Another Generation   von Jitsch
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                             Prolog: Another Dream
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Someone was calling his name.
The voice seemed to come from far away at first, but it became clearer and
louder each time it called him. Gradually he realized that there was not one,
but two voices speaking. One was deep and agitated, the other high-pitched and
calm. They kept repeating his name in turns.
The voices were unfamiliar, but the place he was in was not. The circles of high
stairs around him, cast in sand-colored stone. The heavy pillars outside the
arena that pointed into the perfectly blue sky. The rainbow that arched above
him, in spite of the absence of even a trace of a cloud. He didn’t get the
chance to be here often, but he felt more at home here than in places he was
seeing every day. Because this was where he was meant to be:
Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins
He had been standing in this coliseum dozens of times before, but this time
there was no opponent and when he checked his arm, he was not wearing a Duel
Disk that would explain the existence of a solid vision hologram. He immediately
concluded that he must be dreaming.
The voices said his name again, and suddenly he was not alone anymore.
Two figures had appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.
Their physique was human, but the fact that they were floating in midair and
that he could see through them to a degree identified them as the spirits of
duel monsters. At least that was the most likely explanation, but he had not
seen these monsters before. And yet, seeing them he felt like they belonged in
this place, the sanctuary of the Crystal Beasts, just as much as he did.
They were a pair like day and night. The one on the left wore light clothes and
a metal breastplate. His dress was dominated by light violets and blues set off
with golden accents. His short hair was blonde. At his side hung a giant sword,
identifying him as a warrior.
The other displayed a dress made of dark heavy leather with dozens of belts
wrapped around his torso. In spite of the dress and his long flowing hair that
fell down his back in a thick braid he looked very masculine thanks to the
steel-like muscles his sleeveless clothing revealed. He carried a crimson staff
with a huge ornament at its top. In terms of Duel Monsters, he was most likely a
Spellcaster.
As different as they were, they clearly belonged together. The emblem that
appeared on the hilt of the knight’s sword and his belt was the same as the
ornament on the spellcaster’s staff.
He could not see their faces – the warrior’s eyes were covered by a metal
visor and the spellcaster wore a mask that covered his face completely. But that
did not quench the inexplicable feeling that he could trust them.
“Johann Andersen.”
It was the light one, the warrior, who called his name once more. It was not a
question. They knew that he was the one they had been calling. Nobody else was
here anyway. He still felt compelled to nod.
“Please listen to what we have to say”, the one in dark clothes said. His
voice was gentle and melodious, but also sounded incredibly sad.
As they continued to talk to him, neither spoke for a long time. Johann
continued to turn his head from one to the other. It was almost like he was
watching a pendulum swinging back and forth.
“You need to help us”, the warrior said. It almost sounded like an order.
“We are powerless, so all we can do is ask for your help”, his dark
counterpart admitted sadly.
“Darkness is closing in”, said the knight grimly, “If we cannot beat
it…”
The other took over: “First it will take our hope for a shining future. Then
our will to fight for it. And in the end, everyone will sink into the abyss of
nothingness.”
Johann swallowed hard. He could feel how serious the two were.
“But it is not too late yet!”
“With your help, we can stop Darkness from spreading.”
Johann realized they were waiting for a reaction. He straightened his back.
“I will do whatever I can”, he promised.
His words had hardly left his lips when he felt a familiar aura. Turning to both
sides, he saw that the Crystal Beasts had appeared next to him. The duo did not
seem surprised to see the seven mystical animals appear.
Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus stepped forward as their representative. “And
he will not fight alone”, the winged beast announced proudly.
A faint smile appeared on the lips of the knight as he nodded approval.
“Then listen, and listen well.”
“Because we can only win if all the conditions are met.”

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