"This robot looks kinda cool, huh? Those lines, the gears, the chains—nice aesthetic."
"Ooh, ooh! Cyber Dragon? Slick design. When I'm resurrected, I'm totally building one."
"Hey, human, you could've Fusion Summoned Labyrinth Tank just now, right? Why'd you bring out that Flame Winged Whatchamacallit? Too flashy-looking."
Serena was holding her cards, blinking rapidly, stunned by the floating green-haired spirit beside her mentor. She had no idea what to do.
Among the spectators, Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton stood wide-eyed, also a little stunned at the sight hovering by Hikaru Amagi's side.
"What's wrong, Serena? It's your move," Bastion Misawa, acting as judge, asked with a confused look.
"Uh... I—I Special Summon Cyber Dragon?" Serena snapped out of it and placed her card on the table, then sent it and Hikaru's Machine-Type monster to the Graveyard. From Hikaru's shared Extra Deck pile, she brought out Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.
"Ooh! Now this is a design I should've gone with for the Shaddoll series!" Tierra nodded approvingly, hovering near Hikaru.
"Nice play," Bastion remarked calmly. "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon clears the field and gains ATK based on the materials used. It can't beat Flame Wingman, but it did eliminate Ancient Gear Golem."
"So that's why you fused into Flame Wingman—to avoid Fortress Dragon's effect," Tierra mused. "Makes sense… but big robots are still way cooler."
Hikaru twitched at the comment and silently flipped over his face-down trap card.
"Such a lively spirit," Jaden commented, unusually reflective. But having met Avian, he wasn't too shocked.
"Spirits have personalities like that?" Chazz muttered, sweat on his brow. His Armed Dragons and Light and Darkness Dragon were always quiet—none of this chatterbox nonsense.
After the usual casual duel ended, Hikaru poured himself a glass of water and turned to Tierra beside him.
"Could you, like, make yourself only visible to me? Or maybe just get out of Winda's body already?"
"Get out?" Tierra tilted her head. "What are you talking about? This is my body now."
"...?"
"You really think a normal Duel Spirit could enhance your affinity, let you see spirits?" she said, sounding amused. "The moment you finished crafting the El Shaddoll Winda card, the moment she tried to transmit herself into this world through the card, I took over. You think she could get here this fast on her own?"
"And relax," she added. "Her consciousness? Long since booted back to the Spirit World. I don't like that chaotic dump anyway."
Then, as if she had just remembered something, she raised a finger and grinned. "Hey! You should be thanking me! If not for me, you'd have to duel Winda's spirit for her recognition before using her card, right?"
Hikaru was speechless.
Gods really do play by their own rules. Even if they're born from the same mythos, they could hijack any spirit they wanted, even if it was from someone else's creation.
Not that he was mad about it. If anything, Tierra's presence had proven helpful—boosting his Spirit Affinity. It was now at Level 5, and he could see spirits clearly. Tierra claimed that as his affinity grew, she could grant him boosts up to Level 11—just beneath the legendary King of Games tier.
After splashing his face, Hikaru returned to the clubroom and found Zane Truesdale already waiting.
As usual, Zane wore his Obelisk Blue uniform, the Seven Stars Key hanging around his neck like a sleek pendant.
"Hey, Kaiser. Weren't you heading to another dimension with Atticus today?" Hikaru asked.
"Ooh, so this is the Cyber Dragon guy?" Tierra chimed in with admiration. "Nice taste!"
Hikaru was already used to her being a mechanical fangirl and paid no mind. Zane did, however, freeze for a second before smiling.
"Yeah. I arranged with Atticus earlier. We're heading to Tsutono City. It's low-risk—good spot for Atticus to ease back into things."
"Man, I wanna go to Tsutono too…" Jaden groaned, hands behind his head. "Why's the dimensional gate only usable once during break? I wanted to hit both Tsutono and the Spellcaster's Realm."
"To prevent overuse and accidental injuries, of course." Zane shook his head with a smile. "Did your application go through, Jaden?"
"Yup! Just today!" Jaden pumped his fist. "Got Chazz to come with me too."
"Don't make it sound like I'm your tag-along!" Chazz snapped. "If I didn't help write it, you'd still be waiting."
During break, each student gets one authorized dimensional transfer. Only top-tier students can apply—some, like Zane, are auto-approved. That's why Jaden had said he and Hikaru couldn't travel together.
With just one chance, Jaden prioritized searching for his friends. He didn't want to waste Hikaru's opportunity either.
"So, Sensei, who are you going with?" Serena asked excitedly. "Could it be—"
"Serena, did you read your health report?" Hikaru interrupted. "You're not even in the high school division. I'm going with Bastion. His application got approved, and he hasn't picked a place yet."
"Eh… Bastion-senpai?" Serena's face fell, brows furrowing in disappointment.
"You trying to insult me?" Bastion asked, sweat beading on his forehead. "I am the second-ranked in Ra Yellow, you know."
"Ahahaha, no worries, Bastion!" Hikaru patted his back. "You're plenty strong, even if you can't hear spirits."
"Yeah, go get 'em, Bastion!" "Yeah, I'll pray for your survival!" Chazz added with a smirk.
The mental damage was real.
So what if he had low Spirit Affinity!? It's not like he asked for it!
He'd been to another dimension, too!
As the day wound down, Zane gathered his cards and headed to the Obelisk Blue transfer gate.
Obelisk was the richest, most high-end of the three dorms, and their portal was the latest model—courtesy of KaibaCorp, as usual.
Atticus Rhodes, despite his mysterious one-year disappearance, was still a prodigy on par with Zane. He waved cheerfully at his fan club before stepping up to the gate with Zane and activating the portal.
Initially, nothing unusual happened.
But just as they were about to leave, a strange symbol lit up on the portal's frame.
A green circle, broken on one side, with a dot in the center. It resembled a snake that failed to bite its own tail—a broken ouroboros.
What...?
They both tensed.
Then the portal erupted in green light—and they vanished.
"Where are we!?" Zane called out, stepping protectively beside Atticus, who instinctively went back-to-back with him.
It was a dimension neither had ever seen.
They stood in a massive workshop—filled with furnaces, metal constructs, and arcane equipment. The roof was gone, revealing a star-speckled sky above. Enormous celestial bodies floated just overhead.
The Sun. Venus. Jupiter...
They were in space.
"This place is…?"
"Zane! Look out!"
A figure stepped from the shadows—a cloaked man wrapped in bandages, masked, with eerie red eyes glowing beneath his hood.
He raised a strange book—adorned with a single golden eye.
"I am the seventh of the Seven Stars… Armnile."
His voice was disjointed, ethereal, sending chills down their spines.
"He's here for me," Zane muttered, immediately on alert.
It had been almost two months without a new Seven Stars challenger. Zane had gotten a little complacent. But this masked figure snapped him back to full awareness.
"Sorry, Atticus. Looks like I dragged you into this."
"What are you saying, man?" Atticus laughed, stepping forward and raising his Duel Disk. "Fighting generic monsters is boring. Let me take this one. Don't underestimate me!"
"Fine by me," Armnile said flatly. "I don't care who fights. Hell, both of you can come at once."
Their expressions darkened instantly.
"One-on-one. Two-on-two. That's how duelists do it!" Zane snapped.
"No tag-teaming!" Atticus shouted, surging forward. "I'll take you on myself. Zane, hang back and analyze him!"
"Got it!"