Cipher (1)27: Nightmare as a Child
The portal waited, Necara waited. All Azar could do was go through it, or stand still. "I don't know. I don't know. Can you do it?" Shin was not very optimistic. The odds were stacked against anyone that tried to duel her now. "It feels like whatever we do, nothing will change." Xander moaned. Either they'd let her wreak havoc on the world, or they'd risk giving her all the Numbers. "I never thought it would come to this when I started this all." Dakar knew this had only begun because he had found Chaos, it could have been him in Azars place. Even Korose did not know what to do. "I want to help you. I do not think, however, that she would allow it." Right now Necara only wanted Azar, not Korose, Dakar or anyone else. "Only you can stop my daughter now.." And Azar was the only one Kincaid could turn to right now.
Subito was the only one who did not speak, as he felt nothing could be said that would help Azar.
"There is no need for words." In spite of the somber atmosphere, Azar had made the choice. "Since that day, I have been preparing for this confrontation. I am almost thankful that she forced the issue." He took a deep breath and faced the gate. "I will not think less of you if you choose to stay behind. But I am going, for our future and hers as well. Hope for me." Azar dove headfirst into it, moving into the unknown. "..Azar... " The gate stayed open. "No no no no! Not again! I will not let him run away again!" It was Shin who rushed into the portal after him, abandoning all doubts.
The journey was instantaneous, the experience similar to how a catalyst would travel. Before Azar could even take it in, he found himself in the new location. "...where?" He was inside a building, that was clear from the onset. "Wha!" Shin caught up to Azar before he could make out any details, nearly colliding into his friend. "Shin?" Azar had not actually expected anyone to come after him. "Hey. You didn't think I would let you do this alone, did you? That would the most miserable thing for a friend to do ever!" Just like that, Shin had forgotten he was ever afraid. "..Thank you." Azar did not know what else to say at this point. It was all Shin needed anyway.
"And you would be a fool if you believed I would not follow." A third person stepped through the portal; Subito. "Bro!" Shin cried out. "Were you honestly surprised?" Subito admired his brothers ability to get excited over everything. "Of course, I am!" But the hype was settling down, and Shin began to notice how off-putting their surroundings were. "Soooo.. where is this place?" They appeared to be inside a worn down hospital of sort, were everything had been stripped from the walls. Around them were various rooms of equal sizes, all with bare as a bone, except for a simple sturdy bed. And there were no windows.. anywhere.
"This is the world to me, for ten years..."
The answer was given by her, the girl in grey. "Necara." She stood there at the end of the hallway. This was their first direct encounter in three months. "What have you done.. to yourself?" And her condition had not improved since then. She looked worse now, veins were visible on her hands, bags under her eyes, and a constant cloak of destructive energy covered her. "I did what I was told... I was their perfect experiment; the only one who left this place how they wanted it." And her voice had become distorted and hollow, as if she stood in an endless void. "Do not think about leaving, do not wonder about the others, do not dream about the outside! They taught me, and I learned.. It was all for this."
"Then you know they are using you? The catalysts and the agency; they all want for you to be the sole owner of the Numbers." Shin could not understand why she would go along with being someone else's tool. "Because it does not matter. It is not important.. not anymore. They do not even know, only She knows.." She said as her twitching eyes turned to the two brothers. "Why are you here? You can not help him, you can not do anything! Your presence is pointless!" She motioned her hand, as if she was about to punish them for their interference. "Necara! You want to duel me. Then duel me! If nothing else matters, them being here should not be a problem!" Azar quickly stepped to the forefront to distract her. He activated his D-pad.
"It does not make sense. Why are they here? Why..." Though she seemed reluctant to even lower her arm, she pulled it back eventually. ""Close..so very close. And then finally.. peace and quiet. Yes. ahaha.." She looked up and put a wide grin on her face. "..ha." And then her expression turned as blank as a statue's. "Duel."
Azars LP: 8000 Necara's LP: 8000
With how fast she could move right now, she had drawn six cards and taken the first turn before Azar could even think about drawing. "Three cards. Turn end." And Necara placed half of her hand face-down in the spell/trap zone. "Only three cards?" Subito had expected more than that. Necara likely still ran her trap-oriented deck. And as she was the host of a Numberless, she could break the limits of dueling and set as many traps down as she wanted. Yet here she seemed to deliberately limit her backrow.
