[Kaito, LP 4000]
[Yumi, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!" Yumi said quickly, drawing the first card with a smile on his face.
"Spell Card, Take Over 5. Sent the top five cards from my deck to my grave."
With one swift motion, five cards were sent to Yumi's graveyard.
"I normal summon, Sky Striker Ace - Raye!"
As the card was placed down, the figure of his ace appeared before him. She stood tall and confident, one hand on her hip, the other holding her futuristic katana. Her pale blonde hair waved gently behind her.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
"Since a Sky Striker Ace monster was summoned, I get to Special Summon Sky Striker Ace - Roze from my hand!"
Holding up another card, Yumi placed it down, and soon Roze materialized before him, wearing a signature black uniform with her long scarf and silver twin-tails as she stood calmly beside Raye.
[Sky Striker Ace - Roze, 1500 ATK]
"Now I activate the Spell Card, Sky Striker Mobilize - Engage! This let me add a Sky Striker card from my deck to my hand." A card popped out from the top of his deck as he added it to his hand. "I'll add Sky Striker - Yumi to my hand."
"And since I have three or more spells in my grave, I get to draw a card." He quickly drew another card, adding it to his hand.
"The condition is a Non-FIRE Sky Striker Ace!" Yumi said as Raye's body began to glow brightly, covered by a blazing orange light.
The light faded, revealing Raye now wearing her flaming high-tech samurai-theme mecha armor, her six metal wings spread out behind her, as she held her tachi in her hand.
"Henshin! Sky Striker Ace - Kagari!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 1500 ATK]
"Kagari's effect, when she is summoned, I get to add a Sky Striker Spell from my grave to my hand."
Yumi said as a card popped out from his graveyard.
"I'll add back Engage and activate it, allowing me to add Widow Anchor to my hand."
Upon adding the card back to his hand, Yumi placed it down immediately, before another card popped out from his deck as he placed it in his hand.
"And since I have three or more spells in my grave, I get to draw a card!" Yumi quickly drew another card.
Placing the card into his hand, Yumi quickly pulled out another card.
"I activate the effect of Sky Striker - Yumi from my hand!" Spinning the card between his fingers, Yumi shows it to his opponent. "Once per turn, I target a Level 4 Sky Striker Ace from my grave and Special Summon it alongside this card!"
His graveyard zone glowed brightly as Yumi placed the reveal card down.
"Return to my side, Raye!"
Raye reappeared on the field, now standing alongside Sky Striker - Yumi, who has the same appearance as Yumi but is wearing a set of black Sky Striker-themed clothing.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
[Sky Striker - Yumi, 1000 ATK]
Kaito widened his eyes slightly, seeing the identical appearance between the Yumi currently dueling him and the Yumi currently standing in the monster zone.
"So that's what you are." Kaito murmurs under his breath, his mind already categorizing Yumi as a Duel Monster Spirit, which isn't exactly wrong; it just depends on which Yumi he was referring to.
Yumi raised a brow upon hearing his opponent's strange muttering, but he paid it no mind since he was already quite used to being misunderstood. He has been mistaken for multiple identities, such as Jaden, Slifer, Haou, Darkness, and Paradox.
What's one more gonna make any different?
"Now I activate Raye's effect! By Tributing her, I can Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace from my Extra Deck!" Yumi said, waving his hand to the side as Raye's entire body glowed brightly.
The light faded, revealing a suit of deep crimson and red armor. A white diamond crest glimmered on her belly, energy wings unfurled in vivid red and crimson hues, and a long, segmented tail-like appendage extended from the back of her neck.
Two horn-like hairpins jutted from her head, angled backward like a predator ready to strike.
"Henshin! Sky Striker Ace - Masquerade!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Masquerade, 2300 ATK]
"Level 4 Sky Striker - Yumi tunes Level 4 Sky Striker Ace - Roze!"
Kaito: "!!?"
Sky Striker - Yumi dissolved into light, transforming into four glowing green rings that circled around Roze.
"Wishes come together, forming the path that leads to the new future!"
Roze's body turns into four orbs of light, the energy converging into a single beam.
[4+4=8]
"Synchro Summon! Level 8 The System Error - Yumi!"
Appearing on the field was simply another Yumi, but this one was wearing a ragged, torn cloak, with red circuitry lines running across it. From the cloak, it emitted an ominous effect as his body glitched in and out of existence.
[The System Error - Yumi, 0 ATK]
"I set three card face-down."
Three face-down cards materialized behind his line of monsters.
"I activate the Spell, Card Destruction! We discard our entire hand and draw the same number of cards we discarded."
