It just stood there, against the wall of an old building. A hooded figure, small in stature, hunched over and covered by a long travelling cloak. Hours later, it had not moved.

Rosetta had found it weird at first sight. She saw the figure when she left for work that day. Not only was it an unusual sight, it made her feel uncomfortable. A cloak that long in the middle of summer was bound to be unbearable. Yet, when her shift ended about 9 hours later, she took the same road back home, and met with the same sight. In the very same place.

Rosetta stopped, and looked on towards the figure for a time.

It was almost creepy, how still it remained. The cloak was brown and ragged, and unaffected by the breeze of hot air that waved across the city. The person's (it was a person, right?) head was angled down enough that the hood made it impossible to make out any features. The legs protuding outward revealed fair skin and surprisingly clean sandals on the feet, but little else.

Rosetta wiped the sweat off her brow. Standing outside without air conditioner for a short while made her feel gross. She couldn't fathom how the other was faring this. Giving in to her curiosity, she took a few steps towards the figure and crouched.

"Excuse me. Are you… alright?"

No response. A passing couple gave her a sidelong glance. Or maybe it was at the person, who still gave no signs of life? Rosetta repeated the last question, with the same result. As she raised her hand to touch the person's shoulder, she noticed something.

A card was laying on the ground, facing down. The back image showed that it was a Duel Monsters card. Rosetta's eyelids drooped. Of course it was a Duel Monsters card. Sometimes it felt like their entire society was based around the game. Covering everything from a professional scene to specific education courses (and even academies), the card game was everywhere and was highly endorsed by pretty much everyone.

Rosetta never liked it, for a few reasons. But most importantly, this was probably from the person sitting in front of her, so despite the fact they had bigger worries than a card, knowing how attached some people were to their decks, Rosetta picked it up, shook off some of the dust and looked at it.

"Lyna, the Light Chamer," she said, under her breath. That was the name on the very top. It depicted a cute girl with a familiar and a wand. She had white short hair, white eyes and delicate hands. It had few stars, something which she noted her brothers would have disliked. But it did make up for it with an effect of sorts.

Before Rosetta could take in everything, however, she finally heard something other than herself.

"Ahh… hot…."

Her eyes widened. She looked behind her, finding only the rest of the street and the sound of the passing cars. It felt like whoever spoke was behind her, but there was no one there. So it had to have come from the person right in front of her, even if that felt... wrong. So she turned again. And spoke again.

"You don't sound great. Do you need help?"

There was some grumbling. The hood shook a bit. The person brought up their hands from under the cloak, to draw the hood down. Rosetta was relieved momentarily, since the person's movements indicated they still had enough strength to act as normal. Now that she could see who it was, she was surprised to see a rather small lady.

She had white hair, white eyes, and…

"... What?"

Rosetta looked down to the card she held. Then up again. There was no mistake.

The card was showing the very same girl that stood in front of her.

Not that everything was the same. The girl on the street had her eyes half-closed, as if she had just woken up from a turbulent night, and wasn't smiling. Her robes and cloak were much more haggard, she lacked the wand or familiar, and her eyes had very little light to them, but it was by all other accounts the very same girl.

Still struck in a state of disbelief, Rosetta now found herself being observed by the girl. This felt creepy in the same vein as the bizarre and unexplained always scares people. But at the same time, the girl looked helpless, and there was an urge to help someone so young, too.

"... Are you OK?" Rosetta insisted.

"Ahh…" The other girl's shoulders slumped and her head tilted downwards. "No… Please take me… anywhere else…"

Now it was Rosetta's turn to go silent. Did she want to take such a detour from home? It had been a long day at work. But this was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Her mother would say something like that. So it was that she arched one of her arms around the cloaked girl to try and bring her up to her feet.

But there was no feedback of her touching anything. It was as if there was nothing there. And in fact, once Rosetta looked again, there was nothing there. No girl, no voice. Just an old building.

All that remained was the card in her hand.

"I'm home, Ma!"

"Welcome back!"

Even in the suburbs of Domino City, there was at least the appearance of prosperity and wealth. So it was that Rosetta's house did not look bad or small from the outside. It was a wide, two-story building painted in a subdued blue hue, after all. But once one went inside, the illusion cracked. The walls with little infiltrations tarnishing the eggshell paint on the inner walls and the wantom of proper cleaning everywhere made sure of that.

Not that it mattered as much as having someone to come back to. And for Rosetta, that person was her mother. She rested on a blue couch in the living room, visible from the entrance. She was a tall woman, with long auburn hair and broad shoulders. She was an imposing figure, but her greeting carried the most mellow of tones.

"It is so hot today," Rosetta commented off-hand. She strolled across the living room towards a flight of stairs. "I'm gonna take a shower. You don't need anything from the general store for dinner, do you?"

