Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories

by scififan599

10 years ago, 8 children were kidnapped. One of them was Yasutake Narahiko, who today works as Morningstar, a bounty hunter in LINK VRAINS hunting criminals and hackers for companies like SOL Technologies. One day, he fights the Knights of Hanoi and encounters Playmaker, who was involved in the same incident. Follow him as he must decide whether to be Playmaker's ally, or his enemy

33. Chapter 33: Storm of Life

Chapter 33: Storm of Life

The sky appears, full of clouds. Playmaker races through the clouds on his D-Board, followed by Morningstar, and then Soulburner. The clouds part to reveal NEW LINK VRAINS. The Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS logo appears, and beneath it, the words "HIDDEN MEMORIES" appears.

Yasutake and Yusaku are walking down the street to school. Naoki runs past them on one side, a large smile on his face. Aoi walks past them on the other side, smiling lightly and blushing at Yusaku. Then Takeru walks up behind them and wraps one arm around Yusaku. He tries to wrap the other arm around Yaustake, who steps to the side and gives Takeru an annoyed look. Then someone wraps their arms around Yasutake's right arm. He glances to the side and sees Sachi wearing the Den Academy girls' uniform, smiling with her eyes closed as she leans her head on his shoulder. Yasutake smiles back at her.

Masako is shown riding in the passenger side of a van, with the window showing an image of Lilith. In the sky above her, an image of Thaumiel appears, holding his hand over the van. Kenshin Hirai is then shown at a café, drinking coffee and reading a book, while an image of Hitomu Hirai appears in the sky facing the opposite direction. Go Onizuka is shown in NEW LINK VRAINS in his new avatar, riding his D-Board with Kenmochi and Yoroizaka on either side. Behind them, Techbane and Sylphid fly on their own D-Boards. As they pass under a ledge, Blue Angel, Galahad, and Persephone are shown looking down at Go with sad and disappointed looks.

Kusanagi is then shown sitting at a picnic bench with Cam, both drinking from cans and laughing. Flame and Ai are shown arguing in Café Nagi, while Cypher looks at the two of them with exasperation and mild contempt. Akira Zaizen and Hayami are then shown standing next to Queen, who is sitting in a pool chair, adjusting her glasses.

Jester is then shown, with two people – a man and a woman – shown standing behind him, shrouded in shadow. The man-in-shadow's eyes glow red. The eyeholes of Jester's mask glow a light blue. Behind them are two dragons, shrouded in shadow. One of the dragons has four thin wings, while the other has six thin wings.

Morningstar and Playmaker ride their D-Boards next to each other, with Cyberse Witch and Cyberse Magician in front of Playmaker, and Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary and Cyspirit Savage Shogun in front of Morningstar. The two are chased by Techbane and Sylphid. The man directs Cyber Dragon Sieger to fire at Morningstar while the girl commands a red and purple dragon to attack Playmaker. The two are hit with energy attacks but emerge from the smoke unharmed.

The Knights of Hanoi are then shown, with Terminus standing apart from them. Motor Worm Spreader Queen, Helixx Necro Darwin, and Dark Mummy Surgical Forceps appear, with Sunavalon Dryanome behind them. Borreload Savage Dragon then rises from behind Dryanome and roars.

A split screen, showing two figures. The one on the right is a green outline of a short-haired woman wearing a dress and holding a card in her right hand. Behind her is a white outline of a winged figure holding a sword. The left screen shows a red outline of a man wearing armor, with his right hand raised and the fingers curled. Behind him is a black outline of an armored monster with demonic wings.

Morningstar, Playmaker, and Soulburner are then shown back-to-back, with their hands glowing purple, blue, and red respectively. The three face off against Bohman and Trident Hydradrive Lord, Blood Shepard and Battledrone General, and Jester, who raises his arm as a pillar of energy appears behind him. A six-winged dragon emerges from the pillar and roars.

Cyspirts Angelic Avenger, Idealistic Idol, Pied Pikeman, Rapid Revolutionary, and Winning Wrestler are then shown in the air, with Neo Nova racing past them. The five Cyspirit monsters then glow with golden light and merge to form Superior Seraphim, whose light spreads across NEW LINK VRAINS.

Cam, Sachi, Yasutake, Takeru, Kusanagi, and Yusaku are all shown at a picnic table, with them eating hot dogs, and Takeru and Cam are laughing. Three Duel Disks are shown on the table, with Flame lecturing Ai while Cypher watches television on Yasutake's tablet. Aoi, Akira, and Emma are in the background, walking past them and smiling at the table.

Yasutake, Cam, and Sachi walk down the street, with Cam having his arms around the other two. All three are smiling. The scene then switches to NEW LINK VRAINS, with Morningstar, Playmaker, and Soulburner sitting on a ledge and smiling into the distance.

---

"Hurry, Sachi!"

"I'm running as fast as I can, Cam! Your legs are just longer than mine!"

Cam and Sachi were running through the streets of Den City, trying to get back to Café Junpei. After helping Kusanagi get his brother to his room and make sure he was comfortable, the two had decided to head back to the city, as they felt they could be more helpful there. After taking a bus there, the siblings were now running back to Café Junpei, though Sachi lagged a bit behind.

"Shorter legs aren't an excuse to be slow!" Cam said, looking behind him at his sister. "Yasu needs us, so-!"

CRASH!

"Eh!?" Sachi said, stumbling to a halt at the sight in front of her. Cam, while looking back at her, had crashed into a woman, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Ow," Cam said, sitting up. He looked at the woman, quickly stood up and reached out his hand. "Sorry about that. I should have been looking. You aren't hurt, right?"

The woman shook her head and took his hand. "No, I'm good." The woman had strawberry blonde hair tied back into a French braid and brown eyes. She was dressed fashionably in a dark blue button-up dress shirt under a light black jacket with a black knee-length skirt, black stockings, and flat shoes. "What about you?" She spoke Japanese perfectly, but her accent wasn't Japanese. American, maybe?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Cam said as he pulled her up. "Sorry, but we're in a hurry. Come on, Sachi!" He let go of the woman's hand and resumed running, with Sachi chasing after him.

The woman looked after him, then back at the ground. Her eyes widened. "Wait, sir, you dropped-!" But Cam and Sachi were already out of earshot.

---

Galahad frowned to himself as he watched the screen his Duel Disk showed. "That was rather clever of you." He turned to glance at Persephone at her words. The woman herself was watching Galahad's screen with a small smile. "Creating a drone like Morningstar's." The two of them were standing in a secluded area of LINK VRAINS's central city, having gotten away from the crowd.

Galahad smiled. "Frog and Pigeon don't see everything, so I figured I wanted to see what they couldn't," he replied before looking back at his screen. "I get why they're interested in the fire duelist, but something in my gut is telling me Morningstar's duel is more important. Or rather, his opponent."

Persephone frowned. "I know what you mean. Something about him… he's very dangerous, without question." The two watched as Galahad's new drone broadcasted footage of Morningstar facing a man in a blue jumpsuit and gold armor.

---

"You can call me Jester. I think it's about time you face a real opponent, Morningstar."

Morningstar narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man in blue and gold calling himself Jester. What the… What is this I'm sensing?

Out loud, he said, "You want to duel me? You don't look like a bounty hunter. At least not one I've heard of before."

Jester chuckled. "Oh, I'm no bounty hunter. You could call me an… 'Enforcer' of sorts. And I'd really like to see what the child who defeated Hellsworn and claimed the Cyspirits can do."

Morningstar gasped. "Hellsworn? Then-."

"Wasn't Hellsworn the guy who challenged you for the Cyspirit cards?" Cypher asked in eye form. "Didn't you also say-."

"Hellsworn mentioned a sponsor and an initiation," Morningstar said. "You were his sponsor?"

"No, I was just the one overseeing his initiation," Jester answered. "And once he failed, I gave him his punishment."

"Punishment?" Morningstar repeated.

"Morningstar!" The former hunter turned around at Cypher's words and saw the duelist in a red and gray jumpsuit and the two other new duelists were flying away. "Should we follow them?"

"…No. Playmaker needs our help more," Morningstar said, glancing at the footage on his drone that was still following the hacker. "That said, I'm curious about this new duelist. Send another drone after him."

"Roger!" A new drone emerged from the Duel Disk and set after the three departing the scene. Originally, Morningstar's Duel Disk could only hold one drone at a time, but Cypher had upgraded it so it could hold three without issue.

"Now, to deal with this nuisance," Cypher said, emerging from the Duel Disk and glaring at Jester. "You've said a few interesting things, but we don't have time for you. And unfortunately for you, I've just finished analyzing and perfecting Ai's program!" Cypher pointed at Jester. "Releasing the Data Storm!"

A tornado of data formed close to Jester and released powerful winds, unbalancing him. Or at least it was supposed to.

"Heh heh," Jester chuckled, holding out his right hand. "Too easy." Blue lightning danced across his fingers before striking the Data Storm and dispersing it.

"Eh!?" Cypher screeched, his eyes wide. Morningstar was likewise surprised but kept his reaction to widened eyes. "Impossible! You dispersed the Data Storm that easily!?"

"You didn't actually expect that to work, did you?" Jester asked mockingly. "My power far exceeds anyone you've fought before. If you want, you could just give me the Silver Ignis and the Cyspirit data. I'll let you leave peacefully if you do."

The Cyspirit data? Morningstar thought. I can understand Cypher, but why my cards?

But more importantly… "I remember this feeling," Morningstar said softly so only Cypher could hear. "What I'm sensing… it's similar to what I sensed when I faced Revolver in the sewers. A feeling of supreme confidence and strength."

