"He survived another turn!"
"Ha, no big deal! That ram-skull skeleton has nothing on us!"
Even though Hikaru's attack hadn't gone through, the students watching the duel couldn't help but cheer.
Because Hikaru had shattered the fear in their hearts!
Up until just now, everything Darkness had done had filled them with dread.
Yes, even the finest duelists of this generation had felt fear watching Darkness duel. Even with Hikaru's rallying cries to lean on, terror had crept in.
First, every single card Darkness played had a devastating effect, from Mystic Mine at the start to the three "Dominus" cards that followed.
Second, even though Darkness had voluntarily sacrificed Attribute after Attribute of monster effects, his monsters synergized with those self-imposed restrictions to become even more powerful.
For the students, that was terrifying.
It meant that Darkness didn't just have powerful cards. His understanding of the game had reached a superhuman level.
So even as they cheered for Hikaru and Jaden, the pressure had shadowed them without pause, and despair had grown deeper with each turn.
But now...
Hikaru had shattered that myth!
Even if the attack didn't connect, even if it achieved nothing on paper, the moment Darkness showed a crack, that alone was reason to celebrate.
Better still, Hikaru hadn't just forced Darkness into a panic. He had exposed a flaw in Darkness's game.
At first glance, Darkness's understanding of dueling seemed transcendently terrifying. But in reality, he was far less fearsome than appearances suggested!
"Turn end."
Because of Mirage of Nightmare's cost, Hikaru had no cards in hand. After the failed attack, all he could do was quietly end his turn.
Countdown to the End: 8.
The darkness spread.
More humans were swallowed into this world. More people became aware of the images in the sky. More human voices reached Hikaru's ears.
But unlike before, when fear and wailing had dominated, Hikaru's attack had given more people a glimpse of hope.
"Ngh..."
Darkness clutched his chest.
He hadn't taken any battle damage, but feeling humanity's hope slowly reigniting was deeply troublesome.
As expected, this man, Hikaru Amagi...
If this continued, the duel would gradually shift under Hikaru's influence toward an outcome humanity could celebrate.
It was time to move to Phase Two of the plan.
"My turn. Draw." Darkness drew two more cards from his Deck.
"At that instant! Because of Mirage of Nightmare's effect, I draw 4 cards from my Deck!!" Hikaru shouted with unusual volume, practically brimming with excitement.
Several people who knew him well were caught off guard, unable to understand why he was so thrilled.
Only Hikaru himself knew just how good those four draws felt.
This was a full draw-four!
Under normal circumstances, forget drawing four. Drawing even one extra card was a luxury. He had only used Pot of Greed once in his entire career.
And this was Mirage of Nightmare!
A perennial Forbidden card!
Before coming to this world, Hikaru had never played this card. He could only watch Jaden use it in the anime. Having the chance to play it today was pure bliss.
On the other side, Darkness didn't care about Hikaru's joy. He looked at the cards he had drawn and chuckled.
"I've finally assembled everything."
"?"
"I reveal my Set cards! Trap Card, Reckless Greed, both copies!"
"Huh?"
"Reckless Greed?"
Nearly everyone recognized the card.
Draw 2 cards from your Deck. After that, skip your next 2 Draw Phases.
"Not only can Trap Cards not be activated the turn they're Set, but this card has a brutal side effect. It's nowhere near as good as Pot of Greed or similar cards. And he used it anyway? Two copies?" Hassleberry muttered. "That means he'd have to skip four Draw Phases, right?"
"No." Aster shook his head. "No matter how many copies of Reckless Greed you activate, you only skip two Draw Phases total. So activating two copies to draw 4 cards is the optimal play. It's just..."
"It's just that skipping two Draw Phases for 4 cards is meaningless for someone who used Time-Tearing Morganite, isn't it?" Adrian continued the thought. "Normally, a duelist uses this tactic to replenish their hand: trading two Draw Phases for 4 cards is a good deal. But Darkness already draws two cards per Draw Phase. Skipping two phases to draw 4 is something he could have done naturally. Not only does this fail to generate extra cards, it also leaves his avatar unable to draw. Is that really worth it?"
"When you put it that way, it really does live up to its name... Reckless Greed."
"Greed. War. These are the things that compose humanity's desires. They drive humans to fight one another." Darkness spoke in a low, distant voice.
"What are you blathering about?" Chazz shot back.
"Do you still not understand? Greed. Conflict. Destruction. These desires will lead your kind to self-annihilation. This is the very reason nations throughout human history have crumbled.
Under the weight of time, all things proceed from birth to death. This is an unchanging, eternal law."
"No one lives forever. Likewise, humanity cannot endure forever. Now, under the witness of time, it is your turn to walk toward the end!"
"Spell Card, Mischief of the Time Goddess!" (Note 1)
Everyone's eyes went wide.
"I skip forward through time, into my next Battle Phase!"
