Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh
Demon Duelist Legacy-World Tour Arc
Chapter 22: The Level 10 Darkness Game
The stone arena that had originally been set up for the duel between Rikuo and Seren was now in use by Sestros as the location for the darkness game that would determine who chose the fate of the world.
It was a simple stone platform, with numerous different skulls, corpses and torture devices lining the walls. All of these had been additions made by Sestros recently, as he felt it made the arena more fitting.
("Not that it matters. All I have to do is coerce the broken shell across from me to say 'I forfeit' and I win.") Sestros looked at Rikuo, who was only standing because of the Torture King's control over his body. "Alright Rikuo, here it is. The long-awaited showdown."
Lifting his hands upwards, Sestros yelled, "Hear me, oh powers of the darkness. In this place and at this time, we invoke your ancient spirit! Now, bring it forth, the ultimate darkness game. Awaken!"
A haze of darkness fell over the arena, but other than that, nothing had changed.
Sestros knew the truth, however. This was it. "Ready Rikuo? Our duel begins now." Drawing his six, the Torture King slid a card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down on my field and I set one monster in defense mode." The two cards appeared in front of him. "End turn." ("Now...")
Extending his dark powers, Sestros used one of the newer tricks in his arsenal.
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The broken shell that was once Rikuo Amero heard voices whispering in his ears...
("What's the point in fighting? I'm just going to lose anyway...")
("I can't believe that I ever thought I had a chance of beating him...")
("Daniel...I'm sorry, but I can't do this...")
("It's over...the fate of the world rests on my winning, but what's the point? They're all dead...I killed them. I don't deserve any chance to be a hero.")
("I forfeit...")
("I forfeit...")
("I forfeit...")
("I forfeit...")
"I.....for..." Unaware the words were even coming out of his mouth; Rikuo's mind withdrew deeper into itself.
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Rikuo found himself standing in an all too familiar hall-way. ("This is Daniel's house.")
Childish laughter filtered out of a nearby doorway... ("And that's Daniel's room.")
"Rikuo, you're so funny!"
("What!?") The wolf demon, like a ghost, floated through the door and found himself in a room that looked exactly like Daniel's, and yet at the same time it was different. Instead of Duel Monsters posters and all kinds of random junk strewn around the room, it was clean and well-organized inside.
And sitting in a corner, with a coloring book open in front of him, was a little boy who couldn't be any older than maybe five or six. He had bright red hair, and a pair of twinkling brown eyes...
("Daniel...") The mere mention of his hikari's name burned Rikuo like fire. And to see his light...... ("Why do I have this memory...? I wasn't awakened until he was at least sixteen. This doesn't make any sense.")
The little Daniel broke down into a fit of giggles. "Aw Rikuo, you shouldn't say so many mean things about Rebecca......"
Meanwhile, the real wolf demon was crouching, watching his light intently. ("Who can he be talking to? It can't be me, can it?") Then he saw what 'Rikuo' Daniel was talking to...
It was a little wolf doll that was sitting in the boy's lap...
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"...got to turn on my duel disk." The numb Rikuo reached down and clicked the on button on his duel disk, the device sliding into place.
("WHAT!?") Sestros growled and extended his will again, the voices whispering in Rikuo's ears once more. "You little smart-ass punk! Think you can pull a fast one on me, eh!? I'll crack whatever mental defenses you have remaining soon enough..."
"I...for..."
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Despite the pain that burned in his soul, Rikuo had to smile at the sight of his light being so innocent. ("I was his imaginary friend.") Resting his head in the palm of one hand, Rikuo sighed and listened while Daniel talked to him warmly...
And then the scene changed...
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"...lorn the loss of my friends..." Rikuo's eyes filled with tears.
"DAMN IT! STOP DODGING!" Sestros pushed forwards with all of his will this time, completely intent on crushing Rikuo's remaining mental capacity. ("I will not be made a fool of by you!")
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Daniel was in his bed, crying softly. 'Rikuo' was cuddled into his chest. "Why did she go......"
Rikuo grimaced and knew exactly what Daniel was talking about. ("It was his mother. This must have been when she left.") He still didn't understand how he had these memories, but that wasn't what concerned him now. What concerned him was the fact that his hikari was in pain, and he couldn't do anything about it. ("Daniel...please don't cry...")
The little Daniel slowly stopped crying, occasionally sniffling, but nothing more. "I'm scared Rikuo...I'm scared that she'll never come back..."
("She will come back. She'll come back and until then, I'll protect you.")
"You mean it?" Daniel whispered breathlessly.
("Of course...I swear I will protect you with my every breath in my body.")
Daniel smiled happily and slipped into sleep.
Tucking his hikari in, Rikuo understood now. ("His despair...it woke me up. It was only for a short time, but I was awoken...I swore to protect him.") Standing, the wolf demon smiled sadly. ("I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from this...")
"Rikuo..." whispered the little form tucked into the bed. "I love you. Please don't ever leave me behind..."
Rikuo was crying, knowing that he had failed. ("I'm sorry kid, but I already blew it.")
("Did you?")
