The dreamlike floating islands slowly dissolved into the air, and the world reverted to its vast, sand-swept expanse.
A golden sun hung high in the sky. The Sun God's immortal phoenix gazed down upon everything.
Gazing down upon the opponent who had dared use It as Fusion Material.
The opponent who had dared Fuse the "pinnacle of alchemy," preventing Its descent.
It opened its beak. An incomprehensible bird cry mixed with a dragon's roar sent shivers through the soul. Then the divine phoenix slowly spread its wings, soaring into the sky, flying toward the unknown, until it vanished.
"It looks like it quite enjoyed this duel."
Huh?
The Gravekeeper clan members looked at the speaker, Yugi, and saw that at some point he had taken down his sketchpad and drawn a simple sketch of the Sun God.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Muto. It seems that even with the God Card, I couldn't claim victory." Odion walked up to Yugi and handed the card back. He showed no emotional turmoil, just a touch of regret at losing, since Yugi had specifically lent him the card.
Yugi gently accepted the card and smiled. "No, duels will always have winners and losers. As long as everyone had a good time, it was a good duel."
Hearing Yugi's words, Odion turned to look at the children. Seeing him glance their way, they immediately cheered him on.
"You were amazing, Big Brother!" "That's right! If you had known that monster's effect, things definitely would have gone differently!"
Definitely would have gone differently?
Perhaps.
Odion thought to himself.
True, he hadn't known the effects of Hikaru's Fusion Monster. He hadn't known it couldn't be Tributed. But on the other hand, Hikaru hadn't anticipated the Sun God at all, yet he had still prepared himself to face divine fire head-on.
Still...
After this duel, Odion could say with certainty that he really should go out and see the world.
He turned back and thanked Hikaru, then called his younger siblings over. Clearly, this eldest brother was ready to take Yugi's advice and set out on a journey.
Meanwhile, seeing Odion finally willing to leave, Yugi breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the Winged Dragon of Ra card and studied it briefly.
After a moment, he put the card away, walked over to Hikaru, and smiled. "Sorry about that, Hikaru. I didn't tell you in advance before having your opponent use the Sun God."
Hikaru didn't mind much.
The core reason was that Yugi clearly hadn't come with ill intent, and Hikaru had gained some mental tempering from the duel, useful preparation for eventually entering Ecole de Zone.
Yugi continued, looking at the cards in his hand. "Although I designed support cards, there still seem to be some issues."
Issues?
"In my original plan, there was supposed to be a third form of the Sun God. Hmm, looks like I'll need to continue researching with Mr. Pegasus."
He was referring to the "Immortal Phoenix" form of the Sun God, wasn't he?
Indeed, Hikaru hadn't seen Odion use that form. It seemed it truly hadn't been designed yet.
Yugi chatted with Hikaru a while longer, thanking him for his help, and then couldn't resist bringing up "Pendulum" cards.
As someone whose goal was game design and who had already published games, Yugi was deeply interested in this entirely new type of card.
Unlike Synchro and Xyz cards, which Yugi already had channels to explore and collect for research, Pendulum Monsters were something that, even now, he knew only Leo Akaba and Hikaru possessed.
So he wanted to see Hikaru's Pendulum monsters.
Hikaru opened his backup Deck and found Starving Venemy Dragon, handing it to Yugi.
Yugi looked like a boy. No, perhaps his love of "games" meant this man's heart had never aged. He gazed at the card with excitement, as though examining a treasure.
"I see. It's not just a monster but also a Spell Card. Kaiba mentioned that current Duel Disks can't accommodate Pendulum Monsters yet. There must be some core component missing."
Yugi made a rough deduction.
Hikaru nodded along, sharing some of what Leo Akaba had said during their duels.
As a duelist, Leo Akaba simply slapped down powerful cards. But as a scientist, he was already world-class, even multi-dimensional-class.
"The swing of the soul. I see, I understand now." Yugi nodded, then had a realization. "So that's why I always felt something strange about that dimension. It was because of this."
?
"What dimension?"
"Oh, you probably don't know yet." Yugi began sharing insider information that ordinary citizens weren't privy to. "Actually, KaibaCorp recently discovered yet another human dimension."
!!!
Hikaru's eyes went wide with surprise.
"That dimension calls itself the Standard Dimension, and refers to us as the Fusion Dimension."
This feeling...
Could it be?!
"Based on my current assessment, that dimension is most likely Leo Akaba's homeland."
Just as he thought!
"However, that dimension is currently extremely isolationist and barely exchanges any information with us." Yugi spread his hands with a hint of helplessness. "That's also why I said I'd be away for a long time.
According to the young president, if we want to visit that dimension, we have to sign a contract. Only non-registered duelists or card designers and the like are permitted to go there for exchanges. And during that time, you can't come back."
So that was how it was.
"So you're the one who ended up going?"
Was Kaiba really that underhanded? Quietly shipping Yugi Muto off?
"No." Yugi suddenly gave a guileless smile, lightly clenching his fist as he spoke to Hikaru. "It's an opportunity I won through my own abilities. I'm just too curious about that dimension. I really want to see what's there."
No one could possibly out-compete you for something like that.
Yugi went on to explain that from his preliminary observations, that dimension possessed not only basic Tribute Summoning and Ritual Summoning, but also Fusion Summoning, Synchro Summoning, and Xyz Summoning.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual. After all, their own world already understood the other two summoning methods.
But the thing was, their world couldn't actually perform Xyz or Synchro Summons!
"In fact, unless you have a Number monster, or receive technological support from the Xyz Dimension like your upperclassman Zane, there's no way to perform an Xyz Summon."
Mr. Muto even knew about Number monsters?
Hikaru nodded, indicating he understood.
