Episode 88: Hidden History Part 1

The Domain of Order, Undisclosed Location

Ma'at is sitting cross-legged on the ground of a chamber in the Domain of Order. He is in a state of silence, serenity, and focus. He takes a deep breath in, and then exhales slowly. Through the door behind him comes his aide. She comes in very quietly, careful not to make a sound.

Ma'at takes another breath. He then says calmly, "What have you come here for?"

The aide gasps. "I'm sorry my lord. I did not mean to intrude. I tried to come in without making any sounds."

"And you did not. I sensed your energy as you approached me. I have been practicing my meditation techniques. I find a certain sense of…clarity that is unavailable otherwise. I can also sense that you have something important to tell me. What is it?"

"Our scholars have been studying the history of Order as you asked. They believe that they have made a breakthrough."

Ma'at appears interested. He nods. "And what would that be?"

"As you already know, it is believed that some of the earliest followers of Order were the builders of Stonehenge. Also, as you know, the ancient Chinese are believed to be one of the earliest groups to follow Chaos, or at least a version of it with their Taoist beliefs of the yin-yang and balance. While these doctrines of Chaos seem to infest most of Chinese history, we have found evidence that when the builders of Stonehenge disappeared, they traveled across the world, eventually making it to China almost 2000 years later, just in time for the construction of the famous Great Wall. The scholars believe that much of their philosophy was put into the construction of the Great Wall."

Ma'at nods. "So, China, land of Chaos in ancient times, could in fact be a location of great secrets of the history of Order."

The aide nods. "It would appear so."

"I will look in to this right away."

The Great Wall, China

Ma'at is walking along the base of the Great Wall of China. He brushes his hand across its surface. He thinks, Okay, I'm here, but what am I looking for? There are archeologists who have studied this thing for thousands of years. What could I possibly find that they couldn't? He continues to walk along the wall.

He spots something of interest just ahead of him and walks towards it quickly. Engraved on the wall's surface is a yin-yang. He passes his hand over it. Hmm…an inscription of a yin-yang. That would not be consistent with the theory that followers of Order built this wall. He stops to consider something. Unless… He opens a portal of light on the surface of the wall. He walks through it and then reappears on the exact opposite sideof the wall. He examines this side and finds an indent in the wall. He feels it. This indent is on the exact opposite side of the wall from the yin-yang, just as Order is the exact opposite of Chaos. He continues to brush his fingers around the indent. The pattern of wear here is abnormal. There's no damage here, no piece fell out. This indent was built in here with the original construction!

Ma'at closes his eyes and focuses. Light energy begins to gather around his hand inside of the indent. The wall then seems to absorb that energy. The absorbed energy can be seen flowing through the spaces in between the bricks. The energy continues to spread until covers an area of about the size of a double door on the wall. Once the entire area is full, the bricks begin to glow golden and then recede into the wall, leaving behind an entry way.

Ma'at smiles. That's the exact same type of doorway that we still use today in some of our hidden facilities. He walks in the doorway.

Off to the side, hiding behind a bush is Valex Gi. He thinks to himself malevolently, Good job Ma'at. I knew that if I followed you here after tipping off your people, that you would find the hidden Temple of Order for me. Now you've just done the hardest part for me. The hidden knowledge of the Temple will be mine. He chuckles evilly to himself.

Ma'at enters a large, dark chamber. He holds up a hand, which becomes covered in energy, creating a glow that lights up the chamber. The first thing that is evident is that this is not a chamber, but a passageway, leading down underground. The walls seem to be carved with various ornate designs, none of which match the traditional Chinese style. Ma'at follows the passage down.

He walks for several moments. The dark passage seems to go on for quite a while. Suddenly a loud rumbling noise is heard. Ma'at slowly turns around, to see a giant, round boulder rolling towards him. Ma'at gives a quick laugh, then holds his arm towards the boulder and declares, "Be gone!"'

