In the spirit of corporate generosity, Heart Excavation provided its miners with everything they needed, from the monogrammed coveralls to dust masks, but you'd be on thin ice if you ever asked for a replacement. The dust masks were always the first to go, trapping so much granite dust that it became impossible to wash out. After the first two months, it was like breathing through sheet rock. Goggles were usually next, but they could break earlier if you were clumsy with them. Good news was, you could usually make do without either of those in terms of personal convenience. The helmet, though, was crucial. Firstly, it had the light. Secondly, it had your head.
This priority equipment and its constant failure rate was how Clavis Barnes found himself sitting on a bench in the yard of the excavation site, long after the bell signaled the end of the workday. He twisted a borrowed screwdriver in his hands, trying to pry up the bulb in his headlamp without shattering it.
B Block had gone home for the evening, though many other miners lingered in the yard. Management was mostly confined to the HQ building after hours, and saw little reason to come down into the yard to kick them out. For the miners who were avoiding their home life, the Heart Excavation yard was an oasis.
Clavis dug around the plastic retaining ring and carefully wedged the screwdriver tip underneath it. The reglued parts came away easily, and he grasped the bulb with his other hand to rock it loose bit by bit.
He had nothing to avoid at home, of course. He had nothing there at all. Sometimes, he'd get roped into dice games underneath a streetlamp, playing late into the night until they could only see the dice by the light of cigarettes bought in Badtown. He would feel neither good nor bad about it the next day. Either way, he was going back to work. No, Clavis was entirely neutral on being at work or on the street; he was the same man in both places. Really, he told himself, he was waiting for Yuu and Zato to shake things up.
I hope that kid isn't dueling his way into trouble, he thought. Maybe the advice to follow his heart should have come with a stipulation that they were in the Atrium and things could get ugly, regardless of people's better nature.
Yuu knew that, though. It gave him a healthy dose of fear, and Clavis had been the one to selfishly push him out of it. I was the one who taught him the game, gave him the deck. I can't pretend I don't want to see him become a certain person that I am not. Clavis had tried hard throughout his life to detach fortune from destiny. He had mined for Heart Excavation for twenty hard years. He was fortunate to still have his health, but that fortune paved the way, every day, for another trip to the darkness of the mines. He was good at his job, one of the best, and proved it by doing it to the death.
The power of a high-grade, though, was a gift with limitless possibilities. He knew that Yuu would find them eventually. More pliable and infinite than a high-grade card, there was luck. Yuu had that in spades; less so in dice. Clavis chuckled.
He dug into the socket behind the bulb, teasing the wires loose and pulling them out like weeds. He carefully restrung the circuit, winding the ends tight and trying to flatten the knots of nickel-copper to make the bulb fit back in. As he glued the retaining ring back on, he heard the glass sliding door open from HQ.
A man in a dark suit stepped out. That immediately drew Clavis's attention. If you wanted a suit to stand out, it needed to contrast the surrounding area. The dark, amorphous shape of the jacket made it so that this man blended into the darkness around him. He could do no posturing in such a color without an abundance of light; this clued Clavis in on the fact that this man had come from the surface.
A woman walked slightly behind him, listening as he spoke to her. She was dressed more casually, though her clothes were still of finer make than most Atrium residents. Her defining feature, however, was her arm, which sported a wheat-yellow Duel Disk.
Clavis tried not to react visibly, pretending to still fiddle with his helmet and straining his old ears to listen in.
"...find out who's been buying," the man said, finishing his instruction. The woman nodded and set off for the B Block tunnel. The other miners stared after her, but knew better than to question her or even make their existence known. The dark-suited man stayed in the yard, glancing around, trying to pin down the eyes of any worker he could find. As the man turned his way, Clavis realized that his focus had slipped, and that he was staring right into his eyes, and the dark-suited man was walking towards him, a smile building itself tooth by tooth on his face.
"Good evening, sir! I'm hoping you could spare a little bit of time." His white teeth isolated in the dark. "My name is Davis Fey, though I go by 'Inspector Fey' on the duel circuits. I'm something of a promoter."
"Clavis Barnes," Clavis replied, reaching up to shake his hand. He gestured to the bench beside him, but Fey shook his head politely. Clavis took in the make of this man, his leather shoes to the faint scent of cologne.
