So many reasons we believe,
(We see Evan, Elizabeth, Avice and Oni and standing outside the city and looking at the sunrise.)
in the good of every heart.
(Reiji is shown watching the same scenario from his office.)
No matter what the world,
(Kurosaki is shown dueling viciously in Neo Heartland City.)
may perceive as "truth",
(Serena appears in a corridor, remembering about Academia and the invasion of Heartland City.)
How do we know which road to take,
(Yugo is riding his D-Wheel through the frozen area of Quartet of Quandry, and Clear Wing flies over him.)
when temptation leads the way.
(A silhouette of Yuri and Starve Venom appear.)
Follow our virtue.
(A red, green, blue, and pink blade of a Duel Disk are ignited at the same time.)
Where it wii lead us .
(We see that the blades belong to Evan, Avice, Elizabeth and Oni respectively as they run off into the stadium.)
As the story goes!
(Shun, Ventus, Koharu and Levant are all dueling someone with Raidraptor - Rise Falcon, Heroic Champion – Excalibur, and King of Dreams, Hope standing beside their respective duelist.)
Shrouded in mystery!
(Nightshroud's mask, falls and the screens turns black before it shows the back of a Slifer Red student.)
Fate bestowing down upon me strength to carry through!
(A badly beaten Elizabeth and Tempest Sina stand alongside each other as they look up and see one red and one green pendulum swinging over them. Elizabeth smiles.)
Scarlet, hear me now!
(Evan and Avice look at each other, then they are replaced by Chrono Phantomus and Sola Starlit doing the same.)
This is my vow to you!
(Evan and Avice raise their hands simultaneously toward the sun.)
Light will shed hope on our forsaken souls!
(Two dots appear on the sun, slowly they grow larger, revealing themselves to be Chrono Phantomus and Sola Starlit who fly down from the sky.)
(As the instrumental goes are show shots of Yuya dueling Hikaru, Gong versus a hooded Synchro duelist, Avice versus Yugo and ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon roaring at Evil HERO Inferno Wing.)
Through every sign is pointing me away
(Elizabeth watches in horror as Berserk Phantomus brutally destroys several monsters)
the question still remains
(Elizabeth takes a step back and summons Tempest Sina with several Oracle Sister monsters.)
Are they visions that you see
(We are then shown that this whole scene happens in a ruined Miami City.)
in panic and uncertainty?
(Elizabeth sends Tempest Sina and the Oracle Sisters to crash with Berserk Phantomus and the ChronoDevils.)
Another voice is telling me to stay.
(Next, Evan and the Slifer Red student are standing back to back with their hoods on, Chrono Phantomus and the silhouette of a dragon, mimicking their respective duelist's stance in the background.)
Have faith inside of you.
(Avice puts a hand over her chest and closes her eyes.)
Don't run from the reality that stands before you.
(When she opens them again, she is dueling in the Miami Championship with Astral Angel Golden Knight by her side.)
Give me the wisdom to unravel every tangled thread,
(Elizabeth is holding both hands over her chest and a single tear runs down her cheek while Yuki, Sunny and Hema looks over her.)
running within my every vein.
(Avice is holding a white flower while the spirit of Sola Starlit has her arms wrapped around the girl.)
Save me from silence drowning me inside of my head,
(Oni is shown alone and on her knees with the spirit of her ace, Hallow Perla, trying to reassure her.)
before the remedy is forever lost again.
(Evan's eyes glow purple, Foxy and Wolfy stand beside him with their eyes glowing as well.)
As the story goes!
(Evan, Avice, Oni, Elizabeth, Koharu, Levant, Yuya and Shun are standing against a group of duelists lead by Hikaru and a boy in black armor.)
Fallen in history!
(Chrono Phantomus dodges Starve Venom's tail and pushes the dragon back as Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir flies in.)
Heaven shining down upon the courage to pursue!
(Cuts between Yuki and Sunny summon a monster in their respective duel; the former in a battle royal with Koharu, Serena and the hooded Slifer Red student, while the latter's duelist isn't shown.)
Scarlet, hear me now!
(A demonic Evan with glowing purple eyes and an angelic Avice with floating white hair are standing against one another.)
This is my vow to you!
(Berserk Phantomus and Sola Electraare shown with a dark and light aura respectively as their attacks hit one another causing the screen to turn white.)
Night will soon end on our forsaken souls!
(The screen zooms out to show a single white flower lying between Sola Starlit and Avice, and Evan and Chrono Phantomus, all of which are lying sideways underneath the night sky.)
In Pursuit of a Shadow
After the three versus four duel against the guys that stole Gongenzaka's sash, I thought that we could finally catch a break, but I knew little about how wrong I was to hope for that. As soon as we won, Levant called me and the news that he shared shook me to the core. Not only did Nightshroud, the strange man cloaked in darkness returned despite being destroyed by my brother, but at the same time, Evan disappeared without a trace and from what I was told the chances were that it was Nightshroud himself that came after my older brother!
At the moment, we didn't have any time to waste. I and Avice were running as fast as our legs muster back to the stadium for a briefing on the situation at hand. I knew that Evan's arrogance would get him in trouble one day, but I never imagined it to be like this. Hunted down by a Nightshroud who was able to put his life at risk during their last confrontation; I could only pray to whatever God or mighty power was out there to keep my sibling safe from any danger. It also didn't take us long to reach the stadium and Levant was already waiting outside for us along with Ventus and Oni.
"Wha… What's going on?" I asked them before catching my breath. This was a matter of life or death so I had absolutely no time to waste on small talk.
"Didn't you tell her about it?" Ventus turned toward his partner.
"I did, that's probably not what she means." Levant shook his head.
"Just give us the details on what you know our brother's life might be in danger!" Avice yelled at them; I wasn't fond of people raising their voice, but this was an urgent matter indeed.
"We already know how important this is!" Levant retorted. "But your brother isn't a main priority on this operation, so we don't know anything about him!"
I and Avice glanced at each other. If Nightshroud was roaming free and finding our brother wasn't a main priority, then what could it be? On all of our knowledge, this creature of darkness had only two targets on their list, Tracers – like us – and duelists from the Fusion Dimension. Using this logic, the only other priority could be…
"Don't tell me this is about a Fusion Duelist?" Avice asked the question that was stuck in my head.
"After we identified the duelist that carded others as Nightshroud, we tried to do the same with his victims." Levant crossed his arms. "After several hours of researching, LDS' team found their names and that they all were participating in the tournament, but there was no other information about them, the records showed that they all must have appeared out of nowhere in the last few months."
"So the Fusion Dimension has send more than one spy here…" Avice put a hand under her chin in thought. "But isn't Nightshroud eliminating the enemy's spies a good thing? Wait, don't tell me that Reiji wants to hire that bastard!"
"Oh no, no, no!" Ventus waved his hands. "If that was his plan, I would have voice my disagreement with it very loudly!"
"Reiji's plans are even more shocking than that." Levant replied and pulled out his Duel Disk. "In fact, he wanted to talk with you two about it, so let me just call him."
I really didn't like wasting any more time here, but it was possible that Reiji was going to tell us something helpful. Going for an alliance with Reiji and the LDS wasn't a bad plan on Evan's side after all, I just hoped that they could do something in return.
"Hello?" Reiji's voice came from Levant's Duel Disk. "Since you called me, I take it that the Greysons are with you."
"They are indeed, sit." Levant replied.
"Good, you probably have questions, but in order to save time I will tell you only the most important parts of what's going on. I knew that there was more than one Fusion Duelist send to our Dimension for some time now. I didn't expect them to send so many spies, and while Nightshroud helped out by taking most of them down, he is now starting to become a danger for my plans."
"What? Because he started to hunt down Lancers?" I asked.
"Not quite, Lancers are easy to replace, but there is someone in this dimension that could be a very valuable ally if I manage to convince her into joining our side." I was furious that Reiji called us replaceable, but I was still trying to listen to his words with reason and not anger; all for Evan's sake. "Our security cameras were able to get footage of another Fusion Duelist that lurks around the stadium. I was able to keep an eye at them, but I'm afraid that if the one you call Nightshroud is allowed to roam, he might attack this duelist as well."
