【66 - Humanity's Age Old Question: What is the Universal Truth!?】


Another week went by and they stayed at the tomb. Summer's excavation team continued to dig; a couple men took off in one of the desert rangers. They were open-roof trucks with tall wheels for deep-sand traction. One returned with three trucks full of locals, employed to be manual labor. Tsukumo started sleeping in the ship, saying he didn't want any of the strangers sticking their noses under the tarp and messing with it. Heidi and Kanoa were both happy to pick up shovels and pickaxes, push wheelbarrows, whatever kept their minds off more serious matters. Water was transported daily by the truck-full. After days of working they were making serious progress unearthing the tomb.

After Kanoa showed off his 'superpower' a few times one of the archaeologists pointed out they could save a significant amount of money on food transport. All he'd done was ripen a few bananas for them. But if Jupiter's power couldn't be used to fight evil, at least they could use it to save a few bucks and snack when they were hungry.

"It's not going to work out here." Kanoa said outside one afternoon.

Someone had spat out watermelon seeds and they were waiting to see if he could make them grow. He was kneeling in the sand but he stood and the green aura around him vanished. "I've never had difficulty growing anything with Jupiter helping me. But there still needs to be nutrients and water in the ground. This desert is desolate."

Heidi looked up at the hot sun while sweat ran down her forehead and back. How she missed her former superpower and its ability to make her heatproof. As lame as it sounded, it'd saved her life three times before: the atom bomb, when stranded on a tiny island, and falling into a river of lava.

"I think it best we not attract much attention to ourselves anyhow." Engyo wisely stated, peering under his wide brim hat at some of the hired hands. They were on their break, sitting in the shade and watching. That ended the impromptu practice session.

Sinan had shown no signs of relenting. He didn't beg or plead for his release. He only shouted threats, cursing and spitting like a maniac. Heidi didn't even bother visiting him. Kanoa on the other hand persisted, part of him longing to understand something.

He descended the stairs to Sinan's cell later that day, holding a plate of curried sausages – dinner. Instead of hearing another tirade of insults as expected, Kanoa saw the other boy kneeling in worship. It was impossible to tell the time down here, but Sinan had decided that now was time for his quarter-daily devotion. So Kanoa slid the food under the door, then sat down against the wall and waited.

It seemed like a long time until he finished. Sinan straightened when he did, then took a few deep breaths. Finally he turned and resumed glaring at the other boy.

"The antagonizing continues, I take it?"

"Your dinner has gone cold." Kanoa answered.

"I don't want your trashy food!"

"You always say that, but then you end up eating it later anyway."

Sinan stood and kicked his plate, food skidding across the floor. Kanoa sighed before getting up to leave.

"If you'd rather starve, be my guest."

"You heathen scum will know Solvus's divine wrath when he lays it upon you!" He clenched the bars, looking as mad as ever.

Kanoa looked back "Then how come you're the one imprisoned?"

"Your judgment is nigh! You all and especially that heretic witch, Hillary!"

"…" Kanoa was about to keep going but then he turned right around, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer. "Sinan… why did Venus choose you? I used to spend countless days fearing I wasn't good enough. I gave everything to my duty. To my tribe, the islands, then to helping Aurellia. I wanted to be deserving. But after seeing that one of the phoenixes chose you…" He left the sentence hanging then lifted his gaze. "And I can sense that you're still synced with Venus. So why?"

Sinan looked away "...I have no idea why Venus chose me."

You and me both. Kanoa thought as he left Sinan to his isolation.


Meanwhile, Heidi was sitting by the tomb's entrance with Jayden and M-006. The robot was pointing out constellations in the fresh nightfall with self-assured accuracy. The redhead massaged his neck, he still wore a patch on his shoulder from where he'd been bitten.

"How much longer are we gonna hang out in this dusty crypt?" Jayden took a swig from his canteen. They were constantly hydrating in the day, but the rapidly cooling nightfall always brought much relief.

"Saving the world not as exciting as you thought it'd be?" Heidi mocked.

