Turn 19 — Odion
His fingers hovered above his deck, trembling.
The Wicked Avatar's oppressive aura pressed against his chest like a crushing weight, each breath shallow under the gravity of its presence. Ra's twisted echo flickered behind Jason Prime—molten gold writhing inside a cocoon of shadow, divine hatred smothered by Zorc's corruption. The scorched remains of Dystopia still crackled at the edges of the field, smoke rising like phantom chains.
Odion swallowed hard.
Can my cards… truly stand against a god? Against two? Against this darkness?
His gaze drifted downward, shadows falling across his eyes.
"My deck… It is strong, but…"
The words—uncertain, fragile—broke apart before they ever escaped.
Connor turned sharply, expression shifting from focus to alarm.
"Odion," he said, surprisingly gentle, "don't do that. Not now."
Odion blinked, startled by the sincerity in Connor's voice.
Connor stepped closer, intensity rising like a lantern in the dark.
"You need to believe in your deck. You can't let your family down."
His voice grew stronger.
"This duel isn't over until every card is drawn."
The words struck Odion like a pulse of warmth—unexpected, grounding.
Connor's hand fell away, but the encouragement lingered like an ember glowing in Odion's chest.
Odion closed his eyes.
And suddenly—the battlefield dissolved.
The cold arena vanished, replaced by a quiet void, warm and still, like the inside of a memory. Soft light washed over him, carrying the scent of desert winds and old stone temples.
A familiar voice echoed behind him.
"Odion… you have never walked alone."
Marik stepped forward—not the tormented vessel of dark power, not the furious boy twisted by destiny.
He placed a steady hand on Odion's shoulder.
Beside him appeared Ishizu, her presence radiant and calming. Her eyes—clear, wise, unshakeable—met Odion's with a sister's unwavering love.
"Your heart guides your hand," she said softly.
"You have always protected us. Now let our strength protect you."
Her hand covered Marik's, completing the circle of family.
Odion felt warmth seep into him—comfort he hadn't known he needed.
Then another voice—light, friendly, familiar.
"Your deck isn't just cards."
Yugi stepped forward, smiling with the gentle confidence only he could carry.
"It's your bond with everyone who believes in you."
Finally, Connor appeared—arms crossed, smirk sharp but encouraging.
"And I am right here telling you: you've got this."
He felt Marik, Ishizu, Yugi, and Connor behind him—whether in memory or spirit, he didn't know.
The four of them surrounded him, bathed in sunlight that cut through the void like a dawn breaking over darkness.
Odion felt his doubt evaporate, replaced by a burning clarity,a renewed purpose.
He opened his eyes.
Reality returned in a jolt—the battlefield snapping back into focus. The heat. The shadows. The oppressive presence of the gods.
Jason Prime watched him with unsettling amusement, arms folded, the shadows behind him writhing like serpents savoring a kill.
But Odion no longer trembled.
He placed his hand on his deck.
"I draw."
The card slid into his fingers.
A spark—literal heat—flared across his skin, making his breath catch.
His heart pounded.
The card pulsed with fiery power, reflecting in his determined gaze.
Connor grinned, fist tightening with triumph.
"Told you—trust in your deck."
Odion tightened his grip on Lava Golem, firelight dancing across his steady eyes.
Connor stood beside him, confidence radiating.
The air around them thickened with determination.
I cannot understand why the Lava Golem card was placed here… it does not belong to my strategy.
Jason's insides turned to ice.
"Wait—what?" he whispered to himself, choking on his own breath.
Another wave of Odion's inner thoughts hit him, unfiltered.
I would never include such a monster in my deck,How did it get here…
Jason staggered back until he bumped into a metal railing. The clang echoed. Odion didn't react; he hadn't heard it. Jason's heart hammered against his ribs like it was trying to escape.
This was wrong. Completely wrong.
He raised the Millennium Eye. A faint pulse spread across his vision, gold light threading into the air like cracks forming in reality. The chamber dissolved into a wash of rippling color as Odion's mind opened before him—silent, orderly, disciplined like a fortress built from sand and memory.
Jason stepped forward mentally, letting the psychic current draw him deeper.
