"This is...Cray?"
I cannot believe my eyes. This is definitely not Earth, for not even the darkest of places are burnt to that extent. This does not feel like Hell either, so I knew I didn't die. However, the very fact that I get the feeling I am alone, tells me Void has came by this way. The war has already been over?
"Sorry... I didn't make it on time..." I said with complete regret.
"Ara, what did I hear from this pathetic Link Fighter?" A female voice thundered across the land.
That's when I realised, I am not alone, and also this world is not completely dead yet.
"Tell me, who on Cray are you?" I asked.
"Hahahahahaha, I am no one from Cray..." the voice trailed off.
"Cray is almost destroyed... you guys happy now?"
"There is still a long way to go before Cray is completely destroyed..." a female with a red dress appeared before me as she said.
"What do you mean..."
"Cray is a very interesting entity. We can't destroy them until our forms turn into cards and come to Earth. Basically, in order to destroy Cray, we have to destroy Earth as well..."
My eyes widened suddenly.
"Some of the portals that you have are now completely in our control. Such fools to have such a lousy security..." that girl said with a faint but frightening smile on her face.
"...Anyways, why are you here?" I asked.
"Of course, to make you feel a complete world of despair!" she said with a sudden outburst of hysterial laughter.
In all honesty, I didn't have to ask that question, especially when I already know what on earth an envoy of Void will do.
"Anyways..." that girl said. "Call me Kurumi, you might need to be eradicated by me someday, but first things first... a small gift to you."
With that, she flicked her finger. The sound broke the tranquil silence in the background as a small rumbling of the otherwise absent wind filled the air. Suddenly, a screen appeared before me. I stood stunned.
Right on screen, I could see a girl with long dark hair, both her arms and legs restrained by a tight chain. Her face... I will never be able to mistake her for someone else. My eyes suddenly flared with anger as the rare burning rage came into me.
"TOHKA!" I yelled. "WHY TOHKA?! WHY DID YOU DO THIS!" I yelled again.
Kurumi slowly broke into yet another insane laughter.
"I will leave you two to talk a bit, since I don't think you will get to see her again..." Kurumi said as she walked to the side. At the meantime, wake up Tohka, your lover is here..." she said as she flicked her finger once again.
A strange visible red aura entered through the chains shocking her.
"THAT ISN'T FAIR!" I said
"Nothing is...hehehe..." Kurumi said as the smirk continued to show on her face.
Tohka woke up from the immense amount of energy entering into her, I guess there is a screen at her place, especially when she was surprised to see me.
"Delta!" Tohka shouted.
"Tohka!" I shouted back
"No, get out of here! Before I..." Tohka said as she suddenly get consumed by a reddish aura.
"Tohka!" I shouted even louder.
"Delta... you think you can stop me?" A voice came from within her as her head rose up once again.
"What... happened...?"
"We meet once again... Delta..." The voice from within Tohka came ones again.
"It cannot be..." I said.
"You forgot all about me right? I am Chaos Breaker Dragon, and I am now in a complete Sync with this being here. To be honest, you shutting me down previously had made me realise I have underestimated your power, but thankfully the seal was still there..." Chaos Breaker Dragon said through the voice of Tohka this time.
"No one harms my Tohka that way! I am gonna beat you once again and free Tohka of your being and destroy you for real once and for all!" I said.
"Very funny... this time, my spirit goes completely within the person you call Tohka. Try inflicting any damage on me and the effect and pain will enter any body I have linked to... which means..."
"Why, you..." I said.
"It is the only way if I want to dominate this world and yours. A small sacrifice is necessary..." a smirk flashed on Tohka's face.
"At the meantime..." Chaos Breaker Dragon said as she made Tohka break the chains with his own strength. "I need to make sure the invasion is successful. Kurumi, deal with this Link Fighter for me."
"Yes, master." Kurumi said as she flicked her finger. The screen that was there disintegrated into mere dust.
"Looks like I have to beat you first... " I said.
"You don't even have a deck with you, let alone units to fight." Kurumi said. "I just need to restraint you here for a bit..."
WIth yet another flick of a finger I found myself stuck in a crystal box.
"Anyways, my job here is done." Kurumi smirked. "Have fun trying to get out of that box!"
As Kurumi disappeared in the distance, I started doing all sorts of stuff to break the box. Punching, kicking, headbutting, you name it.
"Oh come on! Let me get out of here..." I said in despair.
"Idiot... you can just call us to help..." a voice came from outside.
A bunch of missles came flying towards the glass panel.
"AHHHHH!" I shouted in shock.
A loud bang appeared and smoke came gushing through my face, causing me to cough involuntarily.
"You could have just asked me to slash it open, Doreen!" I heard something from the outside
"Oops..."
Suddenly, I felt myself being carried out of the smoke.
"Eh?" I said as I coughed
"Don't talk when you are choking..." Sariel said as her candle lit the way out of the dark smoke.
Soon enough, I was on the ground again.
