Some city, unknown location.

A long, winding stone staircase, like a portal to another dimension, descended slowly into pitch-black darkness. The air was thick with dampness and mold, tinged with a faint smell of tar. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ⓝovelFire.net

In the darkness, a hidden room: dim candlelight flickered in the breeze. A huge black table dominated the space, surrounded by a few high-backed chairs. Robed figures sat around it, faces grim, some masked, others with hoods pulled low.

They were the last Orichalcos cultists in the city.

Just a week ago, the Duel City Tournament had ended in Domino. It was the most-watched event of the year, and its outcome was earth-shattering for the dueling world—and the whole world.

A new Duel King had been crowned, and rumor had it he was just a first-year at Duel Academy. Kaiba's near-invincible legend was broken. Some even called it the dawn of a new era.

The tournament had rocked many fields, but none more so than what was left of Doma.

All three of their Swordsmen had been defeated. Their god, the Snake, had been devoured by Lava Golem on live global TV.

Doma was leaderless, its hierarchy in chaos.

The city was meant to be Doma HQ, the heart of the organization. The people here should have held things together in the crisis.

But they couldn't.

Because within that week, KaibaCorp suddenly launched a raid on their HQ.

With the organization headless, Kaiba was nearly unstoppable. Rumor had it he'd brought the new Duel King Kira with him, and together they were unbeatable.

HQ fell almost instantly. Most Doma executives were captured, the rest fled.

But Kaiba seemed to have inside information—he even knew all about their hidden backup bases, and the backup bases' own backups.

Now, HQ was at the brink. The handful left here were Doma's last core members.

"Damn that Kaiba, and that Duel King," one cursed. His shadow wavered on the wall like a furious demon.

"They know everything about us—every facility. The city's locked down by KaibaCorp. They're doing a sweep. We can hide for now, but it's only a matter of time…" said another.

"Are there really no branches left?" a third demanded. "This city was supposed to be our base! How could so many people be wiped out in just a few days—by Kaiba?!"

Everyone fell silent.

"...Maybe we can seek help from others," someone muttered.

Once, they'd been the world's mightiest dark organization, never deigning to ally with underground peers. But now, on the verge of collapse, if they didn't get outside help, even the core would perish.

So no one objected.

"Speaking of which…" one mused, "I've heard the 'Shadow Riders' are rising fast."

"Shadow Riders?"

"Yes, they're apparently recruiting all kinds of talented people."

"Right. Only dark duelists get in—it's a new group."

"I've heard of them too. Though they're new, they're growing fast.

Supposedly, their core includes vampires, duel spirits who wield dark powers, even an ancient, undefeated Pharaoh."

The others were stunned.

"That powerful?!"

"Just rumors, but where there's smoke, there's fire. And anyone who can recruit so many top talents is not ordinary."

Everyone nodded.

But the Shadow Riders were still mysterious, even in the underground world. Their boss was unknown, but many guessed he was a godlike figure.

"Apparently, they're planning something big and recruiting from the underground world. If you're strong, you can apply."

That man pondered.

"Might not be a bad option."

His companion was furious: "You traitor! Thinking of betraying the organization?"

But the man just rolled his eyes.

"So what? Is our great god going to crawl out of Lava Golem's belly and punish me?"

His companion fell silent.

True.

Their god had been eaten—what loyalty was there left to die for?

Better to find a new master.

Just then, a cold wind blew. The candlelight flickered and went out.

The only light gone, the room plunged into darkness. The robed figures around the table looked even more sinister.

After a few seconds of silence—

One finally slammed the table.

"Those dumbasses in logistics—when will they get the power back? That's seven candles out already! How much longer do we have to sit in the dark?"

Another grumbled, "Nothing we can do—Kaiba and the Duel King took out even our backup's backup base. We'll just have to make do…"

But he was already thinking of quitting.

Their boss was dead—maybe they should just dissolve. No point being caught by the Duel King…

"Hahahaha—"

Just then, a wild, three-stage laugh thundered out.

Everyone jumped. Instinctively, they turned toward the sound—the door had been kicked in.

Kaiba stood in the doorway, arms folded, duel disk glowing blue, his face lit up like a vengeful ghost.

"You really know how to hide—but it's pointless," he barked. "If you still have a duelist's pride, pick up your duel disks and fight!"

Their faces went white. Seeing each other's eyes, they all understood:

Game over!