This day, the WRGP preliminaries completely ended. Thirty-two teams advanced to participate in the WRGP main tournament that would take place the next month.
All the teams had a full half month of rest time. During this time they could go anywhere in City, and could even conduct "showdowns" in advance to decide subsequent match arrangements.
Relying on City's powerful communications and perpetual-motion technology, City Hall and the President's Office had sufficient confidence to record and broadcast all duels to all viewers around the world.
Moreover, for the viewers, this wasn't merely a "no-matches" segment. The WRGP officials would hold various cheer segments and pre-match prediction segments, arranging excellent hosts and analysts to give detailed evaluations and predictions of the thirty-two teams' past matches and each member's deck over this half-month period.
Of course, there was also the topic most worth participating in for many gossipmongers:
Who do you think can become the champion of the first WRGP tournament?
This thread was blazing hot at the top of the WRGP official forum. Nearly every forum member posted their own views. Some people from other countries even said they must go to City afterward to witness the champion's birth in person.
Beyond this, all the participants could also feel that whether spirits or "deities," these existences were also gradually gathering in City. This country was about to become unprecedentedly prosperous!
For this world's native life, the upcoming "One God Elimination Tournament" was worth watching from close range.
And for certain specific spirits, something special seemed about to happen here as well.
The Great Cosmos Workshop cooperated with many spirit factions. Many spirits now regarded the "Absolute Fusion User," "Rare Alchemist," "Strongest Fusion Duelist" Hikaru as a signpost forward. Long ago, some Predaplant spirits had known his legend by heart.
An "informant," a certain Level 3, WIND Attribute, Warrior-Type spirit with 1000 ATK who could be a Fusion Material for Flame Wingman and who wished to remain anonymous, was crazily spreading this news everywhere. Some existences who had long known this would happen, and had long looked forward to it, naturally gradually gathered at a certain spot in this city.
Under these circumstances, even Yubel couldn't help but develop interest. Perhaps out of a mind to watch others' embarrassment, she had recently been urging Jaden to go find Hikaru, making Jaden think she'd reconciled with the others.
So then...
The person at the center of the event?
While the spirits were "seething undercurrents," Hikaru also gradually detected the anomaly.
He wasn't a fool. There was no way he wouldn't notice the atmospheric change within the Great Cosmos Workshop.
Similarly, as a high-star "Spirit Duelist," he could also see those spirits gradually gathering nearby.
Of course.
These were actually secondary.
What truly made Hikaru realize the problem was Tierra herself.
Compared to those who needed to think even to notice the atmospheric change, Hikaru had actually detected the anomaly earlier.
After the duel with Sophia ended, Hikaru had gradually begun to feel something off, something uncomfortable.
This "off" was very simple, very concrete.
Ordinarily, whatever Hikaru was doing, there was always a Tierra beside him pointing things out.
When he dueled, Tierra would watch attentively from the side, occasionally voicing her own views, or asking questions she didn't understand. Hikaru would then, in the exchange of question and answer, review the old and learn the new.
In daily life, Tierra mostly wouldn't voice her views. But no matter what human Hikaru met, Tierra, in that always-lofty tone of hers, would critique or even disparage the humans and spirits Hikaru encountered.
Occasionally, when Hikaru encountered mechanical-type things, she'd suddenly go off, praising the beauty of the machine and then commenting on what was good about it.
But these past few days, none of these things had happened.
Tierra hadn't even floated past him with a cup of noodles.
This was so obvious that Hikaru absolutely could not ignore it.
But...
Hikaru didn't go ask Tierra. Rather, he was thinking, exploring the answer.
Just as Yusei would go seek his question, Hikaru was also thinking why Tierra was like this.
And very soon, he'd discovered the problem.
Therefore, he was willing to wait for Tierra to think.
Only, several days having passed, seeing Tierra with her worried and troubled face all day, seeing her deep-in-thought look, he knew this wasn't something Tierra could finish thinking about in a short time.
