Chapter Nine: Breaking the Fabric
Ryu cranked down the engine, letting the speed boat drift to a halt against the edge of the shore. A few hundred feet away he could see a duel going on, and by the green glow he could tell it was duel using the Seal of Orichalcos. "Looks like this is the place. Come on Autumn." He quickly helped her out of the boat and together the two made a run for the duel.
It didn't take them long before they had to stop to avoid ramming into the seal itself. Ryu stared hard at the duel, seeing four duelists, with a fifth flat on the ground. Two duelists in suits with nasty looking monsters were facing Drake and Serenity, and the situation seemed dire. Ryu and Autumn ran off to the side where the attractive girl that Ryu recognized as Kirani waited.
"What's the situation?" Kirani looked a bit surprised to see them there, but recovered quickly enough and starting explaining how they had arrived at the island, encountered the three men, and a duel had begun. She also outlined the abilities that the two Armani wearing duelist's monsters had. Ryu's face was set in a grim line the whole time as the situation seemed worse the more it was explained.
"And now it's Drake's turn?" Kirani nodded, most of her attention on the duel at hand. As bad as things were, she trusted Drake to turn it all around. He always seemed to have a way to make things work out in a duel. After all, he'd done it to her, and he'd done it not long ago in this very duel. The perfect draw of Mystical Space Typhoon showed his true strength as a duelist.
Drake snapped the first card off his deck, giving him a hand of four. He looked at his new card and then at the rest of his hand and sighed. There was no way to defeat Sebushimi in a single turn, not with the cards he had. He was just going to have to play defensively and hope for the best. His plan had to work, or else Serenity was finished. "I'll set three cards face down and a monster in defense mode. End turn!"
Serenity shuddered and shifted her monsters to defense mode since she couldn't draw and had no cards to play. That was all she could do this turn, and there was no way to get around it. "I...end my turn." She was going to lose her soul as soon as Sebushimi started his turn, and she was terrified of it.
The bearded suit, Tokime, began his turn without drawing a card, just like the effect of Time Magician said. This was his last turn without the ability to draw, but he wasn't bothered by it. "It's time to show you more of Exodia Necros' full power. I flip up the trap Obliterate which costs his attack for this turn and can only be played when he's been on the field for at least one full turn. Obliterate then destroys every single monster on the opponent's field!" Exodia Necros unleashed a black wave of energy, sweeping aside all three of Serenity's monsters and Drake's set monster, leaving them with nothing but Drake's three face down cards.
Sebushimi scoffed at Drake's set cards, knowing that even if he couldn't attack, he could certainly defeat the little girl right here and now. If his masters were right she'd unleash the power of the Heart of Light to save herself before she could lose. "Embodiment of Death, use your Deathstrike Attack to eliminate Serenity from this duel and take away her soul!"
The death creature unleashed its sharp bandage tendrils, sending them straight for Serenity's heart to not only deplete her life points but kill her as well. Those things were too deadly to be allowed to strike her. "Hold it Sebushimi! I'm activating a quick-play card, Magical Hats!" A giant magician's hat appeared on the field, ready to split into it's four sections.
"Idiot, you have no monsters to hide. And besides, even if you did it wouldn't stop me from defeating her with this strike. It's effect damage, not battle." Drake smirked and pressed another button on his disk, activating the set card that had been right beside. Now all he had to do was hope and pray that everything turned out right.
"I'm changing the effect of Magical Hats with Amendment, one of my other placed cards. Now the hats will conceal the duelists instead of the monsters, and it will also conceal my other face down card. So go ahead and have Embodiment of Death use it's effect, because unless it targets the right hat you won't deal damage anyways!" His last words were covered up when the hat came down over Drake and Serenity, and then shimmered and separated into four different hats. The two duelists were nowhere to be seen.
"Holograms can't move people, so you're in the middle left hat! Deal that damage my beast!" The tendrils pounded against the hat, but they didn't penetrate as it was only an effect and not a real attack. But the Seal of Orichalcos didn't react, so that meant he hadn't struck a hat that had either duelist in it. Or maybe it had struck the one Drake was in and Drake had survived. There was only one way to know for sure.
"Embodiment of Death, attack that same hat and destroyed it completely along with whatever is under it!" This time the monster sent a storm of bandages at the hat, slicing it into tiny little pieces that went flying everywhere. What Sebushimi discovered was that there was nothing under the hat at all, and he had attacked the wrong one twice. "DAMN IT! Fine, my turn is over."
