The moon hung like a silver eye over the ruins of an ancient temple, somewhere in the forgotten lands between worlds. A circle of hooded figures chanted in a tongue long erased from the Duel Spirit records. At the center of their formation stood the cloaked figure who had haunted Kaito's dreams.
He raised the Sigil of Dominion—now fully charged with the dark energies siphoned from the Obsidian Tower's awakening.
"The balance has been disturbed. The Forbidden Deck stirs, and the vessel has chosen to resist."
A wind howled through the chamber, and the ground cracked beneath his feet. Stone peeled away to reveal an ancient seal, pulsing with violet light. The hooded man extended both arms.
"Then I shall complete the Rite of Summoning. Come forth—Zeroth Monarch, King of Shadows!"
The seal exploded in a storm of black feathers and shadowfire. A figure emerged—twice the height of a man, robed in dark regalia made of interwoven void and arcane light. Chains bound his limbs, but his presence smothered the air like gravity itself.
He opened his eyes.
Two glowing amethysts burned where his face should have been.
"Who summons me?" the being asked, his voice a chorus of whispers from forgotten graves.
"I do," the cloaked figure replied, lowering his hood.
He revealed a face warped by time and shadow—half human, half something else. His left eye was mechanical, ancient Duel Disk circuitry etched into his flesh. The right glowed with crimson fury.
"I am Veylorn. High Warden of the Abyssal Pact. And I seek to return this world to its rightful shape."
The Zeroth Monarch studied him for a long moment, then nodded.
"Then prepare the gates. The Spirit World shall fall."
Back at Duel Academy, alarms blared across the main building.
Kaito, Jaden, Alexis, and the others rushed into Chancellor Sheppard's office, where screens lit up with erratic energy spikes across the globe.
"These readings started five minutes ago," Bastion reported. "Spirit portals are destabilizing everywhere—from Egypt to the Amazon Basin. Even the ruins Pegasus once sealed are reacting."
Sheppard looked grave. "What could be causing this?"
Kaito felt his heart sink. "The Monarch wasn't the end. It was the beginning."
He looked at the data flashing across the screen—sigils, patterns, dueling constructs. But one symbol stood out: a reversed crown made of six curved thorns.
Kaito pointed. "That's the insignia of the Shadow King. I've seen it before—etched into the Forbidden Deck. He was sealed before the age of Duel Monsters. If he's returning…"
"We may be looking at the collapse of the barrier between the spirit world and our own," Alexis whispered.
Zane stepped forward, arms crossed. "Then we take the fight to them. We've stopped worse before."
Kaito shook his head. "No. Not like this. This isn't just Shadow Games—this is spiritual warfare. If the Shadow King returns with the full backing of the Abyssal Pact, even our strongest duelists might not be enough."
Syrus gulped. "Then what do we do?"
Kaito turned to Sheppard. "We need to gather every known Spirit-bound duelist. Not just students—graduates, pro duelists, even former enemies. Anyone who's faced spirit fusion or Shadow Realms."
Sheppard nodded. "I'll begin immediate outreach."
As the meeting adjourned, Jaden grabbed Kaito's shoulder. "You sure you're ready for this?"
Kaito didn't answer at first. He looked toward the Blue-Eyes card in his Duel Disk. It glowed faintly—not in fear, but in resolve.
"I don't think we have a choice anymore."
Far across the world, inside a crumbling coliseum once hidden beneath the ocean, Veylorn stood at the head of a vast procession. Spirits corrupted by abyssal magic lined the edges—duel monsters once noble, now twisted.
The Zeroth Monarch floated behind him, gathering darkness around his chained limbs.
Veylorn raised a single card high.
"Let the Gate of Six Keys be broken. With each seal shattered, the path to dominion opens."
The first seal ignited.
Gate I: The Spirit Cage—Broken.