The Light of Destruction's body was still flickering on and off, seemingly ready to vanish at any moment.
At this point, Judai also came down. Neos landed him smoothly, lightly touching down behind Youyu.
He followed behind Youyu, craning his neck to scrutinize the half-dead invader lying on the ground.
Hmm, the Duel Disc is already gone. As expected of Teacher Youyu, your strike is swift.
"I have lost," the Light of Destruction said, "I have never encountered such a defeat in any galaxy. Perhaps the Earth is indeed exceptional; my predictions were indeed off.
The Cosmic will is profound and unfathomable, so it is not impossible for low-probability events outside of my predictions to happen..."
"You weren't saying that just now in the duel," Youyu shrugged.
"...Then I was wrong," the Light of Destruction replied, "Just as the universe occasionally throws small probability events outside the tracks of fate, I too rarely make mistakes."
Though he seemed to be hanging by a thread, his tone remained calm, as if it wasn't himself but something else that had been beaten so badly, and he was just an observer.
The Light of Destruction pondered for a moment, then lay there, struggling to turn his head to look at Youyu, and then his gaze shifted to Judai.
"For a moment, you truly made me believe fate had altered. You invoked a miracle beyond my imagination, some supreme power that should no longer exist.
I once thought my understanding of the Cosmic will was flawed, but now looking at you, observing your future once again, I realize I wasn't wrong.
Fate hasn't changed; the universe is still being swept towards a ruined future by an irresistible torrent, and everything will be reduced to the Void."
Judai didn't like this and opened his mouth to refute, but was stopped by Youyu raising his hand.
"Maybe you won't believe it," Youyu said, "but I think you might be right."
Judai looked at his teacher in surprise.
"Oh?" the Light of Destruction was also surprised, "As a human, can you see the future determined by the Cosmic will?"
"Because more than one person has told me similar prophecies, and they... let's say, each person's words carry weight," Youyu said.
This was the truth. The ancient demon Dartz, Dark Great Evil God Sock, Z-ONE, the last human of the world, any one of them is truly a big-shot.
Light of Destruction: "Since you know, then why..."
"Because I don't care," Youyu said, "Just as we demonstrated in the duel just now, the only thing that fate cannot decide is the duel itself.
If the future is destined to be a broken fate, then we will shatter that fate through dueling."
"..."
The Light of Destruction was momentarily silent.
"Do you think you can achieve that?"
"Of course we can!" Judai punched the air, "A duel isn't over until it's over, and fate is the same! The future can be changed!"
The Light of Destruction looked once more at this jellyfish-headed youth.
His blade-like gaze pierced through, as if cutting through the veil of fate, seeing the trajectory of the youth's future.
He saw a pitch-black world, a dark dome covering the barren, desolate ground, with not a trace of a living being between heaven and earth.
The youth was clad in pitch-black armor, wearing a heavy helmet, his cloak flying like a banner.
He stood atop a rugged, ghostly castle, overlooking the world below, his hollow golden eyes seeming to blaze with golden flame, his gaze cold and violent, yet also appearing mournful.
Just like a general who fought and won every battle, only to find himself suddenly alone, with only a mountain of white bones as his companions.
The Light of Destruction withdrew his gaze.
"Fate... is not so easily swayed," he said.
"Perhaps, but even if we fail, at least we will fail trying," Youyu said, "You say the universe has decided that the existence of life is a mistake; whether it's true or false doesn't matter to us.
Life inherently has no meaning; it is we who give it meaning.
Whether the future is dark or bright, filled with hope or doom, is up to us."
"..."
The Light of Destruction seemed to ponder for a moment.
"I understand what you mean," he said, "Then, good luck to this planet — and to you who dwell upon it."
After saying this, he seemed to finally exhaust the last bit of force sustaining his body.
The body constructed of light suddenly shattered and dissolved, breaking into countless golden light spots, finally dispersing.
Kaiba, watching the conversation from afar, found himself very satisfied.
Hmph! That's the man I recognize, You↑yu↓!
Truth be told, after watching the duel, the President was now feeling both fired up and famished for a duel, every dueling cell in his body restless, so much so he almost wants to challenge Youyu right now.
But he knew that after such a life-and-death duel, Youyu's body must be weakened and his mental state not at its peak.
In this condition, Youyu would be incapable of satisfying him!
"Brother?" Mokuba asked softly from behind.
"Hmph."
Kaiba flipped his trench coat and turned directly.
"Everything's settled here, let's go."
As he walked, the President clenched his fist.
Although Youyu was down now, the President's craving for a duel had been ignited, scorching and unbearable, he must find a way to sate it.
Go back and trash the Youyu-themed AI?
No, this craving is beyond what AI can resolve, only a truly capable opponent will do... preferably one the President can't beat.
If battling can immediately quench his craving, or even make him not want to duel throughout the span of the treatment, that would be perfect.
Then it seems there's only one answer—
— Await me, Yu↑gi↓!
I'm coming to settle this with you now!
...
After the fall of the Light of Destruction and its complete disappearance, quite some time had passed, and other students and teachers on the island swarmed over upon hearing the news, making the small woodland bustling.
Youyu and Judai were undoubtedly the focus of everyone's attention.
True heroes!
Bravely standing against the unknown invader, perfectly defeating the opponent under the world's gaze, the two were now heroes in the eyes of all the teachers and students... no, the whole world!
"Judai!"
"Bro!"
Judai's three buddies at school rushed to the forefront of the crowd.
"Xiang! Asuka! And everyone!" Judai waved vigorously.
Mitsuzawa, the bystander: So I'm "everyone," right?
Judai beamed with joy, stepping enthusiastically to meet them. But unexpectedly, just two steps in, his legs went weak, his vision darkened, and the world spun around him as he fell headfirst.