Another portal of light appears in front of the boulder, but then quickly fades out. Ma'at's eyes go wide and after a short moment of hesitation, he runs away from the boulder, barely managing to keep ahead of it. He tries several times to open a portal to escape through, but his attempts are in vain. As he's running, he asks, "What's wrong with my powers!?" Below him the passage opens up into a large chamber. Ma'at picks up speed and makes it into the chamber and dives to the side, allowing the boulder to roll past him harmlessly and crash into a wall.

Ma'at looks at his hands, which are still glowing with light. He observes, "So it would appear that these ruins somehow block any major uses of my powers. I can still manage a small manifestation, but I can't do any more than that. Curious." He looks around the room. It appears to be a small room that's a dead end. Nothing of any importance is anywhere in sight. "There must be more than meets the eyes to this room. There's no way a chamber like this would be so well hidden-" he looks at the smashed rock and adds, "and guarded, if this was it."

Ma'at sits down and crosses his legs. He then closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in, then out. The room is then shown from Ma'at's perspective. He is focusing on various aspects of the room with extreme detail. He notices the small clink of a pebble crumbling off the boulder. The drip of a falling water droplet near the entrance. Then he realizes that there is a slight flow of air coming from the direction of the section of the wall that was smashed by the boulder. He opens his eyes, gets up, and walks over towards the crashed boulder. He inspects the edges of it and finds that it actually broke through the wall, revealing another chamber, which is blocked from view by it.

Ma'at readies himself and says, "Alright, let's hope that I can still do this." He puts his two hands up against the boulder and they begin to glow intensely. Some of the light is transferred to the surface of boulder, which almost immediately begins shake violently. After a few moments of this shaking, it cracks apart and then shatters in many small pieces. Now in its place is a hole in the wall just big enough to fit Ma'at. He crouches down and moves on into the next room.

Ma'at now finds himself in a long hallway. He casually strolls down it. At the other end of it, a faint, eerie light can be seen. As he's walking, he suddenly rolls over his shoulders on the ground, barely avoiding a presumably poison tipped dart that flew by right were he was standing only moments ago. After only a moment, he has to jump up into the air in order to dodge another. He makes a break for it and runs forward, weaving and dodging, causing many consecutive darts to barely miss him. At one point he both dodges and picks up a broken floor tile in one fluid motion. He then uses the tile to shield himself from several more darts. Finally, he makes it to the end of the hall. The darts stop firing. Ma'at looks in front of him, drops the tile, and his face is covered with awe.

In front of him is an enormous chamber with high, vaulted ceilings, and Romanesque pillars. Ma'at is standing on a balcony half way above the floor of the room. In the center of the room is the source of the eerie light. It's what looks like a glass orb with swirling, glowing clouds of white and gold turbulently rotating inside of it that's floating in the air. Ma'at walks towards a ladder a climbs down it. Then, slowly, as if in a trance, Ma'at walks towards the orb. As he walks closer to it, the room begins to light up. There are golden orbs of light in each corner of the room that fill it with the light. With the light levels up, it can now be seen that this entire room is plated in gold. There are also further carvings on the wall.

Ma'at is now within arms reach of the orb. He reaches out towards it. Just as he's about to make contact, there's a flash of light. Ma'at is now standing in a large room. It is, for the most part, empty. On the opposite side of the room is a solitary bed. Someone is in it, but its too far away to make out any features. Ma'at walks closer. The man in the bed is rolled over, back facing to Ma'at. Ma'at asks, "Excuse me, sir?" No response. Ma'at reaches out and tries to tap the man on the back, but his hands pass right through him. He quickly recoils. "This must be some sort of vision brought on by that orb."

Just then, the doors to the room burst open. A man walks in, but not just any man. His face and hair is exactly that of Ma'at's. He wears silver and black armor, similar to that of a knight's, just missing the helmet. Perhaps most out of place is the yin-yang emblazoned on the front of his armor. He says in a voice that matches Ma'at's, "My emperor, what can I do for you?"

The man on the bed rolls over. He is in fact the last emperor of Old Yugoha, the father of Yu-Gi-Oh and Seto. However, he appears more weak and frail compared to the last time we saw him. He says weakly, "General Gallek…"

The Ma'at look alike shakes his head. "No, I'm not here for war purposes, call me Thoth."

