There was a saying that Mondays were the hardest. The beginning of another week of hard labor was never a prospect that the average Joe was looking forward to. The same could have been said for the wealthy Hajime Shirayama, even if he did not relax for a second in the weekend. Spending most of his morning and early afternoon at the Shirayama Industries offices and discussing clothing designer lines and fabric import issues was not something he was eager to do. He held a similar attitude towards his late afternoon master's degree courses. It was all a waste of time in his eyes, precious time which could have been spent tracking down the Spawns of Shishima. Alas, his own duties towards the family business and his own education took precedence, but his only consolation was that someone else was back home working diligently on the case 24/7.

It was around 8 PM when he returned to his mansion. Dinner was served hastily while having a video call with his parents in Tokyo. With his routine finally coming to an end, he was free to go upstairs and check on the progress of his computer wiz ally. Unsurprisingly, he found random notes and clues picked up from various crime scenes scattered all around the bedroom. As much as he appreciated his partner's genius, he did have a tendency of being disorganized when it came to his work materials.

"Please be careful not to step on the evidence, thank you," the Englishman spoke ever so witty and dry, without even turning to greet his benefactor.

"Good evening to you too," Hajime replied while making his way through the clutter. "How's the progress so far?"

"If by 'progress' you mean hitting the same dead ends, I'd say we've made quite good progress over the last few years."

"Very reassuring indeed. Well then, is there something we can do to break this cycle? You know as well as I do that the more we and the police stagger, the more victims will be claimed by the Spawns."

"You're talking as if I'm not aware just how dire the situation is, Hajime. Back when Shishima revealed himself to the world, I was in London helping MI6 track down a terrorist organization. The fact that I could reach out to you and offer my aid with this case isn't a career move. Trust me, if I only cared about that, I'd have remained in the UK and advanced as a hacker and intelligence agent; especially since both my folks have high positions in the government and can easily pull some strings for me." He finally turned to face his host and took off his glasses, setting them on his desk. "If you wish to get to the bottom of this case, we have to dive into the belly of the beast. Did you see the message I sent you this morning?"

"About the new latex mask that can fully imitate a human face down to the hardest expressions? Yes, but that article says that it's still being experimented on and-"

"I've researched deeper into it and it's already being sold to top secret agents. I suggest you make a small monetary effort and help me buy you one. That should enable you to infiltrate the Spawns of Shishima and gather more intel."

"You forget that I'd have to go through an initiation ritual and murder an innocent victim. Do you think my conscience will allow me to perform such an act?"

"What about your Texan friend Jack Thornton? He could take that leap, even if it had scarred him psychologically. It's one of those moral dilemmas where we have to weigh in one life over the lives of many. And, to be quite honest, I'm unsure what the correct answer is. But if you truly wish to gain more answers from that cult, then stalking their websites and interrogating the few members we've managed to arrest won't bring us any answers. You know as well as I do that they're too far gone to ever cooperate with the authorities since they can't even be threatened with torture or the death penalty."

Hajime sighed loudly, internally cursing himself for having put Jack through those tribulations five years ago. Only when the actual prospect of doing the field work himself came he managed to understand his friend's trauma. "Order one of those masks tonight. I'll make the payment first thing in the morning." He turned to leave, when his partner rose his voice to stop him.

"Before you go on with your evening routine, would you mind if we had a duel?"

"Sure, why not? I guess it's been a few weeks since we've last trained among ourselves."

Both fetched their decks and walked to a dueling table which lay near the bedroom's balcony. They shuffled, set their five shields and drew five cards, thus beginning their regular casual match.

"Galaxyshield 2, I set Jyuu Ni Shin Ki as a face up shield," Hajime said.

"I cast Purification Sharrup and ramp one mana," his partner said.

"At the start of my turn, since Jyuu Ni Shin Ki is face up on my shields, I cast it as if its cost was paid." Hajime checked the top four cards of his deck and added one to his hand, the rest going to the bottom of his deck. "Now to do my proper turn, I charge mana and Galaxyshield 3, I set Azure Rising General as a face up shield. Whenever he's put as a face up card in my shield zone or he's put in the battle zone, I get to draw a card."

