Barren lands stretched out before him,

Vast, and empty.

Quiet,

Serene.

The sky was crystal blue, contrasting the warm colours of the ground.

And the youth did nothing but stand,

He did not know why,

But something told him to wait.

…

And then they all arrived in a sudden uproar.

Several beings, of varying with undeniably unfathomable size and strength

Beings of Knights

Of Magicians

Of Beasts

Of Plants

Of Insects

Of Humanoid Animals

Of Undead beings

Of Forces of Nature

Of Machines

Of Dragons

Of Gods

They appeared from the right horizon, starting to swarm the land and sky.

Water started to rush in like an ocean tide, carrying aquatic creatures to join the crowd.

Dragons, flying with might and pride, swept through the sky as if to cleave the very air itself,

Knights with crystal embedded in their armour took the front line, leading the rest of the monsters to a fight that had yet to arrive.

The closed the distance between them and the youth,

And the sheer ferocity and feral wrath they held frightened the youth.

But he soon realized that none were directed to him.

The monsters rushed past the youth, ignoring him completely.

His gaze followed the army to see what they were rushing towards.

The sky on the right was darkening, and the dark-purple night sky slowly crept towards the crystal blue,

Invading it.

And then,

They arrived.

Creatures of obsidian and ebony,

Some highlighted with dulled silver,

Some outlined in blue, or green, or orange, or red,

Even white,

And there stood in the middle,

A demon,

A fiend, towering over the rest of its species,

Crowned with gold,

And carrying a majestic horn on its shoulders and head.

It commanded its subordinates with its 4 arms,

And more creatures, different from the ones leading it, soon followed the insectoid and demonic horde of ebony and obsidian.

Creatures that imitated few of the legion rushing from the right,

Who muttered in nonsense and inexplicable gibberish.

And soon, the two forces clashed.

Fire spewed from both sides,

So did jets of water,

So did gusts of wind.

A stream of light was countered by a wave of darkness.

Orbs of the darkness of swallowed by the amorphous shadows the hordes produced.

The forces from the right attacked with animosity, waving swords and axes and claws with sheer ferocity, to hack away at the forces of the left.

Dragons and birds fell from the sky,

Knights and Magicians started to fall on their knees.

But the army did not yield,

The pushed into the demonic horde

And it looked like they were winning

Until the towering fiend of black and gold raised its 4 arms

And so did the Red

And so did the White

And so did the Orange

And so did the Greens

And then the crowd was no more.

A wave pulsed out from each of the 5 demons turned every single monster into shattered shards that scattered throughout the barren lands.

Even its own kind,

All except for the ones in blue.

Then the one in blue raised its hands,

And from 'nothingness' in the air,

Shattered shards appeared, and they slowly started to form back into their men,

Their soldiers were reborn.

The youth could do nothing but watch as flames and dust flared up behind the hordes of the fiends,

As the fiend horde stood triumphantly,

Night set in, as the flames left by the army from the right

Remnants, the only evidence that could prove that the legion was here

That they fought

It was the only thing that illuminated the demonic figures.

Their eyes glowed deep crimson.

And they simply stood.

-line-

"..."

Disorientated by the sudden shift from the barren lands to a rather compact enclosed

space, I looked around where I sat to realize that I was back in the card game shop I worked in.

"..."

Most of the time, you barely remember a dream when you wake up. You feel bits and pieces of it, maybe even the climax of the dream.

And you barely remember a proper detail in the environment.

It's rare to remember a dream from start to finish so clearly, remembering details and features of those monsters.

"Oi, Kadoya…" I heard the voice of my manager behind me. "... Did you fall asleep on the counter again?"

My eyes automatically went down to look at the glass desk my face was resting on.

New Packs of Yu-Gi-Oh cards were on display.

"...I…."

I heard my manager sigh.

…. It….. it was the 4th time this week….

I'm sorry, sir.

"... How many hours of sleep did you have last night."

I slept at 4 am. Only 4 hours.

"... I don't know, sir. I didn't look at the clock when I went to sleep."

"... Were you staying up all night rebuilding your Yu-Gi-Oh deck again?"

Yes.

"... No."

"Don't lie to me, I can see it written all over your face."

"... I'm sorry, sir…"

"... Look, Kadoya, you're a good kid. You've been working diligently for the last 4 months, without mistake. But you have to start sleeping early, okay? You can't just sleep in the middle of your work and expect to get paid, much less stay working."

