Chapter 4

With the end of the duel, the screen returned to darkness.

Everyday life started to resume and viewers returned to what they were doing.

"So," Rex Goodwin in 5DS world pondered. "Our lead scientists were not able to discern anything about those screens?"

"It's as though they didn't exist," Dr. Faker said to Mr. Heartland in ZEXAL world.

"According to outside surveillance," Leo Akaba analyzed from ARC-V world.

"With exception to the actual duel," Lightning in VRAINS world analyzed.

"Nothing could be analyzed," DM world's Seto Kaiba concluded.

Unanimously, all of the world's leading analysts came to the conclusion that the screens existed in and out of reality leading to an existence observable yet unobservable.

Unless you were a thinking entity (human, ignis, or duel spirit), the only part of the screen that could be seen or recorded was the actual duel that appeared as though it were a rip in space.

The duel energy emanating from the screen, however, was purely spiritual and was undetectable by even the most advanced energy detectors.

With no way to further research on the screens themselves, the higher-level individuals of their respective worlds could only turn their attention to the duel itself to see what could be gained.

For the next day, duelists everywhere could be seen discussing with each other the duel and the broadcast itself.

Even the occasional citizen got into the discussion when talking about the Egyptian Gods and the mystical Pharoah who returned to the afterlife.

Poor Yugi and his friends were stuck in the crosswords in DM world as they had to bear the attention all of the random pedestrians gave them.

According to the original timeline, last night Maximillion Pegasus was supposed to steal Solomon Mutou's soul to use it as leverage to get Yugi to participate in the Duelist Kingdom. After seeing Yugi and Atem's duel, however, he planned to play it safe and only gave a cursory greeting and invitation to Yugi for the event. His only hope was that Yugi didn't notice the Millenium Eye hidden under his bangs so that the future King of Games would avoid the Duelist Kingdom altogether.

Unfortunately, Serenity Wheeler was in need of money for her eye operation and Yugi was never one to shy away from helping a friend in need.

Seto Kaiba however, was enamored with the duel from yesterday and had begun tests on creating the new duel disk technology.

Seeing the possibilities in the virtual technology as shown by Yugi and Atem's duel, the Big Five and Maximillion Pegasus halted their attempts to seize Kaiba Corporation and instead lent their support to the young genius.

At night the next day, a familiar line is shown on the supernatural screen.

"Loading next duel. Initializing start-up sequence... Starting. (GX World): Yubel Vs Jaden Yuki."

A large platform could be seen floating in nothingness. On it could be seen a couple of figures.

"Jesse, are you okay?" a student asked as he helped up his friend.

"That's me," Jaden in front of the screen exclaimed.

In Obelisk Blue, Chazz Princeton sneered at the sight of the Slifer Red freshman he duel the other day appearing on the screen.

While Jaden had just made a big splash in the duel against Professor Crowler before the start of the school year, he wasn't that well known to people on campus aside from a select few elites who were interested in dueling the prospective newcomer.

Back at North Academy, Jesse Anderson wondered what kind of relationship he shared with the young Jaden in the video.

"I'm okay, takes more than an evil spirit takeover to keep me down," Jesse reassured.

With that, Jaden looked up and the audience got a good look at his opponent.

A malevolent fiend sharing male and female features looked down on the two students on the ground.

"Is that a monster?" someone in VRAINS world cried out.

"Yubel..." Jaden muttered absentmindedly at the screen.

"Hehehe," Yubel snickered from its tube. "Looks like I will get to pay you back, after all, Jaden."

In the video, Jaden stood up in front of the malevolent Yubel saying he wouldn't let others get hurt because of their grudge.

"Oh, is that the Supreme King saying that?" Yubel asked.

A scene flashed of a demon on its deathbed sneering at Jaden, saying he was still the same old Supreme King that everyone feared.

Jaden in front of the screen was shocked at the sight he was shown.

For the current Jaden, duels were meant to be fun. Yet, it was clear that other him was bearing a heavy burden because of them.

On the side, Syrus reached out to reassure his best friend that he knows Jaden wouldn't do something wicked like that.

