Part 1: Chapter 12 – Folktales
Yuya had been utterly and completely deprived of most of his senses. After defeating him in the duel, Security had cuffed him, bounded him, muzzled him, placed a sack on his head, and assigned a squad of officers to keep him contained after tasering him a couple times when he still threatened to fight back. It was a good thing they had. After seeing what they had done to Yuzu, all he wanted to do was get back at them and hurt them as much as they had begun hurting Yuzu.
He had felt exactly like he had back in the Miami Championship when…Yuya didn't want to think about what he had become after seeing what the Obelisk Force did. But he remembered the darkness rising up in him once again when he saw them attack Yuzu. He had struggled against the fury, torn between the fear of possession and the hatred he felt against Security for what they had done. Perhaps that hesitation was what ended up preventing Yuya from losing control at that time.
After he was thoroughly subdued, his uncontrollable rage slowly faded, gradually getting replaced by a feeling of hopeless impotency as he awaited Security's next move. Even with the knowledge of what the darkness had done to him in the past, as he thought about what Security had done to Yuzu, Yuya wondered if he should have just given in.
"What had they done to her?" he thought to himself. "Was she alright?"
Yuzu had said she was not even alive when he had last met her. What could that possibly mean? It didn't mean she didn't feel pain; he had seen her suffering, both when Security had attacked her and when she was struggling with her own despair. She was still Yuzu. She had emotions, feelings, and needs. She was not a monster.
So why was Security afraid of her? Why were they attacking her like they did? Were they that determined to send her to the underground even after she had been so obviously injured in her last duel? Or was their another reason?
Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop.
"ON YOUR FEET!" One of the officers gruffly ordered, roughly grabbing Yuya by the arm and yanking him out of his seat before shoving him forward, without even having the decency to remove the sack over his head.
Instead, Yuya was only allowed awareness of a violent series of shoves, blows to his back and sides, and sudden pulls forward as the various Security officers surrounding him began shepherding their blind escort into what Yuya assumed must have been a building.
Yuya heard a set of doors slide open before another set of rough shoves pushed him onto a smooth floor. Through the hood, Yuya could hear the sound of thousands of people speaking and working, and see and feel the bright indoor lights shining against his face.
As the officers continued shoving him forward, Yuya heard no protests or sounds of shock from the surrounding people. Apparently, whatever was happening to him must have been a common occurrence.
Eventually, after ascending up several elevators and crossing several hallways, Yuya and his escorts came to a stop. Yuya heard the faint beeping sounds of an officer punching a code into a keypad before a set of doors opened.
"Set the Fortune Cup participant in the chair across from me and undo all his bindings other than the cuffs," a familiar voice ordered.
As the officers hastened to comply with the orders they had been given, Yuya felt his captors untie him before removing the hood from his head. Blinking tears out of his eyes as the bright light of the room blazed against his eyes, Yuya's vision slowly adjusted until he was able to clearly see the Chief of Security, Jean-Michell Roger sitting in front of him.
His tone of voice and expression seemed to suggest that the Chief was remarkably pleased with something, but Yuya was able to see that he wasn't quite relaxed. There were dark circles under his eyes, his fingers were constantly fidgeting, and his forehead was practically sparkling with sweat in the bright light.
With a wave of his hand, he motioned for the guards to remove Yuya's muzzle before motioning for his guards to exit the room.
When they had all left and the door had shut, Roger took a moment to lean back in his office chair before addressing Yuya.
"My apologies for the rough treatment." Roger began in what he must have thought was a sympathetic voice. The insincere tone, however, only made Yuya cringe. "However, given recent events, you must understand that the security of this city is of the utmost importance."
"Where is Yuzu?" Yuya breathed, barely managing to hold down his growing anger enough to form a complete sentence. He was not interested in any of Roger's pleasantries. He and Yuzu had been greatly abused and he was not going to even speak with Roger any more than he had to until the man had paid for what he had done.
Roger smirked at him, seemingly amused by Yuya's poor attempts to hide his obvious emotional state, before wiping some sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
"Straight to the point," he sighed. "Yuzu is safely in my custody. She will remain unharmed in my custody, but only if you cooperate with me."
Yuya clenched his fists in growing rage, thinking about just how unharmed Yuzu had been when they had begun electrocuting her. Roger, however, seemed completely unfazed and possibly even more amused by Yuya's display of anger.
"Since you've brought up the topic of Yuzu," Roger continued, rhythmically tapping his finger against the side of his chair. "Let us discuss her current situation, shall we?"
"Is she hurt!?" Yuya growled.
Roger snorted. "I suppose that depends on what you define as 'hurt', but if you are asking about anything we have done, don't fret. She ceased resisting us after her capture, and I am not interested in inflicting on her any more harm than is necessary."
So she was alright...for now, at least. Did that mean Security had shipped her off to the facility? Or was Roger holding her in a cell? Of course, at this point, Yuya could only hope that Roger was telling him the truth, but given the fact that he had taken the time to drag the boy into his office, perhaps the Chief of Security wanted something from him.
Yuya began thinking ruefully of some comic books and shows he had watched where the villain kept the hero's friend hostage in order to make the hero cooperate.
"If Roger thinks he can do the same by keeping Yuzu imprisoned…" Yuya thought to himself, his jaw clenching with rage, "then I will never forgive him!"
Roger leaned in to Yuya, causing him to snap back to attention. "What has she told you, Yuya?"
Yuya looked back into Roger's eyes, unsure of what to say. "What?" he asked.
"I need to know the details of your recent conversation you have had with Yuzu." Roger clarified. "Anything you tell us can help us protect her from a very dangerous terrorist organization, which, as I understand, has plans for Yuzu, and could very well be a threat to her wellbeing...and your own."
"Terrorist organization?" Yuya questioned. What was Roger talking about? Yuzu had said she had met with Ruri after her crash. That, in and of itself, was extraordinary, but Yuya could think of nothing Yuzu had said that evenly remotely hinted at some powerful organization, much less a terrorist organization.
Even the thought of Ruri, Shun's little sister, being a part of some terrorist organization seemed like a joke. Perhaps if Ruri could get as intensely angry as her brother at times…
Yuya shook his head at the stupid thought. True, he hadn't met Ruri, but he had met her brother. Even if she was just like her brother, with all his potential for rage and even vengeance, Yuya couldn't see either Shun or Ruri becoming some kind of terrorist, much less a terrorist to the Synchro Dimension.
Roger seemed to be studying Yuya's reaction. "What...did she tell you?" he repeated, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice.
Yuya glared back at Roger, keeping his mouth shut. Even if he could trust him, Yuya didn't think he would tell him anything Yuzu had told him, not if she had not answered any of the questions Roger must've surely asked her himself after he had captured her.