"I set a monster, and a trap card." But even three traps was too much of a risk for Azar to take on his first turn. He had to placed some defenses of his own. "And continuous spell card, Out of the Blue!" And there were other cards to set-up; cards he had added to his deck specifically to counter her playstyle. "End turn!"
"Is that it?" Necara observed Azars field with a scornful look. "You have become so weak, you do not deserve her anymore." She flipped the trap card, Needlebug Nest. It discarded the top 5 cards from her deck; including two Good Goblin Housekeeping cards and the Screaming Kaleidoscope trap. "But you will get her. You must learn how helpless you are." Then she activated the third Good Goblin Housekeeping trap card which she had set on her field the previous turn. It allowed her to draw one card, plus one for each copy of the Goblin trap that was in her graveyard. Though she also had to shuffle one card back from her hand into her deck. "Draw!" Yet only one card of the three drawn cards really mattered. "She drew it.." The Numberless had entered her hand, Azar could sense its destructive will in his own heart. Necara then sent a random trap card back into the deck, and flipped a third trap card; Double Payback. "She is here, your destroyer." And by tributing that trap card, that card in her hand could be special summoned. The faceless dark angel of the End(9/1600/2500) was alive at last.
Angel of the End - Numberless, 10/0/2500 Dark/Fairy
Cannot be normal summoned or set. Can not be be special summoned except by sending all trap cards you control to the graveyard.
You cannot summon or set monsters or activate spell and trap cards you control. You can only control 1 "Angel of the End - Numberless"
This card gains 200 ATK for each trap card in your graveyard. Once per turn, during either players turn, you can banish 1 Trap card from your graveyard to activate the effect(s) of that card.
"This soon?" Some things were off this duel. "Is this how she duels now with all of her power?" Numberless of the End was always saved for the end of her duels, right now it was not too threatening with only 8 traps in the graveyard. Instead she was now placing traps from her hand down after the Angel had been summoned; all four of them. "Screaming Kaleidoscope." And the angel itself targeted one of the traps in the grave for its banishment effect. The banished Kaleidoscope could target two of her set cards and turn those set traps, Fatal Abacus and Overlay Connect, into trap monsters. Those monsters would be reflections of the only real monster on her field. The End spread its wings and two more of the Numberless(1400/2500). It was the same combo as before.
But this time Azar was ready. "I activate the effect of Out of the Blue!" He took his continuous spell card off his field. "When an effect targets a card in the grave, Out of the Blue destroys itself.." The exploding spell's blast spread out over the entire hallway. "And! All cards in my opponents grave are returned to the deck!" The seven remaining traps were shuffled back into Necara's deck. "Yeah, Awesome!" Shin bursted out with cheers as he realized what Azar had done. "No cards, no attackpoints, no powers.." Subito was quietly impressed as well. Azar had chosen a very good card against Necara's keycard.
And yet... Necara did not seem to be disturbed by this. "..Is that your hope; that you can fool me? You believe we have reached our limit?" Necara placed the three angels between her fingers. "No.. it will get much worse for you." And she started to attach them to a Xyz-monster in her extra deck.
"Numbers!?" The End and her reflections remerged into a new monstrocity, an immensely long red-spiked and black-scaled wyvern(9/0/0). "Number 92: Heart eartH Dragon!?" It was a card Azar could not forget, a terror that had forced him to evolve his powers a third time. Back then it was special summoned with another Numbers effect, but it could also be Xyz-summoned with three level 9 monsters as the materials. "You..even got rid of her?" Meanwhile Shin was absolutely shocked that Necara would attach her most favorite card to this thing. "She lives on, inside." Necara placed her hand on her chest. "She is always with me, until the last heartbeat." Necara pointed her finger towards Azars set monster. "Attack." The dragon unleashed its energy breath on Azars set monster. "Ugh. All damage she takes, will be returned to me." Azar remembered the dragons continuous effect. As his face-down Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb(4/1800/400) was hit by the breath, it washed over it and hit Azar. Fortunately the damage reflected towards him was minimal, as Gebeb's defense was not too high either. "Turn...End..."