"Time, flow onward!"
With his voice, everything began to accelerate!
In the human world, people running for their lives sped up. In the span of a single second, someone fled from their room to another continent.
The planet began spinning at breakneck speed.
The fractured sky crackled and splintered apart.
Hikaru opened his mouth, and what came out sounded like a garbled stream of static.
Time had gone haywire!
Battle Phase. Main Phase 2. End Phase.
Countdown to the End: 9.
Jaden reached out his hand and said something, then the turn passed to him.
Jaden's Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase, Battle Phase, Main Phase 2, End Phase...
Countdown to the End: 10!
Half the globe was consumed by darkness!
The people who could see the sky's images descended into panic.
They all knew what was happening, but they could do nothing, forced to watch as time hurtled forward!
The avatar's turn. Standby Phase, Main Phase, Battle Phase...
Then, Hikaru's turn.
Countdown to the End: 12!
DING.
A clock chimed.
"You bastard!!!" Jaden erupted with fury. "You skipped 4 whole turns!!"
Four entire turns, gone!
Without doing a single thing, the Countdown had jumped straight to 12!!!
Most of the globe had been plunged into total darkness, and they had been powerless to stop it!
That feeling was the most agonizing of all!
Because there was nothing they could have done!
"Time acceleration... Right, he used time reversal before too..." Atticus spoke up for the first time. "Damn that bastard..."
"Under the weight of time, humanity will perish. Jaden Yuki. Hikaru Amagi. You were so fixated on dueling that you forgot my original purpose. All I need is for humanity to be destroyed. All I need is for the turns to reach the 20th!"
Darkness spread his three pairs of skeletal wings. Countless card backs materialized across them. "Now, time has reached the 12th turn. Victory slips further and further from your grasp!"
The morale humanity had just recovered plummeted to zero.
Eight turns!
Only eight turns remained!
They had to win fast!
"But we still have Psychic End Punisher on our field. If we can find a way to lower our Life Points below Darkness's, we can make Punisher immune to Darkness's effects and attack to win, right?" Ruri suggested a possibility.
Although Hikaru's side had more Life Points, there were still options.
"I activate the Spell Card, Chaos End!"
"When 7 or more of your cards are banished: destroy all monsters on the field!" Darkness declared. "Your Life Points are higher than mine, so Psychic End Punisher is affected by activated card effects."
Darkness pressed down from above.
Every human felt their breath constrict.
In that moment, even those on parts of the planet not yet covered by darkness felt pain.
Psychic End Punisher let out two wailing howls before crumbling to dust and vanishing. Hikaru's Fusion Monster was sent to the Graveyard along with it.
"Damn it. That powerful monster they worked so hard to steal, gone just like that."
Countless people lamented.
"Shaddoll Falco's effect. When this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect: Special Summon it from the Graveyard in face-down Defense Position."
Hikaru didn't dwell on the loss. He pulled Falco back as a matter of course.
He did not activate El Shaddoll Fusion.
As mentioned before, even monsters with "case" trigger effects could miss their activation timing. One such scenario was when all field monsters were destroyed simultaneously and a chain Special Summon occurred.
In that situation, El Shaddoll Construct's arrival effect of "send 1 Shaddoll card from the Deck to the Graveyard" would miss its timing. Only the effect to recover a Spell Card from the Graveyard would still be usable.
Given that, there was no point in wasting it.
Darkness stared at this monster that had come and gone several times now, and pondered.
Could that thing have some kind of bizarre follow-up?
"Heh heh... Next, I activate this card." Darkness flipped his avatar's last Set card. "Trap Card, Extinction on Schedule!"
The card art depicted a meteor striking the Earth and annihilating the dinosaurs, as though it had happened only yesterday.
"Pay 2000 Life Points. Activate during either player's Main Phase. At the end of the 3rd Battle Phase after this card's activation, both players must send all cards on their field to the Graveyard!"
Darkness, LP: 3700 → 1700.
"This..." The students' faces grew darker by the second.
"Is he trying to say we're destined for extinction?"
"Damn it! Three turns from now lands on the Chief's turn!"
"I Set three cards, Summon a monster in Defense Position, and end my turn!"
Countdown to the End: 13!
The sky shattered completely!
Nearly two-thirds of time had been consumed!
Humanity's existence had only one-third of its time remaining.
"At this moment, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Emergency Provisions." Hikaru thought for a second, then seized the opportunity. "I send Mirage of Nightmare and El Shaddoll Fusion from my field to the Graveyard and recover 2000 Life Points."
Mirror Force probably wouldn't see use, but keeping it was at least a comfort. As for El Shaddoll Fusion, there were plenty of ways to recover it later, and leaving it on the field until Jaden's turn might clog a Spell and Trap Zone. Better to send it to the Graveyard now.
Humanity, LP: 7800 → 9800.
