Author's Notes: Next in the line up is...
Chapter Thirty-Four: Stepping Back into Shadow
Azure watched the little light carefully. She had noticed it earlier, and now she was sure that it was following them. It was a little green light that seemed to flit about like a firefly. Every time that she went to look back it would vanish from sight, only to return seconds later when she turned away. She could always see it out of the corner of her eye though. 'I've come to this place before, but I've never seen anything like it. What exactly is that thing?'
"It's best not to worry about it at the moment Azure. That thing has been following us for quite some time now, even from before we entered this place. Whatever it is, it's quite interested in our actions. Likely it's a spy for Eikyuu, but we can't do anything about it." Dalin didn't bother to look back at her even as he said it, he just continued walking.
"Dalin's pretty much right. I saw that thing flitting after us like four or five times when we were working our way through the city. It'll vanish occasionally, but then it comes right back as if it were never gone. Best not to worry about it." Azure scowled at Kirani, irritated that the younger girl was taking this so lightly.
'And if the thing is dangerous, what then? The fact that it is able to intrude upon the Trials is confusing. Nothing should be able to enter here without the proper rights, no matter how powerful. Even Eikyuu couldn't enter here while the Trials are going on and he's a god!' She frowned and shot another glance over her shoulder, but the green light was gone again.
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"So they've vanished have they? Send some of our best soldiers to investigate their last known location. They may not be a threat, but they are still The Fallen, and they defeated the Trinity. Be on guard." The priest in front of Eikyuu's throne bowed to his god, and then backed away.
Eikyuu stared off into the distance, the hollows of the eye's of his mask seeming to shine with images. Within those eyes Madison Square Gardens could be seen, and though it appeared to be empty, not that long ago the Fallen had gone through a portal of some sort. "That girl appears to be another of the Fallen. They are congregating together it seems."
The mighty god of order turned his head to look at the large group of priests that were gathered in a circle, chanting. Within the intricate circle of symbols there were several people, all of them naked and painted with similar symbols all over their bodies. "Progress report?"
A priest stepped up and bowed to him, keeping his eyes off the god. "Everything is progressing exactly as scheduled Great Lord Eikyuu. Our sacrifices are plentiful, and at this current rate it will be completed on time. However, the ritual may not be successful unless we gain a few more of the Hearts of Man."
If Eikyuu had a normal mouth, he might have been frowning. But since his face was just a mask, he was unable to do so. "Hatred, Balance, Suffering, Power, Courage, Friendship, Past, Present, Future, and Soul. Ten Hearts of Man are not enough are they? So it will take an even dozen, just as I suspected. Had that boy not escaped our grasp we would have the even dozen by now. Has there been in any progress in locating Daisuke Ihachi?"
"No my lord. So far he remains completely hidden from us, his present location unknown. We believe that he is no longer on this plane of existence." Eikyuu nodded, waving his hand absently to dismiss the man. The priest backed away, and returned to oversee the ritual.
"Something is stirring. Very intriguing."
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The group stopped, frowning at seeing a sliding door appear in front of them. It was like the entrance to an elevator of some kind, much different than the previous one. All of them were looking at it carefully, trying to see who would have to go. "This elevator doesn't spark anything in me."
Takuya nodded, agreeing with Dalin. He didn't feel anything from it either. All four of them glanced over at Kirani, who was looking at the elevator door curiously. "I...feel like I've seen this before. So I guess that means I'm next. I'll just go and break a leg, shall I?"
Kirani stepped forwards and the elevator doors slid open. She entered, and they closed behind her. Then to their eyes, the elevator doors vanished. "Good luck Kirani, good luck."
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"I knew this damned elevator seemed familiar. The KC logo on it tells all, because that arrogant jerk puts his logo on everything of his. This is the same elevator that was on KC Craft 1, that blimp of Kaiba's that the first part of the Battle City Finals took place on. But what am I doing here?" She didn't even touch a button, and the elevator began to rise.
In mere moments the elevator had stopped, and the doors slid open. She walked out, and found herself staring at the night's sky. She was now standing directly in front of the miniature dueling ring that had been used to conduct duels. Mist surrounded the opposite end of the ring. 'This is eerily familiar in a few too many ways.'
