"I'm going to use the Accel Synchro that Miles used… to surpass the gods!"
Krista flung out a card—the Stardust Spell Card she had searched last turn with [Stardust Synchron].
"—Spell Card [Stardust Illumination], activate!"
[Send 1 'Stardust' monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.]
Connecting to the light of Stardust within her Deck, Krista precisely sent a card into the Graveyard.
"I choose [Stardust Wurm] from my Deck to send to the Graveyard, and activate the effect of [Stardust Wurm]!"
[If this card is in your hand or Graveyard, and you control a Level 8 or higher Dragon Synchro Monster, you can Special Summon this card. If it leaves the field, banish it instead.]
"Since I have the Level 8 Synchro Monster [Stardust Spark Dragon] on my field, I can Special Summon [Stardust Wurm] from my Graveyard! Then I'll Normal Summon the Level 1 Tuner Monster [Turbo Synchron] from my hand, and Synchro them both together!"
"So it's coming after all," said Miles.
The combined light of Synchro—total Level 2—flared brilliantly, representing the potential to open the gate to the Accel field.
1★ + 1★ = 2★!
"Speeding faster and faster toward a new horizon—become the starlit road that shines with Stardust! Synchro Summon! The power of hope—Synchro Tuner, [Formula Synchron]!"
[Formula Synchron] Level 2│LIGHT│Machine/Tuner│ATK 200 / DEF 1500
Two Synchro Monsters appeared on the field. With the arrival of [Formula Synchron], Krista could also draw one card from her Deck.
"She's really going for it?" Ren said, voice tinged with doubt. "Can Accel Synchro even be done outside of a Turbo Duel? I remember every time you did it, Miles, there'd always be that moment—'Nani, she vanished?!'"
"I've never tried it either," Miles admitted honestly.
Though both girls claimed they'd inherited Miles's dueling style, what they displayed in actual combat far surpassed the original.
"I'm feeling complicated right now, Ren."
"What, just because there's no D-Wheel, you can't do it? Accel Synchro isn't such a limiting thing!"
Raising her arm toward the sky, guiding the light of Accel Synchro, Krista's slender figure seemed to merge into the dazzling brilliance of Stardust itself.
"She really disappeared!" Ren gasped.
It was disappearance in another sense—not speeding beyond light and vanishing from sight, but merging with the Stardust, becoming one with the Accel Synchro itself.
Even if only for an instant, such a wondrous state—merging completely with Stardust—was something only Krista, the Celestial Sky, could accomplish.
"Accel Synchro—even a god can't surpass this! Watch closely! This is the summoning I inherited from Miles!"
The Level 2 Synchro Tuner [Formula Synchron] and the Level 8 Synchro Monster [Stardust Spark Dragon]—the light of acceleration born from two Synchro Monsters—transformed into a dazzling golden brilliance.
That layer of sacred radiance seemed to embody Krista's resolve—to stand against the blazing, sunfire-clad [The Winged Dragon of Ra].
"All wishes are woven within the trace of Stardust—let them fill this world together with bonds! Accel Synchro! Come forth! [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon]!"
[Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] Level 10│LIGHT│Dragon│3000 ATK / 2500 DEF
Materials: 1 Synchro Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Synchro Monsters
Tearing through divine golden radiance, the light of Synchro descended, gathering hope within Stardust—[Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] appeared.
It was the same monster Miles had first Accel Synchro Summoned during their first Turbo Duel.
Since Miles had used Krista's [Stardust Spark Dragon] as material, [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] was undoubtedly the evolved Accel Synchro form of [Stardust Spark Dragon].
And now, through the fated link connecting all Stardusts, Krista had perfectly inherited the Accel Synchro between Miles and Stardust Spark Dragon.
"Do you see it? This is what Miles entrusted to me—[Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon]!"
"Wha… What the heck!" Aisha pouted. "You've been going on about Miles nonstop since earlier! You only met him yesterday!"
"That's why I said—the bond of souls has nothing to do with time spent together!"
Bathed in the golden Stardust glow, Krista's aura—empowered by Accel Synchro—now faintly resembled Aisha Carlos's divine form.
"The birth of [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] is proof of the bond Miles and I share. And with this card, I'll surpass the gods!"
"You mean to surpass God using Stardust Chronicle?" Viel smiled curiously. "That's fascinating, Krista. Even if it's an Accel Synchro, there's still a gap between it and a God. So… how do you plan to bridge that gap?"
Even the Accel Synchro's 3000 Attack was less than half of The Winged Dragon of Ra's.
"This is a tactic Miles himself used before!" Krista slammed a Continuous Spell Card onto the field.
"Me again, huh?" Miles sighed, almost used to it.
When two women fought, somehow it always ended up feeling like he was fighting himself.
"Miles already showed me how to draw out [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon]'s full power!—Continuous Spell [Digit Jamming], activate!"