"... I'm sorry, sir."

"... Just, start sleeping early. Ok?"

"... Yes, sir….. Won't happen again, sir."

…. Looks like the dream was going to be pushed to the back of my mind, for now.

/-/

It was a part-time job, and it paid well.

There wasn't anything too complicated to do, and there wasn't that much trouble in the shop.

Of course, there were those few pesky brats that thought they could get away with stealing a pack or two, or those immature adults that were causing tantrums and uproars the moment things didn't go well for them, whether it was new/popular packs that were sold out for the day, or they were losing in matches when we held game events.

But the manager handled them instead.

… And boy, did I feel sorry for them….

I managed to buy the new packs that were released today, first hand (benefits of working in a card shop, I guess), and was finished for the day.

6:00 PM. Thanks to it being summer, the sun was still up and blazing.

Although it was late enough for us to see the moon up in the sky as well.

People were still bustling on the streets, going in and out of shops, and just going for a walk.

I was walking back home, opening the booster packs I bought.

…. Shiranui Spectral Swords,

….Shiranui Samurai,

….Daigusto Emerald,

… Defense draw….

…..Card Guard,

….Vice Dragon,

…..Strong Wind Dragon,

… Emperor Maju Garzett,

….. Powerful rebirth…

Legendary Maju Garzett…

… Beast King Barbaros….

….. Fusilier dragon?

…. Power Frame

…. Number 5: Doom Chimera Dragon…..

…. Hyper-Ancient Shark Megalodon…..

…. Power frame…. again...

….. Red Wyvern….

…. Forbidden Chalice

… Counter Gate…..

…..Keeper of Dragon Magic

….. Counter Gate, again….

…. Oh shit, No. 60: Durge the Timeless

…. Keeper of Dragon Magic, again….

….. Ravenous Crocodragon Archethys

…

… And Inverz Roach (Steelswarm Roach)...

…..

…. Or at least…. That's what it was meant to be,

But the illustration was faded out, transparent.

Was it a new illustration?

It did look something like a holographic card…..

"...!"

But then I saw it,

The surfaces of the other cards rippling.

Then the monsters, the monsters in the card,

They start to move.

Roar,

Bellow,

Howl,

Or simply ready whatever weapons they had in their hands.

And they all whipped their heads to face me.

[/[/[VERZ!]\]\]

"...!"

I flinched and dropped the cards onto the street by reflex.

I stood on the road for a few second, before looking around to realize that people were looking at me.

…. Shit, that was embarrassing.

I quickly knelt down to pick the cards back up.

Fuck, it's pretty hard trying to pick these cards up without trying to scratch them.

I managed, though.

And as if nothing happened, the cards' illustrations were back to what they were.

No different to the million other variants found in packs and sold in online auctions.

…..

Yeah, I just needed some sleep.

I looked up to the skies, looking at the starry night sky and took a deep breathe in.

…..

Wait

The sun was up in the sky just a few seconds ago.

[Kadoya Yurei….]

"...!"

My head started to whip around the empty streets to find the source of the voice.

[Heed my words, Kadoya Yurei….]

"Who's there!?"

[Your world, cradled in the arms of the soft and peaceful galaxy, will soon be invaded by the darkness.]

"I-I….. What!?"

[Heed my words, Kadoya Yurei…..]

Gogogogogogogogogogogogogogogogo….

I heard rumbling in the sky.

And I got quite a fright when I saw one of the stars falling down to earth.

To where I stood.

And then the light faded,

And the star became a planet,

A planet that looked like earth,

I saw the view of the planet start to engulf the city, as the continent on the planet widened to reveal countries…..

Countries part to reveal cities,

Cities part to reveal buildings

"...! Wh-wha!"

And the tallest building speeding down towards me, stopping inches away from me.

I fell on my rear in fright, as I saw someone standing on the top of the buildings,

Defying gravity as it stood upside down, looking at me.

A humanoid figure clad in an armour of gold, resembling an insect.

Inverz Roach…

[Only you can save your world from the Verz.]

"... W-Wait, I don't understand!"

[Unfortunately, they won't give you the time to understand.]

He started to walk towards me, standing on the edge of the building.

And he extended both of his hands.

And in his hands were….

"... W-what is this?"

[It's as you see. If you're a duelist, you'll know what to do with this. I'll be waiting for you to call me.]

A…. duel disk…. Marble white with black lines forming clean patterns….

