The gentle summer breeze blew through spacious grass fields, full of blooming flowers. Enjoying the peaceful weather, groups of spirits gathered by the lake and in the forest clearing surrounding the castle. There stood the black dragon with neon green markings, watching over his people. Everyone seemed so happy; a sight he had wished to see for so long.
It hadn't always been like this.
Before the spirits roamed freely through the world, nothing to fear as only they lived there. Then human-kind appeared, and at first it seemed that they could live together in harmony. For many decades, they did just that. Both spirits and humans taught the other group the unique things they knew, living off of the equivalent exchange and sharing the same world.
But then humans figured out what more they stood to gain from the spirits. They discovered their weaknesses and soon began to enslave the spirits, who were too wounded by the betrayal to fight back. Spirit-kind suddenly became a greatly desired prey, none spared by the humans who hunted them. They were used as hard labor or kept as prizes to be shown off by those they had once trusted.
Soon, humanity began to fight against itself, using enslaved spirits as their weapons. For the spirits, that was the last straw, and they were forced to abandon their teachings of peace in order to save themselves. A few of the more powerful spirits came together, gathering their own army to fight back. Their leader was none other than the most powerful dragon among them – The Supreme King Dragon Zarc, along with the four groups of spirits who stood behind him.
First were the Magicians, a nation of powerful spirits skilled in all types of magic. Next were the Neo-Spacians and Crystal Beasts, unique beings who excelled at close combat. The nation of Signers was likely one of the strongest; comprised exclusively of dragons, skilled at fighting the masses, they were led by another powerful being known as the Crimson Dragon. Lastly came the Numbers, a nation built of all kinds of spirits, capabilities encompassing the skills of the other three, filling in any gaps.
As word of the rebellion spread across the world, there were even small groups of humans who joined their cause. Zarc, having known and trusted them since before the battle started, made them generals at the head of the four armies, hoping to restore the world to the way it once was. . . But their ideals were far from reality. The humans would rather perish in battle than release the spirits from slavery and return to the previous lifestyle. As time went on, there was great destruction on both sides with no distinct result. Human-kind was dying, and so were the spirits; yet the world was still the same.
With no other solution, Zarc fell back on his very last resort. It took time, but the plan eventually gained the approval of all of his generals as well as Ray, his royal advisor who, though she was human, held the spiritual En powers. The dragon king began to rampage through the world, mostly among civilians. He did this not to commit mass murder, but to plant fear in the human king. Everywhere he went, chaos followed; a simple message to the rulers of the towns.
Release the spirits and our kind will never interfere again.
At last, humanity gave in to their fear and released the spirits. Just as Zarc had promised, he gathered all the freed spirits and simply disappeared from the face of the earth. With Ray's help, he created another realm within the world, one where spirits could finally roam free. His kind was finally safe again and with humans out of their lives, so they withdrew from the humans'. His loyal generals helped to arrange the new world, so every spirit citizen could feel like home. Those who were injured or traumatized from their slavery could recover properly. As for the few who chose to roam the human world, Zarc allowed it, for he was a just ruler, and listened to every request of his people. While he did not stop them, he warned of the need to be careful, as human-kind began to hate the spirits and everything related to them.
Things finally started to look alright, as he could see right in front of him; watching a group of child spirits picking flowers and listening to the songs of the birds. His kind was happy and they had their own world to live in.
But still. . . deep down, he was missing something.
Having dedicated his life to the fight for their freedom at an early age, Zarc hardly noticed as the years passed; war was the only thing he'd known growing up. He never knew what true childhood was until he saw innocent kids, playing in the cities he visited. He never knew what the love between two soul mates was until he saw couples holding hands and kissing. And he never knew what having a family felt like until he saw families spending time together.
"Your Majesty, your generals are here for a meeting," two voices called from behind Zarc, bringing him out of his thoughts.
He turned to see two of the three most trusted spirits in his entire domain. They were of the Magicians, Stargazer Magician in white clothing, his black-attired partner being Timegazer Magician. The third member of his loyal group, Astrograph Sorcerer, was currently attending to business in another part of the kingdom.
