you've found your meaning again, don't lose it anymore. This is the Deck more precious to you than anything, right?"
A short experience with the White Dragons, using both Ultimate Fusion and Deep-Eyes White Dragon to claim victory in brilliant fashion, left Miles satisfied for the moment.
Now that Kaima had regained her meaning as a Duelist and reclaimed her Spirit Eyes, Miles had no reason to keep holding onto her precious White Dragon Deck.
"Miles!"
Even though he had patted her on the head—something that would normally make the Duke Kaima Seth snap and break the offender's hand without hesitation—
Right now… being patted twice by Miles didn't feel unpleasant at all.
After all, she was still stuck in a child's body. So she decided she could afford to act a bit more… innocent.
"So Miles, did you know from the beginning?"
That she had gradually lost her way as a Duelist in the torrent of her family's fate.
"I had a hunch."
In a space shaped by consciousness itself, Kaima shrinking and losing her Spirit Eyes could only mean she was lost within herself.
"So that's why you fought in my place using the White Dragon Deck."
"…"
Miles went silent, wiping a bead of awkward cold sweat from his temple.
In truth, 99% of the reason he used the White Dragon Deck was simply that his card addiction was too strong… and this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to try summoning White Dragons.
Anyhow, since Kaima misunderstood it this way… He should maintain his emotional intelligence and not say anything.
"Thank you, Miles! You're someone who… truly understands me."
A naïve little loli indeed.
And undeniably adorable.
"Ahhh, lost after all!"
Blasted by Deep-Eyes White Dragon's finishing blow, Yuna Carlos lay flat on the ground like a defeated CG illustration.
"But to lose to Deep-Eyes White Dragon… honestly, that alone makes my whole afterlife worth it—oh wait, I've been dead for ages already."
What nonsense was this Carlos ancestor even talking about?
"Stop rolling around, you're getting Aisha's clothes dirty," Miles warned.
"Stingy~ Consciousness-made clothes don't get dirty anyway."
"Then get out of Aisha's body already and honor your loss! Take us to Obelisk!"
"Oooh? Looks like you care a lot about Aisha, Miles." Yuna stood up, her eyes glinting as she looked between them.
"So tell me, who do you like more? Aisha… or loli Kaima Seth?"
"!!!"
The sudden ambush question made Kaima's ears perk straight up.
She really wanted to hear the answer!
And the way Yuna phrased it was despicably unfair—emphasizing Kaima's cute loli form.
Regardless, Miles didn't fall for it.
"I hate instigators more than anything!"
He squeezed Aisha's soft, squishy cheeks and pulled hard, stretching her cute features into something ridiculous.
"Hurry up and guide us. Got it?"
"O–okay…" the distorted Yuna mumbled through squashed cheeks.
Looks like Kaima wouldn't get her answer.
Her ears drooped in disappointment.
Though in truth… it was fine. She wanted the answer, but didn't want it right now.
The truth was far too obvious.
This wasn't the time.
When the moment was right, she would make Miles say the answer she wanted.
Freed from Miles's grasp, Yuna rubbed her cheeks. "Honestly… I'm still your ancestor, you know! Treating me like this is totally disrespectful!"
"You're not my ancestor," Miles said.
Besides, she already put on her whole 'defeated CG' pose. Just pulling her cheeks could be considered generous treatment.
"And furthermore," Yuna continued, "I promised not to lead you to Obelisk itself—but to tell you the direction of the man who holds Obelisk."
"The man who holds Obelisk?" Kaima immediately asked. "So Obelisk was taken by someone?!"
"No. Obelisk in this world still exists inside the obelisk tower's inner space. That said, the form it exists in is… unique. I can only tell you the direction. Whether you can reach it depends entirely on fate."
After speaking, Yuna pointed toward the very room where Kaima had originally fallen.
"The temporary barrier has been lifted. That heavy stone gate will now lead to the correct path forward."
"Really? You're not tricking us, right?" Miles questioned.
"I swear upon the name of Carlos. Truer than pearls~"
Yuna once again placed her slender fingers onto her chest with theatrical sincerity.
