Yugioh [405-407] (Patreon)

Chapter 405: Shattered Memories

The molten gold of sunset spilled across the deep blue sea, as the massive ship gradually sailed into the harbor.

The Duel Ship had docked.

Everyone stood up and gathered on the deck, gazing at the final stage of the tournament where they had arrived.

Outlined by the setting sun, the island looked especially magnificent. Colorful buildings dotted the coastline in an artful arrangement. Towering into the clouds was a giant Ferris wheel, its design featuring a Kuriboh-like head, sparkling brilliantly in the sunset. The dazzling lights made the entire island feel like a world of fairies. A three-dimensional projection of a White Dragon soared high in the sky, letting out a resounding roar.

"White Dragon Park?" Kira wondered aloud.

In such an out-of-this-world place?

"That's right, this is the newest, yet-to-open White Dragon Park, but it's unlike any ordinary amusement park," Mokuba explained proudly. "This is White Dragon Island, an island purchased by the Kaiba Corporation, and it marks a new stage in the White Dragon Park project."

Kira: "."

As expected of President Kaiba—naming an entire island after the White Dragon.

At this rate, it's probably only a matter of time before a 'White Dragon City' is built.

The finals venue was right in the center of this unopened amusement park, the world's highest-spec dedicated duel arena. The contestants disembarked, passed through most of the venue, and came to the stage. The White Dragon Bingo Machine randomized the final duel order.

First match of the top four: Jaden was up against the Arbiter.

Kira wasn't too optimistic about Jaden's chances, but he'd already said as much.

…

Jaden strode onto the dueling arena without hesitation, standing before the Arbiter.

"You've arrived."

The Arbiter smiled lightly.

"Jaden Yuki... I overlooked you before. You seem to be an interesting duelist," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Let me see what you're hiding through this duel."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jaden replied, "but when it comes to duels, I always give it my all!"

"Heh... that's just as well," the Arbiter smiled.

"Duel!" x2

[Jaden, LP 4000]

[Arbiter, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw."

The Arbiter drew his card, glanced at it, then played it immediately.

"Normal summon 'Armageddon Knight'."

A knight clad in black armor, as if forged from shadows. His long hair fluttered in the sunset, a red mask covered most of his face, and he wielded a gleaming longsword.

[Armageddon Knight, ATK 1400]

"When Armageddon Knight is successfully summoned, I can send a DARK monster from my deck to the graveyard."

A golden flash shot from the Arbiter's deck, as if the card flew automatically to his hand.

"I send the DARK monster 'Stygian Street Patrol' to the graveyard."

The monster card slid from his duel disk into the graveyard.

"Turn end."

He narrowed his eyes, a green glint flickering as he sized up Jaden.

"Come, your turn. Show me your duel, and your secrets."

Jaden met his gaze, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy for no reason.

It was that same strange sensation as before.

His temples throbbed dully, his head felt heavy. Images flashed chaotically through his mind—confused, blurry, yet instinct told him they were important. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out what they were.

Jaden shook his head, trying to shrug off the strange feeling.

Either way, he had to focus on the duel first.

"My turn, draw!" said Jaden. "I activate the Spell Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse 'Elemental HERO Avian' and 'Elemental HERO Burstinatrix' from my hand! Fusion Summon!"

"Appear, my beloved hero—

—Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

Wind and fire combined, and a swirling vortex erupted in a flaming tornado, as if the air itself was about to boil.

A blazing dragon of fire flew out from the vortex, spinning as it emerged, manifesting as a hero who landed upright. Snow-white wings spread, the dragon head on his arm spat fire, and the green-bodied hero stood tall before Jaden.

[Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, ATK 2100]

"Starting with Flame Wingman already?" Kira muttered.

In the anime, this was the standard opening for the later, level-max Jaden, a big improvement over his early habit of just summoning a normal monster and ending his turn. Though opening with a -3 hand is risky, it's hard to comment for now.

"Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, attack 'Armageddon Knight'!" Jaden commanded. "Flame Shoot!"

Flame Wingman leapt into the air, spinning and cloaking himself in fire, diving down like a meteor.

Armageddon Knight raised his sword to block, but couldn't withstand the impact. The flames pierced through, engulfing him in a huge fireball.

[Arbiter, LP 4000 → LP 3300]

"It's not over!" Jaden said. "Flame Wingman's effect: when it destroys a monster by battle, it deals damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!"

Flame Wingman landed before the Arbiter, the dragon head on his arm opening wide and unleashing a blaze, scorching the Arbiter.

[Arbiter, LP 3300 → LP 1900]

The Arbiter took the attack calmly, his hair and cloak fluttering in the flames.

Then he looked at Flame Wingman, who returned to Jaden's side, and said meaningfully: "An effective attack. But is that truly your beloved monster?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"What?" Jaden was puzzled. "Of course—what are you talking abou—uh!?"

He staggered, suddenly feeling dizzy again.

Once more, those inexplicable images surged from deep within his mind.

He saw an ancient castle, a kind old man with a white beard, smiling at him.

And a gentle, beautiful face, bathed in sunlight, smiling and saying something.