Underneath one of the hats Drake and Serenity sat waiting for an attack to come, and they were whispering to each other. They knew it was Drake's turn, and Drake had something he intended to do. "If I leave the hat they'll target me and wait till I'm defeated. That'll give you time to fight back against them or at least find a way to stop them."
She latched on to him in order to keep him from going anywhere. She shook her head, and tried desperately to keep her entire body from shaking. She was more afraid than she had ever been in her whole life, and not just for herself. But for Drake as well. "Please, don't. Together we can stand against them. Don't make yourself their target. Please?" She didn't want to see him again as she once had in that realm of darkness. Hanging upon a cross, and accusing her of being the one who caused it.
"Fine, I'll do it." Snatching a card off his deck he swiftly played it, activating it's power. Hopefully this manuever would end the threat on Serenity's life points. "Activate Play of Rebellion, sending the attack of Exodia Necros at Embodiment of Death! This will destroy Embodiment of Death and rid us of it's threat!" To Tokime and Sebushimi his voice seemed to come from all around them, making it impossible to tell what hat he was under.
Tokime grimaced as his Exodia Necros turned and fired off a volley of energy at the much weaker Embodiment of Death. The attack wouldn't defeat his partner, but it would eliminate one of their best weapons in this duel. "Ha! I'll just use the fifth and final effect of my monster. By paying 1000 life points to negate the attack on it!" Embodiment of Death raised its arms and created a giant shield of bandages to absorb the attack, keeping him safe. (SELP: 3000)
Drake cursed silently, and then ended his turn, unable to do anything else. Now there were only three hats left to protect them. That could decrease come Tokime's turn, but at least now Serenity had a chance to turn things around. Slowly she drew her card, and then showed him what she had drawn. "Offerings to the Doomed. Good draw. With that you can take out Embodiment of Death and he can't stop you. Go ahead and play it."
"I activate Offerings to the Doomed and target Embodiment of Death!" The bandages exploded from the ground and shot straight at the bandaged creature. Although they couldn't see what was going on, the three duelists outside could, and they exactly what happened afterwards with a perfect view of it all.
"I'll defend Sebushimi's Embodiment of Death with my Exodia Necros which cannot be destroyed in any way! Therefore both monsters remain intact!" Exodia Necros merely shrugged off the bandages, remaining perfectly fine. Drake and Serenity grimaced, knowing that they had no method left to defeat either, and they'd have to wait and hope that they could find a way around the situation and that they didn't become the target of the next attack.
Tokime snapped another card off his deck and smirked at the sight of it. This would give him more of an advantage. "I play Blessing of Exodia, which will grant me 2000 life points if all five pieces of Exodia are in the cemetery. Therefore my life points shoot straight upwards past both of yours combined!" (TLP: 6000)
"With Exodia Necros at such a high level of attack power you can't stop me, so I'll attack the hat on the far left!" Exodia Necros sent a wave of darkness at the hat, which easily succumbed and was vaporized. Suddenly two forms jumped out of it, and landed off to the side. They were revealed as magicians with simple flowing red robes and even darker red staffs.
"You triggered my quick-play card, Magister School which generates two Magister Tokens(500/500) in defense mode." Although Drake had two new monsters to work with, he also knew that Exodia Necros had gotten stronger since the hats counted as tokens and therefore it was battle. And now there were only two hats left with which to defend themself.
Now Sebushimi had a chance to strike them down with the power of the Deathstrike. He only had two choices, so he had to make the right one. It was what was now the right, or now the left. Pick and choose, that's all it was. Even if he did guess wrong he'd be able to attack the other hat, reducing the challenge. "Deathstrike the right hat!" The tendrils shot straight out and pierce into the hat, but there was no cry from within. Again he guessed wrong.
"Heh, fine. I'll discard a card from my hand to destroy one of your Magister Tokens and then remove two more magic cards from my cemetery to revive it. Then I sacrifice it, sending my Embodiment of Death (2000/1300) to even greater power. Now it will attack the remaining hat!" Embodiment of Death raised its arms and sent wave after wave of bandages at the one remaining untried hat. Deep within it Drake stands at the ready, Serenity on the ground behind him.
"You've forgotten that your target was Serenity, and as my partner I can defend her! So Magister Token, get in the way of the attack!" The red robed magician threw himself in the path of the bandages and was sliced in half by them, exploding into digital fragments. Since it was in defense mode Drake didn't take any damage, however the charade was over now. With the correct hat discovered, the two hats faded away, leaving Drake and Serenity clear for the eye to see.
"So at last you come out of hiding." Drake blinked and turned around at the sound of that voice, and discovered a surprising sight. Dalin and Kai now stood with Ryu, Autumn, and Kirani. At this rate he was expecting Yugi or one of those guys to show up for no apparent reason. What the heck were all of them doing here anyways?
