In an unknown void, a starlit background, with the occasional meteor streaking past. A figure in white sat in that vast nothingness.
"Hehehe, that Primo… he boasted so confidently, as if he had everything under control, but look at him now, utterly defeated."
Lester covered his mouth, giggling, eyes narrowed, swaying back and forth.
Across from him, Primo's eyes glowed red, and he glared daggers at Lester.
"You want to die?"
But Lester wasn't afraid, not one bit: "Come on then, see if I care—"
"Enough!"
The eldest of the trio, Jakob, spoke up at last.
Lester stuck out his tongue, then slumped back into his ridiculously oversized chair, kicking his short legs.
Primo clicked his tongue and looked away.
"You were reckless, Primo," Jakob said, scolding. _"Even if this guy is an 'anomaly,' he's not a typical anomaly.
We Iliaster are supposed to know the history of everything, but this man has no background at all—no trace in any timeline we've ever known.
Someone like that is surely not to be underestimated."_
Primo replied coolly: "So you're saying we should just avoid him and leave him alone?"
"Not what I said," Jakob replied. _"But every move we make is God's will—we must act with care.
At least, until we figure out who he truly is..."_
"Boring!"
Primo stood up and stomped away.
"Where are you going, Primo?" Jakob called.
"Where else? I'm going to fight him again!" Primo huffed. _"I only sent a Ghost with a copy deck earlier.
If I personally—there's no way I'd lose like that—"_
He stopped, but the image of that smirking white-haired man flashed through his mind yet again, revealing that accursed card.
"Eat this—Hinotama!
Hinotama!
Hinotama, Hinotama, Hinotama!
..."
He really wanted to punch that face.
If he didn't get revenge, did he even deserve to be one of the great Three Pure Nobles of Iliaster?
Lester nudged him, snickering: _"Good thing you weren't the one who faced him or used your real deck.
If you had, wouldn't the power of the Meklords, God's gift, end up in someone else's hands?"_
Primo turned uglier: "You think I would lose?!"
"Who knows?" Lester laughed.
"Enough!" Jakob reprimanded Lester with a glance.
"Primo, Lester has a point. This man's details are unknown, his strength unfathomable. If you lose, fine, but if you ruin our plan—disobey God's will—"
Primo grunted, but he did not leave.
No matter his arrogance, he had great reverence for the "God" Jakob spoke of. His own pride was small stuff—if he really ruined God's plan, that would be a disaster.
"So what, we just sit here waiting?" Primo was furious.
"No. At this rate, the anomaly among the Dark Signers will likely face him soon," Jakob intoned.
"By observing that clash, we might learn more. Until then, we wait."
Primo grumbled but did not object.
"Patience, Primo," Jakob said deeply. "This man wasn't part of our original plan. Perhaps God has special designs for him."
…
Meanwhile, the battle between the Signers and Dark Signers had officially erupted.
As in the original story, Yusei faced the Dark Signer Kalin Kessler—a rogue with the "Infernity" deck, an old friend from the Satellite days.
Yuusei and Kessler had once been comrades in arms, but due to misunderstandings and betrayal by Security, Kessler died, became a Dark Signer, and returned for revenge.
The handless combo deck is only effective when you have zero cards in hand—almost every card's effect is triggered by having no hand, a concept long considered crazy in the card-difference-prizing meta.
Yet, once released in real life, it rocked the meta and instantly became top-tier.
In the anime, Yusei suffered his first real defeat at Kessler's hands. Facing an Earthbound Immortal who can attack directly while immune to traps, Yusei wasn't ready—he should have lost.
That was the famous "unscrewing" scene—when Yusei's Duel Runner broke down mid-duel, forcibly halting the match.
Technically a draw, but really—a defeat.
But that was mostly due to a lack of information. At the time, he didn't know about Earthbound Immortals' immunity or monster defense being useless.
But the timeline changed: Greiger had already challenged Goodwin with an Earthbound Immortal, and Yusei had witnessed it, so he was much more prepared.
Forewarned, Yusei's strength now was greater than Kessler's—so this time, he won, with no "unscrewing" mishap.
Meanwhile, Jack's fated opponent was, just like in canon, the little-reporter Carmine.
In the original, Carmine had secretly infiltrated the Arcadia, was killed by Sayer, and became a Dark Signer.
Even after Kira defeated Sayer, even with the timeline shift, Carmine could not escape her fate.
On this timeline, Carmine still met Jack after the Fortune Cup—then accidentally "slipped" from an overpass the same night, dying and being resurrected as a Dark Signer.
"Fascinating," Kira murmured as he watched through Security's monitors.
"So who becomes a Dark Signer... is it, like being a Signer, something written in destiny?"