"Wait, let's get clear here." Did I hear Reiji said it right? "You want us to protect a Fusion Duelist from Nightshroud instead of looking for our brother?"
"In short, yes. That's what I want from you." Reiji confirmed. "Looking for Evan Greyson might be futile, but it's possible to use the Fusion Duelist as a bait to get Nightshroud out. If your brother is still alive, it would be his attacker who knows where to find him."
There was some logic in it, clearly Nightshroud wouldn't put my brother somewhere where anyone could easily find him and since they haven't found a card with Evan's face on it, which meant he was still physically unharmed. Following Reiji's instructions would be indeed the best option for me and my sister. Problem was, where should we start our search from?
"Fine, we are in." I told Reiji. "But do you have any idea where we should start from?"
"Unfortunately, there is no recent footage to suggest where our targets are located." Reiji replied. "My teams are looking into the matter, if something shows up, I will make sure to inform the rest of you about it."
After that, the call ended and Levant put his Duel Disk back where he pulled it out from. So, there was no location where to start from, we didn't know the appearance of the duelist that Reiji wants us to protect, chances were that Nightshroud has changed appearance as well because it took them time to identify him. This was already a race against time and it already became several times harder than it should be.
"I suggest we split up." Avice spoke up. "This way we would be able to cover more ground and we already got Reiji's cameras, so if one of us finds either Nightshroud or that duelist, the others will be quickly formed about it."
"That's indeed a not-too-bad strategy." Levant nodded. "But if someone of us gets into contact with Nightshroud, make sure to not directly engage until the rest of us come. Everyone here witnessed how dangerous a duel against him could be."
"Ok, I'm going!" Ventus shouted and ran off, shouting 'Dattebayo!' or something.
"If we are going to split up, then Oni should go with Avice." I suggested, earning a surprised look from my sister.
Yeah, yeah, I already said many times that Avice wasn't responsible enough to take care of a child, but there was a difference in this situation. I'm much weaker than my siblings when it comes to dueling, so if I were to find Nightshroud, my chances to survive – let alone protect Oni – would be nearly zero. Avice on the other hand had Evan's strength, she would be able to stand up to the challenge and therefore would be a much better guardian than me. It made me feel pathetic for having to lean onto my little sister for such serious tasks, but it was the best option.
"Alright then." Avice nodded and walked over to Oni, taking her hand. "Let's go."
At first Oni nodded, but then, she ran over to me and gave me a hug, pressing her face against my stomach due to the difference in our height. The little girl looked up at me and I saw tears running down her cheeks.
"Neechan, niichan will be alright, right?" I felt my heart shred to bits while I listened to those few words.
We were really the worst, weren't we? Putting a little girl like Oni through so much, making her worry about us. It was also our fault that she was crying at the moment. All of this was because of us, there was no denying it. I put one hand against the back of her head and caressed her cheek with the other. I was trying to force myself to smile and reassure her that everything would be great.
"Don't worry. We will bring niichan back." I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"That's a promise, right?"
"Yes." I nodded to confirm. "It's a promise."
Slowly, Oni was able to let go of me and followed after Avice. How my little sister wasn't getting emotional I couldn't quite understand, but then again, it was Avice Greyson that we were talking about. Of course, she would always keep on believing that she and Evan was unbeatable and nothing could happen to them. Unless she see for herself that believe that she is superior to others with which our brother infected her would keep blinding her.
"I will cheek the corridors, that's where Nightshroud was last reported to have been." Levant told me and ran off, leaving me alone.
"Just to make sure, Nightshroud is a Fusion Duelist too, right?" Yuki asked.
"Pretty much, yes. We saw it in his duel against our, ahem, brother." Hema responded. "What are you thinking about, Xyz?"
"If you are trying to infiltrate an enemy base, you won't make yourself a hideout inside of it, since such a move would be stupid." I saw down and listened to the two. They were my Xyz and Fusion personalities, so chances were they knew more about it than me.
"True, true. A far better place to hide would be somewhere that isn't abandoned, but people also rarely visit it." Yuki groaned and turned to float upside down. "It could be anywhere!"
"Not quite." Hema closed her eyes in thought. "How about we… Hey original, you have fusion monsters in your Extra Deck, right?"
'Yeah.' I confirmed to them. My Extra Deck had four Xyz Monsters, one Synchro and two Fusions that I never used. 'What are you planning? To use me as bait? I'm not sure if it's going to work out well.'
"Trust me, the last thing any of us would want is to put our own lives at risk." Hema crossed her arms. "I can't believe that you haven't figured it out yet, but your deck isn't from this dimension. Our cards have a special ability that no other card has. Just take one of your Fusions Monsters, preferably the stronger one, and put it on the screen of your Duel Disk."
I wasn't sure what she had planned, but I did as she said. Taking my strongest Fusion Monster, which was level eight by the way, I put it on the Duel Disk and the screen began to scan through the card. After a moment, the screen turned to show some sort of map with three red dots on top of one another.
'Ok, what just happened?' I looked up at my Fusion and Xyz personalities; both of which were grinning like little kids at me.
"Did you forget that you are a tracer? Your cards did just that, they managed to track down others of their own breed." Hema stepped before me and then walked inside my body, her voice echoing through my head. "We know where our prey was last time, so time to start hurting."
3rd POV
Within the safety of their own hidden place – an underground parking lot, filled with cars, but without enough lights or cameras for anyone to find out about the existence of the unwanted guest – a person wearing a hood was standing with their back against the wall. The person had their delicate fingers, running over the screen of their pink shield-shaped Duel Disk, viewing pictures of targets that they marked during the first round of the tournament.
The hooded person dropped their arm down, pressing it against the wall behind them and looked up. Was all they did really worth it? They wanted to prove the Professor how skilled they were and perhaps be allowed to join the invasion that was their only reason to go against his will, but the results were disappointing. Those Xyz Duelists in the Standard Dimension were amateurs, weaklings that stood no match against the power of Fusion. It wasn't a surprise though, Academia was able to easily overpower the Xyz Dimension due to a reason, because every one of them was a trained warrior, unlike that scum they had to hunt through dimensions.
"I wonder at times, you know?"
Hearing a voice, the hooded person quickly pushed themselves away from the wall and activated the blue blade of the Duel Disk, while they turned around to face the person that spoke to them. Standing a few feet away from them was a boy that was visibly taller than the first figure. His outfit consisted of an open red jacket that reached just below his chest. A black shirt and dark pants with robotic boots and a metal gauntlet on his left arm finished the boy's appearance; his eyes were hidden under the shadow of his cat hood.
Seeing the newcomer's clothes, the hooded figure's shoulders dropped a bit in relief, at least it wasn't an enemy, but it wasn't a friend either. If another Academia student was here that would mean that the Professor must have sent him to get them back to the Fusion Dimension. The hooded person clenched their fist tightly seeing the uniform of the boy that stood behind them.
"I did expect that the Professor might send someone after me." The hooded person spoke with a feminine voice. "But a single Slifer Red? Not even a Ra Yellow or the Obelisk Force, just you?"
"A Slifer Red?" The boy looked down at his jacket once more. This got the hooded person's curiosity as well, how could someone from Academia not know their own rank? "Oh, so that was what this is called, huh? I took the color red because I liked it, never really put much thought into it."
"Who are you?" The hooded person asked, a new found hostility in their voice. This boy wasn't from Academia.
The hooded boy stopped admiring his jacket and raised his head a little to look at the person behind him. He almost forgot about them, was that new body having problems with the memory or was it just bad at keeping its attention on something for more than five seconds? Eh, problems to solve later, now there was a Fusion scum to defeat and probably torture before finally turning them into another addition to his collection of cards.
"Don't worry, we will reach that." The boy replied, then put a finger on his chin. "Hmm, I forgot to finish what I was going to say. You know, sometimes I wonder if you like believing that you are the top predator around here. Well, do you?"
The hooded person didn't answer, they had no desire to play this stupid game and the boy knew it, so the moment he asked this question he quickly leaped at the figure standing before them. Before the opposite party could react and raise their Duel Disk to defend themselves, the Slifer Red caught them by the throat and slammed them against the concrete wall with force that made the hooded person's hood to fall down and reveal their identity. The blue haired girl gasped for the air that was pushed out of her with the last move, but she were unable to do so because the boy's arm was holding her neck tightly.
