In an endless expanse of pure white space, there was no direction, no boundaries—even one's own shadow had vanished. Only eternal silence remained, along with the faintly glowing cold light beneath one's feet.
This was Z-ONE's domain, a unique space that almost no one could enter without Z-ONE's permission.
Kira had brought the pile of Duel Runners and mechanical wreckage from the recent explosion and dumped them all here. Charred gears, severed circuits, twisted alloy frames… These fragments stood out sharply against the void of white, like filthy bloodstains dripping onto fresh snow.
"Z-ONE, are you there?"
Kira looked up into the infinite void and asked.
After a moment of silence, the space rippled slightly. Z-ONE's massive nautilus-like floating device materialized out of thin air and slowly descended in front of Kira.
"What is it this time?"
"Something happened just now. Someone hacked into my database, trying to probe information about Iliaster and my origins. I caught them."
Kira pointed at the scattered wreckage on the ground.
Z-ONE's blue eyes beneath the mask narrowed slightly.
"A machine?"
"Yeah. It felt like a copy of Team Unicorn's Breo," Kira said. "It was incredibly lifelike—I have to admit it. Right up until it self-destructed, I genuinely thought it was the real person. To perfectly replicate a duelist's personality and transplant it into a mechanical body, allowing the copy to pass as the original… This era's technology shouldn't be capable of that, right?"
"Indeed, it isn't."
"Let me see…"
As Z-ONE spoke, the mechanical fragments floated up within streams of data, as if being reassembled by an invisible force.
The scorch marks faded, the twisted metal straightened, the circuits reconnected—until finally, a complete mechanical humanoid appeared in mid-air. Its face was smooth metal with no features, only a single dark red optical lens flickering.
"Hm, interesting," Z-ONE said.
Kira asked, "Oh? Found something?"
"Yes." Z-ONE spoke flatly. "It's my technology."
Kira: "?"
He stared at Z-ONE strangely for a moment, confirming he hadn't misheard.
"You built this thing?"
"No, that's not what I said." Z-ONE replied calmly. "I said it uses my technology. I didn't say I manufactured this machine."
"But no one in this world can replicate your technology."
"Correct. 'In this world,' no one can." Z-ONE stated.
Kira froze, quickly grasping the implication.
If no one in this world could do it… what about other worlds?
The main threats they faced now were coming from beyond this dimension. The enemy had already brought a Rex Goodwin and a Rudger Goodwin from another world—so why couldn't they bring a Z-ONE as well?
The multiverse was vast, with countless worlds holding countless possibilities. It wasn't impossible for another Z-ONE to exist in another world.
However, Z-ONE was the last human, the man representing the pinnacle of technology in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Both his tech and dueling skills were at the absolute peak—he was a ceiling-level existence in 5D's.
If such an "abnormality" descended into this dimension, no one could predict what kind of disaster it would bring.
"But I don't understand," Kira frowned. "Let's assume, just hypothetically, that a parallel dimension exists with another 'you.' Why would 'you' create a copy of Team Unicorn's Breo?"
He had no doubt that Z-ONE possessed the technology, but he couldn't fathom the motive.
It wasn't that he looked down on Team Unicorn, but while they were a top-tier team in this era, they were ultimately just elite duelists of the current time. They had no supernatural abilities, no special backstory, and no particular untapped potential.
Was there really a need to copy someone like that?
Z-ONE said dryly, "I don't know."
Kira looked at him.
"I'm just telling the truth," Z-ONE continued. "I only know the various possibilities within this dimension's timeline. As for what other worlds or other 'me's might be thinking, I truly have no idea."
"Fair enough."
There was no point overthinking it. When soldiers come, a general blocks them; when water comes, earth dams it. They would deal with things as they came.
Kira decided that his immediate priority, while he was still Iliaster's Boss and the Director, was to hurry up and print a few more cards. That was the real way forward.
…
In the deepest part of an abandoned industrial zone, inside a dilapidated factory.
Several blurry figures flickered in and out under dim lighting. Rusty metal pipes occasionally dripped murky water droplets, producing a "drip, drip" sound that added an eerie atmosphere to the secret meeting.
"That guy Breo…"
One person slammed his hand hard onto a rust-covered iron table beside him.
The metallic clang echoed through the empty factory.
"Not only did he act on his own, he exposed our existence and our secrets!"
He spoke through gritted teeth, a dangerous red glow flickering in his eyes.
In the corner, a burly figure nearly two meters tall snorted disdainfully. He casually flexed his wrist joints, producing a "crack, crack" sound—whether from bones or metal, it was unclear.
"So what if we're exposed? Saves us the trouble of hiding anymore," he said contemptuously. "I've been sick of living like this for a long time anyway."
"Calm down," the third person spoke up. "That guy named Fujiki Kira isn't simple. His dueling… it's abnormal. It's different from anyone we've seen before."
The first person paced back and forth irritably, his boots scraping loudly against the floor. "What's the use of saying that now? The plan's already been disrupted. We need to readjust."
"Enough!" the burly figure suddenly roared, shaking dust from the ceiling. "This waiting is pure torture—a complete waste of time!"
The first person asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
The burly figure ignored him and pulled out a card emitting an eerie red glow. Strange energy patterns surfaced on the card like pulsing veins, with molten lava seemingly flowing through each one.
"Since none of you dare to step up…" His voice suddenly became eerily calm, yet carried a bone-chilling killing intent. "Then let me go meet that guy and see how long he can last under my absolute power."
As he raised the card, the temperature inside the entire factory rose sharply.
The patterns on the card writhed like living things and suddenly burst into dazzling firelight. The flames twisted and coalesced in the air, finally forming the illusory shadow of a ferocious giant dragon. It spread its burning wings; molten-lava-like luster flowed between its crimson scales, and its golden vertical pupils burned with pure destructive desire.
The blurry image looked exactly like Jack Atlas's ace—the Dragon Emperor's dragon, Red Dragon Archfiend!
The burly figure let out a mad laugh that shook the entire factory. "Let the game begin! My Tamashi is starving!"
The dragon illusion threw its head back and let out a silent roar. Scorching heat waves swept through the space. Rusty metal began to melt, puddles on the ground instantly vaporized, and the entire factory turned into a massive furnace.
A figure said in a deep voice, "Calm down. Our rejection reaction in this dimension hasn't fully disappeared yet. We can't use our full power right now."
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."
The burly figure sneered coldly.
"Before I go find that Director… I'll warm up with the 'real deal' first. Heh heh…"
…