"Will the final duelists of the first round, Taichi Nobuki and Kirani Kajika, please step into the ring to begin the duel?" Kirani blinked, and turned to her right. Just as she had thought, Isona was standing there in his referee position. But there was something different about him...it was as if his face was melting!
The sound of snickering brought her attention to the side, where she found something very surprising. There was Drake, laughing slightly, and his face also seemed to be melting. She could see all of the others there as well, each one watching her with their faces half melted off. "Sing us a song frog girl!"
The sound of Joey Wheeler's voice and the laughter that followed helped her make the complete connection. Even as she stepped up onto the dueling ring she knew what was coming. 'This is exactly the same situation as when I dueled the dark spirit...only every is warped. What's going on here?'
The fog parted, and she discovered someone standing right in front of her. It was none other than Taichi Nobuki, only just like all the others his face seemed to be melting away. She could see his cheek bones as the skin parted out of the way. 'There's something deeply disturbing about this situation. At least I know this isn't the dark spirit, that thing was destroyed.'
Taichi smirked and activated his disc, Kirani followed suit with her own disc. At the same time both players drew an opening hand of five cards, and began to plan. "Go ahead little girl, I'll give you the first turn. Show me what you can do." (TLP: 4000)
Kirani nodded and snapped the top card off her deck. Examining it briefly, she decided that since she didn't know exactly what was going on here, she'd just start off easy and see how he would react. "I set one monster in defense mode. That's all." (KLP: 4000)
Taichi shrugged and drew his own card, grinning at the sight of it. Quickly he slapped it down onto one of his monster zones and laughed as a wicked looking demon appeared on the field, flexing its sharp claws. "My Demon Soldier(1900/1500) has enough attack strength to eliminate any monster you've got! DEMON CLAW!"
Her eyes widened as she realized exactly what was happening here. 'That move...it's exactly the same one that was played against me before! And I'm certain that's exactly what he said as well!'
The demon leapt across the field and slashed down across Kirani's defense monster. An old man was briefly seen before he vanished from existence. "Things aren't the same as they were back then! You just destroyed Wise One Gilford(700/400) whose flip effect lets me add one magic card from my deck to my hand!"
She flipped through her deck before she finally settled on what she wanted. "Is that all you've got Taichi, or can I take my move?" Taichi shrugged and gave her the signal to take her turn.
Kirani immediately slipped the card into her duel disk, activating its effect. "I play Enter the Storm! At a cost of one thousand life points I can special summon a Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) to the field and activate its effect!" (KLP: 3000)
Her mighty warrior appeared and blew away Demon Soldier with a lightning bolt. "Gilford normally can't attack this turn, but I've got other plans. First, my normal summon. Kaiser Seahorse(1700/1650) in attack mode!" A blue armored creature with a pronged spear stepped up beside her powerful Gilford the Lightning, both holding their weapons at the ready.
"Next up, the Quick Attack magic card! This will let Gilford the Lightning attack in this turn, and you've got nothing to stop them! Gilford the Lighting and Kaiser Seahorse attack you directly!" The two monsters charged forwards, only to have two little furballs jump in the wall and be slashed in half instead.
"What, you didn't think that this duel would be the exact same as before did you? I discarded two Kuribohs(300/200) from my hand to negate the damage from both your attacks. Anything else little girl?" Kirani frowned, actually fairly surprised that Taichi had responded. It seemed this all wasn't just a repeat of their previous duel. But what he was, she still wasn't sure.
"End turn. Let's see what you have in store for me." With that said, she was done, and Taichi drew his card. He smirked and briefly stuck his tongue out through the hole in his cheek, making Kirani shudder in disgust.
"What a great draw. I summon Hell Soldier(1200/1000) in attack mode! Then I'll reverse two cards. Guess that's it, now isn't it?" Kirani frowned as a stout but muscular man in armor appeared in front of Taichi, wielding a sharp looking blade in his hand. It looked threatening, but it was weak.
"My turn! I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse to summon another Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400)!" A duplicate of her other monster took the seahorse's place, raising his sword to tap it against the first one's sword. Taichi just smirked.
'He's so confident, but I'm not worried. I've got a card in my hand that can protect my monsters from being destroyed and keep me safe.' She pointed at the Hell Soldier, her face set in a grim line. There was no way to tell what such a duelist had in store for her, as the normal Taichi and most particularly the dark spirit always had something planned. But this couldn't be either one of them, could it?
