Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts

Previously:

I drew my card and ordered my attack. "Now my trusted monster!! Destiny's eyes are gazing down upon the field. Your sword will bring everlasting justice to the wrongdoers, and your shield will protect the innocent from harm of this cruel, unforgiving witch. Attack with Sword of Light! Destroy Namine and the rest of her Life Points!!"

And that, my friend, was the last thing I completely remember before my mind went pitch black, and I was sent on a journey unlike any other...

Introduction: Aman, the Great Soul

There was an old saying that the Wanderer had heard only one time in his life. "The worst enemy is not always what is in front of you. Sometimes, the worst enemy can be yourself." At the time he had heard it, he had been little more than 21 years old, and completely oblivious of the world around him.

He was a reckless man, always roaming around like an ignorant child, never heeding to the warnings given to him. There was not a day in his life that he did not regret that attitude he once possessed, and all the trouble it brought him later in life. Little did anyone realize, but he had been 21 his entire life and he had not grown at all since then…

A long time ago, when the world was created, an unknown force created the substance known as Essence, a magical creative force that resided in all living things. Every human, every plant, every animal, even all the bacteria and scum in the world, possessed a tiny bit of Essence. It was nothing, yet it still existed. Essence was very similar to energy; it could neither be created nor destroyed, and every time a being died, the Essence lived on by passing to other life forms, making them stronger and fueling them with more Essence, allowing it to grow and expand. A heart and a soul were all it needed to change shape, take a new form complete with a distinct personality, various emotions such as love, hate, anger, fear, and a beautiful mind, so it could think for itself. If one had a strong will and harnessed the power of his heart, removing himself from all connections of the world, including his friends, lover, children and family, they could channel the Essence from their body and use it to create life, or to destroy it. But no one has the power to do that. No one is truly capable of removing themselves from the chains of memories. Except one man.

The unknown force also created a powerful soul, one that was capable of harnessing the power of Essence to its true potential. Armed with special tools, one to collect the Essence, the other to destroy it, the soul would take the form of certain bodies, being reincarnated over large spans of time to collect the Essence for himself, until it would be used for a certain purpose.

This would happen 7 times. The soul was known as "Aman", a word that means peace. A quite fitting title, as the soul's life cycle would come to represent. As the soul traveled on Earth, it took different names and different purposes.

The first was "The Creator". He used the Essence to create the world, bringing life to the land and filling it with lush green and incredible creatures. He would live for about 1 millenium, stuck in immortality until the time would come when he was no longer needed and his purpose had been fulfilled. He was killed when the waters began to flood his land, and his sacrifice undid the damage the flood had created, reviving the humans, animals and plants, with the Essence in his body. But the Essence remained, and the soul passed on…

The second was "The Leader". He helped the misguided ones walk on the path of righteousness, when they started killing each other through war and stealing the riches of the land, to help them control the Essence inside them from tearing them apart. He would live for about 1 millennium, stuck in immortality until the time would come when he was no longer needed and his purpose had been fulfilled. He was killed when the people accused him of murdering a prince, who had secretly planned on killing the Leader in order to rule the world; however, The Leader killed him first, and when he was executed, his Essence helped revive the warriors slain in battle, and undid the destruction they had caused. But the Essence remained, and the soul passed on.

The third was "The Painter" He helped bring Essence to the people, through his mythical paintings and sculptures that allowed it to grow and take shape in them, so they could create life in the things they did. He would live for about 500 years, stuck in immortality until the time would come when he was no longer needed and his purpose had been fulfilled. He was killed out of greed, when two artists began to get jealous of his words and murdered him out of anger and rage, and when he died, people saw the beauty he created and used it to fuel their lives with love and spread his influence throughout the world. But the Essence remained, and the soul passed on.

The fourth was "The Conquistador". He helped a continent be discovered by the rest of the world, allowing its riches to be shared by the entire world, and so prosperity could be shared by everyone, staying on the continent in secrecy to ensure this purpose would be realized. He lived for about 300 years, stuck in immortality until the time would come when he was no longer needed and his purpose had been fulfilled. He would die naturally, when the continent had been recognized by the world and become a safe haven for all, making him the only one of the 7 to die that way. But the Essence remained, and the soul passed on.

The fifth was "The Watcher". He did not do much during his reign; he merely collected the Essence of those who had passed on, allowing the world to live on its own, without his assistance. He lived for about 300 years, stuck in immortality until the time would come when he was no longer needed and his purpose had been fulfilled. The world slowly began to crumble under his feet, and he painfully watched as the humans killed each other and the world, allowing disease to plague the land and themselves, destroying all the Essence had created. But he could not do anything to stop it, as his destiny was written to not do anything until his next birth. He died by means of disease, and as he laid in bed, the young baby who would one day become his successor cooed next to him. That was the last thing he saw before his death. But the Essence remained, and the soul passed on.

