Living through horror movies was far more terrifying than watching them. Selene was never the type to blink twice when watching something like The Circle. Usually, it would be someone else clinging onto her for support during the more bone-chilling scenes of those movies. However, there was nobody for her to grab onto now as she felt her heart rate spike watching the cloaked figure slowly turn towards her. Their eyes seemed to give a devilish glow in the candlelight.

"Well now-" Leaving the piano's side they stepped towards Selene's direction- "What do we have here?"

A voice like talking to a petulant child- one as smooth as fine silk- sent a chill down Selene's spine. She quickly pulled her head away from the open crack, covering her mouth with her hands as her heart felt as if it was trying to burst from her chest. She trembled as she tried to calm herself down. Taking slow, shaking steps backwards.

"It's not real," she muttered to herself, her breath quickening. "You haven't seen ghosts since back then- it's not real. You're not going crazy."

Are you?

Leaning forward, Selene glanced between the crack between the open door and the wall, back into the room but the figure was gone. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. She believed that she must have really hallucinated. She wondered why she hallucinated. Maybe she hadn't eaten enough that day? Or maybe she hadn't gotten enough sleep- after all she had gotten up pretty early to catch the ferry. Still, it was odd. She hadn't seen such strange things in so long. With yet another sigh she figured it was maybe time to retreat and go to bed.

Selene spun around, only to be met with a looming figure in the darkness. Unable to make out anything but the shade of a vaguely humanoid figure standing over her.

Selene screamed in surprise, stumbling back into the door. Hitting it with a thud, she tumbled backwards into the room with the piano. Slamming against the floor with the full force of her weight.

"Crud-" she muttered. Groaning, she rubbed her hip which had taken most of the force of her fall as she sat up, propping herself up on her arms.

She looked up towards the doorway where the figure stepped forward, their movements felt mechanical as they took one perfect step after another. A shimmering blue and gold robe hung off their thin figure. Their head was covered by a matching deep blue and gold veil, which seemed to almost shine like metal beneath the warm lights, obscuring their face.

Selene crawled backwards, not taking her eyes off the figure.

"Who- who are you…?" she managed to stammer out, the sound of her voice echoing across the hallowed walls.

"You're the one trespassing on my territory," the figure said, bringing a gloved hand up to their shadowed face. "I should be the one asking the questions."

"I'm hardly a trespasser." Selene began to slowly rise to her feet, though not taking a single step forward. "This used to be my home, you know."

"Well it's our home now." The mysterious figure clasped their hands in front of themselves, not seeming to take their gaze off Selene.

"Our?" she echoed, inching towards the doorway.

"Do you not know? Or do you simply not remember?" They scoffed, flicking their hand towards Selene. "The Darkness inhabits this place now. Sorry creatures like us- left behind by those in the mortal realm- we freely roam here."

"Well then I'll be leaving," Selene said firmly, beginning to quickly walk past them. She needed to awake from whatever bizarre nightmare she was living in. She nearly reached the open door when they cleared their throat.

"We were abandoned by humans," they said to her from behind, their voice clear and loud. "By careless humans like yourself."

Selene stopped in her tracks. She could feel their presence almost right up behind her, the hairs on the back of her neck raised. How had they caught up to her so quickly?

"You've grown to be quite beautiful, you know." They reached out, brushing a bit of Selene's hair out with their fingers. "Lovely long, dark hair. Unblemished skin with a youthful glow, I can see you've lost your baby fat. And captivating eyes on top of it all."

They let her hair fall through their doll-like hands. Leaning down and close to her face, Selene didn't feel the usual warmth you'd feel from being that close with another. Rather, it was the opposite- a dark cold. Turning their face, they whispered in her ear.

"Its a shame, really. That such beauty is wasted on someone like yourself."

The door was right before her. She could simply begin sprinting and not look back, she could leave now and wake up from this terrifying nightmare. Yet her body and her brain weren't communicating as she stood there frozen, unable to move. Despite the fact her mind kept telling her to wake up- wake up from this dream.

"You're not real," she muttered in a whisper.

They laughed- a wide echoing laugh which bounced off the walls of the circular room. Not one that felt organic, but a strange almost robotic sounding laugh. As their laughs quieted, they stood back up straight.