"…He might be related to Revolver if he can manipulate the Data Storm," Cypher said begrudgingly. "He doesn't strike me as a Knight of Hanoi, but you never know. The only other explanation for that is… he's working with or captured an Ignis." Cypher's eyes narrowed on saying the last part.

"Maybe. But we can ask him that later." Louder, Morningstar said to Jester, "Sorry, but I'm not giving up Cypher or the Cyspirits. I've dueled for a long time with them, and I won't give them up to someone like you."

"Ha ha. That's the answer I expected." Jester held up his left arm, revealing a dark gold Duel Disk that resembled six interwoven wings around a blue screen. "In that case, I'll have to take them by force. Do try to entertain me before you lose."

"No! You'll be the one losing!" Cypher shouted.

"Speed Duel!" Morningstar and Jester shouted.

Jester: 4000 LP

Morningstar: 4000 LP

Morningstar drew his cards while Jester swept his hand in front of him. Seeing what he had, Jester said, "I'll take the first turn. I summon Life Wyvern." A dragon with yellow skin and two legs appeared, flapping its paper-thin wings and whipping its barbed tail. Its red eyes gleamed as it roared.

Life Wyvern ATK 2000 DEF 600 LVL: 6

"Level 6?" Cypher said, surprised.

"If I control no monsters, Life Wyvern can be Normal Summoned without Tributing," Jester explained. "And because I control a 'Life' monster, I can Special Summon Life Drago!" Another yellow-skinned red-eyed dragon with two thin wings appeared, but this one had four limbs and stood on its hindlegs as it roared in Attack Position.

Life Drago ATK 600 DEF 2000 LVL: 3

The name of his Deck's archetype is 'Life?'" Morningstar thought.

Jester gestured to his field. "Life Wyvern's monster effect! When a different 'Life' monster is Summoned to my field, I gain 800 Life Points." Wyvern roared again as Jester glowed.

Jester: 4000→4800 LP

"Life Drago's monster effect! If I gain Life Points due to the effect of a 'Life' monster besides Drago, I gain 800 Life Points." This time, Drago roared as Jester glowed.

Jester: 4800→5600 LP

Jester raised his hand as blue lightning danced across his fingers. "Appear! The circuit that breaks the world!" The Link portal appeared in the air above him. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Life' monsters. I set Life Drago and Life Wyvern in the Link Markers!" Both monsters became whirlwinds of energy and entered the bottom and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-2! Life Force Amphitere!"

A new yellow serpentine dragon emerged from the portal, and it was twice as large as the previous two. Like Wyvern, it only had two limbs, but they were at the front instead of the back and its claws were black. It had two sets of thin wings that sprouted from its neck, and a mane of yellow hair sprouted around the roots. Its red eyes gleamed as it was summoned to the left Extra Monster Zone.

Life Force Amphitere ATK 1000 LINK-2 ↓↘

"He gave up two monsters, one with 2000 attack points, to summon one monster with 1000 attack points," Cypher mused. "He must want it for its effect."

"While my Life Points are higher than yours, Amphitere gains attack points equal to the difference," Jester said. "The difference is 1600."

Life Force Amphitere ATK 1000→2600

"Amphitere's additional effect!" Jester declared, gesturing to his field. "Once per turn, if my Life Points are higher than yours, you take damage equal to half the difference! Life Resound!" Amphitere opened its mouth and blasted Morningstar with yellow energy, making him wince.

Morningstar: 4000→3200 LP

"And since the difference between our Life Points increased again, Amphitere gains more attack points."

Life Force Amphitere ATK 2600→3400

"I Set one card. I end my turn."

Morningstar narrowed his eyes. "So that's his strategy," he said. "Increasing his own Life Points to increase his monster's attack points while also dealing damage to me."

"A simple strategy, but effective," Cypher said. "Of course, it won't slow us down, will it, partner?"

"Of course not. My turn! Draw!" Morningstar looked at his card, then played it. "Since you control monsters and I do not, I can Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman!" The skeleton in blue armor wielding two swords appeared in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3

"Swordsman's monster effect! When it is Summoned by its effect, I can add a 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to my hand." Morningstar took a card from his Deck, then played it. "I summon the newly added Cyspirit Kid!" A dwarf skeleton in a shirt appeared.

Cyspirit Kid ATK 300 DEF 200 LVL: 1

"You're going all out from the start, Morningstar?" Cypher asked.

"This Jester gives me a bad feeling," Morningstar said, his eyes narrowed. "The longer this drags out, the worse it will be." Morningstar gestured to the sky as his hand glowed blue. "Appear! The circuit between light and darkness!" The Link portal appeared, this time above Morningstar. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is one 'Cyspirit' monster. I set Kid in the Link Marker!" Said monster turned into a tornado of energy and entered the bottom arrow, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-1! Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller!" A skeleton in a business suit emerged from the portal, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller ATK 500 LINK-1 ↓

"Kid's monster effect! When it is used to Link Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, I can destroy one of your face-up cards! I'll destroy Life Force Amphitere!" Morningstar pointed to said monster.

"Ha! Good going, Morningstar!" Cypher said, complimenting his partner. "With that out of the way-."

"Did you think I didn't anticipate that?" Jester said, interrupting Cypher as he gestured to his field. "Continuous Trap activate! Life Protection!" The card showed Life Wyvern protected by a blue magic barrier. "While this card is active, 'Life' monsters I control cannot be destroyed by your card effects."

Morningstar grit his teeth, annoyed, but then gestured to his field. "Cacophonic Caller's monster effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to its Link Marker, but that monster cannot attack and is destroyed during the End Phase. Come, Cyspirit Dancer!" The skeleton in a leotard appeared, summoned to Cacophonic Caller's Link Marker in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Dancer ATK 1000 DEF 200 LVL: 2

"Appear once more, the circuit between light and darkness! Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is one 'Cyspirit' Link Monster. I set Cacophonic Caller in the Link Marker!" Cacophonic Caller became a whirlwind of energy and entered the bottom-right arrow, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-1! Cyspirit Kooky Kommandant!" A skeleton in a silver military uniform with too-big eyes emerged from the portal, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Kooky Kommandant ATK 1000 LINK-1 ↘

"So that's the strategy you're going with, Morningstar?" Cypher asked. "Well, it's a good one, certainly."

"Appear for a third time, the circuit between light and darkness! Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Cyspirit' monsters. I set Dancer and Swordsman in the Link Markers!" Said monsters entered the left and right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-2! Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler!" A skeleton in a prospector uniform with a large drill for a right hand emerged from the portal, summoned to Kooky Kommandant's Link Marker.

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler ATK 1600 LINK-2 ←→

"Dancer's monster effect! When it is used to Link Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, that monster gains 600 attack points!"

Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler ATK 1600→2200

That monster can attack directly, but its attack points will be halved, Jester thought. What is he planning?

"Kooky Kommandant's monster effect! Since it is linked to a Cyberse Link Monster, I can Tribute it to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated. Resurrect, Cyspirit Swordsman!" Kooky Kommandant disintegrated as the skeleton with swords reappeared in Attack Position at Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker.

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3

"And after I do that, Kooky Kommandant's effect lets me add a 'Cyspirit' Spell Card and a Level 8 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to my hand," Morningstar continued. "The cards I add are Cyspirit Digital Dragoon and Cyspirit Ritual!"

Jester gasped. Ritual? That wasn't reported…

"I activate the Spell Card: Cyspirit Emblem! With this card, I send a 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then, I can Special Summon a 'Cyspirit' monster with the same Level from my Deck in Attack Position. I send Level 3 Cyspirit Pilot to the Graveyard to summon Cyspirit Teleporter!" A skeleton in gray armor wielding a baton appeared, summoned to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker.

Cyspirit Teleporter ATK 500 DEF 1500 LVL: 3

"I activate the Ritual Spell Card: Cyspirit Ritual!" Morningstar declared, the lines on his suit, the stars on his hands, and the wings on his back glowing a light blue. "With this card, I Tribute monsters from my hand and field whose total Levels equal or surpass the Level of the 'Cyspirit' Ritual Monster that I'm Ritual Summoning from my hand. From my field, I Tribute Level 3 Swordsman and Level 3 Teleporter, and from my hand I Tribute Level 2 Cyspirit Saver!"

A silver magical circle appeared in the center of Morningstar's field, as did a dwarf skeleton in white armor wielding a shield. Eight flames sprung up around the circle as the monsters Morningstar had named turned into silver particles and gathered in the center of the circle.

"The contract has been made!" Morningstar chanted. "The horseman who was born anew inherits these three souls! Ritual Summon! Rise! Cyspirit Digital Dragoon!"

A pillar of silver light erupted from the circle as the flames went wild. When the light faded, a skeleton wearing a silver and gold military uniform and a black helmet, riding atop a silver skeleton horse covered in gold armor and wielding a cavalry saber in its right hand while a blunderbuss was strapped to its back had appeared. The horse whinnied as Digital Dragoon was summoned to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Digital Dragoon ATK 2500 DEF 2000 LVL: 8

"A 'Cyspirit' Ritual Monster…" Jester muttered. "That wasn't in Dr. Hirai's data. Did the Silver Ignis create it?"

"I Set one card," Morningstar said before gesturing to his field. "Battle! Digital Dragoon attacks Life Force Amphitere!"

"Oh?" Jester said, surprised as Digital Dragoon charged his monster. "I assume you have a plan beyond self-destruction."

"Of course we do!" Cypher shouted. "When Digital Dragoon battles your Link Monster, that monster's attack points become 0 until the end of the turn!" Jester gasped.