"What can I do for you, Inspector?" he asked.
"Fey is fine," Inspector Fey replied. "I'm here on a tour with my top talent because I heard about some budding duelists in the underground scene! It makes sense, after all; this is the room where it all happens, where the duradine gets dug. You know, San Domino would be nothing without you."
"We know," Clavis said flatly.
"Do you enjoy Duel Monsters yourself, Mr. Baines?" Inspector Fey asked, raising a guileful eyebrow.
Clavis shrugged. "I'm more of a cee-lo man, sorry. I don't suppose they have a professional circuit for that?"
Fey laughed, three periodic chortles. "I'm afraid not! Oh, but I'd give both eyes to see that." He moved closer to Clavis, but made no move to sit down, instead hovering over him. "Well, I'll be around the area. If you want to refer any hotshot duelists to my services, just give me a call! I'd be ever so grateful."
He held out a laminated business card. Clavis took it, nodded, and kept a dazed look in his eyes like holding on to a raindrop. Inspector Fey, satisfied with his apparent cluelessness, turned and walked away to ply the attention of the other table.
Clavis turned the card over in his hands. It looked fake, but that was often the case for everything that didn't have huge company backings. It could be that the Inspector really was an independent promoter, though Clavis doubted his usefulness if he was. Still, for someone like Yuu, all it took was a little bit of spark, and luck would unfold the rest to him. Clavis had told Yuu not to worry about making it out of the Atrium; secretly, he was planning to worry about it for him.
He put the business card in his pocket and imagined it glowing like duradine.
"Yuu Tokari, do you now see your enemy?" Yuu stared up at Pilgrim Reaper, the half-decayed wretch of bones and cloth on Gozu's field. It radiated not malice, but inevitability. As though it had an eternity to watch him waste away. Yuu decided to destroy it as soon as he could, which wouldn't be for a few turns, thanks to the Nightmare's Steelcage that he himself had played. Gozu hadn't been fazed, popping off and summoning five monsters in a single turn, all to create the lone Xyz monster that dominated the field.
In front of the entire Monji clan, she was completely composed. Just now, though, she had said something that had taken Yuu aback. Do you now see your enemy? He'd thought that Gozu was grandstanding, inflating her words to create an overwhelming, hollow volume. But there was an urgency in them, too. Not an invitation, but a plea.
He supposed, in purely game terms, Gozu would count as his enemy. Outside of that, though? Well, she was the leader of a crime family. They'd taken Oga's Jormungand Turtle with no intention of giving it back, and hospitalized him. They might do the same to Zato, but he was less concerned about that. What was she trying to accomplish by calling him their champion?
"Hey," Yuu said as Gozu ended her turn. "Are you a bad guy, Daimonji?"
Gozu brushed her hair back with her hand, and Yuu got the sense that he'd teed her up. "We are the Monji clan. Good or evil, our ability is our purpose. Our destiny."
Several of the Monji clan members nodded in agreement. Yuu tried to speak again, but Gozu cut him off. "You should take your turn," she said. "The Monji do not abide stalling."
Yuu drew. He grimaced. "I'm going to switch Man Eating Treasure Chest to Defense Mode." The treasure chest retracted its tongue like a rolled carpet, and slammed shut. "That's it for my turn."
Gozu drew. "I'm activating the effect of Pilgrim Reaper. By detaching its second Xyz material, I restart the Soul Harvest!"
The skeletal mouth of the reaper opened once again in an exultant, silent scream, as the last of its feathers flew away, dragging the top five cards of Yuu's deck to the graveyard. Gozu checked her cards and grinned. "It looks like one of the monsters sent to the graveyard was another Mezuki. I'll use its effect as well. Arise once more, Ryu Kokki!"
Ryu Kokki / Level 6 / DARK / Zombie / ATK 2400 / DEF 2000
Hundreds of skulls leered down at Yuya as they reconstructed the abominable Ryu Kokki. "That will end my turn," Gozu said. "And of course, your Nightmare's Steelcage is lifted." The black iron bars around Gozu's field rumbled and resheathed themselves in the floor. Ryu Kokki and Pilgrim Reaper loomed over Yuu, a legion of bones and their decayed messiah.
