An unknown void, a celestial background, with meteors occasionally streaking across. A figure in white robes sits in this void.
"Hehehe, that guy Placido... bragging like he really knew what he was doing, and yet he ended up so miserably."
Luciano covered his mouth, giggling eerily, squinting his eyes and shaking his head.
Placido, sitting opposite him, glared with bloodshot eyes.
"Do you want to die?"
Luciano, however, was unafraid: "Oh? Then come on, who's afraid..."
"Enough!"
The eldest in the trio, Jose, spoke up.
Luciano stuck out his tongue and sat back in a chair that was a bit too big for him, his short legs dangling in the air.
Placido clicked his tongue and turned his head away, saying no more.
"You did act rashly, Placido." Jose looked at him with a critical tone, "Even if this guy is an 'anomaly', he is not an ordinary 'anomaly'.
We Taiyi should be well-versed in all history, yet this person appears without any background, with no trace even in the time lines we once knew.
Such a character is certainly not a nobody..."
Placido said coldly, "So, are you suggesting we avoid him and do nothing?"
"That's not what I said, Placido," Jose replied, "But regardless, our every action represents the divine will, and we should proceed with caution in all matters.
At least until we understand more about this person..."
"Utterly boring!"
Placido suddenly stood up and strode out.
Jose asked, "Where are you going, Placido?"
"Where else, but to challenge him again," Placido snorted, "Just now I fought using a ghost machine, with only a cloning card deck.
If I go myself, how could I possibly lose to that guy..."
He didn't finish, but the image of that arrogant smile on the white-haired man with Godwin's face once again surfaced in his mind, repeatedly revealing the card in his hand: "Take this, Fireball!"
"Fireball!"
"Fireball, fireball, fireball!"
"..."
So infuriating!
If he doesn't seek vengeance for this, can he even claim to be one of Taiyi's esteemed Three Emperors?
Luciano fanned the flames again, giggling, "It's also fortunate you didn't go personally, and only used a cloning card deck.
If you were to go yourself, wouldn't the divine Machine Emperor power be squandered on an outsider?"
Placido grew angrier, "Are you saying I'd lose!?"
"Well, who knows?" Luciano chuckled.
"You..."
"I said that's enough!"
Jose interrupted, casting a glance at Luciano.
"Say no more."
Luciano shrugged, saying nothing.
"Placido, Luciano has a point. This person's background is unclear, and it's impossible to gauge his full strength. If you make a mistake, fine, but if you ruin our plans and defy the divine will..."
Placido snorted, but he stopped walking out.
Though rebellious, Placido held a deep reverence for the "god" Jose spoke of. His personal pride was trivial, but if he disrupted the divine plans, that would indeed be bad.
"So are we just going to sit here and watch?" Placido fumed.
"No. If things continue, that 'anomaly' among the Dark Markers should soon clash with him as well."
Jose said gravely.
"Perhaps we can discern something from their confrontation, so for now, we'll hold our position."
Placido snorted again but didn't voice objection.
"Be patient, Placido," Jose said calmly, "This person wasn't part of our original plan, and perhaps the gods have a special arrangement for him."
...
...
Meanwhile, the battle between the Dragon Sealers and the Dark Markers erupted.
Just like in the original work, Yusei faced off against the Dark Marker, Kalin, a maverick user of the "Eternal Fire" card deck without a hand, who was also one of Yusei's old comrades in the Satellite District.
Back then, Kalin and Yusei shared a life-or-death bond. But later, due to misunderstanding, Kalin thought Yusei and the others had betrayed him and reported him to the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. After death, he was chosen to become a Dark Marker, came back with the power of the Earth-Bound God to seek revenge on Yusei.
In the Synchro Era, the Eternal Fire was quite a powerful card deck. The "no-hand combination," as the name suggests, could only unleash its power when the player's hand was empty; most cards' effects only triggered with no hand cards.
Before becoming a physical card, everyone dismissed it as a second-rate stunt deck, since "quickly depleting your hand" was an unheard-of, peculiar concept that seemed useless in an era dominated by card advantage.
But once it became a physical card, it immediately made a significant impact on the environment, leaping to become a top competitive deck.
Even in the anime, Yusei lost his first battle in the 5Ds series here. Facing the Earth-Bound God's terrifying ability to attack players directly, Yusei should have lost.
This was the birth of the famous "Screw Pulling" scene. Yusei, having been dealt a blow by the Earth-Bound God and should have lost, was saved when his D-Wheel malfunctioned, crashing mid-duel and forcing the match to stop, sparing him a defeat.
The result was an unfinished match, thus a draw, but in reality, Yusei had lost.
However, that was largely due to Yusei's ignorance. Unable to defend with monsters and completely immune to Traps, the Earth-Bound God was too easy to be blindsided by in Riding Duels.
But with the change in the world line, Poma had already used an Earth-Bound God when he sought revenge against "Officer Godwin." Yusei was a spectator during that battle, aware of the existence of such entities possessed by the Dark Markers, thus eliminating much of the information gap.
Consequently, forewarned of the Earth-Bound God, Yusei was slightly stronger than Dark Marker Kalin. This time, he won the initial battle without the memorable "Screw Pulling" scene.
Meanwhile, Jack faced his destined Dark Marker counterpart, the same as in the original work, Carly Nagisa, an unknown little reporter.
In the original, Carly infiltrated the Arcadia Movement for an investigation, becoming a Dark Marker after being killed by Diwein. Although Yugen killed Diwein, and the world line changed, Carly still couldn't escape becoming a Dark Marker.
In this world line, Carly still met Jack, who had fallen from grace, after the Lucky Cup tournament. After a brief interaction, Jack bid farewell to Carly to prepare an attack on the Dark Markers. Unexpectedly, Carly "accidentally" fell to her death from a high platform that night and was chosen, as if by fate, to become a Dark Marker.
"Interesting."
Yugen murmured, observing the Dragon Sealers' battles through the Public Security Maintenance Bureau's surveillance.
"So does this mean who becomes a Dark Marker, like who becomes a Dragon Sealer, is predetermined by destiny?"