Caput I. Intellectus Ludus

Makoto was sprawled across the bed, Kaito had left him like the night before as he watched over him. He was trying to make sure the kid was not like the other escapees within his school. He ran the specks on the child before him, honestly, he was surprised if the child before him was more than just a "Little banged up", the kid had a bruise to the back of his head that was caused by something that could most definitely kill him, and judging by the splinters in his head that Kaito had to pry out of him, a two by four was bashed against his head and shattered across his skull… that should not have been possible. But the thing that cinched the fact that he had to have this meeting… was the child's own being the same as the other two he had found. And even his friend

They were physically almost the same. That is what he had told me. And I had hoped that this was not the case… but I guess I was wrong. I looked over the papers that had shown the fact to me at that moment, it was something that I honestly could not hope but wonder… why? Why did this child who looked to be no younger than 15 years of age have to be forsaken by this power?

I looked over at the sleeping boy, I noted his deck and duel disk were still on his person, it was almost like it was grafted to the poor boy's body. When Kaito learned what it took to get the boy's clothes off of the maids, hell it was the reason that I was called here. Every. Single. The person that tried was shocked whenever they tried to touch the boy's arm or waist, with the only ones that were able to take off his clothes being me I was shocked more than I would like to admit but in the end, my high pain tolerance is what helped me make sure the boy was able to be operated on to make sure he was ok. Whatever was in his deck was alive… and it wanted Makoto to be protected at all costs.

I walked over to the sleeping boy and despite knowing the electric shock to come I moved my hand over to the dual disk to grab at least one card from it. The card is on the top of the deck. I drew it with all the neurons in my body screaming in pain before my wrist was grabbed by the boy himself. He looked into my cold dead eyes with almost pure fear and anger. With his own body screaming for him to either run or fight.

"Good you were actually awake." I spoke as if I knew he was awake the whole time, but deep down I knew the child before I was not buying a second of my words, "I wish to talk with you."

"Who are you and where the heck am I?" smart kid, he spoke as if he had me at his mercy… which he definitely did, but It was smart for him to think that he had me in a bind

"My name is Rieji Akiba, I am 46 years old and I am the founder and sole leader of the lancers. You are currently in the Galaxy house, one of the oldest standing houses in the new XYZ dimension. And now I want to ask you why you are here 'World Ender'" I said, I glared at him as I did this, I hated the term I had to use, but I knew that she would have wanted me to use it.

"That is not my name." said Makoto, "And that explained nothing, And why do you look like a 20-year-old"

"That is not important right now." I said, "Get dressed and come with me. I will explain everything as we move along."

"Wait! Where even are my- OOF!" I tossed a bundle of clothes at him as I walked out of the room with a flourish, and I could feel my scarf waving in the wind almost acting as if it was about to grab the closet thing in the room. I opened the door and stopped so my scarf could catch up with me as the door slammed shut behind me… only for it to open again with the boy now dressed in the clothes I gave him.

The clothes themself were simple, a simple Green Tee-Shirt and a pair of black jeans with a fashionable scarf wrapped around his neck… although it was not as lively as my own… and his hair was so, how do I think this while being kind, bland and boring. Why does everything this boy wears look so lifeless and plain?

No matter, I signaled for him to walk with me with the hand I used to take a card from his deck, I looked back at him as I began to walk, He was nervous at all the sights and smells around him and when the sun came through the window it looked as if it blinded him. And then they passed people. They were just normal people, but the child looked at them like they were either five moments away from death or they were strangers that he needed to get away from… and even away from me. I was starting to worry about how he would react when he saw the two that Kaito found before him. And we were only a few feet away from the door to Kaito's office when my fears were realized.

The child was basically hugging the wall at this rate, trying to keep away from me. Was it because the fact that whoever hurt him made him not trust people? I doubt that that was the case. Maybe it was because of the fact that he was startled by me. Maybe it was because of the fact that I told him about him being a world ender too early and he was contemplating it. The reason why I will never know, but that was forgone as soon as the door to Kaito's office was opened.

"Welcome Akiba-Kaichou." said Kaito, "And good morning to you Makoto-San. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning Tenjo-San," I said, "Did you bring the other World Enders?"

"They are in the other room. And they are very antsy to see Makoto-san for some reason," said Kaito

"Wait? What the hell is a World Ender? Who are the other two? Why the heck am I even doing this?" said Makoto

"Go to the other room and you will see what I mean." said Kaito, "I have a feeling you would get along with them."

