Episode 2: The Ritual King – Part 2 (Ethan)
So, here's where we were so far. Brandon's LP was on 3000, while mine was on 800. I had one monster, my Barbarian, on the field while he had three Succubus monsters on his side. Finally, I had two face-down cards, my face-up Cursed Urn, and one card in my hand. And it was these cards that were going to save me. Or at least keep me alive for one more turn.
"Hell Temptress, destroy his monster!"
She came in for the kill, and with 2200ATK, she would wipe out my Barbarian's 2100ATK. At least, normally she would. But I wasn't in the mood to lose just yet.
"I activate my trap card, Ruined Alter," I said as the card lifted up, revealing an old alter in a broken down temple where the jungle had begun taking over. "This card allows me to choose up to two monsters on my field. My Barbarian is the obvious choice, because he's my only monster." I took out my deck, looking at it, picking a card from it and shuffling the deck before putting it back. "Now, if there is a ritual card in my deck that needs this monster specifically in anyway, like say this card, Alter of Mount Arreat, which needs a Barbarian monster to activate, I can send it to my graveyard and gain five hundred life points."
My LP went from 800 to 1300 and I looked at Aiden, who seemed to have stopped crying. He also seemed to have gotten some colour back in his face, but I wasn't too sure if I was imagining it, or if the LP boost helped him as well.
"So what, you still lose with those life points," Brandon/Nihlathak said.
"The life points weren't the point." I said, activating my second face-down, a quick-spell card. "This was: Reverse Ritualist. Now, normally rituals use monsters. This card is the opposite. If there is a ritual card in my hand, on my field, or in my graveyard, I can remove it from play. And if there are any monsters on the field that the ritual needs specifically, they get a six hundred point power boost 'til the end of the turn."
"What?" Brandon/Nihlathak yelled.
I grinned as I removed Alter of Mount Arreat from play, my Barbarian's ATK climbing to 2700. Plus, Brandon/Nihlathak's attack was still in motion, so when his Hell Temptress was on my creature, he used his axe to tear her to pieces, taking Brandon/Nihlathak down to 2500LP.
"Any other moves?" I asked, and Brandon/Nihlathak said growled.
"I end my turn," he said, not making another move.
"You go Ethan!" Selena screamed.
"Shut it, girl!" Brandon/Nihlathak yelled.
She smirked. "Didn't think he'd be this much trouble, did you?"
"It doesn't matter. He'll be gone soon."
"I doubt that," I said, drawing a card, the perfect card. "I activate Monster Reborn, bringing my trapper back in defence mode. And when she's summoned to the field, you know what that means. I can add one trap from my deck to my hand."
"Yes, but you can't use it this turn," Brandon/Nihlathak said.
"True. So I'll just attack."
"Wrong," Brandon/Nihlathak countered. "You cannot attack a Succubus monster except my Vile Temptress. But I have two of them, so their effects protect each other, which means you can't attack at all."
"Good point," I said, looking at the two cards in my hand – one a trap card that I couldn't use, and the other one the trap I got from my Trapper before. "I lay one card face-down and end my turn."
"My move." He drew. "I activate Demoness Ascension. Now, I can tribute one Succubus monster on the field and summon another one from my deck provided she is exactly one level higher. So out with my level four Vile Temptress and say hello to Succubus – Stygian Harlot!"
This one looked exactly like the others too, the only difference was that her skin was now black. Besides the ugly face, something else was wrong. I had seen Brandon use this monster before, and I knew her attack was 1900.
"Why does she have twenty-two hundred attack points?" I asked.
"Forgive me, didn't I tell you? When a monster is summoned with Demoness Ascension, the monster gets three hundred extra attack points. Now, Stygian Harlot, destroy his Barbarian!"
Which she did, coming in, taking my creature out and dropping my LP by 100.
Brandon/Nihlathak laughed. "It's done. I win!"
I looked at the field, not understanding at all. "Hold on, your Vile Temptress has the same attack as my Trapper's defence. She can't win."
"Yes, but she's not attacking," Brandon/Nihlathak grinned. "You see, when there is another Succubus monster on my side of the field, Stygian Harlot can attack twice."
"Oh no…"
"Oh, yes! Stygian Harlot, destroy his monster!"
"I said no," I replied with a smile as I pressed a button. "I activate Shadow Blade Shield. You see, this card can be equipped to a Viz-Jaqtaar monster. When it is, if that monster battles with another monster, the other monster loses attack points equal to my monster's attack points."