"D-Drop… me…" The girl managed to mutter two words, demanding to be let go.
"You can't talk well while like this, can you?" the boy asked her and let go, dropping the blue haired girl on the ground.
She gasped for air once again, taking in deep breaths. The girl couldn't understand the strange feeling that was creeping down her spine. It made her arms and legs tremble and her heart was beating faster than ever before. It couldn't be that she was scared of that man, could it? No! Collecting back all of her courage, the girl forced herself to stand back up with the cloak that concealed her appearance dropping down to her legs, revealing her to be wearing an outfit similar to the one of her attacker.
"What? Just a Slifer Red?" the boy asked her back mockingly and then pumped his fist forward, slamming it into her guts.
The girl opened her mouth, but no voice came out of it. Her legs lost all of their remaining strength and she dropped down on her knees, holding her arms around the place where the boy just hit her. It hurt so goddamn much, she couldn't take any more of this! With just two hits, he already got her a step away from calling unconscious. But the Slifer Red wasn't done yet, he walked over and grabbed the back of her ponytail, pulling it so that the girl would arch her head back and look him in the face. She did that and what came into view was going to remain inside her memory for a long time. Her green eyes widened with fear and the boy could see his own reflection in it, the black dragon mask with blue eye-pieces and the red gem on his forehead. The reflection made him feel warm inside, it reminded him who he was, the name many called him by – Nightshroud.
"I-If you… do something to… me… the Professor will..."
"He will come to find me?" Nightshroud asked curiously. He cupped the girl's cheeks with his free hand and leaned in until their faces were a few inches away from one another. "The Professor you trust into so much is just a coward who used others to rob me off everything I had! My powers, my true identity, this mask is everything that I have left, so do you think I care about what he would do next? By the time he learns about your fate, his corpse will have already gotten cold!"
"The Professor… will… destroy you!"
Nightshroud let go of the girl's hair and then slammed her head into the wall, earning another whimper from his victim. After a few seconds, he pulled her back and whispered into her ear.
"This body and this mask both belong to a God. Currently, I'm two Gods in one! I'm a force of nature that not even the Egyptian Gods could hope to match!"
"Stop right there!" a voice called from behind Nightshroud.
The masked Slifer Red dropped his victim and turned around, his hood hiding his mask from view once again. Standing against him, Nightshroud was surprised to see, was Elizabeth. After pinpointing the location of the blue haired girl with help from her personalities, the Greyson went to investigate by herself. Since the cards that she tracked didn't belong to Nightshroud she didn't know that he was there and following the suggestion of her counterparts, she choose that it was unnecessary to call for backup.
Just how wrong she was…
"There are two of them!" Yuki shouted from within Elizabeth's head, making the later wince at how loud the voices were.
"But why were they fighting one another?" Hema asked. "It doesn't make much sense for me."
"That doesn't matter." Yuki spoke back. "They were the ones that destroyed the Xyz Dimension and as its representative here, I want retribution. Elizabeth, please allow me to duel them! I promise to not hurt them for the sake of Reiji's plan, but I want to defeat them as revenge for what they did to my people!"
'I won't stop you.' Elizabeth thought.
"You got nothing with this, turn away now and I won't hurt you." Nightshroud muttered to the Greyson.
He remembered who she was; the sister of the one who destroyed him before. The memory enraged him, he wanted to destroy them all, leave no trace of the Greyson family, but it wasn't possible. Nightshroud couldn't hurt her because somewhere deep within his new 'heart' something wasn't allowing him. He himself wasn't the same any more, when Evan dueled him, he destroyed the essence of this dark soul and now he was just fragments put together by the darkness of his new host. Truth was, he was no longer a God-like entity, just a ghost of his former self, a mortal human.
"After all of this, I can't ever turn away." Elizabeth replied and activated her Duel Disk.
"Then you are going to pay the price for you decision." Nightshroud replied and pulled his Duel Disk from underneath his jacket, attaching it to the gauntlet on his left arm.
'That Duel Disk…' Elizabeth took a step backward, she felt like throwing up there and then.
"Hey, get your act together!" Hema called out. "What's so important about the Duel Disk?"
'It's… It's Evan's!' Elizabeth stated and suddenly backed out.
"So she has different personalities, doesn't she?" A small smile formed on Nightshroud's face.
Despite Elizabeth losing consciousness from the shock, her body never lost balance, let alone for it to fall on the ground. It was still upright, but there was a drastic change in appearance. From the ragged clothes, to the hazel eyes and the pale blue hair, she was a completely new person. She was Elizabeth Greyson no more, the name of the one that stood before Nightshroud at that moment was Yuki.
"You aren't surprised." The Xyz personality took note of her opponent's calm reaction. "Should I take it that you are used to it?"
"Believe me, you got no idea about that." Nightshroud put on his Duel Disk and activated it. Even the blade was the same as the one worn by Evan.
"S-stay out of this!" The girl that Nightshroud had beaten just a while ago spoke up. Like the others, she had stood up and activated her Duel Disk, which had a radiating blue blade in the shape of a sword.
"Actually, I'm going to take both of you at once!" Yuki called out and pointed at the girl behind Nightshroud. "For what you did to my home world… I will make all Fusions scums pay for destroying the Xyz Dimension!"
"The Xyz Dimension?!" The blue haired girl was taken aback by those words, while Nightshroud just chuckled.
"A survivor, huh?" He muttered. "Or just an artificial set of memories?"
"She isn't the only one who has a score to settle with you!" Koharu stepped out of her hiding spot that was behind a column and walked forward, activating her own Duel Disk. "I suffered from Academia's attack as well! My family, my friends, everything I had was taken and burn to ashes by the likes of you! I will make you pay dearly for all of the pain that you brought to me and everyone else!"
"I know about that." Nightshroud said and pointed at the girl behind him. "I'm a victim of their actions as well! All I want is to destroy them as well!"
"Liar!" Yuki yelled at him.
"If you really were a victim, why would you wear their uniform?" Koharu asked, pointing at Nightshroud's new choice of clothes. "I don't care if you were part of the invasion or not, I will destroy all of Fusion!"
"If the two of you are from Xyz, then my pride as a student of Academia won't allow me to let you leave this place!" The blue haired girl called back. "For the glory of the Professor and all of Academia, I will defeat both you and that traitor over there!"
"A four way Battle Royale is it then." Nightshroud sighed. He really hoped to get away with just killing the bitch from Academia, but in the end, he would have to face against the Xyz survivors as well.
All four duelists moved into position so that every one of them could see the rest.
"DUEL!" They all shouted at the same time.
『Nightshroud LP: 4000 Hand: 5 (VS) Yuki LP: 4000 Hand: 5 (VS) Serena LP: 4000 Hand: 5 (VS) Koharu LP: 4000 Hand: 5 』
"It can't be…" Yuki and Koharu looked at their male opponent again. "You are Nightshroud?!"
"Took you time to figure that out." The Slifer Red raised his head and pulled down his hood. His hair was a combination of black with dark red edges, with red locks framing his face, while the middle layer jutted upward and two ponytails fell on his back.
"So you Xyz scum know that traitor?" Serena narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe it… if the word reaches the professor…"
"Shut up!" Yuki shouted back at her and turned to look at Nightshroud. As one of Elizabeth's personalities she was always with the Greyson and knew what type of enemy she had to face. "This man here is dangerous!"
"You are scared of the wrong opponent!" Yuki face-palmed. This girl was really naïve and stupid, wasn't she?
"If you three are done with the chatting, I will take the first turn." Nightshroud told his opponents and looked down at his hand. "Hmm, that would be good, I will start by Normal Summoning Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul!"
An extremely small dragon with two legs and wings appeared on the field. Its body was black with a red outline going through its wings and the top of its huge head. As the name suggested, the monster had dark purple eyes that stared at Nightshroud's opponents with some sort of emptiness inside of them.
Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul
Level: 4/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200
Effect: When this card is summoned: You can discard 1 monster; add 1 "Polymerization" or "Fusion" Spell Card from your deck to the hand. Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field; it loses 300 ATK.
"So he got himself a new deck…" Yuki muttered. From Red-Eyes to Purple-Eyes, too bad she had no idea how this new deck would play.