"A good early game indeed. However, I'm afraid my main combo begins now!" Those words were enough to send shivers down Hajime's spine. His opponent was quick to reveal the cards he was going to play and spoke excitedly, "I cast Now or Never to put Sr Spellcyclica, Dragment Symbol in the battle zone, then immediately return him to my hand. Sr Spellcyclica's effect casts Now or Never from my graveyard again and brings it back to my hand. With Now or Never's effect, I bring my trump card, the leader of the Water Nature Team Wave - King Manifest!" He revealed a card depicting a blue lion with frog legs instead of paws and a flowing green mane. "Now or Never returns King Manifest to my hand, but I use his effect and shuffle my deck! The top card I reveal will either be summoned for free if it's a creature or cast for free if it's a spell." He began shuffling his deck with great speed and placed it on the table, revealing... "I summon Completely Unidentified and end my turn."

"While Completely Unidentified is in the battle zone, if I charge mana, play a card or attack, my turn ends immediately afterwards." Hajime clicked his tongue at the surprisingly unpleasant lockdown. "My turn then, I summon Azure Rising General as if his cost was paid and draw a card."

"Your turn ends here," his opponent declared and immediately drew and charged mana, once more revealing the three cards which constituted his great combo. "I cast Now or Never to use Sr Spellcyclica one more time and return both to my hand. The second time I cast Now or Never, I use King Manifest also." He shuffled his deck once more and revealed the top card. "I summon another King Manifest!" Another round of shuffling ensued, but this time the creature remained in the battle zone. "Now then, I summon Kiramaru, Great Miracle! When Kiramaru is summoned, we both play Gachinko Judge three times. Each time I win Gachinko Judge, instead of sending the card to the bottom of my deck, I get to play it!"

The nervousness could be read all over Hajime's face as they started revealing the top cards of their decks. He got Kirazeus Savark while his opponent got Mystery Cube. 7 VS 5, that was a loss for Kiramaru's user. The next pair were Absolute Shield Knight and Sr Spellcyclica, Dragment Symbol. 8 VS 7 meant another loss for Kiramaru. The last one was DG Parthenon ~Where Dragons are Created~ and Hogan Blaster. 2 VS 5, that was the single Gachinko Judge his opponent could win.

"I cast Hogan Blaster for no cost! That means I get to shuffle my deck again and if the top card is a creature or spell, I play it for no cost as well." Yet another round of shuffling ensued, this time the reveal was a twinpact card - Kuromame Danshaku / Hakumai Danshaku. "Hm, should I use the creature or spell side? I'll go with the creature side - I put Kuromame Danshaku in the battle zone. Now, with King Manifest's mach fighter, I attack and destroy Azure Rising General. Kiramaru also grants speed attacker to all of my creatures, so I attack with him and triple break your shields!"

"Shield trigger, I summon Mage of Cursebreaker and set Lightning Sword Paladin from my hand as a new face up shield."

"Kuromame Danshaku's effect, whenever you put a creature with an enter the battle zone effect, it goes to your mana zone after resolving said effect! Now then, I triple break again with Completely Unidentified!"

"Not so fast! With Lightning Sword Paladin's effect, while he's face up in my shield zone or in the battle zone, whenever one of my shields would be broken, I may discard a card to save said shield instead. I'll discard just Joe Star of Hope to save Lightning Sword Paladin's shield and allow the other two to be broken." Hajime picked the cards and smirked, immediately revealing them. "Shield trigger, I cast Goten! Ginga MAX and send Completely Unidentified back to your hand. Then I cast another Ginga MAX and send Kuromame Danshaku to your hand as well! Your pesky little lockdown is no more, it seems."

"That doesn't mean I'm finished yet - Sr Spellcyclica breaks your last shield!"

"I discard Azure Rising General to save it!"

"Very well then, Hajime. I'll pass the turn to you."

"Don't mind if I do - I summon Lightning Sword Paladin as if his cost was paid and send Kiramaru to your shield zone face down!"

"Eternal Omega, Kiramaru goes back to my hand instead."

