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Doubt.
A feeling Serena hadn’t experienced so often before traveling to Standard for the first time. The sensation first began to torment her from the moment she witnessed Sora and Shun’s duel in the Battle Royale. It had started slowly, but was now growing like a flame fed by fuel.
Serena had thought she knew a lot about the world, but that was not the case. She must have assumed it; for she knew better than anyone that she had never known even a small part of what the world was really like. Ever since she had found out the truth, Serena decided to dedicate all her efforts to compensating for the damage caused by Academia, whom she had once been so proud of, as much as possible. It was the only way to atone for her sins and those of her former compatriots.
Serena may never be able to fully repent for all the damage Fusion inflicted upon Xyz, and to a lesser extent Standard as well. But she was still going to try her best.
Her efforts began after the war ended and her finally separating from Yuzu’s body. Serena personally apologized to the duelists she had carded when she first arrived in Standard, and also gave her all to rebuild Xyz. Little by little, that anguished, annoying feeling of guilt began to fade away, slowly and quietly. Serena was certain she would never feel it again.
Or so she thought.
It was an entertainment duel like any other held in the Pendulum Dimension — formally known as Standard. Serena had decided to participate because it was a good way to train, due to the physical and mental demands the style of dueling required. Thought it was a day like any other, Serena couldn’t say she wasn’t a little distracted. If she were asked the reason for it, Serena wouldn’t have a clear answer. Maybe she was thinking about the next group project that they would possibly assign her at her new school, or what she was going to do with the free time she had her next weekend. Whatever it was, it made Serena let her guard down and suffer a direct attack from her opponent’s monster, causing her to be abruptly launched to the ground and slightly hurt in the process.
“That attack must have hurt!” The voice of the duel’s narrator brought Serena out of the small trance she had entered due to the attack. “It’s not every day you get to see the Moonlight user fall to the ground like that! How will Serena recover from such a situation?!”
The audience seemed to be more excited than usual, perhaps because they rarely saw Serena have difficulties with any duelist who wasn’t her friends, like her counterparts or Zarc’s.
Being cornered, coupled with the adrenaline flooding her body from the massive assault earlier, made Serena feel… strange. There was even a sense of nostalgia whose source Serena couldn’t discern.
But even without the answer, the duel had to continue.
“My turn!” Serena focused her mind on her next move, completely ignoring the burning sensation in one of her arms. “Draw!”
The adrenaline coursing through every part of her body dulled the pain she felt. It was exhilarating and invigorating; Serena hadn’t felt this way in a long time.
Every attack and move she made was part of an elaborate strategy she devised on the fly. Serena couldn’t waste time making ineffective moves just because one of her arms was injured. If she made an error, she might lose the duel.
After a long time of not doing so, Serena stopped focusing on the audience and instead decided to devote all her attention solely to herself. In her current state, she could injure herself more seriously if she wasn’t careful. She had to finish off her opponent as soon as possible.
And just like that, Serena turned the tide of the duel in her favor after just a few moves. “Moonlight Cat Dancer attacks directly! Full Moon Crest!”
Cat Dancer’s attack was just like always, or so Serena thought, since the moment it connected with her opponent, she could immediately feel that it had been slightly stronger than usual. Her opponent was sent flying through the air because of it, hitting the ground in the same way Serena had moments ago. The feeling of nostalgia she had felt earlier returned. Something about these last two turns seemed to be giving Serena that feeling. She wanted to take a moment to dwell on the reasons why she felt that way, but before doing so, Serena had to make sure her opponent was okay. That last blow seemed to have been a bit painful and dangerous.
Fortunately, her opponent got up from the ground without much trouble. It seemed that while Cat Dancer’s attack had been a bit aggressive, it wasn’t anything serious.
Both duelists smiled at each other as they shook hands in a sign of respect for the other. Then they turned their gazes toward the audience, who were now clapping and cheering after such an exciting and fun duel.
To commemorate Serena reaching the tournament finals, a small celebration was organized at Yuzu’s house. Serena wasn’t too keen on the idea, as she wasn’t a person who liked celebrations in general. Although she believed it was more due to the fact at Academia, celebrations rarely took place that weren’t strictly professional.
