"Are you... not from around here?" Edo asked.
"No. I have no reason to lie or hide my origins. I came to this dimension to find someone. Now, tell me exactly what is happening to this world."
"If you're from a different continent and looking for someone, you're likely too late." Ryo explained, taking the lead to repay the man for saving their lives. Thinking the dimension talk was just rubbish to hide his origins. "They are probably have turned into a card."
"Turned into a card? Please explain me what is that."
"It's an ancient phenomenon that the Sovereigns rediscovered and turned it into technology. It compresses a living human being's biological and spiritual existence into a single card. It is an eternal prison—one that cannot be broken out of, and cannot be undone."
Leo placed a hand over his mouth, his mind racing as he began to mutter to himself. "A card... eternity. Hmm. If the biological data is preserved within the card's matrix, does that mean the individual remains technically viable inside it?"
"Yes." Ryo continued, "The Sovereigns claim they remain fully conscious, trapped in an unending sentence. But we don't know for sure. Only the high-profile rebels, professional duelists, and most of all faculty and people of the Academia have been carded so far."
"The Academia?"
At the mention of the word, the boys' brows furrowed in deep resentment.
"You don't even know about the Academia? Seriously, what world are you from?"
"I will answer your questions in due time, but let me interpret to synthesize this information first. Tell me if I am wrong." Leo interrupted, his tone analytical. "This 'Academia' operates as a dueling institution, which should be best and biggest in this world, that is why they have captured them because they have potential to create actual physical manifestation of Monsters, correct? And these 'Sovereigns' or terrorists you speak of can utilize creatures that possess actual physical mass, like the one I just neutralized? Is that why your resistance cannot fight them? Tell me—do you not possess Real Solid Vision?"
Leo pointed where the beast was. The monster had undoubtedly possessed real weight, volume, and power. Yet, these boys hadn't even attempted to summon a monster to counter it. Leo was intensely curious to know why.
"Those Darklords are physical monsters when they are summoned." Barret explained bitterly. His eyes blurred from past. "Only they have those monsters, Darklords. We don't know much. All of our monsters are just standard 3D projection. They can't inflict real damage. But what is Real Solid Vision?"
"Standard 3D holograms... I see. So your duel systems only project light, not tangible mass. That explains the asymmetry in your war. And I presume these 'Dark Lords' are the primary asset these Sovereigns used to subjugate this world."
"...Yes." Edo muttered, staring at Leo with growing admiration. "I don't know how you can deduce the entire stratum layout of our war from just a few scraps of information. It's incredible."
"Has your scientists simply failed to engineer mass and physical physiology into your Duel Monsters?"
"No, we never even tried." Edo said, his voice dropping into low tone. "It was always considered far too dangerous—a forbidden boundary. My father was the loudest voice opposing this. He was one of the original pioneers who invented the 3D projection, systems we use today. Because of that, he was one of the very first targets the Sovereigns carded. They took him, along with every engineer and scientist who could have helped us level that field.
"I never even got to say goodbye to him. Now, all I have left to remember him by are the cards he passed down to me... and all of them were just torn to pieces. Life is entirely meaningless. We are just ripped away from the people we love, with absolutely nothing to remember and to give goodbye."
Edo's fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white, his eyes welling with suppressed tears.
"Do not succumb to despair!" Leo commanded, his voice cutting through the boy's grief like a sword. "You say you never received the chance to say goodbye to your father? Then don't settle for a goodbye! Fight to take him back! You have no need for final farewells when you can tear down all walls, look him in the eye, and speak to him for as long as you desire!" Leo turned his gaze to the rest of the group. "I am certain that every one of you shares a similar tragedy."
The boys remained silent, but the sudden, fierce ignition in their eyes told Leo everything he needed to know.
"The worst part isn't even the fighting." Amon added. "They expect us to worship them as deities. They style themselves after the ancient myths—Obelisk, Ra, Osiris. They act as though they are the absolute rulers."
"This war has stripped everything from everyone. It has erased hope." Barret muttered, grinding his teeth.
"Does your resistance lack a centralized leader to guide you all?" Leo asked.
"We have Tenjoin Fubuki," Ryo answered. "He's a senior student from the Academia, he have helped us and lead us to stay safe. Even now as we speak. But our logistics are nonexistent. We lack the materials and rations to move efficiently from sector to sector. We spend all our time simply hiding in the dirt. That was also the reason Edo and others had come if they could had find some, and you know the rest."
"I see. Then I shall provide the strategy. I will bring liberation to this dying world."
Ryo looked at him skeptically. "But you're talking about fighting forces that wield the power of gods. How do you plan to dismantle a empire like that?"
"Do you not believe in the mechanics of hope?" Leo countered. "Even a glimmer of spark glows with absolute intensity when it is enveloped by total darkness. The deeper the shadow, the more potent a sliver of light becomes. I am standing here today because I chose to ride that exact same glimmer."
Leo looked down at Edo. "Your name?"
"Edo. Edo Phoenix." The boy answered automatically.
"Phoenix? Edo?" Leo was stunned, as if remnants of past covered his thoughts."A fitting name. Edo, you stated earlier that life is entirely meaningless. That is incorrect."
"Is it a lie, then? Or a truth?"
"It is neither," Leo stated flatly. "What I perceive of human life, and what I intend to forge within it, exists far beyond those two fundamental categories."
A sudden downpour began to fall from the heavy gray clouds overhead. The rain splattered against the concrete, turning the dust around them into a thick, dark mud.
The boys looked up at the sudden downpour, stunned by the heavy shift in the atmosphere.
