Chapter 1119 - 1092: Uninvited Guests
Satellite District, deep within.
The candle wick twitched amid frozen wax tears, its dim halo like a dying firefly, barely licking the room’s contours. Beneath peeling wallpaper, mold wove patterns, and cracks seeped a damp chill.
Figures clad in black burlap hoods sat around a worm-eaten wooden table, shadows beneath the hoods were so thick they seemed to swallow their features, only skeletal hands extended from sleeves, casting spiderweb-like tremors in the candlelight.
The owner of that hand bore a terrifying pattern on the arm.
Purple-black lines, drawn with bold strokes, forming a design resembling Nazca Lines.
Dark Markers.
Crossing five thousand years of fate, chosen as emissaries for the Nether realm, destined to battle Dragon Sealers chosen by the Red Dragon. When Dark Markers prevail, the gates of the Nether realm will open, and the King of the Underworld will reign over mankind.
The world of the living will be upturned, the dead will rule all, this is the purpose of Dark Markers.
"Seems like the time has come."
Under flickering candlelight, a Dark Marker spoke in a deep voice.
He showed his arm, the lines of the Dark Marker glowing with a purple gleam.
"The mark of God is craving battle, craving the blood of Dragon Sealers."
But a female Dark Marker replied: "But aren’t we still missing some people? The time is soon, but it’s not quite now."
Opposite the candlelight, a blue-haired Dark Marker tapped his fingers on the table, snorted in a slightly sharp tone: "Doesn’t matter.
What mission for battle, five thousand years of fate, none of that matters.
But if all of you remember one thing. Yusei Fudo, only that guy... that guy is mine!"
The previous two remained silent.
The blue-haired Dark Marker then looked toward the end of the long table, at the last person there, who gathered them and was the first in this room, the leader of the Dark Markers.
"I’ll handle Yusei Fudo, I’ll make him feel the pain a betrayer deserves, like the despair of a purgatory on earth. No objections?"
The leader of the Dark Markers did not reply.
The blue-haired Dark Marker furrowed his brow and stepped forth, waving a hand in front of the leader.
"Hey? Still with us?"
Only then did the leader seem to snap back to reality, looking at him.
After a while, the leader spoke sinisterly: "Do as you please."
With that, the leader stood up, ignoring everyone else, headed straight for the door.
The rest watched his back until he vanished outside the door. After a moment, the blue-haired Dark Marker furrowed his brows and said: "Do you guys feel like the boss has been acting strange recently?"
No response.
"..."
The leader of the Dark Markers reached a deserted place, walked a few steps before seeming unable to hold on, falling to his knees, clasping his head.
"Uhnghhh..."
He gritted his teeth beneath the hood, like his head might split from pain.
"No, something’s... wrong."
The battle between Dragon Sealers and Dark Markers was about to begin again. But this time felt wrong.
It seemed as though unknown forces had reached into this fated battle, churning their future into chaos.
The Dark Marker leader could vaguely sense that he was at the center of this chaos.
"Get out of my head..."
"Ahhhhhh——"
...
...
New Tongshiyi City.
Presently, Yugen, or rather Officer Godwin, was walking out of the Arcadia Movement building, strolling through the city’s streets.
Akiza is settled. Anyway, she’s definitely going to attend the Lucky Cup competition now.
In the animation, since meeting Yusei and the others, Akiza began to change. Or more precisely, she found redemption.
With Yusei’s help, she reconciled with her parents, learned to control her powers, and eventually, her abilities simply vanished.
According to Diwein’s test in the animation, Akiza’s power would increase with her anger and hatred. Since meeting Yusei, her hatred dwindled, and her power waned likewise.
Eventually, her telekinesis disappeared completely, she became an ordinary girl, which was a pretty good outcome for her, allowing her a normal life.
Yet Yugen felt the ending was fine, but could have been better.
Akiza’s redemption was nice, but the price was her slight marginalization in the latter half of the animation.
Remember how Akiza first appeared with the title of Witch, even the usually conceited Jack called her "extraordinarily strong." She crushed all opponents with ease in the Lucky Cup, advancing to become Yusei’s opponent in the finals before challenging Jack.
At that time, Akiza felt strong.
Yugen always thought Akiza never fully accepted her innate strength. Even after redemption, she only learned suppression, preventing her power from losing control when she didn’t want it.
In the end, her telekinesis simply vanished, she couldn’t use it even if she wanted, which might be her subconscious choice to some extent.
This wasn’t bad, but Yugen thought she might have become even better.
Power itself isn’t right or wrong. If forced, Akiza’s strength was merely pure physical destruction. Compared to past Duel Kings Atom and Yuki Judai, who toyed with Dark Game and inner darkness manifestation, she was far less sinister.
If Akiza could embrace her talent, maybe she would go farther than originally.
Yugen wasn’t in a hurry to reveal Diwein’s true face to her, for doing so might strip her of the motivation to join the Lucky Cup, potentially losing her resolve to move forward.
Moreover, attending the Lucky Cup might stimulate her further awakening, and she’d meet Yusei Fudo in the competition.
Don’t be fooled by Yusei’s initial cold demeanor, seeming like a tough silent guy, indifferent to matters beyond himself. Deep down, Yusei is warm-hearted, a busy body. His Mouth Escape skills are no weaker than other Yu-Gi-Oh! leading characters.
Through dueling Yusei, Akiza should reduce self-loathing, laying groundwork for the next phase.
Now the Dragon Sealers needed finding, only one remained...
Yugen walked down the street, his thoughts wandering when suddenly a young child’s voice called from behind.
"Leo! Leo wait for me..."
"..."
"Whoa!"
Yugen felt a small figure crash into him.
He turned to see a green-haired boy, wearing a blue Duel Disc, stumble back, sitting on the ground, grimacing as he rubbed his sore behind.
"Ouch ouch ouch..."
Yugen glanced at the child, revealing a meaningful smile.
Uninvited yet welcome, what a coincidence indeed.