Author's Notes: Here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for over the past thirty-eight chapters. The final showdown with Eikyuu begins now!
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Destiny That Awaits Us
Misuno and AB stopped directly in front the United Nations building. At the entrance to each doorway there was a posting of four armed guards, and patrolling the area around the building were men with assault rifles and tanks. Neither ancient spirit seemed worried.
"You there! This is a restricted area, so I suggest you move along immediately." Misuno frowned and looked up as a jeep pulled in beside them, a man in a scarlet body suit with black stripes on the shoulders glaring down at him.
"Get out of the way, I have business with your master." The soldier blinked as a golden staff was shoved in his face, the tip of it glowing. He tried to issue the order for his men to open fire, but something burned into his body and he collapsed.
"If the rest of you don't leave immediately I will be forced to destroy your very souls, just as I did with this fellow. Now stand aside!" The soldiers cast glances at each other, none of them exactly certain about how to react. Slowly they came to a conclusion and swung their weapons around to point directly at the ancient spirit.
AB placed a hand on Misuno's shoulder, but her brother simply shrugged it off. "So you have chosen complete demise have you? Then so be it!" Screams filled the area for a few brief moments as the jeep exploded, the gas tanks detonated by magic that was older than any existing nation.
"Now this will just attract their attention, something we didn't need." Misuno rolled his eyes at his sister's pacifism, something that had annoyed him for the past millennium. After all their experiences witnessing events from within the staff she had chosen to renounce violence, while he had grown more violent.
"I really don't care. In fact, I'll end this right now. I'll gather all my power together and consume the United Nations Building and all that is within, including Eikyuu, in an endless shadow. Let's see if the God of Order can escape the Sea of Dirac!" Chuckling darkly he raised the staff above his head and began to gather primal energies into it, directing them towards the building.
His sister frowned, knowing that this act would cost many lives, but also knowing that she couldn't stop him. It was also perhaps their best chance to end the threat of Eikyuu before it went any farther than it already was. "So it has come to this…"
She closed her eyes as the ground in front of them began to darken as a shadow spread out. Its expansion was steady, and it was quickly approaching the nearest group of Eikyuu's men. The soldiers leveled their weapons at the siblings and began approaching. "Fools! The Sea of Dirac will swallow you all!"
True to his word, the shadow that Misuno was creating swept under the men's feet and they began to sink into it. The shadow passed under a tank and it too began to drift underneath the eternal shadow. As a last ditch effort the tank fired one shot directly at the siblings. "I will not allow you to harm us."
AB raised her right arm and the high-powered shell exploded violently a dozen feet in front of them, detonated by her magic. The fire itself was pulled into the growing Sea of Dirac, proving that nothing that came into contact with it could escape its grasp. "Ten minutes, I estimate ten minutes before the entrance to the Sea of Dirac is too expansive for even Eikyuu to escape from."
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Within the United Nations Building the priests worked frantically on the ritual, adding more power to it. They knew of the activity going on outside and hoped to progress it as far as possible before anything happened to disrupt them. "Great Lord Eikyuu, we still cannot complete the ritual without two more Hearts of Man!"
The giant humanoid that was Eikyuu turned his head towards the priests. They shivered as his terrible prismatic and empty gaze brushed over them. "There is no point in panic. The Fallen are at this very moment carrying out their purpose and bringing the Hearts of Man to me. Soon the ritual will be completed, and my purpose will be fulfilled."
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Dalin, Kirani, Hikari, and Azure all stood around Takuya. He had his eyes closed, and was deep in focus. "Are you sure this will work? You said that you've never tried to move other people through shadows like the powers of the Knight of Darkness allow you to."
"Maybe under normal circumstances I'd be worried, but for some reason the entire area is shadowed. We should be able to exit the shadows close to the building itself. I can't magic us into the building though, there's some kind of barrier." The others nodded, accepting his expertise in the matter. They knew that with their faces this well known it was the only way they could get to the building undetected.
"Let's do this! Our destiny is waiting for us on the other end!" And as one they stepped into the shadow.
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The group stepped out of the shadow and into a war zone. Dalin immediately pushed them behind him and raised a barrier of silver energy, protecting them from the wild gunfire that was blazing around them.
