Chapter 239
"Fu... fuse? We are fusing? The two of us?"
The mechanical undead had just demonstrated one version of fusion: units crashing together in violent collisions, steel and components shattering and reforming into new unified bodies.
"That is not possible! There is no way that is possible! We are not robots! We cannot fuse like that!"
Besides, in the current state of soul possession, Rin Seiya felt like she and her junior were already as fused as they needed to be. Surely this counted.
It did not count.
Just not losing was not enough.
Prayano. LP: 4000. Speed Counters: 3 to 4.
"I activate the effect of Meklord God: Meklord Infinity from my hand! I send three Meklord monsters from my hand to the GY and Special Summon this card!"
Yuma Tsukumo had managed to intercept and lock down the last of the merged Prayassea units. But the stream of standard-model Prayano machines continued pouring into the track without interruption. And this particular unit, despite being mass-produced, had produced a card that was anything but standard issue.
[Meklord God: Meklord Infinity]
[Level 12 LIGHT]
[Machine / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: 4000 / DEF: 4000]
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. You can Special Summon this card from your hand by sending 3 "Meklord" monsters from your hand to the GY.]
The Power Bond self-destruction loop was gone. But Meklord God: Meklord Infinity assembled from three Meklord Emperors still hit 4000 ATK. Combined with the inherited field: 4000 from Meklord God, 8000 from Chimeratech Terminator Dragon, and 12000 from Chimeratech Overdragon, all carrying over from the previous consecutive duel.
Amano and Rin Seiya had been cut out of two turns by the self-destruct wave strategy. They had no set cards at all.
"Meklord God: Meklord Infinity's effect activates!"
[Once per turn, target 1 Synchro Monster your opponent controls. Equip that monster to this card.]
The Meklord God extended its massive mechanical frame and locked the absorption target onto Cosmic Blazar Dragon.
"I banish Cosmic Blazar Dragon to negate and destroy Meklord God's effect activation!"
Prayano countered without hesitation: "I banish Meklord Enforcer from my GY to substitute for the destruction of my monster!"
Cosmic Blazar Dragon's negate landed. The effect was stopped. But the Meklord God was not destroyed. It simply stayed on the field as though nothing had happened.
And unlike the standard Meklord Emperors, Meklord God: Meklord Infinity carried no restriction preventing other monsters on the same field from declaring attacks.
"Battle! Chimeratech Terminator Dragon, Chimeratech Overdragon, Meklord God: Meklord Infinity, all attack!"
Three mechanical fortresses the size of small buildings converged on Rin Seiya's D-Wheel.
Cosmic Blazar Dragon had been forced off the field. If they could not survive this Battle Phase, there would be no chance to activate Union of Kindred Spirits at all.
"I banish Shooting Star Dragon to negate one attack!"
"Useless! Even after negating one attack, there are eighteen remaining direct attacks waiting for you!"
"When you declare a direct attack, I discard Swift Scarecrow from my hand!"
[Swift Scarecrow: Discard this card when an opponent's monster declares a direct attack. Negate that attack and end the Battle Phase.]
The Swift Scarecrow leapt from Rin Seiya's hand at the moment of the direct attack declaration, negating the hit and forcing the entire Battle Phase to a close in one motion.
From the top of the barrier wall, Yuma pumped a fist. "I knew I was right about you both! Even after losing two turns you pulled through by the thinnest margin possible!"
Prayano was not finished. "Before my turn ends, I activate Speed World 2's effect! I remove four Speed Counters and reveal two Speed Spells from my hand!"
Two turns of skipped play had allowed the Speed Counters to accumulate right back to four. With no Cosmic Blazar Dragon available this time, there was nothing to block the activation.
Two Speed Spells at 800 damage each: 1600 points of forced effect damage.
Prayano Speed Counters: 4 to 0.
Rin Seiya LP: 1900 to 300.
The scorching wind of Speed World blazed against the red D-Wheel in full sprint. There was nowhere left to retreat to.
