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Mystic Wars

Epilogue

In the darkness of the tomb that was once guarded by Shadi, Bakura wheezed as his breath became more labored and pained. After his latest failure, Mirage had decided that it was time that her apprentice relearned some of his old lessons, particularly the ones about fear and pain. Again and again, the mother of evil struck him with blots of magical lightning, burning him from the inside out with every blast. Bakura couldn't challenge his master's power. Even if he still had the staff of Jafar, he would still be no match for the mother of evil. He hated Mirage, but his hatred only gave his teacher what she wanted from him. Ever since she found him as a child, she had taught him that hate would be his greatest weapon in his war against the Pharaoh, but his hate was not the lesson he being taught today. Today, he would be a student in a lesson of agony.

"Tell me, my apprentice," Mirage asked in a voice as cold as steel. "How can you please me so greatly and yet still disappoint me?"

"It was not my fault, master!" the Thief King attempted to explain. "I had everythi-"

"No!" Mirage cut off as more black lightning flew from her clawed hands. "Your failures are yours and yours alone!"

Bakura screamed in agony as the magical bolts struck him yet again. Mirage was angry with her apprentice, but in punishing him, she found a sick sense of joy. Pain was the ultimate lesson that she would impart onto Bakura, something she had done way back when he was just a child that she raised to be her apprentice. Through pain, she trained the boy that agony would sharpen his skills and make them as deadly as a knife. And when he displeased her, as he had done now, she took pride in harming him again, each time hoping that he would learn from his lesson of what it meant to fail her.

"M-mercy...please!" Bakura pleaded.

"There is no mercy," Mirage answered in a dark voice before blasting him again.

Bakura screamed again as his master again wounded him once more. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew that if he tried to create a spell or try to fight back, then Mirage would only hurt him more. After the latest wave, Mirage finally stopped her attack and allowed Bakura to slowly rise back to his feet.

"I want you to think on your latest...lesson, Bakura," she said. "And how it will help you in fixing this problem."

With that, Mirage and her El Khatib faded away, leaving Bakura alone to harness his rage in the darkness. As he sat down on the stone chair that once belonged to Shadi, he was already trying to figure out how to get his revenge on Marik and his allies. He looked down at the broken pieces of the staff of Jafar, wondering what his next move should be. He clenched his fists in anger as he thought back to how Marik only managed to defeat him because he had allies at his side, whereas the dark wizard only had mindless servants to throw at them.

Just then, an idea sparked in the Thief King's mind. If Marik can have a team, then why not make his own team in response? He needed allies who were feared for both their power and the sheer evil that they projected from their very souls. And why should he stop with just aiming them at Marik? There were so many other enemies that he had sought to end, and with this new team, he would do so. And when his enemies on Earth were slain, he would show his master that he was not only worthy of her power but take it from her after he tore her black heart out of his chest. But first, he had to repair his staff.

Then, he would begin to seek out those who would be a part of his Cabal.

"So, you gonna help, or are you just gonna sit there?" a sweat-covered Janna panted out as she threw down her shovel.

Her master, who was currently sitting in a beach chair that was under an umbrella that he had conjured, sipped on his coconut drink through a straw in response to his student's question, making Janna let out a groan as she rolled her eyes. The young occultist picked up her shovel and continued to dig a hole in the desert sand. It had been five days since Janna had moved in with the Sorcerer Supreme, and every day she had inquired, or better put, annoyed her new master about when her first lesson would be. So, when she heard from Marik that her first lesson was to be today, she was ecstatic. That was until she learned that her 'lesson' would be digging out the artifacts that were buried deep within the desert sands after the destruction of the Cave of Wonders.

"It's because I annoyed you, isn't it?" she inquired dryly.

"What? No, of course not, my dear apprentice," Marik falsely denied in a sarcastic tone. "I'm trying to teach you ways to strengthen your endurance for when you have to cast greater spells. Not because you've broken my meditation every single waking hour for five days straight, not at all."

