World 113: Prisoner Without a Prison
Just when everything seemed to be going alright for the heroes, their progress stalled at the very last threshold. The core room of the Obelisk never contained just one Legacy Item. Each location revealed a thousand of the same identical objects. "Are they all fakes?" So too did Lilah, Bionis and her team of backup admins reach their many-faced dead end: a hive of World Armors interlinked via energy nerves and veins. "They are all powering this Obelisk's defense systems. We have to assume that each separate item is its own powersource. Just removing one will not suffice." Lilah immediately began deleting the first item she saw, as did the admins that were with her. "But this will take forever!" Khan whined. "Not if we can get more people inside." She countered. So far their armies of duelists missed most of the action, so there were plenty of reserves. "Yeah well how many people can we fit in here?"
"At the very least two more, it would seem." Midsummer Nightmare said, answering Bionis' question while also giving him the fright of the hour. "Gah! You! What hole did you crawl out of?"
"He followed me." The masked duelist was not alone. The lady Echo phased into the white room one second later. "Echo? Did you come to assist us?" Lilah considered this to be a welcome surprise. "I came because Continuum was here.. just outside. But he is not moving." The lady in blue seemed disappointed by that fact. "Hm, yes. Vigionair made them shut down temporarily. They may come online again soon, so I am glad to see you.." The scarlet duelist was about to bring Echo up to speed, but the girl already seemed to be quite familiar with the setting and layout of this area. "There is another reason I came inside... I can hear them." She stated enigmatically. "Them? Who can you hear?" Bionis did not like the way she phrased that at all.
"The people.. the minds of everyone Continuum has already absorbed. They're resonating throughout this tower.. throughout me." The lady held up her orb of memories, which glowed brighter than ever. "Minds? These Obelisks.. are they recording thoughts?" Midsummer now asked her as he stared around with amazement hidden behind his mask. "More and more. Not just memories, everything."
"That must mean.. she is using our research on telepathic networks: mindreading. If she's combined that with Continuum's own project flute system, there is no telling what she could do! Echo. Find Scarlet! We may not be able to make it in time. You have to stop her! At this rate she will be able to take the memories of everyone, even those who haven't been aligned with Continuum!" Lilah realized that the Legacy Items were the least important part of these seven Obelisks. They carried a specific function by themselves as well. With them she could devour the wisdom of the world, taking it all for herself..
...
"The son they never had?" The story Hikaru told the daughter of Shintaro might have been the most maddening tale she ever heard. "You would willingly live a lie?" He was a man who threw everything away, for the sake of another family.. another chance at family. "Why would I limit myself to the truth if the truth abandoned me? Yes, I would do that.. Nakana Shintaro. If I had been able to go all the way, I would not even have needed to know it was a lie. And why would you care? You were willing to throw away your position as if it were something fanciful! If you could, you would erase your memories of Shintaro altogether just to experience this sordid 'freedom'. But freedom is just an illusion when you can do nothing and you have nothing. I would rather choose a false past where I have meaning, I would rather be a puppet with purpose than a human without it! That is why I am still in league with Continuum even without Shintaro's support. It will give me that world, and it will give you that world as well! You will not even remember your pathetic insurrection!"
Nakana's LP: 5000 Hikaru's LP: 1700
"I banish Ashuna once more, and I can also banish Heavenly Dragon Circle from the graveyard to add a Tenyi card from my deck to the hand!" Hikaru's turn took on a similar tone. By banishing the Ashuna Tenyi Spirit, he could add a second Adhara Tenyi Spirit to his hand. And the banished Dragon spell added a second Flawless Perfection of Tenyi field spell to his hand. The latter would protect all non-effect monsters from monster effects upon activation. Then he revealed a new element, special summoning a Tenyi spirit dragon(4/800/1000) [Zone 5] made of green wind energy. "Nahata can also be special summoned as long as I control only effectless monsters. I will use it to Link summon..!"
"I activate Return of the Zombies!" Nakana did not need to see it again. "This trap banishes one zombie on the field, and resurrects one zombie in the graveyard of the player whose zombie was banished!" She performed her unholy ceremony upon Shiranui Sunsaga(10/3500/0) [Zone 2] removing the ghost samurai from the field to special summon Yoko the Graceful Mayakashi(9/2900/2400) [Zone 2] from the graveyard. "That will not be all! During your turn, Shiranui Skillsaga Supremacy can return one banished zombie monster to a zone marked by her!" The supreme Shiranui priestess(2500/LINK 3) {Left/Up/Down} [Extra Zone 1] used her own powers to bring Shiranui Sunsaga[Zone 2] back to the very same position. Since she managed to bring out two zombie synchros, her continuous Mayakashi Mayhem trap could use two of its four effects: sending the weakest monster on the field to the graveyard and drawing another card from the deck.
