Frozen Beauty || Yu-Gi-Oh Book 2 ||

Chapter 16

Karissa had a very unsettling evening. She spent the rest of the day thinking over the events during the day. First was the huge and unbelievable revelations from Seto, then the attack. It was all too much to take in. There were monsters and magic, and... counterparts. It all confused her, Seto wasn't lying but it just sounded so... otherworldly. Karissa's head was going to explode. She had called her cousin setting up a meeting with her straight away the next day. Karissa couldn't wait any longer, she had to ask her and talk to her. Seto had said so himself to ask her if needed, Téa would know everything and her boyfriend... he was an ancient pharaoh. It wasn't the worst part though; her own participation in this story and Seto's involvement too... Karissa was scared. The thing about the dragon was worrying her. Seto had called it the Curse of the White Dragon. What if... what if he was the one to sacrifice himself this time? They were still exploring their feelings, they hadn't had the chance to experience anything, Karissa couldn't lose him just like that. Eventually, Karissa went to bed only to have a very restless sleep. Karissa thrashed around in her bed, getting deeper and deeper into the abyss of her dreams.

"Everything was pure white. Karissa had no idea where she was. The place was odd, it was nothing like she had ever experienced. Suddenly, a shape took form before her. With a shock, Karissa realised she was looking at a mirror image of herself, maybe almost except for the hair. The young women stared at each other, looking at their other-self. Before her... stood Kisara, her ancient counterpart.

"Hello Karissa," even her voice sounded just like hers. It was kind of creepy too.

"Um, hi," Karissa had no idea what to say, nor what was she doing here in the first place. "Where am I? I don't understand," Karissa asked.

"I know it must be very confusing to you, but you must listen to me," just then Karissa noticed the other girl was kind of floating in the air.

"O-okay," the blonde agreed.

"The past is bound to repeat but you can help him conquer the beast inside him. If you fail... you're bound to lose the Seto in your time. A life for a life," Kisara had a grim expression on her face.

"How can I help him? I don't want to lose him, I can't!" Karissa shook her head then noticed the white-haired girl was getting paler.

"We're running out of time. Just don't leave him, he alone can defeat the monster inside, but he needs you to get the strength to do it." Kisara had a panicked looked. "Don't let him go, Karissa!" Kisara warned her one last time before disappearing completely.

"No, wait, Kisara!" Karissa screamed into the nothing.

No matter how she had found a way to get in touch with her, Kisara was gone. Karissa looked around frantically screaming her name, but her doppelganger was gone."

Karissa woke up with a startle from her dream. She was breathing heavily being all sweaty. This dream... was real. Her dead predecessor had tried to help her by getting in touch with her. Her fears were justified, Seto was indeed in danger. He was going to lose himself to the dragon if he didn't manage to defeat it first. Karissa got up from the bed glancing at the clock; it was almost time to get up anyway and she wouldn't get any more sleep anyway. Sighing, she went for the bathroom and stared at her own reflection. Only her hair colour confirmed it was her and not... Kisara.

*

Karissa had a meeting with Téa later that day. She had excused herself from work, she needed time to assimilate everything before seeing her boss again. Téa was waiting for her at home, it wasn't a conversation they could have anywhere public. Karissa had only hinted at the topic they'd be discussing but it was enough for her brunette cousin. Karissa arrived at her cousin's home, it still looked familiar to her after spending so much time there as a child. It was the same with Téa and Karissa's home in Domino. They were really best friends back then. After ringing the bell, Téa showed up soon enough.