Chapter 30: Wanderers
It takes a few days until the students are settled down and everything is slowly going back to normal, in the meantime Rie has both been contacting her boss and interviewing some students to get a full scope of the situation and a good article as well as spread the mysteries of the duel monsters that no one else knows about.
Surprisingly, both Ryo and Edo remained on the island, perhaps they were also as worried as she was about their friends, it made her happy to see it, especially for her boyfriend who was seen by others as a callous person, to be here for longer, watching over their friends.
Although everyone has recovered, a dim mood hovers above the Osiris Red dorm, the reason: Judai Yuki. Ever since the occurrences in the other dimension, and the fact that Johan never came back, he has been in a gloom, brooding mood and wanders around the island as if the world around does not matter, muttering strange words and blaming himself for all of that.
At the entrance of the Ra Yellow dorm,
Misawa comes out at low, steady steps, outside, near the woods his where contact awaits. The pink-haired woman turns around as soon as she hears him approach, a smile enlightening her lips.
"Why did you suddenly ask to meet me?"
Instead of answering in words, she takes out of her small purse an envelope, he stares at it from many angles, looking at her, with a simple nod, she affirms, incentivizing him to open it.
"This calligraphy… It's from… My father?"
Gaping at the strange, yet familiar signature at the bottom, he again seeks answers in her face.
"Did my father really send it?"
"Yes. You should read it, he was very worried about you."
His eyes squint subtly, conflicted at the thought. It's been a long time since he heard anything from his father, in fact, ever since he entered the academy and he started living on the island, they barely exchanged words.
"Thank you, I guess."
He lifts his head, she beckons leaving him to his thoughts, reading the letter. Rie casts a last glance back, wondering what must have happened for her boss and his son to grow apart, a conflicted crook on her brows.
How is it to be a parent? What is the best one could do? If people grow apart, then you must find a way to reach out to them just like she did with Ryo, right? But is it that easy? Would she be a good parent or would he end up like Yuzu, or worse, like her father?
Sliding her hand on her belly, she caresses it, a deep sigh leaves her lips as she walks back to the female dorms where she was granted a room, thoughts running wild inside her mind.
Next day
Inside the Osiris red dorm
Judai's friends all reunite inside the red dorm, much to their surprise another person comes into the scene, it's Samejima. His earnest and dire expression tells them it's going to be a long talk. He reveals the tale of Yubel, the card that used to be in Judai's possession and how it started hurting people around him, how his parents begged to take it away and it was sent into space, just to come back even worse.
The dimension they were sent into was also part of its plan, and due to its obsession, Johan had to sacrifice himself, but it was unclear whether Johan died or not, because they never saw him, he just disappeared in front of their eyes. A feeling of dread crosses their hearts, if they believe Johan is alive somewhere in that other dimension, then Judai probably…
"He will try to get to Johan, won't he?"
"But why is he not telling us anything?"
"If it's Judai, I can imagine he'd try to face it all alone, even more if he feels guilty." Asuka declares, a saddened curl on her eyebrows.
"Yes, he wouldn't want to involve his friends..." Misawa nods.
"That idiot! Why is he trying to be all alone?! It's exactly because we're friends that..." he snarls, annoyed at how the other deals with certain situations.
From outside the house, Edo stands, his back leaned against the thin wall, his glance cast to the side while he eavesdrops the whole conversation.
"Yubel… He is also a monster card bathed by the space waves like my D Hero," he puts a hand to his chin "The same thing that possessed Saiou…"
"Don't tell me you're also interested in dueling Yubel."
A voice disrupts his immersion, from the other side, it's the Hell Kaiser, his stoic gaze glimmering with a hint of defiance.
"Nah. I'm not that interested in it. Why? Are you?" A pique of interest spreads on his face.
"Maybe."
His vague answer comes with a short smile that vanishes when he feels a clutch in his heart, for a moment his heartbeats cease completely, an excruciating pain numbing his chest, his hand unwittingly grabs his clothes, in an attempt to spot it. While he wheezes, it takes a second for it to be back to normal, the pain subsiding.
"Hey, are you fine?"
