Duel Academy Island, late night.
The night was deep and silent—well past the time most students had counted sheep and gone to bed. Teams of men in black moved through the woods in neat formation, wearing standardized combat suits and helmets, holding specialized detection devices.
On the backs of their suits was the same emblem: KC, the Kaiba Corporation mark.
They were Kaiba Corp's reconnaissance team.
Several days had passed since they landed on the island. Their target was a dangerous spirit. Based on their investigations around the island, the spirit should still be here.
The strange thing was: after days of carpet-searching the perimeter, they still hadn't found the slightest trace. Every instrument designed to detect fluctuations of spirit energy showed no reaction at all.
Only higher-level spirits had methods to evade detectors—and it wasn't easy. To avoid leaving any signal the equipment could capture, the spirit couldn't freely use its extraordinary power. Once the energy fluctuation exceeded a certain threshold, nearby recon units would detect it immediately.
But in reality, after days of searching, not only had they failed to catch even a shadow of the spirit—the instruments hadn't recorded a single abnormal data point.
As the squad advanced, a strange rustling suddenly came from a nearby thicket. Two members immediately turned, alert, staring into the bushes.
They approached cautiously and parted the foliage.
There was nothing.
Well… not nothing. There was a pile of… rabbit droppings.
"Fine. Probably just a rabbit," one member muttered.
"Most likely. None of the equipment is showing any reaction," the other said.
The recon leader said, "Finish sweeping this area, then we'll pull out for the night."
Someone grumbled, "What the hell. Where is it hiding? Don't tell me it's not on the island anymore."
"There's a barrier deployed around the island to capture spirit reactions. If anything left, there should've been a response."
"But we've checked all suspicious zones. Nothing. Not a blip."
"This is insane. It can't just evaporate into thin air…"
"…"
Still talking, the team moved away.
Only after they'd been gone for a moment did a pair of eyes light up in the shadows.
A small white figure slowly crawled out.
It was a tiny white rabbit with long ears—yet its eyes were eerily heterochromatic.
[Yubel Revival Log]
[Another unlucky day. Those wretched humans are still wandering around. It doesn't look like they'll leave anytime soon. They seem capable of sensing spirit power—if I use even a little strength, I might draw their attention.]
[Of course, I am not afraid of them. These humans are worms before me. Even in this half-crippled state, crushing them would take no effort.]
[But I cannot do that. I know they are merely bait sent to probe—insignificant pawns. Yet killing even one would attract the attention of the truly dangerous one behind them.]
[Fujiki Kira.]
[I did not expect this world to already have such a dangerous Demon King. I do not fear him, but even I must admit: in my current condition, I am not suited for battle.]
[I must endure. I need time. And I need more nourishment to recover.]
[These days have been difficult. On the first day, I brushed past someone searching for me. A one-eyed man, carrying a revolver. He looked like a spirit—likely a claw of the Demon King.]
[I could easily have taken him. But I did not act recklessly. That would have brought needless attention.]
[I must hide in the dark. I must become part of it. I crossed the galaxy and suffered pain no ordinary being could imagine to return here. Two more days mean nothing. All of this is for you, my Jaden.]
[On the second day, there was a storm. I curse this broken body—I cannot move it properly. The rain was cold, but not as cold as the heart that has called your name through countless days and nights with no answer.]
[The environment is harsh, but it is nothing compared to the ten-year journey I endured.]
[What matters is this: I am back. And I will return to your side, and answer the love you gave me. Soon. Wait for me a little longer, my beloved.]
[On the third day, I managed to attach myself to a rabbit. It carries a disgusting stench. I hate it, but I have no choice.]
[I concealed my presence. The foolish searchers never noticed as I brushed past them.]
[Ten years beneath the stars taught me many things—among them, how to hide within a host and avoid unnecessary eyes.]
[Duel Academy is now within reach. If I can find a student at random, I can blend in. Soon I will be back at your side.]
[But at the same time, I am drawing closer to the Demon King, which makes my situation more dangerous.]
[Perhaps I will fail. Perhaps I will never see you again. But no matter the outcome, I want you to know this: I will always love you, Jaden.]
[And that is why I must erase everyone who stole your love away.]
"…"
…
At dawn, a first-year student from Ra Yellow—Marcel Bonaparte—yawned as he arrived by the lighthouse outside the academy.
At this hour, the lighthouse area was still empty. Marcel stood by the shore and gazed out across the blue sea, stretching long and hard.
He was a somewhat withdrawn kid. Because of his parents' divorce, he'd grown up timid and introverted—so much so that speaking to classmates required tremendous courage. He'd had almost no friends his entire life.
That didn't change after arriving at Duel Academy. People drifted away from him naturally; wherever he stood, an inexplicable vacuum of several meters always formed around him.
There was only one exception.
Blair Flannigan, the girl who entered the same year.
A dazzling, celebrated newcomer—the strongest freshman of the year—yet she took special care of him, almost the only person at the academy who would speak to him at all.
By age, the genius who skipped grades, Blair Flannigan, was younger than him—yet in practice she treated him like an older sister would.
But even Blair didn't know Marcel's greatest secret.
His father—the man who divorced his mother, the man Marcel believed abandoned them—was one of the academy's highest authorities: Jean-Louis Bonaparte.
That resentment was the deepest grudge in Marcel Bonaparte's heart, the greatest darkness within him.
If he were just an ordinary person, perhaps that darkness would never be uncovered. It would remain buried for life, never even spoken aloud.
But the timeline converges. Even though events had deviated drastically from the original story, on this dawn—just like in the original line—Marcel Bonaparte still encountered the demon that would change his entire life.
On the shore of Duel Academy.
Beneath the lighthouse.
He saw the small white rabbit with the rare heterochromatic eyes—so eerie it made his skin crawl.
…