"Gilford the Lightning, blast his Hell Soldier and send it back to its home in the deep abyss! Thunderbolt Cut!" Gilford roared his battle cry and leapt forwards, slashing his sword through the creature. To Kirani's surprise it shattered into pieces and nothing seemed to happen. (KLP: 1400, TLP: TLP: 3000)
"What's going on here? Why did I lose life points, and how come you didn't lose as many as you should have?" Taichi smirked and motioned to one of his cards, which revealed itself. It showed Dark Ruler Hades sinking its teeth into the neck of a Demon Soldier.
"First of all when Hell Soldier is destroyed in battle both players take the damage. Secondly, one of my two face down cards was Demon Blood, a continuous trap that grants me half of a demon's attack in life points whenever one is destroyed." He smirked again, satisfied with his progress. Then he seemed to remember something and a happy look appeared on his face.
"I'd almost forgotten what my face down card was. Call of the Haunted, to revive Hell Soldier(1200/1000) in attack mode! Now should you attack you'll deal a total of one thousand damage to me...but you'll also finish yourself off!" He threw back his head and laughed, confident that she couldn't go on the attack.
'He's right, I can't attack under these circumstances. But I can't let him attack next turn either. Whoever this guy is that's imitating the dark spirit and Taichi, he's a good duelist' She frowned and slid one card from her hand onto her duel disk. It appeared face down in between the two Gilfords.
The Taichi look-alike looked over the two cards in his hand, and then snapped his fingers as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, Hell Soldier, attack Gilford the Lightning!" Before it got far a barricade of water shot up, blocking its path.
"My Squall Barrier let me negate your attack and add a creature with 'Gilford' in it's name from my deck or cemetery to my hand. Thanks for that." She quickly found the card she was looking for and then waited for the so-called Taichi to continue.
"Confident a lot aren't you? Well, I'll help you be confident. Go, Raging Summoning of Hell! This lets both of us special summon a monster from our deck or cemetery with the same name as one that's on our field. So I bring out another Hell Soldier(1200/1000)!" Kirani nodded and slammed a Gilford the Lightning down onto her duel disk, completing her set of three.
"I guess next I'll just set this monster in defense mode. Then it's back to you." Kirani knew there was a reason he was being so confident. She couldn't attack either of his Hell Soldiers, or else she would lose the duel. Not only that, but unless she made sure to block them in his next turn he could just slam one into a Gilford the Lightning and finish her off.
"You act so confident, but you forget I got to choose a monster to summon. So here's Gilford of Thunder(1800/400) whose effect lets me draw one card from the top of my deck and one from the bottom!" She grabbed the two cards, and added them to her hand. So far it had stayed an impressive size, and was right now at six cards. On the other hand Taichi had no cards in his hand.
"Gilford of Thunder, attack the face down monster!" Her monster's sword slashed straight through it, and goo splashed over the Gilford. It groaned and stumbled backwards, colliding with Kirani. She grimaced as pain lanced through her back when she collided with the metal bar behind her. (KLP: 900, TLP: 3500)
Suddenly two purple blobs appeared on Taichi's field, drifting around like they were nothing. "Again I have to thank you, because you destroyed my Giant Germ(1000/100). When destroyed in battle I not only get to deal you five hundred damage, but I also get to summon the other two from my deck in attack mode. And Demon Blood gave me five hundred points since the germs are demons even though they don't look it."
"This may be a risky move, but one of my two Gilfords will obliterate one of those Germs!" Gilford the Lightning slashed his blade, and lightning blew apart the slimy virus creature. The goo splattered across the field, and the damage was dealt to both parties involved. (KLP: 400, TLP: 2200)
'I can't risk an attack on him right now. If I kill a Germ I'll lose, and if I kill a Hell Soldier I'll lose. He's got me pretty stuck, but I can't just give in. I'll have to just keep dueling.' She grabbed two cards from her hand and slid them onto her duel disk. They both shimmered and appeared in front of her, ready to protect her life points.
Taichi smirked and picked up the top card of his deck. "I know, I'll just set this card face down. Now, Hell Soldier will attack Gilford of Thunder!" The demonic soldier charged towards her own soldier of thunder. The two creatures clashed blades, and suddenly electricity flowed between the two and Hell Soldier was blown away.