"Where's Yuzu!?" Yuya shot back, refusing to answer the question. Roger had promised him that Yuzu was unharmed, but Yuya needed more. He needed to see her alive and…well…Yuya's head throbbed from thinking of how Yuzu had said she was dead, but nevertheless, however she looked at herself now, Yuya couldn't be satisfied by Roger's words alone.
He needed to see her. He needed to see that she was okay, not just hear that she was okay. If Roger refused to show her to him, he would find a way to see her, even if he had to fight Roger and all his Security to do it!
"I told you," Roget sneered, seemingly understanding what Yuya was thinking. "Or did you not hear me? Yuzu is safely in my custody. Is that not good enough for you? I would remind you that she has had an unfortunate encounter with a VERY dangerous criminal organization and if you really want her to be safe, I suggest you cooperate with me, starting by answering my questions. WHAT…did she tell you?"
"We talked about how relieved we were that she was still alive after you did nothing to save her," Yuya spat, refusing to say any more.
"Yes, I'm sure she was very happy to see you," Roger dryly replied, looking uninterested before allowing himself to smile faintly. "You two do seem very close," he commented, leaning in a little closer, that same sickly insincere smile plastered over his tired face, "Did she voice any concerns to you? Had anything happened to her since the crash? I must admit, I'm very interested to know what happened. Not many people could survive a fall like that."
"She's a tough girl." Yuya replied.
"Some might argue unnaturally so." Roger said, his voice sounding somewhat annoyed. "So how did she find you after surviving that death-inducing fall through sheer grit, determination, and endurance?"
"I don't know." Yuya replied, speaking truthfully this time.
"Was there anyone with her?" Roger continued. "Possibly watching from a distance?"
"There was no one with-…" Yuya began before stopping himself. Why should he let Roger know that?
Roger smirked at his reply. "Just you two, then? She had no help after her crash? My, my, my, Yuya. I have not really had the pleasure of getting to know Yuzu all that well, but she seems like quite the individual if she could survive that fall without any outside help. Did her hobbies in her home dimension include jumping off cliffs with no bungee cords?"
Yuya almost wanted to reply with a "yes," just to see how Roger would react, but he kept his mouth shut.
Roger let out a slow exhale.
"Yuya…do you really think it's wise to lie to me?" he asked, shaking his head with disappointment.
Roger was trying to threaten him now. It was pretty clear to Yuya at this point that the Chief knew more than what he was letting on, enough for him to see through any lies that he might attempt.
But what could Yuya tell him? Yuzu had told him she had died and risen back from the dead through Ruri's help. Was that what Roger wanted to hear? Yuya was pretty certain that if Roger hadn't believed his story of Yuzu managing to survive the fall through her physical endurance, then he was most certainly not going to believe Yuzu's account of what happened.
"What if that's what happened to Yuzu?" Yuya bitterly thought. "What if Roger dragged her in here first for interrogation? What if she had told him the truth about what had happened to her, but Roger didn't believe her, so he dragged me in here to know?" Yuya grit his teeth, wondering how Roger would have treated Yuzu if he thought she was lying to him.
"If Roger didn't believe you…" Yuya silently promised, "or if you chose to keep that information hidden from him, then I promise I will not betray you or Ruri! I will keep my mouth shut and find a way to save you, Yuzu! No matter what it takes!"
"I don't know any more than what I've already told you." Yuya spoke up, locking his eyes with Roger. "Like I said, Yuzu and I were both glad just to be back together."
"Did you ask if she was okay after surviving the fall?" Roger interrogated, steadily tapping his chair more rapidly.
"Of course!" Yuya nearly snapped, struggling to keep his tone even. Hadn't he already told Roger just as much? Why did Roger need to hear it again?
"And you maintain that she told you she managed to not only survive the fall, but walk right out of that building with absolutely no outside help?" Roger pressed, looking like he was straining to not lash out at Yuya.
Yuya nodded his head, trying to not let any flash of emotion betray either himself, Yuzu, or Ruri, who had saved her.
"You were not even remotely suspicious of her?" Roger asked, "Or even the least bit curious as to HOW she performed such a singular feet?"
Yuya stayed silent, refusing to say more. How could Roger sit there and insinuate that Yuzu was a liar Yuya couldn't trust!? She was his friend! Unlike Roger, Yuzu was someone Yuya could listen to and believe WITHOUT needing to question everything she told him!
"You are not protecting Yuzu by staying silent." Roger growled. "I know you know more than what you are letting on! So for the last time!" he snarled, grabbing Yuya by the collar. "What…did…Yuzu…tell…you!?"
"She gave me a love confession!" Yuya snarled back, unable to resist the urge to annoy Roger. "Happy?!"
"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M IN THE MOOD FOR JOKES!?" Roger roared, getting up from his chair, his eyes burning with fury. "WHY DID SHE COME TO YOU!? WHAT DID SHE TALK TO YOU ABOUT!? WHAT DO YOU KNOW!? TELL ME, OR I WILL EXTRACT THE INFORMATION FROM YUZU...FORCEFULLY! DO YOU WANT THAT!?"
"I'D NEVER TELL YOU ANYTHING EVEN IF I KNEW!" Yuya snarled back, his own fury rising. Just a little more and he wouldn't be able to hold back any more. Just a little more, and Yuya was certain he would snap.
"So you do know something, then!" Roger leered, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"Why is Yuzu so important to you!?" Yuya growled, his body quivering with fury. "What are you afraid of!?"
"I'm not afraid!" Roger retorted, clenching his fist in anger. Yuya felt a demonic rush of satisfaction from Roger's reaction. He could see that despite Roger's posturing, he really was afraid, so afraid that he was even going to lengths as great as capturing children.
Still, despite Roger's obvious horror, he continued his pointless charade of calm control.
"I merely wish…to maintain the security of this city…" Roger breathed, his voice quivering as he fought to control his own emotions, "and to do that, I need you...and Yuzu…to cooperate with me! Whether I get your cooperation willingly, or if I have to force that cooperation is up to you, but do not test me any further!"
"If you're not afraid of us, then let us go!" Yuya protested, stamping his feet on the floor. "We can't do ANYTHING against you! We're not your enemies!"
Yuya paused for just a moment, thinking about the last statement he had made. It was so very true! Neither he, nor Yuzu, nor any of his other friends had come as enemies to the Synchro Dimension. Quite the contrary, all of them wanted to help the people of Synchro. So why was Roger treating them all as enemies? Could he really not see that they were here to help?
Yuya thought about how he had been reacting to Roger's treatment of him and decided to try a different tact. Perhaps, just maybe, if Yuya could control his own emotions, allow himself to be the bigger man in the room, then maybe, just maybe, he could get through to Roger, who was obviously afraid and foolishly acting on his fear.
"All I want to do…" Yuya resumed in a much more even voice, taking a deep breath to force down his utter rage, "is end the dimensional war and protect this world just like you said you do. I want peace for this world. Nothing more. We're not here to harm you. I can help you and everyone else in this dimension. But I need you to let me and Yuzu go."
