Darkness, literally translated, just means "darkness."
But in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, it's not just a noun, it's a real, living "being."
Its true form is a six-winged, goat-headed demon that embodies the law of the world: "Darkness." Its actual identity? Humanity's future downfall.
That's right. Its very existence is the end of humanity.
In terms of power, no early-game character even comes close to matching it.
Actually, even in the late game, no one can really touch this thing. With abilities like brainwashing, erasing existence, reading memories, rewriting memories, and absolutely zero shame, it stands unchallenged.
Even Jaden Yuki only avoided being brainwashed and thrown into the Shadow World because, by that point, he had two souls in one body, which kept him safe.
This brings up something that many people might misunderstand.
In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, duels don't decide everything.
You have to first survive the energy clash. If you can't withstand it, you'll be obliterated before you even get to play a card.
In the original series, as well as GX, 5D's, ZEXAL, the trend is clear: Supernatural threats can't kill people, so they use "Dark Duels," which definitely can.
Also, originally, Atticus was brainwashed by Darkness due to an accident, lost his memory, and started calling himself Darkness. He became one of the Shadow Riders, aiming to unseal the Sacred Beasts.
It wasn't until two years later, when the world began to change drastically, that he sought to recover his lost memories and asked Jaden for help. In the end, he came to understand that the world was truly on the brink of destruction.
Seems like because of how things are diverging into alternate dimensions, the final boss decided to drop in early using an alt account.
Hikaru frowned and looked toward Alexis.
She looked extremely conflicted, completely torn.
Seeing this, Hikaru wasn't surprised at all.
Sure, Darkness acts all high and mighty, like some unbeatable final boss later on, but why do fans call him the most embarrassing boss?
Simple: because he's shameless to the core.
In the story, plenty of characters who dueled him actually had a chance at victory. Take Axel Brodie for example, he could've won. But Darkness manipulated his memories, made him believe he killed his mother, and caused him to suffer in agony.
This thing? Nothing it does is surprising anymore.
"Alexis, are you really going to sit back and watch your brother fall again without lifting a finger?" Darkness placed a hand on his chest. "You saw it, didn't you?"
"I…" Alexis felt the world was spinning, her body wobbling.
'Yes... I did.'
Back then, her brother walked into that dimensional gate and never returned. It was an unknown space. Why didn't she stop him?
'But... why didn't I remember this until now?'
"If you had stopped him, your brother could have come back. You understand that, right?" Darkness lowered his voice. "No matter what method you used..."
"I..." Alexis clutched her head, trembling all over, and looked at Hikaru with pained eyes.
Hikaru clicked his tongue.
'Figures.'
In the original, Alexis got pulled in when Jaden was transported.
Now? The reason Alexis is even here is that he planned it.
"I activate the effect of Flame Swordsrealm!" Hikaru was completely unfazed, revealing a card from his hand. "I send Ancient Gear Knight from my hand to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon, Flame Swordsman!"
"Wait, Hikaru! Please," Alexis reacted on instinct. She jumped forward and clutched his arm, pleading desperately.
"Rhodes."
"!?"
"You know this is a Shadow Game."
"...Yes." Alexis looked so fragile now. "But there must be another way! There has to be! That's my brother's body!"
She was about to drop to her knees and say, "I'll do anything."
Hikaru yanked her back up.
"Listen, Rhodes. This is a Shadow Game. The soul of the loser will be sealed inside a card."
"I know that..."
"Then haven't you realized yet?"
"Realized?"
"That's your brother's body!"
"!!"
Darkness's expression turned impatient as he called out, "Alexis?"
"Do you want this bastard to keep controlling your brother, hurting others, turning you into his pawn, and stopping the next person who tries to duel him? Or do you want me to take him out right now, seal his soul in a card, and save your brother's body?"
"Even if the body's battered and broken, it's better than having it stolen, right?"
"..."
Alexis wiped the tears from her eyes. Her gaze regained clarity before the fog of Darkness that had clouded her mind began to fade, and she returned to being the proud elite of Obelisk Blue.
She let go of Hikaru's hand, turned around, and slapped herself hard twice, forcing herself to stay sharp.
"I understand now, Hikaru. Please, you have to defeat it. Please... bring my brother back!" She wiped away her tears with determination. Then, maybe to ease the awkwardness from before, she blushed and nodded, adding, "Even if you have to beat my brother up a bit, it's fine. It is his fault for leaving without a word!"
Looks like she finally shook off the mind control and made her own choice.
Hikaru shook his head.
This Darkness its clone abilities are still lacking. Otherwise, there's no way she would've snapped out of it so quickly.
"Don't worry!"
"You little..." Darkness's face darkened completely. "A girl was clinging to your arm, and you were thinking about something else? As a master of romance, I'm offended."
'He's still pretending to be Atticus!'
"What nonsense." Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to be the strongest Fusion Duelist in all dimensions. Romance just gets in the way."
"..."
Silence.
"I activate the effect of Future Fusion. I send Burstinatrix from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then, I activate Miracle Fusion!"
"I banish Burstinatrix and Avian from my Graveyard to Fusion Summon Elemental HERO, Flame Wingman!"
"But my monster still has higher ATK!"
"Flame Swordsrealm's effect, when a Warrior-type monster attacks, you can reduce another Warrior's ATK by 1000 and raise the ATK of all other monsters by 1000!"
"This is it! Flame Wingman, attack!"
Flame Wingman leapt into the air and charged at Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.
Darkness clicked his tongue and slammed down a card. "Even so, I can still win! I activate the Trap Card, Metalmorph!"
"This card equips to one monster and increases its ATK by 300 points."
"Heh..." Seeing that card, Hikaru laughed.
Sure, Darkness had supernatural powers beyond imagination. But he had one huge weakness.
Why did he always rely on cheap tricks during duels?
Because he seriously sucks at playing the game!
What's even the point of setting that card!?
"Then I activate my Trap Card, Salamandra with Chain! This card can also be used as an Equip Spell on a FIRE monster, I equip it to Flame Swordsman. And with its effect, I flip your Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon face-down!"
The dragon, just about to get a power-up, was caught off guard. A chain yanked it down as it was flipped face-down, reduced to a faded card.
"Tch..." In the blazing inferno, Darkness's face twisted into a cold sneer. "Amagi Hikaru, was it? I won't forget you."
BOOM!
[Darkness, LP: 1050 → 0]
"Big brother!!" Alexis saw the glowing floor panel begin to fade and shouted in panic.
The next moment, a flash of white light scattered.
By the time Hikaru regained his senses, he was already back at the beach near the Academy.
"Hikaru!?" "Rhodes!?" Several classmates and teachers who came looking for them due to the Key rushed over.
Alexis ran to her brother, knelt beside him, and was relieved to find he was still breathing.
Cunning, devious, full of dirty tricks, terrible at dueling, but at least Darkness kept its word.
Hikaru smiled and stretched.
In the distance, dawn was breaking.
Even if it was just a clone, a duel against someone of that caliber should yield a good amount of energy, right?
Sure enough, he could feel a warm current building inside.
'Heh, thanks for the...wait, huh?'
'Wait a second!'
His body started burning up, getting hotter and hotter until it was boiling!
Even just a clone, Darkness's energy was too much!
He staggered.
"Hikaru!!!"
Thud!
Just before passing out, one final thought ran through his head, 'At least... I can try printing a card again.'