"You triggered my trap card, Storm Barrier, which lets me destroy an attacking monster. Not only that, but I get to inflict seven hundred life points of damage to the opponent. So take your punishment like a man!" Arcs of lightning shot out of her trap and into Taichi's body. He jerked about a bit, but even through the volts of electricity he was smiling smugly. (TLP: 2000)
"Is that really all? I guess I'll just kill you with my other Hell Soldier then." He started to point at her Gilford of Thunder, but before he could announce his attack the remaining card on Kirani's field flipped up.
"Go, Dust Tornado! This will destroy Call of the Haunted and send your remaining Hell Soldier to the cemetery. Then I'll set one card from my hand onto the field according to the secondary effect of Dust Tornado." A new card appeared to replace the lost ones, even as a dust devil blasted apart Taichi's face up trap card and got rid of the Hell Soldier.
"That won't save you at all! Giant Germ, attack her Gilford of Thunder for the finish!" Kirani smirked and nodded to the three identical monsters on her field. They stepped forwards, and crossed their blades together. A wall of lightning surged up and the germ was ripped apart as it went through.
"At any point in time I can activate Tri-Thunder Shield from my hand or deck while I have each Gilford the Lightning in play. Not only does it negate one attack, but I get to gain double that monster's attack power as life. That monster is also destroyed in case you hadn't noticed." She smiled confidentally as the barrier dropped, and energy flowed into her duel disk. (KLP: 2400, TLP: 2500)
Taichi snickered and shrugged his shoulders, obviously not bothered by her sudden increase in life points. "Very impressive of you, looks like you've passed the first part of my test for you. Now, you know this trial is supposed to be of mind, body, and spirit right? Well you've obviously proved your spirit by not giving into the fear you should have had of me. For body, you'll have to overcome the strain that will occur when we up this to a darkness game!"
The blimp faded away, and she found herself standing in infinite darkness. Also, she was standing on what looked like a floating platform of stones. It was formed up of what looked like different layers of stone, and currently each of them had three layers. "A Darkness Game huh? So what are the rules to this one?"
"It's simple. Each layer of stone indicates a measure of one thousand life points. We're between two and three thousand, so we have three layers. When we drop below two thousand a layer will be destroyed. When your life points reach zero the final layer will be destroyed and you'll fall to your fate." Kirani grimaced and inched forwards, peering over the edge. Unfortunately she couldn't see any bottom.
"What happens if we fall?" The half-melted duelist smirked and tapped a finger against the hole in his cheek, obviously enjoying Kirani's disgust with it.
"Although it seems like infinite darkness, waiting far below us is a swarm. Billions upon billions of fire ants. Normally a fire ant's bite, or sting, or whatever you want to call it isn't that bad. Annoying yes, but not really much. But if you fall, you will be covered by them." He snickered at the look on Kirani's face.
"They will crawl into your eyes, your eyes, your mouth, your nose, they will invade every part of your body. You will not suffocate because that would be too easy. No, you will slowly be die as those little bitty ants take nibbles out of your flesh. You will be very much alive as they eat you." Kirani gulped, realizing that if she did lose she would suffer enormously.
'That's so freaking scary and inventive that it's hard to believe this guy isn't actually the Dark Spirit. Or am I just imagining things?' Taichi rolled his eyes, and motioned for her to start her turn. She did so, glancing casually at her newest card.
"Gilford the Swift(1400/500) in attack mode! Now, these five monsters will show you just what it means to piss me off! ALL OUT ATTACK!" All five monsters charged forwards, and suddenly a pulse of energy knocked them backwards. She grimaced when she saw that Taichi's face down card had just flipped up.
"It's time to get serious now. My face down trap card not only negated your attack, but it also ended your battle phase. It's called Appearance of Lost Souls, and its effect will now create five Lost Soul(300/300) tokens!" Five black spheres appeared, forming from the darkness. They darted around Taichi, and he smiled warmly at them.
'Lost Souls! That was part of the dark spirit's strategy against Dalin, and it was in his Soul Deck! Those cards don't exist in real life, so could this really be the dark spirit?' Not quite sure what to do she simply let her turn end, hoping that she'd be able to turn this back in her favor during her next turn. She knew that Lost Souls could block attacks, so she could wipe out all five in the next turn.
