It was sandwich day. Celina walked alongside Jaden and an Obelisk Blue student, the same guy who had once ripped through a steel door, now formally introduced as Damon.
Celina rubbed her forehead.
"So let me get this straight, Damon. You're the same lunatic I saw last week. Because you had garbage luck drawing cards, you ran off into the wilderness, trained yourself to death, practiced card draws with… eggwiches, so you could 'perfect your pull power'?"
"Exactly!" Damon said proudly, puffing out his chest. "And then Jaden beat me, so I came back to Blue!"
The three of them entered the Card Shop, heading straight for the sandwich cart. Damon clenched his fists. "Alright, Jaden, this time I'll use your advice and believe in myself!"
He tore open a wrapper, took a bite, and instantly collapsed to his knees. "Grilled… rock…" he wheezed, holding the sandwich like it betrayed him.
Jaden and Celina patted his back, but Jaden quickly grabbed a sandwich of his own. "Don't worry, Damon, you'll get it next time! Watch, this time it's my turn!"
He unwrapped it, took a bite… and fell dramatically to the floor. "Not again! Sardines!!" he cried.
Celina shook her head, patting both idiots. "You guys are hopeless. Guess it's up to me!" She snatched a sandwich wrapper, raising it like a prize… only to freeze.
Standing on the other side of the cart was Yumi, smiling casually. "Yo."
Celina clicked her tongue in annoyance, tore open the sandwich, and bit into it without a second thought.
A second later, she collapsed just like the boys. "Bitter… chocolate!?" she choked, pounding the floor.
"You good?" Yumi asked, walking over and offering her his sandwich.
Ever since Yumi's duel with Rio, Celina had been acting strange, snapping at him for things she normally brushed off. Whenever he asked what was wrong, she'd just kick him, pout, and refuse to answer. Honestly, it was confusing.
"…Yeah. Thanks." She finally muttered, taking his sandwich while he casually bit into the bitter chocolate one she'd abandoned.
"What's with you all of a sudden?" Yumi asked mid-bite.
"Nothing." She turned away, but her eyes drifted back to him, watching him eat something so disgusting without flinching. "Seriously, how can you stomach that?"
"You get used to it." Yumi shrugged.
She stared at him for a long moment before sighing. "Look… sorry for being a jerk."
The truth was, she hated how flustered she felt watching Yumi get along with Rio. They were just roommates, so she had no reason to be jealous… but the irritation kept bubbling up anyway.
Of course, Yumi wasn't thinking about any of that. He was busy wondering who to fight next so he could farm more Spirit Energy. His supply was running low, and he needed to print new cards.
"No hard feelings," he replied distractedly, already imagining some oversized sheep as his next energy target.
Celina smiled faintly, unwrapped the sandwich, and took a bite, her eyes going wide. "…No way. This is the Eggwich!?"
Her very first Eggwich at the Academy, and it came not from her own pull, but from Yumi's.
...
It was only a few minutes before the school day began, but Celina had more important things on her mind, something far more precious than punctuality.
Tickets.
Not just any tickets, but tickets to see the legendary King of Games, Yugi Muto's deck.
Yugi had long since retired, rarely dueling anymore, but whispers said he was simply waiting for a worthy successor to inherit his title. Rumors also claimed he still kept the Egyptian God cards in his deck, and had a relationship with Téa Gardner.
Whether true or not, his story had already transcended myth. He was the boy who proved even a nobody could change the course of history. His duels inspired countless Duelists to pick up their decks and chase greatness. He was a legend, and legends didn't fade.
For Celina, there was no doubt, Yugi was the reason she wanted to duel. She still got goosebumps remembering him clashing against Joey, Mai, and especially Seto Kaiba. She wanted to shine just like him, to become not the King, but the Queen of Games. Just imagining people retelling her insane adventures at this Academy brought a grin to her face.
But before she could ever dream of reaching Yugi's level, she had one immediate hurdle: beating the top Duelist at Duel Academy.
The morning after "Eggwich Day," Celina pushed open the door to the Card Shop and found Dorothy and Sadie putting up a giant sign:
"A TICKET TO SEE THE KING OF GAMES' DECK!"
Celina's eyes lit up. "Hey! Do you still have tickets for Yugi's deck?"
Dorothy chuckled warmly. "Of course, sweetie! We just opened. Sadie, would you?"
Sadie reached into a small box and handed her a glossy ticket. "Here you go."
Celina clutched it like treasure. "Thank you so much-"
Suddenly the school bell rang and her smile vanished.
"OH CRAP!"
She bolted out the door, sprinting through the hallways until she slammed open Professor Lyman's classroom door. Every head turned toward her, even Lyman himself.
"Hah… sorry!" Celina gasped, still clutching her ticket. "I was, uh… getting a ticket to tomorrow's viewing of Yugi's deck."
The room went dead silent for half a second.
"WAIT, THAT'S TODAY?!" shouted a random Ra student.
