Jinzo was startled. "From the Graveyard? Do not tell me it is that again."
"Correct. I pay the Life Points and revive Abyss Soldier from my Graveyard."
A vortex of water shot upward like a dragon. Abyss Soldier emerged through the spray, trident in hand.
Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800.
"Again?" Jinzo gritted his teeth.
"With Abyss Soldier's effect, I discard the WATER Sinister Serpent and return one card on the field to the hand."
Yugen sent the card to the Graveyard. "I return my Equip Spell Premature Burial."
Everyone stared in shock.
Abyss Soldier's trident stirred the water curtain. The Equip Spell turned into golden light and flew back to Yugen's hand, but Abyss Soldier remained on the field.
"Wait," Jinzo said. "Your Equip Spell is gone. The revived Abyss Soldier should also be destroyed."
"It will not be Destroy."
Yugen revealed the card. "Read the text of Premature Burial. It says when this card is Destroy, the equipped monster is Destroy. It does not say the monster is destroyed if the card leaves the field in another way."
Jinzo froze, unable to argue.
"Therefore, even if it returns to the hand, the Abyss Soldier equipped by Release does not return to the Graveyard," Yugen Fujiki continued. "I pay 800 Life Points again and activate Premature Burial once more. I revive the second Abyss Soldier I just discarded."
Yugen, LP 2100 to 1300.
Water surged again as a second Abyss Soldier descended.
Abyss Soldier, ATK 1800.
"Two of them at once?" Jinzo felt worse.
"Effect of the second Abyss Soldier. I discard WATER Elemental HERO Elemental HERO Bubbleman to return Jinzo-Psychic King to the hand."
The trident lifted, and a pillar of water blasted up beneath Psychic King. With an unwilling shout, he vanished.
Half a second later, Jinzo drifted back to the Duelist zone in his ghostly state, glaring at Yugen. In this short Duel, he had jumped between the Underworld and the living world more than once, only to be sent back again.
Resurrection was truly difficult.
"I still have not performed my Normal Summon this turn," Yugen Fujiki said. "I Normal Summon Necro Knight."
A knight in black armor rode onto the field, sword radiating a cold aura.
Necro Knight, ATK 1900.
"Even with such a setup," Jinzo said darkly, "because of One Day of Peace, all damage this turn is 0."
"Correct. Attacking is meaningless." Yugen set a card. "Turn end."
Jinzo scanned the field. He could not give up. He had to show his obsession with revival.
My Turn!, Card Draw.
Seeing his draw, red light flashed in his eyes. "I activate a Spell Card! Double Trap! Destroy one card on the field that negates Trap effects. I Destroy your Jinzo-Psychic Intimidator."
Yugen blinked in confusion.
"Activate my set card," Yugen Fujiki responded. "Quick-Play Spell-Quick Summon. I can Normal Summon a monster from my hand."
He tributed one Abyss Soldier. "I Summon Spell Canceller."
Spell Canceller, ATK 1800.
"As long as this card is on the field, no Spell Card can be activated. All Spell Card effects on the field are negated."
Jinzo lost his composure. His Spell was crushed into light.
Spell Canceller and Jinzo stood together. Traps sealed. Spells sealed.
"I Summon Jinzo-Psychic Returner!" Jinzo shouted. "Then I tribute it to activate its effect and add Jinzo from my Deck to my hand."
"No."
Yugen snapped his fingers. "Necro Knight."
The knight turned into black mist and slashed through Jinzo-Psychic Returner before its effect could resolve.
"When a monster activates its effect, I tribute Necro Knight to negate that activation and Destroy it," Yugen said calmly.
Jinzo went still. Monster effects sealed as well.
"Then, my turn.."
Yugen drew and gave the order. "Jinzo, attack Jinzo directly."
Electric waves of psychic power surged forward. Jinzo looked at the world and the Duelist before him with despair.
Jinzo, LP 1700 to 0.
Jinzo felt as if he had just had a terrible nightmare.
In the dream, he had been only one step away from full revival. Yet at that final moment, a Fiend suddenly appeared before him. An overwhelmingly powerful Duelist whose Duel made Jinzo understand the gap in strength and the cruelty of the world.
When a Spirit goes out into the world, it really has to learn to protect itself. Otherwise, you can end up being stolen to the opponent's side mid-Duel and then disgusted by your own locking effect. That was nothing short of a disaster.
The nightmare ended with his defeat, and he had died to his own proud finishing move. Life Points Zero struck, and intense pain ran through his entire body as if he were sinking into the deep sea, drifting inside a black whirlpool. It felt like icy seawater from the Underworld swallowed him and dragged him into a bottomless abyss.
He struggled with all his strength, but it was useless. His half-restored consciousness was swallowed by darkness once more.
Then he jolted awake.
Close one. Thankfully, it was just a dream.
Jinzo Spirit let out a long breath and slowly calmed down.
Even for a nightmare, that had been too much. It took him a while to fully regain his awareness, and only then did he start looking around.
Hm? Where was this?
Jinzo froze and realized he seemed to be inside a special space.
As a Spirit of Duel Monsters, he could recognize it. This was a kind of Subspace, a domain where a Duelist's Spirit could reside, a camp for warriors waiting to be sent into battle.
In simple terms, it was called a "Deck."
But he, Jinzo, was just a half-dead Spirit who had been Summon by a bunch of reckless fools. A wandering ghost without a master. Where would he get a Deck Space?
Confused, Jinzo tried to slip out of the space and poke his head outside to take a look.
The moment he did, he shuddered as if plunged into ice.
It was him.
That Fiend from the dream.
"You're awake."
Yugen, who had been studying a new build based on the cards he had just obtained, noticed the sneaking Jinzo. He set aside his work, turned around, and smiled.
He thought it was a warm and friendly smile, the kind a good leader would have. Yet the Spirit reacted as if he had seen a ghost and shrank back sharply.
"W-What did you do to me?!"
"Why say it like that? If someone heard you, they'd think I did something inappropriate to you."
Yugen muttered.
"Did you forget the contract of the Shadow Duel?"
Jinzo froze.
Fragments of the conversation before that Duel surfaced in his mind.
"If you lose, you become my card."
He did not remember the exact wording, but in his imagination, Yugen looked like a grinning Fiend, shaking the Jinzo-Psychic Intimidator Card in his hand as he spoke.
Jinzo trembled.
So the nightmare was real.
If there was anything worse than a nightmare, it was waking up and realizing you were still inside it.
He had agreed to a Shadow Duel, betting his own body. And clearly, he had lost.
Jinzo Spirit felt deeply dejected.
In the nightmare, at least only his clone had been stolen to the opponent's side. Now he woke up to find that the traitor had been himself all along. It was hard to say which was worse.
Forget it. Since he was here, he might as well accept it.
After calming down, Jinzo thought carefully about last night's Duel and decided he had not truly lost out.