Ed knelt on the ground, feeling a suffocation in his chest.
He lost.
This might be his first defeat since he made his debut. And when he thought carefully, he felt it should be considered a complete defeat.
During the duel, he didn't feel it. Several times, he thought he might have had a chance. There were moments he seemed to be just a bit short, and it seemed like a little more luck, or a small change, might have led to a different result.
Originally, he might have won.
But when he recalled the entire process of the duel and viewed the whole picture while considering his opponent's performance during the duel, he suddenly felt that perhaps the opponent hadn't shown their true ability at all.
Yes, like a game. It seemed as if the ending was predetermined before the duel even started. What kind of tactics he would choose, how he would play and attack – none of this was important.
He would lose because the ending was destined to be so.
It was almost akin to the way past opponents faced him. Throughout the duels so far, against various opponents... he hadn't even used his Destiny Hero that often, treating dueling with a playful attitude.
The elusive fate had always placed him on the side of the victor, but today it seemed to kick him to the loser's side for the first time. This was his first time experiencing the helplessness his defeated opponents felt when confronted with the colossal force of fate.
Especially when the heavy fate materialized and overwhelmed him with an immovable mountain-like presence. He was pressed to the ground, as if bearing a thousandfold gravity, barely able to breathe.
But when he struggled to raise his head and see the imposing figure clearly, he was momentarily dazed.
It was his Destiny Heroes.
Yes, that's right, they were the four Destiny Heroes taken down by a certain BYD in one round, including his Tamashi Fear Man...
Nothing else to say, this Revolver was really something special. Taking down four Minotaurs in one round was unprecedented. It's simply a demonstration of what it means when you have no guns or cannons, the enemy builds them for you...
If it were someone else, being beaten like this might lead to pondering why some people can be so cunning. But Ed began to think more about what this meant.
"Look."
Yugen stood before him, surrounded by the four Destiny Heroes.
"Your Destiny Heroes, they're mine now."
"So, do you think this means that your supposedly unshakable destiny with Saio now stands with me?"
Ed remained silent.
He thought for a moment, then slowly raised his head.
"Who are you?"
"As you see, just an ordinary Duelist passing by."
Yugen pulled four Destiny Heroes cards from the Magic Trap slot of his Duel Disc. The images of the four cards faded one by one. He handed the four cards back to Ed.
Ed looked up at him in surprise.
Ed remembered, the intel said this person cherished their cards as life. Anyone who lost to Revolver couldn't leave with their Card Deck—provided they were lucky enough to keep their lives.
Apparently, the rumors couldn't be entirely trusted.
"I defeated you, not because of destiny, but purely because my tactics, my Card Deck, and my dueling were stronger, nothing more. It's got nothing to do with destiny."
Yugen said calmly.
"If you simply hand over victories and losses to so-called destiny, believing victory was meant to be, and failure is helpless, then as a Duelist, you might only reach this level."
Yugen said.
"What's with the Destiny Heroes? It's laughable. Being shackled by fate makes one no more than a prisoner.
Only those who break through fate and carve their own path deserve to be called heroes."
Upon hearing this, Ed felt his heart stir as if struck by lightning.
A question raised by his opponent during the duel also surfaced in his mind.
When his father designed these Destiny Heroes, what was he thinking?
Was it really his father's wish for him to bear such a heavy fate?
Whenever he saw a new hero designed by his father, he used to be filled with anticipation. The cool appearance of those heroes, their strength, always excited him, as if wielding these cards and acquiring these heroes, he could become one of them.
It made him feel unprecedentedly powerful, like he had the strength to break through any barrier, making him fearless of any hardship.
Since when was this feeling forgotten?
He accepted the idea that even heroes are not omnipotent, that even heroes cannot escape the manipulation of fate.
But it was unavoidable. Being by Takuma Saiou's side, he had witnessed countless times the incredible power of Saiou. The destiny predicted by Saiou never failed, forcing him to believe that the future was a big book already written, and they were all just mechanically moving forward according to the storyline in the book.
Ed took a deep breath and stood up, looking at Revolver.
"Saio did indeed prophesy his own downfall, but that was many years ago. He hasn't mentioned it again in the past two years."
Ed stood and said.
"Are you trying to tell me that Saio has already fallen into the destiny he predicted for himself?"
"I shouldn't be the one to tell you. You once were one of Saio's closest people, you should have sensed it."
Yugen said calmly.
Ed remained silent.
Indeed. Looking back, at some point, Saio stopped being as open with him as before. Sometimes, he felt that they began to drift apart, and Saio became a bit less humane than before.
But people change, and Ed himself had also changed and grown differently from the past. So, though these thoughts crossed his mind, he never thought they were a big deal.
But now, through this duel, Revolver had started to shake him.
He just didn't want to admit it.
"The guy who said these things to me wore a mask, in an unnamed trap deep underground." Ed said, "Why should I trust you?
Maybe you, Revolver, are the root of Saio's prophesied destruction?"
"I never said you have to believe me, just make your own judgment."
Yugen smiled.
"Didn't Takuma Saiou also prophesy that you would be the key to changing his fate? That's why he initially reached out to you, because he knew that one day you would be crucial to his destiny."
Yugen snapped his fingers.
"Don't let him down, Ed Phoenix."
Ed wanted to say something more, but as soon as those words were spoken, the world around him began to spin.
He gasped, hurriedly trying to step forward. But he felt his feet suddenly find nothing beneath them, and his body was uncontrollably spinning. A strong dizziness overwhelmed him.
When his feet once again touched solid ground, and he looked around clearly, he found himself back on an empty street.
It was as if he had just been having a long dream right there, and hadn't gone anywhere.