Even though Serena didn’t really like the idea of celebrating such a minor event as winning a low-level tournament, she ended up accepting because she felt bad after seeing the sad faces Rin or Ruri sometimes made after turning them down.
“Not to exaggerate, but I have to say, the duel you had today was the best of all the ones you had during the entire tournament. It was exciting from the first turn to the end!” Serena heard Rin say excitedly. “For a second there I thought you were going to lose, but you recovered even with only one card in hand!”
Serena hadn’t said much during dinner, perhaps due to the fatigue that finally settled on her shoulders after all the earlier adrenaline left her body. She would have preferred to rest almost immediately after finishing dinner and taking a cold shower, but she didn’t find the last-minute change of plans unpleasant, either.
Returning to the topic at hand, Serena finally decided to add something to the conversation. “The truth is, my opponent was strong. Not everyone can master two summoning methods as different as Xyz and Synchro in such a way. It was a rather difficult duel, but fun nonetheless.”
While what she said wasn’t a lie and that the opponent she faced was relatively strong compared to the average Pendulum duelist, Serena also believed she could have done much better. Her lack of complete concentration near the end of the duel caused her to make a mistake that opened a gap in her established field, leaving her vulnerable to a direct attack of the magnitude she had received today.
“Although I have to admit, the three of us were scared to see you lying on the ground after receiving a blow as strong as the one you got,” Rin mentioned, trying not to make her concern seem to obvious. “It hurt a little, huh?”
Without even thinking about it much, Serena answered. “It did, but I think the adrenaline made it less painful than it actually was. Besides, nothing compares to the duels we had back in Academia.”
It was perhaps then that Serena’s mind finally managed to decipher where that feeling of nostalgia she had during the duel came from. Since the end of the war, entertainment duels were the primary method for bringing duelists from different dimensions together. Little by little, other styles of dueling have added to the drama they entailed, alongside the pre-existing ability to grab Action Cards for the chance to make a comeback if things went wrong.
The public loved entertainment duels, especially since Yusho returned to Standard and Yuya was crowned champion after defeating his father. Entertainment was a great way to make the crowd smile. It was necessary after suffering through a war that brought so much despair and anguish, and had become common in other dimensions because of the joy it brought. Duelists gave their all to make the crowd smile while fostering the bond between duelists and monsters, thanks to Solid Vision. It was perfect; it didn’t hurt anyone, and everyone had a great time.
So… why did Serena feel like there was something wrong with it?
She didn’t mind the idea of making the crowd smile. The fact that she still fondly remembered the duel she had against Yugo during the Friendship Cup in Synchro was proof of that. A great weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she first heard the crowd cheering for her, even after losing that duel.
A duel that everyone enjoyed couldn’t be bad. Things should have been that way, after all. The war ended thanks to duels like those. But…
Serena unconsciously placed her left hand on her opposite arm, touching the area where she had injured herself. The sensation of her own skin pressing against the wound made her shudder slightly. The pain had almost disappeared after applying some basic treatment, but it would come back if Serena concentrated on it a little.
The memory of that moment, when her arm radiated excruciating pain after the rival monster’s attack, made Serena’s heart race. If she closed her eyes for a moment, she could recall the feeling of euphoria and energy she felt at that instant, caused by the release of endorphins and adrenaline her body released to soothe the pain and fatigue — which ultimately allowed Serena to finish the duel without any major complications.
Was it wrong to enjoy that feeling? To enjoy how challenging it was to stay on her feet despite her injuries? To feel pride at having won a duel that might have been considered life or death in a different context?
“Serena? Are you okay?”
Yuzu’s voice broke Serena’s train of thought.
“You seem a little out of it,” she added with concern. “Are you sure that attack wasn’t serious? It seemed a bit strong…”
Yuzu’s concern made Serena scold herself for even thinking that enjoying such a moment was a good thing. Ordinary people did not want to go through situations like that; they preferred to live in peace. They weren’t soldiers who would enjoy something as barbaric as a duel like that.