Judging from that gesture… perhaps the Carlos ancestor wasn't as flat as she looked. Maybe she was built more like Alice.
"Anyway, it's not great to keep occupying my descendant's body. It's about time I leave."
Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Miles again. In the instant her consciousness left, Aisha definitely wouldn't have time to react.
So to keep Aisha from collapsing, she had to find something reliable to lean on.
"And wow… you really are a reliable support."
Pressed close against Miles, Yuna smiled faintly.
"I'm actually quite interested in you, Miles. If you get your name written into the Carlos family registry, maybe we can meet again after you die someday."
"That's something I absolutely don't look forward to."
"Hehe. Bye~"
That willful Carlos ancestor, coming and going like a storm, left them no chance to keep up with her pace.
Before Miles even realized it, the Aisha clinging to him had already opened her eyes again.
"Miles?"
"Your consciousness is finally back, Aisha."
"Did Lady Ancestor… leave already?"
"Yeah. Just left."
It seemed Yuna Carlos really hadn't lied; Dark Aisha had willingly lent her body out, fully understanding the situation.
"Aisha, you're way too easy to fool," Miles sighed.
"That was Lady Ancestor. There's no way she'd lie to me!"
Lucky for her, Yuna Carlos really was her true ancestor. And not one of those fake 'ancestor' scammers asking for money transfers.
"So then, Aisha, how much do you remember from when you were possessed?"
Depending on her answer, Miles planned how much he needed to explain.
"It's kind of fuzzy… I remember a bit, but also not really clearly."
Dark Aisha pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to recall.
Then—like electricity striking her forehead—
"I remember!"
"So fast?"
"I remember you said my figure wasn't even as good as a dragon's!"
"You remembered the least important thing… hey hey hey, don't bite me, ow ow ow!"
After successfully receiving a neat row of teeth marks on his arm, Miles had no choice but to explain everything from the beginning.
"Oh, so Kaima shrank," Aisha replied.
"I told you so many things, and that's your takeaway?"
"Because that part was the funniest."
Figures. Carlos family through and through… her reaction was exactly the same as Yuna's.
"It's all too complicated anyway. I can't fully understand it. I just know that for now, I should stay by your side, Miles."
"…Fine. Can't argue with that," Miles said, rubbing his forehead.
"We should get going." Little Kaima, waiting anxiously at the stone gate, wasn't brave enough to step in alone and urged Miles forward.
"Right, take this for now, Miles." Dark Aisha removed the Deck stored in her Spirit Eyes and handed it to him.
Since Miles was no longer using Kaima's White Dragon Deck, he needed a functional Deck for whatever might happen next.
"Add the cards Lady Ancestor left behind too. Just looking at them, you can tell they're super strong."
"Strong, yeah…"
After all, Miles had experienced their power firsthand.
However, aside from Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, the two evolved forms of Galaxy-Eyes were incredibly difficult to summon in Aisha's Deck.
Even so, it was better to have them than not. In unpredictable duels, cards that seem unusable could become lifesavers.
"Let's go!"
With Miles at the lead, Aisha on his left, and loli Kaima on his right, the three stepped through the radiant stone gate at the same time.
Just as Yuna Carlos said: after the duel ended, the heavy stone gate indeed led them in the right direction—into the next space.
Abruptly, then, the moment the light faded, and their surroundings came into view, the sight before them was utterly overwhelming.
It was no longer an enclosed interior. A real blue sky and white clouds stretched overhead—almost impossible to believe they were still inside the obelisk tower.
"Is this… another world?" Kaima asked, frowning as she scanned the surroundings.
"There are so many weird buildings… they look just like Ren's cards," Aisha murmured.
Weird buildings, Ren's cards—Dark Aisha was definitely thinking of the Field Spell Skyscraper.
To Kaima and Aisha, this was an 'otherworld.'
But to Miles… this was unmistakably the modern city from before he transmigrated.
And in the far distance, hanging on the largest and tallest building, a giant logo gleamed:
"KC."
KaibaCorp… the legendary Kaiba Entertainment Group?
...
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