"Why?"
"Yeah, since Mischief of the Time Goddess already resolved, there was no need to get rid of Mirage of Nightmare, right?" Syrus looked confused. "Didn't the skipped turns also cancel out Darkness's Reckless Greed?"
Right.
That was a strange move.
"About that..." Jaden took a moment to explain. "Mirage of Nightmare's discard effect triggers during the next Standby Phase. It's a mandatory effect. Even if turns were skipped, the moment a Standby Phase comes around, the discard has to happen."
That made sense.
None of them had ever used Mirage of Nightmare, so they didn't know about that quirk. Now that Jaden had explained, Hikaru's play clicked.
Fair enough. The card had already drawn 8 cards total. It had more than served its purpose.
"I'm surprised, Hikaru. You even knew about that detail. I was just about to warn you." Jaden marveled again.
"Ha, happened to know."
While they discussed this, the image in the sky had grown large enough for every conscious human to see the duel.
Naturally, fierce debate erupted among them.
"Damn it, only 7 turns left!"
"Wh-What do we do? I don't want to die!"
"It's fine! That guy has run out of tricks! Setting cards and a Defense Position monster is all he's got left!"
"All we have to do now is attack!"
"My turn! Draw!"
Jaden drew his card and looked down at the five cards in his hand.
"Jaden, don't be nervous." Yubel reminded him.
"It's okay, I know." His voice wavered.
But the voices in his ears kept pushing him, urging him to win faster.
No.
He couldn't rush.
He studied his hand.
No good. He couldn't summon Shining Neos Wingman.
He examined his cards, thinking through every angle.
Too many of his searches and draws had been disrupted by Darkness. Bringing out his ace monster now was difficult.
But his hand wasn't bad. He could take a different approach.
"Normal Summon Vision HERO Vyon!"
"When this card is Summoned or Special Summoned: send 1 HERO monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I send Evil HERO Vicious Claw from my Deck to the Graveyard.
Then, I activate Vyon's second effect. I banish 1 HERO monster from my Graveyard: add 1 Polymerization from my Deck to my hand. I banish Sparkman from my Graveyard."
Jaden took the card and grinned. "Hikaru, I'm giving you back a Fusion Spell. I add Fusion Substitute from my Deck to my hand."
Because he was close with Hikaru and had always found Hikaru's strategy of running 2 copies of Polymerization and 1 Fusion Substitute fascinating, Jaden had put a Fusion Substitute in his own Deck. Now it could be left for Hikaru to use.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Neos Fusion!"
Jaden played the special card. "I send the Fusion Materials listed on a Fusion Monster from my hand, Deck, or field to the Graveyard, then Special Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck that lists exactly 2 monsters as material including Elemental HERO Neos, ignoring its Summoning conditions! After this card resolves, I cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn!"
"I send Neos from my Deck and Rainbow Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
"Oh! It's Rainbow Dragon!" Jesse's face lit up as his monster's form appeared in the sky. He couldn't help cheering Jaden on.
"The Fusion condition is Neos plus an Ultimate Crystal Beast monster!"
"Witness it! Overwhelming hope, the power of the rainbow dragon!"
"Fusion Summon! Level 10, Rainbow Neos!"
Golden wings spread wide, showering this world in light, as though painting the colors of hope across everything. Countless humans fell silent at the monster's arrival, this beautiful, noble creature, majestic as a god.
It raised both hands toward the heavens. A rainbow arced across the sky, gently draping itself over the blackened globe, illuminating the world.
Overwhelming hope!
Rainbow Neos. Level 10. LIGHT Attribute. Warrior-Type. ATK 4500.
"Whoa!"
"4500 ATK!"
"Incredible! Just like that last monster, it's on the same level as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Wow, is this a Fusion of Big Bro and Jesse's ace monsters? So cool!"
Jaden spoke with fire in his voice: "This is the power of Jesse's Rainbow Dragon! Witness it! Rainbow Neos's effect!"
"Once per turn, I send 1 of the following types of cards to the Graveyard, then return all of the determined targets to the Deck:
A monster I control: all monsters on the field.
A Spell/Trap I control: all Spells and Traps the opponent controls.
The top card of my Deck: all cards in the opponent's Graveyard.
I choose..."
Jaden hesitated for a moment.
The obvious choice was to clear Spells and Traps, but something about that face-down monster gnawed at him.
That Darkness!
That calculating monster!
A being who had prepared everything before the duel even started would never casually Set a monster and wait to die!
"I send Vision HERO Vyon on my field to the Graveyard and activate the first effect!"
Vyon nodded, transformed into a camera lens, then dissolved into a purple glow that merged into Rainbow Neos's armor.
Rainbow Neos spread its arms. A rainbow blazed across the horizon.
"Set card, activate. Light-Imprisoning Mirror."
