"World destruction?"

Kira sighed.

It’s the end of the world again. Can’t this world ever catch a break? Why can’t people just live peacefully, duel, and retire?

"All right, so what is it this time?" Kira asked. "Let me guess—a super strong monster from another world?"

"What? No."

Dr. Gondo shook his head, then grew serious.

"It’s the man you just brought back. Up until now, we were searching for his origins. We’re now fairly sure he comes from a parallel world very similar to ours, but with no crossover. You understand what that means?"

Kira nodded. "I get it. But what does that have to do with the end of the world?"

"The issue is, he doesn’t know why he appeared here." Dr. Gondo said seriously. "He intended only to return to the past of his own reality. But apparently, during his time travel, the timelines of two worlds became entangled. Two realities that should never have crossed ended up intersecting. He was swept up in the turbulence and ended up in our world."

Kira understood. "So his arrival was pure accident."

"Yes. Our team was curious about why this happened, so we researched further. Then we found something terrifying."

Dr. Gondo’s face turned grim.

"The reason he was dragged into this turbulence is likely because our two worlds are drawing closer."

Kira was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Literally. Like two magnets of opposite poles being drawn together. It wasn’t obvious before, but now, with this accident, the worlds might already be dangerously close."

Mokuba, starting to get it, paled. "Wait, so if... the two worlds completely merge, what happens?"

"That’s what I just said." Dr. Gondo’s face was grim.

"Our world, and theirs... may both be destroyed."

The three fell silent.

This was unlike any previous crises.

There was no apocalyptic demon, no enemy seeking to rule or destroy everything. This felt like a natural disaster.

Kira pondered.

In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, almost every problem can be solved by dueling—but only if you can find someone to duel.

But what about this? Are they supposed to duel the other world itself?

The three stood in heavy silence.

Finally, someone hurried in from outside: "Mr. Kira, the man from the other world is asking for you."

Kira frowned but didn’t ask more. He got up and followed the messenger to the holding room.

,,,

Paradox was now behind the bars of a high-tech KaibaCorp cell, stripped of all his previous gear and now in prison uniform. He sat with arms crossed, staring indifferently at Kira.

"They said you wanted to see me."

Kira walked to the cell.

"I just heard about the situation," Paradox said. "It’s a possible explanation. Two worlds that should never have crossed got entangled; my arrival here was a total accident."

He paused, his tone softening a little.

"So history wasn’t wrong. In my world, you never existed, Fujiki Kira."

Kira smiled. "So you’re saying I’m finally cleared of being the world-destroying culprit?"

Paradox had no answer.

Clearly, his earlier accusations were groundless—Kira didn’t even exist in his world’s history. Yet their future was destroyed anyway, proving it had nothing to do with Kira.

But some things Paradox didn’t say. He still felt this guy was toxic, even if the world’s problems had nothing to do with him.

Fujiki Kira—dueling this guy was like catching a plague of darkness. In a single match, he could sap all a duelist’s passion and hope, leaving them in despair, never wanting to duel again...

Paradox shook his head.

Forget it. It’s not my dimension, not my problem. Better to say less.

"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, we’re on the same side," Paradox said seriously. "You need my help."

Kira raised an eyebrow. "Funny hearing that from someone who just tried to kill me."

"I only wanted to save my own world," Paradox shook his head. "If our worlds collide, all realities and timelines will be erased.

All I did was try to erase Duel Monsters from history so civilization could continue. But if reality itself is destroyed, what’s left to save?"

Kira considered.

He wouldn’t trust a stranger on just their word. But since he’d seen the original and understood the characters, he knew Paradox was being honest.

Paradox really did travel to the past to save humanity’s future. If his dimension was at risk, he would do anything to save it.

"You want to cooperate?" Kira asked.

Paradox said, "First, you’ll need to let me out."

"I’ll have to think about that," Kira replied. "First, tell me your plan."

Paradox looked a little irked. He stood, came to the edge of the cell, facing Kira eye to eye.

"First, I need to return to my own dimension.

Before I accidentally came here, I’d already noticed history was changing in my world—but not due to my own actions.

At first I thought it was just a butterfly effect from my own time travel. But now, maybe that’s the cause."

He thought for a moment, then continued.

"I’ve never heard of worlds colliding, but I have heard a theory.

If history is changed incorrectly, it can knock a world off its proper course, possibly causing it to collide with another reality."

"You knew that risk and still changed history?" Kira asked.

"It’s only a theoretical risk," Paradox said coldly. "My future was already destroyed—if there’s any chance to save it, I’ll take that risk.

But if I go back and restore history, my world should return to its original track, avoiding a collision."

"But weren’t you trying to change your world’s history in the first place?" Kira asked. "Now you’re changing it back?"

Paradox shot him a look. "I wanted to change history for a better future, but if all timelines are wiped out, what future is there?

First I’ll restore history and prevent dimensional collapse. After that, I’ll look for another way to save the future. That’s our business—it doesn’t concern you."

Kira nodded. "Makes sense."

"So, do we have an agreement?" Paradox asked. "You need my help. With your technology, dimensional travel is nearly impossible."

"Haha, don’t be so sure."

Kira waved as he walked away.

"I’ll need to think about it."

Watching Kira leave, Paradox said coldly, "Then you’d better hurry. We may not have much time left."