Everything was dark. Nothing else was there—just endless darkness.
Then, an explosion happened somewhere in this vastness. A bright light erupted.
As if to shatter the darkness, the vastness started to tear apart, forming cracks in space. The sound of limitless cracking burst from everywhere, creating boundless echoes. The darkness began shattering like thin, fragile glass.
Tremendous eyes with black pupils and black irises started materializing from whatever lay beyond the dark. The eyes bled endlessly. The drops of blood rained down, drawing together to form an enormous, unending sea of blood floating in the now-broken space.
The ocean surged. The center point attracted the blood of the entire sea from all areas, shaping a massive sphere of blood.
Everything happened in the presence of light. The seemingly endless darkness was now illuminated. The blood sphere shone a deep, vivid crimson, alluring the broken space. The sea shone so intensely that it turned dark, becoming a sea of black blood.
Before anything else could happen, the sphere sharpened, dividing into an infinity of dark orbs of blood. They dashed together toward the light. As they flew, they were followed by the orbs behind them. One behind another, countless other orbs formed a spiraling, moving line from the start. They created countless beams of blood. They shone darker and darker as they closed the distance between themselves and the light. When they drew near, all orbs' inside, center started to shine from within; they contained their own universes inside them. At the final moment, the beams discharged a great darkness by striking together, faster than light.
They clashed, fused, amalgamated, and exploded, along with the eyes. Everything happened in an instant moment.
After the explosion, something new was born.
Was it good? Was it bad? No one was there to witness, understand, or explain it.
But that something remained, ever-evolving and lasting throughout eternity.
# LDS Building
A crowd of people chatted, talked, and dueled in front of a megastructure. Calling it a crowd was a bit of an exaggeration; it was just some kids, a few students from the biggest duel school in the entire world, and some passersby.
The megastructure—The Blue Tower, Heart of Maiami, a massive skyscraper, the LDS Building—was the center of Maiami City. These various titles and descriptions weren't just names; they represented the honor and pride of Maiami City and LDS itself, as well as their arrogance. It was humility in insolence.
Inside, in a certain lab filled with numerous cables connected to gigantic machines, stood a dark-bronze-skinned man in a white lab coat. He was working on a machine while simultaneously looking at several monitors and one large screen.
He had no hair left on his head. Perhaps it was stress, overwork, exhaustion, or a combination of them all. His light, silvery-gray eyes looked like those of a person whose tears had completely dried out. The blood vessels in his eyes were inflamed, making him look like a madman, and visible veins throbbed on his bald head.
He typed and pressed buttons on the machine's control panel without pausing his fingers. He had rue and resolution carved into his eyes, heart, and mind.
"This much... will do it," he muttered, unaware that he was speaking out loud. "This mass of energy is sufficient. The device has to be at least strong enough to channel more than half the energy between both worlds to open space, and slightly less to teleport there."
His vision was fixed on dark-violet, colorful diagrams.
"Fusion is closest to the standard. I have to put my faith in it. And I can only pray you are there."
His hands slowed down a little, but they caught their pace again as soon as they had faltered.
"The device will probably blast away after I cross dimensions."
For the first time in a long time, a small smile appeared on his face.
"It couldn't be better. That way, they won't be able to track me, let alone catch me."
With nothing but a small amount of information and his own knowledge, he had decided to go to another place.
He closed distance to a large, but not very spacious, standing cylindrical device—a pod connected to a massive machine that glowed with overflowing energy via a large metal tube. That machine generated energy for this single purpose.
"Considering how much energy this will take, even just for a prototype, this amount could power the whole of Maiami if it could be transferred into a grid." he muttered again.
He wasn't the kind of person to let his thoughts slip out loud. However, the pressure he had put on his brain and body, combined with all the work he had done alone this entire time, had broken the restraints and chains that usually keep a human mind on guard.
In short, he needed a very deep and long rest.
He was so consumed by his work that he didn't even notice a little boy, who aspired to be like him, had been watching him day after day. The boy hid behind the laboratory's entrance door, peering through a small gap. The boy couldn't hear the man, and the man didn't notice the boy, but it remained that way, unchanged.
The transparent door of the pod opened automatically. Leo took a few steps inside and stood in the center.
The digital buttons on the monitors automatically glowed, and then the light faded without stopping. At the same moment, the ceiling of the big tube connected to the large machine radiated multiple colors, and the full force of that light fell upon the man.
Without shedding a single drop of sweat and without any uneasiness, he simply let the machine do its work, exactly the way he had programmed it.
The device's transparent door also glowed due to the inner light, letting the luminescence shine through.
"I won't let you suffer in torment anymore. I will save you from those chains of that devil."
The entire lab blasted apart, and thick smoke erupted from the room. Machines, rubber, and numerous materials burst into flames, transforming the whole room into ashes and smoke.
The sound of a big bang roared through the area.
It caused an uproar throughout the entire LDS Building. Even the people outside spotted the erupting black smoke flowing endlessly out of the tower window.