I did not voice my concerns about this, if what my friend said was true they went through something so bad that it made her hate me for not even being in the same group as them… so why would this one child be any different. I know Kaito has his methods, but frankly, right now I would rather not see if they go horribly wrong.

The boy opened the door softly, it was almost as if he was not trying to make a fuss… but considering that he was pulled through the doors and into a massive hug from a man with sea urchin hair… I think that this is going to go quite well.

"NAGGS! My dude, it is so good to see you man!" shouted the Humanoid Sea Urchin

"Hagakure!" said Makoto as he hugged the taller man back with all the love and care that the world had to offer, "God it is so good to see you!"

"Glad to have you back buddy!" said Hagakure, "God where the hell has you been! I and Toko were wondering if you would ever show up!"

"Wait, Toko is here?" asked Makoto, "Where even is she? I didn't know she was even in the room right now."

"That is kinda insulting don't you think."

The boy and the sea Urchin turned toward the second voice in the other room, a woman with purple hair and a purple Eye, with the other one being blood red. She walked toward the boy with a slight saunter in her steps before tripping and falling right onto Makoto's chest…although I and the humanoid sea urchin knew full well this was a staged action. The boy on the other hand was tending to the heliochromic woman trying to make sure that she was ok before giving her a massive hug which she took in spades.

"Thank you Makoto-Sama" said Toko

"You are welcome, and please don't call me that. I am not Byakuya" Joked Makoto

"He has a point, Fuka!" said Hagakure, "Besides with the Asshole here I doubt this reunion is gonna last very long."

All three of them looked at me… the Urchin and the Heptocromic knew exactly what I was about to tell them… they had both heard it many times from Kaito whenever they tried to run away from the place where they were the most protected, the boy, on the other hand, looked confused… rightfully so I suppose.

"You three world enders are correct." I said, "I am here to tell him the news of the beginning of the end."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Makoto

"The fact is if we die the world explodes," said Toko as bluntly as possible before pointing at Kaito, "and THIS asshat has been telling us the same shit every time we try and make something of ourselves here!"

"It is more complicated than that." said Kaito before pulling out Makoto's Old coat and a pair of sewing needles and thread, "There is something about your physiology that makes the planet we stand on quake under your own feet, we Lancers have no way of explaining how it works or why you are here. But it was the reason why I called both of you to the roof before Makoto was awake. The test."

"WAIT! You two are gonna test Makoto! But he doesn't even know how to duel, if he went up against Akiba-Gesu yarō, Makoto would get obliterated!" said Hagakure

"You both lost to me and yet you still proved yourselves worthy," I said, "Let me test him, if your skills were enough to be close to beating me, then why not see how the novice of your group is able to fare against me."

"Could you at least give him time before it to learn the basics or something!" said Toko, "You at least gave us that courtesy before obliterating us!"

"I will do it."

I smirked at his friend's reactions. I knew that he would want to duel me, this boy and I are similar in that regard, he is willing to face any challenge head-on, and despite the odds stacked against him He knew as well as I that we were not going to back down from this whole thing.

"Then let's do this." said Kaito, "I know a place you both can duel to the fullest."

"Before we go, I need to ask you something? Why the hell is everyone's hair so weird!" asked Makoto before pointing toward Mine and Kaito's hairstyles… and forgetting to leave out the Mobile sea urchin.

(The Rooftops)

"You know that scarf doesn't obey the laws of physics at all." said Makoto as he looked over at Reigi with pure confusion, "You literally flew up here!"

"Because I could." said Reigi, "Now enough stalling! You and I both know that I am not gonna let this go, So are you ready to duel or not!"

"I guess so."

"Makoto, are you sure about this? This guy is no joke." said Hagakure, "I was not even able to beat him and despite me being the weaker out of Me and Fuka, we both got trounced."

"I know… but you know what they say, "Whoever looks into the void long enough for it to stair back, spits in its eyes." I plan to prove that true right now," said Makoto

"That is not a saying. But I guess that those words hold some meaning when they come from you, so you better prove the weight of those words!" said Toko

"Gladly." said Makoto, 'I just need to remember the basics they told me on the way here… god I hope this works' thought Makoto

Both of them readied themselves for what was about to come. Makoto drew the five cards he was going to start with while Reigi stood still… and then it began.

"DUEL!"

(Turn One- Start)

(Makoto Neigi LP (Life Points):8000 | Reigi Akiba LP: 8000)

"I DRAW!" Shouted Makoto as he drew the first card of the duel, He looked toward it and tensed, the card he drew was a level he could not summon right away… but he could make use of it.

