After Darkness activated the Spell Card, an inexplicable tremor arose in everyone's hearts.
At the same time, above the peaceful, laughter-filled Duel Academy, massive clouds blanketed the island. Students and teachers didn't know what was happening. Some panicked, others cautiously looked skyward. Fortunately, having already experienced similar scenes, they weren't too tense.
But elsewhere, things weren't so calm.
With the clouds' appearance, the entire sky over Japan was overcast.
Everywhere, regardless of occupation, everyone looked up.
Soon.
Beijing, Seoul, Yangon, Beirut, Vientiane, Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Stockholm, Bern, Athens, London, Brasilia, Lima, Washington...
Every capital in the world, every nation's territory, every place where humans lived was covered by dark clouds.
As if in that instant, the entire globe had plunged into overcast skies.
Sun, light, future, hope. As though everything had vanished.
Then.
In the UTC+9 time zone, an enormous crimson eye floated in the sky. Then UTC+8, UTC+7...
Twenty-four time zones, twenty different "suns" existed simultaneously, illuminating the Earth. Yet beneath the endless darkness and clouds, they seemed fragile, as though they could extinguish at any moment.
"Spell Card: Final Countdown. On the twentieth turn after this card's activation, I win the duel."
Darkness chuckled.
"What is that..."
"Wh-what is this?!"
The students surged with anger, demanding answers.
"What is it?" Darkness seemed momentarily confused, but then it looked around. Surrounding it were exactly twenty floating screens. Each displayed an aerial view of a Duel Academy campus, showing the students and people there.
After Final Countdown fully activated, centered on these twenty Duel Academy main and branch campuses, twenty large-scale maps of the world appeared before everyone.
"This is your human world." Darkness had no interest in hiding anything. "Heh heh heh. As you can see, once twenty turns pass, all humans across the entire world will vanish under my darkness. And these regions will be completely replaced by this world."
"You liar! This isn't what we agreed on!" Hassleberry was ready to charge in. Syrus hurriedly grabbed his arm, telling him to calm down.
"This was your own choice. To protect your companions, to help the people you support, admire, or love win this duel, you loaded them with extra weight.
Quantitative change becomes qualitative change. In this unrestricted duel, the situation has long exceeded human expectations. This is precisely why humanity is so foolish. Even without me, you would march toward destruction through your own greed and stupid choices.
The only difference is the angle of the ending."
Several people were so heated they wanted to physically attack Darkness right then and there.
"See, I told you, Jaden. You don't need those people's support." Yubel seized the chance to chime in. "I alone am enough. I'm incredibly strong, you know."
She said this with genuine confidence.
Setting everything else aside, the ability to return two cards to the Deck and instantly become Phantom of Yubel was something not even Hikaru could replicate, let alone those spectating classmates.
Hearing this, Jaden didn't go along with her. He just smiled. "Everyone's strength won't be a burden!"
"Hmph..." Yubel snorted coldly but said nothing more.
"Yubel." On the other side, Darkness seemed mildly interested in discussing Yubel. "You accepted my power to fulfill your long-held wish. Yet in the end, you abandoned it all for a few sweet words. How foolish."
"You have no right to lecture me... If not for you, I would never have conceived the idea of hurting Jaden."
Debatable.
But blaming Darkness was definitely the right move.
"Win after 20 turns. In terms of effect alone, a card that directly wins is always powerful." Adrian lightly adjusted his glasses, analyzing the situation for the two on the field.
"But winning only after a full 20 turns? How could that be simple?" Aster shook his head in response.
"Exactly. Twenty full turns. Forget twenty. Modern duels rarely even reach ten turns. Most end in three or four. Twenty turns... hard to imagine." Chazz stroked his chin, pondering.
"So, is there actually no need to worry about this card? Can we just treat it as Darkness voluntarily losing 2000 LP?" Hassleberry asked.
That... was hard to say.
Nobody responded.
If Darkness used such a card, it meant it had absolute confidence in surviving those twenty turns.
"I Set three cards. Turn end."
Darkness extended its skeletal hand, casually selected three cards from its hand, and Set them.
Seeing this, every student fell silent.
Hikaru wasn't particularly surprised.
In the original story, Darkness's Deck was primarily Trap-based. A genuine "underworld-style" final boss. Not the type to slam big monsters together. Setting three cards and waiting for the opponent was perfectly normal.
At that moment.
Final Countdown: 1.
"Huh? What's happening?!"
"WHOA!!"
In Tokyo, the thick black clouds grew even darker, descending from the sky like rain. People's figures were gradually engulfed by darkness. Forget ordinary people. Even those capable of dimensional travel vanished instantly.
Moments later, across the entire island nation, the entire time zone, no humans seemed to remain active. Everyone had fallen into "slumber," into shutdown.
"What?!" Jaden, hand reaching for his Deck, trembled slightly at the sight.
Just one "turn end" and that many humans had "died"?
"Jaden, calm down!" Hikaru reacted faster. "If you lose focus now and we lose to him, that's when people truly die."
Hearing this, Jaden shook his head, quickly recovered, and grasped the critical point.
