After declaring his rule over the Spirits and the region, Gaia turned back to Hikaru.
As always, Hikaru was calmly checking his Deck.
Gaia had brought plenty of new cards for Hikaru.
Besides [Gateway to Chaos], he now had [Gaia the Fierce Knight], [Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion], [Gaia the Magical Knight], and [Gaia the Mid-Knight Sun], four different forms of himself. There was also the support card [Spiral Spear Strike] made for [Gaia the Dragon Champion].
Among them, [Gaia the Magical Knight] leaned toward Fusion, while [Gaia the Mid-Knight Sun] leaned toward the Black Luster Soldier line.
Unfortunately, no [Gaia the Magical Knight of Dragons].
As expected of someone who had passed the Black Luster Soldier's trial and become one of the Chaos Warriors, his number of forms was nearly catching up to Captain Crystal after upgrades.
Even so,
Hikaru promptly removed [Gateway to Chaos] and [Spiral Spear Strike] from his Deck.
Neither had become Fusion Spell cards. Partly because Super Polymerization doesn't always convert every card, and partly because Hikaru's control over it had improved.
But that didn't mean he could leave them in the Deck.
Cards symbolizing archetypes and clans were better left with Gaia.
Gaia scratched his head, opened his mouth, but hesitated.
"What's wrong, Gaia?" Flame Swordsman broke the silence.
"Hah. This Spirit... probably wants to stay here and protect the weaker ones," Tierra bluntly exposed Gaia's thoughts. "Then stay."
"Huh? But... since I've passed the trial and ended Lord Chaos Warrior's punishment, of course I should follow my lord..." Gaia mumbled.
He glanced at Tierra, confused by how free-spirited this Spirit was.
"It's fine, Gaia." Hikaru shook his head. "Honestly, you staying here fits perfectly with our plans."
"Eh? It does?"
Gaia tilted his head in confusion.
Flame Swordsman sighed, glancing at Tierra, who had no intention of explaining, and decided, for once, to pick his words carefully. He began explaining the past year's events to Gaia.
He called it, the Grand Adventure of the Fusionist!
Besides befriending various Spirits, battling many others, and fighting the evil Fusion Army, he especially emphasized Hikaru's identity and occupation.
Identity, a second-year student at Duel Academy.
Occupation: an Alchemist.
Currently, Hikaru was preparing for his internship, exams, and tournaments. His goal was to visit this dimension in advance and, just in case, build a dimensional gate here using alchemy.
Originally, he wanted a remote, hidden location to build the gate, ensuring safe two-way travel between dimensions.
However, now, with Gaia stationed here, they could make this entire region the base and build the gate right at its core.
This would greatly improve security.
Alternatively, if Gaia was still uneasy, there was another option: bring all the rescued weaker Spirits to Hikaru's Grand Universe Workshop.
That massive sub-dimension built by Professor Banner was spacious enough for Gaia and all the Spirits to live comfortably.
"No, my lord. I think I'll pass." Gaia shook his head.
Yes, he had saved those Spirits and worried about them.
But he didn't fully understand their intentions. He could guard them, but recklessly bringing them to Hikaru's Workshop wasn't right.
What if remnants of the Light Monarch were among them?
He was their protector, not their elder. As a warrior, it was his duty to teach and raise them to stand on their own.
If, after all this time, not even one warrior adept in Duel Rituals emerged among them, then perhaps scattering to safer settlements was best.
"Then... my lord, what was that light?" Gaia finally asked the question that had been gnawing at him.
Those black-tainted curtains of light felt ominous even at a glance.
Given that he had passed the Chaos Warrior's trial, even without the card itself, he shouldn't have lost so badly against a common Warrior from another dimension. Yet against Kuraz, his opening hand had been triple Level 7 monsters, and the entire Duel was one-sided. He survived only through sheer skill.
It was absurd.
"That strange light..." Hikaru recalled, then explained, "It's called the Light of Destruction, or the Light Force."
The Light of Destruction.
In canon, the first clear explanation came from Maximillion Pegasus, the CEO of Industrial Illusions and father of Duel Monsters. He explained it to Principal Sheppard.
The Light Force was a radiance discovered through Duel Astronomy, originating from a distant part of the universe.
It's a wave filled with ruin and destructive desire. Any lifeform exposed to it would be dragged into endless conflict.
Wars from ancient Egypt and Rome to WWII, according to this lore, were influenced by it.
In this world, concepts like "battle" and "war" exist because of the Light Force.
It wasn't solely human greed; the Wave also played a part.
And the more conflict occurs, the stronger the Wave becomes. The stronger it grows, the more powerfully it affects others.
Theoretically, as long as conflict exists, it will never disappear.
When Pegasus discovered Duel Monsters and created the Egyptian God cards, someone also created a card so powerful that it attracted the Light's attention.
That card? The ultimate evil, Destiny HERO - Plasma.
Part of the reason Principal Sheppard organized the GX tournament was at Pegasus's request, to find that legendary D card.
Unbeknownst to them, the Light had long vacated that card, leaving only a shell.
But now, in this dimension...
Thanks to the advent of dimensional travel, the Light of Destruction had set its sights on the Spirit World too.
Not surprising.
If even Sartorius could harness it, why not others?
Across the world and countless dimensions, there were always humans or Spirits desperate to grow stronger through the Light Force. Nothing unusual about that.
After all, from a host's perspective, the Light demands nothing. It merely attaches itself, enhances draw power, and if strong enough, like Sartorius's minions, the host could even transform into elemental beings of thunder, ice, fire, and rock.
That's literal superpowers.
At Sartorius's level, the gifts became ridiculous.
Precognition. And with almost 100% accuracy.
Sartorius alone realized as a child how dangerous the Wave was, because eventually, every host walks the path of self-destruction.
Otherwise, even Seto Kaiba would need to sacrifice Obelisk the Tormentor just to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon to break fate.
And let's not even mention Sartorius's toolkit: brainwashing, telepathy, mental strikes of light... it was absurd.
Though Sartorius's original soul hated conflict, his body's talent was far too tempting.
Of course, Hikaru didn't tell the Spirits everything. He gave them a general understanding of the Light's nature, warned them of its dangers, and urged caution.
Details about Pegasus's discovery or deeper theories? Irrelevant.
"I see... What a terrifying existence." Gaia's brow furrowed like a spiral. "Then, my lord, shall I summon Spirits to help build the gate?"
"No, the less who know, the better. I can handle it with Alkahest."
With Gaia as the local overseer, Hikaru didn't need to spend time scouting. He could start building the dimensional gate earlier.
With preparation came confidence.
...
Bonus @600
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