"I activate Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul's effect." Nightshroud stated. "I discard Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon from my hand to add Fusion Substitute from my deck to the hand. Then I'm going to set two cards and end my turn. Due to the rules of Battle Royale, neither one of us is allowed to attack during our first turn!"
"So that's what he was going for, huh?" Hema's spirit appeared beside Yuki to assist her in the duel. "Fusion Substitute is a powerful card, but it can only Fusion Summon by using monsters from the field as materials. Since you can't attack during this turn, he will use his next turn to call forth one of his Fusion monsters."
'So, all that I will have to do is get rid of his monster? Easy enough.' Yuki thought and looked down at her own cards. She had a strategy ready!
"My turn, I draw!"
『Turn 2 [Yuki] LP: 4000, Hand: 6』
"First off, I'm going to Normal Summon Celessence Mage Clay!" A woman with tan skin, blue eyes filled with light and short green hair appeared on the field wearing a robe made from leafs of different colors with belts wrapped around her legs as footwear and large chunks of dried out clay formed large gauntlets around her hands.
Celessence Mage Clay
Level: 4/Attribute: EARTH/Type: Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: 1100/DEF: 1600
Effect: When this card is summoned: You can shuffle 2 cards from your hand into the deck; add two "Celessence" Spell/Trap Cards with the same name from your deck to the hand. Once per turn, you can choose 1 of your unused Monster Zones; the chosen zone can't be used while this card is face-up on the field, also, Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand in face-up Defense Position.
"I now activate the effect of Celessence Mage Clay and shuffle two cards in my hand back to the deck, then I get to add two copies of a Celessence Spell or Trap card to my hand." Two cards popped out of Yuki's Duel Disk and she showed them to her opponent. "I add two Spiritual Robe of Celessence from my deck to the hand and then I activate them both! I make two of my monster zones unusable to summon them on my field!"
Who rock columns appeared at the ends of Yuki's field while the two Spell Cards appeared next to her first monster. Both monsters were floating green robes with their hoods up and two large rings made of rock rotating around their bodies, protecting them.
Spiritual Statue of Celessence (Spell) Normal
When this card is activated, you can choose 1 of your Monster Zones; the chosen zone can't be used while this card is face-up on the field, also Special Summon this card on your field as an Effect Monster (Spellcaster-Type/EARTH/Level 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 900). Monster your opponent control can't target face-up Spellcaster-Type monster you control for battle or with card effects, expect this one.
"While a Spiritual Robes of Celessence are on my field, you can't target other monsters I control with battle or card effects, and with both of them here, you can't do anything to my field!" Yuki smirked, she had Nightshroud in the palm of her hand.
"An unbeatable Defense, good call." Hema commented.
"I'm not done yet!" Yuki took another card from her hand and played it. "I activate the Spell, Moving Collapse Within Celessence! When this Spell is activated I choose one of my opponent's zones and if they have a card on it during the End Phase that card is going to be send to the Graveyard! Of course, I choose the zone on which Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul is standing on!"
Moving Collapse Within Celessence (Spell) Normal
When this card is activated, you can choose 1 Monster or Spell/Trap Zone on your opponent's side of the field. While this card is in your Graveyard, during each End Phase, if there is a card in the chosen zone, it's send to the Graveyard.
"Amazing!" Hema's eyes widened. "With this, during your End Phase, you are going to get rid of his only monster without destroying it! I underestimated you, Xyz."
"Now, I end my turn!" Yuki stated. "And during the End Phase, the effect of my spell is going to send your dragon straight to the Graveyard!"
"Not so fast!" Nightshroud raised a hand to stop the Xyz Duelist. "Before you do that, I'm going to activate one of my set cards, the Continuous Trap, Retribution of Purple-Eyes!"
Retribution of Purple-Eyes (Trap) Continous
Once per turn, if you control a "Purple-Eyes" monster: You can target 1 Level 7 or lower Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. While this card is face-up on the field, all face-up monsters on the field, except DARK Dragon-Type monsters, lose 200 ATK and DEF.
"The effect of Retribution of Purple-Eyes allows me to revive a Dragon-Type monster from within my Graveyard as long as its Level is seven or lower!" A stream of purple flames burst behind Nightshroud. "I revive the Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon that I discarded last turn for the effect of Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul!"
A large black dragon with purple scales covering the front of its chest, neck and wings appeared within the purple flames with a roar. Its long tail was covered in small blades with a scythe at the end. The dragon's legs were bend sideways so that it would be impossible for the monster to stand on them and instead of feet, they ended with two blades each. Making up for the lack of effective lower limbs, Arclaw had two pairs of large wings with black blades hanging from them, the second pair was bend in a way that made the wings to press against one another and create a half-arc above the monster's body. The dragon had a metal lower jaw with a pointy end and a mouth filled with sharp teeth, its eyes, like the name suggested, were purple with flames of rage burning within them.
Purple-Eyes ArclawDragon
Level: 7/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000
Effect: If this card is Special Summoned: Its ATK and DEF become double its original ATK and DEF. Once per turn, you can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls: That target loses ATK equal to this card's ATK until the end of this turn.
"Damn it!" Hema cursed. "He just replaced one monster for the other!"
"Due to the effect of my Arclaw Dragon, when it is Special Summoned, its attack and defense are doubled." Nightshroud's monster roared and the blades that covered its body began twice their original size.
Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, ATK: 1200 *2 → 2400, DEF: 1000 * 2 → 2000
"Ugh, being able to avoid effects like this…" Serena looked down at the cards in her hand. Could she be able to do better than this man?
"Also, due to the effect of my trap card, all monsters that aren't DARK Dragons will lose two hundred points in both attack and defense." The purple flames flew out of Nightshroud's card and surrounded the monsters that Yuki controlled.
Celessence Mage Clay, ATK: 1100 - 200 → 900, DEF: 1600 - 200 → 1400
Spiritual Statue of Celessence, ATK: 600 - 200 → 400, DEF: 900 - 200 → 700
"I will take the next turn!" Koharu declared and took a step forward. She looked at Yuki with the later giving a nod.
They were the ones who always lost, the ones who were always being hunted. Families, homes, friends, all of these things were burned to ashes by the enemy. All they had left were their life, a desire to survive that allowed their skills to transcend beyond any and all limitations. They were the Xyz Dimensions and today they were fighting back against their oppressors!
"I'm going to give you a taste of our vengeance!" Koharu pointed at Nightshroud. "You especially, I'm going to destroy to bits for using me and my friends as puppets! Here I go, draw!"
『Turn 3 [Koharu] LP: 4000, Hand: 6』
"Perfect, just the card that I needed! I play Foolish Burial to send Magician of Wishes from my deck to the Graveyard!" A card popped from Koharu's deck and she took it, putting it into the slot that lead to the Graveyard. "Next, I Normal Summon Necromancer of Wishes (Lv.4, ATK: 500) and activate its effect to revive Magician of Wishes (Lv.4, ATK: 1500) from my Graveyard!"
"Two Level four monsters, that means…" Nightshroud knew what was going to happen next. In fact, he was a little excited to see it.
"These two monsters will become the foundation of the blade that will pierce through your heart! I overlay my Level Four Necromancer of Wishes and Magician of Wishes!" The Xyz Duelist raised her arm upward and her two monsters shot into a galaxy portal that formed above her. "Hope, the enigmatic force that unites us, come as the courageous protector of dreams! Xyz Summon! Heavenly warrior of light! Rank 4, King of Dreams, Hope (RANK: 4, ATK: 2500)!"
'A card that looks like the infamous Number monster.' Nightshroud thought, watching as Koharu's Xyz monster landed on the field. 'Just how much have the Tracers broken the timeline while I was being slowly killed by that bastard?'
"At this moment the effect of my Magician of Wishes activates!" Koharu called out and her Xyz Monster raised its swords. "When its used as Xyz Material, you are going to take five hundred points of damage! Eat this, monster!"
King of Dreams, Hope's swords began to glow with a white energy and the warrior swung them at Nightshroud, releasing a wave of white blades that hit the embodiment of darkness in the guts and knocked him down onto his back with a groan.
