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Chapter 1 - Earth, Helheim, Duel monsters?

One moment, a former friend sacrifices me out of a sick desire for power. The next moment, I awaken in a cold, dark world where a giant black castle looms in front of me. Looking up above the castle, I see giant tree roots with a giant dragon chewing on them; just seeing that gives me the chills. I decided to enter the castle, where two guards stood at the doors, both wearing a mix of chainmail and thick leather that covered them from head to toe and each holding a Dane axe.

''You there, stop where you are.'' State your name and why you have come to see her majesty," said the guard on the left. I firmly and loudly declared, "My name is Jason Markov, and I'm unsure of my current location. "All I know is that I was killed by my former friend," I said. "It has been a long time since a new soul has appeared here in Helheim. Helheim, that's the world of the dead in the Norse religion, wasn't it? "Come with me, boy. I will take you to see her majesty and get you sorted out,'' the guard said in a more natural tone 

The guard turned and opened the giant castle doors. As they opened it, the hinges of the door sounded like a thousand screaming souls crying out in pain, making me freeze in place, only snapping out of it when the guard called for me to follow him. Walking into the castle, I see burning torches on the wall, giving a little bit of light as we walk in and make our way into the foyer. I could see different tapestries on the walls that were depicting the events of Ragnarök. 

Looking around, the end of the foyer leads to the grand staircases going up to the second floor, but the guard continues to lead me to the solid black stone doors in between the stars. Through those doors is a small waiting room. "Wait here. I will get you when her majesty is ready for you," said the guard. Sitting here now, waiting for five minutes, I can't help but think about how, because of me dying, I missed my one time to go to the world championship for Yu-Gi-Oh. After all the time being stuck in the top 3 at regionals.

After waiting for what feels like forever, the guard finally comes back. ''Follow me,'' he says. "Is there anything I need to know before I see her?" "She does not expect much from those who don't worship her, just show her the utmost respect," he said in a kind but serious tone. Walking into the throne room, there is a long green and black rug leading from the door to the throne. The throne looks to be made of ebony wood with silver inlays running throughout. Sitting in the chair is the goddess herself. One side of her body was vibrant, full of life, with emerald green eyes and golden blonde hair. The other side of her body was that of a skeleton, black miasma moving throughout the bones with a green flame for an eye and black, straw-like hair.

Then she spoke. ''Aha, a new soul has entered my realm. It's been a millennium since the last one.'' Her voice was a mix of two. One sounded like a calm chime, and the other was dry and raspy, like someone who hasn't had water in a long time. ''Unfortunately, the present moment was not supposed to be your time to shed the mortal coil, but I am willing to offer you a wonderful deal at a new life. I'm sure you must be interested in the benefits that come with it," she said with a calm tone. I did not expect to encounter a literal goddess in this situation. I am interested, but I don't know what I could offer her. 

I ponder further…. It's at least worth learning about the deal before rejecting it. "So, mortal, are you interested in this deal?" "Yes, your majesty, I'm interested.... But what is the price for this second life?" I asked in a somewhat nervous voice. "Good," she says. She continues, "The price you will pay is being my champion in a world I don't have access to, but your soul does." She takes a short pause before continuing, looking at me, trying to read me. "There are two basic tasks you must do in this world for me. Being my champion comes with immortality, unable to die and enter any afterlife ever again," she said in a grave tone. The proposition doesn't sound too awful, but I need to know more before accepting. 

"Your majesty, what are the tasks you would have me do, and what are these benefits? What world would I be going to? I said. She chuckles, I'm sure regarding my endless questioning. "The world you will be going to is the one you mortals call Duel Monsters. The tasks you will complete are basic." 

I keep listening…. "The first is to locate what happened to the pieces of my father's and uncle's souls in that world. Your second task is to generate energy for me by dueling, something you would be doing anyway." With inquiring eyes, I continue to hear her out. "The benefits you shall receive if you accept are as follows. You will be able to travel to the different spirit worlds with an anchor to that world, you will receive eternal youth, where you will stop aging at the age of 25, and you will receive the ability to use magic." There is a long, silent pause as she analyzes me standing in front of her. "Do you accept my offer, mortal?" she said with a small smile, assuming I would accept her proposal.

This does sound like a fantastic deal. The tasks shouldn't be too hard…. I have a decent idea of where their souls should be, and generating a dueling spirit will happen naturally. The benefits are beyond what I was expecting as well. The benefits exceed my expectations.  The silence is brutal, but I confidently make my choice. "Yes, your majesty, I'll take the deal. 

