"You have nothing left to protect your Life Points with," said Caecius.
"Not yet," Fader replied. "But now I'll activate Monster Reborn! And I'll use it to bring back my Ceruvean Phoenix (2200/2400) into defense mode." A glow appeared in front of Fader on the ground, and erupted in a ball of flame that took the shape of his winged beast. "It may lose 2000 defense points from your monster's special ability but it still has 400 left, which means that it stays where it is and can protect me. Your move Caecius."
"A moderate defense at best. It's defense isn't even strong enough to protect it from the attack of my Gearfreed, let alone my God card. I also have an entire hand full of cards that I can use to destroy your monster and then wipe you out with a single attack."
"I'm afraid not Caecius. You forgot about my face down card. I activate the Hand Sealing Spirit! By paying 500 Life Points this trap card forces you to place you hand out of play until the end of the turn. Not only does it mean that you can't play any magic, monster or traps cards, but it also means that the attack power of your dragon drops to 0, making it no kind of threat to me at all."
Fader: 1900, Caecius: 4000.
"Yet another tactic to stall for time that you don't have. I'll just attack and destroy your Phoenix with my Iron Knight and then end my turn, causing the effects fo your trap to end and restoring my god to a now indomitable 21000 attack power. You can continue to stall but you can't hold me back forever."
Fader looked at the two cards he had left in his hand. Neither of them were of any help right now, they wouldn't do anything to protect him from the full force of the Saint God Dragon on Caecius' next turn. He needed to draw something now or the duel was over, and he would have lost to Osiris again. And this time there'd be no telling that would happen to him. He might never wake up. He had to trust in himself and his deck, and he drew.
"You're right Caecius. I can't continue to stall., and I'm running low on options. But not for long. I'll lay these two cards from my hand face down. Then I'll play this. Cards of Sanctity!"
"What does that do?"
"This magic card is going to give me the new options that I need. Not only does it replenish my hand to six cards, but it also replenishes your hand to six cards as well."
"I already have more than six cards in my hand."
"Not anymore. Cards of Sanctity forces you to discard those cards to the graveyard in order to give you a new hand, making you lose your Butterfly Dagger." Fader stood proud as he watched Caecius dump twenty-one cards into the card graveyard, and draw only six in their place. Fader then drew his new hand. "Now I think it's time for me to go on the offensive. And I'll start by activating my first face down card, Black Luster Ritual! I'll offer my Leo the Lion (1500/800) and Retrained Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) from my hand to summon the Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) to the field, in attack mode!"
"A foolish error. Your ritual summoned monster is no different then any other monster you'd try to summon, it will still lose 2000 from it's attack, making it weaker than my Dragon and even my Knight."
"Who said I was going to attack your Knight or Dragon? You made the mistake Caecius, you got so arrogant that you left your Royal Magical Library in attack mode, and it has no attacking power. And my soldier is very different. Since it was Ritual Summoned its immune to the effects of your Stasis Shell trap card. Even with its attack reduced, it still has more than enough power to wipe out your monster and damage your Life Points." The Black Luster Soldier rushed forward and swept across the field with his blade, tearing Caecius' library in two.
Fader: 1900, Caecius: 3000. "And before I finish this turn I'll lay two more cards face down."
"A desperate move. My Royal Magical Library was nothing. And now you have your Soldier in attack mode and completely vulnerable to my monster's attack."
"If you're so sure of that, then why don't you just attack?"
"You haven't forgotten that any trap cards you've set down will have no effect on my Saint God Dragon, so there's nothing you can do to save you or your monster."
"Wrong Caecius! Activate face down card, Soldier's Final Stand! This card allows me to switch the position of one of my face up attack position Warriors on the field into defense mode. You may destroy the Black Luster Soldier but my Life Points stay right where they are."
"Until I attack with my Knight!" Before the dust had even settled after the Black Luster Soldier had been destroyed Caecius' Gearfreed rushed forward and sliced Fader, damaging his Life Points.
Fader: 100, Caecius: 3000.