"You know, I think the greatest ability of duelists like you and your pals is their ability to top deck their way to victory. You face opponents with superior skill and power and yet you win because you can always draw the card you need. But what happens when you face an opponent who can do the same? Like oh say...me? Go, Hellish Accountant!" A red skinned demon in glasses appeared on the field, and began punching numbers into a calculator.
"Hellish Accountant counts up the number of cards on your field and lets me draw that many. You have six cards, so I get to draw six. As compensation normally you'd either get to summon a monster like one you have on your field or draw till you get a monster to special summon, but your field is empty. So that's six free cards for me!" He laughed darkly and drew his brand new hand.
"I think I'll start off by playing my magic card Seeking the Soul! I can instantly destroy one monster on your field and create a number of Lost Souls(300/300) equal to its level. So say goodbye to a Gilford the Lightning and hello to eight more Lost Souls!" Her first Gilford the Lightning screamed in agony as eight dark spheres burst out of his body and flew over to their kin.
"Now, I set two cards face down and summon King Goblin(0/0) in attack mode!" A short and stubby little green creature appeared before him. It sat on a throne, and the lost souls seemed to be circling around it. Kirani narrowed her eyes, knowing he was up to no good.
"King Goblin can't be attacked if I have other demons in play, so he's safe. Also, for each demon in play he gains one thousand attack and defense points. Since I have thirteen his attack and defense is that much!" He laughed at the look of terror in Kirani's eyes. She could only watch as the stubby little creature burst out of his throne and grew into a massive terror with thirteen thousand attack and defense points.
"King Goblin, kill Gilford the Lightning would you?" The now massive demon reached down with its clawed hands and snatched up Gilford the Lightning. The mighty warrior struggled, but each time he slashed his sword against the goblin's hand, it simply rebounded, doing no damage.
"Hold up, I activate my face down card! Lightning Soul prevents me from losing life points whenever a Gilford monster is destroyed in battle. It's a continuous trap, so I'm perfectly safe." King Goblin squeezed, and Gilford's body was crushed. The goblin let the warrior drop, and Kirani could only watch as the monster fell away.
"That's fine. However, I can now activate the continuous magic card To Become Lost. Each turn of my turns you take fifty damage for each Lost Soul in play. Here's the damage and here's another test! Feel your soul slipping away bit by bit!" Kirani couldn't help but scream in pain as she felt something reach into her body and tug at her soul, trying to pry it away from her mortal coil. It was utter agony. (KLP: 1750)
The moment she drew, Taichi was already in action. "Get ready to grant King Goblin more power. DNA Surgery lets me change all monsters in play to a selected type, so your monsters become demons. That adds four thousand more points to my monsters!"
She grimaced as his already enormous monster grew further, and she was also terrified by the changes that her monsters were undergoing. Spikes were jutting out of their joints, and each one now had fangs. Their eyes also glowed red. "You'll pay for doing that to my monsters!"
"Whatever. Open set card, Blood Payment! This permanent trap card will prove to be quite dangerous." He smirked, and simply stood there as his trap revealed itself. On the other hand, nothing happened when it appeared.
"Looks like your trap won't help you quite yet, so I start off with Pot of Greed!" She drew two cards, frowning as a red bead much like blood appeared on the continuous trap of Taichi's.
"I summon Mage of Lightning-Gilford(1600/1300) and instantly sacrifice it to destroy King Goblin!" Her monsters appeared and then instantly formed into lightning and shot forwards to slam into King Goblin. The behemoth roared and exploded into bloody chunks.
"Next is my field magic card, Heart of the Storm! This increases every monster with Gilford in their name that's in play by 400 hundred points!" Electricity surged through her four monsters, and each one gained a boost. The two strongest ones reached thirty-two hundred, while Gilford of Thunder hit twenty-two hundred and Gilford the Swift reached eighteen hundred.
Another red bead appeared on top of Blood Payment, and Kirani began to worry. She didn't know exactly what was happening. "Now I play Rebirth of the Storm to revive Gilford the Lightning(3200/1400)!"
