The Mermaid

Delilah, a teenage mermaid and daughter of the royal King Mermaid, sat in her room studying powerful Duel Magic card combinations. Ever since she was little, she had dreamed of attending Duel University and one day becoming a world-renowned Shadow Game Champion.

A sudden tapping echoed against the window of the royal underwater castle.

Outside floated Sane, one of Mustissac's card hunters, wearing an absurd green frog suit despite being deep beneath the sea.

"Mustissac has a deal you can't refuse," Sane called with a sly grin.

Delilah folded her arms. "He's sadly mistaken. I'm not making any deals with Mustissac."

She turned to swim away.

"If you defeat me in a Shadow Game," Sane continued, "you'll be transformed into a human. Then you'll be free to attend Duel University."

Delilah stopped in place. Her dream... offered so easily?

"And if I lose?" she asked cautiously.

Sane's grin widened into something far more sinister.

"Then Master Mustissac claims your mind."

For several silent moments, Delilah considered the offer. Every instinct warned her it was a trap, yet it was also the only chance she'd ever been given to fulfill her greatest dream.

Finally, she nodded.

"I'll duel you in a Shadow Game... but on one condition.”

She swam to a nearby drawer and carefully removed two glowing green stones. Ancient runes shimmered across their surfaces.

"We duel in the Umbral Realm."

She struck the stones together.

A brilliant emerald flash erupted through the room.

The ocean... vanished.

The royal castle... disappeared.

Everything around them dissolved into endless darkness filled with ghostly whispers and distant, haunting cries. Jagged black rock formations rose from the endless void while emerald flames burned without heat. The Shadow Realm had accepted their challenge.

Far away, inside his hidden fortress, Mustissac watched the entire scene unfold on a magical television screen.

"So..." he said with an amused smile. "This is even better than I planned."

He leaned forward in his throne, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"That little girl has spirit. She walked willingly into the Umbral Realm."

He laughed, the sound echoing through his hideout.

"I can hardly wait to make her my mind slave.”

The darkness of the Umbral Realm pulsed with eerie green light as Delilah and Sane stood on opposite sides of a massive stone dueling arena. Ghostly spirits circled overhead while emerald flames danced around the battlefield.

"Welcome to the Shadow Game," Sane sneered. "Once your Life Points reach zero, your mind belongs to Master Mustissac forever.”

"I won't lose," she declared. "My dream is too important.”

Sane took the first turn.

"I summon Frog Commando in attack mode!" A muscular frog warrior carrying a spear leaped onto the field. "Then I set two cards face down and end my turn."

"My turn!" Delilah said confidently. "I summon Coral Magician in attack mode!"

A graceful mermaid magician appeared, her staff glowing with blue energy.

"Coral Magician, attack Frog Commando!"

A blast of magical water struck the frog warrior,

Sane laughed.

"You've activated my trap! Swamp Revival! I special summon Frog Commander!"

A gigantic armored frog emerged from a pool of dark water.

"My turn! Frog Commander, attack Coral Magician!"

The massive amphibian crushed Delilah's monster.

Delilah's Life Points fell to 3200.

Sane smiled confidently.

"You should have stayed in your castle."

Delilah drew her next card and smiled.

"Exactly the card I needed."

She raised it high.

"I activate Ocean Blessing! This spell lets me special summon two Water monsters from my deck!"

Brilliant blue light flooded the arena as two graceful sea dragons appeared beside her.

"Now I activate Mermaid Princess Delphina's special ability! She combines with my Sea Dragon Twins!”

The monsters merged into a magnificent armored mermaid knight surrounded by swirling oceans.

"I Fusion Summon Ocean Empress Leviara!”

"Ocean Empress Leviara gains 500 attack points for every Water monster in my Graveyard!"

Her power surged higher and higher.

Sane's eyes widened.

"Impossible..."

"Battle!"

Leviara charged forward, riding a towering tidal wave.

"Ocean Judgment!"

The enormous wave engulfed Frog Commander, shattering the monster into fragments of light before crashing directly into Sane.

His Life Points dropped from 4000... to 0.

“How pathetic," Mustissac snarled, slamming his fist against the arm of his throne. "You couldn't even defeat a mermaid."

He rose from his seat and lifted his golden magical staff, the Gildebane. Ancient runes carved into its surface pulsed with dark violet light.

With a sharp motion, Mustissac struck the staff against the stone floor.

Miles away, Sane suddenly clutched his head and screamed in agony.

"No... please... stop!"

The magic sustaining his enchanted frog suit failed. In desperation, he tore the costume from his body.

Mustissac tapped the Gildebane against the floor a second time and laughed.

The spell clouding Sane's mind dissolved instantly.

"W-What... happened?" Sane gasped, suddenly aware of his surroundings.

His relief lasted only a moment.

Without the magical protection of the frog suit, he found himself far below the ocean's surface. The crushing pressure closed in around him, and he struggled desperately for breath.

Mustissac watched through his magical viewing screen, laughing as Sane drifted helplessly upward into the darkness of the sea.

"You failed me," Mustissac said coldly. "Your fate is your own.”

A brilliant column of emerald and golden light surrounded Delilah.

Before she could react, she shot upward through the ocean like a living comet.

She burst through the surface of the sea and was gently lowered onto a quiet stretch of sandy shoreline.

For several moments she lay motionless.

Then the light surrounding her grew brighter.

Warm magic flowed through her body.

Her shimmering emerald tail separated into two human legs. Her fins became feet. Her scales faded into smooth skin, while her long red hair flowed around her shoulders. When the transformation ended, a new outfit had appeared in place of her royal mermaid attire: a pink shirt beneath a pair of short denim overalls.

Slowly, Delilah opened her emerald-green eyes.

"My... legs..."

She cautiously pushed herself upright and stared at them in amazement.

Her wish had come true.

She was human.

A smile spread across her face—only to disappear moments later.

Reality settled in.

"I can't go home..."

The sea stretched endlessly before her.

Her father ruled the underwater kingdom, a place where humans could not simply live among the merfolk. She had accepted Sane's bargain without thinking about what victory would truly cost.

"I've traded my old life for my dream."

She wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'll have to survive on my own now."

Another troubling thought entered her mind.

"If Mustissac sent one card hunter after me... he'll send more."

She looked toward the distant horizon.

“And if people discover I used to be a mermaid..."

She knew there would be others who would chase her for reasons of their own.

Taking a deep breath, Delilah stood on unsteady legs.

"If I want to reach Duel University... I'll have to learn how to live in the human world first.”

Unbeknownst to Delilah, Mustissac was not the only one who had witnessed the Shadow Game.

Far out at sea, aboard a luxurious cruise ship sailing toward the waters above the royal mermaid kingdom, a mysterious figure stood alone on the observation deck.

He wore a crimson suit, white boots, and a golden eye on his forehead. 

The ocean breeze fluttered his coat as he gazed toward the distant shoreline.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

"So," he said quietly, "you really did it."

He had watched Delilah defeat one of Mustissac's card hunters.

"Your courage is exactly what I was hoping to see."

He folded his arms.

"Soon, Delilah... our paths will cross."

His smile widened.

"And when they do, you'll become part of the team."

The ship continued its silent voyage across the moonlit sea as the mysterious stranger watched the horizon, waiting for fate to bring them together.