The sixth and current holder of the Essence is "The Wanderer". Currently, he is preparing the world for its demise, creating clues and a legacy for his seventh and final birth. He does not always follow the path of righteousness that his previous births traveled, instead trying to fulfill his purpose by any means necessary, using the darkness in his heart to achieve those aspirations. He has only lived for 100 years, stuck in immortality until the time comes when he is no longer needed and his purpose has been fulfilled. While he also watches the worlds like his previous birth, he is not completely stationary. He writes about the plagues of others lost in darkness, trying to warn the world about the terrible future to come, without directly telling them. In this he was partially successful; his novels and articles, published anonymously with the help of several colleagues, helped rally small peace movements and widespread discussions across the world, though they were not powerful enough to make drastic change. But it was a start. One of his novels, The Speed of Darkness, was about a man whose life had been ruined by global warming, and subsequently set about to stop it, though it ended tragically for him and his daughters. The novel was critically acclaimed, though it did not win any awards. But that didn't matter; at least he knew that somewhere, someone was hearing the words he had spent years preaching and moaning over.

It had been a long time, but the Wanderer felt it was only yesterday that the mysterious meeting that had changed his life. But that was a thought to dwell on for another time…

At the moment, he had to dwell on the more pressing issue: Yugi Muto. He had heard countless stories that had boggled his mind in the last 30 years. But this one was by far the most convoluted. "I mean, come on!!" He thought out loud. "Magical castles that enslave people's memories and holograms that transport people to other worlds! What kind of idiot does he take me for?" This was the part where Yugi got up and threw the jar of pickles at his head. But he didn't even so much as wiggle his pinky. For one, the pickle jar wasn't even near him; he had placed it in the Notebook with the Essence to save for later. Two, he had passed out about ten minutes ago…

Flashback

"And that, my friend, was the last thing I completely remember before my mind went pitch black, and I was sent on a journey unlike any other…"

Yugi paused for a minute to catch his breath. When he was finished, the Wanderer spoke for the first time since the last time he had broken the fourth wall. "What exactly happened after you declare your attack? And why did Fu-"

But he could not finish his question. For as soon as he started to mention the glaring flaw in the Fusion Guard that Namine had played, Yugi suddenly collapsed in the dirt. Reacting quickly, the Wanderer walked over to where Yugi was and begun to shake him. "Yugi? YUGI?! Wake up, pal! You have a story to finish!"

Yugi did not respond. He just lay in the Wanderer's arms, his eyes lifeless and closed, his skin mildly hot, partially from the strange weather in this world, but mostly from the strain of memories on his shoulders.

Losing hope, the Wanderer pushed Yugi to the side and kneeled on the ground, unsure of what to do next.

End Flashback

The Wanderer sighed. This job wasn't easy sometimes. Until Yugi regained consciousness, the darkness would not let the Wanderer leave. Of course, he could use his teleportation gun to leave immediately, but if he did that, then there was a strong possibility that some of this world's darkness would follow him in the form of Heartless and either bring him back or endanger the worlds. And he couldn't risk that.

Besides, he had lost his cards in the duel with Yugi; he needs them back for later journeys…

But, there was one thing he could do. The Wanderer had tried this once before, when Yugi had difficulty recollecting his troubles in the castle. It could be costly, he thought to himself, but I must see this story through to the very end.

The Wanderer needed friends. Very badly. Not as if he was supposed to, however…

He went near the fire and picked up the Notebook and Pencil, which he had discarded for a minute. Then, he opened his Notebook to where he had left off.

The duel had apparently ended when Yugi attacked Namine with his Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning. But he didn't know if Yugi had won or lost; Namine still had a few face down cards, but whether or not she used them was what the Wanderer needed to figure out.

So he walked over to Yugi's unconscious body and, very slowly, began to stick the pencil in his left ear, making sure not to damage his eardrums in any way. His Essence began feeding into the pencil, and the Wanderer used it to his advantage. Concentrating, he imagined the pencil to be longer and narrower, and with a pointier lead. At once, a white Ectoplasm-like substance engulfed the pencil and changed it according to his wishes. The pencil narrowed until it was as sharp as the sword of a Musketeer, as and the length passed his hand, he moved his fingers back to the eraser end and gently pushed the pencil further through Yugi's ear, and to his brain.

Now one may have thought it queer for a man using magical powers to lengthen his pencil and push it into another man's ear. But there was an important reason why this was happening…

Yugi was no longer capable of telling the story. Upon further investigation, The Wanderer realized that the physical injuries suffered from the Heartless had incapacitated him, and his stress levels had reached unimaginable heights. He didn't have all the answers yet, but The Wanderer knew not to disturb him in his healing phase. Yugi was not dead; he could come back to consciousness at any time.

The Wanderer just didn't know when. And he wasn't keen on finding out.

The point reached the outside of Yugi's brain. Only one single push remained between Yugi's deepest, darkest memories and the all-powerful Pencil, a tool that could reveal those memories and free Yugi from his torment forever.

With a single, quick movement, the Wanderer pushed the pencil into its insertion point, closing his eyes in preparation for what was about to happen…

To be continued...

Well, this was certainly unnessecary blabbering. Or maybe not. It may have been a boring chapter, but it did provide us with some more background information on the Wanderer. Why this is important? You'll just have to keep on reading to find out!

Keep reading, !

Next time: Meeting of Destiny: Sora, Riku and Kairi!