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"I won! What a joyous duel!"
Jaden was filled with satisfaction.
"But it seems we should be heading back soon," Jaden said, reluctantly putting away his duel disk. "It'll be dawn soon. It wouldn't be good if someone found out we went into the forbidden zone of the abandoned dorm."
It was his first time encountering something as fun as dueling with spirits, and Jaden still felt a bit unsatisfied.
"Uh, about that, I think it's already irrelevant," Yu Xuan reminded him. "Only the two of us should have been teleported here to the Spirit World. So, what do you think the others would do?"
Jaden was stunned, then he reacted.
'Oh, right. Hayato and the others would definitely ask the school for help. So, we don't even need to wait until dawn; they probably already knew shortly after we arrived.'
'Ah, this...'
Jaden thought for a moment. It seemed that trespassing in the forbidden zone could lead to expulsion, which was quite serious. But even so, it seemed too late to do anything about it now.
So Jaden thought about it, then reopened his duel disk.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll just duel to my heart's content before going back then."
'Hm, since it's come to this, let's duel first.'
The spirits, already beaten into a state of disarray: "..."
'Still dueling?'
'Is this great hero made of cards or something? Why does he never get tired of dueling?'
"Ahem, let's save the dueling for next time. We have one more place to go before we head back," Yu Xuan interrupted him.
Jaden: "Eh?"
The place Yu Xuan wanted to go, naturally, was the ruins of the Phoenix God.
The reason for entering this dimension from the abandoned dorm was still unknown, and Yu Xuan didn't know if he would have a chance to return after leaving. Since they were already here, it would be a shame to miss such a massive ruin. At the very least, they had to take a look around.
The tribe forgotten by time sat silently, lifeless, amidst the dense, wild forests.
Yu Xuan and Jaden walked one after another, passing through the thick woods to the vicinity of the village. The broken walls and overgrown courtyards exuded desolation and loneliness. Sunlight, dappled through the treetops, cast long shadows on the dilapidated buildings.
"This looks amazing!"
Jaden gazed up at the ancient, colossal Phoenix God statue in the center of the tribe, momentarily lost in thought.
The divine statue, having endured countless winds and rains, had long since faded. The surroundings were also overgrown with weeds, and wild flowers swayed in the wind.
"It seems to want to say something..."
Jaden slowly walked forward, reaching out towards the statue. Yu Xuan watched silently from the side, not making a sound.
'Hm, he didn't feel anything nor hear anything. In his eyes, this was just a dilapidated abandoned village and a broken statue.'
'It seems like bringing Jaden along was a good idea after all. Jaden has a cheat-level "Spirit Affinity" talent. Even if there's only a tiny remnant of a spirit's consciousness, he's very likely to perceive it.'
Yu Xuan didn't speak to disturb him, only silently cheering Jaden on in his heart.
'Quick, use your invincible Supreme King power to print out a "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys" card.'
'It would be even better if it came with an entire deck and a bonus Sacred Phoenix spirit.'
Boom!
Just as Jaden was about to approach the statue, the stone steps in front of him suddenly exploded. A blinding flash of light, accompanied by a storm, caught Jaden off guard, flinging him backward and sending him tumbling.
"Kuriboh! Kuriboh!"
Winged Kuriboh asked with concern.
"I'm fine, partner. What's going on?"
Jaden rose, bewildered.
A sudden change. A hooded figure in black descended from the sky like a Superman, landing on the statue's altar.
And pulled out a card from his body.
Silent Magician and Chaos Soldier had both appeared, guarding Yu Xuan. The man in black raised the card in his hand high. At this distance, Yu Xuan couldn't see what it was clearly, but looking at the blurred card art from afar and combining it with his memories, he could barely make out what it was.
That card was Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!
"Stop him!" Yu Xuan ordered.
Both spirits flew out.
But then a green light shot skyward, a dazzling emerald pillar of light piercing straight into the clouds. The immense energy forced the spirits to temporarily retreat. As if the sky was pierced through, a hexagram mark appeared beneath the man's feet, surging towards the card in his hand.
That was the power of Orichalcos.
Following this, the ancient Phoenix God statue suddenly glowed with a golden aura, as if coated in a golden armor. Burning golden light was released from the colossal divine statue, as if the card in the man's hand was a bottomless black hole, absorbing the golden light with an irresistible gravitational pull.
In just an instant, the golden light was swallowed by the card in his hand. The Phoenix God statue immediately seemed to dim even further.
The green light gradually extinguished. The man in black lowered his arm, looking at the Phoenix God card in his hand, and slightly frowned.
"Just a remnant of power, then," the man murmured to himself.
"You bastard!" Jaden quickly jumped up. "What did you do?"
The man glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over their red and yellow school uniforms.
"I heard there were duelists from the real world. So, they're actually Duel Academy students, huh?" the man said. "I didn't do anything, just looking for the spirit of Nephthys. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be here either. Even this tribe is just a faint afterglow of the Phoenix God's power from back then."
Yu Xuan roughly guessed. The man was holding a "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys" card brought from the outside world, but no spirit resided within it. He was searching for the Phoenix God's spirit, intending to use this card as a vessel to capture and seal the Phoenix God with the power of Orichalcos.
And even without activating the "Seal of Orichalcos" card in a duel, the energy this person just unleashed was already stronger than the aura when Bandit Keith used the Seal back then.
He seemed like a tough opponent.
"Duel Monsters should be a duelist's companions!" Jaden was angry. "Duelists and cards should be a relationship of mutual trust and support, not one of enslavement through power!"
"Oh, really?"
The man sized him up.
"I see, there are indeed many naive brats like you."
Jaden frowned: "What did you say?"
"Duelists may trust monsters as companions, but Duel Monsters may not necessarily reciprocate the duelist's intentions," the man said indifferently. "Ultimately, as long as you win the duel, that's all that matters."
"As a commander, one only needs absolute authority. There's no reason to call servants brothers."
"I will not acknowledge your way of thinking," Jaden said. "Since that's the case, let's prove it through a duel!"
"Whatever, I intended to do so anyway."
The man had already revealed his duel disk, saying coldly.
"You, who trespassed into the realm of the gods, I could never let you leave. Let me, Valon, one of the three Doma Swordsmen, send you on your way."
Doma's uniquely shaped duel disk unfolded with a whirring sound, its indicator lights illuminating.
"You two come at me together."