"My turn, draw card!"
Ed Phoenix draws a card.
At other times, in front of so many people, he would never expose his matters, because he was not interested in letting so many people know about his background.
But this time is different.
He has somewhat "given up."
"How could you possibly understand my feelings?" he said through clenched teeth, with a trembling voice, "Does telling others mean they can understand me?
Or should I tell my story to everyone and beg for pity like a clown?
Don't make me laugh!"
His teeth were grinding loudly: "I don't need that kind of thing!"
"..." Tenjo Hikari paused slightly, then raised his voice, "Ed Phoenix—"
"I am Tenjo Hikari, I'm the Minister of the Fusion Department, I'm the chief representative of the prestigious Duel Academy—I'm the one in charge when you joined the department!
I've known your story for a long time."
Tenjo Hikari also held a card, and met Ed's gaze. Under Ed's surprised look, Tenjo Hikari slowly spoke, "I heard that when you were little, your father was murdered in an accident and his card was taken."
"Since then, you've been searching for your father's killer, and all these things, I know them, I can also understand."
"And how do you understand?"
"Ed. I have no parents either," Tenjo Hikari said calmly, delivering a simple yet unadorned answer.
Ed stood there stunned for a moment, the surrounding classmates looked at each other, completely unprepared for the development of the story.
But—
Often such an answer is the most suitable answer in the mind of a person whose thoughts are a tangled mess.
Ed closed his eyes, took several deep breaths with effort.
"I found my father's killer." Ed opened his eyes, looked at his trembling right hand, and slowly spoke, "He is someone incredibly important to me, the one who nurtured me into a professional duelist after my father died, my foster parent."
Whoa—
The watching students could only marvel that this duel was not watched in vain.
"I discovered he took my father's card solely for its power, just for such a reason!" He raised his right hand, looking at his fist, fist, voice, body, even his soul, all trembling violently, "He used the card's power to absorb my father's soul, for revenge, to defeat him, I personally destroyed that monster—
Personally, completely annihilated my father's soul...
I couldn't even hear my father's last words, could only watch him disappear, not a single word... not a word was heard."
Tenjo Hikari's pupils shrank suddenly.
Here it comes—
The point is actually this!
Tenjo Hikari realized.
In the original work, Ed and D.D dueled, during the duel, his father's soul appeared within Plasma, suffering but calling out to Ed, hoping Ed could defeat Plasma, repair his stalled clock, and move forward again.
But according to Ed's statement, in this world, even though he similarly found his father's soul within Plasma during the duel, that soul couldn't even make a sound.
Is it because the Wave of Light was stronger, resulting in this butterfly effect?
Then it must be hard to handle!
After all—besides his father, who could easily guide Ed out of his heart demon in this matter?
Tenjo Hikari sighed.
No wonder even someone like Ed, who was thought impossible to be affected by the Wave of Light, got caught.
The black aura on Ed spread, gradually even staining his silver-white suit a dull shade.
Now he's filled with confusion, unable to stop his wild thoughts.
Although defeating Plasma by hand indeed brought him satisfaction for avenging his father, what then?
"What exactly am I doing?" Ed slowly spoke, but his voice gradually became calm from trembling.
Yet this calm was not stability, but a kind of extinction.
Everyone could feel Ed's suicidal thoughts.
"Perhaps [Destiny] truly is unavoidable." Ed slowly opened up, "Destiny killed my father, guided me to use Destiny Hero, mask myself as Phoenixman, capture those thieves and robbers all around the world, yet never revealed that my real enemy was my [foster parent], the one I respected the most, is actually the most despicable murderer in the world.
Destiny guided me, to obtain victory whenever I sought it, victory within my grasp.
And now, destiny guides me here, to this duel..."
"Minister Tenjo, it's only at times like these that I envy you. Your pursuit of Polymerization, your purity, your disdain for power. Destiny truly favors you."
He reached out and took the Monster card on the field into his hand, saying, "And I... I'm merely guided by destiny, foolishly thinking I'm a Hero, thinking I'm punishing evil, thinking I'm doing good deeds, yet not realizing I'm just a foolish person. Maybe just like D.D. said, I don't really desire to be a Hero, I simply rely on the Destiny Hero's power, rely on stronger cards to unleash my own destructive desires!"
He is not a Hero.
