Jinzo felt he'd had a terrifying nightmare.
In it, he was just a step away from revival. But at that final step, a demon appeared.
An incredibly strong duelist. Not only did the duel show Jinzo the true meaning of the power gap, but it also made him see the world's darkness.
Spirits need to protect themselves when out in the world. Otherwise, you might get NTR'd by your card, disgusted by your lockdown effects—it's a disaster.
The nightmare, of course, ended in his defeat, and at the hands of his signature move. When his LP hit zero, pain wracked his body, and he felt himself sinking into the deep sea, drifting in a dark vortex.
As if the cold waters of the underworld swallowed him, dragging him into the endless abyss. He struggled, but could do nothing, his barely revived consciousness swallowed by darkness…
Then he jolted awake.
Phew—thank goodness it was just a dream.
Jinzo the spirit let out a sigh, regaining his senses.
It was a nightmare, yes, but too scary. It took him a while to recover and look around.
Huh? Where was he?
Jinzo froze, realizing he was in a special space.
Being a Duel Monster Spirit, he recognized it as a kind of sub-space—a special domain where unused spirits reside, a barracks for warriors waiting for deployment.
In other words, the deck.
But Jinzo was just a half-dead spirit summoned by three idiots, a wandering ghost with no master—how could he have a deck space?
Confused, Jinzo tried to poke his head out of the space and look around.
He shuddered instinctively, frozen with terror.
It was him!
The demon from his dream!
"You're awake."
Kira, who'd been building a deck with his new cards, noticed the peeking Jinzo, set his work aside, turned, and smiled.
He prided himself on a gentle, sunny smile, friendly and approachable. Yet the spirit reacted as if seeing a ghost, recoiling: "Wh-What did you do to me!?"
"You make it sound so weird," Kira muttered. "People might think I did something indecent."
"Did you forget the contract for the Shadow Duel?"
Jinzo paused.
Memories of their pre-duel conversation resurfaced.
"If you lose, you'll become my card."
He didn't remember the exact words, but in his mind's eye, Kira was like a grinning devil, waving 'Jinzo' card in his hand.
Jinzo's body trembled.
So the nightmare was real…
What's scarier than a nightmare? Waking up to find you're still in it.
He'd agreed to a Shadow Duel, wagering his own body. And clearly, he lost.
Jinzo was dejected.
At least in the nightmare, only his doppelganger was NTR'd. Now, waking up, he realized the traitor was himself. Hard to say which was worse.
Oh well, might as well accept it.
After calming down, Jinzo thought back on last night's duel and didn't feel too bad.
If you ignore some of Kira's annoying in-duel tactics, Jinzo had to admit the man was a strong duelist.
For a Duel Monster Spirit, having a strong master isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It's just that last night's duel was so suffocating, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
No, at least he had to save some face.
Accepting reality, Jinzo crossed his arms and nodded slightly.
"Hmph, I acknowledge your strength, duelist," he tried to sound lofty. "But I am a high-level spirit. To wield my power you must pay a price.
How about this: I won't demand three tributes. One tribute will suffice for my allegiance."
Shing!
The sound of swords being drawn.
Two other spirits—Silent Magician and Black Luster Soldier—appeared silently in the room.
Staff on one side, sword on the other, both pointed at Jinzo's head.
Jinzo glanced at the staff and sword at his forehead and fell into thought.
Not for long—he only thought for about a second.
Then he changed his tune:
"No tributes needed—for my allegiance."
His voice got quieter.
Damn, he couldn't mess with either of them.
Only now did Jinzo realize his real status—the bottom of the team.
A moment ago, he thought he was a noble Level 6, a high-level spirit. Turns out, he was the weakest.
Silent Magician, usually harmless and cute, could freely change level, big or small, cute or mature. She might seem like a Level 4, but if she got serious, she could easily stomp two Jinzos.
The other one—forget it.
The legendary Black Luster Soldier!
Who could afford to mess with him?
"Don't be like that," Kira said cheerfully. "We're all teammates now—no need for violence, put your weapons away."
Black Luster Soldier and Silent Magician glanced at each other, sheathed their sword and staff, and stepped aside.
"That's better. From now on, get along and don't bully the new teammate."
Jinzo: That's right, did you hear the master? No bullying the new guy.
Jinzo had unconsciously retreated behind Kira, peeking at the other two spirits.
Black Luster Soldier and Silent Magician exchanged another glance and nodded.
"Let's all have fun dueling together from now on~"
Jinzo nodded quickly too, signaling his willingness to work as a team.
The dorm was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"By the way, your deck last night was really strong," Kira said.
Jinzo waved it off, saying it was nothing. After all, he was beaten by his new master.
"No, really, it was amazing. There were quite a few Jinzo-only cards I haven't even seen before—they're rare in our world, really cool."
Kira was impressed.
Actually, after the duel last night, he'd wanted to loot Jinzo's deck, but, just like in the anime, it vanished when Jinzo fainted.
But that didn't matter.
Now Jinzo was part of the family, and what's his is Kira's.
Jinzo paused for two seconds, then caught on.
He flipped his palm, psychic energy swirling, and a full deck materialized in his hand, which he handed to Kira.
"Here! Here it is!"