Serena did her best to give her friends a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. It really wasn’t a big deal. You don’t need to worry about me,” she said, almost automatically. She was about to continue until Yuzu spoke again.
“To be honest, seeing such a brutal attack gave me a bad feeling…” Silence fell over the kitchen where the four girls were. None of them could say anything about it, as if continuing to talk might revive something forbidden. “B-But it’s probably just me,” Yuzu finished with a bit of uncertainty, making it clear that she didn’t want to continue the conversation.
Serena was starting to feel a little bad. If only she hadn’t been distracted during the duel, her friends probably wouldn’t be worried right now. Sometimes she felt that her own actions caused the group to argue, or at least, to feel tense and uncomfortable. Being the most inexperienced member in many areas sometimes caused misunderstandings or awkward situations. Of course, they were easily resolved after talking it out. Still, Serena couldn’t help but feel guilty about it.
She didn’t want her friends to start worrying about her. It wasn’t fair after all the trouble Serena caused them even before they had met.
It was almost ridiculous how so many things seemed to be her fault.
Sometimes Serena thought about the past, about what she could have done better and what her mistakes were, as well as the consequences of those mistakes. If she hadn’t gone to Standard alone, many of the students in the Xyz course at LDS would not have been carded by her. Nor would the Battle Royale have being the way that it was, forcing Yuya and Yuzu to separate, indirectly cause Yuzu to be dragged into Synchro and—
So many things went wrong because of her recklessness and her desire for Akaba Leo’s approval. Because of her, so much could have been avoided. Maybe, just maybe, if Serena had chosen to be less impulsive, they could have found an effective solution to the problem at hand. Or if she had simply considered that her actions would affect someone in the future.
She had been so self-centered that by the time she finally stopped being so, it was too late.
Serena would have saved the others a lot of trouble.
That feeling of guilt she tried to forget haunted her again. Was it really fair that she received no punishment for her past mistakes?
Serena never received any punishment for hurting the students of LDS. Reiji and the affected seemed to forgive her easily, or at best, forget it even happened. Why was it that people didn’t look at her with contempt? Was it because Serena had the same face as her counterparts, and that gave her the opportunity to evade responsibility for her actions? Even after all the mistakes she had made, everyone allowed her to enjoy the freedom that Akaba Leo always prevented her from having.
Trying to get rid of the lingering bad taste in her mouth, Serena decided to change the subject completely, hoping it would distract her mind.
“Speaking of, I heard Yuto say there’s a tag duel being organized in Heartland. What if we signed up? It seems like a good opportunity to test out the new strategies we came up with for our decks. Maybe we can finally get that long-awaited rematch with Yuya and Yuri.”
The topic was good enough to slightly shift the mood, or at least it seemed that way. “Ugh, I forgot how terribly we did that time…” Yuzu said, a bit defeated. “Our decks may both be Fusion based, but their synergy is practically nonexistent.” Even though she sounded dejected at the memory, Yuzu quickly snapped out of it and, with renewed vigor, cheered up. “But I’m confident this time will be different!”
The four of them then decided to discuss more trivial matters, finally setting aside the initial topic of today’s duel. The atmosphere was calmer compared to just a few seconds ago due to the soft laughter that echoed through the room.
With it, Serena was finally able to try to ignore the feeling of guilt that was beginning to flare up again.
Days had already passed since that tournament took place. Being completely honest with herself, Serena thought that the desire to have another duel like that would disappear as time went by. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The more she denied her own feelings, the stronger thoughts like "maybe a duel like that isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be" or "maybe they’ll understand" became, and consequently, Serena began to doubt herself even more.
Currently, she and Yuzu were in a tag duel against Yuri and Yuya. Both teams were evenly matched, but the boys were the center of attention due to Yuya’s natural ability to draw the crowd’s attention to him.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Now, relinquishing the reins of this duel, I grant my dear partner the spotlight,” Yuya proclaimed to the stands, where the audience was gathered. He was the star of the show; his fighting style screamed Look at me, I’m here! And even when it didn’t, everyone, including the monsters, turned to look at him. “Come on Yuri, show the audience what we’re made of!”