If from a god's perspective, she might think for several hundred years before obtaining an answer.
Because these long "several hundred years" were, to her lifetime, merely a brief instant.
So upon realizing that Tierra was truly thinking, was truly searching for an answer, Hikaru knew he could not "wait."
He proactively sought out Tierra.
"Tierra, after the duel with Sophia, all the materials used to revive you have been gathered. Do you plan to fully revive during this period?"
All the Infernoid components, all the Qliphort components, had by now been completely gathered by Tierra. Although there was still "Apoqliphort Skybase", which Hikaru hadn't fully finished crafting, in this situation Tierra could already slowly self-repair.
Most importantly.
With her victory over Sophia, Tierra had also completed her last small deficiency.
She had made up for her insufficiency on the "creation" side.
This meant she could now attempt to use her own power to gather two different sets of components, undergo revival, and return to the complete "Star-Creating Goddess" state.
This was actually something with all benefits and no drawbacks for her. But somehow, she'd stopped at the very first step of the beginning.
She...
Hadn't taken this step.
These days, she clearly had time every day to attempt to take the first step. But she'd only stayed at the Great Cosmos Workshop, doing nothing or casually handling spirits who requested her help, with absolutely no appearance of being about to revive.
Although this initial step might be extremely, extremely difficult, even for her would take a considerable time, not even trying was very strange.
Because it meant Tierra wasn't torn over how to revive, but was torn over whether to revive at all.
Hearing Hikaru's question, Tierra pouted.
Hikaru smiled. He thought for a moment, subconsciously scratched the back of his head, and actually revealed a trace of awkwardness and bashfulness.
Even he wasn't perfect and flawless. Naturally, there were things he genuinely didn't know how to handle.
Tierra, seeing his foolish appearance, felt even greater confusion in her heart.
But fortunately.
Neither was the type to hide words in their heart.
"Hikaru, do you think two years of time can change the outlook of an existence with tens of millions of years of experience?"
"You've already changed your outlook. You're dueling."
"Then, a duel needs to have its own conviction. Can I go against my own conviction?"
"I don't think so."
Tierra briefly fell into silence.
To this question, Hikaru would forever only have one answer.
It was like asking Hikaru "Hikaru, are you willing to give up Fusion?" Laughable and absurd.
But now, this was exactly the question placed before her.
"I see, I completely understand, Tierra." Having answered Tierra's question, Hikaru gradually returned to his everyday appearance. He smiled softly and said, "I finally understand my own confusion during this period.
I also finally understand what Sophia said to you that day."
"Don't be so sharp right now!"
Tierra was a bit angry. The smiling Hikaru made her hesitation and contradiction seem not worth mentioning, and that made her particularly angry.
"Perhaps, from the moment we met, today's matter was destined to occur." Hikaru extended his hand and said to Tierra, "Tierra, do you remember the contract from when we first met?"
"Contract?"
Tierra would provide Hikaru with the powerful strength enough to battle anyone. Hikaru would provide Tierra with the means to revive and teach her the new era's methods of battle.
When the initial agreement ended, there would naturally be that duel that was supposed to take place.
The duel of the agreement!
"Let's duel, Tierra."
"You and I? Don't tell me, you want to make me give up after beating me?"
"No, Tierra. I've long told everyone. My Fusion is inclusion. So I won't make any opponent give up their own conviction. Fusion is the noblest Summoning method. That's just my insistence. I've always supported any other Summoning method as well."
"Then..."
"Tierra, since you've learned the new era's method of battle, use this new-era dueling method to find the answer. The answer that belongs to us."
"The Fated Duel!"
The initial agreement, the final duel!
The duel destined to take place from the very beginning!
Right now?
Tierra raised her right hand. In it, strange power flickering between bright and dim was slowly pulsing.
"All right!"
She made up her mind.
Beginning with learning to duel, ending with a duel. This was the preparation as it should be.