"You guys..." I said as I looked at them.
"...I missed you all!" I shouted.
Everyone smiled.
"Sorry...for the smoke..." Doreen said, her shy elf face suddenly appearing before me.
"Not your fault." I said, patting her head. "In any case, why am I here?"
"To be honest, we have no idea..." they said.
"Actually, I have." a voice came from another side.
Everyone look across, I saw a glimpse of a glowing body floating towards me.
Suddenly, everyone but me bowed before that glowing body.
"It is an honour to see you, Takuto."
"Dispense with the ceremony." Takuto said as everyone stood.
"I realised there was another Link Fighter here on Cray after Leon saved me, so I went searching for you."
So this was indeed Cray. I had doubted myself even after seeing Chaos Breaker Dragon face to face.
"You are here because you wanted to see if Tohka was ok. Void decided to grant your wish..." Takuto said.
"Tohka... is reversed..." I sighed.
"Not just Reversed." Takuto said.
"What?"
"Come to me..." Takuto said.
Takuto then whispered to my ear. While it was something I already know, a reconfirmation of something bad did dampened my already terrible mood.
"I...I understand." I said, bravely facing the truth.
"What...was it?" Lawkeeper asked.
"You guys don't have to know. Only I need to know this." I said, wiping the tears off my eyes.
"Be a man… don't shed those tears." Doreen said as she sulked.
"Looks like I have to command the rest of the Link Fighters this time…" I said.
"Yes, you are chosen to. While the Fighters are fighting all around the world, you will be handling one of the largest portals in the world-Cardfight Academy." Takuto said
"There is a question I would like to ask." I said.
"What is it?" Takuto asked.
"Does anyone other than us know about the portal in Cardfight Academy?" I asked.
"Why are you asking about that?" Takuto asked back.
"You know, since the school was built 5 years ago, no one as ever breathed a word about this. In fact, until I saw that keeper myself, I did not know that such a thing exists."
"Haha…. Delta you are one interesting person." Takuto said. "The secrets of Cray was meant to be kept secret unless it is really needed for one to know, and only the chosen ones will ever know this. No guardian or teacher has ever known that the portal was set here secretly. I hope that you will not leak this secret out.
"With this kind of pandemonium coming out, I don't think I will even want to reveal that secret in the first place…" I said.
"Good."
"How about the rest though?"
"This is up to you to lead. I don't know where the main source of Void within your area is, but with your judgement and everyone's powers, I think a large amount of work will be cut down. However… even as we are talking here, the war is still breaking out on Earth. We don't have much time, and this is the risk we must take. There is no turning back now." Takuto said with a grim tone.
"I understand what you mean."
"Sorry about not being able to help you. I am a single entity and I have to be at another place. The enemy that Leon and the rest have to face isn't going to be an easy task either. I will leave the Academy and the city in your hands."
"The Academy…. I will protect this area. I hope for your good news." I said.
"Till then, I bid you farewell. The journey will not be easy for both of us, but let us do our very best." Takuto said, holding his hand out.
"Best of luck, Takuto. May we see Earth and Cray both well once again." I said shaking his hand.
With that handshake, I felt a sudden surge of power going into me. It was as though I was shaking hands with a being far powerful than anything else, unless….
"In case you are wondering, yes. I am a keeper of Cray." Takuto said. "I just can't leave Link Fighters if the entity is this large. I can't spend too much time talking with you. I got to fight this battle now."
Giving a bow, I watched Takuto disappear from the surface of Cray. At the same time, I have to figure out some way to get into any hidden hideouts the Reverse fighters would have been.
"Delta, don't be too rash…" Lawkeeper said as though he read my mind.
"Koutei and the rest of the Link Fighters need to know about this." Etain said as she came by.
"Speaking of which, I hope Koutei has recovered from that overdose of power." I said.
"I told him not to force himself to accept Gust Buster Dragon…." Etain said, "However, he felt compelled to do so to protect the people he cares for, even as he hated the evil shadows…"
"Don't worry, I will check on him when I get back."
"Go get some rest…" Sariel said. "It is not good staying up that late when there are lots of Reverse fighters to take care off."
"I will. Thanks everyone for saving me though. I don't know how long I will be stuck in that box if you guys aren't here…"
"Don't mention it." Lawkeeper said. "You are after all one of our very few hopes for the survival of this planet. We will put our lives on the line to aid you in whatever we can."
"Thank you. And I promise I will bring your world back. Link Joker shall have no influence in this world." I said as I closed my eyes.
"Goodnight!" all the units said as I felt myself being lifted from Cray.
I opened my eyes to see myself back in the room that we were seeking refuge in. I looked to the rest of the fighters, my friends. It is not just Cray we have to protect. Earth is at stake as well.
"Let's do this." I muttered to myself.
The memory of Tohka being under the complete influence of Chaos Breaker Dragon continued to flow in my mind.
"I will save you, Tohka. I promise." I said as I went back to a peaceful slumber.
NEXT: Dilemma