In other worlds, however, Jaden didn't have a benefit of the doubt.

They didn't know him and could only rely on what they'd seen on the screen.

"Supreme King huh," Leo Akaba muttered absentmindedly in ARC-V world. He still remembers a certain individual who once went by that moniker.

"The Supreme King is gone," Jaden roared on the screen. "I'm not him anymore. I am me."

"Fine," Yubel sneered. "Jaden or Supreme King, let's take our duel elsewhere that is more fitting."

Bathed in light, Yubel ascended into a mass of dark clouds.

Prepared to follow, Jaden was stopped by the injured Jesse Anderson who told him to take his deck as support before the young Jaden was bathed in light and followed after Yubel.

Once in the clouds, Jaden was confronted with memory bubbles holding Yubel's dreams and wishes from a long time ago. It helped and protected Jaden but he had abandoned Yubel.

It became clear to viewers, that this duel wasn't sudden at all. It was loaded with a ton of baggage from a long-time friend who was hurt by another.

"Yubel..." Jaden muttered once again. He hadn't considered how Yubel felt as a kid, and now it looks like that will come back to bite him in the future. If only he could've been more considerate, then things might've turned out better.

The injured Yubel however, was not in the mood to forgive Jaden at the moment.

It was still in pain, physically and spiritually, and wanted nothing more than to share the pain with the boy who inflicted it.

On the screen, Jaden tried to reason with Yubel that he was doing what he thought was best by sending it into space but Yubel said that what he did was more damaging than anything he could've imagined.

Yubel was taken captive by the Light of Destruction, tortured day in and day out. Yubel tried to reach out to Jaden for help but the child couldn't stand the pain Yubel was bearing so he severed their ties.

With nothing left, Yubel's twisted psyche began to see the pain Jaden was inflicting on it as a form of love and planned to return the favor to Jaden whether he liked it or not.

Many soft-minded viewers shivered at the concept Yubel envisioned.

This isn't what love is supposed to be!

Jaden, why did you have to hurt Yubel like this?

Jaden himself was stumped in front of the screen. If what the screen showed was true, then right now...

Yubel's twisted thoughts grew and grew before they arrived at a conclusion.

Merge the twelve GX world dimensions, so that there would be nothing but a world filled with Yubel's love for Jaden.

"What," Leo Akaba jumped out of his seat.

Reigi Akaba's face grew serious.

If the GX world was anything like the ARC-V world, fusing multiple dimensions would come with more than its fair share of dangers.

The screen then played a series of images, all showing Jaden's friends in pain as they became part of Yubel's giant love letter to Jaden showing how much the boy meant to it.

Younger Jaden in front of the screen's face went ashen.

His friends...

Because of him...

"It's okay, Jaden," Syrus reassured. "I'm your friend and I won't let you be alone."

He wasn't wrong. On the screen, his other self left the safety of where they were at and went to watch Jaden's duel in person.

Meanwhile, Yubel and Jaden breached the clouds and prepared to begin their duel.

On one side is Yubel who only wishes to share their love with Jaden.

On the other is Jaden who had to watch his friends tortured and killed by Yubel.

The two sides seem likely to never reach a consensus, so the only thing left is the duel.

[4000 LP] [4000 LP]

GX world followed the same rule as the DM world allowing them the first play to draw a card, so Yubel started the duel with a draw.

Yubel started the turn by summoning Sacrifice Lotus.

Samsara Lotus: [0 ATK]

In DM and GX worlds, the concept of 0 ATK is divisive. The common duelist will only see the attack value as worthless and treat it as trash but those in possession of one will know that these monsters are among the most tricky to play around with.

Yubel sets a card and activated the continuous spell Spell Chronicle.

Spell Chronicle allowed Yubel to choose and remove from the game five cards from its deck. What to be done with those cards, can only be guessed for now.

"My turn," Jaden begins. "I activate Polymerization, fusing Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to fusion summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman."

Flame Wingman: [2100 ATK]

"Fusion," Reigi Akaba muttered.

Since Polymerization was a spell card, the Spell Chronicle effect triggered and it gained a counter.

