Chapter 1298: Replicas from Another World

"Ugh… aaah!"

Once again, the King of Turbo Duels continued to write his legend of crashing.

Although Phoenix Whirlwind's name contained "Fortune," (Only in JP and CN) its experiences suggested it had very little to do with luck. This Duel Runner had endured far too much throughout 5D's. It started flipping from the very first duel between Yusei and Jack and never left that circus-like path.

Of course, this wasn't because Jack's riding skills were poor—it was simply terrible luck. Even in normal duels without any supernatural elements, like against the Unicorn team, his Duel Runner would malfunction and cause a crash. It seemed to be a unique occurrence in the entire series.

One could only say Jack was a cursed man. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't escape this fate. Though he proudly called Phoenix Whirlwind his signature ride, if the Duel Runner had consciousness, its reaction upon seeing Jack would probably be the same as the one from the neighboring set when it saw the new team member—nothing but one sentence in its mind: Don't come near me!

At this moment, Jack lay sprawled on the ground in pain. Despite his injuries, he seemed to feel no pain. He desperately lifted his head, trying to see the figure before him clearly.

A red Duel Runner drifted to a stop in front of him. The familiar silhouette lowered the helmet visor, revealing clear blue eyes that looked almost identical to the Yusei he knew.

Flames burned in the background. The blue-armored warrior hovered above the Duel Runner. Junk Warrior's red visors reflected the firelight, making the warrior appear even more ominous than usual.

"Yusei Fudo…"

Jack finally forced out the two words.

Then his heavy eyelids closed. He lost consciousness and sank into darkness.

Copy Yusei dismounted his Duel Runner, walked over, crouched down, and whispered softly, "Sorry, Jack. But this is for the world."

"…"

"Copy Yusei… and Meklord Emperor…" Kira muttered to himself. What an unexpected combination.

Junk Warrior was the first Synchro Monster to appear in all of 5D's and also the last one at the ending. It had witnessed Yusei's growth from a novice to a savior. It could be called the symbol of Synchro Monsters.

Meklord Emperor, meanwhile, symbolized anti-Synchro and Synchro killers. The two contradictory forces appearing together on the field of Yusei—the representative savior of the Synchro era—carried a certain ironic weight even in this silent scene.

"So, after Z-ONE from your world defeated Yusei and destroyed New Domino City, the world still wasn't saved. Let me guess—he then created a new copy of Yusei?"

Kira looked toward the fake Z-ONE. "Even if it's a copy, it should have the same personality as the original. So what exactly did he experience to become like this?"

The fake Z-ONE replied calmly, "Yes. After the battle in New Domino City, the city and its Ener-D were destroyed together. But then Z-ONE discovered that the future still hadn't changed… Or rather, while the destruction caused by the Ener-D had changed, the future remained a future of destruction. Because the greed and negative emotions of future humans had not dissipated. A massive wave of darkness gathered across the world, leading to new destruction. Human civilization still headed toward its end."

The real Z-ONE beside him said, "So at that time, he realized that treating the symptoms but not the root cause would never work. To save the future, he had to start by guiding people's hearts, right?"

Z-ONE, who had spent his life studying how to save the world, had naturally considered this possibility long ago.

"Yes. And to achieve that, Yusei's power is still needed no matter what," the fake Z-ONE continued. "Z-ONE once copied Yusei's personality onto himself, but he was already too old and didn't have much time left. He couldn't do it personally anymore. So this time, he chose to create a new copy of Yusei. Just like how he copied the memories and personalities of his deceased companions into mechanical bodies, he used that technology to create a new Yusei."

The real Z-ONE said, "But even so, it was merely a reproduction of the failed method he had already tried."

No one had more right to speak on this than the person involved. Even after erasing his own personality and turning himself into Yusei, Z-ONE still couldn't change anything or save anyone.

"Yes, but at that time Z-ONE realized that the previous failure might have been due to missing an important factor."

The fake Z-ONE continued. "Even if his personality was completely identical to Yusei's, and even if he truly became like Yusei, something was still missing. That was bonds."

Z-ONE's eyes flickered. "Bonds?"

"Yes. It was such a simple thing, yet they hadn't thought of it before. This was something Z-ONE only realized after his decisive battle with the real Yusei beneath the Ark Cradle."

The fake Z-ONE went on. "Yusei's strength doesn't come solely from his own power, but also from his 5D's teammates. He cherished his companions, believed in them, and in desperate situations those bonds became his support, allowing him to surpass his own limits. In the battle beneath the Ark Cradle, Yusei showed Z-ONE this power. That's why Z-ONE realized that simply reviving Yusei alone in the future wasn't enough. His 5D's teammates were also the key to his strength."

Kira suddenly understood. "So that's why I keep running into endless copies…"

"Yes," the fake Z-ONE said. "In the little life Z-ONE had left, besides Yusei, he copied all the important companions around him, and even some other people who had left significant marks on his life journey. He tried his best to recreate the entire environment around Yusei, thinking that perhaps this way the copies could gain the same power as the original and save the world."

Kira said, "I see. So even Trudge and the members of the Unicorn team who dueled Yusei were included…"

Then he asked, "What happened afterward? They still failed?"

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

"A second chance?" Kira asked.

"Yes. It's this dimension right now," the fake Z-ONE replied. "From the moment they were born, the deepest layer of their code determined their lifelong goal—to save the world. Although their own world ultimately could not be saved, by chance they discovered this world—a dimension so similar to theirs, yet so young. If it's this world, perhaps there's still time to change the future…"

The fake Z-ONE paused. "…Provided that this world allows them to save it."

…