『Nightshroud LP: 4000 - 500 → 3500』
Nightshroud groaned and forced himself to get back up. He was using his dark powers to turn up the damage done by monsters, but the last thing that he expected was for him to end as the first victim of that effect. Nightshroud gritted his teeth in pain and fell back down on his knee while holding his side; it hurt so badly…
"Due to my trap's effect, your monster is going to lose some of its attack and defense." Nightshroud growled.
King of Dreams, Hope, ATK: 2500 - 200 → 2300, DEF: 2000 - 200 → 1800
"This is just a small taste of what is to follow!" Koharu called out and took a card from her hand. "I will set a card face-down and end my turn!"
Nightshroud removed the hand that he used to hold his side with and looked at the blood on it. Shit! If his host found out about that, he was going to be in big trouble. They made a deal according to which Nightshroud was allowed to use the body as long as no one else would find out about it and the bleeding wound just made keeping it a secret that much harder.
"All this talk about a revolution and five hundred damage is the best that you can do? Weak!" Serena called out and put her fingers on top of her deck. The Xyz duelists gritted their teeth in anger. "Hunting down your kind is no challenge at all!"
『Turn 4 [Serena] LP: 4000, Hand: 6』
'Back at the Academia, every one of these weaklings was required to use the standard deck, but they were allowed to take different types of decks with themselves when coming to the Standard Dimension.' Nightshroud thought to himself. 'What do you have in store for me, mortal?'
"Hm, it seems that my cards are telling me to go all out from the beginning!" Serena took one of her cards and put it on her Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Lunalight Kaleido Chick (Lv.4, ATK: 1400) and then I activate its effect to send Lunalight Cat Dancer from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and change Lunalight Kaleido Chick's name to Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
'Hey, Hema! I'm dumbstruck, why would she send one of her Extra Deck monsters to the Graveyard?' Yuki asked the Fusion personality.
"Unlike with Synchro and Xyz monsters, the requirement a monster has to follow in order to be a proper material for a Fusion Summon aren't connected to Levels." Hema explained. "With Fusion monsters the most common requirements are Monster-Type, Attribute or name. In other words, the monster she plans to summon most likely requires Lunalight Cat Dancer as material."
"I now activate Polymerization to fuse Lunalight Crimson Fox and Lunalight Cat Dancer!" The famous spell card flashed before Serena. "The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight! Fox with blood red fur! Swarm in the vortex of moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness! Lunalight Panther Dancer (Lv.8, ATK: 2800)!"
'She already summoned a monster with two thousand and eight hundred attack points!' Yuki's eyes widened in panic. Serena's Fusion monster just became the strongest monster on the field.
"Lunalight Kaleido Chick is send to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can return the Polymerization Spell Card that I used back to my hand. Also, Lunalight Crimson Fox's effect drops you dragon's attack to zero until the end of this turn!"
Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, ATK: 2400 → 0
"Unfortunately, I can't attack during this turn, or else I would have defeated all of you right here and now." Serena sighed and threw her arm away. "I end my turn. At this moment your dragon's attack points return to normal. And I haven't forgotten about your trap's effect either."
Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, ATK: 0 → 1200
Lunalight Panther Dancer, ATK: 2800 - 200 → 2600, DEF: 2500 - 200 → 2300
"During the End Phase of your turn, I will use the effect of Retribution of Purple-Eyes to revive Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul (Lv.4, ATK: 1500)!" Nightshroud's first dragon revived once more with a loud roar. "Also, Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul's effect lets me discard Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon to add Fusion Weapon from my deck to the hand."
"He got himself a second material." Hema pointed out the obvious. "Be careful, you got no idea what he might bring out next turn!"
"Hmm, I tried to be nice with you." Nightshroud muttered. Darkness began to form within his palm and his hair spiked up. "But no more of that, I will let you feel a fragment of my true power! My turn, draw!"
『Turn 5 [Nightshroud] LP: 3500, Hand: 3』
"I activate Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon's effect and target King of Dreams, Hope! Until the end of this turn, your Xyz Monster loses more than half of its attack power!" Nightshroud's beast roared and fired a blast of purple fire at the warrior, dropping him onto his knees.
King of Dreams, Hope, ATK: 2300 -1200 → 1100
"Next, I activate Fusion Substitute to fuse Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon with Purple-Eyes Wicked Dragsoul!" A vortex of purple flames appeared behind Nightshroud and his monsters flew into it. "Dragons crawling within the darkness of night, burning in the flames of Hades and merge into one! Arise, the tyrannical force forge in purple flames of violence! Fusion Summon! Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon!"
Out of the purple flames raised a blue and yellow dragon, its scales covering the body like pieces of heavy rock with spikes on its shoulders and a dragon face with an open mouth on its stomach. The monster had a black ring on its back and additional mouths on it shoulders, its neck was covered in spikes and the head had a large jaw with two eyes placed on both the top and the bottom of it.
Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon
Level: 6/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Fusion/Effect
ATK: 2200/DEF: 1300
2 "Purple-Eyes" monsters
Effect: During the Battle Phase, negate the effects of all monsters your opponent control whose ATK and/or DEF is different from their original ATK/DEF. During your Main Phase: You can Tribute any number of monsters you control; for the rest of this turn, this card gains an additional attack for every monster Tributed by this effect. IF this face-up card is destroyed and send to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower "Purple-Eyes" monster from your hand or Deck.
"So, that's his monster? Shouldn't be too hard to beat, just keep your focus." Hema told Yuki.
'I know that already! Instead of telling me the obvious, why don't you go see how Elizabeth is doing?' The Xyz personality retorted.
"Just make sure you don't lose before I get back!"
'Sounds easy enough.'
"I activate the effect of Retribution of Purple-Eyes to revive Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 1200) and its own effect doubles its attack and defense values!" The monster raised next to Nightshroud with purple flames burning over its body.
Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, ATK: 1200 *2 → 2400, DEF: 1000 * 2 → 2000
"Next, I activate the effect of Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon! Once per turn, I can target a face-up monster on the field and reduce its attack by that of itself! I target Lunalight Panther Dancer!" The dragon opened its mouth and a sea of purple flames rained upon the Moonlight Fusion.
"I activate the effect of Lunalight Crimson Fox from my Graveyard!" Serena countered as the spirit of her monster appeared on the field and stopped the flames. "I banish her to negate an effect that targets a Lunalightmonster and destroy it!" The flames turned back at Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, destroying it. "Then we all regain a thousand Life Points!"
『Nightshroud LP: 3500 + 1000 → 4500』
『Serena LP: 4000 + 1000 → 5000』
『Yuki LP: 4000 + 1000 → 5000』
『Koharu LP: 4000 + 1000 → 5000』
"So, you weren't completely defenseless, huh?" Nightshroud could almost smile at the futile attempt to stop him, "But I'm not done! I will activate my Spell, Revivial of Purple-Eyes! With its effect, I revive Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragonfrom my Graveyard!"
A monster that looked like some sort of plan appeared on Nightshroud's field next. Its body was made from blue vines, five of which fell down and acted like roots, keeping the strange-looking dragon stable on the ground. Its main body was covered all in large and sharp violet petals with pink drawings inside of them. For more vines were raising from its back, tied together into pairs, they formed the monster's so called wings which had purple thorns covering them. Lastly, the dragon's head was barely showing up from underneath all the beautiful petals that covered its body, it was made of many small wines wrapped together to form its lower and upper which with a single purple eye in the middle of the head.
Revivla of Purple-Eyes (Spell) Normal
Target 1 "Purple-Eyes" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. If this card is in your Graveyard: You can banish this card; send 1 "Purple-Eyes" monsters from your Deck to the Graveyard.
Purple-Eyes BloomDragon
Level: 3/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 0/DEF: 2000
Effect: If this card is Special Summoned: You can add 1 "Purple-Eyes" card from your deck to the hand, expect "Purple-Eyes BloomDragon" . If a monster you control battles an opponent's monster, during damage calculation: The ATK of each monster in that battle becomes equal to their original ATK, until the end of the Damage Step.