Yuri, however, was different.
He was a duelist who put his own enjoyment before that of others. He didn’t care about the audience, because they contributed nothing to his own entertainment. There was no doubt among Yuri’s acquaintances that his fighting style was the closest thing to the old Academia’s dueling style that existed today.
Something inside Serena began to boil with rage. Perhaps it was jealousy, or some other feeling she couldn’t put into words. Whatever it was, she had to stop paying attention to it.
Yuri’s turn began, and Serena and Yuzu spread out across the battlefield in search of an Action Card that could benefit them. Seeing this, their opponents also began searching for one that could benefit themselves.
Serena and Yuri were in the same vicinity, while Yuya and Yuzu were on the side opposite from them. She searched for cards that might have helped her, but it was difficult when she had Yuri in front of her, who, of course, continued with his turn as if this little confrontation wasn’t a big deal to him.
Neither of them said anything to the other, because there was no need to speak a single word.
A duel was not just a battle — it was also a form of communication between two duelists. Even if they didn’t speak directly, their actions and monsters spoke for them. Yuri and Serena were duelists who, above all, used duels to express their feelings and desires. They had so much to say to each other, so many feelings and desires to share, but they were terrible at expressing them verbally. That was why the moment they both found an Action Card, they fought over it using the holographic blades of their duel disks. From a different perspective, it was as if they were swords that the two of them used to fight against the other.
No words came out of their mouths, except for a few grunts that betrayed the physical effort they made to push each other away. While the difficulty in applying force on her injured arm shone through on Serena’s face, Yuri wore an expression of happiness and satisfaction. Whether it was because of the advantage he seemed to have over her or his enjoyment at being her current opponent, Serena did not know.
Their respective partners were currently irrelevant. Their monsters were the very same. And far less important than them all was the audience currently watching them. All the two of them could see were each other’s expressions, because that was all that mattered to them in that precise moment.
Serena hated herself for enjoying a moment like this. She should have been putting on a show that brought smiles and joy to the audience, but instead she was fighting just like how a soldier would on the battlefield.
She wanted to win. She had to win. Not only to finally defeat her proclaimed rival in a duel, but so she could prove something.
Above all, Serena wanted to prove to herself that a duel that made everyone smile was the right path, even if what she was doing now wasn’t fulfilling that. It was because of Yuri — being with him ignited Serena’s guilt and expanded it uncontrollably like a forest fire. She hated feeling this way, with her selfish impulses resurfacing from the dark well she buried them in.
When she was with him, Serena believed she could sometimes allow herself to be selfish.
Yuri was the only one who saw her for who she truly was. He did not see the faces of other girls, but just her. Serena. That was why she wanted this so much — wanted with all her heart that every moment she spent with Yuri would never end. She wanted to be by his side as much as he’d allow her to be.
Their fight might have seemed savage to others, but for the two of them, it was a moment in which they could be themselves without fear of hurting the other because they knew how strong their opponent was. Before Serena realized it, she began to mirror Yuri’s smile with one of her own. She finally understood that Yuri was smiling because he was enjoying their duel, it was a moment that neither of them wanted to end; their duelist souls were currently resonating with each other, just as they were speaking to each other.
And it was at this moment that for a split second, Serena thought she heard someone in the audience comment on how terrifying the two of them were acting. Whether this voice was real or a figment of Serena’s imagination, it caused her to lose the connection she had with Yuri.
The smile she had been wearing vanished immediately. A flood of memories consumed Serena. Guilt told her she couldn’t allow herself to enjoy a type of dueling that had once harmed thousands of people.
And so, using all her strength, Serena finally triumphed against Yuri and pushed him out of her path, allowing her to grab the Action Card. She hadn’t even known its effect while they were fighting over it, so she used now to read it as Yuri recovered.
“This is…” Serena murmured, a little bewildered. Her expression was one of disbelief, as if she couldn’t quite accept what she was reading. It was difficult to describe all the thoughts and feelings she was experiencing at that very moment.
