The Lonely Scientist

In the far reaches of reality, hidden beneath the folds of existence, lay the HCBGWC (Hercules Corona Borealis Great Wall Center), an underground facility designed to manipulate the boundaries of dimensions. Here, in a laboratory adorned with gleaming machinery and enigmatic devices, Duo —a scientist driven by a mixture of boredom and curiosity—decided to create a companion.

"Alright, let's see if this works," Duo muttered, adjusting his lab coat and tapping a few keys on a control panel. A containment chamber hummed to life, and within it, a swirl of energy began to coalesce. The air crackled with anticipation as Duo's experiment reached its climax.

After a mere six hours of intense calculations and energetic manipulation, a figure took form—Sanago. Her appearance was striking: long, violet hair streaked with red, eyes like molten red and black, and a presence that radiated both calm and strength. Duo, both amazed and satisfied, welcomed her with a genuine smile.

"Welcome to the world, Sanago," Duo said. "I'm Duo. I made you to be my friend and companion. I'm looking forward to our time together."

Sanago's eyes blinked open, taking in the strange, new surroundings. She felt the energy pulsing around her, sensing the significance of her creation. "Hello?" she replied softly, her voice carrying a mixture of curiosity and cautiousness.

As the years passed, Duo raised Sanago with a blend of care and eccentricity. He shared his passion for a wide array of subjects, from the intricacies of advanced technology to the enchanting world of card games. One such passion was Yu-Gi-Oh!, a game that became a cornerstone of their bond.

Duo was an unconventional duelist, known for his eclectic and often suboptimal decks. His prized Zombie Deck was a chaotic fusion of powerful monsters and strange yet powerful spells. He would often challenge Sanago to duels, using his decks to teach her both the fundamentals and the nuances of the game.

One evening, in their cozy, cluttered game room filled with scattered cards and energetic ambiance, Duo set up a duel.

"Ready, Sanago?" Duo asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he shuffled his deck. "Tonight's duel will be a bit different. I'm using my Zombie Deck. Let's see if you can handle it."

Sanago nodded, she placed her Mikanko deck to the side and picked up the new deck that she had made recently. 

Duo: 8000 LP Sanago: 8000 LP

"Well then I'll go first and set four cards face down." Duo said, placing four cards face down on the table. 

"Alright!" Sanago sighed, drawing a card from the deck "I set a card."

"Well, well, well looks like we both bricked" Duo chuckled as he started to move his hand to his deck.

"Oi!" Sanago sneered, "Unlike you, I've actually got a strategy." 

"Hey! That's mean!" Duo exclaimed.

"Well then, I activate Cursed Eldland. Then I activate its effect, by paying 800 LP I can add-"

"Nuh Uh, I activate Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring (Tuner LVL3: 0 ATK 1800 DEF! This negates your Cursed Eldland!" Duo smirked. 

"Alright, then I'll activate Eldlixir of Black Awakening, which special summons an 'Eldlich' monster from my deck or hand! Which means I'm getting Eldlich anyway." 

With a quick search through the deck, Sango smirked and threw out a card of the field. 'Eldlich the Golden Lord' (LVL 10: 2500 ATK / 2800 DEF)

"Well let's get rid of that before it becomes an issue," Duo grinned as he flipped over one of his traps "You activated my trap! Bottomless Trap Hole!"

"Seriously?"

"Hahaha! When you summon a monster with 1500 ATK or more I can destroy and banish it!"

"You piece of shit! Fine, I normal summon Shiranui Solitaire(LVL 4: 500 ATK 0 DEF)!"

"I'll now make Shiranui Solitaire tribute one Zombie monster to special summon Uni-Zombie." Sanago said, taking out a card from her deck and reshuffling it. Placing the card down Duo's eyebrows shot up a bit. Uni-Zombie (Tuner LVL 3: 1300 ATK 0 DEF)

"Now I'm using Uni-Zombie's effect to target itself. For the rest of this turn, none of my monsters can attack—except for my Zombies, which are all of my monsters anyway. In return I get to send a Zombie monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. Which increases Uni-Zombie's level by 1."

"And what will you be sending?" Duo inquisition. 

"I think you'd know the answer by now, it's not as if I'd only have one of em" Sanago sighed

"Well one can hope."

"Welp, you did all that for nothing. I send Eldlich to the graveyard and increase the Uni-Zombie level by one."

"But now what, you already normal summoned and you clearly can't do anything else." Duo said twisting his head in confusion.