"I could help you, you know. I could grant your deepest desire, should you agree to my deal of course."

Her deepest desire? She thought about it- what was her deepest desire? Though she felt that she knew it- she also knew there was no way anybody could possibly be able to grant it. It was impossible, no matter how many strange things she had seen in her life she knew that what she wanted most would never happen. So it was very strange, the next words that came from her mouth.

"And what do you want in return?"

Despite the fact she couldn't see their face, she could almost feel a smile in their words.

"What do I want? What I want from you, my dear, is your body." Lifting a hand, gently running their fingers through her long hair before tracing that hand down the side of her face. Their fingers felt like metal against her skin. "I could put that beauty of yours to good use."

"My- my body…?" she echoed. Selene noticed her hands began to shake.

"Yes, my dear."

Selene's head began to pound. Feeling a strange sense of repetition- deja vu? A voice which sounded so familiar to her, affectionately calling her "my dear." Has that happened to her before? Shaking her head, she looked back towards the figure.

"To hell with that!" Selene felt her body begin to be able to move again, feeling adrenaline begin to pump through her body. She straightened her posture, ready to book it. "And what makes you think I'll agree?"

The mysterious person sighed, shaking their head.

"Because I either leave with your form-" the figure raised an open palm to the air- "Or you never leave at all."

The open door behind Selene suddenly slammed shut without prompt. The girl jumped back in shock, nearly being hit by the heavy door as it closed. The sound echoing through the room. Selene whipped back towards the veiled figure.

"W- What the-?!"

The figure shook their head. Selene couldn't even imagine the sort of expression they could've been making beneath their veil. With yet another dramatic sigh they said pointedly, "You've left me no other choice. We could've done this the easy way but you chose to be the same petulant child you always were."

They walked towards the other side of the room as Selene dove for the doorknob. Violently shaking it trying to get the door to open, yet the brass knob refused to budge even a centimeter. She realized that she was trapped in the room. Slowly, her hands dropped from the door as she looked down, hoping that any minute now she would wake up.

"Are you familiar with Shadow Games?" her captor asked, leaning against the head of the grand piano.

"Shadow Games?" she repeated, hoping desperately that this was a dream. "Like from the stories?"

"They're not so much stories, my dear," they mused. "They're reality."

"And I suppose you're not giving me a choice now are you?"

"You learn quickly." There was a smile in their words. "How adorable. Then you know the rules. Winner takes all."

"And the loser-"

"We shall not talk about such gruesome things like that, it's barbaric."

The way they spoke, it really sounded awfully familiar to Selene.

"But if I win, I get to leave."

"Hmph. Fine, whatever. You're not winning. Though I may as well give you a glimmer of hope. Who knows, the harder you fight the more fun you'll be to toy with."

Selene: 4000 LP
?: 4000 LP

"You may go first."

Selene didn't take her eyes off the shadowy figure as she drew from her deck. She couldn't help but do as they say, feeling as if her body was being controlled. Why did she feel such an intense knotted feeling in her stomach, like she was going to throw up. Something about their presence made this entire scene feel nightmarish.

It's just another duel, she thought to herself, taking a deep breath. Forcing the feeling in her throat down. Just another duel. Just plan your way through it, like you always do.

Quickly snatching the card from the top of her deck, she looked at it in comparison to the cards in her hands. A monster card, just what she needed.

"I set Lunalight Yellow Marten in defense position," she said, placing the card down horizontally.

A preppy looking girl with gold-colored skin and long, shimmering hair appeared on the field. Quickly, she knelt down, placing her black gloved arms across her chest. A fluffy golden tail wrapping around her body, as if to add an extra layer of defense. Maybe she was hallucinating, but Selene swore from beneath their veil, she saw her opponent's jaw clench.

Lunalight Yellow Marten
Beast-Warrior/Effect
800 ATK/
2000 DEF

"And I set one card," she finished, placing a card down on her disk. A swirling brown and black face turned upwards. "I end."

Selene couldn't see their expression beneath the figure's hood. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, and that made her nervous. They drew a card, briefly looking at it before adding it to the end of their hand. Plucking a card from the middle of their hand, they showed its face to Selene.

"I will activate the field spell, Curse of the Shadow Prison," they said simply, their voice soothingly calm. Yet Selene only found the hairs on the back of her neck raised at its sound.