"No, I got all I need. … Is everything alright, dear? You seem pale."

"I think so… It was a long day. Guess I'm just tired."

She had hoped the question didn't come up, which is why she didn't stop along the way to talk more to her mother; but she casually dodged the question once it came, and went up to bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The first thing she did there was go to the sink and splash water on her face. Aside from wiping off sweat, she wanted to give herself a reality check. What had she experienced on the way back home? A hallucination? A particularly strong daydream? It all would be easy to brush off if it wasn't the card in her back pocket, which she felt and drew out to put over the side of the sink, just to remember that it was real. And there was Lyna the Light Charmer, once again.

If it had been real, that couldn't have been a cosplayer. That seemed like a weak card to cosplay, though what did Rosetta know: she definitely didn't play well or enough of the game to know what was good or worth it. More importantly, if it had been a cosplayer, they wouldn't have vanished like this. It was much more likely that she had an hallucination due to heatstroke or something.

Or she could just be going crazy.

The thought made her look up to the mirror placed right over the sink. Green, confused eyes stared back through a little mesh of blond bangs. Her form was much more petite than her mother's, though she shared a broadness of shoulders. It made her feel very out of proportion with the rest of her body, being slimmer with smaller breasts and narrower hips. Yet that whole figure was still all "Rosetta" as she knew herself: and if she could identify that, it hopefully meant she wasn't so out of her mind as she thought.

Setting her doubts aside, she stripped from her work attire (a black buttoned blazer with a white undershirt and social black pants) and underwear, and went straight to the shower. And as the cold water rained down on her, she felt her body and mind settle down a bit. Whatever her previous experience had been, it was done for now, and she could worry about it later.

In fact, she'd settle the issue in her head during the shower. Maybe what she saw was only partially real. She wasn't a fanciful woman, but there had been stories before about cards having more to them than most could see. Yugi Muto sure gave that impression on some interviews, though Rosetta couldn't recall it all right now. In some of his televised games, he almost seemed to talk with her cards or believe in their hearts, or something. She had to grasp for straws on any info about Duel Monsters without her brothers at home.

Nonetheless, maybe there was something to that. She thought she saw the spirit of this card; might as well talk to it. The worst that could happen is nothing, and she'd feel silly for even trying.

A few minutes later, she was back in her room, brushing her hair and fully dressed again, in a more comfortable set of clothes. She brought the card with her and set It on the bed. Then, half-smiling to herself, she spoke up.

"Lyna?"

For a few moments, there was no response, as one would normally expect. It wasn't like the fictional monster was just going to pop up into reality from her card like a genie leaving its lamp when summoned. And that indeed didn't happen.

What did happen is that said monster walked in through the solid closed door with a spring on her step and sparkle in her eyes.

"Did I hear that right!? You called me?"

Rosetta jumped from her bed. An awkward moment passed, after which she just managed to stammer something out.

"Oh, I… I did, but sure didn't… expect it to work! What even… H-How…"

She had settled down on the fact this was not going to work, so she had been ill-prepared for what to do if it did work. She might still be crazy, talking to ghosts like that, but Lyna perked up with a smile.

"Hey, I was surprised too! I was afraid that you talking to me earlier had been a coincidence or whatever! But you DO see me! I'm so glad!"

Was this how it felt, to be the protagonist of a movie that just got to experience something surreal happening right in front of them? Should she treat this as normal for the time being? What does one even do at this point?

More questions, probably. Rosetta decided to start from the beginning.

"So… you're Lyna, right?" She looked down at the card. The static image was still there. "The… Light Charmer?"

"Lyna's the name, yes!" The girl puffed out her chest and put one hand to her hips. Only now did Rosetta realize she was still using the travelling cloak, unlike shown on the image. "I'm a student of magic! Well, at least I was."

Rosetta scratched her head. "So you're not just a monster, then…?"

"I'm sorta stuck with that," she said, eyes looking to the side and the smile gaining more of a bittersweet undertone. "I mean… I am bound to that card, no question about it. I can't stray too far from it. And it is a card for duels and stuff, so I am a monster in it. But it wasn't always like that!"

"Can you… elaborate on that?"

It was surreal, talking to something that might as well be a hyperactive figment of imagination. Rosetta was entertaining the questions, but she still strayed away from accepting it.

"It feels like it's been forever ago," Lyna began, crossing her arms and tilting her head. "But me and my friends studied magic in an island, faaaar to the south! We were all trying to find ways that elemental magic can be used to make the world a better place! Each of us focused in a specific kind of magic, and we'd talk about it through the rest of the day! Our teacher said that, when we felt ready, we'd be able to rejoin the rest of the world and-"

"So you have memories of all that. But you don't know how long ago it was?"

