Chapter 256: What Exactly Is the Light of Fluctuation?

After declaring his "dominion" over the spirits and this region, Gaia turned back and found Tenjo Hikari.

Tenjo Hikari, as usual, calmly checked his deck.

Gaia himself had brought Tenjo Hikari many new cards.

Besides Chaos Field, he possessed four distinct forms of himself: Dark Knight Gaia, Windstorm Dark Knight Gaia, Dark Knight Gaia Warrior, and Dash Dark Knight Gaia. Additionally, there was Spiral Gun Kill, an auxiliary card exclusive to Knight Gaia.

Among them, Gaia Warrior leaned toward "Fusion," while Dash Dark Knight Gaia leaned toward "Chaos Warrior."

Unfortunately, there was no Magic Knight Gaia.

One could only say that, unsurprisingly, the "Strongest Warrior" who had passed the Chaos Warrior trial and become a member of the "Chaos Warriors" now possessed nearly as many form cards as Tenjo Hikari's replenished Bai Jing Captain.

But—

Tenjo Hikari quickly removed Chaos Field and Spiral Gun Kill from his deck.

These two cards had not turned into Fusion Magic Cards; partly because Super Fusion doesn't instantly fuse every card, and partly because his control over Super Fusion had improved.

But that didn't mean he could leave these two cards in his deck indefinitely.

Cards symbolizing factions or clans were better left with Gaia.

Gaia scratched his head, opened his mouth, then fell silent.

"What's wrong, Gaia?" Yan Yan Jian broke the silence at the right moment.

"Hah. This spirit wants to stay here and care for those weak creatures," Ye La saw through Gaia's thoughts instantly. "Then just stay here."

"Huh? But... since I've passed the trial and ended the punishment of the Chaos Warrior Lord, I must follow my lord..." Gaia still struggled to voice it.

He looked at Ye La, puzzled by why this spirit was so "free."

"It's fine, Gaia," Tenjo Hikari shook his head. "Actually, you staying here suits our plans perfectly."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Gaia was confused.

Yan Yan Jian slightly turned his head, seeing Ye La had no interest in explaining, cleared his throat, and for once carefully chose his words to tell Gaia about Tenjo Hikari and their situation over the past year.

He named it—The Great Adventure of the Fusionist!

Besides meeting various spirits, defeating countless spirits, and fighting the evil Fusion Army, he especially emphasized Tenjo Hikari's identity and profession.

Identity—second-year student at the Human Duel Academy.

Profession—Alchemist.

Currently, Tenjo Hikari is preparing for his academy internship, exams, and tournaments. He came to this dimension early to observe and, just in case, use Alchemy to build a Dimension Gate here.

Originally, he intended to find a secluded, undiscoverable location to construct the Dimension Gate, ensuring maximum safety for establishing two bidirectional portals between the two dimensions.

Now, if Gaia remains within this domain, they could use this region as a base and build the Dimension Gate directly at its core.

This would further enhance safety.

Of course, if Gaia still couldn't relax, there was another option: take the weak spirits he saved and go directly with Tenjo Hikari to his "Grand Cosmic Workshop" dimension.

The sub-dimension built by Master Professor Dadesi was astonishingly vast—enough for Gaia to bring the spirits there and let them reside.

"No, my lord, I think I'll pass on that."

After hearing the suggestion, Gaia shook his head.

He had indeed saved these spirits and genuinely worried for them.

But for him, their true intentions remained unknown. He could protect them, but bringing them blindly into Tenjo Hikari's "workshop" was unacceptable.

What if there were remnants of the Light Emperor's faction?

He was merely concerned—not their "elder." As a warrior, teaching and training other warriors to stand on their own was the warrior's way.

If, with all this time, not a single warrior among them had mastered the Duel Ritual, he felt it better to let them scatter and live in safe settlements.

"Then... my lord, what are those lights?" Gaia finally asked a question he could no longer suppress.

Those dark-veiled light curtains radiated an aura of ill omen just by looking at them.

