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“Ohdo Yuga, I challenge you to a duel!” A smooth but commanding voice spoke, a challenging finger pointed at the young inventor.
Yuga looked at the man with rapt attention. He didn’t know who this man was, or what had possessed him to suddenly challenge Yuga like this. But something about him just seemed to deserve every aspect of his focus.
It was more than just appearance, though the man’s appearance was plenty remarkable. Possessing hair that was shaped almost like a star, black hair accented with solid red and blonde. His eyes of a deep purple, a blue coat slung over his back like a cape to contrast his black shirt and leather pants. And hanging from his neck, a chain-link necklace with what looked to be a solid gold tetrahedron at the bottom, christened with the symbol of an eye. It looked like it was made up of several interlocking pieces, like a puzzle.
Beyond appearance, it felt like this man was deserving of a deep respect. His composure was like that of a champion, someone who had proven himself through countless battles. Yuga didn't think himself the best when it came to reading other people, but that didn't matter here. All of this registered in Yuga’s eyes in just a moment.
“You...you want to duel?” Yuga said, taking in this situation, before his normal confidence adjusted to the surprise. “Alright!”
Yuga raised his arm and his duel disk activated, extending out to 5 monster zones before contracting back to 3 and gaining a hue of red running over it, making his disk resemble the shape of a seven.
“You know that I’m Odho Yuga, huh?” Yuga said, a bit of playfulness in his voice. “Am I that famous already?”
The man gave a short laugh. “I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”
Yuga’s grin widened. “Then what’s the name of my challenger?”
“My name is Atem.” He said. Yuga paused for some heartbeats. For the second time in as many minutes, he felt a significance that he couldn’t quite place.
“Alright then, Atem." he went on. "You’re fine with it being a Rush Duel?”
Atem raised his own duel disk, a standard Goha City model that he had procured for himself. He raised it out in front of him, and it set itself identically to Yuga’s.
“Quite so. I’m not from this city. It took quite a lot of doing to get here, though I won’t spend time on the details. What I will say is, it was hearing about these Rush Duels that drove me to come here.”
“Hey guys, a Rush Duel is happening on this street!” “Ooh, I want to see.” “This is the first one that I get to watch up close!”
Already people were gathering around where the two of them stood on the side walk. Yuga glanced left and right of himself, feeling a bit flattered, but refocused towards his opponent. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of his words.
“You came such a long way, just to play against me with my rules? You’re a big game enthusiast, Mr. Atem.”
“That’s not inaccurate,” he said simply. “I’ve had an interest in finding new games to play for a long time. From the ancient games such as Senet or Mancala. To the modern board games, video games, and card games of today. I want to try my hand at them all.”
“I get it. I’ll give you a new thing to enjoy then,” Yuga said.
“Rush Duel!” They both declared. A blue dome of projected light formed around their perimeter, much like a boxing match needed a ring.
Atem watched as Yuga drew his cards, and then imitated. “So, Rush Duels start with four cards in hand.”
“This is, your very first Rush Duel?” Yuga asked, a touch of surprise in his voice, but also anticipation.
He nodded. “I find the best way to learn something is by doing. Don’t mind me, I’m a fast learner.”
“I understand,” Yuga said. “In that case, I’ll go first. I draw!”
Time seemed to slow down, as Atem watched the young boy take his first turn, summoning a variety of monsters.
There was nothing more enjoyable than trying to master a new game. An array of possibilities rise up before you, too numerous to count. And it’s your task to find the single best path for yourself among those countless possibilities, and use it to seize victory. An exhilarating stimulation.
All the same, Atem did not regret the great deal of time he’d devoted to the singular game of Duel Monsters. For it was a truly great game, the sort that was hard to tire of. In a way, Fighting a strong new opponent was much like trying a new game, just in miniature. And the many strong foes he had met meant it never grew dull. Each opponent was clever enough to find their own way of manifesting their strength through the game, putting their souls on display. Creating a new challenge to test himself against. There were as many ways to play a game as there were people to play them, and for a game with as many different ways of expressing yourself as Duel Monsters, that meant things rarely got old.
This boy Yuga, Atem imagined, had made new rules for the same reason that Atem so vigorously sought new challengers. He never wanted things to grow stale or lose their luster. A strong opponent discovers new possibilities in the game. And creating new rules, meant the game gave each opponent more possibilities to explore. As long as new game players and game makers continued to appear, games would always be enjoyable.
Let Duel Monsters take many forms. In the past, people had praised Atem for his skill, some even calling him the King of Games. And that title held true, because over the course of his career he had played countless games and even created many. And he had proven himself in each one. His title did not mean that he was the king of the particular version of Duel Monsters that Pegasus J. Crawford had popularized. Or even that he was King of Duel Monsters in its entirety.
No, he was the King of Games. All games. His passion was far too great to be limited to only one set of rules. And that was why he had come here, across time and space. Because it was heartening to see someone innovating with the game they loved at such a young age.
Atem looked over the three monsters and two face down cards Yuga had set up before him. This match would be one to remember.
“A good opening field,” Atem said. “I shall do my best to challenge it.”
He placed a hand atop his deck. And he spoke the same words he had spoken thousands of times before. The same words that he had spoken on thousands of different fields.
“My turn. Draw!”