But he couldn't hear the words.

It all felt important.

The person before him also seemed important.

But why... couldn't he remember anything?

Forcing himself back to reality, Jaden felt as if he'd barely escaped a raging whirlpool.

No, this opponent can't be beaten with a distracted mind. He had to focus.

"I set a card face-down and end my turn."

Chapter 406: Forgotten Past

"Still haven't remembered, huh."

The Arbiter watched Jaden.

"You keep saying that—what are you talking about?" Jaden frowned.

But the Arbiter said no more.

"My turn, draw." The Arbiter said, "I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity.' Draw three cards, then discard two."

He drew, added them to his hand, then discarded two.

He looked up.

"Last turn, you destroyed my 'Armageddon Knight,' which had sent 'Stygian Street Patrol' to the graveyard. That means there are two DARK monsters in my graveyard.

And with the two I just discarded, I sent another DARK monster to the graveyard. That makes three DARK monsters in total."

Jaden was taken aback.

Three DARK monsters in the graveyard... so what?

But Kira's eyes narrowed.

Three DARK monsters—that means...

"So the condition for this card's summon is met. This card can only be Special Summoned if there are exactly three DARK monsters in the grave."

The Arbiter slowly raised the card in his hand.

"Let the power of darkness descend—

—Dark Armed Dragon, summon!"

"Dark... Armed Dragon!?" Jaden was shocked.

He'd seen Armed Dragon before, a trophy card of the Northern Academy, inherited by Chazz.

But this Dark Armed Dragon was new...

A mighty dragon, covered in steel blades, roared as it descended—just like the "Armed Dragon LV7" in Jaden's memory, except its body was pitch black.

[Dark Armed Dragon, ATK 2800]

"Impressive," Kira frowned.

Dark Armed Dragon—just from the name and look, you could tell it was a dark version of Armed Dragon. When it debuted in the real card game, it caused a huge stir: easy to summon, top-tier attack, fantastic removal effect. For a long time, players thought it should be banned, like the Chaos cards.

In the end, it never was banned, but it was limited for over a decade, which says enough about its power.

"Dark Armed Dragon's effect: by banishing a DARK monster from my graveyard, I can destroy one card on the field."

He banished a card from his graveyard; its image appeared in midair.

"I banish 'Armageddon Knight' from my graveyard—let it become ammo for Dark Armed Dragon.

Dark Armed Dragon, destroy 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman'!"

Armageddon Knight's image was swallowed by darkness, energy flowing into Dark Armed Dragon. Black energy shot toward Flame Wingman.

Jaden frowned.

Just as Kira warned—anything could happen in a duel.

This Arbiter really could use any deck, not just his signature cards.

But Jaden had his own tricks!

"I activate the trap 'Guard Mines'! When a card effect would destroy my monster, negate the activation and destroy it. Then inflict 500 damage to your opponent!"

The trap worked—floating bomb spheres formed a shield in front of Flame Wingman! The black energy ball exploded against the wall, setting off a chain of blasts that rebounded toward Dark Armed Dragon, engulfing it in flames.

[Arbiter, LP 1900 → LP 1400]

"Nice counterattack!" Midori cheered. "Not only did he save Flame Wingman, he took down such a strong monster!"

"Not bad,"

But the Arbiter calmly revealed another card.

"Spell card: 'Monster Reincarnation.' Discard a card, take a monster from the graveyard back to the hand."

He discarded a card; the graveyard glowed with black energy. Dark Armed Dragon immediately returned.

"I retrieve 'Dark Armed Dragon' from my graveyard."

"That guy again..." Jaden said. "But Dark Armed Dragon needs three DARKs in the graveyard. Your 'Armageddon Knight' was just banished."

"True," the Arbiter noted, "but when I used 'Monster Reincarnation' to get Dark Armed Dragon back, I discarded a card, remember?"

Jaden: "So that was..."

"Right, it was another DARK."

He raised the card again.

"Once more, darkness descends—

—Dark Armed Dragon, summon!"

Dark energy erupted again. The black dragon twisted its hulking form, returning to the field!

[Dark Armed Dragon, ATK 2800]

"Now I activate Dark Armed Dragon's effect again—banish another DARK from the graveyard to destroy a card on the field."

He banished another monster from his grave.

"Dark Armed Dragon's effect can be used as many times as you have ammo in the graveyard. There's no activation limit.

So I banish another DARK to destroy 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman'!"

With fresh ammo, a black energy sphere formed before the dragon, launched at Flame Wingman!

This time, there was no trap to protect him. The dark energy exploded against Flame Wingman, who groaned and vanished.

Jaden raised his arm reflexively: "Flame Wingman..."

"Now for battle."

The Arbiter smiled mysteriously.

"Let me help you recall a little more."

"What?"

The Arbiter waved his hand.

"Dark Armed Dragon, direct attack."

As he gave the order, a strange green light flickered in his eyes.

A black blast exploded on Jaden.

[Jaden, LP 4000 → LP 1200]

A dark current swept over him—he braced for pain, but none came.

No pain, only endless darkness. All sight and sound was swallowed, as if even his senses were stripped away.