So...
On this day.
When Jaden and the other companions from the Fusion Dimension, and Team Moonwind Bird's members, came to Team 5D's base to hang out, wanting to spend a happy vacation, they saw Team 5D's members in a dazed, somewhat confused state.
From their mouths, they learned:
Light was about to duel Tierra!
"Huh?"
Jaden and the others were the most shocked.
Because the two were ordinarily so close. Why the sudden duel?
On Team 5D's side, Yusei, Crow, and Jack were also bewildered and clueless. Especially Jack.
In his view, his dueling Red Nova had made sense, since they hadn't been in the same camp before. But why was Hikaru dueling his own god? Hadn't his god already defeated another god earlier?
Regardless, since Hikaru had already decided, and there was a duel to watch, they were naturally happy to watch.
After all, it was just borrowing a venue for a duel. They were glad for the excitement.
The technology provided by Team New World could give Hikaru and Tierra the best, most substantial "human scientific dueling," and it was also a most convenient dueling ground.
Tierra didn't want to duel in the DT Dimension, and dueling within the Great Cosmos Workshop also felt inexplicably uncomfortable. So having a dueling ground like this had them all breathing easier.
But when Hikaru saw juniors, classmates, and teachers all coming to gather around, with a spiritualized Professor Banner also crouching nearby watching curiously, he still wasn't quite used to it.
"Excellent." Yubel cheered as she threw a punch forward, looking extremely excited. "I've long wanted to see this. Excellent!"
She was a bit over-excited.
Jaden awkwardly whistled and looked around at the scenery, pretending he hadn't noticed. He felt fortunate that Yusei and the others couldn't see spirits. But Luna's innocent, kind, curious wide eyes still made him extremely, extremely awkward, wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Hikaru took a deep breath, looked at his classmates and teachers, and couldn't help saying: "Sorry, everyone. Today I have a matter that's very important to me personally. I can't be with you all."
"It's fine, it's fine, Light! I actually really want to watch you duel with Miss Tierra!" Jaden hastily said with his usual expansive manner.
The other classmates looked at each other, seemingly with quite a few thoughts. In the end, it was Chazz who mischievously said: "It's fine. We've all watched Jaden duel Yubel. Watching one more will be interesting too."
All insinuation, no verbal tact whatsoever.
Professor Crowler was somewhat worried, but Tierra's usual conduct was far more trustworthy than Yubel's. He only verbally cheered Hikaru on.
On the girls' side, though, Serena almost immediately began waving the flag and cheering for Tierra, completely forgetting that Hikaru was her teacher. This inexplicably lifted Tierra's mood considerably.
Hikaru shook his head. He no longer looked at his friends, classmates, and teachers, but looked ahead.
Tierra gently spread both hands. Calm, gentle light descended from above, falling onto her body. Then, under everyone's stunned gaze, her figure slowly manifested.
That wasn't an illusory figure.
Rather, in this instant, she transformed into a true physical body, a "human body" in the truest sense, landing on the ground.
Jack and the others were only shocked. Those like Jaden who had specifically studied Duel Spirit Studies had already opened their mouths wide, unable to speak.
In this instant, Tierra had modified her own "life form," instantly transforming from a spirit into a living, breathing human!
Even Yubel, seeing this scene, couldn't help widening her eyes and staring hard at Tierra. She was both looking at a monster and suddenly thinking of some important matters.
Hikaru flung out his Duel Disk. Purple light spun like a whirlpool, then finally set. Tierra gently raised her hand. Countless purple puppet strings transformed into a web, transformed into metal, embedding into her left hand, deftly "summoning" out her own Duel Disk.
"Just as we agreed back then."
"Mm."
"Duel!" ×2.
Regardless, this duel destined for them, this duel that might also be the one where each sought their answer, officially began!
And the agreed-upon first turn...
Was Tierra's!
Tierra, LP: 4000.
Hikaru, LP: 4000.
...
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