Rosetta interrupted due to almost tuning the whole thing out once it got going. It had been a long day, and though what she said to her mother to dodge the question was that she was tired, only now did she feel that she legitimately felt tired now.

In response, Lyna pouted.

"Hey, you asked for it in the first place! But yeah, I don't remember exactly. It's like… I've been wandering for years. I don't know how long I've been bound to this card, or WHY it happened… But this is where I need to say something important!"

Decisive, Lyna took enough steps forward that she could reach Rosetta, and raised her hands, as if she was going to place them in Rosetta's shoulders. The complete lack of impact to her actions in the physical world was probably the most unsettling thing about the approach for Rosetta.

"Please, I have a big favor to ask! But I can't do it if I don't know you! Tell me about yourself!"

"... Uhh…"

The request came out very strong, but Lyna said nothing else for now. She seemed to stand by it as it was. Rosetta thought about it. The worst that could happen was that she was talking to herself, right? So maybe she could keep this going to its logical (or illogical) conclusion anyway.

"OK…? What do you need to know?"

"Hm… The basics! Your name, age, what magic you study, that kind of stuff. Or, I suppose in your case would be 'what things do you study'…?"

Did that mean she only had a rough idea of how the contemporary world worked? Rosetta didn't know whether to consider that legit or just funny.

"OK, well… My name is Rosetta Kischner. I'm 23. I'm not studying anything, actually. I work as a brand clothing store attendant in the local mall." She stopped and looked. If she could trust Lyna's facial expressions, what she said last probably didn't register, but her eyes still exuded seriousness. "Both my brothers are studying in Duel Academy, if that's of any interest to you-"

"Oooh, you have siblings! That must be really nice!" The speed at which Lyna shifted from intense to easy-going was remarkable for Rosetta, which rubbed one hand in her temple to sort things out in her mind.

"Don't lose track now. What is it you wanted to ask? I doubt I can be much help, so I don't really want to commit to anything too big."

"Ahhh… but… Wait! P-Please, I beg you, just… hear me out first…"

Again, she shifted fast. Now she made sad noises that would make a puppy sniffing sound uplifting by comparison. Rosetta crossed her arms, but had her ears perked.

"You're the first person that can see me that I've seen in… forever! It's really good to be able to talk and feel like someone's listening… You have no idea! O-Or maybe you do, I shouldn't assume, but the point IS that, um… first, I'm thankful to you, but… It's also the first time I can make the request I've wanted to make all this time."

Lyna took a deep breath. Rosetta was somewhat aware that she had not breathed a single time during this whole talk, so the motion was pure time stall.

"I… want to find my friends. They're out there, I know it! I'm not the only spirit around, you know. They're not awfully common, but they're there, and I'm certain the others are, as well! I… I really want to see them again. I'd search however long it took. But I can't do it alone, since… I'm bound to this card."

Rosetta glanced back at it. How perky Lyna looked in it. She must have been a very happy-go-lucky kind of girl. Rosetta almost felt jealous of it. But she couldn't when the same person was pouring her heart out on the side.

"I know we've just met now, and… I'm sure you have a life to take care of! But please! Carry me around, wherever you go!" Lyna's tone got all the more intense as the sentence went. "I just need to have a way to go around and search for my friends! A-And you can listen to me! I couldn't ask for better help than that! A-And hey! I can help you too! You play Duel Monsters, right? I'm a pretty good card myself!"

She beamed again, though it was clearly to sell herself some credibility and not because she meant it. Still, Rosetta sighed.

"I do have a deck, but… I never really liked the game," Rosetta said, weighing her words so as to not hit Lyna too hard. "It's a good game, but everybody seemed to see some appeal to it that… I'm not sure I did. Most of my deck are hand-me-downs from my brothers', anyway. It's not very well put together."

"All the more reason to get an awesome card, right?"

Rosetta looked up to the other's face. Her smile didn't faulter. It was contagious: she was barely able to stifle some laughter.

"I wouldn't mind that," Rosetta admitted, "but the point was that I'm not really out there looking for other duelists. I don't think it'd be good for you to stay with me, if you want to go out there."

Somewhere along the day, this started to sound like a casual, cohesive conversation. Rosetta had surprised herself. She even had an idea on how to act on this- one that was going to be weird to explain to anyone other than the two in her room, but it could work.

Lyna, however, despite not losing her smile, was visibly trying to accept the situation.

"That is fine! I mean… keeping watch of an area is good! Spread yourself too thin and you don't get anything done! That's what our teacher used to say, about magic and life. Hahah… And I have to count my blessings. Just being able to talk is a HUGE plus! Girl, I could talk your ear off about all the stuff from my past and that happened to me…"

"... About that. Lyna. Do you think your friends would be Duel Monsters cards too?"

Lyna nodded.

"I know that for sure. I may not remember how we got this way, but… I remember being with all of them in the beginning, before we got scattered against our will."