''That's pleasing to hear; I'm glad you accepted my deal. I will be sending you on your way." She continues…. "Your journey between worlds will cause some minor discomfort. I hope you enjoy your second chance at life.''

Suddenly, a ring of runes appears on the floor surrounding me. There's an intense emerald green glow. As the glow brightens, I hear the guard who escorted me say, "Good luck, kid." 

Suddenly, there's a green flash, and I feel like I'm being thrown by a giant. The giant dragon, gnawing on tree roots, propels me into space. I can see the rest of the tree in the distance as I am traveling far away from it. I start to feel the pain the goddess warned me of. Initially, it felt like a gentle warmth, similar to sitting around a campfire. As I continued my journey, the temperature began to rise, creating a sensation akin to stretching taffy on a candy hook. It's getting hotter and hotter. I feel like I'm no longer next to the fire but in it! I continue to feel like I'm being stretched further and further. Then I start to lose the ability slowly to hold on much longer.... Lights out!

The next thing I see, I'm waking up in a bedroom. The bed is covered with a black and dark blue checkered blanket, and there is a small shelf mounted above it. I sit up. Looking around the room, there is a tall bookshelf on one wall next to a mirror and a dark brown dresser on the other wall. Next to the door, there is an old computer with a monitor that resembles a small CRT TV. I keep scanning around. I see a large window on the other wall… the floor appears to be made of fake wood laminate with a dueling disk that looks to be from the time of the original Duel Monsters. 

I'm not on my earth anymore.

Guess it's time to figure out my next move. As I'm thinking this, I get a slight headache, and memories from a life lived in this world come flooding back to me. It's been 15 years in this life before I awakened my full memories. 

The memories suggest that this body has operated autonomously for the past 15 years. Looking through the memories, I see that my name in this life is Jason Todd, just like Red Hood from my old world. It's fascinating looking in the mirror. I even look like him from the New 52 run, and my voice sounds like the version of him from the Under the Red Hood animated movie. Diving further into my memories, I learn my father's name. Gabriel Todd, a US soldier, is stationed here in Japan near Domino City. My mom's name is Aoi Todd, an archaeologist working for Pegasus. Due to their occupations, neither seems to be home all that often. I will have to check the computer for any more information on what's going on in the world. 

Logging in to the computer, it looks like I got an email from Duel Academy. It says that the written test is in two weeks. I realize I've got half a year before the start of GX. I have plenty of time to test out the magic and learn how to travel to the different spirit worlds. I keep scouring the internet. It's not too advanced, but there is a rudimentary form of YouTube on there. The most popular videos are the Duel City finals and the Kaiba Land tournament. 

Continuing my search, I found a news article talking about a competition to send a drawing into space on a rocket. That must be the contest Jaden won before the start of GX, I think to myself. A second story caught my attention, detailing the release of a new dual disk a year ago. I will have to see if I can get ahold of one. Taking a second to pause and grasp what just happened, I get lost in my thoughts. I quickly snap out of it, though, and remember I have a lot of work to do. 

I pick up the dual disk from the floor and look it over. It's not as heavy as you would expect. There are a couple of buttons on the top, each labeled with what they do. Pulling out the deck in the deck slot and shuffling it, it appears to be a machine This starter deck consists solely of weak creatures and damaging spells. I will have to see if I can get a better one soon.

 Going over to the bookshelf, I find a small, dark blue device called the KC communicator, which looks like a mix of a credit card and a pager, capable of storing all your DP and sending text messages. Duelists use DP, a currency that allows for a one-to-one conversion to USD. It's pretty useful. I turn on the device and see I have a message from Dad saying he sent me 5,000 DP for the week. That plus what I already have gives me 10,000 to spend on a new deck after I figure out how my powers work.

Everything else on the bookshelf is a book on different civilizations and a card design written by Pegasus himself. I decide after I finish my search for the room that it is time to get dressed and explore the rest of the house. Opening the dresser drawer, I see that most of the clothes are the same. There are solid black or red shirts and black jeans. I see some cargo pants and a jacket with a couple of extra pockets, too. I get changed and put on the dual disk to head out.

 It's only a one-story home with light gray walls. I walk into the kitchen and see that there is a plate left on the counter with a note from Dad. A simple meal of bacon, sausage, pineapple chunks, and a bagel. The note read, ~Have a good day~.

It's now time to head out and hit the town. I think I'll find a card shop and get a feel for the prices of cards and packs so I can come up with a better plan of action before the Duel Academy exams.

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