Chapter 134

"My turn, draw!"

Aster Phoenix drew a card.

If it were any other time, in front of so many people, he would absolutely not expose his own affairs, because he had no interest in letting so many people know about his background.

But this time was different.

He had, more or less, already somewhat "given up."

"How could you possibly understand my feelings?" he gritted his teeth, his voice trembling. "If I tell others, can they understand me?

Or should I tell my story to everyone I meet and then beg for pity like a clown?!

Don't make me laugh!"

His teeth chattered: "I don't need that kind of thing!"

"..." Tenjou Hikari pondered for a moment, then raised his voice, "Aster Phoenix—"

"I am Tenjou Hikari, I am the Department Head of the Fusion Division, I am the top representative of the glorious Duel Academy—I am the person in charge on the day you joined the club!

I already knew your story."

Tenjou Hikari also held a card, locking eyes with Aster. Under Aster's surprised gaze, Tenjou Hikari spoke slowly: "I heard that when you were young, your father was killed by some accident, and then his cards were stolen."

"Since then, you have been searching for your father's killer. I know all these things, and I can understand."

"How can you understand?"

"Aster. I also have no parents." Tenjou Hikari calmly stated a simple and plain answer.

Aster was stunned for a short time, and the surrounding students looked at each other, completely not expecting the plot to develop this way.

But—

Often, this kind of answer is the most appropriate one in the heart of someone whose brain is in a mess.

Aster closed his eyes and tried hard to take several deep breaths.

"I found my father's killer." Aster opened his eyes, looked at his trembling right hand, and said slowly, "He was a very important person to me. After my father died, as my adoptive father, he trained me to become a professional duelist."

Whoa—

The watching students could only sigh that this duel was worth watching.

"I discovered that he stole the cards my father left behind just for powerful strength, just for a reason like that!" He raised his right hand, looking at his fist. His fist, his voice, his body, and even his soul were trembling violently. "He used the power of that card to absorb my father's soul. To get revenge, to defeat him, I destroyed that monster with my own hands—

With my own hands, I completely destroyed my father's soul...

I couldn't even hear my father's last words; I could only watch him disappear, without even a word... not a single word."

Tenjou Hikari's pupils shrank.

Here it comes—

So that's the point!

Tenjou Hikari suddenly realized.

In the original work, Aster dueled D.D. In the middle of the duel, his father's soul appeared in Plasma. Although he suffered, he called out to Aster, hoping Aster could destroy Plasma and fix his stalled clock, moving forward again.

But listening to Aster's account, in this world, although he also discovered his father's soul in Plasma during the duel, that soul couldn't even make a sound.

Because the Light of Destruction was stronger, did it cause this butterfly effect?

Then it must be difficult!

After all—in this matter, besides his father, who could easily guide Aster out of his inner demons?

Tenjou Hikari sighed.

No wonder even Aster, who absolutely couldn't be infected by the Light of Destruction, was hit.

The black aura on Aster's body spread, gradually even dyeing his silver-white suit dim.

He was full of confusion now and had no way to stop his wild thoughts.

Defeating Plasma with his own hands certainly made him feel great because he succeeded in revenge, but what about after that?

"What on earth am I doing?" Aster said slowly, but his voice gradually became calm from trembling.

It's just that this calmness was not stability, but a kind of death.

Everyone could feel Aster's desire to die.

"Perhaps [Destiny] is truly unchangeable." Aster said slowly, "Destiny killed my father, guided me to use Destiny HEROes, disguised me as Phoenix Enforcer, and caught those thieves and robbers all over the world, but it never told me that my true enemy was my [adoptive father], the person I respected, who was the most damnable murderer in the world.

Destiny guided me, letting me get easy victories whenever I wanted them.

And now, Destiny guides me, letting me come to this duel..."

"Department Head Tenjou, only at this moment do I envy you. Your pursuit of Fusion, your purity, your disdain for power. Destiny truly favors you."

He reached out and took the card of Dystopia on the field, saying: "And I... I was just under the guidance of Destiny, thinking I was a hero, thinking I was punishing evil and promoting good, but I didn't know I was just a stupid person. Perhaps just like D.D said, I didn't crave to become a hero; I was just relying on the power of Destiny HEROes, relying on more powerful cards, to vent my own desire for destruction!"

