A/N: Decided to take a small break from writing duels to insert some of my own fan theories and fanon about Divine, yeah that guy, and how he plays into the second half of 5Ds. I just genuinely think he's an interesting character to write and I believe him to be one of the missing pieces of the second half of the anime. I hope you enjoy!

Divine's last memory before his death was of Ccarayhua swallowing him, darkness swirling and destroying him from the inside out, his soul becoming fuel for the underworld god. But he wasn't merely consumed, burnt for fuel. No, he dropped right down into the Underworld, where dark stones piled towards the empty skies of this desolate land and his surroundings burned endlessly. His loafers chafed against the sea of violet flames but parted with a brush of his hand. He was dead. And judging by how empty it was, he was alone here.

Alone. No. No. He couldn't be alone. He had so much to accomplish still. So many things to do. He still had to take back Aki. Divine collapsed to his knees and screamed in agony, clawing at his scarred visage, yelling obscenities. Soon, his throat grew hoarse and he stopped to fall flat on his back, his eyes staring blankly at the smoky ceiling above. All his life's work, the Arcadia Movement, working for Yliaster. It was over.

"Are you okay?" a young voice asked. Divine's green eyes darted in the direction of the voice. There stood a young boy with dark purple hair, cropped short at the top and sides. He was dressed in the Duel Academy uniform. He couldn't have been more than 10 years old. Divine looked away. What did it matter? He was dead and so was this kid.

"Leave me alone," Divine grumbled, pulling his knees into his chest and turning on his side. "I'm dead. I have nothing left."

There was the sound of gravel shifting and the child sat right in front of Divine. "My name is Sly," the student introduced. "I'm with a group of other people. We're trying to stick together. If you get lost here, you might lose yourself. That's what Bolger told me to say." Sly stuck out his small hand towards Divine.

The cult leader sighed wearily and stood up, dusting off his clothes. "I'm Divine. Take me to the others," he demanded. The two crossed through the field of flames, Sly checking their surroundings from time to time. Divine hadn't noticed it before but there were remnants of skeletons scattered across the ground. He couldn't quite tell what animal they were but he decided against taking a closer look.

Divine squinted at the distance, catching a small group of people, about fifteen or so, sitting next to a large pile of stones. The flames were weaker there, as if unable to burn what still clung to some semblance of living. "This is our group," Sly said, dragging Divine closer to them. "Everyone, I found a new person! His name is Divine!"

The cult leader felt irked that he had been put on the spot like this. He bowed politely. "My name is Divine. It's a pleasure to meet you all," he greeted, trying to not give off the sense he was a former cult leader. "I was eaten by the Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua." Murmuring and mutterings of sympathy floated through the crowd. Divine eyed the people there, not recognizing anyone so far.

"It's good we found you before the flames did," a bespectacled man said cheerfully. "People who get too far from one another burn so we've chosen to stick together! Survival is important, even in death, right?" Sly elbowed the man in the ribs. "My name is Bolger. It's good to meet you, Divine. I'm the leader of sorts for our group."

The name was recognizable to Divine. Bolger was an up and coming D-Wheel designer and one of the many competitors in engine design and programming. He was a self-made man but rumors had been circulating for years that Bolger was originally a resident of Satellite. Rumors that Divine knew were true if the falsified citizenship documents he'd personally crafted for Security had been used for this very same Bolger.

"A pleasure," Divine responded with a controlled, sweet smile. "I couldn't help but wonder if anyone here knows if there's a way out."

Bolger's expression hardened. "It's difficult to accept but most of us have come to the conclusion that we're dead. Our very souls are sitting in Hell, after all." He sighed and sat down. "Our only choice is to try and remain together. We can't truly survive but I'd like to ensure that we avoid anything that's avoidable."

Divine contemplated this group. Weary, weak souls, tottering between despair and hope, with danger ever present and the threat of being burnt to nothing front and center of their minds. "They'd make for good Arcadia members," Divine thought. "They lack a plan or goal besides survival. Lack of concrete examples of a final stage leads to abandonment and deserters. And that would be bad."