In truth, although he already possessed Synchro and Xyz monsters, and even support cards like Muddy Mudragon, Hikaru still couldn't properly perform Synchro Summons in this dimension. It wasn't until he obtained Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua and Earthbound Prisoner Line Walker that he felt confident enough to attempt Synchro Summoning in this world.
But even so, he had never actually performed a Synchro Summon in this world.
Because he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't attract the Crimson Dragon.
And who could guarantee the Crimson Dragon that came for him would be the benevolent one?
Just as oil could breed mold, perhaps performing an unauthorized Synchro Summon in another world would summon the Crimson Dragon.
But Yugi's point was actually quite sound.
If the Standard Dimension could use all summoning methods, then by investigating the reasons there, it might be possible to replicate them in their own world.
That was genuinely exciting, and no wonder Yugi was so interested.
"Ah, speaking of which..." Yugi looked at Hikaru. More precisely, he looked at Tierra.
Tierra was confused and pointed at herself.
"Hikaru, your partner's name is Tierra, correct?"
Hikaru nodded.
Yugi furrowed his brow, resting his chin in one hand, deep in thought. "I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but I feel like I've heard a similar name somewhere before."
Something like that?!
Hikaru and Tierra exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
In the Duel Terminal spirit dimension, forget knowing about Tierra. Nothing related to Tierra even existed in that dimension.
The Infernoids, El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis, El Shaddoll Shekhinaga, even the Qliphorts. Everything connected to Tierra's body and soul simply did not exist there. Those spirits didn't recognize Tierra at all and had no idea who the two "gods" in their cosmology actually were.
Under those circumstances, for Yugi to say he had heard Tierra's name?
How could the two of them not be stunned?
Unfortunately, Yugi seemed to have only heard the name somewhere in passing. At the time, he hadn't known Tierra's real name at all, so he had paid it no attention.
Still, since the memory had surfaced, Yugi felt it was best to mention it to Hikaru.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Muto." Hikaru had formed some theories, but the information was far too scarce to pin down a direction. Still, now that the concept existed in his mind, he would naturally watch for it going forward.
So he thanked Yugi earnestly. Compared to helping him find "legendary duelists," this matter of the name might be far more important.
"Oh, it's really just a vague impression. I'm not very sure about it." Yugi shook his head gently.
But he could understand Hikaru's seriousness.
After all, he too had once shared an experience like this, walking alongside a partner just as Hikaru did.
After chatting for a while, the Gravekeeper clan had mostly settled down as well, preparing to leave this place and see the wider world. Yugi's main purpose in coming here had been more or less accomplished.
Before preparing to depart, Odion called out to Hikaru.
Although Hikaru had already collected an enormous number of Fusion Monsters, nearly acquiring every card in this world, there were still some cards that couldn't be obtained through conventional means.
Those were the Gravekeeper clan's cards.
Odion didn't normally use Gravekeeper monster cards in his daily dueling. Most of the time he relied on Trap Monsters. This time it was only because of the Sun God that he had included some Gravekeeper monsters. But regardless, the clan still possessed quite a few Gravekeeper monster cards.
Odion handed over several cards. Hikaru glanced at them and his eyes lit up immediately.
Wasn't this Gravekeeper's Spiritualist?
Hikaru had once played a Gravekeeper Deck in Duel Links: lead with Gravekeeper's Spiritualist, then use Magicalized Fusion to bring out Quintet Magician. He'd had quite a good time with it.
Hikaru thanked Odion and put the cards away.
Then he waved goodbye to the Gravekeeper clan. Several new members around Hikaru's age even called out that they'd come visit him at Duel Academy.
Hikaru grinned when he heard that.
If he could trick... bring all the Gravekeeper clan members to the Academy for classes, Duel Academy's reputation would surely rise further. Professor Crowler would have fresh promotional material to boast about. That would be a good thing all around.
And honestly, coming from such an isolated environment and jumping straight into society or the professional leagues probably wouldn't go well. Attending Duel Academy to adjust to school life first actually made a lot of sense.
After that, the plane flew back to Domino City. Hikaru was about to say goodbye to Yugi and hurry off to check his Deck for anything new, when Yugi suddenly seemed to remember something and rummaged through his pockets.
"Oh, right."
He pulled out a card. "This card wants to go with you."
What?!
Hikaru took the card in a daze and looked down. It wasn't Kuriboh.
But it was incredibly powerful!
Imperion Magnum the Superconductive Battlebot!
Its Fusion Materials were the two aces of the Magnet Warrior series: Valkyrion the Magna Warrior and Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior.
It possessed the ability, once per turn, to negate the activation of an opponent's monster effect, Spell Card, or Trap Card and destroy it!
An omni-negate!
And a stronger effect than Borreload Savage Dragon at that. It didn't require discarding a card to negate the corresponding card.
Monsters with omni-negates were rare in this world. The one Hikaru had encountered most was Zane's Borreload Savage Dragon. Getting another omni-negate in hand was something Hikaru was quite happy about.
The Fusion Materials were a bit tricky, though. Hikaru had never collected any Magnet Warrior cards. This was genuinely his first time seeing Magnet monsters.
But regardless, its effect was well worth Hikaru taking extra time to gather its Fusion Materials.
"Thank you for showing me such an entertaining duel. Fusing a God... Ha, even I've never done anything like that. Well then, until next time, Hikaru." Yugi waved goodbye.
The implication seemed to be that he planned to continue finding Hikaru and others to duel with in the future?
Hikaru couldn't help breaking into a wide grin.
That meant...
More experimental cards!
Delight written all over his face, Hikaru nodded eagerly.
Of course he was willing!
Where else in the world would you find a deal this good?