"Dalin huh? Surprised to see you here. Same goes for you Kai. But as interesting as it is that we've all somehow congregated here, I've got a duel to continue. So now that's it's my turn, I draw!" He grabbed another card off his deck and fanned out his three cards. Suddenly Tokime noticed that Drake's hand was too big, considering that he had been top decking just the turn before.
"How the heck do you have three cards? You should only have one!" Drake smirked and decided that maybe now was the right time to mention the effects involved with his Magister Tokens. After all, they were a key part of his strategy in defending the two of them and pulling ahead.
"Whenever a Magister Token is destroyed I get to draw a card. That's how I have three. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to place these three cards onto the field. Now that's all I can do." He stood strong and ready with only three cards between him and the two deadly monsters. And Serenity had no turn, because she had no playable cards and couldn't draw during this turn.
"We're gonna die. There isn't a way to win this." Drake didn't look back at Serenity as she spoke these words. Instead he stood confidently in front of her, keeping himself between her and their two opponents. There was no backing down in this instance, and no slowing down either. There was no lose in this situation, there couldn't be. He wouldn't let Serenity down.
"We won't die. Remember, I promised I'd protect you. And do I ever break a promise?" Even though he wasn't look, Drake knew that she was shaking her head, giving him all the answer he needed. Tokime just smirked and snapped another card off his deck, unimpressed by Drake's seemingly unfounded attitude.
"I'll play UN Grant, which lets me draw two from the bottom of my deck, to give me the cards I need to activate Magic Shard Excavation. By dumping my other two cards I can retrieve and replay my Blessing of Exodia magic card. That means more life points for me doesn't it?" His life points once again shot up, putting him at double the starting amount. Not only hadn't he lost any life points during the whole duel, but he had the strongest monster at 6300, and the most life points at 8000. (TLP: 8000)
"Now, Exodia Necros, Obliterate Serenity!" He knew that Drake would defend, but he also knew that it would just force Drake to waste his own cards on protecting her. He smirked as Drake's middle card flipped up, revealing the Mechanical Magic Mirror card. Tokime couldn't think of any useful magic cards in his cemetery to play, so it seemed pointless.
"You don't look worried? I guess you forgot that it talks about my opponent's graveyard, not the attacker's. Therefore I'll play Weakening of Attack from Emilio's cemetery in order to negate your attack and end the battle phase!" Necros' attack fizzled against the energy field, leaving Tokime with nothing left to do but declare the end of his turn. Even though he had failed to defeat either with that attack, he was certain that Sebushimi would defeat Serenity in this next move.
"Time for the Deathstrike Attack! Finish off the little Wheeler girl!" Drake smirked and flipped up left face down card, revealing a spinning ring that deflected each of the oncoming bandages. It was Drake's quick-play card, Ring of Defense which stopped all life point damage from one source. That meant Serenity was safe from the effect damage that could be dealt by Embodiment of Death.
"Fool! I knew you'd waste your set card protecting her! So I'll play the magic card Death Strike! This lets me reactivate Embodiment of Death's initial effect, so say goodby to the last of your life points little girl, and to your soul!" Drake's body went numb at these words and he watched helplessly as the deadly bandages crashed into her body, lifting her up and tossing her back to the ground like she was a rag doll. When she hit, her eyes were staring blankly upwards with that same lifeless stare that had been on his sister, and on Kirani. (SLP: 0)
He fell to his knees, his eyes staring straight ahead. He had failed. Once again he had let someone down, and now a third person was left in the same way his sister was. Only this time he couldn't blame some evil psycho, he had only himself to blame. It was the fear of his own power that did this to her. He was at fault. "It's my fault."
Sebushimi threw back his head and laughed, raising his arms to the sky as he rejoiced in finally defeating one of his opponents. And now that Serenity was finished he....he was screwed. "But wasn't she....damn it! She was the wrong target. Fine, at least I'll finish this duel and get the other prize we were after. The Heart of Darkness! Now Embodiment of Death, tear Drake apart! Spill his lifeblood on the ground just as Serenity's has been!"
Drake barely noticed the razor sharp bandages that were headed straight for him. He just kept his head down, staring at the ground in a daze. He kept mumbling something under his breath over and over again. Sebushimi laughed as his creature's attack made it's final approach towards Drake, ready to finish him off. It was all over, and he had won!
