There was nothing in the room. It wasn't dark, or empty. There was just
nothing. A black empty void. Fader found himself standing on nothing, just
a black abyss. There was nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to smell,
touch or taste. Nothing.
"Be cautious, Fader." To Fader's side the image of Yami appeared. He was as he appeared on the plane of Fader's mind, the same unwavering visage weighed down by thousands of years of pain, his hair spiky red and black, streaked with gold. Once again he was dressed as Fader was, and the Millennium Puzzle still hung from his neck. His arms were folded across his chest as he stood just beside Fader. "We must be prepared for anything."
Fader simply nodded and turned back facing forward. His eyes darted around, looking for anything in the blackness, and still there was no sign of anything at all. But Fader could feel it. There was something....someone there, somewhere. "I know you're there," he called out. "I can feel you. Show yourself."
"There is time for everything, if you have the patience for it," came a whispered reply.
"Who are you?"
"You already know the answer to that."
And whoever they were, they were right. "You're the bearer of the last Millennium Item."
"I am. Do you know why you have come?"
Fader thought for a second, and replied in the most obvious way he could think of. "I came for answers."
"A noble ambition."
"Show yourself to me," Fader demanded.
"Is seeing your opponent that important to you?" asked the voice.
"I didn't realize we were enemies."
"Not enemies," corrected the voice. "Opponents."
"What's the difference?" he asked. Fader looked at Yami who seemed to be staring at a point about twenty feet away. Fader tried to look at the same point, but couldn't see anything. He whispered to the spirit, "What is it Yami?" Yami just shook his head.
"The difference is that an ally can be an opponent, but never an enemy." There was a pause as the words sunk into to Fader's brain and he tried to comprehend what was being said. "I can tell that this is confusing you. You cannot see yet, but you will soon. Prepare yourself to duel."
"Duel? But I don't even know where you are. I can't see your cards."
"A disadvantage to say the least. But we are always faced with burdens that we must overcome. A warrior's resolve is shaped by the way they handle the adversity that confronts them."
There was another long pause. "There is another question on your lips. My name is Caecius. Prepare to duel."
Without anything else he could think of to say, Fader shuffled his deck, locked his duel disk into position and drew his opening hand.
Fader: 4000, Caecius: 4000. "You may go first," Caecius spoke up.
Fader drew an extra card and pondered the single question out of a hundred he thought was the most important. How do you fight something you can't see? "We have to be careful, Fader. Caecius isn't going to be the same level as your other adversaries," Yami's voice rang through his head. He selected one card from his hand and placed it onto the Duel Disk. "I'll play this card in defense mode he called out." Better to play it defensively for now, and wait for Caecius to make the first aggressive move. "Your turn Caecius."
"It's a good plan Fader," Caecius called out from nowhere. "To play it safe. You'd like me to make it easy on you and attack your Angel of the Balancing Scales (800/900) wouldn't you?"
"How did you...?"
"You underestimate me, and unwise decision in any situation. Even more dangerous . I play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout. This card will remove one face down monster on the field from play. Not only eliminating your defense but preventing you from activating the powers of your Angel. Now I'll summon a monster to the field, and end my turn."
"He didn't attack," Fader though to himself.
"No," Yami replied. "If he did, then you would know the attack power of his monster. This way he keeps you guessing."
"How did he know about my Angel?"
"His Millennium Item. He wields the power of the Millennium Eye. It allows him the power to see into your mind and...." Yami's voice faded out, past even the sound of a whisper.
"What happened?" Fader asked. He felt something missing and looked down. "My Puzzle! What happened to it?"
"It's been removed. It's only purpose was to grant you access to the room. The rest is up to you. Yami is wise and knows about my abilities. His knowledge of the powers of my item would give you an advantage that I'm not willing for you to have just yet.""
"Very fair," bit back Fader with a sarcastic voice. "No sense in having things even."
"Make your next move," was the only reply Caecius had.
"I will. I'll lay this card face down. And then summon a monster of my own to the field in attack mode. Come forth, Aires, the Ram (1600/1800)! Attack his unseen monster with Ram's Horn Blast!" The Ram lowered it's head and charged forward into the darkness, headlong into the unknown. It hadn't moved very far before it was destroyed and Fader's Life Points fell.