Roger paused after hearing Yuya's words, fixing him with a steady gaze from his shrewd eyes.
"I suppose at least one of those statements is true." Roger muttered. "You, at least, can help me with my little problem."
He frowned to himself in thought, pacing back and forth while rubbing his chin. Finally, he stopped and looked down at Yuya, letting a little smile creep onto his face.
"Tell me…Yuya…" he began, "have you ever had the chance to hear some of the charming folktales the people of this dimension tell each other?"
"Folktales?" Yuya asked, growing confused and suspicious by the sudden tone shift.
"I was introduced to them shortly after I came to this city," Roger continued, settling into his chair. "Intriguing little urban legends mostly told by the Commons, but shared with a few members of the Tops as well, about a strange race of spirits known as the Earthbound. Have you ever heard of the Earthbound, Yuya?" he asked, leaning forward and studying the boy while wearing a smug expression on his face.
Yuya shook his head, wondering what any of this had to do with anything.
"Why don't I share with you one of my favorite tales, then?" Roger offered, the tone of his voice suggesting he wasn't making a request. Yuya stared back at him with confusion, wondering where Roger was going with his comments. He had never heard of the Earthbound before, but even if he had, he had no idea how they had to do with anything that was going on.
Still, Roger seemed intent on telling his story. He was settling in his chair like a story-teller, readying himself for what seemed like a particularly long oration.
"Let's see now…where to begin…" he muttered, scratching his head somewhat melodramatically, "the Quechuan names always confuse me…ah! Yes…that's right! This is known as the tale of the Signer, Vitcos, and the Dark Signer, Akllasisa."
"Signer?" Yuya stuttered, confused by the strange names and terms Roger was using. "Vitcos? Dark Signer? Aklassisa? Wh-...?"
"Akllasisa means 'chosen flower' in Quechuan, if I remember correctly," Roger curtly replied, interrupting Yuya mid-sentence. "The name is most likely symbolic, as you will find out later. As for your questions about Signers and Dark Signers, well…why don't you listen to the tale and find out?"
Yuya kept silent, curious despite himself, and sensing that what Roger was about to tell him had far more significance than just being a fairy tale. Clearing his throat, Roger began his story.
"Ages before our civilization existed, there was once a people blessed by the mighty Gods to know the will of the ancient spirits we now call Duel Monsters. These people were known as 'The People of the Stars', for their powers came from a divine source known to them as Quetzalcoatl, the divine, crimson dragon serpent who protected their world and all other worlds from the wrath of Evil Gods who had once ruled the primordial universe…"
"What do you mean by primordial universe?" Yuya asked.
"Supposedly…" Roger shrugged, "there was a universe that existed before this one. A universe that existed at the beginning of time. Accounts vary, but most myths agree that it was a world in which human and the spirits of what we now call 'Duel Monsters' lived side by side.
"So anyway…" he continued.
"who had once ruled the primordial universe, but had long since fallen from their glory in a great and calamitous war that had pitted the forces of destruction and the forces of creation against one another. The primordial universe was eventually destroyed, split into four fragments, which were separated from one another by a great veil. But though this calamity had cleaved apart the primordial universe, the Evil Gods continued their battle, eventually gathering their forces into one of the scattered fragments of the original universe in order to secure one fragment for themselves before moving on to conquer the others.
"The Evil Gods might have won, but the Crimson Dragon, Quetzalcoatl, had long ago allied with a number of mighty Gods, monsters, and humans in order to defeat the evil gods before using the living, cosmic, elemental, and spiritual energies of all four worlds to seal most of these Evil Gods into the earth they attempted to conquer, in the place we now call...the Nazca Lines."
"The Nazca Lines?" Yuya asked, certain he had heard the term from Yuzu before. Weren't they some kind of massive drawing that could be seen from space?
"Yes," Roger nodded, glaring back at Yuya with a condescending look. "The ancient civilization which first told this story used to believe that the geoglyphs secretly held the essence of powerful spirits within them. For that matter," he laughed, "there are still some superstitious idiots who would believe that kind of thing. But anyway…moving on.
"Bound within the mystical stone prisons, which were further strengthened by the abundant energy of the other worlds, the Evil Gods faded to mere ghosts of themselves. Prisoners who could not exercise the power or authority they had once wielded. They became...Earthbound, because their souls were cursed to be trapped beneath the Earth they had tried to conquer and in the dark confines of the Underworld for all of eternity!"
Roget paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before continuing. Yuya was feeling uneasy. The air in Roget's office seemed to have become heavier and colder, and there was a deathly silence permeating every corner as if the room had somehow become...haunted.
But there was another question in Yuya's mind, something about what Roget had said about the primordial universe being cleaved into four sounded familiar to Yuya. Letting out a loud gasp as he realized what it was, he turned to Roget before asking:
"Did the people who told this story know of the four worlds?"
"Perhaps," Roget shrugged. "But I doubt it. It's probably just one more piece of their silly mythology, but then again, who knows how much of the original legend has survived through the ages and how accurate this version is? At any rate, the version I heard included this detail. So anyway...
"The ancient battle to seal the Evil Gods within their prisons was costly. Thousands had died, including some divine Gods, in order to defeat the strength of the ancient evil, and though the Crimson Dragon had been triumphant at the end, he had been severely weakened by the effort. Few of his divine servants remained, most of them either killed or corrupted by the Earthbound, but among the surviving servants were the dragon guardians, sacred creatures charged with guarding the barriers between the mortal and spiritual worlds."
There was something stirring in Yuya now. Feeling a great discomfort in his chest, Yuya could almost swear he felt Yuto feeling the exact same pain he was feeling. It was similar to the pain he had felt whenever the Darkness tried to take over...only, this time, it was not trying to overwhelm him as much as it seemed…aware. It was as if, Yuya thought, something within Roger's tale had stirred a remembrance within whatever thoughts lay hidden beneath his inner darkness.
"The Crimson Dragon knew that the Earthbound would try to free themselves, for they had sworn an oath long ago that they would oversee the destruction of the world we know today and the building of a new world in their image. And so, in order to combat the threat he knew would come, The Crimson Dragon granted his powers to the civilization that had begun developing near the Nazca Prison, The People of the Stars, giving them the gift to converse with monster spirits...and the power to call them forth to battle, should there be a need.
Among the people of this civilization, The Crimson Dragon granted seven individuals the ability to access his divine powers directly, by means of splitting his essence among them in the form of certain divine signs which shone on their skin like birthmarks. With these marks, the seven individuals formed bonds with the dragon guardians, both dragon and human becoming stronger as a result of the union. And thus…the seven Signers were born!"
"So the Signers…" Yuya clarified, "they are the guardians of this world?"
