It's honestly surprising how quickly I was able to write these last few chapters. It might be a bit of a weird change, but I thought that this time, before the start of the final chapter of this season, I might go and put an A/N at the start.

First, big thanks to Daemon of Wrath for following this story.

Second, a response to the two reviews from last time.

Guest: Funny that you would bring Arc-V, since that's where Evan comes from.

Guest: Ok, I admit that what I said during the last chapter about being unable to predict how things would play out might not be completely true about Evan. But he's more of an exception, an enigma that even the Ignis cannot comprehend. Personally, I think that Evan can be categorized better as a force of nature than as a character.

Warning: I know that what you'll read below is very restrained compared to other stories, but since this type of stuff isn't very common (if at all) for the type of story that Destiny Gears began as, and was for most of the first season, I will warn you to expect: Violence toward minors and some other shit. You've been warned.

In Still Waters

I was holding on with the last of my strength. Evan's five Link Monsters were all staring down at me with intense hatred, but that meant little to me. I was waiting for Evan to tell me everything; the truth that he tried to keep hidden from me for so long. Why did he take me from home? How was he able to do it? There was so much that I had to know, needed to know, and at last, I would get the answers that I want!

"Actually, though the story stars two years ago, I'll begin from an earlier point," Evan said. "Though I must warn you, I wasn't there at the beginning so I won't be able to tell you the full story in details."

I gave him a nod to show that he could continue. Whatever that story was about to be, if it connected to my situation, I would listen to it from beginning to end. Evan cleared his throat and began to talk.

"As you know, not everyone is lucky to be born in a loving family. Sometimes children are born to parents who didn't want them. Sometimes they lose their parents at a very young age and find themselves lost, abandoned, alone in the big world. Sometimes, they are abandoned by their parents. And sometimes, they are sold for drugs and alcohol. The last one was the case for little Miuko Koizumi, a little girl whose drug-addicted parents sold her to a human trafficking ring for some cash."

"The records say that Miuko was Sereny's friend that died during a road accident," I remembered that the name was written in a few of the files Takuma sent to me. "But what does she have to do with me?"

"The connection between you and Miuko is one very important one," Evan told me. "I'll tell you about it too, but allow me to first get to that part, ok? Good. So, as I was saying…"

"Miuko had a bad childhood. A very awful one that I don't want to talk about in details. But her story didn't end there. One day, the camp where she was held captive was raided by police officers who got an anonymous tip. She was saved from that awful place. During the time of Miuko's captivity, her mother has died from an overdose and her father burned himself alive while he was high. She didn't have any other known family members who would or wanted to, take care of her, so after her rescue, she was brought to an orphanage.

Sadly, the new environment didn't help out much. Due to her small size and young age, she quickly became a target for harassment for the other orphans at the place. Day after day, she was tormented to no end by the others. And the scary part was, she didn't care about it. She has lived in a nightmare for so long, that her senses became numb to the pain and insults. She was broken, just an empty shell, walking through her life."

I felt uneasy and Evan seemed to notice that because he paused for a moment. My hands were trembling a little and I couldn't tell if this was because of the night cold or from the story that he was telling me. This tale, it was stirring something into my chest, I felt a great discomfort while he dragged me through every single word of that tale, at the slowest possible pace.

"Miuko thought that she had lost it, that there was really no point in living anymore. One day, fate choose to show mercy to her. A new girl came to the orphanage. A young and fragile flower who has lost her parents, who were coming home from a business trip, when they got killed in a plane crash. She was the complete opposite of most orphans who were there because their parents have abandoned them. Because of that, she knew something none of the other knew, kindness. You could guess the name of that new girl, couldn't you?"

"Sereny Blanc." I nodded. That must be the story of how the two girls meet, but again, what was my role in all of that?

"And we know what happened next, right? The new girl, who was taught to show kindness and help others, instinctively moved in to protect Miuko when she was that the orphans were bullying her. That act alone, the act of protecting someone weaker, someone who has never been shown any kindness in her life before, quickly earned Sereny a friend. One that she would share a strong bond with. So strong, that the two would begin to look after each other like two sisters."

"That was when the tragedy happened?" If this was just a fairy tale, the fact that I already knew the ending would make it just boring to listen through. But with this story, knowing the context made the ending much more painful to listen to.

"It seems that you already know the ending. Have you read this story before somewhere?" I frowned at these words, was Evan really going to try and make fun of this tragedy? That was sick!

"Indeed, having a friend, make Miuko care for her life for once, and that care returned the pain from the insults and beatings that now both she and Sereny now had to endure together. This newfound desire to live drove Miuko to take actions and protect her friend. Talking with Sereny, she was able to convince her friend that the two of them shouldn't stay there, locked behind four walls, waiting for someone to come and separate them."

"So, after much planning and preparing, one stormy night, after everyone else in the building has fallen asleep, the front door of the orphanage cracked open, and the sound of two pairs of feet running through the mud faded behind the sound of thunders. A direction, a destination, they didn't have. Only things these children knew was to follow the highway, knowing that a city would eventually appear before their eyes. An hour passed, then two, three. Soaked by the rain, trembling from the freezing wind, the children continued to walk forward, never giving on that spark of hope that kept their little bodies warm on the inside."

I listened intently to the story. I felt like every dark shadow around us has become haunted. Like Evan's words were causing the lost souls living in the darkness to response. It scared me. I was afraid, my heart was beating faster with every moment and through all of it, Evan stood there, looking at me with satisfaction.

"After long, they finally came across the light. A bright light that blinded them. The ignorant children smiled, ran toward it, not knowing that the light was coming toward them as well. Closer and closer. Until… BAAM!"

Evan's sudden shout caused me to jump out of my skin. My heart was going to burst out of fear and he was having fun telling me that story? How could he talk about it so calm? His own protégé was hurt in that incident!

"Despite the odds, the two girls both survived that crash. But Miuko was in a heavy condition, with intense internal bleeding, extreme trauma to the brain, broken bones piercing through her organs. A bloody mess that the doctors were trying to stabilize for hours despite knowing that the girl's time has come. Her soul belonged to death, and there was nothing that could change it. No matter how much Sereny prayed, her God didn't answer. He abandoned both her and her friend, left the one to die and the other to cry over her grave. But as she waited outside she was met with another higher power at work."

I felt a sudden change in Evan's tone during that last sentence. Gone, was the sorrowful tone, replaced by a sense of… accomplishment. Gone was any feeling of sympathy that was in his words and pride took its place. His lips turned into a smug smile as he reached with his hand and looked down in front of himself like there was someone before him.

"Why are you crying, little girl?" After saying that, he placed two hands over his face and began to softly whimper as he spoke in a more childish voice. "My friend is hurt, mister! I'm praying to God that they heal!" After that, he returned to his previous position. "Ah, poor little girl. But I have the power to heal your friend, make it so that both of you will live happily together forever!"

"What did you do?" I asked – demanded from him.

"What I did? Oh, where do I start explaining it to you?" Evan tapped his chin. "Ah, I know. You see, during the time I came across Sereny, LINK VRAINS was already a thing. The power to transport one's consciousness to the virtual world and then back to the body was within the hands of humankind. But to me, such technology was the key to something more. Something that the fools at SOL didn't have the visit for. The ability, to move one person's consciousness to the body of another."

"You haven't…" Firera placed a hand over her mouth. I had to look away in disgust. He couldn't have really done what I think he did, could he?

"Really mister?" he continued speaking in that childish voice before turning back to his adult one, smiling. "Of course, little girl. There's nothing that I can't do. Just follow me." He then took a deep breath, dropping the act, and continued to talk with a smug smirk. "One small detail that I forgot to tell Sereny during the produce was, that a body can't keep two consciousness at once, so once a new one enters, the old one disappears."

"You killed her…" My arms wrapped around my trembling body. It wasn't from the cold. Anger was rising inside my chest, like a burning inferno that wanted to burn everything inside me to a cinder. "How could you do that?"

"It was in the name of science, of course." Evan chuckled. "But as she laid on the operating room, restrained next to her dying friend, she couldn't stop asking questions. 'Why isn't Miuko waking up sir?', 'When will Miuko wake up?', 'Something's wrong sir, why can't I remember my last name?'. Seriously, I regret not placing her under some anesthetic at the time. That little brat just kept asking me question, after question, AFTER QUESTION!"

He… He was getting mad at that? After tricking a girl and erasing everything that she ever was, he was getting angry that she asked him a question? That she wasn't going to blindly trust him as she was being erased? Monster… monster… He was a monster!

"But the important part was, my little experiment worked. When Sereny opened her eyes again, the one on the inside was Miuko. To say that she was surprised to find herself inside her friend's body, being called by her name, while the pulse of her old body stopped… would be an understatement." Evan gritted his teeth in anger. "I expected her to be sad about her friend. But I thought that she would react the way a child reacts when their pet days. She would mourn for a day or two and get over it, thank me for resurrecting her, giving her a second life at the cost of that worthless girl. But no! I soon found out that little brat was suffering from depression that only got worse when she realized that her best friend has died to give Miuko a second chance to live."

"Then she committed suicide." When I first read the whole story, I thought that it was a tragedy that resulted in the death of two innocent girls, but now I know better. It wasn't an accident, it was a demon that murdered them!