"I'm still here Caecius. Even with all your power."
"Something I plan on remedying right now. You may have thought yourself quite smart for getting rid of my Butterfly Dagger and my Royal Magical Library, but both can be returned to me quite easily. First, I'll activate this, Monster Reborn! You used it to bring back your Phoenix and now I'm going to use it to bring back my Library, and this time I'll put it into defense mode."
"Not going to happen! I activate Solemn Judgement! For half of my Life Points I can negate the activation of any card that you try to play, negating your Monster Reborn."
Fader: 50, Caecius: 3000.
Caecius simply laughed. "You walked right into my plan. Monster Reborn was just a decoy. I still have my Premature Burial that I can use to bring back the Library for the cost of 800 Life Points. Now I'll activate Spell Reproducing. I discard two magic cards from my hand to bring back a magic card from my graveyard, The Butterfly Dagger - Eruma. Now I can once again activate my chain of drawing power to keep equipping Gearfreed with the Dagger of Butterflies and charging up my Library to draw new cards."
"But you won't be able to draw as many as you had before," said Fader.
"True enough. With only fifteen cards left in my deck I'll only replenish my hand to ten cards, leaving me with plenty to finish you off with. But let me ask you something Fader, how many cards do you have in your hand?"
"Two," he replied.
"Well you can say goodbye to them now. I'll activate this, the Delinquent Duo. It costs me 1000 Life Points, but forces you to discard one card at random from your hand and then another of your choice. But since you only have the two cards, both are sent to the graveyard. Now you have nothing left other than a single face down card on the field. Make your move."
Fader: 50, Caecius: 1200.
Fader wasn't phased at all. he may not have had any cards left in his hand and only one card left on the field, but he had everything he needed. There was only one card he needed to draw right now. Fader drew his card, looked at it and smiled at Caecius. "This duel is over Caecius!" "You don't have the power to defeat me."
"I don't need the power. I have strategy. You think that you can power up your monsters to impossible amounts and that will let you win. You're wrong. Power is a tool that needs to be used properly in order to secure victory." Fader held up a card. "I have all the power I need with this single card."
"And what card is that?"
"Curtain of Dark Magic! I pay half of my Life Points and special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck." The Curtain appeared and in a flash of dark light, the curtain opened and the Dark Magician stepped through and onto the field. It was struck immediately by Osiris' second mouth, but it stood fast.
Fader: 25, Caecius: 1200.
"You have nothing. Your Dark Magician is no kind of threat to me. It only has 500 attack power right now that my God's effect has taken its toll. You can't possibly expect to win with that monster?"
"Not with this monster, not exactly. I still have my face down card, which I'll activate now. Go Baptism of Light and Darkness!"
"What's happening?" Caecius demanded.
"My Magician is being enveloped by the supreme powers of both the Dark and the Light, allowing his magical energy to soar to new heights. Behold the Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"
"That's all? It doesn't have much more power than the regular Dark Magician. It has no power."
"I already told you that Power is only a tool and that I don't nee it to beat you. Not when I activate my monster's special ability."
"What special ability?"
"When the Dark Magician of Chaos is summoned to the field it allows me to return one magic card from my graveyard to my hand. And I chose this one, Card Destruction. I think you remember what it does, you have to discard your hand and draw the same number of cards you had before."
"I had more cards in my hand than in my deck. I won't be able to draw the required amount." Caecius shut down his Duel Disk and lifted his frail body from off the ground. The sky cleared and the images of Osiris and the other monsters disappeared. He walked over to Fader. "You've won. And you learned the lesson that you were supposed to."
"Defeat the duelist, not the God.," completed Fader, knowing what the old man meant.
Caecius nodded. He held the Saint god Dragon Osiris card out to Fader. "Only the one who could know that lesson could truly earn to wield this monster's power. You deserve the title of Puzzle Bearer well. Caecius waved his hand and the Millennium Puzzle once again appeared, hanging by a chain around Fader's neck. "I know now that you will be ready to face what is to come."
"And what is that?" Fader asked.