"And all others," Roger agreed. "But you are speaking as if this myth is true, Yuya!" he exclaimed with a chuckle. "I wouldn't let myself get caught up in believing a silly myth from a people that have been extinct for ages!"
Yuya stared back at Roger, feeling the insincerity in his voice. There was more to this myth...he knew it. Roger, however, for the moment at least, didn't seem intent on letting on what more he must have known.
"Over the ages, the Earthbound and Signers would fight many battles against each other. Most of the time, the Earthbound would merely send their legions of spiritual servants to harass the inhabitants of the mortal world, but once every five thousand years, a period of time would open up in which the Crimson Dragon's curse against the Earthbound would be at its weakest. That time was when the four ancient worlds would drift furthest apart, subsequently weakening the united energy the four worlds contributed to maintaining the strength of the stone seals. When that happened, the Earthbound Gods would have the strength to break free of their prisons, and the Crimson Dragon would have to fight them again.
When the seal over the prisons broke for the first time, the Earthbound Gods rose to the mortal world, ready to slay the Crimson Dragon and his servants once and for all with their renewed might. However, they were astonished when, instead of a handful of divine servants and their weakened God, the Earthbound met a force of stalwart humans and monsters standing with the Crimson Dragon and his servants, ready to repel them and preserve the sanctity of the mortal world. To their utter astonishment, the Earthbound were driven back to their seals, and were forced to wait another five thousand years for the four fragments of the primordial universe to drift apart once again.
The People of the Stars, meanwhile, prospered. Their civilization gradually grew to be one of the greatest civilizations in the known world as they grew, expanded, and passed their sacred mystical arts on to their children. While other civilizations would rise and fall, The People of the Stars endured for thousands upon thousands of years, occasionally threatened with destruction as corrupt leaders and vengeful Earthbound sent their servants to undermine them, but the Singers would always be there to drive back the evil and preserve the peace of their civilization."
Roger reclined in his chair, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Oh, if only such a perfect utopia could exist," he mused before once again resuming his story.
"Eventually, after many failures, the Earthbound decided to do the unthinkable for the sheer sake of obtaining an advantage over the Crimson Dragon. Despite their utter loathing of the human race, they eventually sought to recreate the powerful bond Quetzalcoatl had forged with The People of the Stars. And so, in an act of what must have seemed extreme condescension to them, the Earthbound Gods sought out humans who were discontent with their lives, humans who would be willing to fight against The People of the Stars for the sake of power. Reaching out with their spiritual familiars, they seduced certain powerful and vengeful humans to join their cause, luring these humans to their domains in order for the Earthbound Gods to merge their own essence within the essence of the humans and become something stronger, something that stood as an antithesis to what the Crimson Dragon had created with the Signers. The Earthbound had successfully created...Dark Signers."
"Dark Signers…" Yuya thought, feeling a cold pain grip his body. He had never heard the term before, much less learned what it had meant, but somehow he could feel a great evil behind the mere mention of the name. It was as if by merely speaking the name, Roger had invoked the presence of a dark evil in the room they were sitting in.
Roger, who was smiling smugly at Yuya's discomfort, seemingly unbothered by the dark turn his story was taking, continued.
"Though equal in power to their Signer counterparts, the Dark Signers were fundamentally different in many ways. While the Crimson Dragon had been careful not to overwhelm his human Signers with his power, the Earthbound had poured all their essence into their chosen vessels, overshadowing and consuming their mortal frames until the Dark Signers became little more than walking corpses filled with the power of the Earthbound. Similarly, while the Crimson Dragon had directed the humans to form mutual bonds with his servants, the Earthbound maintained a strict master and servant pact with their vessels, exercising total power over their human vessels in order for their own interests to be carried out without opposition.
But the Dark Signers were exactly what the Earthbound desired. In addition to becoming an almighty force that could stand against even the mightiest Signer, the Dark Signers provided an additional benefit. Through their human vessels, the Earthbound could effectively bypass the strictures of the Crimson Dragon's curse and travel freely upon the mortal and spiritual planes by transferring their respective geoglyph prisons into the souls of their hosts, causing their respective marks to appear on the bearer's skin as their own dark sign."
Yuya's eyes had been widening as Roger described the Dark Signers. It couldn't be...Yuzu couldn't be that! But he had seen it, the mark that had been glowing on her arm. She had claimed she was dead, but it was impossible! Yuzu wasn't some kind of evil, greedy, dark lord making deals with primordial evil gods to take over the world!
But he had seen it; the description fit. Roger seemed to notice Yuya's discomfort.
"It's a pretty ridiculous tale, isn't it?" Roger smirked. "Imagine if such things actually existed? It would be pretty shell-shocking to anyone who actually knew the person who became the Dark Signer. Especially if they knew just a little bit about some of the deeds the Dark Signers performed."
Yuya realized with horror and fury that Roger was trying to egg him on, trying to get him to say something that would reveal more. Yuya couldn't believe it! Roger actually believed Yuzu was a Dark Signer! For that matter, he was almost convincing him that Yuzu was a Dark Signer. But he was not going to fall for Roger's tricks; he was not going to betray her, no matter what the man claimed she was!
Roger paused for a moment, as if waiting for Yuya to say or do something incriminating. Yuya, however, struggling with all his might, managed to compose himself and remain quiet, looking on as if he was hoping for Roger to say more. Obliging, Roger continued.
"When the seals broke once again, the Signers and their followers were astonished to find not an army of rampaging Gods attempting to destroy their civilization as they had in the past, but an army of humans like themselves with marks similar to their own and the power to command the spirits of Duel Monsters and their corrupted Earthbound Familiar counterparts. When the battle began, the Dark Signers unleashed their full power, calling upon the strength of their masters, the Earthbound Gods. As a new entity with neither the weaknesses of an Earthbound God spirit nor a fragile mortal human, the Dark Signers overwhelmed the Signers and their followers, managing to even slay two Signers and severely wound two others with only minor casualties on their own side.
Exultant in their triumph, the Earthbound Gods directed their Dark Signers to lay waste to every city under the control of The People of the Stars, slaughtering tens of thousands and raising many proud and ancient structures to the ground until only the capital city remained, where the Signers waited to make their final stand. To many of The People of the Star's high priests and priestesses, it seemed that the end of the world was finally at hand.
However, despite their losses, three Signers remained ready to stand against the opposing darkness. Their names were Akllasumaq, the eldest Signer, renowned for her singular beauty and strange, ethereal pale skin and blue eyes, which the People marked as a further sign of her divinity, Yapanqui, the most powerful out of all the Signers, an actual demigod who bore an immense power the People called 'Burning Soul,' and Vitcos, regarded as the least skilled in battle out of all his brethren, but also one of the most spiritually-minded of the seven Signers. Two other Signers, Umaq, and his sister, Huch'Uykilla, remained, but were so critically wounded that they would soon reach the door of death without the constant aid of healers.