"You're talking to the guy who spent a week-and-a-half hiking through freezing subzero temperatures to the north pole." Jayden replied, unperturbed. "I also trekked a wild savannah path, climbed the largest canyon-"

"I get it. Adrenaline junkie. You probably canoed up a waterfall and fought off polar bears with your bare fists."

"No polar bears. But I lost my baby-toe to frostbite." He wiggled a foot in his sandal to show her.

"Ew..."

"I wouldn't have traded those experiences for anything. But I do want to keep all remaining toes for rock-climbing."

Heidi didn't want to like Jayden, even if he was an interesting guy. All the places he'd been, all the dangerous stuff he'd done in his relatively young life was very cool to her. But after what happened on Kanoa's island she couldn't bear to get close to another normal person. She'd rather be a bitch and keep her walls up, instead of dealing with another friend dying - or worse, dying for her.

She shifted her attention to their robot companion. M-006 was most at risk of overheating so couldn't go out in the sun at all. He was also the least mobile even with legs. He did better on flat surfaces, travelling along sand was a struggle. She recalled their time together in the military base, they'd even dueled while she was detained. Scientists had devised a way for artificial intelligences to produce kaijudo energy. Instead of his hand, there was a chamber in his chest that could ignite like a flaming heart and allow him to summon forth real creatures.

"M-006, why don't you tell me how exactly Engyo and Tsukumo managed to capture then reprogram you?"

"Sure, Heidi!" He spoke in his chipper way. "I thought you'd never ask! It happened almost two months before we found you. Engyo and Tsukumo broke into the facility under the direction of the water chosen. They were looking for my siblings, but they were no longer there. As the prototype, I was all that remained."

"Siblings-? Wait..." Heidi flashed back to her stay there. She'd found a room full of many robots like M-006 dangling from hooks. "That robot army? The water chosen wanted to find them?"

"Wanted to destroy them." Beep. "But since they were gone, Engyo had to settle for capturing and reprogramming me. Find out what information they could from studying my mechanics and memory chip." Beep.

"Huh..." And as Heidi said it he mimicked her by displaying the 'thinking' emoji.

When Kanoa found Heidi he made his way over.

"Something's been bothering me about Sinan." He started.

"Is it the fact he's an asshole?" Jayden quipped.

"I'm going to commune with Jupiter and try to reach Venus, and see if I can find out why she chose him." He continued.

"Think that'll work?" Heidi asked.

"It's worth it to try." Kanoa said and she pulled herself up and followed him away.

They found a quiet room that was behind Sinan's cell. He was just beyond the wall and probably wouldn't notice anything. Kanoa sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, started to deepen his breathing. In his hands Supernova Jupiter began to glow. Heidi leaned against the wall and watched.

Kanoa delved deeply into himself. Soon he was floating in space before the nature phoenix. Jupiter gave a shaky roar in greeting. They'd been on good terms again ever since Kanoa promised to unite the chosens, thereby fixing their severed connection. Communicating with the phoenixes in mind-space was different. Instead of words, meaning was conveyed through simple knowing. It was not only faster but more efficient than talking because there was no room for misunderstanding. After a few exchanges Kanoa floated on with his phoenix. They travelled as if to a distant star and there Kanoa met Venus.

She was gold with many rainbow wings. Three celestial spheres of red, green and blue spun quickly. The air around her vibrated at high frequency and seemed brighter too. Kanoa got an immediate sense of her personality upon meeting and could even compare differences to Jupiter. She felt friendly, the melodious call she emitted was in greeting. He was there, floating mentally between two giants. By now his inner senses had improved to the point everything was clearer than real life. High definition, better than twenty-twenty vision.

Now that he'd crossed over he could ask Venus his questions.

Heidi was daydreaming, gazing at the wall when she noticed Kanoa's eyes open, looking bloodshot. His Jupiter card dimmed.

"Kanoa?"

"I completely lost the ability to track time." He rubbed his eyes. "How long was that?"

"I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes. Did you find out anything?"

