Tomb Guardian Race, an ancient and solemn burial site, has been a place of solemnity for thousands of years, yet now strange sounds are emanating from within.
"Ow!"
"No, there... only there is not allowed..."
"Wait! That side isn't allowed either!"
"It's not going to work, it's really not a good idea to go further in, it'll be very bad..."
"Please, please stop looking, sob sob..."
"..."
At this moment, dim torches are lit upon the great altar, their flickering flames swaying unpredictably. A group of burly men in black robes stand in a circle on the altar, solemnly chanting ancient spells that few in this world can understand.
And at the center of the circle, the source of the strange sounds is none other than Yugen's card.
The elf, which isn't much useful, is floating an eye in the sky, shouting incessantly, and the things it's saying are getting stranger and stranger.
Until even the well-informed Mr. Malik listened with utter bewilderment. After a moment, seemingly unable to hold back, he turned to Yugen and asked, "Is your elf... okay?"
"It's okay." Yugen replied calmly, "It's always like this, let it mess about as it pleases."
What they are doing now is using the power of the ancient rituals of the Tomb Guardian to awaken the dormant self within the spirit body. The whole time the eye cries out, the feeling is possibly akin to someone crudely entering its mind, stimulating and searching through its memories.
That's why such strange sounds are made.
About half an hour later, the card was returned to Yugen.
Oddly enough, even though it's clearly a card, it seemed to be dripping with sweat. Yugen was quite curious about where the sweat glands on a card might be hidden.
"Finally... it's over."
The eye looked exhausted.
Yugen examined the card in his hand and couldn't help but frown slightly. He couldn't see much difference, there were still no clues on the card, and the card pattern was just an eye.
"Failed?" Yugen looked at Malik, "Should we try again..."
The eye woke up in fright: "No, don't do it! I remembered, I remembered everything..."
Malik said: "The ritual can only help recall part of lost memories, it seems unable to awaken the spirit's dormant powers."
Yugen asked, "Then what are you?"
"Ah, this... I haven't recalled yet... But!" The eye hurriedly added, "I remembered the exact location of the guardian place!"
...
...
Duel Academy.
Another day of torrential rain. Large raindrops fiercely hammered the ground, hitting it with rapid thumping sounds. Such intense rain made it seem like the entire world was enveloped in misty water vapor, distant scenery also becoming blurred. On the mountain paths, rainwater quickly gathered into streams, rushing forward with unstoppable force.
"Ahhhh—"
A painful, twisted groan sounded through the forest. At times, the voice seemed female, other times male, as if two distinctly different voices eerie overlapped, producing a gnashing low growl.
Trees shook in the gale, and leaves were smacked by the rain, crackling, seemingly frail.
A hand was arduously crawling forward in the wind and rain. A demon's claw, but overall it was only a single hand, the length reaching just to the elbow, and now the five fingers dug deeply into the soaked mud, embedding in.
It was Yubel.
"Why struggle? Why hesitate?"
A voice seemed to ask from above, its gloomy tone weaving within the torrential rain, adding to the chilling atmosphere.
Yubel angrily said, "Go away..."
"You have desires, don't you? There are people you want to see no matter what, things you want to accomplish at any cost, aren't there?"
The voice kept coaxing gently.
"But you're too weak, at least your current form is weak. As you are now, you can do nothing."
"Go away, I don't need... don't need the help of something like you..."
These words were said with a feminine voice taking the upper hand. But after a brief pause, the masculine, robust voice overpowered the feminine, hoarsely saying: "No, he's right. We need Judai, no matter what, at any cost, but as we are now, we truly don't have enough power.
Yes, power. Whatever it takes, as long as we can have power..."
"No, you can't." The feminine voice again briefly dominated the robust one, "You can't be used by a being like this. Judai is... ours, and can only be ours..."
Yubel seemed to have both male and female characteristics, but in her initial animated form, regardless of speech or actions, she was notably feminine in style. During duels, evolving into Tier Two and Three, her tone started to lean towards a more robust direction, which seemed to forewarn her darkening psychology.
Now, although she voiced both overlapping sounds, the graceful and the robust tones alternately took precedence, as if two conflicting consciousnesses within her were struggling in combat. One urged her to resist the temptation to the end, while the other persuaded her to willingly embrace the vast dark power, believing that only through power she could fulfill her goals.
In the midst of the battle, suddenly footsteps rustled within the rain.
"Kurikuri!"
Feathered Chestnut Ball's voice.
"Over here, partner?"
The familiar voice had barely reached, when Yubel shuddered all over, seemingly affected.
Looking up, she saw a boy in red walking through the rain, his jellyfish-like hairstyle drenched by the rain, who else could it be but the one she had missed day and night for ten years, Judai?
"Ju... Judai?"
Yubel was stunned. Judai also paused, looked down at the struggling demon claw in the rain, momentarily bewildered.
But Yubel was originally concentrating all her power to resist that tempting voice. After all, Yubel was a master of manipulating spirits and hearts, although the enemy's level was very high. If she was in good condition, how could she be so easily preyed upon?
But now she was attacked suddenly, concentrating all effort to resist, now suddenly seeing Judai appear, her mind was shaken, and she mentally relaxed immediately. That tempting voice couldn't miss this flaw, instantly seized it and took advantage.
"Ahhhh!"
Yubel instantly sensed something was wrong, but hurriedly tried to gather all her strength to defend, but it was already too late. Her claw clenched tightly into a fist, leaving five deep claw marks on the rainy ground.
"Go... go..."
She muttered.
Judai: "What?"
"Leave quickly... Judai! Leave quickly!"
She shouted out the words, the surging darkness had already erupted from that arm, enveloping that incomplete arm entirely, the demonic Qi towering.
Judai was inwardly startled, but didn't obediently run away. Looking through the almost suffocating darkness before him, he suddenly had a suspicion in his heart.
"Are you... Yubel?"
Now the darkness condensed, already transforming into a torso and limbs. The Power of Evil God empowered Yubel's original part, immediately restoring her entire body to its original form.
However, when that odd-colored bi-eye opened again, it already churned with jet-black darkness.
"You were told to leave... why didn't you go?"
She asked creepily.
Judai recalled the past that Yugen helped him remember, recalling how Yubel was launched into the cosmos back then, and Yugen also spoke of Yubel being possessed by evil power in the cosmos, good and evil indistinguishable, needing help.
But he didn't know the evil Yugen referred to was the Light of Destruction's fluctuation in the cosmos, different from the current condition.
But he was guided by Yugen, and had long decided what to do the next time he saw Yubel.
"I won't leave, of course."
Not only did Judai not retreat, but he stepped forward, seriously saying.
"I will rescue you, Yubel."