After the Gravekeepers incident, Alexis realized just how far behind she was compared to her friends, and she wasn't talking about the two Slifer Red slackers, but Celina and Rio.
She had once thought her combat strength was among the best at Duel Academy. But watching her friends grow almost absurdly fast while she barely inched forward left her uneasy.
Shadow Games weren't forgiving. They demanded high-level dueling skills, and Alexis knew she wasn't there.
Her results spoke for themselves. She lost to Rio in six turns. Celina could finish her in five. Then Rio got serious and crushed her in four. Celina, of course, took that as a challenge, and the two pushed each other even harder.
Meanwhile, Alexis became the designated punching bag, each defeat hammering in how weak she really was.
Beyond her popularity among the students and her slightly larger chest, she had nothing to show against the two in the one area she wanted to improve most.
Her dueling skills.
Even after becoming the punchline of their rivalry, Alexis refused to give up. She insisted both Celina and Rio stay over in her room for the night to keep her company.
In a duel, of course.
That left Yumi alone in his room. Which meant both Raye and Roze decided to keep him company.
In a duel, right?
…Right?
By the next morning, both Alexis and Yumi dragged themselves into class looking half-dead.
Alexis had stayed up all night rebuilding and testing her deck. Yumi, on the other hand, hadn't slept at all.
While in class, Jaden stirred awake, rubbing his eyes. "Is it lunch time already?" he yawned, stretching his arms.
Celina jabbed him sharply in the shoulder. "It's still class. Don't start eating or I swear on Ra that I will-"
Her words were cut short when Professor Lyman raised his voice. "Oh, Jaden, I almost forgot. Chancellor Sheppard needs a word with you."
The entire class turned their heads toward the Slifer Red.
"Jaden," Syrus whispered nervously.
"Yeah?" Jaden blinked, confused.
"What did you do this time?" Syrus asked, suspicion dripping from his tone.
"What do you mean? I haven't done anything," Jaden puffed up proudly, as if not causing trouble was an accomplishment in itself.
"Are you sure?" Celina eyed him skeptically.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Jaden nodded, then slowly turned toward Yumi. "AIBO, I didn't cause any trouble, right?"
Yumi: "…"
Since when did the other slacker become the voice of reason?
"Probably not," Yumi finally said.
Jaden sighed in relief.
"Of course, the slacker has to talk to the Chancellor. Big surprise," Chazz scoffed, rolling his eyes.
But Lyman wasn't done. "Now, who said he was the only one Sheppard wanted to see? There are three more. Bastion."
Bastion, confused but obedient, stood up.
"Alexis."
She blinked, startled, then rose as well.
"And Celina."
Celina swallowed hard before standing, her chair scraping against the floor.
"Wait, what about him?" she asked, pointing toward the still-seated Yumi.
"The Chancellor only requests you four," Lyman replied smoothly. "Now, please head to his office while I continue the lesson, alright?"
They all nodded, murmured agreement, and exited the classroom together.
...
In the hallway, the mood shifted.
"This doesn't sound good," Celina muttered.
"No shit, Sherlock," Chazz snapped back.
"I wonder why he needs a word with us," Bastion mused, adjusting his collar.
"Maybe it's another school event?" Alexis offered, though her tone betrayed her unease.
As they rounded the corner, they spotted two familiar figures headed in the same direction.
"Kaiser? Professor Crowler? What are you doing here?" Jaden asked.
Zane's cold gaze cut over to them. "I could ask you the same thing."
They stopped just outside Sheppard's office. Crowler smirked, closing his eyes dramatically before speaking.
"Well, well, look at this convocation of students," he announced. "Some of the finest Duel Academy has to offer." Then his eyes opened, locking onto Jaden. "Oh oh! Which one of these things is not like the other?" he sang in a mocking tune. "Clearly someone is lost."
"No he isn't," Jaden said cheerfully, jerking his thumb toward Chazz. "Chazz was invited."
Chazz's jaw dropped. "He means you, you idiot! And you lost to me, so you're the one who's lost!"
"Sure, but didn't you also lose to me in the promotional exams?" Jaden grinned.
"That was different!" Chazz barked.
"Really?" Jaden leaned in, grin widening.
Before it escalated further, Celina stepped between them with a sly grin. "Guys, guys, stop fighting. Because if someone wasn't invited…" she paused for effect, "it's Crowler."
The group snickered. Jaden and Chazz even high-fived as Crowler's face flushed crimson. He stormed toward them, fists trembling.