He sat down next to Bolger. "Are we headed towards any particular destination?" he asked.

Bolger pointed at a great mountain in the distance. "We're making a trek towards that mountain to get to higher ground, search for more survivors. Surely more than just us ended up here." There was hope in Bolger's voice but his dull eyes betrayed him. Divine held back a wicked grin, choosing instead to nod politely.

"Yes, surely," Divine echoed. "In the meantime, why don't you tell me more about yourself, Bolger? If I recall correctly, you are the CEO of Bolger and Company?"

Bolger's expression grew wistful. "Yes. That I am." A pause. "Was. I was the CEO. My second in command will be taking over after my passing." He sighed and took off his glasses. "I hope everything is okay in Neo Domino City. There's no telling what kind of destruction those giant shadowy creatures are wreaking upon it."

Divine put his hand on Bolger's shoulder in sympathy. "I know exactly how you feel."

The group's trek through the burning wasteland was not silent, speaking to one another to fill the echoing silence of the Underworld. Divine didn't mind. It was to his benefit to listen to his future subjects. He needed to figure out how to unify the group under his leadership. He had to be reliable, save them from something perhaps. But the land was desolate, not a single creature in sight. And even though the bones of animals were scattered everywhere, there was no sign of rot or recent movement. Everything was still.

They reached the base of the mountain and Divine wondered how long they'd been walking for. His feet didn't hurt and he felt strangely energetic for a dead man. He tapped Bolger on the shoulder. "Bolger, why don't I lead the group? You look like you could use a break," Divine suggested.

"You're pretty considerate," Bolger complimented. "Sure, go on ahead. Just make sure you don't leave us behind, yeah?" He clapped his hands together and the crowd looked at him. "Everyone, please follow Divine up this mountain! He said he'd take the lead!"

The path upwards was clear of flames, strange piles of dark stones set up at the edges, as if built by someone. Sly caught up to Divine and tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, Divine! Tell me about yourself!" he asked. "I want to know where you got that scar from!"

Divine felt the right part of his face twitch in pain at the very idea of remembering where and when he got this scar. It was after he'd knocked that stupid reporter out of the window and she came back as a Dark Signer. The twenty billion yen Arcadia Movement building was torn to pieces by the combined might of Ascilla Piscu and Ccarayhua. And he had fallen, buried under the rubble but saved by a last minute Spell Card activation.

"Oh this?" Divine asked innocently, pointing at his face. Sly nodded. "I received it as punishment. I was… sinful and so my face was burnt off partially." Sly's smile disappeared and his gaze cast downwards. "Do not feel bad, Sly. It is something I bear proudly. I've repented and I'm a better man now."

"My parents always told me not to talk to criminals though," Sly stated, though hesitant to end the conversation there. "You don't have a marker on your face. Were you ever arrested for your crime?"

Divine shook his head. "No. This punishment was handed down to me by a greater force. A godlike force that gifted me knowledge." With each step he took up the incline, a grayscale memory surfaced.

"You're the devil itself. You… you hurt your own mother. Get out! Get out of this house, now! Don't make me grab my gun!"

"[*******] don't do it! [******] is your son! Please!"

"I've had it up to here with this curse! Get out of my house! Now, you monster!"

"He's only 12 years old! He can't survive on his own!"

"He's summoning Duel Monsters creatures into reality! He hurt you with one! We're leaving him with professionals tomorrow morning! We can't handle him! He won't even control himself!"

Divine shoved the memory below the surface of his consciousness. He didn't need to remember those useless people. "Sly, I will not try to convince you I'm a truly good person," Divine admitted. "I've done many bad things in the past and all I wish to do now is make up for my mistakes, heal the world. I want to help and-" He stopped mid sentence and peered over the edge of the steep path. The group had gone in a spiral pattern up the mountain somehow. Patterns like this didn't form in nature, not unless something built it to be like this.

