Ride 0: Prologue

"Dragonic Descendant attacks Inifinite zero dragon!" a young man with blond hair exclaimed. He was dressed in a casual red sweater, and was holding a few cards in his hand.

A holographic image of an impressive red dragon glided towards its opponent: another fierce dragon, decked out in steel armor. It roared ferociously, creating a shockwave, sending debris flying in all directions. However, dragonic descendant wasn't fazed and stood its ground. He then proceeded to attack by sending waves of flame towards Infinite zero dragon.

In return, another youth directly opposite him said, "Don't you see it's pointless? Just give up and go home…we have nothing to talk about. Guard! Meter liger and Stellar garage!"

In that moment, a strange metallic looking tiger and a humanoid in space suit of sorts appeared in between the two dragons, taking the blow from descendant.

[Meteor liger 10000+Stellar garage 10000=20000]

The blonde frowned slightly, and reached out to his deck. "Check the drive trigger…first check…" he then flipped the top card of his deck and it shone a brilliant yellow. The blonde declared, "Get! Critical trigger! All effects to descendant." A glow appeared on descendant, which indicated that he received a power boost.

"Second trigger check…no trigger."

[Eradicator, Wyvern Guld]

"That's not all…in order to knock some sense into you, I will break through my limits! Sword of apocalypse…I'll teach you what it means! Descendant's…limit break!"

A glowing red circle flashed around Descendant, which expanded and disappeared almost as instantly as it appeared. Descendant roared, as raw power surged through its body.

"When Descendant's attack does not hit the vanguard, I can counter blast 1," he said while flipping over a card in his damage zone, "and discard three eradicators," and dropping three cards into his drop zone, "to let Descendant rise again and attack once more!" The red dragon prepared his sword for another attack, lightning sparks dancing from the sword's tip.

Despite the sudden turn of events, the blonde's opponent did not seem worried at all. In fact, he chuckled, appearing to find the whole matter too amusing to be taken seriously. He shook his head, and said, "You still don't get it…maybe you never will. I'm not the one who needs to think straight. I chose this path…and nobody can convince me to go otherwise."

"Idiot!" the blonde exclaimed suddenly, while slamming his fist onto the table the two fighters were playing on. "Will no amount of words convince you to come back to us? To give up whatever idiotic plan you have in mind?"

This time, the mysterious man's smile dropped. He slowly plucked a card from his hand, and replied, "Don't talk as if you know what I'm going to do. This conversation is over, and the battle will come to an end soon enough."

"True, the battle is going to end…I'm the one who's going to end it! Go forth, Descendant!"

Just as Descendant was nearing Infinite zero dragon, a red light glowed and a shield appeared in the nick of time, protecting Infinite zero dragon.

"Perfect defence with Promethium."

Sweat beads appeared on the blondes neck, and he seemed to be getting desperate. "Check the drive trigger…first check…

[Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon]

(No! I got to get a trigger…otherwise, he will be able to defend against my other attack, and I can't hold out! Come on…) he thought while flipping over the second card. "Amph…no trigger…"

[Eradicator, Sparkrain dragon]

"The battle is over and you know it." The mysterious man chuckled.

"No, not yet! I can't fail…not like last time! With a boost from dragon dancer hsien, my rearguard thunderboom dragon attacks Infinite zero dragon!"

"Guard! Nebula Captor and Krypton intercepts!"[5000+5000=10000]

"I…turn end…" the blonde muttered.

"Good…time to wrap things up…this is it Ken…FINAL TURN!"

Ken took a step back, shocked at the power of his voice, and how confident his opponent sounded. However, he himself could slowly feel it: a sense of foreboding, and a great sense of fear. It was as if an icy hand was crawling up his back, and soon he could feel cold sweat dripping from his neck.

He wanted to say, are you crazy, there's no way you can finish me this turn…but for some reason, he also felt sure, no, it was as if he had already lost the battle.

"Stand and draw." The mysterious man said curtly. "Now…show him my….no, our power!" With a sadistic smile on his face, he raised a single card towards the sky and shouted, "The power of link Joker is infinite! Like the cosmos and universe themselves! Demonstrate that all who dares stand before us has zero power, and lock them into an eternal nothingness! Breakride!"

When he slammed the card onto Infinite zero dragon, light and sparks flashed in all directions, blinding Ken temporarily. The image of the dragon screamed in agony, as he slowly morphed into another shape. A horrible dark, crimson aura surrounded the player and his ace.

Laughing like a maniac, he exclaimed, "Now, image it! You, kneeling before our power!" When Ken opened his eyes, an image of a creature he had never seen before stood before him. He gasped and whispered, "Where did you get this terrible power?"

"Skill activate…lock…" the mysterious man said softly. "Lock…lock and LOCK!" ken turned around and to his horror, his units were all disappearing one by one, and in their places stood dark red orbs. He could only watch in dismay as his comrades were all locked by the fearsome creature.

"Can you feel it…the sense of helplessness…fear…and…despair? Watch as all your friends disappear, leaving you alone, as you realize…it's only a matter of time before you yourself get locked!"

"What are you talking *argh!" Out of the blue, Ken felt something tightening around his chest. It was squeezing him so hard, he couldn't even breathe. "No…" he said weakly, as he struggled. "Stop...ERIC!" he gasped.

When the sixth damage was dealt, Ken fell to the ground. His eyes slowly shut, with only darkness greeting him.

"GAHHHH!" Ken jumped up from bed, his whole body shaking in fear. He looked around, realizing it was just a dream…or more like a reminder. "Eric…" he said while clenching his fist.

"What's wrong?" A black haired teenager in his pajamas burst into the room and asked with concern.

"Nothing…I'm fine…its just…him."

Empathically, the teen said, "Don't worry…we'll get him back. That's why you gathered us right?"

"I know…thank you for reassuring me. It's time to get up anyway…and start our mission."