On the Duel Ship, in the competitors' lounge, Hibiki Koyo clutched the wall, coughing hard.
He took out a tissue, wiped his mouth, and got up to leave. Passing a full-length mirror in the room, he paused and looked at his reflection.
A thin, frail man who looked like a gust of wind could blow him away. His pale face was like snow that had never seen sunlight, with no color at all, and faint shadows under his eyes.
He looked less like a duelist, more like a patient.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Honestly, this is pathetic." He laughed at himself. "In front of my most important kouhai, I need to show what a duelist looks like…"
He adjusted himself, took a deep breath, and put his glasses back on.
But when he turned, he found his sister, Hibiki Midori, was already standing at the door, blocking the only exit.
"Sis," Koyo said softly.
A few seconds of silence.
"So you never really recovered, did you?" Midori said. "Ever since that duel..."
Koyo thought for a moment, then nodded.
It was the night he won the world championship in America—a mysterious duelist appeared before him.
"Congratulations, World Champion Koyo."
The man said, then gave a strange smile.
Then he raised his duel disk and inserted a deck.
"Will you accept my challenge?"
The duel was sudden. But Koyo was a true card fanatic like Jaden, and still basking in the joy of victory. He didn't think much of it.
He felt that as champion, it was his duty to accept challenges.
And that was the start of a nightmare.
The man's dueling was beyond imagination—not just strong, but bizarre.
That was Koyo's first encounter with the shadow duel. Every time he took damage, every time he lost life points, he felt his real life force drain away, as if a black hole was sucking out his soul.
Or rather, he should have lost.
In the final turn, all his resources were gone, his life points a dying ember, his consciousness fading.
He couldn't see his opponent, only heard the man's sinister laugh: "As expected of a world champion—much stronger than most duelists today.
So, I'll gladly take your soul and your Terra."
But at that moment, two beams of golden light shot in, the roar of a motorcycle approaching.
The man's face changed.
"Damn, you even chased me here… Persistent bastard. Whatever—my power hasn't recovered enough, it's not the time."
He packed up his duel disk, gave Koyo a cold look.
"You got to keep your life, champion," the man said coldly. "But don't celebrate too soon. You've already lost to me—this life is just on loan, but it's mine.
From now on, every time you duel, your life will drain away with your deck—your very soul. It's a bit abstract, but you'll understand soon enough."
His face was shrouded in shadow.
"You'll understand soon."
Koyo lost consciousness, collapsing.
As his awareness faded, he heard the motorcycle stop nearby, and someone running over.
"Hey! You over there, are you okay?"
"So in the end, you lied to me, didn't you?"
Midori looked at him.
"Saying you'd recovered, that you could return to the dueling stage…"
"Sorry, sis," Koyo said.
"But why? You're still …"
"And now there's only one quarter-final match left—just you and that weird man.
You must realize, this opponent…"
"Maybe he's like the one who beat me in America," Koyo nodded. "Another who holds the legendary dark power."
"You know, then… But two people collapsed in the last duel.
With your current body, even a regular duel is a struggle. Against someone like that, you might not make it to the end…"
Midori grabbed his shoulders, desperate.
"Just listen for once, Koyo. Forfeit. There's still time, don't duel him."
But Koyo looked up and smiled gently.
"I entered this tournament ready for anything, sis. So, whether it's a dark duel or not… it doesn't matter."
"I'm a duelist, sis." Koyo shook his head. "Especially in front of Jaden, I want to show the spirit of a duelist… not a coward."
She lowered her head, silent.
"Do you… really have to go?"
Koyo smiled, patting her shoulder.
"And don't worry, sis. I'm really strong." He said with confidence.
Midori took a deep breath.
"I understand. But just this once—never again. And…"
She stepped aside, clearing the way.
Koyo walked out, down the corridor to the arena, leaving her with a thumbs-up.
"All right, we've finally reached the last match of the quarterfinals!"
Referee Roland stood in the center, and the two duelists—Koyo and the man claiming to be the Orichalcos's avatar, the Arbiter—stood on opposite sides. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N0veI.Fiɾe.net
Koyo eyed his opponent warily; the man merely stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed, as if he didn't take him seriously at all.
Koyo thought of the previous round, of what happened before Loren fell.
He didn't know the man's background, but there was no doubt: this opponent was terrifying, in and out of a duel.
But no matter what kind of opponent, he never backed down.
"World Champion, the strongest HERO duelist—Koyo Hibiki."
The Arbiter looked at him meaningfully.
"Let me see what you can do."