Chapter 2: The Dungeon of Delphi
They gave you a horse.
Not because you asked—because the Oracle demanded it.
The moment you accepted the crimson fragment, the Temple of Apollo sent you off like a divine envoy. Gold-trimmed priests bowed. Bronze-armored guards escorted you through the gates. No one dared meet your eyes for long. Rumors spread faster than the chimera's death: a Duelist who called monsters with words, who summoned lightning and rode with divine favor.
You didn't speak.
You didn't need to.
With the Millennium Necklace pulsing faintly beneath your tunic and the deck strapped to your side, you left Phocaea behind. The temple bells tolled as the city watched your silhouette vanish down the coast-bound trail toward Mount Parnassus.
---
The road to Delphi was long and winding. The sun bore down as you rode along dusty cliffs, white stones crunching beneath hooves. A merchant caravan passed you at one point. They bowed their heads low as you passed, as if afraid to catch your gaze.
The world knew something had changed.
The Millennium Necklace showed you glimpses of what waited.
Ancient seals cracking.
Sarcophagi in forgotten chambers twitching beneath layers of dust.
The beat of a wing that did not belong to any bird.
You weren't just tracking a god card fragment. Something else was awakening.
---
Delphi rose like a fortress against the mountain's side, its white columns and slate roofs visible long before you reached the gates. Unlike Phocaea, it wasn't beautiful.
It was wary.
Watchtowers lined the cliffs. Silver and obsidian banners fluttered in the wind—symbols not of gods, but of ancient warning signs, warding marks used only in times of outbreak or invasion.
The guards did not bow.
They stared you down as you approached. Their armor gleamed black and silver, etched with glyphs from a dozen languages—Egyptian, Old Atlantean, something resembling Duel Monster script. Their spears weren't spears at all, but thin rods humming with energy—likely tuned against summoning magic.
One stepped forward. His voice was rough from years of command. "State your purpose, outsider."
You raised the crimson fragment. "The Oracle sent me. I seek what's sealed below."
The guard's expression shifted. Not to fear. Not to reverence.
To suspicion.
Still, he nodded.
"Follow me."
---
They opened the great stone gate of Delphi—twice the size of the temple archways in Phocaea. It groaned like an angry beast as the stone receded. Inside, the sanctuary of Delphi was silent. Few walked its open grounds. Fewer still spoke above a whisper.
This was not a place of living gods.
It was a place of dead power.
An old priestess met you at the steps of the inner sanctum. "He stirs, you know," she whispered, staring beyond you. "The beast in the dark. You walk toward him like a moth to a flame."
You nodded. "Then I'll burn brighter."
The torch-lit stairs spiraled deep beneath the temple. Every step down made the air thicker. The heat faded. Your breath turned to mist. Carvings lined the walls—images of the gods, yes, but also of monsters: Hydras dueling dragons, titans with duel disks locked in shadow combat, humans turned to ash beneath a red sky.
And then... the carvings stopped.
Replaced by blank stone.
Unmarked.
As if what came next couldn't be written.
> [System Alert: Major Dungeon Discovered – Delphi Catacombs]
Threat Level: HIGH
Environment: Sealed Divine Vault
Objective: Retrieve Slifer Fragment (2/3)
Bonus Objective: Defeat Named Monster – Chimera Duelist: Erebax
Reward: System Expansion | Ritual Support Unlocked | Deck Limit +10
At the base of the spiral was a single door—ten feet high, shaped from solid obsidian and lined with veins of red-gold. Symbols pulsed on its surface, each one dimming and sparking like a failing heartbeat.
Your hand touched the Millennium Necklace.
It pulsed.
The door groaned, cracked, then peeled apart like petals, revealing the chamber beyond.
---
The air inside was wrong.
It hummed with static. Not the kind from electronics—but soul energy. Residual pain. Rage. Memories clinging to the very walls.
You entered an ancient dueling arena, circular and perfectly symmetrical, with six pillars surrounding it. The ground bore the outlines of a Duel Monsters field—Monster Zones, Spell Zones, even a faint outline of a Graveyard ring, though carved from marble and rune-etched instead of mechanical.
And across the field stood your opponent.
A being once human—but no longer.
He was tall, wrapped in black and red robes stitched from monster hide. His limbs were elongated, his skin covered in scales and fur, patches of bone and steel replacing flesh. Horns curled from the sides of his head. His duel disk was made of bone and obsidian, etched with runes that burned crimson.
> [Enemy Identified: Named Duelist-Class Monster – Erebax the Chimera]
Class: Ancient
Memory Consumption Ability Detected
Duel Challenge Enforced
Stakes: Winner claims memory, deck contents, and soul energy of the loser
He hissed, his voice slithering like oil over stone. "So the child of the necklace descends. I've waited for you."