A woman in a business suit with light-purple hair, sitting in a majestic office, startled as her landline phone suddenly rang. She grabbed the receiver and listened to the voice on the other end.
"Himeka-sama! An explosion has happened on a higher floor! We don't know the details yet!"
"What happened?! Is everyone safe?!"
"Yes! No one was working on that floor; it was empty. Actually, the building itself is safe. Just the specific area where the explosion happened has turned into complete chaos."
"Empty?" Himeka pondered, and instantly realized who could've been there. "THAT IDIOT! Ready the LDS emergency team and deploy all bodyguards! We must take safety measures first!"
"Yes!" the person on the other end of the line said.
After the call disconnected, Himeka slammed her hands onto the desk, throwing and scattering everything on it. Then, she rushed through the door.
As she opened it, she saw a boy with silver hair and red glasses standing there, astonished.
"Pardon me, but is everything okay?"
The boy had a concerned look on his face, but he tried his best not to make his mother more worried.
"Just another problem that man caused." She said, forcing herself to look calm.
The boy's expression twitched a little, sensing there was more to the story and that his mother was hiding something.
"Don't worry about it. Just go and rest. There is going to be a little disorder."
"Yes, I understand." He straightened his glasses and turned to leave.
The boy knew she was hiding something but didn't press further, thinking it wasn't the best time to anger her more. He knew she was in rage.
Himeka didn't take another step until the boy had gone. Only then did she rush toward the source of the chaos, choosing to take the stairs. Taking the elevator in this chaos would just waste time, as a lot of people would be using them. Getting there as soon as possible was crucial.
Even in a suit that made it hard to run, she dashed forward without hindrance and arrived at the floor.
She spotted the closest person, a bodyguard, and asked, "What happened? The rest of the floor doesn't look bad." She turned her head left and right, scanning the situation.
"Yes. The floor itself and the rest of LDS are just as they were; there is no structural damage." The bodyguard turned his head toward that one room. "The lab Leo-sama had been working in for months has exploded! We have searched the entire lab and arrived at the conclusion that it was an explosion due to a machine malfunction."
"Even that man's brain has started to rot, huh?" She sighed, controlling her anger. "Did you find him?"
"No! We are searching the whole room that Leo-sama turned into a lab, but we can't find him."
Himeka walked into the lab, talking to herself.
"I have been forgiving him all this time, but even this is past the limit." She muttered. "I restrained myself because he is a genius, the creator and founder of Real Solid Vision. His achievements are outstanding, but this is too much. Since that day, he has been losing his mind."
She entered the room and scanned the wreckage, then asked the nearest LDS emergency rescuer, "Did you find him?"
"No! We are searching carefully and relentlessly, but we can't find any traces of him." His voice was hoarse due to the respirator mask he was wearing.
"Are you saying he just disappeared into thin air?! Don't slack off and don't stop until you find him!"
"Yes!" he saluted her, trembling slightly.
Himeka coughed from the fumes. "*Sigh...* I can't understand how someone like you could make a mistake like this. Was it just an error, or part of your experiment?" she pondered in confusion. She coughed again. "All this dust is getting in the way. I should go outside."
As she turned to leave, a shout echoed.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" A bodyguard yelled at a few members of the emergency team who were standing around. "OUT OF THE WAY! HE NEEDS TREATMENT RIGHT AWAY!" He didn't wait for an answer or response, nor did he stop. He ran toward the stairs and dashed out of there, avoiding crashing into them.
"..." Himeka saw this and figured out what had happened. She might have cracked a small smile if the situation weren't so grim, knowing she might lose two valuable assets today.
She asked a rescue team member, "Is there a problem? I should be going if there isn't one, but if there is, tell me right away."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She didn't rush this time; she took the elevator. She waited five minutes for it to arrive. Luckily, it was empty, so she didn't have to stop at other floors. If anyone else had tried to get in, she could have simply ordered them to take the stairs.
It took around two minutes to reach her destination. She stepped out calmly and arrived at the emergency operation room of the LDS private hospital on that same building.
She opened the door to see the bodyguard pacing in circles, full of unease and nervousness.
"Nakajima, is everything okay?"
The bodyguard finally noticed her. "No! The doctors said his condition is highly critical! They must stabilize him before they can even examine him fully."
"So, the condition is that bad, huh?"
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, opening them just as an assistant came out from the operating room. He had a disturbed expression, as if he had seen something beyond awful.
"How is his condition?" Himeka asked.
Nakajima tried to speak, but Himeka beat him to it.
"It's highly critical..." The assistant said, his voice grim. "Nakajima-san must have told you, but the chances are practically zero for him." He closed his eyes, a sorrowful expression forming on his face. "There is no hope, not even the slightest chance. It's impossible."
"What about Real Solid Vision?!" Nakajima's worries and concerns burst out. "Can't we do something with such miraculous technology?!"
