After pondering the Red Light for a while, Hikaru had no leads.
Fortunately, he had long known this matter was far beyond his reach. It wasn't something he could figure out or locate quickly. So he didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on studying the new cards.
First to study was naturally the Fusion Monster "Aiwass, the Magistus Spell Spirit."
A remarkably excellent Fusion Monster!
First, the Fusion conditions: one Magistus monster plus one Spellcaster. These two conditions alone delighted Hikaru. Although he frequently used all sorts of strange Fusion Monsters, dragons, and demons, his "core system" cards had always been primarily Spellcaster-Type.
Especially Shaddoll monsters. Nearly every Shaddoll lower-level monster was Spellcaster-Type, making this card's Fusion conditions extremely lenient.
Second, Aiwass's effect was equally "excellent." During either player's turn, it could target one other face-up monster and equip itself to that monster. If equipped to an opponent's monster, it would take control of that monster while preventing it from activating effects.
Yes, a "Snatch Steal" effect. And a highly portable one at that.
The only unfortunate aspect was perhaps its WIND Attribute.
All in all, incredibly powerful.
The other two lower-level monsters each had their own strengths.
Crowley, the Gifted Magistus had a solid effect, performing Fusion upon Normal or Special Summon, even usable as Aleister the Invoker for Invoked Fusions. But what truly amazed Hikaru was Spenta, the Magistus Sealer.
This card was absurdly strong.
During the duel, Hikaru had only used its first effect: discarding itself to search Crowley, then using Crowley's effect to Special Summon.
But this monster had more.
Like Dusk Crow and Furnace, besides searching, Spenta had a second effect: from the Graveyard, banish itself to target one face-up monster you control and equip one Magistus monster from the Extra Deck or Graveyard to it as an Equip Spell.
Incredibly powerful!
Many Magistus "Extra Deck" monsters had special effects. Endymion could negate opponent's monster effects. Ninaruru could destroy opponent's cards. Vahram, when equipped, let the monster destroy opponents' monsters without battling, with even wider range than Construct.
Beyond that, Zoroa, the Magistus of Flame prevented the opponent from activating the same type of monster effects as the equipped Magistus card.
Zoroa could Synchro Summon and equip one, then use its effect to attach another. Its coverage was already quite good.
Of course, the strongest point was definitely Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden.
When Artemis was equipped, it could search a Magistus monster directly from the Deck.
Meaning, if Link Summoning and Artemis existed in this world, one Spenta could search two Magistus cards!
However, this world didn't seem to have Link Summoning.
Spenta's search efficiency might not be that terrifying.
But Hikaru kept studying it.
For powerful cards, Hikaru always had more patience.
Setting everything else aside, simply using it as a means to Special Summon Crowley was already great.
Not to mention, this card also solved a problem that had long given Hikaru headaches.
Where do you get a LIGHT monster?
A persistent puzzle for the Invoked series. Going first, where do you find a LIGHT monster?
In the world before coming here, you could Normal Summon Aleister, search Invocation, Link Summon Artemis, then make Mechaba!
But in this world, after Normal Summoning Aleister, Hikaru could only rely on other engines.
Going second with an opponent's Extra Deck monster on field, Shaddoll Fusion could reliably bring out Construct for a LIGHT monster.
But going first wasn't nearly as stable.
Now, with Spenta, Hikaru had gained another option for first-turn LIGHT access. Naturally, he was pleased.
He then checked other cards and found several Evil HERO support cards.
Dark Fusion, Evil Mind, and Dark Contact. Perhaps the duel energy from fighting the Supreme King was substantial, as Super Polymerization had mass-produced several related cards. Among them, Hikaru quite liked Evil Mind.
After all, as long as the opponent's Graveyard had ten or more monsters, Evil Mind could search any "Fusion" Spell. It might come in handy someday.
At worst, as long as he controlled a Fiend, he could draw one card.
One card of filtering was still filtering. Hikaru had plenty of Fiends, so it was worth considering.
Not outstanding in raw power, but it suited Hikaru's needs.
Unfortunately, Hikaru hadn't generated those two Masked HERO cards, which disappointed him.