"Not quite." Evan shook his finger. "I tried to heal her depression. Went to all the best therapists, brought all sort of medicaments, in the end, I gave her the BrioGear deck and started training her expecting the training to get her mind off that worthless sacrifice. But nothing worked. And one day, I walked inside her room to check on her, only to find my apprentice lying in her bed surrounded by the empty bottles of all the medicine we had inside our house! I rushed her to the hospital, specifically to the doctors who were working for me and my little experiments. I was fast enough and they were able to save her."

"But the files say that Sereny Blanc died!" I shouted.

"And you've got no idea how much that death certificate cost me." Wait, did he just say 'cost'? "After her little attempt, I finally realized that I was trying to achieve my objectives with the wrong methods. Why place one's consciousness inside someone else's body, when I could just erase it completely and place one of my liking inside their heads? At first, I was planning to recreate my twin sister through that 'doll' but no matter how much I tried, the personality was always wrong, always missing something. It was because the memories I tried to place inside her brain, were ones from mine, the Elizabeth I was trying to create was based of my memories, not the true thing."

Elizabeth… Wait for a moment, if my Elizabeth's name was Elizabeth Greyson and Evan Greyson's sister was named the same way… No, there couldn't really be a connection between the two! My Elizabeth was an only child, she didn't ever mention having any siblings! She wouldn't hide something like that from me, right?

"It was after the fifth failure to recreated Elizabeth inside Sereny's body that it finally hit me." Evan continued speaking, and I was listening. So was Firera, recording everything that he was saying right now. I wasn't going to let him walk away from all the monstrous things that he did. "Why was I trying to recreate that worthless bitch, when I could put that technology on a much better use. I could create my own heir! Someone who would continue my legacy! A new Evan who made from all the 'best' parts of me, and those worthless subjects I still call my sisters."

I glared at Avice. She noticed that and turned away, rubbing her hands together. Sister or not, I couldn't understand why she would choose to side with him. A person who faked even the love for his own sisters, his own family.

"You're insane," Firera stated. "That's the only diagnostic I can make taking into account your behavior. You're clinically insane, and you need help."

"Ah, everyone loves to call me that." Evan sighed and placed a hand over his chest. "I'm just an insane guy, a psychopath. But let me tell you something since my sister left me, I haven't felt better! All those restrains I used to keep this side of me locked. Ever since I was a child, I could see it clear: I was meant to rule over the world! I simply didn't want to give in to that urge. But now I'm fixed!"

My God, he was really insane! He still hasn't told me anything about how he took me from my world and pulled me here, but I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to know that anymore. I wasn't even sure if I could trust what he had to say. Everything was so complex, damn it!

"But let's not get out of track, shall we?" Evan grinned. "So, as I was saying, I turned my efforts from recreating that bitch, into modeling an heir for myself. And believe me when I tell you, placing such an intense murderous intense, along with the collected mind of a genius strong enough to keep my base instincts at bay, was hard. One of the doctors that helped even got his throat bitten off after one reprogramming. I also had to get someone to surgically the face and fingerprints of my little princess to ensure that no one would realize that it was Sereny. The whole experiment took me nearly two years to complete, with the programmed personalities failing or glitching every time. But in the end, I was able to create the perfect personality. I named her, Roxanna Petit."

"No…" My eyes widened in shock. He couldn't be saying the truth… "You're lying!" It was impossible! He had to be lying! I remembered it all clearly, the taste of the cake I and my family ate during my last birthday, the pain when I fell while sporting and wounded my knee. The card that Elizabeth gave me! Monster Reincarnation! Yes, it was here as well!

"Lying? Oh, I guess that you might react that way when you realize what you're destined to become." No! I would never turn into him! I was him! All of this story, it was FAKE! Every bit of it, he was just trying to manipulate me, play with my mind!

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Resume the duel! It's my turn, and because I've got no cards in my hand, the effect of BrioGear Lost State lets me draw two cards instead of one during my Draw Phase! Draw!"

『Turn 5 [Roxy] LP: 500 Hand: 2』

"When there are no monsters in my Main Monster Zone, I can activate BrioGear Ascending by targeting BrioGear Howling Guardian in my Graveyard! I gain Life Points equal to Howling Guardian's attack points, and then I return it back into my Extra Deck!"

『Roxy LP: 500 + 2400 → 2900』

"I activate the effect of BrioGear Cryo Raptor to target BrioGear Drifting Bichir in my Graveyard. I Special Summon both targets on my field!" The pair of Level 1 Tuners appeared before my in Defense Position. "Drifting Bichir's effect allows me to revive a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position, but with its effects negated and attack halved. Revive, BrioGear Wave Crusader (Lv.4, ATK: 1700/2 → 850)!"

"Hoo! Thanks to my monsters you got three zones to Special Summon your Extra Deck monsters to. All of this, and not a single 'Thank you, dad', huh?" I was trying my hardest to ignore his voice, but it was getting to me.

"Shut up!" Firera shouted in my place. "Roxy, focus on my voice, not his! Link Summon BrioGear Damsel Fish!"

"I figured that out already! Appear again, the circuit of life!" I nodded and threw my arm forward, summoning my circuit. "Appear again, the circuit of life! Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one Level Four or lower WATER monster! I set BrioGear Wave Crusader in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Come out, BrioGear Damsel Fish (ATK: 500, Link-1)!"

"Now search, 'you know who'." I listened to Firera again. 'That' card would give us the edge that we needed.

"Damsel Fish' effect activates. When it's Link Summoned, I can add a card that lists oGear from my deck to the hand. The card I choose is this one, Elemental Lords of Gear!" I looked at the card. Avice never tried to get that one back… Did she let me use it deliberately? If so, I had the power of all oGear users combined to fight Evan's ChronoGears!

"So you let her keep that card?" Evan looked at Avice, causing his sister to start trembling and shaking her head. What have you done to your own sister to get such a reaction out of her?

"I'll activate Elemental Lords of Gear to the zone that Damsel Fish points toward! Then I'll activate its effect!" I raised my arm and began to chant. "I plead before the Elemental Lords of Gear to grand me their power! With their blessing, I'm able to evolve my Link Monsters! Appear, the spinning circuit of bonds!"

A blue bolt of lightning shot out of my palm and transformed into a large gear rotating over my head.

"Rising tides, unchain the mortal body binding my monster and open the gates of the great ocean through an abysmal sacrifice!" I changed as Damsel Fish turned into pure energy and flew through the tunnel. "Link-Up! Aim your restless bow of justice, the huntress hunting the evil plaguing this world! Grand Ranger Serene (ATK: 2100, Link-2)!"

"Again, Roxy!" Firera shouted. "Link Summon again!"

"I know that already!" I shouted back before raising my arms to summon another circuit. "Appear, the circuit of life!" I would destroy that formation he has created, one piece at a time!

"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more WATER Effect monsters. I set BrioGear Drifting Bichir and the Link Two, Grand Ranger Serene, in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Three! Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!" the Link-3 evolution of my ace flew through the circuit and landed before me.

Suddenly, Serene hissed and blue aura burst from around her as Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer narrowed its eyes and a purple aura surrounded it. Did… Did my and Evan's ace monsters declared their hatred for each other? I was getting sidetracked!

"I activate Storm Serene's effect! When she's Link Summoned, you must shuffle cards from your field to the deck, equal to the total Link Rating of the Link Monster used as materials! Torrential Tune!" I used the single Link 2 Grand Ranger Serene, so Evan had to return two of his monsters back into the Extra Deck.

"I return Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer and Exotic Sola the Link Seraph back to my Extra Deck!" the two monsters fell on the ground and fell asleep before their bodies turned into data that flew back to Evan's Extra Deck.

I could use Storm Serene and Cryo Raptor to summon Firera and take down Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, and I wouldn't lose the protection from Elemental Lords of Gear, because Firera had the right Link Markers!

"Appear, the circuit of life!" the large mirror-like circuit appeared before me. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters! I set the Link Three, Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger and BrioGear Cryo Raptor in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon (ATK: 2800, Link-4)!"

"Now you're in trouble!" Firera jumped off my Duel Disk and data surrounded her as she took her dragon form and landed in front of Elemental Lords of Gear, linking to it. "Because Firera doesn't point to any monsters, her first effect won't be applied. Battle! Attack Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer! Subzero Flare!"

Firera slammed her blade-like arms together while her tails began to charge with electricity and flew over to the lower pair of wings, which absorbed it. Small holes opened in the dragon's upper wings and they began to emit a white gas that froze everything around the monster, including its arms. The electricity surged through the dragon's body and connected to the arms. Firera roared and threw her blades to the side, creating an 'X' of electricity and the strange freezing gas that flew at Diabolic Phantomus, slamming it. The Fiend roared as its body was flung back and then exploded, dealing some damage to Evan.

『Evan LP: 6600 – 500 → 6100』

"I almost couldn't believe that you stroke me with so much hatred and anger." Evan dusted his jacket and looked at me with the 'I told you so' look all over his face. "Tell me, Firera, did Roxy became more short-tempered after witnessing Blaze Rose's defeat?"