Edo's posture crumbled, wondering what was wrong with the fellow duelist, Ryo answers with a dry, sarcastic smirk, almost feeling bad for the cluelessness of the other:
"It's nothing..."
That sentence comes accompanied by a drastic, dark thought he never voices out loud, saving only for himself:
"Yubel… Maybe I can attempt a duel with them..."
They both flinch when another pair of footsteps approach the dorms, looking at its direction. It's Rie, she halts her steps, intimidated by the attention.
"Oh, it's you. Don't go in there now, they're having a private talk."
His short and nonchalant way of saying it makes her raise a brow, she casts a glance at Ryo, he simply shakes off his head denying it, also assuring it's better not to go there now.
"What do you want here?" the teal-haired asks harshly "Shouldn't you be out of the island already?"
"I wanted to interview them and ask a few questions. Also, I was worried if they're feeling fine, given all that happened..." her gaze lowers at the last part.
A drop of sweat rolls down Edo's face, they had enough depressed people as it is, they didn't need a new one, he casts his eyes at the other as if asking for some help there, but Ryo seems utterly uninterested, his eyes focused on the pink-haired woman.
"Fine, I'll answer the questions. But first, let's go somewhere else before they find us."
The Kaiser suggests. His answer contradicts all the expectations and predictions the grey-haired made, astounding him a bit, he admits that to himself. Even the woman seems stunned, with an enthusiastic "really?!" stamped on her face.
As a reply, he just walks ahead and she tags behind a bit rushed even. Waving as a farewell to the pro-duelist that just takes a deep breath still trying to understand what is going on there.
The place they chose for their supposed interview is none other than one of their favorite spots, the lighthouse. The fresh and tranquil breeze blowing past them, carrying memories of other times they had been here.
"Are you really answering an interview?" she smiles sheepishly.
"Of course not, I told you I'm not going to do it, that was just a way to get some free time with you." he breaks all her admiration.
"You… I can't believe it! Ryo!"
He chuckles hoarsely, guiltily too, his brows coiling up as he crosses his arms, looking into the sea to purposely avert her angry glare and expertly changing the subject:
"You said before you needed to tell me something..."
She freezes in place, her eyes opening wide, cursing herself mentally, he did remember those words, her eyes flicker momentarily. Her lips sealing shut, he takes a peek at her reaction, finally turning to the side, a hint of curiosity in his gaze on what would make her so anxious.
"Can you… Can you wait a bit more? Tonight. Yes, tonight we can meet, you can choose the place..." she plays with her fingers, her eyes wavering even more while looking deeply into his orbs.
"Sure," his hand comes atop her head, ruffling her hair gently and pulling her in an embrace, caressing her back as if to soothe her. "You can take your time, though you are making me curious on what makes you feel like this. Is it something I absolutely must know?"
She nods, looking down, a saddened glint in her eyes, his head tilting to the side, stroking her hair again to offer his sincerest comfort.
"Whatever it is, I won't be angry at you. Don't overthink it, just tell me when you feel comfortable. I told you before, but I won't ignore you ever again, no matter what it is you have to tell."
Her head bobs shyly, grabbing the edge of his coat and bringing her head to his chest, snuggling it there, her cheeks flushing as his warmth graces her skin. His arms envelop her silhouette again, caringly holding her close, he rests his chin on the top of her head, until her head lifts a bit, forcing him to back off a few centimeters away. A serene smile clinging to her lips.
"I love you, Ryo."
The sudden silent words leave him gaping in awe for a long moment, his eyes almost oscillating with the words, he bends over for a kiss on her forehead again, whispering firmly.
"I love you too, Rie."
They stay there for some hours before she resumes her work, while she interviews students and staff involved in the incident, she can notice the discouraged mood, and after having a few questions answered, she leaves them alone, but not completely.
A sharp glint in her eyes, she sneaks around the Osiris dorm until it's night, she knew the kids would be up to something and she wanted to know what, if they were getting themselves in trouble again, she had to stop it.
Judai arrives at the ruins where the gate to the other dimension lingered, he'd do it on his own, he's prepared to go and save Johan, just as he's about to try, he hear the voices of his companions: Shou, Manjoume, Kenzan, Fubuki, Asuka and even Misawa. All of them are willing to help.