"I should get going then," Zarc said as his body began to shrink, rendering him about the same size as the Magicians. He had learned to take a human form soon after accepting humans into his ranks. By the gods, he had made a good choice. His generals were perfect in every way and he wouldn't replace them for anything. They all believed in his ideals, and supported him in every way they could. Despite being humans, they all cherished both the spirits and their own kind, seeking the very harmony that Zarc himself strove for.
He followed his aides-de-camp into the throne room, very spacious to accommodate spirits of all sizes. Its great volume made his generals seem much smaller as they bowed to him in greeting. On the very left were the generals who had led the Magicians, now in charge of the Pendulum area of Zarc's kingdom. Their trusted partners, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl were right behind them, showing their respect in the same manner. Next to them were the former leaders of the Neo Spacians and Crystal Beasts who now ruled Fusion. Also with them was the spirit Yubel, who acted as their bodyguard. Moving on, there was the ex-leader of the Signers, now ruling the Synchro region with many members of his family. His partner, the spirit Stardust Dragon, had managed to fit in the throne room and was now patiently waiting for the meeting to adjourn. Last but not least were the generals who previously led the Numbers, one of them bowing on the floor with the other floating by him as he did the same. Now, as well as the two sub-nations of Astrals and Barians, they ruled the XYZ district of the kingdom.
"Please begin," Zarc stated simply, taking a seat on his throne as the Gazer Magicians stood to each side.
The generals began to discuss the latest changes in each part of the kingdom, and how could make further improvements. They also reported on the things happening around the human world, informed by the spirits who had decided to live there. Each general added a thing or two and Zarc listened to all of it. In the end he gathered all the information with the help of the Gazer Magicians - who had helped him record the meeting - and advised them as to what the best course of action was. He also listened to all additional questions and suggestions, promising to give them a thorough look as soon as he had the necessary information. The generals then thanked him and left the castle in order to return to the domains they ruled.
The Pendulum rulers were having their Magicians perform a teleportation spell, the Synchro ruler was already seated on Stardust Dragon's back, and the XYZ rulers were about to merge. Then one of the Fusion rulers called them back.
"Zarc is hurting," he said, all the other generals halting their travel preparations to listen to what he had to say.
"What do you mean, he's hurting? He welcomed and bid us farewell with a smile," the XYZ ruler blinked in confusion.
"I don't think it was a sincere smile." The Synchro ruler crossed his arms, having gotten off his dragon.
"Is it what we feared it would be?" the two Pendulum rulers asked, nearly in unison.
"I'm afraid it is. . . Zarc's heart is sinking down," the Fusion ruler said, tone quiet. "Besides the Gazer Magicians, he doesn't have anyone in the whole kingdom that he could call a family. Yugi has Atem and his group of friends waiting back in Pendulum, along with all of the loyal spirits. Yusei has an entire family of Signers, including all the dragons. Yuma and Astral have each other, along with their Astral and Barian friends. And me? I have Johan and Yubel. . . Zarc has no one and I hate having to see him like this."
"You're right, he did so much for me and my Aibou." Atem nodded, throwing an arm around Yugi's shoulders.
"If it weren't for him, I would never have met Mou Hitori No Boku and learnt to become stronger," Yugi added.
"I could never meet Stardust and the rest of the Signers without him." Yusei petted his dragon whose head nuzzled against him.
"It's thanks to him that Astral and I will never be separated again." Yuma looked down.
"And I owe him for saving me from the shadow of my evil self. Without him, Yubel and Johan would never have found their way to my lost soul. . ." Judai said, clenching his fists. "Right now he might be fine, but I can see him slowly sinking into depression, just like I did when I was alone. Something must be done."
"But what can we do? You're saying he needs a family, but we can't just magically give him one," Johan pointed out, making the others think.
"He needs someone he can protect who will heal his broken heart in return," Astral said, remembering how much he had changed since meeting Yuma.
All their gazes were directed at the balcony where Zarc had, as always, come after their meeting. He would revert to his dragon form and stared dazedly at the view offered from his castle. They would certainly see him in the same spot if they were to come back tomorrow, or the next day.
Zarc's goal had always been to create the perfect Utopia for his people, but now that he'd succeeded, he didn't know what to do.
Judai was right; he was hurting, hurting from emptiness in his heart. With all the generals agreeing to the plan, they went their separate ways. But instead of returning to their kingdoms, they headed for the earth.
To search for something what would make Zarc happy.