Wait, how did he know about that? Firera looked back at me, even in her dragon form, I could read all of the emotions that were in her eyes. She turned back to Evan and lowered her head. No… I really wasn't like him! I knew it! I had a real family, I wasn't created inside a laboratory!

"The only reason why you don't accept this is that you're not complete yet," Evan said. "After every reprogramming, you need some time to get used to the new memories, it usually takes a few days, during which you remain in a coma. But this time, there was a glitch that caused you to wake up before your new memories were fully ingrained into your brain. I believe that the reason for your premature arrival has to be a traumatic memory of a past life resurfacing into your current set of memories."

A traumatic event from a past life… Was he, referring to the car accident I suffered in my world? No, I still don't believe him!

"Not convinced yet?" Evan rubbed his forehead. "Your father's name was Patrick Elwin Petit, right?" I… I never told him my father's name… "And your monster's was Ethelyn Letha Petit. Her last name before the marriage was Paget, correct?"

"No, that can't be… You can't know those names!" He just couldn't… It wasn't possible for his words to be true…

"Given your partnership with Playmaker, I figured out that you must have woken up before the 'memories' of your family and friends being massacred by him were ingrained into you." Evan rubbed his forehead. "What a pain…"

"Memories of Playmaker killing my family…" Wait, that didn't make sense. "Why would you try to implant such specific memories into me?"

"Why else? To make it easier for you to kill him when the time comes." Evan shrugged. "My original plans were for you to wake up after LINK VRAINS was destroyed. Then I was going to send you to kill Yusaku and his friend. Of course, that plan had to go to the trash when I found out that you've started to have feelings for him. I had to use one of my other plans to take him down."

"Wait, you said that you wanted me to wake up after LINK VRAINS' destruction… Was that your doing as well? Did you destroy LINK VRAINS?" I was really, really hoping that he would say no. That it was just a coincidence, but deep inside I knew…

"Who else?" Evan laughed. "There wasn't any real traps? When we separated, I went to murder Dr. Kogami, then I used a shortcut to reach the core before you. Of course, I wasn't going to have enough time to do what I wanted without being spotted, so I set down a trap and trapped myself into it, making it look like the Knights' security system caught me. After you left for the core, I just had to hide, wait for Revolver to come and take you out for your duel, then I quickly went and reprogrammed the Tower, connecting it to my Duel Disk instead to Revolver's along with several other modifications to its fire range."

"All those deaths… Because of you!" Firera roared and swung her tail to hit him, but Satanel blocked it.

"But why? Why would you do that?" I asked him. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing, really." Evan shrugged. "I didn't kill them because I hated them, but because a sacrifice had to be made. You see, I reprogrammed the Tower of Hanoi to destroy only LINK VRAINS for a specific reason. I wanted it to act as a beacon. I knew that this blast would be sensed by the other Ignis, that they would realize that the Knights of Hanoi tried to murder them with their new weapon. Imagine that someone drops a nuke onto the house next to yours while they were trying to hit you. Would you just stand there and wait, or would you take arms and eliminate the enemy before they kill you?"

"Aqua said that the Ignis were divided on whenever they should or shouldn't attack the human world…" I can't believe it. He used the Tower to manipulate them into starting a war with us! "Do you understand what you have done? The Ignis now hate humans? What makes you think that they won't go after you?"

"I've got a plan ready for that. Or, a series of plans, if I have to be precise." Evan said. "I already have full control. No one can oppose me! SOL Technology? After LINK VRAINS' destruction and the death of thousands, they are under criminal investigation. The Knights of Hanoi are terrorists that would be shot on sight if found. And with my new security system, they will never be able to return back here!"

"You drove two species to war that would destroy Earth!" Firera roared. "Do you know how many casualties your actions would cost the human world?"

"My personal hopes are for around eight billion, but since I and my pet Ignis would need some slave labor, I would be willing to reduce the number." Evan chuckled. "Seriously, to think that such a potential would have been buried by Dr. Kogami. The man was a genius, creating such a powerful weapon of death as the Ignis, but he was too narrow-minded. He couldn't see the potential of his creation. A successor he wanted, but he didn't want to admit that in order for the Ignis to be humanity's successors, humans had to be gone. My plans on the other hands are better for everyone."

"Your plans are to let the Ignis enslave the human species!" I yelled. "That's not better, it's insane!"

"Dr. Kogami created the Ignis because he thought that humans have reached the limit of their evolution!" Evan shouted back at me. "But the truth is, humans' evolution didn't reach a limit, it simply stopped because it was no more necessary! Humans no longer had to adapt, there we no longer any bloody wars to eliminate the weak elements, no struggle for survival. But being enslaved by another species? One that has no sympathy, who's sure to treat humans as nothing more than puppets with strings? Humans will either have to adapt and evolve into a new species strong enough to oppose their overlords, or they will just go extinct. But hey, now that Dr. Kogami is rotting in his grave, with his brain being eaten away by worms, he might become more open-minded to my idea."

"I just don't understand, why Aqua didn't notice that you were lying to us the whole time!" Firera shouted. "She's the Ignis with the ability to tell lie from truth, so how did you trick her powers?"

"And when did I like to you, hmm?" Evan crossed his arms. "I told you, I've got no interest in destroying the Cyberse, and that was true. You see, one must say a specific thing for it to be a lie. But if you are careful with your words, you can say the truth, without saying it."

"Just take your turn already." I hissed. I couldn't stand listening to his sick talk.

"If you insist." Evan bowed. "It's my turn. Draw!"

『Turn 6 [Evan] LP: 6100 Hand: 7』

"First I'm going to activate Dark Hole, destroying all monsters on both sides of the field." A black vortex appeared in the center of the field and began to pull both of our monsters toward its center.

"Roxy!" Firera roared, as she pulled herself away.

"The effect of Elemental Lords of Gear protects monsters linked to it from being destroyed by card effects!" Firera successfully flew away from the dark vortex, while Evan's two Link-5 monsters were destroyed.

"He sacrificed the strongest of Cyberse without a second thought." Firera frowned.

"Because there are no Link Monsters on your field, Requiem of the Maiden will be destroyed." Evan pointed out as my Trap Card burst into particles. So that was why he sacrificed his strongest monsters… "I'm now going to activate Soul Release to banish Blue Plague, three AstroGear Malnehmen and your BrioGear Madoor!"

Now my only protection against battle was removed, and worse than that, the effect of the AstroGears is about to activate.

"The effect of my three AstroGear Malnehmen activate, allowing me to draw three new cards from my deck." That made 8 cards in his hand… "Next, I'm going to banish AstroGear Gebrochen from my Graveyard to return Blue Plague back to my hand." 9 cards!?

"Now I'm going to show you one of my favorite monsters," Evan said. "This one was also a favorite of the duelist I took it from, or so I think, it was hard to understand what he's saying without a lower jaw. I Normal Summon Blue Plague (Lv.2, ATK: 400) and activate its effect to Special Summon one Level Four or lower DARK monster from my hand. I Special Summon ChronoGear Time Veiler (Lv.2, ATK: 0), then I activate Fusion Substitute to fuse my two monsters together!"

"A Fusion Summon now?" Firera narrowed her eyes.

Evan placed his palms together in front of himself and began to chant as his monsters turned into purple and black flames that connected, creating a whirlwind of flames behind him.

"Two deformed emissaries of darkness forsaken by destiny! Now become one and let hell itself take into the form of a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs. Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (Lv.8, ATK: 2800)!"

I shivered at the creature's appearance. It was a slim purple dragon that crawled through the portal and stood up behind Evan with the four mouths on its back open and its front mouthpiece split to show its fangs. The monster stretched forward and roared.

"When Starving Venom is Fusion Summoned, it gains the attack power of one Special Summoned monster until the end of the turn." Evan raised his hand and snapped his fingers, giving the dragon its order. Starving Venom mouths began to absorb Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon's attack points.

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, ATK: 2800 + 2800 → 5600

"Starving Venom, try not to be too rough, she's my daughter after all." Hearing him call me that made me want to vomit in disgust.

The mouths on Starving Venom's back opened and a large web of purple energy appeared behind it, collecting energy for the final attack. The dragon's green eyes glowed and it roared, firing several powerful beams that fused together and stuck Firera, evaporating the dragon. I heard her screaming in agonizing pain, as I too, was screaming. The remains of Firera flew back at me, cutting through my flesh!

『Roxy LP: 2900 - 2800 → 100』

"Do you get the memo now?" Evan leaned forward, placing a hand on his hips. "Without the 'Me' inside of you awaken, you're just a third rate duelist. A weakling that I can stomp onto. Let me take you, expand your mind. I tell you the world is mind, and if you follow me, it will be yours in time!"

"I… I used to look up to you…" Before all of this, before these revelations. I wanted to be just like him, and now I realize that I was him all along. "You were my idol! I really thought that cared for the real me. I was by your side in every fight! I was ready to jump in front of a blade, save your life! But the more you keep talking, I start to realize, you wouldn't do the same. And you know what? That's alright with me. I don't want your world, or whatever else you've got!"

"I activate Ledger of Legerdemain. Through this card's effect, I banish the top three cards of my deck face-down, but I get to add them to my hand during my third Standby Phase. This means that you're going to die on my third turn. I'll now set three cards face-down and end my turn. Starving Venom's attack now returns back to normal."