Now her field was full again, and Taichi had no face down cards to stop her attack. Also, since Taichi had no non-token monsters on the field he could defend himself with his Lost Soul tokens. Yet again a red bead appeared on Blood Payment, raising the number to three. 'Something is happening there and I don't like it.'
"I play the magic card Lightning Strikes Twice! During this turn every monster named Gilford the Lightning has two battle phases. So, each of my five monsters will attack!" Her five monsters slashed through five souls that had jumped in the way, and according to the effect of Demon Blood Taichi gained life points. Kirani was just lucky that King Goblin had no base attack points, or she'd be in trouble. (TLP: 3250)
"Now for that second battle phase I mentioned. Triple Thunderbolt Cut!" Her three identical monsters attacked again, blasting apart three more lost souls. Just like that Taichi's number had been cut down to a mere five, but she knew that number could easily jump up. Not only that, but there were now four beads on Blood Payment. (TLP: 3700)
Kirani grimaced, realizing that Taichi now had more layers to his stone platform. Apparently you gained them when your life points raised past a certain point, just like you lost them if your life points lowered past a certain point.
Seeing that there wasn't much more she could do, Kirani had to end her turn. Taichi immediately drew and smirked with delight. "Ah, this shall do nicely. I sacrifice one Lost Soul in order to summon Thanatos(1900/1800)!"
A creature in black robes and holding a scythe rose up from the ground, and slashed the scythe from side to side. "I can sacrifice monsters to add counters to this creature. So I sacrifice my four remaining Lost Souls to put four counters on it!"
Four glowing beads of light appeared on the side of the scythe. "Also, I can remove two counters to discard the top card of the opponent's deck. So I remove all four in order to destroy two of your cards!"
Thanatos darted forwards and slashed his scythe at her. She stumbled backwards, avoiding the scythe, but nearly fell off the edge of her platform. Catching her breath she stepped back into the middle, and slid the top two cards of her deck into the grave. A cursory look at her deck told her that she still had plenty of cards to work with. 'This isn't so bad...'
"Before you get so happy and confident, I'd hope you had noticed the three remaining cards in my hand. Now, I set two cards face down and fill up my field completely with magic and trap cards. End turn." Two cards appeared on the edges of his field, alongside Blood Payment, Demon Blood, and DNA Surgery.
Kirani took a deep breath and drew, she noted the card, and then glanced at her cemetery. She knew the cards that were in there, and they wouldn't quite do yet. "I'll take a chance and have Gilford of Thunder attack Thanatos!"
"Pity, I activate Corpse Shield. By taking a demon or undead monster from my deck and placing it in the cemetery I can block any attack. It's continuous as well. Pretty cool right?" Kirani scowled as Taichi slid a card into his grave. Then she motioned to her other monsters that were strong enough.
"Three more attacks, so let's see you lose some more monsters! Each Gilford the Lightning shall attack!" Taichi nodded, and three corpses appeared to take the place of Thanatos. The rotting remains fell into the abyss while Taichi sent his three cards to the graveyard.
"I set one card face down, and end my turn!" She slid the card onto her disk, and then folded her arms to await his move.
"This works just perfectly. I summon Demon of Lost Souls(1300/1300). When he's normal summoned I get to produce two Lost Souls. Each turn another two will be produced, provided I give up three hundred life points. He's a nifty little fellow. Especially since now my continuous card To Become Lost drains you of one hundred life points!" Kirani fell to one knee, clutching her chest as the pain hit her again. (KLP: 1650)
"Wait a second, you have five continuous cards on the field, four traps and one magic...and you've got a face down card. What's going on here?" Taichi smirked, and lifted up his duel disk. A card suddenly shot out of his deck, and he flipped it up to show it to her.
"This monster is known as Kyotsuku, the Lost Soul Guardian(2300/2500). As long as he exists in my deck there is no limit to cards I can play in zones, provided my field doesn't remain barren of Lost Souls for more than two turns. If it does, then all cards over the limit are destroyed. Does that answer your question?" He snickered and slid the card back into his deck, and then shuffled it up.
"Now, if you'd care to pay attention I'll sacrifice my two Lost Souls to Thanatos, and then use his effect to burn away the top card of your deck. Get rid of it." This time Kirani ducked the sweep of Thanatos' scythe, letting it pass harmlessly over her head. Well, not entirely harmlessly since she had to discard.
