[Meanwhile back in the Palace]

"I win!" Etsuo said, raising his hands into the air.

Kiara stared at the digital game board, incredulously. She kept losing to him every single time during these past few days! And she wasn't a slouch at games, either.

Etsuo grinned smugly. "Wanna go another round?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a suspicious look. "How do you do it? You're like a king of games or something."

Etsuo chuckled. "I don't know, but I've been good at them since I was a kid. Beating Satoru in a game of marbles was always fun until the guy began his temper tantrum."

"That Satoru is a total jerk. Wish I had a chance to fight him."

Etsuo stared at her for a while. "You sure? You almost died."

She scoffed. "That was because he performed a sneak attack! Nothing more!"

"H-hey, sis," Dan said as he held a pair of blue devices in his hand. "Wanna duel?"

"Duel?" Etsuo asked as Dan closed the cell behind him.

Dan smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Ever heard of Mystic? It's a card game in which one—"

Etsuo's golden eyes glimmered. "Of course I have! I played it with Roa and the others back home!"

"Huh, aren't you from another world? How did a game like Mystic spread there?" Kiara asked.

"Uh, well, there's actually only a few of us kids with decks. We got our cards from uncle Skah, Roa's papa. Uncle Skah used to be known as the 'Spirit King'. He became the youngest one at age fifteen too!"

"W-wait, y-your uncle i-is S-spirit K-king Skah? The owner of the Dancing Swans d-deck?" Dan asked, eyes wide.

Etsuo chuckled. "Yup! Him! Throughout the course of his time here, uncle Skah collected a ton of cards, some of which were given to him by fans. He would often sell them to us or give them as rewards for running certain tasks for the shop. My first card was 'Deaf Monkey Prince', which he gave to me as a gift."

"So you have stores in your realm too?" Kiara asked, giving him a strange look.

Etsuo chuckled. "I bet you expected us to be more uncivilized, eh? Well, not all parts do. My family lives on a series of islands protected by a barrier. Though the barrier is mostly intended to keep kids from wandering too far..." He looked down at the gray prison floor. His golden eyes momentarily shifted toward Dine's core.

"Uh... d-do you want to d-duel?" Dan asked as he kept his head down.

Etsuo looked up and saw that the boy was blushing beneath his hood.

Kiara smiled. It must've taken a lot of courage for Dan to ask a stranger that. He rarely would ask those outside of their family to play. The few times he did all ended badly. Having listened to Etsuo's story, she realized that the two boys had things in common. Perhaps, if Dan befriended Etsuo, he could break from his shell, while Etsuo would grow closer to them.

The white-haired teen stood up from the bed and took the other device. He stared at it for a while. "So, how does one duel with this?"

Dan chuckled. "I'll show you." He walked over to Etsuo and tapped some buttons on the screen. "You go to the 'select your deck' menu and choose between forty to fifty cards. This is a digital interface which gives access to all the cards ever made except for those that are banned."

Etsuo jumped and let out a yelp. "R-really? All of them? This is incredible!" he yelled as he raised it over his head. His smile faded somewhat. "Though, it kinda makes all my work to build up my deck seem like a waste."

"Well, there are tournaments where one can only use a physical deck such as the one to become Spirit King," Kiara said as she took a seat down on Etsuo's bed.

"Say, who is the current Spirit King?"

"There is none," Kiara said, chuckling.

"Huh? But you made it sound as if the tournaments are still hosted."

"They are," Dan said, grinning.

"The current 'Spirit King' is a girl," Kiara responded with a smile.

Etsuo tilted his head. "A girl?"

"Yup! You wouldn't believe who she is either."

The white-haired boy tilted his head. "Who? Do I know her?"

Kiara's smile faded somewhat. "Yes. She's the one you fooled into believing you were her friend."

Etsuo stepped back. "No way, you mean that it's Rosalba?"

Dan nodded. "I... I wanna duel her. O-once the war is over, of course," he said, staring at his device.

Etsuo chuckled. "So, the occupier of my uncle's former title is the naive princess." He fiddled around with the device like how Dan had shown him. It wasn't too hard to get a handle of after playing several smartphone games during the past few weeks. The princess was kind enough to have given Roa and him phones of their own. Roa, though, broke his on day one and needed to get a replacement.

He gasped as he recalled having seen Rosalba play several mobile games in her free time. Was one of those games a mobile version of Mystic? Was she practicing? He had to check out the app store as soon as he got out of the dungeon, or maybe he could get Kiara to return him his phone. Thus far, she was kind enough to play with him, even though he was the enemy.

"Done!" Dan said, giving him a shy grin. "A-are you done yet?"

Etsuo turned back to his device. There were so many cards that he had never seen and others which he could only have dreamt of owning. He ultimately went for a deck close to the one he used back home. "Done!"

Kiara chuckled as she said, "This should be interesting."

"Spirits, come forth!" the two boys yelled in unison as if they had recited those words multiple times.

Suddenly the two devices unleashed twin rays of light. Upon meeting, the beams of light spread out to form a five by four field. Each player had ten spots to place their cards.