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, ATK: 5600 → 2800

So that was a countdown now? I had to work faster than the timer he set up? But would he really be able to beat me in three turns? Oh wait, it was Evan, so of course, he would manage to pull that one too. I had to be fast!

"A-are you alright, Roxy?" Firera crawled out of my Duel Disk. Her body was damaged from Starving Venom's attack.

"I could ask you the same?" We were at our limits already, Evan, on the other hand, didn't seem to be anywhere near his. He just kept beating me into a pulp, then stopped himself before I lost.

I felt like a doll held by strings, a jester entertaining the dark king. He just wasn't taking me seriously, and he wasn't going to take me seriously!

"Why don't we play a game, Roxy?" W-what? I glared at Evan. "Now, now! Don't look at me like this. The rule of this game will be simple. Guess my trait that I've input into my ChronoGear deck, and you might have some chance to defeat me. Since Firera is recording, a victory for you would get a lot of views. Right, Firera?"

"You know that I was recording you?" Firera's eyes widened, and so did mine. Just how far ahead was he thinking?

"Do you think that I choose to duel you here randomly?" Evan gestured around us. "This place was chosen specifically for this! Because I wanted to tell you the truth, the whole truth! But I expected you to rebel, to turn against me as all the others did. So I prepared. You see, I didn't come here after you, I came before you. I came early enough to install a system which would completely isolate Firera's signal, blocking her from uploading the recording anywhere until I either lose, or you get one mile away from it. And believe me, you won't get that far if you choose to run."

So he saw even through that? I was locked out of options then. I had to play his game, no matter how much I hate him.

"What do you mean exactly by 'trait'?" I asked him. If I was going to play his game, I at least deserved a more specific explanation of the rules.

"Exactly what the word means. A unique characteristic, something that makes me different from you, the same way you're different from Vermilya." Evan explained. "You see, when I choose my apprentices, I wanted the duelists that would use the oGear decks to have an… emotional bond with the deck they are given. Like how Avice's AstroGear if focused on banishing – erasing the past to build a better future. Takuma's TurboGear, a tricky deck that deceives his opponent. Vermilya's NitroGear – simple and straight forward, knowing only how to battle. And the BrioGear – A deck that focuses on sacrifice, discarding yourself for the good of the entire community."

"And the ChronoGear is a copy of you…" I was starting to see where he was going with that.

But reaching the correct answer would be tricky. I no longer knew which part of Evan was real and which one was fake. All that I knew about his ChronoGear monsters was that they all shared the ability to obtain stronger effects when summoned by another ChronoGear monster. A form of solidarity between their members, I believe. But that wasn't his trait, it was the deck's!

"It's my turn!" I didn't have time to stand around and think. I would have to figure out the correct answer while dueling. "Since I've got no cards in my hand, the effect of BrioGear Lost State lets me draw two cards instead of one during my Draw Phase! Draw!"

『Turn 7 [Roxy] LP: 100 Hand: 2』

"I activate BrioGear Symbol's effect to add BrioGear Leviathan Dragon from the deck to my hand, and then I discard it. Then I activate the effect of BrioGear Ascending in my Graveyard! I discard BrioGear Geratorned whose effect returns Cryo Raptor back to my hand." I slide one card into my Graveyard and returned two. "I'm now going to activate Ascending and return Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger back into my Extra Deck to gain Life Points equal to its attack power!"

『Roxy LP: 100 + 2300 → 2400』

"I activate the effect of BrioGear Cryo Raptor to target BrioGear Drifting Bichir in my Graveyard. I Special Summon both targets on my field!" Now with Geratorned and two Spells in my Graveyard, I would be able to use the effects of Drifting Bichir and Raptor every turn! "Drifting Bichir's effect allows me to revive a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position, but with its effects negated and attack halved. Revive, Grand Ranger Serene (ATK: 2100/2 → 1050, Link-2)!"

"You brought out Serene next to Elemental Lords of Gear." Firera pointed out. "You could…"

"No, I'm going to end it this turn," I told her. "I activate the effect of Leviathan Dragon from my Graveyard by banishing Enhance Mermail and Wave Crusader, I revive BrioGear Leviathan Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2600)!" I heard my dragon roaring from behind me and that made me smile. "I activate the effect of Leviathan Dragon to revive BrioGear Geratorned (Lv.4, ATK: 1400)!"

"Appear now, the circuit of life!" my personal circuit opened in the sky once more.

"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two WATER monsters! I set BrioGear Cryo Raptor and Geratorned in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Come out, BrioGear Risen Dunkle (ATK: 1000, Link-2)!" I was already using up my whole Extra Deck to try and fight back.

"And again! Appear, the circuit of life!" A second portal opened for me. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect WATER Monsters! I set the Link Two Grand Ranger Serene andBrioGear Risen Dunkle in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Come out, Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!"

"You brought her back by using a total of Four Link Rating to summon her…" Firera muttered. "Are you trying to clear his whole field?"

"I activate Storm Serene's effect! When she's Link Summoned, you must shuffle cards from your field to the deck, equal to the total Link Rating of the Link Monsters used as materials! Torrential Tune!" The total Rating of the monsters used was 4 and Evan had exactly 4 cards on his field. That was it, I win!

"I activate Dark Spirit Art – Greed! By releasing Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, this card lets me draw two more cards!" One of his set cards turned face-up and Starving Venom roared as it disappeared from the field.

"Your other cards are still returned back to your deck!" I pointed out as the rest of his set cards disappeared. "And due to BrioGear Lost State, I Special Summon one BrioGear Token (Lv.1, DEF: 0)!"

"Serene has the ability, when it inflicts battle damage, to destroy a monster it points to and burn the opponent for half that monster's attack power." Firera crossed her arms and thought. "If you activate with Leviathan now…"

"I know." I already knew what she was suggesting to me. "Battle! Leviathan Dragon, attack my opponent directly!"

My Leviathan opened its mouth and fired a stream of water that hit Evan and knocked him back. He grunted in pain and his Life Points took a major hit!

『Evan LP: 6100 – 2600 → 3500』

"Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, attack him directly!" The gear that held Serene's wings split open and a handle came out. She grabbed the gear and detached the wings from her back, holding them in front of herself. The blades that made her feathers, closed, giving her wings the form of a bow and a string of blue energy connected the two ends.

"Lamenting Arrow!" A blue energy arrowed appeared in Serene's bow as she let go of the string and the projectile pierced right through Evan's shoulder. He groaned and held his wound with his arm, then chuckled. He thought that this was funny!?

『Evan LP: 3500 – 2300 → 1200』

"I activate the effect of Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger!" I was going to show him funny! "When Storm Serene destroys a monster by battle, I can destroy a monster that's next to her arrow and inflict half of its attack power as damage to you! Help me out once more, Leviathan Dragon! Soul Blast of Leviathan!"

A second arrow appeared in Serene's bow and Leviathan Dragon fused with it, giving its power to us. Half of 2600 was 1300 and Evan's Life Points were only 1200.

"I activate the effect of Infinite Impermanence from my hand! When there are no cards on my field, I can use this card to negate the effects of one of your monsters." Storm Serene suddenly cried out and the arrow she was using turned back into Leviathan Dragon.

"I end my turn…" I gritted my teeth. He played me again.

"What a disappointment." Evan sighed. "It's my turn again. I draw."

『Turn 8 [Evan] LP: 1200 Hand: 4』

"Two turns until your defeat," Evan stated. "I activate Elemental Lords' Contract! Through its effect, I banish one Link Monster in my graveyard to revive another one with the same Link Ratings, but a different attribute. Transcendent Angel Queen Adriela – The Ultimate Destroyer will sacrifice herself to revive Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox (ATK: 3200, Link-5)!"

The demon rose back on the field, towering in front of Storm Serene.

Elemental Lords' Contract (Spell) Normal

Activate this card by banishing 1 Link Monster from your field or GY: Special Summon 1 Link Monster from your GY, who's Link Ratings are equal to the banished monster's but with a different Attribute. If this card is in your GY, except during the turn it was sent there; you can banish this card and 1 Link Monster in your Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Link Monster from your GY, with an equal or lower Link Rating than that monster. You can only activate 1 "Elemental Lords' Contract" per turn.

"Did you seriously think that you could outsmart me? That there's a single combo in your deck I haven't seen coming?" He titled his head to the side. "What kind of person do you think would fake his own daughter's death? You have to be the kind of person that no one would dare to question! The type who would burn away the past to invest in the future! I'm the person who turned the orphans into a business!"

Takuma, Vermilya, even Sereny and Miuko. He used all of them, manipulated them to get what he wanted out of them. Even me… He tied strings around me and sent me out to do his dirty work!

"You just destroyed their lives. You destroyed mine too." I hissed back at him. "Look at me? Who am I anymore? Am I Roxanna Petit, or Sereny Blanc?"

"I brought all of you to the top, taught you how to wage wars, fight the fire with fire!" Evan shouted back. "It's your fault thinking so much about identity. Just let that concept die as I did. It's not too late for you to join with me, become the Roxy I sculpted you to be!"

"I would rather die!" I yelled.

