"I am Isis, Ariki of Corycian Cave," the biomechanical woman, Isis, said to Mira.
Mira couldn't help but think she had witnessed enough weird events both last month, and just today. First, she had a duel against Eiko, who was almost too good at Duel Monsters despite Game Duel only just making its official debut. Then, she met Pinkie when she dueled Hawk in an attempt to rescue Eiko. And after that, she got her necklace from Eiko for reasons she herself wasn't able to figure out. And now, she found herself in a place she had never heard of before, greeted by this… whatever it was. After a few seconds of trying to make any sense of the events leading up to this point, she said, but almost breathlessly:
"Ariki? Chi… Chicomoztoc Cave?"
"That is exactly right," Isis replied. "It is here where you will be tested for your worthiness."
"Tested for my- okay, I've had just about enough of this!" Mira shouted, throwing her hands in frustrated disbelief. "Can someone please tell me what the hell's going on here?!"
"My, my… For someone who may prove herself as a Wielder, you are certainly temperamental…" Isis commented, shaking her head sadly.
"Wait, 'Wielder'? What are you talking about?!"
"I will explain everything you need to know in due time," Isis said, rather firmly. "But right now, we must move on, should you wish to prove your worthiness. And do not forget to bring your friend with you."
At first, Mira didn't know what Isis was talking about. But it didn't take her long to figure out that the 'friend' in question was none other than Pinkie, who was still smiling and floating beside her, and even giving her a friendly wave. "Wait a minute… you can actually see her?" Mira gasped, pointing to Pinkie.
"That is correct," said Isis.
"I mean, you can see her, right? You're not trying to screw with me or anything?"
"Yes, I am able to see her," Isis said firmly. "Now please, we must go on – the fates of many universes are at stake!"
Mira still didn't know what Isis meant, but given her serious tone of voice, she felt it was best not to argue. Isis motioned Mira to follow, and the two walked through the cave's entrance, with Pinkie following behind. Pinkie managed to provide a faint glow as they traversed through the tunnel, but the real source of light came from yellow stones that gave out a more lustrous shine. After about a minute, they reached another opening to the cave. This one led to a sight that Mira had never seen before in her life.
YU-GI-OH! CHRONIXII
LEVEL 1-5
THE TRIAL OF WISDOM
Chicomoztoc Cave, as Mira was about to discover, was a vast underground village. All around her, she saw huts made of clay and stone, with yellow lights coming out of the windows and some of the doors from the same yellow stones she saw through the tunnel. All of the huts, along with some of the statues and pillars that were also found throughout the village, were reminiscent of the architecture commonly found in the Ancient Egyptian or Mayan Empires. But the most notable feature of all, at least to Mira, were the villagers themselves, all of whom were very similar to Isis. They, too, were biomechanical beings, wearing Kanohi masks with green eyes shining out of the eyeholes. Their masks and body armor were various color schemes of mostly black, gray, and purple, though there were some exceptions with colors of tan and orange.
To Mira, there was no doubt that this village was close to primitive, in complete contrast with her hometown megalopolis. Nevertheless, it was still a sight to behold. "This… This is beautiful…" she said in awe.
"Yes, our village is rather admirable," said Isis. "But we have no time to delay. If we want to determine your worthiness as a Wielder, we must proceed to the Trial, post-haste!"
"Wait, what trial? And what the hell's a Wielder?!" the annoyed Mira demanded.
But Isis didn't answer either of her questions. Instead, one of the villagers with a black and purple body and a purple Kanohi Kaukau, wearing a purple knee-length skirt and carrying a silver spear, caught sight of Isis and gallantly announced: "Everyone! Ariki Isis returns! Ariki Isis returns!"
He repeated this announcement until it reached the ears of all the other villagers. They immediately dropped whatever they were doing and made their way to regroup with Isis and Mira, about half of them crossing a small stone footbridge built over a stream. Everyone gasped in awe as they made all sorts of comments about Mira. The girl in question wasn't sure whether to be flattered or to be downright uncomfortable by all this attention.
