"Wow! We really won!"
"That was amazing!"
With the Duel over, both the Spirits who had participated and those who had been watching set aside their hostility. A horde of tiny Spirits gathered around Hikaru and Atticus, swarming them into a bundle, parading and celebrating atop Thunder Dragonlord's massive body.
Hikaru basked in a hero's welcome. Thanks to the Duel, even Gairuda and Tierra received enthusiastic greetings from the Spirits.
Still, Tierra had no interest in these young "mortal beings" and vanished into thin air the moment they approached, leaving only the Pirmais carrying Hikaru to keep him from falling.
Unlike the reserved Hikaru, Atticus fully embraced it, acting like a king of kids. With his teacher-like charisma, superb singing voice, and top-notch instrument skills, he brought joy to the Spirits through extreme play and melody alike.
Humans and Spirits played together until sunset.
At last, Hikaru flopped onto Thunder Dragonlord's back, gazing upward as he drew a card from his Deck.
Thunder Dragon Colossus. A truly powerful card!
Not only did it have an easy summoning condition, but its stats and effect were worth celebrating!
With 2600 ATK, it outmuscled ace cards like Gem-Knight Crystal, Dark Magician, Elemental HERO Neos, Stardust Dragon, and Number 39: Utopia. And if it's destroyed by battle or effect, you can banish a Thunder monster from the Graveyard to keep it on the field!
And that was only its "freebie" effect. Its real strength, the one it was famous for, was this: as long as this card is on the field, your opponent can't add cards from their Deck to hand except by drawing!
An effect that made many Decks groan. Combined with the hard-won El Shaddoll Winda from earlier, Hikaru could've stood his ground even in his pre-crossing meta.
Many Decks going second would curse under their breath seeing both those cards on board. One locks Special Summons, the other blocks search effects, just having them on field could make even a removal-heavy archetype like Tenyi Dragon shake its head.
Even so, that was in Hikaru's old world.
Whatever the card, before considering its power, one had to consider the "meta."
In Hikaru's world, these effects were "toxic beyond belief." Though here, they're simply "pretty strong."
Just like how TCG environments lack many OCG-broken cards, not because they're weak, but because some simply don't exist. Like Maxx "C."
While OCG was busy printing weird birds to counter Maxx "C's" roots, TCG had already offered its answer, ban it outright!
And because TCG doesn't have Maxx "C," combo Deck components were heavily curtailed, leading to completely different styles and strategies.
Take Hikaru's beloved Dragon Link. In OCG, it commonly used Guardragon combos through World Legacy Guardragon and Halqifibrax for huge fields. In TCG, players often just used lower-level monsters to Link Summon Guardragon Pisty straight to the Extra Monster Zone and started swinging.
Different metas gave cards different values. In this world, with Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity, where most card flow came from raw draw rather than search, the locking effect of Thunder Dragon Colossus wasn't that useful.
Likewise, Winda's powerful summon lock effect saw limited play here. People saw her 2200 ATK and simply considered beating over her. Few even did enough Special Summons for her lock to matter.
But...
Unlike Winda, Thunder Dragon Colossus had high ATK and solid resistances. Even if its lockdown wasn't as effective here, for Hikaru, it was still something to celebrate!
Because this was, in every sense, a true, powerful, all-purpose Fusion end boss, as long as he gathered some Thunder monsters, he could bring it out from the Extra Deck at any time. Even just one Thunder Dragon in hand was enough to make it work.
And that made it incredibly useful!
As Hikaru pondered, the card in his hand began to crackle.
The artwork on the card began to shimmer.
He jumped up in surprise. Turning to look, he saw Thunder Dragon Colossus, exhausted from a full day's activity, curling up and beginning to shrink. The electricity around it condensed until it became a lightning orb.
"No need to worry, human warrior," a voice full of dignity came.
Hikaru looked up. Thunder Dragonlord was speaking to him through lightning. "Koyuan became interested in Fusion. Catalyzed by your power, it transformed into a new Thunder Dragon. But even for one so close to evolution, fully becoming a new Spirit takes time.
Its tiny post-evolution form proves it."
Hikaru nodded softly.
"Human, you're an Alchemist, aren't you?" Thunder Dragonlord mused.
Hikaru nodded again. "Still just a student of Alchemy."
"I thought so. Your powerful Alchemy influenced Koyuan. Your spirit resonated with it, letting it evolve into a new Thunder Dragon."
He cast a look at the sleeping Thunder Dragon Colossus and then turned back.
"Then, human. I entrust Koyuan, no, Thunder Dragon Colossus to you."
He gently raised his head, releasing a soft electric spark that turned Colossus back into a card and returned it to Hikaru.
Afterward, withdrawing his massive head, Thunder Dragonlord stirred. It felt like the earth itself was shaking.
He was rising.
"Well said." Tierra reappeared beside Hikaru, still controlling the Pirmais, glancing at the card in his hand. "Duels generate intense energy. That energy can disperse into the world, become something real, or even be emotion a vessel for someone's spirit.
"That Spirit was always curious. At this perfect moment, drawn by your fiery passion for Fusion and the influence of your Alchemy, it found new purpose. This may be the first Spirit you gained purely by your own strength and passion, without relying on that card.
"Quite commemorative."
'True!' After hearing her summary, Hikaru gently brushed dust from the card.
A new friend, forged purely by passion and the strength of a Duelist!
He soared through the sky atop Pirmais, feeling the wind again. Glancing sideways, he spotted a tiny armored bird playing cheerfully beside Atticus and smiled.
Carefully, he stored away Thunder Dragon Colossus's card.
It was still young, just beginning to choose its path; regardless, it represented the future of "Fusion."
To gather more partners and strength, to connect with others in mind and purpose, that was his new understanding of Fusion.
...
Bonus Chapter
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