PANDORA
The snow began to fall as the storm rolled in. The temperature had been dropping for the last two days, all leading up to this blizzard. First came the wind, making the already cold air feel even colder. And then the snow came, the high winds blowing the snow to the point of whiting out the world. Because of this snow and wind, most people were off the roads, staying inside to try and keep warm.
To Jefferson Hewitt, better known by his online persona Pandora, the cold didn't bother him. He had spent most of his life living in the cold, hailing from Alaska. Most of his childhood was spent in the cold, and not because he wanted it to be that way. He'd been alone ever since his parents were killed when he was just nine years old. And his first several months alone were spent in the wilderness of Alaska, exposed to the bitter cold. It was only through luck and determination that he managed to survive.
Fifteen years later, that life had been put behind him. Or at least, he had hoped it was. He stood on the roof of his New York apartment complex, looking through the snow at the towering building he knew was only less than a mile away. Even through the snow, he could see the illuminated neon sign, showing "I2" through the whiteout.
Industrial Illusions, the company founded by Maximillian Pegasus, responsible for the creation of the card game known as Duel Monsters. A short time after the game's debut a few years ago, it became a worldwide phenomenon, with multiple tournaments held year round across the globe. Children and adults alike fell in love with this game, and a person couldn't even go to the grocery store without hearing about the two top duelists in the world – Seto Kaiba, president and CEO of KaibaCorp, who invented the holographic arenas and the duel disk system, and Yugi Moto, the so-called "King of Games". Mr. Pegasus himself granted Yugi the title after Yugi beat him at the Duelist Kingdom tournament.
Hewitt could care less about Yugi Moto. After all, he wasn't the one who made this card game. Looking back on the last few years, just what had come from this seemingly innocent children's card game? Pegasus briefly became an insane psychopath thanks to the Millennium Item he was holding at the time; the heir to a tombkeeper went mad with power, believing he was next in line to be an Egyptian king; and just how many people had been killed because of this game? Some of those deaths could be attributed to mystical forces, like the Millennium Items he had read up about, and some were just out right murders – and most of those were when Pegasus was under the dark influence of his Millennium Eye.
Hewitt stepped inside and shook the snow out of his long black hair as he thought about what Pegasus had done by making this card game. It was hard to believe that so much trouble had come from something so innocuous, so inconspicuous. And yet, he had a deck of cards sitting in the drawer of his dresser.
He pulled the drawer open. Sitting among the various handheld game consoles was a deck of cards. Being a gamer, he was drawn to Duel Monsters when the first decks hit the shelves, but as the horrible things started he began to question if the game was really just as innocent as it seemed.
And then he learned about the game's history stemming from ancient Egypt. He learned about how the game known as Duel Monsters was based off of games played by the Egyptians during the time of the Pharaohs, and how those games were sometimes played in place of war, and the consequences were more severe than simply feeling depressed for a few minutes. Stories told of a dark realm known as the Shadow Realm, which may as well have been hell itself.
How could Pegasus have brought back those dark games? Had he known?
It didn't matter to Hewitt. What mattered was that no one seemed willing to do anything to prevent any more tragedies brought on by this simple card game.
But he would change that. All he needed was an opportunity.
Hewitt picked up the remote control for the television; the Weather Channel had been on since this morning. He flipped through the channels, going past the local news, the morning talk and game shows, stopping when he saw Maximillian Pegasus's face on ESPN.
"Attention duelists around the world," he announced. "The time has come to host a new Duel Monsters tournament exactly one week from today in New York City. This tournament will determine the best players in the world. So ready your decks, rethink your strategies, and meet in Madison Square Garden on January 17. Because when all duelists are gathered in one place, it will be time to duel. Invitations are being sent out right now, so feel free to register to test your skills against the greatest duelists in the world."
Jefferson Hewitt picked his duel deck out of his drawer. The time was drawing near.