"There are two Aisha Carloses?!" The shock wasn't limited to the Aisha inside the Millennium Puzzle—everyone was stunned. With two Aishas st
"There are two Aisha Carloses?!"
The shock wasn't limited to the Aisha inside the Millennium Puzzle—everyone was stunned.
With two Aishas standing side by side, Kevin felt doubly blessed with double the rival, double the joy.
"What's going on here?!" Miles demanded.
Though Aisha hadn't been physically harmed, Camille's use of the Millennium Key to pry open her heart and forcibly summon her dark side made Miles visibly angry.
"Don't be mad," Camille whispered into his ear. "It won't cause real damage to your host. This is just a necessary step to unseal Dystopia. Of course… I can't guarantee there won't be psychological damage after seeing her own darkness."
"Seeing your own darkness..."
What was the dark side of Aisha Yuna Carlos?
Even Miles couldn't help being curious.
Someone the Pharaoh once called a child of light—what kind of darkness did she harbor… and could it really awaken Dystopia?
"Then, as the trial to unseal Dystopia, Aisha Carlos, will you face your own dark side in a Duel?"
"I accept!"
Miles said with no hesitation.
Aisha panicked, "M-Mr. Miles..."
As for Aisha herself, she wasn't nearly as confident.
She had no idea what part of her darkness the Millennium Key had extracted.
…What if it was something embarrassing—even something she'd forgotten?
Having your dark side dragged out and being forced to Duel it... is there anything more humiliating?
Actually, there is.
Having the person you like Duel your dark side. That's even more mortifying.
"Then, as witness to this trial Duel, let it begin!"
Camille stabbed the Millennium Key into the ground, inverted.
Dark magic spread in a circle, forming a barrier that isolated Miles and the dark-side Aisha from the rest of the world.
This ensured that those outside the barrier could only observe the Duel—they couldn't hear the conversation within.
After all, this was a trial to unseal Dystopia. Understanding one's own darkness and despair mattered more than winning or losing.
Camille's role was to keep outside interference to a minimum.
"Get ready, Aisha!"
"Yes, Mr. Miles!"
"Ah, no—I was talking to the other Aisha."
"!!"
Raising her skirt slightly, Aisha's dark-side twin drew her Deck from the holster strapped to her thigh. In perfect mirror synchronicity, both Duelists inserted their Decks into their Spirit Eyes.
[Aisha Carlos, LP: 4000]
[Aisha Carlos (Dark), LP: 4000]
"Duel—!"
The Duel began, with the Spirit Eye on the arm of dark-side Aisha, lighting up to indicate first turn.
"My turn, draw."
This was the first time the dark Aisha spoke.
The voice was identical to the original Aisha's, creating a surreal experience for both her and Miles.
"You really are Aisha," Miles said, attempting to start a dialogue.
He knew discovering the truth behind her darkness was the key to this Duel.
"Why is it only you..."
Sure enough, she responded.
"Why is it only you who got to stay at Fusion Academy… while I had to face the fate of a failure?!"
"!!!"
The statement stunned both Miles and Aisha.
Her despair and darkness stemmed from an alternate timeline—a branching worldline.
This Aisha was the version who, without Miles's intervention, had been expelled from Fusion Academy.
Or perhaps more accurately—she represented the deepest fear in Aisha Carlos's heart: a vision of what could have happened.
"I summon a monster in Attack Position!"
Dark Aisha's voice now carried unmistakable bitterness and anger.
"Come out, Mokey Mokey!"
[Mokey Mokey] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│ATK: 300
Summoning the utterly powerless tofu block Mokey Mokey in Attack Position—it really did feel like something the old Aisha would've done.
"Turn end."
After summoning Mokey Mokey, the dark Aisha ended her turn.
Such a feeble field—any normal Duelist could wipe it out and crush her.
"My turn, draw."
Except Miles was also using Aisha's deck.
He scanned his starting hand of six cards—no Poker Knights in sight. Just a pile of familiar, lovable weaklings.
"I also summon Mokey Mokey in Attack Position!"
[Mokey Mokey, ATK: 300]
That's right. Miles made the same choice, placing his own Mokey Mokey in Attack Position.
Why not set it in Defense? Well… Mokey Mokey has 100 Defense and 300 Attack.
His opponent summoned hers in Attack Position—if he Set his, he'd not only look like a coward, but hers could beat his!
So yeah, this was war—Mokey Mokey vs Mokey Mokey.
The battlefield now had two smug-faced tofu blobs staring each other down, unblinking, each with a question mark floating above its head.
"I Set one card and end my turn."
One monster, one Set—Miles's nonstandard opening mirrored the Duel's unusual nature.
"My turn, draw!"
Dark Aisha's eyes grew colder as she looked across the field.
"While you're still enjoying school life, I've had to endure countless cold stares. My family blamed me for dooming the Carlos name. You'll never understand that kind of despair."
She threw down another card.
"I summon—Volcanic Rat!"
[Volcanic Rat] Level 1│FIRE│Pyro│ATK: 500
"So I swore—even with the weakest monsters, even if everyone looks down on me—I'll prove myself! I'll take revenge on everyone who ever mocked me. In my own way!"
She swept her hand across the field, and a strange glow radiated from her Spirit Eye as she stacked the two Level 1 monsters.
"I have two Level 1 monsters—Mokey Mokey and Volcanic Rat. I overlay them to Xyz Summon!"
...
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