Light flickered. Amid the sky-filling radiance, specks of starlight drifted down as a playful figure holding a staff slowly descended from the air.
She wore a blue-and-pink mage's hat, her long golden hair spilling over her shoulders. With her flawless fair face, slender legs, and mischievous eyes, she evoked an almost pitiable tenderness.
Dark Magician Girl, 6 stars; Spellcaster/Dark ATK: 2000; DEF: 1700 Description: The legendary outstanding disciple of Dark Magician, possessing immeasurable power...
"Chimera, attack Curse of Dragon! Dark Magician Girl, attack Kycōr!"
With two attack commands issued in succession, all the Monster Cards on Sona's field were wiped out.
Her Life Points immediately dropped by 100, leaving her with 3450.
"Very good. You actually reversed a situation that was practically hopeless so easily. Your talent is even greater than I imagined! But I'm not weak either, because I believe in my deck. I believe they will lead me to victory!"
The flames of fighting spirit gradually began to burn in Sona's eyes.
"My turn, draw!"
The moment she saw her hand, Sona's eyes lit up. With a lift of her hand, she set one card in her Monster Zone and another in her Spell and Trap Zone.
"My turn ends!"
"Ends?"
Xiao Wen muttered, his gaze falling on the card Sona had set in her Monster Zone. For some reason, that card gave him a dangerous feeling.
"But I don't have a choice now. If I want to attack Sona, I have to deal with every Monster Card on her field first!"
"My turn, draw!"
Gifts for the Dead.
Seeing the Magic Card in his hand, Xiao Wen's eyes flashed. With this card in hand, victory in this duel was basically assured.
"I activate the Magic Card, Gifts for the Dead. Discard one card to destroy a designated monster on the field. And the monster I'm destroying is your face-down monster!"
Xiao Wen sent a card from his hand to the graveyard. As Gifts for the Dead took effect, pale white bandages flew from the card and coiled toward the face-down card in Sona's Monster Zone.
The bandages wrapped around the face-down monster, and the phantom of a penguin wielding a longsword appeared, its eyes filled with terror.
"That's Penguin Soldier?"
The moment he saw the monster's phantom, the description of that card surfaced in Xiao Wen's mind.
Penguin Soldier was only a two-star monster, and neither its attack nor defense was particularly high. What made it troublesome was not its combat strength, but the effect it could activate.
Penguin Soldier, 2 stars; Aqua/Water ATK: 750; DEF: 500 Description: When this card is Flip Summoned (Flip: a set card is turned face-up), you can return up to two monsters on the field to their owners' hands.
In that instant, Xiao Wen understood Sona's plan.
If he was right, the card set in Sona's back row should have been a defensive Trap Card meant to protect Penguin Soldier.
If he failed to deal with Penguin Soldier this turn, then at the start of the next turn, Penguin Soldier would be Flip Summoned, and Winged Beast Chimera and Dark Magician Girl would both return to his hand.
By then, even if he held high-level Monster Cards, he would have no tributes and be unable to summon them. With no monsters on the field to defend him, he naturally would be no match for Sona.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, he had drawn Gifts for the Dead, a card capable of destroying Penguin Soldier while avoiding its effect.
Standing across from him, Sona let out a helpless sigh and murmured, "Perhaps this is fate."
"Chimera, Dark Magician Girl, attack the opposing player directly!"
Xiao Wen pointed with one hand. Chimera and Dark Magician Girl attacked at the same time, and the massive damage struck Sona, reducing her more than three thousand Life Points to zero.
From beginning to end, the Trap Card in her back row never activated.
No one knew what kind of Trap Card it was, except for her.
"Young duelist, you won this duel. Your rate of growth has already far exceeded my expectations. Perhaps the next time you come, you'll need a stronger opponent." Sona spoke softly.
Xiao Wen smiled and gave a slight bow in respect.
"Come with me. I'll take you to unlock the second stage of the Duel Disk. This time, you must also receive the baptism of divine power together with the Duel Disk and Millennium Puzzle."
"A baptism of divine power?"
Xiao Wen sneered inwardly. Among the entire Blue Star, there was perhaps only one being who could truly be called godlike.
Even he himself was still somewhat inferior to that one.
Following Sona, he arrived before the statues of the Three Phantom Gods at the center of the city.
Although this was his second time seeing the enormous statues of the Three Gods and the inverted triangular pyramid in the sky, the shock in Xiao Wen's heart had not diminished in the slightest.
Sona gazed reverently at the statues of the Three Gods, chanting under her breath.
She spread her five fingers, turned the back of her hand downward, raised her arm above her head, and bowed toward the statues of the Three Phantom Gods.
The moment she knelt, the tranquil ground trembled. An ancient altar rose from beneath the earth, covered in countless intricate words and images of powerful monsters.
"This... this is..."
As Xiao Wen's gaze fell upon those words, he vaguely saw scene after illusory scene unfolding in his mind.
They were monsters raging at the heavens!
Monsters declaring war, monsters fighting with everything they had.
They were the souls of monsters! Their unyielding spirit!
"Step onto it. Only by receiving the baptism of the gods can you be considered a true Heir of Duel City, and only then can you embark on the path every Pharaoh King has walked," Sona said solemnly.
Xiao Wen shrugged and could not help rolling his eyes.
"Is this really necessary? It's just a game, isn't it? Why make it so formal? You're making me feel like I need a sense of ceremony too."
For a brief instant, an absurd thought arose in Xiao Wen's mind.
Perhaps this was not a game, but reality...
But it lasted only a moment before Xiao Wen cast it aside and stepped onto the altar.
The instant Xiao Wen stood upon it, a beam of golden light immediately fell from the tip of the inverted pyramid above, shining upon the Three Phantom Gods.
"Roar!"
"Raaah!"
"Cry!"
Three exceptionally massive figures seemed to emerge from the petrified bodies of the Three Phantom Gods. Their roars entered Xiao Wen's ears, making his soul tremble.
The Millennium Puzzle on his chest seemed to sense the power of the Three Gods as well, erupting with dazzling golden light that reflected against theirs.
When the Millennium Puzzle revealed its power, six illusory golden figures suddenly appeared in the sky.
"These... these are the remaining six Millennium Artifacts."
Sona's mouth fell open, and a strange glint flashed through her eyes.
Ding!
Among the six Millennium Artifacts, the Millennium Eye suddenly burst forth with light, overwhelming the other five Millennium Artifacts before entering Xiao Wen's body.
In the outside world, the room had already been illuminated by dense golden light. The ancient runes that had originally appeared only on Xiao Wen's chest and between his brows began to spread, covering his eyes before vanishing in an instant and returning everything to calm.
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