The environment around them began to shift as the floor began to turn to sand. The chandelier ceiling transformed to an endless white sky and in the distance, only barren mountains could be seen. Selene looked to the ground. What seemed to be shadows without owners were moving about the bright desert floor, empty eyes peering up at her. Stepping back a bit, Selene's foot brushed up against one. Seeming to jump from its spot on the floor, dark streams shot up from the sand and began to wrap around her boot. Screaming, Selene violently began to kick in an attempt to shake it off, yet the shadow seemed to continuously stretch and contort. The figure clapped their hands, and the shadow let go. All shadows near her begin to slink away.

"Careful, my dear." They placed a hand on their chest and sighed, before softly laughing. Placing a hand over their chest, they tilted their head a bit. "The shadows are a bit aggressive today."

"What the hell?" Selene muttered under her breath, widening her stance a bit. Why did that happen? This is simply just an illusion- it had to be.

"Next, I'll set a card," they said simply, placing a card facedown.

Curse of the Shadow Prison? A flip set? She thought. Could it be…?

"I use the spell Book of Taiyou to flip my set card over into face-up attack position."

A long, snake-like creature appeared on the field. The purple scales shone under the sun of the field spell as its mane sprung out like dozens of knives. The face of a lion snarled at Selene, baring a set of sharp, white fangs.

Shaddoll Dragon
Spellcaster/Flip/Effect
1900 ATK/0 DEF

"Sh- Shaddolls?!"

Her opponent titled their head deeply, bringing a pale hand up towards their veiled face.

"Is something the matter, my dear?" they said dreamily. "Did I bring up bad memories?"

Selene wasn't sure if she was seeing things right under the beaming desert sun, yet she swore she saw faint blue threads fanning out behind her opponent's back. Ones which seemed to wrap around Shaddoll Dragon's body and claws. She rubbed her eyes, squinting to see under that bright sun. But she couldn't focus on what she thought she was or wasn't seeing, she had to focus on her opponent.

"No," she mumbled, staring down only at their shadowed face. She could use this to her advantage, she already knew the archetype's best strategies. This would give her a leg up over them. "Let's continue."

"Well considering you are familiar with the deck, then you should be familiar with Shaddoll Dragon's effect. When I flip the card, I get to send one card you control back to your hand." They raised a doll-like hand, a long finger pointing towards Yellow Marten. "And I choose that filthy beast of yours."

Shaddoll Dragon pounced at Yellow Marten. Slashing its long, thorny claws at her as Selene watched her monster shatter into millions of glass-like pieces. A plume of black smoke bloomed where she had stood, blowing towards Selene. The air smelled of something extremely burnt, like hair or plastic. It didn't seem like the usual illusitory smoke from her school battles.

"Next, I think I'll have my dragon attack you directly."

Selene watched as Shaddoll Dragon crouched, clearly ready to pounce at her. Quickly, she pointed to the face down card on her side of the field

"I activate my quick-play card, Half Shut!" she announced. "I'll halve your dragon's attack points until the end of the turn!"

Shaddoll Dragon
Spellcaster/FLip/Effect
1900 → 950ATK/0 DEF

Even with its attack points halved, the creature didn't seem any less terrifying. The dragon gave a bellied roar, lunging at her. Reaching out, scaled claws lashed out at her, slashing the sleeve of her shirt and giving her a long cut. Selene cried out in pain. Though it wasn't very deep, it stung bitterly. Selene reached to cover the gash with her hand though she felt it touch what seemed to be a warm liquid. Pulling her hand away, she realized that her palm was covered in shining, crimson red blood.

Blood.

Selene: 3050 LP
?: 4000 LP

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed in surprise, furiously trying to wipe the blood away. She had read about Shadow Games in history class, but she never imagined this.

"Don't worry, I won't beat you up too badly." Had they been saying anything else, Selene would've mistaken their tone for one of comfort. "After all, I still need you in tact. I just want to scare you a bit, it's fun to watch you squirm."

Selene could feel the warm blood begin to trickle down her exposed skin, soaking into the fabric of her sleeve. As she suppressed the sickening feeling in her stomach, trying to not look at the crimson red. She hasn't done well with blood for a few years by then, but there was nothing she could do about it at that moment.