"What!" Brandon/Nihlathak screamed.
"That's right," I said as his monster hit, and his LP dropped by 700 to 1800. "The good news for you is that while your card's attack dropped to nine hundred, my monster was in defence mode. So your monster survives. Also, the effect only stays 'til the end of the turn."
He growled. "I place one card face-down."
"Looks like you've ran out of luck," I said as I drew, looking at the card. "And now out of time. I activate Decree of the Ritual King. This card allows me to bring one ritual card from my deck to my hand."
I searched my deck. The last two times I searched it, I saw a card that I could use. And I found it, bringing it to my hand. Then I stopped and simply stared. I looked at the card and wondered if I was ready to play it. If all went well, I'd end this duel. But at what cost?
"What are you waiting for?" Brandon/Nihlathak snapped.
"Do it, Ethan," I heard a faint voice say.
It was Aiden.
"Do it, Ethan," Aiden said, looking at me, his eyes red from cry, the saddest expression on his face. "Beat him. I'll be okay. Just do it."
"What is he talking about?" Brandon/Nihlathak asked.
"He obviously knows the effects of Decree of the Ritual King," I said. "You see, while it allows me to bring a ritual card to my hand, I can only use it next turn unless…"
"Unless?"
"Unless I sacrifice one thousand life points."
There was silence for a moment, but that was quickly broken as Brandon/Nihlathak roared with laughter.
"Go ahead!" he shouted gleefully. "Use it. Drop your life points to two hundred, and damn your brother. Because the pain will be scarring."
"Do it, Ethan," Aiden said, and the forced a little smile. "I'll be okay."
I was stuck. If I used this card, I would harm my brother, and there would be consequences for that. But if I didn't, there was a chance his soul would get taken. I mean, I don't know everything about Brandon's deck and my defence was pretty solid with my Shadow Blade Shield on the field, but even so, if he drew one right card, that would be the game. I had no choice.
"I'm sorry, Aiden…" I said, and Brandon/Nihlathak went pale, as though he thought I wouldn't go through with it. "I give up one thousand life points to activate my ritual spell: Trials of the Viz-Jaqtaar."
Aiden yelled in pure agony as my card activated. I just wanted to grab him, put myself in the way of the pain, take it for him. But I couldn't, and we all simply waited for the screaming to die out. Tears rolled down Selena's face and I couldn't bear to look. So I stared at Brandon/Nihlathak, who was almost shaking, staring at my card as it activated. I don't think he even noticed the boy screaming. Finally, Aiden's screaming died down… and Brandon/Nihlathak's started.
"What does it matter?" Brandon/Nihlathak shouted, panicking. "You have one monster and one card in your hand which I know is a trap! What are you going to sacrifice? Or does your ritual monster only need four stars. In which case, how strong could it be?"
"No, you're right," I said after his rant. "Normally, I'd need to sacrifice monsters whose levels are equal to or higher than the monster I'd be summoning. But, even though the monster coming out is a level seven, I don't need seven stars. No, this ritual is very specific. To make it happen, I only need to tribute one Viz-Jaqtaar monster who has been equipped with the Shadow Blade Shield."
My trap and Trapper were both absorbed into the ritual spell and after a bright flash of power, she emerged, my ritual monster, the creature that would win this duel. She was covered in dark grey armour, but it looked so new it was practically shining. The armour was thick, spiking out at points like the shoulders and black into rigged spikes, or curved blades. Speaking of blades, she held two of them, big and curved, jagged too, and looking sharp as ever. ATK2400. She landed on the field and I couldn't help but smile.
"Say hello to my Viz-Jaqtaar Blade Master!" I said proudly.
"And say goodbye to it!" Brandon/Nihlathak said. "I activate my face-down card."
"I don't think so," I countered. "The second my Blade Master entered the field, all traps you had became useless."
"Well then it's a good thing it's not a trap. It's a quick-spell."
"Then that's not happening either," I said, much to everyone's surprise. "I still have my Cursed Urn on the field."
"So what?" he asked.
"You don't know? Well, it's not just a pretty urn. You see, Cursed Urn traps a magic or trap card. But, if it's destroyed, the card goes back to the owner's hand. However, if it stays on my side of the field for two stand-by phases after it has trapped a card, the card becomes mine to use anytime I wish. All I have to do is send Cursed Urn to the graveyard. And you remember what card is in it, right?"
I removed Cursed Urn from the field and the hologram shattered, revealing Brandon/Nihlathak's No Mana card.
