Bonus Chapter
"I suppose that's one way to confirm Shadow Games are real..."
The quiet joke sounded almost absurd after everything that had happened, but somehow it helped ground him. Before he could gather his thoughts any further, hurried footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley.
"Master Alexander!"
Roland appeared only seconds later, moving far faster than someone his age had any right to.
The elderly butler's composed expression cracked ever so slightly the moment his eyes found Alexander standing amidst the aftermath. His gaze swept across the alley, taking in the unconscious teenagers, the scattered Duel Monsters cards, and Alexander's dishevelled appearance.
Alexander met his eyes before letting out a small, almost apologetic sigh, and his smile turned somewhat wry, and he said, "I'm sorry... I didn't exactly want you to find out like this."
Roland came to a stop a few steps away.
For several long moments, neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was simply filled with everything neither man yet knew how to say.
Finally, Roland slowly inclined his head and said, "You have nothing to apologise for, Master Alexander... I have known for quite some time that something extraordinary has been occurring."
Alexander blinked in surprise, "Eh... You have?"
"I have." Roland's voice remained as calm and measured as ever, though there was an unmistakable gentleness beneath it, "You have changed and not merely physically."
His eyes rested on Alexander with the quiet attentiveness of someone who had watched him grow for years, "There were days you came out of your study exhausted despite having spent only a few hours designing and creating cards. Other times you retired into your study and shortly after strange things started to happen around the mansion. Then you became... more thoughtful and even cautious. As though you were carrying burdens you believed should remain yours alone."
Alexander found himself looking away as he hadn't realised it had been that obvious.
Roland folded his hands behind his back and said, "I simply chose to wait until you were ready to tell me."
A faint smile softened the older man's face as he added, "Though I confess..."
His gaze drifted toward the last lingering wisps of unnatural darkness dissolving into the night air, "...I wasn't expecting anything quite like this."
Alexander couldn't help laughing quietly, though the motion immediately reminded him of his hurting ribs making him wince a bit before he said, "...Neither was I."
For a brief instant, the tension eased, then Roland's attention shifted toward the two unconscious teenagers lying several meters away and his expression immediately became more serious as he asked, "Now, shall we take these young men to the hospital?"
Alexander followed his gaze.
The possessed teenager lay motionless where Shadow Ghoul had collapsed, while the other teen remained equally unconscious nearby before he replied,
Then he nodded without hesitation and replied, "Yes. Everything else can wait."
Roland inclined his head and said, "I shall bring the car."
Without another word, he turned and disappeared toward the street, his footsteps quickly fading into the distance.
Alexander watched him go before slowly exhaling as the alley became quiet once more. He carefully crouched beside the teenager Shadow Ghoul had possessed.
The boy couldn't have been more than 14 or 15; his breathing was steady, and his pulse felt perfectly normal beneath Alexander's fingertips.
Closing his eyes, Alexander allowed his enhanced Spiritual Awareness to expand outward and soon the invisible currents of Spirit Energy became perceptible once again, flowing gently through every living thing around him.
He focused on the unconscious teenager and noticed that everything seemed fine, but more importantly, the Spirit Energy Shadow Ghoul had stolen had returned.
"He is just exhausted." He spoke softly, more to reassure himself than anyone else, "The body probably needs time to recover, but overall he is fine."
The boy would likely awaken with little memory beyond an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
Alexander slowly stood once more, but his thoughts inevitably drifted back toward the duel itself, more specifically, toward Shadow Ghoul making him mutter out loud, "...How?"
The single word lingered in his mind as he thought, 'Shadow Ghoul is a Duel Spirit, and it belongs in the Spirit World, yet it had somehow crossed into reality, possessed a human being, and even forced a genuine Shadow Duel into existence. None of that should have been possible!'
His first instinct was the obvious explanation, its card, as every Duel Spirit possessed some connection to the card representing it.
That made Alexander wonder, 'Could Shadow Ghoul have somehow exploited that bond?'
Alexander frowned almost immediately and concluded, 'No... The Duel Monsters cards created through the YGO System simply don't function that way. The connection between a Duel Spirit and its card isn't ownership but recognition. Mutual acceptance. Trust. A Spirit acknowledged its duelist, and the duelist acknowledged the Spirit in return. Without that relationship... Without that consent... The connection remains incomplete. A Duel Spirit can't simply seize control of whoever happened to own its card; otherwise, every Duel Monsters deck in existence would represent a potential catastrophe waiting to happen. That clearly isn't the case.'