"I charge mana and cast Goten! Ginga MAX. Since I have both a Light and Water creature in the battle zone, I get to use both its effects, so I send Sr Spellcyclica back to your hand and set Absolute Shield Knight from my hand as a new face up shield! With Absolute Shield Knight's effect, whenever he's put face up in my shield zone or he's put in the battle zone or he attacks, I check the top two cards of my deck, add one to my hand and the other becomes a new face up shield!" Hajime's smile grew bigger as he checked said cards. "I put I Am Justice If You Want as a new face up shield. Witness the leader of the Light Water Team Ginga! While he's face up in my shield zone, all my shields gain shield trigger."

"Quite the impressive defense you've set up there. Now, should I presume you've finished your turn?"

"Go ahead."

"Thank you," his opponent's politeness was typically formal and irritating. "I summon another King Manifest." He began shuffling his deck once more and then he revealed the top card. "I summon Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and with her effect I gain an extra turn!" Hajime's eyes grew wide at the sudden twist in their match. "With King Manifest's mach fighter I attack and destroy Lightning Sword Paladin. And now I'll end my turn here and my extra turn thus begins." He untapped all his cards and drew again. "I cast Hakumai Danshaku to ramp a card and return... King Manifest from my mana zone to my hand. Then I cast Now or Never to bring out and return Sr Spellcyclica, which in turn recasts and returns Now or Never just so I can bring out and return the third King Manifest!" His combo done once more, he shuffled his deck yet again. "I summon Moai Land, Ancient Paradise. Now you can no longer cast spells or expand fields. I attack with Emrakul, now you must choose a total of six face up cards from your battle zone, mana zone and shield zone and send them to your graveyard."

Hajime bit his lip in frustration. He had no such cards in his battle zone, only five cards in his mana zone and two face up shields to choose from. No matter what choice he made, in that current situation, the outcome would have still been devastating.

"I burn all of my mana and the Absolute Shield Knight shield," he conceded and tossed all mentioned cards in his graveyard.

"Emrakul breaks your final shield!"

"Shield trigger, I summon I Am Justice If You Want," Hajime said while placing a card depicting a small blue robotic humanoid sitting in front of a giant golden golem. "While he's in the battle zone, all of my creatures can't be attacked or blocked."

"Kind of late for that, isn't it?" his opponent threw another sarcastic quip. "King Manifest, todomeda!"

Thus their match ended. Hajime yawned as he packed his cards.

"Maybe you've had a poor performance tonight due to your recent sleeping patterns?" his partner wondered, a small hint of concern in his voice.

"Nah, I'm just tired after dealing both with my family business and college. I better hit the hay, tomorrow I've got another important office meeting. Remind me in the morning to make that payment for the mask."

"I won't forget. Good night!"

In just half an hour, Hajime had finished his shower and changed into his blue-striped pajamas. He fell onto his two person bed and pulled the covers on himself. He shut his eyes, allowing his mind to finally rest as he sank into the comforts of a good night's sleep.

No soon did everything black out, he suddenly felt an excruciatingly suffocating heat all around. His vision went blurry and as he started to make out the bright orange in front of him, he saw flames. All around there were burning trees and bushes. Panic and confusion filled him as he wondered how he ended up in the middle of a burning forest. Fearing that the fires would take him, he made a run for it. And as he dashed through the raging inferno, a hauntingly familiar hissed laughter boomed loudly in his ears, making his heart pound hard in his chest. The feeling that he was being chased overwhelmed him, but he was unsure from which direction. The realization that he was having an actual dream for the first time in five years hit him. Hajime stopped running and tried to take control over his dream in order to wake up.

All of a sudden, Shishima jumped from the flames, shrieking at him with his twisted sharp leonine face. He was the size of a human, but he still managed to overpower Hajime. The latter was lifted up by those clawed hands covered in purple fur, one of them gripping his scalp tightly. Then, his head was slowly and painfully ripped off his body.

Shinobu sat on her bed in just her woman's lingerie. Her bedroom had once been used by actors when the theater building was still functional fifty years ago. Now it was dim and filled with dirt and cobwebs, but she paid no mind to the poor living conditions. She had spent her entire Monday holding online sermons in red rooms to rally the masses of devoted followers in the name of Shishima. Performing her duties as a religious figure and spokesperson for the god of the new world was not at all an easy task, especially since she had been forced into hiding. But in the end it did not matter how great her efforts were as long as her reward would come from her master on the promised day. Closing her eye, she drifted into sleep, eager to recharge her batteries and begin a new day of rituals.

