Late night.
Kira sat in his lab chair, yawning and stretching.
The spacious lab was empty, the entire corridor dark except for his lonely room, still lit. Moonlight spilled into the deserted school building, the lights flickering in the silence.
Normally, he'd have gone back to the dorm long ago, but he was on a roll with his research tonight.
He'd had another deep discussion with Alexis, dropping hints about how to strengthen Cyber Angels. Kira thought he'd make a set for himself once they were finished.
With the right upgrades, Cyber Angels could be really strong, but in the anime world, there wasn't much of a boss monster. Still, it was always good to be prepared.
In truth, Cyber Angels were strongest not within their archetype, but as an engine in a highly compatible deck—then they could perform at 120% power.
Once the right upgrades were complete, the deck could leapfrog several generations in strength.
Misawa, meanwhile, was focusing on Zombies. Kira had already got himself one each of the upgraded "Gozuki" and "Mezuki"—top-tier Zombie cards, very strong in the current meta.
He didn't play Zombies much, but if he ever did, he'd use these.
He leaned back, stretching his neck, when a small hand suddenly appeared, offering him a mug.
A steaming cup of coffee.
Kira took it reflexively, then looked up—surprised to see it was the Silent Magician.
The silver-haired magician girl handed him the cup, then immediately turned intangible again, shyly looking away.
Surprising!
She had learned to make coffee for him.
Kira smiled, took a sip, and waved the mug at her.
"Thanks."
Silent Magician smiled gently, bowed slightly, and retreated into his deck.
After finishing his coffee, Kira checked the time—it was almost midnight.
"That's enough for tonight."
He stretched, got up, turned off the lights and power, and left the lab.
Leaving the school building, he took the path to the dorms, a winding trail through dense woods. Each step crunched the dry leaves underfoot, while the trees whispered in the wind as though something was murmuring in the night.
Kira wasn't afraid of the dark, but even he felt the atmosphere was a bit creepy tonight. Every gust of wind through the woods felt like the whispers of ghosts.
Silent Magician emerged from the deck again, holding her staff in front of her, visibly wary.
"A spirit's presence?" Kira frowned.
Lately, he'd noticed the spirit thing was getting strange. Just like how the main characters could understand Kuriboh, after spending enough time together, he found he could start to understand Silent Magician's mood without words.
Maybe it was a sign of deepening bonds.
Silent Magician nodded gravely.
Kira pondered. Could it be, like last time at the old dorms, a rift to the Spirit World?
Just then, there was a sound in the woods.
At first faint, but quickly grew, as if something was speeding toward them.
Silent Magician moved to shield Kira, staff at the ready. The leaves rustled and branches shook as if the whole forest was uneasy.
Suddenly, a dark figure burst from the bushes.
"Waaah! It's me, don't shoot—wait, I mean, don't point your staff at me!"
It was Jaden.
He'd come running out of the woods at full speed and nearly crashed into Silent Magician's staff, the magic cannon almost hitting his nose.
Jaden stopped short and raised his hands in surrender. Silent Magician arched an eyebrow, then put her staff away and stepped back.
"Jaden?" Kira asked, "What are you doing out here so late?"
"It's a long story," Judai scratched his head. "Some Obelisk Blue student suddenly burst into our dorm screaming for help..."
As they spoke, Syrus, Chumley, and Professor Lyman came running up, breathless.
"B-big bro, you run too fast, we can't keep up..."
All three were gasping.
"Eh? Kira?" Professor Lyman was surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Just stayed late in the lab tonight."
Jaden suddenly remembered: "No time for that, we need to save someone! Let's move—I'll explain as we go."
Even before he finished, Kira had already guessed what was going on.
Looks like one of the early GX plot points: Jaden's first encounter with an antagonist Duel Monster Spirit.
Jinzo – Psycho Shocker.
Kira thought for a moment, then followed along. Sure enough, Jaden explained just as he remembered.