…. And a deck of cards.

Before I knew what was happening, my hand reached out to take them.

[Now, go! They've arrived!]

I saw the sky start to crack and shatter, revealing the same blazing sun that was high up in the sky until a few minutes ago.

And a ripple in the sky, growing….

And growing…..

Until 'they' started to jump out from the ripples, covering part of the sky in a black mass.

Humanoid monsters, resembling insects, falling from the sky to the Earth.

It was the same monsters that haunted his dreams.

And then screams started to pierce out, one by one.

I saw the monsters run up to anyone they can get their sight one, attacking them one by one.

Their strikes and slashes drew nothing but lights from the open wounds,

Before the poor civilians started to turn into…

Into cards…..

In just a flash of light…..

[!"sidaM zrevnI" fo tnemgarf eht nommus ot ,"rellaC zrevnI" etubirT]

A horrifying voice boomed out from the ripple in the sky

A gap started to open up in one of the monsters, spewing out white light, before a larger monster started to emerge out.

Blade-like arms clawing the air as the original monster's body started to shatter into pieces.

[!kceD ym morf "rellaC zrevnI" rehtona nommus laiceps I !setavitca tceffe s'"rellaC zrevnI"]

A ghostly figure of the original monster started to reappear in the air, before screeching and shrieking into the air.

Fragments, like shards of obsidian, started to gather in front of the ghostly figure, forming a new monster, identical to the original monster.

The two new monsters started to charge at the people on the streets.

It was a horrifying sight,

And all I wanted to do was run.

…..But…..

The duel disk and deck started to glow.

"If you're a duelist, you'll know what to do with this."

…. I…..

….. I had the power…..

….. The strength…. To stop this….

"Only you can save your world from the Verz."

Before I knew what was happening, the duel disk was already attached to my wrist.

…. And my hand was on it….

….. All I had to do was….

... Insert the deck into disk…..

…...

… What in lord's name was I hesitating for!?

"DUEL!"

Kadoya: LP 8000

(Hand: 0 -5)

VS

VERZ: LP ? ?!

(Hand: ?)

Monsters halted in their spot, before turning their heads to me.

I looked at my hands.

…

Then I quickly checked my extra deck. The monsters were starting to move towards me.

….. Alright, I can do this!

"I normal summon Tin Goldfish from my hand."

A circle of shining light started to appear in front of me, stopping the monsters from coming any closer to me.

And the light faded to reveal a giant fish-like toy with googly eyes, blinking at the monsters.

{Tin Goldfish} Atk: 800 Def: 2000

(Water)

Level: 4

[Machine/Effect]

[When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 monster from your hand.]

"I activate Tin Goldfish's ability. I special summon Rokket Tracer from my hand!"

Tin goldfish briefly jumped into the floor, causing a small ripple to form and disappearing….

Before reemerging with a robotic dragon, the size identical to the Tin Goldfish, following right behind the Tin Goldfish

{Rocket Tracer} Atk: 1600 Def:1000

(Dark)

Level: 4

[Dragon/Tuner/Effect]

[(Quick Effect): You can target 1 face-up card you control; destroy it, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Rokket" monster from your Deck, except "Rokket Tracer", also you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except DARK monsters. You can only use this effect of "Rokket Tracer" once per turn.]

"I chain a card to the effect, I special Kagetokage from my hand!"

[Hand: 5 - 2]

The shadows cast by the Tin Goldfish and Rokket Tracer started to form a shape of its own.

Two red glowing orbs emerged from the shadows, completing the looks of the Kagetokage.

{Kagetokage} Atk: 1100 Def: 1500

(Dark)

Level: 4

[Reptile/Effect]

[Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned by its own effect. When you Normal Summon a Level 4 monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Cannot be used as Synchro Material.]

"I tune the level 4 'Tin Goldfish' with the level 4 tuner 'Rokket Tracer'!"

The two mechanical monsters jumped into the air, where Rokket Tracer started to fade into 4 green, glowing rings, and Tin Goldfish dissipating into 4 orbs of light.

The extra deck popped open from duel disk, and a single card emerged among the 15 cards on its own.

Like it was telling me to pick it.

"..."

And I grabbed it without hesitation, briefly looking at the card.

"... I'm going with this guy. I synchro summon Beelze of the Diabolic Dragon!"

The orbs and rings started to emerge into one…. To form a dragon with the face of a dragon.