"My fellow Chi-Tangatan," Isis boldly announced, "it is with the utmost pleasure to announce the arrival of she who may be destined to wield our revered Iroa of Darkness!" This announcement further excited the villagers, but left Mira even more flabbergasted than before.
"Hold on just a minute!" Mira shouted. "I still wanna know what all this is about!"
Isis lightly sighed at Mira's impatience. "Very well," she said, "it is only fair that I tell you everything you need to know – at least for the moment. Mira Yukiko, you have been brought here for the Trial – a test to determine whether or not you are worthy of wielding the Iroa of Darkness that sleeps within our village's Temple."
"Okay… I guess that makes sense," said Mira, "but how exactly was I brought here?"
"Do you remember the necklace you received earlier?" Isis said.
"Wait, what neck-" Mira began. Her eyes widened as she remembered the necklace she got from Eiko earlier. She quickly patted her shorts, and then her upper body until she felt the necklace that somehow got around her neck. After closely examining the tag that held the tablet, her eyes widened again. "Do you know why Eiko gave me this?!"
"Yes," Isis replied. "But I am forbidden from telling you, as it is not the proper time for me to divulge all of the information relating to our current ordeal."
"Okay, I'll buy that," said Mira, still feeling rather suspicious.
But no sooner had Mira said that when two biomechanical beings made their way through the crowd. One resembled a young girl whose main body consisted of a beige chest and arms, and dark gray legs. She had unruly waist-length red-orange hair, and wore an orange Kanohi Komau and a ragged black body-length dress. She was excitedly shoving her way through the crowd. The second was a male around the same height as Mira, with a black chest and purple arms and legs. He wore a purple Kanohi Matatu and a small kilt of silver linen. Like Isis and the other villagers of Chicomoztoc Cave, a pair of glowing green eyes shone through their masks' eyeholes.
As soon as the miniature mechanoid caught sight of Mira, she gasped in excitement and added, "Is that our Wielder?!" Without wasting a second, she hurried over to Mira and proceed to tightly hug her legs. "Wielder! It is so nice to meet you!"
"Aabidah, please!" the taller of the two scolded, yanking the girl, Aabidah, away from Mira by the hair. "Now is not the time for these formalities of yours! Besides, we don't even know if she truly is one of the Wielders we seek!"
"Well, you don't have to be so mean about it, Maaz!" Aabidah pouted, rubbing her injured hair.
"Wait… who are those two?" Mira asked, pointing to the two quarreling androids.
Isis motioned to the two androids, and they stood beside her – Aabidah on Isis's left, and Maaz on her right. "This is Aabidah and Maaz, my respective left and right hands," Isis introduced the two. "Aabidah may be rather impulsive, but her optimism and initiative are still unmatched. As for Maaz, his seriousness is overshadowed by his duty to protect both our village and those closest to him."
"That especially includes my younger sister, Aabidah," Maaz added, making Aabidah feel slightly embarrassed.
"But why exactly are they here?" Mira asked.
"As my left and right hands," Isis explained, "they have the special privilege of accompanying me for Trials such as this, so that they themselves can be prepared for whatever evils may come their way."
"When Ariki Isis told us about the arrival of the Wielder of Darkness," Aabidah squealed, "I just had to be there to meet you!"
"Not only that," Maaz added, "but we have the keys to open the Temple to which you will partake in the Trial."
"And you have the key that will take us to the entrance of the Temple itself," Isis said, pointing to Mira's necklace. Mira, still confused about the current situation, only picked up the necklace to her face so she could further study it. Isis took no notice as she said to the other villagers, "Please, let us through."
Some of the villagers moved aside to form a clear path across the bridge. Once Isis, Aabidah, Maaz, Mira, and Pinkie had crossed the bridge, the villagers began to follow them. The destination was a circular altar that was located across from the largest of the village's huts. Carved inside the rim of the altar was a series of squiggles and dots – something Mira obviously wasn't able to make out. She did, however, recognize the crude eye in the altar's innermost circle – the same symbol carved on her tablet.