Behind him, Bolger stepped away from the group to approach Divine. "Hey, I can take the lead now!" he called out, running to catch up to Divine. "Take a break." The cult leader shrugged and let Bolger pass him. Perhaps it was best not to be the first to reach the top.

The ground beneath them shook and several members of the group screamed out in fright, the top of the mountain blowing off and raining pebbles on them. Bolger fell down from the vibration and Divine crouched to avoid falling over, pulling his coat over Sly to protect him from the pebbles and debris. An enormous pitch black snake's head came out from the mountain, rich crimson marks running across its scales. It bared its fangs at the group, more screaming and yelling coming from them.

Divine made eye contact with the snake and it shot out at him, a massive serpentine body lifting it out of the volcano. He shoved Sly to the side and wished, for the very first time, that he still had his psychic abilities and his Deck. Fangs dripping with acrid venom failed to reach him, shattering against a thick red bubble that formed around him. The snake immediately withdrew, a thick forked tongue flicking the air in front of it.

Pain spread through Divine's skull and he clutched it in agony, whispering voices, the hiss of snakes, screaming filling his mind. Then silence. And an ancient voice he understood perfectly. "You're not a Signer yet you have gained the protection of one. What is your name, human?" the voice asked. The snake's head approached him once more and Divine did everything in his power not to slide his body backwards. He had to be brave. This was the moment he'd been waiting for.

"Divine. My name is Divine," he stammered for the first time in over a decade. "Who are you? What are you?"

The snake reared up, its massive form eclipsing Divine and the mountain they were on. The group that had ran away were watching from the base as Divine communed with this ancient creature. "I am Pikiru, the Earthbound Immortal," the snake introduced itself. "I am one of the more unfortunate Immortals who didn't make it to the surface world. I am chained here until the end of times." It shook its body and massive chains of tangled ivy appeared all over it. Divine noticed that the chains were anchored to an unknown point up in the dark sky. "The Signer Dragon, Black Rose Dragon, is the one who chained me here for my sin of taking blood. But perhaps... if her powers were to be weakened, I could rise up once more."

Divine's eyes widened. Black Rose Dragon? That was Aki's ace monster. The card he'd given her as a part of Yliaster's plans, as a part of a master clandestine plan that supposedly aligned with the stars and time itself. "I know the Signer who battles with Black Rose Dragon as her Signer Dragon," Divine immediately said. Pikiru's interest was piqued and his head moved closer to Divine once more. "She is the one who wishes me well even now."

"You? You with your heart of darkness, soaked with sin, evil to the very core have the well wishes of a Signer of the Crimson Dragon?" Pikiru asked in a mocking tone. He chuckled. "You're right. I must ask, why does she wish you well?"

Divine looked around to make sure everyone had really left and answered in a low voice, "Her abilities as a Signer frightened those around her. She is a psychic duelist, capable of bringing to life the spirits of Duel Monsters and the magic contained in this ancient game of spirits. She is not alone in her abilities but she is alone in the level of power she has. She ran away from home, abandoned by her family, forgotten by them. And who swept her up? I did. I gave her the warm family she desired, someone who had the same trauma and experiences as her."

Pikiru tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in understanding. "And what was your plan with her?" he asked.

"I was going to use her to control the world under a banner of psychic duelists, lead an army to subjugate the masses to respect the power of a psychic duelist," Divine said, unable to stop himself from laughing. "She was completely under my spell from the first time we met. She even let me brainwash her to help seal her true abilities! She's so weak to the right words and so easily manipulated it's almost sad."

Pikiru's laughter joined Divine's. "You are a truly evil man," he stated, resting his head upon the ground. "You may not know this but you were merely sacrificed. Your soul and the other humans with you haven't been truly burned away. You still have a tether to the upper world where humans dwell and the Signers will, regrettably, win the war on the Underworld once more. Your escape is guaranteed in the near future." Divine couldn't hold back the surprised look on his face. He could escape this place?

