To call it "exiled" was, in truth, only a theory.
Everything Yusei knew so far came from the future, from that ruined timeline.
But in this present world, he still didn't know what the Earthbound Gods truly were. Even merged with the Artificial God, his knowledge was limited to foresight, not omniscience.
He understood Kalin's deck, yes, but not every card within it.And as for the state of the Earthbound Gods themselves, even Yusei would have to uncover that, piece by piece.
Still, his investigations had revealed much.
So when he realized Hikaru had crossed into this dimension, Yusei acted immediately, saving him from Security pursuit, and later offering assistance.
Before that, however, Yusei had to be sure: why had Hikaru come to this world?
If Hikaru's mission was simple diplomacy from the Fusion Dimension, Yusei wouldn't interfere.
He would simply wait.
But now it was clear, Hikaru had come for one reason only: the Dark Marks.
"You're not afraid I might have my own motives?" Hikaru asked quietly.
"I trust Yuya and Rin's judgment," Yusei replied. "And I trust the passion I saw in your Duels, your conviction in Fusion."
Hikaru gave a short, amused exhale. "Heh… fine then. Tell me everything."
Yusei nodded. "It's much like what you already know. During the struggle for Synchro, the so-called One God was born.
Other deities either became subordinate or were sealed away as Earthbound Immortals.
The lesser ones… were simply cast down as demons and monsters."
He met Hikaru's gaze squarely. "And I can tell you this, the Dark Mark on your left hand is the true mark of the Earthbound Gods."
Hikaru lowered his eyes to his wrist, studying the faint glow there, and gave a single nod.
"But just as I said," Yusei continued,
"Over long ages, some gods were sealed as Earthbound, others branded as fiends.
And the one I'm asking your help to find…is a being both sealed and enslaved, an Earthbound Immortal in chains.
"I see," Hikaru murmured, his eyes narrowing.
"So that's what it's become in your world…"
In that moment, he finally understood the situation, how even divine beings here could fall so far.
Before parting, Hikaru offered practical help.
After all, merging man and being was something he knew well, he had once orchestrated a face-to-face communion between Jaden and the Supreme King himself.
And Yusei's condition now, was the same kind of misalignment: the imperfect union of man and artificial god.
Just like Divine's "Psychic End Punisher" experiment, which failed to ascend to godhood, the Artificial God couldn't synchronize with Yusei's human essence.
He wasn't like Akiza, born with psychic power;
Hikaru, for all his calm restraint, had an easier solution than Yusei realized.
The Psychic Punisher he'd salvaged not long ago, one of Divine's discarded creations, was perfect material.
If Hikaru were willing to endure the cost, he could extract its psionic core, channel the energy directly into Yusei's body, and then use Super Polymerization to merge away every trace of biological rejection.
Elegant. Efficient. Painful to his wallet, but simple.
Even Tierra, ever the watchful being of light and data, approved of the idea.
She had grown genuinely fond of this human, this reckless duelist who dared to defy the gods.
She even asked Hikaru what Yusei's full name was, as if she wanted to remember it for eternity.
After all, Yusei embodied everything Tierra admired, artificial divinity, machinery, time, and life.
The path he'd chosen promised endless variables and unimaginable outcomes.
To her, that made Yusei a far greater investment than a risk.
But Yusei had refused.
Accepting Hikaru's help without giving anything in return went against everything he stood for.
It wasn't pride, it was conviction.
He wasn't rejecting "Fusion" or "Synchro" out of ideology.
He simply couldn't allow Hikaru to make sacrifices without equal exchange.
That was the foundation of his humanity, the one thing he refused to lose.
So Hikaru didn't argue.
He only watched as Yusei and Crow rode off, and then unfolded the map Yusei had left him.
His eyes narrowed as he saw the marked coordinates.
"So that's where it is. No wonder I couldn't find it before," he muttered.
A faint smile crossed his face. "You really never take the easy road, Yusei."
High above, Jack climbed aboard the helicopter, staring down at the scarred wasteland below. For a moment, the echo of Kalin's laughter lingered in his ears, and with it, the memory of his own sins.
Stealing Stardust Dragon. Chasing strength to stand above everyone else.
He clenched his fist, watching the faint red glow fade from his wrist.
Yusei had given up the Crimson Dragon's power.
Technically, that made him Jack's rival, even an enemy. But the bond they shared… that would never fade.
"Yusei," Jack whispered, "this time… let me be the one to help you."
Elsewhere, Yusei and Crow sped along the ruined highway.Crow stayed close, worried for him, unwilling to leave his side.And Yusei, realizing there was no longer a point in hiding his condition, allowed Crow to help with his adjustments, fine-tuning his unstable circuits as they rode.
Between bursts of wind, the two talked about old times, old friends, the city that still stood behind them.
Crow's expression tightened as he glanced at his left hand.Ever since his argument with Shinji that day, a thought had been gnawing at him.
He wanted power, power to protect, to intervene, to matter.But every time he reached for that strength… something darker stirred inside him.
A violent, predatory whisper.
The same kind that had swallowed Shinji. The same that had once devoured Kalin.
And Crow was terrified of it.
He feared that power, but more than that, he feared himself.
How could someone like Hikaru remain so calm?
How did he carry that kind of serenity even while standing between gods?
Crow didn't know. But he wanted to learn.
At that moment, the man Crow looked up to was already far ahead, his D-Wheel roaring down the coastal road. Police sirens wailed faintly behind him, but Hikaru didn't so much as glance back.
"Sshhhh."
He slowed near the guardrail and looked toward the horizon.
Under a clear blue sky stretched an even deeper blue sea. Waves rolled in and out, their rhythm steady and patient, sometimes gentle, sometimes surging with quiet power.
The ocean.
That same view he'd seen every day from the mountain curve, now close enough to touch.
He exhaled. "A hidden place… perfectly chosen. No wonder it stayed invisible all this time."
"Hikaru," came a voice from his Duel Disk, deep, resonant, and faintly aquatic.
"I feel it. The gaze of the dark god who watches me."
It was Muddy Mudragon, his current Duel Spirit and guardian.The dragon's spectral form shimmered faintly beside him.
"Then we're close," Hikaru said softly.
The dragon's eyes narrowed toward the ocean.
Beneath those waves, it could already sense the dormant presence, Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken, the only demigod who could guide them to the sealed Earthbound Servant Geo Grasha.
The moment broke as red and blue lights flashed behind him.Security patrols had finally caught up, closing in from both sides, forming a blockade.
Hikaru smiled.
With a single motion, he yanked the throttle.
The D-Wheel's rear tires screamed, then launched skyward off the guardrail, straight down toward the beach.
Normally, a D-Wheel would stall instantly on sand, its wheels choking on every grain.
But as Hikaru's landed, the frame hummed with a strange light, and kept accelerating.
The stunned officers stared from the cliffs above.
Then disbelief turned to shock, as Hikaru's D-Wheel did the unthinkable; he drove straight across the surface of the ocean.
"What the—!?"
Every officer froze.
Even Chief Trudge removed his cap, eyes wide.
And beneath that miraculous path of water, a violet sigil began to glow, a circular crest of ancient lines and symbols,slowly surfacing beneath the waves like a heartbeat from the deep.