"Anything to delay the inevitable, is it? But nothing can stop this. Nothing can stop Continuum." Hikaru would have used Nahata as a link material for another Tenyi Monk, at which point he could have countered any of her special summons with a double draw from his field spell. But he would get to use his Flawless Perfection spell sooner or later. "I control no effect monsters again, which means.." He moved back to the darkness, special summoning the dark Tenyi dragon Vishuda(7/1500/2500) [Zone 3]. He also normal summoned the Adhara Tenyi dragon(1/0/0) [Zone 3] of earth. "Synchro summon! Draco Berserker of the Tenyi!" Adhara, as a tuner, could synchronize with Vishuda and create the wildhaired berserker dragon ogre(8/3000/0) [Extra Zone 2], a creature obsessed with attacking and nothing else. "That was the card that defeated Olympia. Be careful Nakana." Abigail warned the zombie duelist, still wanting to help her despite Nakana's own feelings on the matter. "Hold your tongue, Abigail. This is not your fight. This is between members of the family."
"You do not deserve this family, Nakana!" Hikaru spat. He activated the Monster Reborn spell next, and used it to bring the MareMare seahorse(7/2100/1400) [Zone 3] back to life. "That creature again?" Nakana winced as the seahorse used its effect once first to lay Maremare token eggs(1/0/0) [Zone 1,2 & 4] by reducing its(4/2100/1400) level three times. "Yes. Again and again, until you are ground into dust!" Now that he controlled an effectless monster, he could banish Vishuda from the graveyard to return one monster on the field to the deck. Synchro monsters could not be destroyed while Skillsaga lived, and zombies could not be destroyed while Sunsaga lives. The two formed a lock of immortality. "Be gone!" Vishuda thus targeted the Sunsaga, breaking the lock and leaving the undead.. in a mortal state. She expected as much. "...What are you planning?" His next move surprised her however, he dematerialized the Berserker just so he could link summon another Tenyi Monk(1000/LINK 1) [Extra Zone 1]. He did so, because his next link monster would also need at least one other link monster as a material...
"Heh, your end is what comes. I link summon the Dracomasters of the Tenyi!" The Monk combined with Maremare and one of the tokens inside a threeway link circuit: and the monster that exited that same circuit looked like the Tenyi monk and Tenyi shaman joined into one warrior card duo(2600/LINK 3) {Downleft/Down/Downright} [Extra Zone 2]. "The Dracomasters can destroy one effect monsters on the field for each non-effect monster I control or have in my graveyard!" The numbers predicted a complete fieldwipe. Still, the Shiranui Priestess would defend Mayakashi Yoko with her life. The Dracomasters could only destroy her and the Nethersoul Dragon. Their deaths also triggered the effect of his continuous skill, raising his lifepoints by half of their combined original attackpower.
Hikaru's LP: 4350
"If one survives, or none at all, it makes no difference. My rage will crush them all!" The furious duelist used the last two Maremare tokens to link summon another Shaman of the Tenyi(1600/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright} [Zone 3]. And by discarding one card (Tyrant Farm) from his hand, she could resurrect one of the fallen Tenyi wyrms. "Come back, Dracoberserker! And attack Yoko the Mayakashi!" Due to his Coward Punishment skill card, Yoko could not defend itself and died after repeated punches to the body. Its death would also let the skill heal Hikaru by half of Yoko's lifepoints.
Nakana's LP: 4900 Hikaru's LP: 5800
"Ngh. Tengu, rise and shatter his perfection!" The death of Yoko would at least trigger the special summon of the masked Mayakashi Tengu(7/2600/1500) [Zone 3], and with his effect she could destroy his field spell all over again. Flawless Perfection of the Tenyi could not chain to any effects activated during the damage step after all. Mayakashi Mayhem also inflicted another 800 points of damage to her opponent. However, that was not the only effect to trigger off of Yoko's demise. "Dracoberserker gets the attackpoints of the monster it killed! And then it can attack again!" The Berserker chomped down on Yoko's lingering flames, letting the fire burn his body to strengthen him(5900/0). Tengu would be the next to feel its wrath.
