Kite looked at the card in his hand.
His body was burning with flames.
The flames as an older brother, the flames as a duelist.
A duelist's instincts were making him grow stronger and stronger.
But this strength held no meaning.
For him, awakening Hart was the most important.
Hart being willing to speak with him during the duel meant Hart hadn't completely sealed his own heart. That seemingly untouchable "despair shell" still had means to be broken.
Only, right now, the Goddess of Despair was locking Hart's inner heart, making him unable to truly speak with him, unable to return to the past, unable to return to the world that belonged to them.
So.
All he had to do was break this shell!
Bang.
"Kite! Hart!" Yuma Tsukumo finally arrived at the scene. But at this time, the duel had already reached the third turn. He had no way to stop the duel from continuing either. He could only watch this sorrowful duel between the Tenjo brothers.
"How could this be..." Tori Meadows arrived slightly later. Seeing all the wounds on Kite's body, she couldn't help covering her mouth with both hands.
Yuma opened and closed his mouth, sorrow showing on his face. Astral, floating beside him, shook his head slightly and softly said to him: "Yuma, things have come to this. We can only trust Kite now."
Yes.
"Do your best, Kite! Bring Hart back!"
Yuma yelled at the top of his lungs, cheering Kite on.
Kite heard his voice, turned his head to glance at him. The corners of his mouth curved up just a tiny bit. Then his expression returned to grim, and he lit up the card in his hand: "Normal Summon, Galaxy Knight."
Galaxy Knight could be Normal Summoned without tribute if you controlled a Photon or Galaxy monster on the field.
"Using two Level 8 monsters on the field, conduct Xyz Summon!"
Kite raised his hand. Photon Dragon's body began fading and expanding. The photons inside its body started rapidly flashing. Finally, they transformed into strands of "lines"!
"Galaxy shining in the darkness!
Dwell within my heart and become my servant!
Xyz Summon!
Descend, Rank 8!
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"
"Roaar!"
As if responding to the duelist's resolve, Cipher Dragon burst out with unprecedented fervor, its whole body dazzling like a gem under radiance.
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon. Rank 8, LIGHT Attribute, Dragon-Type. ATK 3000. Xyz Materials: 2.
"Switched to Cipher form!" Yuma exclaimed softly, somewhat surprised.
Though Galaxy-Eyes had two different forms, the meanings of the two forms weren't actually the same.
Photon form was the hunter, the tracker, the pain and power Kite bore while searching for Number cards. Cipher form was the slaughterer, the avenger, the form Kite awakened to resolve the Fusion Army that attacked the Xyz Dimension.
Kite pointed at his opponent's monster: "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon's effect. Once per turn, detach 1 Xyz Material, target 1 monster on the opponent's field to activate. Until the End Phase, gain control of that opponent's monster.
During the period of gained control by this effect, that opponent's monster's card name is treated as Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon. Its ATK becomes the same as this card. It cannot directly attack. Its effects are negated."
"Cipher Projection!"
Kite spoke while extending his hand. His right hand stretched forward. A silver-white hand of light composed of light flew out and grasped Number 28, then forcibly dragged it before him.
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, Xyz Materials: 2 → 1.
Because the monster had been stolen, the "28" symbol on Hart's body slowly receded. In its place, this number manifested on Kite's clothes, causing him slight pain.
"Ugh..."
This card wasn't an ordinary Number card. It also carried the Goddess of Despair's malice. Only this pain was truly negligible to Kite.
"Activate Spell Card, Galactic Charity. If I control a Galaxy Xyz Monster on my field, discard 1 card to activate. Draw 2 cards from my Deck. The turn this card is activated, all damage received by the opponent becomes halved."
Kite raised a Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon in his hand and sent it to the Graveyard, then drew 2 cards from his Deck.
"Hmm, brilliant evasion effect." Crow stroked his chin, praising this move. "Since damage can't be inflicted anyway, halving damage however many times doesn't matter. Very worth drawing these two cards."
Because of One Day of Peace, this turn Hart couldn't take damage, so Kite's using this card would have no impact.
But there were also hidden reasons. Kite was still worried his own actions would hurt Hart, so he cut it further.
"Activate Galaxy-Eyes Cloudragon's effect in the Graveyard." Kite didn't pause his motion. "During my turn, if this card exists in the Graveyard, during my Main Phase, choose 1 Xyz Monster on my field whose name mentions Galaxy-Eyes to activate. Overlay this card from the Graveyard beneath the chosen monster as Xyz Material. This effect can only be used once per duel.