"Sebushimi....does the blood that lies on your hands make you feel powerful? Do you feel like a man now that you've caused the death of an innocent? Was this what you wanted? Was this what you had planned out? Killing us just for your own desires?! I live with blood on my hands, with the taste of blood on my lips, and it burns me! Now I'm gonna make you burn! Burn at my hands you bastard!" Drake's final card flipped up and revealed a large cylinder, which pulled in the bandages and then all of the monster.
Sebushimi backed up, realizing exactly what was happening. But it seemed impossible. He had won the duel, he should have won! "Die Sebushimi, die at the hands of your own partner! Magic Cylinder, redirect the attack at Exodia Necros!" Embodiment of Death was hurled out of the cylinder straight at Exodia Necros. And there was no stopping it with the final effect of the death creature, as it was it's own attack. Exodia Necros casually batted Embodiment of Death aside, ripping it apart with a single fist. (SLP: 0)
The Armani wearing duelist gripped his head and screamed his horror to the endless sky as the Seal of Orichalcos took his soul, leaving him dull and lifeless on the ground. Now it was just Drake against Tokime and his now seventy-three hundred attack power Exodia Necros with all it's defenses. Tokime scoffed at Sebushimi's defeat, feeling that he wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap and be defeated in such a manner. Now Drake truly couldn't recover, not when he had only chance left to draw the needed card.
With a burning fire in his eyes Drake took hold of the top card of his deck and started to pull...but stopped. Flashing in his mind were familiar images. Those of his duel with Yami not long ago. He had unleashed such awful darkness, and he had been terrified of the power of his heart and his item. And there was something else as well. Serenity had told him something right before he dueled Taichi at Battle City. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The punk duelist sat down on the bed, biting back a cry of pain as a shimmering web of fire sliced through his back and his ribs, shattering his mind into thousands of pieces for that brief moment. He leaned over, ignoring the twist of agony that shot through his gut, and started to pull his boots on, one at a time.
Drake yelped in surprise as Serenity gently but forcefully pulled him upright so she could look him in the eye. The intense look that he found in those brown eyes shocked him, and he realized abruptly that he wasn't the only one who cared about the outcome of this duel. The young teenage girl in front of him cared as well, and it seemed to him that she cared about everyone and everything. She was...an amazing person. But she was young and she didn't understand a lot of things.
"The reason you can't go is more complex then what I said before. Even if you were in perfect condition I'd still say you can't go. If you go out there, duel your hardest, get your revenge by killing Taichi and then freeing Kirani...what then? Do you honestly think that she'd be willing to accept you after you killed someone to bring her back? Kirani wouldn't want anyone's blood spilled on her account!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The same was true of Serenity. She wouldn't want him to become ruthless and violent, to be consumed by his own darkness in order to get revenge for her. She'd want him to do it the right way. He had to contain his own emotions, and to know the difference between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do. He had to find a balance. "It's my draw, and this one move will end you forever!" With those words his item blazed to life, a golden aura erupting around him, the Eye of Ra clear upon his forehead.
He held one hand over the Millennium Disc, a smile on his face as he stared down his opponent. He could feel all the emotions running through everyone on the island, could in that one moment feel the feelings of everyone on the planet. It faded into the background, and he knew that at this very moment another battle was going on in the temple, between light and dark. Now his own battle had to be waged, and somehow he knew it wasn't with this loser.
"I play this card:
Heart of Light!" Tokime took a step back at these words, watching in
horror as it's power erupted across the field, a bright all consuming
light that made the Seal of Orichalcos barely visible beneath it's
power. The symbol of light was shining clear upon Drake's forehead, now
superimposed over the Eye of Ra. He had not only unlocked the full
power of the Millennium Disc, but unlocked a part of himself. The Heart
of Light.
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The five men shielded their eyes as the light rose on the field that they were viewing. It was so bright as to be nearly blinding. "But this is impossible. One person possessing the Heart of Light and the Heart of Darkness....it shouldn't be possible. That much power in one person shouldn't exist!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It's time to restart the duel Tokime, at least in some ways we will. First the Heart of Light makes us take our cemeteries and shuffle them into our decks. The we get to draw hands of six cards. That's not all it does, but just wait and see." The two duelists did as they had to, taking all their cards in the grave and shuffling them back into the deck before drawing new cards.
Tokime grimaced as he saw Exodia Necros' dark coloring fade until it was the color of a normal Exodia. It's power remained, but all of it's effects were now gone, its defenses shattered all because of Drake's new Heart card. Without those cards he couldn't stop anything Drake wanted to do.
"The Heart of Light has several special effects, but I want to show you that I don't need it to win a duel. Watch me as I summon Blood Magician-Magician of Purgatory(1400/1700)!" Drake's monster took shape on the field, revealing a magician in blood red robes, blue skin on it's face, the only part of it's skin that could be seen. Instead of holding a normal staff or wand, it held a double-ended scythe with a wicked looking edge to it. A mist rolled out from under and around it, speaking of great power despite it's mediocre stats.