"Go! Process Shoot!" Digital Dragoon drew its blunderbuss and shot Amphitere, spraying it with silver magma.

Life Force Amphitere ATK 3400→0

"And since Digital Dragoon is battling a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, that monster's effects negated until the End Phase," Morningstar continued. "Go, Digital Dragoon! Harbinger's Fury!" Digital Dragoon charged underneath Amphitere, holding its sword up as it glowed silver. The sword cut through Amphitere's stomach, slashing it from head to tail. The monster exploded, making Jester grunt in pain.

Jester: 5600→3100 LP

"Ha ha," Jester chuckled. "Not bad."

"The battle continues!" Morningstar declared. "Thrilled Tunneler, attack Jester directly! Cyber Drill!" Thrilled Tunneler charged Jester, striking his D-Board and sending him flying back several feet.

Jester: 3100→900 LP

Cypher growled. "If he hadn't increased his Life Points last turn, you would have won!"

"I end my turn," Morningstar said.

"And with the end of your turn, Amphitere's additional effect activates!" Jester declared, catching up to Morningstar. "During the End Phase of the turn it is sent to the Graveyard by your card, I can Special Summon a different 'Life' monster from the Graveyard with its effects negated. Resurrect, Life Wyvern!" The two-legged yellow skin dragon reappeared and roared in Attack Position.

Life Wyvern ATK 2000 DEF 600 LVL: 6

"What can he do with that?" Cypher asked. "Its effects are negated, so he can't use it to increase his Life Points."

"AI are such simple-minded beings," Jester said, chuckling to himself. "Once you've established a perspective, you find it very hard to change that."

"What does that mean?"

"I'll show you. My turn! Draw!" Jester paused on seeing the card he drew, but then added it to his hand. "I summon the Tuner monster Life Wurm!" A small serpent with yellow skin appeared. It had horns on the top of its head, red eyes, and large front fangs.

Life Wurm ATK 100 DEF 100 LVL: 1

Morningstar gasped. "Did you say-?"

"Tuner monster?" Cypher repeated, his eyes wide.

"Indeed I did," Jester said as he pointed upwards, lines of golden energy traveling upwards from his body. "Level 1 Life Wurm tunes Level 6 Life Wyvern!" Both monsters disintegrated into green data. Two rings then appeared, one green and one yellow, with the yellow ring being made of six concentric circles. The rings turned blue and merged together before splitting into seven blue rings stacked on top of each other. Several blue-green rectangles appeared, circling the tower of rings as a screen appeared in front of the tower. The screen said "1 + 6" before changing to read "7." A stream of light went through the rings as Jester chanted.

"Mechanical dragon! Bury your claws into your enemies and become their downfall! Synchro Summon! Arise, Level 7! Power Tool Dragon!" A mechanical dragon covered in yellow armor emerged from the rings. It had a blue shovel for a right hand and a green screwdriver attached to its left arm. Despite lacking a mouth, it roared from the left Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

Power Tool Dragon ATK 2300 DEF 2500 LVL: 7

"Synchro Summoning… that's unexpected," Cypher commented, his eyes narrowed.

"Power Tool Dragon's monster effect!" Jester said, pointing to his dragon. "Once per turn, I can reveal three Equip Spell Cards from my Deck, and then you must choose one at random. That card is added to my hand while the rest are shuffled back into my Deck. These are the cards I chose!"

A screen appeared above Morningstar's Duel Disk. He grit his teeth in annoyance; Jester had chosen three copies of the same card – a card that showed Life Drago emerging from a circular pool of water set in a large stone basin. The cards flipped around, then Morningstar chose one.

"I was hoping you would choose that one," Jester said. "I activate the Equip Spell Card: Life Reincarnation! This card Special Summons a 'Life' monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated and equips itself to it, but I cannot target a Link Monster with its effect. Resurrect, Life Wurm!" The serpent with horns reappeared in Attack Position.

Life Wurm ATK 100 DEF 100 LVL: 1

"He brought back the Tuner?" Cypher said. "That must mean-."

"He's planning to Synchro Summon again," Morningstar said, narrowing his eyes.

"Heh heh. Clever boy," Jester mock praised Morningstar. "Level 1 Life Wurm tunes Level 7 Power Tool Dragon!" Both monsters disintegrated into green data. Green and yellow rings appeared again, only the yellow one was made of seven concentric circles this time. The rings merged before splitting into eight blue rings stacked in a tower, circled by blue-green rectangles. A screen appeared, displayed "1 + 7," then changed to "8" as a stream of light went through the rings.

"Courageous dragon!" Jester chanted. "Guide the future of the world to revolution! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Level 8! Life Stream Dragon!" A new dragon emerged from the rings. It was similar in appearance to Power Tool Dragon but was wholly organic. It had yellow armor on its chest, shoulders, and legs, and four paper-thin wings emerged from its back. A red spear-like attachment was on its left arm, but its right arm was bare. Jester's new dragon roared from the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

Life Stream Dragon ATK 2900 DEF 2400 LVL: 8

Morningstar grit his teeth as Jester laughed. "Let's see how you do against this dragon," he taunted before gesturing to his field. "Life Stream Dragon's monster effect! When it is Synchro Summoned, I can make my Life Points 4000!"

Jester: 900→4000 LP

"Are you kidding me!?" Cypher complained. "All that damage was for nothing?"

"Furthermore, I activate the effect of Life Wurm! When used to Synchro Summon a Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster, I gain 800 Life Points!"

Jester: 4000→4800 LP

"There's one last effect to activate," Jester continued. "If the monster equipped with Life Reincarnation was used to Synchro Summon a Dragon monster, that Dragon monster can make two attacks against your monsters this turn!" Morningstar gasped.

"Battle! Life Stream Dragon, attack Thrilled Tunneler! Howling Life!" Life Stream Dragon gathered yellow energy in its mouth, which it then fired at Thrilled Tunneler. Morningstar braced himself as his monster's destruction caused an explosion. (I changed the attack name from "Life is Beauti-Howl" because I frankly think it's ridiculous.)

Morningstar: 3200→2500 LP

"Once more, Life Stream Dragon! Attack Digital Dragoon!" Life Stream gathered more energy and then blasted Digital Dragoon, destroying it and causing another explosion, making Morningstar grunt from the pain.

Morningstar: 2500→2100 LP

Morningstar growled then gestured to his field. "I activate the effect of Cyspirit Ritual in my Graveyard! When a 'Cyspirit' Ritual Monster is destroyed by battle, I can banish that monster and Cyspirit Ritual from the Graveyard to Special Summon a Link-3 'Cyspirit' Link Monster from my Extra Deck and treat it as having been Link Summoned. Come forth, Cyspirit Winning Wrestler!" A massive skeleton in a black wrestler's uniform with two championship belts crossed over its chest appeared and roared from the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Winning Wrestler ATK 2500 LINK-3 ↙↓↘

"Hmm," Jester hummed. "That's one of the stronger 'Cyspirit' monsters. I end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Morningstar looked at his card, then played the other card in his hand. "I summon Cyspirit Sorceress!" A skeleton in a black dress wielding a metal staff appeared.

Cyspirit Sorceress ATK 1400 DEF 400 LVL: 4

"Sorceress's monster effect! When it is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position. Resurrect, Cyspirit Dancer!" The skeleton in a leotard reappeared at Winning Wrestler's bottom-right Link Marker.

Cyspirit Dancer ATK 1000 DEF 200 LVL: 2

"Appear, the circuit between light and darkness!" Morningstar declared, causing the Link portal to appear. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Level 4 or lower 'Cyspirit' monsters. I set Dancer and Sorceress in the Link Markers!" His monsters entered the top and left arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-2! Cyspirit Idealistic Idol!" A white skeleton emerged from the portal and was soon enveloped in light. When the light faded, the skeleton was wearing a sleeveless indigo dress and had black hair tied into a ponytail. The skeleton sprouted wings from Winning Wrestler's bottom Link Marker.

Cyspirit Idealistic Idol ATK 1500 LINK-2 ←↑

Cypher growled. "This position isn't good; since this is a Speed Duel, Idealistic Idol can't point to two monsters from its position."

Morningstar was annoyed about that too, but something else caught his attention. "I can't sense anything from them," he said. "Before, I could emotions from Idealistic Idol and Winning Wrestler. Now… nothing."

"Hmm? Well of course you can't," Cypher said. "You only could before because my code was embedded in them. Now that I'm whole, they're just like the other Cyspirit monsters. The same is true of Neo Nova and Angelic Avenger."

"…But not Superior Seraphim?" Morningstar asked.

"No. That monster is in a class all its own. Oh, and while we're on this topic, you still can't use Superior Seraphim in a Speed Duel." Cypher narrowed his eyes. "SOL upgraded the Speed Duel system here in LINK VRAINS, but Superior Seraphim's data is still too complex for it to handle. Summoning it will force a log out for you and your opponent."

"Alright then. I won't use Superior Seraphim in a Speed Duel." Morningstar gestured to his field. "Dancer's effect activates again! Idealistic Idol gains 600 attack points!"

Cyspirit Idealistic Idol ATK 1500→2100

"Now, I activate the Spell Card: Link Treasure! Since there are two Link Monsters on the field, I draw two cards!" Morningstar drew, then said, "I activate the Spell Card: Cyspirit Gift! By discarding a 'Cyspirit' card, I can draw two cards. I discard Cyspirit Coder."

Morningstar drew again, smirked on seeing what he drew, then gestured to his field. "I activate the effect of Teleporter in my Graveyard! By banishing it, I can Special Summon a Level 3 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Cyspirit Swordsman!" The skeleton with two swords reappeared at Winning Wrestler's bottom-right Link Marker in Defense Position.