Gozu chuckled as Yuu drew. "Now do you see, Tokari? One must have a purpose to exist. So tell me who you are, or fall before the Monji clan!"
Yuu kept his head down. He could hear the assembled Monji, cheering on his opponent, united as his foe. He could hear Zato behind him, screeching some pointless advice. His back prickled, and it felt like his hands were encased in lead. Clavis had told him that he needed no expectations, but somehow this day had given him a whole heap of them. His good fortune had pushed him into the fray, and he'd let himself start the duel without really knowing what it was for. Why was he even here? Either way, Oga had been hospitalized from his injuries. Reclaiming his high-grade from the Monji would only force him to sell it right back to pay his medical debt. Yuu had agreed to duel on his behalf, but really, that was a flimsy justification to use the power he'd attained. But regardless of the reasons, if he was fighting evil, he was a champion, wasn't he? The purpose of a hero, after all, was to fight and win.
Yuu exhaled. "I was waiting for this. The moment your Pilgrim Reaper would become engorged on innocent souls." Yuu's eyes shone like his duradine card as he lifted it high. "I activate my spell card, Battle Reborn! You want to see a hero, Gozu? Then I'll show you how this story ends!"
The ankh shimmered in midair as a murky portal appeared beneath it. "Battle Reborn revives a monster from my graveyard with less ATK than yours. Thanks to your Soul Harvest, Pilgrim Reaper now has 2800 attack points!"
Light burst from the portal, numbing every other sense with its intensity. "When all stars have been extinguished, the hero lights a torch for the world to bear! Appear, Crime of Prometheus!"
Crime of Prometheus / Level 7 / LIGHT / Pyro / ATK 2500 / DEF 2100
Red gauze appeared from the light, like cotton candy spun from nothing. It twisted and thickened into a humanoid shape, its fists raised in defiance.
"My monsters are switching to attack mode," Yuu declared. "Now, I summon the Dark Crusader!"
Dark Crusader / Level 4 / DARK / Warrior / ATK 1600 / DEF 400
A gruesome greatsword plunged down from the sky, impaling the ground at an angle. A skeletal hand clasped the handle, bones connecting themselves to the wrist. The skull attached and smiled as the monster planted its feet and ripped the greatsword up from the earth and lofted it with a ghoulish sneer. Man Eating Treasure Chest's tongue flicked around hungrily, and Crime of Prometheus launched itself towards its opponent.
"You seem confident in your fighting odds," Gozu said. "But you were only able to summon Prometheus because it was weaker than Pilgrim Reaper. You're still not strong enough."
"Then it's time for my heroic power-up!" Yuu said. "Crime of Prometheus's attack can destroy any card on your field automatically!"
"Ah, I see." Gozu spread her arms wide. "Then go ahead and attack me."
"Can't resist a beauty's invitation," Yuu said. "Go, Crime of Prometheus! Attack and activate your Stolen Sun Strike!"
Light flooded the Pilgrim Reaper's hollow features, and Yuu could see its spine through its mouth as Prometheus's attack consumed it entirely. On the sidelines, the Monji scowled with dismay as the symbol of their might was obliterated.
"Stolen Sun Strike also lets me draw a card! Now, since the possible attack targets changed, Crime of Prometheus can redeclare its attack!" Yuu said. "Crime of Prometheus! Attack Ryu Kokki!"
Crime of Prometheus slammed its body into the tower of skulls, setting it ablaze. Ryu Kokki laughed with every one of its fused faces as they vanished in white fire. Gozu closed her eyes calmly, as though she were merely enjoying the sun on her face.
Gozu Daimonji - 3500 LP 3400 LP
"Now, I've fulfilled the conditions of Battle Reborn!" Yuu proclaimed. "When the revived monster destroys your monster in battle this turn, your monster's attack points are dealt straight to your life points!"
The symbol of the ankh appeared on Gozu's chest. Suddenly, the mark slammed deep into her, leaving a momentary depression of cloth and blood. Gozu doubled over, grimacing.