Yumi sent the final card in his hand to the grave and drew one card, while Kaito sent his entire hand to the grave and drew five new cards.
"The card I just discarded was the Spell, Card of Compensation. When this card is discarded, I get to draw two cards." Yumi calmly drew two more cards.
"Now I activate The System Error - Yumi's effect!" Yumi said, waving his hand forward as the glitching Yumi stood before him, his eyes flared into a bright crimson. "Once per turn, I can select a monster on either player's field or graveyard, place that monster onto its owner's Spell and Trap zone, and equip it onto this card."
Kaito's graveyard glowed brightly as Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon appeared, roaring loudly in pain as red corrupted circuitry spread across its body. The massive dragon froze in pain, unable to resist.
"Now, The System Error - Yumi gains ATK and DEF based on the original ATK and DEF of the monsters equipped to it."
Yumi said calmly as the red circuitry line on Error Yumi glowed brighter.
[The System Error - Yumi, 0 -> 3000 ATK]
"And Kagari gains 100 ATK and DEF based on the Spells in my graveyard." Yumi added calmly as the flame around Kagari's armor glowed brighter.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 1500 -> 2300 ATK]
"Turn end."
Seeing the lineup of powerful monsters across the field and his Ace monster currently frozen in place and used as nothing more than a battle damage amplifier for the opponent's monster, Kaito's expression grew noticeably darker.
His eyes remained locked on the opponent standing across from him, carefully analyzing everything that had happened during the previous turn.
What bothered him the most was that the other party had not used Xyz Summoning at all. Instead, he had used a strange form of Fusion Summoning without the Spell Card Polymerization, something Kaito had only seen in rare cases.
On top of that, there was that other summoning method earlier in the duel, something the other duelist had called a Synchro Summon. It was a method Kaito had never heard of before, which only made the situation even more irritating.
Kaito exhaled slowly, calming his nerves as he reached toward his deck.
"My turn! Draw!"
He pulled the card from the top of his deck with a sharp motion, barely glancing at it before moving.
"Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Photon Thrasher from my hand!"
As the card hit the Duel Disk, a warrior clad in armor made entirely of photon energy materialized on the field. The glowing fighter held a large burster blade in one hand as it took its stance.
[Photon Thrasher, 2100 ATK]
"I activate The System Error - Yumi's effect!" Yumi cut in immediately. "Once per turn, I can equip a monster on the field or in the Graveyard to this card by placing it in its owner's Spell and Trap Zone."
His golden eyes focused on Kaito's newly summoned monster.
"I target your Photon Thrasher. Conclusion One!"
With a casual wave of his hand, the digital-looking monster on Yumi's field glitched violently. Red circuitry lines spread across Photon Thrasher's body like a virus, corrupting the photon energy that formed its armor.
The warrior froze before dissolving into streams of red data that were pulled directly into the Spell and Trap Zone beneath Error Yumi.
[The System Error - Yumi, 3000 -> 5100 ATK]
Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly, but he moved quickly.
"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Photon Stream of Destruction!"
He placed the card down with clear intent.
"Masquerade's continuous effect," Yumi said as the crimson flames around the armored girl on his field flared brighter. "To activate card effects, you must pay 600 Life Points."
Kaito paused briefly before continuing. "I'll still use its effect."
[Kaito, LP 4000 -> 3400]
"Since I control a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, I can target one card on the field and banish it!"
The frozen Galaxy-Eyes on Kaito's field suddenly glowed as photon energy gathered within its jaws. The dragon unleashed a beam of condensed light directly across the field.
"I'll banish The System Error - Yumi!"
The blast struck the corrupted digital warrior, erasing it from the field entirely. With the equipped monster gone as well, both Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Photon Thrasher were sent to the Graveyard.
Kaito continued without slowing down.
"I activate the Spell Card Photon Sublimation! By banishing two Photon monsters from my Graveyard, I draw two cards!"
[Kaito, LP 3400 -> 2800]
He quickly raised another card.
"Spell Card, Photon Hurricane! Return Spell and Trap cards you control to your hand up to the number of cards in my hand. Since I have four cards in my hand, I can return all three of your face-down cards!"
[Kaito, LP 2800 -> 2200]
A powerful burst of swirling photon wind erupted from the card, sweeping across the field and blowing Yumi's three set cards back into his hand.
Kaito immediately followed up.
"Now I Normal Summon Photon Delta Wing!"
A sleek futuristic spacecraft appeared on his field, its wings unfolding outward as glowing engines hummed.
[Photon Delta Wing, 1800 ATK]
"Photon Delta Wing's effect activates. When it is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon another Photon Delta Wing from my hand or deck!"