"I use No Mana to stop and destroy your spell card." Which it did, much to his dismay, leaving him with a priceless expression of shock and horror. "Now that that's over with, how about I tell you a few things about my Blade Master? First off, I can activate her special ability, which allows me to cut the attack of every one of your monsters down by twelve hundred points."
"What?" he shouted as blades burst from my Blade Master's armour, impaling themselves into both his monsters, taking Stygian Harlot down to ATK1000 and Vile Temptress to ATK400.
"Don't feel too bad though," I said. "My Blade Master has to do this to every monster on your side of the field. And for every monster affected by this, she loses four hundred attack points." I watched as her attack points lowered to 1600. "Plus, she has to attack every monster on the field. But that's okay, because she can win. And so can I. So first, I'll wipe out your Vile Temptress."
My Blade Master moved faster than expected, slicing the Temptress into pieces, taking Brandon/Nihlathak's LP down to 600.
"Now, attack his Stygian Harlot!"
"NO!" Brandon/Nihlathak shrieked as my monster came in for the kill.
She chopped his monster to bits, and with that I took a long, deep breath. His LP had hit zero.
"NO!" he yelled, dropping to his knees. "No, I won't go back."
He got up and began to run, but before I could move, the shadows around Aiden moved first, like a demonic fog, chasing him. They hit him before he could reach the end of the alley and pulled him back in as he screamed for mercy. The screams grew and I could practically taste his pain as the shadows surrounded him, drowned him. Then the screaming stopped and the shadows spat Brandon out, before slowly, but simply, dispersing. Suddenly, it was light again, and everything felt normal. Like it was all a dream. But when I looked at the three people in front of me, I knew it wasn't.
"You did it, you won," Selena said.
But I didn't care about that. My best friend and brother were sprawled on the floor, so I ran to the latter, hoping with all hope that he was alive.
"Aiden," I said in a panic. "Are you okay?"
"Yes…" he said weakling, falling asleep. "I'm fine…"
He passed out, and my panic flared. I picked him up, ready to move. "We need to get him to a hospital."
"No, they cannot help," Selena said. "Free me and then get him inside. I may have some remedies that I could use to heal him up."
I got up and untied her and, with the look of gratitude she had on her face, I thought she was actually going to kiss me. Her wrists were bruised badly. She must have been tied tightly and for quite a while. She moved towards Aiden, checking his pulse.
"Ethan?" I heard a groggy voice.
"Brandon!" I said, moving for my friend.
He tried to pull himself up, but he looked weak, pale, shaking slightly. I grabbed him helping him up, watching him as he looked around, dazed and confused.
"Where…" he began. "Where am I?"
I had no idea what to do. "Well, that's, um, a long story. I guess."
"Wha–" he began, then his eyes went wide. "We dueled, didn't we? Nihlathak!"
"You remember?" I asked.
"It's not surprising," Selena explained. "Those who have been possessed have been known to still be connected to their senses."
"Ethan…" Brandon said, looking at my with an expression of… guilt? Sadness? I really couldn't tell. Then he asked, "Where's Aiden?" before seeing the boy. "Aiden! I'm so sorry." He tried to move for him, but as he stood, he fell. But I managed to catch him. "Aiden… I…"
"Everything will be okay," Selena assured us. "Just help me get him inside."
We waited a good half an hour in silence as Selena tended to Aiden in the next room. I watched Brandon. He was no longer pale, or shaking, but there was one problem: he couldn't look me in the eyes. He looked everywhere – my shoes, his shoes, the ceiling, out the window, at the door – but he couldn't bring himself to look at me. After what happened, I couldn't say I was surprised. But still, it wasn't exactly his fault.
"Listen, Brandon–"
Selena entered before I could say anything more, and she closed the door behind her, looking at the both of us, and then stopping on me, smiling slightly.
"He's good," Selena said. "He's just resting up."
"Good," I said, smiling back. But then I guess I frowned, because she did too, and I said, "So… mind telling us what the hell that was?"
"That was you passing the test, Gate Keeper," she answered and I felt as though everything had been cleared up…
"Going to need more of an explanation," I said.
She chuckled. I think it was my expression. Whatever the case, she went on to say, "I guess we should start at the beginning. I trust you know where duel monster's originated?"
"Yeah," Brandon answered. "In ancient Egypt."