Everywhere that the eye could see soldiers in the uniform of Eikyuu's army were running for their lives, screaming and firing blindly at something that from their line of sight couldn't be seen. Explosions rocked the ground as dozens of tanks fired their deadly weapons and soldiers launched RPGs at their still hidden enemy.
When the enemy came into view the group gasped in shock. Hundreds of different monsters swarmed out from an alleyway and came down upon a troop of the soldiers, ripping them to pieces in seconds. Bloody chunks were all that was left as the swarm of demonic creatures moved on.
The group's attention was brought back down to earth when a muffled sob met their ears. They turned and found Azure slumping back up against the wall behind them, her hands clutching her stomach where crimson fluid streamed out from between her fingers. Kirani and Hikari immediately went to her. "Azure…you were shot."
"I noticed. This magic I feel, it's shadow magic, the magic of Ancient Egypt." Dalin nodded, having recognized it himself. Slowly he stepped out of the barrier, causing it to ripple briefly before reforming in place.
"These monsters are tactically inefficient; they are simply targeting the soldiers and causing chaos instead of striking towards the main goal. In other words, they are a distraction. They will serve our purpose as well, so now is the time that we must move and reach our destiny." He started walking in the direction of the United Nations building, but stopped abruptly.
"This power…what is it?" The others approached cautiously, Kirani and Hikari supporting Azure between them. They found Dalin standing at the edge of what looked like a shadow, but was infinitely darker. It spread out in front of them for hundreds of yards, and there was no trace of anything resembling civilization or humanity where it reached. There wasn't even a traffic sign in sight, and they knew they were in the middle of a street.
All that was part of the street simply ended at the beginning of this shadow, and when they looked out farther they saw that the massive United Nations Building itself was sinking into the shadow. "This power is that of infinite space, infinite nothing. A universe within a space of zero mass. This is the Sea of Dirac."
Floating above them, surrounded by a golden barrier, were two distinct figures. One looked like Autumn, but her face appeared older and wiser. The other looked like Kai, but his eyes had a dark look to them that Kai's had never shown and he was holding the Millennium Staff. He had spoken. "Welcome all to the final end of this bastard Eikyuu. Had you idiots let me out before this I could have dealt with him before there was troubling, merely by consuming everything around him in a Sea of Dirac, my ultimate power."
"But…what about the people? Surely there were people in this area!" The Kai look-alike smirked in response to Hikari's question, and the girl who looked like Autumn just turned away. Dalin frowned slightly but made no comment.
"I recognize your energy signature. That would make you Misuno wouldn't it?" The Kai look-alike responded with a slight nod of the head, the bulk of his attention remaining on maintaining the Sea of Dirac. By now it had consumed roughly half of the United Nations Building.
Azure pulled away from Hikari and Kirani, her hands still clutching the wound in her stomach. "You're a fool Misuno or whoever you are. You cannot stop Eikyuu with a physics theory, even if it is real. He is beyond normal mortal magics and now the only thing that can combat him is the Hearts of Man!"
"No. Not even the Hearts of Man pose a threat, for their purpose will soon be negated." A cold, deep voice ripped their attention away from each other and to the center of the shadows in front of them. Standing directly on top of the shadow was a massive humanoid figure in scarlet robes. In place of a face the behemoth of a person had a white mask with a red half over the right eye. It wasn't sinking into the Sea of Dirac.
Somehow they knew without a shadow of a doubt who this was. In one collective voice they expressed this realization. "Eikyuu."
"You have surmised correctly. Now, this assault on my capital shall end." A brief light flared up around Eikyuu and the shadows were all pulled into one point, and vanished. In a single second with minimal effort Eikyuu had undone all that Misuno had attempted to do.
"Impossible...nothing should have been able to stop the Sea of Dirac!" Eikyuu ignored Misuno and instead swept his gaze across the utter pandemonium that had been incited by Misuno in order to distract the soldiers from his efforts.
"This chaos that you have created cannot continue to exist. Therefor it too shall end." Again his body took on a ethereal glow, and just as quickly as he had vanquished the Sea of Dirac, all the monsters blinked out of existence. The power of Misuno was simply nothing next to the might of Eikyuu.
