BOOM!
The two consecutive explosions from the Elephant Statue of Disaster blasted Trueman's body apart. His black-uniformed figure disintegrated, turning from solid into mist. A large cloud of dark miasma burst out, along with countless dark cards that scattered in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, only a shallow crater remained where Trueman had stood, as if the person had been completely obliterated.
As Kira put away his Duel Disk, Jaden flew over to meet him.
Kira pointed at the large pit. "Was he like this before too?"
"Yeah. I've beaten him several times already. Every time, the guy just gets blown away completely, leaving nothing behind," Jaden scratched his head. "This should be some kind of projection or avatar, right?"
This concept was no longer unfamiliar to Jaden. After all, he and Kira had been projecting into the Spirit World every few days to grind otherworldly RPG dungeons.
"Pretty much. But this time, it should have done some actual damage to the main body," Kira said.
Jaden laughed. "Haven't seen you for a few days and you've gotten even stronger! Your aura and techniques have improved a lot. Oh, and that Neo-Spacian combo you just pulled off was super cool! As expected of Kira—you always come up with ways normal people would never think of!"
The spirit of Dark Panther floating nearby wanted to speak but held back.
Uh… I don't think my involvement in that combo was actually that big… If anything, the Neo-Spacians' greatest contribution in that barrage was probably the fast-draw engine created by combining 'NEXT' and 'Space Gift.'
Without such rapid filtering, it would have been hard to assemble that weird combo's components.
"About that enemy just now," Kira asked, "how much do you know?"
Jaden thought for a moment. "Not much so far. I only know they share the same origin as the dark power that once devoured Alexis's brother, Rhodes Atticus. Recently they've been active around Duel Academy frequently. I also heard from KaibaCorp that similar missing-person cases have occurred in other regions, possibly related to these people."
Kira nodded.
It seemed Jaden still didn't have much information.
"I'll have to leave for a while to handle some matters, so the Academy will mostly be in your hands," Kira said. "But don't worry—with your current strength, dealing with opponents of this level should be no problem. Before I go, however, I'll tell you everything I know about Nightshroud so you can prepare yourself mentally. Listen carefully."
"…"
…
Darkness. Endless, boundless darkness.
In this void space, even time seemed frozen. Suddenly, a faint blue light flickered like an eye opening in the night.
"I was careless…" A deep voice echoed through the darkness. A blurry humanoid silhouette gradually took shape. Trueman—the same Trueman who had just been blown to pieces by Kira—slowly reformed. His black trench coat fluttered without wind, and ominous red light gleamed beneath his sunglasses.
"Not only is the Jaden Yuki problem unsolved, but the Duel King has returned as well," he said.
As his words rang out, countless identical red eyes lit up in the darkness. One, ten, a hundred… Countless Trueman's emerged from the darkness. They wore identical outfits and struck identical poses, arranged like mirror images across the void.
One Trueman on the left spoke: "That Duel King, Fujiki Kira, is even more troublesome than expected."
"How is progress on the Jaden Yuki side?" the central Trueman—the first one who appeared—asked in a heavy voice.
Three Trueman's on the right answered in perfect sync: "Jaden Yuki's performance over several consecutive duels has also exceeded expectations. His strength does not match the previous data. All attempts so far have been completely suppressed."
"The plan must move to the next stage," the central Trueman looked around. "Jaden Yuki and Fujiki Kira are obstacles that must be overcome no matter what. Without their data, our evolution cannot be completed."
A strange resonance echoed in the darkness. All the Trueman's nodded simultaneously, their movements so perfectly synchronized it was spine-chilling.
"Conventional methods are no longer effective," one Trueman from the back stepped forward. "Perhaps… it is time to initiate 'Assimilation' directly."
Assimilation was their ultimate method.
In the original GX ending, the entire world's population was assimilated into darkness, trapped in an infinite loop within their deepest nightmares, much like the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
"The risk coefficient is too high," an opposing voice immediately rang out. "Unknown variables have not been eliminated. Not only Jaden Yuki and Fujiki Kira, but people like Kaiba Seto are still present. If we assimilate everyone with darkness at once, it might backfire and devour our own world instead."
At that moment, the entire dark space suddenly trembled. A purple rift tore open in the void, as if the space itself had been ripped apart. From the crack seeped an eerie light that did not belong to this world.
"It's here again," several Trueman's whispered at once.
A voice that was neither male nor female—sounding like thousands of people whispering together or a mechanical synthesis—came from the rift: "It seems you've run into trouble. Well? Our previous proposal is still valid."
The central Trueman raised a hand for silence. All copies immediately fell quiet. He walked alone toward the rift, his black leather shoes producing clear footsteps despite treading on nothingness.
"What can you offer?" he asked calmly.
The light in the rift flickered. "Cross-dimensional technology, dueling energy that surpasses this universe, brand new fields of dueling and summoning methods you've never heard of… Power and allies beyond your imagination, more than enough to help you complete your plan."
"And the price?"
"There is none." The voice laughed. "Providing aid to strong individuals across dimensions when they face difficulties is our way of investing. As long as your plan succeeds and you achieve the 'assimilation' of all humanity in this dimension, that will already be the best return."
The Trueman's began to show differing opinions.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch," one said. "We know nothing about these visitors from other dimensions. They could also become a threat to us."
But other voices countered: "This is also an opportunity."
"Fujiki Kira and Jaden Yuki have already delayed the plan for too long. We cannot continue like this."
The central Trueman remained silent for a long time. Suddenly he raised his hand, and all arguments stopped instantly. He turned to face his countless copies, the red light beneath his sunglasses burning even brighter.
"Vote," he said curtly.
In the darkness, countless Trueman's closed their eyes at the same time. Moments later, they opened them together.
"Resolution passed," the central Trueman announced, "with one additional condition. Everything in this dimension will still be under our control. This plane will ultimately belong to Lord Nightshroud."
He turned back to the rift. "You heard that? Those are our conditions."
"Of course," the other side responded without hesitation.
As soon as the words were spoken, the rift began to slowly close. But just before it disappeared completely, the voice added: "Then the agreement is made. Soon, the power of the Light will appear in this dimension. Chaos shall descend. At that time—"
The rift closed completely and the voice cut off.
The dark space returned to silence, but a faint energy fluctuation that did not belong to this world still lingered in the air.
The central Trueman pushed up his sunglasses and frowned as he repeated the final words left behind. "Light… Chaos?"
…