Spirit Dimension, Somewhere.
The night was as dark as ink, and dim moonlight shrouded the dense forest. A man in black, hood drawn, passed silently through the shadows, his figure blending seamlessly with the undergrowth.
He arrived at a cave entrance thickly covered with vines, with only a faint, eerie light shining through. The man in black bent slightly and entered the cave.
A cold wind blew from deep within, accompanied by a wailing sound. At first, the cave was silent and dark, but as he went deeper, he began to hear faint commotion—sounds of fighting and shouting.
It was a swarm of Insectoids.
In a spacious chamber, Insectoids of various forms were locked in a fierce battle. Some were as large as armored beetles, others darted nimbly between the crowd. Roars and collisions echoed, making the cave walls tremble. They tore at each other with fangs and claws, every attack sending bodily fluids and carapace fragments flying.
This was the insect hive.
The boss had gone out and hadn't returned, the Insect Knight was dead, and now the entire hive was leaderless. The remaining insects were fiercely fighting to determine who would lead next.
Suddenly, some of the insects noticed the man in black at the entrance.
"Human scent!"
"A human? Here?"
The swarm immediately dropped their quarrels and rushed at the man in black in a frenzy, baring their fangs and claws, ready to tear him to pieces.
But the man in black simply looked up calmly, his eyes beneath the hood glowing with a cold green light. A hexagram mark appeared on his forehead, spinning slowly like a magical wheel.
Boom!
"..."
A few minutes later, the battle in the cave was over.
Insects lay everywhere, scattered and defeated. Carapace fragments, fluids, and blood mixed together, forming a bizarre, bloody pattern.
The man stood in the center of the cave, coldly surveying the fallen insects, the hexagram on his forehead glowing, his black robe fluttering without wind.
Behind him, a massive shadow was slowly fading, with traces of ghostly blue flames lingering nearby.
"Stop! Stop! We're on the same side!" A mantis-like Insectoid coughed up blood as it hurriedly begged for mercy.
"We didn't know a divine messenger had arrived..."
The man in black coldly asked, "Has an outsider duelist entered this dimension?"
An insectoid immediately nodded.
"Yes. I heard the Skull King's wife ran off with the enemy, and then he defected as well."
"That's just a rumor," another insectoid interjected, "That sounds too far-fetched."
"It's true! My intel network is reliable."
"..."
The man in black gestured for them to be silent, then continued coldly, "Where did your leader go?"
The insects looked embarrassed.
"Uh, the boss heard the Skull King was beaten, so he went to confront those guys..."
"And then?"
"And... he hasn't returned since."
The man fell silent, as if deep in thought.
The mantis insectoid asked cautiously, "Lord Messenger, since the boss is gone, don't you think we need a new acting leader? How about I—"
The man glared coldly, and the mantis hastily drew its head back, not daring to speak further.
"One last question."
His eyes flashed green as he asked in a deep voice:
"In this dimension, is there a Phoenix God ruin?"
…
Spirit Dimension, Camp.
"Come on, come on, anyone who wants to practice dueling, line up!"
Jaden greeted everyone with a huge smile.
"One at a time, no pushing. Everyone gets a turn!"
"..."
Hearing that Kira had been teaching spirits how to duel, Jaden couldn't stand being left out and insisted on joining in.
So, he started running a boot camp for the spirits interested in learning to duel like interdimensional heroes.
"..."
The warriors soon realized this hero was nothing like the last one.
If dueling the previous guy left you feeling powerless, unable to play your cards, this one handled everything with effortless ease—no matter what card or move you played, he'd counter it in some unexpected way.
For example, when a Magical Broker monster spirit dueled Jaden:
Jaden: "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse Elemental HERO Bubbleman, Avian, and Sparkman! Appear, my strongest hero—Elemental HERO Tempest!"
[Elemental HERO Tempest, ATK 2800]
Magical Broker: "NANI!? A powerful monster with 2800 ATK?! But as long as my 'Magical Broker' is on the field, I can't be destroyed by any means as long as there's a Continuous Spell or Trap on the field!"
[Magical Broker, DEF 200]
"I have the Continuous Spell ' The Dark Door' active, so only one monster can attack per Battle Phase. Even Tempest can't break my defense!"
"Don't worry." Jaden grinned confidently, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'De-Fusion' on Tempest, splitting him into Avian, Bubbleman, and Sparkman! Then I activate the Spell Card 'Feather Shot'! By giving up the attack of my other monsters, Avian can attack several times equal to the number of monsters I control. I have three, so Avian can attack three times this turn!
Then, I play the Spell 'H – Heated Heart'! Avian gets 500 more ATK and inflicts piercing damage!"
[Elemental HERO Avian, ATK 1500]
[Magical Broker, DEF 200]
"NANI!?" the Magical Broker gasped. "Three attacks AND piercing…!"
"That's right! Go, Avian—Feather Shot Triple Attack!"
Magical Broker: "Uwaaahhh!!!"
[Magical Broker, LP 0]
"Victory!" Jaden cheered, "What a fun duel!"
Magical Broker: "..."
Kira watched in silence.
How to put it…
Feather Shot, the card that gives Avian multiple attacks, is one of those "Elemental HERO" cards that seems completely pointless—Avian only has 1000 ATK, what's the use of multiple attacks? And it requires giving up your other monsters' attacks for Avian's sake. Normally, it's a pretty useless card.
But Jaden's attitude was: "I drew it, I won, what's your problem?"
The boot camp continued.
"..."
"I activate the Trap Card 'Edge Hammer'! I tribute my 'Elemental HERO Bladedge' to destroy an opponent's monster and inflict damage equal to its original ATK!"
"..."
"I activate the Counter Trap 'Feather Wind'! If I have 'Elemental HERO Avian' face-up, I can negate a Spell or Trap activation and destroy it!"
Kira: "..."
You couldn't deny it—Jaden's deck might look like a pile of bricks, but when he played, he had negates, destruction, and counters.
Whether the spirits learned any true dueling secrets was another matter.
Jaden: Huh? Dueling? Isn't it all about drawing the cards you want?