Fader: 3600, Caecius; 4000
"A headstrong move. You cost yourself a great deal of life points, and your newly summoned monster."
"That's not all I did though. Aires special ability causing any monster that it attacks to be bounced back to the owner's hand. If I can't see it, I'll just have to settle for removing it from the field. Your turn Caecius."
"You already know that your field is clear of monsters, so you left a single face down card to protect yourself. An interesting strategy. You would use your Mirror Force card to destroy my monster when I summon it back to the field."
Again Fader was caught unaware. "What?"
"I can see very card that you plan on playing. Every strategy that forms in your mind, even as you just devise it. I know that your Mirror Force will not save you. Nor will your Taurus, the Bull (1800/700), Magical Hats, Change of Heart, Cost Down or Ceruvean Phoenix (2200/2400). I will set one monster down on my field and then set two more cards with it, and end my turn."
Fader was awe struck. Caecius had just named off every card in Fader's hand. Yami had said that Caecius could see into his mind, but it couldn't be. It had to be a trick. under the blanket of the black void Caecius must be using some other means of seeing his hand.
"You're thinking now about how I could possibly know what you have in your hand. You're accusing me of cheating or something else that you already know to be untrue. Make your move Fader."
Fader had to focus. He drew his card. Before he even had time to register what he had drawn Caecius called out it's name, Multiply. Fader couldn't let this get to him. It was a disadvantage, but one that he could overcome. Just because this person could see into his hand didn't mean that he could stop everything Fader had planned. "I play the magic card, Change of Heart to take control of your monster!" he called out.
"No, you don't. I activate my trap card, Imperial Order, which negates the effects of your magic card and any others that you might play as long as this card remains on the field."
Fader gritted his teeth. That single card had ruined his idea. he had planned on using Caecius' own monster in combination with his Cost Down card to summon his Phoenix. Then I'll just have to settle for summoning my Taurus, the Bull and attacking your face down monster." Taurus appeared in play and blasted straight ahead on the field bust its blast was cut short as it appeared to be blocked. Neither player's Life Points changed.
"Do not get too excited, my monster remains. Hand of God's (0/2000) defense power was higher than your monster's attack."
"Then why didn't I take damage?"
"That's Hand of God's special ability. When it gets attacked while in defense mode I can negate the battle damage done to my opponent to draw an extra card from the top of my deck. Plus it allows me to keep my monster's defensive power hidden from you. And now if your turn is over then I'll make my move."
Fader nodded, knowing that somehow Caecius would see. "First. I'll discard my Imperial Order from the field. Then I'll re-summon the monster that you sent back to my hand with Aires, Sight of God (2000/0). But before I attack I have one more card to play, the Nobleman of Extermination which will eliminate the Mirror Force and remove it from the game, just as I did your Angel of the Balancing Scales. Now that the way is clear I can attack Taurus with my monster and eliminate it. Unfortunately for my monster to attack I must discard a card from my hand, but that's a small price to pay to destroy your only monster." Fader didn't even see the attack happen, one second Taurus was standing in front of him, and the next, it exploded in a shattering display and Fader's Life Points fell.
Fader: 3400, Caecius: 4000.
Fader drew his card. "Pot of Greed," he announced, slapping it into his duel disk. "I draw two new cards." He drew the extra cards, already knowing that Caecius knew what they were. "I activate my other magic card, Cost Down by discarding Ceruvean Phoenix from my hand, so I can summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! then I'll equip her with the Axe of Despair to raise her attack by 1000 points. And I'll attack your Sight of God!"
"I don't think so. I will activate my face down card, Stasis Shell, which prevents all monsters from attacking the turn that the turn that they are normal summoned., your Dark Magician Girl is frozen in time."
"I end my turn then."
"And I'll draw my next card. I'll summon another monster that you cannot see in defense mode. Since my monsters can't hope your match your magician for attack, I'll switch Sight end my turn."
It was just then that Fader was struck with an idea. Something that was so obvious he hadn't even seen it until now. "Caecius, there's a flaw in your plan."
"What would that be?"