The group of seven staggered out in a semi-circle around Eikyuu, each of them facing him and preparing for a potential assault. Azure pushed forwards, standing directly in front of the god. "Eikyuu, my family has long sought to keep this world safe from people like you. So understand that today will be your final day!"
For the first time since he had appeared before them the god's attention went specifically to one of them. Azure backed up a step the moment his strange eyes met hers, and for the first time in her life she felt truly afraid. "Azure Levis. There is no Heart of Man within you, for such a thing is impossible for the one who wields the Tempus Astrum. However, these ones have undergone the Trials and that was your purpose. Do you understand what this means?"
She felt her body weakening, the blood loss taking its toll on her. She pressed one hand tighter against her belly, desperately trying to stem the flow of her blood. The others realized a moment too late exactly what Eikyuu meant, but Azure had known since the moment she started this what would happen when she confronted Eikyuu. "It means I no longer have a purpose."
"At last, one of you understands. Very well, you have accepted the inevitability of it. With no purpose, you are nothing. You're a useless shell and must be discarded." Time seemed to slow as Eikyuu reached out for her. Azure could see the others charging in towards Eikyuu, hoping to stop him. But in the end she knew that they would be too late.
His massive hand closed around her face, blocking her view of the rest of the world. He squeezed with his gloved hand and time returned to its normal state for everyone involved. All of the remaining members of the Fallen were unable to do anything but watch as he crushed her skull like a melon. The headless corpse of Azure Levis fell limply to the ground.
"Bastard!" Kirani threw her entire weight behind the punch and it landed directly against his masked face. His head didn't even budge. Her eyes widened as he slapped her aside with one massive arm, sending her sliding across the cement.
"Don't make a move against him. None of us can harm Eikyuu." At Dalin's word the others chose not to continue their attack. Even Misuno, who normally wouldn't have listened, was forced to agree. If Eikyuu could stop the Sea of Dirac with such ease then none of them stood a chance.
Before anyone else could say anything Takuya stepped up, a fierce look in his eyes. "We may not be able to harm you, but all we need to do is get past you and into that building. Then we'll stop your ritual before it is completed!"
The others shot confused looks at him, uncertain what he was talking about. Eikyuu looked down at him, and Takuya could have sworn the god was frowning at him. "The Knight of Darkness. Only you are not D'harim, you are the human. Do you even understand what the Ritual of Falling Stars is intended to do?"
"I know to a degree, I heard the priests talk. D'harim knew as well, and so therefor I know. The Ritual of Falling Stars, an ancient ritual created to manipulate the Hearts of Man in order to take from mankind 'that which is most precious'. What I couldn't figure out and what D'harim didn't know is what that is." Two people stepped past him, and to his surprise it was Misuno and AB.
Misuno spoke, his voice solid but with a slight quaver in it, as if he was holding back his fear. "That which is most sacred, it is simply a mistranslation. The ancient language of the Cult of Infinity, the cult which worshiped this bastard. The word is Kyi-tsaruti. It means free will. That is what the Ritual of Falling Stars does, it strips mankind of its free will."
A heavy weight descended on the group as they understood at last what it was all about. The reason Eikyuu's men had deliberately attempted to release the Hearts of Man. The reason that he hadn't cared whether his own Knights lost or whether they lost. Dalin felt anger brewing within him, something that he hadn't felt in a long time.
"The essence of absolute order...for there can never be true order while mankind has free will. You can never exert your power completely over the people of Earth until you have stripped us all of our free will. It is free will that makes us chaotic, that separates us from your order." Eikyuu tilted his head to one side, looking over at Dalin.
"I have been impressed by you. You are a perfectly ordered person and clever as well. Perhaps you will consider becoming one of my priests." Dalin gave no reply, merely glared at the god. Once again the group could have sworn the blank mask was frowning.
"You refuse? Very well, now I shall have to take the Hearts of Man from you in order to complete the Ritual of Falling Stars. Or you may simply relinquish them to me of your own...free will." He let the question hang in the air, waiting for a response.
"You can take your offer and go shove it up your ass! If you've got one that is. I'd rather die than give you the chance to strip mankind's free will away!" Eikyuu now turned to focus on Kirani, whose fury was focused on him.
