"Eh? You two are…" Youmi scratched his silver hair and then, with the voice of a young man, blurted out, "Huh? You're… Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo?"
Standing before Youmi—discussing his identity—were none other than Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo, the protagonists of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
"As expected of Youmi—even in a timeline before we ever met, you can still call out my name~"
Already in his twenties, Jaden gave Youmi a thumbs-up, then reached out to pull him up.
"Anyway, since you know who we are, this gets a lot easier. I came to the past with Yusei, chasing down a mysterious man who's hunting powerful Duel Monsters across different eras and planning to assassinate Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters. That's why we came here! We need your help, Youmi."
Yusei, holding his helmet, stepped forward and offered his hand for a handshake. "Youmi, at first I thought the Youmi I knew and you were just two people from different generations sharing the same name.
"That said, it seems you really are the same person. I'm sorry to bother you even in this era. My Stardust Dragon—and the partners of many Duelists—were stolen by that mysterious man. So please, lend us your strength… Mr. Youmi."
For some reason, Youmi felt Yusei's form of address was a bit stiff.
Could it be that these two are people he'll meet in his own future? Or people he met in another possible worldline?
"Ah, I see. Then leave it to me."
Feeling that he had crossed time and temporarily inhabited a Deck well-suited for this kind of operation, Youmi nodded and pointed his left thumb toward himself. "As for who the enemy is… I already have a general idea. Since we're forming a team, why not call Yugi as well? Have you confirmed the exact time that the enemy will appear?"
Not quite used to lifting his right hand, the high-tech device on the back of it lit up with a soft blue glow.
"Let's finish this quickly. I still need to get back and Duel Yugi."
Wearing a confident smile borrowed from the Time Thief Redoer, Youmi activated the device on his hand and jumped through time together with Jaden and Yusei, arriving at the moment of Paradox's operation.
Using the ability of Time Thief Hack to stop time, Youmi saved Solomon Muto and Yugi Muto. Flicking the newly equipped cloak he had only worn for half an hour, he glanced at Yugi, who was tending to the injured, and said, "You may not know me, but we don't have much time. Come with me. We're going to save the world."
He originally thought Yugi might not recognize him, but Yugi immediately did: "You're Youmi, right? It's been a while since the Duel City finals. Why are you—"
"Hm? What exactly are you… never mind, that makes things easier. Jaden, Yusei, let's go!"
Grabbing Yugi by the hand, Youmi pulled him to Jaden and Yusei's side. The device on Youmi's glove and the Dragon Head Mark on Yusei's arm flashed at the same time, and the four of them leapt through time together, arriving several minutes before Paradox committed his crime.
On the rooftop of a tall building overlooking the event venue, Youmi leaned casually on the railing and said, "Anyway, according to Jaden and Yusei, a mysterious man from the future is hunting Duel Monsters and planning to use them to assassinate Pegasus. If I'm right, that man should be… right, Paradox. As for his motives… we'll probably understand them better once we confront him."
He pointed down toward the event venue, then placed his right hand before him. "According to the phone number Yugi gave me for Pegasus, I've already contacted him and told him not to arrive too early—and that someone is targeting his life. But Paradox shouldn't know any of this. To prevent him from simply blasting the entire venue—we'll stir up some chaos first and evacuate the crowd~"
As he spoke, he looked at the Yubel standing behind Jaden.
"How about I leave this magnificent task to you, Yubel~?"
With a teasing tone, Youmi addressed Yubel.
"No matter the era, you always manage to irritate me, Youmi…"
Yubel shot Youmi a sideways glance and did nothing more.
"Please, Yubel~" Jaden asked with familiar warmth.
"Fine, leave it to me."
Youmi also materialized a sleek, silver-white Duel Disk with a technological design. "Don't worry—I'll help too. After all, this Deck has some rather unusual monsters~"
······
A dragon, its entire body black and violet with a blade-like lower jaw, roared thunderously at the center of the venue. Its wings slowly unfolded, releasing violent surges of electricity.
Yubel also launched several fireballs, striking multiple booths around the site.
That was how the group drove the crowd away from the event area.
"Get ready! He's coming!"
