"Captain, how do you feel?"
"Uh, Lord Tenjo, I don't feel anything strange."
In the Alchemy Workshop, Tenjo was asking Gem-Knight Crystal a few questions, testing its clarity. After ensuring there was no issue, he and the Golden-Eyes Idol started connecting various lines to its body.
Because Tenjo Hikari habitually called him Captain Crystal, everyone else followed suit. Yet no Spirit dared to call Tierra by name; to this day, they still referred to her as "Midrash" or "Her Highness the Goddess" and the like.
Today, Tenjo Hikari was testing the last value.
It wasn't that he truly intended to transform Gem-Knight Crystal into El Shaddoll Grysta to complete some sort of symbolic Alchemy. In fact, Tenjo Hikari often used Crystal to test various data from early on.
The main issue was that he wanted to find the "DT Spirit World."
Although Crystal had never explained how their Spirit World differed from the ones Tenjo Hikari had visited, through his interdimensional adventures and previous summaries, he reached a conclusion.
Which was that Crystal's "world" was different from the ordinary Spirit World.
Or, even among Spirit Worlds, there were distinctions.
Just like Crystal had mentioned, their world had also been invaded, but the invader left upon observing their world, implying that, to that entity, Crystal's world was either "value-less" or "not worth it."
From the background of the DT World, Tenjo Hikari could understand this, as the DT World is a notorious "dead zone" in the Yu Gi Oh card lore, where many experts met their untimely demise. Even beings like Tierra, the Goddess of Rebirth, failed to survive, along with invaders from other stars and resurrected Evil Gods—everyone perished in the end.
In Crystal's world, their "Broken Dimension" did not serve the same purpose as the dimensions Tenjo Hikari visited recently, merely separating from the core Spirit World. Instead, it was a form of "isolation"—for instance, Crystal ended up in a Broken Dimension because it was infected by the "Shaddoll." It had to swiftly isolate itself, awaiting treatment and rescue, but unfortunately, Akaba Leo and his companions barged in, causing it to lose contact with its original world.
The world Tenjo Hikari sought was precisely this one!
A vast, repeatedly explorable realm. If he could find this dimension directly, Tenjo Hikari wouldn't have to painstakingly create cards.
Moreover, he had also promised Crystal earlier to help it find its way back home.
Tierra leaned against a chair nearby, controlling a small Archfiend in her hand, making it fly back and forth out of boredom. Before long, she heard a voice.
"Alright, that's about it for the sampling, Captain, thank you for your hard work."
"I should be the one thanking you, Lord Tenjo." Captain Crystal sighed with relief, stepped down from the sampling machine, and said to Tenjo Hikari, "It was an unreasonable request from me, yet you have tirelessly pursued it, for which I am immensely grateful."
"Haha, there's no need for that, I have my own reasons too," Tenjo Hikari chuckled, "If possible, I'd like to acquire all the El Shaddoll cards at once, it's much faster than alchemy."
He drew a card. The card bore a strange star design—data extracted from Captain Crystal, a focus of Tenjo Hikari's research over recent times.
The task of modifying and advancing the Dimension Gate was still too challenging for him. After several unsuccessful attempts, he decided to complete tasks he hadn't finished before.
He placed the card into the Dimension Gate, which emitted a faint green glow. The fluorescent runes resounded once more. The spirits in the room transformed back into cards, merging into his Deck. Tierra clapped softly, dispersing the Archfiend she held. She then flew to Tenjo Hikari's side, illuminated by the light of the Dimension Gate. The Alchemy Workshop was left with the slightly recuperating Gladiator Beast Andal and the soundly sleeping baby Thunder Dragon.
After a while, Tenjo Hikari descended from the sky, landing with a "thud."
Amidst the surrounding rumble, his landing went unnoticed.
Falling to the ground, he supported himself with one hand and then stood up, stretching his body a bit.
It seemed to be a height of about ten meters?
This height only caused slight numbness given his current physique, which dissipated after a few movements. Hence, Tierra didn't warn him or use Puppet Strings to aid his landing. Upon arriving in this world, she looked around curiously, seemingly interested in everything.
But once she finished looking, her face displayed an indescribable, immense disappointment.
A look Tenjo Hikari had never seen on her face before.
There was little expectation—a fleeting thrill during the fall, followed by unfamiliarity and loneliness upon viewing everything. Disappointment filled her eyes.
"This is boring..."
Simultaneously, Captain Crystal's voice echoed in Tenjo Hikari's ears: "Lord Tenjo, this isn't the dimension I belong to... it doesn't even seem to be the isolated dimension I was sent into."
Is that so?
Tenjo Hikari nodded.
Perhaps this was a dimension it had been transported to in the past; after all, signs of its presence lingered here.
However...
Hiding behind a rock, Tenjo Hikari leaned slightly, surveying the dimension ahead.
Countless machines were excavating, with numerous figures bustling about. Some were shouting slogans, others coordinating manpower, and some gargantuan, non-human creatures were moving everywhere amid coordination.
Humans?
Tenjo Hikari found it surprising.
Judging by its size, this dimension appeared small, with the sky only about 30 to 40 meters from the ground—a typical "Broken Dimension." Why were there people here?
Moreover, what on earth were they digging?
Squinting his eyes, he observed more carefully. That's when he noticed among the crowd, people in familiar uniforms—
Weren't these the Fusion Army!?
Tenjo Hikari blinked in disbelief.
"Oh," Tierra tilted her little head to the side, saying to Tenjo Hikari, "I see, this dimension is polluted, and those humans are excavating polluted rocks or something?"
"Ah—I remember now," Crystal added in a timely manner, "During my controlled period, I did enter this Broken Dimension, and then those things from my body..."
"I understand," said Tenjo Hikari, nodding.
Indeed—
As one would expect from Captain Crystal, it seems an accidental incident caused this dimension to also succumb to "Shaddoll Dependence."
Quite fitting for a card lore.
Just as he was thinking this, Tenjo Hikari saw those Fusion Army people pushing a cart carrying a large cultivation chamber to the center of the land, and cautiously opening it.
Amidst heart-wrenching screams, copious amounts of black mist seeped from the chamber. Several bound, weak Spirits became instantly infected, uttering even more painful cries. Meanwhile, the land too was polluted. Even though an open space had been cleared, the corruption didn't stop, so the Fusion Army members could only desperately dodge it to avoid being tainted by the black liquid.
"You cursed creatures!!" Crystal roared, appearing beside Tenjo Hikari and gripping a boulder tightly, with cracks appearing in its bright white Armor as if it were about to shatter.
All this suffering started because of him!
"No, Captain," Tenjo Hikari squinted slightly, "Don't misunderstand; the wrong lies with those who are using these powers for their own nefarious deeds!"
"And what we need to do is—correct the wrongs!"