For a while, Lyman truly thought he was already dead.
He felt himself falling, endlessly falling, as if sinking into the deep sea. Darkness surrounded him from all directions, the crushing pressure making it impossible to breathe. He kept sinking, deeper and deeper, until he reached the very bottom, unable to draw a single breath.
So this is what death feels like, he sighed inwardly.
But just as he accepted this fate, drifting ever deeper toward hell, he suddenly felt the process halt. It was as if some invisible force grabbed him, stopping his descent and pulling his consciousness rapidly upward without allowing any argument.
"Meow~"
That was the sensation of a cat licking his cheek.
Lyman groggily opened his eyes, and as his vision refocused, he saw the Fat Pharaoh Cat right in front of him. The chubby cat licked his cheek, then rubbed its soft furry head against him.
"Pharaoh?"
Lyman forced his body to sit up with some effort, looking around in confusion.
"I'm still alive?"
A shabby room, all sorts of alchemical equipment covered with white cloth. He was lying on a filthy, old table, and the ceiling was full of spider webs.
Turning his head for a closer look, he saw Kira adjusting an alchemy device he had just started up.
Noticing Lyman had woken up, Kira turned and smiled at him.
"Sorry, professor. Looks like it's a bit too early for your exit from the stage."
Lyman got up helplessly.
"Used alchemy to bring me back, huh? Guess your alchemy classes weren't a waste. You're probably the most successful student I've ever taught—even if it's pretty meaningless now."
He coughed a bit, then stood upright.
"The problem is with this body. You saw what happened to my last body—this one has reached the end of its lifespan.
Even if you saved me this time, I'll only last a few more days at most."
"I feel a bit bad saying this," Kira said, "but in these last days, can I ask you for a small favor, professor?"
Lyman squinted even tighter, lazily stroking the cat.
"So in the end, there's still something you need your professor for. I'll say this up front: I'm almost done for. I'll help where I can, but there's not much I can do in my state."
"It's fine, it's nothing strenuous." Kira smiled. "If my intel is correct, next week is the next meeting of the Shadow Riders, right?"
"You know your stuff." Lyman nodded. "So what do you need me to do?"
"Not much," Kira said. "Just hoping to settle things during that meeting. If you could be there to say a few words, that would help.
After all, even among the Shadow Riders, you're the chairman's most trusted person, right?"
"I can do that, but what do you need me to say?" Lyman asked. "Like I said, the current chairman is very different from before.
He doesn't meet with anyone now. Even next week, he won't show up in person."
"It's fine, I have a plan," Kira answered with a smile.
"Alright, I'll go along with your arrangements."
Lyman shrugged. Then he glanced at his duel disk and deck, which had been tossed to the side.
Thinking for a moment, he asked, "But that's for next week. Nothing else before then, right?"
"Nope," Kira replied. "Professor, whether you want to return to the academy or keep laying low is up to you. I won't tell anyone."
"I should thank you for that."
Lyman smiled, bent down to pick up his duel disk, and strapped it back on.
"Still wants to take action?"
"Yeah. There are still a few students I can't quite let go of." He smiled gently, "In my final days, let me give them one last lesson."
…
Evening.
The setting sun poured like molten gold over the vast, endless sea, dyeing the horizon and the waves a brilliant orange-red. A massive passenger ship moved slowly through this magnificent painting, leaving a long wake behind.
This was the ferry returning to Duel Academy.
Joey sat in the ferry's dining hall, slumped over the table staring at his communication device. On the other end of the screen was his recently-made friend, Jaden.
Joey scratched his head.
"Sorry I'm two days late... Sigh, it's all Mai's fault, that girl's a handful—she beat me out for two days straight! But it's fine, I'm already on my way back. We'll start raiding tonight when I get back."
But just as he was saying this, the image started to distort. Jaden's figure on the screen flickered and glitched.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Is this thing still on?"
Joey shook the KC-branded device vigorously.
But shaking it only made things worse. The screen cut out completely, displaying a big "No Signal."
"What the hell? Stuff made by Kaiba Corp isn't all that, huh."
Joey muttered.
Maybe he'd just entered a dead zone.
He thought so, standing up. There was about an hour left in the journey, so he decided to go back to his room for a nap.
But halfway back, he noticed something was wrong.
Where was everyone?
The large dining hall was now completely empty without him noticing.
It was right around meal time, and he was sure he wasn't the only person on this ship.
Even if all the other passengers were in their rooms, where had the staff gone?
He was sure there was at least a waiter standing at the door when he came in. There should've been staff coming and going in the dining hall, and a chef behind one of the windows.
But now the entire dining hall was deserted—not a soul in sight.
Joey was no longer the reckless rookie he once was.
Well, maybe still a bit reckless, but at least no longer a rookie. He'd been through plenty of battles, even faced world-ending monsters like Orichalcos' serpent and the Great Evil God. He'd built up some resistance to bizarre phenomena.
After circling the ship and confirming he seemed to be the only person left, he realized someone was messing with him, and instead of panicking, he calmed down.
"If you're here to pick a fight with Joey the Great, stop hiding and come out already," Joey called out. "Come at me directly."
As soon as he finished, just a few seconds later, someone answered.
"Heh, as expected of the legendary duelist. You're not even a little flustered under these circumstances."
Joey turned and saw a silver-haired woman behind him. Her features were somewhat Western, but her face was cold as if covered in frost.
"You shouldn't have returned to this world, Joey."