"What I see in human life is not what is currently here, but what is yet to come." Leo continued, his voice ringing out over the storm. "My vision transcends the concepts of righteousness and selfishness. It goes beyond right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies. The world I intend to build exists entirely beyond these dualities. A paradise. A Unison."
"Unison...?" they whispered, the word echoing in their minds.
"It is a distant goal," Leo admitted. "But we must take the absolute first step right here, right now, if we ever hope to reach it. If this war has stripped everything from you, from your families, and from your people—then your only logical thought should be to take everything back!"
The boys felt an electric surge course through their veins, a sudden, overwhelming urge to unleash the pent-up energy they had suppressed for longs. They were on the verge of shouting, ready to follow this strange, brilliant madman to the very edge of existence.
"If your enemies claim to be gods, then shatter that illusion!" Leo commanded, his words carrying immense weight. "Every civilization that has ever surrendered its agency to the concept of a deity has failed to achieve its true potential. God is dead. If not then we must kill God. There is no king!"
"But how do we convince an entire population to help up?" Amon asked, his very mind calculating the sheer scale of the logistical nightmare. "How do we shift their priorities?"
"Human beings possess an inherent psychological tendency to follow a master." Leo explained. "It is an evolutionary but raw reflex to offload the burden of choice onto a leader—to reap the rewards of their success, and to point fingers and blame them when everything falls apart. Very few individuals possess the fortitude to rely solely on themselves. We must break that psychological loop. We must excise that base instinct entirely."
"But even if they blindly believe, does exposing it actually help them?" Ryo challenged. "Don't people naturally crave an someone to carry their suffering, even if that entity is completely invisible?"
"Yes, history is an absolute witness to that tragic cycle," Amon agreed.
Leo countered sharply. "Do you know what is the difference in the people who have stood for their own but still lost?"
The boys remained silent, but the burning intensity in their eyes signaled their undivided attention. Leo let out a dark, sharp chuckle.
"Each of those stood entirely alone. They lacked a collective structure to safeguard their wisdom. Blind belief has only ever resulted in destruction; it establishes its foundations first, exclusively upon a mountain of corpses. God, religion, dogmatic righteousness—history claims these concepts were invented to provide peace, an idea echoed for three millennia of human civilization. Yet, they have yielded nothing but chaos and demolition.
"We must unify everyone first. Every single soul. Stay strong. Stand firm. An unwavering resolution. This is what a revolution demands! The raw material from which a revolution is formed! History proves that no single human being has ever achieved a lasting paradigm shift in isolation. The world must become a singular entity for paradise to welcome us!"
Suddenly, the electronic console on the unconscious Sovereign's wrist began to chime aggressively. In the far distance, a massive army followed, appearing on the horizon.
"It seems conflict is inevitable before we even take first step." Leo remarked, his eyes locking onto the approaching army. "Tell me—does any one of you possess the desire to fundamentally reshape this broken world? Forget about your damaged cards. Do not worry about the risks. I will calculate the solutions to every obstacle. I ask you now: do you want Unison?"
"Where exactly does this paradise you speak of exist?" Ryo demanded, his voice mixing with Barret's.
"Your name is Ryo, correct?" Leo said, a brief, soft smile breaking through his severe expression. "It is an interesting coincidence; the nickname of my own son is also Ryo. The familiarity brought me a brief moment of comfort." He turned his gaze back to the horizon. "Paradise is the unison of worlds. All four dimensions integrated into one! The answer to our paradise lies within that unison, and everything else will follow."
The concepts of "unison" and "four dimensions" caused the boys to flinch. They couldn't fully comprehend the mathematics behind his words, but they knew with absolute certainty that this man was unlike anyone they had ever met. They wanted to make that unified world a reality. They wanted to follow this man.
"My younger brother is currently enduring his darkest hour," Ryo said, his voice dropping into a quiet, painful tone. "His name is Sho. He's at his absolute worst right now—he can barely walk, he can't eat properly, and he speaks with hard efforts... Will this new world of yours truly fix what occurred? Are you genuinely confident in your formulas, or are you just another one of those who barks at the system only to be executed in the end?!"
Leo answered without a single shred of hesitation. "Results never manifest without calculated compromises. The output of any system is strictly determined by its input. If your primary objective is to save your little brother, then you must dedicate every single percentage of your energy to goal. You must detach your emotions from his immediate suffering if you want his ultimate wellbeing. Those who allow themselves to be paralyzed by the fear of failure rather than enduring the immediate pain of the struggle will inevitably be conquered by both."
Before they could delve deeper into the philosophy, the vanguard of the enemy army closed the distance, their boots shaking the muddy earth.
With a swift motion, Leo reached into his coat and tossed an electronic device to each of them—sleek, highly advanced duel interfaces.
"This is my personal invention—an extra layer of insurance. It is a technology I hoped I would never have to deploy, yet reality dictates its necessity. Use them. Every one of you still possesses a deck, correct? Then insert your strongest monsters! Manifest your emotions, and let these conquerors experience the true weight of their own medicine!"
Driven by absolute faith in his words, the boys slotted their remaining cards of deck into the advanced pads and initiated their summons.
Instantly, their strongest monsters materialized—not as hollow projections of light, but with immense, crushing physical mass and actual kinetic weight. The creatures leaped across the ruined landscape, launching devastating, physical assaults against the enemy lines. A chorus of shocked groans and panicked screams echoed through the stormy sky.
Everyone celebrated.
"Wow! I can't believe this!" Barret shouted, his jaw dropping as he watched a holographic dragon physically shatter an armored transport vehicle. "This is incredible! I apologize for calling you an old man earlier. I guess age really is just a number."
Leo chuckled as he watched the tide of the battle shift. "Age is merely a word."