It was late afternoon as I went through the streets holding onto Shadow, now with a hemp-string collar with a light blue crystal at the front. Just outside the city, in a clearing in the forest, we found an old, abandoned stone mansion. It looked like it needed some help, but it wasn't anything that my powers couldn't take care of. I walked up to the doors of the large house, placing my hand on the door. I felt my power being transferred into the house, and every crack was sealed in colored crystal. When the house was completely fixed, I opened the doors and walked in.

The house, now reflecting the bluish-purple crystal, had a familiar feel on the inside. I put Shadow down on the floor so she could walk beside me. I felt a presence behind me, and I turned to see a large serpentine, indigo dragon. It was female with a misty appearance, having thin arms with sharp claws on her talons. Her wings were also long and thin, but the rest of her body was all tail. However, it wasn't until I noticed her silver, pupil-less eyes that I recognized her.

"Is that you, Yinlong?" I asked the misty dragoness.

She replied in my head, Yes Star, it's me.

I wasn't all that surprised, remembering that roar I heard when I held her card. I reached out to her, and she stretched out her talon to me, and we both touched. I let go of Yinlong's talon, and she disappeared back into her card. I began to notice the carpeted hallways had some moon globes that alternated along the pale blue walls, but they weren't lit. But when I touched one, it was like I turned them all on at once. The house was immediately full of light at the perfect setting for me. The lights were all suddenly glowing a calming, lunar silver that I was so fond of. I believe that they must have been made by a royal Shadow Roamer.

They are no longer called "Shadow Roamers", Star, Yinlong said in my head, They are now called "Phantoms".

I kept wandering through the house, the moon globes lighting the way, until I found the living room. It was spacious and welcoming, with a fireplace at the back. The couches were cornflower blue, and the chairs were forest green. Just outside the crystalline back door was a back porch with a few loungers folded off to the side. This place clearly once had belonged to a large family of Phantoms, but for some reason they left.

I walked upstairs, finding several old pictures scattered on the wall. The pictures all had duel spirits in them, along with their young duelists. For some reason, I knew who the spirits were: the Arcana Forces and the Silver Spirits. That must have meant their duelists, a boy and a girl, were my great-grandfather, Sartorius, and his little sister, Sarina. I know, I know; me being descended from not one but two villains should make me evil, too. But they weren't bad from the get-go; for what they both did back then, blame the Dark Light!

Ah, the family returns at last, a thin voice said behind me, making me freeze in place. I slowly turned to see Magic Mirror Spirit Nayuta and Arcana Force XVIII: the Moon. Nayuta swatted at Moon with her miko fan, obviously scolding him for startling me.

"Don't scare me like that," I sighed, and Shadow also hissed in protest.

Please accept my deepest apologies, Moon pleaded, wincing from the hits that Nayuta gave him. I allowed them to follow me, despite giving me a scare for a first impression.

I kept walking through the halls with Shadow and the two duel spirits following. Nayuta was suddenly walking in front of me, leading me to a bedroom. The indigo-walled bedroom had a balcony, a dark blue armchair near the bed, and a wooden desk on the other side. There was also a dark gray pet bed near the chair, which looked the perfect size for Shadow. It was kind of weird, like everything in this house was specifically made for me. She said sadly, The house was your mother's inheritance. But alas, your parents left for safety, yet the Devil's Snare caught them both.

Tears appeared in my eyes as realization hit me like a brick: I was supposed to live here.

I cautiously sat down on the bed, thunderstruck at what I had discovered. I had found and repaired the house I should've grown up inside all those years ago. Shadow jumped and curled up in my lap, rubbing her head against my arm. I looked up crying a little, noticing that even Nayuta and Moon looked rather gloomy. As sad as I was, I was strangely content, as I was back home the moment I got here.

Afterward, Nayuta and the Moon went back to the Shadow Realm where they belonged. I had a feeling that they were telling their deck-mates that I came back. I put Shadow beside me, and got ready for bed. After I was ready, I turned the moon globes in the house to dim it to almost off, but just enough to see. I went back into my room to see Shadow still curled up on the bed, purring softly. I quietly lifted her up, placing her in her own bed, where she curled up even more. I also turned the globe in my room to a sleep-appropriate sheen before getting into my own bed and falling asleep.

(Star Dreaming) Yuma was standing in front of a malicious-feeling man wearing a white MC suit with a walking stick. I could see his name was Mr. Heartland, the evil mayor from just about everyone's memories. Sitting up on a high ledge was a strong-looking man with a laid-back but calculating mindset named Erazor. Off to the side, Yuma's friends were motionlessly slumped against a wall, eyes completely and utterly blank.

It looked like Heartland and Erazor were trying to coax Yuma into giving them the Number cards. But one Number in particular was trying to make sure that didn't happen. A large white and gold, winged warrior with a red 39 on his shoulder was standing behind him. It appeared that it was Number 39: Utopia, trying to tell Yuma to be hopeful that Astral would return, reminding Yuma that the Numbers were friends. Meanwhile Trey and I were hiding behind some rubble, listening in on what was happening. Trey held a sword that he said he'd hurl at Heartland, and I had my spear to throw at any backup he might have.

Trey and I started to get nervous when Yuma reached for his deck case. I could tell he was considering what Utopia was telling him. Yuma made the right choice, choosing not to give them the Numbers. He told them that though he isn't involved with Astral or Barian World, Astral trusted him with the Numbers. The Numbers represented what they fought for, and shouldn't be given to someone like Heartland. The numerous spirits of the Numbers seemed to agree.

