Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Catch a ride? How exactly?" Hoshino frowned, skepticism clear in her voice.

"Obviously, the same way we got here~" The Evil God grinned, waving a tiny hand dismissively. "Slip in while the portal is still open!"

"…That sounds completely unreliable."

"Will that even work? It feels dangerous…" Hoshino-Sensei asked warily. The small girl before her looked undeniably cute, but something about her presence was unsettling, as if she radiated an overwhelming power just beneath the surface. Judging from the confused expressions on Jonouchi and Akasha's faces, it seemed only Hoshino and herself could perceive this so-called Evil God.

Meanwhile, the Evil God was practically drooling, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the two Hoshinos before her. "It's not dangerous at all. As long as you offer your soul to me… slurp… I can take you through the portal."

Hoshino's brow twitched. "You just slurped, didn't you? That was way too obvious!"

The Evil God wiped the corner of her mouth and turned her gaze away. "N-no, of course not~"

"Offering my soul is just your excuse to satisfy your own desires, isn't it?"

"Absolutely not!"

Hoshino crossed her arms, ignoring the blatant lie. "Now's not the time for jokes! The past is in danger! In a situation like this, we need to set aside personal desires and work together!"

The Evil God's expression twitched. Work together? She wanted to scoff. Ever since Hoshino got the Evil God cards, she had been doing all the work while Hoshino reaped the benefits!

But despite her complaints, the girl had a point. If they wasted too much time, the portal would close, and they'd lose their only chance to stop Paradox.

"Fine, fine." The Evil God sighed. "Crossing through the portal itself isn't dangerous. Even traveling with your physical body won't have any side effects. This was already proven by her." She nodded toward Hoshino.

"Really no danger?" Hoshino-Sensei glanced at her younger self.

"Mm. It's true," Hoshino confirmed. The sensation of traveling through time was still fresh in her mind. Honestly, it wasn't painful or disorienting—more like watching a change in scenery while being swept along by an unseen force.

It was like…

"A train ride!" The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

Back when she first passed through the rift, she had briefly caught sight of a figure speeding past her—someone with an absurd hairstyle and an over-the-top outfit. It had to be Paradox!

"That's it!" Hoshino clenched her fist. "We've already crossed paths in the portal before! If that's the case, then you're right, Evil God—we can intercept Paradox in the rift and return to our time!"

Hoshino-Sensei's eyes widened. "If that's the case, how do we open the portal now? After all, we don't have that bike thing…"

By now, the rippling distortion left behind by Paradox's departure had all but vanished, sealing the rift.

"Forget all that fancy tech. Let's go old school!" The Evil God smirked, placing her hands on her hips triumphantly. "We'll use the power of the Gods and Evil Gods to rip the time rift back open!"

"But we don't have the Egyptian God cards…" Hoshino muttered. According to her future self, the God cards no longer existed in this world.

The Evil God scoffed. "You still have me, don't you? It's not the first time I've imitated those three." Her grin stretched wider, and in the next instant, her small form erupted into a cascade of black flames.

A monstrous shadow loomed over the academy ruins.

A massive black Winged Dragon of Ra spread its dark, fiery wings, sending tremors through the ground.

"What is that monster?! Why did it suddenly appear?!"

The crowd erupted into chaos.

"This is… the Winged Dragon of Ra?!" Jonouchi gasped. "How the hell is it here?!"

Hoshino placed two cards onto her Duel Disk. "The Wicked Eraser, representing Slifer the Sky Dragon! The Wicked Dreadroot, the counterpart of Obelisk the Tormentor! And The Wicked Avatar, mirroring The Winged Dragon of Ra! With the intertwining of light and dark, we will open the path!"

The moment she spoke, the three colossal Evil Gods manifested, their towering forms blotting out the sky. It was like a scene from a kaiju disaster movie, the sheer presence of the entities sending shivers down everyone's spine.

A deep shrrrip echoed through the air as reality itself split apart.

"They… actually tore open the time rift?!" Byakuya, still battered from his defeat, stared in disbelief as the glowing blue portal reignited in the spot where Paradox had vanished.

As the rift stabilized, two of the Evil Gods faded, leaving only the Winged Dragon of Ra in its transformed, blackened state. The massive dragon lowered its head, peering down at Hoshino with gleaming golden eyes.