He shook his head and muttered, "So that's not it."
His thoughts shifted elsewhere as he guessed out loud, "Did it somehow leave the Spirit World?"
He quickly started to analyse this new option, 'Possible? Perhaps... Likely? Not without help. There has to be something connecting both worlds, something that had allowed Shadow Ghoul to anchor itself here. An object. A medium. Some kind of—'
Alexander's gaze slowly swept across the alley and noticed the broken bits of cardboard that were scattered across the pavement where the possessed teenager's Duel Box had spilt open.
Monster cards. Spell cards. Trap cards. Most appeared completely ordinary, but then one card immediately caught his attention.
"It's Shadow Ghoul..."
He bent down and picked it up.
At first glance, it appeared genuine. The artwork was identical, the colours looked correct, even the card frame seemed accurate beneath the nearby streetlight.
If he had seen it from very far away, he might not have noticed anything unusual, but now, holding it between his fingers, he immediately noticed something was wrong.
Alexander turned the card over slowly while thinking, 'The texture is slightly rougher. The cardstock lacks the subtle density of authentic Duel Monsters cards. But more importantly, it misses the Eye of Anubis Hologram!'
His expression slowly hardened as he commented, "This is a counterfeit."
Not a crude imitation, quite the opposite, as whoever had produced it possessed remarkable skill, and it would fool almost anyone.
Alexander stared at the fake card in silence.
Suddenly his mind began fitting together pieces that had previously seemed unrelated, "If..."
His voice was barely above a whisper, "...the originals contain safeguards..."
He looked once more at the counterfeit and concluded, "...then a fake wouldn't."
The realisation sent a chill down his spine, 'Authentic Duel Monsters cards aren't ordinary objects, as they are bound to the YGO System, thus following its rules. Every genuine card carries subtle spiritual protections woven into its very existence, protections I have never needed to consciously think about, but maybe counterfeit cards don't. They merely copy appearances, not essence, nor the hidden mechanisms beneath. Which means...'
His eyes widened slightly as he said, "A card still represents Shadow Ghoul... but without any of the restrictions granted by our previous agreement."
Without the safeguards limiting how a Duel Spirit interacted with the human world, without the mutual consent required by genuine cards, without the System enforcing the rules.
Alexander slowly looked back toward the unconscious teenager and muttered, "A connection... An anchor... A doorway."
His fingers tightened around the fake card, "It isn't proof."
He forced himself to remain objective, "There could still be another explanation."
Coincidence remained possible, perhaps even likely, yet the theory accounted for everything they had witnessed tonight.
Shadow Ghoul hadn't possessed someone through an authentic Duel Monsters card, but it had reached across reality through something that merely resembled one.
If he was correct, counterfeit cards weren't simply illegal reproductions undermining Industrial Illusions' business, but they represented vulnerabilities. Artificial openings where the System's protections simply didn't exist.
Alexander quietly exhaled, "That's..."
He looked down at the card one final time and added, "...Much worse than I imagined."
A familiar engine approached from the street.
Moments later, Roland guided the sedan to the entrance of the alley before stepping out.
Alexander remained motionless, still staring at the counterfeit in his hand, "If I'm wrong..."
Destroying it would accomplish almost nothing; at worst, one fake card would be lost.
"If I'm right..."
He couldn't justify allowing it to exist.
His fingers tightened, and the cardstock tore cleanly in half, then again and again.
He continued until nothing remained except small, unrecognisable fragments that fluttered onto the pavement and only then did he straighten.
Together, he and Roland carefully lifted the unconscious teenagers into the back seats of the sedan, taking care not to jostle them unnecessarily.
Neither appeared to have suffered any lasting physical injuries. That, at least, was something to be grateful for.
Once everything was secure, Roland quietly closed the rear doors before taking his place behind the wheel.
The nearest hospital wasn't far.
As the sedan pulled away from the alley, Alexander cast one final glance through the rear window.
The scattered remnants of the counterfeit card disappeared into the darkness behind them.
