Time crept by, the only sound in the woods the whisper of wind through leaves.
Tristan crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently.
"So slow... where is that guy Joey..."
Téa stood on tiptoe, peering toward the direction Joey had disappeared.
"Could he... have gotten lost in the forest?"
Yugi frowned, a thread of unease in his voice.
"Or... maybe he ran into another duelist?"
Yuto swept his gaze across their anxious faces and decided quickly.
"No more guessing. We split up and search. Waiting won't help."
Before he finished, he grabbed Téa's wrist.
"We'll head the way he went!"
With that, Yuto and Téa plunged into the deeper woods.
Seeing this, Tristan waved for Yugi and Bakura.
"Come on! Let's check the plains side. Maybe he spotted an opponent and charged off!"
Yugi and Bakura followed, the three hurrying toward the open fields.
In the forest, Yuto and Téa pushed aside low-hanging vines and brush, calling Joey's name as they went.
They followed a stream upstream, searching for any sign.
By a small, babbling waterfall, cool mist hung in the air.
Téa's sharp eyes caught a flash of yellow on a rock near the pool.
"Huh? What's that..."
She hurried forward and carefully picked up a yellow wallet, damp from the spray.
Wiping off the droplets, she opened it curiously.
Inside were a few yen notes and a photo sealed in plastic.
The photo showed a sweet-smiling girl gazing gently at the camera.
Yuto leaned in and, seeing the image, his pupils tightened.
"Shizuka?!"
"Hm?" Téa looked up, surprised.
"Yuto, you know the girl in the photo?"
"Yeah." Yuto's voice grew heavy.
"She's Joey's sister. This wallet... it's Joey's."
He stood and scanned the area.
The space was open—just a waterfall, pool, and rushing stream—nowhere to hide a person and no signs of a struggle.
Just then, hurried footsteps and shouting came from the direction of the plains.
"Yuto! Téa!"
Tristan burst in first, panting, Yugi and Bakura close behind, faces anxious.
"Any luck? Did you find him?" Yugi asked quickly, eyes darting.
"Not a soul on the plains!" Tristan panted, then spotted the yellow wallet in Téa's hands.
"Wait! That—that's Joey's wallet?!"
"Yeah, we found it by the waterfall," Téa said, worried.
"What?! Joey—even if he lost himself, he'd never lose that wallet! Something must've happened!"
As they fretted, Bakura's gaze caught a dark opening in the distant cliffside.
"Look over there!" He pointed, uncertainty in his voice.
"Could Joey... have gone in there?"
"Who cares, let's check it out!" Tristan's impatience took over. Without another word, he bolted toward the cave.
Yuto and the others exchanged a look, then quickly followed.
The moment they stepped inside, a chill smelling of earth and rot wrapped around them.
Light was swallowed whole, leaving only bottomless darkness and the slick ground underfoot.
They crept forward by the faint daylight seeping from the entrance.
After about ten meters, the sight on either side made them all suck in a breath—two enormous black coffins stood upright like silent sentinels flanking the narrow path!
The passage between them stretched into deeper black, like a road to the underworld with no hint of light.
"Guh..." Tristan swallowed hard.
"This place... doesn't feel like any normal cave..."
Yuto frowned, cautiously approaching one coffin. He laid a hand on the cold lid.
"Pretty new... maybe props for a themed duel arena, like for a Zombie duelist. Doesn't seem real."
His voice echoed sharply in the stillness.
Téa, half-convinced, gathered the courage to touch the other coffin's side.
"It really is..."
Clack!
The instant her fingers brushed it, a harsh mechanical grind screeched through the silence—like a demon's wail!
Then—
Creak!
Both coffin lids suddenly swung inward with a thunderous bang!
Two lifelike, ghastly white skeletons lunged out with bone-joint creaks, as if yanked by invisible strings, striking straight for Yuto and Téa!
"Aahhh!!"
Téa screamed, her cry ricocheting madly through the narrow space.
The cold touch as one skeleton collided with her made her scalp prickle in terror.
"Téa!"
Yuto reacted like lightning, blocking one skeleton with his arm while grabbing the one on Téa and yanking it away, slamming it to the ground.
"Don't be afraid! They're fake! All fake!"
He reassured her quickly.
"Ugh..." Téa's legs gave out, and she knelt, clutching her chest, breathing hard, face white as paper.
"Pegasus... what a sick taste you have!" Tristan spat with lingering fear, kicking the broken prop skeleton.
Yugi's eyes locked on the dark corridor beyond the coffins, an inexplicable pull urging him forward.
"Joey..." he murmured, stepping into the deeper darkness first.
Yuto helped Téa up and signaled Tristan and Bakura to follow.
The deeper they went, the colder and damper the air became. Skulls carved in relief and hanging bones multiplied along the rocky walls.
Candles flickered on the walls, casting twisted, dancing shadows like countless lurking spirits.
"So... scary..." Téa clung tightly to Yuto's arm, her voice trembling.
"And... does this path even end? Is the island really this big underground?"
Unease coiled around them like an icy vine.
Click!
A sudden sharp crack, like a bone snapping, broke the stifling silence!
"Eh?" Bakura instinctively looked down—he had stepped on a slightly sunken stone!
Rumble...!
Almost instantly, a deep rolling thunder came from the tunnel behind them!
The sound surged closer, a force of destruction like some ancient beast's roar, shaking earth and air alike!
"Wh-what is that?!" Tristan whipped around, barely catching a glimpse of a massive circular shadow swelling rapidly in the dark!
"Run!!! It's a boulder!!" Yuto's shout cracked like thunder!
He scooped Téa up around the waist and bolted forward with all his strength!
"Waaahhh!" Bakura, terrified out of his wits, found a new burst of speed.
"Yugi!!" Tristan grabbed the still-stunned Yugi and dashed after the others.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I stepped on it! It was me!" Bakura wailed between frantic breaths.
"Shut up! Just run!" Yuto barked without looking back, adrenaline surging.
"Ahead! There's a fork! Which way?!" Tristan yelled mid-sprint.
"Left!" Yuto chose by instinct, veering hard left and praying the death-dealing boulder would roll the other way.
But fate wore a cruel grin—
RUMBLE!!!
The giant rock followed them into the left passage!
Worse still, the path ahead ended in a cold, solid wall, blocking every escape!
A dead end!
"We're... done for..."
With the massive boulder nearly upon them and the unyielding wall before, every drop of blood seemed to freeze in their veins.
...
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