Hikaru's LP: 5000
"I activate Mayakashi Metamorphosis! I can bring back one Mayakashi each turn!" Nakana turned to her Metamorphic trap, discarding one card (Glow Up Bloom) to revive the Graceful Yoko [Zone 3]. Though she gained a new Mayakashi card (Ghost Meets Girl - a Mayakashi Story) immediately afterwards with the help of Mayakashi Mayhem. Sending Glow Up Bloom to her graveyard would also let her add a highlevel zombie monster (Yasha the Skeletal Mayakashi) from the deck to her hand. "So that is why you did not use Yoko's effect earlier, is it? But Dracoberserker can banish one monster that activates its effect each turn!" The Berserker and Mayakashi lobbed blasts of darkness and fire at each other, despite the latter not being any part of this battle. Dracoberserker burned down to ashes and Yoko got reduced to even less than that; his spirit exiled to the banished dimension. "And your Mayakashi Loop is broken either way!" The Dracomaster duo declared their own attack, punching the floor to release a wave of energy that cut the floor wide open and slaughtered Tengu as well. The Shaman Tenyi herself fanned another wave of wind towards Nakana herself, knocking her down with the direct attack while Punishment of Cowardice healed her opponent by 1300 points. "Master Shintaro. Just wait a while longer. Soon you will be rid of this failure." .
Nakana's LP: 3000 Hikaru's LP: 6300
"They cannot hear you anymore, Hikaru. They would want you to stop this as well. Their love for you was just poison fed to them by Continuum." She said with a long and deep sigh. "Lies! It should have been me. I will make sure it is me. I am the only loyal son of the Shintaro family!" Hikaru placed two trap cards down and ended his turn. "You do not know what you are asking for, Hikaru."
-TURN 05-
"I know what I want!" He snapped as he activated both of his trap cards in the same breath: Royal Prison and Oasis of Dragonsouls! "The prison?" Zanbatou recoiled. The first trap would apply its effect continuously, and prevent any monster from being summoned from the graveyard. The second trap resolved before the prison solidified and special summoned one monster from the graveyard in defense mode as a wyrm monster. He chose the Dracoberserker(3000/0), who immediately shifted to attack position due to the effect of Punishment of Cowardice. "Now your monsters will stay buried! You are trapped, Nakana!" Mayakashi Metamorphosis could not activate its effect. She could not revive any of her Mayakashi zombies with Mayakashi Winter either. "Trapped? Of all the words to use.. you chose that one? Trapped is what you would have been if you were in my place. You are trapped right now. That is the only reason I will forgive you for your foolishness! But it will end today! All of these prisons will shatter!"
"I summon Ghost Charon, the Underworld Boatman!" A mummified and skeletal ferryman(2/500/0) [Zone 3] waded his way into the battlefield on a small boat, and dipped the paddle into the rivers of the underworld. "Ghost Charon banishes itself and one fusion monster in my graveyard to synchro summon one dragon monster! Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon!" Dracoberserker's usual punishment would come too late, Charon dove into the hellish waters on his own and merged with the soul of the Netherworld Dragon to synchronize ten levels within the graveyard. A new evolved dragon resurfaced: the winged hellserpent Dragocytos(10/4000/2000) with its claws, bone armor and demonic chestface.
"When Dragocytos destroys a monster, it can attack again!" Nakana activated her face-down Mayakashi Winter, which reduced the attackpoints of Hikaru's monsters by 100 for each Mayakashi monster in her graveyard: though currently there were only four (Dakki, Tengu, Yoko, Gashadokuro). "So he will attack both Dracoberserker and Shaman!" The devildragon opened the mouth of its second face to release an infernal light beam that enveloped all of the weakened Berserker(2600/0) and sent it right back to the hell it came from. Then came its follow-up strike, another hellbeam that incinerated the Tenyi Shaman(1200 atk). "Dragocytos cannot be destroyed by battle either! I set one card, and end my turn!"
Hikaru's LP: 1900
-TURN 06-
"Why would I care about what cannot kill it when I have what can! Dracomaster! Destroy Dragocytos! You should not have sent a dragon to kill a dragon slayer!" There were no effect monsters on his field again, which let him reuse the killing power of the Dracomaster duo(2200 atk). Their earthcracking punch swallowed the Nethersoul Dragon and sent him all the way back down to the infernal abyss, while his continuous skill drained half of its attackpower as lifeforce for him.
