"The duel's over?"
After Dystopia the Despondent broke through the ruined room's ceiling, Kevin and the others had to retreat to the underground chamber of the second-to-last maze.
After that, the only entrance was buried in collapsed rubble. The group had no choice but to press against the wall, peering through the cracks in the debris to barely observe the duel inside.
"I think I saw Aisha get blasted away." Nia, her curvaceous figure plastered to the wall, strained to get a better look inside.
"Which Aisha?" Kevin, having picked the wrong crack and unable to see anything, asked urgently.
"There are two Aisha Carloses in there. I can't really tell either."
"That's right. The trial is over."
While Kevin and the others still relied on sight to observe the duel, Camille could feel the ripple emanating from the Millennium Key. That dull impact had already decided the outcome.
"Don't worry. Aisha Carlos won."
"She won?!" Kevin's eyes widened in delight. "Aisha Carlos actually defeated a god... As expected of my destined rival!"
Camille reminded them, "Since the duel is over, you'd better get out of the underground chamber fast. After that level of destruction, there's no telling if the remaining two areas will collapse as well."
Nia voiced her concern. "But Aisha Carlos hasn't come out yet..."
"Idiot," Rovik said. "The ruin room's ceiling has been completely opened to the surface. As a Duelist, escaping a room without a ceiling is as easy as lifting a finger."
Just summon any flying Duel Monster, and Aisha could fly straight up through the ceiling that had been pierced by Dystopia the Despondent and Mokey Mokey.
By contrast, Kevin and the others needed to traverse the maze and Mystic Mine in reverse to escape the underground, so their situation was indeed more urgent.
"Senpai Rovik is right. We should leave first."
Agreeing with Camille's proposal and Rovik's reasoning, Kevin took one last look at the collapsed ruins blocking the entrance.
"Aisha Yuna Carlos. Please be safe. I'll be waiting for your return at the academy."
Though Aisha had ultimately won the duel, Kevin didn't believe the outcome of a trial involving one's inner darkness could be judged by victory alone.
Above the ruins, Dark Aisha was a complete mess. Her clothes and exposed skin were caked with dust and dirt, lying on the ground in utter disarray.
"Dystopia the Despondent, the power I gained from despair... lost to someone like Mokey Mokey, the weakest of the weak..."
After the duel ended, the card of Dystopia the Despondent drifted down beside Dark Aisha.
With two seals already broken, Dystopia the Despondent had been able to wield its full divine power in the duel.
Even so, it had failed to secure her victory.
"The other me."
Though barely able to stay on her feet from exhaustion, victorious Aisha still forced herself to stagger toward her fallen dark self.
"D-Don't come any closer!"
Dark Aisha flailed her legs, backing away in fear.
Miles commented, "Look at you, scaring your own child."
Miles had long begun to sympathize with the life of Aisha's dark self—even if she was merely a false existence split off by the Millennium Key's power.
After all, the real Aisha Carlos had never dropped out of Fusion Academy.
False experiences, false hatred—even the despair itself was a lie.
Perhaps the only truth to this pitiful girl was that she genuinely existed within the deepest pits of Aisha's heart, in a corner even Aisha herself had never noticed.
"Why are you so scared?" Aisha tilted her head, puzzled. "Aren't you me? Who could be afraid of themselves?"
"Easy for you to say, you won the duel! Of course you're not afraid!"
Dark Aisha tried to pick up a nearby stone to throw at Aisha; however, her now-fading body couldn't even grasp solid objects.
This world could not contain two Aisha Carloses.
And in most stories, the dark self defeated by the protagonist is completely erased, becoming the catalyst for their soul's purification and further growth.
"I'll disappear. You'll wipe me out. The darkness in a person is just a burden. No one needs me. Even the only truth I possessed will be stripped away by this trial. That's the whole point of it, isn't it?"
"You won't disappear."
Aisha offered a gentle, healing smile and extended her hand.
"Even saints can't escape their darkness. What makes you think I ever could?"
"Huh?" Dark Aisha blinked her emerald eyes, momentarily dazed. "Then you... and I... what are we supposed to..."
"Come back. Without you, I'm not a complete me."
Instead of using this chance to cast off her dark side, Aisha chose to accept it.
A decision perfectly in line with who Aisha Carlos was.
Just like she said in the duel—true growth, true strength, comes from having the courage to face darkness and despair.
Aisha's outstretched fingers gently touched the cold hand of her dark self.
Though too weak to touch the physical world, Dark Aisha once again felt a flicker of real warmth.
"...Can I really go back?"
"One doesn't lie to oneself."
The final trial of the Millennium Key formally concluded.
Reunited and reintegrated with the darkness deep within her soul, Aisha Carlos had truly accepted her other self.
The fallen card of Dystopia the Despondent also joined Aisha Carlos's Deck upon her dark self's return.
At that moment—
The "Millennium Scale" located in Synchron Academy tilted slightly to the left.
The legendary Millennium Item, which judged the good and evil of souls, used this moment as a catalyst to declare that Aisha, as a Duelist, had achieved "growth."
Like stepping into a magic amplification ritual of a Summoning class, the summoning energy stored in Aisha's Spirit Eyes surged brighter and fuller than ever—unstoppable chains of Monster Summons erupted—several Xyz Monsters with black card frames appeared before Aisha Carlos!
This power was also the combat style Aisha Carlos had pursued in another nonexistent timeline.
"You really have grown stronger, Aisha."
Seeing Aisha's nearly flawless judgment in the final moment, Miles suddenly felt like his daughter had finally grown up.
However, just when Miles thought everything had been neatly resolved, he noticed—things weren't quite that simple...
Inside the Millennium Puzzle, in the chamber of his soul, a new figure had appeared.
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]