{Beelze of the Diabolic Dragon} Ark: 3000 Def: 3000

(Dark)

[Dragon/Synchro/Effect]

[1 DARK Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters

Cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects. If you take damage from an attack involving this card, or from an opponent's card effect: This card gains ATK equal to the damage you took.]

[RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!]

The two heads of the dragon bellowed out in unison.

"I activate Schwarzschild Limit Dragon's effect! Since you have a monster with 2000 Atk or more on the field, I can special summon this card from my hand!"

[Hand: 2 - 1]

Another circle of white light appeared, before being dyed red and compressing into a single orb, with stated to split into 2… 3 …. 4….. And then 5…

And then, the body started to form around the red orbs into the dragon itself.

[KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!]

A more high-pitched voice shrieked out from the dragon.

{Schwazschild Limit Dragon} Atk: 2000 Def: 0

(Dark)

[Dragon/Effect]

[If your opponent controls a monster with 2000 or more ATK, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).]

"... Battle! I attack… Inverz Madis (Steelswarm Mantis) with Beelze of the Diabolic Dragon!"

[RRRAAAAAAAAUGH!]

[!...]

Inverz Madis tried to run but was quickly caught into the jaws of the two dragons.

And it was violently crushed.

[!...]

[!]

"I attack Inverz Caller with Schwarzschild Limit Dragon!"

The dragon itself imitated Beelze's movement, and Inverz Caller was met with the same fate.

The Inverz monsters started to run.

"... Where do you guys think you're going?"

I started to run after them.

[!'sazaG zrevnI' fo tnemgarf eht nommus laiceps ot tuocS zrevnI dna rellaC zrevnI etubirt I]

The voice from the sky boomed again, and two of the monsters collided into eachother, before white gaps started to appear, shattering their bodies to reveal a black behemoth.

{Inverz Gazas (Steelswarm Caucastag)} Atk: 2800 Def: 0

(Dark)

Level: 8

[Fiend/Effect]

[When this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing 2 "Steelswarm" monsters: Activate 1 of these effects.

● Destroy all monsters on the field, except this card.

● Destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field.]

[dleif eht no sretsnom ruoy fo lla yortsed I !setavitca tceffe 'sazaG xrevnI]

The Inverz Gazas (Steelsworm Caucastag) started to howl, and the sound was enough to shatter Kagetokage and Schwarz Limit Dragon like fragile glass.

"...! Beelze the Diabolic Dragon cannot be destroyed by effect or battle!"

[...]

…. Shit, even if I can fight these things….. I still can't….

I still can't beat them in time…

I need something that can…. That can destroy all of these monsters at once….

[... And you do…..]

…..!

[I told you, I'll be waiting for you to call me. I can help you, call me!]

"... What, where? How?"

[Draw your next card, that's all you have to do…. You'll figure out then.]

"... Fine, draw!"

[Hand: 1 - 2]

"...! I normal summon Silver Gadget!"

A single silver orb appears in front of me before it disassembles itself into a robot.

{Silver Gadget} Atk: 1500 Def: 1000

(Light)

Level: 4

[Machine/Effect]

[When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 Machine monster from your hand. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Gadget" monster from your Deck, except "Silver Gadget". You can only use 1 "Silver Gadget" effect per turn, and only once that turn.]

"I activate Silver Gadget's effect! I special summon Green Gadget from my hand!"

{Green Gadget} Atk: 1400 Def: 600

(Earth)

Level: 4

[Machine/Effect]

[When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Red Gadget" from your Deck to your hand.]

"I add Red gadget from my deck to my hand."

[Hand: 2 - 1]

[... Two level 4 monsters on the field…..]

"I overlay Silver Gadget and Green Gadget!"

My brain started to feel hazy, as if all of this was a dream.

The extra deck popped open once more.

And a card was glowing white among the remaining 13 cards

I instinctively grabbed it, and drew it.

"I'm going with this guy. I XYZ summon….. Verzbuth, The Exciton-Glimmer knight! (Evilswarm Exciton Knight)"

[!]

A whirlpool of gold and black started to appear on the ground, where the two gadget monsters turned into white and brown light and entered into the eye of the cosmic tornado.

And out emerged a knight, clad in black and white armour and wielding a rapier.

{Verzbuth, The Exciton-Glimmer knight} Atk: 1900 Def: 0

(Light)

Rank: 4

[Fiend/XYZ/Effect]

[2 Level 4 monsters

Once per chain, during your Main Phase or your opponent's Battle Phase, if your opponent has more total cards in their hand and field than you do (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 material from this card; destroy all other cards on the field, also your opponent takes no further damage this turn.]

