Monday, 03/19/2001, 11:15 p.m.
Lying comfortably on his bed, Shin stared distractedly at the peeling ceiling of his room. A twisted expression, somewhere between confusion and exhaustion, defined his features.
With his deck in his hands, Shin whispered to himself.
"Will I be able to return someday? Could I leave that mother here alone, without her son...? Heh... Am I a selfish bastard, huh...? Damn, this is really depressing... Tsk... Why do I have that stupid feeling again, huh...? I get goosebumps just thinking about it... I feel... watched... Is someone... there...?"
Shin's grip on his deck tightened. Breathing heavily, he looked around and murmured visibly nervous. His eyes looked wild and his back was tense. Sweat ran down his forehead and his hair seemed soaked.
"I know you're there. I may not see you, but there's definitely someone or something here. You can't fool me. I know you're guiding me for some twisted reason. Damn you. Show yourself right now and tell me what the hell you want, bastard...? Huh?... Hmph..."
A strange glint crossed Shin's black eyes. His gaze fell on the window across the room and he briefly smiled. He got up from the bed, left his cards on the nightstand, walked over to the window, and opened it fully. Seven floors of free fall greeted him. A warm breeze struck him.
A strange smile appeared on Shin's lips at the sight.
Domino City glowed with its many multicolored lights.
A whisper escaped Shin's lips. His body trembled. Then, he leaned dangerously forward.
"I wonder what would happen if...? Heh... If I chose to jump and end this whole ordeal... What would you do, the one lurking in the shadows? Would you even care...? I... I'm just so tired of all this... so sick— Huh?"
The window slammed shut.
Clack!
... Then, everything went black...
"Damn it!"
Shin's voice cursed, his figure indistinguishable in the darkness.
Immediately afterward, a haughty and furious male voice echoed in the dark, reverberating room.
"Foolish mortal!!! Damn you! You have no idea how much I've done for you! The things I've done to make us stronger! All you do is whine and lament your miserable existence non-stop! Ha! You have no idea what I had to endure just to pull you out of that damn veil and then put you in that body you so despise! You'll never understand all the sacrifices and suffering I had to go through to move events in our favor! I became your Ka! The Ka of a stupid inferior being like you! Die?! I won't let you die until I fulfill my purpose! You are mine!!! And you will obey—!!! Waaaahhh!!! What have you done?! Damn you!!!! Wraaaahhh!!! Nooo!!!..."
The darkness slowly faded. A space once black now appeared completely white.
Two figures floated in that strange place. One was Shin and the other a strange hooded man dressed in black, with a red third eye on his forehead, his face hidden beneath the dark fabric.
Shin was on his knees and the hooded man was standing. But while Shin laughed loudly from his position, the mysterious man showed no signs of reacting. Meanwhile, Shin stood up with difficulty. An apparently invisible floor supported him.
"Heh, hehehe! Now it all makes sense. I... I died. I died in my world and somehow you... Heh, you found me... You brought me here and did something really stupid. You became my Ka. You helped me with my deck and manipulated many people because of it. Just to use my knowledge of this world to your advantage. Heh... Isn't it absurd? You became my puppet voluntarily and for what?... Come on, dance, dance something for me, damn bastard. Dance like I was dancing in the palms of your hands this whole time! Do it!"
At Shin's command, the hooded man proceeded to perform a clumsy imitation of a dance. His expression remained hidden and his bright green eyes lifeless. His third and only visible eye showed no reaction.
Regaining a calm expression, Shin gave a new order to the strange man. His demeanor took on a tone of reflection and doubt.
"Stop already. That was... that was horrible... Is this... this whole strange place? Hmph. I wonder what the hell it is? My soul, maybe?... Hmph, whatever... Now that you're an empty shell without consciousness, I can be more at ease in this damn world. At the very least, I won't get stabbed in the back by you. Besides, you must be very strong, right? Must know many things I don't? A being capable of everything you said you did can't be that simple, right? The question is, how far does your power go...? Show me."
Then, Shin watched in astonishment the full range of the hooded man's abilities. He controlled darkness to empower illusions. He could hide in the shadows, make a specific place indistinguishable, and also move imperceptibly through darkness. These characteristics filled Shin's face with confusion...
Shaking his head, Shin let out a long sigh before murmuring to himself.
"I know I've seen you before. But I don't remember where... Anyway, with those powers you'll be very useful to me. I wonder how I can get ou—? Huh?"
He had barely finished formulating his question when Shin was already back in his room, except now lying on the floor, instead of standing.
"Wow. That... easy? This is... amazing. Huh? You... you can appear here too...? Right, I remember something like that was possible in the show. Though I thought it was something exclusive to ancient times, in Egypt, with the stone tablets, the Kas, and all those strange golden artifacts...? I don't think you're a Duel Spirit like the ones in GX either, judging by what you said? Though... it's curious, you do look a bit like one... translucent."
The hooded sorcerer hovered slightly above the floor with a ghostly appearance. Shin got up from the ground and slowly approached him.
When Shin was about to touch the hooded man, his hand simply passed through him.
Shin let out a nervous murmur. Though his expression quickly returned to serenity.
"I expected it, but still I... I have many things to find out, but the most important one now is... What's your name? Answer me honestly. You seem familiar to me."
A dry voice with no apparent origin swept through the room. Shin shuddered.
"Zul-Karun."
Shin narrowed his eyes. His expression shifted from confusion to conclusion. A whispered question escaped his lips, haltingly.
"Maybe...?"
Almost running, Shin walked over to his deck on the nightstand, then began flipping through it with his fingers until he found a card. The printed image on it matched that of Zul-Karun.
"No way? Y-you... A-are you this card? ...Invitation to a Dark Sleep? How is that possible? Are you really a Duel Spirit? Am I in GX? But then, how do you have that name?"
Once again, Zul-Karun used the same monotone to give his response. Shin's breathing quickened. He unconsciously took a step back.
"No."
Shin exhaled, sitting down on his chair. But soon his expression twisted. Doubt clouded his voice.
"No? I don't get it. This doesn't make sense. What are you then?"
Zul-Karun gave another of his short, guttural replies.
"I am an ancient being. I was never human, but I also don't remember what I was. Now I am a Ka by choice."
Shin clicked his tongue. His expression darkened. His next question followed.
"Tsk... I see. You lost part of your memory. Though it's curious you do remember your name... very curious indeed... Hmph... So, you're not a Duel Spirit, right?"
Zul-Karun let out another short, emotionless reply.
"Correct."
Shin nodded to himself with closed eyes. Upon opening them again, he looked at Zul-Karun with a strange expression and sighed.
"Haaa... This night is going to be long."
AN/One chapter per day. 100 power stones today means one extra chapter the next day. Each chapter is made up of four acts, plus a prologue and an epilogue, and finally a special act — each ranging from 800 to 2000 words. Leave a comment and report any issues below. You can buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/s/8e7c3d4725