"As long as this card is on the field, the effects of LIGHT Attribute monsters activated on the field or in the Graveyard are negated."
"..." Jaden wasn't surprised.
Just as he'd expected.
Good thing he hadn't sent Mirror Force to the Graveyard earlier, or that would have been a waste.
He thought for a moment and looked at his hand.
"I Set two cards..."
Jaden felt attacking now wasn't right. That face-down monster was too unknown, too suspicious to charge into recklessly.
But...
"How can you stop here!" "Attack! You have 4500 ATK!" "With ATK that high and you're not attacking? Are you trying to get us killed?!" "Attack!" "He already used Extinction on Schedule. It's probably nothing special, just a stall tactic! Attack now!"
Voices.
Masses of human voices poured into Jaden's ears.
A hundred. A thousand. Ten thousand. A hundred thousand. A million. Ten million. And then, billions of voices!
Every one of them flooded his mind!
He gritted his teeth, brow furrowed, and reached out his hand to end his turn.
He understood. Those people were cracking under the pressure, their sanity breaking, screaming at him to win faster.
That was normal. Even Duel Academy students had been pushed to extremes under Darkness's pressure. How much worse would it be for ordinary people around the world?
So he could accept it. He could ignore it.
He knew that a hero, in moments like this, should do the right thing!
He wasn't the person he used to be, swayed by outside voices!
He would not make a stupid mistake at a critical moment like this!
But...
His hand moved toward the Battle Phase on its own!
His eyes flew wide. Golden light erupted from them. At the same time, Yubel merged into Jaden's body, and with her help, he wrested back control of himself. But the scare left him drenched in cold sweat.
"So that's what happens." Darkness watched the scene, momentarily stunned.
Then he burst into laughter. "Look! Jaden Yuki! Hikaru Amagi! This is the humanity you're trying to save!"
"Foolish. Short-sighted. Greedy. They see only the opportunity in front of them, blinded by a fleeting illusion of hope, never realizing it might be the abyss! Jaden Yuki, do you dare attack?"
Though rational voices still reached Jaden's ears, urging him not to take the risk, far more chaotic and frenzied voices drowned them out.
"Even the darkness of the cosmos, even humanity's final duelist, can be pushed forward by humanity's mad greed. How pitiable. You humans love democracy so much, don't you? Time to attack."
"Or... you know what?" Darkness spoke, as though a wonderful idea had just struck him. "Why not abandon your identity as humans? Become my new apostles. After humanity is destroyed, you will become the greatest Gods of Annihilation, destroying dimension after dimension."
He had always admired Hikaru, and Jaden was proving himself a reliable duelist as well. Worthy of being chosen as the planet's final duelists. With these two at his side, destroying this world and then other dimensions would become effortless.
With his cards and their skill, what world could possibly stand?
Jaden's eyes went wide.
Not from shock at Darkness's words. Not because he wavered. He knew what those words would cause.
"He only has a sliver of Life Points left!" "If the attack lands, everything will be fine!" "Please, just attack! I don't want to die!"
Jaden bit down. Every duelist instinct told him not to attack. But some of those voices did make a point... if the attack succeeded, it would ease the burden.
The voices were deafening, but bearable for him, because he was the one dueling, not "all of humanity." The problem was... only 7 turns remained. He had to win fast. So, after an agonizing internal struggle, Jaden spoke: "...Battle! Rainbow Neos, attack!"
"HA HA HA HA!"
Crimson light bathed the entire planet!
"HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
"Humanity's hope is nothing but an illusion created by the brave!"
"Crumble beneath the impatience in your own hearts!"
"THE MOMENT OF EXTINCTION!!!"
Darkness cackled in triumph.
The card flipped face-up. A crimson demon sat with its arms folded before it, guarding in serene composure.
Gren Maju Da Eiza!
"I knew it." Jaden cursed under his breath.
Gren Maju Da Eiza. Level 3. FIRE Attribute. Fiend-Type. DEF: ?
"Gren Maju Da Eiza's ATK and DEF equal the number of my banished cards times 400!"
He spread his arms, and countless cards rose into the air, every card he had banished!
Pot of Desires, 20 cards. Gordian Slicer, 6 cards. Beginning of the End, 5 cards. Tragoedia, 1 card. Grand total: 32.
"I have 32 banished cards in total!"
"So Gren Maju Da Eiza's DEF is...
12,800!!"
The hope that had just been kindled collapsed before the wall of despair!
...
Author's Note 1: Regarding Mischief of the Time Goddess: according to its card text, the card should technically skip to the controller's next turn. However, some readers have pointed out that in YGO (presumably YGOPro or similar simulators), the card skips 4 turns in a Tag Duel format. Since there are no official 2v2 rules, the ruling is genuinely tricky to adjudicate. For the sake of the story, the default ruling used here is that it skips 4 turns, jumping forward to the activating player's next turn.