"No." The assistant said in a restrained voice. "Real Solid Vision is certainly like magic, but it can't do anything in a situation like this. It can produce mass, blood, or even bones, but using it on a real body is impossible. The system would have to stay on forever and project it nonstop. Furthermore, there is no data for it. Making Duel Monsters and non-living things is one thing, but supporting an actual life form—let alone the most complex thing in the world, a human body—is another. To keep blood flowing, to make bones and ribs do their work, and to transfer blood and oxygen to every part of the body is impossible. Real Solid Vision can be programmed to perform actions, but it can't sustain a living system. A human body works beyond what we can imagine. Even a massive, complex program cannot simulate and operate a human body."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY?!" Nakajima grabbed the assistant's collar. "YOU ARE JUST AN ASSISTANT! CALL THE DOCTOR AND TELL HIM TO DO IT!"
"I ALREADY ASKED BEFORE YOU SAID ANYTHING!" the assistant snapped back, angry. "I had the same thoughts and asked the doctor the very moment I saw him! But he told me the exact same things I just told you." His expression became sadly grim, and his voice softened. He said after a pause. "I am sorry."
Mechanically, Nakajima let go of the collar and collapsed to the floor. His black suit crumpled, and tears began to well up behind his sunglasses as sadness overcame him.
Seeing this, Himeka thought. "A bodyguard should be exactly this sentimental and loyal to his master. You will be Reiji-san's bodyguard now, since that man is gone. And so does him as well."
On a medical bed—the kind you would see in a hospital's ICU—lay a short boy with a fragile body.
He looked completely unhuman, as if his body had borne the brunt of a deadly explosion. He was pulseless, looking like a bunch of flesh burned to rust, like a statue of powder ready to shatter into pieces. Just garbage.
His eyes were closed. Even his sharp, silver, spiky hair had turned to ash. He wasn't in a physical condition that could be categorized as alive. His body's shape was perfectly intact, meaning not a single part was missing, but the flesh itself was unrecognizable. From the inside, who knew what remained? His clothes had either been torn apart or completely burned away in the blast.
Yet, he could somehow feel the doctors around him, checking on him, treating him, and doing their absolute best. He could even feel the three people outside: a sorrowful person, a person who felt like he wanted to cry, and a person who was deeply irritated and angry.
Suddenly, he felt nothing. He felt like he was somewhere else entirely.
Everything was dark. His eyes were closed, and he couldn't open them, but he could move. He was on a solid surface; that much was for sure.
Around him was nothing but darkness. Suddenly, the space where he stood became starry. He could feel four distinct presences, but not a single one was human.
Suddenly, liquids flowed over the boy, bathing and cleansing him. In this strange space, he felt an eerie sensation, as if he were being sank into something otherworldly.
Suddenly, he felt cool. The boy was cooled off. In this space, he felt as though he would fly far away from here.
Suddenly, he felt heat. He could feel his strength and life force increasing again, heating up to live once more. He felt as if he had entered magma. Everything, everywhere, was tremendously ablaze.
Suddenly, he felt no heaviness in his form, as if he were floating. All the weight from his inside and outside was lifted off him.
Finally, he felt he could open his eyes. He opened them. He felt hope; he felt soulful. He felt that he truly understood hole and despair.
Right and wrong.
Good and bad.
Best and worst.
Goodwill and evil.
Fairness and unfairness.
Big and small.
Important and irrelevant.
Intellect and brainless.
Intelligence and imbecilic.
Stupidity and smartness.
Righteousness and unrighteousness.
Worthy and unworthy.
Sky and earth.
Compromise and selfishness.
Sacrifice and greed.
Anger and calmness.
Laziness and hard work.
Asleep and awake.
Thinking and talking.
Yapping and doing.
Dream and goal.
Separated and all together.
Wisdom and insight.
Trust and betrayal.
Enemy and comrade.
Opponent and ally.
Friend and foe.
Like and hate.
Love and loathe.
Truth and lie.
Acting and performing.
Action and passivity.
Hindrance and aid.
Mistake and purpose.
Pride and self-love.
Honor and depreciation.
Guilt and gladness.
Regret and treachery.
Ideal and unreal.
Doing nothing and doing something.
Boast and fact.
Story and reality.
Flesh and machine.
Cold and heat.
Hardheaded and softhearted.
Attitude and naturalist.
Grace and effrontery.
Glory and shame.
Generosity and advantage.
Disadvantages and advantages.
Experience and immaturity.
Modest and conceited.
Sentimentality and fouling.
Redemption and gratuity.
Perseverance and obedience.
Rebellion and faith.
Bond and disconnection.
Corruption and self-improvement.
Demolition and restoration.
Crime and altruism.
Will and fate.
Desire and inevitability.
Choice and irresolution.
Weakness and compulsion.
Strength and power.
Heart and soul.
Body and mind.
Day and night.
Happiness and sadness.
Smile and scowl.
Livelihood and death.
He saw a bright darkness, so dark, so bright. It felt like he was dreaming.
His body and spirit were once again bursting with will and full of life, ready to continue their work.
A few weeks passed, and he opened his eyes in that very same room.