"Everyone else, Take your seats, and stay out of the arena. It is time to duel."
Finally. One person who hadn't fled at the announcement of this whole Shadow Realm deal was Rona Sage. Rather, she sat there expectantly. If nothing else, this was a topic she'd never heard of before. Unlike most, she didn't fear the unknown. And faithfully at her side was a tall blue-skinned demon. Somehow, others couldn't see him. He'd already explained the phenomenon known as Spirit Partners to Rona several times, but for all her genius, this was one thing she could never wrap her head around. Directing her one and only eye to the fiend at her side, Rona asked "I don't suppose you'd know anything about this Shadow Realm, Doom?"
"It is a terrible place. If you plan to not take this seriously to learn more about it, you will put your life in peril."
"So hold nothing back in the tournament is the point you're trying to make?"
"Precisely."
"Seems we're on the same page. No surprise there." Even when the two didn't sound as though they were in agreement with one another, it was as though the two were always in sync with one another. Doom had told her that this was part of what comprised the bond between a Duelist and their Spirit Partner, but like many things involving Spirit Partners, including how only people who had them were able to see the Spirit Partners of others. Maybe that explained the large smirk on her face when she saw the two boys on the monitor. Or more specifically, their Spirit Partners. Looks like I'm in luck. One uses Lightsworns, and the other uses Evilswarms at the least. Whichever one she may have face later on, she liked her odds. For now though, Rona sat back, eagerly awaiting.
Carmilla understood the meaning of her Spirit Partner perfectly well. Not in words, of course. As Lord Poison would testify, speaking without a mouth is a rather difficult task. She understood his meaning perfectly though, as though it were plainly spoken to her. He'd noticed her newfound anticipation ever since the Shadow Realm was mentioned, and was advising her to not get in over her head. He was warning her that this was not a place to pursue so boldly. Carmilla's response was to raise the back of her hand in his direction, telling him to silence himself...or cease his projection of meaning, at least, since he was already silent. Pulling out a deck from a little floral-patterned box with one of her bandaged hands, Carmilla looked at the cards of her deck. Four of them, at least. The four Plant Princesses.
She remembered first seeing them in action. How she admired the power behind the duelist she saw use them. How she anguished when that person lost the duel of his life. That was why she began using them; she planned to succeed where that duelist had failed. It was also when Lord Poison became her Spirit Partner. But this was no time to get lost in the past. The first duel was about to start. How excited she was. The winner of this tournament would face off with the hijackers. Lose, and they send everyone to the Shadow Realm. Win, and the hijackers are instead the ones sent to that place. Carmilla nearly laughed in excitement just thinking about it. Oh, how she'd love to win that final duel...
But before that, there were obstacles. The other tournament entrants. Carmilla would have to go through each one. I will, she resolved to herself. I will win this tournament. I will defeat these Shadow Realm people. I will become the most powerful duelist of all, no matter what I have to do to make it happen. Impatiently waiting for the boys meant to duel first to begin, Carmilla reclined in her seat, occasionally fiddling with the bandages on her hands, her face, or other clothing-covered parts of her body.