To call it "exiled" was, in truth, only a theory.
Everything Yusei knew so far ca from the future, from that ruined tiline.
But in this present world, he still didn't know what the Earthbound Gods truly were. Even rged with the Artificial God, his knowledge was limited to foresight, not omniscience.
He understood Kalin's deck, yes, but not every card within it.And as for the state of the Earthbound Gods themselves, even Yusei would have to uncover that, piece by piece.
Still, his investigations had revealed much.
So when he realized Hikaru had crossed into this dinsion, Yusei acted imdiately, saving him from Security pursuit, and later offering assistance.
Before that, however, Yusei had to be sure: why had Hikaru co to this world?
If Hikaru's mission was simple diplomacy from the Fusion Dinsion, Yusei wouldn't interfere.
He would simply wait.
But now it was clear, Hikaru had co for one reason only: the Dark Marks.
"You're not afraid I might have my own motives?" Hikaru asked quietly.
"I trust Yuya and Rin's judgnt," Yusei replied. "And I trust the passion I saw in your Duels, your conviction in Fusion."
Hikaru gave a short, amused exhale. "Heh… fine then. Tell everything."
Yusei nodded. "It's much like what you already know. During the struggle for Synchro, the so-called One God was born.
Other deities either beca subordinate or were sealed away as Earthbound Immortals.
The lesser ones… were simply cast down as demons and monsters."
He t Hikaru's gaze squarely. "And I can tell you this, the Dark Mark on your left hand is the true mark of the Earthbound Gods."
Hikaru lowered his eyes to his wrist, studying the faint glow there, and gave a single nod.
"But just as I said," Yusei continued,
"Over long ages, so gods were sealed as Earthbound, others branded as fiends.
And the one I'm asking your help to find…is a being both sealed and enslaved, an Earthbound Immortal in chains.
"I see," Hikaru murmured, his eyes narrowing.
"So that's what it's beco in your world…"
In that mont, he finally understood the situation, how even divine beings here could fall so far.
Before parting, Hikaru offered practical help.
After all, rging man and being was sothing he knew well, he had once orchestrated a face-to-face communion between Jaden and the Supre King himself.
And Yusei's condition now, was the sa kind of misalignnt: the imperfect union of man and artificial god.
Just like Divine's "Psychic End Punisher" experint, which failed to ascend to godhood, the Artificial God couldn't synchronize with Yusei's human essence.
He wasn't like Akiza, born with psychic power;
Hikaru, for all his calm restraint, had an easier solution than Yusei realized.
The Psychic Punisher he'd salvaged not long ago, one of Divine's discarded creations, was perfect material.
If Hikaru were willing to endure the cost, he could extract its psionic core, channel the energy directly into Yusei's body, and then use Super Polyrization to rge away every trace of biological rejection.
Elegant. Efficient. Painful to his wallet, but simple.
Even Tierra, ever the watchful being of light and data, approved of the idea.
She had grown genuinely fond of this human, this reckless duelist who dared to defy the gods.
She even asked Hikaru what Yusei's full na was, as if she wanted to rember it for eternity.
After all, Yusei embodied everything Tierra admired, artificial divinity, machinery, ti, and life.
The path he'd chosen promised endless variables and unimaginable outcos.
To her, that made Yusei a far greater investnt than a risk.
But Yusei had refused.
Accepting Hikaru's help without giving anything in return went against everything he stood for.
It wasn't pride, it was conviction.
He wasn't rejecting "Fusion" or "Synchro" out of ideology.
He simply couldn't allow Hikaru to make sacrifices without equal exchange.
That was the foundation of his humanity, the one thing he refused to lose.
So Hikaru didn't argue.
He only watched as Yusei and Crow rode off, and then unfolded the map Yusei had left him.
His eyes narrowed as he saw the marked coordinates.
"So that's where it is. No wonder I couldn't find it before," he muttered.
A faint smile crossed his face. "You really never take the easy road, Yusei."
High above, Jack climbed aboard the helicopter, staring down at the scarred wasteland below. For a mont, the echo of Kalin's laughter lingered in his ears, and with it, the mory of his own sins.
Stealing Stardust Dragon. Chasing strength to stand above everyone else.
He clenched his fist, watching the faint red glow fade from his wrist.
Yusei had given up the Crimson Dragon's power.
Technically, that made him Jack's rival, even an enemy. But the bond they shared… that would never fade.
"Yusei," Jack whispered, "this ti… let be the one to help you."
Elsewhere, Yusei and Crow sped along the ruined highway.Crow stayed close, worried for him, unwilling to leave his side.And Yusei, realizing there was no longer a point in hiding his condition, allowed Crow to help with his adjustnts, fine-tuning his unstable circuits as they rode.
Between bursts of wind, the two talked about old tis, old friends, the city that still stood behind them.
Crow's expression tightened as he glanced at his left hand.Ever since his argunt with Shinji that day, a thought had been gnawing at him.
He wanted power, power to protect, to intervene, to matter.But every ti he reached for that strength… sothing darker stirred inside him.
A violent, predatory whisper.
The sa kind that had swallowed Shinji. The sa that had once devoured Kalin.
And Crow was terrified of it.
He feared that power, but more than that, he feared himself.
How could soone like Hikaru remain so calm?
How did he carry that kind of serenity even while standing between gods?
Crow didn't know. But he wanted to learn.
At that mont, the man Crow looked up to was already far ahead, his D-Wheel roaring down the coastal road. Police sirens wailed faintly behind him, but Hikaru didn't so much as glance back.
"Sshhhh."
He slowed near the guardrail and looked toward the horizon.
Under a clear blue sky stretched an even deeper blue sea. Waves rolled in and out, their rhythm steady and patient, sotis gentle, sotis surging with quiet power.
The ocean.
That sa view he'd seen every day from the mountain curve, now close enough to touch.
He exhaled. "A hidden place… perfectly chosen. No wonder it stayed invisible all this ti."
"Hikaru," ca a voice from his Duel Disk, deep, resonant, and faintly aquatic.
"I feel it. The gaze of the dark god who watches ."
It was Muddy Mudragon, his current Duel Spirit and guardian.The dragon's spectral form shimred faintly beside him.
"Then we're close," Hikaru said softly.
The dragon's eyes narrowed toward the ocean.
Beneath those waves, it could already sense the dormant presence, Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken, the only demigod who could guide them to the sealed Earthbound Servant Geo Grasha.
The mont broke as red and blue lights flashed behind him.Security patrols had finally caught up, closing in from both sides, forming a blockade.
Hikaru smiled.
With a single motion, he yanked the throttle.
The D-Wheel's rear tires scread, then launched skyward off the guardrail, straight down toward the beach.
Normally, a D-Wheel would stall instantly on sand, its wheels choking on every grain.
But as Hikaru's landed, the fra humd with a strange light, and kept accelerating.
The stunned officers stared from the cliffs above.
Then disbelief turned to shock, as Hikaru's D-Wheel did the unthinkable; he drove straight across the surface of the ocean.
"What the—!?"
Every officer froze.
Even Chief Trudge removed his cap, eyes wide.
And beneath that miraculous path of water, a violet sigil began to glow, a circular crest of ancient lines and symbols,slowly surfacing beneath the waves like a heartbeat from the deep.
User Comments
0 comments from readers