You frowned. "You know what this is?"
He grinned, revealing rows of sharp, uneven teeth. "The gods are gone. But you carry their scent. The legacy they tried to bury. A Duelist born from fate itself."
Your grip tightened on your deck.
He raised his disk. "I challenge you, Millennium Bearer."
> [Duel Initiated: Chimera Duelist – Erebax]
Life Points: 4000 vs 4000
Duel Type: Arena – Spectral Bond
Special Rule: Loser forfeits memory to the victor
---
Turn 1 – Your Move
You drew your starting hand:
Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Sage with Eyes of Blue
Dragon Shrine
Trade-In
Ancient Rules
Almost perfect.
You nodded. "I activate Dragon Shrine. I send White Stone of Ancients and Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the Graveyard."
A soft hum echoed as energy rippled across the field.
"I activate Ancient Rules! Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand!"
Your dragon emerged with a roar. Its body coalesced from light and mist, wings spreading with a burst of power. Even here, in this sealed tomb of a world, the Blue-Eyes made the walls tremble.
The spirits trapped within the pillars screamed in chorus.
Erebax laughed, delighted. "Yes! More!"
"Battle Phase. Blue-Eyes attacks directly! White Lightning!"
A beam of crackling energy surged from the dragon's maw, striking Erebax's side of the field. His cloak flared backward from the force.
> Erebax LP: 4000 → 2800
Your LP: 4000
He didn't flinch.
"My turn."
---
Turn 2 – Erebax
He drew with a clawed hand and hissed, "I summon Beast-Warrior Sargarok! Set two cards. Turn end."
You raised an eyebrow. A bluff?
You activated your Millennium Necklace—briefly peeking forward.
You saw the trap.
When Blue-Eyes attacked again, chains would erupt, dragging your dragon to the underworld.
So you baited it.
"Main Phase 2. I activate Trade-In, discarding another Blue-Eyes to draw two cards!"
Your hand glowed—Silver's Cry and Burst Stream of Destruction.
Perfect.
"End turn."
---
Turn 3 – Your Move
You activated Silver's Cry, summoning the discarded Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the grave. "Battle Phase! My second Blue-Eyes attacks Sargarok!"
The monster exploded under the blast. As predicted, shadow chains erupted—grabbing the Blue-Eyes and dragging it into a swirling pit of darkness.
But you were ready.
"Quick-Play Spell: Silver's Cry! Return my dragon to the field!"
The second Blue-Eyes emerged once again, wings wide, more enraged than ever.
The crowd of spectral echoes howled in approval.
> Erebax LP: 2800 → 1800
He growled. "Then I will show you a fragment of divinity."
---
Turn 4 – Erebax
"I activate Chimera Fusion!" he bellowed. "I fuse Serpent of the Sky and Fanged Ravager to summon Hybrid Beast of Slifer!"
The arena darkened.
A mutated Slifer erupted from the black vortex—its scales cracked, both mouths dislocated and rotting, eyes glowing with broken divinity. Its ATK rose with every card in his hand.
> Cards in hand: 4
Hybrid Slifer ATK: 4000
Your chest tightened.
Even a single hit from that thing…
"Main Phase 2. I set one card. Turn end."
---
Turn 5 – Your Move
You touched the top of your deck.
The Millennium Necklace glowed.
You saw your draw before it left the deck sleeve.
> Burst Stream of Destruction
You drew it.
"Main Phase. I activate Burst Stream of Destruction! If I control Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy all monsters my opponent controls!"
The entire arena erupted.
The Hybrid Slifer shrieked in agony, both jaws opening at once as the full force of Blue-Eyes' twin beams burned it to ash.
Erebax screamed.
> Erebax LP: 1800 → 0
He disintegrated on the spot—his robe collapsing to the stone.
And from the ashes, a crimson shard floated upward.
---
You caught the fragment as it hovered toward you.
It pulsed in time with the first.
> [Slifer Fragment (2/3) Acquired]
Divine Energy: Stabilized
Ritual Card Unlocked: Ancient Awakening of the Sky Dragon
Deck Limit: Increased to 50
Side Deck: Unlocked
Unique Monster Card Acquired: Hybrid Echo of Slifer (Bound by Purification)
The shadows in the room began to dissolve.
The spirits faded.
The arena grew still.
Behind you, the obsidian door cracked open again. Light flooded the dungeon once more.
But ahead—another door, older than the first, creaked open silently.
You felt it.
A third presence.
Another fragment.
And something else watching.
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