With seven Dark Signers and all their mighty forces still remaining, the situation looked dire. But Vitcos, the same Signer who was regarded as the weakest of the Signers, came to his Signer brethren and sisters with a plan. In his spiritual meditations, he had been in communion with the Crimson Dragon himself, and had come up with a final plan to defeat the Dark Signers. He told his brethren and sisters that while four of their brethren could not be with them in body, the blessing of the Crimson Dragon still rested in their souls, and that that power could be called upon to defeat the Dark Signers.
Although many scoffed at Vitcos's proposal, Akllasumaq, Yapanqui, and Huch'Uykilla all agreed with Vitcos's plan, with the latter convincing her brother, Umaq, to begrudgingly support Vitcos, for Umaq and Vitcos had long been rivals for the hand of Akllasumaq's younger sister, Akllasisa."
"There was the name Roger had mentioned." Yuya thought. "So she was basically a girl two Signers were fighting over?" Her role seemed fairly minor to Yuya, but Roger had mentioned that this tale was called, "The Tale of Vitcos and Akllasisa," so she must have played a bigger role somehow.
"As the Dark Singers and their forces approached the capital city for their final assault against The People of the Stars, they were met by the last three Signers who could fight, with Vitcos in the lead. Confident in their power, the Dark Signers discounted the last remaining Signers as a minor inconvenience. However, when they met the Signers in battle, they were astonished to find that they had learned how to use a new power. By sharing their marks with each other, the Signers and their dragon companions could ascend to higher levels of power than even the individual Earthbound Gods. Even the two Signers who had been killed and the two who had been incapacitated were able to share their immense spiritual power with the remaining Signers, until, after much bloodshed on both sides, the Dark Signers and their servants were finally defeated, leaving only one very badly wounded Dark Signer and a few hundred servants to flee into the wilderness.
With the four worlds converging on each other once again, the Nazca seals regained their strength, and The People of the Stars celebrated their victory. The dead were mourned and buried, refugees returned to rebuild their broken cities, and order was gradually restored throughout the nation. Returning to his home as an honored hero, Vitcos was promised the hand of Akllasisa to be his wife."
"So she became his wife," Yuya thought, smiling to himself despite the presence of Roger in the room. "Maybe this story isn't so bad after all."
Yet even as Yuya thought this, Roger's tone shifted once again.
"But the Signers were naïve. They still did not understand that the nature of their conflict against the Earthbound had fundamentally changed. Even though the seals had regained their strength, the last remaining Dark Signer, a young woman named Qhawa, did not lose her power, and she wanted revenge against the Signers and The People of the Stars, especially Vitcos, who had personally destroyed her lover, the leader of the Dark Signers, Ucumari, he who had the strength of a bear and who had borne the serpent mark of the Crimson Devil."
Yuya felt a strange twinge of pity for the Dark Signers now. It had been one thing to imagine them as faceless and emotionless demons out to destroy the world, but once Roger had named two of them, and implied that there was even a romantic relationship between the two of them, Yuya couldn't help feeling sorry for the Dark Signer who had lost everything. He couldn't condone her for trying to destroy so many, but he couldn't help but feel that she had met a tragic fate.
"And so, resolving to carry out her vengeance, Qhawa used what little power she had left to walk amongst The People of the Stars in a magical disguise, watching and waiting for her chance to take her revenge. She did not have to wait long.
The Signer, Umaq, felt humiliated and greatly dishonored by Vitcos's victory against the Dark Signers. He had opposed Vitcos's plan from the beginning and had only participated in the battle indirectly by granting his energy to the other Signers. Now, with the Signers returning victorious against their enemies, with Vitcos celebrated as a great hero, Umaq felt as if each word of praise for Vitcos was a word of mockery and condemnation against him. It was, to Umaq, as if the glory of Vitcos was causing him to shrink away and fade into the shadows as a failed Signer. But all of this pain and humiliation did not compare to the pain and humiliation Umaq felt when Akllasisa gladly and joyfully accepted Vitcos as her betrothed.
With this final insult, whatever camaraderie Umaq might have felt towards Vitcos in the past quickly evaporated, and was instead replaced with a deep and utter loathing, a loathing which was overshadowed only by the despair the poor cripple felt at having forever lost his former glory and chance for Akllasisa's love."
Yuya wondered how that might feel, wondered how he might feel if someone he had romantically loved had chosen to be with someone else. He couldn't say that he had ever loved someone in that way, but he could imagine that such pain must be very great indeed.
"Qhawa watched and listened from the shadows, drinking in Umaq's despair and misery as a spider drinks the innards of a fly. Maintaining her disguise, she approached Umaq as a local healer and began tending to his physical wounds. But even as she soothed and mended the Signer's broken body, with her silken words, she tortured and twisted the young Signer's mind, convincing him that Vitcos deserved to be punished for his betrayal in marrying the object of Umaq's affection, and that Akllasisa deserved to be slain for betraying him in a similar fashion.
Umaq drank in her poisonous words as a hummingbird drinks in sweet nectar. With the spell Qhawa had weaved with her words, all the despair Umaq felt at once ignited into a fiery rage and thirst for vengeance. Entrusting Qhawa with his secret, he sought council with her for ways to achieve both his desires in punishing Vitcos and Akllasisa together. Qhawa promised to maintain secrecy, and told Umaq how it was to be done.
On the day of Vitcos and Akllasisa's wedding, there was a great feast in celebration of the union. All the living Signers were in attendance, including Umaq and his sister, Huch'Uykilla, who was unaware of her brother's intended betrayal. At the head of the feast were Vitcos and Akllasisa, who greeted each of the honored Signer guests with open arms.
And that was when the betrayal was made.
Although Qhawa's power remained weak, she had managed to fashion a completely undetectable and powerful poison for Umaq to use in his plot, enough for the killing of exactly one person. She would not be able to attend the feast and use the poison against the Signers herself, for Vitcos, Akllasumaq, and Huch'Uykilla were spiritually aware individuals and might have detected her, even in disguise. So instead, she instructed Umaq to use his status and friendship with the other Signers to get right up close to Vitcos and Akllasisa and enact his vengeance.
So consumed with vengeance was Umaq that he readily agreed to her plan, regardless of the swift punishment he knew would come upon him for his actions. And so, when Vitcos came to embrace him as a friend, Umaq approached Akllasisa as if to honor her, before quickly lashing out and stabbing her in the neck with a small spiked ring, which contained Qhawa's deadly poison."
Yuya jerked back his head in shock. "Umaq…killed…Akllasisa?" He was expecting him to kill Vitcos, not the woman he supposedly loved.
The corners of Roger's mouth twitched upward. "One final embrace," he chuckled. "It's kind of romantic once you stop to think about it."
