"Duel!"
Two pillars of holographic light, red and blue intertwined, blasted through the river of time and space.
"I'll go first!"
The steps of light beneath Yūki's feet trembled slightly, and the Duel Disk on his left arm ejected his opening hand of five cards.
The rules governing a Transcendent Time and Space Duel were extremely subtle.
Since the opponent before him was still operating within the GX framework, whoever went first could establish a rock-solid defensive line ahead of the other.
"My turn! I draw!"
Yūki's fingertips swept across his hand as he glanced at the other side.
Supreme King Jaden stood in the void in his heavy black-and-gold armor, radiating a forbidding, murderous aura. Even his gaze seemed tempered in ice.
"When you're playing against a berserk god of war whose only thought is cleaving his opponent apart, the key is making him feel right at home."
Yūki grinned, his fingers flying, giving his opponent no chance to pressure him with that gaze.
"First, let's lay out a carpet for you, then put up some windbreaks."
Yūki pulled out a Monster Card and placed it sideways on his Duel Disk.
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Position!"
A phantom card flashed, and faint ripples spread across the river as a card back gleaming with a dark metallic sheen lay horizontally on the field.
His movements never paused.
Yūki waved his left hand repeatedly, slapping three Trap Cards glowing with a sly red light into his Spell & Trap Zones.
"Next, I set three cards in my back row!"
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Three enormous phantom card backs burst from the ground like three tightly shut iron gates, standing firmly behind the front row.
One monster and three set cards—the standard opening for a lockdown Duelist.
But he wasn't