"The strongest? I don't dare claim that."
Kira waved his hand, smiling.
"I'm just a duelist who got lucky and moved a little faster. In my dimension, you wouldn't call me the strongest. There are duelists better than me."
Antinomy's eyes flickered.
Already a Duel King, yet he says he's not the top?
So the dimension he comes from isn't home to just one being at this level?
What a terrifying world.
Antinomy couldn't help but feel sad for a moment. If his own future timeline had so many powerful Duel Kings… could it have avoided its doomed fate?
Z-ONE's voice rang out again:
"Then, let's begin."
As those words fell, this pristine white domain shifted once more. Waves of transparency rippled through the void, reaching the horizon of this world.
Next, the background began to transform. Ceiling and floor vanished, as if the boundaries between heaven and earth melted away.
A track of nothingness stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, looping endlessly through the infinite sky, finally forming the symbol of infinity, "∞."
Kira and Antinomy now stood upon this track, and simultaneously, two Duel Runners materialized at their sides.
Among them was the "Delta Eagle" — that future Duel Runner, its spear-like nose gleaming with menace: Antinomy's signature ride.
The other was the exact model used by Paradox — the very same Duel Runner Kira had ridden to cross into this dimension.
Kira arched an eyebrow.
"Turbo Duel, huh?"
"That's right."
Antinomy was already astride his Delta Eagle.
"The most evolved form of dueling, closely tied to Synchro itself. Will you accept my challenge, King of the Other World?"
Both men knew their disguises meant nothing here. Kira shed the Goodwin mask and reverted to his original look.
He chuckled.
"King or not, that sounds a little off. My name is Fujiki Kira. You can just call me Kira."
Kira paused.
"I'm not exactly a riding duel expert, but playing along now and then isn't impossible. Sure, why not."
He climbed fluidly onto his Duel Runner.
That was the truth.
In the history of the real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, Turbo Duels were never implemented. The decks he was most familiar with were never designed with Turbo Duels in mind.
The restriction on Spell Cards in this format seriously impacted many decks, and Speed Spells — exclusive to the anime — even with all his research since arriving here, would never be second nature compared to the locals.
So most of the time, if he could avoid Turbo Duels, he would.
But sparring with Antinomy, a future Duel Runner master? He'd make an exception. It was only fair to give the home advantage.
Both Duel Runners roared to life, and the Duel Mode initiated. The Field Spell "Speed World" auto-activated, and countdown timers for the starting line appeared on both their dashboards.
"Turbo Duel, acceleration!" (x2)
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Antinomy, LP 4000]
Both Duel Runners launched at once, arrows off the string.
By Turbo Duel rules, whoever reached the first corner first would get the first turn.
Kira wasn't slow, but he'd seldom practiced riding for real and now only relied on his above-average reflexes and physical strength to floor the accelerator.
Antinomy, however, was different. In life, he was a Duel King-level Duel Runner driver from the future. Though now a robot replica, his mind retained all the abilities of his original self. His riding skill was first-class — even throughout the entire 5D's anime, if anyone ranked above him, no one would dare claim first.
The Delta Eagle, trailing fire, rocketed through the first corner. As expected, Antinomy seized the initiative.
"Allow me to go first! My turn, draw!"
Antinomy drew a card, and both players' Speed Counters rose to one.
"I Normal Summon 'Tech Genus Catapult Dragon'!"
Antinomy slapped a monster onto his Duel Disk. A small dragon with a launcher barrel on its head landed by his Duel Runner, the barrel topped with sharp, menacing spikes.
[T.G. Catapult Dragon, ATK 900]
"Catapult Dragon's effect: Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 3 or lower 'TG' Tuner Monster from my hand!"
In the anime, Tech Genus (TG) cards had many variations before their real-life printings — and several differences. The real Catapult Dragon could summon any Level 3 or lower Tuner, but here it was anime rules: it could only summon "TG" monsters, much less versatile.
"I Special Summon from my hand, 'T.G. Jet Falcon'!"
A second summoning vortex opened, and a jet-black falcon soared in, taking two spins before lining up neatly next to the Delta Eagle.
[T.G. Jet Falcon, ATK 1400]
"Level 3 Tuner Monster 'T.G. Jet Falcon'!
Level 2 'T.G. Catapult Dragon'!
Tuning!"
[3 + 2 = 5]
On Antinomy's red visor, data surged. Rings of Synchro energy formed beside the Delta Eagle, like a corridor of starlight stretching to the world's edge.
"Unlock the limiters to level 5. Engage the tuner and boosters; warm-up complete -- all systems go! Synchro Summon!
Come forth —
—— T.G. Hyper Librarian!"
Starlight burst as a white-caped librarian appeared, heavy tome in hand, top hat crowning his head, every motion scholarly and measured.
[T.G. Hyper Librarian, ATK 2400]
"There it is, the legendary Librarian." Kira licked his lips.
Antinomy paused.
"...What?"
"Nothing, please continue." Kira replied with a grin.
That Librarian — back in the Synchro era, it was downright broken, banned repeatedly for its absurd draw engine power. Its effect was simple: While on the field, each time a Synchro Summon happens, the player draws a card.
Top meta decks built around Junk Doppel summoned Synchros a dozen times or more per turn, "storytelling" their way through a deck almost entirely in just one go.
Antinomy noticed his reaction but asked nothing, gesturing ahead.
"At this moment, T.G. Jet Falcon's effect!
When sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material, it deals 500 damage to your opponent!"
…