Once Mira stepped up onto the edge of the altar, Isis stepped up right beside her. "Okay, so how does this Trial work?" Mira asked.
"First," Isis instructed, "we must traverse into the inner chambers of the Temple."
To the villagers, Isis declared, "My fellow Chi-Tangatan, we are now to descend down to the Temple where Mira shall partake in the Trial. But worry not, for I shall return with the results of both her progress, and her determination for her new duties!" Hearing this, all of the villagers cheered in both excitement and approval.
"I still don't know what this Trial's all about!" Mira impatiently shouted.
"You shall see, soon enough," Isis said reassuringly. "Meanwhile, we must descend to the Temple!"
"And how are we gonna do tha-" Mira began. Suddenly, she felt something move from underneath her. The center of the altar she, Isis, Aabidah, and Maaz were standing on turned out to be some kind of mechanism that lowered them down.
"Ooh, I just love an elevator ride!" Pinkie swooned as she followed the four to the depths below.
About thirty seconds later, the platform reached the very bottom of what appeared to be another tunnel lit by yellow stones, except the walls of this tunnel were steel as opposed to rock. Mira could feel a gentle breeze flowing in her face. As soon as Isis began walking through the tunnel, Mira, Pinkie, and the others followed behind
"There's one thing I still don't get," Mira said to Isis. "What exactly is this 'Trial' I'm supposed to do?"
"There are various Trials we present to those who will be tested for their worthiness as Wielders," Maaz explained. "Yours will be known as the 'Trial of Wisdom'. …Ah, here's where we partake in the Trail right now."
Sure enough, the group reached an archway that would lead to the entrance of the so-called 'Trial of Wisdom'. The steel door before them had three hollow diamond-shaped slots close to the center. Isis, Aabidah, and Maaz each took the purple diamonds attached to a cuff on each of their left wrists and placed them in the proper slots before quickly removing them. Once they did, the doors slowly slid open in a triangular fashion.
From there, the group passed through the doorway and into the chamber. The room they entered was quite spacious, and its most noticeable features were two floors with a fairy large gap between them. There was a stone pillar in the gap, but it was closer to the floor before the group, and thus far away from the other side. On the floor opposite of them was a small flight of wide stairs that led to another steel door that was very similar to the one they just passed through, only there was a dim purple crystal in the archway.
"Okay, we're here. So what does this 'Trial of Wisdom' involve?" Mira asked, crossing her arms.
"Well, you know that thing attached to your left arm?" Aabidah eagerly asked, pointing to the Disk attached to Mira's arm.
"Yeah…" the almost suspicious Mira replied, taking a glance at her Disk. Then the astonishing thought immediately occurred to her. "Wait – is this 'Trial of Wisdom'… gonna be a duel?"
"Yes… but also no," Isis replied. "The purpose of the Trial of Wisdom is to ensure that you are observant enough to recognize your opponent's dueling strategies, especially when it comes to those of the central enemies you may face in your greatest task."
"So, it's kinda like a Duel Puzzle?" Mira assumed. "Sounds simple enough. So, who am I gonna duel in this Trial?"
"For this Trial, your opponent…" Isis dramatically announced, and then leapt to the pillar behind her before turning to face Mira, "…shall be me!"
"I'm gonna be dueling you?" the perplexed Mira asked, pointing at Isis.
"Indeed, you shall," her opponent said. "For the Trial of Wisdom, you must defeat me within a single turn, and you shall only have one chance to do so. But do not think it'll be that simple!"
Mira remained unphased at Isis's supposed taunt. Pinkie, however, nudged her partner's shoulder by the elbow and eagerly whispered with a wink, "Don't worry, Mira, you totally got this!"
The annoyed Mira groaned and rolled her eyes at Pinkie's chirpiness, but regained her determination as she brought her attention back to her task at hand. "Alright, Isis," she said, raising her Disk, "let's do this!"
"Very well – let the Trial of Wisdom commence!" Isis boldly declared.
And with this declaration, Isis stretched her left arm towards the ceiling. In an instant, lavender light formed around the wrist, and after a flash, there was a platinum device with a wing-shaped blade consisting of three flaps. Mira immediately recognized this device as the DiaDhank – the Ancient Egyptian prototype of the modern-day Duel Disk.