Gozu Daimonji - 3400 LP 2000 LP
The assembled Monji grumbled between themselves. "That kid managed to turn it around," seethed Matsu Monji, whistling through the gaps in his teeth like an irate squeaky toy.
"He's still got two monsters left," said a man in a ripped denim vest. "The kid might actually win this turn."
Immediately, those seated around him turned to glare at him, but none contradicted his statement. Instead they turned their attention back to Gozu, who hadn't moved at all.
"You're wide open!" Yuu shouted. "Man Eating Treasure Chest, attack directly!"
Gozu flinched as the box bounded up to her, gnashing its teeth rabidly, and sunk them into her shoulder.
Gozu Daimonji - 2000 LP 400 LP
"Listen, Gozu," Yuu said. "I know this is just for show. You don't have to make yourself out to be the bad guy; everyone here can see how skilled you are! You have nothing to prove."
Gozu affixed him with a glare. "You really don't understand anything, do you?"
Alarm bells blared, spinning siren light reflecting off of the polished wooden floor and bathing the room crimson. Gozu stood behind her revealed trap card. "When I take damage from a direct attack, Doom Protocol lets me summon a Level 6 or lower monster from my deck in defense mode." Her deck slot had begun to glow orange. "It's a card I believe you'll be glad to see. I Special Summon the Level 6 Jormungand Turtle!"
Jormungand Turtle / Level 6 / EARTH / Reptile / ATK 0 / DEF 2600
A long, reptilian neck emerged from the ground, a keratinous maw snapping open and closed. From there, the monster did not emerge, but instead, the ground moved with it, lifting like a trapdoor to form the shell of the beast. The head and neck poised far above like a giant worm.
"Looks like my turn's over, then," Yuu said. "Come next turn though, Prometheus is gonna crack that shell like an egg!"
"You're a fool." Gozu's words hit like a bludgeon. She planted her feet firmly on the earthen back of the turtle. "Let me introduce you to the effect of Jormungand Turtle. Instead of drawing from my deck during my draw phase, I can use its effect to dredge up a Trap Card from my graveyard. The card I select is Soul Absorbing Desecration!"
Jormungand Turtle raised its scaled neck and bellowed, the audience covering their ears as a card tore upwards from the depths of Gozu's graveyard. She snatched it from the air and placed it facedown onto her field.
"This is bad," Zato said. "Yuu! I know what her strategy is!"
Yuu was realizing it now, too. Gozu's aim had been plain from the start, but he'd been so focused on Prometheus and the reaper that he hadn't considered it. Even as more and more cards drained from his deck, he defended his life points with the best monsters he had left.
"She's not trying to reduce your life points," Zato shouted. "She's trying to eliminate your deck completely!"
Clavis had told Yuu once, and he'd forgotten about it since then. Their deck had 40 cards, though they never thought about it because that was the number of cards they had been able to find. Because of the quality of those cards, too, duels never lasted long enough to run through every card. The memory bubbled in the back of Yuu's mind, forming the one question he'd never thought to ask.
"Hey Zato," he asked. "What happens when I run out of cards in my deck?"
For once, Zato gave him the answer right away. "During your next draw phase, you'll lose."
Gozu smiled beneath the shadow of Jormungand Turtle. "Do you now see my power, Yuu Tokari? Try as you like to deny what has killed you; this duel is already over."
Yuu frantically thought back to all of his actions since the first turn. I drew 5 at the start of the game. Then Card Destruction activated, and I drew 3 more. Goblin Zombie was 1, and the trap card activated, then Pilgrim Reaper milled 5, twice. But I've also been drawing at the start of my turn. And just now, I drew with Prometheus!
Yuu's blood ran cold. I have 12 cards left.
"Now, I activate Nightmare's Steelcage!" Gozu said. "I'm sure you're familiar."
Gozu's own copy of Nightmare's Steelcage glinted in her hand; Yuu's view of her was suddenly cross-hatched by the iron gate that rose around him and domed at the top, surrounding his field. Zato yelped as the holographic wall shot up behind him, sealing him inside with Yuu.
"This is really bad, Yuu," he said. "She figured out Prometheus's weakness!"
"Yeah," Yuu said, feeling a cold sweat at his back. "If Prometheus can't attack, it can't use its effect to destroy a card. I have no way to out the Steelcage!"