"I lay down two facedowns and end my turn."

Selene silently pulled another card, careful to observe her opponent. For any sign they may hesitate, that they may be anything other than perfectly calm and collected. Yet there was none. Looking down to her hand that drew the card, she noticed her hands were shaking ever so slightly. Why was she so nervous?

"First, I'll summon Lunalight Emerald Bird in attack position," Selene said, slamming the card down harder than she anticipated.

A beautiful green-skinned woman appeared on the field. Her emerald feather cloak gracefully flowed about her. A brass, crescent shaped mask covering one half of her face.

Lunalight Emerald Bird
Beast-Warrior/Effect
1200 ATK/ 1000 DEF

"And I activate her ability, which allows me to discard one Lunalight card from my hand to the grave and draw one card from my deck. I choose the 'beast' you sent back earlier-" Selene pulled Yellow Marten out of her hand, placing her in the grave slot of her disk- "And her ability allows me to take any Lunalight spell or trap from my deck and add it to my hand."

"Interesting chain effect for a second turn~" they mused, placing both their hands close to their face. "My, my. You've grown up quite a lot."

"I'm not done yet." Selene tried to steady her voice as much as possible, she couldn't let the way they spoke to visibly affect her. She couldn't show any signs that they affected her at all. "I can still use Yellow Marten's other abilities. Since she's in my grave, I can activate her effect to send Emerald Bird back to my hand and summon her back on the field in defense position."

Lunalight Emerald Bird disappeared from the field, appearing back in Selene's hand as Yellow Marten appeared, replacing her position. Selene pulled a card from her hand, holding its green-colored face up for her opponent to see.

"Next, I'll use Polymerization and fuse Yellow Marten and Emerald bird to bring out Lunalight Cat Dancer."

Emerald Bird and Yellow Marten briefly appeared on the field before disappearing again. In a bright flash of light, a tall woman took their place. Streams of brightly colored fabrics danced about her body, matching her sleek pink hair. A golden mask shaped like a cat adorned the top half of her face, springing out into a bright purple fan. In each of her hands, a glimmering silver dagger.

Lunalight Cat Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
2400 ATK/ 2000 DEF

Her opponent's body language hardly shifted at all. They appeared to be completely unfazed, even faced with a monster with significantly more attack points than theirs. Instead, they simply said; "Are you attached to those cards of yours?" They shifted their weight to one side, tilting their head. "Can you hear their voices anymore? Or will you abandon them just like everything else? After all, if you can so easily abandon what was yours I cannot imagine how you will treat what isn't."

Ignore it, they're only trying to trip you up.

"Thanks to Emerald Bird's effect, my Yellow Marten can come back on the field. Don't worry, she won't be around for long since I'll use Cat Dancer's effect and tribute her. Alright Cat Dancer, hit that dragon hard!"

Lunalight Cat Dancer widened her stance, holding each dagger in her hand up.

"Not so fast, I use my facedown: Defense Draw. I can turn all battle damage to zero and draw one card."

"It doesn't matter, you still take damage thanks to one of Cat Dancer's effects. Everytime I declare an attack, you take 100 points of damage directly."

Cat Dancer pounced from her spot, taking a slice at her opponent. Swiftly, they shifted to the side, narrowly missing her blades as their life points went down.

Selene: 3050 LP
?: 3900 LP

"And Cat Dancer still gets another attack."

"But because of your tribute, my Dragon doesn't get destroyed."

"Heh, but you'll still be taking the damage."

Selene: 3050 LP
?: 3400 LP

"And don't forget, she can still deal one-hundred points of damage directly to you," Selene added, watching her monster take another missed slash at her opponent.

Selene: 3050 LP
?: 3300 LP

"Aren't you quite fun to toy with?" they mused, watching Cat Dancer return to Selene's side of the field. Selene on the other hand could only glare at her opponent, not taking her eyes off them.

"... I place down two facedown cards and end."

"My turn then?" they asked rhetorically, drawing a card. "Well, I suppose I'll start my turn by activating Polymerization to fuse Shaddoll Dragon with Qadshaddoll Keios to bring out El Shaddoll Construct."