Flame Wingman tried to attack for damage but Yubel's trap card Sinister Seeds turned every multiple of 1000 LP damage into a token.

Yubel: [3900 LP]

Token x2: [100 DEF]

Jaden set a card and ended his turn.

Yubel sacrificed the two tokens and summoned Regenerating Rose a monster that will share attack points with any monster it battles. If Regenerating Rose dies in battle, Yubel will respawn two tokens in its stead.

Not wanting that to happen, Jaden used De-Fusion to turn Flame Wingman back into its fusion materials, Burstinatrix and Avian. The two fusion monsters were then summoned in defense mode so that Regenerating Rose was kept at bay.

Unfortunately, De-Fusion was a spell so Spell Chronicle gained a counter.

Since Spell Chronicle had two counters, Jaden must now choose one of the cards removed from the game by its effect and add it to Yubel's hand.

"Super Polymerization!" Jaden cried, seeing the powerful spell in the lineup Yubel had banished.

Duelists in the myriad worlds might not know but Super Polymerization in the world of GX was a reality-warping card that signifies many things.

"Super Polymerization," Yubel droned on. "The symbol of the Supreme King and with its power, I will be able to fuse the twelve dimensions making them one. Now, what will you choose Jaden?"

Was Super Polymerization such a fantastical card?

In the ARC-V world, many elite Academia duelists pulled out their copies of Super Polymerization wondering why theirs wasn't as powerful.

Not wanting to give Yubel Super Polymerization, Jaden chose Zero Sprite instead.

Starting his turn, Jaden summoned Elemental Hero Sparkman and equipped it with Spark Blaster. While it did speed up Spell Chronicle, it allowed Jaden to get around Regenerating Rose's counterattack.

Regenerating Rose was destroyed and Yubel summoned two tokens in its place.

Token x2 [1200 DEF]

Yubel starts its turn. "I set a card. Now I tribute my two tokens to summon myself."

The two tokens turned to dust and a second Yubel appeared on the battlefield.

Yubel: [0 ATK]

Summoned yourself!?

Many duelists in the myriad worlds have never come across duel spirits so it wasn't immediately apparent that Yubel was a living monster card until its doppelganger hit the field.

Yubel attacked Sparkman but it wasn't destroyed. Instead, all of the damage inflicted on it was inflicted on Jaden in its stead.

This was its love for Jaden!

Unsettling energy seeped out from the screen. Many were familiar with the dangers of strong duel spirits thanks to the last duel so the weaker viewers moved away from the screen until the energy dissipated.

On the screen, Jaden was kneeling on the ground.

Jaden: [2400 LP]

During the end phase, Yubel's Samsara Lotus revived itself from the graveyard. Since Yubel required a sacrifice to stay on the field, Samsara Lotus was the perfect fodder to keep it in play.

Jaden stood up and took his turn. He switched his Sparkman to defense mode and set a card before ending his turn.

What more can he do? All the damage Yubel takes is inflicted on himself.

Jaden tried to appeal to Yubel to end this sad duel while they still can but Yubel's mind is too twisted by now. He won't stop until Jaden has borne the full extent of his love!

Angered by this, Jaden's eyes flashed a golden color unique to the Supreme King.

What was that?

Many viewers couldn't catch it so they didn't know what had happened.

Jaden tried to stop Yubel's attack with Hero Barrier but Yubel used the Zero Sprite trap card Jaden gave it to launch a second attack using Yubel.

Another wave of malevolent energy surged as Jaden took 1400 points of damage.

Jaden: [1000 LP]

At this moment, Syrus broke through the clouds. He had been talking to Chazz through the dimensional barrier and right now Jaden needed some serious encouragement.

"Jaden," he cried. "Get serious. You aren't going to win without using the power of the Supreme King. You are the Supreme King and the Supreme King is you, so right now you have to use your power to save everyone."

Light and Dark can coincide.

That is the existence that is Jaden Yuki and the Supreme King.

Jaden took braced himself and the power of the Supreme King shone through with a golden divine aura.

He is Jaden Yuki and he is the Supreme King!