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3

Now Winning Wrestler points to two monsters, Jester noted.

"I activate the effect of Cyspirit Coder in the Graveyard!" Morningstar continued. "By banishing it, a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster on my field is treated as pointing to a number of monsters equal to its Link Rating. I target Idealistic Idol!" A skeleton in a lab coat and armor briefly appeared, making Idealistic Idol glow.

"Idealistic Idol's monster effect! If it points to two monsters, or is treated as such, I can target a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster besides itself, and that monster can make up to three attacks against your monsters. But in exchange, no other monsters I control can declare an attack. I target Winning Wrestler!" Said monsters glowed in unison at Morningstar's words.

Why would he do that? Jester wondered. I only control one monster, So he must have something planned.

"I activate the Equip Spell Card: Cyspirit Twin Shield!" Morningstar declared, proving Jester right. "And I equip it to Life Stream Dragon!"

"My monster?" Jester asked in confusion.

"That's right. And when a monster is equipped with Twin Shield, that monster cannot be destroyed by battle up to twice per turn!" Jester gasped, realizing Morningstar's plan. "I Set one card."

Morningstar gestured to his field. "Battle! The first attack! Winning Wrestler, attack Life Stream Dragon!" Winning Wrestler roared and charged at Jester's monster. "Winning Wrestler's monster effect! If it attacks a Special Summoned monster while it points to two monsters, that monster loses attack points equal to half the attack points of a 'Cyspirit' monster Winning Wrestler points to. Life Stream Dragon loses attack points equal to half of Idealistic Idol's attack points! Overpower Aura!" Winning Wrestler's wings glowed silver as Life Stream Dragon became weaker.

Life Stream Dragon ATK 2900→1850

"Go! Raw Power Rampage!" Winning Wrestler punched Life Stream Dragon in the stomach and making it cry out in pain. Jester grunted from the backlash of the attack.

Jester: 4800→4150 LP

"Twin Shield's effect prevents your monster's destruction," Morningstar reminded Jester. "And that means Winning Wrestler can attack Life Stream Dragon again! Go! Overpower Aura!"

Life Stream Dragon ATK 1850→800

"Raw Power Rampage!" Winning Wrestler punched Life Stream on its head, then again in the stomach, making it cry out in pain as Jester grunted from the force of the blow.

Jester: 4150→2450 LP

"Yes!" Cypher cheered. "Winning Wrestler can attack one more time! And with its' effect, we win!"

"Go, Winning Wrestler! Overpower Aura!" Life Stream Dragon whined as the last of its attack points disappeared.

Life Stream Dragon 800→0

"This ends now! Raw Power Rampage!" Winning Wrestler charged Life Stream Dragon, but Jester only chuckled.

"Impressive. But pointless." Jester pointed to one of his cards. "I activate the effect of Life Protection! Since your monster declared an attack while I control a 'Life' monster, I can send Life Protection to the Graveyard to halve the battle damage!" Winning Wrestler's fist struck Life Stream Dragon, causing an explosion, but Jester's D-Board only wobbled in reaction.

Jester: 2450→1200 LP

"Grr!" Cypher growled. "So close! But at least we got rid of Life Stream Dra-."

"Are you sure about that?"

Cypher and Morningstar gasped as the smoke of the explosion dissipated, revealing that Life Stream Dragon was still on the field. "What did you do?" Cypher asked Jester.

"It's rather simple," he answered. "If Life Stream Dragon would be destroyed, I can banish an Equip Spell Card from my Graveyard instead. I banished Life Reincarnation to protect it."

Morningstar grit his teeth. "I'm annoyed it stuck around," Cypher said. "But at least it doesn't have any attack points anymore. That's something."

"I end my turn," Morningstar said.

Jester laughed. "And since we've reached the End Phase, Life Protection's last effect activates!" he declared. "The turn it is sent to the Graveyard by its own effect, I can send a monster you control to the Graveyard!" Morningstar's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm well aware that your Winning Wrestler's first effect prevents your monsters from being destroyed, but it can't do anything against this effect. I send Winning Wrestler itself to the Graveyard!"

Morningstar watched as a spectral version of Life Force Amphitere appeared and wrapped itself around Winning Wrestler. Winning Wrestler attempted to struggle but was eventually pulled down into a portal.

Jester chuckled again. "I have to admit, you're more challenging than I was expecting, Morningstar. The amount of damage you've inflicted is nothing short of ludicrous. That's why…" His tone dropped an octave, giving Morningstar a feeling of danger. "I think I'll get a little serious right now."

"…He's bluffing," Cypher said, his eyes narrowed. "You can't tell me he's just been playing around this whole time?"

"Why don't I let my dueling answer that?" Jester said, placing his hand above his Duel Disk. "My turn! Draw!" Jester glanced at his card, then added it to his hand. "Let me show you what happens when I play seriously. I activate the Spell Card: Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force!"

"What!?" "Eh!?" Morningstar and Cypher looked at Jester's card with wide eyes. The card showed seven green rings made of energy, with two yellow lights passing through them.

"Rank-Up-Magic?" Morningstar repeated.

"That's a kind of Spell Card used with Xyz Monsters," Cypher said. "It lets you use an Xyz Monster as material to summon a stronger one. But you can't use that! You don't have any Xyz Monsters on the field!"

"You're right, I don't," Jester said smugly. "But I don't need one for this. Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force lets me use a Synchro Monster as material to Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster whose Rank is one higher than the Synchro Monster's Level!"

Morningstar gasped. "He's using a Synchro Monster to summon an Xyz Monster?" Cypher said incredulously.

"With the effect of Synchro Force, I overlay Life Stream Dragon!" Jester declared, releasing a bolt of yellow energy from his Duel Disk that traveled behind him. In a flash of light, a large black X with four yellow dots around it appeared behind him. "With this one Synchro Monster, I build the Overlay Network!" Life Stream Dragon broke apart into yellow particles and entered the top yellow dot, making it glow and causing a yellow circle to appear around the portal. The four points of the X lit up and fired yellow lasers, creating a swirling galaxy in front of Jester. The galaxy exploded with energy as he chanted.

"The power that unites creation and destruction! Reside in the dragon of life and bend the world to your will! Synchro Xyz Change!" A stream of yellow DNA appeared, then broke apart before reforming into a sphere. "Take flight! Life Force Dragon!" The sphere reformed itself into a yellow-armored dragon with six wings. The wings were paper-thin, same as Life Stream Dragon's. The dragon itself also resembled Life Stream Dragon, but it lacked the spear on its left arm, its eyes were blue instead of red, and it was both larger and more muscular. Its feet had three front claws and one back claw, and veins of black energy traveled across its skin. Halfway down, its tail split into two, each ending in a sharp point instead of a shovel. The dragon roared from the right Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position as an orange light circled behind it.

Life Force Dragon ATK 3400 DEF 2900 RNK: 9 OU: 1

Morningstar and Cypher braced themselves against the wind caused by the dragon's roar. "Impossible!" Cypher shouted over the wind. "There's no data on a summoning like this! Those cards shouldn't even exist!"

"Just like an AI," Jester taunted. "You lack the imagination to come up with something like this. After Synchro Force summons an Xyz Monster, it then attaches itself to that monster as an Overlay Unit!" Another orange light appeared and started circling behind Life Force Dragon.

Life Force Dragon OU: 1→2

"Furthermore, Synchro Force lowers the attack points of all monsters except Life Force Dragon by 1000!" Morningstar gasped as his monsters became weaker.

Cyspirit Idealistic Idol ATK 2100→1100

Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200→200

"Oh, and before I forget, since Life Stream Dragon isn't on the field anymore, that means your Twin Shield Equip Spell Card is sent to the Graveyard," Jester added, making Morningstar grit his teeth as his card disappeared.

"I Set one card," Jester said before pointing to his dragon. "Battle! Life Force Dragon, attack Idealistic Idol!" Life Force Dragon started to gather yellow energy in its mouth, but Morningstar gestured to his field.

"Trap activate! Assemble Link!" The card showed the assembly line of a factory, with the pieces of Launcher Commander on the line. "This card lets me perform a Link Summon using monsters I control as material!"

"Oh?" Jester said, interested. "You're Link Summoning during my turn?"

"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness! Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyspirit' monsters. I set Swordsman and Link-2 Idealistic Idol in the Link Markers!" Said monsters became whirlwinds of energy, with the latter splitting into two, and entered the top, bottom-left, and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-3! Cyspirit Quixotic Queen!" A skeleton in a black and gold dress emerged from the portal, wielding a golden scepter. It was summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Quixotic Queen ATK 2300 LINK-3 ↙↑↘

"Heh. So you'll avoid defeat this turn. No matter. Continue your attack, Life Force Dragon! Life Nova Stream!" Life Force Dragon released its gathered energy, blasting it at Quixotic Queen. Morningstar cried out in pain as his monster was destroyed.

Morningstar: 2100→1000 LP

"Assemble Link's additional effect activates!" Morningstar declared. "If the monster Summoned by its effect is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Cyberse monster from my Deck, but it cannot attack or change its battle position. Come, Cyspirit Armorer!" A skeleton in blacksmith's cloths and an apron appeared and swung a hammer in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Armorer ATK 1200 DEF 2000 LVL: 6

With that Trap Card of his, he could have summoned Pied Pikeman or Bombastic Bombardier, both of which have more attack points than Quixotic Queen, Jester mused as he stared at Armorer. He chose Quixotic Queen specifically because he wanted his Life Points to hit 1000 so he could use his Skill. How predictable. Jester chuckled. Well, if he wants to use his Skill, why don't I give him a helping hand?