"The end of our past, present and future."
"Not yet," Fader replied. "But now I'll activate Monster Reborn! And I'll use it to bring back my Ceruvean Phoenix (2200/2400) into defense mode." A glow appeared in front of Fader on the ground, and erupted in a ball of flame that took the shape of his winged beast. "It may lose 2000 defense points from your monster's special ability but it still has 400 left, which means that it stays where it is and can protect me. Your move Caecius."
"A moderate defense at best. It's defense isn't even strong enough to protect it from the attack of my Gearfreed, let alone my God card. I also have an entire hand full of cards that I can use to destroy your monster and then wipe you out with a single attack."
"I'm afraid not Caecius. You forgot about my face down card. I activate the Hand Sealing Spirit! By paying 500 Life Points this trap card forces you to place you hand out of play until the end of the turn. Not only does it mean that you can't play any magic, monster or traps cards, but it also means that the attack power of your dragon drops to 0, making it no kind of threat to me at all."
Fader: 1900, Caecius: 4000.
"Yet another tactic to stall for time that you don't have. I'll just attack and destroy your Phoenix with my Iron Knight and then end my turn, causing the effects fo your trap to end and restoring my god to a now indomitable 21000 attack power. You can continue to stall but you can't hold me back forever."
Fader looked at the two cards he had left in his hand. Neither of them were of any help right now, they wouldn't do anything to protect him from the full force of the Saint God Dragon on Caecius' next turn. He needed to draw something now or the duel was over, and he would have lost to Osiris again. And this time there'd be no telling that would happen to him. He might never wake up. He had to trust in himself and his deck, and he drew.
"You're right Caecius. I can't continue to stall., and I'm running low on options. But not for long. I'll lay these two cards from my hand face down. Then I'll play this. Cards of Sanctity!"
"What does that do?"
"This magic card is going to give me the new options that I need. Not only does it replenish my hand to six cards, but it also replenishes your hand to six cards as well."
"I already have more than six cards in my hand."
"Not anymore. Cards of Sanctity forces you to discard those cards to the graveyard in order to give you a new hand, making you lose your Butterfly Dagger." Fader stood proud as he watched Caecius dump twenty-one cards into the card graveyard, and draw only six in their place. Fader then drew his new hand. "Now I think it's time for me to go on the offensive. And I'll start by activating my first face down card, Black Luster Ritual! I'll offer my Leo the Lion (1500/800) and Retrained Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) from my hand to summon the Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) to the field, in attack mode!"
"A foolish error. Your ritual summoned monster is no different then any other monster you'd try to summon, it will still lose 2000 from it's attack, making it weaker than my Dragon and even my Knight."
"Who said I was going to attack your Knight or Dragon? You made the mistake Caecius, you got so arrogant that you left your Royal Magical Library in attack mode, and it has no attacking power. And my soldier is very different. Since it was Ritual Summoned its immune to the effects of your Stasis Shell trap card. Even with its attack reduced, it still has more than enough power to wipe out your monster and damage your Life Points." The Black Luster Soldier rushed forward and swept across the field with his blade, tearing Caecius' library in two.
Fader: 1900, Caecius: 3000. "And before I finish this turn I'll lay two more cards face down."
"A desperate move. My Royal Magical Library was nothing. And now you have your Soldier in attack mode and completely vulnerable to my monster's attack."
"If you're so sure of that, then why don't you just attack?"
"You haven't forgotten that any trap cards you've set down will have no effect on my Saint God Dragon, so there's nothing you can do to save you or your monster."
"Wrong Caecius! Activate face down card, Soldier's Final Stand! This card allows me to switch the position of one of my face up attack position Warriors on the field into defense mode. You may destroy the Black Luster Soldier but my Life Points stay right where they are."
"Until I attack with my Knight!" Before the dust had even settled after the Black Luster Soldier had been destroyed Caecius' Gearfreed rushed forward and sliced Fader, damaging his Life Points.
Fader: 100, Caecius: 3000.
"I'm still here Caecius. Even with all your power."