Yuya didn't want to think about it, and he certainly didn't consider it romantic in any way, shape, manner, or form. The thought of him approaching some girl he had loved but who had decided to marry someone else entered his mind.
"Hey, _, I love you…" he said to the imaginary girl, "so instead of respecting your decision to be with someone else, I'm gonna stab you in the neck and kill you with this poison. Romantic, right?"
Feeling utterly sick at the thought, Yuya wanted to ignore the rest of the story, but was, at the same time, so engrossed by the details of the story that he was unable to ignore Roger as he continued the account.
"Akllasisa was dead before anyone could react. As her limp body dropped to the floor, Vitcos, Akllasumaq, and the rest of Akllasisa's family immediately rushed forward, cradling her dead body and vainly trying to rouse her from the eternal sleep of death. Umaq, feeling exhilarated by his success, loudly boasted of his betrayal to everyone in attendance before trying to obtain further satisfaction by killing Vitcos where he knelt over the body of his dead wife. However, the mighty Yapanqui intervened, easily overpowering the still weak Signer and brutally bashing Umaq's head against a nearby pillar until the traitor had perished.
Caught up in his wrath, Yapanqui next lunged for Umaq's sister, Huch'Uykilla, who could offer no resistance against him, weakened as she was.
However, just as Yapanqui was about to kill Huch'Uykilla in a similar manner, Vitcos and Akllasumaq intervened, insisting that Huch'Uykilla could not be guilty of aiding in such a murder, for Akllasisa and Huch'Uykilla had been intimate friends. Yapanqui grudgingly let Huch'Uykilla go and instead ordered for a thorough investigation to be made and for all men, women, and children involved in the vicious murder to be slain without mercy and for their houses to be burned to the ground as an example to others, so great was the wrath of Yapanqui."
"That was... harsh." Yuya mumbled, not knowing what else to say. He felt like a different word was needed to describe how he felt towards the brutal vengeance of Yapanqui, but he couldn't think of any.
"The ancient justice system is alien to what most of us know today." Roger smirked. "Believe me, the story only gets better from here."
Yuya didn't want to think what Roger meant by that.
"An investigation was made, but Qhawa was never found, for she had disguised herself once again and snuck out of the Signer's temple without incident. Vitcos, Akllasumaq, and the rest of Akllasisa's friends and family were left to mourn her death and burial as Yapanqui continued his zealous investigations.
But Akllasisa had another visitor to her tomb. Qhawa had remained close to the capitol city and had watched her plot unfold with satisfaction. When the other mourners had left Akllasisa to rest, Qhawa approached Akllasisa's tomb to pay her own respects."
Yuya's stomach began to squirm, certain that something even more unpleasant was about to transpire.
"Using every ounce of her remaining power, Qhawa managed to allow her spirit to pass from the mortal plane and into the plane of the Underworld, where she found Akllasisa. Contrary to what her friends and family might have hoped, Akllasisa was not at peace with her death. She was scared, confused, angry, and lost in the vast emptiness of the Underworld. Rejoicing inwardly at Akllasisa's misery, Qhawa donned a new disguise and approached Akllasisa as if she were a fellow spirit, sympathetic to Akllasisa's tragedy and desirous to help and comfort her like a friend. Akllasisa quickly latched on to Qhawa, clinging to her and eagerly listening to every word she said as a drowning man clings to a piece of driftwood. Qhawa promised Akllasisa that she could raise her from the dead in order for her to regain her promised husband and take vengeance on the other Signers, who Qhawa claimed had all been involved in plotting Akllasisa's murder.
Akllasisa was shocked to hear that her older sister and her friend, Huch'Uykilla had been involved in her murder, but instead of questioning Qhawa's claims, Akllasisa grew enraged by the revelation and vowed vengeance against the other Signers, after she reclaimed Vitcos to be her own, so cunning was Qhawa with her words.
Listening sympathetically as a mother does with her daughter, Qhawa encouraged Akllasisa's twisted desires and told her how she may accomplish them. There was only one thing Akllasisa needed to promise in return: her allegiance to the Earthbound Gods.
This Akllasisa gave.
With the deal made, Qhawa used her remaining powers to raise Akllasisa from the grave, reborn as a new Dark Signer and bearing the mark of the flower that bears fruit, Cavillace Muru. Through the influence of Cavillace Muru, what little mercy and innocence that was left in Akllasisa was quickly extinguished as the Earthbound God took hold over her soul.
Akllasisa's first desire was to slay her treacherous friend, Huch'Uykilla, and elder sister, Akllasumaq. And so, walking as a vengeful ghost in the dead of night, Akllasisa made her way to the temple of the Signers.
Once inside, she crept into the room of Huch'Uykilla, who was still mourning the loss of her brother and best friend. As Akllasisa approached, Huch'Uykilla sensed the dark presence of the Earthbound God, Cavillace Muru, and was shocked to see the twisted dark form of her resurrected friend approaching her, the dark geoglyph of Cavillace Muru on her arm. Huch'Uykilla did not believe her eyes at first, but Akllasisa quickly made it clear that it was indeed her and that she had come to kill her.
Weakened as she still was, Huch'Uykilla knew she could not stand against a Dark Signer at its full power. She called for help as Akllasisa and her Earthbound God rose up and began viciously wounding her until she bled out from her wounds. However, just as Huch'Uykilla perished, help came.
Akllasisa's father had been nearby when the cry was heard. Hastening into Huch'Uykilla's room, he was shocked to see the daughter he had recently buried standing over the body of Huch'Uykilla. Thinking the apparition was a strange Earthbound familiar sent by the defeated wicked Gods to take vengeance on the Signers, Akllasisa's father sought to use his knowledge to banish the spirit."
"Akllasisa's father could do that?" Yuya asked.
"Yes," Roger replied, "He was, what we would now call…what…an exorcist? At any rate, according to the myth, he was a very spiritual man who had fought alongside the Signers before, performing such tasks as banishing Earthbound familiars from the mortal world whenever they tried to threaten the peace of The People of the Stars.
"Akllasisa hesitated when she saw her father, for even as corrupted as she had become, she still had love for her family and only suspected her elder sister of betrayal. But when her father began using his magic against her, Cavillace Muru quickly took over Akllasisa's mind and forced her to overwhelm and kill her father with her own powers.
By this time, the other Signers came, only to find that they had arrived too late. They were stunned into utter disbelief to see both Huch'Uykilla and Akllasisa's father lying in their blood on the floor and none other than Akllasisa herself standing over their bodies, their blood dripping from her stained robes and the mark of Cavillace Muru glowing against her arm with unholy light.
Akllasisa, horrified by what she had done, and unwilling to face Vitcos at that time, immediately fled from the presence of the other Signers and hid in the wilderness, where Cavillace Muru began to further torment and corrupt the soul of Akllasisa. Yapanqui vowed to exterminate Akllasisa and rid the world of the Earthbound threat once and for all, but Vitcos, still in love with her despite her death and resurrection as a Dark Signer, and knowing of the zealous wrath of Yapanqui, convinced Akllasumaq and Yapanqui to allow him to face Akllasisa alone, arguing that as her husband, he might be able to reach out to her.