"All of my cards are now in play," Gozu said, flourishing her empty hand. "And because I have set the objects and values of this duel, its outcome should now be clear."
Yuu had always had an uncanny prophecy of his own doom. I can't attack her for two turns. Each one of my turns, Soul Absorbing Desecration will destroy five cards from my deck. Then on Gozu's turn, Jormungand Turtle will be able to add it back to her hand. She'll activate it again. Take five more cards from my deck. Because I have to draw two cards of my own, all twelve of my cards will be gone at the start of my third turn. I'll lose automatically. Yuu imagined his duradine crystal shredding apart.
"Yuu!" Zato squealed, throwing his arms around him in panic. "If you don't win this, they're gonna rip off my fingernails one by one! You have to play that card!"
Yuu pried Zato off, sending him sprawling to the ground. What card- He suddenly felt a weight in his pocket.
From his fallen position, Zato grinned up at Yuu. "Come on, Yuu. Win for us."
I can't use this card! Yuu's mind was on fire. I can't just cheat my way to victory when it suits me. Even if I'm up against the Monji, I want to be able to call myself a real duelist!
He turned away from Zato and shook his head. Zato, seeming to understand, shrugged and withdrew through the holographic cage wall. I'm going to win this with my and Clavis's cards! Because that's all the luck I need.
"Each turn will bring you closer to defeat," Gozu gloated. "Now, draw for me."
Yuu's hands obeyed before his brain knew what was happening. Once his eyes caught up, they twinkled in the glow of the card he'd pulled. "Lucky me," Yuu purred.
He slammed the card straight onto the field. "I'm activating my Spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon! It can blow away any Spell or Trap on the field. I'm choosing Nightmare's Steelcage!"
Pitch-black with heavy vapor, the storm blared outward from thin air. It shot across the field towards Gozu's face-up Nightmare's Steelcage card, eradicating everything in its way.
"You're trying to claim the card without even knowing its effects?" Gozu asked incredulously. "Once per turn, Jormungand Turtle can protect the cards on my field from being destroyed." The turtle set its jaw resolutely, then lumbered into the path of the oncoming storm and braced itself. When the winds subsided, the steel cage was still wrapped firmly around Yuu's field.
Gozu nodded in satisfaction, then put her hand to her facedown card. "Now, I activate Soul Absorbing Desecration! By banishing 5 cards from my graveyard, I'll remove the top 5 cards of your deck!"
Tortured souls screamed forth from Gozu's graveyard, scrabbling against Yuu's arms and hands. They swept into the deck slot of his Duel Disk, ripping out the cards like teeth and depositing them into his graveyard.
Down to 6 now. Yuu looked at his cards. This spell should buy me some time. He set it facedown and ended his turn.
Like clockwork, Jormungand Turtle howled into the abyss. The Trap card came flying up from the graveyard, landing in Gozu's hand. She placed it facedown on her field and gestured for Yuu to take his turn again. The Monji guffawed at her tacit display of might; it looked like Gozu would pull out an impossible win with only 400 life points left. Even at 2900 life points and three monsters on board, Yuu had been completely cornered.
Time dilated for Yuu, his cards moving like a slowed bloodstream. He could feel his turn beginning with the draw phase, taking 1 of the 6 final cards in his deck. This is my last draw, he thought. Once Soul Absorbing Desecration activates again, the last 5 cards of my deck will vanish. I don't know what cards are left to get me out of this. At this point, I'd take Raimei!
"I draw!" Yuu declared. He flung his drawing arm wide, hoping that, at the very least, looking cool would count for something. He chanced a look at the card he drew: Reckless Greed.
No! Yuu's legs almost gave out. Reckless Greed just makes me draw more cards! It's useless here!
The draw phase ended. Yuu moved to his turn's standby phase; if nothing activated here, then it would pass without comment. Still, he was awash in panic, drowning in his wasted chance.
This is my last turn, he thought bleakly. And I can't do a thing.
Yuu's turn entered the Main Phase. His hand went to his facedown.
"I'm entering the Battle Phase," he said. "And as it begins, I'll activate the quick-play Spell, Anti-Magic Arrows! Now, spells and traps can't be activated for the rest of the turn!"