He was not a hero.

But a prisoner of destiny!

"No—you're wrong, Aster!" Tenjou Hikari interrupted Aster's self-pity, "You're mistaken."

"Mistaken about what?"

"There is no such thing as [predestination], only [choice]." Tenjou Hikari said, "When you chose to use Destiny HEROes, when you chose to act as a vigilante, when you chose to catch thieves and robbers on the street, you had already become a hero, regardless of any starting point!"

"Your [Destiny] is your own choice. Your use of [Destiny HEROes] is also your own choice."

"What are you talking nonsense about now."

"Because it's simple—I wasn't a believer in [Fusion] from the beginning, nor was I [chasing] Fusion from the beginning!"

"What did you say?" Aster was taken aback.

"Ah!?"

"Eh???"

Now, let alone Aster, who was dueling, even the watching students couldn't help but let out surprised exclamations.

What, what?

Tenjou Hikari didn't always believe in Fusion?

This somewhat impacted their worldview.

After all, everyone knew Tenjou Hikari's unconditional trust in Fusion.

"Everything stems from choice." Tenjou Hikari reached out and picked up the card hanging in front of his chest, examining it slightly.

Coming to this world, all the cards in his deck were replaced with Fusion cards, but that didn't mean he couldn't use other cards.

If it were just for victory, he could put down Super Polymerization and use some traps to temporarily use a more stable trap-oriented deck. The reason he kept using Fusion and was still insisting on a "pure Fusion" deck was not because he could only do this, but because he increasingly believed in "Fusion"!

Not just because of the power of Super Polymerization, but because he truly grew to love Fusion!

"Aster, could it be that when you were acting chivalrously, when you were using the Hero deck, there was never any happiness in your heart? Could it be that when you were helping others, when you were rescuing others, your heart was like stagnant water?"

Tenjou Hikari's words touched Aster's heart, letting a spark of life reignite in his heart that sought death.

"Before I joined the Duel Academy, I was never a user of a Fusion deck." Whether it was the original body of this world or himself before crossing over, he was never just using Fusion. It was only after coming to this world that he slowly changed. "I used Fusion to get to know Judai, to get to know Flame Swordsman, Black Flame Knight, Captain Bai Jing, Wan Rong... to get to know one friend after another in the Fusion Division, and even to get to know you, to get to know this guy beside me. These friends who are important to me!"

He glanced at Tierra with his peripheral vision, and Tierra crossed her arms and raised her head happily.

"Along with using Fusion, I became more and more comfortable with Fusion, and I trusted Fusion more and more—this wasn't a one-time thing, but a gradual process, an increasing persistence.

I should get along with Fusion like this!"

"And you? You should be similar to me, getting to know one partner after another, right?! As a result, look at your useless self now! Look at your shameful appearance!"

Tenjou Hikari waved his hand, as if a purple vortex swept across the entire duel field, and said solemnly:

"Aster Phoenix!!

The only difference between you and me is one thing!

That is—I am more firm and more believing on this path of Fusion, no matter what happens around me, I will not change!

And you!

Encountered setbacks, because the setbacks were too big and too painful, you couldn't bear it, so you chose to give up!

[Hero] is not child's play. To become a true hero, setbacks, hardships, pain, and sorrow—anything can happen! You just retreated because the world wasn't as easy as you imagined!"

"Weakness is not a mistake; the mistake is giving up! It's not changing!"

Hearing these words, the black aura on Aster's body climbed sharply.

"Hey, Tenjou Hikari, what are you doing? Don't you want to save your junior? Isn't this even more dangerous?" Tierra was shocked when she saw this and spoke for the first time in this duel.

Because following the change in Aster Phoenix's state, she could see that a terrifying power, no less than the "Sacred Beasts," and perhaps even more terrifying, was reviving in Aster's body!

Tenjou Hikari didn't answer.

At this point, what use was talk therapy?

Only by adding more heavy ingredients and taking more risks would it be meaningful!

"Department Head Tenjou, I can't guarantee what will happen next." Aster said in a low voice.

"Bring it on, I will wake you up hard!" Tenjou Hikari didn't mind at all, "With my Fusion!"

"Then—my turn!!" Aster widened his eyes, his momentum changed abruptly, and behind him, a blood-colored figure mixed with a light curtain began to twist crazily!