Yuri remained quiet and still, observing Serena’s unusual behavior. He seemed to be trying to decipher what she was thinking, before realizing he must seize this opportunity to continue his turn. “Starving Venom Fusion Dragon attacks Moonlight Cat Dancer!”
Upon his declaration of battle, Serena decided to stop hesitating and quickly used the Action Card she had been reading just moments before. “I activate an Action Card! New Action Role!” The card’s enlarged image appeared beside her and her monster, allowing the audience and Yuri to read its effect. “This card allows me to declare the name of a monster; then I can have Moonlight Dancer take on the name of the monster I declare until the end of this turn!”
With the biggest smile Serena could muster, she continued. “The name I declare is…” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to forget the feeling of amusement she had just seconds before. “Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra!” Upon declaring Mozart’s name, Serena’s monster performed a dramatic spin, and upon stopping, appeared with the exact visage of Yuzu’s ace monster.
The audience erupted in cheers of excitement and disbelief at such a move. “Changing Cat Dancer’s name? Quite an unusual move from Serena!” the duel narrator commented. “Does that even help her in her current predicament?!”
Yuya and Yuzu, who had been on the other side of the stadium trying to get an Action Card on their own, now stared at Serena. They were both amazed at her and wondered what might happen next.
Serena opened her eyes again, meeting Yuri’s gaze once more. Before, she could see the happiness in his eyes. Now all she could see was disappointment.
Likewise, both their monsters stared at each other. They may not have been able to speak, but the looks they exchanged was enough to say a million words. Cat Dancer, who was now wearing Prodigy Mozart’s costume, looked sad despite the happy expression on her face. She wasn’t a musical artist, but a dancer who enjoyed it for her own entertainment. Yet now she was being forced into a role that wasn’t her own.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” The spotlight was now on Serena who struck a dramatic pose, similar to the ones Yuya and Yuzu used when they wanted to grab the audience’s attention. “The fun has just begun!”
Her voice was full of drama and enjoyment. She wanted to connect with the audience, and to do that, she had to perform her role as best she could, even though Serena hated the feeling of dissatisfaction she was experiencing right now, the show had to go on.
“Thanks to Cat Dancer now being a Melodious monster, my partner can help me with my recital!” Serena looked to Yuzu, hoping her partner understood what she meant.
Luckily, despite her confusion, Yuzu seemed to quickly grasp what she needed to do. “Melodious Choir Duo!” they said at the same time the face-down card lying on Yuzu’s side of the field was revealed.
Finally getting in tune with Serena, Yuzu began to explain the effect of her trap card. “Our trap can only be activated when our opponent declares an attack and the only monsters on our field are Melodious monsters.” She paused briefly, then gestured to the monster beside her. “On our field, we have Bloom Prima The Melodious Choir…”
At this, said monster took a step to the center of the stage and gave a slight bow to the audience.
"And Prodigy Mozart the Melodious Maestra!" Said Serena.
Now it was Prodigy Mozart turn to took a step to the center of the stage, taking place at the side of Bloom Prima.
Now that both their monsters were at the center of attention, Yuzu spoke again. “And if the original attack points of all monsters on our opponent’s field is lower than the current attack of our monsters…”
“The opponent takes damage equal to the difference!” Serena finished. “Beautiful Choir Duo!”
The only monsters on Yuya and Yuri’s field were Entermate Discover Hippo and Starving Venom, which together totaled 3600 attack points. While on Serena and Yuzu’s field, their Bloom Prima and Prodigy Mozart’s attack came to a total of 5200. The boys would take 1600 effect damage — enough to wipe out their life points.
Yuya looked terrified after doing the math in his head, and seemed to lament having summoned Discover Hippo on his last turn. However, despite his nervousness, Yuya decided to search for an Action Card in the hopes that he’d find something that could save his team from the effect damage.
“Yuri!” Yuya signaled for him to start looking as well.
“Tsk…!” Unlike Yuya who seemed excited despite their precarious situation, Yuri appeared more annoyed than anything else.