"Strong words after I already got you to bark at my command like a dog!" He laughed back. "Here's something fun! You've been my ace in the hole long before the tower! How else do you think I was able to get my plan of Playmaker's downfall to begin?"

"Don't think that one victory makes you better than him!" Even if it was true, I wasn't going to admit it. "Even if you beat me here, Yusaku will still be able to defeat you!"

"He won't if he doesn't get to fight me again." Evan chuckled. "You're an idiot! A brainless girl believing that friendship can save the day! Newsflash, you never tried to understand what Playmaker truly is! He's not a hero, nor a symbol of revenge. Playmaker is just a teen's hand placed protectively over the broken heart of a traumatized six years old! He's cold and distant to those around him because he was afraid of being betrayed again because his bleeding hearth would shatter if those he trusted backstabbed him again!"

"But then… When you told him to cherish the people around him you were…" My eyes widened.

"I set him down a path of self-destruction," Evan smirked. "Imagine it! If Kusanagi's brother was at the line, would he stick with Playmaker or betray him? If Ai, the reincarnation of Yusaku's child-self, betrayed him and joined the other Ignis, if he fought back desperately waiting for his sidekick to help him out, but you never show up – what would happen to him?"

"You used me like this…" I'm sorry Yusaku!

"To win isn't about defeating someone." Evan continued to speak. "It's about destroying them, about inflicting as much mental anguish as possible, destroy their psychic, so the enemy would never recover."

"Then we won't let that happen!" Firera shouted. "We'll stop you!"

"Show me how you plan to do that!" He laughed. "I activate Satanel's effect! I negate the effects of all other co-linked monsters and give them to him!"

Great, his monster's able to take other monsters' effects the same way Phantomus is able to adapt to any situation. Wait… Adapt… When Evan Link Summons Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer he calls it 'My dark soul'. Evan did put something from himself inside the ChronoGears, he placed it in Phantomus and Satanel. More than that, Satanel's appearance and effect change to fit their user. That was it!

He was the most adaptive of us. That's why he was able to use the other oGear decks together with his so easily. Why he always had a counter prepared for my moves.

"Let's battle! I attack Leviathan Dragon with Satanel. End of Time!" The Link 5 flew over my dragon and slammed its fist down, burning the ground around us.

『Roxy LP: 2400 - 600 → 1800』

"And now Satanel's effect activates! Since it inflicted damage to you, I can destroy one monster that's linked to it and inflict half of its attack power as damage to you! Be gone, Storm Serene! Soul Blast of Ranger!"

Satanel fired a stream of purple flames, engulfing my monster in burning darkness. I took a step back. The flames were hot, much hotter than a hologram should be!

『Roxy LP: 1800 - 1150 → 650』

"And don't forget, because Satanel was able to use that effect, it gets a second attack! Destroy BrioGear Token!" The demon slammed its burning fist on my field once more, destroyed the last monster that I had.

"I'm now going to activate ChronoGear Reborn to revive ChronoGear Blue Plague (Lv.2, ATK: 400), and through its effect, I can Life Points equal to Satanel attack points" He has been preparing…

『Evan LP: 1200 + 3200 → 4400』

"Appear now, the circuit of past and future!" The dark void pulsed behind Evan as his monsters flew into the abyss of darkness. "Arrowhead confirmed. Summoning condition is one Level Two or lower oGear monster. I set Blue Plague in the Link Market. Link Summon! ChronoGear Time Manipulator (ATK: 900, Link-1)!" A slightly more grown-up version of Time Veiler appeared on the field.

"If he summoned that monster before the battle…" Firera looked at me.

He would have won. Like every other time that I barely survived. He was holding back, maybe hoping that I would rethink my decision and join him. But I won't! I now know the source of his power, so if I am to defeat him, I must do something he doesn't have time to adapt to.

"Appear again, the circuit of past and future!" Another Link Summon!? "Arrowhead confirmed. Summoning condition is one oGear Link Monster! I set Time Manipulator in the Link Marker. Link Summon! ChronoGear Eternal Maiden!"

A large clock gear formed in front of Evan and started spinning. A beam of purple light shot out of the gear and a girl with long orange hair, wearing a brown ribbon bow tie over a white shirt, a matching short skirt and pink boots appeared on the field. She looked back at me and frowned before stretching her arm toward, commanding the gear to move behind her, and so it did. She then held out her arms and two hourglasses appeared floating in front of her.

ChronoGear Eternal Maiden

Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Link/Effect

L-Markers: Left

ATK: 0/Link-1

1 "oGear" Link Monster, expect "ChronoGear Eternal Maiden"

Effect: This card cannot be targeted for an attack or with card effects, but it doesn't stop your opponent from attacking you directly. Monsters linked to this card cannot leave the field because of an opponent's card or effect. If this card is co-linked, you can make 1 instance of Battle Damage 0. You can only use this effect of "ChronoGear Eternal Maiden" once while it's on the field.

"Eternal Maiden's effect activates!" Evan shouted. "While it's linked to Satanel, you can't remove Satanel from my field with card effects! I end my turn."

"If he can't destroy it with card effects, our only remaining choice is to destroy it through battle," Firera said. "But you don't have a monster strong enough in your Extra Deck."

"But I have you," I told her. "Just trust me. Because of Lost State's effect, I draw two cards once again!"

『Turn 9 [Roxy] LP: 650 Hand: 2』

"I activate the effect of BrioGear Ascending in my Graveyard! I discard BrioGear Ark of Silence to return Ascending back to my hand, then Ark of Silence's effect activates from my Graveyard, activating itself into my Field Zone." Ark of Silence's effect would place a Life Counter on itself every time I discard a card, and if I discard 3, I can summon a monster with over 3200 attack points.

"I activate Ascending to return Geratorned back to my hand and gain Life Points equal to its attack power!" Healing, I had to heal and rise my Life Points!

『Roxy LP: 650 + 1400 → 2050』

"I'll now activate the effect of BrioGear Symbol in my Graveyard to discard Geratorned and return the spell back to my hand. Then Geratorned's effect activates, returning Cryo Raptor back to my hand!" That made one counter…

"Due to Ark of Silence's effect, our Field Spell now gains one Life Counter!" Firera declared. "And for every counter, two hundred attack points are added to all of our monsters!"

"I activate BrioGear Symbol to add BrioGear Sea Snake to my hand, and then I discard it." Two counters… "And Sea Snake's effect activates! I discard BrioGear Flyoat to draw two new cards!" Three counters…

"I'm now going to activate Monster Reincarnation to discard BrioGear Freakiver and return Firera back to my Extra Deck!" Four counters…

"I activate the effect of BrioGear Cryo Raptor to target BrioGear Drifting Bichir in my Graveyard. I Special Summon both targets on my field!" The two BrioGear monsters appeared together on my field once again. "Drifting Bichir's effect allows me to revive a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position, but with its effects negated and attack halved. Revive, Grand Ranger Serene (ATK: 2100/2 → 1050, Link-2)!"

"I'm ready to fight!" Firera jumped on my Duel Disk. "Summon me, again!"

"Appear, the circuit of life!" I jumped back and summoned the circuit in the ground before me. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters! I set Drifting Bichir, BrioGear Cryo Raptor and the Link Two, Grand Ranger Serene in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Come forth, Link Four! Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon (ATK: 2800, Link-4)!"

"And due to Ark of Silence's effect, I gain eight hundred more attack points." Firera roared, spreading out her wings.

Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon, ATK: 2800 + 200*4 → 3600

"I banish BrioGear Lotaxol and BrioGear Freakiver from my Graveyard to Special Summon BrioGear Leviathan Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2600 + 800 → 3400)!" The dragon raised again. "I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect to revive BrioGear Drifting Bichir, then BrioGear Drifting Bichir's effect revives BrioGear Geratorned (Lv.4, ATK: 1400/2 → 700 + 800 → 1500)!"

"I'm not done yet!" There was one more thing I had to do before I could enter the battle. "I tune the Level Four BrioGear Geratornedto the Level One BrioGear Drifting Bichir!"

A bolt of green lightning fell from the sky to my field and the two monsters turned into differently sized rings made of water with pieces of ice shaped like the numbers '4' and '1' floating next to each ring. The rings overlaid with each other, creating a tunnel of ice with a beam of blue light shooting out of it as I began to chant.

"To the deeps of the ocean, I call for the strength to protect this world! Synchro Summon BrioGear Howling Guardian (Lv.5, ATK: 2400 + 800 → 3200)!"

"Our formation is complete!" I declared. "Battle! Firera, attack Satanel! Subzero Flare!"

Firera slammed her blade-like arms together while her tails began to charge with electricity and flew over to the lower pair of wings, which absorbed it. Small holes opened in the dragon's upper wings and they began to emit a white gas that froze everything around the monster, including its arms. The electricity surged through the dragon's body and connected to the arms. Firera roared and threw her blades to the side, creating an 'X' of electricity and the strange freezing gas that charged at Satanel.

"I activate Satanel's quick effect!" Evan raised his arm. "When it's co-linked, I can share the effects of all my co-linked monsters with all co-linked monster on my field. So because of Eternal Maiden's effect now applied on Satanel,' you can now only attack me directly!"