El Shaddoll Construct
Fairy/Fusion/Effect
2800 ATK/ 2500 DEF

A beautiful, doll-like figure appeared on the field. Its head was covered by a gold and blue veil. Unlike Shaddoll Dragon, it hardly seemed alive. Staying perfectly still on the field, unmoving as its perfect porcelain face simply tilted downwards. In fact, this version of El Shaddoll Construct seemed much more soulless than Selene had remembered.

"As you already know, El Shaddoll Construct's ability allows me to send one Shaddoll card from my deck to the grave. And I choose Shaddoll Beast. Not to mention the three of the cards I sent to the grave have abilities that activate once they're sent there," they said, holding up three fingers. "First, the Beast allows me to draw a card. Next, Dragon's ability allows me to choose one of your facedowns and destroy it. And I choose the one on the left there."

They pointed to a card on the side of the field before it shattered into countless pieces, revealing the card underneath. Selene exclaimed in surprise, raising her arm to defend herself from the flying shards.

"Mirror Force?" her opponent cooed. "How cute. You really have grown up, Selene."

"How-" She tried to think, had she mentioned her name? "How do you know my name?"

"And at last, Qadshadoll Keios. However, I don't think I'll be needing its ability at the moment."

What? They have the chance to raise Construct's attack and defense though… Why don't they? That doesn't make sense… Are they just trying to mess with my head?

"And with my field spell, I gain a Spellstone Counter for every Shaddoll Monster sent to my graveyard by card effect, and your monsters lose 100 attack points for every Spellstone Counter I have. And because I have three-"

Selene's eyes widened as she looked towards her monster. "My attack points-!"

Lunalight Cat Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
2400 → 2100 ATK/2000 DEF

"Now, I'll take care of that feral beast."

"Lunalight Cat Dancer can't be destroyed in battle," Selene pointed out, her voice louder than she intended. However, her opponent seemed unfazed by her statement, shaking their head.

"Have you already forgotten Construct's effect, my dear? El Shaddoll Construct's ability allows it to destroy any Special Summoned Monster in battle."

Crap! They're right!

El Shaddoll Construct didn't even move from its eerily still position. Rather, glowing wires sprout from its body, wrapping around Lunalight Cat Dancer. The Beast-Warrior visibly struggled under its grasp before shattering.

Selene pointed to the facedown remaining on her field, crying out, "I activate my facedown, Lunalight Reincarnation Dance! Since a monster of mine was destroyed, I can pick two Lunalight monsters from my deck and add them to my hand."

"I end my turn with one facedown," her opponent said with finality.

Selene could feel her opponent's eyes on her as she drew the next card from the top of her deck. She looked upon the card she drew next to the cards already in her hand, narrowing her eyes.

All my strongest monsters are based on fusions, that means Construct can automatically destroy them in battle, she thought, adding her new card into her hand. Well, if my strongest monsters can't beat it, maybe my weakest can.

"Still overthinking? Just like you always have."

"I summon Lunalight White Rabbit."

A small, white-haired girl appeared on the field wielding a giant mallet.

Lunalight White Rabbit
Best-Warrior/Effect
800 → 500 ATK/800 DEF

"And with her ability, I can special summon any Lunalight monster from my grave back onto the field. So say hello to my Emerald Bird!"

Lunalight Emerald Bird
Beast-Warrior/Effect
1200 ATK/ 1000 DEF

"Next, I use the spell card Lunalight Fusion and fuse Emerald Bird, along with Kaleido Chick and Crimson Fox from my hand to make Lunalight Sabre Dancer."

As quickly as she appeared, Emerald Bird disappeared. In her place, a graceful lioness of a woman appeared. Long, shining blades in each of her hands that glinted menacingly under the shining sun of the field spell.

Lunalight Sabre Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
3000 → 2700 ATK/ 2600 DEF

"Plus, her ability allows her to gain two-hundred attack points for every Beast-Warrior monster banished or in my graveyard!"

Lunalight Sabre Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
2700 → 3500 ATK/2600 DEF

"It's special summoned though. And your silly little rabbit is no match for me, points wise."

"Did I say I was done?" Selene continued, growing increasingly agitated. "First, by sending Kaleido Chick to the grave, its ability lets me take back Polymerization. Second, because she's in my grave, Crimson Fox's ability changes your Construct's attack points to zero!"