Taichi cleared his throat, and waved his hand. Kirani took this as a sign and drew to start off her turn. 'This magic card should help me out a bit. It'll put me one step closer to my goal.'
"I play Foolish Burial, and use its effect to take Berserker Gilford and send him to the cemetery." She found her card and slid it into the cemetery slot. She lifted her head in order to continue her move, but discovered that Blood Payment was shaking violently.
"You've made a big mistake girl. Each time a magic card is played Blood Payment gets a counter on it. When the fifth counter is added it is destroyed, and the player who added it loses the top ten cards of their deck. Since you did that, say goodbye to your top ten cards!" Kirani grimaced as the trap shattered, and she was forced to slip the top ten cards from her deck into the grave.
"I may have made a mistake, but I'm not done yet! My monsters will attack in succession to kill your monsters!" Taichi shrugged and popped open his deck. He fanned it out and plucked free five cards, which he showed to her as demons. Then he slid the five cards into the cemetery and five corpses appeared to block the five attacks.
Kirani had nothing else she could do, so she finished her turn. 'He's planning something with Corpse Shield, I better lay off the attacks for the time being.'
"I can see it in your eyes, you've come to the realization that attacking me is just helping me. Well, that proves to be something of a problem...but not too great of one. Now is the opportune moment to trigger my face down card, Apocalypse Now! This removes all demons in my cemetery and adds five to the number, then you have to discard that many cards from your deck!" Fourteen cards popped out of his graveyard, and he tossed them off the platform.
Nineteen spirits surged across the field and slammed into Kirani, bowling her over. She slid backwards, but used her foot to stop herself from being pushed over the edge. Then she stood back up, and took nineteen cards off her deck and discarded them. 'That's way too many cards, my deck is just about gone now! If I don't find a way out of this I'm finished even if he doesn't drain my life points!'
"Now, according to the effect of Demon of Lost Souls I'll pay three hundred life points to produce two Lost Souls(300/300)." Two of the dark orbs appeared above his demon and floated around his field twice. (TLP: 3400)
"I'm sure you'll recognize this card. Seeking the Soul! I destroy a Gilford the Lightning to bring my number of tokens up to ten!" Gilford the Lightning screamed in agony and was ripped apart from the inside out. Eight black spheres emerged and went over to Taichi's side of the field.
"This is just about it, because I activate Demon Reward. This magic card would normally let me draw one card, but since I have a demon on the field I get to draw twice." He added two more cards to his hand, bringing his hand size up to three cards. He seemed oddly satisfied at what he saw there.
"Now, I'll bet you recognize this move. I play Bring on the Night which conceals my field! Then I'll instantly blow it away with Mystical Space Typhoon! Not only do I double the number of Lost Souls I have, but I can destroy two magic or trap cards on your field. There's just one, so that goes!" Her face down card exploded, and then ten more Lost Souls shimmered into view.
"To Become Lost...do your stuff! Drain her of one thousand life points!" Taichi smirked, listening to her screams of agony. It delighted him to hear his prey's suffering, particularly in a situation like this where everything was all win-win. There was no way he could lose. (KLP: 650)
"I'm sure you're still aware, so I sacrifice all twenty to Thanatos and then remove the twenty counters to blast the top ten cards of your deck. How many does that leave by the way?" Kirani groaned and pulled ten cards off, just letting them fall to the bare single layer of her platform. She glanced at her deck to get a count.
"About four or so." Taichi grinned in triumph, and then settled back on his haunches to await he turn. Once she was ready, she would draw and make her move.
"You made a mistake in destroying one of my monsters, because all you did was open up a monster zone that I needed. You see, I've been waiting to summon this creature and unleash his effect. First, I have to remove three monsters with 'Gilford' in their name from the cemetery!" She picked up three cards, flashing a Wise One Gilford, Berserker Gilford, and Gilford of Thunder to Taichi.
"Now, I summon this level ten monster! Gilford, Lord of the Storm(2800/1400)! And the moment he's special summoned by his effect I destroy every card on both player's fields and in both player's hands except for himself!" The monster was identical to Gilford the Lightning, only he had gold armor and his sword had a ruby capped at the bottom.