I overlay it beneath Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon."
From the Graveyard, a small Galaxy-Eyes flew out, like Cipher Dragon's little brother, circling Cipher Dragon in flight. It let out a howl, then transformed into orb-particles of light.
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, Xyz Materials: 1 → 2.
"...Battle Phase."
Kite clenched his fists and trembled as he raised them before him, tone firm: "Galaxy-Eyes, I'm counting on you.
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, direct... direct attack on Hart!"
"Annihilation Cipher Stream!"
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon took a deep breath, then roared. An orb of light composed of Cipher waves gathered before it. Then it spewed toward Hart Tenjo. Hart Tenjo crossed both hands to guard his head. The endless light current crashed into Hart Tenjo's body, washing over his body like a stream of water.
Boom, boom, boom.
Because he couldn't take damage, Hart Tenjo's body suffered no pain. But as the Cipher waves washed over him, it was as if something invisible had shattered with a snap.
"Hart!"
Kite was overjoyed.
It worked!
This line of thinking was right!
As the wave of light finished washing over, Cipher Dragon steadied itself again. Hart slowly lowered his hands and raised his head.
Those bright, shining eyes reappeared, bringing joy to Kite and the watching friends and family. But quickly this joy dispersed in an instant. Because immediately after, Hart Tenjo's eyes turned empty, dark, and lifeless again.
"!!"
Kite was stunned.
"It's useless."
Even more, along with the attack's fall, an enormous figure slowly emerged.
That was an enormous, vividly colored figure. She slowly emerged, transforming into darkness, transforming into the night sky, transforming into stars.
Unlike destructive gods in the conventional sense, this existence appeared very gentle. Her figure and features were rather perfect. Colors like the wing-pattern of a Great Purple Emperor butterfly made her so strange, so beautiful.
She was the Goddess of Despair, E-Ra!
Also known as Error!
Mistake!
Despair!
The true "concept god" of many dimensions, symbolizing despair!
"E-Ra!" Kite roared with rage, wishing he could rush straight over and punch her.
"E-Ra!" Astral and Yuma Tsukumo also couldn't help shouting at her.
So infuriating, E-Ra!
Their Xyz Dimension's trouble-making king!
Behind all bad things, there must be E-Ra!
"Give Hart back to me!" Kite squeezed the words out through his teeth.
"Useless, Kite." E-Ra smiled and spoke to Kite.
"Hart Tenjo is not wanting to contact you out of his own heart. It's not because of me. The more you want to touch his heart, the more resistant he'll become, then bury his heart deeper. So useless, Kite!"
"The more you want to save Hart Tenjo, the deeper he'll sink into despair. Just like light and shadow, hope and despair."
Kite was stunned. Then a bone-deep chill and gloom seeped into his body.
The more I protect, the more I want to save Hart, the more Hart will hate the self that keeps making me save him.
"So that's how it is..."
Astral suddenly spoke.
Yuma immediately turned to look at him. Beside them, Yusei also silently turned his head, listening to his view.
"Despair and hope correspond to each other. E-Ra is the shadow of light born from hope. That is, the destructive god who gives despair and destroys hope. So long as a person's despair and darkness sufficiently attract her, she can cross dimensional shadows to arrive beside that person.
Right now, Hart is that most despairing person."
A terrifying and mad fact.
"How could this be..." Yuma understood Astral's words. "Astral, you mean, because Kite is too strong, too impressive, Hart suffers more!"
Kite Tenjo.
Star of the Xyz Dimension.
Nemesis of Xyz Monsters.
Leader and savior of Fusion Army resisters.
Famed dimensional ace.
The strongest duelist who'd once hunted Number monsters across multiple dimensions without failure.
Even Yuma and Astral had to admit, even if they, having defeated Throne and Dr. Faker, dueled Kite together again, they still couldn't defeat this incredibly strong duelist!
Even in Yuma's and Astral's hearts, Kite was the Xyz Dimension's greatest hope.
But this hope was too dazzling.
The talent for hunting Number monsters, the powerful performance against the Fusion Army, all so dazzling, so attention-drawing!
Not only that. Not only Kite Tenjo!
The Tenjo brothers' father, the famous Xyz Dimension's Dr. Faker, creator of Heart Garden, was also a genius inventor who never fell behind in diplomatic relations with the Fusion Dimension.
