Tongshiyi City, within a mountain forest.
Sunlight struggles to pierce through the dense canopy, casting mottled shadows on the ground like a mysterious veil. The forest path, interwoven with light and shadow, is silent as an unruly tangle of undergrowth grows.
From afar, it appears to be nothing more than a chaotic mass of wild grass. But if you push aside the messy thicket and venture inward, you might discover a subtle, hidden gap. The surrounding weeds grow wildly, nearly consuming it entirely.
The gap just barely allows one person to pass. Entering the cave, the space ahead suddenly turns dim and narrow; the cave walls are moistened with droplets of water reflecting faint light, and the ground is slick with scattered pebbles, requiring cautious steps.
And deep within such a narrow and damp cave, there shines the flame of a candle.
A woman faces away from the cave entrance, extending an elegant hand from beneath the wide sleeve of her kimono to light a candle. Two men, masked like ninjas, kneel on one knee behind her.
"I see."
The woman quietly speaks.
"So that's what my brother said. It seems it's time to deal with Revolver. If he disrupts the workings of the association, that would be troublesome."
"Yes, that's what Lord Saio means," said the man kneeling on the ground.
The woman nodded, slowly turned around. Her features were precise and refined, so beautiful that it was rare, yet under the candlelight turning pale as snow, giving an eerie, terrifying aura.
Her name is Saio Mizuchi, the biological younger sister of Takuma Saiou.
"Alright." She nodded, "But Revolver has been quite renowned recently, several famed duelists have fallen at his hands. Even the association's elite, the ordinary ones may not be his match.
So, Hyoumaru, Raimaru, it shall be you two to take on this task."
The two masked men exchanged a glance.
"What's wrong, is there a problem?" Mizuchi asked.
"No..."
Hyoumaru bowed his head.
"But Lady Mizuchi, forgive my directness. I believe that the opponent is merely a gang leader. This level of task I can handle alone."
Raimaru chuckled, "That's precisely what I was about to say. Send me alone, Lady Mizuchi. As one blessed by the light, I won't disappoint you, nor Lord Saio."
Yet Mizuchi simply shook her head.
"No need to argue, both of you will go together, my decision is made."
"Understood."
The two men didn't dare to delay further, took their orders, and retreated from the cave.
Mizuchi gazed at the direction where her confidants left, let out a gentle sigh.
"Revolver, what manner of man is he? Could he be the crucial chance to shake my brother's fate?"
"Or is he...?"
...
...
Yugen, now Revolver, followed the ladder downward, arriving in the dark sewer space.
This is the sewage system of Tongshiyi City.
He recalled hearing before that cities are places filled with superstitions.
It seems no matter the country, in any corner of the world, there are such stories. Generations have departed their ancestral homes, leaving towns where they were born, just to seek refuge within immense mazes of glass and steel, shrouded in darkness and indifferent lights.
Such are cities, especially ones like Tongshiyi, imbued with legendary stories. People prefer to believe that this magical land birthed the supreme legends of the Dueling Realm, and such tales persist about the terrifying beings this place birthed many years ago.
And some organizations, with ulterior motives, love using such psychology to cloak themselves in mystery.
Such as today's "Light Association."
When Keihei mentioned this name, naturally, Yugen immediately had guesses. This is the organization of Takuma Saiou from the anime, or more precisely, the Light of Destruction.
The Light of Destruction is the ultimate BOSS behind the entirety of GX, only it never appeared until the conclusion. It is a wave of evil light fluctuating to destroy the cosmos; no one knows its exact strength.
But what's certain is, as the second-year BOSS, Takuma Saiou was merely a vanguard group possessed by the Light of Destruction. The Otherworldly Dimension Chapter maintained Yubel as the only undefeated BOSS in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, influenced by cosmic fluctuations of the Light of Destruction, amplifying the darkness inside, hence twisted into such a form.
The Light Association was created by Takuma Saiou possessed by the Light of Destruction. As the second-year storyline progressed, Saio personally settled at Duel Academy, developing the association's power within the Academy. He established the White Dorm, recruiting Judai's companions individually into White Dorm, becoming his forces.
But that's all Yugen remembers about the Light Association.
Yet, what he recently heard from Keihei says that circulating rumors assert this to be a transcending time, epoch-crossing organization. They have existed unknown years to spy on this world from the shadows.
Now their followers have begun acting, to deliver the world's baptism of light.
If Yugen heard this, he would be amused.
Have you stolen Doma's script or what?
How come there are so many organizations spying on the world from the shadows?
Although many seem to enjoy doing so. Giving oneself or one's organization an enduring historical background, then forge some evidence, or simply attribute ancient deeds to oneself, to prove the reliability of that narrative.
Yugen suddenly felt he might learn this trick too. Give the Leader Revolver an ancient deity background, then claim Hanuo Knight is also a deeply rooted and historically profound organization...
Boom!
Explosion sounds.
The tunnel suddenly collapsed. Yugen looked around and found falling rocks crashing from both front and back, blocking both sides, rendering passage impossible.
A trap, then.
Yugen understood.
The intel said there is a Light Association hideout down here. Though he came with hopes of perhaps directly encountering Saio, he also considered it might be a trap.
Of course, not that he minded even if it were a trap.
In the end, dueling is inevitable anyway, worst case scenario is defeating the person behind the trap to question, gaining another clue.
What surprised him somewhat was the fact that appearing to block him in the center of the tunnel, like Door Gods, were two imposing figures, one blue and one white. Giant-like and robust, exuding regal power, seemingly combining icy blasts with flashing electric light.
Two materialized elves.
But what astonished Yugen was not the manifestation of elves, but these two elves themselves.
He's far too familiar with these.
Mobius the Frost Monarch!
Thunder Emperor Zaborger!