He had made the guess so quickly because similar events existed in the original story. Yugi Muto and Yami Yugi had once been transported to the Spirit World and asked by Dark Magician Girl to defeat The God of Orichalcos and save that world. There was also the scene in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS where the young girl Luna went to the Spirit World to rescue Ancient Fairy Dragon.
"So the stone tablet in the ruins was a gateway to the Spirit World?" Yugen thought. The research team at the excavation site had not noticed anything unusual, which suggested the reaction only occurred when he approached it. He was certain that before being pulled in, he had heard a voice from the direction of the tablet calling to him.
Something had been summoning him. As he was thinking this through, a rustling sound suddenly came from the forest behind him. He turned around and saw several dark humanoid figures emerge from the bushes, each holding a spear-like weapon.
They looked like some kind of dark-skinned goblins. The one in front shrieked loudly and shouted, "Human!" For a brief moment, Yugen was surprised that he could understand a Spirit speaking.
He quickly remembered that in Yu-Gi-Oh!, the languages of different dimensions were generally shared with humans, so it was nothing special. He was also sure that the shout was a warning about an intruder, not a friendly greeting. Almost immediately, more cries answered from all directions.
A large group of dark figures rushed out together, spears raised as if they planned to turn him into tonight's meal. Yugen was startled. These natives had no sense of fair play at all, jumping straight into a group attack without even giving him a chance to duel.
Silent Magician charged forward first, swinging her staff to release a ring of light that exploded and sent the leading goblins flying. Someone shouted, "Take down that magic guard first!" Instead of retreating, the goblins became even more aggressive.
Silent Magician pointed her staff again and again, magic blasts exploding across the field. The enemy numbers were overwhelming, and goblins with javelins and bows began appearing on both sides. These natives even had different unit types.
While continuing to cast spells, Silent Magician also had to watch over her master, putting her under heavy pressure. At that moment, Genshin Yu's thoughts raced, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind. If this really was the Spirit World, where card power could manifest directly, then everything was different.
With no time to think further, he quickly drew more than ten cards from the top of the Deck. His eyes swept across them in an instant before he picked one and slapped it onto the Duel Disk. Summoning light flared in front of him as a warrior in red armor and a flowing cloak leapt out, shield in one hand and sword in the other.
The warrior charged straight into the enemy formation, blade flashing as goblins fell one after another. It was the Breaker the Magical Warrior. Just like in the GX Different Dimension Arc, even monsters without a residing Spirit could take physical form.
And it was not limited to monsters alone. Yugen opened the Deck again and inserted another card into the Duel Disk. A goblin archer screamed and fired an arrow at him, the shot whistling through the air.
The arrow stopped abruptly about a meter in front of Yugen, as if it had hit an invisible wall. A transparent, hemispherical barrier appeared where the arrow struck, revealing itself under the impact. It was Mirror Force.
Yugen realized that within the Spirit World, there were basically no rules outside of duels. Cards in a Duelist's hand were weapons, usable freely like spells with no cost. A magic card produced a spell directly, and Mystical Space Typhoon became a raging storm, with no chants or casting delay, and in theory up to five different effects could be used at once.
Understanding that he could turn the tables, Yugen finally relaxed and felt his mood lift. He waved his hand grandly and shouted, "Feel the supreme power of Hanno, then fall into the endless abyss!" Since there was no one else around in the Spirit World, indulging in a little roleplay hurt no one.
Well, his own Spirit Silent Magician did see it. That was not a big problem, since she was now watching the scene of holy light sweeping the battlefield and looking at her master with clear admiration. The transparent barrier erupted with tremendous force, blue radiance bursting outward and scattering like rain across the forest.
The area attack was devastating to goblins armed with blades and bows. The front ranks were wiped out instantly, shattered by the light with no chance to resist. The goblins behind them panicked and turned to flee.
"A Duelist! There is a Duelist!" someone screamed. "Run, retreat!" In this world, the word Duelist clearly referred to something terrifying.
From a Spirit's perspective, a Duelist was like a walking arsenal, pulling out monsters with thousands of ATK and throwing out wide-range spells without restraint. Only another Duelist could stand against one. The only way for two Duelist to decide life and death was the so-called sacred ritual of battle.
In simpler terms, it meant dueling. With the battlefield cleared in an instant and the danger gone, Yugen finally felt at ease. So it turned out that even in the Spirit World, he was pretty strong after all.
After figuring out the correct way to enter the Spirit World, Yugen felt less tense for the moment. He thought about it and realized he had come in through a stone tablet in the ruins, yet after arriving he had not seen anything similar nearby, nor anything that looked like a door. That left only one question in his mind: how was he supposed to get back?
He considered it and then looked at his Spirit. "Silent, what do you think?"
Silent Magician shook her head, clearly without a good idea either. The Spirit World was vast, and although it was called by one name, it was actually divided into many different dimensions, and this one did not seem familiar to her. After tilting her head to think, she raised her hand and pointed toward the area beyond a small slope nearby.
Yugen followed the direction of her finger and saw something that looked like a town in the distance.
"I see. Ask the local Spirit for information, then?"
For now, there was no better option. In stories, ordinary residents of the Spirit World were usually quite friendly, so the locals might know a path that led out.
Yugen went down the slope and entered the town. The streets were paved with blue stone, marked by age and wear, and the white stone buildings had colored glass set into their windows. Totems, patterns, and unfamiliar symbols were carved into the walls, giving the place an ancient feel.
What felt strange was that there was not a single person in sight. Shops stood alone with doors and windows tightly shut, and hanging signs swayed gently in the wind. Fallen leaves were lifted by the breeze, making soft rustling sounds along the empty street.
"Is this normal for the Spirit World?" Yugen asked.
Silent Magician shook her head while gripping her staff, her expression wary. From her reaction, this was clearly not normal.
She stayed close to Yugen as they continued forward together. After a few minutes of walking, faint noises could be heard from behind a row of buildings.