[!ot nar uoy erehw si sihT !rotiart uoy ,htubzreV]

[... I was never part of your group.]

"I activate Verzbuth's ability! When my opponent has more total cards in their hand and field than I do, I can detach 1 Overlay Unit from Verzbuth… And destroy all other cards on the field!"

[!]

[UuuuuuoooOOOORAAAAAA!]

The end of Verzbuth's rapier start to glow white, before the glow grew into a full-on beacon.

[!HTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBEEEEEZZZRRREEEEEEEEEEV]

[TURN INTO LIIIIIIIGHT!]

Verzbuth struck his rapier down into the ground.

And everything exploded into white light.

I woke up to find myself in my bed…

The same walls of my room,

The same desk….

…

…. Guess that was a dream, after all.

I knew it, it was too weird to be real.

[... I'm afraid not….]

"...!"

I whipped my head to the corner of the room.

And there he stood, leaning on the wall,

Inverz Roach.

[... Everything you remember was real.]

"..."

[... Do you want to hear the good news, or the bad news?"

"... I'd like to start with the good news first."

[... Ha….]

Inverz Roach let out a sigh, before looking straight at me again.

[The good news is: you did it. You managed to drive the Inverz away from your world. And thanks to the remains of Sophia's light, they won't be able to go anywhere near your world.]

"I see….. And the bad news?"

[... The bad news is, the light severed your connection to your world.]

"…"

[And the Inverz took advantage of your situation. They decided to drag you with them. You're only here because I managed to grab hold of you, and escaped into this world.]

"... What?"

[... You no longer have a home. You're a wanderer now.]

"..."

[... And because of that, they decided to choose you as their champion.]

"... Excuse me?"

[You're the Champion of Verz, now.]

"... I don't understand. Please elaborate."

[... Have you ever heard of Duel Terminal?]

"... You mean that storyline about Yugioh monsters."

[... Good, this will be easier to explain.]

"... Oh god, it was real."

[... Yes, it's real.]

"..."

[And what's more, the different tribes in the Duel Terminal decided to pick duelists from different worlds to spread their influences to either survive, thrive, or both.]

"... Oh."

[... The Inverz went a bit further, they started to invade worlds to devour them, to empower themselves. They're still doing it, they just moved on from your world.]

"..."

[But this time, they found a duelist that managed to drive them away. Fight back and succeed.]

"... That's me, isn't it."

[... Yes… They set the eyes on you, decided to mark you by making you their champion.]

"... I…"

[... You don't have to worry about it, though. You're their champion, not their slaves. You can still fight against them. In fact, that's why I'm here.]

"... To ask me to fight against them?"

[Yes.]

"... What choice do I have? I go nowhere to return to, right?"

[... I'm sorry…]

"... It's fine. You got nothing to be sorry about."

I stood up from my bed and walked over to my desk.

The duel disk and the deck was laid cleanly on the table.

"... Where do we start?"

[That's a bit subjective.]

"...?"

[The duel terminal is detached from the standard time-space of human worlds, just like the duel-spirit world.]

"... You're trying to tell me that they can travel to time and space."

[In a limited time and space. Check through your cards.]

"..."

I was shuffling through the cards to find myself surprised at the majority of the cards having blank illustrations.

"I… what?"

[As you can see, cards that are, or related to, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum are blank, among other cards.]

"..."

[... Cards that doesn't have enough duel energy cannot go against the streams of space and time of the human world, and thus must either conform to the stream, or be rejected outright.]

"... But, what about cards like…. Vice dragon and Strong Wind Dragon? They're not related to any of the blanked cards."

[... That's because they don't consider you their owner. If you want to use them, you're going to have to show them your worth.]

The only cards that weren't blanked….. Were Barabaros, Fusilier Dragon, Legendary Maju Garzett…. Hyper-Ancient Shark Megalodon, and the two Keepers of Dragon Magic.

And spell and trap cards that aren't related to Synchro, Xyz, or Pendulum.

…. And some fusion cards.

"... Hey, what do I call you?"

[... Just call me Roach.]

"... So, Roach…. Where are we?"

[... Domino City.]

"... Excuse me?"

[Domino City, in the World of GX.]

And that was the start of this god-awful journey through the decade.