But the office door creaked open. Chancellor Sheppard stood there with a grim expression, instantly killing the laughter.
"I want all of you inside," he said firmly. "And whatever is discussed here stays between us. Understood?"
They exchanged uneasy glances, then nodded.
"Good. Now, come in."
The office was dim once the door shut. Sheppard closed the blinds and sealed the room, his shoulders weighed down with invisible pressure. He inhaled deeply before facing them.
"Have any of you heard of the Egyptian Gods?"
The question stunned them. Even those with little dueling knowledge knew of those legendary cards.
"They're considered the strongest monsters in Duel Monsters history," Alexis answered first. "Only duelists like Yugi Muto have ever wielded them."
"And their strength is unrivaled," Zane added calmly.
"They're rooted in Egyptian mythology," Bastion explained, his voice academic. "Ra, the Sun God. Obelisk, the monument. Slifer, the God of the Sky."
"Why ask us that?" Jaden tilted his head. "It's Dueling 101. Even beginners know that."
"Maybe he's about to tell us why," Celina whispered.
Sheppard's gaze sharpened. "Because… what if I told you there exist three monsters that rival the Egyptian Gods?"
The room froze. The thought alone made their skin crawl.
"I'm afraid it's true," Sheppard continued. "They are called… the Sacred Beasts."
Gasps rippled through the group.
"'Sacred…'" Chazz muttered.
"…'Beasts,'" Celina finished.
Sheppard nodded grimly. "Their power is devastating. The last time they were unleashed, the destruction was catastrophic." His voice trembled, it wasn't often students saw the Chancellor shaken.
"This school was built around their sealed chambers by our founder, Kagemaru. They were never meant to be awakened again. But now…" His voice darkened. "There are those who seek to use them for their own gain. They call themselves… the Shadow Riders."
The name carried weight. Even Zane's expression hardened.
"Seven duelists," Sheppard went on, "each formidable, each dangerous enough to rival the strongest. And I fear one has already infiltrated the island."
Silence. The enormity of it hung in the air.
Sheppard exhaled heavily. "I know what I ask is unfair. But you seven are Duel Academy's best chance at protecting the Sacred Beasts. If you refuse, I won't stop you. But know this, this will be no easy battle."
"No, we aren't the best," Zane broke the silence first.
"Yeah. Two duelists on this island that are far stronger than us," Celina added.
Everyone already knew who they meant: Momoyo Kawakami - She-Devil, and Yumi Uzushi - Slifer.
Sheppard rubbed his forehead. "I considered them. But I fear if they were given the task, they might just unseal the Sacred Beasts themselves… just to find a stronger opponent."
The room paused, then both Zane and Celina nodded.
"Yeah," they agreed simultaneously. "That sounds exactly like them."
"I always wanted to be a hero in a story," Jaden grinned suddenly. "So count me in!"
One by one, the others declared their resolve:
"You can count me in as well!"
"I won't go down without a fight!"
"If the slacker can do it, so can I!"
"I'll show them what my nine years of teaching can do!"
"Sure, I guess I can see how the Pro League stacks against this."
But Bastion raised one final question. "How will they know who to target? What if they duel innocent students?"
Sheppard managed a small smile. "That's simple." He produced a small box and opened it, revealing seven unique keys. "These are Spirit Keys. They're the locks protecting the Sacred Beasts. If the Shadow Riders win a duel against a key bearer, they claim the key. Only then can the gates be opened."
The room grew tense again as the weight of responsibility settled in.
"So wait," Alexis frowned. "You mean… they can only be taken through duels?"
"Exactly," Sheppard confirmed. "That is the only safeguard we have."
Jaden, without hesitation, grabbed a key and slung it around his neck. Zane followed. Then Alexis, Bastion, Celina, Chazz, and finally Crowler, albeit reluctantly.
Crowler adjusted his collar, muttering, "I'll make sure the other students know nothing of this. Better they sleep soundly."
"Thank you, Professor," Sheppard nodded gratefully.
He dismissed the group, but as they left, Jaden whining about missed naps, Chazz grumbling, and Alexis quietly anxious, Sheppard slumped into his chair.
His hands covered his face. "Am I doing the right thing…?"
...
Meanwhile, Professor Midori had asked to meet Yumi privately. The look on her face was unusually serious, she clearly had something important to discuss.
She laid a notebook on the table, flipping it open to a list of names.
"One of the clues you gave me was that finding my brother might have something to do with the Planet Series," she began, her tone clipped but hopeful. "I followed that lead… and I've managed to track down a few of the current holders."