Darkness had the ability to do this. But what happened during a duel ultimately depended on the duel's outcome!
The only difference from normal Shadow Games was that those enemies targeted the duelists themselves. Now, Darkness preferred targeting all of humanity.
As long as they beat Darkness, this would be nothing more than a dream for humanity. An inexplicable dream everyone coincidentally shared.
"My turn. Draw!"
Jaden looked at his drawn card, then raised one. "I activate Evil HERO Adusted Gold's effect. I discard this card to add one Dark Fusion or a card mentioning Dark Fusion from my Deck to my hand. I add Evil Assault from my Deck.
I activate the Spell Card: Evil Assault. I discard one card to add or Special Summon one Evil HERO from my Deck."
"I discard Sinister Necrom from my hand. From my Deck, I Special Summon Level 4: Evil HERO Dead-End Prison."
A mirror appeared before Jaden. In the reflection, one side dripped with blood, the other shone brilliantly. After a moment's choice, the gleaming hero leapt onto the field.
Evil HERO Dead-End Prison. Level 4, LIGHT Attribute, Rock-Type. ATK 1700.
"Heh heh heh. Jaden, this is precisely the moment I've been waiting for." Darkness slowly extended its hand toward a Set card. "Flip Set card."
"Quick-Play Spell: Land of Finality."
?
Not just Jaden. Hikaru also looked at the card in surprise.
What Field Spell was it going to use?
"Land of Finality's effect: when my opponent successfully Special Summons a monster, I activate one Field Spell from my Deck."
"My choice is... Field Spell: Mystic Mine."
What?
Hikaru's eyebrow twitched violently.
Strange fog slowly spread across the ground. Everyone felt as though they were sinking into a swamp, unable to move.
"Field Spell: Mystic Mine. While this card is face-up: if my opponent controls more monsters than I do, my opponent cannot activate monster effects or declare attacks. If I control more monsters than my opponent, I cannot activate monster effects or declare attacks.
During each player's End Phase, if both players control the same number of monsters: this card is destroyed."
"Oh no!"
Every supporter cried out in unison.
This card was too powerful!!
Because of it, Jaden's Special Summoned search-purpose Evil HERO instantly became a blank card. Not only that, Sinister Necrom in the Graveyard couldn't activate its effect either, forced to remain stuck, completely useless.
"Tch..." Yubel snorted from the sidelines. "Darkness, that wretched thing... I've long heard it collects powerful cards from across dimensions, universes, past and future, assembling the 'ultimate card Deck'... Mystic Mine. That card is a nightmare."
Only when both sides had equal monster counts could either activate monster effects. Otherwise, no monster effects, no attack declarations. This instantly deflated Jaden, who had been ready to go all out. A punch into cotton.
Jaden looked at his hand and hesitated.
"Spell Card: Sacred Sword of Seven Stars. I banish one Level 7 monster from my hand or face-up field. Draw two. I banish Neos from my hand. Draw two."
Jaden silently drew two and examined his fresh four-card hand.
No Storm, no Righteous Justice. Even if he had them, he couldn't use them. Jaden truly had no answer for Darkness right now.
"I Set two cards. Turn end."
"Aww..."
"He could only end his turn like that..."
Syrus and Hassleberry watched Jaden unable to act, wearing expressions of indescribable disappointment.
"It can't be helped." Jesse sighed. "Even someone as strong as Jaden gets caught off guard. But knowing Mystic Mine's effect makes it manageable."
"After all, if both sides have equal monsters, Mystic Mine destroys itself. And if Darkness summons more monsters than Jaden, it can't activate effects or attack either. That's when Hikaru can strike back!"
Opportunities everywhere!
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Seeing Jaden unable to do anything, more scenes of crisis appeared across the floating screens.
This time... Paris.
Countless people struggled in darkness. Their piercing screams sounded like loudspeakers blaring into the students' ears, instinctively making Jaden break into cold sweat.
Final Countdown: 2.
Until now, Jaden hadn't taken any damage. Yet the pressure Darkness exerted was more terrifying than any previous duel!
Every turn's end meant one city, one country, even several countries of humans "vanishing"!
A duel like this... he had never experienced anything like it.
Never mind this many people. Before this, he'd never even accepted a duel with a single friend's life at stake!
He looked at Hikaru, wanting to ask for guidance. After all, in his eyes, Hikaru was someone absolutely impervious to any pressure. But when he turned, Hikaru was also taking deep, continuous breaths. Despite the tension, Hikaru was forcing himself to carefully study the opponent.
Right.
It hit him.
He suddenly smiled.
Carrying all of humanity, they could only duel. They had to duel. They had to defeat Darkness!
This duel where they had no choice was destined to be this way from the start. They had already resolved themselves before coming.
Bring back hope for everyone!
"My turn. Draw." Darkness's clone drew a card, then silently summoned a monster.
"Normal Summon. Level 4: Amano-Iwato."
CRACK.
RUMBLE!
The mountain behind this world's academy split open. An enormous boulder, taller than the mountain itself, slowly emerged.
Amano-Iwato. Level 4, EARTH Attribute, Rock-Type. ATK 1900. Spirit.
