[Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]
[Level: 8]
[Warrior-Type]
[ATK: 2500 / DEF: 2100]
The black-and-crimson hero descended beside Jaden.
Flames like blooming red lotuses seemed to spill forth straight from the underworld, scorching through the surrounding darkness.
He actually brought it out...
He really managed to summon it!
Banner was awestruck.
Jaden's sheer power had far surpassed anything he had ever imagined. In fact, it had broken through the very limits of this world.
Link Summoning...
It granted Fusiona method already teeming with infinite possibilitieseven more terrifying potential.
"So I've lost after all..."
Banner slowly lowered his arm, his eyes softening with pride and relief as he gazed upon Jaden.
"I activate the Equip Spell in my hand: Megamorph!"
"When my Life Points are lower than my opponent's, the equipped monster's attack power is doubled!"
Under the influence of the spell, Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's silhouette expanded rapidly. The crimson flames surged with feral intensity, completely enveloping the towering hero.
[Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer]
[ATK: 2500 → 5000]
"And now, I trigger Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer's effect!"
"Once per turn, I can target one card on my field and one card on the field, then destroy both targets."
Jaden lifted Verte Anaconda from his Extra Monster Zone and looked across the field at Banner.
"The cards I choose to destroy are Predaplant Verte Anaconda and Golden Homunculus!"
Boom! Boom!
Flames erupted simultaneously across both monsters. The blaze flared brilliantly before vanishing into thin air, reducing the towering Golden Homunculus to cinders amidst the crimson fire.
Banner's field was left completely bare.
Jaden turned his back slowly. "Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer... grant Professor Banner his peace."
The corners of Banner's mouth curled into a gentle smile. Through half-closed eyes, he gazed at Jaden's retreating back with deep satisfaction.
The crimson flames reached Banner's body.
His skin began to peel away. The artificial flesh crafted through alchemy could no longer hold together, fracturing into countless crumbling shards.
"His body..."
The gathered Duel Spirits gasped in shock.
Banner bowed his head, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
Jaden... Did you even know that I passed away long ago?
As an alchemist, he had spent his life wandering the far corners of the earth on a commission to uncover the supreme secret of alchemy: the Philosopher's Stone. Yet the toll of his relentless travels had plagued him with an incurable illness, and his mortal body had ultimately perished.
To prolong his existence, Banner had bound his soul to an artificial homunculus, allowing him to carry on his research into the Philosopher's Stone.
Eventually, he succeeded in unsealing the slumbering power of the Sacred Beasts.
Yet an artificial shell remained a hollow counterfeit. As the years wore on, the vessel decayed, and his borrowed second lease on life had finally run dry.
To repay Chancellor Kagemaru for funding his research, Banner had willingly spent his final days joining the Shadow Riders, hoping to grant Kagemaru's wish of commanding the Sacred Beasts.
And yet...
"Chancellor Kagemaru has lost himself to the bottomless abyss..."
"Jaden... in this entire academy, you are the only one... the only one who can stop him."
Banner drew a single card from the deck on his Duel Disk.
His crumbling fingers shed flakes of dust, yet his warm, squinted eyes remained fixed on Jaden.
"Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone... A card that only the supreme alchemist can wield."
"It represents the ultimate secret of alchemy, the truth I spent my entire life to comprehend."
"That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above..."
"I know... your Fusion has already reached the pinnacle where all things return to one, and all realms unite."
"You are... the greatest, ultimate alchemist... the supreme Fusion Duelist..."
The card dissolved into a radiant beam of light, slipping from Banner's fingers. Borne upon the dark wind, it drifted gently until it hovered before Jaden.
Jaden reached out and caught the glowing card.
As it settled into his grip, the radiance faded. The artwork and text surfaced clearly upon the card face.
The ultimate realm of Fusion... where all things return to one...
That which is above exists in that which is below... That which is below exists in that which is above...
Repeating Banner's final words in his heart, Jaden felt a profound stirring within his soul.
Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, Link.
Each unique summoning method had its own reason for being.
And the essence of Fusion was to bring all those diverse paths back togetherto weave everything into a single point.
That was the true meaning of Fusion.
To fuse all things.
To fuse all realms!
Jaden turned back slowly.
Banner's physical form had already burned away in the red lotus flames, leaving behind only his empty clothes scattered among the ashes. His Duel Disk lay nearby on the ground, its red lights dimming into silence.
[Banner: LP 4000 → 0]
[Jaden Yuki: WIN]
A tiny mote of light rose from the cinders. It drifted upward into the sky, hovering as if ready to dissolve into the ether at any moment.
"I leave the rest to you... Jaden."
Banner's faint phantom smiled warmly down at him.
Yet just as the spirit turned to depart, Pharaoh came bolting across the field. Opening his jaws wide, the fat cat swallowed Professor Banner's soul in a single gulp!
"Aaaaagh!"
With a comical yelp, Banner's spirit was sucked straight into the cat's belly.
Pharaoh gave a satisfied burp, plopped down onto his haunches, and began casually licking his paw.
"..."
Watching the spectacle unfold, Jaden couldn't help but crack a wry smile. It seemed Professor Banner moving on to the afterlife wasn't going to be so simple after all.
Looking down at the card resting in his palm, the conviction in Jaden's heart became crystal clear.
"Dueling Professor Banner made me realize the true purpose behind my arrival in this world."
"That's right... Fusion."
"My reason for being in the GX World, the purpose of my existence as Jaden Yuki, is precisely this."
"To fuse all things... and fuse all realms."
"Whether it's Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link."
"Or every world and timeline existing beyond the GX World itself."
"I will fuse everything together to forge a brand-new dueling world."
He closed his eyes for a quiet moment.
When he opened them again, the fire in his gaze burned brighter than ever.
"Thank you for showing me the road ahead, Professor Banner..."
"I accept your final wish."
Stowing away Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone, Jaden turned his gaze toward the distance of Duel Academy, locking his eyes onto the Seven Spirit Gates.
"The Sacred Beasts... I'll destroy them once and for all."
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