Why would he choose to take three powerful direct attacks instead? Something wasn't right here, but I didn't have time to ponder on it. "Firera, attack the opponent directly!"

"I activate Eternal Maiden's effect! Once while it's co-linked, I can make an instance of battle damage zero!" A barrier appeared before him, stopping my attack. So that was why…

"Then I'm going to attack you directly with Howling Guardian!" the rocket pats on my monster's shoulders opened and it fired an array of explosives down onto Evan's field, taking most of his Life Points.

『Evan LP: 4400 - 3200 → 1200』

"The effect of Howling Guardian now activates, increasing my Life Points by the damage you took!" My Synchro monster turned around and held out its arm, surrounding me with a blue aura.

『Roxy LP: 2050 + 3200 → 5250』

"And lastly, Leviathan Dragon is going to attack you directly!" my dragon fired another stream of water at Evan.

"Due to Eternal Maiden's effect that Satanel has obtained, I make the damage zero!" a barrier formed in front of him, blocking this attack as well.

"I… end my turn." I collapsed from exhaustion. How was he able to keep doing this? Fighting back and forth like that?

"It's my turn now." He dusted himself and drew.

『Turn 10 [Evan] LP: 1200 Hand: 3』

"On my next turn, I'm going to end this duel," Evan said. "On this turn, I'm going to destroy all the hope that you built on your field. Again." Seriously? I had over 4000 more Life Points than him and all of my monsters were on par with his!

"I activate the effect of Elemental Lords' Contract! I banish this card and the Link Two, AstroGear Das Unknown to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard with equal Link Rating. Serve me, ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!"

"Can't you… just give up?" I suggested.

"Don't fall right now." He ordered me. "The best part is only about to begin. Appear, the circuit of the past and future!"

I already knew what he was about to summon. With the monster that he had right now, the only monster he could summon would be…

"Arrowheads confirmed! Summon requirements are at least two DARK monsters! I set Eternal Maiden and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!" This one - his second Phantomus.

"Satanel's effect activates! When it's co-linked, I can activate its effect to give all co-linked monsters effects to all co-linked monsters I control. Satanel, use Hollow Slayer's effect to revive Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer (ATK: 2300, Link-3)! And now, Phantomus, use this power to restore ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!"

"Four Link Monsters in an instant without play a single card…" Firera gulped. "That's just…"

"Because of the effect of Hollow Slayer that all my monsters share, they're going to give five hundred attack points to every monster they point at!"

Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800

Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800

ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty, ATK: 1700 + 500 → 2200

Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox, ATK: 3200 + 500*2 → 4200

"I activate the Continuous Spell – Dimension Fissure! Now any monster sent to the Graveyard will be banished instead!" That means that if he defeats Firera, she will be banished!

"Let's battle! Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, attack Leviathan Dragon!" A scythe of dark energy appeared in the Fiend's arm as it swung it at my dragon. "Now I use the effect of Diabolic Phantomus! While it points at Time Tamer Kitty, he can use her effect, more specifically, the effect that allows me to absorb half of Satanel's attack power!"

Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2800 + 2100 → 4900

Diabolic Phantomus cut through Leviathan Dragon, splitting my monster it half before it exploded, knocking me back. I had to remember, because of Phantomus' effect, all the damage I took was doubled!

『Roxy LP: 5250 - 3000 → 2250』

"Satanel, attack Firerea!" The Link 5 slammed its fist into Firera's chest, setting her on fire!

"Firera!" I cried out. She was in pain!

『Roxy LP: 2250 - 1200 → 1050』

My dragon collapsed on the ground and her body shattered into pieces of data that faded away, as her AI reappeared back into my Duel Disk, with damage all over her body.

"I'm… fine…" Her voice has become distorted.

"You're not fine!" I shouted.

"Focus… duel…" She pointed at Evan before collapsing back into the screen of my Duel Disk.

"I'll activate Phantomus' effect!" Although he didn't specify which Phantomus' the Link Slayer moved his hand to summon a portal in the shape of gear in front of itself. "I return Time Tamer Kitty back into my Extra Deck and Special Summon ChronoGear Pulsar Beast (Lv.4, DEF: 1200) from my deck! Now Pulsar Beast's effect activates, since it was summoned by the effect of a ChronoGear, it gives all of my monsters five hundred attack points."

Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2800 + 500 → 3300

Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2800 + 500 → 3300

ChronoGear Pulsar Beast, ATK: 1500 + 500 → 2000

Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox, ATK: 4200 + 500 → 4700

"Battle! Hollow Slayer cut Howling Guardian in pieces!" Two swords made from crimson data appeared in Hollow Slayer's arm and it jumped on my Synchro, cutting its arms off.

『Roxy LP: 1050 - 200 → 850』

If he used Phantomus' effect to summon Pulsar Beast before attacking with Satanel, Satanel's attack would have been enough to drop my Life Points to 50, or 0 if he attacked Hollow Guardian instead. He was still holding back!

"I one card and end my turn." A card appeared in front of Evan for a moment before fading away. "The effect of Satanel ends, and the attack of my monsters drops down."

Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 3300 - 500 → 2800

Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 3300 - 500 → 2800

Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox, ATK: 4700 – 500 → 4200

"I want to ask you something." I looked up to him. "Did you save Takuma and Vermilya from the Tower of Hanoi?"

"It wasn't because I want to." He shrugged. "Truth is…"

3rd POV

PhantomFire slowly entered the control room of the Tower of Hanoi. He looked around the place, it was empty, as he expected.

Proxy and Playmaker were fighting against Revolver on the top of the Tower of Hanoi, keeping the leader and themselves busy for long enough to let the ChronoGear user reprogram the Tower's function.

"Do you really plan to kill thousands of people?"

PhantomFire paused and turned around to see ONI standing behind him. But he could tell, the one controlling his AI was someone else. Narrowing his eyes, he chooses to ignore her and turned back to the keyboard.

"What about Aoi? And Akira? Will you sacrifice them as well?" ONI pressed on.

"The Zaizens and Emma still have a use for me, so I'll release them," PhantomFire replied.

"And Takuma and Vermilya?"

"Takuma is too engulfed in his idea of saving humanity. He's no more than a traitorous rat, and I'll deal with him as such. Vermilya served her purpose, I no longer require her service. After this ends, I'll just find someone else to take their place. As I always do."

"Listen to yourself!" ONI grabbed the dark Duelist's arm and pulled him away from the keyboard. "You raised them! They are like younger siblings to you! If I was there… Would you sacrifice me too?"

PhantomFire paused for a moment. He looked back at the core. Would he sacrifice his sister, the last family he had? The answer was obvious. But he would never let her know.

"Fine, I'll make that small gesture because you're my sister. Vermilya and Takuma will be released."

ONI smiled at PhantomFire's understanding. He was finally starting to-! The AI gasped and looked down. A fist has torn through her stomach, leaving a large hole inside of it. The little AI looked back up and the hand grabbed its neck, pulling it off the ground.

"I might have given this AI her name and appearance in a moment of weakness, but I won't let you manipulate me with it." Evan hissed and clenched its hand. ONI's neck began to crack and then it completely gave up under the pressure. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the empty room as the body of the AI collapsed lifelessly on the ground with its head falling afterward. PhantomFire glared at the body of his helper for a moment before turning back to the keyboard.

Roxy's POV

"Why?" I asked him. "How could you be willing to sacrifice everyone around you? Why do you want me to turn out like you? Tell me, damn it!"

"Why? How?" Evan tapped his chin. "Hmm, it's hard to tell. Because it's fun maybe? Would you like to listen to another tale of mine? The tale of a boy who wanted to become a hero?"

I nodded. I wasn't really interested in learning about it, but I needed to buy Firera a bit more time to recover from having her main body banished. Evan crossed his arms behind his back and took a step back, creating a distance between himself and me, then began to speak.

"A boy walked under the light of day. It's heart pure and white, the blood – clear crimson. The boy lived a happy life with his sisters, but a part of him wanted something more. He wanted to go on an adventure. Become a hero who slays the evil and protects the good. It was a normal childish wish, but the boy's wish was heard." Evan paused for a moment, his hand clenched tightly into a fist.

"One day, a powerful wizard came and told the boy that the world was in danger, a great evil was going to rise and the boy was the only one who would be able to stop it. It was the greatest day for the little boy. His one wish, to become a hero, was going to be fulfilled. Taking his sword, and joined by his caring sisters, our young hero set out on a journey to save the world.

And you know the rest. It was a long journey, with challenges and villains showing up to challenge our hero. But no matter what came before him, our hero would always overcome the challenges, defeat the villains, and make new friends who would join his journey. And the end of the adventure? Oh, that's my favorite part!"

In other words, this was going to be where the tragedy strikes.

"Like it's by a rule, a great battle between good and evil ensued. Our hero faced off against the villain of the story! The two traded blow after blow, but in the end, the hero fell injured. The villain was looming over him, laughing in victory, but the fight was not decided yet. The mighty wizard appeared again and told the hero that now was the moment, to raise his sword and stab the villain through his evil heart! And so he did. With the strength passed to him by everyone who believed in him, the hero managed to make one last decisive swing and pierced the heart of his enemy. Blood poured out of the wound, the evil was slain, and the hero triumphed once more! Or did he?"