"I activate my Skill! Anti-Life!" Jester declared, the edges of his armor and the ridges of his mask glowing gold in response. "Since my 'Life' monster destroyed your Link Monster by battle, I gain Life Points equal to that monster's Link Rating times 600 while you take damage equal to half that amount!" Morningstar's eyes widened in surprise. "Quixotic Queen was Link-3, so I gain 1800 Life Points while you take 900 points of damage!" Morningstar winced as both duelists glowed.

Jester: 1200→3000 LP

Morningstar: 1000→100 LP

"I end my turn," Jester said. Now then, Morningstar, he thought. Let's see what happens when things don't go the way you expect them to.

"My turn! Draw!" Morningstar drew and frowned at his card. Burial from a Different Dimension, he thought. Not what I was hoping for, but it will do. "Cypher, are you ready?"

"I was programmed ready!" Cypher boasted as he pointed to the sky. "Come, Data Storm!" A tornado of Data Material appeared, which Morningstar dove into. As he watched the former hunter leap into the Data Storm, Jester chuckled.

"As if I'd let you." He reached out with his right hand, blue lightning crackling over his fingers as he clenched his fist.

Morningstar reached out with his right hand and felt the Data Storm pass through his fingers. His eyes closed, he saw the gate, and with Cypher's aid, saw a monster that would help him. So he reached with his mind and felt… his hand painfully yanked forward.

Morningstar's eyes opened as he pulled his hand back, shouting in pain.

"What the-?" Cypher said, then cried out as the wind and lightning within the Data Storm increased in intensity. Morningstar felt himself getting battered from every side, unable to focus long enough to activate his Skill. "We need to get out of here!"

His teeth clenched, Morningstar saw a tiny gap in the storm, and raced through it, breaking through the Data Material and escaping the storm. When his D-Board stabilized, he and Cypher breathed heavily in relief.

"W-What was that?" Cypher gasped.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Morningstar said, equally out of breath. "That felt like the Data Storm went out of control."

"…It did," Cypher said, his eyes narrowed. "The density of the Data Material was increased to the point I lost control of it. If we'd stayed in there too long, we would have been shredded. But how did that-?"

Cypher's question was interrupted by a chuckling voice. Morningstar's eyes widened as he glanced behind him. Jester and Life Force Dragon had caught up to them, and his opponent seemed deeply amused by the situation.

"Oh? Did something go wrong? I thought you were trying to activate your Skill."

"…You," Morningstar said, deducing the truth. "You did something to the Data Storm!"

"Eh? Him?" Cypher said, his eyes wide. "But… but that shouldn't be possible! No one has that level of fine control over the Data Storm!"

"Well… almost no one," Jester corrected Cypher. "You cannot imagine the forces arrayed at my disposal, Ignis. As for you, Morningstar, why don't you show me what you are without that Skill of yours?"

Morningstar grit his teeth. "Technically, we can still use Hurricane Heavensgate," Cypher noted, annoyed as his partner. "But if he pulls that again, there's no telling if we'll survive the Data Storm."

"…Cypher, did you finish that program you were working on?"

"Eh? Which pro-?" Cypher's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! You mean that program! Yes, I finished it last night. Does that mean you want to try it out?"

"I don't have any better ideas."

"Ha ha! Alright then!" Cypher turned to face Jester and reached out his arm. "You say I lack imagination, Jester? Well what do you think about this? Execute program! Skill Switch!"

"What?" Jester said, truly surprised for the first time since Digital Dragoon appeared. "Skill Switch?"

"Once during a duel, Skill Switch lets us change our primary Skill with a secondary Skill," Cypher explained as a silver screen appeared in front of Morningstar. It had two icons – one was a blue and purple whirlwind; the other was a white eight-pointed star. Morningstar pressed the second icon, making it light up. "We change Hurricane Heavensgate to Cyspirit Reincarnation!" The lines on Morningstar's body and the wings on his back lit up with silver light at Cypher's words.

"I activate my Skill!" Morningstar declared. "Cyspirit Reincarnation! By banishing a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster from my Extra Deck whose Link Rating is equal to or lower than the banished monster's and treat that monster as having been Link Summoned! I banish Thrilled Tunneler to Link Summon Cyspirit Jubilant Jester!" Thrilled Tunneler reappeared on the field and was enveloped in silver light. When the light faded, Thrilled Tunneler had been replaced by a skeleton in a black-and-gold jester's costume twirling a staff from the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Jubilant Jester ATK 1800 LINK-2 ↙↘

"…Amazing," Jester muttered. "He changed his Skill in the middle of the Duel. I didn't see that one coming."

Skill Switch does have weaknesses, Morningstar thought. It can only be used once in a duel, and it can't be used if I've already activated a Skill. But that doesn't matter here.

Out loud, he said, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: Burial from a Different Dimension! This card lets me return up to three banished monsters to the Graveyard. I return Coder, Teleporter, and Thrilled Tunneler to my Graveyard." Morningstar then gestured to his field. "Armorer's monster effect! By targeting a Link Monster and sending Armorer to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Cyspirit Armor Tokens equal to that monster's Link Rating. I target Jubilant Jester and summon two Armor Tokens!" Two large-headed dwarf skeletons in blacksmith's clothes took Armorer's place, both in Attack Position.

Cyspirit Armor Token ATK 0 DEF 0 LVL: 2 x 2

"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness! Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two 'Cyspirit' Normal Monsters. I set both Armor Tokens in the Link Markers!" Said monsters became whirlwinds of energy and entered the top-right and right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-2! Cyspirit Zany Zealot!" A skeleton in priest robes wielding a hacksaw and pistol emerged from the portal, summoned to Jubilant Jester's bottom-left Link Marker.

Cyspirit Zany Zealot ATK 1300 LINK-2 ↗→

"Jubilant Jester's monster effect! When it points to one monster, all 'Cyspirit' monsters gain 400 attack and defense points! Digital Jubilance!"

Cyspirit Jubilant Jester ATK 1800→2200

Cyspirit Zany Zealot ATK 1300→1700

"Zany Zealot's monster effect!" Morningstar declared. "Once per turn, if it points to one monster and is co-linked with a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster, then I can Special Summon a 'Cyspirit' monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position with its effects negated!"

"Sorry, but that's not happening," Jester interrupted as he gestured to his own field. "Trap activate! Destruction Impulse!" The card showed a maniacally grinning man pressing down on a charge of dynamite, blowing up a building in the distance. "Since you activated the effect of a monster on the field, that effect changes. Now you must target a monster I control and destroy it."

"Eh?" Cypher blinked. "But he only has one monster. Unless… this is a trap."

"Obviously," Morningstar said, narrowing his eyes before pointing at Jester's sole monster. "I target and destroy Life Force Dragon!"

"At this point, Life Force Dragon's effect activates!" Jester declared. "If you target one of my cards for an effect, I can detach one Overlay Unit from Life Force Dragon to negate that effect and destroy your card. And then Life Force Dragon inflicts 1000 points of damage!"

"That was his plan!?" Cypher said, eyes wide. "We only have 100 Life Points!"

"That's the idea!" Jester taunted. "Go, Life Force Dragon! Destruction Protection!" Life Force Dragon ate one of the lights that circled behind it and then blasted Zany Zealot with yellow energy, but Morningstar only gestured to his own field.

"Counter Trap activate!" he declared. "Link Restart! This negates an effect that would inflict damage, so your Life Force Dragon's effect is canceled out!" The blast hit a barrier and rebounded. "Then, Link Restart lets me Special Summon a Link Monster from the Graveyard. Resurrect, Cacophonic Caller!" The skeleton in a business suit reappeared.

Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller ATK 500→900 LINK-1 ↓

"And since Life Force Dragon's effect was negated, Zany Zealot's effect goes through!" Cypher declared. "Say goodbye to your dragon!" Zany Zealot blasted Life Force Dragon with blue energy, causing an explosion, but when the smoke faded, Life Force Dragon was still on the field. "Eh? What gives?"

"The monster Summoned by Synchro Force cannot be destroyed or removed from the field by your card effects," Jester revealed before laughing. "Did you really think I didn't anticipate my tactic backfiring like that?"

Cypher growled, but Jester ignored him. Two Link-2s and one Link-1, he thought. Is he going to summon it?

"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness!" The Link portal appeared as Morningstar's hand glowed. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are three or more 'Cyspirit' Effect Monsters! I set Link-2 Jubilant Jester, Cacophonic Caller, and Zany Zealot in the Link Markers!" His monsters became whirlwinds of energy, with Jubilant Jester splitting into two. The whirlwinds entered the top-left, bottom-left, top-right, and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-4! Cyspirit Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl!"

The skeleton of a large serpentine dragon emerged from the portal but was then encased in light. When the light faded, the skeleton had white skin with light blue lines running up and down its body. It didn't have wings, but it did have four limbs topped with black claws and a mane of light blue fur around its neck. Hieroglyphs covered its lower body while its long tail was topped by a blue arrow. Red and blue gleamed as Morningstar's newest Link Monster roared from the Extra Monster Zone.

Cyspirit Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl ATK 2800 LINK-4 ↖↙↘↗

"No records on this one," Jester muttered. "It has the same attack points as Datastorm Dragon, but its harder to summon, so its effects must be stronger."

"I activate Coder's effect from the Graveyard!" Morningstar shouted, interrupting Jester's musings. "By banishing it, Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl is treated as pointing to monsters equal to its Link Rating. That means it can use all its effects!"

Morningstar pointed to his monster. "Battle! Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl, attack Life Force Dragon!"