"Yeah." He pulled his hands from his face and stared ahead. "So at the Duel Academy we were told the phoenixes have their own personalities and this affects the duelists they 'choose'. But it turns out they have reasons for choosing us from countless other youth, and not just because we're good duelists." Kanoa looked at her. "You were chosen by Mars because of your determination to be a hero. He knew you'd try to rally us together and stay positive."

Heidi gazed off. It made enough sense. "Okay."

"Jupiter chose me because I took duty and responsibility seriously. Mercury picked the chosen water duelist because, apparently, they're a genius with an IQ higher than we know. I bet they were good with computers even before their phoenix's powers allowed them to hack with their mind."

"So why Sinan?"

"He has a lot of money."

"Huh?" Heidi rounded on him. "You're kidding?"

"It's one of the reasons. The phoenixes were surprisingly pragmatic about who they chose. Sinan's family wealth was meant to be another asset for our team, just like the chosen water duelist's intelligence."

"I still think there were better options than Sinan." Heidi remarked.

"The way the phoenixes see right into people makes me think, she can see things about him that we can't." At that Heidi quietly frowned. "But also, from what I gathered about Venus's personality, she wanted to offer redemption to someone lost. She saw a bad person who had true, heartfelt devotion and wanted to help him refocus that on the right things, and not what he was raised to believe in."

"Alright, alright. But I still don't see how we can convince Sinan to help us."

"Maybe it will take time? All I can say is that Venus has no issue with us kidnapping him for now."

Heidi nodded then asked "Did you feel out whether Mars and Pluto still exist?"

"I did. And they do. Amira is still alive as well. She's not the darkness chosen currently, but Pluto hasn't decided on anyone else, and since Amira's holding them both captive, partly he's stuck hoping she'll change her mind."

"He must have wanted her for a reason."

"Yeah, and that was interesting for me to see…" Kanoa began and she waited for his explanation. "It felt like Pluto was an outcast even among the five phoenixes. He's like, the black sheep of the family, and I suppose it's because he's from the darkness civilization and they were always the most dangerous, in a sense."

"Does that mean what Pluto wants isn't the same as the other four phoenixes?" Heidi asked.

"I wouldn't say that. But his end goal is different. This was all I could pick up about him."

"…So why'd he choose Amira?"

Kanoa took another deep breath "In a way, she's just as determined as we are. Amira was always willing to do whatever it took to survive. That's the one thing she'd fight blood, tooth and nail for."

"So not responsibility or heroism." Heidi pondered while kicking her heel into the wall. "Survival."

"Yes," Kanoa stated.

It gave them much to think about. Especially the fact that Amira still hadn't destroyed the two phoenixes in her possession. Clearly she didn't want to doom Aurellia. She didn't want to help Urobach massacre millions of people. She only thought it was her only chance of survival. But Amira wasn't completely without guilt either. Heidi had once seen her act selfless in the heat of the moment while they were in the coal province city, staying back to duel while others escaped. Also her tears on that building when she was called out, and the raging determination to kill Heidi and thus the hero inside herself. Because Amira understood that her own desire to do the right thing was the biggest threat to her own safety.


"I have to say, you both look like you're in terrible shape." Hillary sat down in front of Heidi and Kanoa.

She'd been come and go that week, so they'd not been able to properly talk to her. They had learnt from others that she was a major figurehead for a spiritual movement. It didn't seem correct to call it a religion, but it was a belief ideology that'd been popular in their parent's generation - when everyone was in dreads, and all about peace and love. It'd faded but was making a comeback now. The New Age religion.

She helped manage organizations that taught their beliefs, but also gave support to the poor villagers in the desert region. They gave food and medical supplies as well as things Solvusites would abhor: contraception, and preaching tolerance instead of outright obedience. She had a big following because of her psychic gifts, a power she humbly insisted that all people had access to. Solvus condemned her as a witch and stated that the benevolent spirits that helped her were merely Jinn masquerading as angels.

Heidi and Kanoa looked at each other in confusion then back at the blonde girl.

"What do you mean? We have no injuries," Kanoa said.

"I don't mean physically."

They understood what she was getting at then. Heidi felt herself recoil from the conversation. Was it skepticism? She'd had experiences on Kanoa's island that she couldn't explain. If not that, was it guilt for snapping that day?