I nodded at Trey, and we both said that Yuma was right as we leaped out from hiding, throwing our weapons at our targets. As planned, Trey threw his sword at Heartland, and I javelin-threw my spear at Erazor. Heartland teleported away from Trey's sword; and Erazor moved his head away from my spear, which pierced the wall of his perch. We landed in front of Yuma, who recognized us as we did so.

(Star) I woke up the next morning to find that the sun was rising. I got up to see that Shadow was still sleeping in her bed. I smiled and stroked her head, causing her to wake up and stretch. I opened the door to let her outside of my room to explore the house. Once I closed the door behind her, I started getting ready for the day.

After I had some breakfast, I got dressed in my usual outfit and began looking for something to hide my identity for when I went to Barian World. I searched the closet, finding an indigo hooded cloak so dark it was nearly black. When I put it on, the cloak was just my size, trailing all the way to the ground, even covering my hair. I looked in the mirror, seeing that my eyes were also well-hidden.

I'm planning to negotiate with these Barians, only telling them of my people, and my name if necessary. With my eyes and hair completely concealed, no Barian will recognize me should they have to come to Earth. I walked out of my room to see all of the Arcana Forces and Silver Spirits wishing me luck, with the Dark Ruler leading. So, with everything ready, I opened a Shadow Gateway and headed for Barian World.

I found myself on Barian World, hiding in the shadow of a giant, blood-red crystal in a castle room. I could already tell that I didn't like this place from how it felt. Everything felt horrible and dead at heart, with cruel, deep red light radiating from everything. The colors made me remember when Kazuma and Byron fell into the vortex five years ago. The colors were exactly the same as the unfamiliar glowing runes that zapped them and me.

Once again, I felt a steadily growing pain spreading through my head, images soon following. The image was of a being with black skin, and armor of onyx. His long, gold-glowing hair had two crimson bangs at the front. His eyes were heterochromatic, one red and one blue, with a red third eye. His eyes were dark and malevolent, but at the same time withheld longing. I was standing in front of him, radiating just as much power as he was. "You will regret coming into contact with my tributes," he declared in his deep voice, "That, I assure you." I wondered what he meant, when the vision faded back as the pain receded.

"Dumon," a small female voice asked, "Are Nash and Marin ever going to return?"

I looked out at the scene that was in the room; one of the Barian emperors was with a young Barian girl. The emperor, with his back turned, was wearing a gray cloak and seemed to be shorter than I was. His mind was composed and collected with a bit of worry hovering in the back. The source was a memory of two familiar figures that seemed to have more authority than the other emperors. A lingering thought flashed through his head, All we can do is wait and see, Iris. You aren't the only one who misses them; that, I'm sure of.

So it seems that Barian World is missing two of its emperors, and these two were close to them.

I shifted my attention to the little girl, Iris, whose features were visible to me. I was easily able to notice her forest-green hair and deep blue, worried eyes. With her hairstyle and small size, she looked like a miniature version of Rio. Her respect and close friendship for the missing emperors was an open book to me. The emperor, Dumon, gently patted her head in reassurance, "I'm sure they'll come back soon."

At this point, I decided to make myself known to the two of them. I cupped my hands and focused my power, making a medium-sized ball of glowing crystal. This seemed to catch their attention, as the pale purple glow of the moon globe was an obvious contrast to the Barian red. I slowly walked out from my hiding spot, my features covered by my own cloak. The emperor turned toward me, gently urging little Iris behind him, and I could see his dim gray eyes and skin.

"Who are you? And how did you get here?" he demanded, though I could sense his voice shaking.

I bowed politely and replied, "I am a Phantom, and I got here with my powers."

A Phantom, Dumon thought with relief, at least I'm familiar with them. As far as I can remember, they only fight those who they know are bad, which we're not. He immediately relaxed and let the little one come out of hiding so she could see me. Iris' eyes traveled down to see the moon globe I created, eyeing it with curiosity. She walked up to me and touched it as she commented, "Pretty," with a smile at its soft glow.

I placed my hand atop her head and replied, "Yes, little one; it is beautiful."

"All right, Iris," Dumon told, "Run along now." The girl nodded happily and loped out of the castle. As soon as she left, he turned back to face me. "So why exactly are you here?" he inquired, unsure of whether to trust me.

"I can see, and even feel the suffering in this world, Dumon," I told him softly. "I can tell that it is likely to end soon. And after what I've seen, neither you nor your comrades deserve to live here."

Dumon stared at me with doubt in his eyes, his mind desperately clinging to false hope of this world's life. "This world will never die, Phantom," Dumon told in a cracking voice. But, despite his denial, I saw that deep in his mind, he knew I was right.

I asked him, "Are you even able to fully leave this place, Dumon?"

He sadly shook his head, "We have sworn loyalty to our deity, Don Thousand. We cannot break our oath to him."

I revealed to him, "Your deity actually wishes to use you and the other six as tributes." His mind exploded with the shock of what I said. I quietly walked up to him, placing my moon globe into his hands. "You all will be able to start over soon," I told him. "Use this to remember that, until Don Thousand is gone for good. And when the time comes, I will come for all of you, including little Iris."

I bowed politely and turned to leave, when Dumon took hold of my cloak. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"My name is Star," I replied, "You will know who I am when you see me again." After that, I opened the Gateway and went back home.

On the other side of the Gateway, I found myself back at my house's front door. I went inside and took off the large cloak. I found that someone was calling on my d-pad, so I answered to see who it was.

"Hey Star," I heard as Yuma's face appeared on the video, "Where were you all day?"

I replied with a smile, "I've found out the truth about my family. I'll tell you about it when I get the chance, okay?"

"Sure, see you tomorrow."

I nodded and ended the call, and then I got ready for bed.