"I see. And you know of Duel Academy, right?"

"Eh? Uh, yeah! It's one of the biggest dueling schools in the world! … I think. But I've never been to it. Why?"

"Well, you being a Duel Monsters card, it sounded like a place of that kind would give you the biggest chance to find your friends, right? Not to mention that it's the most likely place to find someone that could get you to more places than I ever could. Maybe even someone else that talks to spirits. I don't think I'm special or anything, so if I can, there's gotta be other people who can."

That was simple logic right there, but Lyna took it well. Her eyes definitely got more shine than previously.

"That's true! Going there would be a great idea! So, take me there, please!"

"... Uh."

"What?"

Rosetta blushed. She was good at concocting the plans, or getting the idea behind something. She wasn't as good at executing it. On her mind, she'd just have sent her card in a mail to her brothers or something and be done with it, but upon thinking about it more, that would have been pretty cruel. This wasn't just any card: it was a card with a spirit that, so far as she could see, had all the same feelings a human did.

Which meant…

"Y-You want me to go to Duel Academy?" Rosetta stammered.

"Yeah! I mean, you were the one to suggest it! And it is a great idea!"

"B-But I'm working, and I said I don't play it that well. Also, the Academy is on an island. They don't tend to take visitors for no reason."

In response, Lyna wore her biggest smile and acted as if she was tapping Rosetta's shoulder."

"Details, details. If you know the start and the end of a journey, the middle is much easier, even if it's not any less important! That applies to studying magic, but I think it'd apply to anything, really! So I'm sure you can find a way! You already had a great idea as is!"

"Flattery doesn't help me magically find a way, though," Rosetta said, smiling amidst her blushing.

"I know. But hey, I got time! It's not like I'm going anywhere in the meantime."

That made an awkward silence reign in the room. Rosetta was suddenly aware of the situation as it stood, and it started feeling much more real in her mind. For a moment, she thought about the situation from Lyna's perspective, and it made her stomach sink. Trapped and incapable of moving on for who knows how long, at the whims of someone else that may not even have been aware of her existance. It made her hold her breath just imagining it.

There was still the distinct possibility that her brain was on a daydream trip the likes of which she never had before, or that she was genuinely having hallucinations.

But if this story had any chance to be real, it felt worth to try and act upon it.

Before Rosetta could reply, however, Lyna tried poking her. It didn't work, but the motion called her attention.

"Could you please turn on that air thingy? It makes the room colder, doesn't it? I was burning alive out there…"

"Oh! Sure."

Rosetta had felt refreshed after the shower, but it was still a very hot day. So she stood up and turned the air conditioner unit on. The house might have been nothing special, but good furniture and several household comforts were actually pretty cheap in Domino City.

In less than a minute, the room was feeling more chilly. Lyna, in response, removed her cloak, under which she was using an attire much like it showed in the card: a khaki robe and a bodysuit with two leather belts in a wide 'X' on the waist. The concept of a spirit getting rid of clothing was so alien to Rosetta that she deliberately decided not to think too hard on it. Especially when she started to strip that clothing as well and flopped down on Rosetta's bed with nothing, whilst singing out a very satisfied sigh.

"Thaaaaaaank you. Haaah, this feels much better. Please leave my card here."

"... I need to sleep too, y'know." Rosetta said, raising an eyebrow. Lyna giggled in response.

"You can do that still! You'll phase right through me, anyway!"

She couldn't argue with that. The logistics behind everything was questionable, however. After all, Lyna didn't phase through the bed, even though she went through the door earlier.

"How do you feel hot or cold if you're a… err… spirit of sorts? And how can you stay in my bed if you could go through things?"

"Magic!" Lyna replied immediately, with a happy chuckle. Rosetta felt she should be angered by this casual dismissal, but she ended up laughing as well. She just took it as an 'I don't know either'.

"Well, OK. … Um… Lyna, I'll see if I… come up with a plan. To leave you in better hands, or to find your friends. I just… need to sort this all out in my head. I mean, I've never known that spirits like these could exist, and based on-"

"Thank you."

Rosetta looked down. Lyna had laid on her side without a sound, and had a little sheepish smile in her face while her eyelids drooped in plain tenderness, or possible sleepiness. Her voice had also been as straightforward and sweet as it had been through their talking, maybe even moreso. It could be a resignation, but it felt more like a comfortable, inner peace took her over, which shut Rosetta up.

Maybe she needed her time to rest in this new-found comfort. That seemed good for Rosetta to do as well. But for now, she needed to straighten up this whole encounter in her head. And so it was that, for now, she opened the door and left her room.

There was one person she could always count on to formulate the best plans, or just to talk things out. And hopefully she wouldn't be too much a bother while her mother prepared dinner and she talked to her about all (or at least some) of what had just happened.