History NightmareFuel / YuGiOhDuelLinks

** Also, note the set of lines that can be triggered whenever Aigami beats Scud in a Duel. Scud can sport an absolutely terrified expression before the time he is ''erased'' from reality.

Just because Duel Links is LighterAndSofter, doesn't mean it can't scare the shit out of you.

!! Sweet dreams!

** Downplayed and inverted with Yubel's reaction. She notes that both her and Supreme King should not exist in Duel Links, as they are both now inside Jaden. Supreme King's anger is especially prevalent here as he only cares about killing Yubel forever, only for Yubel to show him Super Polymerization, making his stoic facade drop as he widens his eyes in speechlessness and fear, now knowing that the card he sacrificed so many souls to make has now fallen into Yubel's hands.
* Taking the story and character introduction events into account, it slowly becomes clear that Duel Links is no longer just a mere augmented reality simulation like how it was depicted in ''Dark Side of Dimensions''. It's become something that has transcended the boundaries of the physical and the metaphysical. Characters' past selves can interact with their present selves. Alter-egos, both from within characters' hearts and as the result of outside forces possessing them, become corporeal and sentient. Those long thought to be dead or no longer existent come back as [[LivingMemory living memories]]. In his mad obsession with finding Atem in the afterlife so he can have one final rematch and his desire to prove that he alone is the strongest of all Duelists, Seto Kaiba has done the unthinkable - he ''[[MultiversalConqueror bent time and space to his will]]'', opening the gateway to other universes.
** The Arc-V world actually ends up bringing this implication to the forefront. It starts perfectly normal, with Yuya arriving and expressing wonder at Duel Links before realizing he lost Zuzu and running off to find her, meeting up with Gong and having a friendly chat with him after their duel calms Yuya down a bit. Then they actually find Zuzu... which is where some SurpriseCreepy kicks in. Zuzu initially acts very dazed and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Out-of-character]], not sounding like she's even aware of the world around her and barely responding to Yuya when he calls out for her. Dueling her manages to snap her back to normal... only for Zuzu to then admit she didn't actually ''sign up'' for Duel Links and has no idea how she got there. They brush it off, but the implication of this and the stories of other recent events suggests that Duel Links may be becoming [[EldritchLocation something else.]]
** With Bakura from the ''Dark Side of Dimensions'' time, should he challenge Yami Bakura at the Gate, Yami Bakura actually reacts to his presence. Despite Seto making it clear that most, if not all, the ''Duel Monsters'' Duelists are digital replicas of said Duelists, Yami Bakura reacting to his host from the distant future implicates that even the copies of the past have a mind of their own. Or, perhaps, something potentially worse: that the evil of the Millennium Ring is ''that'' powerful, to the point where no amount of defeats it suffers, no matter the incarnation (Yami Bakura, Dark Master Zorc Necrophades, or even Corrupted Aigami[=/=]Dark Diva), can truly stop it. It simply ''is'', and has found a way to manifest itself once again. It should be noted that Yami Bakura also has an interaction with both Sera and Aigami.
* Declan's arrival and subsequent investigation of Duel Links causes him to gain a concern that he doesn't voice to the other characters from his world, but the audience is given enough context clues to figure out what his concern really is about this new world... that, somehow and someway, it'll allow for the revival of Zarc. Given that a certain ''other'' Supreme King was able to return in some capacity, it's all but spelled out that Zarc, or rather the memory of Zarc from when he took possession of Yuya, '''will''' return. And since this incarnation would not have had his evil purified yet, as well as it being no longer possible for his dimensional counterparts to interfere, he'll be sure to pose an even greater threat than ever before.
** Yuto's unlock event all but confirms Declan's worst possible fears of a third coming of Zarc. When Yuto arrives into Duel Links, he's suffering from amnesia and has to slowly gain his memories back. Then at the end, it's finally revealed that even though he's still technically one with Yuya, the two are considered separated within Duel Links and he's able to manifest much like the other LivingMemory characters seen previously. This also confirms that Yugo and Yuri will also be making an appearance in the future, and once all four pieces of Zarc are assembled again, the man himself will appear.
* Adding on to the potential worries of a dimensional crisis? The appearance of Paradox from ''Bonds Beyond Time''. Yes, this means that the events of that movie are considered canon to the original three series. Paradox first appears in the [=5Ds=] world, to everyone's shock including Yusei and Antinomy, and ends up stealing Stardust Dragon. Next he enters GX world and we actually see him steal Zane's Cyber End Dragon and Jesse's Rainbow Dragon, while Jaden and Yubel look on. Attempting to use Stardust Dragon to kill Jaden, he ends up saved by Yusei, who managed to travel to the GX world himself. The two then surmise that he'll be going to "Yugi's era" next...but they don't specify ''which'' - DM or DSOD.
** With Paradox's Raid Duel event, it's confirmed that he ends up in the ''DM'' era, which as stated by DSOD Kaiba is merely a memory simulation of characters from those events. To corroborate this, it's shown that ''only'' Jaden and Yusei recall dueling Paradox before. Both Yugi and Yami Yugi act as they did in ''Bonds Beyond Time'', having no idea who Paradox is. Though the 3 protagonists end up working together again to stop Paradox, this raises even more questions, particularly about the DSOD world, and also about how all of the other spinoff series worlds may or may not be connected.
** The biggest StoryArc bombshell, however, happens should Pegasus challenge Paradox. Pegasus uses his Millennium Eye to peer into Paradox's mind and read his memories, being shocked by the future of the Meklord Emperors. This also, however, allows him to confirm to Paradox that his version of history is not the same as Pegasus's, or rather, ''this'' incarnation of Pegasus. As the DM era follows the manga canon and it is considered a simulation of the past per DSOD Kaiba, this means that DM's version of Pegasus was killed by Yami Bakura during Duelist Kingdom, rather than surviving as in the anime. His differing fates are contributing factors to the timeline that would end up shaping the worlds of GX and [=5Ds=].
** The end of Paradox's event also drops another important lore detail that explains why certain characters have dialogue when using cards from different continuities: Duel Links is overlapping dimensions and giving them memories of those alternate timelines, hence why some characters are confused about having cards they never used in the manga or anime continuities, but now suddenly recognize them here. Both little Yugi and Yami Yugi have a discussion in TheStinger regarding this, confirming that they did not recognize Jaden or Yusei at first, but then they were suddenly granted memories of the anime timeline. They also corroborate Pegasus's confirmation of him being dead in their timeline, saying that he "went missing" after Duelist Kingdom. However, this also presents a new problem: they don't know where ''this'' specific Pegasus comes from. Duel Links Pegasus claims of "no longer existing" are technically correct, but him "no longer existing" also happens in numerous other realities such as the ''R'' manga and ''Reshef of Destruction''. Furthermore, Yami Yugi suddenly states to little Yugi that he feels as though a mysterious force is manipulating things from behind the scenes, believing that "something" is pulling his strings.
* The oncoming dimensional crisis only gets worse with the end of Rio's unlock event confirming something that's been foreshadowed for quite some time - ''the Barian Emperors are coming''. Vector, Alito, Girag, Dumon, and Mizar are preparing to invade ''Duel Links'', and with them comes the possibility of a revived Don Thousand. Both Shark and Rio, themselves the Barian Emperors Nash and Marin respectively, are ready...but so are the Arclight family, with Trey and Quattro both seeming quite eager to make the Barians pay for what they put their family through.
* The addition of ''VRAINS'' world is set to repeat much of the tragedy that series entailed, being a DarkerAndEdgier take on the franchise already. The story is confirmed to take place after the end of the series, with the scene of Ai awakening again actually being a StealthPrequel to the events of the game. Playmaker states that he is aware Duel Links is NOT a part of Link VRAINS, and that when he entered this new world, he suddenly found himself with a fully-resurrected Ai, even though it shouldn't be possible after his death in Season 3. Even stranger still is that this "new" Ai remembers everything, including the events of Season 3 where he became the main villain. Playmaker surmises that sooner or later, Varis will discover this world and seeing that the Ignis have potential to be resurrected will attempt to recreate the Tower of Hanoi in order to exterminate them.