"I'll start!" Etsuo said as he drew a card. He looked down at his hand of six. He had gotten a few weak cards, but they were what he needed. He picked a single card and placed it on the field face-down. "I end my turn!"

The Makkuroyama siblings gasped. The move was a strange one. Usually, one would place a battle spirit down alongside their 'Secret card', assuming it was one and not a hidden battle spirit.

Dan shook his head. Whatever Etsuo was planning, he needed to be ready for it. He drew a card and smiled as soon as he saw it. The Sky Father and Earth Mother seemed to be on his side today.

He tossed three digital cards in the field. "I summon Solar Maid: Ama, Solar Star Knight, and Solar Key!"

Etsuo gasped. "Wait, you can summon three spirits at the same time?"

Kiara chuckled. "Guess that since you were taught the game by an old-timer, you are unaware of the rule changes. Yeah, one can now summon up to three spirits in a single turn, though only one of them may attack during the summon turn. Of course, that three spirits rule doesn't apply to other kinds of summons such as 'Spirit Merger', 'Spirit Call', 'Spirit Drive', 'Spirit Evolution', 'Spirit Divination', and 'Spirit Connection'."

Etsuo gave her a confused look. "Alright, I know what the first two are, but what are the rest?"

"I'll show you!" Dan said, grinning. Suddenly he seemed like a different person. "Solar Star Knight, reach for the power to achieve your dreams! Reach for the drive! Solar Key spread your burning prana over Solar Star Knight! Your power will strengthen the mighty knight of the sun! "

The red armored knight reached his hand up and grabbed the solar key floating over it. The key exploded upon touch into red dust, which speckled the knight. Red rings appeared around the knight and continued to move up and down. The spirit's armor changed, as did his physic. The knight became older looking, and his helmet was replaced by a golden crown with embedded rubies. A red fur cape appeared around the knight while a golden sphere with a cross appeared in his right hand. On his left, he continued to wield his sword.

Etsuo gasped at the sight of the spirit's attack. It had a three-thousand attack stat!

"Come on forth! Solar King Leo!" Dan yelled at the top of his lungs. "Attack Etsuo's face-down card! Holy Solar Flare!"

The knight swung his sword at the card. However, the flames didn't go through.

"Huh?"

Etsuo chuckled. "Nice try. Activate, Secret Card: Three Protector Monkeys! When this card is played when my field is empty, it allows me to cancel out an attack and summon forth three Monkey Tokens."

Dan gasped, as three small white monkeys appeared on Etsuo's side of the field.

Kiara smiled. "It seems that the old-fashioned duelist isn't too shabby. Be careful little brother, anyone taught by Spirit King Skah is bound to be trouble!"

Dan nodded. "I-I will. I-I p-place one card face down and end m-my turn."

"Now, time to show you what I got! I have my three monkeys Spirit Call one of their lieges, 'Deaf Monkey Prince', come on forth and shake the heavens!" Etsuo yelled.

His three small monkeys vanished and were replaced by a lanky white monkey with its hands cupped over its ears as if trying to hear.

"Deaf Monkey Prince's special ability activates!" Etsuo yelled as he cut the air with his hand. "By vanishing my three tokens from Shiloh, he can shift your spirits into a defensive stance and inflict 500 damage for each spirit on the field."

The lanky monkey unleashed a howling scream shifting Dan's spirits into defensive positions.

Dan winced.

"I-I won't lose! Secret Card activate! Key of Liberation!" A giant golden key suddenly emerged from the ground. "Key of Liberation nullifies the effects done either by spirit, secret, and any other card for one spirit of my choice. I choose Solar King Leo! When Solar King Leo is affected by another card of any kind, its teammates are impacted as well!"

Solar Maid: Ama shifted back into battle stance alongside her master.

Etsuo grinned. "Nice! However, you still take one-thousand points of damage! Howl of the Jungle!"

Dan closed his ears as the spirit unleashed another piercing scream. His life points dipped from four-thousand to three-thousand.

"Not done yet! Deaf Monkey Prince attacks Solar Maid: Ama!"

Kiara grinned. "Not a wise move, buddy."

Etsuo gasped as the attack struck Solar King Leo instead.

"S-sorry, but Solar King Leo won't allow for his subjects to be harmed!" Dan said. "So long as Solar King Leo remains on the field, the only spirit with the word 'Solar' in its name that can be attacked is him."

Etsuo chuckled as his spirit vanished, and his life points dipped by five-hundred. "Seems I still got a ton to learn about these new cards and mechanics! However, it's not over! Deaf Monkey Prince has a second special ability. When destroyed within the turn he is 'Spirit Called', I am allowed to summon four Monkey Tokens in defense position! I place two cards face down and end my turn!"

Dan smiled. "S-sorry, but you're just struggling for nothing." He drew another card and smiled. "I-I'll end this now! I summon Solar Key!"

"Another one?"

Dan grinned. "Yup! Solar Maid: Ama, reach for the sun and your dreams! Reach for what drives you to go on forward! The days you watched as your knight fought to protect the manner! How you desire to fight alongside him! Solar Key, give your burning prana to her, and strengthen the maiden of the sun!"