Logically, as a warrior who had completed the warrior trial, even without the Chaos Warrior card, he shouldn't lose badly in a duel against a "Warrior-type" from an ordinary dimension. But during his duel with the Light Emperor, he opened with three Seven-Star monsters, faced no moment of ease, was suppressed throughout, and barely survived through sheer skill.

This was simply absurd.

"Those strange lights..."

Tenjo Hikari recalled as he spoke: "They're said to be called 【Destruction Light】 or 【Light of Fluctuation】."

Destruction Light.

In the original story, the term was first clearly explained by Pegasus, the CEO of International Illusion Corp., the original boss of Yu-Gi-Oh! and father of Duel Monsters, when he explained it to Principal Principal Jiaodao.

The Light of Fluctuation is a light source discovered by International Illusion Corp. through Duel Astronomy in a distant corner of the universe.

It is a light fluctuation saturated with destruction and desire for annihilation; any life exposed to it becomes trapped in endless conflict.

In ancient times—from Egypt and Rome to modern World War II—humanity's wars were all ignited by this Light of Fluctuation.

Yes, in this world, the very concepts of "conflict" and "war" were born because of the Light of Fluctuation.

It's not merely human greed; part of it stems from the Light of Fluctuation's influence.

Combat, war, and destruction strengthen the Light of Fluctuation itself, making it even more powerful—and conversely, the stronger it becomes, the stronger the beings it influences grow.

Thus, theoretically, as long as conflict exists, it will never fully vanish.

After Pegasus discovered Duel Monsters and successfully created the Three Sacred Beasts, someone else also succeeded in creating a card beyond reality, attracting the attention of that light source.

At that moment, due to the existence of "Duel Monster Cards," the Light of Fluctuation directly crossed countless distances and projected its power onto that card.

Hmm...

The source of all evil, the ultimate D! Destiny Hero Blood Demon-D!

In short, in the original story, Principal Principal Jiaodao organized the GX Tournament partly at Pegasus's request, seeking that legendary D-Card.

Unfortunately, they didn't know the Destruction Light residing on the D-Card had long since become an empty shell.

But in this world...

It seemed that, thanks to the breakthrough in Dimensional Transport technology, the Destruction Light now wanted to interfere in the spirits' world as well.

That's understandable.

After all, even a "salted egg head" received support from the Light of Fluctuation—what else could you expect?

Across the world and all dimensions, countless beings or spirits seek to use the Light of Fluctuation to grow stronger—it's not strange at all.

After all—from the perspective of the possessed—the Light of Fluctuation demands nothing. It merely attaches itself, even enhancing their draw luck. The stronger ones, like the four "Elemental Four Balls" under Zhai Wang's sister, could even undergo elemental transformation, becoming lightning, ice, fire, and rock to teleport instantly.

This is genuine superpower—

And even more.

At Zhai Wang's level, the "gift" became even more absurd.

Precognition.

And its accuracy was nearly 100%.

Only Zhai Wang himself understood his own limits—he realized the danger of the Light of Fluctuation as a child—and eventually, the possessed would inevitably destroy themselves.

Otherwise, with such power, Seto Kaiba would have had to sacrifice Obelisk the Tormentor to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon just to break fate.

Additionally, Zhai Wang possessed minor abilities like brainwashing, telepathy, and psychic attacks using light power—clear evidence of the Light of Fluctuation's favor.

Although Zhai Wang's original soul disliked conflict, his physical condition was too perfect! How could it be ignored?

Tenjo Hikari wouldn't tell the spirits everything he knew. He merely explained his general understanding of this light and warned them of its dangers, then advised them to be cautious.

As for Pegasus's discoveries and speculations about the Light of Fluctuation, those were irrelevant.

"I see... Such a terrifying existence," Gaia frowned deeply. "Then, my lord, should I gather spirits to serve as laborers and help you build the Dimension Gate?"

"No—the less you know, the better. I'll assemble it with Wan Rong."

With Gaia as a "local," Tenjo Hikari no longer needed to spend time exploring externally; he could build the Dimension Gate sooner and prepare for what comes next.

Preparation always brings confidence!

Chapter Two





(End of Chapter)