"If you are using the powers of your Millennium Eye to see into my hand and strategy it relies on me seeing the cards for you to. But if I don't know what the cards are then you can't tell either."
"But how will you know whether or not they are a monster, magic or trap?"
"By trusting in my cards, and myself." Fader shut his eyes and focused. He didn't have the Millennium Puzzle but he could still feel it and could draw off its power. He knew his deck would help him so he drew, and without looking set the card face down. "Now that my Dark Magician girl is free of the effects of your Stasis Shell it can attack, and my target will be your new face down card!" The Dark Magician Girl shot forward, twisting the Axe of Despair in her hand and slicing through the darkness.
"You destroyed my Skelengel (900/600), which allows me to draw yet another card into my hand."
"My turn is over then."
"And so is this game. You are about to lose."
"I doubt that. In fact I think it's time to shed a little light on this duel, with my face down card, Light of Intervention.!" Fader's trap card flipped up into play, washing over the field. The entire black void was filled from ceiling to floor in light, finally revealing not only the features of the room but the cards on Caecius' field. Not only that but now finally Fader saw his opponent's face; the face of an old man sitting on the ground cross legged. And he would have looked into Caecius' eyes but...
"You're blind!" Fader exclaimed.
"I may not have sight, but I am not so blind to the world around me. But my condition does not matter. The Millennium Eye grants me the only sight that I need. And now that you can see the field you will see the horror that is now in store for you." Caecius drew his card. Now, with the Sight of God and Hand of God on the field I can special summon the Breath of God (2000/2000). And watch as I sacrifice these three monsters to summon the Saint God Dragon Osiris (X000/X000)!"
The room began to shake as Caecius' three monsters disappeared from the field. The roof of the temple chamber tore away. Fader looked up into the sky as it turned pitch black. Lightning bolts began crashing down into the chamber, some only a short distance from Fader. As he watched, Osiris' massive head pushed through the dark swirling mass of clouds.
"With four cards in my hand Osiris has an attack power of 4000 points. Osiris crush his Dark Magician Girl with your Thunder Force!" And with that the great Dragon roared and the girl was gone.
Fader: 2400, Caecius: 4000.
"Still so happy to be able to see?"
"Be cautious, Fader." To Fader's side the image of Yami appeared. He was as he appeared on the plane of Fader's mind, the same unwavering visage weighed down by thousands of years of pain, his hair spiky red and black, streaked with gold. Once again he was dressed as Fader was, and the Millennium Puzzle still hung from his neck. His arms were folded across his chest as he stood just beside Fader. "We must be prepared for anything."
Fader simply nodded and turned back facing forward. His eyes darted around, looking for anything in the blackness, and still there was no sign of anything at all. But Fader could feel it. There was something....someone there, somewhere. "I know you're there," he called out. "I can feel you. Show yourself."
"There is time for everything, if you have the patience for it," came a whispered reply.
"Who are you?"
"You already know the answer to that."
And whoever they were, they were right. "You're the bearer of the last Millennium Item."
"I am. Do you know why you have come?"
Fader thought for a second, and replied in the most obvious way he could think of. "I came for answers."
"A noble ambition."
"Show yourself to me," Fader demanded.
"Is seeing your opponent that important to you?" asked the voice.
"I didn't realize we were enemies."
"Not enemies," corrected the voice. "Opponents."
"What's the difference?" he asked. Fader looked at Yami who seemed to be staring at a point about twenty feet away. Fader tried to look at the same point, but couldn't see anything. He whispered to the spirit, "What is it Yami?" Yami just shook his head.
"The difference is that an ally can be an opponent, but never an enemy." There was a pause as the words sunk into to Fader's brain and he tried to comprehend what was being said. "I can tell that this is confusing you. You cannot see yet, but you will soon. Prepare yourself to duel."
"Duel? But I don't even know where you are. I can't see your cards."
"A disadvantage to say the least. But we are always faced with burdens that we must overcome. A warrior's resolve is shaped by the way they handle the adversity that confronts them."
There was another long pause. "There is another question on your lips. My name is Caecius. Prepare to duel."
Without anything else he could think of to say, Fader shuffled his deck, locked his duel disk into position and drew his opening hand.