Eventually, Vitcos and Akllasisa met. Vitcos tried desperately to reason with Akllasisa, offering to exorcise the soul of the wicked Earthbound God from Akllasisa, but Cavillace Muru's hold on Akllasisa was too strong. The cunning god convinced Akllasisa that Vitcos saw her as a monster, and that the only way for her to win his heart now was to make him a Dark Signer like she was. And so, despite the protestations of Vitcos, Akllasisa began attacking her promised husband.
Vitcos grudgingly defended himself and the battle between the two lovers became exceedingly fierce.
Eventually, Akllasisa summoned the physical form of Cavillace Muru to the world and began swiftly overpowering Vitcos. But Vitcos was determined to save his bride. Calling upon every ounce of his own strength and the strength of the other Signers both living and dead, Vitcos summoned the physical form of his dragon companion before granting his dragon the power of Quetzalcoatl himself. With the power, Vitcos was able to overwhelm Cavillace Muru and Akllasisa and could have slain them both. But he hesitated and instead only destroyed the physical form of Cavillace Muru, leaving only the flower spirit's wrinkling fruit on the ground, while leaving Akllasisa alive. Cradling his weakened wife in his arms, Vitcos attempted to exorcise Cavillace Muru, but was stunned when Akllasisa began resisting him.
Using her powers, Akllasisa resummoned the physical form of her Earthbound God, which arose from the husk of the wrinkled fruit, and ensnared Vitcos in the clutches of its many roots and vines. Speaking as one in the grip of madness, Akllasisa didn't hesitate to reward Vitcos's mercy by killing him slowly and intimately with her own two hands."
Yuya looked back at Roger incredulously, his head dropping to the ground as he began feeling horrifically sick.
"She…killed…him?" Yuya hoarsely whispered, trying to understand what the point of such a brutal and gruesome story was.
"And ate him." Roger replied matter-of-factly, as if he were describing what yesterday's weather was like.
"Ate…him?" Yuya gasped, wondering if Roger was just trying to make a sick joke at this point. It was bad enough that the poor girl had already killed her best friend, dad, and lover. Now Roger was claiming she was a cannibal?
"Yes, his heart...to be exact." Roger explained with a smug expression on his face.
"Why?" Yuya asked, unable to believe someone could become so perverse that they would even think of doing such a thing to a person they once cared for.
Roger shrugged. "Some of the civilizations that bandied around this myth held a superstition that by imbibing the heart of a defeated enemy, one gained that person's strength and power. Perhaps that is what the tellers of this story had in mind, that Cavillace Muru sought the power of the Signer for itself. Or perhaps Akllasisa saw in her act, as insane as it was, something romantic, like she was ensuring that she and Vitcos would never be apart again once she devoured his heart. Then again...maybe the undead maniac was just hungry," Roger added, chortling to himself before continuing.
"At any rate…" he mused, "the story ends by saying that Akllasisa did get her wish. She raised Vitcos from the dead and made him her own Dark Signer. Together, they began destroying human civilization until Yapanqui destroyed his former friend, Vitcos, and Akllasumaq destroyed her own sister. But as if that wasn't tragic enough," Roger snorted, "the story further continues by stating that Yapanqui had become so paranoid and distrustful...that he began indiscriminately killing everyone and anyone he suspected to be potential traitors, eventually attempted to kill Akllasumaq herself.
"Akllasumaq managed to survive Yapanqui's purges with her family, but she and the rest of her pale relatives lived out the rest of their lives as vagabonds who were continuously hunted by the orders of Yapanqui, who had seized total control over the civilization of The People of the Stars. Witnessing the corruption, the Crimson Dragon withdrew his blessings from The People, and the last remnants of their civilization fell when Yapanqui's subjects eventually rose up against their tyrant and murdered him in cold blood, leaving the rest of the kingdom to disintegrate into anarchy, civil war, and famine."
Yuya listened to the rest of the tale with growing horror and disgust, trying to think what Roger's message to him was. How could people be so vengeful like that? How could a once proud people come to complete ruin in so short a time? These questions greatly disturbed Yuya, whether or not the legend was true, but one detail made Yuya feel the most uneasy.
"What happened to…to…?" he struggled to remember the name, "…to the Dark Signer who raised Akllasisa?"
"Qhawa?" Roget asked, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to pause before continuing, as if pondering how to answer Yuya's question.
Finally, smiling smugly at the boy, he replied with, "Who knows, Yuya? There are, after all, many versions of this same myth! Most versions of the myth I've heard state that the effort to transform Akllasisa into a Dark Signer was so taxing on Qhawa... that she disintegrated into dust soon after completing her work. Others say she wandered the wilderness as a lonely spirit for the rest of her existence and still wanders to this day, sort of like a glorified Sasquatch.
"Still others…" Roger paused, a grim smile coming over his face, "suggest that Qhawa dwelt among the descendants of Akllasumaq, gradually convincing her children to hate the Crimson Dragon before passing on her own evil mark to a worthy successor." Roger waved his hand dismissively. "But that is irrelevant."
Why? Why was that irrelevant? Why was Roger telling him this gruesome tale? It couldn't just be that Roger was spending some friendly story-telling time with him. He had abused and kidnapped Yuzu, as if she was exactly the kind of Dark Signer monster he had described in the story. Did Roger believe his own tale? It was just a fairy tale; it had to be...right?
Yuya wanted to believe that. He wanted to think that Roger's story was just an absurd myth. But something about that tale, something about what Roger had said felt…familiar to him. Why? Why did Yuya have the nagging sense that none of what Roger had told him had been a fantasy? Why did he get the sense that the man believed the story himself?
"Why are you telling me this?" Yuya hoarsely breathed, surprised by how dry and pained his throat had become.
"Why am I telling you this?" Roger chortled, getting up from his chair and pacing the room. The answer had not been addressed to Yuya; he was talking loudly to himself, chuckling and snorting to himself like a lunatic being tortured.
"After all…it can't be real…NO! It can't be real…hee hee hee! No, of course it isn't real!" he angrily snarled to himself, "Sergey is just a crazy idiot. Who would believe the ravings of a lunatic?"
"Sergey!?" Yuya exclaimed, remembering the brutal duelist who had hurt Yuzu in the first place. "You heard this story from Sergey!?"
Roger didn't seem to hear Yuya. It was almost as if he thought he was alone in his office.
"Sergey spoke this story…" he murmured, looking down at the ground and laughing with another mirthless laugh that sounded more like the weeping of a dying man, "but he was not the true teller. It was…someone else speaking. That…mark…" he shook his head, "I did what it asked…so why?"