Faced with this move from their opponents, Serena and Yuzu began to move in opposite directions, hoping to disrupt Yuri and Yuya’s strategy. At the same time, the two Melodious monsters on the field began to sing an elegant and harmonious song that seemed to please the audience who they were growing increasingly excited as they saw that the female team was about to win.
Yuya had found an Action Card nearby him on the floor, but Serena arrived first and grabbed it before he could. She immediately showed him what it was.
Unfortunately for Yuya, it was Miracle. Even if he had managed to grab it, the card wouldn’t have done him much good. Meanwhile, Yuri had suffered the same fate as his Standard counterpart, as Yuzu used her harisen to create a small gust of wind that sent the Action Card he was about grab flying.
With neither of them able to do anything to avoid the effect damage, the song of both Melodious monsters ended, with their life points finally dropped to zero, giving Serena and Yuzu victory over the duel.
Serena’s heart was racing. Everything around her seemed unreal at that precise moment. The audience was euphoric — not only because of the spectacle they had all put on, but also because of the amazing strategy they had managed to devise in such a short time.
In addition, after so many duels and so much effort, Serena was finally able to defeat Yuri. She had never managed to beat him even once before. This moment was one Serena had dreamed of for a long time, so she thought she could finally feel a weight lifted from her shoulders.
But… she felt nothing.
Seconds later, Serena started to feel a sensation of emptiness and disappointment. Something she only felt when she performed terribly in a duel.
She didn’t understand it. Why? Why wasn’t she happy about having beaten Yuri? Was it because she had done it with Yuzu’s help? Or was it perhaps because this wasn’t the scenario in which Serena thought she would defeat him?
No matter how many questions she asked herself, none of them seemed to be the correct one.
She made her best effort to avoid looking at Yuri after that.
Serena was leaving the venue where the tag duel took place. She was alone this time because Yuzu and Yuya had been surrounded by a crowd of fans eager to get their autographs.
Walking the streets of Heartland at night was calming in some way for Serena. Perhaps because it was the only way she could see firsthand all the efforts she and the Lancers had made to rebuild the city. They weren’t exactly pleasant memories, but at least they made her feel a little better about herself, and—
“You.” A familiar voice sounded behind Serena. “We need to talk.”
The tone indicated impatience, but also a certain degree of anger and disappointment.
Slowly Serena turned around, already knowing who wished to speak with her.
“Yuri…”
The name came out on its own without warning, and was laced with profound disappointment. It wasn’t disappointment directed at him, but rather at herself.
What followed was a silent exchange of glances, where they stared at each other without saying a single word.
“…What do you want to talk about?” Serena finally asked, even though she knew perfectly well what Yuri wanted from her.
At the question, the anger in Yuri’s expression worsened, now much stronger than it had been initially. “I don’t think I even need to say it, do I?”
“Of course,” Serena responded. “Sorry.” That was all she could manage to say.
“I don’t want your apologies,” he said. “I just want an explanation.” Yuri began to walk slowly but silently, as if the ground he stood upon was made of glass and one misstep could break it. He was angry; that much was clear. But even if Yuri appeared mad about the situation, his disappointment overshadowed any other sentiment. “What was that back there?” was the next thing Yuri said, this time in a tone that only Serena could understand as pain.
She knew what it was. It was obvious what he was referring to.
“It’s just that, I—” Serena struggled to put into words what she felt at that moment, because even though Yuri could understand her, it was simply ridiculous. She knew how ridiculous it was to want to please others. But she felt that if she said it out loud, something bad was going to happen. Even though that wasn’t the case at all.
“You wanted to please the audience, didn’t you?” Yuri said, knowing perfectly well what Serena meant. “I could feel it. Your actions spoke for themselves.” He continued taking slow, steady steps, until he was finally just centimeters from Serena’s face. They were so close that there was no need to even speak aloud. “You know, that reminds me of someone.” Yuri continued, this time whispering in Serena’s ear. “Someone we both know very well.”
Well, now she was lost. She genuinely didn’t understand what Yuri was saying now. “Of who?” Serena asked hesitantly, fearing the answer.
Yuri smiled. He replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Zarc, of course.”