The emperor shakes his head no. "Sadly, this is war business. My twin sons have been at war now for almost five years. And just as I have seen my empire crumble before my very eyes, I have seen my own body deteriorate as well. I am afraid that I will not have the opportunity to return peace to the realm built by my ancestors."

Thoth looks confused. "What do you mean sir?"

"I mean that I am dying and there is nothing that modern medicine can do about it. It's a miracle that I have lived this long."

"But sir, if you die, who will lead the Empire?"

"The empire is dead!" He looks down with shame. "At least in the form it once was. My time has come, the god Versal has told me." He beckons upwards, towards a statue of a gold and silver draganoid figure perched on the wall. Its overall shape resembles that of the Winged Dragon of Ra.

Thoth gasps. "That's not possible. Yugoha needs you!"

The emperor slowly shakes his head. "No, not any longer. As you already know, the god Versal, lord of reality itself, resides within the body of the chosen ruler of Yugoha. It must be passed from ruler to ruler, uninterrupted. Had one of my sons been clearly picked by the gods, then come this time, I would have passed on the spirit of Versal to them. I can not do that though, for even the gods do not know which of them should be the next emperor. Nevertheless, the spirit of Versal must be passed on. Thoth, you are the one I trust the most. You are the only general in my army who did not desert to join the Civil War. You were chosen as the Arbitrator of Chaos. You are the one most fit to reunite Yugoha."

Thoth is shocked. "What…what do you mean?"

"I mean that my time has come. I have mere minutes left to live and I need a successor. Both Yu-Gi-Oh and Seto trust you. If you had Versal on your side, I know you could put an end to this silly power struggle."

"I couldn't possibly. I'm not of royal blood. I wasn't raised to lead an empire, let alone save one!"

The emperor coughs. "That's too bad." He reaches out with one last bit of strength and grabs Thoth's arm. As soon as they make contact, a swirling field of gold and silver energy leaves the body of the emperor and surrounds Thoth's. Slowly, it is absorbed into him. The emperor releases him. "It is done. I can rest easy now. I know the empire is in good hands." he coughs again. "My only regret is that it was my own sons who tore our great empire apart." He looks Thoth straight in the eyes. "Please, tell my boys…that I love them…no matter what…" He collapses.

Thoth hangs his head. A single tear falls from his eye. With that, the vision ends. Ma'at is back in he golden chamber. He thinks, Yuni told me of Old Yugoha…could it be that I share a similar history as his?

Then the voice of Valex asks, "What did the orb show you?"

Ma'at looks up in surprise and sees Valex standing on the balcony. He demands, "What are you doing here!?"

"It's simple. I followed you. I've spent time searching for the Temple of Order, but have been unable to locate it myself. I decided that it was time to work smarter, not harder. So I gave your people a little hint on how to find this place. Sure enough, you came. And not only did you find the entrance for me, but you triggered all of the booby traps as well, saving me the trouble. I really should thank you."

Ma'at looks loathingly at Valex. "What is this place?"

"I already told you. It's the Temple of Order. Back thousands of years ago, when my people first visited your planet, and gave them the knowledge of Order, your ancestors built this temple as a repository of knowledge."

"And what about this orb? What is it? How did you know it showed me a vision?"

Valex jumps off the balcony and lands near Ma'at. "That is the Orb of Truth. It is an ancient relic that dates back to Old Yugoha. Despite their affinity of Chaos, the Orb actually powered by the Grand Order. It shows you hidden memories."

"But what I saw, those weren't my memories."

"The Orb works in strange and mysterious ways. Sometimes it will show the memories of others, if they are important to user. Other times it shows the memories of past lives."

"Past…lives…"

Valex walks past Ma'at. "Now if you'd excuse me, I claim this artifact in the name of the New Yugohan Empire."

Ma'at blocks him. "Not so fast. This orb is an artifact of Order on Earth, it belongs to the Guardians of Order."

Valex sighs. "I was hoping this would be easy. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Oh well, I guess that there's only one solution to our dilemma."

