When Hikaru Amagi followed Professor Hayama to the principal's office, he found the rest of the invited dueling teams already there.
Professor Crowler stood beside Zane Truesdale. Dr. Banner had brought Jaden Yuki, Bastion Misawa, Alexis Rhodes, and Chazz Princeton.
"Mmm, Amagi-kun, you came too?" Crowler nodded slightly. "Looks like we're all elites here~"
Then, half-bending over, he gave a goofy grin as he leaned toward Jaden."And who's this? Hope nobody brought the wrong kid—surely someone here doesn't belong?"
Even though Crowler wasn't taking direct shots anymore, his relationship with Jaden was still strained.
"Don't mind him, Sparkles," Jaden said, flashing a grin toward Chazz.
"He's talking about you!" Chazz glared.
"Eh, isn't he talking about Misawa?" Banner pet his cat as he explained, "The principal wanted me to bring Amagi-kun, but I couldn't find him, so I brought Misawa from Ra Yellow instead."
"Wait—I'm the extra?" Bastion looked like he was about to fall over.
Hikaru, meanwhile, just stood off to the side, thoughtful.
So his presence had shifted Bastion's role from the original story.
Not that it mattered—truth be told, Bastion became more and more irrelevant as the plot went on.He just hoped this wouldn't mess with Bastion's romantic future.
The group entered the principal's office, where Chancellor Sheppard explained why they'd been summoned.
"The cards of the Sacred Beasts?" Jaden blinked in disbelief.
"Yes. Ancient cards that have been sealed beneath this island for generations."
"Huh? This school's that old?" Jaden tilted his head.
Chancellor Sheppard chuckled. "Actually, this school was built directly atop the location where the cards were sealed."
"Whaaaaat!?"
Hikaru snapped his fingers. "Ah, like how people always say schools are built over cemeteries!"
"Wha-wha-WHAT!?"
Sheppard burst out laughing again at Hikaru's comment, then quickly composed himself."According to the legends passed down here, when those cards resurface, the world will be engulfed in monsters, chaos will devour all, and the darkness hidden within human hearts will be unleashed—ultimately leading to the end of the world."
The students gulped.
It sounded way too dramatic.
But Hikaru knew—it wasn't just for show.
Sure, the truth behind the Sacred Beasts' release differed from the school legend. And their unsealing wasn't exactly what people thought. But the power of the Sacred Beasts? Absolutely real.
This needed saying—the power of card effects and the power of card spirits are completely different categories.
Take, for example, the "Tearlaments" deck. In the TCG, it's one of the strongest non-banned archetypes in history. But lore-wise, they're just manifestations of Visas' negative emotions—mere shadows of shadows. They're weaker than any of his emotion-based avatars, let alone Visas himself.
And yet, card effects? Visas can't hold a candle to a random Level 4 fish-girl.
The Sacred Beasts, meanwhile? Their effects are mid, sure. But their supernatural presence in the GX canon is some of the strongest in the series—capable of de-aging people, absorbing every card spirit in the world, even erasing entire dueling fields.
Against that kind of threat, normal cards can't even put up a fight.
And later, everything Sheppard mentioned? It actually happens in canon.So yeah—the Sacred Beasts' power isn't just real. It's absurd.
"So?"
"There's been a challenge—someone's trying to break the seals."
"Who would do that?" Zane asked, narrowing his eyes.
"The Seven Shadow Riders—seven duelists known as the Seven Stars," Sheppard explained. "They're shrouded in mystery. One of them has already arrived on the island."
He then pulled out a box and revealed its contents—seven objects shaped like keys.
"These seven keys are the only way to open the Seven Shadow Gates that protect the Sacred Beast cards."
"That's why I want you to protect these keys."
"But how do we protect them?" Chazz asked.
"Simple—by dueling, of course!"
"HUH!?" Everyone flinched in unison.
...Well, what else were you expecting?
Hikaru had to resist the urge to snort.What were they gonna use—guns?
"To unlock the gates, the Seven Stars must defeat keyholders in duels. So, we need strong duelists to carry the keys." He glanced at Crowler and Banner. "Even if we have to pad the numbers a bit."
"Well then, Principal, in that case, I'll let Misawa take my spot, meow." Banner smiled as he pet Pharaoh.
"Huh? Misawa-kun?"
"Of course. I'm honored," Bastion nodded.
"Well then—" Crowler stepped up and picked up a key. "Think of it like a challenger taking our school's nameplate. Let's show them we're not scared, Principal!"
"Erm... sure. That works."
The order was a little different from what Hikaru remembered from canon.
He picked up a key from the outer edge of the display and hung it around his wrist.
The details didn't matter.
What did matter was this: once you held one of these Shadow Keys, a Shadow Rider would come find you. And then, it would be a Shadow Game.
In other words… duel energy would come to him.
Still…
Hikaru stared at the key in his palm, already thinking three steps ahead.
With this world having real alternate dimensions, he couldn't be certain the Seven Stars were the exact same lineup as in the show. But no matter who they were, their goal would remain the same: to unseal the Sacred Beasts.
Ironically enough, Chancellor Sheppard had been tricked by Chancellor Kagemaru.It was Kagemaru who entrusted the cards to Sheppard.But they weren't ready to be unsealed at the time.
Only after all seven keys were charged with the intense emotions of strong duelists could they activate the seals—letting Kagemaru reclaim his youth and power.
So, win or lose, the Riders would open the gates in the end.
Didn't really matter though—Jaden would beat Kagemaru later anyway.Hikaru's job was to grind for power while he could.
That night, while inspecting some cards, Hikaru suddenly noticed—
The world around him had lost all color.
A strange blue aura enveloped him, then everything lit up—hot, bright, intense.
A volcano!?
He looked down—sometime, somehow, he'd been transported to the mouth of a volcano.
"What is this place!?" a voice called out nearby.
Alexis Rhodes?
Hikaru glanced at her, then quickly looked back toward the ground.
Below their feet was a transparent floor—some kind of glowing energy platform that looked like it could vanish at any moment.
And then—
A massive fire dragon burst out of the magma, spiraled through the air, and crashed onto the floor. The flames condensed—
And a masked man stood where the dragon had landed.
"Who are you!?" Alexis shouted instinctively.
"My name is Darkness," the man said. "One of the Seven Stars."
"According to my research, Hikaru Amagi—you're this school's top duelist. You'll make a fine debut opponent."
"Your first opponent?" Hikaru didn't waste time talking. He raised his duel disk, let it auto-activate, and shuffled his deck.
"Then I'll be your last opponent."