"Life Force Dragon has more attack points," Jester reminded Morningstar as the Cyspirit dragon opened its mouth and started to gather blue energy. "Just like with Digital Dragoon earlier, I assume self-destruction isn't your goal?"

"Of course not," Morningstar answered. "Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl's monster effect! Since it is treated as pointing to at least two monsters, if it battles a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, your monster's attack points are halved until the end of the Damage Step!"

Jester gasped as Life Force Dragon was weakened.

Life Force Dragon ATK 3400→1700

"Go, Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl! Imperial Fire!" Xiuhcoatl blasted Life Force Dragon with blue energy as it fired back with yellow energy. The two attacks converged, but the blue beam started to overcome the yellow one.

"It's over," Morningstar said.

"Indeed it is," Jester responded before gesturing to his field. "I activate the effect of Destruction Impulse in my Graveyard! By banishing it, you take the damage from this battle instead!"

"What?" Cypher said, his eyes wide as Jester's Trap Card reappeared and blasted Morningstar with energy.

"You lose, Morningstar!"

"No, I don't!" Morningstar gestured to his monster. "Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl's additional effect! Since it is treated as pointing to at least one monster and you activated an effect from the Graveyard, that effect is negated!" Jester gasped as his card shattered and the energy dissipated. "Furthermore, you cannot activate cards with the same original name as that card! And with Destruction Impulse negated, you take the damage from Xiuhcoatl's attack!" The blue beam finally overtook the other attack and hit Life Force Dragon, destroying it and making Jester grunt in pain.

Jester: 3000→1900

"Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl's third effect!" Morningstar declared, making Jester look up. "Since it attacked your monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck and is treated as pointing to at least three monsters, you take damage equal to your monster's original attack points!"

"What!?"

"This is the end! Solar Flare Strike!" Xiuhcoatl gathered red fire in its mouth and blasted Jester with it, knocking him off his D-Board and making him land on a nearby island.

Jester: 1900→0 LP

"Whew! We won!" Cypher breathed a sigh of relief. "That was… not fun."

"No, it wasn't," Morningstar said as he directed his D-Board to land near Jester.

---

Galahad breathed a sigh of relief as he ordered his drone back. "That was intense. But at least Morningstar won in the end."

"Yes. But this 'Jester' still worries me," Persephone admitted with a frown. "It's not just how close he came to winning, but his cards and abilities…"

"I know," Galahad frowned. "Link and Synchro Summoning, then Ranking Up a Synchro Monster into an Xyz Monster, not to mention keeping Morningstar from using his Skill; I didn't even know the latter two were possible." Galahad looked up at the sky. If I'm going to repay my debt to Morningstar, then I'll need to get stronger.

---

Morningstar landed a few feet away from Jester. The duelist had landed on his back but had gotten up to a kneeling position.

"Time to answer some questions," Morningstar said, his eyes narrowed.

"How is it you can control the Data Storm?" Cypher asked. "Are you with the Hanoi? Did you have contact with another Ignis? Just who are you?"

Jester's shoulders shook as he started laughing. "You're going to regret defeating me," he said, looking up at Morningstar. "When you face him, you'll wish I had taken your Ignis."

"Him? Him who?"

"The strongest duelist you'll ever meet. And even if you don't face him, it's too late. The plan is already in motion; you can't stop it now."

"What plan?" Morningstar asked. "What are you talking about?"

Jester chuckled as he turned blue and started to log out. "You have no idea what's coming, Morningstar." The former hunter watched as the man turned into data and disappeared.

"He's gone," Cypher noted. "But what was he talking about? What's coming?"

"I don't know. But we have other problems." Morningstar turned around and ran back to his D-Board. "We need to catch up to Playmaker."

---

"Give up, Playmaker," the boy with yellow and orange hair advised the hacker. "Jin Kusanagi's data is ours."

"Stop joking!" Playmaker said angrily as he pursued the boy carrying Bohman. "Why are you doing this?"

"Something unbelievable will happen soon," the boy answered, his red and orange eyes amused. "Stay tuned." The boy's D-Board approached the restricted area.

"Warning: This area is restricted. You can't go any further," an automated voice warned.

"You can no longer escape!" Playmaker said as the boy's D-Board stopped. The boy gestured to the red field, causing it to open and allow him and Bohman to pass through. "What?" Playmaker gasped as the gate closed, cutting off his pursuit. He reached down into the gate, but his hand started to glitch out, forcing him to retract it.

"Playmaker!" The hacker turned as the duelist in red and gray appeared behind him. "How did they get through the restricted area?" the duelist asked. Before Playmaker could answer, an alert was activated.

"Restricted area has been accessed illegally," the automated voice said. "Activating emergency defense program."

"This is bad," the duelist said as the voice repeated itself. "I'm logging out. You should leave too."

"Wait!" Playmaker said before the duelist could press a button on his Duel Disk. "What's your name?"

The duelist grinned and pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm Soulburner. Until we meet again." The young man pressed a button on his Duel Disk and logged out.

Soulburner, Morningstar mused as he ordered the drones to return to him. He was kneeling on a ledge some distance above Playmaker. Who is he? After his drone returned to his Duel Disk and he saw Playmaker log out, he did the same.

---

That was so cool! Nebula thought to herself as the screen she had watched the duel between Soulburner and BitBoot went blank. I had no idea a Link Summon like he did was even possible! And thank goodness those cheaters didn't win. She turned around to head back to Central Station, but then stopped and stared. There were two figures standing on a rooftop at the edge of the city, and one of them resembled a skeleton enough to make Nebula think he wasn't human. Who are they?

---

"HK, did you record both duels?"

"Confirmation: Yes, master. I have compiled my records of Morningstar's and Soulburner's duels. Would you like to go over them now?"

"Head back to base first. We've lingered too long."

"Understood, master." HK-70 disappeared, teleporting to a new location.

Reincarnation Link Summoning. And Skill Switch, the cloaked man mused. Those tricks were definitely interesting… but they won't be enough to stop what must be. Or give me what I've looked for the past eight years.

The man raised a black-gloved hand and clenched his fist. Playmaker has learned Ritual Summoning, while Morningstar has learned Ritual and Fusion. And with his Skill, it won't be long before he learns Synchro and Xyz, he thought. But such evolution is expected and has already been accounted for. Playmaker, Morningstar, Soulburner… if you wish to survive what's coming, you'll need to evolve beyond your limits. If you don't… Under the hood, his eyes gleamed red at the thought. You'll fall before me and my fellow Enforcers, and everything you know and care about will be lost.

---

Morningstar vs. Jester

This Duel is conducted as a Speed Duel.

Turn 1: Jester

As he controls no monsters, Jester Normal Summons Life Wyvern (2000/600/6) without Tributing. As he controls a "Life" monster, Jester Special Summons Life Drago (600/2000/3) in Attack Position. Since a "Life" monster was Summoned, Life Wyvern's effect increases Jester's LP by 800 (Jester: 4000→4800 LP). As he gained LP by the effect of a different "Life" monster, Life Drago's effect activates, increasing Jester's LP by 800 (Jester: 4800→5600 LP). Jester uses Life Drago and Life Wyvern to Link Summon Life Force Amphitere (1000/2/↓↘) to the left Extra Monster Zone. While Jester's LP are higher than Morningstar's, Amphitere gains ATK equal to the difference (Amphitere: 1000→2600). Jester activates Amphitere's effect, letting him inflict damage to Morningstar equal to half the difference between their LP, or 800 (Morningstar: 4000→3200 LP) (Amphitere: 2600→3400). Jester Sets 1 card. He ends his turn.

Turn 2: Morningstar

Morningstar draws. As he controls no monsters, he Special Summons Cyspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3) in Attack Position. As Swordsman was Special Summoned by its effect, Morningstar can add 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Cyspirit Kid to his hand. Morningstar Normal Summons Cyspirit Kid (300/200/1). Morningstar uses Kid to Link Summon Cyspirit Cacophonic Caller (500/1/↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Since Kid was used to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, Morningstar can target and destroy 1 face-up card on Jester's field. He attempts to target and destroy Amphitere, but Jester activates his Set Continuous Trap Card Life Protection, which prevents "Life" monsters he controls from being destroyed by Morningstar's card effects. Morningstar activates Cacophonic Caller's effect, letting him Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck in Attack Position, but it cannot attack and is destroyed during the End Phase. Morningstar Special Summons Cyspirit Dancer (1000/200/2) to Cacophonic Caller's Link Marker. Morningstar uses Cacophonic Caller to Link Summon Cyspirit Kooky Kommandant (1000/1/↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Morningstar uses Dancer and Swordsman to Link Summon Cyspirit Thrilled Tunneler (1600/2/←→) to Kooky Kommandant's Link Marker. Since Dancer was used to Link Summon Thrilled Tunneler, it gains 600 ATK (Thriled Tunneler: 1600→2200). As it is linked to a Cyberse Link Monster, Morningstar activates Kooky Kommandant's effect, Tributing it to Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3) from his GY in Attack Position with its effects negated to Thrilled Tunneler's right Link Marker, then add Cyspirit Digital Dragoon and Cyspirit Ritual from his Deck to his hand. Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyspirit Emblem, which lets him send 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck to the GY and then Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" monster with the same Level from his Deck in Attack Position. Morningstar sends Cyspirit Pilot to the GY and Special Summons Cyspirit Teleporter (500/1500/3) in Attack Position to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker. Morningstar activates the Ritual Spell Card Cyspirit Ritual, Tributing his Level 3 Swordsman and Level 3 Teleporter on his field and Level 2 Saver in his hand to Ritual Summon Cyspirit Digital Dragoon (2500/2000/8) in Attack Position to Thrilled Tunneler's left Link Marker. Morningstar Sets 1 card.