"That's fine by me," Gozu said, glaring. "Then I won't activate it this turn."
Yuu's fist clenched. Just like I thought. I couldn't change a thing. He felt the weight in his pocket again, and the presence of Zato behind him, an eerie, ratlike gaze.
No, I can't use that card! He shook his head again. If I have to lose, I'll lose on my own terms. "I'll place one facedown and end my turn," he said weakly.
Nightmare's Steelcage rumbled back into the earth, its turns expended. Now, Yuu had an unobscured view of the field and arena. He could see the Monji on the edges of their seats, eagerly anticipating their boss's victory. He glanced back to Zato and saw the man's eyes narrowed. What was that emotion? Rage? Curiosity? Fear? Disgust? Yuu realized that he had no way of truly reading him.
"Since I have no need to return my Trap Card with Jormungand Turtle, I'll draw as per normal," Gozu said, taking a card from her deck. "I will set the card I drew."
She regarded him with pity and contempt, ever stoic. You've exceeded my expectations for you, Yuu Tokari. But you can never exceed my expectation of myself: the expectation of absolute victory."
Wait. It's not over yet! Yuu stared at his field, an unthinkable move beginning to take shape.
"This will be the final blow," Gozu declared, flipping her trap card. "Now go, my final Soul Absorbing Desecration!"
"Not so fast!" Yuu shouted, flipping over his facedown. "I activate my trap card, Reckless Greed!" A wooden crate, overflowing with golden coins, appeared above his head.
"Reckless Greed?" Zato asked. "But that card-"
"It lets me draw two cards from my deck!" Yuu finished.
Matsu Monji burst out laughing. "Looks like this kid wants to work for you, Gozu! He's helping you wipe out his deck!"
"Yuu!" Zato called. "I hope you know what you're doing!"
"I'll find out right now!" Yuu declared, sweeping his arm in a dramatic arc. He looked at the four cards remaining in his hand, the gears in his head spinning like buzzsaws.
"Well?" Gozu asked. "Anything you can activate from your hand?"
Yuu slowly shook his head.
"In that case, I'll still send the last three cards of your deck to the graveyard," Gozu said. Three ghosts leapt out, their faces melding between tragedy, comedy, and animalistic terror. The last three of Yuu's cards were dragged into the graveyard; just as he'd received it, the Duel Disk slot was empty again.
"That's it," Zato said breathlessly. "He's out of cards."
Gozu folded her arms. "Yuu Tokari, you are without a doubt a duelist worthy of your cards. The Monji clan has seen and recognized your hero's spirit."
"I appreciate that. But really, you're trying to act all magnanimous, aren't you?" Weary and battered, Yuu gazed at her sympathetically. "What you're really saying is, you've proved that you can choose whether a person is worthy of their cards. That you're also a villain who can extinguish any hero. A perfect leader of Monji."
Gozu's eyes narrowed. "If you're trying to provoke me like your friend, know that the situation has changed. I am proven, justified. And this duel is over."
Yuu dipped his head in submission.
"Yuu!" Zato screamed.
"I bid you congratulations," Gozu proclaimed, "and farewell! I end my turn!"
Yuu stood still, his head lowered. His monsters idled on his field. The audience waited for them to dissipate, for the glow of Yuu's Duel Disk to sputter and fade as the technology acknowledged its defeat. That moment never came.
Gozu raised an eyebrow. "Is the Duel Disk malfunctioning?" She took a step towards him.
"Hold on there, Miss Daimonji." Yuu flashed a grin. "It's my Standby Phase now."
"What?" Gozu recoiled. "What?!"
"If you're looking for an answer, it's been staring you in the face!" Yuu declared. The golden treasure chest still gleamed over his head, but now a cobra hissed as it reared its head out of its splendid home. "Reckless Greed! I draw two cards, but skip my next two draw phases!"
"Of course!" Zato said. "You only lose the duel when you're unable to draw. But Reckless Greed gets around that because it skips the draw phase!"
"That's right!" Yuu exclaimed. "That card did more than buy me two cards for my hand. It also bought me two turns to use them!"
Gozu started breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling. "This, this is ridiculous."