"Whenever a magic card is activated Blood Magician gains a magic counter, and I can remove them to destroy a monster on the field with an attack equal to the number I remove times seven hundred or less. Therefore I would need to remove eleven magic counters to defeat Exodia Necros at it's current level. On the other hand, I've got the method to defeating it right here in my hand!" He took one of his other cards and slipped it into a magic zone, watching as it appeared in front of him.
"I play Effect Economics, which means nobody has to pay life points for any sort of effect. It also grants Blood Magician it's first magic counter. Now I'll put into play School of Black Magic, which lets me place a magic counter on any card capable of holding a magic counter. All it costs is 500 life points each time I do so. Of course with Effect Economics there is no cost, therefore Blood Magician will now gain infinite magic counters!" Blood Magician slammed his staff down on the ground, and glowing spheres of energy rose up from the mist and soared into it's weapon. With all that power it could easily destroy Exodia Necros.
"I use it's effect to cut down Exodia Necros and still have infinite magic counters remaining!" Blood Magician slashed with his weapon, sending sickles of flame racing towards Exodia Necros. The former forbidden was sliced in half by those flying blades of fire, turning it into nothing but a memory that past away. Even the dust of Exodia Necros was burned away by the flame.
"I'm now going to add another card into the mix. Magic Magnification Device! This little magic card allows me to increase the attack of all of my magicians by the number of magic counters that are in play. And since I have an infinite amount of magic counters....that means Blood Magician(Infinite/1700) has more than enough power to defeat you an infinite number of times!" Tokime's legs could no longer hold his weight as he stared straight at what was to be his demise. Everyone outside the Seal was also impressed with Drake's infinite loop combo, even Autumn who ran more than one infinite loop.
"Cutting you down would bring me a great deal of pleasure, however that's not what I'm doing. Ending you would unlock the Seal of Orichalcos, and it would take with it each soul that has been lost in this duel. That would mean Serenity was lost for good, and I won't allow that to happen. I can break the Seal with the Heart of Light, or the Heart of Darkness. But neither can bring her back. Therefore I'm going to have to do something drastic and use one of the two remaining cards in my hand." He took the card and turned it around, revealing a very familiar image.
"I combine the power of the Heart of Darkness together with the great strength of the Heart of Light in order to create the Heart of Balance! Witness my truest power!" A tornado of power surged up around him, two of them, both twining around him, vying for control. One forged of darkness, the other of pure light. And they converged upon him and were absorbed by him and into him.
When it all
dimmed down Drake stood just where he had been, seemingly unchanged.
However his eyes were a milky white, and the symbol of balance was
prominent on his forehead in place of the symbol of light. He had
unlocked a power that even he could barely comprehend, a power so great
that it was making him act in ways he never thought possible. He had
more power than any one person ever before, and that power was facing
down Tokime.
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"The
Heart of Balance in a single person. Then the only way is to bring down
Daisuke Ihachi. Only with the power of the Heart of Balance can we
bring order. It must be done!" The five robed men turned, settling
their gazes upon three men who stood just outside their circle. One in
midnight black robes, one in white, and the last in brown. These were
the ones that were needed, these were the ones that would be sent.
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"In order to create balance there can be no concept of something for nothing. There must be an equivalent exchange. In order for the Seal of Orichalcos to restore a person's soul it must have another soul in place of the one it gave up. Tokime, I grant the Seal of Orichalcos your soul." The suited duelist just shook his head, denying what was coming for him. It didn't seem possible that one being could possess this much power, and yet here it was in front of him.
"Blood Magician, strike down Tokime so that I may grant the Seal of Orichalcos his soul in order to return Serenity her own soul. Inferno of Blood!" Blood Magician raised his double-ended scythe high over his head and then swung it down, burying it halfway into the ground. A crack shot across the ground straight towards Tokime, and then it swerved around him, forming a circle.
"No....no! LEAVE ME ALONE! AHHHHH!!!!!!" His cries went unheard as a raging pillar of scarlet flames exploded around him, taking the last of his life points and passing his soul from his body and into the Seal of Orichalcos. At that same moment Drake reached out with the power he possessed and snatched free Serenity's soul, allowing it to settle back into her body. (TLP: 0)
The Seal fed, Drake's patience was ended. Gesturing vaguely with one hand he sent a wave of power into the Seal of Orichalcos, and it shattered like so much glass. Even Dalin, now once again in control of his full faculties, couldn't help but be amazed by such astonishing power. Even with the power of the Heart of Justice he hadn't been able to break the Seal of Orichalcos, merely move it to a different target. But Drake broke the seal like it was nothing.