Hikaru's LP: 3900
"It is time that we end this. I will get my retribution with your own flesh!" The Tenyi duelist normal summoned the outerspace vessel-like wyrm Mystery Shell Dragon spirit(4/1600/0) [Zone 2]. "Attack her directly!" Mayakashi Winter could not weaken them both by enough points. At the same time, neither Mayakashi Metamorphosis nor any other road towards the graveyard would bring her a savior this turn. "I activate Ghost Meets Girl A Shiranui Story!" But the deck still could. "I discard one zombie to special summon one from my deck!" Nakana discarded the Mayakashi Yasha and special summoned Shiranui Spectralsword from her deck in attack mode. Sending Yasha to the grave made Dracomaster(2100) slightly weaker, but Hikaru's continuous skill prevented her from escaping their attack entirely. unscathed. The destruction of the Shiranui sword soul(2/800/0) [Zone 3] would at least give Hikaru a minimal lifepoint increase and her less of a decrease. The direct attack from Mystery Shell Dragon(1500/0) afterwards did not hurt as much either.
Hikaru's LP: 4300 Nakana's LP: 200
"You keep struggling, when it would be easier to just give up. I thought that was what you wanted?!" Hikaru came out of this phase utterly unsatisfied. "Sahasrara!" He used Mystery Shell Dragon and the Dracomaster as link materials to form another fourway link circuit for the golden lord of the Tenyi(3000/LINK 4) [Extra Zone 1] "You can deny it all you want, but you are clinging on to the Shintaro name just like I am!"
-TURN 07-
"A life of disappointment is all that awaits you if you set your goals to impossible levels, mister Hikaru. But this is not about which one of us is the better heir. I would let you inherit it all if I could. But there will be no value to the name, to any name, if you devote yourself to Continuum instead!.. I activate Shiranui Spectralsword!" Cards could still be banished from the graveyard. And the Spectral blade tuner had to banish itself, if it wanted to start a synchro summon with materials in the graveyard. "And summon Mayakashi Yoko!" The Shiranui banished Mayakashi Tengu to get the additional seven levels, and brought out the ninetailed fox spirit(9/2900/2400) [Extra Zone 2] as another synchro card. "And now that I control a zombie synchro monster, Mayakashi Manuscript can special summon one of the same type from my banished zone!" The undead princess revealed the next card prepared by Mayakashi Mayhem: Ghost Meets Girl - Mayakashi Manuscript. It took Yoko's FIRE attribute as the catalyst for the unsealing of the fire-blade samurai Shiranui Sunsaga(10/3500/0) [Zone 4]. "Sunsaga destroys Royal Prison!" The saga warrior returned the banished Tengu to the extra deck, to choose one card to destroy. If she could unlock her graveyard again, she would need nothing else.
"Every time I think I have you, you break free. You resist, no matter what we do." Hikaru cursed. He activated Sahasrara's effect to make a token of Sunsaga(4/3300/0) [Zone 2], which would prevent his opponent from attacking or targeting the main Sahasrara with any effects. "I refuse to be let others choose my future, Hikaru. You should find your own future as well." Himiko activated the Mayakashi Mayhem once more, and used it to place the Mayakashi Return spell from her deck down on the field. Activating that spell let her add a new Mayakashi monster (Yuki-Musume) from the deck to her hand.
"Yuki Musume summons herself by sending one zombie from the deck to my graveyard!" It would start all over again, with the icy touch of the winter ghost girl(1/0/1900) [Zone 4] this time. She discarded Mezuki from the deck and started a soft downpour of snow. "Then I link summon Yuki Onna the Ice Mayakashi!" The blue-haired Yuki-girl evolved into her pale white-haired mature form(1900/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright} [Extra Zone 1], by taking Yuki-Musume and Yoko as the link materials. "Now, Dakki the Graceful Mayakashi can return to my field!" She'd been waiting six turns to do this again, special summoning the nine-tailed girl Dakki(2/1000/0) [Zone 3] from her graveyard in response to an extra deck Mayakashi summon. "Come, Shafu!" This turn she could also normal summon the Shafu the wheeled rickshaw driver Mayakashi(3/1200/400) [Zone 2]. He used his effect to revive one Mayakashi, Yoko(2900/2400) [Zone 1] from the graveyard with its effects negated. "Do you need me to go on?"
"I will not yield. If I am to lose, I want to do so without regret." Hikaru stood firm. "I would have said the same thing. But you cannot win. That much is determined. I link summon Yuki Onna the Absolute Zero Mayakashi!" Her next link summon took at least two zombies who could materialize a fourway link circuit. She combined the current form of Yuki-Onna with Shafu and Dakki to make the ice ghost reach her final stage of the longhaired and ice-sword wielding maiden spirit(2900/LINK 4) {Left/Downleft/Right/Downright}. "When a monster is special summoned from the graveyard, Absolute Yuki Onna reduces one monster's attack to absolute zero! The monster I revive, will be Dakki!" Of course her nine-tailed tuner[Zone 3] resurrected herself a second time, so that she could target the Sunsaga/Tenyi token and cut its(0 atk) attackpoints away entirely. "This is checkmate, Hikaru." The final strike came from three sides: Yoko burned the fake Sunsaga to cinders, the real Sunsaga warrior cut down Sahasrara...