Ma'at nods. "It would appear so." Both Ma'at and Valex raise their arms and manage to summon their Duel Gauntlets, despite the block on their powers.

The New Yugohan Duel Computer states, "A one on one duel between Ma'at and Valex Gi is now beginning. Scanning decks…decks accepted. Commence dueling."

Valex states, "If I am correct, you took the first turn during our last duel. In the sake of fairness, I'll go first this time." He draws. I summon Spica, Herald of the Cult of Order (Light/Level 4/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK 1700/DEF 400)!" The summoned monster is a female form holding a staff. She is made of a glowing, silver light. "When I summon this monster, I can discard a card in order to add one Order Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand. I add Offerings to the Grand Order and Procyon, Enforcer of the Cult of Order. I'll activate Offerings to the Grand Order and tribute the Arcturus, Adept of the Cult of Order, which despite being level one, counts as the entire tribute, in order to summon Procyon, Enforcer of the Cult of Order (Light/Level 7/Warrior/Ritual/ATK 2600/DEF 2200)!" This monster is a mighty form of golden light. It holds a large, square shield in one arm and a long sword in the other. "Let's see what the Earthling version of the Deck of Order can do (Valex's hand: 2)."

Ma'at draws. "My version is the only version. I summon Kagemusha of Order (Light/Level 3/Warrior/Effect/ATK 1500/DEF 1000)." The monster wears a version of the Order armor that is reminiscent of feudal Japanese armor. It holds a katana blade made of light. "Now I activate Tempest of Order! Since I control an Order monster, I can send the top two cards of my deck to the grave in order to destroy all monsters you control." A storm of light energy begins to swirl above the field. A bolt of golden lightning is sent towards Valex's monsters.

Valex declares, "I activate the effect of Procyon, Enforcer of the Cult of Order! Since it would be destroyed by a card effect, I can negate your effect and then destroy a card you control instead!" The Enforcer swings its sword at the Kagemusha of Order and destroys it.

"When Kagemusha of Order is destroyed, it can pull out another Order monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack. I'll summon another Kagemusha of Order in defense mode." In a flash of light, another Kagemusha appears (Ma'at's hand: 4).

Out of nowhere, a mystic and mysterious, yet serene female voice says, "Why must you always fight my children?"

Ma'at and Valex look around the room in confusion. Valex demands, "Who's there!? Show yourself!"

The voice says, "Calm my child, calm."

Ma'at takes a turn to demand, "Why don't you tell us who you are first!?"

"Who I am does not matter. All that matters is that you are my children, and my children mustn't fight. Despite that, you and those before you have fought for millennia."

Ma'at questions, "What does that mean?"

As if to answer him, the Orb of Truth glows and both Ma'at and Valex are transported into another vision. They appear to be in the middle of a battlefield. On both sides, soldiers with futuristic weapons are clashing. Ma'at and Valex are standing in a relatively clear section of the field, with no one fighting in their general vicinity. Valex exclaims, "The Orb is showing us a vision!"

Two warriors step into the clear area from opposite sides. One is Thoth. The other is familiar, yet unfamiliar. He wears white and gold armor with the sword through a planet emblem of the New Yugohan Empire emblazoned on it. His face is reminiscent of Valex's. Thoth states, "So you are the Commander of Order."

The other, with a voice that sounds similar to Valex's, says, "Yes, and you must be the Arbitrator of Chaos."

Valex exclaims, "That's Gi, my ancestor and Mind Partner!"

Thoth declares, "Yugoha will never fall!"

Gi returns, "The Yugohan Empire is weak. Civil war has destroyed it. The Tyrian Empire will conquer what remains of the Yugohan Empire, and we will take our rightful place as rulers of the galaxy!"

Thoth grabs off of his belt something that appears to look like the hilt of a sword. He presses a button on its side and a blade of light and dark energy extends from the hilt. "Never!"

Gi activates a similar weapon, except purely of light. The two charge at each other and engage in a swordfight.

The vision ends. The voice says, "You have always fought. Is there no other way?"

Valex draws a card and declares, "No, there is no other way!"