The maid raised her hand out for the key. Her red clothes were replaced by a frilly red gown. A golden tiara with a single ruby adorned her head. "Come on forth! Solar Queen Ama! Now, attack Solar King Leo! Holy Solar Flare!"

The King raised his sword and attacked all of the monkeys in a single strike.

Etsuo's eyes widened. "H-he can do that?"

Dan nodded. "When Solar Queen Ama is on the field, Solar King Leo can attack four times!"

"No way, what kind of broken combo is that? That card should be banned!" Etsuo yelled as he stared at Dan in disbelief. The kid was better than he expected. Luckily those were only token, plus they played into his plans. Though, the issue now was the queen.

"It's a powerful combo I came up with in the hope of becoming Spirit King!"

"Ha, Spirit King Dan, eh? Has a nice ring to it, but I won't lose! Secret Card, activate!" One of Etsuo's two cards flipped over, revealing the image of four monkeys around a tall monkey. "I activate 'Emergency Monkey Spirit Call'! When four spirits with the word 'monkey' in them are destroyed, and Deaf Monkey Prince is in Shiloh, I can 'Spirit Call' it and three others forth!"

"What?" Dan asked, stepping back.

Etsuo grinned. "You aren't the only one with a broken combo! Come forth; Deaf Monkey Prince, Blind Monkey Prince, Mute Monkey Prince, and Nonexistent Monkey Princess!"

Kiara gasped as she remembered the abilities of Satoru and Roa. Were Etsuo's cards based on his teammates? If so, then who was the fourth monkey? Dine?

"Sadly, all four have their abilities nullified. However, I flip my other hidden card!"

Dan gasped at the sight of the Celestial Card.

"Gathering of the Protector Monkeys!" Etsuo yelled. "When all four 'protector' monkeys are on the field, for one turn, my spirits are immune to all damage from other spirits."

Dan began to sweat. This wasn't going to be easy. "I-I place one card face down and end my turn."

"You can do it, little brother!" Kiara yelled. "Defeat Etsuo for me!"

Etsuo turned around and chuckled. "What a supportive sis, though don't think that I'll allow you to touch my tail if he wins. You have to beat me, not him."

Kiara crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled. She wanted to feel his tail at least one more time.

https://youtu.be/K3w3X8wX7fw

"Plus, I'm the one winning this!" he yelled as he drew a virtual card. The teen jumped into the air in joy. "Yes! The last piece is here! Get ready, 'Spirit King Dan', here comes 'King of Games Etsuo'! Celestial Card: Super Monkey Spirit Merger!"

"What? A super-merger card?" Kiara yelled as she stood up.

"Come together, all four monkey guardians! Merge together into the ultimate force there is! The king of the jungle, the one who raided the heavens. Come forth, Supreme Monkey King! Let your foes know your power! Go and take down that Solar King! Jungle Fist!"

Dan's jaw dropped at the sight of the bare-chested black monkey. The spirit had four-thousand battle points! He watched in horror as his Solar King Leo took a green aura covered fist to the gut. His life points dipped down to two-thousand. He had lost half of his points already while Etsuo still had three-thousand-five-hundred.

https://youtu.be/9d-DiiPxT1U

His Solar Queen Ama only had three-thousand battle points. She didn't stand a chance against that monkey!

Etsuo grinned. "Supreme Monkey King's ability activates! By reducing my life by five-hundred, it can attack a second time so long as the opponent has a spirit!"

Dan closed his eyes. He couldn't watch. He was gonna lose! He cried as his points dipped to one-thousand.

Etsuo frowned. "Sorry, kid. I don't plan to lose. If I do, I will lose in one of the few things I'm good at. I end my turn."

Dan opened his eyes and stared at his empty field. How could he dream of beating Rosalba when he couldn't even defeat someone who only knew the rules of the game from decades ago?

The kid shook his head and drew another card. A shy smile plastered his face. "I-I summon Solar Priest: Kihi!"

Etsuo tilted his head as a golden robed, red-haired young man appeared on Dan's side of the field. The spirit had zero battle points. Though if battling his uncle taught him anything, it was to not underestimate those spirits.

"N-next I activate Celestial Card: Prayer to the Heavens. When my only spirit is a priest class spirit, I-I can have it call forth two spirits from the depths of Shiloh back with their battle points reduced to zero. Those ones I choose are Solar King Leo and Solar Queen Ama. I place one card face down and end my turn."

Etsuo stared at the smiling Dan with suspicion. The kid obviously had a plan, but what was it? He needed to rid the field of his hidden cards for one. Next, he needed to rid the field of those zero battle point monsters.

"Look at you, playing with the enemy," a voice called out.

*To Be Continued in Episode 69*

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I always wanted to write a chapter with a Yu-gi-oh-like card game but never had the chance to get to writing one. I dedicated this chapter to who seems to be my number one fan thus far, ShinomiyaDR. I'm happy to see you yelling 'Yatta' with each update, really shows your excitement xD. 

So, what did you folks think about the revelations in this chapter? Any thoughts on the duel itself?**