Society of Light Headquarters.
"Defeated?"
Sartorius, as usual, sat in the dazzlingly bright hall, fiddling with tarot cards, but for once, a frown creased his brow.
In front of him was a computer, connected by remote communication. On the other end was his sister, Sarina.
"Yes," Sarina said calmly.
"I sent both Thunder and Frost. From what I gather, the two of them fought against one opponent, but still lost.
Both have been defeated, and their Monarch cards are missing—presumably seized by the enemy."
Sartorius's frown deepened, and he was silent for a moment.
"Brother," Sarina said evenly.
"Your prophecy..."
"Just a small hiccup, nothing worth worrying about," Sartorius cut her off brusquely.
But soon his expression returned to its usual calm.
"Like I said before, Revolver is just a minor character. He doesn't affect the Society's plans much. Let's revisit this later."
"...Yes, Brother."
Sarina fell silent.
But what she didn't say was this:
A hiccup?
Her brother's prophecies had always been perfect, never missing once—when had there ever been a "small hiccup"?
Thunder and Frost were elite, but from Sartorius's perspective, they were still small fry. Their defeat itself proved nothing, nor did it prove their opponent was strong enough to trouble Sartorius.
But what was truly worrying was that the prophecy failed.
Revolver had not been defeated as predicted.
"Let's put this aside. Revolver can be dealt with later. More importantly..."
Sartorius flipped over a tarot card, narrowed his eyes, and said gloomily:
"Our real enemy is about to arrive."
…
A shooting star tore through the sky, splitting the night with a blazing tail.
The mountains and forests beneath were lit up by the intense light, trees standing out sharply in the glare. The air rumbled, first like distant thunder, then like the stampede of a thousand horses.
The animals in the forest scattered in panic. The light in the sky collided with the darkness below. A meteor, wreathed in flames, swept through the forest, sending dust and rocks flying in a towering plume.
A massive sphere of light flickered in the crater left behind, faint golden light illuminating the swirling dust.
Some time later, searchlights swept through the forest.
Planes marked with the KC logo landed one after another. Staff set up cordons, locked down the area, and built a camp.
Mokuba himself arrived at the camp in a hazmat suit, listening to experts explain the meteorite that had fallen from the sky.
"A miracle! This is a miracle from the heavens!"
The expert pointed excitedly at the complex readouts on the monitor.
"A powerful life force—there's no doubt this meteorite is alive! We just haven't found the right way to observe or interact with it."
They're still running safety tests—no one dares approach. After all, it could carry unknown viruses, dangerous cosmic radiation, or be dangerous in itself.
"But look here—this reading is unmistakable! It's the energy of a Duel Monster spirit!"
Mokuba looked at him in surprise.
"Are you saying there's a Duel Monster spirit inside the meteorite?"
"I think so."
"A spirit from the sky?"
"Most likely."
"An alien?"
Mokuba scratched his head.
By now, KaibaCorp had been developing Duel Monsters for over ten years. If he's learned anything, it's that anything can be a card.
That's not an exaggeration. The deeper their research, the more they realized cards are the core of the world. First, ancient monsters were sealed into cards, then fire, ice, storms, lightning, even cities and islands...
But aliens?
That was a new record.
Could it be, even aliens play Duel Monsters?
Mokuba couldn't help but imagine an ET-like alien wearing a duel disk and shouting "It's my turn, I draw!" in some alien language. The thought was... oddly cute.
"This will be another earth-shattering breakthrough!" the researcher said excitedly. "If we can communicate with aliens and turn that into Duel Monster power..."
"Yeah, that is pretty tempting," Mokuba said, putting down the equipment thoughtfully.
"Contact the Duel King."
He figured the Duel King wasn't just a duelist—though he wasn't the best at the actual card-making, when it came to creative R&D, no one in the world could match him.
Making cards from alien power was a whole new field. Maybe Kira would have some unique ideas. Even if not, it was too interesting not to share.
…
Mokuba's decision was the right one. Kira did have a clue as to what was going on.
He only had to hear a bit over the phone before guessing the truth.
After hanging up, Kira went to the Slifer Red dorm, found Jaden fishing by the shore, and, without explanation, dragged him onto a plane straight for Mokuba's camp.
In GX's second year, the alien from space descended a bit earlier than in the original, but Kira was pretty sure what it was.
It was the Elemental HERO Neos from space, chasing down the Light of Destruction with the power of darkness.
Years ago, KaibaCorp held a contest to design new cards inspired by cosmic rays, inviting kids to submit ideas.
Young Jaden entered, designing a card based on his favorite TV hero. The card absorbed cosmic power and, years later, returned from space with new strength, bringing new alien friends.
That's why he was called the Elemental HERO Neos.
Of course, Kira was only guessing. He couldn't be sure until he saw it himself.
But his suspicion would soon be confirmed.
Within a minute of the two arriving at the camp, the researchers started shouting:
"Target is emitting intense energy waves!"
Someone shouted.
"It's like it's about to wake up!"