As Hikaru Amagi stepped through the dimensional gate, he felt countless beams of light pierce through his body, fragmenting him into countless particles, scattering his consciousness like shattered glass. Then, just as sunlight broke through again, the pieces began to reassemble—until a human form coalesced and dropped hard onto the ground.
"Nnngh—!"
The moment he landed, Hikaru's legs gave out. He nearly collapsed face-first.
Heavy.
His entire body felt impossibly heavy—as if every limb had been filled with lead.
Judging by the dusky sky, it seemed like time flowed the same in this world and the one they'd left behind.
"Jaden!""Hikaru!"
Just as Hikaru wobbled and clutched his forehead, two figures rushed over. Marufuji Shou and Hayato Maeda hurried to their side, concern all over their faces.
"Are you guys okay?!"
"Oh! Totally fine!" Jaden replied with his usual easy grin.
Hikaru shook his head to clear the dizziness. After taking a deep breath, he looked at the two Red dorm students and spoke in a low voice:
"I'm fine too. Just a little lightheaded."
"That's perfectly normal, nya~" came the familiar mewl from nearby. Professor Daitokuji pushed up his glasses with a smile."Jaden possesses a naturally high Spirit Adaptability, so reentry into our dimension didn't cause him much trouble.But you, Hikaru-kun, have a lower adaptability stat—so you'll need to rest for a while."
"Plus, this gate was an old model. It's more taxing on the body.Most students would need five or six days of rest to recover, nya~!"
"I see…" Hikaru nodded. That checked out.
Jaden wasn't exactly a normal person, after all. In the original timeline, he was the reincarnation of the Supreme King—a being whose physical and spiritual tolerance was off the charts. Something like this? Barely a scratch.
As for Hikaru, he still felt dizzy, and his limbs were sluggish…But it wasn't anything a bit of fresh air wouldn't fix.
Kinda like running a kilometer with no warm-up.
Looks like Super Polymerization isn't just for card duels anymore, huh?
"Phew, I'm just glad you two made it back in one piece, nya~!"Daitokuji let out a relieved sigh, patting his chest."If you hadn't returned soon, the Disciplinary Bureau would've stepped in!"
Disciplinary Bureau?
Hikaru glanced to the side—and sure enough, a row of stern-faced individuals in dark green uniforms stood nearby. Each wore a military-style cap and looked more like soldiers than teachers. The woman at the front crossed her arms and addressed Daitokuji coldly:
"Professor Daitokuji. Fortunately, nothing happened this time, so the Bureau will not press formal charges."
"However, this dimensional gate will be confiscated and submitted to the Board for inspection.As for your salary this month—you'd best prepare yourself."
Ah yes—these must be the same Academy Enforcers who, in the original timeline, tried to arrest Jaden for breaking school rules. They acted like the island's military police, answering directly to the Council.
"Nyaaa—why is it always meeeee!!"Daitokuji wailed, half-crying.
"It's all your fault, Professor! If you hadn't tinkered with the gate, Jaden and Hikaru might not have even made it back!" Shou shouted, unusually sharp.
"Even I can't defend you this time…" Hayato muttered, shaking his head.
"B-but I just thought it was a bit outdated, so I made some enhancements..."Daitokuji pouted for a moment, then suddenly perked up and turned to Jaden.
"Anyway, Jaden—where exactly did you two go?"
"Ahh, that's—uhh—Hikaru, where did we go again?"Jaden scratched his neck, giving his best awkward laugh.
This version of Jaden—before his fusion with Yubel—was still a complete goofball.
"We went to a Hero World. The Duel Spirits there seemed to know Jaden personally—some even looked like old friends." Hikaru answered calmly, without missing a beat.
"Yeah! That's it!" Jaden immediately latched onto the explanation.
"They knew Jaden?" Shou blinked in confusion."Big bro, what's going on?"
"Ah—well—that is to say…" Jaden rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly."See… the truth is…"
It was, admittedly, a bit surreal.
Like how Jaden could happily scarf down Professor Daitokuji's strange homemade meals, or how he was the only Red freshman who could eat two full bowls of rice in one go…
Despite appearances, Jaden wasn't from a poor family.
In fact—
His parents were senior researchers at KaibaCorp.Top-tier engineers and technical developers.
"Huh?!"Shou's jaw hit the floor.
Years ago, when Seto Kaiba first began researching dimensional travel in pursuit of the Underworld Gate, he launched a campaign—asking children to submit drawings and cards that would be sent into the prototype dimensional gate.
Those cards and drawings… had belonged to Jaden.
"What?!" Hayato was equally stunned."I-I remember that! I even entered the contest back then…"
Clearly, in terms of talent, Spirit affinity, or background, Hayato couldn't compare to Jaden.
"So—wait," Daitokuji leaned in, "that Hero… was—?"
"Yup."Jaden pulled a special card from his deck, his face filled with quiet nostalgia."He may have changed forms, gained new power, and gone through countless trials in another dimension…But the moment he saw me again—he returned to how he was back then.He's my partner and my friend."
"I see." Hikaru nodded in admiration."Congratulations, Jaden."
So that's how it played out in this version.
In the original series, Jaden launched his cards into space via KaibaCorp's satellite.Here? They were launched into other dimensions.
No wonder Avian was so familiar with him.
All in all, things wrapped up cleanly.Neither Jaden nor Hikaru breathed a word about their trip to the Underworld Gate.
As for Jaden—meeting Avian again had clarified his new goal:To reunite with all his partners from across the multiverse.
…But there was a problem.
Dimensional gates required massive amounts of energy to operate.Red Dorm—being the lowest-ranked among the three—received the fewest activations per quarter.And now, with the gate confiscated by the Bureau, no one would be using it again anytime soon.
Still, Jaden, Shou, and Hayato were all smiles as they made their way to the cafeteria, looking forward to whatever weird meal Daitokuji was going to cook.Daitokuji, meanwhile, had just finished arguing with the Bureau reps and dragged himself back toward the dorm, utterly exhausted.
He gave Hikaru a small wave and thanked him sincerely for participating in the Tag Duel.
Then, watching Hikaru walk away, he opened his eyes slowly and murmured:
"I wasn't wrong…That student really does possess extraordinary talent in Alchemy…"
Alchemy—in this world of cards, it had another name.
Fusion.
Daitokuji rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"To think…That I'd meet a student like that…at the twilight of my life…"
Meanwhile.
At the upper levels of the Fusion Club HQ…
A lone figure stumbled out of the dimensional gate, collapsing to the floor in a coughing fit.
Standing above him, calm and impassive as ever, was the Fusion Division's Head, Reiji Akaba.
"Can you stand?"
"Of course I can, Professor!"The student pushed himself up with both hands, body trembling but eyes burning with fury.
"Good. Rest for a few days—Then do what you need to do.Don't disappoint me."
"Just wait, Amagi Hikaru…I will have my revenge!"The student's eyes blazed with hatred, as if they could sear flesh on sight.
He clawed at the wall to support himself, the only thing filling his heart…
Was vengeance.
And Hikaru?
Ten minutes later, he was bouncing around, face clear of all dizziness, casually munching on a convenience-store bun while reviewing his deck edits.
A picture of perfect health.