Fader: 4000, Caecius: 4000. "You may go first," Caecius spoke up.
Fader drew an extra card and pondered the single question out of a hundred he thought was the most important. How do you fight something you can't see? "We have to be careful, Fader. Caecius isn't going to be the same level as your other adversaries," Yami's voice rang through his head. He selected one card from his hand and placed it onto the Duel Disk. "I'll play this card in defense mode he called out." Better to play it defensively for now, and wait for Caecius to make the first aggressive move. "Your turn Caecius."
"It's a good plan Fader," Caecius called out from nowhere. "To play it safe. You'd like me to make it easy on you and attack your Angel of the Balancing Scales (800/900) wouldn't you?"
"How did you...?"
"You underestimate me, and unwise decision in any situation. Even more dangerous . I play the magic card Nobleman of Crossout. This card will remove one face down monster on the field from play. Not only eliminating your defense but preventing you from activating the powers of your Angel. Now I'll summon a monster to the field, and end my turn."
"He didn't attack," Fader though to himself.
"No," Yami replied. "If he did, then you would know the attack power of his monster. This way he keeps you guessing."
"How did he know about my Angel?"
"His Millennium Item. He wields the power of the Millennium Eye. It allows him the power to see into your mind and...." Yami's voice faded out, past even the sound of a whisper.
"What happened?" Fader asked. He felt something missing and looked down. "My Puzzle! What happened to it?"
"It's been removed. It's only purpose was to grant you access to the room. The rest is up to you. Yami is wise and knows about my abilities. His knowledge of the powers of my item would give you an advantage that I'm not willing for you to have just yet.""
"Very fair," bit back Fader with a sarcastic voice. "No sense in having things even."
"Make your next move," was the only reply Caecius had.
"I will. I'll lay this card face down. And then summon a monster of my own to the field in attack mode. Come forth, Aires, the Ram (1600/1800)! Attack his unseen monster with Ram's Horn Blast!" The Ram lowered it's head and charged forward into the darkness, headlong into the unknown. It hadn't moved very far before it was destroyed and Fader's Life Points fell.
Fader: 3600, Caecius; 4000
"A headstrong move. You cost yourself a great deal of life points, and your newly summoned monster."
"That's not all I did though. Aires special ability causing any monster that it attacks to be bounced back to the owner's hand. If I can't see it, I'll just have to settle for removing it from the field. Your turn Caecius."
"You already know that your field is clear of monsters, so you left a single face down card to protect yourself. An interesting strategy. You would use your Mirror Force card to destroy my monster when I summon it back to the field."
Again Fader was caught unaware. "What?"
"I can see very card that you plan on playing. Every strategy that forms in your mind, even as you just devise it. I know that your Mirror Force will not save you. Nor will your Taurus, the Bull (1800/700), Magical Hats, Change of Heart, Cost Down or Ceruvean Phoenix (2200/2400). I will set one monster down on my field and then set two more cards with it, and end my turn."
Fader was awe struck. Caecius had just named off every card in Fader's hand. Yami had said that Caecius could see into his mind, but it couldn't be. It had to be a trick. under the blanket of the black void Caecius must be using some other means of seeing his hand.
"You're thinking now about how I could possibly know what you have in your hand. You're accusing me of cheating or something else that you already know to be untrue. Make your move Fader."
Fader had to focus. He drew his card. Before he even had time to register what he had drawn Caecius called out it's name, Multiply. Fader couldn't let this get to him. It was a disadvantage, but one that he could overcome. Just because this person could see into his hand didn't mean that he could stop everything Fader had planned. "I play the magic card, Change of Heart to take control of your monster!" he called out.
"No, you don't. I activate my trap card, Imperial Order, which negates the effects of your magic card and any others that you might play as long as this card remains on the field."
Fader gritted his teeth. That single card had ruined his idea. he had planned on using Caecius' own monster in combination with his Cost Down card to summon his Phoenix. Then I'll just have to settle for summoning my Taurus, the Bull and attacking your face down monster." Taurus appeared in play and blasted straight ahead on the field bust its blast was cut short as it appeared to be blocked. Neither player's Life Points changed.