Yuu smiled at her. "Hey, Gozu. I've had a lot of fun in this duel. And it's not because I'm fighting the boss of the Monji. It's because I'm playing against you!"
Gozu flushed with rage. "Just what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I activate my Spell Card! Go, Shield & Sword! Reverse the ATK and DEF values of every monster on the field!"
The images of the monsters seemed to contort, as though they were being flipped around an invisible meridian. Jormungand Turtle still stood, but its defense points had been replaced by its attack points, which were 0.
"Not so fast!" Gozu said. "I'm activating the additional effect of Doom Protocol! By banishing it from my graveyard, one monster I control can't be destroyed by battle this turn!"
Jormungand Turtle lowed as red siren light insulated it.
"If you want to destroy Jormungand, you'll have to use Prometheus's effect," Gozu taunted. "Unfortunately for you, it looks like that isn't an option!"
"If Prometheus destroys a card on the field, Yuu draws a card," Zato noted. "Any other time it'd be a bonus, but it'd cost him the duel here!"
"It's not over yet!" Yuu shouted. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Different Dimension Gate! While it's active, a monster from each of our fields is sent to the other world! Now, I banish my Man Eating Treasure Chest with your Jormungand Turtle!"
A spiral of flashing color appeared in the center of the field. The mimic jumped up and latched its teeth into the turtle's neck, making it cry out in pain and dragging it down into the gate.
"Not so fast!" Gozu retorted. "I activate my facedown card, Mystical Space Typhoon! Destroy the Different Dimension Gate and retrieve my beast!"
The storm burst forth, Suddenly, a figure burst forth against it, shining with stolen light.
"This is it!" Yuu shouted. "I activate the Quick-play Spell Supernova Shield! By destroying a monster on my side of the field, I can make one card I control unaffected by all of your activated effects this turn! Prometheus! Defend the gate!"
Prometheus roared as he vanished into the winds of the Mystical Space Typhoon, which lit up from the inside as though suffused by fire. Gozu watched in awe as her last card tore Prometheus apart. The aperture of the Different Dimension Gate squeezed shut, only the bellow of Jormungand Turtle escaping the vortex.
"Even a thief like Prometheus has something to protect," Yuu said. "Not because of heroes, or villains! But just because he's able and willing! Nobody needs to be a champion to exist in this world. Because when you find your purpose, it will live on! Prometheus, activate your special ability!"
Dark Crusader's eyes plumed with light, the energy of the fallen infusing its broadsword blade, doubling its power. It held its sword high, inheriting the powers of the high-grade. "Go, Prometheus! Attack directly with Inherited Star Strike!"
The swordsman charged across the empty field, its jaw ablaze. Gozu didn't flinch as it lifted its sword up and slashed down towards her.
Clang! The sword stopped, held by an armored hand that jutted up from Gozu's chest. "Necro Gardna," she rasped.
Necro Gardna / Level 3 / DARK / Warrior / ATK 600 / DEF 1300
The monster appeared like a phantom out of her body, forcing the sword back. Gozu took the card from her graveyard and banished it. She didn't acknowledge the roar of acclamation from her Monji underlings. Yuu felt, for the first time in the entire duel, that she was looking at him without the veneer of champions and responsibilities, just quietly observing him as he was.
He blushed and broke eye contact. She's a little intense. "My turn's done," he mumbled.
"Alright!" Zato shouted. "She's used up all her cards. You've got one more turn to take her out!"
Gozu drew. "I'll set one facedown and end my turn," she said, still staring at Yuu.
Yuu exhaled. It felt like he'd been dueling for days on end. He'd come close to winning and losing so many times that this last turn just felt like the fading pall of night, as dawn approached and swept over the land. Yuu stood tall and called triumphantly, "It's my turn!"
"I activate my trap card," Gozu declared. "Thunder of Ruler! No attacks can be made this turn!"
Yuu froze. He'd survived at the brink of defeat to make his comeback, and Gozu's final card had ripped it all away again. He had nothing left. He fumbled with the two cards in his hand, the one on his field. All the while, he could feel Zato watching him.
I'm living for the person I want to be. No one else can control me. I'll fight for what I want. Pain wracked his heart. I want to win.