"You have the sight," Kanoa said with an understanding nod.

"Yes. I've been gifted my whole life."

"In my tribe we had an elder, Grandma Kaleo, who had the ability to see energy and know things just through feeling."

"Sometimes people inherit these skills, sometimes they get 'unlocked' after a life-changing injury. For me, I was raised into it." Hillary confessed.

"How?"

"My parents were gurus, into meditation and manifestation. They learnt about the different levels of consciousness, universal connectedness and that love is the greatest power."

At this Heidi couldn't help but scoff, inserting herself in their talk "Love isn't going to stop the Gatekeepers."

"Maybe it will." Hillary spoke with such calm certainty that Heidi was thrown. "When I was a girl, one of my earliest memories is commanding the wind to blow. The weather was calm that day, but every time I yelled 'blow!' I felt a breeze hit my face."

"That can't be real." Heidi said.

"I can see ghosts too. Every infant can, but when they reach a certain age they're told not to so they shut off that sense."

"Everyone knows children have overactive imaginations!" Heidi rebutted.

"Actually we have a similar belief in my tribe." Kanoa said.

"It's probably cause they have growing brains!"

"Have you ever been to a psychic before, Heidi?" If anything Hillary was bemused by her skepticism.

Heidi looked at Kanoa "Well, yes…"

"Give me your hand please." She waited with hers out. "...please."

Heidi moved like she was putting her hand in a mousetrap. Hillary held on and closed her eyes, immediately scowling. She listened.

"You've lost a great deal of trust. Fundamental trust, and in yourself. The anger inside you is intense-" She stopped when Heidi pulled her hand away.

"I can also feel it, Heidi." Kanoa said softly.

"And since you left with Kanoa, you've felt off-kilter in your own mind. Right?" Hillary continued like a gentle press.

"I don't want to be put under a microscope! Okay!?" She looked at her partner. "You do it!"

Hillary looked at Kanoa "I don't need to touch something of yours to know you're suffering from a great loss. It's emanating from you."

For a moment Kanoa's mask slipped and all the pain became visible "That's true."

"She's still around, you know. She said she wanted to go on this journey with you, and now she won't leave your side."

It was bewildering to hear. But even stranger, everything around them started to feel and look different. Heidi glanced around, it was like they were being surrounded by a bright cloud.

"I miss her more than anything..." Kanoa sounded helpless.

"She was a soul mate and those connections are powerful, and often difficult. I also have a soul mate connection and it's been a struggle, but they're supposed to teach us."

When they faced her Hillary's eyes were deep like the universe was looking through them "You are both in need of healing. You need to go back to the place where the soul dwells. In timeless infinity. Where there is no loss, no war, and only love." And then she said the words that snapped them out of her voice's hypnotism: "All is well…"

"Shit got weird." Heidi was standing, frightened.

"All is not well!" Kanoa was standing, but angry.

They were in the corner of the room and others were peering over at the noise.

Hillary calmly stood and Kanoa continued "How could you say that? What kind of belief is 'All is well'? Our world suffers atrocities at the hands of Urobach, the world is likely to be destroyed and my beloved is dead!"

"All of life is a play and we are its actors." Hillary recited, confusing him.

"What?"

"I'm quoting famous scholars, poets and playwrights. All of life is fading away. But what is eternal is peace, freedom, the soul. Go to the place where nothing changes, and you'll see everything for what it is. That is who we truly are. Not the role of Hillary, or Heidi, or Kanoa. Those are just masks."

Heidi and Kanoa looked at each other again. The power this girl had was frightening, but surely it didn't mean she was right.

"So you want us to go passively toward our inevitable deaths?" Heidi asked. "Is that it?"

"You two need healing." She said again. "And I got good news: Aurellia isn't going to be destroyed. We're going to win. My angels have said so."

"Is that these weird presences around us now?" Heidi asked, looking at the strange glow.

"They want to help. And so do I." Hillary answered.

"How do your angels know that Aurellia will survive?" Kanoa asked.