[Kaito, LP 2200 -> 1600]
Another identical craft descended beside the first one.
[Photon Delta Wing, 1800 ATK]
Kaito raised his hand again. "Now I overlay my two Level 4 Photon Delta Wings!"
An overlay network formed in front of him as a swirling black hole filled with starlight appeared. The two ships turned into beams of light and shot into the vortex.
Moments later, a new warrior emerged from the explosion of energy. The figure had a dark inner layer of armor covered by white plating, golden spikes extending from the sides of its helmet while wing-like armor spread from its back. Two blades made entirely of photon energy appeared in its hands as it took its stance.
Two glowing stars orbited around it.
"Xyz Summon! Starliege Lord Galaxion!"
[Starliege Lord Galaxion, 2000 ATK]
"Now I detach one Xyz Material from Galaxion and activate its effect!" One of the orbiting stars shattered into light. "I Special Summon a Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my deck, hand, or graveyard, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
[Kaito, LP 1600 -> 1000]
A bright glow appeared behind Galaxion as photon energy gathered rapidly.
"Show yourself, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
The massive dragon formed from blue photon energy burst onto the field, its radiant wings spreading wide behind it.
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 ATK]
Yumi simply looked up at the dragon with an amused smile. He honestly hadn't expected Kaito to break out of the deadlock he had set up so cleanly.
Perhaps the version of Kite from his own world had seemed weaker simply because Yumi himself was too strong, or maybe the difference came down to the timeline they were born into.
Kaito wasn't finished yet.
"Spell Card, Monster Reborn! Return to my side, Photon Caesar!"
[Kaito, LP 1000 -> 400]
Another photon warrior appeared on the field, clad in layered blue armor and carrying both a sword and shield.
[Photon Caesar, 2000 ATK]
"Photon Caesar is treated as two monsters if used for an Xyz Summon!"
The overlay network appeared again.
Photon Caesar turned into a beam of light and was absorbed into the vortex as another enormous form began to emerge.
A glowing red sun-like core surrounded by golden scales appeared as a massive dragon shaped like a living star rose onto the battlefield.
"Xyz Summon! Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis!"
[Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis, 3000 ATK]
Kaito immediately moved to the Battle Phase.
"Battle! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack Sky Striker Ace - Masquerade!"
The dragon opened its jaws as photon energy gathered rapidly.
"Photon Stream of Destruction!"
The beam crashed into Masquerade, destroying her in a burst of light.
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 3300]
"Sun Dragon, attack Sky Striker Ace – Kagari!"
The massive sun dragon unleashed a blazing energy blast that struck Kagari directly.
[Yumi, LP 3300 -> 2600]
"Since a Sky Striker Ace left my field, I can Special Summon Raye from my Graveyard," Yumi said calmly.
The young swordswoman reappeared on the field, kneeling briefly before rising into a defensive stance with her katana ready.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 DEF]
"Starliege Lord Galaxion, attack Raye!"
The photon warrior rushed forward, raising both energy blades.
"I activate Raye's effect! By Tributing her, I Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace from my Deck!"
Raye's body glowed as advanced machinery formed around her.
"Henshin! Sky Striker Ace - Kaina!"
A yellow high-tech combat suit appeared around her as four massive mechanical fists hovered behind her.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kaina, 1500 DEF]
"Kaina's effect activates. When she is summoned, I can target one card on the field and prevent it from attacking this turn."
The four mechanical fists extended outward, intercepting Galaxion and forcing the photon warrior to halt its charge.
Kaito watched this calmly before raising another card.
"Quick-Play Spell, Hyper Galaxy! I Tribute my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Special Summon back my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from my Graveyard!"
The dragon disappeared briefly before returning moments later in another surge of photon energy.
[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, 3000 ATK]
"Galaxy-Eyes, attack Kaina!"
Another blast of photon energy erupted from the dragon, destroying Kaina and leaving Yumi's field completely empty.
Yet he noticed Yumi's smile. "Impressive, looks like I really should get a little serious."
Those casual words caused Kaito's eyelid to twitch in annoyance, but before he could say anything, Yumi continued.
"I activate Masquerade's effect from my grave. When an Extra Deck monster on my field is destroyed. I can Special Summon this card from my grave, but its effect is negated and banished once it leaves the field."
Appearing from the rising ring of flame, Sky Striker Ace - Masquerade re-emerged kneeing with her arms and wings crossed protectively.
[Sky Striker Ace - Masquerade, 2000 DEF]
Upon hearing that Masquerade now has her effect negated, Kaito's expression eased up a little. He then slid his final card onto the Duel Disk.
"I set one card. Turn end."