"I end my turn," Prayano said with a laugh that had contempt in it. "With the state you are in right now, I wonder exactly how much longer you can hold out."
Rin Seiya's voice came back sharp: "How dare a mass-produced knockoff get that smug! Especially one wearing my junior's face!"
"The opponent is nothing but machinery without a soul," Amano said. "So the outcome of this duel will be wagered on ours."
At the End Phase, twin flares of starlight blazed back into position alongside the D-Wheel. Shooting Star Dragon and Cosmic Blazar Dragon, returning from the banish zone, took their places on either side.
This was the only chance.
The Union of Kindred Spirits skill had a description too short and too vague to understand. Amano still could not explain exactly what it did. But right now he was willing to bet everything on it.
[Union of Kindred Spirits]
[After a successful union, unlock the corresponding Legendary Duelist.]
The bond that grows from a shared pursuit awakens miracles across space and time.
Amano raised Rin Seiya's arm. The Eva Terminal blazed with pure white light on her wrist, carrying the weight of two souls at once.
"Union of Kindred Spirits!!"
In that instant, the D-Wheel's speed spiked to a level that had no precedent. It felt like Accel Synchro and nothing like Accel Synchro at the same time.
"They disappeared?!"
Rin Seiya's D-Wheel vanished from the track.
But this time she was not the only thing that vanished.
In the sports car, Karl's sunglasses hit the floor as he stamped on the brakes and stared at the passenger seat. It was empty. Amano Rei was gone. Not unconscious. Not still. Gone.
After almost thinking Amano had died on him the first time due to the background spirit state, Karl had steeled himself for a repeat of the unconscious-passenger scenario. He had felt prepared for it.
What he had not been prepared for was the man simply ceasing to exist in his vehicle.
"Being near that person is genuinely bad for my heart!!"
This was not the background spirit skill. The background spirit left the body in place while the soul traveled. The Union of Kindred Spirits had merged both: body and soul, drawn together at the same time.
Carried by the pull of their bond through flowing time and space, Amano felt his own existence and Rin Seiya's blur together as they crossed through countless years and came to rest behind a single silhouette.
Rin Seiya's voice rang out with sudden recognition. "Junior, is this what you meant by fusion?! Can it be... is that..."
The hairstyle was unmistakable even as a backlit silhouette. That specific shape was not something you forgot once you had seen it.
Yusei Fudo?
But something felt wrong. Despite the hairstyle being exactly right, despite every visual indicator pointing to the same answer, Amano had met the spirit of Yusei Fudo before. The presence standing in front of him now did not feel like the same person.
The system confirmed it.
[Union of Kindred Spirits: Corresponding Legendary Duelist unlocked. Z-one.]
The final boss of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
In this moment, Amano and Rin Seiya existed in a strangely balanced state after the fusion. Both souls floated around the body simultaneously, each maintaining its own awareness, like Xyz Materials overlaid on a single monster.
In hindsight, "Union" in the skill name was more accurate than "fusion." Stacking alongside rather than merging into.
That explained why Yuma had said it was not simple fusion.
The background spirit state had been a more exposed form of soul sharing. The Union of Kindred Spirits state at least had the dignity of keeping everyone properly dressed.
Rin Seiya's thoughts were running in a different direction. "The fusion of me and my junior produces Yusei Fudo? Does that make me a Fusion Material?"
"Xyz Material, technically."
"I would rather be a Synchro Material if possible."
Since Rin Seiya had missed the final episodes of 5D's, she did not know who Z-one was. There was no need to explain it right now. Once the duel played out, she would figure it out on her own.
Back on the track, Prayano stared at the figure now riding the D-Wheel. "Who... who are you?"
The mid-duel duelist substitution went entirely uncontested. The Eva system registered the change and accepted it without comment. For the first time in the entire chase, Amano watched genuine shock appear in a mechanical face.