“…What?” was the sole thing that left Serena’s mouth.
Yuri tilted his head slightly, creating a little distance between them. “Can’t you see?” he said innocently, as if that were truly his intention.
Serena’s breathing began to quicken. Her heart began to pound wildly and uncontrollably. At the same way, her mind began to piece together the threads scattered about. She could feel it; a distant yet familiar sentiment was starting to take form.
Memories that were not her own, but at the same time, were.
Serena raised her hands, now trembling with fear. She stared at them for a few seconds, just to confirm that they were truly hers and not someone else’s.
At first, everything was normal. Then Serena closed her eyes only to open them again, and suddenly it was not. Now, they were the hands of someone she once was.
She herself was now Ray, watching a duel in that dimension that once existed many years ago.
Her hands were trembling because she was afraid of what she was witnessing. Zarc, the current world champion, was putting on a show that the audience craved and adored.
“Do you want more?!” the duelist shouted. “I want to hear you! I want to hear your voices!”
The audience, and even the monsters themselves, screamed with excitement. Because this was what they wanted. This was what they craved most; a duel where someone would give them everything that they desired.
“No!” Ray — Serena? — screamed in despair and terror.
The sensation vanished as if it had all been from a dream, and Serena finally returned to reality. Reality in where she was still Serena, and not Ray.
Yuri smiled with satisfaction, because he knew he was right.
“No? What makes you say no?” Yuri asked anew, this time without a trace of innocence. “You ignored your true desires… just to please the audience.”
Serena was starting to sweat from nerves. Her whole body was on alert. “I didn’t do that” she insisted, though it seemed like she was saying it more to herself than to Yuri.
He sighed, a bit disappointed that she couldn’t accept the truth. “Do you want to be like Zarc, Serena?” Carefully he moved closer to her again, closing the small distance left between them. “Someone who pleases others?”
“No!” Serena screamed again. She turned in terror towards Yuri, this time standing even closer to him. “I’m not like that!”
Once again, Serena was transported back to that memory, foreign yet close to her. She was no longer watching the show now and instead, she was on a stage.
Alone.
The audience shouted, demanding she give them what they want. Suddenly, the lights went out and then came back on, revealing Cat Dancer beside her. But she appeared different that usual. Everything that made her who she was seemed to have vanished.
“This isn’t right!’ The words escaped Serena, and she noticed her voice was a little deeper, as if she had aged a few years. “The most important thing in a duel is to be true to yourself!”
“But how can the majority be wrong?” A voice sounded behind Serena, drawing ever closer. It may have sounded familiar, but was a few years older than Serena remembered. “Listen to them and tell me, what do you think?”
“I think this is wrong!” she responded, furious. “Just because it’s the norm doesn’t mean it’s right!” Ray exclaimed.
“Then you understand, Serena.”
The voice that had been speaking to her was now back to its usual self. The hallucination ended abruptly yet again, releasing Serena but not abandoning her fully.
“At a certain point, you stopped enjoying your own way of fighting,” Yuri continued. “And instead you started constantly thinking things like ‘What will they say about me?’ or ‘How can I make them happy?’”
Serena usually liked how much Yuri seemed to understand her, but at this moment, she hated with all her heart how easily he could read her. It was starting to hurt. She wanted to scream at Yuri that what he was saying was a lie. That it was all made up by him.
But she couldn’t.
Instead, Serena’s legs stopped working, and she let gravity pull her down.
She thought she would fall to the cold ground, but something stopped her before she could.
“After so long, you finally got what you always wanted. The freedom you craved so much. But you don’t feel worthy of it,” Yuri whispered in her Serena’s ear again, now carrying her so she would not touch the ground. “I know it well, because I feel the same way.”
Serena couldn’t hear the last thing Yuri said, because all the physical and mental exhaustion she had been carrying for days made her collapse into his arms.
“I don’t hate you for it.” Yuri’s grip tightened, trying to protect her. “I could never do that.”
Unconsciously, Serena extended her arms, as if embracing Yuri were something commonplace between them.
They both stayed in that position for a long time, not caring a bit what anyone else might have thought.