The Earthbound Immortal laughed again. "I wish to give you my blessing. I want you to become my eyes in this world, I want to see what you see. I want to see you defeat this Signer and turn her into a slave of evil." His tongue flicked out again. "Show me your palm." Divine put out his left palm towards the Earthbound Immortal and the snake bared its fangs, a single drop of venom landing on the open hand.

It burned, seared into his skin, hurt more than any pain Aki had ever inflicted on him by accident. Nothing hurt this bad. His eyes watered from the pain but he kept his hand open. Receiving the blessing of a dark immortal god was something he'd never expected but he wasn't one to reject such a wondrous gift. The pain subsided and on his hand was a symbol for an eye, thick purple lines digging into his skin. "Your name amuses me even more than the relationship you share with the Black Rose Dragon Signer," Pikiru admitted. "For what is divinity if not all that is holy? Yet not an ounce of goodness remains within your soul. Even you know that."

Divine smiled wryly. "The name is not one my parents gifted me at birth. It was a name I gave myself."

Pikiru's amused laughter echoed in his mind. "Do not disappoint me, Divine. Your soul was already destined for the Underworld. With this mark, you have power but... you will become the flames that burn around you, fuel for deities like myself biding their time for escape, if you fail. And do not test my patience either. If the bonds of my prison weaken before you've completed your plan, I will act of my own accordance."

"Failure is not ever part of my plan," Divine said confidently. "I will bring the world to its knees. I'll begin the witch hunt for the Signers with the new Knights of Arcadia!" The eye on his hand glowed, resonating with power.

Divine was assaulted with questions, concerned exclamations, and prodding words when he made his way back down the mountain. "Please, one at a time!" he yelled out. Bolger cut through the crowd.

"What happened to you up there? How did you survive? Did you speak to that enormous serpent?" he asked in rapid fire.

Divine considered what to say, putting on false expression of confusion. "I was given a gift by that snake," Divine said truthfully. He showed his left palm, the glowing mark of an eye still seared into the skin. "The snake promised us that we would all return to the real world soon. We're not stuck here forever."

"Huh? How's that possible?" a voice exclaimed from the crowd. A well dressed man with short gray hair scowled at Divine. "You sure you didn't just get cursed and hallucinate or something?" Murmurs floated among the people. "Besides, what reason do we have to believe you? We got absorbed for some weird god's rebirth! How the hell can we even come back to life?"

Divine gave him a determined look. "I know we'll be rescued from this dark abyss. This symbol ensures we will arrive safely in the real world soon." The man scoffed.

"I believe Divine," a voice called out from the crowd. Sly wore a determined look and he blushed when he realized how many people were staring at him. "He... he shielded me and saved me from the scary snake. I don't think he's lying."

Bolger piped up, "He also survived that attack from the snake. Remember that red barrier that appeared around him? Clearly, he's been blessed!"

"A trick of the light!" the man insisted. "I don't believe for a damn second that we're getting out of here! We're stuck here forever! We have to stop hoping we'll get out! How the hell are we getting out?!"

Divine approached him and gently placed his marked hand on the man's shoulder. "Please, we will make it out of here," he insisted. "This is not the end of our journey." The man looked up at him, now unsure about his previous angry remarks. "When we return to the real world, let's all meet at Muto Plaza, the one with the tall clock in the center of the fountain. It will be on the fifteenth of the next month and we will assemble just as noon arrives."

He gave them his sweetest saccharine smile. "Please. I want to truly understand and connect with all of you. It'll be tough to find a therapist who understands us, after all," Divine insisted, more nods of agreement from the crowd. Just as he finished his last word, everyone's bodies began to glow a gentle white. Was this their escape?

Divine's vision faded and the darkness became the night sky of Neo Domino City. He sat up with a start and put his hands on his chest, stomach, legs. He touched the ground. Cold cement. Up above, a shining sparkling light shot through the sky, glowing crimson streaks following after it. Divine took off his glove and there, scarred into his hand, was an eye. And in the darkness, Divine swore the pupil moved to look at him.

A/N: Please leave a review and thank you for reading.