"I summon Dryad of Death: Utahime For my Normal summon and this card will allow me to summon any Dryad of Death or Ultalive monster from my deck or hand," said Makoto

A seed appeared in front of Makoto before it sprouted and grew into a blue-haired woman with her eyes carved out and replaced with leaves and her body was covered in what looked to be a bark-like dress. She moved her arms in a motion to allow for another seed to spawn beside her.

"With her Effect, I summon Dryad of Death: Hārā from my deck in order to summon another copy of Dryad of Death: Utahime, from my deck," said Makoto

Another seedling appeared beside the first the one that appeared and it sprouted into another version of Dryad of Death: Utahime while the other grew into a male-looking oak tree man with red hair holding a giant red oak tree as if it was a club.

"So what are you going to do, summon another version of those pathetic plants?" asked Reigi

"Not exactly, I summon the tuner monster (Whatever that means) Dryad of Death: Heitai and summon with its effect Dryad of Death: Puroguramā from my hand," said Makoto

Two more seedlings appeared before sprouting and turning into two beings, one was a female wrapped in a vine-like bodysuit with a knife made of wood bark the only thing that could be seen about the woman's face was her shoulder-length black hair that covered her face. The other was a male figure that looked to be stuck in the seedling with a wooden and spider silk pendulum in one hand and a PDA in the other. His face looked vaguely feminine but his face was eyeless and instead replaced spider webs with a spider looking through one of the eye holes.

"With Dryad of Death: Puroguramā I can add and reveal two Pendulum Monsters from my deck to hand, I add Dryad of Death: Baikāgyangurīdā and Dryad of Death: Bitoku to my hand," said Makoto while he was adding the cards to his current hand he looked over to see the shock and aw on Reiji's face. The confusion on Makoto's face was slight… but it was enough to tell him all he needed to know.

"I set two cards and hold my pendulums for now," said Makoto before looking toward the extra deck holder on his waist before he opened it and smirked, "I synchro summon a monster! Level One Tuner, Dryad of Death: Heitai, Tunes with Level 4, Dryad of Death: Hārā, in order to summon the Level Five Synchro Monster Dryad of Death: Shisha no gakkō no gensoku!"

Both of the monsters reverted back into seedlings before turning into a larger seed that sprouted into a seemingly normal man in a suit before he reached up to grab his face… and pulled it down in order to reveal the monstrous plant-like body under it.

"I get why it is called a Tuner now because it allows for synchronization of the larger piece." said Makoto. He looked at the being he just summoned without even flinching at its grotesque form, instead, he looked at it with a smile… like this monster was familiar to him. Makoto looked back at Reigi to see that the look of shock on his face was long gone, it now being replaced with pride at what Makoto was able to do what he was able, so Makoto decided to keep going, "I want to know how to use these pendulum monsters, and knowing the look on your face you know how to use it, so I activate the effect of Dryad of Death: Shisha no gakkō no gensoku in order to add a Dryad of Death spell or trap from deck to hand for each monster of the same classification, I currently have two Dryad of Death : Utahime and one Dryad of Death: Puroguramā so I get to add Spell or trap cards from the deck to hand, I set two of those cards and I end my turn. Don't go easy on me, On your turn, you got that!" said Makoto

(Turn One- End)

(Makoto Naegi LP: 8000)

{Dryad of Death : Utahime| Level Three Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500| Effect| Position: Attack Position}

{Dryad of Death : Utahime| Level Three Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500| Effect| Position: Defense}

{Dryad of Death: Puroguramā| Level 2 Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 200 DEF: 3000| Effect, Tuner| Position: Defense}

{Dryad of Death : Shisha no gakkō no gensoku| Level 5 Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 2300 DEF: 0| Effect, Synchro| Position: Attack}

(Turn Two- Start)

"Gladly," said Reigi as he drew his first card of the turn, "I set the pendulum scales, Scale Ten D/D Savant Newton and Scale One D/D Savant Copernicus."

Behind him, two towering tower-like beings appeared and started to float around Reigi himself with numbers in front of them.

"I activate my spell card, One for One, and with it, I discard a card in order to summon one Level monster from my deck or hand, I discard D/D Necro Slime in order to summon D/D Savant Kepler from my deck, and when this card is summoned I can add one Contract spell or trap card from my deck to hand," said Reigi

As Reigi drew the card a giant tower appeared from the ground behind him with little more warning that an earthquake.

"I activate D/D Swirl Slime's Effect, I discard this card and one monster card in my hand and I can summon a Fusion Monster from my extra deck without polymerization. COME D/D/D FLAME KING GENGHIS! SHOW HIM THE MIGHT OF YOUR POWER!"