"Let's go, Isis!" Mira shouted as her Disk's blade was projected. "Although I should warn you that I'm already pretty observant – so chances are, I'm prepared for anything!"
"Anything, you say?" Isis smugly asked. "Well, we'll see if you're prepared for this!"
Isis stretched her left arm towards the ceiling, while Aabidah and Maaz stretched out their left arms directly at Isis. Three beams of lavender light shot out of the crystals encased in each of the androids' cuffs, aiming directly at Isis's right hand before transforming into cards. Then, without warning, the ground underneath began to shake, increasing in intensity by the second. As the ground shook, a lavender light began to shine from beneath the pit.
"Wh-What's going on?!" Mira cried, repeatedly turning her head back and forth in panic. "What the hell is all this?!"
"This, my dear Mira," Isis solemnly explained, "is the forthcoming of what is not only the highlight of the Trial of Wisdom, but what may be one of your greatest obstacles as a Wielder! To be more precise, I am to call forth one of the six deities that reside in our world – deities so powerful, in fact, that we use them solely for the purpose of our planet's Trials! But permit me to ask you: are you ready to face one of your greatest challenges yet?"
"…I am!" Mira shouted, almost absent-mindedly.
"Very well!" Isis declared, raising the cards towards the ceiling as the rumbling intensified at its peak, and as the light in the pit shone brighter than before. During this sequence, Isis chanted: "Great serpent of knowledge and darkness, awaken from your millennia of slumber! Descend forth, embodiment of wisdom!
"MAXIMUM SUMMON!"
Within a single swipe, she vigorously placed all three glowing cards onto her DiaDhank's flaps that supposedly acted as the Monster Card Zones. But instead of hexagonal portals appearing, a gigantic serpent arose from the depths of the illuminated pit. Its entire body was comprised of dark purple energy and decorated with lavender lines, including its eyes and fangs. Lavender 'feathers' were also found around its crest.
"Behold, the guardian of Chicomoztoc Cave – DARKNESS ORBIS KA, QUETZAL THOTH!" Isis bellowed as the snake unleashed a frightening hiss. [MAX ATK: 4000]
"A… A Maximum Summon?! What's that?!" Mira cried, trembling as she took a step back in fear. Indeed, the summon Isis just performed was something she had never seen or heard of before, especially not in the Game Duel format.
"A Maximum Summon," Isis explained, "is the primary method of summoning a Maximum Monster!"
Three cards were immediately projected before Mira. But unlike the way cards were regularly displayed to the audience, these cards were displayed side-by-side so that their artworks connected. In the case of these cards, the artwork formed the same gigantic snake that was just summoned. Even if Mira knew how the concept of these so-called 'Maximum Monsters' worked, she was still unable to make out the effects of these particular cards, as they were written in the same otherworldly language as the runes of the altar she was previously on. What's more, she couldn't help but notice that for the Attributes, they were all the same black circle with a lavender glyph that was the same one as both on the altar and on her necklace's crest. But even more startling was the fact that the overall card layout as the same one used for Game Duels!
'These guys know about Game Duels, too?!' she thought as her confusion significantly increased. 'How is that even possible? And is this Maximum Summon – whatever it is – something Giichi hasn't released yet?'
Isis ignored Mira's fear and confusion as she began to lecture her perplexed opponent about this supposedly new mechanic. "Maximum Monsters," she said, "are Effect Monsters that are unique in the sense that, rather than being just one single monster in itself, they are three specific cards that create a singular, more powerful monster! Once you have three specific Maximum Monsters in your hand, they can be simultaneously Maximum Summoned to create the singular Maximum Monster, in Maximum Mode! From there, the center Maximum Monster will acquire what's known as its Maximum Attack!" Indeed, Mira noticed that in the center card's layout, there was golden text above the regular ATK/DEF values, which presumably translated to the 'MAXIMUM ATK' in question. Next to the golden text was its numerical value of 4000.
