Chapter 10: Incompleteness
Sunlight streamed through the empty window. Kai woke up and found himself lying in a rather comfy bed. In another bed next to him, Kaito laid complete covered in bandages. How did I end up here? A large shadow loomed over the window and blocked out most of the light.
Throwing the sheets off, Kai was anticipated an attack from whatever was outside the window. After waiting for a few moments, he looked outside the window and saw a familiar figure. "Ancient Fairy Dragon, it has been a while."
You seem to be healthy enough. Please accompany me to the edge of the forest.
"But … What about him?"
There are spirits tending to him carefully, so there is no need to worry. Besides, I believe you are seeking explanations about your powers. I will try to explain as best as I can. Get dressed and meet me outside. Ancient Fairy Dragon moved away from the window and light once again bathed the room.
Examining his body, Kai found out that he felt the same wounds Kaito suffered, but he didn't have any physical marks and injuries. Kai donned the black coat he had grown comfortable wearing over the past week. I didn't expect to be wearing this for so long, but it feels like a part of me now.
Kai walked through the door and found himself squinting in the bright light. Ancient Fairy Dragon was waiting amidst a field of flowers. There is someone I need you to see. We can talk on the way there.
"Wait, you said you were going to explain my powers."
Right now, your powers are still incomplete. In order to fully understand, I'm going to explain from the beginning… Souls have the ability to transcend dimensions, but rarely does it ever transfer to the physical body. That makes you a special case.
"So, you have realized I've come from a different world?"
Actually, it is more complicated than that. At one point in time, you were originally from this world, but your soul traveled to a different dimension and now it, along with a new body, has returned.
"If that is the case, then what about Kaito? Are we the same person, or different?"
This will be confusing at first, but you and Kaito are actually two different people, twins to be exact. Have you ever heard of the legend of El Dorado?
"The city of gold? Nobody has ever found it, though there have been proof of its existence."
That's because it no longer exists; it turned to dust long ago. It collapsed after the reign of the greatest leaders in its history.
"Then why bring it up?"
Because you are directly associated to it. You are the reincarnation of the city's greatest sage, and Kaito was your brother. Though you may have forgotten, the memories are still there in your soul.
"So, what happened to the city?"
Long ago, twin boys were born to the ruling family. At an early age, one became king and the other was head priest. Though they were young, they possessed judgement and wisdom that surpassed even the elders. The city enjoyed a short period of prosperity during their reign, but that ended after the darkness began to encompass the world.
That darkness was even stronger than the Earthbound Immortals; it was fueling their revival. In the end, the twins were able to seal the darkness away, but at a high price; many lives were lost, including one of them. The surviving twin repaired the damage wrought by the darkness, but he died young. Rulers that succeeded them contributed to the decline of the city, until it collapsed altogether. Greed tore the city apart, just like what is happening to the world currently.
"Are you telling me history will repeat itself?"
That it will. The true darkness once again has begun to spread, destroying all light in its path and leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. Let that thought be a reminder of exactly why we cannot give in, no matter how difficult. We have arrived at our destination.
The valley was lush and green, except for the large, shallow crater that appeared. It was barren, no life grew within its boundaries. At the center, six large pillars stood. They appeared to be made of solid hunks of blood red crystals.
As Kai approached one of them, he noticed that they gave off a dull heat. Before Ancient Fairy Dragon could stop him, he put his hand on the nearest pillar. Images began to flash through his mind. They were his father's final moments. When Kai withdrew his hand, it was surrounded by a red light.
He made a fist and placed it over his heart; the red light turned into fire. A card appeared in his hand; it was Scar Red Nova Dragon. This was my father's card … His Burning Soul. Looking up towards the sky, Kai held the card close to his heart. Father, did you give this to me? I promise, I will continue moving forward, as that is what you would have wanted.
Ancient Fairy Dragon approached him and said, That has never happened before. Everyone else who tried to touch the pillars were thrown several feet out of the crater.
Kai asked, "Is this where …"
Yes. Your parents made their final stand here against the darkness. They sacrificed their lives to seal the darkness away underneath those pillars.
"How long will this seal hold?"
… That is something even I am uncertain of. It was supposed to last thousands of years from past experience, but it became unstable after losing the power to maintain itself.
"Do you mean … from the Ener-D reactors?"
No; that's what we initially thought, but that is not the case. Do you ever wonder why no one could Synchro Summon anymore?
After inhaling a breath, Kai rattled of information that he had been forced to repeat countless times, " 'With the collapse of the old reactor system, a new one was created and established. However, there were unforeseen difficulties. Since all dueling activity had commenced on the old system, the data had to be transferred to the new one. Once that happened, researchers discovered that Synchro Summoning was incompatible with the new system. The changes had already been implemented widespread, so the problem could not be fixed. In due time, people began to adapt and we now have the working system we do today.' I had a gut feeling that this was false information, but I don't know what was fueling my suspicions. There was no real proof of this, so I kept it to myself all this time."
You were right to trust your instincts. In a last ditch effort to weaken the Signers, the darkness sealed away Synchro monsters. At first, it did not appear to have any effects, but upon closer inspection, we discovered that Synchros were what maintained the barrier, keeping it from crumbling. We spirits have been hard at work, trying to preserve it, but we are running out of options. Since you humans had no idea what was going on, the government tried to keep its citizens from panicking by giving them that information, while at the same time not knowing what is truly going on.
"Well, it seems like I'm going to have to do something about it now, or else it will be too late. Since I have to power to release them, maybe-" He would have said more, but that was when Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon entered the scene.
Ancient Fairy Dragon announced, Now is not the time to be rash, Kai Atlas. You don't know what kind of toll your abilities will have on you, especially when you are still incomplete.
Kai was confused, "What do you mean incomplete?"
You only possess half of a soul.
A look of disbelief crossed Kai's face, "Can that even be possible?"
I know what I'm saying is hard to believe, but please hear me out. It is possible because it has happened before. There have been two cases throughout what you would call the entire human history. Only extremely strong souls can endure the separation, and that is what you have. That may be the key to overcoming our challenge of the approaching darkness.
"Even if what you said is true, how does that help? It just seems that there is now an endless chasm in front of me that I can neither go around nor cross."
Do not be hasty. I only said you possessed half of a soul, not missing. It is possible for you to regain it. That is the reason why I brought you here, to give you a chance at mastering your true powers. If you can overcome it, then humanity may stand a chance against the darkness.