"I activate the effect of Bloom Dragon to add a Purple-Eyes card to my hand! I add Purple-Eyes Deep Necragon to my hand and then I will Normal Summon it!" The next dragon that appeared on the field didn't have much of a body to speak about, everything bellow its chest was gone with only four huge, twisted downward rib bones acting as its waist and legs. Instead of upper claws, the dragon had large and thorn black wings. The monster's skin was ashy in color and extremely dry, its head resembled that of a gargoyle with a small chin and two horns coming from the top of its head. Like all other dragons in the archetype, this one had deep purple eyes.
Purple-Eyes DeepNecragon
Level: 4/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 1200/DEF: 800
Effect: When this card is summoned, you can send 1 "Purple-Eyes" card from your deck to the Graveyard. If this card is send to the Graveyard, all monsters your opponent controls lose 1000 ATK until the end of the turn.
'He is setting up for something big.' Yuki thought, watching the formation of Nightshroud's field. His dragons were much weaker than Koharu and Serena's monsters and due to her own combo, no monster could attack her, so the question was, what would he do with these monsters?
"I now activate the effect off Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon and tribute my two monsters to give him the ability to attack three times in the same Battle Phase! Dragons' Triple Rage!" Purple-Eyes Bloom DragonandPurple-Eyes Deep Necragon turned into purple flames that the Fusion Monster absorbed. "Also, Purple-Eyes Deep Necragon's effect lowers all of your monsters' attack power by a thousand for the turn!"
Celessence Mage Clay, ATK: 900 - 1000 → 0
Spiritual Statue of Celessence, ATK: 400 - 1000 → 0
Lunalight Panther Dancer, ATK: 2600 - 1000 → 1600
King of Dreams, Hope, ATK: 1100 - 1000 → 100
"Hope!"
"You bastard…"
Only Yuki didn't respond to having her monsters' attack values dropped by such a significant amount. He was planning something and she knew that, the Xyz personality only couldn't figure out what it could be. If Nightshroud choose to attack, Hope's effect would reduce his dragon's attack to 0!
"Finally, I equip Fusion Weapon to Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon, increasing its attack values!" The large dragon behind Nightshroud roared and its chest began to change, turning red with visible veins.
Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon, ATK: 2200 + 1500→ 3700, DEF: 1300 + 1500 → 2800
"Now, let's battle! Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon destroy all that oppose you with Underworld Violent Breath!" The dragon complied with its master's wishes and fired three fireballs from its mouth, one forKing of Dreams, Hope, Lunalight Panther Dancer and Celessence Mage Clay.
"I activate King of Dreams, Hope's effect! When a monster declares an attack I can use one of its Xyz materials to turn the attacking monster's attack to zero! Black Sun Reflection!" The Xyz monster didn't move despite its monster order, leaving it completely vulnerable to Nightshroud's attack.
"It's pointless to try, while Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon is on my field, all of your monsters with attack different than their original values have their effects negated! This includes your friend's little combo over there!" Yuki gritted her teeth, with her Spiritual Statues' effects negated, the attack went through and all three girls screamed, their monsters destroyed within the purple flames.
『Koharu LP: 5000 - 3600 → 1400』
『Serena LP: 5000 - 2100 → 2900』
『Yuki LP: 5000 - 3700 → 1300』
The purple flames remained on the field well after the attack ended. The floor and the walls of the parking lot had large cracks in them from the impact. Serena, Yuki and Koharu all slowly pushed themselves from the rubble, their clothes were torn and messed up, such a power in just one attack, if it wasn't for their monsters trying to take as much of the damage as possible, Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon would have killed all three of them on the spot.
"You still have the will to stand up?" Nightshroud was surprised by their will to keep fighting. "Fine then. I'm going to end my turn here."
"It's my move then." Yuki muttered and drew her next card.
『Turn 6 [Yuki] LP: 1300, Hand: 3』
"Here goes! I overlay my two Level three Spiritual Statue of Celessence!" Yuki raised her hand and her monsters shot into the galaxy portal that formed before her. "Spirit dwelling within the celestial forest, hear the cry of creation itself and charge for to protect the lands unknown! Xyz Summon! Mirage the Druid of Celessence!"
A white centaur with orange ornaments on its hooves and tail ran out of the Xyz portal and landed in front of its master. The monster had large pieces of rock tied to the side of its legs and the belly as some sort of armor and vines that came from its back and wrapped around the upper part of the creature, creating a wood armor that hide the humanoid half of the monster from view. The creature had wooden blades pointing from its elbows and shoulders with a crown made of leafs resting on the top of its head.
Mirage the Druid of Celessence
Rank: 3/Attribute: EARTH/Type: Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000
2 Level 3EARTH monsters
Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each of their unused Monster Zones, and if you do, those Zones can't be used for the rest of this turn.
"I activate Mirage the Druid of Celessance's effect! Once per turn, by using one of her Xyz Materials, I can inflict four hundred points of damage for each of your unused Monster Zones! Hard Missile!" Yuki's monster absorbed the Xyz Material and threw her arms forward, firing an array of sharp rocks at Nightshroud's field, blowing it up. "Additionally, when this effect hits, none of your unused Monster Zones can be used for the rest of this turn."
With this she caught him. If Nightshroud can't use his other monster zones, he will be unable to summon any more monsters and the combo that he used to resurrect then every turn wouldn't work anymore.
"That was a close call." The dust on Nightshroud's field settled down revealing Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon sitting down next to the Fusion monster. "You really thought that I wouldn't use the chance to reduce the damage as much as possible?"
『Nightshroud LP: 4500 - 1200 → 3300』
"Since Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon was Special Summoned, I get to search another card from my deck." A card popped out of Nightshroud's deck and he took it. "Was that all you could do?"
Yuki gritted her teeth, what was she supposed to do next? She had a monster that would have been able to end the whole duel with one strike, but in order to summon it, she would need a Xyz Monster without any materials attached to it.
"We are not done yet!" Elizabeth's Xyz personality turned toward Koharu when the later spoke. "I activate my Trap, Xyz Overrun! This card let's a Xyz Monster to use its effect a second time during this turn!"
Xyz Overrun (Trap) Normal
Target 1 Xyz Monster on the field that activated its effect this turn; activate it's "once per turn" effect once again this turn.
"Koharu, you…" Yuki smiled and turned back toward her own monster. "I use Mirage the Druid of Celessance's effect once more! Hard Missile!"
This time however, the monster didn't fire its missiles at Nightshroud, but at someone else. Serena screamed as the attack fell on top of her field and destroyed all of her Monster Zones.
『Serena LP: 2900 - 2000 → 900』
"This was for our homeland." Yuki said while the Fusion Duelist was trying to stand back up. "Now, I activate the effect of Prophet of Celessance - Sunseed from my Extra Deck! When I control a face-up Xyz Monster without Xyz Materials, I can use it as material to Special Summon her! The all-powerful spellcaster hiding within the heart of Celessance, become the beating heart of our land and shared thy chains of mischief! Xyz Evolution! Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed!"
A giant tree with a magical rune appeared on the field. Its large branch began to move and twist around wrapping around, they transformed into human arms with large bracelets made of dried clay and thorns locking themselves in place around them. The trees roots came out from the ground and transformed into human legs wit wines wrapping around them to create some sort of footwear, while the main part of the body transformed into that of an attractive woman with large breasts that were covered by a robe made of leafs and vines which started from the stomach and moved up, sticking from its shoulders, forming a large collar around the back of the monster's neck. Lastly, the crown of the tree transformed into the head of a young woman with big green eyes and long floating hair of the same color. The now female monster raised her left arm and a magical wand made from wood and vines tied into a ball on the top appeared in her palm with a crown made from small branches resting on top of her head.
Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed
Rank: 6/Attribute: EARTH/Type: Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
ATK: 2700/DEF: 2400
2 Level 6Spellcaster-Type monsters
Effect: ou can also Xyz Summon this card by using a Rank 3 or 4 Spellcaster-Type Xyz Monster you control with no Xyz Materials as the Xyz Material. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes 0, and if it does, its effects are negated. These effects last until the end of this turn. If this card attacks a monster, this card gains ATK equal to that monster's original DEF until the end of the Damage Step. When this card destroys an opponent monster by battle, destroy all cards your opponent control in the same column as that monster, and if you do, your opponent's Spell/Trap Zone and Monster Zone in that column can't be used while this card is on the field.