"I normal summon Zero Gardna," Yuu said. A small, mechanical pixie took flight, holding a large hoop beneath it.
Zero Gardna / Level 4 / EARTH / Warrior / ATK 0 / DEF 0
Yuu had raised a card above his head, his face turned downwards away from its emerald light. His voice faltered, barely audible. "I overlay Level 4 Zero Gardna and Level 4 Crime of Prometheus."
Zato's eyes gleamed. "And so, the incarnation of thunder arrives, punishing evil for all eternity! Now, Xyz Summon the guardian of Jupiter!"
Yuu felt as though his feet were unmooring from the ground. "I Xyz Summon Gigavolt Eagle."
The swordsman staggered as its holy aura was leeched away by the whirling galaxy of the overlay network. From there in the stars, magnificent wings spread, the feathers stitched together with lightning. The bird soared up into battle with brilliant plumage. Yuu couldn't help but focus on the sickening curve of its talons.
Gigavolt Eagle / Rank 4 / Wind / Thunder / ATK 1700 / DEF 600
One of the motes of light started thrashing above Gigavolt Eagle's head, sparks shooting out and connecting with the cards that appeared around it. Gozu's eyes widened. "Those are my cards!" she said.
"That's right!" Zato shouted. "By detaching an Xyz Material, Gigavolt Eagle shuffles all banished cards into their owner's deck!"
Linked by violet lightning, the cards shot back into Gozu's deck.
"And now, the coup de grace!" Zato swung his arm out and pointed at Gozu. "Each player takes 200 points of damage for each card they shuffled in!"
"It's over," Yuu said.
Electricity burst from the Duel Disk, coating Gozu's body in violent shocks. She convulsed for a second, then collapsed to the ground. Matsu leapt from his seat and ran to her side. The rest of the Monji stood up, craning their necks as though to confirm from every angle what they had just witnessed.
Yuu Tokari - 2900 LP
Gozu Daimonji - 0 LP
Yuu watched the holographic field dissipate, his Duel Disk powering down. He ignored Zato and walked over to where Gozu lay.
Matsu glared at him. Gozu had sat up, coming to her senses. Yuu pulled the Duel Disk from his arm and laid it at her feet. "This belongs to you," he said, unable to look at her.
"Yuu Tokari."
He dragged his gaze to Gozu, who studied him for a moment. Then her eyes widened, and she cleared her throat again. "You have proven yourself as well as those you championed. I believe this card belongs to you now." She held out her hand with the high-grade, glowing orange. Yuu took it, thanked her, and walked away.
"I will challenge you again." Gozu's voice wasn't petulant or vindictive. The air of Daimonji surrounded her again, making her every word a proclamation of nature.
Yuu turned back and allowed himself a sad smile. "That'll be a good day, then."
Yuu waited until they were back on Utopia Street before he turned and socked Zato in the side of his face. The point of contact was too soft, too easily moved. Zato fell to the ground like a leaf, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Yuu stood over him, panting in rage.
"Ouch," Zato said, rubbing his cheek. "Sure, I deserve that."
"Never drag me into your mess again," Yuu spat. "And never, ever, mess with my duels."
"Hey, that's fair," Zato said, raising his hands over his face as though Yuu was blindingly hot. "I'll be one hundred percent transparent with my match arrangements. And I'll leave the dueling to the undefeated champion."
Yuu stayed silent. Zato got to his feet and dusted himself off. "You know, this wasn't just a victory for you and me. Daimonji's probably going to help Oga with the bill, given that you proved his honor and everything on the battlefield. You can be proud of what you've done today."
The pull of the high grade, not quite magnetic, not quite gravitic, but something metaphysical, lingered in Yuu's soul. The feeling he got when summoning Prometheus, when bringing out Gigavolt Eagle, was indescribable. He closed his eyes and rammed the heels of his palms against them, trying to scrub the feeling from his brain.
"I want to duel again," he said. He did not know what he intended to fight for. He did not even know if he intended to win or lose.
"Anytime?" Zato asked.
"Yeah."
"Any place?"
"Yeah."
"Anyone?"
"Yeah."
"Then you're in luck," Zato said, grinning. "Here's to you, champ."