Masked HERO lower-level monsters! Two of them! If played well, he could open with a Miracle Fusion into Contrast HERO, negate an effect right away, all without wasting many resources. A massive boost to the HERO suite.
Hikaru put away his cards.
Meanwhile, Jaden seemed to have finished talking with the recovered Supreme King.
"Come on, you stingy guy. You've already given me all those cards. Can't you lend me those few to play with?" Jaden, seeing the Supreme King was fine, started shamelessly asking for cards.
He was probably asking for Dusk Crow.
Unfortunately, the Supreme King may have also gotten this card for the first time. He was so attached to it that he wouldn't lend it even to Jaden.
Additionally, Jaden hadn't fully received the Supreme King's exclusive Evil HERO cards either.
Of course, there were also reasons related to differing energy signatures that prevented a full transfer.
Take Neos Lord, for example. Even now, Jaden probably couldn't use it.
But Hikaru understood this well.
Jaden was meant to use Neos's Contact Fusions. That was the right flavor!
Honestly, Hikaru felt it was a shame too.
If Jaden could wrangle all of the Supreme King's cards out of him, setting aside everything else, Darkest Knight and Inferno Wing - Backfire were two cards Hikaru was quite interested in.
Imagine Winda standing next to a Darkest Knight that reduced ATK by thousands. That would be wonderful.
And if he had the Masked HEROes, even better.
Given his relationship with Jaden and his massive stockpile of Fusion-related cards, trading something Jaden wanted but hadn't been able to get before for one card would be a win-win.
But unfortunately, even the Supreme King couldn't mass-produce the Masked HERO cards like he could during mental duels with Jaden. Hikaru probably wouldn't see them again anytime soon.
Finally, the most important matter.
The very reason Hikaru and Jaden had come here.
To give Jaden every advantage for tomorrow's "confrontation" with Professor Viper and even Yubel. To carry out Jaden's "justice."
But now, the Supreme King said they couldn't actively merge. Could they still achieve their goal?
When Hikaru asked, Jaden told him not to worry.
He had watched the entire duel. During it, he had also activated his own power, co-creating "Contrast" alongside Hikaru's Fusion.
So he could gradually awaken his own "Super Polymerization" and complete the transfer from the Supreme King to Jaden.
Although there might be no difference in raw power, the mindset and conviction would be completely different.
If that was the case, Hikaru was relieved.
Hikaru looked outside. Everything beyond the building was becoming visible again as the space isolated by the Supreme King's power began reconnecting with Duel Academy island.
Hikaru stood up, preparing to return to the school building with Jaden to prepare for tomorrow.
At that instant, Hikaru suddenly found himself transported to the cosmos among the stars.
An enormous horned demon materialized before him, looking down at Hikaru.
"It's that cosmic god." Tierra's body had already been repaired to normal. Finding herself and Hikaru in space, she gave Hikaru a heads-up.
The Red Light's mental pressure had sent Hikaru's body temperature skyrocketing to absurd levels in a short time, though physical burns didn't bother Tierra much.
Hikaru nodded, acknowledging.
The Light of Destruction looked down at the two of them. Its voice echoed among the stars and in their consciousness. "It seems you won."
"Ha, thanks for your concern." Hikaru was quite polite.
The great god of chaos slowly nodded, then expressed its regret.
Apparently, during the duel, it had sensed that its presence might create severe chain reactions with the other high-level entities, intensifying the duel's severity and pain. So it chose to leave.
But because of that, it didn't know the duel's outcome or process. The moment Hikaru's figure reappeared in the human world, it immediately contacted him, wanting to know what happened afterward.
Hikaru couldn't help but laugh. Tierra, meanwhile, snapped her fingers, clearly prepared in advance. She summoned a Lilith, which dragged out a screen and began playing the duel footage.
Tierra always recorded Hikaru's duels for playback in her Great Universe Workshop. It also served as an "alarm" to remind her when Hikaru was dueling. Seeing this cosmic god raise such a question, she immediately summoned the screen and even had Lilith enlarge herself so the Light of Destruction could watch the rest properly.
Moments later.
Having watched the entire duel, the Light of Destruction let out gasps of awe and amazement.
