"Phew—"
Joey Wheeler let out a long breath.
He won.
To say this meant nothing to him would certainly be a lie. After all these years, this was the first time he truly faced Beckas, his initial opponent from Duel Kingdom.
At least it proved one thing: he hadn't wasted these years.
Yes, even though he had gone through so much, he was still an ordinary person. But at least he had always been getting better.
"Beckas?"
Joey stepped across the field towards Beckas.
Beckas, who had just finished the duel, was now kneeling on the ground. His long hair hung low, usually covering half his face, now looking even more ominous, as if he was being swallowed by darkness.
Joey frowned slightly.
During the duel, he had already sensed something was wrong. There was a faint impact of real damage throughout the duel. Though it wasn't fatal, it was definitely not on the level of an ordinary duel.
Joey had encountered similar situations before, and this was certainly not the worst he had faced. After all, he had confronted the Phantom God, experienced top-level Dark Game, and fought hand-to-hand with Balrog in the Orichalcos Barrier.
So he naturally knew that such extraordinary level duels could be deadly.
Beckas slowly raised his head. At this moment, there was not a trace of hostility in his single eye; all previous disdain and mockery had vanished like an illusion.
He even seemed to express... gratitude?
"Thank you, Joey Boy," he said, "I knew... you wouldn't let me down."
"Huh?"
The sudden change left Joey slightly stunned.
But he quickly understood.
As he suspected, the person he just faced was not the real Beckas but rather a Beckas manipulated or at least influenced in some way.
Through the duel, it seemed Beckas had returned to normal now.
In fact, Beckas never looked down on Joey. In the GX original, when talking about the world's top duelists that he knew, he ranked Joey Wheeler only after Yugi and Kaiba.
Although when he mentioned this, it might have just been a casual comment during a drinking session, not necessarily well-thought-out, and only represented his thoughts at the time. But it was enough to prove that Joey Wheeler held substantial weight in his mind.
"Listen, we don't have much time."
Beckas took a deep breath and said seriously.
"Joey Boy, that boy, he's been... targeted..."
"Boy? You mean... Judai!?"
Joey quickly thought back to before the duel began, when the focus seemed to be on Judai. Beckas mentioned the threat of the Darkness of the Universe, which easily reminded Joey of Judai's recent victory over the Overlord in Overlord City.
Someone had their sights set on Yuki Judai.
Could it be the same one who controlled Beckas?
"Who?"
"Still that Light Fluctuation. It hasn't been completely eradicated from the earth... no, it's even more serious. More light is coming; I can feel it, I know..."
Beckas's breathing became increasingly rapid, and his voice grew more strained.
"While manipulated, I felt like I wasn't myself, as if another persona was stuffed into my mind. But I was always conscious, seeing what I was doing as if being forced."
"But I remember, the Light of Destruction... it borrowed my power to create a card... a Sword Fighting Card that he couldn't complete with his own ability."
"I remember completing it, a card with dangerous power, but I can't remember exactly what it was, only remember..."
Beckas gritted his teeth, holding his head as if in splitting pain.
"Go tell the current Duel King, tell Fujiki Yugen..."
His words were finally left unfinished, as he lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Beckas? Beckas!"
Joey tried to help him up, but Beckas's head lolled to the side, fainted and no longer responding, no matter how much Joey shook him.
"Cosmos' light? Targeting Judai?"
"And the Sword Fighting Card Beckas made..."
Joey scratched his head.
"What on earth is going on?"
...
...
"Merlot?"
Yugen, after a long absence, visited the Kaiba Group while picking through cards in a new batch in the warehouse, casually chatting with Keihei behind him.
Keihei had just told him about the ambush of Professor Card from the International Fantasy Association, who was an old acquaintance of Yugen's, Mecha bro Kak Dixon.
Recently, while Yugen and others were busy challenging the Overlord, an arrest operation led by Professor Card against illegally leaked cards was ambushed. The Illusion Association team was almost completely destroyed, and Mecha bro Kak is still in the hospital, mentally unresponsive.
"The International Fantasy Association was the first to notice the existence of the Light of Destruction and began formulating a response strategy," Keihei said. "Perhaps this counts as the Light of Destruction officially declaring war on the Illusion Association."
"I guess the Pegasus Brothers are probably overwhelmed by now?"
Yugen said offhandedly while rummaging through the cards.
"Pretty much. Right now, they're eager to turn the earth upside down to find Merlot's whereabouts..."
"So who is this Merlot?" Yugen wondered aloud.
"Just a normal Third-Rate Duelist with a mundane background story that offers no reference value at all," Keihei said with resignation. "The Light of Destruction attached itself to him, and who he was before doesn't matter anymore.
It's like this person had an unremarkable first half of life, but suddenly it was like a revelation, granting him incredible power, unmatched even by top-level experts..."
Keihei's voice trailed off, lightly frowning as if he had connected some dots.
Why did this life journey sound strangely familiar when said out loud...
As he thought, his gaze couldn't help but shift to Yugen in front of him.
Suddenly, it felt a bit weird.
Yugen met his gaze sideways.
"What are you looking at?" he raised his hand. "I swear by heaven, I absolutely haven't been possessed by the Light of Destruction.
If I speak a lie, let the lightning..."
He thought for a moment.
"...strike down that Merlot."
Keihei pondered.
"Hmm... it's quite convincing."
"Really?" Yugen raised an eyebrow.
Keihei looked at him blankly.
"No, I just think that since they're called the Light of Destruction, the possessed wouldn't be as dark as you."
Yugen: "..."
A brief silence.
Yugen then coughed lightly and stood up.
"Alright, that's it for today... Finally, another Card Deck completed."
"Let me see what you picked today."
Keihei curiously leaned forward; he was always intrigued by Yugen's card decks.
Yugen didn't hold back and handed it over generously.
Keihei took a look.
"...Volcano?"