Hikaru's LP: 900
.. and the Absolute Yuki-Onna blew a kiss of frozen air, sending the sharp icy winds towards Hikaru, slowly chipping away his lifepoints like shattered skin. "Now.. I understand." He never stood a chance, no matter how close he came. Even if he stopped just one of these cards, there were a dozen ways she could have kept going. "But why, why couldn't I beat you!? I was not ordered to do this. I should not have abandoned my post But I wanted it!" He wanted to let this cold end affect him more than it actually did. But his heated anger remained.. He could only blame himself for the loss and nothing else.
Hikaru's LP: 0
"That is good." Nakana stated. "That you have a desire of your own means that Continuum has not yet fully made you into Its marionette yet. There is no shame in wanting a piece of life for yourself, as long as it does not come at the expense of someone else's life. If you want to be a part of my family, you still can be. But we will be a part of it as ourselves, not as another cog in that entity's machine." After everything he'd said and done, Nakana could only pity the man. "If there is a reason for your defeat, it is simply that you have only just begun to think and act for yourself, which can limit even the way you fight and duel. But I understand. I know all too well the feeling of carrying hatred inside of you for far too long. You just have to aim that hatred at the right person.." She stared not at Abigail, but at the ceiling of the white room. "We have to. We have to stop Continuum, Hikaru. Only then will you be really helping the family and the world."
"Help? No help will make a difference now. I can show you where the item is, but it cannot be stopped anymore." Hikaru looked down despondently. Just as the walls around them began to tremble. "What is this? What is happening?" Abigail yelled. "The union of all consciousness. You are too late to stop it now." He only knew what Scarlet Fever told him, and that was enough to leave behind a deep seated dread. "No! We have to get away then! We have to quickjump back to safety!" Abigail could only hope that one of the other teams made more progress than they did. "There is no safety.. Continuum will find you, no matter where you are." Hikaru had no hope at all.
...
It would be the same for everyone else. "Damn it!" The final stage of the process started in front of Charles and the others. They had not even gotten around to deleting half of the shields when the rooftop of the Obelisk suddenly split open to reveal the grey skies. A current of energy ran through the room and forced them to fall back. "What is it doing now?" Jenna cried out. She could barely see how the electric bolts formed a ball of light above the open room which expanded through solid matter as if it were air. "Gah! Whoa?" The ball passed them too, leaving them on the inside of its expanding form in which all light and colors were muted. That was not the only weird part. "Hey.. what is this?" Dharma saw an ark-shaped mark light up on her hand. "You have one too!" Hydra's hand revealed the mark of the shield, while Charles had marks of both the Chalice, Lance and Crown. "And.."
Jenna had nothing. "Huh? Jenna?" She had nothing at all anymore. The girl stared dead ahead with wide vacant eyes and a wide open mouth. "No..." Dharma was protected, she was not. "Her mind. She... This is what she was after." The obelisk took everything; her memories, her knowledge, her basic emotions. The wave knocked her into a waking coma from which she could not be freed. "Why did it not work on us?" Dharma felt sickened and confused. "It must be, because we still have some of the items... essence in us." Charles could not make any sense of this otherwise. But he had no idea on how to save Jenna now. How to save everyone else. She would not be the only one.
The seven Obelisks released the light of anti-wisdom across the globe, covering the whole world in seven waves that travelled at the speed of light. It was over within a matter of seconds. Every soul on the planet had their information drained out of the and collected by the Continuum. The third entities surrounding the Obelisk all woke up at the same time, empowered by the data. Then, once all seven orbs were spread out as far as they could be, they collapsed inwards again and exploded into a beam of light that split the clouds. Seven beams that fired off at a slight angle from seven different points across the hemisphere, focusing their power into one spot in the space between the moon and the earth. The collective unconsciousness of mankind would show the light the way.. towards the source of all thought and creation.
(To Be Continued in World 114: As In Creation, So in Destruction)
New Cards used by Nakana Shintaro
Ghost Charon, the Underworld Boatman
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Dragocytos Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon
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Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui's Story
New Cards used by Hikaru
Tenyi Spirit - Nahata
Mystery Shell Dragon
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Draco Masters of the Tenyi
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Royal Prison
Oasis of Dragonsouls