Panic spread instantly. Almost the entire class leapt up, scrambling like a stampede toward the Card Shop. The only exceptions were Jaden, who continued snoring at his desk, and Yumi, who didn't even glance up from his notebook.
"Now, now, students!" Lyman quickly raised his hands to stop the rush. "I know you're all excited, but the shop isn't going anywhere. Tickets after class, understood?"
The mob of students groaned, then reluctantly shuffled back to their seats.
"Good. Thank you." Lyman smiled in relief, brushing ash off his lab coat. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes! Combining chemical elements can be symbolic of Duel Monsters. Observe."
He poured liquids from one flask into another. The mixture shimmered, its color shifting beautifully. Students leaned forward, impressed.
Then it began to shake violently.
Lyman blinked. "…Oh dear."
BOOM!
The beaker exploded, smoke and soot coating half the room. When the dust cleared, Lyman stood there charred head to toe, looking like he'd lost a fistfight with a chimney.
"And that, class-" cough, cough "-is how a new element can be created."
He wheezed, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and promptly collapsed.
...
Celina was exhausted, to say the least. Fridays were brutal: Lyman's class first, then two hours of Stein, Marco's lecture, a short break, Fonda's grueling PE, and finally Satyr's double English period.
What really annoyed her, though, was that Yumi only ever showed up for Lyman's class. The rest? He either napped through them or didn't bother attending at all.
As expected of Jaden's so-called AIBO.
Both of those Slifer Reds were the definition of slackers, and yet they were still ridiculously strong.
While nearly everyone was buzzing over the chance to see the King of Games' legendary deck, Yumi couldn't care less. With enough Spirit Energy, he could just print out his own set of the Three Egyptian Gods. Why get worked up over a replica?
No, what had his attention was the event later that night.
Someone would steal that very copy of Yugi's deck. Dimitri, or whatever his name was, would nab it and even cosplay as Yugi himself.
This event happened in the GX anime. The assessment of this guy was that he was a prodigy, skilled at imitating other duelists' tactics and personalities. Whatever deck he picked up, he could use smoothly, a unique talent.
Something Yumi agrees.
Yugi's deck was infamous for bricking, a mess of different systems cobbled together; only the most advanced duelists could pilot it. Yet Dimitri could steal it and play smoothly, never bricking, which was remarkable.
If he had a flaw, it was that he never actually won.
It was strange. he could play any deck without bricking, but only in that sense. Even with Professor Crowler's Ancient Gear deck, he could still lose, not just to anyone, but to Syrus.
And this wasn't even Blue or Yellow Syrus in the later seasons. This was still Slifer Red Syrus.
Truly, one of the world's greatest mysteries.
"Master, shouldn't we stop the thief from stealing the King of Games' deck?" Effect Veiler asked, hovering beside Yumi's bed.
"I could," Yumi said calmly, eyes half-lidded. "But if I did, I wouldn't get the chance to duel against Yugi's deck."
His purpose is clear: to farm for Spirit Energy.
Dueling weak students barely yielded anything anymore, not when his targets are high-tier cards.
...
Later that night, when Jaden came by to invite him and Celina to check out Yugi's deck beforehand, Yumi refused. His interest wasn't in the deck, it was in the thief.
So Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Misawa, and Celina went on without him. When they arrived at the display, they found Professor Crowler standing awkwardly beside the shattered case.
Crowler quickly held them back, explaining that this was a misunderstanding since even he doesn't know who stole the King's deck. He then asks them to help recover the missing deck, which they agree to do.
Meanwhile, far from the others, Dimitri stood on a cliffside overlooking the sea, Yugi's deck trembling in his hands.
"Incredible… these legendary cards… the King of Games' very own power…" he breathed, his yellow jacket tails and ragged scarf whipping in the salty wind.
A voice cut through the night.
"So, you're the thief who dared to steal his deck."
Dimitri spun around. Yumi stepped out from the shadows, his long Slifer Red coat snapping in the breeze, eyes cold as he raised his left hand and activated his Duel Disk.
"Slifer?" Dimitri blinked, startled.
Of all people, why him?
Yumi sneered. "I won't waste my breath on an insect. Let's duel!"
Dimitri: "..."
Something felt off. Slifers weren't supposed to talk like that, so sharp, so arrogant. But he forced the thought aside. He had Yugi's deck in his grip. Surely this was just a Red trying to scare him.
"Good!" Dimitri puffed out his chest, activating his Duel Disk with a flourish. "Now that I've obtained the strongest deck, I wield unprecedented power! I won't lose to anyone!"
Both duelists snapped their arms forward.
"DUEL!" x2
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Dimitri, LP 4000]
"I'll go first! Draw!" Dimitri snapped his wrist, drawing with a sharp motion before quickly selecting a card from his hand.
"I'll use Polymerization to fuse Gazelle the King of Mystical Beasts, and Berfomet in my hand!"
A spiral vortex opened on the field, sucking both monsters into its swirling light. Their roars echoed as their bodies twisted together, merging into something far more poweful.
