The Abandoned Dorm.
When Jiang He and Alexis returned and entered the building, they quickly spotted Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley Huffington. The three were once again piled on top of one another, shivering and huddling in a display of comedic cowardice.
"Seriously, are you three sure you're cut out for exploring...?" Jiang He muttered, shining his flashlight on the trembling trio.
"Jiang He! Alexis!" Syrus cried out, his voice shaking. Like a startled cat, he was halfway perched on Jaden's back alongside the bumbling Chumley. "We just saw it! A huge black shadow just zoomed past us!"
Syrus and Chumley's legs were practically rattling as they spoke. Jaden, meanwhile, was being squashed under their combined weight, his face pale and his breath coming in short gasps.
"Jiang He!" Alexis's eyes sharpened as she turned to look at him, realizing who they must have seen.
Jiang He nodded back, confirming her suspicion. The "tall black shadow" the boys had seen was undoubtedly the "dedicated" Titan, who had crawled his way back here to set an ambush despite his recent trauma.
"Kuri kuri!"
Sphere Kuriboh materialized, using its tiny hands to point in a specific direction.
"That shadow you saw wasn't a ghost. It was a guy who just tried to attack Alexis and is looking for a duel with me," Jiang He explained to the huddled group.
Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley froze.
"A guy tried to attack Alexis and wants to duel you?"
The three of them looked at each other. They untangled themselves and stood up straight, their fear replaced by indignation.
"If that's the case, we can't let a creep like that get away with it!" Chumley said supportively.
"Exactly! We can't let someone 'playing ghost' to scare us off the hook!" Syrus added, his face burning with embarrassment. Being caught twice in a single night hiding on his big brother's back in front of Jiang He and Alexis was enough humiliation to last a lifetime.
"If there's a duel involved, I'm in! Let's find him right now!" Jaden added, his focus entirely different from the others.
As expected of you... Jiang He thought with a silent sigh.
However, since everyone was in agreement to find Titan, he nodded and summarized the plan. "Alright then, let's keep moving. We need to find that attacker hiding in the deepest part of this dorm!"
Alexis nodded in agreement. The group proceeded forward, using their small flashlights to cut through the gloom. With Sphere Kuriboh acting as a guide, Jiang He wasn't worried about getting lost. The Abandoned Dorm wasn't particularly large, and the layout was relatively straightforward without too many branching paths.
After passing through a short, dilapidated corridor, they emerged into a vast, empty stone chamber built from jagged, stacked rocks.
"Seriously, why is there a room styled like this inside a dormitory...?" Jiang He couldn't help but complain. It felt like they had walked into a cave-survival game.
But something else in the spacious chamber caught his attention. Further ahead, a thin layer of white mist was swirling slowly across the ground.
"What is that...?" Jaden asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Heh heh heh... so you've finally arrived."
A muffled, heavy laugh echoed through the empty stone room. Deep within the voice, there was a faint, almost imperceptible hint of lingering pain.
"Waaaah!!" Syrus and Chumley shrieked, instantly diving back to Jaden's side.
"Who goes there?!" Alexis demanded. She stepped closer to Jiang He, her voice sharp as she peered into the swirling white mist. She had a good idea of who it was, but the sudden appearance of the mist felt eerie and unnatural. She couldn't help but wonder if her brother had vanished because of this man.
"If you want to duel me, there's no need to make it this complicated. You could've just asked," Jiang He said with a sigh, holding out his hands. Between the fog machines and the psychological intimidation, he felt like he was watching a circus act.
"Hmph. A brat who knows nothing of the terror of a Shadow Game," the muffled voice sounded again.
In that instant, a tall figure in a black trench coat emerged slowly from the mist. It looked as though he were materializing directly from the vapor. He wore a pitch-black bat mask and a hat, and his wrists were fitted with specialized dueling equipment.
"Welcome to the grounds of your defeat. I am the Shadow Duelist, the Duel Hunter, Titan."
Titan's gaze fixed on Jiang He through the slits of his mask. "It seems you are my target, Jiang He!"
"A Shadow Duelist?!" Alexis, Jaden, and Syrus gasped in shock.
"No way... how can a real Shadow Game exist...?" Syrus stammered, his body trembling. The entire scene was simply too bizarre.
"You need a legendary Millennium Item to start a Shadow Game! Do you really have something like that?!" Jaden asked, a bead of cold sweat running down his face as he stared at the man.
"Hmph. Brats will be brats, refusing to believe the truth even when it stares them in the face. Witness my Millennium Itemthe Millennium Puzzle!" Titan chuckled as he pulled out a golden, pyramid-shaped object hanging from a cord around his neck.
An eye-like sigil was engraved on the golden surface of the pyramid. As he held it up, it suddenly emitted a brilliant, golden light.
However, Titan failed to notice that the moment he revealed his "Millennium Puzzle," the look in Jiang He's eyes became exceedingly strange.
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