"Your offer is acceptable. However, I believe that in your own human terminology I have a card up my sleeve. Kirani Kajika, you possess the Heart of Love. Grant me the Heart of Love and I shall restore your one love, Daisuke Ihachi." This stopped her in her tracks, and her anger faded, becoming replaced by confusion.
'If I accept then Drake will come back...but if I accept won't that be potentially dooming us all? But then again, if he comes back we'll have a better chance of taking on Eikyuu. Surely just one Heart of Man can't doom us.' She felt her heart twist in knots as conflict between her emotions and her logic arose.
Next Eikyuu's gaze turned towards Dalin. Before Eikyuu even had a chance to speak the angel duelist butted in. "Don't even bother. In fact, I have a proposition for you, one similar to that which I gave to your precious Trinity."
"A duel? You would wish to combat me in this primitive game of yours in which the stakes include your Hearts of Man? If that were to be the case, then what is the collateral. What is it you would wish of me." Dalin glanced back at the corpse of Azure, and then towards the confused Kirani. Next he looked towards Misuno and AB, who possessed the bodies of Kai and Autumn.
"The Hearts of Man will be restored to us if you lose, every last one of them, along with the people who they belonged to. It won't stop you, and you still have a chance to take them back. So in reality, the one who truly benefits from this deal is you." Eikyuu cocked his head to one side as if considering the proposition.
"Your primitive game becomes the method of determining the fate of mankind. You wish to see which is stronger, your Chaos or my Order. To combat the forces of Chaos is my purpose in this existence, therefor I cannot refuse. I will play your game." Dalin exhaled the breath he had been holding, and focused himself. This would be it.
Dalin raised his left arm and triggered the duel disk, which snapped out and into place. It lit up as its activation was indicated and he slid his deck into it. The life point counters started to rise until they were fully in place. "A duel for the fate of mankind. And if we must represent Chaos, then it is ironic that we fight as one. The power of Chaos is what shields us from your power. Now it shall assist us in defeating you!" (DLP: 4000)
"He's right, although we may technically be the force of Chaos in this battle we fight together. Think you can take more than one duelist, or are you not up to that challenge?" Kirani stepped up beside Dalin, her own duel disk clicking into position. She placed her deck into the holder and glared at Eikyuu as her points rose to maximum. (KLP: 4000)
"Bah! I'm hardly interested in these idiots, but I just now got a body and I really don't like you. So I'll crush you just to get this over with. Prepare yourself Eikyuu, because now you face the skill of Misuno in a duel!" The ancient spirit also prepared his deck and his duel disk, stepping into position in the line-up. Eikyuu simply watched them in silence. (MLP: 4000)
"I may not always agree with my brother, but in this case I do. You're a threat to the world, just because of how precious free will is to human beings. Over three thousand years ago I lost my true free will, and I understand what it's like to be without it. I won't allow that to happen to anyone else, so I'll defeat you!" AB took a deep breath and activated her own duel disk, ready to begin as soon as possible. (ALP: 4000)
"I made the mistake of giving in to power and I caused pain and suffering beyond anything I knew existed. Even though it was D'harim who made the actual actions, it was my actions that made it possible. So I intend to truly pay for that pain by assisting in your defeat. That is my atonement!" Takuya raised his arm and his duel disk flipped into its activated position. He stepped forwards, making himself part of the line that was too stand against Eikyuu. (TLP: 4000)
Hikari frowned briefly, but steeled her resolve and also stepped up to become part of the line. She too activated her duel disk and prepared her deck, knowing that this would be the most important thing she would ever be involved in. "If this is what my destiny is, I'm going to accept that. But the thing I want to discover before this is over is whether I have a destiny, or if it's all of my doing. I want to know the truth, so I'll duel with all my heart and soul to discover that answer!" (HLP: 4000)
There was a brief pause as Eikyuu looked at each of them in turn. Somehow it seemed that he was measuring each of them in the brief seconds that his eyes met theirs. It was like he was looking into the deepest depths of their souls. This was the power that he possessed, and only the strength granted to them from the Trials and the Heart of Chaos prevented them from succumbing.
"There will be no risk of a stray attack harming my capital and disrupting the Ritual of Falling Stars. This duel will take place in my ancestral birth place, where I was first conceived of in this form. The place in which I was born as a god." The whole group felt weak-kneed as the world around them flickered and started to change as Eikyuu transported them to the place he spoke of.
