Prelude to the Duel

"Easy there" inside a simple and unamusing game store sounds of grunting and complaining could be heard, "gramps come on, let me help you" a slightly pail young man said to a short old man that was trying to move through sheer brute force a big block of wood that by the marks and faded paint has, obviously, seen better days; "N-nonsense young man, you are my guest at none other than my house and shop, and even at my advanced age I haven't forgotten to be a good host " the old man replied keeping a smile on host face while trying to move forward the old block of wood.

The young man, meanwhile, couldn't help but be exasperated with the old man obstinacy, shaking his head in disapproval he took hold of the old block of wood and without effort lift it from the ground, with the old man still latching to it; at what the young man could only keep lifting up the block until he could raise it even over his head, only to lock eyes with the old man´s that thanks to his short stature was actually slightly hanging from the block, all of that because he hasn't let go yet.

"You know gramps, I understand where you are coming from but you are not as young as before, just let me deal with the heavy stuff, while you go and prepare your deck" You know, it's weird to write in third person in your own journal, maybe I´ll do it a couple of times if the situation calls for it but, this supposed to be done from my own point of view so will be coming back to that about, now.

"Sonny, you know I can't let you do all the work" he said while looking at how effortlessly I brought the piece of wood outside from the store, it was a cozy place and it reeked of games, from old to new, from those that I am pretty sure my grandparents and parents played to some more recent, not recent like when I was transported? Isekaid? Transmigrated? Well not of the year two thousand and forty, but those near the end of the nineties or at least those that were updated to said decade, like Hungry Hungry Hippos, Operation (Updated), Cranium and holy cow he even had Jumanji! But the store was small, true I t could accommodate the main cast which were only four plus Kaiba but it wasn't a place where you could play comfortably a Duel or two, it was still to narrow, especially with this piece of wood, really where the heck gramps found or bought this thing?

Damn, I am old, and now I miss Robin Williams even more, my favorite comedy actor alongside Jim Carrey, if those two could have worked together in a movie I would have been the happiest kid in my life, later bought the damn thing in every single format, cassete, VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, heck even Digital, I mean it, I am a huge fan of them, which comes to my mind, that I should find out if they exist, it would incredible if Robin Williams would be still alive, I could enjoy my favorites movies all over again, but that means that he could die…again, ugh, not again, first Michael, then Robin Williams, after him Avicii, Steve Harwell too, dude, I realize that I was born in a time that during growing up period, between my fifteen and thirties, that most of my favorites actors and singers passed away, goodbye Chester we still miss you; damn, even the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! Passed away, though like a hero, and for the love of God no one less than the duo themselves though gotta admit it they gave enough, but to me, it felt they still haven't given their all or not even close to it, always felt that they wanted to do more, but still, RIP Stan Lee and Toriyama sensei, you will be dearly missed.

If only I would have known at that time

"You know" gramps said while I was already outside, and he decided to at least bring two chairs, so we could sit and start playing at any moment now, "You should have told me that your deck wasn't finished I would have helped you to get the cards you needed, I have some friends here and there that sometimes help me to find out some of the rarest cards" gramps said while sitting in chair opposite to mine, "Yeah, but I didn't want to be rude, besides you already opened your shop for me on Sunday of all days possible, especially just to take me out of my funk earlier I just, didn't want to take advantage of your kindness" I said while I sit in the chair, and trying not to sound so sheepish about it, it still felt weird that someone would help me without asking for something in exchange, especially someone that I have barely gotten to know in the last two hours.

He simply smiled at me, that grandfatherly smile that always seemed so natural on his wrinkled aged face; grandpa would have never smiled like that, "Don't be silly sonny, it's natural to help those in need, isn't it?" he asked, reassured? Me? To which even now, felt like a minutes, when it they only were seconds for me to answer, without breaking in cold sweat, "I…suppose" I said cringing at my own uncertainty and disbelief, once again, my emotions and voice betrayed me.

I think it showed on my face, his brows furrowed at my words and tone of voice, it wasn't natural I know, and clapped his hands; Hard. "Very well sonny, help me to take the lid off, you are going to love what's underneath" He said acting ignorant to my signs, it was better that way, at least for me; the thing hadn't been opened in a long time, it was one of those lids that didn't have handles or a button that could facilitate its opening, but one of those old worn out lids that should slid off with ease, or at least that was how it should be, when I say it was old, I mean it, it has seen better times, not only the paint was fading away, while we were transporting, some chunks of it fell down to the floor, and not only that if I put a little bit of pressure I could hear the sound of the wood creaking, this thing was old, probably even older than my previous and actual age all together.