With a ripple of temporal distortion, Paradox and his D-Wheel appeared in the middle of the venue. His D-Wheel shifted shape, hovering in midair as he stood upright upon it.
"So you came to ambush me early? As expected of legendary Duelists from different eras. It is an honor to see you all gathered here—but even though I observed your Duels throughout the timeline, you still intend to stop me?"
Youmi thought, 'So you're straight out of Yu-Gi-Oh! MUGEN, huh?' (Not really.)
"Who are you, and why are you attacking the venue and doing something so unforgivable?!" Yugi Muto stepped forward first, shouting at Paradox. "Many people were dragged into this, and lost their lives because of you, Paradox!"
"Hmph, so you've uncovered my name through your information channels. In any case, since you're asking why…"
Paradox gave a short, disdainful laugh, removed his mask, and said, "I am one of the travelers who cross spacetime in search of the best possible history. My duty is to verify each historical possibility and then make it real. Everything I do is for the sake of saving the ruined future."
Yusei Fudo seemed to recall something and murmured to himself, "Searching for the best history… a ruined future?"
Jaden was much more direct. "Isn't what you're doing just plain destruction?"
Yugi stared at Paradox in disbelief. "All the sacrifices you've caused… are you seriously claiming all of that is correct?!"
"Destruction? Sacrifice?"
Paradox looked at them with an expression suggesting he didn't understand their point.
After a brief moment of thought, he continued, "Perhaps that is how it appears to you. But that is wrong. The future you believe to be correct is, in truth, the mistaken one. And the 'incorrect' future forged by what you call 'destruction' and 'sacrifice'… that is the true 'correct' future that must exist. Even if I do nothing—"
A card flew past Paradox's cheek, then, as though time reversed, flew right back into Youmi's hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.
With a cold expression, Youmi asked, "What you mean is—even if you did nothing, the world would still be filled with contradictions, right?"
"Is that not the case? Environmental devastation, global conflict, discrimination between people… are these not themselves destruction and sacrifice?"
Believing Youmi might sympathize with him, Paradox shifted his gaze toward him. "In the records of my comrades, the Duel King who left the deepest impression on me across all generations… is you, the Enigmatic Duel King, Youmi. So? Hearing my reasoning, you seem to want to say something?"
Youmi lifted a strand of his silver hair with his gloved left hand, rolling it between his fingers. "I know about you, and about your comrades as well. I can't claim to fully explain spacetime or paradoxes, but I have only one thing to say—"
He pointed his left hand straight at Paradox.
"If you had never come to our era, we wouldn't be here either. Our appearance here is itself a paradox created by your actions—but can this truly offer salvation to your future?"
Drawing his hand back, standing at the far left among the four Duelists, he swept his right arm outward. "If you succeed in erasing Duel Monsters, none of us should even be using Duel Monsters to stop you right now! Can such a paradox really bring you the future you desire?"
"Even if you put it that way… this is the only method left to us."
Paradox lowered his head, clenching his right fist—yet after a long silence, he lifted his face again, regaining confidence. "Or rather, perhaps we are all simply waiting to be overwritten by a newly corrected history. Before that inevitable conclusion arrives, let us settle this in the proper way—through a Duel!"
Paradox equipped his Duel Disk, and Youmi and the others raised their Duel Disks at the same time. All of their Duel Disks transformed except for Yusei's, which merely began to glow.
At the same time, the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi Muto's neck glowed, switching him into Yami Yugi.
"I never imagined our reunion would be as comrades-in-arms instead of opponents. Let us forge victory together—Youmi, Jaden, Yusei!"
Beside Yami Yugi, the silhouette of Yugi Muto also appeared.
"Ahhh! Fighting alongside legendary Duelists… my blood is boiling!"
Jaden's eyes shifted into heterochromia, and behind him appeared Winged Kuriboh, Professor Banner, and Yubel.
"Mm. Everyone—let's fight together."
The Dragon Head Mark on Yusei's arm glowed brightly, and behind him manifested the image of the Crimson Dragon.
"Looks like this will be fun."
Youmi secured his Deck and glanced slightly over his shoulder at the watching Ten Thousand Dragon.
"DUEL!" ×5
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]