"Amano-Iwato?" Chazz's expression shifted slightly at the name.
"What is it?" Jesse asked curiously.
"Amano-Iwato is from our country's mythology... a cave made of rock. Legend says that Amaterasu, the sun goddess, grew angry at her brother's troublemaking and hid inside Amano-Iwato, refusing to come out. Without the sun, the world plunged into darkness, facing destruction..."
"Ah..." Jesse roughly understood.
"But what matters more is its effect." Aster, uninterested in mythology, spoke up. "Amano-Iwato's effect: while this card is in a Monster Zone, neither player can activate non-Spirit monster effects."
"Effects couldn't be activated anyway, right? Doesn't matter." Serena shrugged.
"No. What matters is that it's a Spirit monster." Jim's expression turned grave. "Spirit monsters are quite rare. Their shared trait is that during the End Phase of the turn they're Summoned or flipped, they return to the owner's hand.
This will... cause many problems."
Many problems?
Serena and Lulu looked confused.
What did that mean?
"Battle. Amano-Iwato attacks Dead-End Prison."
"I activate the Trap Card: Mirror Force!"
"Its ATK is only 200 higher than Dead-End Prison's. Is it really worth activating?!" Hassleberry was shocked, asking frantically.
"It has to be activated." Chazz spoke gravely.
Why?
The three first-years didn't understand.
They couldn't grasp why the seniors were staring so intensely at this 1900 ATK monster.
"This turn, Jaden is destined to be unable to maintain 'equal monster counts'..." Aster explained. "If he used something like Negate Attack, Amano-Iwato would simply return to hand. Then Hikaru and Jaden would still have more monsters than the opponent. If possible, destroying Amano-Iwato is the best available option."
"Heh heh heh. Mirror Force? Indeed, the best choice in this situation." Darkness watched from the side, laughing. "But it won't be that easy."
Its clone seemed to receive a command, pressed a button, and a Trap automatically flipped. A Counter Trap!
"Counter Trap: Red Reboot!"
The switch was thrown!
Hikaru's eyebrow twitched violently.
"When the opponent activates a Trap Card: negate that activation and Set the card back. Then, the opponent can Set one Trap Card from their Deck to their Spell/Trap Zone. After this card's activation, the opponent cannot activate Trap Cards until the end of the turn."
"Huh?"
Mirror Force had barely risen when a giant hand slammed the switch down, forcing the card back face-down.
"Ugh, how annoying." Yubel frowned deeply.
"...Hikaru, what do you want?" Seeing the activation failed and Mirror Force forcibly Set back, Jaden knew he couldn't stop it and asked Hikaru directly.
"Do you have Metaverse?"
"I see. Got it! Then I Set Metaverse!" Jaden scanned his Deck, selected a card, and slapped it face-down on the field.
Simultaneously, Amano-Iwato's radiance fell upon Dead-End Prison.
The black sun's light instantly destroyed it. The light struck Jaden, who grunted as his head spun with dizziness.
"Jaden!"
"Bro!"
Several spirits and classmates cried out at once.
"I'm... I'm okay."
Sweat beaded more heavily on Jaden's forehead.
Humanity, LP: 8000 → 7800.
"But now Darkness controls more monsters than Master and Jaden, so Darkness can't use monster effects either." Serena spoke up.
"Can't activate monster effects? Wait..." Lulu's face gradually went pale.
"What's wrong, Lulu?" Serena asked.
"This is bad, Serena. Amano-Iwato can't activate its effect now!"
Amano-Iwato can't activate its effect?
Amano-Iwato's effect was... return to hand during the End Phase...
Oh!
Serena understood instantly.
Because of Mystic Mine's effect, Amano-Iwato itself couldn't activate its effect, so it couldn't return to hand. This meant that even if Mystic Mine was dealt with, Hikaru still couldn't use monster effects!
"It's not over yet, Hikaru." Darkness continued.
"The next turn is yours, so I won't let you enjoy any advantage.
I activate the Trap Card: Designator of Finality."
The clone held up a card from its hand. "I banish one card from my hand, removing it from the game. For the rest of this duel, neither player can activate the banished card or cards with the same name.
What I'm banishing is... quite unfortunately, Hikaru, I happened to draw this. Future Fusion."
It held up a Continuous Spell version of Future Fusion and casually tossed it into the air.
The end approached. The knight of finality raised its sword, pointing toward the endless void and apocalypse.
The Fusion symbolizing the future was severed. Where would humanity's future lead now?
Rather than Darkness using it to summon Five-Headed Dragon at best, banishing it to deny Hikaru access was far better.
"I Set two cards. Turn end."
"Due to Mystic Mine's effect, my clone cannot activate monster effects. Therefore, Amano-Iwato cannot return to my hand."
The doomsday boulder that swallowed darkness seemed to mock everyone, radiating warm "sunlight."
"Oh, and one more thing. Don't forget this."
Darkness clapped lightly.
Final Countdown: 3.
Earth. Another wave of black clouds pressed downward.
More wailing. More destruction. More deathly silence!!
This was... Darkness!