"Fusion Summon! Come forth, Chimera the Flying Mystical Beast!"
A massive creature stomped onto the field, landing on all fours. Its dual heads snarled in unison, wings of pale white feathers stretching wide before letting out a thunderous roar that shook the air.
[Chimera the Flying Mystical Beast, 2100 ATK]
Dimitri smirked, sliding two more cards onto his Duel Disk. "I'll set two cards face-down. That ends my turn!"
"My turn! Draw!" Yumi declared, sliding a card off the top of his deck and adding it to his hand.
"I activate the Spell Card, Magician's Library! This let me add a Spell from my deck to my hand." He pulled a card from his deck and revealed it. "I'll add the Spell card, Sky Striker Maneuver - Jamming Waves! to my hand."
Without wasting a second, he slapped down another card. "Quickplay spell, Sky Striker Mecha - Hornet Drones, Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace Token on my field!"
Blue data particles swirled, coalescing into a holographic figure that resembled Raye.
[Sky Striker Ace Token, 0 DEF]
"Since a Sky Striker Ace monster was summoned, I get to Special Summon Roze from my hand."
Blue light gathered again, forming the silver-haired girl in black, her twin tails swaying as she drew her sword with elegant precision.
[Sky Striker Ace - Roze, 1500 ATK]
Yumi raised his hand. "Now I'll perform a Contact Fusion! Roze, combine with my Token!"
The two dissolved into data streams, spinning into a glowing high-tech circuit circle before merging into a single form.
"The condition is two Sky Striker Ace monsters! Appear! Sky Striker Ace - Kisara!"
From the summoning circle emerged Roze once more, but clad in sleek blue-and-white futuristic armor styled like a nun's garb.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kisara, 1000 ATK]
Since the Sky Striker Ace monster in the Extra Deck is just armor for Raye and Roze to wear, Yumi made it so that when transforming individually, whether it's Raye or Roze, they would be the ones wearing the armor, adding more life to the game.
This situation is like the real world's card having alternative artwork, one of the biggest examples modern Yu-Gi-Oh players knew is Nibiru, the Primal Being.
Its first artwork depicts it as a massive falling meteor housing a powerful creature within. Its second artwork shows the monster inside, which looks nothing like the massive falling piece of rock many players know, love, and hate.
"Next, I'll use the Spell card, Sky Striker Maneuver - Jamming Waves! I'll target one of your face-down and destroy it!" Yumi then pointed toward the face-down card on the left behind Chimera.
A surge of blue energy pulsed across the field, striking Dimitri's set card. It flipped up to reveal Magic Cylinder, before shattering into fragments.
"Now I activate Kisara's effect! Once per turn, based on how many Spell cards I activated this turn, I can Special Summon any number of [Sky Striker Ace Data Token], equal to the number of Spells I have used. And since I have three or more Spells in my grave, the Tokens would gain 2000 ATK and DEF."
Roze clasped her hands together in a solemn prayer. Three glowing avatars materialized beside her, kneeling in formation as their bodies shine lightly in the night.
[Sky Striker Ace Data Token, 2000 DEF] x3
Dimitri's confident smirk twitched. "Tch… Even so, their attack and defense can't compare to my Chimera!" he insisted, though sweat formed at his brow as he realized the truth. Yumi had summoned six monsters in a single turn, without even using his Normal Summon.
Is this… the strength of Slifer? Why does it feel so suffocating?
"This is only the beginning. I'll show you what it truly feels like to face real power!" Yumi declared, his voice booming with theatrical bravado. His coat flared dramatically as he stretched out his hand toward the heavens.
"I'll tribute my two Data Tokens!"
The kneeling holograms dissolved into particles of blue light, shooting skyward like ascending souls.
"Two tribute?" Dimitri was taken aback; usually, two tributes meant a high-level monster was about to be summoned.
This wasn't Yumi's usual style. From everything Dimitri had seen and researched, Yumi's deck revolved around his Fusion monsters, Raye, quick, technical, hyper-aggressive play. His strongest revealed monster had only been a Level 5.
Now he suddenly whips out a two tribute summon monster, combined with his overly arrogant and aggressive way of speaking, how could Dimitri not be a bit afraid?
"Come forth-" Yumi's hand slammed the card onto his Duel Disk.
Blue light flares behind him, quickly forming into a massive figure.
A long tail lashed behind it, cracking the very air with its force. Bright white body with sharp claws, shining wings unfurled, illuminating the night sky, like a beacon of light.
Deep blue eyes, shown like clusters of stars.
Dimitri staggered back, his breath caught in his throat. "N-No... it can't be...!"
The massive dragon tilted its head down, its fangs bared, its gaze crushing him with the weight of inevitability.
"The legendary dragon..." Dimitri whispered, dread dripping from every word. "Blue-Eyes-"
"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Yumi announced, raising his arm, coat snapping in the wind.
The dragon spread its cosmic wings, its body burning with starlight as it unleashed a roar that shook the night sky.
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 ATK]