Drake knelt down over Serenity and swept one hand over her, and when it was past her wounds were completely healed. He gestured to Dalin, and Dalin felt the waves of power wash over him. It was not painful, but soothing. It cleared his mind, and healed him of his wounds. All damage he had taken from his duel with Rose was gone, no evidence of it remaining. Even his clothing had been restored.
Slowly Drake, his eyes still that milky white and the symbol still upon his forehead, turned to fully face the others, and he spoke. "There is some darkness that I feel out there, some chaotic essence that must be corrected. I am compelled to seek it out, and therefore I must. Travel on to the palace, and you'll find that the reason you were all sent here was to eliminate a potential threat to these people called Dartz. At the moment the Pharaoh and Kaiba are dueling him, and the situation is grave. They may require your assistance, so grant them that. I must leave."
A
fierce wind whipped around his body, and then he was gone. He didn't
leave in a flare of dramatics, he just seemed to blink out of
existence. The power that he now possessed was so enormous that he was
acting merely on instinct, not knowing exactly what he was doing as he
kept going. The assembled duelists stood there for several seconds and
then turned their gazes to the temple. For now, that was their target.
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Drake appeared in what appeared to be a small temple, with statues of someone wearing a strange Noh mask lining the walls. He walked forwards casually, listening to the sounds of chanting going on behind a large set of doors.
Stopping directly in front of the doors he raised one hand, palm outwards, and unleashed his will. Calling upon the balance of forces that resided within the door itself, he turned the energies back on themself, and the result was disastrous. A thundering explosion rocked the building as the doors pulled in on themselves. In moments there was a dense metal ball in place of the doors.
Row upon row of men and women in plain clothing and others in robes stood along the sides of the room. The entire room stretched three or four hundred feet forwards and about half that distance outwards. There had to be at least a few thousand people in the room, and all were chanting and offering supplications up to the five men that stood in a darkened circle at the end of the room.
"Whoever you are, you are twisting the balance of the world with your actions. Chaos will be unleashed if you continue as you are, so I must ask you to stop. If you don't, I'll be forced to take action." Despite his words the chanting didn't seem to stop, but there was a reaction to it. By the time he was half-way down the room he had company. Three men appeared out of nowhere, each wearing a different colored full-body robe. One in black, another in brown, and the last in white.
"Stand aside or be destroyed." Drake's words had no affect on any of these men. In fact, they seemed quite confident that he was the one who wasn't going to pass. Each one raised an arm at him, and unleashed their power. Three streams of different colored energy stretched out for him, black, white, and brown. Dipping into the impossible well of power that rushed through him Drake raised a barrier that blocked the attacks, stopping them cold.
"So be it. I have a goal in front of me, and I must reach it. You three are standing in my way. Now learn what happens to those who get between me and my goals!" Clenching his fists he expanded his power in a giant sphere that crashed into the three men, sending them flying through the air. With their threat out of the way he disbanded the spherical aura and walked up to the dais where the five men were chanting in a circle around what appeared to be a small white Noh mask.
"Step down or be destroyed. It is as simple as that." When he got no response but a continuation of chanting he reached deep down into the well of power that flowed through him and summoned up the power that would let him destroy them to their very cores. Somehow he knew that the power he was about to unleash would wipe out even their souls, and though it seemed odd, it also seemed that the power was telling him that was the necessary method.
THEY WILL STEP DOWN ONLY WHEN COMMANDED, FOR THEIR PURPOSE IS TO SERVE. Drake reeled backwards under what was not a mental assault, but rather a presence in his mind so vast and incomprehensible that it seemed to crush him underneath it's very existence. Using the energies in his body as a buoy he raised his head and saw a simple robe of scarlet, much like that worn by the three men who had assaulted him. The only difference was this robe was supported by the air, and there was no facial covering. Instead the Noh mask now covered the face. It was a floating robe and mask with no body, and it was the source of the voice.
DAISUKE, I UNDERSTAND YOUR DESIRE TO INSTILL BALANCE. IT IS INGRAINED INTO THE POWER THAT FLOWS THROUGH YOUR BODY, THE POWER THAT LONG AGO SEALED ME INTO AN AGELESS PRISON. BECAUSE IT WAS THAT POWER'S PURPOSE I BEAR NO ILL WILL. I TOO HAVE A PURPOSE THAT I MUST CARRY OUT, AND SO I SHALL ENTREAT YOU TO NEGATE THE BALANCE, AND ALLOW ORDER TO REIGN.