In the decade-plus of establishing relations with the Fusion Dimension, the Xyz Dimension and Fusion Dimension had never had a status change. There were even countless Fusion Dimension people who viewed Dr. Faker as an idol. All because Dr. Faker's countless inventions in Heart Garden were all genuinely genius creations. He could also hand-craft genuinely "non-human intelligences" and "mechanical lives" like Orbital 7.
Dr. Faker was a multi-dimension certified "rare genius"!
Genius father, powerful older brother!
However, as the younger brother, Hart was a genuine burden!
The despair brought by this hope had sprouted in his heart after Throne kidnapped him and after Dr. Faker spoke the truth, wildly growing.
"Everything is my fault?"
Kite was stunned in place. His anger slowly drained away, as if everything in his life was being denied. That fanatical, even mad duelist's fighting spirit actually began dispersing...
Could it be I gave Hart too much pressure?
Could it be letting Hart live alone was the better choice...
Bang!
"Don't listen to her nonsense, Kite!" A voice everyone was familiar with rang out.
Hikaru!
The stone hanging in everyone's hearts suddenly dropped. Almost everyone felt their bodies grow lighter.
Hikaru pushed open the door. Quattro shouted at Kite: "Ha, why so battered, Kite!"
Looking at Quattro's face, Kite was rarely somewhat confused.
"Quattro..."
"What's wrong? Could our world-invincible Kite be admitting defeat! If you don't dare, then let me do it. I will absolutely kill E-Ra!
Heh, I won't care about your little brother's life or death!"
"Quattro!" Kite's face darkened. That manic power appeared again. Only this power was more about suppressing Quattro than the duel itself.
"Tch." Quattro coldly hmphed unhappily.
"Kite." On the other side, Hikaru looked at Kite, meeting his eyes. "Don't be deceived."
"What do you mean..."
"Kite, though I've only known you a few short days, your love for your little brother is so obvious. The little brother in your words is also so kind.
Now, tell me, would your little brother really think this way?"
!!
Kite was suddenly stunned.
Hikaru slowly clenched his fist before himself. His eyes reflected Kite's figure and reflected the truth: "Your little brother, perhaps at some moment, really doubted himself, developed fear of you father and son. But could such a brief moment be enough to make the little brother in your heart take that kind of action?
Answer me. And answer yourself."
He wouldn't!
Absolutely wouldn't!
Kite took a deep breath.
If it was the Hart in his memory, he'd absolutely never do such a thing!
Because even if Hart really got angry, he wouldn't cause such massive destruction. At most he'd tell Kite his small sadness at the villa, then cling to him asking to be taught dueling.
"E-Ra... it's you!" Kite understood. He pointed at E-Ra behind Hart and roared. "You amplified Hart's pain. You forced him to come here! You made him this despairing!
I won't forgive you!"
He completely understood.
As expected. Behind all bad things, there was always E-Ra!
The smile on E-Ra's face dispersed. Looking at Hikaru, her expression turned slightly gloomy.
But quickly the smile rose again on her face: "So what? Kite, wanting to awaken your little brother, one impact alone absolutely won't do. Without actual damage, he can't be awakened.
Can you do it? Can you harm your most important little brother?"
Under the contemptuous smile, E-Ra's body slowly dispersed and merged back into Hart's body once more.
Hart's body was her protective shell!
"Bastard..." Kite's fingers cracked from being squeezed. His fury had never burned like today. He wished to strangle E-Ra alive the next second.
But he looked at Hart.
No good.
He couldn't do it. Couldn't harm his own little brother.
This truly was an absolute dilemma.
Yusei looked at Hikaru. Hikaru pressed his chin, thinking.
If he were the one dueling, he had methods.
For solving this kind of mental interference problem in a duel, he already had many techniques.
After all, at Darkness's place, he'd seen more than enough. Compared to Darkness who was proficient in all mental systems, the Goddess of Despair actually only knew memory modification. Her strongest power was actually the ability to move between multiple dimensions the instant they connected, which was much more impressive than Darkness who exhausted every effort just to come to this era.
But regrettably, this duel belonged to Kite. He had no way to influence anything.
But suggestions could still be given.
"Fundamentally, the most important thing is knocking E-Ra out of Hart's body. So long as we concentrate all power to knock E-Ra out, that would work, right?" Hikaru pondered and said.