"Well, that's what you would say... If you can't read!"

"Hey! Everyone knows we don't read!"

"I use Eldlich's graveyard effect, I send a spell/trap I control to the GY and add this card to my hand. Then I can Special Summon a Zombie from my hand, and it gains 1000 ATK/DEF and cannot be destroyed by card effects until the end of your turn."

"Ahhh man" 

"I send Cursed Eldland to summon back Eldlich." Sanago lazily explains, placing it in attack mode. Eldlich the Golden Lord (LVL 10: 3500 ATK 3800 DEF)

"And because I sent Cursed Eldland, I can use its effect"

"Noooo, why does it keep going!"

"If Cursed Eldland is sent from Spell & Trap Zone to the graveyard, I can send one "Eldlich" monster or one "Golden Land" Spell/Trap from my deck to the graveyard."

"Well then I activate Floodgate Trap Hole! When you summon a monster, you have to change that monster to face-down defense position and they can't change their battle positions!" Duo smiled as he flipped over his second face-down card.

"You're seriously getting on my nerves. I send Conquistador of the Golden Land to the graveyard. Then I'll activate Uni-Zombie's second effect, I can choose one face-up monster on the field; discard one card, and increase that monster's level by one. I send Shiranui Solitaire and target Uni-Zombie again." 

Uni-Zombie (Tuner LVL 4 → 5: 1300 ATK 0 DEF)

"Well that was pointless." Duo remarked.

"That would be true, but I have a very neat card in my hand . Can you guess it?" Sanago smirked. 

"Is it -"

"It's Polymerization. It says 'Draw 2 Cards.'"

Duo tilts his head to the side in confusion, "That's not what it does!"

Sanago in a sarcastic voice replies, "No shit Sherlock, but now I can fusion summon." 

"HUH! You have a fusion monster?!" Duo exclaimed looking confused.

Sanago places the card in the spell zone, but then a strange aura around her starts forming

"By the cursed gold and shadows' might," Sanago started chanting, her eyes glowing brightly. A rush of wind surged through the room as Sanago chanted.

"Wa-a-ait, Sanago somethings not right!" Duo exclaimed, "There shouldn't be any wind up here!"

Sanago, possessed and oblivious to what Duo had just said continued the chant "Eldlich the Mad Golden Lord, rise from the night! Unleash your power, crush their hopes, and destroy my foes with all your might!" A swirling tempest of gold and shadows quickly formed around the table, as a towering figure cloaked in swirling gold and shadows materialized behind her. Its imposing presence filled the air with a palpable energy as a crack appeared just behind Sanago. Before Duo could react, Sanago was abruptly sucked into the crack, which snapped shut with a sudden, resounding crack. Duo stood in stunned silence, the room now eerily quiet.

Duo quickly snapped out of it and ran to his control room yelling "Activate the emergency procedures! We've lost Sango!"

As the crack snapped shut, Sanago was unceremoniously expelled into a narrow, dimly lit alleyway. She stumbled, disoriented, as the sudden shift in surroundings hit her. The alley was cramped and cluttered with debris, with only the faint hum of a distant, bustling city reaching her ears. She tried to steady herself, feeling the cold, metallic air that seemed foreign and oppressive.

As Sanago cautiously made her way out of the alley, the narrow passage opened up to reveal a sprawling, vibrant metropolis. Towering skyscrapers, adorned with flickering neon lights and massive holograms, loomed above her, casting long shadows across the bustling streets. A hologram of a well-known figure, with an arrogant tone, greeted newcomers with a booming voice, "Welcome to Negate City! Where only the best rise to the top and everyone else is left in the dust!"

Sanago's eyes darted around, taking in the overwhelming scale of the city. The sheer magnitude of the towering buildings and the ceaseless activity of the streets left her in awe and confusion.

A nearby screen was displaying an news report with the anchor saying "Tonight, our local police department had entered an skyscraper for a raid for illegal items. However when they arrived, they were met with several bodies thrown around the room. Local authorities claim that victims are alive and are currently being rushed to the hospital. However the real question remains, Who or What could have caused this?" It suddenly switched to an announcement in bright and colorful letters spelling out "Tonight we have our champion vs. a newcomer who is blazing through the ranks. Who will win this intense game of Yu-Gi-Oh?!"

Sanago's brow furrowed. "Yu-Gi-Oh? Raids?" she echoed, bewildered. She instinctively reached into her pocket and felt a deck of cards. Her confusion deepened as she pulled it out, "What is going on?"