Ryou nervously bit his lip as he stepped forwards. He could hear the throngs of angels and demons cheering and jeering from behind the heavy, wooden doors of the arena. His face was mostly hidden by the helmet of his brother's armor, but his white hair still showed through the side and back slats.
'No going back... I must to do this.' Ryou waited in the dark preparation hall, listening carefully. He felt hot and stifled. His feet and chest were wrapped in cloth- his elder brother's armor would never fit otherwise. He felt his stomach do several flips as the arena fell silent. Then, an announcement from the angel's high herald:
"Have you chosen your champions?"
Unaware of the last-minute change, Prince Yugi gave a rather stiff nod. Across the stadium, a dark shadow seemed to surround the opposite figure. The mysterious being also nodded. The demon king was cloaked in shadows- as he always was. It was rumored that only his closest confidants were allowed to see his true form. No one beyond his inner circle- demon or otherwise- had even seen his face.
Ryou listened, his stomach twisting as he heard the herald's deafening declaration: "The champion for the Underlands- 'Bakura!'"
Ryou peered through the slats of the heavy wooden doors. The combatant from the lower realms was simply known as 'Bakura,' but Ryou had heard of him. He was said to be a battle-hungry demon with little empathy for angels. And the look on his face seemed to support this rumor. An arrogant grin was showing on his sharp features, and his blood-red eyes radiated over-eagerness.
Yes, Bakura the warrior relished combat, and he was dying to square off against heaven's elite. There was no denying that demons loved to fight; but for some of them, it was almost vital.
The dusty battleground was soon stirred as the demon impatiently strode to the center of the sphere. He stood and waited with his arms folded stoically. The stadium voices on both sides grew more frenzied as the herald made his second announcement:
"The champion for the Overlands- 'Akefia!'"
Ryou felt like he might faint, but he stiffly stepped towards the opening doors. The massive arena seemed to be surrounded by a sea of rowdy onlookers. Far too soon, the small angel realized his feet had led him to the center of the ring. He gulped as he looked upon the foreign creature he was facing. But his fears shifted slightly as he noticed something odd. The demon in front of him had a strangely similar mane of white hair- most demons had darker colored hair. But the intrigued angel had little time to ponder this oddity- a loud trumpet sounded, signifying the start of the match.
Ryou raised his sword in the customary battle signal. The smirking demon copied his motion, and suddenly, the two were in combat.
Ryou winced as the demon's blows nearly struck the gaps in his armor. He forced himself to remember the meager training he'd received decades ago. The angel's original strategy of staying out-of-reach was quickly dashed. The slender scholar wasn't prepared to face such a fleet fiend.
The mismatched angel could feel himself quickly losing his breath as they moved. 'By the sky; he's too fast!'
Most demons were rather bulky in nature, and tended towards brute force. But this opponent was slim and skilled. It was all Ryou could do to avoid the lightning-fast blows.
There was soon jeering from the foreign half of the arena. Many of the demons were teasing 'Akefia' for dancing away from the enemy's strikes.
'If I can just avoid him a bit longer- maybe I can wear him down enough to- ACK!'
The unfortunate angel suddenly tripped over a loose stone on the battlefield. Without pause, the demon quickly brought his weapon down onto the angel's. There was a deafening *CLANG!* as the two blades clashed in a vicious show of power. The entire arena fell into a silent shock as Ryou dropped the sword. He had never been any good at battle training, and the well-timed blow caused him to let go of his weapon.
The demon himself was surprised, but he knew an opening when he saw one. The angel was trying to lean down towards the fallen sword, but Bakura would not allow him to retrieve it.
A powerful kick to the head stopped the angel. Ryou was knocked backwards by the force, and his mind began reeling in pain and confusion. Suddenly, there was a faint rumbling noise in the distance. It took the angel a moment to realize that something was horribly wrong. The demon combatant was staring at him in disbelief.
Ryou's helmet had fallen off. It rolled mockingly in the dirt; its shiny surface reflecting the image of a very scrawny, nervous angel.
The entire crowd fell silent. Every angel and demon knew that Akefia was an extraordinarily powerful angel; a warrior with dark skin, fiery eyes, and hard muscle.
This scrawny little imposter was obviously not Akefia.
It started as a dull hum, but eventually the entire audience began yelling in shock and outrage. The angels were horrified that something had (apparently) happened to their highest guard; while the demons were furious at what they took to be a colossal insult.
Prince Yugi was stunned, and his jaw nearly dropped in disbelief. 'No- Ryou?!' But his thoughts were interrupted by the furious howling of the demonic monarch.
"You dare insult us?!" The shadowy lord bellowed from the opposite end of the stadium. "You promised us that this would be a show of your best abilities, and yet you send a pathetic child to fight us?!" Though his face was still hidden, it was obvious when the demon king turned his attention to the field. He pointed one shrouded hand at the still-downed imposter. "What say you, 'great warrior of heaven'?"
Ryou managed to twist and shift his weight until he was on his knees. He kept his gaze aimed squarely on the dirty arena floor. He couldn't help but shiver as he addressed the demon king himself.
