With the duel's conclusion, some spirits couldn't help but applaud.
They were impressed not only by the phoenix's resilience but also by Adrian's final choice to abandon the Dark Master's power and settle things with his own monster. It showed them that this human named "Adrian" truly possessed the conviction to seek a real solution.
He simply hadn't known whether the path before him was genuine or correct.
Of course.
That was before.
Now, he knew everything.
Adrian quietly drew out the cards. The five Exodia pieces shimmered, then slowly floated upward.
The enormous black Dark Master threw back its head and roared. Chains from somewhere bound its body tightly, dragging it back through the gate.
The five glowing cards rose into the sky, flames burning on them as though fueled by countless people's convictions.
Hikaru could feel it. Within those flames was the conviction he had once kindled.
The fire ignited after dueling the Light of Destruction had finally, through another person, spread outward and lit someone else's soul.
And the power burning within these spirits and humans was slowly purifying the "Exodius" sealed here.
No.
Not burning, exactly.
Slowly, gently purifying its resentment. Hikaru could sense through the sealed gate that the fury had diminished considerably.
"The Dark Master's resentment seems to have lessened."
Beside him, the Lion Wizard gazed at the gradually sealed resentment in the sky and said with awe, "If no continuous resentment replenishes it, perhaps one day, it will dissipate."
He turned to Hikaru. "When that day comes, perhaps it will bloom with new radiance, take on a new form, and descend upon this world once more!"
"Meaning a new spirit might be born, a new card, right?" Hikaru nodded, understanding the Lion Wizard's intent.
Previously, he had learned from old man Solomon Muto that in this world, the Dark Master's "body" had already been taken away and transformed into "Exodia, the Summoned God."
Meaning the Fusion version of the Dark Master had already been born.
And the resentment the Dark Master left here would, starting today, gradually be burned and purified by the eternal flame. Perhaps before long, the "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord" here would also slowly transform, eventually becoming "Exodia, the Summoned God."
"Exactly. When that day comes, one won't need to sacrifice a loved one to receive its power, or even its blessing." The Lion Wizard kept marveling.
Last time, Lord Hikari had resolved this dimension's and this world's "future."
But although everything had changed, although the world of the forgotten had become the Forgotten Realm, that didn't mean this world was permanently safe.
The resentment born from the "Original Forgotten One" existing in this world was something even the Lion Wizard couldn't erode.
If not for that human elder taking half the Dark Master last time, this world might not have survived until Hikari's arrival.
And now, Hikari's friends seemed to have resolved another of this dimension's problems.
"Power without sacrifice..." Adrian gazed at the sealed gate in the sky and spoke softly. "I understand... Lord Lion Wizard, may I visit once a month?"
"As long as you don't cause destruction, our world welcomes anything new."
The Lion Wizard warmly welcomed fresh blood. "Not just you. Lord Hikari, Lord Aster, you may also visit monthly to commune with Exodia's power."
Not bad at all.
Hikaru chuckled and nodded from the sideline.
Traveling to this dimension didn't actually consume much spirit power. Last time had been strenuous only because the resentment and pressure were overwhelming.
With the Lion Wizard's approval, Hikaru could not only check for newly born "Forgotten" monsters but also try communing with Exodia's spirit to access the "Forbidden One's" power.
Completely free!
Obviously he was happy.
Unfortunately, nobody could likely obtain "Millennium Cross" cards, which were almost certainly exclusive to Solomon Muto.
And using the "Dark Master" would probably require starting from scratch like Adrian, collecting pieces one by one.
Fortunately, Hikaru didn't care about or pursue "guaranteed victory." What Hikaru cared about, always, was only one thing: Fusion.
As his understanding of Fusion deepened, as he spent longer in this world, as he more sincerely wielded Fusion, the power Fusion gave back grew stronger. His pursuit of Fusion grew ever more extreme.
A textbook positive feedback loop.
And Hikaru remembered "Exodia, the Summoned God's" Fusion conditions very clearly: five "Forbidden One" monsters.
At first glance, nothing unusual.
But there was one crucial detail.
Not "five types of Forbidden One monsters." Just "five."
Yu-Gi-Oh! was a game where textual precision mattered enormously.
Unlike Tierra's "multiple types" trigger condition, only "five" were needed. This meant Hikaru could theoretically fuse three Left Arms and two Right Arms into one "Exodia, the Summoned God."
Far simpler than assembling all five different pieces!!
In this world, collecting all "five types" of Exodia in order was extraordinarily difficult. For a long time, only Solomon Muto had succeeded.
Asking Hikaru to collect a complete Dark Master set? He didn't have that confidence. But collecting five copies of any pieces? Child's play. The difficulty wasn't even comparable.
After hearing the Lion Wizard, Adrian nodded gently, looked at Echo, and began to reflect.
He had nearly made an irreversible mistake.
Perhaps neither Aster nor Hikaru could give him a definitive answer or immediately solve every problem.
But at the very least, Aster had proven one thing: even the Dark Master's power was far from "invincible."
And moreover...
If the Dark Master's power could be obtained without sacrifice, then everything he had been about to do was wrong from the start.
Aster said nothing more, nor did he reproach Adrian further. He had said enough during the duel. Given his personality, he wouldn't add more words.