Her finger slid down the page as she pushed it toward him.
Mercury - Reginald Kastle
Venus
Earth - Koyo Hibiki / Yumi Uzushi
Mars - Axel Brodie
Jupiter - Aster Phoenix
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune - Yumi Uzushi
Pluto
Yumi leaned forward, scanning the list. Then he calmly plucked a pen from Midori's desk and scribbled one more word across the very top.
Sun.
Midori blinked at him. "The sun isn't a planet."
Yumi leaned back casually. "Yeah, but don't you think it's strange? All these cards, and there isn't a single monster that ties them together? Planets orbit a sun. That's the anchor. Without it, this series feels… incomplete."
Midori froze at the thought. He wasn't wrong. The Planet Series was bizarrely inconsistent, different Attributes, different Types, no shared summoning conditions. If you hid their names, nobody would even guess they were part of one family.
She tapped her chin. "So that makes… ten monsters in total," she murmured, equal parts thoughtful and unsettled.
Yumi didn't elaborate further, but he had already proven his point once: Rio. She had Mercury, and when she was possessed, she was controlled to come hunting for him.
Of course, he hadn't told Midori the full truth, that the spirit's real target had been Raye, not the Earth card. But Midori had drawn her own conclusions. To her, the Earth card was the target, which only cemented her belief: the Planet Series was connected to her missing brother, and to something much darker.
Tracking them down, though… that was the problem.
"As a Duel Academy professor, my resources are limited," Midori admitted. "It took a lot just to confirm Aster Phoenix and Axel Brodie. And one of them is a professional duelist."
Yumi shrugged, expression unreadable. "I'll give you more info if I run into anything from my end."
She finally exhaled, nodded, before gathering her notes. "Alright. I'll keep digging. If I find anything new, you'll be the first to know."
With that, Yumi stretched before walking out of her office. Things were moving, but slowly, and the more he thought about it, the stranger it all seemed.
How had this GX world bled into the manga timeline? Why were characters from across different Yu-Gi-Oh eras suddenly showing up here? And the Earthbound Immortals, why did they behave differently than in 5D's, they acted more like parasitic curses than spirits that have the power to bring the dead back to life?
And why, above all else, was he being mistaken for Darkness, the final villain of the GX anime?
...
Later that night, Celina sat across from him, quietly adjusting her deck. She hadn't said a word about the Shadow Riders or the Spirit Keys. She was trying to keep him out of it, but Yumi wasn't blind, he'd already noticed the key dangling from her neck.
So. The Shadow Rider arc had officially begun.
He couldn't help but find the whole system funny. The Sacred Beasts were supposed to be sealed away for good, their destruction too catastrophic to risk ever again. And yet, the very architect of that seal had thought,
Hey, let's make seven magical keys that could unlock them, just in case the Beasts get claustrophobic and want to stretch their legs.
Brilliant.
He was about to say something sarcastic when suddenly...
A white light engulfed the room.
Celina shielded her eyes, and when it cleared, she found herself standing on a vast platform of solid light, suspended above the yawning mouth of an active volcano. Magma churned below, the heat rising in suffocating waves.
"Jaden!?" she shouted, spotting him a short distance away.
"Celina, what's going on?" Jaden rubbed at his eyes, still half-asleep, blinking in confusion.
"A volcano?" Alexis gasped, clutching her chest. She'd come to check on her friends but had been dragged here too.
Then the lava rumbled.
A deafening roar erupted as a massive fire dragon burst from the magma, shaking the platform with every wingbeat. Lava splashed and hissed as a figure emerged from the flames, a tall man clad in a long black coat, half his face hidden by a mask. He walked slowly, every step radiating menace.
"Wh-Who are you!?" Jaden demanded.
The man's gaze swept over them, calm and cold. His voice was low, measured, and absolute.
"My name… is Darkness."
The words lingered, heavy and chilling.
Before anyone could react further, the night sky split open with a roar, a sound that was not born of fire, but from the stars above.
Above the volcano, a radiant blue glow shone like a miniature galaxy. Descending through the brilliance was Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, its wings scattering photon light.
A red-coated figure dropped from its back, landing with practiced ease on the light platform. The coat flared like Kaiba's when he jumped from his Blue-Eyes jet, his boots hitting the ground with theatrical finality.
Yumi straightened slowly, arms spreading wide as his coat settled. His calm eyes locked on the masked figure.
"Who do you think you're fooling, huh, Faker?" His voice dripped with mocking confidence. "My name… is Darkness."
The group stared at him, stunned into silence.
Everyone: "…"