Yuma P.O.V

It has been a couple of weeks since I dueled Alito and a couple of days since I dueled Girag. School is done for the day, and I decided to check on Aoi

'It's been a couple of weeks now, when is Aoi going to wake up?' I thought to myself as I walked to the hospital

"Yuma? Are we going to see how Aoi is doing?" Astral asked me with a worried tone

"Yeah. The doctor said she's still not awake yet. They have no idea what's wrong with her" I said and I looked at Astral who looked sad "I know your worried about her, older siblings always get worried for their younger siblings well-being. Let's hope she'll be okay" Astral nodded slowly as he went back into the key, and I was already in front of the hospital. Once I checked in, I made my way to Aoi's room, while walking I heard my name being called

"Hey Yuma!" I turned around and saw Ray along with the gang

"You guys came to see Aoi too?"

"Of course, she's our friend too" Tori said

"She's right Yuma. You're not the only one who's worried about Aoi" Cathy said

"Thanks, you guys. Let's go see how Aoi is doing" I said and opened the door to Aoi's room

Aoi's Room

When we entered the room, we went towards Aoi's bed and she's still not awake

"She's still asleep?" Rio asked and we all nodded "Poor Aoi... I can't imagine how Astral is feeling right now"

"He's really worried about her" I said as I clenched my key tightly, and I saw a clear bracelet on her wrist

"Huh? Hey, guys? Was Aoi wearing a bracelet when we took her to the hospital?" I asked, they looked confused for a minute, and they all looked at her wrist

"What the? I never seen Aoi wear a bracelet" Shark said

"Same" Rio said

"We've never seen one either" Tori said

'Then... Who gave her the bracelet?' I thought to myself

"Pardon me" We all looked at the entrance and we saw a boy with white hair and yellow eyes entered the room and he was holding a small vase with flowers

"Oh, hello everyone" He said

"Who are you?" I asked

"I'm Hiro, a friend to Miss Aoi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you" Hiro said with a bow and he walked by Aoi's bedside and placed the small vase with the flowers by the table beside her "May I ask for all of your names?" We introduced ourselves

"I never seen you before, did you move here or something?" I asked

"I did, well since 2 months ago in fact" Hiro answered and we all stared at him "If you're all wondering about my age, I'm 18"

"Same age as Kite" I said and Hiro looked at me with a confused look

"Who's Kite?"

"Oh! Kite is a friend of ours, you're the same age as him actually" I said

"I see. I do hope Miss Aoi wakes up soon" Hiro said as he moved a piece of Aoi's hair and tucked it behind her ear 

"We all hope the same thing" I said and the nurse came in telling us that visiting hours are done for the day

The next day Astral P.O.V

I was floating in my healing barrier, and I couldn't help but think about our past battles against the Barians

'The Numbers that are being used by the Barians are far more powerful than any monsters that Yuma and I have faced before, especially when they evolve into Chaos Numbers. We will not continue winning our duels unless I find a way to become stronger, but how?' I thought to myself and remembered Aoi's pain 'Even my dear little sister is suffering. Yuma told me she's still not awake yet, but something must've happened to her... I can't feel her spirit' Then, I heard a noise calling out to me  

"What is happening?" I looked in the direction where the Numbers are "The Numbers... It seems as if they're trying to communicate with me" From behind me, I heard a chuckle and I knew who it belongs to

"Astral" I turned around and saw Number 96

"You! Number 96!"

"You are not powerful enough to defeat the Barians" Number 96 said

"I thought I had finally seen the last of you"

"Well, luckily for you, you were wrong. You need my aid Astral, and you know it. Release me from the confines of this key and in return I will lend you my help" Number 96 offered but I glared at him

"You know I will not accept your offer" I said

"Do not dismiss me so quickly. I know that you are stumbling around hopelessly in the dark, you do not have the strength to continue on alone. You need me. Face the facts, Astral. You may be light, but I am darkness. Light can only shine in the dark, without me, you will never be complete! And who's going to protect your precious little sister" Number 96 said as he vanished

I clenched my hand into a fist

'How does he know about my sister?' I thought to myself as I headed towards where the area where the Numbers are being kept 'The sudden reappearance of Number 96 is disturbing. I wish I could make sense of it all, but my mission remains as mysterious as ever' I lifted my hand towards the Numbers, and I was surrounded by bright light. In front of me, was a door

"Astral... Are you worthy?"

"What is this place?" I asked

"Your time is now"

Your time is now, Astral"

"For what? Tell me. Explain" I asked again

"Pass this test and your path will be revealed. Fail, and all will be lost especially your sister" The door said as it vanishes

"All will be lost? What must I do? What will happen to my sister?" I asked but received no answer. I gasped when a warrior appeared in front of me, I backed away "Who are you?"

"I am the one who will challenge your limits! You must duel me!" The warrior said as he raises his hand into the air

'What is he going to do?'

Yuma P.O.V Nurse's office

"Astral, please! Come out of the key! I'm worried about you!" I cried, but no answer "He's not answering... I bet he's really sick! We have to do something!"

"Calm down, please" Tori said

"You'll be okay, pal! Just relax! I'll ask the nurse to take your temperature!"

"Chill out!" Tori shouted at me

"I'm sure it's all gonna be okay, Yuma" Ray tried to reassure me

Then, suddenly the key started to glow very brightly

"Huh? What's going on? Whoa!" I backed away a bit as the light grew brighter

"Whatever it is, it can't be good!" Tori said and I was suddenly absorbed into the key

After some time, I landed on the ground 

"Wait a minute. Where am I?" I looked around at my surroundings and I saw Astral floating by me "Astral! Does this mean we're inside the Golden Key?"

"Yes" Astral answered

"Did you bring me here?" I asked

"No, you were brought here by him" Astral answered and I looked ahead and saw warrior looking dude

"Whoa! Who is that?!" I asked

"It appears I am to be tested in order to further my mission. I must defeat this warrior"

"Is he a Barian?" I asked

"He is not. Nevertheless, I must defeat him in order to regain a crucial memory" Astral said

"Be warned! Losing will have grave consequences" The warrior said and I pulled out my duel disk

"Well then, it's the good thing all I know how to do is win! Duel disk go! Duel gazer, let's roll!" 

"Let's duel!" We both said

"Before we start, I have something that'll motivate you more" The warrior said

"Motivate us more? What are you talking about?" I asked

The warrior snapped his fingers, and before us was Aoi, chained down

"Aoi! What did you do to her?!" Astral yelled in anger

"I captured her spirit, if you want to free her then defeat me!" The warrior shouted

"Yuma! We must win this duel in order to free my sister's spirit!" Astral said

"I know, I'm going to give it my all in this duel!" I said

To be continued

https://youtu.be/QnU0oGgJplg

Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating this story for awhile, I had other stories that I needed to work on, so I apologize for making you all wait for a long time. I hope you guys liked the chapter! If any of you guys have any questions or ideas, please let me know in the comments or DM me. Also, I won't accept any hate comments or complaints. Have a nice day or night everyone!