From a certain distance, unnoticed to their eyes, Edo and the Hell Kaiser stand and watch the scene, and from a somewhat close perspective, Rie hides behind one of the trees, and she sends a message.
"Ryo, our talk will have to wait. I have some urgent matters to settle."
Unaware they were both close enough to just walk up to each other and converse, he checks his cellphone, his eyes squinting subtly, he then tucks it in his pocket again and listens to the dialogue.
"No! I have to do it alone! Everyone… I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me!"
"You're not forcing us, Judai!" Asuka scolds "We are here because we want to help! We are friends! It is our responsibility too!"
Ryo sighs heavily while the discussion goes on, with Judai constantly refusing their help and trying to stave them off.
"Hmph. Judai still needs to learn that the result of his own actions spawn responsibility. He's still a kid inside and that will summon more troubles for him."
Those words come off with a huff, but it looked like he was telling that to himself, in fact, the images of Rie asking him to stop being afraid and trying to do everything alone come to the surface of his memory.
"Isn't it exactly because he gets it that he is trying to save Johan by himself? I don't think he is doing anything wrong... I can understand why he would want to do it alone and not involve his friends, he doesn't want them to get hurt, especially considering he feels at fault because of what happened to Johan."
He casts a curious glance, wanting a genuine input on the situation and amused the other even started a conversation to begin with.
"Heh. I see you're also still a kid."
His smirk is provocative and scornful, feeling like he is the only adult there. Edo gasps, offended, scowling at the other duelist:
"What?!"
"Do you think if they knew Judai is going to the other dimension, they would let him do it alone? This is what I mean, they'd never accept that, even if this is Judai's wish. And this is what it means to own your decisions."
His expression is thoughtful and somewhat regretful, he reminisces about his mistakes and actions, when he involved himself in the underground and Rie wound up there by her choice of reaching out to him, it ended with her getting even more hurt and he regrets that it had to be like this.
He can't say he's unhappy with the later developments of their relationship after it, that was what made him realize that if he was going to fall, undoubtedly she would be following him and he didn't want that for her too, it took him a long time to understand that and stop his attempts of destroying himself even more in those duels, to find balance among the victory he chased and what truly meant victory for him.
Meanwhile, after showing their determination in following Judai, they use the power of their cards to open the portal, at that same time, other people arrive, the fugitive Echo and professor Chronos who saw the kids going to the ruins at a late time.
Bright beams of light emanate from their cards, joining together in the middle of the ruins, with all their united efforts, the light spreading and making a play of shadows with the silhouettes of all the spectators.
"It's a beautiful friendship. They're willing to follow him until the end, no matter what happens." Ryo states, a fond smile appearing on his lips "But where will it lead them to?"
Their eyes open in shock when the light suddenly becomes more aggressive and the gate grows exponentially, devouring not only the students, but coming to the pro duelists as well as Rie, Chronos and Echo, they all shield their faces from the light as it completely swallows them as they shout.
Their screams are muffled by the sound of the exploding luminance, when the light ceases there is no trace of them left behind, only the eerie, mysterious ruins. At the Chancellor's office, Samejima flinches, a sudden chill accompanied by a feeling of fear striking his heart while he sees an obfuscating brightness somewhere away from the building.
Instinctively, he stands up, looking through the windows, but the luminance ceases, his brows angling obtusely.
That day would be marked in the academy as the day many students went missing, and while this is not the first time it has happened, this time, they'd experience something much worse than the first.
In a distant wasteland,
A sandy, strong wind blows, whistling eerily, a faint sound of a cloak flapping soars. A male's silhouette fainted face-down to the earth, crispy grains of earth brush on his skin.
Ryo's fingers twitch, his eyelids struggle to open, his sight blurry as he looks at the odd colored dark sky. There is dust in the air, he can feel it invading his nostrils, prickling slightly. With a bit of effort and a hazy head, he supports his arms on the ground and sits up, looking around.
His head throbs as if it was hit by a heavy object, he places a hand on his forehead, his eyes land on the figure standing ahead, none other than Edo Phoenix.