"Storm of Destruction!" The Lord of the Storm raises his blade up high, and lightning bolts began to streak out from the darkness. Soon thousands of bolts were slamming down on the field, making it so bright that neither player could see. When the light faded, only he stood on the field.
"Gilford, Lord of the Storm...it's time. Attack Taichi directly with Stormblade Cut!" Lord of the Storm slashed his sword horizontally, and an enormous bolt of lightning crashed down on Taichi from above. Individuals smaller bolts shrieked out from the sword and connected with the partially melted teenage boy. (TLP: 600)
With nothing more that she could do, Kirani's turn was over. She waited for the light to clear, and when it did she discovered that Taichi was still alive, standing on his single layer. His skin was gone, and he looked like a corpse himself. But there was a sick grin on his face. "Impressive maneuver, looks like you didn't have to top deck to turn it around. Of course you forget...I can top deck just as well as any of you fools!"
He held his brand new card up, and shoved it into his duel disk. "I hope you're ready to surrender, because I activate Seeking the Soul! I'll destroy Gilford, Lord of the Storm, and produce ten Lost Souls!" Her powerful warrior was blown apart, and ten spheres shot out from his stomach. Defeated, he collapsed into the abyss.
"Do you surrender?" Kirani clenched her fists tight, knowing that there was absolutely nothing that she could do. No hand, no field, two cards left in her deck, and no cards that she could activate from the cemetery. All of her options had been exhausted.
"No. I may not be able to win, but I will not surrender. I'm not the kind of person to just give up even when I know what awaits me. So I'll accept what's going to come and stand strong." There was a moment of silence, and then Taichi smirked.
"It's almost a pity, I was hoping you wouldn't say that. But even I have to follow these rules when the Trials are involved. Plus I dislike Eikyuu just as much as the rest of you. So..." He raised his right arm...and placed it over his deck.
"I...I don't understand. Why would you surrender?" Taichi grinned and shrugged his shoulders, obviously amused.
"Just because the Trial is a duel doesn't mean the only way to complete the Trial is to win. Of course you aren't allowed to pass this on to your friends, but I'll let you in on the secret of the Trials. You have to prove your strength of mind, body, and spirit. By dueling so well you proved your mind's strength, by lasting in a Darkness Game you proved your body's, and by refusing to surrender you proved the strength of your spirit. So you pass the Trial."
Kirani stared at him in shock, barely noticing that the setting of the blimp had just returned, and they were no longer in the darkness. "Congratulations Kirani, you've passed the test. But don't think I didn't get anything out of this, because each person who is involved in the Trials in testing those as part of it gain something that they desire. And I? I've gained a brand new body, completely of my own. See you later, I guarantee it!"
She grimaced as he started laughing, and faded away into the shadows. Behind her the doors to the elevator opened, and she knew it was time to go. She shook her head in annoyance and entered the elevator, which promptly closed and started moving down. "Why is it that the evil psychopaths bent on destroying the universe don't stay dead?"
There was no answer.
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Author's Notes: That might just be what you call 'foreshadowing'. Or it might not be. You never know!
Review Response
G.O.T. Nick: Good thing I'm getting this good votes on Hikari's deck. Makes her happy.
The White Mage: All these questions(well a few) to be answered on the next episode of...well you get it.
WolfGeneral: Thanks on each account, and thanks for Rise of the Machines. It was perfect for that guy.
VoidTemplar: Oooo, another vote of confidence in Hikari's deck. She's happier now.
Original Cards(If I put a TM next to a card, that means it was created by Time Mage who created Kai, if it has WG next to it, it was created by WolfGeneral)
Kirani: Wise One Gilford, Enter the Storm, Squall Barrier, Gilford of Thunder, Storm Barrier, Tri-Thunder Shield, Gilford the Swift, Lightning Soul, Mage of Lightning-Gilford, Heart of the Storm, Rebirth of the Storm, Lightning Strikes Twice, Gilford-Lord of the Storm
Taichi: Demon Blood, Appearance of Lost Souls, Hellish Accountant, Seeking the Soul, To Become Lost, Blood Payment(by Vaurnut), Thanatos, Corpse Shield, Demon of Lost Souls, Kyotsuku the Lost Soul Guardian, Apocalypse Now, Demon Reward, Bring on the Night
