Within the confines of the Black Wings, the sacred artefact made by the Hikari family, two figures hovered in a blurred, dream-like atmosphere that was neither black nor white but a combination of the two, a blended swirl of hazy, misty colour. Light and dark merged together, not just in the surroundings, but in the two figures that drifted there.

One had a shock of spiky purple hair that fell in long, thin strands and deep purple eyes. He wore a high-collared black jacket over a black shirt, fastened with three black, silver-edged buckles, his long black pants similarly fastened with a single buckle and accompanied by black shoes. Huge black wings extended from the figure's back to frame his body, keeping him suspended in the air.

The other figure, by contrast, had long blonde hair held up in a high ponytail, a long strand of hair hanging between his golden eyes. He was clad in swirling white robes with gold lining, over which he wore a small white poncho with a high collar, also lined with gold and fastened by a black clip. Under his robes, he wore white trousers and white shoes. His wings were much like those of the other figure, though they were pure white.

The two figures were complete opposites in appearance and attitudes, and at that time they were fighting, just as they had constantly for the past year. On occasion, the seal placed on them would weaken, and it was during this time that they resumed their battle. When the seal regained its strength, however, they would have to cease their fighting for a long while. They both knew that if one of them were to ever find peace, he would have to defeat the other. It was an endless fight that neither side could ever hope to win.

"We're not getting anywhere, Krad," the purple-haired figure said, dodging as the blonde-haired figure - Krad - lunged at him, missing his target and soaring past, using his wings to bring himself to a halt and turn to face his opponent.

"That is true, Dark Mousy," Krad replied, his words formal but harsh, spitting out Dark's name and lunging at him again, arm raised and body tensed and ready to attack. This time he hit the mark, his arm smashing directly into Dark's face, sending him spiralling backward. "But a good opponent should not let down his guard, lest he give in to defeat at the hands of his enemy." His lips curved upward in a cruel smile.

"You're right," Dark replied, recovering, "so you should be more careful." Within seconds he was right in front of Krad. "I'm really getting tired of this fight, you know." He launched a series of punches at Krad, his fists striking his opponent rapidly and relentlessly.

Krad seemed helpless under the intense pressure. But then, as Dark continued his attack, smirking, he was blasted by a sphere of golden light. It had struck him in the chest, directly at his heart, and he screamed in agony as he fell back, giving Krad a clear opening to attack. Dark took a few hard blows before managing to dodge, flying away from Krad, assuming an offensive stance. He held out his hands, in which a tiny, purple ball of energy began to form.

"Let's end this, Krad!" he yelled, as the energy sphere rapidly increased in size, haloing Dark in a deep purple. Opposite Dark, Krad was creating his own ball of energy, his second sphere of golden light.

"Yes, Dark Mousy," he agreed, though not with the same meaning.

Their energy spheres continued to grow in size, just as they had during each and every one of their battles. It was these attacks that usually, with their unbelievable power, knocked both of them unconscious. But this time, the two of them built their attacks to be much stronger than ever before. They both wanted this battle to end, right there and then, and they were willing to put their own lives on the line to do it. They had nothing to lose.

Dark's energy surrounded him, encasing him in a sphere of his own purple light. Krad's energy did the same, his golden light forming a circle around him. It was when the two spheres began to overlap that they released their power.

"Take that!" Dark yelled, thrusting out his arms and sending the purple sphere, now too large to see properly, straight towards Krad.

"Goodbye, Dark Mousy," Krad shouted bitterly as he performed the same action, unleashing his full power at Dark.

As the energy spheres met their targets, both Dark and Krad screamed out in pain. These attacks had always been unbearably painful, but this was different. This time, they were ready to end their fight, even if it ended their lives.

The sound could barely be heard over their anguished screams. It was a strange sound, one that only Dark noticed. A soft cracking sound. Though he heard it, Dark was in too much pain to pay it any attention.

As their screams grew louder, so did the sound. The cracking became a shattering, and soon it was ear-splittingly loud. Dark and Krad, still screaming, covered their ears to try and block out the deafening sound, but to no avail. It just kept growing louder and louder until its volume surpassed even that of their screams.

As the noise became louder still, the atmosphere was becoming blindingly bright. Dark and Krad both squeezed their eyes shut, but it made no difference. Dark's vision was filled with nothing but brightness, and he knew the same thing was happening to Krad. With his ears covered from the shattering sound and his eyes shut as tightly as possible, Dark waited for the painful sensations to subside.

Then, as quickly as they had come, the sensations were gone. Dark opened his eyes hesitantly, slowly removing his hands from his ears. He knew that Krad was gone; he could no longer feel the presence of his arch-enemy. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a large dark room. Then he noticed it.

In front of Dark was the Black Wings, the living artwork created by the Hikari family of which he and Krad each made up one half. Dark wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had sacrificed himself to seal Krad in the Black Wings, thus becoming sealed inside it himself, but he knew it had been quite some time. He looked up at the artwork from which he had been created.

The Black Wings resembled a disfigured human skeleton, a stump with protruding spikes acting as its left leg and nothing at all in place of its right leg. It wielded a sword with a hexagonal hole near its tip which was connected to the skeleton's right eye through a cord running from its handle. The sword was held in place at the skeleton's back, in a cylindrical shape that acted as a sheath of sorts. The artwork also had two large black wings on its back, and its skull was cracked along the middle. Dark knew that, whenever he and Krad were sealed, the crack disappeared. This detail only confirmed Dark's suspicions; the seal on the Black Wings had been broken. I wonder how that happened, he thought to himself.

But he didn't have time to think about it. He felt a strange sensation that reminded him of a vacuum's suction. That's what the odd feeling felt like - as though he were being sucked into something. He was going so fast that he couldn't see anything, just whirling air all around him. He felt like he was being pulled along a certain path leading to who-knew-where, and he could feel a presence at the end. A presence that was familiar, and yet one that he never thought he'd never encounter again. It was his real other half that he sensed, not Krad, but someone who'd become so important to him in such a short amount of time. It was Daisuke Niwa.