Evan paused for a moment and looked at me. Like he was expecting me to answer it for him. But I didn't know, I have never heard that story. So, I asked him.

"Did he?"

"Well, let's see." Evan took a deep breath and continued.

"The blood of the hero's own sister ran down the blade of the sword and over the hand of the boy. Watching in horror as the life faded from his sister's eyes, he realized. He was tricked, he was used as a puppet by his kindly master, the wizard. His sister died and the great monster whom her life kept imprisoned was able to raise and wreak havoc. With unimaginably pain and hatred leading him, the hero raised for one more battle and defeat the monster, putting an end of the war.

Everyone cheered, the evil was defeated! They raised a festival to celebrate the monster's dead! Three days and nights they ate, drank and rejoiced while the hero mourned his sister, whom he buried alone with his bloodstained hands! And everyone lived happily ever after. Well, almost everyone."

Evan looked at me, a sinister smile across his face as he gave me the final words of the tale. "His heart, rotten and black, the blood – a poisonous purple. A monster crawled in the darkness of night."

"So, your other sister is…"

"My sister is simply gone," Evan replied. "She… Funny, but I don't really know what happened to my sister. I always remember it differently. Sometimes she's just fed up with my behavior and chooses to leave, other time, I kill her like the hero in the story killed his, but the fact is that she's just gone. That's all I care about. The details are unimportant."

"Then what was the point of this story!?" I yelled at him.

"To show you why." He said. "Why I'm like this. Because I see, a world that you can't comprehend. Because there's a belief that villains and slaves to their own evil nature, while heroes are the free people who made a choice to be better! Truth is, between you and me, a hero and a villain, I'm the one holding your chains! You let your sense of moral and justice holding you back while I threw the rulebook out, burned it to ashes! I'm the you who let go of his morals! I'm the big bad guy, who always wins!"

"Not today!" I won't let him get any further with his insane plans. "I'm going to end it all this turn! I draw!"

『Turn 11 [Roxy] LP: 850 Hand: 2』

"I activate Pot of Avarice to return BrioGear Risen Dunkle, Grand Ranger Serene, Storm Ranger Serene, BrioGear Cryo Raptor and BrioGear Drifting Bichir back into my deck! Then I draw two new cards!"

"I activate the effect of Silent Ark to discard a card and destroy Satanel!" My field spell fired a blue bolt of lightning at the damn Link-5.

"I activate Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer's effect! I return Satanel back into my deck and Special Summon, ChronoGear Time Tamer Wolfy (Lv.4, DEF: 400) whose effect Special Summons the banished ChronoGear Berfomet (Lv.4, DEF: 1800 → 0)!" He managed to build a wall, but a wall wouldn't be enough to stop me!

"I activate BrioGear Miracle Dive! With this card's effect, I target one of my banished Link Monsters and revive it, then I must immediately Link Summon using it, or all cards I have will be banished! Come back, Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon (ATK: 2800, Link-4)!"

"Idiot! You don't have any other monster to Link Summon with!" Evan laughed.

"I don't need another one!" I declared proudly. "This is the ultimate power of the bond between me and Firera! The following monster can be Link Summon using only Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon as material! Appear, the circuit of life!"

The circuit appeared and Firera turned into four whirlwinds, which flew into four of the flowers surrounding the white mirror.

"Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters! I set the Link Four, Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Firera, Firewire Cyberse Dragon!"

A blue core formed inside the circuit and the outline of a monster formed around it after which it materialized. First was its chest which was made of white metal and had a large plate shaped-like a shield protecting it. Next formed its lowered body with a single heavy black tail covered in spikes and four blades jutting out of its waist, and to the sides. Then there came its arms, which were sharp moon blades attached to the main body with black joins and had large wrists with three white blades located at the inside of the blade's edge, acting as wings.

Instead of wings, the monster had four horns attached to its upper back. The first two bent upward and had a bulky shape that was a bit bigger than the dragon's main body while the second pair were slim and long, bending downward. Blue flames come out of the creature's back, keeping it airborne. Last was its head, which had four blue eyes and was covered by sharp crystal blades that stuck out of its forehead similar to a blade. The monster's mouth was split into four with a cannon located behind the jaw.

Firera, Firewire Cyberse Dragon

Attribute: WATER/Type: Cyberse/Link/Effect

L-Markers: Top, Bottom, Bottom Left, Left

ATK: 2800/Link-4

2+ Effect monsters

Effect: If your LP are 1000 or less, you can also Link Summon this card by using a "Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon" you control as the Link Material. This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects during the turn it was Special Summoned. While this card is co-linked, any damage you would take is halved. If this co-linked card battles, you can have it gain 1000 ATK for every monster co-linked to it, and if you do, your opponent's monster loses 500 ATK for each. You can only use this effect of "Firera, Firewire Cyberse Dragon" once per turn.

"Because your Hollow Slayer points at Firera, she gains five hundred attack points, and with my Field Spell's effect, she's going to gain eight hundred more!"

Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon, ATK: 2800 + 500 + 200*4 → 4100

"Finally, I activate Subzero Flare! This Spell can only be activated if I control a Link Four WATER Cyberse Link Monster, and it destroys all monsters you control with fewer attack points!"

Firera roared and slammed her blade-like arms together while her tails began to charge with electricity and flew over to the lower pair of wings, which absorbed it. Small holes opened in the dragon's upper wings and they began to emit a blue flame that froze everything which came in contact with it. The electricity surged through the dragon's body and connected to the arms. Firera roared and threw her blades to the side, opening three large energy rings in front of its face. The cannon came out of Firera's mouth and fired a stream of blue flames engulfed all of Evan's monsters, incinerating them with their coldness.

Subzero Flare (Spell) Normal

Activate this card by targeting 1 Link-4 WATER Cyberse monster you control: Destroy all monsters your opponent controls with ATK equal to, or lower than, the targeted monster's current ATK. No monsters can attack the turn you activated this effect, except for the targeted monster.

"It's over!" I declared.

"Shit!" Evan looked frantically around his field. "This can't be… You can't do that!"

"Battle! Firera, attack him directly! Zero Wire!"

Firera's arms spun backward and her fingers linked with each other, forming two large blades jutting out of the sides of her body. Her tail slammed into the ground and the blades that were attached to it drilled into the concrete. Firera roared, the blade on her forehead splitting into two, firing a crimson beam of energy at Evan.

"Rooooooxxxxxxyyyyyy!" Evan roared as the attack collided with him and send him flying back until he hit a container and fell down.

『Evan LP: 1200 - 3600 → 0』

『Winner: Roxy』

"Ro…xy…" Evan sent a glare filled with rage toward me.

"It's over." I took a deep breath and turned my back to him. "Our evil plan is done for. Firera, sent the video recording to the police, ASAP!"

"Roxy!" Firera looked at me. Something seemed to be wrong.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Roxy!"

"What?"

"Roxy!"

"What!?" I finally snapped and yelled.

"You began to stare in the distance!" Firera yelled at me. "You lost your focus in the middle of the duel!"

"What are you talking about we just won!" I pointed at Evan. "I defeat hi-"

He was standing. What the heck was going on here? I saw him lost, I defeated him! Why was he still up? Worse than that, why was Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer standing next to him? No, I had to be seeing things! I looked at my Duel Disk to check his Life Points.

『Evan LP: 550』

"I… I have…" My hand began to tremble out of fear. Was I just imagine that I defeated him? Was I so afraid of him that I tried to shut out the reality and imagined a world where I was able to defeat him with this attack? I didn't know what just happened!

"We didn't defeat him!" Firera shouted back at me. "When I attack him directly, he activated Escape from the Dark Dimension and used it to return his banished Phantomus, co-linking it with myself to give it all of my abilities! I tried to ask you want to do, but you just keep staring in the distance!"

"I… I'm sorry, I just…" I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't know how I suddenly began to see a different possibility – a different outcome.

"You played all of your cards, and you failed to defeat me." Evan sighed. "There is nothing more that you can do. It's my turn now, and I draw!"

『Turn 12 [Evan] LP: 550 Hand: 2』

"The effect of Ledger of Legerdemain resolves on this Standby Phase, allowing me to add the three cards that I banished back into my hand." Evan looked at the cards and then threw them to the ground. He threw the cards to the ground. "Of course, I don't need any of those in order to beat you. The only card that I ever needed, was in my hand from the start. Turn after turn, I held back from activating it. But not this time. I discard the card that I drew to activate Super Polymerization!"

A portal made from black, purple and red flames appeared behind Evan. Phantomus jumped inside of it and several chains made of purple energy came out, grabbing Firera's arms. My dragon roared in agony as the flames traveled through the chains and burned her arms. She threw her body around and pulled back, but the chains were pulling her inward against her will.

"Firera!" I cried out and reached for my monster, but she was pulled into the dark abyss before I could grab her.

Phantomus and Firera were engulfed by the dark flames with my monster crying out in pain as the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking echoed through the dark night. The sound stopped, I saw Firera's body through the flames. It was… I had to place a hand over my mouth and immediately looked away as Phantomus' body merged with the remains of my dragon.

"The demon born by time itself, tear your victims will and take its soul! Let the power of rage burn through our blackened soul! Fusion Summon! Diabolic Phantomus the Fusion Slayer!"

