Chapter 1022

"Ugh, ahhh!"

Once again, the King of Crashing continued to write his myth of crashing.

Although the Wheel of Fortune is named "Fortune," judging from its experiences, it seems it really doesn't have much to do with that word. This D-Wheel has truly endured too much throughout the entire 5D's story; it started crashing from the very first battle between Yusei and Jack at the beginning, and from then on, it embarked on a point of no return on this slapstick-like path.

Of course, this is not to say that Jack's driving skills are poor, but rather that the man is just unlucky. It would be one thing if it were a Shadow Duel dealing real damage, but he even crashed due to a D-Wheel malfunction when facing opponents like Team Unicorn who involved absolutely no supernatural elements—that seems to be a unique occurrence in the entire series.

One can only say that Jack is probably a cursed man; no matter how high his skill, he cannot escape this fate. Although he proudly declared the Wheel of Fortune to be his signature ride, if the Wheel of Fortune had consciousness, its thoughts upon seeing Jack would probably be the same as when the Jet VTOL saw Officer Shinjo in the neighboring series, with only one sentence filling its mind—

——Don't come over here!

At this moment, Jack lay struggling on the ground; although covered in wounds, he seemed unable to feel the pain. He lifted his head desperately, trying to see that figure before him clearly.

The red D-Wheel drifted to a stop in front of him, and that figure he was so familiar with now turned off the helmet's visor, revealing clear blue eyes. Those eyes were almost indistinguishable from the Fudo Yusei he knew.

Flames burned in the background, and the blue-armored warrior hovered above the D-Wheel. Junk Warrior's pair of red optical lenses reflected the firelight, making this warrior seem even more sinister than usual.

"Yusei..."

Jack finally spat out these two words with difficulty.

Afterward, he finally had to close his heavy eyelids, losing consciousness as if sinking into darkness.

The Copy Yusei got off the D-Wheel, walked in front of him, leaned down, and said softly: "Sorry, Jack. But this is for the sake of this world."

"..."

"Fudo Yusei, Meklord..."

Fujiki You Xuan also muttered to himself.

This really is an unexpected combination.

Junk Warrior, the first Synchro Monster to appear in the entire 5D's anime, and also the last Synchro Monster to appear in the finale. He witnessed Yusei's transformation from a novice to a savior; it is no exaggeration to call him the symbol of Synchro Monsters.

And the Meklord is the Synchro Killer that symbolizes anti-Synchro. For two such contradictory powers to appear on the same field, and on the savior Fudo Yusei who acts as the representative figure of the Synchro era, this silent scene alone seems to carry a touch of irony.

"So, after the Zone of your world defeated Fudo Yusei and destroyed New New New Tongshiye, the world wasn't saved either. So let me guess, he then went on to copy a new Fudo Yusei?"

Fujiki You Xuan looked at that fake Zone.

"Even if it's a copy, it should have the same personality as the original. Then what did he go through to become like this?"

The fake Zone said calmly: "Yes. After the battle of New New New Tongshiye back then, that city was destroyed along with the Ener-D within it. But then Zone discovered that the future still hadn't changed..."

"No, or rather, the destruction caused by the Ener-D had changed, but the future was still a destroyed future. Because the greed and negative emotions of the people of the future had not dissipated at all, a massive wave of such darkness from all over the world gathered together, inviting a new destruction, and human civilization still walked into a dead end."

The Zone on the side said: "So at that time, he realized that a method that treats the symptoms but not the root cause would never work. If the future is to be saved, it must start from guiding the human heart, right?"

Zone is, after all, an expert who has studied salvation for a lifetime; he had long since thought of this possibility.

"Yes, and to achieve this, Fudo Yusei's power is needed no matter what." The fake Zone said, "Zone once copied Fudo Yusei's personality onto himself, but at that time he was already too old and his time was running out; he couldn't do this personally anymore. So this time, he chose to copy a new Fudo Yusei. Just like how he copied the memories and personalities of his deceased companions into a machine body, he used this technology to artificially create a new Fudo Yusei."

The Zone on the side said: "But even so, that is nothing more than a reproduction of the failed methods he had tried before."

The person involved has the most right to speak on this matter. Even if Zone erased his own personality and turned himself into Yusei, he still couldn't change anything or save anyone.

"Yes, but at that time Zone thought that the previous failure might have been because an important factor was missing."

The fake Zone said.

"Even if his personality was completely Fudo Yusei, even if he could truly turn himself into the same as Yusei, there was still something missing. That is bonds."

Zone's eyes flickered: "Bonds?"

"Yes, such a simple thing, yet I hadn't thought of it before; this is something Zone only realized after the decisive battle with the real Fudo Yusei beneath the Arc Cradle."

The fake Zone continued.

"The reason Fudo Yusei is powerful is not entirely due to his own strength, but also the companions of the entire 5D's team. He cherishes the companions around him, trusts them, and in desperate situations, this bond also becomes his backing, giving him the possibility to transcend himself."

"In the decisive battle beneath the Arc Cradle, Fudo Yusei showed Zone this power, so Zone then thought that having Fudo Yusei alone resurrected in the future was not enough; his companions from the 5D's team were also the key to his strength."

Fujiki You Xuan realized: "That's why I've encountered so many endless copies..."

The fake Zone said: "Yes. In the little time Zone had left, besides Fudo Yusei, he copied all the important companions around Yusei, and even some others who had left important traces in his life's journey."

"He tried his best to restore the entire environment around Fudo Yusei, thinking that perhaps this would allow the copies to acquire the same abilities as the original, and perhaps these copies could save the world."

Fujiki You Xuan said: "I see, so that's why there are even Ushio, and even members of Team Unicorn who had fought against Yusei..."

Afterward, he asked: "Then what happened later? Did they still fail?"

"Yes... but they were given a second chance."

"A second chance?" Fujiki You Xuan asked.

"Yes, this dimension right now." The fake Zone said, "From the moment all these copies were born, their underlying code had already determined their lifelong pursuit—to save the world."

"Although their own world ultimately could not be saved, by a twist of fate, they discovered this world, a dimension so similar to theirs, yet so young."

"For this world, it might not be too late to change the future..."

The fake Zone paused.

"... Provided that this world lets them save it."

(End of chapter)