After this duel, Ed was almost out of his mind.
No, it wasn't just this duel. Recently, he's been feeling like everything is a bit off.
Saio's prophecies have once again been broken, something that hadn't happened in so many years, and now it's happened three times in a row.
First, there was the duel with Revolver. Saio's prophecy for him was a complete victory, but looking back, the result was more like a complete defeat. That chariot Saio gave to the opponent seemed more fitting after all.
Then there was the professional league duel with Marufuji Ryo. Once again, he believed Saio's nonsense about having an inevitable victory. Yet, he didn't even get his real deck out before being pinned down, losing like a clown.
Then there was the recent duel at the Duel Academy. The duel with Yuki Judai was another total disaster. Saio's prophecy was just as worthless as before, predicting nothing, and the outcome was completely different from what was said.
By this point, Ed's trust in Saio and this so-called destiny had completely collapsed.
Destiny? What a joke.
Also, these duels weren't just losses; they were bizarrely strange losses.
First, the duel with Revolver was full of Sacrificial Demons, Air Hummingbirds, and various Minotaurs bullying him. Then in the duel with Marufuji Ryo, the opponent targeted his Elemental Heroes, with Cyber Fusions and Warrior Erasure strategies, and finally his Shining Phoenix was devoured by the Cyber Dragon...
Then today with Yuki Judai's duel, it was even more of a disaster. Any time he summoned a big monster, the opponent would immediately take it down with Earth Mole. In the end, they pulled out an idiotic Brother Dolphin from nowhere and blew away all his cards, leaving him with no hand in the end...
This might be the first time since he became a pro that Ed felt clueless.
Has the era changed? Or has he simply fallen behind?
Is this truly what dueling is like now?
"I won!" Judai exclaimed happily, "That was an interesting duel!"
The final blow felt like a divine stroke, striking Ed's heart with such a heavy hammer it nearly made him vomit blood.
Something is wrong, something is definitely wrong!
His destiny is cursed!
...
...
Yugen felt that the result was completely within expectations.
After all, Judai has now gained the power of New Space. Although looking at it from a deck-building perspective, Judai's deck was originally a pile of useless Elemental Heroes mixed with exclusive Magic Trap cards, and now with a whole irrelevant system mixed in along with a bunch of confusing exclusive Magic Traps, the deck's difficulty seemed to ratchet up from Hell mode to inhuman levels, normally you would think it weakened him.
But you cannot judge the animated world by conventional standards. Mixing in a whole irrelevant system should mean Judai's deck became more diverse. Not to mention a bunch of Cosmic Elves bestowed with the power of Dark Fluctuation enhanced his Destiny Power to realms unseen before.
Forget that now Judai was long-term influenced by Yugen's teachings, as soon as he got hold of the new deck, he immediately spotted New Space's top cards for firepower — Brother Mole and Brother Dolphin.
There's no need to elaborate on Brother Dolphin, the physical card was heavily nerfed. In the series, it was capable of discarding from the hand multiple times a turn, and when fused into Aqua Neos it could discard two cards — even the once sunny Mr. Malikma would give it a thumbs up.
Brother Mole's reputation precedes itself. This thing was honored by the forbidden and limited card lists since debut and persistently active in the meta; in peak times, nearly every deck loved to carry a Brother Mole.
It's simple really, summoned and then instantly kicks back an opponent's big monster to their hand, easily regaining the resource gap they spent in summoning it, and not being destroyed by battle means returning to the hand for another round next turn. Before the meta sped up, it was the silent enforcer with an obvious strength; there was no reason not to use it.
But it seems Ed might need a little solitary time to recover...
Anyway, it doesn't matter. The Light Fragment residing in Ed's deck has already been shattered by Yugen himself, severing his direct connection with the Light of Destruction. Coupled with his shaken resolve, this key piece at Saio's disposal can no longer be used.
The students at the Academy, led by Judai, were evidently mature enough to handle Saio's offensive.
What came as a surprise was that later that day, Saio Mizuchi came looking for him.
It wasn't Revolver, but Duel King Fujiki Yugen himself. And it wasn't in the real world, but through a message sent via his Link System.
She hoped to meet Yugen in the virtual world of the Link System.
While at a glance an enemy conference might sound like a trap, Yugen understood that Mizuchi, appearing to be another powerful piece for Saio, was actually not what she seemed. In the original work, Mizuchi had long realized what was happening to her brother.
Given that these Saio siblings are extraordinary, Mizuchi was also born with special abilities. She had sensed that her brother was possessed by an evil force but realized her power was insufficient to combat it, so she pretended to continue supporting Saio while secretly seeking allies to save her brother from evil's clutches.
That's why she faced Judai and Ed in the original, merely testing their strength.
Yugen surmised that finding him now was for the same reason.
Turns out the person she intended to find through Revolver was himself after all...
So Yugen didn't overthink and logged into the Link System at the appointed time, unsurprised to see Mizuchi.
No ambushes, no other people. Just her alone, dressed in a kimono as if stepping out from a painting, calmly waiting there.
"You've arrived."
Saio Mizuchi stood up, duel disc already equipped.
"Yes, I'm here."
Yugen nodded, revealing his own duel disc.
"Using a duel to predict my destiny, is that it?"
Mizuchi showed a bit of astonishment but soon bestowed a soft smile.
"You truly are as they say, a man of wonder, Duel King... indeed. That makes things easy then."
The two unfold their duel discs.
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Mizuchi, LP 4000]
"Then I shall begin with the first move, draw."
Mizuchi draws her card and immediately summons the monster card she drew.
"I summon 'Silver Divine Spirit - Ukyo' in attack position."
A transparent whirlwind whirls on Mizuchi's field, and within the storm, a shikigami masked like a ninja emerges and gracefully lands.
["Silver Divine Spirit - Ukyo", Attack Power 800]
The monster used by Mizuchi in the original, only 3-star, with average attack and defense, but Yugen remembers that it is part of a series from the original, with many exclusive support cards. It falls within the type like Black Mage and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, whose nature seems weak but has a lot of powerful derivatives.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Magic 'Moon Wheel Mirror'!"
Mizuchi plays her second card. As the card is inserted into the duel disc, a peculiar green sphere appears on her field, its surface full of closed eyes, and from above, floats a ghost-like black cloak holding a bright, reflective round mirror.
The artwork itself suggests strangeness, but Mizuchi does not elaborate on the card, choosing instead to draw two more cards from her hand.
"Finally, I set two cards in the backfield, ending my turn."