Silent and dark, the home was.

There stood a lone man, clad in black. A few minutes prior, he had broken in by the window, and in order to keep anybody from discovering his trespass, he had also turned off the alarm system.

It was his a mission. He needed to locate and pilfer a certain deck of cards. A set of cards originally owned by the fabled duelist Judai Yuki, who averted an unthinkable threat to the world. A card deck imbued with a sinister, antiquated force. A power that those who hired him intended for their own ends.

He went to the living room since he knew there was where Judai Yuki kept his most valuable items. He noticed trophies, medals, and multiple decks of cards in a glass cabinet. He identified a few of the decks as being owned by competitors and allies of Judai Yuki, including Edo Phoenix, Kaiser Ryo, and Yugi Muto. He paid them no mind. His interest was focused on a single deck.

The shadow went up to the case and used his hand to crush it. The cards landed on the floor as the glass broke. He reached for the deck he wanted and shoved it into his pocket, yet when his fingers touched the cards they felt a rush of energy; a sense that the spirits were still within them.

There were three powerful monsters that Judai Yuki had inherited from a world of darkness, and the beasts were not happy to be taken away from their rightful owner. They roared and growled in the figure's mind, trying to scare him away. But the shadow was not afraid, he smiled as he held the deck of the Sacred Beasts. It was what he came for at the end, so the figure turned around and ran towards the window, ready to disappear into the night... only to see lightning strikes and black clouds in the sky. It was raining heavily and the wind was howling. The earth was trembling and fracturing. Smoke and flames flooded the air. The figure perceived ghosts and enormous monsters hovering around him. Their voices, insulting and menacing, sounded in his ears. Their force burned and pained him inside of him.

The thief felt frightened, believing himself to be dead. Falling to his knees, the shadow let go of the Sacred Beasts deck, the exact moment a certain card was dragged by the winds, and with a cry, he shut his eyes. He hoped it would all disappear.

And then it did.

The man opened his eyes and saw that everything was normal. The sky was clear and calm. The wind was gentle and quiet. The ground was solid and stable. The air was fresh and clean. The figure saw no sign of the beasts and ghosts. He heard no sound of their voices, no pain of their power, and then came the the realization that it was all a hallucination. A trick of the mind. A manifestation of his fear. A warning from the Sacred Beasts.

He looked at the deck that he had dropped and gazed the three cards glowing faintly, also thinking that maybe that one that he saw going away was another effect of the illusion. He felt a chill in his spine as result of his mistake. He had angered them. He had provoked them.

The shadow was about to bring ineffable horrors to the world.

. . .

"The Sun is brighter than usual in a special day, and there is nothing as special in Domino City as the season of their beloved game. Today duelists of all corners of the world are reunited in the city for the annual international ingress, which for the first time in the decades of its existence will not be confined to merely Battle City, Duelist Kingdom, and Kaiba Land. Kaiba Corporation promised it would be bigger than the Pro League, being scheduled to be held in 5 different countries around the globe and attract more than 5.000.000 partic...

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"Ha!", the troublemaker chuckled out loud; his massive body almost concealing the monitor. "So this is why we were stuck at the airport!"

"Don't make it again," the girl by his side implored as if she were about to cry, "we are in public..."

"I told you it was better to walk, anyway," the young man of red hair ignored her. "If we listed to you we would have lost the inscription."

"Toss that again, midget! If we get anywhere it will be because of me!" The faces all around lingered to react rancorously. "We talk later," he made himself to be almost non-audible.

"... and other occurrences have also been offuscating general excitement", the broadcast continued. "The last day of inscription is also the anniversary of the mysterous incident that befell upon Domino City 20 years ago, but a comparable heinous fact is the unknown whereabouts of the legendary King of Games, Yugi Muto, who disappeared at the end of last year in the same city. Regardless of tournament rankings, most disk specialists consider him the best duelist in the history of Dueling Monsters, with his undefeated title being only broken between 2012-2013 by former King of Games Judai Yugi, who suffered intense criticism for abandoning the game shortly thereafter with former ..."

"Wait, wait!" the official cried while running midst the queues. "You there, stop!"

By the exit door a seemingly random citizen walked mute. The worn black coat over a red shirt wasn't the thing marking the figure at a distance though, and his spiked indigo hair adorned by teal eyes were unmistakeable.

"Here's your document," the official uttered in time after stopping right at his front, forcing the listener to halt likewise. "You left your name in blank."

"Really?" the tone was not of mistake "I guess I just forgot. So you just fill it out for me, then?"

The tired look of the middle-aged and slight overweight face was readily interrupted by more slender figure who was accompanied by two guards.

"Bring back that document," the man ordered without gazing, "and you... Yugo Yuki, according to the decision of the Kaiba Corporation you are vehemently forbidden to take part into any event under its sponsorship. You may leave this building immediately or be instructed the way, at will." The guards made sure to look terrifying.

If half the crowd hadn't noticed before, now each eye was fixated.

"Did he say Yugo Yuki?"

"No, this can't be true."

"That is Yugo Yuki?"

"Never heard about him."

Somehow, Yugo Yuki wasn't too found of attention: "I am litterally at the exit door, moron."

"It is just professional courtsey, kid. Don't take it to the personal side. You should learn...

"Everyone!" the voice consummed all others. "That little cat-faced weirdo is the one we were all searching for!" As the mob opened the little girl tried to hide her face. "Have you ever wondered why Domino City is so replete of cameras?" The curious faces didn't seem to connect any dots, much less know whether there were any dots. "I know! It is the same reason why KaibaCorp is offering whoever defeats the self-proclaimed 'Unmatched' one million dollars!"

"Guys, the prize is in Yen ..." the red-haired one spoke with himself.

"Who wants to be a millionaire!"

"I! I want!"

"Me too!"

"Don't be greedy. It's all mine already!"

The officials were washed away by the human wave whilst the hidden duel disk if front of them opened as if it materialized out of thin air.

"Okay, who wants to go first?"