The next thing she knew, she was standing in a dark temple lit by torches, donning the same hooded black robes she wore when performing sacrifices. Around were orange brick walls and beneath her feet was a marble floor colored black and white, akin to a chessboard. She held a large book in her hands as she preached the bloody doctrine of Shishima to what seemed to be an empty crowd. But it did not matter, for she had gotten so used to the routine that it felt no different from entering a pleasant trance. As she took a better look around herself, she noticed that there were bloodstains on the walls and a multitude of human hands were coming out of the floor, reaching out to grab her. As she backed down, Shinobu also noticed that there were pairs upon pairs of red eyes staring right at her through holes in the walls. Before she could even attempt to comprehend what was happening, a familiar hissed voice echoed through the dark corridor:

"Do you really know what you've gotten yourself into?"

Shishima burst through the wall and grabbed Shinobu into his giant hand, crushing her in a matter of moments.

Hajime gasped as he awoke from the nightmare. He took deep breaths as he stared in his bedroom's darkness, sweat racing down his face. It was just a dream, he was safe. Tentatively, he reached and grabbed his neck, to make sure his head was still attached to his body. Perhaps the stress of his duties was finally getting to him. Shaking off the negative thoughts, he got out of his bed and walked out into the dark of the corridor. While passing by the other bedroom, he was surprised to find no lights coming out. There seemed to be no computer monitor forgotten on, which was strange as his partner tended to fall asleep without turning off all of his PCs. Shrugging it off as a mere coincidence, Hajime climbed down the stairs and headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Oddly enough, the kitchen seemed to be unbearably hot, akin to a sauna. Perhaps the cook had been busy all night preparing meals for the rest of the week. He tried opening the fridge, but for some reason the door was stuck. Groaning in frustration, he decided to pick up a glass and just serve himself some tap water. As he touched the sink's tap, he was surprised to find its metal rather hot. Just to be sure, he turned it to cold water before lifting it up. Then, much to his shock, what poured out of the sink was scorching hot lava. It fell like a jet of water and melted the glass in his hand immediately. As Hajime backed off, a pair of hands grabbed his neck from behind and squeezed it so tight that it crushed his windpipe and rendered him unable to scream for help.

"This is what you'll get if you keep obsessing over me!" Shishima cruelly spoke from behind as he once more lifted his victim in the air and then he thrust his head right into the lava-filled sink, Hajime struggling helplessly as his face slowly melted away.

Shinobu found herself lying on her knees in the streets of Sagakin. She felt dizzy, the world spinning around her. The city seemed to be in ruins: its once majestic buildings had been demolished, broken vehicles and mangled corpses littered the streets, and amidst the chaos of carnage she seemed to be the only remaining living being. A powerful headache lingered deep inside, threatening to split her skull in half. Once again she heard the dreadful voice of the being she willfully chose to worship:

"Is this really what you want, mortal?"

Again she did not have a chance to answer. A sudden earthquake shook her wildly and then the ground beneath opened up, swallowing her into a pit of darkness.

"Mister Shirayama. Mister Shirayama, wake up!" a voice startled Hajime out of his sleep. He was inside a college classroom, all alone with his History of Criminology professor, and it seemed that the sun was about to set outside.

"Is the course done already?" he moaned, making no effort to hide his tiredness.

"Yes, and I'm afraid you've missed a good part of it. I would recommend you pay better attention next time if you wish to have any hopes of passing the winter exam," the older man coldly stated and went back to the desk to pack up his files.

"My sincere apologies, sir!" Hajime said as he got up from his seat and picked up his suitcase.

