Yu-Gi-Oh: Fusion Is the Noblest Summoning Method!

"Mirror."

Its design was very ordinary,overall, it was just a circular mirror that could be held in one hand, with golden decorations and a golden frame around it.

Syrus and the others tried holding it and looking at themselves in it, only to find they couldn't see anything.

"Whoa..."

Even though they couldn't make sense of it, the fact that "nothing could be seen" made it all the more bizarre.

After all, whether glass or metal, a mirror should always reflect light, which would let you see at least a faint reflection of yourself.

But in this mirror, there was absolutely no reflection at all,enough to prove it was indeed something unusual.

Its appearance was modeled by Hikaru after the Mirror of the Ice Barrier.

When Tierra had first seen Hikaru create an alchemic item in this style, she had been quite surprised.

Even in her own world, that object was a top-tier divine artifact. Trying to recreate something like that by hand was practically reckless.

Of course, after seeing the entire process, Tierra no longer worried.

She had thought Hikaru meant to make an actual divine artifact, albeit it turned out to be just a small alchemy-assist tool.

Jaden took the mirror, glanced into it,and the next moment, his heart skipped a beat.

In the mirror, he saw someone identical to himself,except the eyes were... gold.

Naturally, the expression on the person in the mirror was also entirely different from his own.

"Whoa!"

"There's actually a figure showing up!" Jim and the other four crowded behind Jaden, exclaiming as they saw a human silhouette appear in the mirror.

"Is this some kind of sorcery?" Cold sweat trickled down Axel's forehead.

Even for a battle-hardened mercenary like him, this was the first time he'd ever seen something like this outside of a duel.

"It's alchemy,our Academy used to teach it..." Syrus began to say.

"Eh? Our school used to teach this? Then why don't you know how to use it, Syrus-senpai? Jaden hasn't used it either, so why'd they stop teaching it?" Tyranno Hassleberry fired off several questions in a row.

He was genuinely shocked,especially after hearing he could have learned something like this, only for the Academy to have stopped teaching it.

"Uh... that's a complicated matter..." Syrus's tone dimmed.

He didn't want to bring up anything about Professor Banner.

It would just sadden everyone,and given that Jaden was already in a bad mood, there was no need.

"It really doesn't look the same as Jaden," Jim said, rubbing his chin. "Everyone, look,this Jaden looks a bit more handsome!"

"Rawr!" The crocodile on his back let out a cry.

"Huh? What are you talking about? We look exactly the same!"

"No, no, Jaden,in the mirror, you've got a totally different aura,"

"Syrus, not you too!"

"Jaden, admit it,even if you look the same, the vibe is different. You're way too goofy."

"Hikaru! How could you,?! I'll never trust anyone again!"

They traded jabs and jokes, and the mood quickly lifted.

After his initial worry, Jaden soon focused, trying to greet the "self" in the mirror.

"Uh, hi?"

He scratched his head, speaking awkwardly.

The Supreme King didn't respond.

"Hikaru, don't tell me this thing just shows images. Or is it broken?"

"Broken? Let me see,no, it's fine... but I can't really test its practicality. You try again." Hikaru examined it curiously, then handed it back after finding nothing wrong.

Jaden scratched his head again.

"Calm your mind and talk to him."

Jaden stayed quiet for a moment, staring into the mirror.

After locking eyes for a while, the voices of his friends seemed to grow distant. All around him, shattered mirrors appeared, each reflecting different scenes.

The Supreme King...

At that moment, he could finally sense the Supreme King's thoughts.

As he focused on the mirror, the voices of his friends faded further. They exchanged glances, realizing Jaden was truly communicating with his inner self.

Now that Jaden was immersed, Jim, Hassleberry, and Axel naturally grew curious about Hikaru's alchemy and began asking questions.

They were intrigued, however, after a bit of explanation from Hikaru, their heads ached as if they might burst,they couldn't understand a thing. Hikaru understood; alchemy was entirely different from modern science.

After some chatter, Hikaru,having been busy for over a month,finally had time to rest, lying back on the sofa to relax. Syrus and the others, after their talk, began planning what to do next.

At this rate, the GX Tournament was bound to resume soon.

Jim and Axel still needed a few more badges,if they didn't hurry, they might miss the finals.

Though Axel wasn't participating specifically for the finals, he wouldn't pass up the chance.

Meanwhile, Celina was curious about Jim and Axel's decks and suggested they duel right there at the table. With nothing else going on, Jim agreed.

Abruptly, as they chatted, a sudden scream from Jaden startled everyone.

"Gwahhhh,!"

At some point, Jaden had broken out in a sweat and collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest with one hand, breathing heavily, and taking deep breaths.

"That bastard!!"

He panted, fists clenched. The mirror lay tossed on the table, and his expression was dark with anger.

"What happened, Jaden?" Jim, who'd been about to share his Fusion Deck with Celina, looked up in surprise.

Jaden didn't answer,he just grabbed at his hair, seething with frustration and regret.

Hikaru slowly opened his eyes from the sofa, glanced over, and chuckled. "What else? He lost."

'...Lost?'

They all exchanged glances,then understood.

In this world, nothing revealed two people to each other better than a duel.

And Jaden, not one for deep thinking, would naturally choose to duel his other self when words failed.

But...

Jim and Axel exchanged a look.

They hadn't dueled Jaden themselves; that said, they'd seen him take on plenty of spirits and fiends lately, and they knew exactly how strong he was.

And yet, he'd lost?

That Supreme King was that strong?!

"Jaden, did you learn anything talking to him?" Jim asked.

"That bastard spewed a bunch of twisted nonsense,stuff like 'justice without power isn't justice,' 'only the victor is justice,' and 'invading the weak is for their protection'... damn it!" Jaden seemed too angry to explain clearly. "And the worst part,he used HERO cards! Evil HERO cards! Damn it!"

'Evil HERO?'

They looked at each other.

"If only I'd chosen Sparkman... and that card,that card was so strong... Damn it! No, I have to go again!" He reached for the mirror.

"Wait, Jaden," Hikaru cut him off.

"What?"

"Don't be so hasty,and even if you are, it won't help." Hikaru shook his head. "The mirror's just a tool to help you see into yourself. If you want to duel yourself, it all depends on your own spirit.

You've already dealt with dragons and all sorts of crazy things today, right? You can't keep that up."

Hikaru was speaking to Jaden,and to himself. "Work and rest in balance. When it's time to rest, you rest."

That was Hikaru's plan moving forward, too.

After dueling Mudragon, he'd collected eight different Star Stamps, meaning he was qualified for the GX Tournament finals.

So he intended to take it easy for now and visit the alchemy workshop in the Knights' Realm while things were calm.

There were so many ideas he'd been unable to try without the proper equipment.

"Yeah... you're right." Jaden thought about it and nodded.

He really was exhausted,his heavy breathing wasn't just from anger, but also from the strain of repeated high-intensity duels.

And...

He thought of the Lightsworn spirits.

Though reluctant, he knew he'd have to duel them, or related spirits, often from here on.

He'd also have to figure out what to do about the remaining Dark World fiends.

"Damn it... Tomorrow, I'm going to win!"

He declared his intent to claim victory.