Janna grimaced at that remark as she kept digging. She had been pulling out relics from ages past that Odion would come and collect to place within the mansion. Granted, there were several artifacts that Marik had to keep away from since they were too dangerous for his apprentice to touch by hand, no matter how much she begged him to do so. Case in point was when the goth girl attempted to open a chest that held 13 of the vilest ghosts that roamed the earth. Despite his harsh lesson, the Master of the Mystic Arts felt a sense of pride toward the girl. He was glad to have someone on his side that would be able to keep him anchored to his new duties, and in turn, he would be able to teach her all that he knew so that one day she would hopefully carry his mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. It was vital for Marik to have an apprentice, for Leota had shared with him a terrible truth about the role he had accepted.

It was a few days ago when the ghostly medium had called her successor to meet with her in private in her séance room. Once they were alone, Leota told him that while she was happy that he had accepted the title of the Sorcerer Supreme, there was one secret that he had to know. Though many had taken the mantle, none of them lived long enough to die of old age. One way or another, the Sorcerer Supreme always died young, so it was all the more vital that he keep Janna as his apprentice. However, despite this grim revelation, Marik remained committed to his new role as the protector of the earth from all mystic threats. And in that, there were many.

It wasn't just Bakura who, despite being weakened, was still a credible threat. Aside from the dark wizard, there were numerous dark spirits, demons, warlocks, witches, and above all else, Mirage, who still sought to bring the world of man to ruin, and it would be his task to be the line in the sand against these creatures. Should he fall, he could only pray that his apprentice would be ready to take his title and continue to protect the world in his place. From the short time he had known Janna, she was rude, reckless, and had a major problem with authority of any kind. But at the same time, he had seen other traits that she had hidden from others, such as her bravery, her thoughtfulness, and above all, her kindness. It was for those reasons that he had chosen her to be his future successor. And besides, he wasn't about to let someone like Janna roam freely with the ability to see into the future. He liked her well enough, but Marik Ishtar was not an idiot.

So, with that in mind, Marik snapped his fingers, creating a beach umbrella over his student to keep the sun off of her as she worked. As for Janna, digging for relics in the blazing hot sun aside, she couldn't be happier. She had finally gotten her wish. She was now being trained to become a hero like Star and Marco. She couldn't wait to show her magic to the Mewman princess the next time they met, or pull some more horrid pranks on Marco for that matter. Neither Marik and Leota knew it, but she had managed to eavesdrop on their conversation where she learned that there was a strong possibility that her new master could die. It broke her heart that her new teacher and friend could be killed, but she swore to herself that she would watch over him the best that she could.

She then touched the Necklace. It still made her head spin that such a powerful item had chosen her to be its wielder. The trouble was that the Necklace, though powerful, had become a stubborn item. She had managed to use its power here and there, but they were short glimpses into the future, and only by a day or two at most. There was also the matter that the Necklace would sometimes flood her mind with random images as if it was trying to warn her of things to come. The best the punk girl could guess was that this was because that she still hadn't quite mastered the Millennium Item yet.

"I think that's all of them, master," Janna gathered as she pulled out a few more relics.

"I think so as well," her teacher agreed. "Come on, let's get something to eat. You've earned it."

With that, Marik opened a portal, allowing for him and his apprentice to step through it and into the streets of New Orleans where they could eat in peace. However, as they left, Janna couldn't help could feel as though something was amiss. As if they were forgetting something.

Meanwhile, miles away from where the Cave of Wonders once stood, a stranger had already raided through the wreckage of the Pharaoh's sanctum in order to find a relic that would grant her great power. But this item was no mystic blade or lamp, but a coin. The tiny piece of silver was nothing much, but with it, she would use this seemingly tiny trinket to bring down the gates of both Heaven and Hell. For centuries, this woman had walked this world, and in her time, she had seen many great horrors, some of which were conjured by her own hand. But this plan would bring the worlds of God, Satan, and Man to their knees. While her plan was set in motion, what she was not expecting was the arrival of a new Sorcerer Supreme.

She had felt his presence through the mystic ley lines, and admittedly, she was shocked by how fast his power was growing. This not only meant that she would have to move up her timetable but also seek out help to at least distract the new Master of the Mystic Arts. Fortunately for her, she knew how and where to get good help. Soon, it would all burn away, and even this new Sorcerer Supreme would be no match for her. But for now, the immortal would have to stay in the shadows, at least until the time was right.

And on that day...this wizard, this Marik Ishtar, would fear the immortal known as Ruby Knowby.

To Be Continued in "The Mystic Guard"