The city skyline shimmered with the lights of towering skyscrapers, their silhouettes stretching ambitiously toward the stars. Clouds drifted lazily overhead, occasionally parting to reveal glimpses of the starry night sky. From above, searchlights pierced the darkness, each bearing a sharp “H” that cut through the mostly cloudy expanse. The usual hum of the metropolis was abruptly silenced by a sudden explosion, its echo reverberating through the otherwise deserted streets. The blast was followed by a single, anguished shout that pierced the stillness.
As the smoke cleared, the dim streetlights flickered to reveal a figure kneeling in the middle of the road, breathing heavily. His red jacket, a symbol to those who knew his past victories, clung to him. On his left arm, a high-tech Duel Disk flashed "100 LP" in glowing digits. Sweat dripped down his forehead as his eyes fixated on a distant figure—with a monster stood in front of a man clad in black, arms crossed, a smug expression etched on his face.
"So, Jaden Yuki," the man sneered, his voice thick with condescension. "The so-called master of Elemental HEROs. I expected more from you. After all the trouble I went through to track you down, this is all you’ve got?" His black attire matched his menacing tone: a wide-brimmed hat, dark sunglasses, and a silver-buckled belt around his pants. A scarf hid the lower half of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. On his left arm, a Duel Disk with a sinister design gleamed, fitting perfectly with his ominous look.
Jaden, breathing heavily but determined, clenched his fist as he rose to his feet. "I'm still standing, aren’t I?!" he shot back. "I draw!" In one swift motion, he pulled a card from his deck. As he did, a familiar presence stirred beside him, but it brought him comfort, not fear. The spirit was always there for him in his darkest moments.
“Just the card you needed, Jaden,” urged the voice of the ethereal being, Yubel.
A surge of determination coursed through him, his energy reigniting while his eyes glowed cyan and orange in each eye. “You know it, Yubel!” He looked at the card and declared, “I play ‘Neos Fusion’! This lets me Fusion Summon using ‘Elemental HERO Neos’ and another monster, either from my hand, field, or deck, ignoring their usual summoning conditions!” Two cards ejected from his deck, then swiftly sent the two cards to the graveyard — Neos and Shadow Mist. "Come on out, Elemental HERO Brave Neos!”
In an instant, glowing orbs of yellow and purple shot out from his graveyard, swirling before him to form the armoured figure of Brave Neos, standing tall with radiant power.
“But that’s not all!” Jaden continued, his voice gaining strength. “Since Shadow Mist went to the graveyard, I get to add a HERO monster from my deck to my hand!” As he mentally scanned his options, another familiar voice chimed in—this time, not from a monster, but from his old teacher.
“Jaden,” Professor Banner’s voice was calm and wise, though tinged with concern. “This Shadow Rider has been ruthless so far. We need to stay sharp.”
Jaden grinned. “Don’t worry, Professor, I’ve got a plan! I’ll add Elemental HERO Spirit of Neos to my hand.” His deck glowed yellow, another card shot out, and Jaden swiftly added it to his hand. “Just in case,” he thought with a smirk.
“A smart move, Jaden,” Yubel commented, her gaze fixed on the card in his hand.
“And I’m not done yet! Brave Neos has another ability,” Jaden explained. “For every ‘HERO’ and ‘Neo-Spacian’ in my graveyard, he gains 100 attack points!” Glowing orbs of six different colours surged from his graveyard, with each representing the fallen monsters he had already used in the duel.
“That’s 19 monsters! So Brave Neos’ attack jumps from 2500 to 4400!”
Jaden thrust his hand forward in a dramatic pose. "Let’s finish this! Brave Neos, attack with Hero Neo Blast!" A brilliant beam of light shot from the gem on Brave Neos' chest, cutting across the battlefield and slamming into the opposing monster. The impact was loud and fierce, but when the dust settled, the monster was gone—and the man hadn't even flinched. Jaden’s eyes darted to the man’s duel disk. His Life Points hadn’t dropped at all.
"Wait... what?" Jaden’s face contorted in confusion.
The man in black let out a low, mocking chuckle. "My monster’s special ability, Yuki. I take no battle damage when it’s involved in battle. You can destroy it all you want, but you won’t touch me.”
Jaden grimaced, frustration rising as he glanced at the two cards left in his hand: Elemental HERO Spirit of Neos and the trap card, Hero Counterattack.
"Those are good cards, Jaden. You’re still in this," Yubel reassured, her voice steady, trying to keep him focused.
"If he makes a move, you can still rely on Spirit of Neos' abilities," Professor Banner added, his tone laced with both concern and quiet confidence.