"Okay, I kinda get that," said Mira, her courage slowly returning, "but how exactly would this be one of my 'greatest obstacles'?"
"As you have just witnessed," Isis replied, "Maximum Monsters require no sacrifices in order to be Maximum Summoned – although, if one already has monsters on their field and attempts to Maximum Summon, all the monsters on their field must, indeed, be sent to the Graveyard first. Another key factor is that, although a Maximum Monster is treated as a single monster while in Maximum Mode, they are still made up of three monsters – as such, they will gain three different effects, not just one!"
"A single monster that can have multiple effects at once…" Mira said rather quizzically. Her eyes widened at the realization of what this concept reminded her of. "So… they're kinda like Upgrade Monsters?!"
"In a way, yes," said Maaz. "But unlike your Upgrade Monsters that require a 'Core' to reach their fullest potential, Maximum Monsters can acquire multiple effects much more efficiently!"
"Which is exactly why we are presenting Maximum Monsters to you," Isis added. "We cannot foresee how powerful the key cards to be used by your greatest enemies will be, nor do we know if some of them will, in fact, be Maximum Monsters. But with this Trial will undoubtedly sharpen both your observation and your perseverance in defeating cards as powerful as these!"
"And I'm supposed to defeat that thing in a single turn?!" Mira cried in disbelief. "I don't even know what it does!"
"Observe!" Isis declared. With a snap of her fingers, four cards materialized in Mira's hand, and a face-down card in her Spell and Trap Card Zone.
"With Quetzal Thoth's left piece," the chipper Aabidah explained, "it negates the effects of all monsters on the field that either have Levels, or are not Maximum Monsters!"
"With Quetzal Thoth's right piece," Maaz added, "all of your monsters that either have Levels, or are not Maximum Monsters, are unable to attack!"
"And finally, there is the center piece of Quetzal Thoth," Isis concluded, "which prevents it from being destroyed by card effects, or by battle against a monster that isn't a Maximum Monster! Furthermore, it shall grant Quetzal Thoth with five hundred Attack Points for every card that's in your hand and on your side of the field – which is a total of five cards!" The titanic snake unleashed another frightening hiss. [MAX ATK: 4000 – 6500]
"So, it's pretty much invincible against monsters other than Maximum Monsters, and it can gain a whole lotta Attack Points?!" the horrified Pinkie cried as she, along with Mira, gawked at the serpent's overall strength.
"And all of that is the least of your concerns!" Isis beamed rather pompously, as her amount of Life Points was displayed. [LP: 7900]
"Seventy-nine hundred Life Points?!" Pinkie wailed as her horror significantly increased. "Wait, how many Life Points do you have, Mira?!"
"Only one hundred…" Mira muttered. [LP: 100] Worriedly looking at the contents of her hand, she grimly thought, 'At this point, I don't know if I'd be able to beat something as strong as that – not in a single turn…!'
Isis was quick to notice Mira's sense of fear. "Do not be struck down by your current predicament," she said encouragingly. "For you see, the turn you did not have is still a turn of the past."
'The turn I didn't have… is still a turn of the past? What's that supposed to mean?' Mira thought. Then a wild hope flashed through her brain as she relooked at the cards in her hand, the face-down card on her field, and then for any cards in her Graveyard. 'I… I think I get what she's trying to say now!' She then looked at one of the cards in her hand. 'But… can I really do this?'
She still had her doubts, but she knew she had to make some kind of move, lest she wanted to be forever stranded in this otherworldly location. Taking a deep breath through her clenched teeth, she grabbed the card and shouted, almost absentmindedly, "I summon the Upgrade Monster, Destiny Dragon Chronogias!"
She slapped the card onto her blade's center floating card zone. To both her surprise and relief, her Duel Disk system accepted this action without the faintest objection. As a result, a pillar of lustrous lavender light shot up, and her ace cybernetic ebony dragon with lavender eyes and accents flew out of it. [BASE ATK: 1900] At this point, her determination instantly returned. 'Alright, Isis, time to ace this Trial!' she thought.