"Are you finally awake?" he turns around, his tone is calm, but his expression is harsh.
"Where…?"
"I'm asking myself the same… This doesn't look any bit like the academy, does it?"
His eyes are lost on the horizon, the place they are is composed of barren soil, mountains are everything they see in the horizon, the remains of trees they can see are scorched as if that land was burned down recently.
"Looks very hospitable." he blurts out in irony, standing up and dusting off his clothes.
"Do you think… We were transported to another dimension with them?"
He folds his arms, still in half disbelief, or perhaps, just trying to dismiss all the hypotheses before jumping into conclusions.
"Considering we were close enough and that light engulfed us before, probably..."
His tone is indifferent, but he scrutinizes all around them, the sound of a bird echoes in the distance, they see a bird-like creature flying far away, but ignore its yells.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Edo sighs heavily, shaking his head, trying to wake himself up from that nightmare "Did we get punished for eavesdropping or what?"
"We were careless, I didn't think the gate opening would be so powerful and we'd be warped along."
"In other words, we messed up…" he sighs, slapping his own forehead "Look, this stays just between us, right? You better not say a word that we got caught in this situation in such a silly way," he combs his hair covering his face partially with a hand "This is so embarrassing, how did we let this happen?"
"You can be sure I'm not telling any of it."
Before they have time to think, they see that bird from before coming ominously towards their direction, exchanging a tense glance, they watch it, their eyes opening up more as they see the actual size of the creature, it was big enough to be a dragon and its wings were made out of flames on the edges.
It hovers over them, a powerful and piercing caw echoing and making their ears buzz, they cover it to avoid listening to that sound, in the next second, the bird darts towards Edo. He jumps to the side, rolling in reflex, avoiding the bird's attack, but the claws mark the ground and start a fire on it.
A trepidation occurs inside him. Had he been there, he certainly would have died. Snapping out of his immersion, he jumps up, gritting his teeth, the bird arises.
"That creature… It's a Fire Bird!" Ryo shouts, following its movements.
"I'm very aware that it's a bird on fire, thank you for the great help!"
He yells irritated in response, sarcasm in his voice, is this obvious assumption all he can say?
"Idiot! I'm saying that thing is a monster! A duel monster called 'Fire Bird'! It has 1000 ATK!"
His blue orbs finally stare at the other pro duelist, he has gotten the attention, Ryo's expression is wrinkled, he's not joking or trying to be rude, but very serious.
"Damn..." Edo's breath hitches on his throat "This dimension, no, the place where Judai and the others were… They said spirits of duel monsters could materialize..." he grabs his duel disk in a hurry, activating it, the bird comes faster, he puts the first card he can grab into the disk.
D-HERO Diamond Guy materializes and uses his diamond arms to block and fend off the attack of the bird, then he leaps with a deep war cry and uses his diamonds as a blade to cut off the bird.
The creature squirms and disintegrates tiny yellow flocks of light, disappearing from sight. He sighs in relief, but his eyes narrow even more in perplexity.
"Diamond Guy has 1400 ATK… Does it mean…?"
"Your monster had more attack points. I see, so this is how it works..." Ryo also wears his duel disk.
"Hey, you're making it look like I was a bait to test the grounds."
"Don't tell me you were afraid of it." his muffled laugh riles the other more "We learned something useful."
"You know what? Out of all the partners I could have come to this world with, you're near the bottom of the list." he crosses his arms, huffing in disapproval.
"Are you that concerned about Judai and the others? You can just admit it out loud."
"Says the aegis of honesty! You couldn't even tell your girlfriend you were dueling for her back then!"
"If you dislike it so much, don't follow the example."
Edo glares at him, but sways his head in denial, before they have more time to bicker, they hear some sort of soft galloping, the sounds draw closer, they can see a cloud of smoke arising and mounted troops engulfed in it.
"The bird was a scout."
"Let's get out of here." the grey-haired duelist clicks his tongue, the sound of duel disk activating startles him.
"We should open the path."
"What?! No, we need to assess the situation first!"
"Take a good look at your surroundings, there's nowhere to run to and no other way to access the situation, it's a wasteland."