"Climb aboard, girl. Time to give chase. I'll even let you ride on my head—just this once."

Hoshino blinked. "Eh? Ride on your head?"

"Are you seriously hesitating right now?!" The Evil God, now fully in dragon form, huffed.

Hoshino-Sensei stepped forward. "Take me with you."

But before Hoshino could respond, the Evil God growled, "No. One of you will disappear in the rift."

The weight of the statement hit hard.

"…Disappear?"

"The convergence of worldlines won't allow two identical beings to exist in the same timeline. If both of you enter, one of you will cease to exist."

Silence hung in the air.

Jonouchi clenched his fists. "Then let me go instead!"

"Me too!" Akasha stepped forward. "I've gotten a lot stronger! I can help!"

"No. I'll go alone."

Hoshino sat atop the dragon's head, her gaze unwavering.

"This is a one-way trip. That's why someone who belongs to the past—someone like me—has to be the one to go."

Illya, still weak from battle, forced out, "But… can you really win alone…?"

Hoshino took a deep breath.

"This isn't about whether I can win. It's about the fact that I have to!"

The dragon reared back, flames coiling around its enormous frame as it prepared to launch into the rift.

"Time to go, girl!"

"No problem!" Hoshino shot a final glance at her future companions.

"Jonouchi, Akasha! See you in the past~"

She turned to face her older self.

"And to the me from the future…"

"Hm?"

"Sayonara, Sensei."

(***)

Inside the Time Rift

The roar of a Duel Runner's engine cut through the eerie silence of the temporal tunnel. Paradox sped forward, his dark cloak fluttering wildly behind him. He had crossed this rift countless times, each journey becoming more familiar.

But this time…

Something was wrong.

A deep, chaotic noise rumbled through the tunnel—an unnatural, violent wind mingled with the crackling of flames. It was coming from behind him.

Then, a thunderous voice split the void—

"PA-RA-DO-X——!!"

Paradox whipped his head around—

And what he saw nearly stopped his heart.

A black-winged Ra, wreathed in infernal flames, was hurtling straight toward him, tearing through the rift like a blazing meteor.

Perched atop its head, a girl's silhouette stood tall, her eyes locked onto him with a burning intensity.

Paradox's breath caught.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Stop right there, Paradox!"

Within the temporal rift, the massive Winged Dragon of Ra—its body wreathed in black flames—swung its tail with titanic force. The sheer impact sent shockwaves rippling through the space-time tunnel, abruptly halting Paradox's speeding Duel Runner.

Forced to a sudden stop, Paradox's narrowed eyes fixated on the girl standing atop the dragon's back. His voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"Hoshino Chiyuki… and the younger one at that. I never expected you to possess a God Card."

Even as a duelist from a future era, Paradox knew of the legendary God Cards, Duel Monsters' ultimate power. But what he didn't realize was that the divine beast before him wasn't the real Winged Dragon of Ra—it was merely a transformation of the mischievous Evil God.

From atop her fiery steed, Hoshino stood tall, arms crossed, her presence exuding authority. "I won't let you take even one step forward, Paradox!"

However, a certain detail made her commanding stance a little less… dignified.

Why was she standing on the dragon's back instead of its head?

Well, when they were racing through the time rift, she had lost her balance and been flung backward.

The pale-blue barriers of the temporal tunnel shimmered like flowing water, yet they weren't liquid—they were time itself, condensed into an ever-shifting, luminous pathway. As Paradox's gaze flicked around the space, he quickly noticed something: the older Hoshino was nowhere to be seen.

A smirk curled on his lips. "In a place where the concept of timelines doesn't exist, only one Hoshino Chiyuki can remain. Even if both of you entered together, the time flow would collapse into one singular presence. So tell me… do you really think you can stop me alone?"

Hoshino scoffed. "Man, for someone who just lost a duel, you sure yap a lot." She patted the dragon's back, deliberately mocking Paradox's arrogance.

Seated on his Duel Runner, Paradox activated his Duel Disk with a confident grin. "Talk all you want. Time may not exist here, but I'd still like to finish you quickly."

The voice of the Evil God echoed beneath Hoshino, high-pitched yet oddly menacing. "Do your best, kiddo! This is your final battle!"