"Now, I activate the effect of Sunseed! I detach a Xyz Material to target your Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon and turn it into a statue!" The spellcaster swung her wand a few times and then pointed it at the dragon, firing an orange ray that turned the monster into nothing more than a rock in the shape of a dragon.
Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon, ATK: 3700 → 0
"Let's battle now! Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed attack Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon!" Yuki's monster jumped at the dragon and fired an array of magical blasts at the unmoving statue. "At this time, the effect of Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed activates and she gains attack equal to the defense of the monster she attacks! Mystery of Life!"
Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed, ATK: 2500 + 1300 → 3800
Nightshroud sighed as the attack hit his dragon and tore it to pieces while also reducing his own Life Points. However, what happened next surprised everyone else and made him smirk in triumph.
『Nightshroud LP: 3300 - 500 → 2800』
"W-why?" Yuki fell on her knees.
What happened? Nightshroud didn't activate any cards or effects, his set card was still there and Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon's effects were negated due to Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed, so how did he reduce the damage to just 500 points?!
"Why do you look so surprised?" Nightshroud asked the Xyz duelist. "Or did you forget that I had Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon on my field. Its effect makes it so that when two monsters battle, their attack will always be their original attack during the battle."
'That means…' Yuki looked at the remaining monster on Nightshroud's field. The original attack values of Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed and Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon were 2700 and 2200 respectively…
"I'm going to set a card face-down and end my turn." Yuki gritted her teeth and fell on the ground. Unlike her, Elizabeth wasn't much of a fighter, so the body had troubles taking so much damage without a chance to recover. At that point if she didn't end the duel on her next turn, she would probably pass out afterward.
"I will take on your feelings." Koharu told the Xyz personality and raised her Duel Disk. "My turn, draw!"
『Turn 7 [Koharu] LP: 1400, Hand: 3』
"It came…" All the necessary pieces to destroy Nightshroud's combo were collected! "First I activate Monster Reborn to revive King of Dreams, Hope (RANK: 4, ATK: 2500)! Next, I equip it with Sword Spear of Hope to increase Hope's attack by five hundred!" A large spear with the blade of a sword attached to its end formed in place of the monster's regular weapons.
King of Dreams, Hope, ATK: 2300 + 500→ 2800
Sword Spear of Hope (Spell) Equip
Equip only to a "Dreams" Xyz Monster. It gains 500 ATK. The equipped monster can attack all of your opponent's monsters once each, also, if the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can destroy this card instead.
"Let's battle!" Koharu called out. "King of Dreams, Hope will attack Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon!"
"At this moment I use the effect of Retribution of Purple-Eyes to revive Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon (Lv.6, DEF: 1300)." The dragon formed on Nightshroud's field once more holding its wing close to its body.
"No matter what you do, my attack is still going to go through!" King of Dreams, Hope cut in Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon half, destroying it. "And now the effect of Sword Spear of Hope activates, inflicting the difference between my monster's attack and yours' defense to you as damage!"
『Nightshroud LP: 2800 - 800 → 2000』
"And don't think that I'm done with just this! My equip spell allows Hope to attack all of your monsters, including the newly summoned ones! Raising Sun Blade!"
Nightshroud groaned and gripped his chest in pain after Koharu's monster destroyed his last line of defense, leaving his field completely open for direct attacks.
『Nightshroud LP: 2000 - 1500 → 500』
"I will set a card and end my turn here!" Koharu finished. "How was that? Did you like the feeling of being hurt the same way you hurt my comrades!?"
'These mortals are really crazy if they think I'm actually going to lose.' Nightshroud thought to himself. With this new body and its dark powers, there was no mortal that could beat him ever again!
"It's my turn, draw!" Serena stepped forward.
『Turn 8 [Serena] LP: 900, Hand: 4』
"First I activate Lunalight Perfume to revive Lunalight Panther Dancer (Lv.8, ATK: 2800) from my Graveyard. Next, I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization to fuse Lunalight Panther Dancer with Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Purple Butterfly in my hand!" A vortex formed behind the Academia duelist and all three monsters fell into it, transforming into a new beast. "Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! The beast lurking in jet-black dress! The butterfly that wields violet poison! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Lunalight Leo Dancer (Lv.10, ATK: 3500)!"
"Just how strong Fusion Monsters does this brat have?" Nightshroud whispered.
"Do you see now, traitor? Academia will always be supreme to you and anyone else! Fusion Summoning is the strongest method out there and I will prove it! Lunalight Leo Dancer attack King of Dreams, Hope!"
"I activate my Equip Spell's effect" Koharu countered and her monster blocked the attack with the spear. "I can destroy it to negate King of Dreams, Hope's destruction!"
"But you still take the damage!" Serena reminded the Xyz Duelist.
『Koharu LP: 1400 - 700 → 700』
King of Dreams, Hope, ATK: 2800 - 500→ 2300
"At this moment, the effect of Lunalight Leo Dancer activates she can battle twice per battle phase and when she attacks, all monsters on the field are going to be destroyed!" The Fusion monster swung her sword at Koharu's and Yuki's Xyz Monsters to finish them.
"I activate my Continuous Trap, Dimension Gate to banish King of Dreams, Hope from the field!"
"I activate my Quick-Play Spell, Heavy Heart of Celessance targeting Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed to make her immune to destruction!"
Heavy Heart of Celessance (Spell) Quick
Target 1 Spellcaster-Type monster on the field; this turn, neither player takes battle damage, also that monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.
In their own ways, the two Xyz Duelists were able to avoid the destruction of their ace monsters by the effect of Lunalight Leo Dancer, but after doing so, the field of Koharu was left without monsters to protect it from a direct attack. Serena lowered her Duel Disk and looked at her options. She could finish off either Nightshroud or Koharu, but which one should she choose? Defeating whom would prove her skills before the Professor? Some random duelist that ran away from the Xyz Dimension, or a traitor to the Academia who swore revenge to the Professor and his cause. The answer was actually pretty easy...
"I attack directly with Lunalight Leo Dancer!" Serena called out and her monster swung her sword at Nightshroud.
"Choosing to attack me was a mistake that you are going to pay dearly for." Nightshroud sighed and his set card flipped face-up. "I activate my other Trap, Slumber of the Dragon King!"
Slumber of the Dragon King (Trap) Normal
When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: Negate the attack, then you can apply the rest of this card's effect. Banish your Graveyard monster required for a Fusion Summon of a Level 8 or lower Dragon-Type monster, then Special Summon that monster from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)
"This trap negates your direct attack and then, I can use Purple-Eyes Bloom Dragon and Purple-Eyes Deep Necragon in my Graveyard to Fusion Summon a new monster!" The spirits of the two Purple-Eyes monsters appeared before Nightshroud and blocked the attack, then transformed into a vortex of purple and black fire. "The vicious dragons ruling a valley of death combine and be reborn as a new horror! Fusion Summon! Dragon with blood of purple ember, Level Eight! Emperor Claw Fusion Dragon!"
A long white body with purple scales on the front appeared behind Nightshroud. The dragon that he summoned had a more serpent-like appearance without any legs to support it. It had two long and slender arms with three claws each and a pair of medium sized wings on its back. The dragon's purple scales became large around its chest, acting like sort of armor with a red orb attached to the center. Its mouth was filled with purple energy that glowed through its white skin and its eyes' color was a strange combination between purple and red.
Emperor Claw Fusion Dragon
Level: 8/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Fusion/Effect
ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000
2 monsters with the same Attribute
Effect: (This card is always treated as a "Purple-Eyes" card.) Once per turn: You can send 1 face-up monster whose ATK is different from its original ATK, from either side of the field to the Graveyard, and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to the difference. If a monster is send to the Graveyard by this effect; until the end of this turn, replace this effect with that monster's original effects. During either player's turn, if this card's ATK changes, except by its own effect, you can destroy 1 card on the field. Your opponent can't activate cards or effects in response to this effect's activation.
'A monster with Fusion in its name…' Yuki looked at the monster and bit her lip. 'Only the four heavenly dragons and the reincarnation of the lost lords share this trait, so could this be…!'
"Now that your second attack was negated, there is nothing else you can do, am I wrong?" Nightshroud crossed his arms.
"I end my turn here." Serena dropped her head. She couldn't believe how stupid she was to give that bastard exactly what he wanted by attacking him directly!