"Fine, I'll give you that, plus we may get some information from those guys, or at least get a gist of this world..." He shrugs off.
Ryo also activates his as they await for the troops coming threateningly close. A more aggressive approach fits well the Hell Kaiser, is what he thinks. Now that they are in this dimension, they will need to sort things and find a way out on their own.
What is this place they were sent to and which dangers does it hold? Where are all the others and what happened to them?
The two pro duelists have their disks set, unfearful of the troops drawing closer, however, another noise calls their attention, making them both turn around in alert: there are more galloping troops coming from the other side.
"Are they enemies...?"
Edo questions mentally, casting a glance at Ryo that seems to be asking about the same question.
They look around, there's a big rock to the side, even without saying a word, it seems as if they both agree that they should be trying to observe for now. Running, they hide behind it and watch closely what unfolds.
Both troops had different sides, that was obvious by now with how one of the battalions was composed by human knights in steel armors and the other, by green creatures with pointy ears that they'd describe as born in a medieval RPG setting.
They don't even mount horses, but weird giant birds that can carry a lot of weight. The tension in the air grows. The two opposing sides stop their mounts right in front of each other, they all wear duel disks.
"Well, well, look at this! This was what our bird spotted?! A bunch of them even."
"Yes it seems they got rid of our scout, but they won't be able to win over all of us!" an orc guffaws evilly.
Edo and Ryo flinch at the affirmation of the monster, exchanging a worried glance in awkwardness for letting those people be blamed for their deed.
"You won't destroy our village! We won't let that happen!"
One of the knights, that seemed to be the leader of the group, yells in bravery, stretching his hand with a duel disk, all the others follow his lead, both sides prepare and start multiple duels at once, a confusing and puzzling mix of monsters.
They watch as the duels proceed, some of the duelists on the human side start losing, the grey-haired gasps upon seeing that the losers disappear by becoming flocks of light, just like the duel monster, not to be seen again while their companions cry. Some of the monsters disappear too.
"What is going on here?" the silver-haired duelist hisses in a low tone.
"This world seems to be about dueling too, but the losers… They're all vanishing..."
"You think they're dead? Or is it some magical teleportation? Where are they disappearing to?" his eyes narrow, his blood running wild, accentuating the sweat production as he ponders, pursuing a logical explanation "Those people are dueling, they mentioned a village, right?"
"Yes, I heard that too. They said they'd protect it. A war is going on, and from the looks alone, one of the sides is that of duel monsters..."
"And the other one is human," he completes the sentence in a dire voice "But who are those humans and how are they here? Did they live here before us or… Were they also taken here by any chance? Plus the thing with the village bothers me. We should be careful and investigate it."
"You want to find their village?" his green orbs stare at Edo in a stoic state.
"It's a start. We don't know anything about this world yet, and I don't think those monsters will be elated to see us, since we're humans, it could be smarter to try to get info on the human side."
"Hm. Or we could just beat those guys up and find out..." his dull tone sparks annoyance in the other.
"You're thinking this is fun, aren't you? This is no amusement park, I'm very serious here."
"So am I. Do you think those duelists on the human side will hold for longer?"
"You can't mean..." his lips part, unexpectedly and positively surprised "You want to help them?"
"We can inquire about all of it once we make the cleanup, and we will find their village. It's a good trade. Besides, those all look like small fry… It's a chance to test the waters."
"You… Just want to duel, don't you? Fine, hiding here will not get us far anyways..."
They both stand up and walk fearlessly towards the war zone, some of the monsters are startled and so are the humans, even more seeing the duel disks on their arms.
"Stand back! This is our battle!"
"More duel masters! It doesn't matter who you are, if you oppose us, then you'll perish!"
One of the monsters blurts out, throwing a chain that latches around Edo's arm, he frowns at the creature that tugs his arm by pulling the chain, forcing the duel.
"Did you just say I will perish? I will have to disappoint you, you're the one that's going to regret it!"
He accepts the challenge face on, Ryo watches for a brief moment the scene, until he feels a presence looming behind, turning around and jumping back before a pair of claws cut him, showing his duel disk.