"Something I plan on remedying right now. You may have thought yourself quite smart for getting rid of my Butterfly Dagger and my Royal Magical Library, but both can be returned to me quite easily. First, I'll activate this, Monster Reborn! You used it to bring back your Phoenix and now I'm going to use it to bring back my Library, and this time I'll put it into defense mode."
"Not going to happen! I activate Solemn Judgement! For half of my Life Points I can negate the activation of any card that you try to play, negating your Monster Reborn."
Fader: 50, Caecius: 3000.
Caecius simply laughed. "You walked right into my plan. Monster Reborn was just a decoy. I still have my Premature Burial that I can use to bring back the Library for the cost of 800 Life Points. Now I'll activate Spell Reproducing. I discard two magic cards from my hand to bring back a magic card from my graveyard, The Butterfly Dagger - Eruma. Now I can once again activate my chain of drawing power to keep equipping Gearfreed with the Dagger of Butterflies and charging up my Library to draw new cards."
"But you won't be able to draw as many as you had before," said Fader.
"True enough. With only fifteen cards left in my deck I'll only replenish my hand to ten cards, leaving me with plenty to finish you off with. But let me ask you something Fader, how many cards do you have in your hand?"
"Two," he replied.
"Well you can say goodbye to them now. I'll activate this, the Delinquent Duo. It costs me 1000 Life Points, but forces you to discard one card at random from your hand and then another of your choice. But since you only have the two cards, both are sent to the graveyard. Now you have nothing left other than a single face down card on the field. Make your move."
Fader: 50, Caecius: 1200.
Fader wasn't phased at all. he may not have had any cards left in his hand and only one card left on the field, but he had everything he needed. There was only one card he needed to draw right now. Fader drew his card, looked at it and smiled at Caecius. "This duel is over Caecius!" "You don't have the power to defeat me."
"I don't need the power. I have strategy. You think that you can power up your monsters to impossible amounts and that will let you win. You're wrong. Power is a tool that needs to be used properly in order to secure victory." Fader held up a card. "I have all the power I need with this single card."
"And what card is that?"
"Curtain of Dark Magic! I pay half of my Life Points and special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck." The Curtain appeared and in a flash of dark light, the curtain opened and the Dark Magician stepped through and onto the field. It was struck immediately by Osiris' second mouth, but it stood fast.
Fader: 25, Caecius: 1200.
"You have nothing. Your Dark Magician is no kind of threat to me. It only has 500 attack power right now that my God's effect has taken its toll. You can't possibly expect to win with that monster?"
"Not with this monster, not exactly. I still have my face down card, which I'll activate now. Go Baptism of Light and Darkness!"
"What's happening?" Caecius demanded.
"My Magician is being enveloped by the supreme powers of both the Dark and the Light, allowing his magical energy to soar to new heights. Behold the Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"
"That's all? It doesn't have much more power than the regular Dark Magician. It has no power."
"I already told you that Power is only a tool and that I don't nee it to beat you. Not when I activate my monster's special ability."
"What special ability?"
"When the Dark Magician of Chaos is summoned to the field it allows me to return one magic card from my graveyard to my hand. And I chose this one, Card Destruction. I think you remember what it does, you have to discard your hand and draw the same number of cards you had before."
"I had more cards in my hand than in my deck. I won't be able to draw the required amount." Caecius shut down his Duel Disk and lifted his frail body from off the ground. The sky cleared and the images of Osiris and the other monsters disappeared. He walked over to Fader. "You've won. And you learned the lesson that you were supposed to."
"Defeat the duelist, not the God.," completed Fader, knowing what the old man meant.
Caecius nodded. He held the Saint god Dragon Osiris card out to Fader. "Only the one who could know that lesson could truly earn to wield this monster's power. You deserve the title of Puzzle Bearer well. Caecius waved his hand and the Millennium Puzzle once again appeared, hanging by a chain around Fader's neck. "I know now that you will be ready to face what is to come."
"And what is that?" Fader asked.
"The end of our past, present and future."