Azars LP: 7600
"This is not beyond my expectations yet, Necara. I even planned for your Numbers!" Azar drew his card. He needed a better hand. "Cards of Consonance, I discard a tuner dragon-monster with less than 1000 attackpoints to draw 2 cards!" Azar discarded a Labradorite Dragon, and drew twice. However.. so did Necara. "You!?" Azar noticed she had flipped two continuous traps; Solemn Wishes and Appropriate. The latter allowed her to draw twice whenever Azar would draw outside his draw phase. And at the same time Solemn Wishes would increase Necara's lifepoints by 500 every time she drew a card. "You can not stay run.." Necara would always have more cards than him this way. She must have known; Azars only hope was the ability of Number 39: Utopia. With Hope Draw he could draw himself out of any situation. He just had to believe that was enough to last against her 97 Numbers.
Necara's LP: 8500
"Nothing is certain." Azar normal summoned the black armored wyvern, Dragard(4/1300/1900). "Dragard summons a normal-type monster with less than 1000 attackpoints, form my graveyard." Azars new dragon revived the one he had just discarded, the dark mineral dragon; Labradorite Dragon(6/0/2400). "Then. I use Dragard's other effect; tributing a card to strengthen a monster and raise its level to the 8th stage." Dragard chose to sacrifice the golden sand dragon Gebeb, and to increase its own(8/2100/1900) stats. "Because I tributed the Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb, that monsters own effect is activated. I can special summon a "Hieratic" normal dragon from my deck. And I summon the Hieratic Seal of the SunDragon Overlord!" The golden sealed sphere of the sun dragon(8/0/0) appeared within the building, glowing like a solar body itself. "I take it and Dragard, and attach them to a monster in my extra deck, to the Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand!" Both Hieratic Seal and the wyvern Dragard were overlayed. A powerful knight(8/2800/1800) in draconic winged armor took the place of the two dragons.
"Felgrand can target one monster on the field, and negate its effects! That monster also becomes immune to all other cards!" The dragon knight slashed through one of its xyz materials with its sword and hit Number 92: Heart eartH Dragon with the shattered energy. "Now your dragon can no longer reflect damage, and it can be destroyed by even a non-Number monster!" Felgrand had been Azars prepared answer for most Numbers he would face in the future. "Felgrand, attack!" And his divine warrior had almost been succesful too. Only its sword was absorbed into a magical shield of sorts. "Draining Shield!?" Shin, Subito and Azar all saw the trap which Necara had silently activated, a trap that negated an attack and turned the attackers strength into healing energy.
Necara's LP: 11300
"Damn. I should have used Felgrand's ability on itself!" Azar could have avoided her traps that way, if Felgrand was immunized to card effect(s). But then Heart eartH Dragon would have survived as well, and been able to use its other effect to banish all other cards Azar would summon or set this turn. "..Main phase 2. I activate White Elephants Gift!" Azar used a spell to sacrifice his normal monster, Labradorite Dragon, and draw two new cards. "Azar. What are you doing!?" Subito asked rather loudly. As this move allowed Necara to draw twice as well. Appropriate was still active. "What I have to. I need as many cards as possible to defend myself." Azar activated yet another drawing spell, Super Rejuvenation. "I discarded one dragon from my hand and tributed another dragon on my field. So during the endphase, I may draw two cards!" And he did so. Once again this granted Necara a pair of cards. And each time Solemn Wishes added 500 lifepoints to her already quite daunting total. "My turn is over.."
Necara's LP: 12300
"Everything you do, only adds to your torment. I grow stronger every turn." Necara drew a card and gained another 500 lifepoints. "No. Of course. We grow stronger!" And she activated one of the seven cards in her hand; Rank-Up-Magic: Chaos Force. "Oh no!" Shin gasped. The spell targeted Heart-eartH Dragon, evolving it into the tenth rank. At the same time Felgrands remaining Xyz material was stolen by Chaos Force, and placed between the four other Xyz-materials that this new monster(10/1000/0) surrounded itself with. "Chaosnumber 92: Heart-eartH Chaos Dragon!" Its body had turned ghostly white, and its heart was now throbbing and bulging with chaotic magic. "And stronger.. stronger!" Necara laughed to herself, as her eyes became as bloodshot red as her Chaos Numbers heart. "Spell card; Chaos Field!"
Chaos Field, Field Spell
Once per turn: detach 1 Xyz Material from a "Number C" or "CXyz" monster you control; select 3 random Xyz monsters in your extra deck; target 1 of them.