"Heh, this one has reflexes," the demonic-like monster grins, his sharp teeth coming out of his mouth "You wanna duel, scrawny human? Fine, but don't cry begging for your life, this will be a life and death match!"
He guffaws, activating his own duel disk and starting it, the blue-haired simply has a twitch on his brows, pondering on what he said while he takes the advantage and starts the game.
"He said life and death. Does that mean those are all shadow duels…? Those people were disappearing. Don't tell me… Losing is death?" a crude smirk plays on his lips. "Now this is some true excitement. Win or die, huh? I'm familiar with the concept!"
The enemy winces at his somewhat malevolent smirk fearing what he's up to, it doesn't take long for those monsters to notice they'd waged war against the wrong people and the humans stare impressed by the feats of the duo of duelists trouncing all the enemies ferociously, who were the hungry beasts in the end?
After some time, Edo takes a long, deep breath, looking around. The wind blows dust past him, a strange silence permeating the battlefield, he hears the scream of the last monster.
"Gah! You'll regret it! You'll regret provoking us, human!"
The creature points its finger at Ryo, trying to be menacing, from the ground, he simply looks down on the monster, disdaining it, the humans wondering who was that daring and brave youngster while the loser disappears like ashes.
"I see you finished your side too..." he crosses his arms "Hell Kaiser."
"Took you long enough too, Edo Phoenix."
The taunt in his tone elicits a small move on Edo's brows, but before they have time to start an argument right on the spot, the survivors around them make noise with their cheers and happy praising.
"Young warriors! Who are you? To receive your help, we are honored! You displayed such great abilities! I am Claudius!"
"We are..." Edo starts the sentence, thinking of the words to say next while delaying it.
"Wanderers."
Ryo replies, casting a side glance at him, as if indicating they should stick to one story.
"Young wanderers. I fear this region is unsafe… We must thank you, with your help, most of the men are safe, we can go back to our families. I do not know how to best repay this favor."
"We just need rest and a place to stay the night." Edo bargains.
"Yes, please, you can come with us, we can't give you much, but a place to rest and some food should be doable."
The two professionals again exchange a glance, at this point it would look like they had special abilities to communicate with their minds, but they were simply assessing each other's expressions and wondering what they should do next, not surprisingly, they were on the same page about most decisions.
"In this case, we shall accept your offer." Edo puts a hand to his chest cordially speaking while bowing "We have been long on the road and we do feel tired."
The warriors smile and the leader gestures with the head to one of the soldiers that promptly grabs two mounts for them.
"Here, you should use this. We will get to the village faster."
They both settle on their bird mounts, a stolen goo from their recently defeated enemies. With a wary posture, they follow the men that go ahead on the path, galloping for a couple hours, which gives them time to scan the landscape.
Everything is the same, a devastated land, no signs of life besides them, and none of their friends are on sight. Each one to their own thoughts, considering their predicament and all the possibilities and a way to both find the others and get out of there.
"Do you think Judai and the others were transported to a different part because they were a bit away from us?" the younger one whispers, bringing the mount closer to the Kaiser "It's possible we missed them, I don't know how long we were out cold."
"Yeah. It's very likely the others are together since we are, not that it makes it better for them. We should try to find them as soon as possible."
"Oh, are you worried now? I think it will rain today." he sneers.
"What about you? You were the one asking if those soldiers had seen any of them not long ago..." he retorts in a confident tone and a mocking smile.
"You…! I was just gathering information, right? Any bit we can find is useful!"
Some men start looking oddly at them, he gulps and lowers his tone, narrowing his eyes in a grumpy mood.
"We should ask more at the village and try to find them there, even if we were taken to different locations, they might be near enough."
The place is finally on the horizon, but reality strikes them once again. Both duelists look around with caution, Edo's brows curling in pity at the scenes: the place they call village is but a bunch of destroyed buildings with black marks leftover by fires put out not long ago; the inhabitants hide and shiver behind the unstable walls just by seeing the newcomers, as if they are afraid; there are duel disks on the ground, lined up, serving as some sort of marker, like tombstones.
"I know they called this a village, but… It's all in shambles..."
"It's really a war zone..." Ryo sighs deeply.
"We're back!"