"During the End Phase of your turn, I'm going to use the effect of my Retribution of Purple-Eyes to revive Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon (Lv.6, ATK: 2200) and before anyone here complains, the move is legit because Emperor Claw always counts as a part of the archetype." Nightshroud explained and drew his next card.
『Turn 9 [Nightshroud] LP: 500, Hand: 2』
Nightshroud looked at the card that he drew and then back at his opponents, eyeing carefully their fields. He had everything necessary to finish the duel gathered in front of his eyes, he just had to pull the trigger and let the pieces all fall into their place.
"I gave you two a chance to look back and leave." Nightshroud looked at Yuki and then at Koharu. "Instead you two choose to challenge a power that you knew nothing about, so now you are going to pay for your ignorance with your lives! I use Retribution of Purple-Eyes to revive Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 1200) and doubles its attack and defense values!"
Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon, ATK: 1200 *2 → 2400, DEF: 1000 * 2 → 2000
"Although you gathered three high Level monsters, their attack values aren't high enough to possess a danger for me." Serena pointed out.
"Be patient, I will get up to you, ok?" Nightshroud sneered. "First, I will activate Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon's effect to reduce Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed's attack by its own!" The spellcaster screamed and her power left her body, leaving her to collapse on the ground.
Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed, ATK: 2500 - 2400 → 100
"And now for the main act, I activate Emperor Claw Fusion Dragon's effect! I release a monster whose attack is different from their original value and give that difference to my dragon's own attack power! Tyrannical Soul Submission!"
The dragon opened its mouth and fired a purple laser at Prophet of Celessance – Sunseed, hitting the monster straight on. The spellcaster scream as her soul was sucked out of her body and Nightshroud's ace absorbed it.
Emperor Claw Fusion Dragon, ATK: 2500 + 2600 → 5100
"Its attack doubled?!" Serena stepped back. Just like that Nightshroud's dragon became strong enough to take down both Lunalight Leo Dancer and her remaining Life Points with one strike.
"Last, I will equip Cinder of Purple-Eyes to Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon!" The tattoo of a purple circle appeared on the back of the dragon's head and burned brightly.
Cinder of Purple-Eyes (Spell) Equip
When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK in the Graveyard. If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, inflict 600 damage to your opponent.
"Everything is done now." Nightshroud turned around and raised his hand, giving his dragons their orders. "Purple-Eyes Rampant Dragon attack the fake, Purple-Eyes Arclaw Dragon destroy the Xyz survivor, Emperor Claw Fusion Dragon show this mortal who is the superior master of Fusion!"
The three monsters' eyes glowed brightly and they raised their heads, firing beams of energy and balls of purple flames at Yuki, Koharu and Serena respectively.
"Wait!" Koharu called out after the demonic duelist. "I activate Dimension Gate's effect to destroy itself and return King of Dreams, Hope (RANK: 4, ATK: 2500) to my field!"
"Due to Retribution of Purple-Eyes' effect your monster's attack will fall to just two thousand and three hundred, too weak to stop my dragons' path of destruction!"
Lunalight Leo Dancer and King of Dreams, Hope were stuck by the dragons' attack and exploded. All of the girls screamed from the force of the attacks, which were unlike anything else. The energy made the whole building to shake, the duelists were all launched into the air while the wall and the ceiling to break and large pieces began to fall down onto the field.
『Koharu LP: 700 - 100 → 600 - 1250 → 0』
『Serena LP: 900 - 1600 → 0』
『Yuki LP: 1300 - 2200 → 0』
『Winner: Nightshroud』
Yuki cough and tried to regain her sense, everything around her was so loud, the ceiling was falling down and the alarms of the cars parked were going out like crazy. Her whole body was hurting like hell and she felt dizzy, everything was so dull, it was hard to tell if she was even alive any more. Hema's and Elizabeth's voices were screaming inside of her head, but the Xyz personality couldn't make out what they were saying. She turned back to where Nightshroud was standing during the whole duel. The embodiment of darkness was standing there, looking back at her while pieces of the ceiling fell between them. He reached up to grab his mask and then a rock fell between them blocking the girl's vision while the voices inside her heart became clearer and she heard Elizabeth's next sentence.
"Get out of there!"
Quickly realizing where she was, Yuki looked up a large piece of rubble was calling straight at her head. Her eyes widened but her body didn't move, after all the damage she took in the duel, it was a surprise that she was conscious to feel her demise.
"Elizabeth!" A black blur moved before Yuki and grabbed her arm, pulling the girl away in the last second.
"You are…" the Xyz personality look up at her savior.
Evan's crimson eyes stared back at Yuki while he held both her and Koharu in his arms. Deep within her, Elizabeth was crying in both relief and happiness, but on the outside a brother and a would-be-his-sister were just staring at each other's eyes, trying to read one another.
Avice: Previews!
Chapter 27: The Reflection
Summary: After the extreme Duel against the new host of Nightshroud and Evan showing up to Elizabeth's rescue, the group all reunites once more and the twins learn about Sora's duel against Shun. The Greysons and Koharu all go to get answers about the current events when Reiji informs them that Sora has disappeared from the medic bay. A new search ensued.
Chapter 28: Souls of Light and Darkness
Summary: Avice who had just walked onto the duel between Yuya, Yuto, Sora and Nightshroud finds herself unwilling to face against Nightshroud and his dragon that had the power to turn others into its pawns. As Sora finds himself victim to the controlled by Nightshroud Dark Rebellion, the young Greyson finds Sola Starlit the Pendulum Seraph resonating with Nightshroud's deck…
Avice: Are we sure that Nightshroud isn't the new main character of this story? 'Cause he showed up a lot during the last few chapters...
Chapter 29: What the Future Withholds
Summary: With the duel between Yugo and Yuto becoming more vicious by the second, all five duelists find themselves on the verge of losing control over their own minds. At the same time Elizabeth find herself facing against a hooded man who warns her that if she doesn't stop to follow after her siblings, in the future they will be the ones to kill her.
A/N: And another chapter done! There are some things that I would like to expain about it, in case they left you wondering, but before that I want to tell you all that today is a special day for me! I'm not going to get into details about it, but as a treat today I'm putting a new chapter for bot this and my VRAINS story, so for those of you who are following both of them, here, I got something for you guys!
Now that this is done, I want to pointed out that this chapter happens a lot before Reiji vs Barrett, so Serena's companion is in fact, still in Standard, although that doesn't really matter for the story, if anyone wonders why he wasn't with her while a Fusion Hunter roams the streets of Miami City, well, neither of them knew about Nightshroud, so he probably went to scout the area and Nightshroud used that chance to strike. Or maybe he got turned into a card already? Who knows...
Avice: Hey, hey! What about our new Purple-Eyes archetype? The writer doesn't seem to care enough to ask, but did you guys like it? It might be a little bit of a Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes rip-off in term of a name, but what are your opinions on it? Like it? Hate it? Share your opinions with us!
Now that Avice is done... Thanks to Ghost of Magic who favorited this story!
Now to jump onto the reviews.
ScalchopWarrior: First off, about the Yuya bashing... I admit that it won't be completely gone, since Evan and Avice are assholes, but I never intended 'tomato head' to be interpreted as an insult. Like, when Elizabeth was calling him that in the last chapter, she meant it more like a silly nickname toward a friend. If you have a better suggestion for a nickname, I'm all ears.
Also its ironic when people tell me that they like to watch Elizabeth dueling more than Evan and Avice when her deck is the worst from the trio. In fact, its even worse than Oni's and that's why I use Elizabeth in duels as little as possible... I'm angry for myself because I do, in fact, want for Elizabeth's deck to be good, but blame me for giving her a mechanic that I myself know nothing about how to use properly.
bennyf5302: Oh, thanks for the compliment. I personally don't see much of the quality in it. Perhaps, because I'm someone who tends to look down at my own work and writting skills I often rely of you guys' reviews to keep me writing. What I mean however, isn't that I want nice reviews and in fact, I encourage you guys to point out any criticism toward my story that you might have, no matter how petit it might me. Just seeing that people spent the time to actually look at what is written makes me extremely happy, so thank you.
That's everything for today. See you guys next time and remember to F/F/R!
Diabolic Tracer & Avice out!