Z-one spoke, his voice measured and absolute. "I see. Because the Fusion Stage was breached, a program to destroy the Synchro Stage was activated to maintain balance. But you have chosen the wrong opponent."
Z-one's turn began. He drew from the white D-Wheel that had appeared alongside Rin Seiya's board.
In the anime, the Union of Kindred Spirits state could theoretically alter the very text of cards. Z-one did not take that extreme a step here. But at the moment he took control, the field reset: Shooting Star Dragon and Cosmic Blazar Dragon returned to the Extra Deck, and the remaining cards in Amano and Rin Seiya's hand were exchanged for the corresponding cards drawn from Z-one's own deck.
"When I control no cards, I can Special Summon Timelord Witch!"
[Timelord Witch]
[Level 10 LIGHT]
[Angel / Effect]
[ATK: 0 / DEF: 0]
[If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When a Timelord monster is Tribute Summoned, this card can be substituted for 2 Tributes.]
The Timelord Witch materialized beside the white D-Wheel, completely unfamiliar to Rin Seiya, who tilted her head at the sight of it.
"Is this a monster Yusei Fudo would normally use?" she asked from the overlay space.
Z-one continued. "When I Tribute Summon a Timelord monster, Timelord Witch can serve as two Tributes!"
"A Tribute Summon for a Timelord?" Amano said to himself. "That is different from the ones in my deck."
The Timelords randomly loaded into Amano's deck by the system were the real-card TCG versions: simplified summoning that did not require Tributes, but with correspondingly reduced effects. Z-one was using the original anime versions with their full uncompromised power intact.
"Descend, divine justice! Benevolent king of Jupiter's heaven!"
"Tribute Summon! Randion the Timelord!!"
[Randion the Timelord]
[Level 10 WIND]
[Angel / Effect]
[ATK: 0 / DEF: 0]
[This card cannot be destroyed by effects or battle. Battle damage this card inflicts on its controller becomes 0. When this card battles, if the controller's LP is 4000 or below, their LP becomes 4000. While this card is on the field, the controller cannot Summon other monsters. During the Standby Phase, return this card to the Deck.]
[Anime version: LP restoration and effects trigger immediately after battle, not during Standby Phase.]
The divine column descended onto the high-speed circuit. One card. A presence that silenced the Meklord God, the Chimeratech Terminator Dragon, and the Chimeratech Overdragon without any exchange of blows.
"Ti... Timelord!" Prayano's voice broke for the first time. "A Timelord! Even the Meklord God is afraid! How is this possible?!"
Something inscribed at the deepest layer of Prayano's programming had activated. The machines that had shown no fear against the Delta Accel Synchro, despite having endless reinforcements behind them, were trembling at the sight of a single materialized Timelord.
Z-one raised a hand forward. "Battle. Randion the Timelord, attack Meklord God: Meklord Infinity!"
Zero ATK crashed against four thousand ATK, and Z-one took no damage whatsoever.
"Randion the Timelord cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Battle damage to the controller becomes zero. And after battle, the effect activates immediately!"
This was what separated the anime version from the real card. The TCG Timelord triggered its restoration during the Standby Phase. Z-one's Randion triggered the moment the battle was over.
[When this card battles, if the controller's LP is 4000 or below, their LP becomes 4000.]
The LP counter on the D-Wheel dashboard, sitting at 300, jumped.
Rin Seiya LP: 300 to 4000.
The Life Points that had taken more than ten mechanical units to grind down to almost nothing, through every exploit, every skipped turn, every forced Speed World burn, snapped back to full in a single hit that had cost Z-one nothing.
The machines had no answer for it.
Z-one placed three cards face-down. "The future that humanity fought so hard to reach will not be disturbed by programs without souls. Rest here, Prayano."
Amano suddenly grasped the full scope of what this meant.
Timelords return to the Deck during the Standby Phase. Their user would never run out of cards. No deck-out. No resource drain. Z-one could fight indefinitely.
No matter how many machines came, they could not defeat Z-one.
No wonder the machines had started trembling.
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