"Hey! You're back to your senses—can you hear me?"
Having safely stashed the prototype card of El Shaddoll Winda, Hikaru approached the Gem-Knight White Crystal. The two Flame Swordsmen flanked him defensively, watching the embedded knight like hawks.
White Crystal struggled to rise from the dirt, but his limbs trembled—he had taken a severe beating. After a few futile attempts to stand, he gave up and looked up at Hikaru with a solemn expression.
"Thank you for saving my life, sir. I am White Crystal, a knight of the Gem-Knight Order."
Sensing no hostile intent, the Flame Swordsmen eased up slightly, lowering their weapons but keeping their guard.
"How did you end up here?" Hikaru asked.
"...I'm not entirely sure..." White Crystal's brow furrowed. "The last I recall, I was leading a purification squad. We were cleaning up corruption when... yes, I remember now. I was overtaken by shadow energy—nearly turned into one of their puppets. My comrades forcibly banished me to save the others."
Banished?
He means banished—as in Yu-Gi-Oh's game mechanic.Hikaru wasn't sure how literal this was, but he explained what had happened just moments ago—White Crystal's possession, the battle, the aftermath.
The knight listened quietly, slowly sinking deeper into the dirt in shame.
Eventually, Hikaru changed the subject and asked about his backstory, and suddenly, something clicked.
Card art.Everyone knows that a Yu-Gi-Oh! card isn't just text—the artwork is crucial.And these artworks often connect across multiple cards, creating whole narratives—mini story arcs, or even sagas spanning multiple archetypes.
Some are simple (like Gaia's evolution into Black Luster Soldier), some tragic (Beast King Barbaros getting thrashed repeatedly), and others form entire epic series—like the Duel Terminal (DT) story.
The DT world is infamous for its unrelenting cataclysms.From start to finish, it's basically apocalyptic event after apocalyptic event—mass extinction is practically the minimum standard of crisis.
But what White Crystal described… didn't match what Hikaru remembered.
According to White Crystal, he wasn't the White Crystal of lore, but merely one among many. A squad captain, yes, but nothing more. His usual duties included purging corruption and training recruits—in dueling.
That's the key difference.
In the DT world, battles are life-and-death—blades, magic, explosions.But these Duel Monster Spirits? They wield dueling.It's like the difference between myth and the fairies born from myth.
To borrow an analogy:The DT White Crystal is Romance of the Three Kingdoms' Lü Bu.This White Crystal? He's Fate/Grand Order's Berserker Lü Bu. Related by theme, maybe. But not even the same universe.
And in that lies a powerful implication:The Spirit's evolution path is not predetermined.This White Crystal doesn't have to become that world's savior. He can walk his own road.
Same with the Alchemage.
Even in canon, this nuance exists. In the anime, the Dark World archetype were total villains, but their card lore depicts factions—some good, some evil.
"Sir Hikaru," White Crystal bowed deeply, finally pulling himself free from the dirt. "You've saved me. I pledge my strength to you… but I beg you, allow me to continue my mission. My comrades are still under siege from the shadows. I cannot abandon them!"
Hikaru was about to wave it off—one card, more or less, didn't matter. But the Alchemage suddenly cut in.
"You know how to get back?"
"...Huh?"
"If I, a literal alchemist, don't know how to return, what makes you think your rock-for-brains head does?"
"Wha—?"
"You said your order banishes corrupted members to other dimensions for quarantine and healing, right? So tell me:Which dimension were you banished to?Do you even know where you are right now?You got infected, thrown into some mystery realm, wandered god-knows-where, then got found by this human and ended up here. How the hell are you getting back? Gonna bash your way through a dimensional wall?"
White Crystal froze—sweating bullets.
"I'm telling you, you're better off following this guy. His world has actual interdimensional travel tech. They might find your home eventually!"
"Uh… that actually makes a lot of sense…" White Crystal admitted. He turned back to Hikaru, dropped to one knee again. "Please, Sir Hikaru. Let me serve you."
"Of course!" Hikaru laughed. It felt good to have someone else make the pitch.
A brilliant white light flared around White Crystal. His form shrank, condensed—then crystallized.
In Hikaru's hand landed a gleaming gemstone—then a card.
Gem-Knight White Crystal.
He was in poor shape and needed time to recover—but Hikaru had earned a powerful new Main Deck ally.
He turned to the Alchemage.
The refined fusion monster gave a small bow—not imposing, but effortlessly elegant.
"Rest assured, Master. As an alchemist, I am proud to follow a true fusion master. Besides, we had a deal."
Fusion Master.Coming from a spirit, a vow was absolute. The moment Hikaru saved him, the Alchemage was bound.But after seeing Hikaru duel?
He was thrilled.
He didn't even bother with the usual "duel me to earn my loyalty" routine—he was all in.
"Oh, please. I'm still a long way off from a true master," Hikaru replied modestly.
But internally, he knew—
This guy? He was terrifying.
Revived Steel Construct Alchemage.A Level 1 Fusion Monster with 0 ATK/0 DEF.
For most players, that's a hard pass. But Hikaru knew better.
It was a pseudo-Relinquished.An effect that, during the opponent's turn, lets him equip an enemy monster to this card. A borderline hand-trap-grade fusion beast.
Harder to summon than Thousand-Eyes Restrict—but not by much.And with the right setup?
It was busted.
Add him to the roster alongside his current monsters—his nigh-unusable Chaos MAX, the rarely summoned Ultimate Ancient Gear—but none of them were more useful than Alchemage.
A true master of cuckery.
And his haul?
White Crystal.Alchemage.And a proto-Winda.
All from one trip.
All thanks to the man who sent them.
Hikaru chuckled to himself.
"Professor Akaba... you honest bastard."