"That's too difficult." Quattro felt this was fundamentally impossible.
Yes. Basically impossible.
Crow and Jack also silently nodded.
Even with the most high-tier monsters, this kind of thing would probably be very difficult.
Because what did it look like?
Like a mosquito flying past you. You had an enormous spiked club in your hand. You had to use this club to strike the mosquito, not harming the mosquito, while precisely destroying a tiny "point" on the mosquito.
How to do this?
Too difficult!
Difficult?
Difficult but he still had to try!
Since precise execution was impossible, then lock on first!
"My turn continues. Enter Main Phase 2!"
"Here I come, E-Ra! I'll make you completely repent!"
"This card, once per turn, can also directly overlay onto Cipher Dragon to Xyz Summon!"
"Using Rank 8 Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon as Xyz Material, conduct Rank-Up Xyz Change!"
Light filled the entire room: "Rank-Up, Xyz Change!
Rank 10!
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Blade Dragon!"
Rank-Up!?
The three Xyz Dimension people plus one spirit exclaimed inwardly simultaneously.
"Not done yet!"
"This card can also overlay onto my Galaxy-Eyes Xyz Monster to Xyz Summon!"
"Xyz, Multidimensional Change!"
Two consecutive Rank changes!?
And on the same Xyz Monster.
The Xyz Dimension people's faces grew somewhat panicked.
This was life-risking level!
"Rank 8, Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon!"
Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon threw back its head and roared.
"Not done yet!"
"Not done yet!?" Yuma Tsukumo exclaimed.
"Kite, are you crazy?" Quattro also grew shocked.
Three consecutive Rank-Ups, on the same monster position.
What was he trying to do!?
"Once per turn during a turn an Xyz Monster has battled, this card can directly overlay onto an Xyz Monster on my field to Xyz Summon!"
Kite widened his eyes. His body, fiery duelist energy transformed into real flame, burned on him.
"Watch my Rank-Up!"
"Xyz, Rank-Up Change!"
"Maximum Rank!"
"Xyz Summon!"
Zzzzz.
Electric current roared through the entire room.
All light gathered at the center.
A dazzling, enormous robot slowly began assembling around Full Armor Dragon.
"Rank 12!"
"Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder!"
Boom!
The god-slaying weapon descended here!
Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder. Rank 12, LIGHT Attribute, Machine-Type. DEF 3000. Xyz Materials: 5.
"Whoa..."
The Xyz Dimension people all watched Kite dumbfounded.
He was fine!?
Not the slightest thing wrong!?
A Rank 12-level Rank-Up looked like nothing to him?
"Impressive, Kite. Didn't expect you to withstand my Rank-Up so easily." AA-ZEUS was also extremely shocked.
"Compared to Hart's sadness, this kind of pain is nothing!" Kite said as a matter of course.
Little-brother-doting was beyond saving.
But Kite understood better.
Momentary fervor was useful.
But ultimately couldn't cure the root.
What could truly solve the problem still had to be...
"I end my turn."
"At this instant, Number 28: Titanic Moth that originally belonged to me returns to the opponent's field."
Titanic Moth's body gradually escaped from the light, transforming back into the Number monster, returning to Hart's field. Precisely because of this, the number "28" appeared once more on Hart's body.
"At this instant, activate AA-ZEUS's effect!
During either my or the opponent's turn, detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card to activate. Send all other cards on the field to the Graveyard!"
So strong!
Quattro's heart jumped.
Four materials meant he could clear the field twice on the opponent's turn?
But using it now, wasn't it too hasty, Kite?
Kite couldn't be blamed for hastiness.
He was just trying to find where E-Ra was faster!
AA-ZEUS raised both hands before himself. Enormous purple lightning gathered. Then he opened both hands. Purple streaming light swept across the entire duel field.
In just an instant, Titanic Moth was washed into fragments by the streaming light. But this radiance didn't stop and continued washing.
Hart's body also swayed in this ocean of light-current. The crimson number 28 slowly dispersed. Kite felt as if he'd grasped something in his heart, but also as if he'd grasped nothing.
"Sorry, this is all I can do."
AA-ZEUS's voice rang in Kite's ears.
Kite's display of risking everything for his little brother satisfied it greatly.
But equally, it also worried inwardly.
Difficult.
Too difficult.
Fundamentally impossible.
Perhaps Kite would ultimately still have to walk its "old path," having no choice but to strike down his own little brother.