But a prisoner to Destiny!
"No—you're wrong, Ed!" Tenjo Hikari interrupted Ed's self-pity, "You've got it wrong."
"Got what wrong?"
"There's no such thing as 'destined,' but rather 'choices'," Tenjo Hikari spoke, "When you chose to use Destiny Hero, when you chose to act as a Vigilante, when you chose to catch thieves and robbers on the street, you were already becoming a Hero, irrelevant of any starting point!"
"Your 'Destiny' is your own choice. Using 'Destiny Hero' is also your choice."
"What nonsense are you spouting now."
"Because it's simple—I wasn't steadfast in 'Polymerization' from the very beginning, nor was I 'pursuing' Polymerization from the start!"
"What did you say?" Ed was startled.
"Ah!?"
"Uh???"
At this point, not only Ed, who was dueling, but even the students watching couldn't help but exclaim in shock and confusion.
What what?
Tenjo Hikari didn't always believe in Polymerization?
This somewhat shook their worldview.
After all, everyone knew about Tenjo Hikari's unconditional trust in Polymerization.
"Everything originates from choice." Tenjo Hikari reached out to grab the card hanging on his chest, giving it a slight glance.
Upon arriving in this world, all cards in his Deck were replaced with Fusion Cards, but that doesn't mean he can't use other cards.
If it were merely for victory, he could put down Super Polymerization and use some traps to temporarily employ a more stable trap-oriented Deck. The reason he's always used Fusion, and persists in a 'pure Fusion' Deck to this day, isn't because he has to, but because he increasingly believes in 'Polymerization'!
Not just because of Super Polymerization's power, but because he has gradually come to truly love Polymerization!
"Ed, tell me, when you were acting chivalrously, when you were using the Hero Deck, was there never a moment of joy in your heart? Did your heart remain stagnant always when you were helping and rescuing others?"
Tenjo Hikari's words touched Ed's heart, rekindling a small spark in his otherwise desperate heart.
"Before joining the Duel Academy, I was never a user of Fusion Decks." Whether it was the original body in this world, or himself before crossing over, he was never solely using Fusion; it was after coming to this world that he gradually changed, "I used Polymerization to meet Judai, to meet Flame Swordsman, Dark Flare Knight, Captain Crystal, and others... met more and more friends in the Fusion Department, even met you, met the guy beside me. These friends are important to me!"
He glanced at Tierra from the corner of his eye, while Tierra folded her arms and lifted her head gleefully.
"Accompanying the use of Polymerization, I've become more adept at and trusted Polymerization—even more so over time, with increasing persistence.
I and Polymerization should relate in this way!"
"What about you? You should be similar to me, having met friends one after another, right?! Yet now, look at your sorry state! Look at your shameful appearance!"
Tenjo Hikari waved his large hand, as if a purple vortex swept across the Dueling Arena, solemnly declaring:
"Ed Phoenix!!
There's only one difference between you and me!
That is—I am more steadfast and trusting on the path of Polymerization, no matter what happens around me, I will not change!
But you!
Faced with hardship, because the hardship is too great, too painful, you couldn't bear it, and thus chose to give up!
[Hero] is not child's play; to become a true Hero, setbacks, hardships, pain, sorrow—anything might happen! You simply retreated because the world wasn't as easy as you imagined!"
"Weakness is not a mistake; the mistake is in giving up! It's in not changing!"
Upon hearing such words, the dark aura around Ed surged dramatically.
"Hey, Tenjo Hikari, what are you doing? Don't you want to save your junior? Isn't this getting more dangerous?" Tierra was shocked upon witnessing this, speaking for the first time in this duel.
Because following Ed Phoenix's change in state, she saw a terrifying power, not inferior to 'Phantasm,' perhaps even more terrifying, awakening within Ed's body!
Tenjo Hikari didn't respond.
At this point, talk therapy won't have any effect?
Only by using more drastic measures, going even further out on a limb, can it be meaningful!
"Minister Tenjo, I can't guarantee what happens next." Ed said quietly.
"Bring it on, I'll wake you up harshly!" Tenjo Hikari didn't mind, "With my Polymerization!"
"Then—it's my turn!!" Ed widened his eyes, an abrupt shift in momentum, behind him, a blood-colored figure mixed with a light curtain started to twist wildly!