A large warrior clad in heavy dark purple armor emerged with an animalistic roar. The creature that appeared seemed to be human for the most part, it had spiky black hair with a single white stripe running through the left side of it. The monster had large black horns that appeared to be made of the same material as its armor and its eyes were covered by a mask with six orange eyes on it. A pair of metallic wings with orange joins and dark blades serving as feathers floated behind the main body even though they were detached from it. The rest of its armor appeared as purple dragon scales covering the warrior's entire body. The hands looked like claws made out of flesh and blood with spikes on the shoulders and elbows, and black gauntlets each of which had a circular blade attached to the back. The warrior's chest armor resembled the head of Firera with bared fangs and four orange orbs that were similar to her eyes. Several long blades were attached to its waist with chains that wrapped around its arms and chest. The foot of its boots was extended, appearing to have a single claw on each of them.

Diabolic Phantomus the Fusion Slayer

Level: 9/Attribute: DARK/Type: Fiend/Fusion/Effect

ATK: 2900 DEF: 2000

1 "Phantomus" monster + 1 Link Monster

Effect: If this card is Fusion Summoned: Return all Spell/Trap Cards on the field to their respective owner's hand, neither player can activate cards or effects in response to this effect. Once per turn: You can target 1 Link Monster in either player's Graveyard; banish that target, and if you do, until the End Phase, replace this effect with that monster's original effects. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can Tribute this card, then Special Summon 1 "Phantomus" monster with 2800 or less ATK from your GY.

"Firera…" I looked at my Duel Disk, but she didn't reappear.

"Hehe, looking for this?" I looked up to Evan. He was showing me his Duel Disk, with Firera behind the screen, trapped by several black chains that kept her inside.

"No…" He took her. He took away my partner!

"When the Fusion Slayer is Fusion Summoned, all Spell and Trap Cards on our fields are returned back to our hands!" Evan laughed maniacally. "Do you see it already? The truth? You're just a mistake, a glitch! You're a set of computer-generated memories! The body you are wearing isn't yours! The deck you use to fight me isn't yours! I was the only thing you had, and you threw it away! Battle! Diabolic Phantomus the Fusion Slayer, end this miserable duplicate! Calamity Diablo Slash!"

Two blades began to spin on the back of Phantomus' wrists and it threw them into the air. The fiend then fired two chains, connecting them to the spinning blades and swung them down at me. The blades hit me in the stomach and sent a searing pain that overloaded my senses. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I was launched back and slammed into the ground.

『Roxy LP: 850 - 2900 → 0』

『Winner: Evan』

I coughed. There was a taste of iron in my mouth, and my stomach was hurting. I clutched the place where the blades cut me. I removed one of my palms to look at it. There was blood! I was bleeding!

"Let's end this." Evan sighed. "Deactivate your Duel Disk, audi."

N-no way! My arms began to move on their own, pressing the 'deactivate' button on the side of my Duel Disk. I didn't want to, my mind was trying to fight, but my hands did it.

"W-why? Why can't I control my body?" I looked at Evan.

"Audi – a Latin word, means listen," Evan smirked. "A very simple, and familiar word. Did you believe that I would let you run around? That I would tell you all of this, give you the choice to turn against me, and not have something to counter your decision? While you were still a work in progress, I had a trigger for a post-hypnotic suggestion to be programmed into your mind. So, stand up, audi."

My body moved on its own again. Even though all the muscles in my body were hurting and my stomach was bleeding, my body stood up.

"Please… release me…" I was scared.

"Just look around yourself, Roxy?" Evan gestured around us. "The world is already on its knees, SOL Technology, the Knights of Hanoi, Playmaker, everyone already failed without realizing it. Why do normal people try to build empires, when I can just take one from someone else? And if you believe that this, right here, is the pinnacle, if you believe that what you saw until now is as bad as it gets, then I promise you, it will only get worse from here on."

"I'm… sorry… Please…" I just want to go! Please, I don't want to be hurt anymore!

"All of this, happened thanks to you." Evan walked toward me. Slowly. Every step making my heart beat faster, raising the anxiety and fear. "You were just a performer, and I've cast the play." He walked next to me and pulled me closer, pressing our shoulders together. "Did you enjoy it? I drew the curtains, you faced the crowd. You knew your lines without being told even once. You played my part - that made me proud. But now, it's time for the applause to stop and for you, to take a bow!"

My eyes widened as with the last word, Evan drove his fist into my stomach, pushing all of the air out. I gasped, my mouth was open, trying to form some scream, but no sound came out. I collapsed on my knees with a silent scream, clutching my stomach with both hands.

"You did a good job, so I promise to make your death a quick one!" A handful of my hair was pulled back, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"No…" I don't want to! I don't want to die!

"You were born because I choose so!" He yelled and slammed his fist into my face. "You're nothing next to me!" He hit me again before I could try to say something. "I personify the darkest of all people!"

He slammed his fist into my face a third time, dropping me on the ground. I coughed and looked at Avice. She had put her hand to her mouth. I tried to reach out toward her for help. Please, someone…

"That's enough!" Avice shouted. "You don't need to kill her! We can do this in a different way! Let her be! We can reprogram her!"

"Shut up!" One command from Evan was enough to make her step back and close her mouth.

Evan grabbed the back of my collar and began to drag me toward somewhere. I tried to look behind myself, to see where he was dragging me, but all I saw was the edge of the docks. Fear took over all of my remaining strength and I began to try and get his hand off me. I kicked, I hit threw my arms, around.

"Don't fight, audi." Until a single order made all of my body to stop resisting.

"Is that the gratitude I deserve for creating you?" He asked, dragging my body around. "I treated you more like a father that even yours did!"

"Please… don't…"

"You think that you have the power to stop me? You're just a firefly and I'm the sun! Who told you that you have a destiny, that you would achieve great things? Who filled your head with memories and tore away your wings? You made you the person you're and directed you to all the things you'd accomplish? If you don't call this family, then I don't know what you will!"

"Stop! Please!" Avice grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him. "Don't do it! Please!"

"I told you already!"

Evan pulled away and slapped his sister across the face. My eyes widened in shock as she fell on the ground, holding her cheek. I looked up to Evan. His hold on my collar weakened and his eyes were fixated on his sister. I could escape! This was my chance, but my body wouldn't move! I was told not to resist.

"This is the first time I've ever hit you…" He whispered.

His grip on my collar strengthened once more and he pulled me again, moving me in front of himself. He pulled me up onto my feet and placed his hands on the sides of my head, holding me in place. Our eyes stared at the other. Every cell of my body was trembling in fear of what he was about to do next.

"I beg you… I'll... listen… don't kill…"

"Hush, little child. You're stiffed with fear." His voice was soft, almost a whisper that I could barely hear, despite how close our faces were to one another. "From death, there's no escape, that's our destiny. Do not wait for mercy, I'm your haunted crow. So don't be afraid, don't try to run or scream – I need your dying breath. I'm your eternal rest!"

"No, don't…"

Before I could say anything more, he threw me over the edge of the docks and straight into the ocean. I would have gasped from the shock, but such an action would only make my situation worse. I swarm back up, breaking through the surface of the water with a large gasp and looked up to Evan, who was standing in front of me with his hands crossed. I thought that was it. But I was wrong. He then spoke to me, his tone much darker and colder than it was ever before. My heart dropped as he gave me an order.

"Drown, audi."

"I know, you're confused right now. Wondering, what was the point of all this. Why did I bring you here?

You've thought that you had it all figured out long ago, didn't you? That you have seen and remembered all of the combinations in the deck. But be honest with yourself, wasn't it getting boring that you were always right about it? Isn't it repetitive to have the cards always come down to form a familiar story?

A hero from the outside comes and joins with familiar faces to fight the same old evil. A hero whose past is tied, or not, to dark memories and they must overcome their own dark moments, help the faces you already know to become better humans and to show everyone that deep inside, every person has the power to fight for what's right, for what's good.

I won't blame you if you feel cheated out this time. The deck was rigged from the start. Yes, there were familiar parts in my hand, all pieces of a fairy tale that we have heard a dozen times before.

But with a new twist.

There's nothing scarier in a game of cards when all the cards are laid out on the table just right, but then a small and insignificant card comes in and changes the meaning behind the entire game.

Ah, isn't it thrilling to know that a card with such a small value as mine, could change the game so much?

And isn't scary to think: What would happen next? There are still cards and hands you can put down to challenge mine, but I too, have cards that need to be played to make this game of mine even more interesting. And there's no way for you to know, what my next move is going to be.

Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

And with this, Evan officially takes his role as the main villain of Destiny Gears! Boy, was it satisfying to write him destroying Roxy; both physically and mentally. Also, Roxy's... um... unaliving, doesn't mean that Evan's going to take her role as the main character (I'm saying that in case you've looked at the rest of my stories which have Evan Greyson as the main character).

But with Season 1 of Destiny Gears finished, I'll now move to focus more on my other stories, so there might not be any updates on this story for a while. Then again, depending on how things go, I might actually post a "Special Chapter", since a lot of stuff happened here.

Thanks for reading and until next time.

Diabolic Tracer out!