The captain of the knights announces, raising his arms, some people come out of their hideouts, soon a crowd gathers around them, some tiny smiles on their faces while some others still cast concerned glances and whispers at the outlanders.
"Worry not! Those brave warriors saved our lives today!" he laughs cheerfully "Please, come with me..."
Descending from his mount, he guides them, even though the mood seems to have improved, they know well to not let their guard down, not after what they'd seen. The man guides them to some sort of underground facility that looks like a dungeon.
A few things ensnare their attention, the fact that even though there were prison cells, all of them were open and used as either bedrooms or storage rooms, until they get to a main room where there are many tables, some people sitting and eating and a fireplace.
"You can sit and have a meal, we can talk after you've rested. If you excuse me, I have to take care of my men."
He bows to them and leaves, Edo tries to still get some talking squeezed in, but the man is gone faster than he can muster the questions. They both sit down, it's true they are worn out from those hours of traveling, not to mention their notion of time seems ragged in this world, it's always dark and murky, adding to the tiredness.
"Here we are," Ryo takes a quick glance around "It's not enchanting."
"Don't be mean, they're in the middle of a war… All things considered, it seems like the duel monsters that materialize in this dimension hold an immense power, and they also can fluently speak and play duel monster games… It sounds like what Judai mentioned about seeing spirits… Just that here it's a given reality and something feels off." he grumbles pensively.
They hear some giggles and two girls talking about something, then one of them hurriedly picks some plates with food and places the soup plates at the table for both, her cheeks flushing at the sight of the two charming newcomers.
"E-enjoy your food."
Edo replies with a gentle smile while Ryo simply stares blankly, she feels a chill under his cold gaze and runs away. As soon as she comes back, she starts freaking out at her friend and commenting something about how handsome they looked.
"I can't really understand how you have female fans with this attitude," his calm, reprehensive tone gets the attention of the other one.
"What? Should I call her out and braid her hair? I'm not interested in her, I have a girlfriend."
"I'm not saying to flirt with her, but you could be a bit more sympathetic, you know? Smile a bit?"
"Are you jealous I'm getting unwanted attention or what?"
"I don't get your popularity, the callous, ruthless guy, really? But I guess there are tastes for everyone, even that Rie Kinomoto was drooling over you."
"What about her?" there is a small angle forming on his brows at that mention.
"Oh, did I strike a nerve? Well, good for you, Hell Kaiser, you've been striking my nerves ever since we arrived." he crosses his arms, a moody curve on his lips.
"And? You think I don't know we're together in this damn sinking boat?" his grave, irritated tone startles the other a bit.
"Listen, I don't like to be here with you either, but we should act like adults and solve this without being at each other's throat. Are you not grown up enough for that? Do you do this just to look cool?"
"Tell this to yourself, edgy boy."
"You're being the edgy one here, jerk."
They glare at each other intensely for a moment, as if probing which one would give up first but none of the two would give in before the other. Their staring contest is interrupted by a childish voice:
"Hm… I'm sorry, misters… But are you two not from this region?"
It's a small brown-haired girl, they are so tall compared to her that even while sitting, she has to raise her head high just to look at their faces, she swings herself forth and back anxiously, hiding her hands behind her back.
"Yes," Edo gulps, his expression softening instantly looking at the curious big eyes staring into his "We hail from far away lands..."
"Is there… Is there also war in the place where you came from?"
The silver haired opens his lips, it's like the tension swelling up before was cut clean from the air, giving space to a new feeling of compassion. The one that answers the question is the Kaiser:
"Yes." He closes his eyes, lying to blend in and pretend they're from the same world.
"That's bad..." she sighs in dismay, but then opens a gleeful smile "But thank you for saving my papa."
In a sudden movement, she reveals her tiny dirty hands with some sort of flower, placing it near the silver-haired. He gapes in amusement, even the Kaiser seems intrigued by the scene, but before they can question, she turns around and bolts away. They share a long moment of silence, in a meditative tone.
They know the constant bickering is just an escape from the situation, cowardice, a valve to release stress. They're both at their limit and they have no else to lash out at, in discussion, duels, whatever they choose, however, this won't solve their problems, they have to get their heads straight.