Almost as if from the depths of hell were going to come up and swallow them whole a hole opened up where Reigi was standing and out came to a warrior looking demon with a body-sized shield and a sword, but to add to his demonic factor the warrior wore light armor… almost as if in a constant berserk state.

"I activate the effect of Allure Of Darkness. This card allows me to banish a dark monster from my hand after I draw two cards. All the monsters in my hand are dark, however, so this will go swimmingly. I DRAW! I banish D/D Lamia, which I drew for my draw, and activate the effect of the one that I drew from the start! D/D Lamia allows me to special summon Itself from my hand or graveyard by sending a contract from my field or hand to grave." said Reigi before summoning the little snake girl, "But that is not all, Because I special summoned a monster I can summon one from the grave thanks to D/D/D Flame King Genghis's effect, COME, D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok! Bend him to his Knees!"

Again from the depths came a throne with a warrior demon king sitting upon a throne of dark jade and gold plating.

"I activate the effect of Dark Contract With The Gate in order to add a D/D or D/D/D monster from my deck to hand and I add D/D Necro Slime to my hand, then I Synchro summon myself a Monster from my Extra Deck, Level One D/D Lamia, Tunes with Level 6 D/D/D Flame King Genghis in order to summon the Level Seven Monster, D/D/D Gust King Alexander!"

"I ACTIVATE MY TRAP CARD!" shouted Makoto, "White the summon goes through I am able to summon a monster of my own, and thanks to Living For Them, My trap card, I am able to Discard a Card from my hand in order to summon a warrior or plant monster from the deck or hand, I summon Ultimalive: Lucky Kid because it is the only warrior monster in my main deck… I guess."

Both summonses went through without much of a hassle, with one of them turning out to be a Giant knight in shining armor with a curved blade in hand. And the other… hiding behind Makoto upon being summoned. This one was clearly one of the more humanoid monsters that Makoto had by fair. Brown Human Hair framed his face, clothes that were not made of tree residue, and the most important thing was that his eyes almost Mirrored Makoto's own when he first arrived here… scared and alone. Makoto's own Monsters started to form around the boy himself… almost as if they were giving him a pep talk in their own little way, and it worked. The monster stepped out from behind Makoto allowing for all of them to see what the child looked like… only for the strangest thing to happen. Reiji's monsters were stepping back in fear at the sight of the boy in front of them. Reiji quickly checked the reason as to why, with Makoto in tow.

"Ultimalive: Lucky Kid a Level 1, Light, Warrior. And it has a level modulation effect, so why are they so terrified of it?" said Makoto

"I end My turn by Activating Dark Contract With The Swamp King, I end my turn." said Reiji with intrigue in his tone.

This did not go unnoticed by the lucky student as he checked the stats of his monster again, "So it has 4000 Attack Points, what's the problem with that?" asked Makoto

"Look at the stats of all the monsters I have summoned thus far, then you will see," said Reiji

Makoto did as he was asked and checked his duel disk again, then he noticed the difference.

(Makoto Naegi LP: 8000)

{Dryad of Death : Utahime| Level Three Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500| Effect| Position: Attack Position}

{Dryad of Death : Utahime| Level Three Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500| Effect| Position: Defense}

{Dryad of Death: Puroguramā| Level 2 Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 200 DEF: 3000| Effect, Tuner| Position: Defense}

{Dryad of Death : Shisha no gakkō no gensoku| Level 5 Attribute: Light Type: Plant| ATK: 2300 DEF: 0| Effect, Synchro| Position: Attack}

{Ultimalive: Lucky Kid| Level 1 Attribute: Light Type: Warrior| ATK:4000 DEF:4000| Effect, Tuner}

(Reiji Akiba LP: 8000)

{D/D/D Gust King Alexander| Level 7 Attribute: Wind Type: Fiend| ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000| Synchro, Effect| Position: Attack}
{D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnerok| Level 8 Attribute: Dark Type: Fiend| ATK: 2200 DEF: 3000| Pendulum, Effect| Position: defense}

{D/D Savant Kepler| Level 1 Attribute: Dark Type Feind| ATK: 0 DEF: 0| Pendulum, Effect}

(Turn 2-End)

"If I went about with my plays, you could have broken through it, but I know that you cannot beat me with that alone, which is why I refuse to go further with my plays until that monster is off the field." said Reiji, "Now begin your turn, world ender, because it will be your last.

"THEN I WILL TAKE IT! I DRAW!" shouted Makoto

(To Be Continued)