Aboard the chartered flight to Saint Star Duel Academy.
Li You had been resting with his eyes closed when a sudden jolt of violent turbulence jarred him fully awake!
At an altitude of several thousand meters, the plane suddenly began to shake violently, causing many students onboard to scream in panic.
Li You bolted upright in his seat, disoriented. He glanced back at Bryant, who sat behind him, and couldn't help but mutter in disbelief, "Bro… seriously? You really are the prison god?!"
Bryant's face had turned pale as a sheet—clearly, he was just as scared.
But then—
"Look outside!" Dragon Xingdou cried out from the seat beside him, pointing to the window. "What the hell is that?!"
Li You turned his head to look—and froze.
Outside, soaring amidst the clouds, was a vast, serpentine figure composed entirely of shimmering red energy. A long, dragon-like form streaked through the sky, flying parallel to the aircraft. Its very presence was causing the air pressure around the plane to destabilize!
Li You gasped, "The Crimson Dragon?! Why is it here?! What does it want?!"
Even Liu Xinghun, normally cool-headed, looked shaken. "That's the legendary creator god from the Synchro Alliance—The Crimson Dragon! Why is it attacking us?!"
But there was no time to think.
As the Crimson Dragon turned its massive, glowing head to face the aircraft, its radiant eyes locked with Li You's. In that instant, an intense weightlessness gripped his body.
His vision went black.
When he opened his eyes again—
He was no longer on the plane.
Instead, he stood at the top of a Mesoamerican-style golden pyramid, surrounded by tropical jungle.
Below, countless figures knelt in prayer—clad in simple tribal garb. But they were not worshiping Li You.
From the sky, a shaft of starlight descended.
Amidst the beam of light, a blurry humanoid silhouette slowly descended.
He had no discernible face, only a glowing, crab-like hairstyle formed of pure light. The figure hovered before Li You, shimmering with sacred energy.
Li You tensed. "You are...?"
"I am a Stardustian—a servant of the Crimson Dragon," the figure replied, his voice calm and solemn. "You may also call me a Signer."
He raised his right arm.
On it glowed a radiant red Dragon Head Mark, burning with otherworldly power.
Li You's eyes lit up. So this is a divine trial?
As expected of the Crimson Dragon, it never moved without purpose.
The Stardustian spoke again. "Defeat me in a duel, and you may return safely."
Li You nodded without hesitation.
There was no need to ask what would happen if he lost.
Because I won't lose.
With that, glowing duel disks materialized on both their arms—Li You didn't even flinch at the supernatural occurrence anymore.
They shouted in unison:
"Duel!!"
The Stardustian went first.
"I activate the effect of Junk Converter in my hand—by discarding it and another Tuner monster, I add Junk Synchron from my deck to my hand."
Junk Converter: Level 2, ATK 500
Junk Synchron: Level 3, ATK 1300
Li You's eyes narrowed. So it's this combo right out the gate, huh?
He had seen it so many times in his previous life, he could recite the lines in his sleep.
But if things played out like he remembered…
This might get dangerous.
Just as he suspected, the Stardustian continued:
"I Normal Summon Junk Synchron, and activate its effect to Special Summon Junk Converter from my Graveyard in Defense Position!"
The yellow-clad Synchron Warrior revved its tiny engine and yanked its partner back onto the field.
"Now," the Stardustian declared, "I tune Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 2 Junk Converter to Synchro Summon—"
"Clustering wishes will call forth a new path, and its light shall illuminate the future!"
"Synchro Summon! Appear! Junk Speeder!!"
Junk Speeder: Level 5, ATK 1800
"Chyaaah!!"A sleek, silver-white mecha streaked across the sky with a sonic boom, slamming into the Stardustian's field!
But the moment it appeared, it tried to activate its powerful effect to flood the field with Synchrons.
"Not so fast!" Li You snapped.
"Chain Link 3—I activate Effect Veiler from my hand! I send her to the Graveyard to negate Junk Speeder's effect until the end of this turn!"
He casually tossed a long, knee-high sock through the air—it wrapped around the mecha's head like a blindfold, making it flail in confusion.
"W-What?!" the Stardustian gasped. Though faceless, his voice clearly betrayed his shock.
He asked, "But if you had that card, why didn't you negate Junk Synchron instead?"
Li You smirked. "Because Junk Speeder is the greater threat."
"I only have one negate. I have to use it wisely.
"If I had stopped Junk Synchron, you could've still summoned Speeder by other means.
"But Speeder's floodgate effect is once per turn. If I negate it when it triggers, it's over—even if you summon another one, it won't be able to activate again."
"...I see."The Stardustian had clearly underestimated Li You's knowledge of the Junk archetype.
"You're familiar with my deck... even my combos..."
Li You just smiled quietly.
Of course I do. I practically had this combo etched into my DNA back in my last life.
With his main strategy disrupted, the Stardustian was forced to pivot.
"Then I'll resolve Junk Converter's effect. When used as Synchro Material, it lets me revive a Tuner monster from the Graveyard."
"I bring back Junk Synchron!"
The yellow engine warrior popped back onto the field.
"Now, I tune Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 5 Junk Speeder—"
"A solitary light splits the sky and rumbles the stars. The cry of the soul becomes a beacon of fate!"
"Synchro Summon! Shine forth—Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon!"
Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon: Level 8, ATK 2500, DEF 2000
The Dragon Mark on the Stardustian's arm flared crimson.
A torrent of stardust energy burst from the heavens, coalescing into a radiant, silver-scaled dragon—every glimmering scale a twinkling star of its own.
Its presence commanded awe.
Li You narrowed his eyes.
So he's already brought out one of the Stardust Dragon lineage...
This trial just got serious.