* The oncoming dimensional crisis only gets worse with the end of Rio's unlock event confirming something that's been foreshadowed for quite some time - ''the Barian Emperors are coming''. Vector, Alito, Girag, Dumon, and Mizar are preparing to invade ''Duel Links'', and with them comes the possibility of a revived Don Thousand. Both Shark and Rio, themselves the Barian Emperors Nash and Marin respectively, are ready...but so are the Arclight family, with Trey and Quattro both seeming quite eager to make the Barians pay for what they put their family through.

** With Bakura from the ''Dark Side of Dimensions'' time, should he challenge Yami Bakura at the Gate, Yami Bakura actually reacts to his presence. Despite Seto making it clear that if not all, the ''Duel Monsters'' Duelists are digital replicas of said Duelists, Yami Bakura reacting to his host from the distant future implicates that even the copies of the past have a mind of their own. Or, perhaps, something potentially worse: that the evil of the Millennium Ring is ''that'' powerful, to the point where no amount of defeats it suffers, no matter the incarnation (Yami Bakura, Dark Master Zorc Necrophades, or even Corrupted Aigami[=/=]Dark Diva), can truly stop it. It simply ''is'', and has found a way to manifest itself once again. It should be noted that Yami Bakura also has an interaction with both Sera and Aigami.