He couldn't shake the feeling that tonight's duel hadn't answered a mystery, but it had uncovered a far larger one.
The drive to the hospital passed mostly in silence.
The city drifted by beyond the windows in a blur of amber streetlights and illuminated storefronts. Even at this hour, Los Angeles still possessed a quiet pulse of life. Cars rolled through intersections, and pedestrians lingered outside convenience stores.
It all seemed strangely ordinary, as though the world had continued moving completely unaware that, only minutes earlier, a Duel Spirit had crossed into reality.
Alexander leaned back against the leather seat, allowing his head to rest against the headrest.
Only now, after the last traces of adrenaline had faded, did the pain become impossible to ignore.
Every breath pulled at his ribs, his shoulders ached, and his arms felt heavy, as though they had been filled with lead.
Closing his eyes only made the memories clearer.
The thunderous recoil of Cannon Soldier's attack, the suffocating pressure that had blanketed the Shadow Duel, Shadow Ghoul's grotesque laughter.
He had experienced dangerous duels before; he had fought hostile Duel Spirits that felt much stronger than Shadow Ghoul before, but nothing compared to this.
"Definitely real." The words escaped him almost unconsciously.
Roland's eyes flickered toward the rearview mirror, though he wisely chose not to comment as there wasn't anything that needed to be said.
Several minutes later, the bright lights of the hospital came into view.
The emergency entrance was relatively quiet, with only a handful of ambulances parked nearby.
Roland guided the sedan beneath the covered drop-off before bringing it to a smooth stop and said, "I shall handle everything."
Alexander nodded gratefully, "Thank you."
He doubted he could have offered a convincing explanation in his current state even if he had tried.
Remaining inside the vehicle, he watched through the windshield as Roland stepped out and quickly caught the attention of two nurses entering the building.
Despite the urgency of the situation, the elderly butler never appeared flustered. His movements remained efficient, measured and professional. Within moments, hospital staff returned with a pair of stretchers.
Alexander watched as Roland calmly explained the situation.
While driving nearby, they had noticed two collapsed youths lying inside an alley. Concerned, they had stopped to investigate. Finding them unconscious, they had immediately transported them to the nearest hospital.
Simple, plausible and most importantly true enough to explain their presence.
The nurses quickly wheeled both teenagers inside, disappearing through the automatic doors.
Alexander released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, 'At least they are safe... Them and the other victims should recover now.'
Nearly fifteen minutes passed before Roland finally returned.
He settled back into the driver's seat and quietly closed the door behind him before reporting, "They've been admitted."
Alexander nodded, "Good."
"I also provided the necessary statement."
"I doubt there will be further questions."
"Good."
The single word carried noticeably more relief this time.
Roland restarted the engine, and the sedan pulled away from the hospital.
Their journey home finally resumed.
The city lights slipped past the windows once more, painting shifting reflections across the glass.
Neither man seemed particularly eager to disturb the silence.
Alexander found himself replaying the duel again, mostly about the counterfeit card, and the more he thought about it, the less he liked the implications, 'If my theory proves to be correct, Industrial Illusions isn't merely dealing with copyright infringement. Counterfeit cards could become conduits between worlds, thus a dangerous hazard. How many fake cards are already circulating? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? How many Duel Spirits have already noticed those openings?'
His stomach tightened, 'If even one relatively weak spirit like Shadow Ghoul had managed to exploit the opportunity... What would happen if something far stronger discovered the same weakness?'
The thought lingered long after he tried pushing it away, and eventually, Roland broke the silence, "...Master Alexander."
Alexander lifted his eyes, "Yes?"
"I believe it would be prudent to summon Doctor Harris once we return."
Alexander's immediate instinct was to refuse, "It isn't necessary. The pain is already fading. My body is mostly fine."
Even as the words left his mouth, he knew they weren't entirely true, but thanks to his Spiritual Awakening and the increase of his Ba, his body healed at a rate that bordered on unnatural. These pains would pass; it simply required time.
Roland's eyes met Alexander's through the rearview mirror as he quickly judged, "You are attempting to reassure me. It won't work. Remember that I changed your diapers."
Alexander opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again.
A defeated smile crossed his face as he said, "Yes..."