El Shaddoll Construct
Fairy/Fusion/Effect
2800 → 0 ATK/2500 ATK

"And I'll have my silly little rabbit destroy El Shaddoll Construct! And since she wasn't special summoned, there's nothing you can do about it."

The rabbit-eared girl leapt from her space, violently swinging the mallet in her hands. She struck the doll-like monster right on the head, shattering it upon impact.

Selene: 3050 LP
?: 2800 LP

She finally had the upper hand in this battle, pointing directly at her opponent. "And I think I'll have Sabre Dancer finish this-!"

"I don't think so- I activate my facedown, Time Machine." The facedown on their side of the field flipped over, revealing the front of the card before it quickly dissipated. From the ashes of the card, the familiar doll-like monster rose back onto the field. "Meaning I can bring El Shaddoll Construct back from the grave."

El Shaddoll Construct
Fairy/Fusion/Effect
2800 ATK/ 2500 DEF

"And do not forget their effect, I can send any Shaddoll from my deck to the grave, and I choose another Shaddoll Beast," her opponent's tone was eerily still, "Therefore, I may draw another card, and your monsters lose another one-hundred attack points."

Lunalight White Rabbit
Beast-Warrior/Effect
500 → 400 ATK/ 800 DEF

Lunalight Sabre Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
3500 → 3400 ATK/ 2600 DEF

Selene watched her monster's attack points fall once again. Though she still had one more attack, she knew if she declared one on El Shaddoll Construct it would immediately destroy Lunalight Sabre Dancer. And it was more precarious of her to keep only White Rabbit on her field, even if Sabre Dancer's turns were numbered now.

"I cancel my attack and end my turn," Selene quietly said, lowering her arm.

She couldn't lose now. She had to be strong.

But why?

Because…

Why be strong when there's nobody to be strong for anymore?

No, that's not right…

As Selene's head began to pound she placed a hand against her temple. Her vision shifted in and out of focus as pain jolted through her head. She couldn't possibly be thinking of giving up now. Not when she was so close to victory she could touch it. She wouldn't give up, even if the odds were so far against her. She had made that promise once, and she didn't intend on breaking it.

But what's the point of keeping it anymore?

"Shut up-" Selene muttered, trying to force her vision back into focus against the pain raging in her skull. "Shut up- I don't want to hear it."

"Having trouble there, darling? I could help you, you know." They spoke as if speaking to a petulant child, still, yet firm.

"Shut up-!" Selene cried out towards her opponent, clenching her fists. "Get out of my head!"

For the first time in that battle, Selene felt that she could see a visible reaction from her opponent. "Me? Oh- I'm afraid you're mistaken my dear." They seemed almost offended. "You're the one holding yourself back."

Straightening up, they quickly drew from their deck. Returning to their perfect, unmoving state. "I draw. First, I'll send away that nasty little rabbit of yours."

The same iridescent wires sprout forth from El Shaddoll Construct, wrapping around Lunalight White Rabbit's entire body. With a final squeeze, her form shattered before the wires retracted back.

Selene: 650 LP
?: 2800 LP

"And I end with one facedown. That's all."

That's all? Why did they go after White Rabbit instead of Sabre Dancer? Selene thought as she drew her next card, feeling her opponent's gaze on her. What's their game here? I still can't tell what they're thinking…

"First, I summon Lunalight Blue Cat in attack mode! Then I'll use the spell Double Summon and summon a Lunalight Crimson Fox from my hand!"

Side by side, two young women with animalistic features appeared. Following the same trend as the rest of her monsters, each wore a uniform color with golden crescent-shaped masks covering half their faces.

Lunalight Blue Cat
Beast-Warrior/Effect
1600 → 1200 ATK/1200 DEF

Lunalight Crimson Fox
Beast-Warrior/Effect

1800 → 1400 ATK/ 600 DEF

"And with Lunalight Blue Cat's ability, I can double Crimson Fox's attack points!"

Lunalight Crimson Fox
Beast-Warrior/Effect
3600 → 3200 ATK/ 600 DEF

"For my next trick, I'll use Pot of Greed." A grotesque green container appeared on the field, dissipating as soon as Selene took two cards from the top of her deck. She looked at the new additions to her hand, nodding. "Perfect. I'll send Lunalight Purple Butterfly from my hand to the grave and use her effect to boost Crimson Fox's attack points by one-thousand!"