More than anything, Aster was simply relieved that he had prevented a tragedy.
As for Hikaru, he was even more satisfied.
Not only had he gained a free "Exodia, the Summoned God" summoning site, he had also fully activated Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. Leveling up while doing nothing? Of course he was happy.
Setting everything else aside, with Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, Hikaru's Deck strength had skyrocketed once again.
Yes.
Skyrocketed!
Although he didn't have Predaplant Verte Anaconda, the other card that "changed Fusion," Hikaru had plenty of alternatives. He could run three copies of Fusion Destiny in his Deck, giving him far better opening odds than in his pre-transmigration world.
However, these were all things to consider during duels.
Right now, Hikaru had many other matters to think about and inquire into.
First, he needed to confirm the outside situation.
Echo wasn't on Duel Academy island. She was at Adrian's family corporation handling business. She simply came to this world at each Witching Hour, hoping to encounter Adrian.
So she hadn't actually come looking for Adrian. She had come to help him walk the "Path of the King."
Although Adrian had abandoned sacrificing Echo for power during his duel with Aster, Echo still wanted to help Adrian become a merciful king, one who didn't need to be restrained.
But Hikaru and Aster didn't care why she came. What they cared about was the state of the outside world.
The "World of the Forgotten" was a very special dimension. Cards that were forgotten and abandoned, ignored for years, could enter this dimension through accumulated resentment.
And it wasn't limited to their world. From every world, whether spirit world or human world, forgotten cards could appear in this dimension.
In other words, this dimension was "directly connected" to all dimensions.
Unfortunately, this dimension couldn't "travel to" a specific dimension. It could only "return to where you came from." Otherwise, Hikaru would have found a way to use it as a relay station to seek reinforcements.
But even without that option, they still had alternatives.
First was the intelligence Echo provided: the outside situation.
During the duel, Hikaru and the others had already learned that people outside the academy believed everything was fine. Nothing seemed wrong.
All three had reached the same conclusion: the humans in the outside world had already been influenced by Darkness's power, causing them to effectively overlook Duel Academy.
And Duel Academy was currently the most "spirit energy-rich" known location in the human world.
After all, not just headquarters. The top students from every global branch, along with the world's finest professors, were all gathered here.
Now they were isolated. Through slow attrition, it was possible to defeat humanity's "future."
Hikaru knew more than his two classmates. He understood Darkness's existence clearly, so he could better comprehend its actions.
In the original story, possessing spirits meant you could at least partially resist Darkness's influence.
But clearly, this world's Darkness was far stronger than in the original. It could do more, like affecting even those with spirits now.
Previously, Hikaru had theorized that Darkness sealed the academy because it taught students to use spirit power, which might alter the "future" Darkness sought. Hence the targeted strike.
Now, that seemed almost certainly correct.
Darkness hadn't ignored the outside world. It wanted to "suffocate" the people inside Duel Academy first.
Sending students out or calling outside help were both impossible.
Darkness had clearly prepared thoroughly, even acting before Yubel made her move. Humanity would have to confront Darkness directly.
Fortunately, Darkness wasn't simply waiting for humanity to self-destruct. It was beginning to act personally, meaning it would gradually descend.
Compared to an intangible enemy, knowing the enemy would eventually appear was at least good news.
Even so, Adrian made an effort. He wrote down as much as he could for Echo to take back, hoping that after returning to the human world, she would remember what happened in the Forgotten Realm and find a way to help Duel Academy.
Although Aster held no hope for this, as long as the effort was made, there was no reason to object.
Soon, the three returned to Duel Academy.
Feeling the heavy pressure and the waves of stabbing pain assaulting his head, Hikaru shook his head.
He checked the infirmary. Adrian was energetically helping the teachers, clearly reignited with fighting spirit.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow, then returned to a classroom and opened his Deck for inspection.
Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer.
A card powerful enough to be nearly "immortal." After his duel against the Light of Destruction, it had been forcibly generated in an incomplete state, split between himself and Aster.
Now, through Aster's efforts, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer had finally been fully born. The copy in his hand glowed brilliantly in response.
As an "end piece," this card was already powerful enough.
In that case...
Hikaru looked at some of his other small engines.
He eyed Thunder Dragon and smiled.
It hadn't seen play in a while. Now was the perfect time.
He shuffled his Deck slightly, prepared a fresh build, and took a deep breath.
That afternoon, he had studied the Revelation Records. He planned to visit the school's volcano next.
Specifically, the volcano's crater.
Last time, that was where Hikaru had dueled Darkness-possessed Atticus Rhodes.
And the Revelation Records clearly stated this location was ideal for high-level spirits.
After careful calculation, Hikaru determined that among locations nobody would normally explore or patrol, this was the most likely place where Atticus and Alexis Rhodes were being held.
Tonight, he still needed to help Jaden try to awaken his other self, so he would scout first.
As dusk approached, Hikaru prepared his gear, gave Jaden a heads-up, and quietly headed for the volcano.
But just as he was about to begin climbing, suddenly, a mass of black sludge rose from the ground before him. It began to transform, ultimately rising into the shape of a sinister man wearing sunglasses.
Mr. T!
Hikaru felt both alarmed and delighted.
His instincts had been right!