Attara: Hello, this time I'm going to publish two chapters at once since the duel's so short.

Aria: I am so going to win!

Attara: You don't even get to finish the duel in this one!

Aria: Well, if we did finish, I would've won!

Attara: Just keep thinking that…

Aria: What's that supposed to mean?

Attara: Nothing! Well, last time we left off where Aria finally realizes that she's going to get married! Hahaha! evil laughter

Challenge in Darkness

I raced into the forest, following the path that I had traveled so many times before. With ever twist and turn, I could feel my monsters calling out to me. I soon found my temple. The stone tablets that held the Shadow creatures surrounded the walls. I was prepared to exit the forest with these stones, until I spotted a masked boy wandering around. This was a strange sight since not many people would come to my forest very often. He seemed to have nothing to do, and he possessed an exceptional amount of tablets as well.

"Do you want to duel me for fun?" I called.

"Hmph, why not?" He turned around.

A golden object glowed through his clothing and the forest was shrouded in blackness. Apparently, we were in the Shadow Realm. We walked to opposite sides, allowing the monsters to attack freely in a wide space. He started the duel.

He first called for the Swordstalker. The purple beast rose from the tablet fearsomely. I quickly sent my Curse of Dragon to eliminate his monster, but a chain restrained my precious beast from the attack. He instantly exterminated my dragon. I held my head in the throbbing pain that I felt from the annihilation. Next, I decided to awake the Magician of Faith… I had a secret plan.

"You have to be kidding! That monster is one of the weakest monsters known to the shadow game! What use will that have?" The stranger taunted.

"Oh no! I summoned the wrong monster!" I sneered.

Immediately, he killed my magician, but the Swordstalker was destroyed right after the attack. My soul was in much more pain now from the impact, but I could still sustain my life force and managed to send a crush virus against my opponent's monster. The boy glared at me as he cringed in pain. He knew the effects of my spell, so he had no choice but to send Silver Fang along with the Moon. I called for my Dark Magician in attempt to defeat the wolf. The boy's eyes grew wide in amazement. I could tell that he knew that only the pharaoh could control the Dark Magician…but here it was, obeying my commands, not the pharaoh's. I recalled the memory that led to this monster to my possession.

It was a very unclear recollection since I was very young, but I could remember some people talking…about marriage. My father was a hard person to work with, so he had demanded for a guarantee that the marriage would go through. Later that day, he showed me the tablet that had a carving of a man in a purple suit holding a long rod.

The boy broke my thoughts by sending out his own Kuriboh and multiplying it with a spell. Each of those annoying pests populated the field by the thousands. I planned to fast-forward the time in the Shadow Realm by using my Time Wizard. Its roulette spun faster and faster. It was a fifty-fifty chance that it would land on a skull or time machine, but I was willing to risk it. Relieved, the roulette landed on a time machine, which led to having a millennium pass by right before our eyes. My Dark Magician became the Dark Sage while his stupid Kuriboh aged greatly. The boy did something discreetly and ended his turn. I reversed the multiplying, which caused the Kuriboh to be one again. I now realized what the boy was up to, the defense points and attack points were switched, which made my Dark Sage weaker and the Kuriboh stronger, but not strong enough. This would ease the pain once I destroyed his monster. But not enough pain was eased when I attacked the fuzz ball. I could tell by the expression on his face that the pain was unbearable, that is, until a couple of guards ended our duel with some magic.

"Come back to the temple at once. The pharaoh ordered us that you must return immediately!"

"But I'm in the middle of a duel!" the boy answered.

"Either come willingly, or we shall take you by force!" the guards threatened.

"Fine then, I'll come."

The boy reluctantly closed the Shadow Realm. He whispered a "Farewell" to me, and disappeared into the forest with the guards at each of his side.

Attara: Eh-hem?

Aria: Oh yeah! Don't forget to read and review!