As he stumbled away from the figure, his mind and body reverberating with the voice, Drake realized that not all that he felt was pain. There was pleasure, indescribable unstoppable irrevokable pleasure. This must be what hearing the voice of God felt like...and it this was not God. He didn't know what this was. "What do you want of me?"
The scarlet robed figure moved towards him, and he lashed out with his power, trying to stop its advance. A torrent of explosive energies generated by one of the greatest sources of power in this world or any other ripped from his hands and assailed the figure. Every ounce of that power vanished moments before touching the scarlet robes, and Drake knew that somehow this creature had more power than he did.
AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU A PURPOSE TO PROTECT THAT BALANCE. YET AS A HUMAN BEING, MORTAL, IMPERFECT, AND MORAL, YOU HAVE ANOTHER PURPOSE. YOU MUST BALANCE THOSE TWO PURPOSES AGAINST EACH OTHER. ONE PURPOSE WILL KEEP THIS WORLD AS IT IS, IN A STATE WHERE TERRORISM, HATRED, AND INSANITY RULE OVER ALL. I HEED YOU TO CALL UPON YOUR HUMANITY AND CHOOSE THE BETTER PATH. MY POWER CAN BRING ORDER TO THE WORLD, AND ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS YOUR ACCEPTANCE.
"How can I now that you can really do this? Preaching about bringing order to the world is one thing, but really doing it is another. I can tell you have plenty of power, but power doesn't accomplish things on it's own. I've learned that quite recently. Offer me proof." The figure tilted its head to the side and then gave him a brief nod before flowing forwards across the stone. Now it stood in front of him and raised a robed arm. Despite the fact that he knew it had no hand, he felt a tangible brush across his cheek, and then two hands cupped his face.
Drake's entire body spasmed as his eyes and mind saw something that was beyond human comprehension, beyond words known and utterable by his species or any other. It was perfection. A world of feelings and thoughts so pure and orderly that his mind could barely fathom it all, and under that assault of pure order his mind began to crumble.
Moments before he hit the brink he was pulled back, leaving that perfect world and coming to rest back in his own. He fell to his knees in the front of the figure, and did what he hadn't done in a long time. He broke down and cried.
He did not cry because of the near loss of his mind, or for pleasurable pain that he still experienced when this creature spoke. Instead he cried because the world around him was so disorderly, so chaotic that it threatened to rip him apart. The world was a terrible place, and it was painful to be without that perfection that he experienced when this being touched him. "Please....I don't want it all to be like this. Make it stop, please?"
That masked face tilted to look down at him, and Drake swore he saw it smile down at him. That feeling of a smile washed away a bit of the pain, making it bearable. That smile made him understand how these others that surrounded him were able to stand being in this world. They had his presence to make it all feel right again.
THE WORLD IS CHAOS. YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED A SMALL TASTE OF THE PERFECT ORDER THAT I AM CAPABLE OF BRINGING TO THIS WORLD. ONLY THROUGH MY PRESENCE CAN THIS BE DONE, FOR I AM ALL THAT ORDER IS. IT IS MY PURPOSE TO BRING ORDER, THEREFORE I SHALL DO SO. PART OF MY PRESENCE IS SEALED AWAY BY THE HEARTS OF MAN, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALL OF THEM MADE BY THE HEART OF BALANCE. WHEN THIS SEAL IS BROKEN MY PRESENCE WILL PERVADE THIS WORLD, AND I CAN BRING ORDER.
ALL WILL BE MADE RIGHT IN THIS WORLD, ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THAT YOU FOLLOW YOUR PURPOSE AS A HUMAN BEING. DAISUKE IHACHI WAS NOT PUT ON THIS EARTH TO FIGHT, TO DUEL, OR EVEN TO RELEASE ME. HE WAS PUT ON THIS EARTH TO CHOOSE. NOW DAISUKE, MAKE YOUR CHOICE. SET THE WORLD FREE OF THE CHAINS THAT BIND IT IN THE AGONY THAT YOU FEEL. SAY THE WORD, AND EVERYTHING CAN BE PUT RIGHT. EVEN YOUR SISTER.
Whether it was the perfect world he had experienced, the vastly powerful presence that was invading his mind, the creature's words, or the simple mention of his sister that caused Drake to make his choice could not be said. There was simply no way to know what made him make his choice. All that could be known was his choice. "I release you from your bondage."
A prism of energy exploded from Drake's body, sending arcs of energy that moved between every color of the spectrum all that once. These arcs danced across the room, filling it with a heavenly light. Drake and robed figure were consumed by it, a single beacon of light that shone brighter than anything else. The seal was broken.