"I inject Chronogias with Upgrade Core Super!" She grabbed another card and slid it directly underneath Chronogias's card form. Afterwards, the two unlit hexagons on Chronogias's chest lit up blue as the dragon unleashed an intimidating roar. [GRADE: BASE – SUP / BASE ATK: 1900 – SUP ATK: 2400 / CORE: 0 – 2]
"Now Chronogias is of the 'Super' Grade! Not only that, but with one less card in my possession, your Quetzal Thoth gets weaker!" That's exactly what happened to the godly serpent. [MAX ATK: 6500 – 6000]
"I activate Chronogias's Super Effect! By using one Core, Quetzal Thoth will lose even more Attack Points – fifteen hundred to be exact!" [CORE: 2 – 1] After the outer hexagon of Chronogias became unlit, the dragon unleashed a burst of lavender energy from its claw, striking directly at the serpent. Though the serpent appeared to be unharmed after the attack, its loss in Attack Points was still evident. [MAX ATK: 6000 – 4500]
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, D-Chronomancy, Past Strength!" Mira continued as she swiped another card through one of her blade's horizontal slots. Another card materialized before transforming into the ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card picturing the phantasmal versions of Necrolancer being absorbed into Chronogias. "With this card, I return up to three monsters of the ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute that each have one thousand or less Attack Points. Once I do, Chronogias will gain Attack Points equal to the combined Attack Points of the monsters I returned to my deck!
"I return to my deck two copies of Destiny Hero Passer and one copy of Destiny Hero Paradoxer, who all have eight hundred Attack Points! That means Chronogias will gain twenty-four hundred Attack Points!" Sure enough, two phantasmal images of the three aforementioned monsters appeared and were absorbed into Chronogias's chest. [SUP ATK: 2400 – 4800]
"And as Chronogias gets stronger, Quetzal Thoth gets weaker!" Mira boldly reminded Isis. [MAX ATK: 4500 – 4000]
"Yes! Now it's stronger than Quetzal Thoth!" Pinkie squealed in happiness. But her excitement quickly diminished as she remembered one important factor. "Wait, I forgot! Isis has almost eight thousand Life Points! So there's no way you'll defeat her this turn!"
"I know that," Mira growled, undeniably getting irritated at Pinkie. "But I'm far from done! I activate the final card in my hand: D-Chronomancy, Time Magic!" She swiped the final card in her hand through one of her blade's horizontal slots. Another ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card appeared, its artwork depicting Baby Dragon in front of the silhouette of Thousand Dragon, all in the background of a swirling rainbow vortex.
"This card makes me choose a monster on my field whose current Attack Points are higher than its original Attack Points, and it'll gain Attack Points equal to the difference! I choose none other than Chronogias, who'll gain twenty-four hundred more Attack Points, bringing it up to a whopping seventy-two hundred!" Chronogias unleashed another triumphant roar. [SUP ATK: 4800 – 7200] "And with no more cards in my hand, Quetzal Thoth gets even weaker!" [MAX ATK: 4000 – 3500]
"Everything's all set!" Mira boldly declared, fiercely pointing at the serpent. "Chronogias, attack Quetzal Thoth!" Digital lavender fire formed in Chronogias's mouth, which the dragon unleashed directly at the serpent. Although there wasn't so much as a singe on Quetzal Thoth, some of the fire struck at Isis as she winced in pain. [LP: 7900 – 4200]
"Very impressive," Isis said as she slowly recovered. "Unfortunately for you, I still have a significant amount of Life Points remaining, even after you have significantly powered up your Chronogias! Are you still able to defeat me this turn?"
"Actually, yes!" Mira defiantly replied. "And it's all thanks to my face-down card: D-Chronomancy, Battle Rehash!" A card materialized before transforming into an ILLUSION MAGIC Trap Card. Its artwork depicted the same artwork for Timeater, except the phantasmal image of a blue-skinned ogre was flying out of the center.