She laughed a little "Because, silly. Humanity is evolving with the universe. We're dealing with collective karma and ascending to a better place of compassion and hope. It's what we've been doing since history began."

Heidi and Kanoa once more looked at each other to see if they were on the same page. They were.

Kanoa faced her "Life is not a fairytale. There are no happy endings."

"I've seen good people die horribly, many times!" Heidi added. "You're gonna say that's karma to defend your 'love and light' stance? That's fucked up!"

"The universe isn't cold, it's simply responding obediently to our own expectations. Aside from those awful situations, we need to release and have trust and faith in the process. Life is a fairytale, and we all have much more control than we realise, if only you open yourselves up to it. Life wasn't meant to be taken seriously."

"That's enough!" Kanoa took out his deck, much to the shock of those watching. "You expect me to believe that Meilani's death was destiny? That it was the work of a benevolent universe wanting to teach me about compassion and love? I'm challenging you right now, Hillary!"

"So be it. I'll do whatever it takes to help you both see the light. You're the chosens, after all." She stood and held her deck, which shone white.

They both went outside into the moonlit desert, with everyone following. Tables appeared and they got ready.

Heidi turned to her big sister who stood beside her.

"You don't actually believe the things she's saying, right?"

"Honestly Heidi, I think I do." Summer answered, stunning her.

Kanoa went first, Hillary followed by charging water. He charged again and Hillary charged light.

"I fortify my shield with Submarine Fortress Lair." A cybernetic tower built around one of her panels, shimmering underwater-blue.

"A fortress?" Heidi commented. "Haven't seen one of them for a while…"

"At the start of my turns you may draw, then I may draw an extra card." Hillary explained.

"I cast Purification Sharrup!" Deadman=the=Original flipped from his deck to his mana. "Done."

The fortress brightened, whirring electronically. Kanoa drew. Hillary drew then proceeded with her regular draw.

"I summon Cassis Soda!" A jellyfish-looking diva held a microphone and sang a note. A 3000 blocker and twinpact. "Turn end."

"I summon Marinyan, Dragon Edge! She brings out Reddull and makes herself a speed attacker!" With five mana it was time for Kanoa to start his assault, the spiked red temple fell behind him and the cat-girl pounced. "Invasion! She evolves for free into Deadman=the=Original! Whitey, Dragon Soul Church comes out and taps Cassis Soda! Double break!"

With the blocker forced to crouch down, the newly-formed draguner jumped over it. With a swing of its axe it demolished her fortress and the panel beside it.

"Dangerous move," Hillary swept up the blue pieces that became cards. "My deck is almost entirely made out of shield triggers! I won't bounce Deadman, seeing as that'll only help you bring out All Over The World faster, but I use Cassis Orange's spell side to draw 2!"

"I'm done."

"I evolve Cassis Soda into Marshall Queen!" A torrent of water flowed upwards against gravity, from within emerged a mermaid with a seashell on her head, pink hair like tentacles. She was flanked by dolphins with gold head-plates. "I add three cards to my shields and take three shields back, and I can use shield trigger."

"Woah…" Jayden commented.

"That's the new power of Splash Queens." Tsukumo said.

"Too right!" Hillary put three cards down, took back two she just set and one other. "First, Hyperspatial JCA Hole! I draw 2 and put a card on the bottom of my deck. Then I bring out a psychic creature, Ryusei Splash the Intense Wave! I draw again and now Deadman can't attack next turn, meaning you can't use invasion!" From hyperspace a dragon of sapphire and emerald leapt out, orbited by a water current. 5000 power. "The card I didn't set was another Hyperspatial JCA Hole, so this time I bring out Ryusei Kaiser the Victorious!" A portal opened once more to a triple-civilization dragon, a 6000 double-breaker. "Now your mana comes into play tapped. Now finally, I shield trigger evolve Marshall Queen into Ryevermouth Bitters, Sea Princess Dragon!"

She shone blue and transformed again, but remained much the same, only becoming larger with blue skin and dragonic features. Now she was a 7000 double-breaker, but remained tapped due to Whitey's effect last turn. "Ryevermouth can do the same thing, swap three shields from my hand and let me use shield trigger abilities every time she attacks! Turn end."