From that single point of light a beam of that spectral energy shot through the ceiling of the temple they resided within. It did not break through, it merely passed through on it's way into the sky. At the apex of it's flight it shattered into a million pieces, and spread throughout the land. Across the world people looked up and stared as that beautiful energy created a new sky, one that surpassed the old in the feel of freedom that it allowed people.
In a place in the sky that was unseen by most of the rest of mankind a battle was being waged between a giant leviathan of a creature, summoned by the power of Dartz and the Orichalcos, and dozens of monsters summoned by Dalin, Kai, Kaiba, and all the others. This battle came to an abrupt halt as the prismatic energy slid like a sheet across the sky, and a beam of that light struck the leviathan. When the light faded, there was nothing left of the beast but a quickly fading energy. The other monsters were swept away equally as quickly.
When at last the process was completed and that light had become the sky, the world held a new hue to it that seemed to inspire peacefulness. People couldn't help but stop and stare up into the sky and wonder exactly what miracle had just occurred to create such a beautiful and wondrous effect.
Every person got their answer as in their mind's eye they saw a face appear in front of them. Only it wasn't a face in the normal manner, but rather a strange white mask with a fringe of scarlet coming down from the top of a hood. No features could be seen beneath this mask, not even eyes. Yet those watching felt relaxed and at peace seeing it. In their minds it began to speak, and it spoke in every language at once.
PEOPLE OF EARTH. THE REIGN OF CHAOS UPON THIS WORLD HAS ENDED. I AM EIKYUU, THE BRINGER OF ORDER. I HAVE BEEN CALLED UPON AND TASKED WITH SHAPING THIS WORLD INTO A PLACE OF PERFECT ORDER. THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND YOUR WARRING WAYS, FOR PEACE HAS COME AT LAST. KNOW NOW NOT FEAR OR HATRED, BUT MERELY PURPOSE.
EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE. WHEN YOUR PURPOSE IS BEING FULFILLED THE WORLD CAN BE IN ORDER. ALLOW ME INTO YOUR HEARTS AND I CAN HELP YOU FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE. TOGETHER WE CAN BRING ABOUT THE ORDER THAT YOU AND I SO GREATLY DESIRE. TOGETHER WE WILL FASHION A PERFECT WORLD. TOGETHER UNITED WE CAN DO ANYTHING!
ALL YOU MUST DO IS OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO ME AND I WILL FILL YOU WITH PURPOSE. OPEN YOUR HEARTS SO THAT WE ALL MAY BECOME ONE. THE CHOICE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE TO MAKE. WALK NOW INTO THE LIGHT OF ORDER AND ALL SHALL BE WELL. I AM EIKYUU, THE IMMORTAL ONE, THE BRINGER OF ORDER, THE GOD OF ORDER. EMBRACE ME.
One by one the people of Earth fell to their knees and began to speak in words that were drawn from their lips as if they had been ingrained there for eternity. Together they raised up one voice for all the world to hear, and it proclaimed their beliefs.
"Each person has a purpose. Failure causes lose of purpose. Without purpose we are nothing. We follow the guidance of the Immortal One without fail. We do only as he wishes. His purpose is our purpose. We are basked in the Immortal One's vast wisdom and power. Without it we are nothing, for he is our purpose.
He is our life. To abandon the Immortal One is to abandon all of life. To abandon life is to choose death. All those who choose death are cast into the world of the dead, where all is chaos. Order is life, and life is Order. Chaos is death, and death is Chaos.
We embrace the divinity of the Immortal One into ourselves, embracing his all consuming purpose, and we are embraced by his light, by his Order. Embraced in his Order we are free from Chaos. We know only his purpose and we are freed from the horrors of death, of chaos, of purposelessness.
The Immortal One is Order, the Immortal One is Life, the Immortal One is Purpose, the Immortal One is Light, and the Immortal One is the true God of man. By embracing our true God we are freed of all worries, all doubts, all fears. By embracing our true God we become one with him, become one with the Immortal One and ascend to the heavens with him. By embracing the Immortal One we mankind can receive our eternal reward. We seek not chaos, but the power of the Immortal One. The Power of Order. WE EMBRACE THE POWER OF ORDER, WE EMBRACE EIKYUU, GOD OF ORDER!"
The world rejoiced, for all was well, all was perfect. There could be nothing of the old left in this world, it would all be purged away to clear a path to the new. This purge could be considered only one thing, and it spoke of the chaos that was and the order that would soon be. It had been given a name long ago.
The End.
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