"Revolver!"
Aster shouted in fury.
He had no personal grudge with Revolver, but the string of mind games had driven his patience to the brink. Now that the real culprit finally showed himself, Aster had an outlet for all that anger—and he roared.
Revolver stood atop the maze, looking down at him from on high. Most of his face was hidden by a dark mask, yet somehow Aster could feel a faint, amused smile behind it.
"Malicious !"
Aster barked, and Malicious had already leapt forth. A Destiny HERO fist rocketed out. Revolver stood aloft without dodging. The force of the punch flapped his coat—but he did not budge.
The fist passed clean through. The figure turned translucent and vanished, as if it had been a mirage all along.
Aster's heart skipped. He realized his thoughts had been shaken by the illusions; agitation lingered. He'd rushed that attack.
He whirled. A door had appeared in the once-endless loop of maze walls behind him.
He hesitated, then couldn't help pushing it open. The door creaked as it swung, and he stepped through into an open vista.
The scene shifted again—outdoors, like the graveyard before. Rain poured in sheets; lightning writhed through the woods like enraged serpents.
He was a child again, gripping a large umbrella with both hands. The rain hammered down, the gale so strong it threatened to carry him off along with the umbrella.
He ran, shouting Sartorius's name, and only after who knew how long did he find him on a patch of grass.
Sartorius knelt with his back to him, head bowed, doing something unknown. His hair and clothes were drenched through.
"Sartorius!"
Little Aster rushed up, eager to hold the umbrella for him as promised.
But Sartorius suddenly whirled, and Aster almost screamed.
It wasn't Sartorius at all—his face was a demon's, twisted and feral, clawing toward him. That distorted visage seemed to roar—and laugh—its mouth yawning wide as if to swallow Aster whole.
Aster jolted, tossing the umbrella aside.
He stumbled and fell, his back slamming into a solid wall. He blinked, and the downpour, the graveyard, and the warped demon were gone.
He was still in the maze—endless loops, eerie darkness—and Revolver in white stood ahead.
Aster stood with a stone face. "What are you trying to say? I don't know how you learned so much about us, but you clearly don't understand the bond between me and Sartorius.
If you really did, you'd know popping a few jump scare scenes won't drive a wedge between us…"
"Is that so." Kira smiled. "If your bond is as solid as you claim, how is it you've noticed nothing about your comrade's change?"
"What did you say?" Aster frowned.
"You've sensed it yourself, haven't you?" Kira said lightly. "Sartorius's recent changes. Think carefully—does he still seem like the Sartorius you knew?"
Aster pondered.
He couldn't deny it. He knew Sartorius well. Since his father's death, Sartorius had helped him a great deal. In the last couple of years, Aster had felt something was off—Sartorius seemed gloomier, more occult-obsessed than before.
"Didn't Sartorius prophesy long ago he would face a ruinous fate?" Kira said. "So when his personality began to warp, did it never occur to you that the ruin he foresaw might already have descended, quietly?"
Aster said nothing, but he seemed swayed. His eyes flickered; unbidden, memories surfaced—oddities of Sartorius's he'd ignored.
Just then, a white gleam flashed in Aster's eyes, and an invisible white flame seemed to ignite around him.
"Ghh—ahh—!"
Aster clutched his head. The light vanished, and his gaze turned vicious.
He looked up, glaring at Kira.
"No—our bond won't be swayed by your glib words. More importantly, I have a question. The Ultimate D card!"
He barked.
"Is that card connected to you?"
"The influence of the Light of Destruction, huh."
Kira had spotted the source of Aster's abnormality and shrugged.
"Sorry to disappoint you. The card you want isn't in my hands."
"Words aren't enough to convince me."
Aster snapped open his Duel Disk.
"Duel! I'll rid Sartorius of a problem while I'm at it."
Kira smiled. He'd come prepared to duel.
If he could crush the Light of Destruction's influence on Aster through a duel, it should help clear his head.
"Fine."
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Aster, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Luck seemed to be on Aster's side—the priority light for turn order lit up on his Duel Disk, and he took first without hesitation.
"I activate the Spell Card Destiny Draw!" Aster said. "By discarding a Destiny HERO from my hand, I draw two cards!"
He flashed a monster from his hand, then sent it to the Graveyard.
"I discard Destiny HERO - Malicious to the GY and draw two!"
Malicious —one of the big names among Destiny HEROs. By banishing it from the GY, you can Special Summon another copy from the Deck. It was once limited for ease of use, and even as an old card, it remains a HERO staple.
"Next I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. Draw three, then discard two."
He drew, then picked two to send to the GY.
Then he looked up, solemn.
"I hear you're strong, Revolver. Good. Today I'll show you the heroes hidden in the darkness—one of a kind in this world—my heroes!
From my hand, I summon this guy.
Come on, Destiny HERO – Diamond Dude!"
A vortex of summoning wind rose, the caped hero seeming to rise from the earth. He swept his cape aside, revealing a body gleaming like cut ice crystal.
[Destiny HERO – Diamond Dude, ATK 1400]