With a little bit of effort, and making sure that my new found strength, wouldn't make a mess of the ancient block, we were finally to lift the lid, what greeted me was something that I had only see in almost every product of the games but foremost on two very specific situations, at the end of the opening intro of the anime and during the Duels of the his most famous videogame till date, Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories, it was none other than the board where the Duels in FM were played, with that a rush of memories and feelings hit me like a truck, none of them were negative on the contrary, a strong sentiment of nostalgia that I hadn't feel in a long long time, took my down memory lane, making me travel, if just for a moment, to more simple times, times that I safeguarded in the deepest corner of my mind with the utmost care and fondness that I could handle.

There was no way for me to know at that time, not at least until a couple of months later thanks to gramps here, but apparently I was smiling, and not the forced one that I always wore on my face but an honest one, mixed with melancholy, nostalgia and a bit of happiness, "Ohohohoho" his characteristic laugh brought me out of whatever I was in, showing me a row of full white teeth's and a happy go lucky smile, it never stopped with being kind though, "Seems to me that you recognized game board" gramps said while moving a little the block, making sure that it was still stable for our Duel, I guess.

"You…could say that" I said while trying not to blur out where I specifically saw it, sometimes I could be a blabbermouth, it was really hard for me to get out of that phase while I was young, "You know young man, it's said that a long time ago during the time of ancient Egypt" He began taking a more professional but wise visage, like a scholar that was retelling the stories from old to the new generation, but coming from the same famous daredevil archaeologist that helped to find the origin of the Duel Monster alongside his, after said event, lifelong friend Arthur Hawkins, not only that but it was him who found the Millenium Puzzle in the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, and later give to Yugi the protagonist of DM, so you can say that not only has some kind of veracity but it was better to pay attention too, the guy was a legend, he just never cared for fame or glory, and only after losing all his money on gambling was that he became humble.

"When the pyramids were still young, Egyptians kings played a game of great and terrible power" he followed his voice becoming grave, and his face going from his jovial appearance to a more serious down to earth one, "But these shadow games erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the entire world" coming to my mind were the vivid images of mighty kings, warriors, priests and priestess of old, summoning powerful entities from ancient giant tablets of rock, only to use them as war assets and as a show of power against their enemies, "Until a brave and powerful pharaoh locked the magic away" now the shadows growing on the walls of the game store started too to tell a story of old, where a charismatic figure could be seen employing what only could be considered as ancient magic to seal away the entities that threatened to destroy everything, what stood out the most, was a single shining golden eye on his forehead, "Imprisoning it within the mystical millennium items" an eye, a balance, a ring, a key in the form of an anhk, a necklace, a scepter and the millennium puzzle quickly passed through my mind making it clear of the mystical game changing artifacts that were part of the main plot of this world.

"And now, those shadow games has become what we know as Duel Monsters" he finished with a serious expression on his face, "Now we, with each singular Duel, we recreate those very specific games, but know we only do it, as just that, as a game, not as a method or as an end of some sorts, it's incredible don't you think?" he said with a small smile on his face "How ancient civilizations were able to create such games, only for us, years later, to find about them and modify them for our own use" he kept talking and I was enraptured hanging from every word that spilled form his mouth, it wasn't nothing that I haven't heard before but there was a difference between a narrator and hearing it from the man itself.

"And this board Sonny" placing one of his hands over the board and caressing it as if it were an old lover, nostalgia and who knows more dancing in those violet eyes of his, "Its a living representation of one o the arenas were said confrontations were disputed" wait…this is a real what?! My eyes almost got out of eye sockets with how big I opened them knowing that the FM board, was actually real, giving me a bad feeling regarding my situation in this world,

"Ohohohoho; I asked an old colleague of mine to carve the most vivid image that he could of that very same giant board, when we finally found it of course, it was eventually carved in a solid block of Acacia this particular kind of wood is hard and durable, you know" he finished his tale smiling widely while still looking fondly at said board, it was obvious that this in particular held a very important place in his heart.

"But look at me rambling while we should be dueling" he chastised himself, I guess? Though the look ij his denoted a more playful side to his words, and chuckling I answer to his grandpa joke I nodded at that, we have stalled long enough, "Young man before we begin, are you really okay with the cards that you choose?" he asked still unsure of my new cards, which I obtained after I explained to him that my deck still was a few cards short of being completed those being Lubellion, the bystials, Noctovision dragon and Maxx "C", in contrast I bought, I was never going to accept the cards for free.

-Sangan x 2

-Dark Hole x 1

-Pot of Greed x 2

-Monster Reborn x 1

-Draining Shield x 1

-King of the swamp x 2

-Polymerization x 3

-Negate Attack x 2

Mostly spell and trap cards but damn useful in this particular point of the series, "I am ready whenever you are gramps!" I said with a smile on my face, this wasn't my first rodeo, but I was rusted and besides it was better to start with an ancient board than the holograms from the get go, because either I was going to go all fanboy on my monster or I was going to make myself a living joke from the get go.

"Well, then Sonny, you know what they say right?" He said with a challenging smile while I nodded, had to always hold myself back from shouting this in public but here in this world, I didn't have to hold back, not a t all.

"ITS TIME TO DUEL!"