Darkness surged, swallowing the down-leveled Sphere bird. Its form twisted under the shroud, morphing into a grotesque, sinister entity.
Eyes opened one after another, covering the warped body. Some ultimate terror awakened within the dark, gazing coldly at everything.
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0]
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect: once per turn, absorb an opponent's monster as an Equip Card."
Kira lazily raised a hand.
"Since you hate me absorbing Dasher so much, I'll leave that one to you. The one I'm absorbing is—"
He smiled.
"'Destiny HERO – Dogma,' absorbed as Thousand-Eyes Restrict's Equip."
Aster: "."
A surge of pitch-black power erupted from Thousand-Eyes, enveloping Dogma without debate. The mighty Destiny HERO roared, but was dragged helplessly into the void and absorbed—his eyes glazing over as he was consumed by Thousand-Eyes Restrict.
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict gains ATK equal to the absorbed monster's ATK."
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 0 → ATK 3400]
Aster's mouth twitched.
Transforming Sphere had morphed into Thousand-Eyes—one bull-headed menace becoming an even creepier bull-headed menace.
In the past, this would have been unthinkable even in a dream.
And yet here it was—truly, right before his eyes.
For a moment, doubt gnawed at him.
Was it really fate?
Were his HEROes destined to be driven off no matter how he struggled?
"I equip the Spell 'Big Bang Shot' to a monster on the field," Kira continued. "I equip it to 'Thousand-Eyes Restrict.'
The equipped monster gains 400 ATK, and when attacking a Defense Position monster, it inflicts piercing damage if its ATK exceeds that monster's DEF."
[Thousand-Eyes Restrict, ATK 3400 → ATK 3800]
"Thousand-Eyes Restrict—attack 'Destiny HERO – Dasher.'"
[Destiny HERO – Dasher, DEF 1000]
A massive ATK/DEF gap—a crushing blow. With Big Bang Shot, Thousand-Eyes would inflict 2800 damage in one hit.
And Kira still had Synthesize Sphere ready to attack. If both swings connected, it would be lethal.
At that moment, Aster wavered.
He had known Sartorius since childhood and believed in his talk of fate. Sartorius's prophecies had never been wrong, forcing Aster to accept that each person truly had a destiny.
If all his victories to date were arranged by fate, was it possible that fate had arranged for him to lose today?
No—impossible.
Aster shook off the thought.
His tarot was The Chariot—the symbol of absolute victory, the chariot that utterly crushes foes. All these years, in so many duels, that prophecy had never changed.
No opponent mattered—he would win, and keep winning. Until he found the Ultimate D, found the culprit who ruined his life—
"I activate my set Trap—'Eternal Dread'!"
Aster roared.
The Trap flipped, and a giant D-shaped spotlight emblem blazed across the Clock Tower behind him.
The tower's hands accelerated, spinning madly. As if an unseen will had seized time's dial, time itself surged forward at the critical instant.
Almost simultaneously, Dogma—now controlled by Thousand-Eyes—swung his long blade.
Dasher's armor parted like butter; he let out a cry and exploded on the spot. The blast and shockwave surged across Aster's field, engulfing him wholly.
[Aster, LP 3000]
Untouched.
As the smoke thinned, Aster still stood straight beneath the Clock Tower. But the space before him shimmered, as though an invisible refracting shield had formed.
"Oh? You blocked it with the Clock Tower," Kira nodded. "With four or more counters, the controller of Clock Tower Prison takes no battle damage. A razor's-edge defense—nicely done."
Aster, having perfectly blocked the attack, only furrowed deeper.
Clock Tower Prison's hidden effect: when it reaches four or more "Clock Counters," its true power triggers. As long as the tower with four or more counters remains on the field, its controller takes no battle damage.
The Trap he activated—"Eternal Dread"—is designed to pair with Clock Tower Prison. Eternal Dread immediately places two Clock Counters on it.
The tower had already gained two counters from Kira's two Standby Phases; with two more from the Trap, it now had exactly four. Thus, within this field, Aster had gained the ultimate shield of complete immunity to battle damage.
The problem was—how did Revolver know?
Aster grew more alert.
He had barely used Destiny HEROes in public—not even on the pro circuit. The Deck was designed by his father, unique in the world, never officially released; there should be no public information about it.
Who on earth was this Revolver? How did he even know the Clock Tower's effect?
Could he really be like Sartorius, possessing the power to see through fate?
If so, were the things he'd said true? That dueling this man was like facing the wheel of destiny—just like all those who had faced Aster until now?
"With four counters on the Clock Tower, there's no point in continuing the attack. I'll pass."
Kira spoke carelessly.
"Battle Phase ends.
I switch my unused 'Synthesize Sphere' to Defense Position and end my turn."
[Synthesize Sphere, ATK 1000 → DEF 1000]
Worth noting: the printed Thousand-Eyes Restrict prevents all other monsters from attacking while it's on the field. But in the original anime, only the opponent's monsters couldn't attack.
So if Aster hadn't hit four counters at that critical moment for the tower's protection, he'd already have been finished off by Synthesize Sphere.
Now, even without the attack restriction on Kira's side, as long as Thousand-Eyes remained, Aster still couldn't attack.
"Oh, and by the way—Thousand-Eyes isn't an Sphere bird. Its absorbed monsters don't pop back at end of turn," Kira said with a smile. "If you're hoping Dogma will return to your field at the end of the turn, you'll be disappointed."
Aster's face was grim. He simply said, heavily:
"My turn—draw!"