"Captain, how are you feeling?"
"Uh... Master Amagi, I don't sense anything unusual."
Inside the alchemy workshop, Hikaru Amagi observed Gem-Knight Prism Aura, checking readings with a meticulous gaze as the Golden Cult Deity helped him hook various cables to the warrior's form.
Since Hikaru often called Prism Aura "Captain," everyone else picked it up as well. But notably, none of the Duel Spirits dared call Tierra by her name. Even now, they continued addressing her as "Midrash" or "Your Ladyship."
Today, Hikaru was finalizing a new data extraction—not because he truly intended to transmute Prism Aura into El Shaddoll Construct for some symbolic alchemical purpose, but because Prism Aura had always been a convenient and reliable test subject for his experimental readouts.
The real goal? Finding the "DT Spirit World."
Prism Aura had never explicitly explained how its home differed from the other Duel Spirit realms Hikaru had visited. But Hikaru, after many dimensional travels and a detailed analysis, had drawn his own conclusion.
Prism Aura's "world" was different.
Even among Duel Spirits, there were distinctions. For instance, Prism Aura once mentioned its world had faced an incursion—but whatever force had invaded left after deeming it unworthy or valueless. Clearly, that world wasn't what the invaders were after.
Hikaru could understand why. In Yu-Gi-Oh! lore, the Duel Terminal world was infamous—a true "land of death." Countless powerful beings had perished there: alien invaders, resurrected evils, even deities like Tierra herself. Nothing survived.
And in Prism Aura's dimension, the so-called "broken dimensions" weren't splinters caused by separation from a spirit-world whole, but rather deliberate quarantine zones. For example, Prism Aura was quarantined after being infected by Shaddoll energy, severing its connection to its origin world—thanks to interference from Declan Akaba's group.
That's the dimension Hikaru was hunting.
A massive, revisitable space rich for exploration. If he could lock onto it, he wouldn't need to keep crafting dimensional keys through alchemy.
Besides, he had once promised Prism Aura he'd help it return home.
Tierra sat nearby in a lazy recline, idly manipulating a tiny demon with her fingers like a puppet, bored. But when she heard the console beep—
"All done with the sampling. Thanks for your help, Captain."
"I should be the one thanking you, Master Amagi," Prism Aura replied, stepping off the machine. "It was a selfish request of mine, yet you've continued the search. I'm truly grateful."
"Haha, don't mention it," Hikaru smiled. "I've got my own reasons. If I can collect all the El Shaddoll cards in one go, that's a lot better than synthesizing them one at a time."
He slipped a star-patterned card into the dimensional gate—a fragment extracted from Prism Aura. One of many he's been studying.
Reworking or upgrading the dimensional gate was still too difficult for him. Despite trying a few theories, he had no breakthroughs—so he pivoted to unfinished goals.
The gate glowed green. Runic glyphs flickered as the spirits in the room reverted into cards and slotted themselves into his Deck. Tierra gave a little clap, dismissed her demon puppet, and floated to Hikaru's side. As the portal hummed, the workshop dimmed, leaving behind only a still-sleeping baby Thunder Dragon and the battered but recovering Gladiator Beast Andal.
A moment later—
Thud!
Hikaru hit the ground.
There was rumbling nearby—his impact was masked by ambient noise. He crouched, hand to the earth, then stood and flexed his limbs.
Maybe a ten-meter drop?
Nothing serious for his enhanced body. Tierra didn't even bother deploying her puppet strings to catch him—too busy spinning in the air, fascinated by their surroundings.
Until, suddenly, her face shifted.
A profound, unfamiliar disappointment clouded her expression—an emotion Hikaru had never seen from her before.
"Boring…"
At the same time, Prism Aura's voice echoed in his mind.
"Master Amagi… this isn't my dimension. In fact… I don't think this is even the quarantine I was sent to."
Really?
Hikaru nodded slightly.
Maybe this was one of the relay points where Prism Aura had been transferred while under Shaddoll control—after all, signs of its presence lingered faintly.
He ducked behind a rocky outcrop, peering out.
The scene was chaos.
Machines were digging. Shadows bustled in the distance—some barked orders, others managed labor. A few massive non-humanoid beings lumbered through the zone.
Humans?
That was unexpected.
This dimension looked small. A crushed, warped space where the sky barely hovered thirty meters above the ground. Typical "Broken Dimension" terrain.
But… what were they excavating?
Then he spotted it.
Among the workers were individuals wearing familiar uniforms—
Fusion Enforcers?
Hikaru blinked in disbelief.
"Oh," Tierra said, cocking her head. "So that's it. This dimension's been corrupted. The humans are digging out tainted stone, probably?"
"Ah—now that you mention it…" Prism Aura's voice returned. "I may have passed through this place while infected. The corruption… it could have come from me."
"I figured as much." Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
Typical Prism Aura move—accidentally "Shaddolling" the place.
Suddenly, a group of Fusion Enforcers wheeled a huge stasis chamber to the center of the field and began carefully opening it.
With a wailing scream, pitch-black fog erupted outward.
Nearby captive spirits were instantly overwhelmed—screeching in agony as the mist tainted their forms. The ground rotted beneath them. Though a clear zone had been prepped, the corruption spread relentlessly.
The soldiers scrambled away to avoid contamination.
"Monsters!!" Prism Aura materialized beside Hikaru, fists clenched around the rock, armored hands trembling as if cracking under pressure.
So much pain—caused by him!!
"No, Captain," Hikaru said, voice firm. "Don't get it twisted. This isn't your fault. The blame lies with those abusing this power for their own ends."
"And what we need to do—"
"—is set it right."