"Your grace, diplomatic substitutions are allowed under the current agreement between the realms. I meant no offense by my substitution; nor did my liege hold any awareness. It was foolish attempt at an obvious concealment, manufactured solely by myself."
There was an eerie silence as the crowd listened to this tiny angel. Thankfully, Malik was still (presumably) tending to the unconscious Akefia, and could not interrupt to correct his friend's statements.
Ryou's voice wavered only slightly as he spoke. "Yet I would not wish to drive our forces further apart by my rash actions." He bowed his head a little lower, his white bangs slipping over his face. "And so, I offer my life as a token for the treaty. To prove the sincerity of our commitment to any proposed truce."
Prince Yugi gasped in horror, but the other ruler spoke before he could.
"Interesting- but it would only dishonor our guardian to slaughter such a weak foe."
Indeed, the demonic fighter looked very irritated, as though the angel was a fly that refused to leave the room. The experienced warrior leered at the weaker male. He shifted his blade so the sunlight shone off the sharp, metal surface- a silent threat.
Ryou knew his actions would likely end in death if he was discovered. Very soon, that same blade would likely be buried in his own-
"I will, however, accept your offer." The Underlands King declared in a loud voice.
The little angel blinked in puzzlement. Was the demon lord planning to have someone else execute him? It would be quite unusual- generally, the offended (in this case either 'Bakura' or the Demon King himself) would be the one to carry out such a punishment. It was a common mindset in both angelic and demonic cultures. But apparently the dark ruler had something else in mind.
"You will be brought back with us, to our realm."
The entire crowd fell silent in disbelief.
Prince Yugi was horror-stricken. His jaw nearly dropped as he struggled to overcome his dismay. Eventually, the yet-to-be-appointed ruler cried out to the darker monarch. "What?! And why would you seek to bring one of our peoples to the Underlands?!"
"We've never had an angel in our realm before-" the demonic ruler paused before correcting himself,
"-well, not for more than a few days, at most."
Some of the warrior angels bristled- they had heard stories of the war prisoners who never made it back alive. The Underlands were a cruel place for beings of light.
"He will remain a living reminder of our agreement, and will be taken care of... as best as possible."
Prince Yugi knew that he was at a severe disadvantage- the ceremony had been irrevocably interrupted, and he was not officially the King of the Overlands yet. Plainly put, he was still just a prince; while the Underlands King was a true monarch. The former King, Solomon, could only watch in despair as well. He was even more powerless, as the stripping of his own title was one of the first acts of the ceremony. Right now, the upper lands had no true ruler.
And the demon king knew this. "You will be given five minutes to say your farewells, and then you will be held by my guards until we reach the dark portal."
Some murmuring began to build amongst the anxious crowd, but it was quelled when Prince Yugi appeared on the field. He nearly ran to his long-time friend, grasping his pale hands in his own as he spoke. "Ryou..." The young leader held back his tears as he tried to say a formal farewell. His voice hitched as he pleaded with his ally. "Please... do you really realize what you are doing? This cannot end well for you."
Ryou could hardly hold back his own tears as he hugged his long-time friend. "I chose this path- I must follow it. Please give my brother my regards. I pray he will understand, someday..." Choking up, the bereaved angel could only shake his head as he let go of his ally. "Fair skies, my liege."
"Fair skies, Ryou." The leader nodded with tears in his eyes as they exchanged the traditional angelic adieu. Prince Yugi and the other angels watched with despair as their young brethren was led to the opposite side of the stadium. There was a heavy wooden door, painted in black and covered with old, runic markings.
Behind that door lay a special ceremonial stone- a grey, circular carving of rock that was inlayed with very powerful stones. The magics of angels and demons from long ago had been forced into the stones, and now they had the power to rip across the very divides separating the realms. It was also the only way for the demons to enter the Upperlands without such travelings being treated as an act of war. The portal was only opened for very specific ceremonies- most of which only occurred once in a millennia.
"The portal only allows for two travelers at a time. You will be sent with my guard, Akage. Understand?" The enshrouded Demon King looked at the trembling angel with unusual consideration. The guard next to him, however, looked far less pleased by this arrangement, but didn't dare speak up.
"Y-yes, sire." Ryou nodded as he stared into the whirling, purple-black abyss that was the dark portal. He'd only heard stories about the entryway to the demon realm. Ryou swallowed reflexively as he was led up to the stones.
They hadn't been very pleasant-sounding stories.
The king looked over the guard, who had one hand firmly around both the angel's wrists. He nodded in approval and commanded, "Go."
The guard tugged on the angel's arms, and the pair stepped into the swirling fog.
The portal-traversing itself was very unpleasant experience, one Ryou wasn't eager to repeat. He felt his body being smothered and pressured as he was displaced by the eerie waves of eternity. There was an unnerving silence in the void, like the absence of all sound. Even his own heartbeat was muted in the supernatural space. His eyes took in nothing but the purple-and-black wisps of what looked like thin clouds.
Ryou soon felt nauseated, and he gasped as he felt his body hit something hard. The unearthly feelings vanished, and he almost felt a moment of joy before realizing that he was no longer amongst friends.
"Welcome to the Demon Realm." The still-hidden king added as he stepped gracefully onto the stone floor. "Your new home."