Kanoa needed to take a moment to recover from such a devastating turn. Being a nature duelist he could ramp mana, and his invasions into Deadman let him move quicker than ever before. He'd finally become fast. However, with only four mana Hillary had been able to bring out three strong creatures and use various effects. Clearly her splash queens were no joke.

"I summon another Marinyan and bring out Greene, Dragon Soul Ruins." He boosted Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and winced. "I'm done…"

"I summon Kernel, Blue Stagnation Dragon Elemental and freeze Deadman again! Then Ryusei Splash attacks and revolution change!" A portal opened and her dragon was stretched through it. It was replaced with "Miracle Star, Heaven Revolutionary Knight Emperor!" It was a 10,500 angel command dragon of both water and light. "Double break, but I get to see the cards and use the spells instead of you!" Two twinpacts appeared, Dangerdeon and Stegoro Kaiser. "I use Hell Utopia's Scrap Revolution to send Marinyan to your mana zone!" Hillary swept her hand and the cat-girl looked around frantically before she was crushed by the enclosing chrysalis.

"No way… he can't attack next turn either!" Heidi realised.

"Next Ryusei Kaiser attacks and also revolution changes, into a second Miracle Star!" Shockingly the recent events repeated, this time the shields were revealed to be another Marinyan and Ochappi before jumping to Kanoa's hand. "Ryevermouth Bitters attacks your final shield and its effect activates!" She set down three cards, took one of them right back along with two others. "Jelly, Dazzling Electro-Princess! I draw." Another diva on 2000 appeared, then the attack continued. With a clawed swipe and wave crashing against Kanoa's table, his last shield was gone. No trigger. "I end my turn."

"She's unbelievable." Engyo praised.

"Without a means to attack you can't invade," Hillary explained. "All you can play is that Marinyan, meaning you can only bring out either Blacko or Blunika, which gives me next turn to beat you."

Kanoa smiled "Who says I have to invade to summon Deadman=the=Original?"

"Pardon?"

"It's true that Deadman is light-dark, and my deck is mostly nature, but I don't have to invade! I already have a Deadman in my mana zone, and with Falconer I have the light-dark mana I need to summon him!" At that revelation those watching gasped. "Since he evolves on top of another Deadman and Marinyan I can bring out Blacko and Blunika, completing All Over The World!"

A haunted castle and cybernetic fortress joined the other three buildings, then all five transformed, combining into the 50,000 titan. Cards on the field, in the hand and graveyard were shuffled into their decks. With the emergence of this giant representation of all five civilizations coming together, Hillary's strong field had been wiped clean.

"I control the order of effects, so I use Blacko to discard a card from your hand while you have none, and Blunika to draw one. And it's just what I need… Deathmatch Beetle will battle with any creature you summon for free! All Over the World, world break!"

Hillary's three panels burst and everyone waited tensely to see what they'd be.

"I have two triggers! The spell side of Cassis Soda can send a creature to your hand. I'm aware that All Over the World can't leave the field when it's tapped." Neon lights and sonic pulsed until the giant insect succumbed, flicking off the table into Kanoa's hand. "Then Hyperspatial Surprise Hole! I summon Untouchable Temporal Hero!" The gold soldier had only 1000 power, but it meant she could now attack Kanoa as soon as his turn ended, and without Falconer or his shields he had no defence.

It seemed her shield trigger deck had bested even All Over the World.

"My turn is done..." Kanoa acquiesced. "The victory is yours."


AN: This fanfic does not prescribe any religion or belief system. Please consult your doctor before considering any of them for yourself. Side effects may include: nausea, depression, anxiety, gaslighting, loss of autonomy, loss of health, violation and irrepairable damage to one's mind, self-esteem or life. As for crediting people responsible for ideas/inspiration, well jeez... Rumi, Shakespeare, Deepak Chopra, Doreen Virtue, probably others I forgot. Fancy a chapter named after a phoenix that doesn't duel in it. Thanks to Acuma and Shuriken for reviewing!