"Due to the effect of Attack Nullification, this round's battle phase has ended. But of course, you can't possibly have forgotten the effect of 'World,' can you?"
Yugen smiled.
Saio gritted his teeth: "World can skip the opponent's next turn by sending two monsters to the graveyard..."
"Exactly." Yugen waved his hand, "Send 'Secret Ceremony Power 12 - Hanged Man' and the 'Sacrificial Lotus' on the field to the graveyard, activating the effect of World—
—Zawaludo!
Turn, leap forward!"
Two monsters were sacrificed, turning into golden light points that dissipated. A translucent clock face flickered into view on the duel field, with hands spinning furiously to the sound of ticking. The turn shifted, instantly advancing to Saio's turn, but the time of this turn was completely frozen.
Saio's entire field seemed locked in place, his card deck unable to be drawn, with no actions to be taken. He could only watch as the turn phases spun by, rapidly skipping an entire turn until it came back to Yugen's drawing phase.
"Well then, it's my turn again, draw."
Yugen's lips curled upwards.
"In the preparation phase, the effect of the 'Yellow Springs Frog' in my graveyard is activated. During the preparation phase when this card is in your graveyard, if your backfield has no cards in the Magic Trap Zone, you can Special Summon.
I Special Summon 'Yellow Springs Frog' in Defense Position."
[Yellow Springs Frog, Defense Power 100]
"Every preparation phase, with an empty backfield, it can be Special Summoned every turn..."
Saio's eyelid twitched.
Ma... Masaka (Could it be)!?
"That Sacrificial Lotus just sacrificed...!?" Saio seemed to remember, he apparently had seen that monster before, vaguely aware it had similar properties to Yellow Springs Frog.
"Oh? You've noticed already?"
Yugen smiled.
"Correct. Sacrificial Lotus's effect is that during your ending phase, if this card is in your graveyard, you can Special Summon it in Attack Position on your field. However, if this card is on the field during your preparation phase, you must take 1000 points of damage." (Original effect)
This was a card Yubel used in the animation, specially designed to emerge at the end of each turn to be sacrificed for Yubel, preventing Yubel from self-destructing due to its own effect. In the new generation of Yubel card deck enhancements, new versions were introduced.
In early physical card transformations, this card was weakened to require an empty backfield to emerge, like Yellow Springs Frog. However, this restriction didn't exist in the original animation version; otherwise, Yubel would have been destroyed by Judai a million times over if the backfield couldn't have cards each turn's end.
Mizuchi's heart skipped a beat, seeming to understand this lineup and what Yugen meant by "World's true power".
Every turn during the preparation phase, Yellow Springs Frog is Special Summoned. During the turn's ending phase, Sacrificial Lotus is Special Summoned.
Every turn, as long as World sacrifices two monsters, it can skip the opponent's next turn...
"This is...this is..."
Infinite LOOP!
And this isn't just any infinite LOOP: in the actual card environment at the time, this kind of LOOP centered around World had a specific term known as "World Lock".
To simply translate, it's my turn, my turn, still my turn.
You never reach your true turn.
"Once again entering battle phase."
Yugen's lips curled upwards in a nuanced smile.
"If your fate is meant to be absolute and I'm destined to be defeated by your fate, then facing your own world, your time… can it still flow?"
Saio's Facial Art expression twitched even more extensively.
It's infuriating, incredibly infuriating.
Why can this guy be so arrogantly invincible!?
"Secret Ceremony Power 21 - World attacks 'Secret Ceremony Power 0 - The Fool'!"
Once again, a cataclysmic strike is launched, with the world's oppression feeling like it's tearing heaven and earth apart.
Mizuchi looked dumbly at World, at Yugen commanding the world.
This person...
Seems to master the world with even greater skill than my brother or even the personality of Light of Destruction.
When he said to witness the true power of the world, he wasn't exaggerating.
Just like when the world was in Saio's hands, he possessed time-stop power, but he could halt for only a mere five seconds.
Yet in this person's hands, the time the world can pause... is eternal!
Mizuchi's heart leapt into his throat.
So will the evil personality of destruction be defeated just like this? Will the time stolen from my brother be restored with the King's help?
"You impudent swine... don't you dare be smug with me!"
Saio's Facial Art levels kept ascending, roared in anger.
"Activate Cover Card, Trap Card 'Good Opponent's Memory'!"
Saio's backfield Trap cards flipped over, simultaneously an invisible wave burst. An invisible pressure erupted with Saio's roar, with the Power of Light within him mobilizing to the extreme, even his long hair fluttering in the airflow.
"This Trap can only be activated during the opponent's monster attack declaration." Saio said, "Suffer direct damage equal to that monster's Attack Power!"
The mighty blow encompassing the world suddenly seemed to plunge into a teleportation gate-like vortex. That surging energy bypassed the Fool on the front line, directly flying at Saio's face, blasting violently past him with enough force to level the ground he stood on.
"Roaaaaar!" Saio unleashed an impotent scream.
[Saio, LP 4000→LP 900]
"He endured damage on behalf of the monster?" Mizuchi frowned.
But what's the point? The Fool wouldn't be destroyed by battle anyway...
Yet Saio crouched on the ground, body emitting black smoke, gasping as he continued to explain, "But after that, that attacking monster of the opponent is directly removed from the game!"
Ethereal golden light enveloped World, as if an invisible force formed into a cage binding it, making its giant metallic form become ethereal until fading away as a phantom.
"I see." Mizuchi understood.
Despite the hefty Life Points cost, at least it broke free from World's infinite cycle, escaping the curse of infinite time-stopping. At least this way, he has a chance.
But Yugen knew there was more.
"Good Opponent's Memory, this card also has a further effect." Yugen calmly stated.
"Heh, indeed."
Saio, breathing heavily, slowly stood up and said grimly.
"Moreover, at the end of the next opponent's turn, the monster removed from the game by this card's effect is Special Summoned on my field!"
Mizuchi: "!"
So that's this guy's goal...
"Hahaha indeed! You are quite smug for taking my World, but unfortunately, next turn, I'll regain control of World!"