At first, everything felt normal. He saw Odion's surface intentions: verify card sleeves, confirm no duplication of restricted cards, maintain deck integrity… all the usual tasks. Then something strange brushed against Jason's awareness, a sharp dissonance—like a missing note in a melody.
"Oh, you son of—"
Jason cut himself off mid-sentence, his expression twisting as realization slammed into him with brutal clarity. His hand rose instinctively, covering his mouth—not out of restraint, but as if trying to physically contain the surge of rage and understanding flooding his mind.
"…Kaiba…"
The name came out low. Sharp. Bitter.
His fingers slowly lowered, curling into a tight fist as his eyes burned with furious comprehension.
"You sneaky corporate tyrant."
A humorless laugh slipped out—short, strained, dangerous.
"That's why you didn't show up," Jason continued, voice tightening with each word. "You kept yourself out of my reach. Out of my sight."
His Millennium Eye flickered, unstable for a moment.
"You knew I'd look into your mind.
He pictured the scenario perfectly:
Roland, loyal and unquestioning, conducting a "routine re-check."
Roland, with that smug little tilt of his mouth, slipping a single card into Odion deck.
A crack of distant psychic energy brushed Jason's awareness, like an ember floating from some long-dead fire. A whisper slithered across the back of his mind—faint, raspy, unmistakable.
Heheheh…
Jason froze.
"No. No, no, no—Marik, you're dead. You're GONE." His voice shook. "You don't get to linger when I killed you. You don't get to laugh at my defeat."
The whisper didn't answer. It didn't need to. It was simply amusement—mocking, cruel, familiar. The same dark mirth the Golem emitted when summoned. The same cold delight in watching someone squirm.
Jason slammed his fist against the railing.
"Damn you, Marik! Even when you're DEAD, you dare spite me?!"
His shout echoed through the chamber, bouncing off cold steel walls. He stood trembling, chest heaving as though he'd sprinted a mile.
"BEHOLD—THE CREMATION OF FALSE GODS!"
Odion slammed the card onto his Duel Disk as it is now on Jason field.
"LAVA GOLEM!"
The ground beneath Jason Prime cracked open.
Molten rock surged upward—
forming a massive, flaming giant whose roar split the battlefield.
Jason's eyes widened for the first time.
"No—!"
"Lava Golem," Odion declared, "allows me to Tribute two of your monsters."
He pointed straight at Prime Jason's board.
"I Tribute The Winged Dragon of Ra and The Wicked Avatar!"
Odion's robes snapped in the heated wind, his expression untouched by fear.
He extended his hand toward Jason's field, each finger trembling not with fear—
but with sacred judgment.
Jason's heartbeat thundered against his ribs.
"YOU DARE!!"
His voice fractured, splitting with Zorc's monstrous echo.
Shadow-wings convulsed behind him, lashing wildly.
Ra, the sun god Jason had claimed as his crown jewel,
reared back and screeched as molten chains wrapped around its divine body.
The Wicked Avatar—
the spherical void of perfect darkness—
warped violently, its surface bubbling and tearing as the flames dragged it from existence.
"No—NO—YOU CAN'T—THOSE ARE MINE!!" Jason shrieked, reaching desperately toward the disintegrating forms.
The ground erupted again as the lava swallowed them whole.
Ra's golden shine vanished in a burst of steam.
Avatar imploded into a collapsing singularity of nothingness.
Jason staggered, almost collapsing to one knee.
Odion's voice came calm, cold, final:
"Your stolen divinity ends now, Jason Smithson."
Lava Golem's feet slammed onto Jason's side of the field.
A living punishment, flames pouring from its shoulders like molten waterfalls.
LAVA GOLEM — ATK 3000
A gargantuan titan of suffering and retribution.
Jason, trembling, unable to contain his fury, snarled:
"YOU—YOU FILTHY MORTALS—YOU DARE REMOVE MY GODS—YOU THINK THIS CHANGES ANYTHING—!?!"
But his voice was cracking under the weight of humiliation.
Odion lifted his chin.
"I end my turn."
He pointed directly at Jason.
"And now… I let Lava Golem finish you off."
Every eye turned toward Jason.
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