Lunalight Crimson Fox
Beast-Warrior/Effect
3200 → 4200 ATK/ 600 DEF

"Crimson Fox, take out El Shaddoll Construct."

Lunalight Crimson Fox rose her hands, her nails like long, red claws as her smiling expression turned into a vicious snarl. She bounced from her place, slashing at the monster. In a cloud of smoke and dust, suddenly Selene's opponent was alone on their field.

Selene: 650 LP
?: 1400 LP

"A last ditch effort? How adorable. I love it when they struggle."

"Shut up! Sabre Dancer, hit them directly!"

"Unfortunately for you, my dear, I activate my facedown, Nutrient Z. If I am about to take more than two-thousand points in battle damage, I can raise my life points by four-thousand."

Her opponent tilted their head, narrowly missing Sabre Dancer's swords. Their raised facedown card glowed with a blinding light before dissipating. Selene watched as their life points bar rose and fell, ending with more life points than they had previously. She could feel her chest squeeze as her frustration began to bubble over.

Selene: 650 LP
?: 2000 LP

Selene inhaled deeply, trying not to let her expression crack anymore than it already had. "… Blue Cat, go ahead."

Selene: 650 LP
?: 800 LP

"I place a facedown and end," Selene said, clenching her jaw a bit.

"That was your last card, darling."

"I know."

"I don't understand why you're dragging this out," they said, shaking their head. "After all- I am the one who will give you what you want. What was it again? To s-"

"Shut up!" Selene yelled, taking half a step forward. "You don't know me at all!"

"But I do." Their still tone had taken on a certain softness. "I draw, then. I activate Monster Reborn!"

A ball of light materialized in the center of her opponent's field. Where the light faded, the familiar porcelain face of El Shaddoll Construct was found. Its face poised as if it was asleep.

El Shaddoll Construct
Fairy/Fusion/Effect
2800 ATK/2500 ATK

"I'll bring back your favorite card, El Shaddoll Construct. And with my effect, I can send Reeshaddoll Wendi to the grave, I get me another counter and you lose your attack points."

Are- are they mocking me? Selene wondered, gritting her teeth.

Lunalight Blue Cat
Beast-Warrior/Effect
1200 → 1100 ATK/1200 DEF

Lunalight Crimson Fox
Beast-Warrior/Effect
1400→ 1300 ATK/ 600 DEF

Lunalight Sabre Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Effect
3400 → 3300 ATK/ 2600 DEF

"And Miss Wendi's ability allows me to summon a monster straight from my deck onto the field in facedown position. Though, you won't last long enough to find out what it is. I'll finish you off by attacking that feral beast of yours."

Selene saw the iridescent wires begin to sprout from El Shaddoll Construct's body, but she wouldn't let the battle end now. "I activate my facedown, Thundering Roar! It skips your battle phase this turn."

The wires retracted back into its body. Her opponent had no visible reaction, instead simply shaking their head.

"Delaying the inevitable, I see. No matter, I suppose I can watch you struggle for a little longer. But eventually, I will have to end this."

Like you'll be ending anything, she thought, her hand hovering above her disk. I just have to draw this card. I have to…

Yes!

She raised the green face of the spell card to her opponent. "I activate Lunalight Fusion! Because El Shaddoll Construct was Special Summoned I can also use a card from my deck as fusion material. So I fuse Lunalight Black Sheep from my deck and Crimson Fox to bring Cat Dancer back to the field!"

Lunalight Cat Dancer
Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect
2400 → 1900 ATK/2000 DEF

"And Crimson Fox's effect makes it so when she's in my grave Construct's attack points go down to zero!" Finally, it was almost over. "Blue Cat, finish them off-"

"Not so fast!" the Shaddoll user exclaimed. "Remember my facedown? I activate Last Turn!"

"Last… Turn…?" Selene stammered, confused. This was the first card in this deck she had never heard of before.

"I can select one monster and send all the other cards in the field and our hands to the graveyard." All the monsters on Selene's side of the field let off a faint glow before they shattered. The cards in her opponent's hands followed suit. Leaving El Shaddoll Construct alone on the field.