Special Summon from your Extra Deck, a "Number C" or "CXyz" monster that is 1 Rank higher than the targeted monster, by using it as the Xyz material. Send the other
selected Xyz monsters to the graveyard.
If you do not control a "Number C" or "CXyz" monster, banish all but 1 Xyz monsters from your extra deck. You can not normal summon or set monsters while you control this card.
The entire landscape was transformed, the colorless hospital was painted with a hellish glow, and crystals pierced through every wall and floor. The crystals resembled the shape and texture of a chaos monsters Xyz material. Half the building was crushed by these crystals. "Chaos Field?" Azar did not know this spell. She had to have created it herself. And its power was so immense, Azar felt like his eardrums could burst. "I was not just talking about Her. I have your Chaos as well! Inside me, it has become more than you could ever make it!" She casted a hatefilled glare at her surroundings. "Chaos showed us the truth. All that is created must be destroyed, all that is order will turn to disorder. This place, everything it was made for.. it was already rotting. It will cease to exist, everything will."
Necara detached one material from the Chaotic dragon. "Once a turn, out of three random choices, the field will chaos summon an Xyz monster from my extra deck!" Before Necara the Numbers 22, 54 and 96 appeared; Zombiestein, Lions Heart and Dark Mist. "We chose that which you will know! We chaos evolve Dark Mist!" The black oil devil was chosen to ascend into the next rank. Dark Mist's shadow appeared inside one of the crystals, while its solid form turned beastly. It stood down on its four legs, while its eyes of fire moved to the side of its body. It had turned into Chaosnumber 96: Dark Storm(3/1000/1000). "Instant chaos?" Shin stared at it numbstruck. That card was insane! "Dark Storm. As it has Dark Mist attached, you will have to suffer its skills." Necara detached Dark Storms only material from it, and two spikes of crimson light jutted out from the demons back.. which they plunged into Felgrand's chest. "Argh!" Whereas the normal Dark Mist only drained half its targets attackpoints, Dark Storm drained everything. Felgrand was stripped of his(0/1800) strength. That strength had been sucked into Dark Storm(3800/1000). "Death." And the chaosnumber unleashed its new power as a torrent of dark matter that consumed the flesh and metal of the Divine Dragon Knight.
Azars LP: 3800
"Ngghhh!" Azar's heart started beating erratically as he shared the pain that Felgrand endured. With that level of damage, it might as well have been a direct attack. And he would soon receive one of those as well. "Direct attack!" Heart-eartH Chaos Dragon wanted to inflict pain as well. It fired its own dark thunder breath and blasted Azar against the crystal walls, charging his body with electricity. "Ngah!"
Azars LP: 2800
"Azar!" Shin shouted again. But before he could get in close to help his friend, more sharp crystals appeared from the floor to stop him. "Hey, what is the idea?!" He was this close, and yet he couldn't do anything. "That is what helplessness is. You are not affecting anything, you can not!" Necara raised her hand above her. "Chaos Number 92 has the power to turn all suffering into a blessing!" The dragon used its continuous effect, spreading restorative curing magic from its horns which cascaded downwards. Necara soaked it up and her life shot up by 4800 points. "She gains the life that she takes from Azar?" Sweat started to roll down Subito's face. Every minute she was increasing her lead. "This is your hopelessness. Your defeat is inevitable!" Necara then placed four trap cards from her hand down in her trap/spell zones. "WE are inevitable! You can not stop this, you can not stop the End!"
Necara's LP: 17100
"Nothing is hopeless." But Azar managed to crawl back up. "I have not lost..yet.. Necara." And he drew his card, under considerable strain. "You wanted to test me, to see if I would give fall in despair like you have. But I have not, and I will not begin to now!" In his mind he knew what he had to do next. He had to fight her Numbers, with his..
(To be Continued in Cipher (1)28: A Faint Horizon)
New Cards used by Azar Helder
Labradorite Dragon
Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand
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Out of the Blue
New Cards used by Necara
Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon
Number C92: Heart-eartH Chaos Dragon
Number 96: Dark Mist
Number C96: Dark Storm
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Chaos Field (+)
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Good Goblin Housekeeping
(+ Based on the Spell used by Dark Mist in Yugioh Zexal)