Basically, there was a club at the school that studied Duel Monster spirits, and three students had gotten a little too bold.
The three of them decided to play a spirit-summoning game, but instead of summoning a nice, talkative monster like Dark Magician Girl or a gentle low-level like Kuriboh, they somehow chose Jinzo.
The summoning partially succeeded—Jinzo appeared, but only in a half-complete, non-physical state.
To become complete, Jinzo needed souls as sacrifices. But he didn't just steal them—he politely asked the three if he could have their souls as offerings.
The three, thinking sacrifices meant cards, confidently agreed. Not just three, but thirty would be fine!
Jinzo then manifested according to the pact.
Two days later, two of the students had disappeared.
The third only realized sacrifice meant them—and panicked, running out in the middle of the night for help, somehow ending up in the Slifer Red dorm and meeting Jaden & friends.
Just as the group finished explaining, the power to the Red dorm was cut.
When the lights came back on, Jinzo's spirit appeared, grabbed the unconscious student, and vanished into the forest.
Jaden and the others chased after them—to here.
Kira, remembering the anime, thought: If he was right, Jinzo would be...
Sure enough, after breaking through the woods, they saw a huge, fenced-off power station.
"This is the Academy Island's power plant—it supplies electricity to the whole academy," Lyman explained.
Then, blue-white lightning arced overhead like a dragon, and a bolt of lightning flashed, materializing a translucent figure.
It was the famous rare card monster spirit: Jinzo.
"Oh my god!" Lyman screamed. "A spirit! A real spirit!"
Kira squinted at him.
The guy's acting was as good as ever.
"But Professor, haven't you always told us Duel Monster spirits are real?" Chumley asked.
"Well, yes... but this is the first time I've seen one with my own eyes." Lyman adjusted his glasses.
Jaden took a deep breath and stepped forward to talk to Jinzo, but Kira beat him to it.
"You're the spirit of Jinzo, right?"
Jinzo's form flickered in the power plant's lightning, ignoring him.
The three missing students were passed out nearby—they could still be saved.
Seeing Jinzo unresponsive, Kira took out a card.
He produced his Jinzo card.
Sure enough, Jinzo reacted, stepping eagerly toward him, clearly coveting the card.
"So, this card will help you fully revive, right? You want this card?"
Jinzo considered for a few seconds, trying to read his intentions.
Then he replied in a low voice:
"I want that card, but I won't give up the three sacrifices. They promised themselves to me for my revival."
He stressed again:
"But I want that card, too."
He was an adult spirit—wanted it all.
"You're all duelists, aren't you? Then let's settle this your way."
Jinzo pointed at Kira's Duel Disk.
"So, it comes down to a duel after all."
Kira nodded.
Completely as expected.
"I have no problem dueling. If you win, the card is yours, and I won't interfere with your business anymore.
But if you lose, what then?"
To a spirit, dueling is sacred, so the stakes must be agreed upon.
Jinzo thought, then said: "If I lose, I'll give up the three souls who willingly offered themselves."
Kira shook his head: "I don't know those three."
Jinzo: "?"
Everyone else: "???"
Why aren't you following the script?
Aren't those lines supposed to come from the good guy?
Jinzo was silent for a few seconds, then asked: "So what do you want?"
"To a duelist, every card is like a part of your soul. Since I'm putting up my partner, you should offer something of equal value," Kira said.
Jinzo hesitated: "So you want... my soul?"
"As expected of a high-level spirit—so perceptive."
Kira smiled.
"If I win, you can reside in this card. From then on, you won't need sacrifices or souls to revive. Is that alright?"
That way, winning would naturally free the three students as well.
"Heh, interesting. Human duelist, do you want to become my master?" Jinzo said in a low voice, already readying his duel stance.
"Then you must first earn my recognition."
"I'll take that as a yes."
Kira activated his Duel Disk.
"Duel!" x2
Negotiations were over, it was time to settle things with cards.
The others had no chance to interject—by the time they realized, the duel was already starting.