The Supreme King.
Hearing the name again, Jaden fell silent for a while, thinking.
But soon he looked up and laughed brightly.
"It's fine now."
"But you said he's inside you—you're one and the same," Kira leaned back into the sofa, lifting the teacup Alice had brought.
"So we have to consider the possibility he could lose control, don't we?" Kira paused, then added, "Or maybe you can stay stable normally, but under certain conditions there's still a risk—right?"
"You mean, if one day all my friends suddenly turned against me—or worse, someone might die because of me?"
Jaden's face grew serious.
Kira didn't answer, meeting his gaze just as seriously.
After several seconds of this strange stare-off, Jaden snorted a laugh.
"That's a bit much, right?"
But Kira didn't smile.
"Wait, you're serious?" Jaden raised a brow.
"It's a possibility we have to account for," Kira said. "We're dealing with a Supreme King who once ruled twelve dimensions. You faced him—you know how dangerous he is."
"I know, but… how to say…"
Jaden scratched his head, thought for a moment, then flashed his signature grin and gave a thumbs-up.
"In short, it's fine. I promise—he won't be a problem anymore."
Kira held his gaze a moment longer. Jaden kept the pose.
Finally, Kira shrugged.
"Alright, if you insist."
That was the plan anyway.
Dartz once said that the darkness in people's hearts can't be erased. Rafael thought he'd purged his inner darkness, and even the Orichalcos barrier vanished without claiming souls. But facing Dartz again, a few words rekindled Rafael's rage—and the barrier, along with the supposedly erased darkness, returned.
The Supreme King is Jaden's inner darkness; it can't truly be destroyed—unless you take Jaden with it.
So Jaden's optimal outcome—like many strong duelists—is to learn to face the darkest part of himself and coexist with it.
Kira actually felt that in the later anime, while Jaden could tap the King's power when serious, he'd only absorbed part of it—or couldn't fully wield it.
But now Jaden had that chance.
"By the way, Mr. Joey left the island today," Jaden said.
He and Joey hit it off and had gotten along well lately.
"He left?" Kira asked.
Joey had stayed mainly to help with their cross-dimensional expedition. Now that it was done, leaving wasn't surprising.
"Yeah… but he said he's just going to handle something and will be back for a victory party—to celebrate clearing the twelve-dimension raid."
Jaden tilted his head, thinking.
"He said Pegasus invited him."
"Pegasus invited Mr. Joey?" Kira found it odd.
Did those two keep in touch after Duelist Kingdom?
In fact, Kira wasn't the only one thinking that. The man himself was thinking the same at that very moment.
…
Riding an Industrial Illusions private jet to the island where Duelist Kingdom had been held, Joey Wheeler disembarked and looked over the familiar yet unfamiliar island, feeling a swell of emotion.
This was his starting point as a duelist, a place of special meaning.
When he first set foot here, he was a no-name duelist who barely knew the rules; his best result had been top eight in a local tournament, and he'd make misplays on stage.
On this island, he truly transformed into a duelist and first felt himself chasing after his best friend Yugi's footsteps.
Now times had changed. Yugi had long gone abroad, and the island was no longer Duelist Kingdom; the facilities were dismantled. It was basically Pegasus's semi-retirement home.
Still, it was odd. If Yugi—who became Industrial Illusions' nominal largest shareholder after Duelist Kingdom—and Kaiba, as a major partner, had stayed in contact with Pegasus, Joey himself hadn't had much contact since leaving the island.
So for Pegasus to summon him to his retirement island was strange.
"Welcome, Joey-boy."
At the castle, Pegasus himself came to greet him and waved for staff to give them privacy.
"Pegasus. Long time no see."
Joey strode up, waving casually.
"Your accent is still as amusing—ahaha."
Pegasus smiled gracefully, unbothered. "And you haven't changed at all, Joey-boy."
Since he was invited, Joey didn't stand on ceremony—he sat at the table, grabbed the sweets and coffee, and started eating.
Commenting as he ate:
"Mm, this tastes great."
"Oh, and the coffee's excellent too. Your retirement life's pretty sweet, Pegasus—color me jealous…"
Pegasus watched him dig in, legs crossed, smiling without joining in. "Retirement… if only I could be that leisurely."
"Hm?"
Joey looked up, puzzled.
"What, something not going well?"
"That's exactly why I invited you, Joey-boy." Pegasus straightened, serious. "Have you heard?
The cutting-edge astronomical unit we partner with observed a light wave from a cosmic white hole with the potential to destroy the world. We and KaibaCorp have been monitoring the possible impact of that evil fluctuation on Earth."
Joey nodded. "Don't know much, but I've heard a bit. What about it?"
"Recently, that same astronomical unit made a new discovery," Pegasus said gravely. "A threat to our world may not be limited to that light wave.
A force opposed to it—the darkness of the cosmos, which we're calling 'Cosmic Dark' for now—may also have the potential to engulf our world.
And you, Joey-boy—according to our observations, you…"
Pegasus paused, narrowing his eyes at him.
"…very likely came into close contact with a significant source of that 'Cosmic Dark.'"