"We need to get to the bottom of this." Edo's eyes are determined.
"I know."
He answers vaguely, his eyes cast at the poor people smiling at their meals and others in a dim mood, squinting slightly at the sight.
After the supper, they ask where the captain of the knights is and walk towards his temporary strategy room. The man seems busy enough, reading some sort of map and making markings, their footsteps alert him in a second, even with them trying to not raise suspicion.
"Oh, it's you two," his posture relaxes "How can I help? Are you getting used to the place?"
"We thank you for your hospitality, but we have some questions to ask..."
He starts off politely, casting his big blue eyes analytically, inspecting the reactions of the bulky warrior.
"You're not from these parts, are you?"
"No." The blue-haired responds shortly and dryly.
"Those battles you were having… They're duels… But what happened to all the ones who lost?"
The captain turns around, putting his arms back, a consternated gaze to the ceiling before he answers:
"They died."
"Died? You mean..."
"Yes. They died, their existence was erased from this world."
The two pros look at each other, their expression darkening as the man turns back to look at them and continues:
"In this world, dueling means putting your life at stake. What you both did back there was admirable, to put your lives at risk for the sake of strangers like us. I will be forever grateful for that."
"Who are those enemies?"
"These are creatures that have been here before us."
"Before us…?"
"Yes. We lived in a different world, but suddenly a bright luminance fell over our village and we were brought here. What this world is, it's unknown to us… Not long ago, we saw the same bright light, in different locations. We thought if we went there, we would be able to come back home, but… The light vanquished and you two… were near those grounds," he pauses, closing his eyes before mustering courage to ask: "You are not from this world too, are you?"
Edo takes a moment to answer. "No. We don't know anything about this world and we expected to get a few answers from you." he resorts to honesty, at this point, they can't conceal their identity much more.
"You said you saw a light in different locations." Ryo calls attention to the detail.
"Yes. One of them was near the place you two were, the other was northeast of our village, we believe it came from some ruins. We all thought it's strange because it happened at the same time, but we investigated the wastelands first, that is the place where many monster troops pass by, this is why we chose to go there."
"Do you know why the monsters attack us? What do they want?"
"I don't know exactly, but they have turned many humans and lower monsters into slaves, I assume they want to rule over this world."
"This doesn't make sense, there has to be a bigger plot in this…" Edo keeps the thought to himself, gazing at the man.
"I don't know where you come from, foreigners, but those lands are vile and barren, you should be careful. Perhaps you could stay longer, me and my men could use some help."
"I'm sorry, but we have to decline. We came here in search of our friends and we thought you might know something about it…"
"You mean people like you…? Unfortunately, I haven't seen people like you or him around, only my own people and the enemy troops."
"Thank you nonetheless. But we must go and find our friends, they're alone and they have a knack for getting in trouble."
"I see," he takes a deep breath, but a smile spurts on his lips "You can take some of our mounts, travelers, and I do hope you'll give yourselves some rest before departing."
"We must make haste, if the light you saw brought some of our friends here, we can't afford to stand still."
With a compassionate shake of hand, they depart from the village taking the mounts offered to them, Edo still lost in his thoughts while Ryo scrutinizes the area, following the only lead they got: the direction the light ascended from.
"Do you think it's Judai's group? Assuming that they were transported together like us, it is."
"Hard to say. But probably, yes. He said the lights were simultaneous, I can't imagine anyone else besides them and us coming to this world."
"We should hurry, we spent a lot of hours coming here, if I knew it…" his grip on the leash tightens, his eyes squinting, blaming himself for not noticing before.
"Dwelling on this will do no good, let's just make sure we're there in time."
The blue-haired man whips the animal again, making it run even faster, snapping the other out of his worries. That was the first time he felt Ryo was actually trying to give advice, such a complex guy, he thinks, raising a brow and matching the fast pace of the other.
Whether they'll find their friends or not is still incognito, but one thing is sure, they don't want to hang around in this world for too long. There's a disturbing sensation as if a superior force watches their movements and plays with them hovers in the air, the darkness surrounds and tries to draw them in and they fear that given too much time here, they'll fall into this pit.