And in that void, that voice called again.

"Jaden... Jaden..."

"Jaden Yuki..."

Chapter 407: Inherited Will

"Ugh..."

Jaden shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the duel. As the darkness faded, he looked up in shock.

For a moment, the Arbiter had vanished, replaced by a humanoid monster: odd-colored eyes, wide bone wings, a third eye on its forehead, watching him with a mix of resentment and excitement.

Jaden recoiled, but in a blink, the figure disappeared, and the Arbiter was back.

"I haven't used my normal summon this turn. I set a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn."

The Arbiter casually set a monster, then looked at Jaden with an amused expression.

"What did you see, Jaden Yuki?"

"...Draw."

Jaden ignored him.

But his mind was a mess—those chaotic, seemingly foreign memories filled his thoughts. The fleeting image lingered, impossible to shake.

"Kuri kuri!"

Winged Kuriboh's voice.

"Partner." Jaden glanced at it, smiled, "You're cheering for me too? Thanks."

He straightened up and set another card.

"I set a monster in defense and end my turn."

A set monster appeared on his field too.

"Hm... deeply buried memories indeed," the Arbiter said. "Maybe just a bit more. My turn, draw."

He flipped his set monster.

"Flip Summon 'Magical Merchant'."

[Magical Merchant, ATK 200]

"When this card is flip summoned, I reveal cards from the top of my deck until I reveal a Spell or Trap. That card goes to my hand, the rest to the graveyard."

He revealed five cards; the fifth was a Spell.

"I add 'Monster Reborn' to my hand, and the rest go to the grave."

Jaden: "So you're filling your grave with DARK monsters again..."

"Then I tribute 'Magical Merchant' to Tribute Summon."

He revealed another card.

"Appear—Helpoemer."

[Helpoemer, ATK 2000]

"Next, I activate 'Monster Reborn' to revive a monster from the graveyard." He gestured at Jaden, "I choose your beloved hero...

Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

In the real card game, Flame Wingman can't be revived from the graveyard, but there's no such restriction in the anime. The Reborn symbol appeared above the Arbiter, flames swirling into the form of Flame Wingman, now on the Arbiter's side.

[Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, ATK 2100]

"Flame Wingman..." Jaden muttered.

Mokuba was nervous: "Brother, this guy's built an insanely strong field again, and there's still that Dark Armed Dragon..."

Kaiba frowned, silent.

Was this as far as Jaden would go?

"Dark Armed Dragon's effect: banish a DARK from the graveyard to destroy any card on the field."

The Arbiter revealed a DARK monster from the graveyard.

"'Magical Merchant' replenished my grave with DARKs. I banish one to destroy your set monster."

A black blast targeted Jaden's last line of defense. If this monster was destroyed, he'd be left wide open.

Boom!

The explosion tore through the set monster, but its image briefly flickered.

"Kuri kuri!"

"Thanks, partner."

Jaden raised his arm; a transparent shield appeared before him, like a force field.

"When Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take no battle damage this turn," Jaden said.

Arbiter: "I see. Then I set a card and end my turn."

Jaden took a deep breath.

His vision blurred, his mind sluggish. He was starting to believe the Arbiter wasn't just bluffing.

The Arbiter's words were probably true. Jaden's memories had gaps, he was hiding secrets even from himself—he'd forgotten something important.

But—

He looked up, recalling the towering figure of Koyo Hikibi.

"From now on... it's up to you, Jaden."

"."

Yes, he'd made up his mind to inherit Koyo's will, to fight as a true duelist.

He couldn't give up now.

"My turn, draw!"

"Oh?" the Arbiter observed him.

His confidence seemed back; his eyes were steadier.

"I summon 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman'!"

[Elemental HERO Bubbleman, ATK 800]

"When Bubbleman is summoned while I control no other cards, I draw two cards!" (anime effect)

Jaden drew two cards.

"Next, I activate 'Pot of Greed' to draw two more!"

It looked like Jaden was regaining his touch—Bubbleman and Pot of Greed in quick succession.

He stared at one card in his hand, then closed his eyes.

"I won't let you down, Mr. Koyo."

He opened his eyes, raising the card.

"I activate 'Polymerization'! I fuse 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' from my hand with the WATER 'Elemental HERO Bubbleman' on my field! Bring forth the power to freeze all things—

—Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!"

Snow swirled, ice crystals burst, and the pure white hero landed with folded arms!

[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero, ATK 2500]

"There it is—Mr. Hibiki's hero!" Mokuba said.

Zane frowned. "It feels... a little different."

He sensed that the Absolute Zero Jaden summoned was different from the one Koyo had summoned.

But that was a difference on a spiritual level—felt stronger, but hard to pin down.

"Then I activate 'Fusion Recovery' to return 'Polymerization' and 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' from my graveyard to my hand."

Jaden retrieved the two cards and played once more.

"I activate 'Polymerization' again! This time, I fuse 'Elemental HERO Woodsman' and 'Elemental HERO Ocean' from my hand!"

Everyone was surprised.

A second Fusion?

"Fusion Summon, Mr. Koyo's soul, a Hero of the Planets series—

—Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"