As he wandered down the college's corridors, he had a strange feeling of deja vu. In one moment he was in the comfort if his pajamas, in the next he was in his fancy college suit. Something was definitely wrong. Checking the watch on his left arm, he took notice that it was past 6 PM and yet the college building seemed to have emptied already. As he watched the sunlight slowly disappear in the horizon, he had the foreboding feeling that he had been in a similar situation before. Said feeling only grew stronger as he heard footsteps from behind. Not taking any chances, Hajime sprinted ahead and the footsteps followed at a similar pace. Whoever or whatever was following him, he would not allow it to catch him again. Just as he was about to turn left and run down the stairs, he felt a hand grab him by the shoulder and a chilling whisper which sounded an awful lot like his own voice say, "It's your fault this happened."

Hajime turned around and saw himself wearing the same suit, but his head had been ripped off, only a small bit of his spinal chord stuck out of his neck. Scared out of his wits, he ran down the stairs and headed into the main corridor towards the exit. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another figure run from beneath the stairs, following him again at a similar pace. As he approached them, the exit doors slammed themselves shut immediately and he crashed headfirst. He mentally cursed the situation he was stuck in, when all of a sudden the figure from behind grabbed his shoulder as well and turned him around. Hajime saw himself again, but this time he was wearing pajamas and his face had been molten off, a grinning skull with empty eye sockets greeting him. Again he heard a whisper in his own voice, this time saying, "Stop obsessing and save yourself."

Then the ghostly apparition vanished into thin air. As fear overtook him, Hajime collapsed on his knees and gripped his head, unable to discern between dream and reality anymore. He heard another pair of footsteps from ahead, but this time they were much calmer and slower. Looking up, he saw a pair of naked feet covered in purple fur and with sharp claws stretching from the toes. The figure of Shishima emerged from the darkness, once more by the size of a regular human, a wide expectant grin on his face.

"Well then, Hajime, what is your choice?"

Something about Shishima's tone angered Hajime to no end. Despite the numerous crimes he had committed against his family and loved ones, it was the smug attitude and god complex that ticked him off on a whole other level. Just on principle, he could not let such a monster win in the end. More determined than ever, Hajime got back on his feet and declared, "I won't stop fighting till I rid the world of you!"

"Never forget then, you were the one who chose to forsake your own peace of mind!" Shishima's reply stung him and before he could contemplate its meaning, the demon lashed and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him in the air. "Now wake up!"

Hajime jumped out of his bed, his pajamas soaked in sweat. He immediately pinched himself. It hurt, he was finally awake. Looking down at his phone on the nightstand, he noticed it was Tuesday, 5:30 AM. Just to be absolutely certain it was not another dream, he walked out of his bedroom and headed towards his partner's room. Upon peeking inside, he was relieved to find him asleep with all three computer screens still on. Relieved that it was over, Hajime leaned against a wall and took a deep breath. Had those nightmares been a part of his psyche, or were they proof that Shishima had returned?

Shinobu awoke from the darkness. Ahead burned white fires and she felt suffocated by the colorless dimension in which she floated. To make matters worse, she felt she was not alone. As the lights grew brighter, she realized she was surrounded by seven demons, but they were not regular demons. She had read about them in demonology books in her youth - those were the seven princes of Hell. The fires took the shape of their sigils which began to dizzily spin around her.

"Shinobu Matsuda, at the end of the day you are still a mortal," Shishima's cold voice spoke in her head. "This is what you will receive when all is said and done: either an eternity in Hell or an eternity as my own mangled demonized servant. Thus I ask you again: is this really what you want?"

Then, much to the surprise of all the unholy beings present there, Shinobu burst into laughter.

"Did you think I'm not aware of the consequences which will damn my soul? Trust me, Lord Shishima, I'm well aware... and I don't care," she mirthfully declared. "All my life I've suffered, now I want to see others suffer just as much if not worse! I'll gladly accept my ultimate fate either as another one of the damned or as your own demonized servant without any regrets!"

"Then you better remember that you are the one who made this choice!" Shishima replied and then she heard a pair of fingers snap.

Shinobu awoke back in her bedroom. She immediately checked her clock and saw it was 6 AM. Good, she had gotten enough rest. While getting up to dress, she reflected on the series of nightmares she had experienced on the previous night. They had been a test of loyalty which she was more than certain that she passed. But perhaps more importantly, those dreams were an omen of her master's inevitable return. The masses thus needed to be informed of the great news. The day of Shishima's return was fast approaching.