"You really knew my father?"
Yusei was surprised.
Kira clasped his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, face full of nostalgia. "Yes. It's already been seventeen years…"
He wasn't entirely lying, given his "Rex Goodwin" persona.
Seventeen years ago, before Zero Reverse, both Rudger and Rex Goodwin were members of the Ener-D research team, friends and co-creators of the dream prototype.
Of course, Rex then was still young and naïve.
Later, the legendary "Duel Runner Rider," who famously built the Daedalus Bridge to the city and evaded Security's pursuit by leaping over it on his Duel Runner, was none other than a young Rex Goodwin.
"Yusei Fudo, I always believed you held limitless potential. You inherited Dr. Fudo's will—leading the Satellite and New Domino… destined to guide humanity toward a bright future.
Never forget this, Yusei Fudo."
Yusei's expression grew solemn, feeling the weight on his shoulders.
"All right, the battle with the Dark Signers ends here. Go home and rest," said Kira.
"In the name of Security, and of all New Domino, I thank you for fighting for this city. I promise, everyone will know who stood up when the city was in greatest peril."
At this, the Signers truly felt exhaustion set in. After such death-defying duels, they just wanted to rest.
So everyone parted, returning home.
Except for Akiza.
"You're not going back?" Kira asked, copying Goodwin's posture as he walked slowly to his private Security helicopter, glancing at Akiza, who followed at a distance.
Akiza stared at the ground in a daze. "I have nowhere to go back to…"
Kira looked at her for a moment, then calmly said, "You should visit home. At least once."
Akiza shook her head. "Home? I don't have a home. My parents only look at me with fear. There's nowhere I want to go back to…"
"Fear of power—of the unknown—is a human instinct. Maybe they were wrong, but don't be too hard on them. Even in fear, they never gave up on you, right?" Kira replied.
Akiza fell silent.
Kira left it at that. He didn't have time to meddle further in Akiza's family affairs.
…
Night passed quietly.
However, rumors began circulating throughout New Domino and Satellite in just a day.
Which was hardly surprising. However tightly controlled, the duels between Signers and Dark Signers made a stir.
Especially the Earthbound Immortals—each colossal in size, their summons and attacks shaking the earth.
Such spectacle couldn't go unnoticed, especially with the Earthbound Immortals' "soul-eating" effect for every appearance.
By the next day, anxiety spread through the city, even attracting doomsday prophets claiming apocalypse had come, that yesterday's phenomena were divine punishment.
Of course, these people didn't know their "gods" had already been thoroughly defeated and chased back to the Netherworld.
Panic bubbled, but Security had planned for this.
The next day, Director Goodwin called a press conference himself, explaining the events of the previous night to the public.
Unlike before, Security didn't use excuses about "testing new imaging systems," but openly admitted the existence of Netherworlds.
They confirmed that Earthbound Immortals, revived from Nazca lines, and their duelist masters threatened the city with catastrophe.
Naturally, this caused an uproar.
The Crimson Dragon and Earthbound Immortals had already appeared publicly—Security had claimed it was "system testing," but most people hadn't really believed it.
Now, with Security openly admitting the supernatural, saying that everyone nearly died at the hands of an Netherworld the night before—
"But citizens, don't worry. Security will do everything to protect everyone's safety. The Netherworld has been driven off; it will threaten us no more."
Director Goodwin said at the press conference.
"And we owe all this to the warriors chosen by the Crimson Dragon—the 'Signers' who risked their lives to drive off the underworld emissaries. They are the heroes on the city's frontline."
With this shocking news, the Signers became famous.
Jack Atlas, the former King, needed no introduction—already a superstar in New Domino. Yusei, who defeated Jack, was now rising from "Satellite trash" to the New King in the public eye.
Akiza, previously known as "the Witch," once reviled, now became controversial. Some still called her "witch," unable to forget the past, but for the first time, people were calling her a hero.
Security controlled most of the city's resources. If they truly wanted to promote something, they could do it quickly.
As "Director Goodwin" promised, Akiza was shifting from hunted "witch" to a symbol of hope.
With each Signer returning home, it seemed the war with the Dark Signers was over.
But in truth, Kira did not feel quite so confident as he'd appeared on television.
He wondered to himself—
Was the war with the Dark Signers… truly over?