"Yes," she said. "But you see, what many people don't know was duel monsters was spread throughout many civilizations throughout the world. Not just Egypt. There are many worlds out there, many creatures, and we bring them alive through this game." She gestured towards the duel disk which, I'm ashamed to say, was still on my arm. "And with each civilization, new destructive powers arose. The Three Egyptian Gods. The Three Sacred Beasts. These cards all followed great civilizations. And there was one civilization that controlled horrible creatures."
I stared at her, at her violet eyes, wondering where she was getting this stuff. Then I said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Here here," Brandon agreed. I smiled at him, but he looked away, ashamed. That bugged me a little…
Selena sighed. "Okay, let's tackle this another way. Have you ever heard of the Prime Evils?"
"The cards?" Brandon asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Yeah, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal."
"So I take it you know of the Lesser Evils too?" Selena asked.
He nodded. "Belial, Andariel, Duriel and Azmodan."
I was glad one of knew what the hell she was talking about, because those names sounded very foreign to me. Like Greek. Or Chinese. Or Aramaic.
"Good," Selena said to both of us, though why she directed at me, the guy who had answered nothing, was unknown. "Have you heard of the Uber versions?"
"The one's locked up at Industrial Illusions?" Brandon asked. "The one's on the level of the God Cards?"
"Yes, those ones."
"Does someone want to fill me in on what you're talking about?" I asked.
Brandon turned to me, and for the first time since he woke up, he actually looked at my face. But he seemed very uncomfortable with it.
"When Industrial Illusions started making new cards, they developed the Seven Evils," he began to explain quickly. "There was only one of each. But, Pegasus refused to even let them out of his sight. However, people wanted to see these new cards. Some even tried to steal them. So in a very strange move, he developed weaker versions, and called them Aspects. Each Evil has a specific quality to them. So, the uber Andariel card is known as Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish. However, this is the weaker card."
He took his deck out of his duel disk and handed me a card. I didn't bother examining the picture, I just read the name aloud.
"Andariel, the Aspect of Anguish."
"Exactly," Brandon, like I had cracked a code. "All of them are like that. Andariel, the Aspect of Anguish. Duriel, the Aspect of Pain. Belial, the Aspect of Lies. Azmodan, the Aspect of Sin. Mephisto, the Aspect of Hatred. Baal, the Aspect of Destruction. And Diablo, the Aspect of Terror. For the uber versions, the extremely powerful, level-of-the-God-Cards versions, just replace Aspect with Lord."
"Good, you know quite a bit," Selena said, clearly not seeing the confused look on my face. "Now, what if I were to tell you that they are not just cards?"
"I'd laugh at you," I said, because I honestly didn't know what else to say.
"Well start going hysterical ," she replied, "because while the Aspect cards are fine – you even have one in your deck – the original ones are dangerous."
I didn't want to ask, but I did anyway. "Dangerous how?"
"They hold the spirits of the Seven Evils," she answered as though it were obvious. "The reason Pegasus refused to release them was because he was never going to. In his search into the past, in an archeological dig, Pegasus stumbled upon the Seven Evils. He broke the seal that kept them imprisoned. To make up for his mistake, he created the seven cards. Then a group known as the Horadrim, the keepers of the seals, helped him trap the spirits within the cards before they could find appropriate hosts."
"How do you know all this?" I asked, really starting to think this was the most elaborate prank ever played on someone in the history of the world.
"Because I was one of those Horadrim," she answered simply. "And when we cast the spell to seal them, we thought it was over. That was a year ago. But now, the cards have been stolen. And they've fallen into the hands of seven humans who the spirits have managed to possess."
I laughed a little, leaning on the one deck. "So let me get this right. Seven monster cards that were based on seven real demons are now possessing people?"
"Yes."
"Okay," I began, gathering my thoughts before continuing with, "After what just happened out there, I might be inclined to believe you. But why is this my problem?"
"Because you are a Gate Keeper, and the Ritual King."
"That narrows it down."
She smiled, clearly not put off by my skepticism. "You see, the people who originally summoned the demons were seven powerful warriors whose clans waged war with each other, all for different reasons. These wars went on for decades. Because there was no end in sight, one of the seven decided to summon an Evil. No one knows who made the first move, and no one cares, because the other six followed suit. The seven warriors were known by seven distinct titles: the Mad Spiritualist, the Lone Wolf, the Trap Master, the Blacksmith, the Spell Caster, the Monster Tamer and the Ritual King."
I began rolling my eyes, but it seemed Brandon was actually taking an interest in what was being said, because before I even got halfway way, he was asking, "So what happened?"