Jaden smiled, even with the pressure mounting. “I’ve been in tighter spots before, Professor.” He directed his gaze toward his opponent and declared, “I’ll activate Brave Neos' secondary ability. When he destroys a monster in battle, I can add a spell or trap that mentions ‘Elemental HERO Neos’ from my deck to my hand. So, I’m picking Neo Space!”
A teal glow flashed from his deck, and a card ejected into his hand, which Jaden instinctively caught. “Time to bring out the big guns. I activate Neo Space!” The world around them warped as the street dissolved, replaced by swirling stars and nebulas that stretched across the battlefield. It felt as though they were standing in the very heart of the cosmos.
“With Neo Space on the field, Brave Neos gains another 500 attack points!” Jaden’s monster gleamed even brighter, its strength surging to a staggering 4900 attack points.
“Next, I’ll set one card face-down and end my turn!”
The man in black grunted. “You’d better hope this next draw won’t be your last.” His frown slowly twisted into a grin as he drew his card. “I activate Monster Reborn!”
Jaden’s eyes widened. “No way…”
“Oh yes. And I’ll be bringing back your Neos from the graveyard!”
A bright yellow orb emerged from Jaden’s graveyard, swirling toward the man’s side of the field and reforming into the very monster that had once fought alongside Jaden.
“And thanks to your Neo Space, my newly summoned Elemental HERO Neos now has 3000 attack points.”
Jaden clenched his fists as he looked at Neos, now standing on the other side of the battlefield.
The man smirked as he continued his play. “Next, I’ll activate an Equip Spell I’ve been saving for this moment—Black Pendant! This boosts my Elemental HERO Neos’s attack by 500 points!” A dark aura enveloped Jaden’s former hero, hazy black flames swirling around Neos’s body as its power surged.
Elemental HERO Neos’s stats shifted rapidly as the power of Black Pendant boosted its ATK from 3000 to 3500. The dark aura swirled ominously around the monster, casting a foreboding glow in the cosmic depths of Neo Space
Jaden winced as he observed the ace hero he once relied on, now tainted by the dark aura emanating from the pendant hanging around Neos’s neck.
The man’s grin broadened as he fixed his gaze on Jaden. “Not bad, huh? Neos might not be as powerful as your 'Brave Neos,' but I’m not concerned about losing a few Life Points, thanks to Black Pendant. You won’t last long enough to draw another card, Yuki.”
As the shady man spoke, an unsettling feeling washed over Jaden. Something about the situation felt off. He glanced between Neos and Brave Neos, both standing on opposite sides of the field, locked in a tense standoff.
“Wait a minute,” Jaden murmured, his brow furrowing as a realization began to dawn on him.
“Now, ‘Elemental HERO Neos,’ attack!” the man commanded, his voice laced with malice. Under his dark influence, Neos launched a direct assault toward Jaden’s Brave Neos.
“But Neos doesn’t have enough ATK points to destroy Brave Neos!” Jaden warned, urgency creeping into his voice.
The shady man smirked, his eyes glinting with sinister delight. “That’s the plan, Yuki. You see, Black Pendant has another ability that activates when it’s sent to the graveyard from the field. When that happens, you take 500 damage to your Life Points! And once Neos is destroyed, Black Pendant goes to the graveyard right alongside him!”
As the dark figure of Neos loomed nearer, a wave of danger washed over Jaden. His mind raced, calculating his dwindling options, but time was slipping away. The air thickened with tension as the corrupted Neos readied itself to strike, poised to carry out the shady man’s malicious plan.
Jaden clenched his fist, his gaze fixated on his lone face-down card. He was all too aware of its capabilities, and it pained him to rely on it. With a heavy sigh and a somber smile, he declared, “So this is how it ends: losing my soul in a shadow game. But that’s okay. Don’t worry, Neos, I have a way to bring you back! I activate my trap—Hero Counterattack!”
After announcing his trap, Jaden felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to his right, he saw Yubel gazing intently at the field, then at his hand, her expression revealing her understanding of why he was stalling the inevitable defeat. Frustration etched on her face, she struggled to find another way to avert their loss.
Meanwhile, Professor Banner placed his hand on Jaden’s other shoulder, looking down at him with a reassuring expression. “It’s going to be okay,” he said softly.
Jaden flipped his face-down card, which shone brilliantly on his side of the field. “Whenever an ‘Elemental HERO’ monster I control is attacked, you must choose a card from my hand. If it’s an ‘Elemental HERO,’ I can Special Summon it and destroy the attacking monster! I bet you’ve already figured out who’s left in my hand, haven’t you?” Jaden held up the single card in his left hand.
