Millennium Puzzle

Millennium Puzzle.

This should have been the final puzzle piece that made up the elements of her transmigration.

*There was definitely something seriously wrong with that Millennium Puzzle, which was obviously no ordinary toy.

After receiving that pile of unexplained pieces, I had assembled it naturally without giving it any thought at all.

I remember that guy saying he had spent a month trying to put it together after getting home without making any progress, while I had only taken... eight minutes.*

Her conversation with her childhood friend and scene after scene of assembling the puzzle flashed through her mind. Thanks to this body, her memories were as clear and detailed as high-definition films.

*I hadn't noticed anything strange at the time. There were dozens of irregular pieces without even an instruction manual, yet I hadn't made a single mistake.

Looking at it now, the Millennium Puzzle—or something else—must have actively guided me through the assembly.*

With that thought, Golden Phantom Spirit sank her consciousness into her body once more.

This time, at her deliberate summons, the golden Millennium Puzzle indeed emerged from the depths of her soul.

With a thought, she materialized it before her chest. Golden Phantom Spirit held the inverted pyramid-shaped puzzle that had appeared from thin air in both hands and examined it carefully.

Hmm... Its size, proportions, colors, and details were exactly the same as in the anime. Though it had the texture of gold, it was not overly heavy in her hands. There were no casting marks on any of its four sides, and the entire puzzle seemed to have formed naturally.

The only anomaly was the Eye of Horus on the front of the puzzle. The center of its pupil was pitch-black, like an abyss.

I remember the center of the pupil being gold back then.

Without much hesitation, she closed her eyes again and sent her consciousness inside, having already developed a habit of doing so.

"Ding~"

A faint flash of light passed before her eyes, and Golden Phantom Spirit opened them again.

The sight before her did not surprise her. It was identical to the scene from the anime—countless doors and chaotic, inverted staircases interconnected, together forming the strange space within the puzzle.

She placed her hand on the handle of the door directly before her. It was the only white door here; all the others were an icy black.

The moment she grasped the handle, Golden Phantom Spirit sensed that this was her own "mind room."

With a light push, the door opened.

There was nothing inside. There was no nameless Pharaoh, nor was there a Shadi wandering around with two Millennium Items. There was only a pure white space stretching as far as the eye could see.

The space was filled with a gentle white light, rather similar to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball.

I wonder whether I can bring things from outside in here. If so, it could serve as a portable storage space. The golden figure stood amid the pure white as she thought this.

As her "mind room," she had known the moment she stepped inside that there was nothing else here. Thus, she gave up on exploring it further. Rather than lingering, she exited the room directly and headed toward the other black doors.

There were many black doors. The closest one was atop a staircase to her left.

The blackness covering its surface was incredibly dense, without the slightest reflection. From a distance, it seemed as though it would stain the stairs below it.

Suppressing the faint unease in her heart, Golden Phantom Spirit climbed the steps steadily, one at a time, walking toward that abyss-like door.

Yet when she drew closer, she realized that the blackness was not the door's actual color, as she had imagined, but a layer of pitch-black, mist-like substance.

This unknown mist, like darkness made tangible, clung tightly to the door and instinctively made one want to stay away.

Ignoring the black substance, Golden Phantom Spirit placed her hand on the handle, intending to open the door as she had before.

But this time, she felt unprecedented resistance. The black mist had sealed the door shut.

Left with no choice, she could only circulate the divine power in her body and attempt to disperse the black mist.

Golden flames rose from her hand and spread over her forearm, slightly driving back the darkness around the handle.

It worked, but the effect was not obvious, and the consumption was immense. Although the black mist was not particularly aggressive, it was frighteningly tenacious.

Just as the power within her was nearly exhausted and she was about to give up, a faint glimmer shone through from behind the door—she had finally pushed it open by a crack.

As that crack was far too narrow, she gave up on using her eyes and instead investigated with her consciousness. Within the puzzle space, consciousness was clearly more convenient than her other senses.

Yet unexpectedly, her consciousness encountered resistance again after entering through the crack.

This resistance was immensely powerful. She felt like a fledgling trying to fly against a hurricane, unable even to struggle and flap her wings.

The answer she sought was right before her. With no other choice, she used her final means. A strand of divine power belonging to Heliopolis was restored, wrapping around her consciousness as it probed beyond the door once more.

This time, the process went exceptionally smoothly. The barrier was pierced as easily as thin mist, and the scene beyond the door was finally revealed to her consciousness—it was a world.

That was right. Beyond the door lay a world, one utterly different from the real world: the world of Duel Spirits.

She even recognized the spirits darting through the forest below. They were several fairy-tale animals.

But before she could delve any deeper, a profound wave of fatigue swept over her. Her divine power had run dry.

Restoring The Winged Dragon of Ra's flames into Heliopolis's light was already an extremely difficult task. Though the two were identical in essence, there was a difference in their ranks. With the divine power currently within her, sustaining it for several seconds was already her limit.

At the same time, the mental drain of crossing between worlds far exceeded her expectations. With her current body, feeling fatigue was almost impossible, whether mentally or physically.

Yet now, merely breaking through the barrier between worlds and taking a single glance had left her consciousness somewhat blurred.

It seems I'll need to consider this matter carefully over the long term. After withdrawing from the space within the Millennium Puzzle, Golden Phantom Spirit rubbed her brow to ease her mental exhaustion.

For now, the matter of "over there" can be set aside.

After massaging herself for several minutes, Golden Phantom Spirit, having recovered somewhat, stood and looked around. She officially began considering the matter of "over here."

The first issue was one she had kept casting aside—"Where is this place?"

I can confirm that this probably isn't Earth, at least not the Earth I came from.

Golden Phantom Spirit looked at the giant, radish-like trees in the distant forest, each dozens of meters tall, and made her preliminary judgment.

She then raised her head and looked at the sky... Mm, the number and size of the suns are fine. Hopefully, the moon is the same.

Finally, her gaze returned to the sea.

The sea is blue, so this world probably isn't too different from Earth. Wait, this is the sea, right? Why can't I feel any sea breeze at all?

Golden Phantom Spirit finally noticed the anomaly. Since awakening, she had not felt the slightest breeze. There were no birds or other animals in the forest, not even the chirping of insects.

Logically speaking, even a true deserted island could not possibly show no trace of animal life at all.

Especially when there was such a lush forest here, one clearly capable of supporting an ecosystem.

This is a little strange. Oh well, I'll look around first. I hope I run into intelligent life, preferably something that looks human...

Thinking this, Golden Phantom Spirit carried Ra and Kong, the red and blue pair resembling two little blobs, and walked along the shore with a swaying step, leaving the massive crater they had made behind them.

The morning chill gradually faded. As the sun rose, the three little ones' long shadows slowly drew back beneath their feet before finally merging into one.