A field spread out, the unknown effect rippling from Krista's feet, enveloping the entire arena, reaching even to the heavens.
Once the effect had fully taken hold, Krista thrust her fist toward the sky, declaring battle.
"Fly! Across the invincible battlefield, surpass the gods—[Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon]!"
She commanded Stardust Chronicle to soar upward and clash against the skyborne [The Winged Dragon of Ra]. Its golden wings carved a blinding trajectory that collided head-on with the sun.
"A monster with only 3000 Attack dares to attack the Winged Dragon of Ra?" Aisha, wreathed in golden flame, declared a counterattack. "Repel Stardust Chronicle's attack! Divine Blaze!"
Gold met gold—flame and light colliding over Axet's morning sky. The violent shockwave stirred countless citizens from slumber.
"Wh-What's going on? An earthquake? Did we just have an earthquake?!"
In the Synchron Academy dormitory, the delinquent girl Lost, who had wanted to sleep in, was jolted awake. She hurriedly removed her Red Dragon Archfiend-themed nightcap and rubbed her sleepy eyes as she looked out the window.
Then she saw it—the Winged Dragon of Ra and Stardust Chronicle clashing, sunlight and Stardust intertwined across the heavens.
"I swear I must still be dreaming!"
Lost rubbed her eyes hard, but the vision didn't fade.
"No way this is real! Wake up, Aoyao! Wake up! Gods are fighting out there!"
She ended up shaking her roommate, Aoyao, awake.
"What's happening?" Aisha asked, confused. "The Winged Dragon of Ra has 6800 Attack… how is it not overpowering Stardust Chronicle?"
"Of course it can't! Within the field of [Digit Jamming], [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] is invincible!"
Krista pointed to the Continuous Spell she had just activated, declaring its effect.
[When monsters with 1000 or more Attack exist on the field, this effect must activate during damage calculation. All monsters on the field lose 1000 Attack for each 1000 they have, and the same for Defense.]
"After [Digit Jamming] activates, all monsters' Attack and Defense can never exceed 1000!"
Just as its name implied—'Digit Jamming'—any monster whose Attack or Defense exceeded 1000 would continually decrease by 1000 until they didn't exceed that threshold.
And the effect applied even to Gods.
With 6800 Attack, [The Winged Dragon of Ra] fell to 800 under the field's influence.
Ren said, "Then shouldn't [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon], with 3000 Attack, also drop to zero?"
Krista countered, "No—only [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] can move freely within this field! That's its own effect!"
[Once per turn, by banishing 1 Synchro Monster from your Graveyard: This card is unaffected by other card effects until the end of the turn. This is a Quick Effect.]
"I'll banish [Stardust Spark Dragon] from my Graveyard, granting [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon] absolute resistance! It's unaffected by any other card effects—so its Attack won't be reduced!"
Twin Stardust auras coiled around its wings, their brilliance outshining even divine gold.
"—Stardust Holy Wall!!"
Through its own power, it gained absolute immunity to all other effects.
That meant even Krista's own [Digit Jamming] couldn't affect it.
In a field where no monster could exceed 1000 Attack, only Stardust Chronicle maintained its original 3000 Attack.
[The Winged Dragon of Ra, ATK: 800]
[Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon, ATK: 3000]
Aisha's mouth fell open. "This… it's exactly the same…"
It was identical to when Miles had once used Stardust Chronicle's immunity effect in their Turbo Duel—maintaining its power in [Inverse Universe] and surpassing [Shooting Star Dragon].
Krista hadn't merely talked about inheriting Miles's style… she had truly done it.
The girl of the Stardust had indeed achieved it: surpassing the gods through Accel Synchro.
"See, Miles? This is the infinite potential of Stardust! As long as the two of us are together, we're invincible!"
"ROOOAR—!"
The dragon's mighty roar embodied her entire will. The golden light of its wings outshone even the sun itself.
"Strike down the divine! Attack, [Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon]!"
Its golden brilliance pierced through the god's flame, a glorious Stardust Wurm stretching endlessly toward the heavens, reaching out into the cosmos.
"—Heaven and Earth Reversal—True Spark Strike!"
[The Winged Dragon of Ra] is destroyed.
[Aisha Carlos, LP: 3200 → 1000]
"Aaaaaaahhhh!"
Krista's Stardust counterattack sent Aisha flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
The golden hair and eyes of her divine state dissipated—her pale face now dust-streaked and messy, looking no better than Krista herself.
"Ugh! Angry, angry, angry!" Dark Aisha growled beside her, face suddenly serious.
"Aisha, what's wrong?" Miles asked.
"I'm mad, Miles!"
Watching her other self get pummeled, the Dark Aisha who'd earlier tried to calm Miles could no longer sit still.
"Just using Stardust Synchros, huh? I'm going to help her—help the other me!"
"Fine, suit yourself," Miles shrugged.
Helping yourself surely doesn't count as cheating.
...
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