He let out a quiet sigh and admitted, "I do feel worse than I'm letting on. My ribs hurt. My muscles feel like they've been put through a grinder."
He gave a small shrug, "But it isn't as serious as it looks. I'll recover."
Roland regarded him for another moment before giving a small nod, "I sincerely hope so, but I still want to ensure that."
"Fine..."
The conversation ended there.
Neither felt any need to force additional words into the comfortable silence.
Outside, the city's commercial districts gradually gave way to quieter residential streets, and eventually the familiar iron gates of the mansion appeared ahead.
The moment the car came to a stop, Alexander stepped out, grateful simply to be home.
Once inside, he didn't waste too much time and headed toward his room while saying, "I'll be upstairs."
Roland inclined his head and announced, "I shall contact Doctor Harris immediately."
Alexander offered only a tired nod before making his way toward the staircase, and each step reminded him exactly how much Cannon Soldier's direct attack had hurt.
By the time he reached his room, he found himself moving considerably slower than usual.
A hot shower helped. The warm water loosened the stiffness in his shoulders and washed away the lingering grime from the alley, though it couldn't quite erase the deep soreness beneath.
When he finally changed into fresh clothes, he felt marginally more human.
Barely twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and soon Doctor Harris entered carrying his usual medical bag.
The middle-aged physician had attended the Jones household often enough over the years that his visits felt almost routine.
Even so, his expression became noticeably more serious upon seeing Alexander, "I understand you've had quite an evening."
"You could say that."
The examination began without further delay.
Doctor Harris worked with practised efficiency, checking Alexander's breathing before carefully pressing along his ribs.
Alexander winced despite himself, and the doctor nodded thoughtfully before asking, "Sore?"
"Very."
"I would be disappointed if it weren't."
That earned the faintest hint of a smile from Alexander.
The physician continued his examination, checking for fractures, evaluating muscle strain, and shining a light briefly into Alexander's eyes.
Satisfied, he finally stepped back and declared, "Nothing particularly alarming."
Alexander relaxed slightly while he continued, "A few bruised ribs. Some muscular strain. Fortunately, I don't believe anything is broken. I would recommend avoiding strenuous physical activity for the next three to five weeks."
Alexander raised an eyebrow and asked, "Three to five weeks?"
"That is generally how long bruised ribs require." The doctor smiled and added, "Unless you've secretly discovered a revolutionary method of human healing."
Alexander laughed a little more awkwardly than intended, "...Not that I'm aware of." While thinking, 'Well, if you ignore the fact that thanks to the Spiritual Energy and Ba, my body is now much stronger and tougher than before, and it also heals faster. Without those, Cannon Soldier's attacks would have surely broken a few of my ribs.'
After offering a few final instructions regarding rest and pain management, Doctor Harris packed away his instruments, "If the pain worsens or you develop difficulty breathing, contact me immediately."
"I will."
The physician nodded politely toward Roland before taking his leave.
The room gradually fell quiet once more. The only sound was the faint ticking of the antique clock resting atop a nearby bookshelf.
Alexander looked toward Roland and said, "See...? I told you I'd be alright."
Roland remained standing for another moment before quietly walking across the room.
Rather than maintaining his usual position by the door, he pulled a nearby chair forward and sat opposite Alexander.
The simple action alone carried surprising weight.
He wasn't standing as a butler awaiting instructions, but he was sitting as someone preparing for an important conversation.
"I never doubted you would recover." His voice remained as composed as ever. "Although..."
A faint hint of amusement touched his expression, "From the way you slightly flinched, I suspect your recovery will be considerably faster than Doctor Harris anticipates."
Alexander smiled sheepishly, "Probably..."
There was little point denying it now.
Roland had seen enough tonight to recognise that ordinary explanations no longer applied.
Silence once again settled between them.
Alexander found himself studying the man seated opposite him.
Roland had served the Jones family for decades.
He had been a constant presence throughout Alexander's childhood. In many ways, he was a family member, and Alexander had spent months keeping enormous secrets from him. Not because he lacked trust, but because he believed he had to; However, now that excuse no longer existed.
Roland folded his hands neatly in his lap and said in his usual patient tone, "Master Alexander. I believe..."
He paused, choosing his words with characteristic care, "...it is finally time we spoke about everything that has been happening."
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