"Do not get too excited, my monster remains. Hand of God's (0/2000) defense power was higher than your monster's attack."
"Then why didn't I take damage?"
"That's Hand of God's special ability. When it gets attacked while in defense mode I can negate the battle damage done to my opponent to draw an extra card from the top of my deck. Plus it allows me to keep my monster's defensive power hidden from you. And now if your turn is over then I'll make my move."
Fader nodded, knowing that somehow Caecius would see. "First. I'll discard my Imperial Order from the field. Then I'll re-summon the monster that you sent back to my hand with Aires, Sight of God (2000/0). But before I attack I have one more card to play, the Nobleman of Extermination which will eliminate the Mirror Force and remove it from the game, just as I did your Angel of the Balancing Scales. Now that the way is clear I can attack Taurus with my monster and eliminate it. Unfortunately for my monster to attack I must discard a card from my hand, but that's a small price to pay to destroy your only monster." Fader didn't even see the attack happen, one second Taurus was standing in front of him, and the next, it exploded in a shattering display and Fader's Life Points fell.
Fader: 3400, Caecius: 4000.
Fader drew his card. "Pot of Greed," he announced, slapping it into his duel disk. "I draw two new cards." He drew the extra cards, already knowing that Caecius knew what they were. "I activate my other magic card, Cost Down by discarding Ceruvean Phoenix from my hand, so I can summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! then I'll equip her with the Axe of Despair to raise her attack by 1000 points. And I'll attack your Sight of God!"
"I don't think so. I will activate my face down card, Stasis Shell, which prevents all monsters from attacking the turn that the turn that they are normal summoned., your Dark Magician Girl is frozen in time."
"I end my turn then."
"And I'll draw my next card. I'll summon another monster that you cannot see in defense mode. Since my monsters can't hope your match your magician for attack, I'll switch Sight end my turn."
It was just then that Fader was struck with an idea. Something that was so obvious he hadn't even seen it until now. "Caecius, there's a flaw in your plan."
"What would that be?"
"If you are using the powers of your Millennium Eye to see into my hand and strategy it relies on me seeing the cards for you to. But if I don't know what the cards are then you can't tell either."
"But how will you know whether or not they are a monster, magic or trap?"
"By trusting in my cards, and myself." Fader shut his eyes and focused. He didn't have the Millennium Puzzle but he could still feel it and could draw off its power. He knew his deck would help him so he drew, and without looking set the card face down. "Now that my Dark Magician girl is free of the effects of your Stasis Shell it can attack, and my target will be your new face down card!" The Dark Magician Girl shot forward, twisting the Axe of Despair in her hand and slicing through the darkness.
"You destroyed my Skelengel (900/600), which allows me to draw yet another card into my hand."
"My turn is over then."
"And so is this game. You are about to lose."
"I doubt that. In fact I think it's time to shed a little light on this duel, with my face down card, Light of Intervention.!" Fader's trap card flipped up into play, washing over the field. The entire black void was filled from ceiling to floor in light, finally revealing not only the features of the room but the cards on Caecius' field. Not only that but now finally Fader saw his opponent's face; the face of an old man sitting on the ground cross legged. And he would have looked into Caecius' eyes but...
"You're blind!" Fader exclaimed.
"I may not have sight, but I am not so blind to the world around me. But my condition does not matter. The Millennium Eye grants me the only sight that I need. And now that you can see the field you will see the horror that is now in store for you." Caecius drew his card. Now, with the Sight of God and Hand of God on the field I can special summon the Breath of God (2000/2000). And watch as I sacrifice these three monsters to summon the Saint God Dragon Osiris (X000/X000)!"
The room began to shake as Caecius' three monsters disappeared from the field. The roof of the temple chamber tore away. Fader looked up into the sky as it turned pitch black. Lightning bolts began crashing down into the chamber, some only a short distance from Fader. As he watched, Osiris' massive head pushed through the dark swirling mass of clouds.
"With four cards in my hand Osiris has an attack power of 4000 points. Osiris crush his Dark Magician Girl with your Thunder Force!" And with that the great Dragon roared and the girl was gone.
Fader: 2400, Caecius: 4000.
"Still so happy to be able to see?"