"Since Chronogias finished attacking one of your monsters, this card allows it to make a second attack in a row! And with no other cards on my field, Quetzal Thoth loses even more Attack Points!" [MAX ATK: 3500 – 3000]
Despite her obvious predicament, Isis appeared to be rather pleased. "Mira Yukiko, you have done well," she softly but solemnly spoke. "Now, attack me, and prove your worth!"
Mira nodded at Isis, and then shifted her attention to Chronogias. "Chronogias, attack Quetzal Thoth and wipe out the rest of Isis's Life Points!"
For a third time, the digital lavender fire formed in Chronogias's mouth, which the dragon unleashed at the godly serpent, some of the fire also striking at Isis as she accepted her defeat. [LP: 4200 – 0] After her defeat, the serpent hissed in agony as it sank back down to the depths below. After the snake's descent back to whence it came, the purple crystal on the archway shone rather lustrously.
"Amazing!" Maaz gasped in awe. "That otherworldly female actually succeeded in the Trial!"
"So that means she is one of the Wielders we're looking for!" Aabidah cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. "I just knew she would!"
After Mira's victory, three more stone pillars rose up from behind the other one, forming a bridge to the other side of the room. "Well done, Mira Yukiko," Isis said to Mira as the group crossed the stone pillar bridge, "you have successfully proven your worth as a Wielder." Presenting the door to Mira, Isis continued, "Before you lies the Chamber where you must awaken the Iroa of Darkness. But before you do, you must make one promise."
"…A promise?" Mira wondered.
"Yes," said Isis. "You must solemnly swear that you shall never reveal your status as a Wielder to anyone."
"No one at all?" Mira asked. "But what if any of those people are my friends? And what if any of them become Wielders, too?"
"You shall tell this to no one," Isis firmly repeated. "Your new duty comes with great risks. Anyone who discovers your new duty could be affiliated with our greatest enemies. And should that happen, they may do whatever it takes to harm you, or worse. Do you understand?"
"…I do," Mira accepted.
"Excellent," said Isis. "Now, enter the Chamber, and acquire your new power!"
The door in front of Mira slowly slid open from the sides. Mira was about to go through, but then she paused. "Before I go, I wanna ask you something."
"Present your question, and I shall tell you if it is a question I am permitted to answer," said Isis.
"It's about Pinkie," Mira explained, pointing to the still smiling Pinkie. "Why is she even here? What good is she if all she does is just float around? And of all the people she could've been paired with… why me?"
Isis said nothing for a few moments. Then she lightly sighed and replied, "Your concern involving both her presence and her usefulness may not be a question I am forbidden from answering, but it is rather a question wherein it is too early to answer. But rest assured, she is absolutely essential in your main objective as a Wielder."
"So I'm pretty much stuck with her until I find out what she's good for?!" Mira cried in disbelief.
"Mira," Isis said, walking towards the new Wielder to gently place a hand on her shoulder, "I fully understand your frustration with Pinkie, nor do I expect you to get along with her in a short amount of time. But you still must give her the chance she deserves."
"That might be easier said than done," Mira muttered. "Thanks to her, I nearly lost a duel, and my friends think I'm starting to lose my mind!"
"In due time, you will come to accept her companionship," said Isis. "Now please, you must descend forth into the Chamber!" Realizing how important it was based on Isis's tone, Mira simply nodded and turned to head into the hallway, with Pinkie following behind.
"Ariki Isis," Aabidah asked as soon as the doors to the Chamber slid shut, "do you really think Mira will get along with Pinkie?"
"Give her some time, Aabidah," Isis said, patting her partner's shoulder. "Remember, you've had your own share of difficulty when you first came to our village. And even if you're still not without your faults, you have still managed to prove your own worthiness. Right now, we must report Mira's success to the village. Come, Maaz!" Maaz nodded as he followed Isis out of the room that would lead them back to the village.
"Good luck, Mira," Aabidah whispered before she ran to catch up with the others.
Meanwhile, Mira and Pinkie were traversing through another steel hallway, but there weren't any yellow stones to illuminate the way. The only real source of light was coming from Pinkie. "Boy, this isn't really much of a 'Chamber', is it?" Pinkie remarked.
