"Welcome to the Link System."
"Counting down, 5, 4, 3..."
Yuki Judai closed his eyes, instinctively raising his hands in front of him.
It felt like an escape from the confines of reality, an unreality propelled by an invisible force moving him forward. The line between the real and the virtual blurred, and his body felt like it was floating on air, becoming a part of the endless stream of data.
The data stream poured like a galaxy, weaving and intersecting at unimaginable speeds. After traveling a long way through this complex and dazzling channel, he finally landed heavily on solid ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Judai rubbed his sore bottom, feeling a bit dizzy. He forced himself to stand upright and turned to look at Yugen beside him, noticing that Yugen, who had entered with him, had smoothly landed in a half-squat and was calmly standing up.
"How did you land so steadily?"
Yugen chuckled, reaching out to pull him up. "It's a trick. You'll get the hang of it after a few times."
Judai laughed, taking Yugen's hand to rise. They both stood straight and took two turns looking around.
The place they stood on was vast and boundless, yet it felt desolate and barren, as if time stood still.
The Silent Magician silently floated out, pointing a magic staff in a particular direction.
"That way? Thanks."
Yugen nodded and immediately set off in that direction.
Judai quickly followed, asking, "Is this the Elf Realm?"
Having had a previous journey in the Elf Realm with Yugen, he wasn't completely unfamiliar with the existence of this otherworld continent.
"Yes."
"Oh, the world where Duel Monsters live!"
Judai was quite excited.
"After the last time, I kept thinking about when I could come back again. You can come and go as you please, Yugen... ah, I'm so envious!"
"But this is a bit different from where we went last time."
Yugen smiled but didn't elaborate further on this part.
He had explored the Elf Realm several times, mapping out all the places he had been. After integrating the map of the areas he had opened up, Yugen finally found this specific dimension.
This is not just any Elf Dimension.
This is one of the twelve dimensions from the Otherworldly Dimension Chapter in later GX episodes, where Judai and his friends came to rescue John, a place ruled by the legendary 'Overlord.'
That's part of the reason Yugen brought Judai here this time.
In the battle with the Judge, the Judge reminded him of this. The Overlord may not have always been slumbering within Judai but only connected to him in some form.
The real Overlord may have already been in this world of Elves, the supreme ruler of these twelve dimensions.
But even so, the link with the Overlord remains a ticking time bomb buried inside Judai. And Yugen also vaguely sensed that after the last battle with the Judge, something in Judai's body seemed to have been triggered.
It appeared that during the duel, although the Judge did not intentionally take his soul, he opened a switch in his heart. The part of him that was hidden as the Overlord had its seal loosened, showing no apparent abnormalities yet, but who knows if some external force would trigger it again.
Especially with the upcoming battles against the Seven-Star. Although Yugen intended to take the initiative, Judai was possibly going to face several Dark Duels. At critical moments of these duels, it might impact his mental defenses, causing the Overlord to prematurely take over his body.
However, Yugen already had an idea about this.
With the help of the Link System, arriving at the Elf Realm in a manner similar to consciousness projection, they were like Duel Monster Spirits appearing in reality through spirit body projections. Even if they were destroyed, they would just return to their reality. In other words, they had safety protection in this world.
So why not use the Link System to proactively address it before the ticking time bomb accidentally detonates?
Yugen wanted to find the Overlord.
Defeating the Overlord would likely resolve this hidden threat, and there might be a chance to help Judai absorb the Overlord's power early, speeding up his leveling process.
Thus, by taking the initiative themselves, they could prepare thoroughly ahead of time, which would no doubt give them a greater chance of winning compared to being caught off guard by the Overlord's sudden appearance someday.
"By the way, you mentioned something important, what is it?"
Judai asked as they walked.
"Hmm... it's a trial you must complete," Yugen said. "If it goes well, you might get past it in advance."
"My trial?"
Judai was very surprised and couldn't help but look around.
"In this world?"
"Any duelist who achieves greatness will face their own inner darkness sooner or later," Yugen said. "You can't reach your peak without overcoming the darkness within."
"There's no darkness in my heart."
Judai laughed.
"Is that really true?"
Yugen smiled enigmatically, giving him a mysterious look.
Judai found this glance odd. "Wh-what?"
"Nothing."
Yugen withdrew his gaze, smiling.
Judai thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "Then are you already a top-level duelist, Yugen? What about your inner darkness?"
Yugen remained silent.
As they continued, all they saw was desolation and no sign of life. After walking for a while, a town finally appeared ahead.
But as they approached, they saw the town was also dilapidated and barren. The ancient architecture looked like it was from a thousand years ago, with simple stone-structured houses, desolate and empty streets swept by a chilling wind, but no sign of a single person.
"Is this an elf town?"
Judai stepped forward curiously.
"But there's no one here, was it abandoned?"
"Kurikuri."
The Feathered Chestnut Ball suddenly floated out, flapping its wings and pointing a little hand to the side. Following the Elf's direction, Judai saw a small figure secretly observing them from behind a stone house. However, upon realizing being watched, the figure shuddered and quickly turned to run away.
"Hey, wait!"
Judai hurried forward, rushing to chase after the small shadow, winding through several alleys, when suddenly a scream echoed from around the corner.
Judai ran quickly and saw a little girl on the ground. Her blonde hair and ragged long dress with patches gave her a fearful, helpless appearance.
In front of her was a large monster, scorpion-like, crawling down the wall with glaring, sinister eyes, seemingly drooling with greed.
"Ha, a tender little girl like this, looks like today's my lucky day."
The scorpion-like monster jumped down from the wall, smirking.
The girl on the ground recoiled in terror, trying to get up and run, but her legs seemed paralyzed with fear and trembled uncontrollably, refusing to rise.
Judai didn't ask any questions. Seeing the scene, he immediately stepped forward heroically.
"Hey, stop!"
He spread his arms in front of the girl.
"Hmm?"
The giant scorpion paused, its eyes quickly spotting the Duel Disc in Judai's hand.
Battle intent flickered in the scorpion's gaze.
"A duelist? Here?"