And Selena complied. "A war that was bloody enough became even worse as the Seven Evils were used to destroy. But the Evils were no one's pawns and they escaped the clutches of the seven warriors. The Evils threatened to destroy the world. In order to stop this, the seven warriors and their clans put aside their differences and fought the Evils. After a long, arduous war, the seven rose victorious and imprisoned the Evils. After that, the seven became famous, legends among their people, and they were known as the Gate Keepers."
"That's all well and good," I said. "But I don't remember imprisoning any demons, so you must have the wrong guy."
"No." This chick just didn't quit. "You see, the Gate Keepers lived thousands of years ago. But their spirits are eternal. They are reincarnated every few years in order to ensure that if the Seven Evils ever awakened again, they'd be there to stop them. The Horadrim was created to ensure that the Gate Keepers were found. And here you are, because that time has come."
I couldn't believe it when the words escaped my mouth, but I actually asked, "What exactly can I do?" and then immediately thought about slapping myself.
"Win. In duels. Against the Evils. You and the other Gate Keepers. I have already contacted four of them. You are the fifth. If you can defeat the demons in Shadow Games, you can cast them back into the dimension where they were imprisoned."
I stared at her for a moment, then at Brandon who was now over his fear of looking at me and just blatantly staring. Then I looked back to Selena and ran through everything she said. From the Prime Evils, to the Lesser One, to the seven warriors and their clans and something about a pegasus. After all of it went through my head, after I had gone through it, connected the dots, and realized that what she was saying may be true, I came to one solid conclusion.
"I'm going home," I said, turning on my heel.
"Wait, man, are you kidding?" Brandon yelled, jumping in my way. "What about the Evils?"
"What about the Evils?" I asked.
"You have to stop them!" he exclaimed
I chuckled. "You can't be taking her seriously?"
"How can you not?" he asked, clearly confused, even more clearly disappointed. "Were you not at the last duel? There was another guy in my mind, controlling everything! It wasn't a trick, Ethan!"
"Even if it wasn't, and I don't think it was, this has nothing to do with me." I turned to Selena. "I'm not your guy."
"Yes you are," she said confidently.
"How do you know?" I asked.
She smiled. "You won."
"By pure luck."
"That's not true," Brandon said. "I could see, Ethan. I could see the duel happening. You played like a pro."
Selena moved closer to us, a pleading look in her eyes. "Ethan, at least give me a chance. The others were skeptical too, but they have come to believe. Meet them. Come with us to fight the enemies."
"So you'd like me to just take off?" I asked. "And what should I tell my mom?"
"The truth," Selena said, handing me a flyer that, I swear, appeared from nowhere. "You see, we don't know who has the Seven Evils. But we do know they will be here."
I looked at the flyer quickly. That's all I needed. I could tell you what colour it was. What it was about. That the prize money was fifty grand. That it spoke of a boat and Blizzard Island. I knew everything on this flyer because I had been looking at it every day for the past three months.
"The Blue Jacket's tournament," I said, handing the flyer to Brandon.
"Yes," Selena answered.
Perfect, I thought. "I'm not a Blue Jacket."
"That does not matter." Not perfect I guess. "We have already gotten you in as one of the eight Green Jackets." Opposite of perfect. "Tell your mother that."
I grabbed the flyer from Brandon, handing it back to Selena with a stern look. "Listen to me. And listen to me closely. I don't care if the devil himself is about to make an appearance to this thing. I don't care that four other psychos believe you. I don't care about dueling or this tournament. So, in conclusion, I am not, by any means, ever, in a million years, getting onto a boat to Blizzard Island to fight some demons with you."
"How the hell did I get onto this boat!"
I was leaning over the side as I screamed out into the open, contemplating jumping over into the water. It was two days later, and we had just left the port on a beautiful, sunny day, and I wanted to cry. How did they convince me? What happened? Did no one listen to stern warnings anymore? God, I am such a sap!
"This is going to be epic!" Brandon shouted with glee, him a quarter of the reason I was on my way to Blizzard Island.
"I hate you," I said. "And all you stand for."
He laughed, putting his arm over my shoulder. "Ah, come on, man. It's such a beautiful day, and this boat is awesome! Just enjoy yourself."
"I'm going to enjoy throwing you overboard," I snapped.
"Ethan, Brandon." We turned to see Selena smiling at us. "The others are in the room. It is time to meet the other four Gate Keepers."