"Mark?" Yuya asked, his confusion and fear growing. Roger was acting utterly insane now, far from the sharp and calculating person he had first met. "What are you talking about?"
Roger stared back at Yuya with a mask-like face, allowing silence to linger in the room for an uncomfortably long time. Slowly but surely, a thin sickly smile crept over his pale face.
"Why do you care?" Roger breathed, his voice sounding like the whispering of disembodied ghost. "I told you already. This is nothing but a silly children's story, with a half-baked moral lesson thrown in. It's just like any other fable your mother would have told you. That's all. 'Don't be too greedy,' the elders would say after telling this story. 'Do what you're told,' 'Don't be vengeful,' 'Don't go off into the wilderness alone at night..."
He paused, his smile growing into a menacing leer. "…'Don't make deals with evil demons'," he finished, whispering into Yuya's ear.
Roger leaned back, assuming a more relaxed and controlled expression as he commenced pacing across the floor of his office once again.
"Some of course, believe the tales," he commented, placing his hands behind his back. "Some speak of strange ghosts in the shapes of animals, plants, and geometric figures, and some even claim to witness dark signs burning against the skin of duelists who use strange summoning techniques."
He casually flicked his wrist out and pressed a button on his desk as he continued pacing. The screen of a large computer at the end of the room lit up to show a video of Sergey Volkov surrounded by twenty Security officers. They were all dueling, with the Security officers pressing on him with an army of Goyo monsters. Sergey, however, was just staring coldly back at his attackers, seemingly unafraid of them.
"Earthbound Warden Demon Executioner's effect!" Sergey proclaimed, raising his hands into the air. Above his head, a massive ghostly man with glowing red war-paint all over its buff body and a black hood over its head... raised a massive glowing executioner's axe into the air before leaping onto what looked like a massive chained griffon with glowing green marks over its body.
With a mighty grunt, the executioner brought its axe down on the griffon, decapitating the beast in one blow. However, instead of disintegrating into holographic dust like most monsters who got destroyed, the body of the griffon suddenly turned transparent, a set of seven glowing white orbs flying from its body and flying into a gaping hole inside the executioner's hood, where its mouth must have been. Letting out a demonic wail, the executioner's body exploded into a set of eleven glowing white spheres, which sunk into the translucent corpse of the griffon, until its body completely disappeared and ten black spheres crackling with pitch-black electricity began orbiting an area of empty space in front of Sergey.
"DARK SYNCHRO!" Sergey roared, before, to Yuya's astonishment, a massive multi-colored spiral mark blazed to life on his massive bare chest. There was a massive black explosion that emanated from the center of the space from which the black spheres were orbiting, before the screen suddenly changed to static with the message, "Signal Lost," in the upper right corner.
"I had to send sixty the second time." Roger sighed, flicking off the screen with a push of a button as Yuya watched with stunned disbelief. "But most know better than to believe such things," he smirked, apparently unaware of what he had just shown Yuya. "I certainly would not waste Security's resources or time on protecting this city from a mere fantasy."
He turned around to look down at Yuya, a smug expression on his face. "But you know, Yuya, if by sheer happenstance I was ever to…oh…find out that there was some truth to these tales…"
He then lunged forward, slamming the palms of his hands against Yuya's shoulders, grabbing his chair, and pushing the stunned entertainment duelist back.
"Then you can bet," he growled, his face so close to Yuya that the boy could gag on his hot musty breath "that I would do WHATEVER it takes to NOT let such demons ravage my city!"
"Yuzu…is not…a DEMON!" Yuya snarled back, feeling immense rage come over him. He couldn't believe this… this scum was talking like this! Talking like he was some righteous knight in shining armor when all he had done was oppress his own people and hurt Yuzu. Some part of Yuya had been hoping Roger could be reasoned with, but now he was certain that Roger was one of those people he could NEVER forgive!
"No matter what you do…" Yuya went on, "know that I will NEVER help you! I made Yuzu a promise! I promised to end this dimensional war and bring her home! And if that means I have to defeat you in order to prevent this city's future from falling into your hands, then I will do it! I don't care if you think she's a…Dark Earthbound Signer Demon…or whatever you called it! I KNOW who Yuzu is, much better than you ever could! I will NOT betray her!"
Roger laughed at Yuya's declaration, slamming the legs of his chair back onto the ground as he did. Still shaking with uncontrollable laughter, Roger fell onto the panel in front of his computer, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down. When he had finally relaxed a little, he turned back to Yuya.
"I'll get your help, Yuya, one way or another." Roger breathed, his voice still somewhat shaking with suppressed laughter. "We'll see each other…very soon."
He pressed a button on his desk and called to some guards, who almost immediately appeared as the door outside his office opened. As the guards began roughly dragging Yuya from the office, Roger offered one final bit of advice.
"I would think long and hard on the morals of the tale." Roger smirked. "Especially on the fate of a certain hero within that tale. That man suffered a rather…" he chuckled to himself, "…heart-wrenching fate, and I CERTAINLY wouldn't want anything like that to happen to you."
FEATURED ORIGINAL CHARACTERS
Name: Vitcos / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Signers (Later Dark Signers) / Status: Inactive (Deceased)
Name: Akllasisa / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Dark Signers / Status: Inactive (Deceased)
Name: Akllasumaq / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Signers / Status: Inactive (Deceased) / Trivia: Akllasumaq means "beautiful chosen one" from, Quechuan akllakuy, "to choose" and sumaq, "beautiful."
Name: Yapanqui / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Signers / Status: Inactive (Deceased) / Trivia: Yapanqui is a Quechuan male name that means, "he who honors his ancestors."
Name: Huch'Uykilla / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Signers / Status: Inactive (Deceased) / Trivia: Huch'Uykilla means "little moon," from Quechuan huchuy, meaning "small," and killa, meaning "moon."
Name: Umaq / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Signers (before betrayal) / Status: Inactive (Deceased) / Trivia: Umaq means "betrayer" or "traitor" in Quechuan.
Name: Ucumari / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Dark Signers / Status: Inactive (Deceased) / Trivia: Ucumari means "One who has the strength of a bear," in Quechuan.
Name: Qhawa / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Allegiance: Dark Signers / Status: Unknown / Trivia / In Quechuan, Qhawa means, "one who watches."
FEATURED FANFIC CARDS
Akllasisa's Deck
Earthbound God Cavillace Muru/ Stats unknown. / Effects unknown.
Trivia: Cavillace is the name of an Incan goddess who became impregnated after consuming a fruit fashioned by the Moon God, Coniraya. Muru is the Quechuan word for fruit.
Sergey's Monsters
Earthbound Warden Demon Executioner/ Stats unknown. / Effects unknown.
Sergey's Extra Deck
Unknown Dark Synchro Monster / Stats unknown. / Effects unknown.