A Super Polymerization versus Super Polymerization duel. Even the Light of Destruction had never seen one.
Even for a being like it, unknown and novel things sparked curiosity.
Moreover, it was currently immersed in "the cycle of destruction and rebirth," a problem far too difficult for it. It desperately needed fresh perspectives to broaden its horizons.
Seeing the interplay of light and dark power left it amazed once more.
Of course.
Only amazed.
At this point, finding a "dark" counterpart of its own caliber to study Hikaru's "acceptance" would probably mean finding Darkness itself.
At least for now, it had no such intention.
"Impressive. Very good, Hikaru. You've shown me something new again... Take these." Countless points of light flew from all directions, gathering into Hikaru's Deck. He picked it up and glanced through, finding yet another batch of LIGHT Fusion Monsters.
Probably more cards the Light of Destruction had copied from observing other dimensions.
But those weren't important. What mattered was...
Heosvarog the Mechanical Dawn?
Oh!
Not bad.
Its second effect: once per turn, when the opponent activates a Spell or Trap effect, you can banish one face-up LIGHT Machine monster you control or two LIGHT Machine monsters from your Graveyard to negate that activation.
A Spell/Trap negate.
But the real value was its first effect.
First effect: when this card is Fusion Summoned, during the next Standby Phase, add one card with a Fusion Summon effect from your Graveyard to your hand.
Recover any "card with a Fusion effect"!
Even broader range than Spell/Trap cards with "Fusion" in the name!
Although limited to the Graveyard, in critical moments it was even more useful than Chimerafflesia.
But like Chimerafflesia, it was also a delayed one-turn effect.
Still very powerful. Hikaru quite liked it.
"That card was specifically crafted by me. You seem to like it. Well then, until next time, Hikaru. I look forward to... more surprises from you."
The universe, the stars, everything began dissolving. Hikaru couldn't help but smile.
It seemed the Light of Destruction was genuinely beginning to explore new things. Otherwise, it wouldn't have created such a card! Perhaps in the future, it would produce even more cards for Hikaru to "experimentally" use! Truly wonderful news.
Hikaru snapped back to reality, reaching for the door handle. The next second, he found himself in a pristine white room.
"...Seriously, do all of you like doing this?"
Somewhat exasperated, he turned to see an enormous wheel-like machine floating in the room. Within it, a single eye was barely visible, seemingly watching him.
Beyond that, countless machines in the room were diligently crafting a card...
No.
Crafting a "tablet."
Zone seemed to be using his technology to create something.
"My apologies, Hikaru. Once you're fully back inside that barrier, even my voice will have difficulty reaching you."
Hikaru glanced beside him. Tierra wasn't there.
Had his consciousness been brought here?
"So what did you want to ask? The duel's result?"
"No..." Zone didn't immediately consider the duel.
He didn't have time for extras.
What mattered most was confirming Hikaru had won, then immediately delivering all the intelligence he had gathered.
Darkness's origins, its power, its agents, the spirits. While Hikaru and the others had been busy protecting classmates, Zone had compiled all spirit intelligence. Now was the perfect opportunity to share it.
Darkness was humanity's enemy. As they had discussed in the Synchro Dimension's future, when Hikaru faced Darkness, Zone, as the last human, would help him.
"Earlier, countless entities were drawn to your space by Super Polymerization's power, including Darkness..."
Oh?
Oh!
Zone was the best.
While other entities focused on the duel, Zone's first thought wasn't the duel at all.
He told Hikaru he had successfully scanned Darkness's data. It might prove useful, so he transmitted everything to Hikaru's consciousness. Once back in his world, he could recall it at will.
"And that's not all..." Zone looked at the card being carved beside him. "I... we... humanity... Yusei Fudo, we will always cheer for you and support you."
Although he had prepared for the worst, ready to destroy Darkness during its post-destruction fatigue if Hikaru and the others perished and the Fusion Dimension was annihilated, he still had some life remaining. So he didn't want to be that extreme yet. He wanted to hope, like Yusei would.
Hearing this, Hikaru took a deep breath.
"Alright. Leave it to me."
Hikaru reached out across the void and "bumped fists" with him. "Humanity doesn't fear terror or hardship. We overcome them one by one."