** The end of Paradox's event also drops another important lore detail that explains why certain characters have dialogue when using cards from different continuities: Duel Links is overlapping dimensions and giving them memories of those alternate timelines, hence why some characters are confused about having cards they never used in the manga or anime continuities, but now suddenly recognize them here. Both little Yugi and Yami Yugi have a discussion in TheStinger regarding this, confirming that they did not recognize Jaden or Yusei at first, but that they were suddenly granted memories of the anime timeline. They also corroborate Pegasus's confirmation of him being dead in their timeline, saying that he "went missing" after Duelist Kingdom. However, this also presents a new problem: they don't know where ''this'' specific Pegasus comes from. Duel Links Pegasus claims of "no longer existing" are technically correct, but him "no longer existing" also happens in numerous other realities such as the ''R'' manga and ''Reshef of Destruction''. Furthermore, Yami Yugi suddenly states to little Yugi that he feels as though a mysterious force is manipulating things from behind the scenes, believing that "something" is pulling his strings.

** The end of Paradox's event also drops another important lore detail that explains why certain characters have dialogue when using cards from different continuities: Duel Links is overlapping dimensions and giving them memories of those alternate timelines, hence why some characters are confused about having cards they never used in the manga or anime continuities, but now suddenly recognize them here. Both little Yugi and Yami Yugi have a discussion in TheStinger regarding this, confirming that they did not recognize Jaden or Yusei at first, but that they were suddenly granted memories of the anime timeline. They also corroborate Pegasus's confirmation of him being dead in their timeline, saying that he "went missing" after Duelist Kingdom.

** With Paradox's Raid Duel event, it's confirmed that he ends up in the ''DM'' era, which as stated by DSOD Kaiba is merely a memory simulation of characters from those events. To corroborate this, it's shown that ''only'' Jaden and Yusei recall dueling Paradox before. Both Yugi and Yami Yugi act as they did in ''Bonds Beyond Time'', having no idea who Paradox is. Not to mention Pegasus confirming that he does not exist anymore, considering that he is dead in the manga version. Though the 3 protagonists end up working together again to stop Paradox, this raises even more questions, particularly about the DSOD world, and also about how all of the other spinoff series worlds may or may not be connected.

** With Paradox's Raid Duel event, it's confirmed that he ends up in the ''DM'' era, which as stated by DSOD Kaiba is merely a memory simulation of characters from those events. To corroborate this, it's shown that ''only'' Jaden and Yusei recall dueling Paradox before. Not to mention Pegasus confirming that he does not exist anymore, considering that he is dead in the manga version. Both Yugi and Yami Yugi act as they did in ''Bonds Beyond Time'', having no idea who Paradox is. Though the 3 protagonists end up working together again to stop Paradox, this raises even more questions, particularly about the DSOD world, and also about how all of the other spinoff series worlds may or may not be connected.

** With Paradox's Raid Duel event, it's confirmed that he ends up in the ''DM'' era, which as stated by DSOD Kaiba is merely a memory simulation of characters from those events. To corroborate this, it's shown that ''only'' Jaden and Yusei recall dueling Paradox before. Both Yugi and Yami Yugi act as they did in ''Bonds Beyond Time'', having no idea who Paradox is. Though the 3 protagonists end up working together again to stop Paradox, this raises even more questions, particularly about the DSOD world, and also about how all of the other spinoff series worlds may or may not be connected.

* Adding on to the potential worries of a dimensional crisis? The appearance of Paradox from ''Bonds Beyond Time''. Yes, this means that the events of that movie are considered canon to the original three series. Paradox first appears in the [=5Ds=] world, to everyone's shock including Yusei and Antinomy, and ends up stealing Stardust Dragon. Next he enters GX world and we actually see him steal Zane's Cyber End Dragon and Jesse's Rainbow Dragon, while Jaden and Yubel look on. Attempting to use Stardust Dragon to kill Jaden, he ends up saved by Yusei, who managed to travel to the GX world himself. The two then surmise that he'll be going to "Yugi's era" next...but they don't specify ''which'' - DM or DSOD.

* Adding on to the potential worries of a dimensional crisis? The appearance of Paradox from ''Bonds Beyond Time''. Yes, this means that the events of that movie are considered canon to the original three series. Paradox first appears in the [=5Ds=] world, to everyone's shock including Yusei and Antinomy, and ends up stealing Stardust Dragon. Next he enters GX world and we actually see him steal Zane's Cyber End Dragon and Jesse's Rainbow Dragon, while Jaden and Yubel look on.

** Yuto's unlock event all but confirms Declan's worst possible fears of a third coming of Zarc. When Yuto arrives into Duel Links, he's suffering from amnesia and has to slowly gain his memories back. Then at the end, it's finally revealed that even though he's still technically one with Yuya, the two are considered separated within Duel Links and he's able to manifest much like the other LivingMemory characters seen previously. This also confirms that Yugo and Yuri will also be making an appearance in the future, and once all four pieces of Zarc are assembled again, the man himself will appear.