The sun in the sky vanished in an instant. The once-clear sky turned dark, nearby electronic billboards flickered with static, and the asphalt split open into crimson cracks. Countless white bones burst out from the ground, intertwining and forming a white gate of bones in midair.
It was a horrifying sight, yet the pedestrians nearby showed no surprise. They left the scene calmly and in an orderly fashion, not the slightest trace of panic on their faces.
As if this was nothing out of the ordinary for them.
A dozen minutes later, several vehicles arrived in front of the white bone gate. From the two lead cars, a man and a woman in lavish attire stepped out.
"Noir, what are you doing here?"
The girl, attractive and dressed in combat gear, moved with precision. But when she saw the boy next to her, she frowned without the slightest attempt to hide her displeasure, her loathing written all over her face.
"Miss Marina, what kind of question is that? I just came to see the spectacle, that's all."
"Surely, you wouldn't deny me such a small request, would you?"
The boy, Noir, paid no mind to her glare and knowingly took a step back, making room for her.
"That's more like it."
The girl gave him a cold look, then said no more. With a wave of her hand, several burly men and a middle-aged man stepped down from the vehicles behind her.
Without looking back, the group walked straight into the white bone gate.
Noir watched as the group vanished before his eyes, his gaze narrowing.
"Looks like the Skye Family really has been pushed into a corner, even bringing their precious young lady back."
An old man behind him made a gesture and whispered,
"Young master, should we..."
Noir shook his head.
"No chance. Let's just enjoy the show this time."
Then, a strange smile crept across his lips.
"After all..."
"There's still plenty of time left. No rush...."
At the gate of bones, as Marina and her group entered, the bone gate slowly closed behind them. It looked like no one would be allowed in for a while.
[Welcome to the Trial: Wasteland of Bones!]
The moment Marina stepped through the bone gate, a flash of white light engulfed her, and she found herself standing on a barren plain.
The entire area was made up of heavily weathered colossal beast bones. Bleached bone spikes jutted from the scorched earth, and a bluish-gray fog cloaked the sky. All the light filtered down as cold phosphorescence from bones.
The people around instinctively formed a circle around Marina, shielding her.
While everyone was on high alert for possible dangers, a sudden voice rang out.
"Hello?"
"Who's there?!"
The unexpected male voice startled the group. They immediately turned their eyes toward the source.
Not far off stood a boy in a linen shirt, black-haired and looking somewhat wary as he met their gaze.
The boy's name was Kai. After being thoroughly tormented by Lord Engrave while playing Master Duel at home, he had grabbed a few of his favorite decks to head to a local card shop for a real duel.
But on his way down the stairs, he somehow tripped over something and fell.
Just as he thought he was a goner, a white light enveloped him, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself here.
As a modern young man, Kai was very open to new experiences. He figured he'd stumbled into some mysterious event. One of those incidents the government keeps hidden from the general public—maybe spiritual resurgence, maybe something eldritch.
Either way, based on his years of novel reading, he figured staying put and waiting for help had a much higher survival rate than running around fighting monsters.
Sure enough, after waiting for a short while, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of him.
He cautiously greeted them.
However, judging from their guarded expressions, they weren't too convinced.
"Who are you?"
Finally, it was Marina at the center who broke the silence.
Kai gave a simple account of what happened, and the group relaxed.
"Looks like just a normal person who got caught up when the Trial appeared. Stick with us for now."
"Once the Trial ends, you can leave with us."
Marina's expression didn't change. She calmly waved him over.
It wasn't unreasonable for them to be wary. There had been human-like creatures in previous Trials, too.
Marina remembered one that was plant-themed.
At first, those unaware really did believe what the humanoids said. The result?
Those who trusted too easily ended up as fertilizer.
That said, afterward, telling them apart became easy. Humanoids in Trials had no knowledge of the outside world. Kai saying he had a phone was enough to clear his name.
Though the others still seemed vaguely wary of Kai, they dared not question him further since their young lady had spoken. He was thus added to their group.
"Hello, I'm Marina."
"Hi, I'm Kai."
Faced with the girl's extended hand, Kai politely shook it.
After the brief greeting, Marina turned her attention away. With a flick of her wrist, a compass-like object appeared in her hand. The group began to advance.
She was here with a goal in mind.
Before long, they all felt a slight tremor in the ground and came to a halt.
Up ahead, a pile of bones bulged. A headless skeleton crawled out, blue soul-fire swirling between its ribs, and a strange rectangular object strapped to its arm.
Kai watched it unfold and was now certain… this really was a mysterious incident. He looked around at the others, full of anticipation.
Would they draw spirit swords from the void? Summon ghosts to fight?
Even summoning a system wouldn't surprise him.
"Miss, shall we test the waters?"
Marina nodded without objection.
She needed to figure out the situation while occasionally casting glances at Kai. She still hadn't completely let go of her suspicion.
Despite that, judging by his curious expression, it didn't seem like an act. Her wariness eased a bit.
Kai then saw the tall man who had just spoken walk forward and pull something from the backpack slung at his side.
With a few clicks, an object that looked just like the skeleton's arm gear appeared before him.
The skeleton was a bit too far to be sure, but the item right in front of him…
Kai recognized it instantly.
Wasn't that a Duel Disk from Yu-Gi-Oh!?
...
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