"However, do not fret too much. You may special summon any monster from your deck." They held out their hand, as if to invite her. "Go on now, choose."

"... I choose Lunalight White Rabbit."

Lunalight White Rabbit
Beast-Warrior/Effect
800 ATK/ 800 DEF

The rabbit-themed girl reappeared on the field. Proudly holding her mallet, she was faced only with the doll-like figure.

"Last Turn forces our cards to battle one another, while any Battle Damage from this is treated as zero," her opponent explained. When Selene realized what this meant, she felt her stomach drop. "Of course, by now you're familiar with El Shaddoll Construct's effect. And your little rabbit was Special Summoned. So you know what that means."

"No-!"

For one last time, the iridescent wires fanned out from El Shaddoll Construct's body. Wrapping about Lunalight White Rabbit, twisting and turning until it fully encased her like a cocoon. Selene watched as her final monster shattered into millions of glass-like pieces and slowly, the field spell around them began to fade.

"Thanks to Last Turn's effect, the player whose card remains wins the duel. And unfortunately for you, it seems El Shaddoll Construct is that card."

Selene's duel disk powered down, closing back into its idle position as the circular room returned to view. The world seemed to slow. Selene could feel her rapid heartbeat begin to slow, pounding against her rips louder and louder.

"No- No way. I lost-" she muttered, unsure of how to feel. "I lost to this deck of all of them…"

How could she have overlooked such a simple thing like a facedown? She had left a part of herself wide open, and her opponent saw that and took advantage of it. Or had they been planning this the entire time? It almost felt as if they were toying with Selene like some sort of doll.

"Because you're weak," they answered, stepping towards Selene. "You've always been weak. No matter how much you hide behind that bravado of yours, you were too weak to protect who you loved most. Too weak to protect yourself."

That's right, she wasn't strong enough.

She didn't even care for dueling all that much. How did she even end up here? She thought back to her first tournament win when she was in fifth grade, the happiness that came with being able to take home that large, golden trophy. A happiness she had shared.

"We did it!" the young boy beside her cried, tears beginning to pour from his eyes. "We couldn't have done it without you and Nephilim, Cece!"

Nephilim.

Selene suddenly remembered where she knew this person from.

"Do not worry, my dearest child," they said dreamily, gently holding Selene's chin with their porcelain-like hands. They slowly tilted her face up, where she was met with a pair of lovely golden eyes. Selene noticed their veil had been lifted away from their face, showing a beautiful doll-like face. "Unlike what you had done for us, I'll take good care of you while you sleep."


Elsewhere on the island, waves crashed along a dark shore where the sun had long since sunk below the horizon. The salty smell of the sea filled the air, the night only illuminated by the ever-spinning lighthouse drowning out the stars in the sky. The Kaiser walked along the beach towards his destination as most of the island slept soundly. His footprints in the sand washed away by the foaming surf. The area was too familiar to him, he spent many sleepless nights out here throughout his time at the Academy.

Yet for some reason, this time a strange feeling overcame him. Turning, he looked towards the direction of the school, beyond the buildings and to the tops of the trees in the woods. Watching as the silhouettes of a flock of birds suddenly emerged from the trees, letting out a distant cry. Something very strange had happened- but he couldn't figure out what.


Happy two year anniversary to Citrus!

Wow, this is a huge milestone for me. I had no idea when I started writing this fic how committed I'd be to it, but I'm happy to have made it this far. Thank you for all your support over the years! It means so much to me.

I wanted to get this chapter out before the anniversary ended. I even drew special art to go with it which is now the new cover pic! But it turned out way~ longer than I anticipated. I had trouble writing the duel at first because action writing isn't quite my forte. Plus I was worried about how well this gels within GX canon before I realized GX worldbuilding already makes little sense so I might as well go for it. And then I had issues with importing onto ffn, so I had to go and reformat the whole chapter manually. It was almost like the world was cursing me not to publish it, but here I am!

Also super-duper big shoutout to ToBlazePurple for helping me write this duel. I would've been stuck writing the duel forever without your help. If you can, please go check out their fics! Tag Force: Heroes and Villains is one of the most entertaining fanfictions I've ever read.

Once again, thank you for supporting me these past two years. It really means a lot.

See you next time!