Rikuo spun around and found himself face to face with another spectral form. This one brought Rikuo out of his sadness instantly. ("Mother!")
The raven-haired form smiled warmly. ("Hi there Rikky. It's good to see that you have accepted what you did wrong. Now, are you ready to correct it?")
Rikuo sighed and collapsed at the side of the bed. ("It's rather late for that, don't you think? They're dead, all of them. I can't bring them back without the Phoenix Wings, and those are broken. It's over...")
His mother's spirit smiled and faded away. ("I think you're forgetting...") She reappeared on the other side of the bed, kissing the tear-stained cheeks of the little Daniel. ("...that song that I used to sing to you...") Her calm voice began to sing softly, not just to Daniel, but to Rikuo as well...
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"I....for...fe...i..."
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"Wishing on a dream that seems far-off,"
"Hoping it will come today,"
"Into the starlit night,"
"Foolish Dreamers turn their gaze,"
"Waiting on a shooting star,"
"But...What if that star is not to come?"
"Will their dreams fade to nothing?"
"When the horizon darkens most,"
"We all need to believe there is hope,"
"Is an angel watching closely over me?"
"Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?"
"I know that my heart should guide me but..."
"There's a hole within my soul..."
"What will fill this emptiness inside of me?"
"Am I to be satisfied without knowing?"
"I wish, then, for a chance to see...
"Now all I need...
"Desperately..."
"Is my star to come..."
As the song played in his mind, Rikuo clutched his hikari tightly to his chest. The words played in his soul, and reminded him that...there was always hope. "Daniel...I will protect you...if not in this life...then the next..."
"When the horizon darkens most,"
"We all need to believe there is hope,"
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"...t..." The haze enveloped his field.
("And I win...") Sestros thought calmly.
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("How can you beat Sestros? He still knows every method necessary to defeat you.")
"Is an angel watching closely over me?"
"Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?"
("Then I will do the one thing that I didn't want to do. I will do it for Daniel...even if he is gone...") Rikuo gently tucked his hikari back into bed, and then stood to face the door to the room. It was glowing fiercely. ("I will die...")
Reaching out with his hand...he opened the door.
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Watching the swirling cloud of blackness that enveloped Rikuo's field, Sestros smirked superiorly. "I have won. Now the fate of the world is mine to decide!"
From within the darkness, one sound argued that fact.
It was the howl of a wolf.
The torture king felt his position disappear as a huge canine head broke through the shadow. A wolf's head the size of a car loomed over him, howling.
"It's too late Rikuo...you've lost." Sestros felt any initial amount of fear disappear. "I've won. The moment you forfeited, the fate of the world became mine to decide."
The wolf's head shrank into the shadow.
"That's right, now be swallowed by the blackness!" Sestros threw back his head and laughed.
"X-Head Cannon, attack his face-down monster!" A drill shaped blast of light shot through the shadow and blew the face-down monster card apart.
Sestros laughter caught in his throat as the smoke cleared to reveal a yellow and blue robot on his opponent's field. "How...you forfeited..."
"You should know that the shadows read what is in the hearts of the players. You used your tricks to force that response out of me," was the reply from the swirling darkness.
Sestros wasn't going to sweat about this. "Why would you bother fighting? It's not like you can bring your friends back. Your other self died because of your mistakes. Do you want to risk the world?"
"Your words are as meaningless as your existence..." The voice within the smoky mists sounded...different than before.
As the cloud disappeared, Sestros saw why... "Who are you?"
A tall form stood within the mists. He had raven-black hair streaked with lines of red. Upon his head was a pair of wolf ears that stood tall. Lean-muscled, his form wore a black and silver bodysuit. "Rikuo Amero could not defeat you. So he sacrificed his soul to create me." The speaker's deep and commanding voice sent shivers down the spine of the normally untouchable Torture King.
"Damn you! If you're not Rikuo, then that means he forfeited nonetheless! I still win!" Sestros was not going to allow this to happen.
The man opened his eyes to reveal a pair of crimson slotted eyes. "The darkness disagrees with you. It knows that Rikuo Amero still exists, just in a different form. This is what he is without the trappings that you placed upon him. As such, I suppose a new name should be given to me."
He smiled calmly. "How about Kaigen? I know that you gave that name to Daniel when he was under your control. It means 'open mind' in Japanese, and I'm sure you thought that a funny joke. Well now that name belongs to me, for I truly am an open mind, free of the pain and hurt that you placed on Rikuo."
"I don't care what your name is! I'll defeat you all the same!" Sestros lifted his bone and flesh duel disk, sneering. "Are you ready to fail and let the world fall under my control!?"
Kaigen slid two cards into his duel disk. "I am the guiding light that shields the world. Now I will fulfill the promise I made to Daniel, and take...you...down!" The two cards appeared behind his machine monster.
("This fool doesn't realize that even if I lose, there are still a million more of me to continue my plans.") "Alright then, Kaigen. Let's see just how powerful you are."
The reborn demon nodded. "End turn."
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
To a neo okami named wolfy: What can I say to that? :: Moves a safe distance away from Wolfy::
To thegymrat: Here we go. Final battle time...