"Guess no- wait, look!" Mira cried. She pointed to an opening not too far from the hallway. "Maybe it's where we're supposed to go!" She ran towards the opening, with Pinkie trying to catch up from behind.
After about fifteen seconds, the two got through the opening, where they saw half of a steel bridge-like platform built high above a bottomless chasm. At the end of the platform was a black stone tablet built upright. Mira walked towards the tablet to get a closer look. The carvings on the tablet were in the same unidentifiable runes carved on both the altar and the cards Isis used. However, she was able to recognize a symbol as the one engraved on her crest, and even a hollow slot in the same shape and size as the crest itself. "Am I supposed to put this here?" she wondered, looking back and forth at her crest and the slot.
"Ooh, I think you should!" Pinkie cooed. "I wanna see what happens if you do!"
Mira was skeptical about Pinkie's enthusiasm, but if it meant going back home, then she'd have to find a way to eject the crest from her tag. After some fidgeting with her tag, she accidentally discovered that the way to eject the crest was to squeeze the front and back of the tag. Once the crest was ejected, she held it just above the tablet's slot, hesitant about inserting it.
"C'mon do it!" Pinkie cheerfully said. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Mira still wasn't sure about what would happen, but she quickly steeled herself and carefully placed the crest into the slot. But when she did, she felt a strong surge through her body as the tablet's carvings shone a lustrous lavender. A strong wind also formed inside the room.
"Mira, what's happening?!" Pinkie screamed.
"I don't know!" Mira cried, tightly closing her eyes as she attempted to withstand the wind.
"Okay, this is starting to get really scary! Let go of the crest, Mira!"
"I… can't…!"
Very slowly, she opened one of her eyes, before blinking both of them in awe. What she saw was a woman slowly forming from lavender digital light. It was hard to describe her, but she was around Mira's height, with the same kind of hairstyle as well. Her eyes were shining green. It wasn't long before the mysterious woman was fully constructed. But without warning, she appeared to fly directly into Mira's body.
And that's when Mira abruptly awoke, back in her bedroom. She yelped, but fortunately not loud enough to wake anyone up. Still, she was breathing heavily and feeling her heart pounding. She quickly looked down, and saw that she was back in her regular sleepwear.
"What… What was that?" she quietly asked herself. "Was I dreaming again…? I probably did… and yet, it all seemed so real…" She suddenly remembered the necklace Eiko gave her earlier. Turning her head, she saw that it was still on her desk, along with her Disk, as if they had never left at all.
Despite this, Mira still tried to make sense out of what just happened. Once she was sure she was calm, she laid back in bed, hoping to get the rest of her needed sleep. But as she slept, her necklace briefly gave off a faint glow.
FEATURED CARD – LEVEL 1-5
D-Chronomancy – Battle Rehash
ILLUSION MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT After a monster on your field has attacked a monster on your opponent's field.
EFFECT The monster on your field that attacked can attack once again in a row, but cannot attack directly.
GIICHI CORPORATION CARD DATABASE
D-Chronomancy – Time Magic
ILLUSION MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT During a turn you have not activated "D-Chronomancy – Time Magic" or a non-ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute Spell Card.
EFFECT 1 Grade SUP or higher Upgrade Monster on your field whose ATK is higher than its original ATK gains ATK equal to [the difference between its current ATK and its original ATK, until the end of this turn. For the rest of this turn, only that monster can attack, and you cannot activate cards or effects, except ILLSUION MAGIC cards.
D-Chronomancy – Battle Rehash
ILLUSION MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT After a monster on your field has attacked a monster on your opponent's field.
EFFECT The monster on your field that attacked can attack once again in a row, but cannot attack directly.
Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII…
Since discovering that Mira has defeated a duelist as strong as Hawk, Reggie improves her deck and challenges Mira to a Game Duel, in the hopes that Arthur will duel Reggie someday. The duel goes swimmingly… that is, until Reggie suddenly becomes possessed by an evil force! Just what is this evil force, and will Mira be able to free Reggie from its influence? Find out in Level 1-6: The Threat of Itzamna! Game Duel, game start!