The shady man smiled knowingly. “You mean the Spirit of Neos?”
Jaden’s resolve strengthened despite the dire situation. “You know it! Come on out, Elemental HERO Spirit of Neos!”
As he revealed the card, it shone with a vibrant yellow light before soaring onto Jaden’s field. In a brilliant flash, Elemental HERO Spirit of Neos materialized, standing before him.
Jaden pointed toward the opposing Elemental HERO Neos. “That means Neos is destroyed, and the attack ends here!”
The attacking Neos shattered into fragments, floating for a brief moment before transforming into a glowing yellow orb that drifted back across the battlefield, returning to Jaden’s graveyard..
Jaden smirked, glancing down at his Duel Disk. “Welcome back.”. For a brief moment, a ghostly figure of Neos stood behind him before disappearing.
Before he could relax, the shady man’s sinister laughter echoed ominously through the air. “A clever move to save your Neos, Jaden. I must commend you,” he said mockingly, bowing with exaggerated politeness..
“You did everything you could, Jaden,” Yubel said softly, her voice laced with empathy.
“You followed the rules perfectly, my boy,” Professor Banner added, his tone warm and reassuring.
“Thanks, both of you,” Jaden replied with a somber smile, looking between his spirit guardians. Their unwavering presence brought him comfort, reminding him that he was never truly alone in his battles.
Suddenly, Black Pendant’s sinister effect activated. As the cursed necklace dissolved, dark energy surged from it. In an instant, the black aura coalesced into a twisted figure resembling Elemental HERO Neos, its malevolent presence chilling the battlefield—a corrupted version of Jaden's once-trusted hero.
“Now, Yuki, prepare to lose everything as I claim your soul! Goodbye!” the shadowy form of Neos rushed past the shady man, delivering a devastating karate chop toward Jaden. Time seemed to slow as the attack neared, and Jaden felt the weight of the moment.
“Sorry, everyone,” he thought, bracing himself for the blow.
The blow struck Jaden with brutal force, causing him to stumble forward as the impact rippled through his body. His Duel Disk’s life points plummeted from 100 to a staggering 0 LP. The world around him quickly dissolved into darkness, swallowing him whole into an empty void. In the silence that followed, one haunting thought echoed through his mind: "I could’ve been a better friend..."
His thoughts drifted back to Duel Academy, to the friends he had left behind without even saying a proper goodbye. The guilt weighed heavy on him. He had pushed them away, too blinded by his own darkness.
Now, all that remained were his two Spirit Guardians, Yubel and Professor Banner, watching over him. He wasn’t alone, but it didn’t feel like enough. The loneliness gnawed at him, regret settling deep in his heart. "I could’ve been a better friend..." The thought repeated itself, over and over, as the final light in the void dimmed, shrinking until it became a tiny, bright star. Then, the star disappeared, leaving Jaden alone in the eternal darkness of the void.
In the stillness of the darkness, a single voice broke the silence, soft and unfamiliar.
“Jaden...”
As if awakening from a long nightmare, Jaden stirred. His heart raced, and cold sweat clung to his skin. He found himself lying in a serene field of grass and flowers, the vibrant colours contrasting sharply with the darkness he had just escaped. Confused and disoriented, he glanced down at his body before turning to see his knapsack propped against a nearby tree, where he had been resting.
A tired-sounding meow disrupted the silence. Jaden turned his head to see Pharaoh, his former teacher’s cat, lazily stretching beside the knapsack. The familiar sight brought him a sense of reassurance, grounding him in this unexpected moment of peace.
“Hey...” Jaden spoke softly, reaching out to scratch behind Pharaoh’s ear, his hand still shaking slightly. His heart rate began to slow as the tension eased. Yubel suddenly manifested beside him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Yubel said, her voice calm, though to Jaden, she sounded worried.
“We thought we lost you, Jaden,” Professor Banner added, relief evident in his voice.
Jaden felt a familiar presence on top of his head. A fluffy creature with green paws and white claws playfully covered his eyes. As he began to laugh at the playful gesture, he reached up and lifted his companion—none other than Winged Kuriboh. The little creature fluttered its wings, nuzzling Jaden’s cheek with a cheerful cry, filling him with joy.
“It’s nice to see you too, pal,” Jaden said, gently setting Kuriboh down on his right side. With Pharaoh seated on his left, Jaden scratched both of them affectionately. “So… what happened?”
Author's Note
is that a good chapter? I hope so because there's more to come! See y'all later~