Hoshino rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to tell me that." Her Duel Disk flickered to life. Unlike the futuristic models Paradox used, this was an older Duel Disk from her timeline, a loaner from Mai. It lacked modern satellite processing but was still a refined piece of dueling technology—simplistic yet powerful.

Locking eyes, the two duelists squared off in the flowing, endless abyss of time. One on a Duel Runner. The other atop a blazing dragon.

The tension thickened.

"Do you think a God Card alone is enough to challenge my Malefic deck?" Paradox taunted. "I won't even give you the chance to summon it!"

Hoshino smirked. "That's for me to decide!"

[Paradox vs. Hoshino Chiyuki]

[Duel Start!]

"I'll take the first turn! Draw!"

Without hesitation, Hoshino played a monster and set two face-down cards.

"I summon [Heroic Spirit - Spartacus] in Defense Position! Then, I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

[Heroic Spirit – Spartacus ★★★ (Level 3)][FIRE] [Warrior/Effect] [ATK 1500/DEF 1500]

A crimson glow flickered as Spartacus took the field, his armor gleaming with the heat of battle. He crossed his gladius over his chest, standing in defense as Hoshino reinforced her position with hidden traps.

Yet, Paradox merely chuckled. "How outdated. Do you really think that will be enough to stop me?"

Hoshino sighed dramatically. "I've never met anyone this full of himself before."

Paradox ignored her jab. "My turn. Draw!" He wasted no time in activating a Spell Card from his hand.

"I activate [Terraforming]!"

[Terraforming – Spell Card Effect: Add 1 Field Spell from your Deck to your hand.]

Hoshino quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Didn't expect you to run something as basic as a Field Spell searcher. I figured you'd just rely on your no-shuffling trickery."

"Hmph. Enough talk. It's time you witnessed despair!" Paradox held up the card he retrieved. "I add [Mound of the Bound Creator] to my hand!"

Hoshino's expression darkened. "What?! Not Malefic World? That Field Spell was used by Marik to suppress the God Cards…!"

She quickly pieced together the implications. Marik's possession of that card had always been odd, given that the Egyptian Gods were supposed to be under strict seal by Pegasus. And now Paradox had it too?

Something wasn't right.

Could some unseen force have been guiding the course of history, shaping events in ways beyond their control?

A wry smile crossed her lips. "So Marik having that card was an anomaly too, huh…?"

"Malefic monsters don't require Malefic World," Paradox sneered. "Any Field Spell suffices. And with Mound of the Bound Creator, my Level 10 or higher monsters gain immunity to effect destruction!"

As the spell took hold, three towering stone pillars erupted from the void, each etched with hieroglyphs—symbols of dominion over divine creatures.

"Now, I send [Rainbow Dragon] and [Cyber End Dragon] from my Deck to the Graveyard! Come forth—[Malefic Rainbow Dragon] and [Malefic Cyber End Dragon]!"

[Malefic Rainbow Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DARK] [Dragon/Effect] [ATK 4000/DEF 0]

[Malefic Cyber End Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)] [DARK] [Machine/Effect] [ATK 4000/DEF 2800]

Two colossal beasts materialized, their sinister energies warping the very fabric of the rift. The rainbow-hued dragon, now tainted in darkness, unleashed an eerie, distorted screech. The mechanical behemoth Cyber End Dragon stood tall, its metallic body crackling with corrupted power.

Hoshino felt the sheer weight of their presence. Two Level 10 monsters, each with 4000 Attack Points—an overwhelming force backed by a Field Spell that made them virtually indestructible by effects.

"Battle!" Paradox declared. "Malefic Cyber End Dragon—attack Spartacus! Cyber End Spark!"

A brilliant beam of destructive light surged forward, obliterating Spartacus instantly.

"And don't forget—Malefic Cyber End Dragon inflicts piercing damage!"

[Hoshino LP 4000 → 1500]

"Mound of the Bound Creator's effect activates! When a Level 10 or higher monster destroys another monster, you take an additional 1000 damage!"

[Hoshino LP 1500 → 500]

The impact sent a shockwave through the rift. Hoshino clenched her fists, her body trembling from the residual force.

The Evil God's voice rang out with concern. "You're already on the verge of losing! Are you sure you've got this?"

Hoshino exhaled, steeling herself. "I don't know yet if I've got this…" She now fully grasping just how formidable Paradox truly was.

(*****)

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