Chapter Text
"Oh well, toldja! You can't hide from Destiny!"
The parting words of Aster Phoenix echoed in Jaden Yuki's ears as the Destiny HERO user walked away. Destiny… fate… were they really impossible to change? The other boy seemed to think so, and judging from his uncanny ability to shut down every one of Jaden's moves, maybe he was onto something. A sudden wave of exhaustion struck the Slifer Red, forcing him to his knees as his beloved Elemental HERO cards slipped from his hands. His sight began to blur as the Duel Arena faded from his vision, along with the cries of dismay from his friends. Darkness crept in from his periphery, gently tugging him back towards safety… but ahead, he could see something else, a shining Light beckoning him, promising the answers he so desperately craved. Raising one hand weakly, defying the screams of danger from every fiber of his being, Jaden reached towards the Light…
And suddenly, he understood.
With a faint smile, Jaden Yuki rose to his feet, not bothering to collect his cards. They were weak, anyway, hardly suited for his new and glorious purpose. He descended the stage stairs on still-shaky legs, not sparing a word to anyone as he departed the Duel Arena. He had work to do, and no time to waste!
His friends looked on in shock, barely able to process what they had just seen. Syrus was the first to break the silence.
"Did we just… lose Jaden?"
Only Alexis could muster a response, her voice trembling.
"Oh, God…"
Later that day, a crowd of Slifer and Ra students clustered outside the door to the Nurse's Office, gossiping about its current occupant.
"Didja hear about Jaden?"
"I heard he can't Duel anymore."
"Can't, or won't?"
"I heard he left his cards in the Arena this morning. What gives?"
"I heard he lost his big Duel against that pro, Aster Phoenix!"
"Well, I heard he lost his marbles!"
"Outta my way!" cried Syrus, having absolutely no patience for this as he barreled through the assembled rabble and opened the door. Unfortunately, the crowd was dragged along behind him, collapsing to the ground in an ungainly heap of limbs… much to the annoyance of one Chazz Princeton.
"Take a hike, dorks!" the rich boy scoffed. "Go on, get!"
The rabble, understandably afraid of the ex-Obelisk, complied with all haste, leaving Syrus to climb to his feet with a wince as he joined Chazz, Bastion, Alexis, and Hassleberry behind Jaden.
"It's not true, is it?" the Vehicroid user inquired. "You haven't really given up Dueling, right?"
"Don't be silly, Sy!" Jaden replied with a half-smile. "I just need a break, that's all. Losing to Aster made me realize some things, and I need some time to process. No biggie!"
"Are you sure, Sarge?" asked Hassleberry. "'Cause after Aster walloped ya, ya dropped like a sack o' bricks!"
"And even once you regained your feet," said Bastion, "you looked completely knackered, like you could barely stand!"
"I told you guys, I feel fine!" assured Jaden. "Better than ever, even! It's like… I spent my whole life wandering in the dark, but now, I've seen the Light!" With a chuckle, he continued, "I'm a whole new me!"
"Well, your vitals all seem nominal," said Professor Fontaine. "Your blood pressure's a bit on the lower end of healthy range, but beyond that, you have a clean bill of health, Jaden!"
"Thanks, Coach," the Slifer Red replied, standing up to leave. "Now, if that's everything, I'm gonna go get some air."
Alexis turned to follow him. "Wait!" she called out. "Aren't you forgetting something?" With that, she held out Jaden's Deck, Winged Kuriboh sitting face-up at the top.
Jaden stopped and turned, silently appraising the proffered cards with lightless eyes. "Naw," he decided, "I'm good."
"But this is your Deck!" Alexis retorted, horrified. "The one you saved the world with! You can't just abandon it!"
"They're just cards, Alexis," Jaden replied matter-of-factly, "and weak ones, at that. I'll build a new Deck later." With that, he turned back around and exited the nurse's office as his friends looked on, unsure what to do.
Sartorius Kumar could hardly contain his glee. The soul of Jaden Yuki now belonged to the Light, exactly as foretold! Now, the next step of the plan could begin.
"The Wheel of Fate turns ever onward," the fortuneteller murmured to himself, flipping a card from the top of his tarot deck. Upon seeing the card, however, his jaw dropped. "The Tower?!" he exclaimed. "A card of chaos and impending disaster… but what could be the cause of this calamity?" With renewed focus, Sartorius flipped the next card. "The Fiend, upright. A card of temptation and self-entrapment, lust and indulgence. How intriguing…" He flipped the next card. "Two of Swords, upright. A clash of equal yet opposite forces, ending in stalemate. It seems that by claiming Jaden for the Light, I have allowed a new challenger to emerge whose power equals his own… one who wields the Darkness."
That evening, on a seaside cliff near the Slifer Dorm, Jaden Yuki stood overlooking the starlit waves. Doffing his signature red jacket, he looked at it for a moment with an empty smile.
"Don't need this," he remarked, tossing the jacket over the cliff and watching the wind carry it away… along with the weakness it represented. Satisfied, he turned and picked up a duffel bag and bedroll before walking off into the woods.
Elsewhere, a lone speedboat raced through the night across the Pacific, having set sail from Domino City mere hours earlier. The girl at the helm was focused, her eyes aglow in the darkness - one blue, one orange.
"Just hold on," she said with a soft smile, seemingly to no-one. "I'll be there soon… my dear Jaden."