Yu-Gi-Oh! Your Friends Are Fighting Out of the Underworld

Chapter 402 Spoiler Alert
As his consciousness was gradually swallowed by darkness, Paradox felt that he saw many things.

He witnessed the fervor he had seen in his childhood, the riots of the perpetual rotating machine, and the asteroid particles that should have reflected people's inner prayers and expectations being swallowed up by long-suppressed desires and longings, gradually forming one mechanical monster after another.

Then, countless years after the advent of the perpetual revolution, the word that should have disappeared from the world reappeared—war.

Even if it is not a struggle between people, but a battle against the world and against the ever-changing tide of riots, even if countless people in the future will go on to forge a path to survival.

However, without exception, they all failed.

To be honest, Paradox had lost count of how many calamities he had witnessed.

He had witnessed brave and fearless adults who dared to draw away the pursuit of the "Machine Emperor" for the sake of their family and friends.

He also saw people trying to rewrite their own personalities, seeking the mindset of that legendary duelist who once saved the world and was closely associated with the Eternal Turning Point, and then teaching him to others.

However, he also failed.

Failure—this word hangs like a persistent cloud over Paradox’s heart, never fading from the very beginning.

And by the time he came to his senses...

'boom'

The D-wheel that accompanied him plummeted from the sky, and his body rolled several times on the ground before finally coming to a complete stop.

Unable to move completely, all that appeared before my eyes was the core code, so close yet so far away.

"So, the result is the same again this time?"

But this time it's really different.

"I clearly saw it, I only needed one chance..."

But at that moment, the black trench coat completely blocked his view.

Beneath her pale bangs, a pair of scarlet eyes remained calm and still, like a pool of cold, stagnant water.

Why are you stopping me?!

He wanted to scream it out, but the battle from before was still vivid in his mind.

Even he himself did not expect that after he finally used his own power to construct that network of advancement, what would appear through the power of "sin" would be such a thing.

The cannon—that highly lethal weapon symbolizing struggle—seemed like a silent mockery of him at this moment.

"Cough cough cough..."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Paradox even started coughing.

"So, you even understand this kind of... 'advancement' and even the concept of 'superpower'?"

"……Yes."

Meeting Paradox's unfathomable gaze, You Ming slowly nodded:

"However, I can only say that I don't have much mastery of this kind of thing myself."

He was actually trying to justify his statement, but in this situation, lying, even out of a desire for comfort, would be pointless.

Paradox—the man who repeatedly verified possibilities by traveling through time and never gave up on saving the world until the very end—closed his eyes.

"Why……"

Trembling, hoarse.

He seemed to want to cry, but the robot itself did not have that right.

Amidst the sparks of machinery, this was all he, as a scientist, could say:
"Why can't even 'excess' become the future of humanity?"

"That's not the case, but just like 'homology,' even if people choose different paths, they will gradually get lost on those paths."

If the perpetual rotation machine provides humanity with a safety net, allowing them to pursue thrills and unleash negative emotions within a peaceful existence, thus leading to mechanical riots, then the overload is essentially the same. "You should have realized that only forces of the same level can construct a superimposed network, and only by unifying consciousness can one 'ascend.' As 'ascended' humans continuously pursue purity and sever negativity from chaos, it will also form a terrifying existence, even a terrifying world."

"What will it form...?"

"Alien Crystals—at least that's what I call them—in a distant…future world, the souls of pure people ascend to the Astral Realm after they die, but the parts they reject do not disappear; instead, they become part of the Alien Crystal world."

"This is Swedenborg's theory from the 18th century..."

"It seems you know?"

"It is nothing more than a pastime for those who are not engaged in scientific research."

Yes, for Paradox, who lived in the scientific world, and even for a future dominated by homology, excess itself was another path.

However, this does not mean they are unfamiliar with it:

"Even if creation truly proves the existence of 'Heaven,' there still 'Hell,' right?"

"That's one way to put it. So instead of blindly choosing a particular path, we should try to make the world a better place."

"But we... Z-one has no time left. He once tried to give the legendary 'Heart of Still Water' to everyone, but from the moment Eternal Shift went berserk, the destruction of the world was inevitable."

He clenched his fists:

"Do we really have to accept this reality...?"

“I never said you had to accept it. As people who have experienced suffering, you… Z-one certainly has the right to do something, whether it’s with the intention of saving the world or just wanting to take revenge. But whatever you want to do, you have to accept the fact that someone will definitely stand in your way.”

You Ming spoke up:
"Just as you fight for the future, those duelists who fight for the present, for their friends and family who are still living in this world... will inevitably step forward, and everything they cherish will give them boundless power."

"Idealism..."

"This is not idealism, it's a fact, because these things just happen this way."

"..."

"Your companions, Z-one will, as his time comes, take the 'origin' of future destruction to the place where the Eternal Cycle begins, and engage in an earth-shattering battle with his idol, Yusei Fudo. The purpose of that battle is not destruction, but to bring the fact of future destruction to the beginning of that era, so as to warn the world."

Indeed, the so-called final chapter of 5DS, from the perspective of the only remaining scientist in the future—Z-one—is a tragic story in itself.

Powerless to reverse fate, unable to defy destiny, they exerted all their strength at the end of their lives to bring the finality of the future to those who are still complacent in the present, using a disaster as a warning.

"That sounds really... sad."

"Tragic, but not sorrowful."

Responding to Paradox's sigh, Yu Ming simply shook his head:
“During that battle, Antinomi never gave up hope, so he will pass on the ‘Mirror of Still Water’ to Yusei Fudo. Apollia will feel the hope of life again because of a pair of young siblings, and then stand on the opposite side of Z-one. These are all things that may happen in the future.”

"Then... what about Z-one?"

"As the last human from a doomed future, after receiving a promise from Yusei Fudo, he took the initiative to end the disaster and went to his end along with the collapsing eternal turning point—the Arc Cradle."

"Is that so? He has regained his hope..."

"This should be a good ending for you."

After all, the future quartet is different from other bosses. Unlike the final conflict of Z4 Shark, and unlike evil representatives like the Great Evil God and Darkness, they are human beings who simply go from hope to despair, and then gain new hope from despair.

For them, seeing the Dragon Seal bearers still fighting on the front lines was a comfort in itself.
"Human beings are ultimately a group that stumbles and falls along the way, carrying beauty and hope in their hearts."

"how about you?"

"Ok?"

"And what exactly are you fighting for?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)