Digital Dragoon attacks Amphitere. As it is battling an opponent's Link Monster, Morningstar activates the effect of Digital Dragoon, reducing that monster's ATK to 0 until the end of the turn (Amphitere: 3400→0), and as it is battling a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, that monster's effects are negated until the End Phase. Amphitere is destroyed (Jester: 5600→3100 LP). Thrilled Tunneler attacks Jester directly (Jester: 3100→900 LP). Morningstar ends his turn. During the End Phase, as Amphitere was sent to the GY by Morningstar's card, Jester can Special Summon a different "Life" monster from his GY with its effects negated. Jester Special Summons Life Wyvern (2000/600/6) in Attack Position.

Turn 3: Jester

Jester draws. He Normal Summons Life Wurm (100/100/1). Jester tunes Level 1 Life Wurm to Level 6 Life Wyvern to Synchro Summon Power Tool Dragon (2300/2500/7) to the left Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position. Jester activates Power Tool Dragon's effect, letting him reveal 3 Equip Spell Cards from his Deck, then have Morningstar randomly add 1 of them to Jester's hand. Jester reveals 3 copies of Life Reincarnation. Morningstar picks the 2nd one, adding it to Jester's hand. Jester activates the Equip Spell Card Life Reincarnation, letting him Special Summon 1 "Life" monster from his GY with its effects negated and equip Life Reincarnation to it. He Special Summons Life Wurm (100/100/1) in Attack Position. Jester tunes the Level 1 Life Wurm to Level 7 Power Tool Dragon to Synchro Summon Life Stream Dragon (2900/2400/8) to the left Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position. As Life Stream Dragon was Synchro Summoned, Jester can make his LP become 4000 (Jester: 900→4000 LP). As it was used to Synchro Summon a Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster, Life Wurm's effect activates, increasing Jester's LP by 800 (Jester: 4000→4800 LP). As the monster equipped with Life Reincarnation was used to Synchro Summon a Dragon monster, Life Stream Dragon can make 2 attacks against Morningstar's monsters this turn.

Life Stream Dragon attacks and destroys Thrilled Tunneler (Morningstar: 3200→2500 LP). Life Stream Dragon attacks and destroys Digital Dragoon (Morningstar: 2500→2100 LP). As a "Cyspirit" Ritual Monster he controls was destroyed by battle, Morningstar activates the effect of Cyspirit Ritual in his GY, banishing it and Digital Dragoon to Special Summon 1 Link-3 or lower "Cyspirit" Link Monster from his Extra Deck and treat it as having been Link Summoned. He Special Summons Cyspirit Winning Wrestler (2500/3/↙↓↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Jester ends his turn.

Turn 4: Morningstar

Morningstar draws. He Normal Summons Cyspirit Sorceress (1400/400/4). As Sorceress was Normal Summoned, Morningstar can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Cyspirit" monster from his GY in Attack Position. He Special Summons Cyspirit Dancer (1000/200/2). Morningstar uses Dancer and Sorceress to Link Summon Cyspirit Idealistic Idol (1500/2/←↑) to Winning Wrestler's bottom Link Marker. As Dancer was used to Link Summon Idealistic Idol, it gains 600 ATK (Idealistic Idol: 1500→2100). Morningstar activates the Spell Card Link Treasure, drawing 1 card for each Link Monster on the field. He draws 2 cards. Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyspirit Gift, sending the Cyspirit Coder in his hand to the GY to draw 2 cards. Morningstar activates the effect of the Cyspirit Teleporter in his GY, banishing it to Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3) to Winning Wrestler's bottom-right Link Marker in Defense Position. Morningstar then activates the effect of Cyspirit Coder in his GY, banishing it and targeting Idealistic Idol. Until the end of the turn, Idealistic Idol is treated as pointing to a number of monsters equal to its Link Rating. As it is treated as pointing to 2 monsters, Morningstar activates Idealistic Idol's effect, targeting Winning Wrestler. Winning Wrestler is the only monster that can make an attack this turn, and it can make up to 3 attacks on Jester's monsters. Morningstar activates the Equip Spell Card Cyspirit Twin Shield, equipping it to Life Stream Dragon and preventing it from being destroyed by battle twice per turn. Morningstar Sets 1 card.

Winning Wrestler attacks Life Stream Dragon. As Winning Wrestler points to 2 monsters and attacked Jester's Special Summoned monster, Winning Wrestler lowers that monster's ATK by half the ATK of 1 "Cyspirit" monster Winning Wrestler points to. Winning Wrestler lowers Life Stream Dragon's ATK by half of Idealistic Idol's ATK (Life Stream Dragon: 2900→1850). The attack continues, and Life Stream Dragon is not destroyed due to Twin Shield's effect (Jester: 4800→4150 LP). Winning Wrestler attacks Life Stream Dragon again, with its effect activated (Life Stream Dragon: 1850→800). The attack continues, and Life Stream Dragon is not destroyed due to Twin Shield's effect (Jester: 4150→2450 LP). Winning Wrestler attacks Life Stream Dragon again, with its effect activated (Life Stream Dragon: 800→0). As his opponent's monster declared an attack while he controls a "Life" monster, Jester activates the effect of Life Protection, sending it to the GY to halve the damage from this battle. Jester then activates the effect of Life Stream Dragon, preventing its destruction by banishing 1 Equip Spell Card from his GY. He banishes Life Reincarnation. The attack continues, but the damage is halved, and Life Stream Dragon is not destroyed (Jester: 2450→1200 LP). During the End Phase of the turn Life Protection was sent to the GY by its effect, its effect activates, letting Jester send 1 monster Morningstar controls to the Graveyard. He sends Winning Wrestler to the GY. Morningstar ends his turn.

Turn 5: Jester

Jester draws. He activates the Spell Card Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force, targeting Life Stream Dragon. He uses Life Stream Dragon as Xyz Material to Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster whose Rank is equal to Life Stream Dragon's Level+1. He performs a Synchro Xyz Change to Xyz Summon Life Force Dragon (3400/2900/9) to the right Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position. Synchro Force is then attached to Life Force Dragon as an Overlay Unit and all monsters on the field, except the Summoned monster, lose 1000 ATK (Idealistic Idol: 2100→1100) (Swordsman: 1200→200). As the equipped monster left the field, Twin Shield is sent to the GY. Jester Sets 1 card.

Life Force Dragon attacks Idealistic Idol, but Morningstar activates his Set Trap Card Assemble Link, which lets him Link Summon using monsters he controls on the field. Morningstar uses Swordsman and Link-2 Idealistic Idol to Link Summon Cyspirit Quixotic Queen (2300/3/↙↑↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. Life Force Dragon attacks and destroys Quixotic Queen (Morningstar: 2100→1000 LP). Since the monster Special Summoned by Assemble Link was sent to the GY, Morningstar can Special Summon 1 Cyberse monster from his Deck, but that monster cannot attack or change its battle position. He Special Summons Cyspirit Armorer (1200/2000/6) in Attack Position. Since his "Life" monster destroyed an opponent's Link Monster by battle, Jester activates his Skill, Anti-Life, to gain LP equal to the destroyed monster's Link Rating times 600 (Jester: 1200→3000 LP) and deal damage to Morningstar equal to half of that amount (Morningstar: 1000→100 LP). Jester ends his turn.

Turn 6: Morningstar

Morningstar draws. He attempts to use his Skill Hurricane Heavensgate but fails to do so. He then performs a Skill Switch and activates his Skill Cyspirit Reincarnation, letting him banish 1 "Cyspirit" Link Monster from his GY, then Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" Link Monster from his Extra Deck with an equal or lower Link Rating and treat it as having been Link Summoned. He banishes Thrilled Tunneler to Special Summon Jubilant Jester (1800/2/↙↘) to the Extra Monster Zone. He then activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Burial from a Different Dimension, which lets him return up to 3 banished monsters to the GY. He returns Coder, Teleporter, and Thrilled Tunneler to his GY. Morningstar activates the effect of Armorer, targeting Jubilant Jester. Armorer is sent to the GY, and Morningstar can Special Summon Cyspirit Armor Tokens, equal to Jubilant Jester's Link Rating. Morningstar Special Summons 2 Cyspirit Armor Tokens (0/0/2 each) in Attack Position. Morningstar uses 2 Armor Tokens to Link Summon Cyspirit Zany Zealot (1300/2/↗→) to Jubilant Jester's bottom-left Link Marker. Since Jubilant Jester points to 1 monster, all "Cyspirit" monsters Morningstar controls gain 400 ATK/DEF (Jubilant Jester: 1800→2200) (Zany Zealot: 1300→1700). Since it is co-linked with a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, Morningstar activates Zany Zealot's effect to Special Summon 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his GY in Attack Position with its effects negated. Since Morningstar activated the effect of a monster on the field, Jester activates his Set Trap Card Destruction Impulse, which changes Zany Zealot's effect to "target 1 monster your opponent controls and destroy it." Morningstar targets Life Force Dragon with Zany Zealot's effect, but Jester activates Life Force Dragon's effect, detaching 1 Overlay Unit (Life Force Dragon: 2 OU→1 OU) to negate Zany Zealot's effect, destroy it and inflict 1000 damage to Morningstar. Since he would take damage from a card effect, Morningstar activates his Set Counter Trap Card Link Restart, negating the activation of that effect, and then Special Summoning 1 Link Monster from his GY. He Special Summons Cacophonic Caller (500→900/1/↓). Zany Zealot's effect resolves, but the monster summoned by Synchro Force can't be destroyed by card effects. Morningstar uses the Link-2 Jubilant Jester, Cacophonic Caller, and Zany Zealot to Link Summon Cyspirit Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl (2800/4/↖↙↘↗) to the Extra Monster Zone. Morningstar activates the effect of Coder in his GY, banishing it and targeting Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl. Until the end of the turn, Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl is treated as pointing to a number of monsters equal to its Link Rating.

Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl attacks Life Force Dragon. Since it is treated as pointing to at least 2 monsters and is battling a monster in the Extra Monster Zone, Morningstar activates Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl's effect, halving Life Force Dragon's ATK until the end of the Damage Step (Life Force Dragon: 3400→1700). Since Morningstar's monster declared an attack, Jester activates the effect of Destruction Impulse in his GY, banishing it to inflict the damage from this battle to his opponent. Since it is treated as pointing at least 1 monster and Jester activated an effect from the GY, Morningstar activates Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl's effect, negating the effect of Destruction Impulse and preventing Jester from activating cards with the same original name as Destruction Impulse. The attack continues and Life Force Dragon is destroyed (Jester: 3000→1900 LP). Since Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl attacked an opponent's monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck and is treated as pointing to at least 3 monsters, its effect activates, inflicting damage to Jester equal to Life Force Dragon's original ATK (Jester: 1900→0 LP). Morningstar wins.

---

Life Wyvern
Attribute: EARTH Type: [Dragon/Effect] ATK 2000 DEF 600 Level: 6
If you control no monsters, or all monsters yo control are "Life" monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing. If a "Life" monster is Normal or Special Summoned to your field, except "Life Wyvern": You can gain 800 LP. You can only use this effect of "Life Wyvern" once per turn.

Life Drago
Attribute: EARTH Type: [Dragon/Effect] ATK 600 DEF 2000 Level: 3
If you control a "Life" monster, except "Life Drago", you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). If you gain LP by the effect of a "Life" monster, except "Life Drago": You can gain 800 LP. You can only activate each effect of "Life Drago" once per turn.

Life Force Amphitere
Attribute: EARTH Type: [Dragon/Link/Effect] ATK 1000 LINK-2 ↓↘
2 "Life" monsters
While your LP are higher than your opponent's, this card gains ATK equal to the difference. Once per turn, if your LP are higher than your opponent's: You can inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the difference. During the End Phase of the turn this card was sent from your field to the GY by your opponent's card: You can Special Summon 1 "Life" monster from your GY with its effects negated, except "Life Force Amphitere".

Life Wurm
Attribute: EARTH Type: [Dragon/Tuner/Effect] ATK 100 DEF 100 Level: 1
If this card is used as Synchro Material for the Synchro Summon of a Level 7 or higher Synchro Monster: You can gain 800 LP. You can only activate this effect of "Life Wurm" once per turn.

Life Force Dragon
Attribute: EARTH Type: [Dragon/Xyz/Effect] ATK 3400 DEF 2900 Rank: 9
2 Level 9 Dragon monsters
Once per turn, if this card has no Xyz Materials attached: You can target 1 Synchro Monster in your GY; attach it to this card as Xyz Material. While this card has Xyz Material, any effect that would inflict damage to you makes you gain that much LP, instead. If this card has "Life Stream Dragon" as an Xyz Material, it gains this effect.
- If your opponent activates a card effect that targets one of your cards, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card (Quick Effect); negate the activation of that card, destroy it, and if you do, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. You can only activate this effect of "Life Force Dragon" once per turn.

Cyspirit Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl
Attribute: LIGHT Type: [Cyberse/Link/Effect] ATK 2800 LINK-4 ↖↙↘↗
3+ "Cyspirit" Effect Monsters
This Link Summoned card gains these effects depending on the number of monsters it points to.
-1 or more: If your opponent would activate a card or effect from the GY (Quick Effect); you can negate the activation of that card or effect, and if you do, your opponent cannot activate a card or effect with the same original name as that card until the end of the turn.
-2 or more: If this card battles a monster in the Extra Monster Zone (Quick Effect): You can halve that monster's ATK until the end of the Damage Step.
-3 or more: After damage calculation, if this card attacked an opponent's monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original ATK.
-4: During the Main Phase: You can destroy every monster in the Main Monster Zones. The turn you activate this effect, only this card can declare an attack.
You can only activate each effect of "Cyspirit Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl" once per turn.

Life Protection Continuous Trap Card
"Life" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. Once per turn: This card cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effect. If an opponent's monster declares an attack while you control a "Life" monster: You can send this card to the GY; halve the battle damage you take from this battle. During the End Phase of the turn this card was sent to the GY by its effect: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; send it to the GY. You can only control 1 "Life Protection" at a time.

Life Reincarnation Equip Spell Card
Activate this card by targeting 1 "Life" monster in your GY; Special Summon it with its effects negated, and if you do, equip this card to it. When this card leaves the field, destroy that monster. You cannot target a "Life" Link Monster for this card's effect. If the monster equipped with this card is used as Synchro Material for the Synchro Summon of a Dragon monster: That monster can make two attacks against your opponent's monsters this turn.

Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force Normal Spell Card
Target 1 Synchro Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Xyz Monster with the same Type as that monster you control whose Rank equals the targeted monster's Level +1, by using it as the Xyz Material, and if you do, attach this card to the Summoned monster as additional Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon.) Then, lower the ATK of all monsters on the field, except the monster Summoned by this card's effect, by 1000. The monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed or removed from the field by your opponent's card effects.

Assemble Link Normal Trap Card
Immediately after this effect resolves, Link Summon 1 Link Monster using monster(s) you control as material. If the monster Link Summoned by this card's effect is sent to the GY: You can target 1 Cyberse monster in your Deck; Special Summon that monster, but it cannot attack or change its battle position. You can only activate 1 "Assemble Link" per turn.

Destruction Impulse Normal Trap Card
When an opponent's monster on the field activates its effect: The activated effect becomes "Target 1 monster your opponent control; destroy it". If your opponent's monster declares an attack, you can banish this card from your GY; your opponent takes all battle damage you would take from that battle.

---

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories. Chapter 34 – New Transfer Students. Sachi's first day of school has come! While she goes about her day, Yasutake and Yusaku meet Takeru Homura, another new transfer, who introduces his Ignis Flame and tells them about the destruction of Cyberse World…

---

Question of the Chapter

What was the most shocking moment for you in this chapter? Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force, Jester's control of the Data Storm, Skill Switch, or something else?

---

Author's Notes & Responses to Reviews

Thank you to Lyrissa Artemick, HunterHQ, SakushiRyu, bladeWriter3, and ThePLOThand for reviewing Chapter 31. And thank you to jdkeller2000, HunterHQ, ZarcEternal, guardian of the aura Aurasoul, Unknowedz, Frost190, SoulMatter, Average JoJoe, Phantom Flame-98, ClearwingYuta, SakushiRyu, Guest, Ethan Kironus, Fenghuang0296, Lindia Fullmoon, and ThePLOThand for reviewing Chapter 32.

Thank you to SakushiRyu for helping me with Xenodochial Xiuhcoatl. For those curious, "xenodochial" basically means "friendly," while Xiuhcoatl is a god from the Aztec pantheon and was honestly the coolest sounding word that started with "X" I could find.

HunterHQ: Yes, HK-70 is an AI, just like HK-47 was a droid. But he is the only AI on the side of Jester's group, who shall remain nameless for spoiler reasons.

ThePLOThand: I was tired of waiting and wanted to get back to this story, so I decided to change the release to the first Xyz Summon. Plus, I didn't want to get left behind.

SoulMatter: I have never played Kingdom Hearts. I am basing Jester's group off a video game evil organization, but not Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts.

Ethan Kironus: "Open the gate of evolution, Morningstar!"

Okay, this was the reveal of Jester's Deck and his power. I feel I should apologize to sanedimentio: I asked them to go over the first two turns of the Duel, but at that point, the Life monsters were Warriors and named after military ranks, and I didn't tell them about the rename to avoid spoilers. That aside, he also uses Power Tool Dragon and Life Stream Dragon, which have their OCG/TCG effects since those work better in the setting. And then there's Rank-Up-Magic Synchro Force…

Before I wrote my first fanfic, Academy of Chaos, I had an idea about a ZEXAL fanfic. It would take place after Episode 146, and introduce a fourth world – the Synchro World, governed by the Seven Synchro Lords. They would be the creators of the Rank-Up-Magic and have their own special powers and Numbers to combat Yuma and his friends. Obviously, that never came to fruition, but the idea of Ranking Up a Synchro Monster stuck with me, so I decided to introduce it here, and what better monster to Rank Up than one of the Signer Dragons from 5D's?

His Deck aside, Jester also has control over the Data Storm. I got the idea of manipulating the density of the Data Storm to prevent people from using Storm Access or Skills like it from Episode 42, where the Storm was too dense for Playmaker and Revolver to access it without help. I thought, "What if someone could do that intentionally?" Might be a little cheap, but I feel it adds a new challenge for Playmaker and Morningstar. This ability also let me introduce the Skill Switch.

I shared this idea with SakushiRyu, who also helped me finalize it, so a big thank you for that. His idea was to make Speed Duels more unpredictable, whereas I saw it as a Plan B in case Storm Access or Hurricane Heavensgate ever fails. Either way, it's definitely something I'm glad to show off.

Thank you for reading Chapter 33 of Hidden Memories. What did you think of Jester, Synchro Force, and Skill Switch? Did I surprise you with what happened? I'll be trying to alternate between this story and Fifth Circuit, but honestly, this one is just more fun to write.