When the world returned to normal they were forced to steady themselves as icy cold winds whipped over their bodies. As far as the eye could see was white and particles of snow drifted down around them. Kirani stared incredulously around the area, and decided to ask what was on her mind. "To become a god wouldn't people have to worship you and form an image of you? Who the hell could have lived here?"
"They were a crude people, barely worthy of any notice, worse even than your society. They had no name for themselves, and speech was limited for them. Language was a relatively new concept, and this tribe did not have a steady language yet. They traveled as a group, hunting large hairy creatures for food." All of them but Misuno and AB recognized the description as the mammoths, meaning that Eikyuu had been born as a god during the Ice Age when humans first got a foot hold.
"How about a lesson in really ancient history later, and a duel now? Let's get this damned thing over with!" Misuno snapped five cards off his deck, ready to get going. Desparately trying to shield themselves from the cold Kirani, Hikari, and Takuya did the same. However, neither Misuno, AB, nor Dalin seemed to be bothered by the cold.
Eikyuu held up his hand, and five glowing blue cards appeared in it. Then a sixth one appeared, showing that he was going to be taking the first turn. "I believe based on your rules that in a multi-person duel that no player is allowed to attack on the first turn. Therefor I end." (ELP: 4000)
Choosing to go next, Dalin slipped a card off his duel disk and contemplated what move to make. There were only a few moves available to him at the moment, so it wasn't a difficult decision. "This will begin in the next round. Now, I activate Justice Unleashed!"
A glowing ritual pot appeared on the field in front of him, waiting for an offering. "I must discard seven levels of monsters in order to ritual summon my next creature. So I discard Jupiter, Angel of Life in order to unleash Sol, Angel of Justice(1900/1900)!"
Energy pulsed within the ritual pot and soon a creature appeared. It was the same beautiful woman with covered eyes that had been his trump card in his battle against Nikolas. "Each turn I can discard one light type from my hand to activate one of the three abilities of Sol. During this turn I discard Ascending Man(500/1200) to gain one thousand life points."
Light flowed into Dalin's duel disk as Sol fortified his life points with a decent boost. At the same time he took a monster from his hand and slid it into his cemetery. 'My full power, I will not unleash you until I know of Eikyuu's power.' (DLP: 5000)
"Now, I activate my field magic card. Sanctuary of the Sky!" He slapped his field card into the side slot of his disk, and behind them the heavenly structure began to assemble. Soon a massive building of almost Greek architecture was perched directly behind them with little angels darting in and out of it. Its heavenly glow provided a much needed warmth to them all.
"That is all for my turn. End!" He left himself with three cards in his hand, and waiting to see exactly what sort of moves that Eikyuu would make. There was no chance that the god wasn't up to something, since simply passing your turn without doing anything was beyond amateurish, it was stupid.
Kirani drew, knowing it would be hard to top that kind of move. But at the very least she would show Eikyuu that she wasn't one to be fooled with. "I summon Berserker Gilford(3000/0) in attack mode!"
A brute of a monster, with an enormous buster sword that was caked with dried blood, formed from the snow in front of her feet. It glared at Eikyuu, who didn't seem to notice the creature at all. "I set one card face down and that's my turn!"
Misuno looked over his hand and just barely kept himself from grimacing. 'Horrible way to start the duel. I'll have to play defensively for the moment'
He selected three cards from his hand and put them into place, two slid into the disk and another set. "I set two cards face down and place a monster in defense mode. Standard opening move as I'm sure you're aware. End turn."
AB drew and then immediately slid her new card onto her duel disk. "I start my turn by playing the continuous magic card Breath of Life. Now during each of our standby phases we all gain two hundred life points."
The others looked at her uncertainly, surprised at her actions. Although it would help them gain life points it would also assist Eikyuu, even if barely. That was something they didn't want to do. "Now I set a monster in defense mode and place one magic or trap card face down. I'm finished."
Now that it was Takuya's turn the warrior had every intention of showing that he too was ready to make this duel count. "I start by summoning Quarter Knight(1900/700) in attack mode!"
An armored knight formed from the snow, a twisted look on his face as he stretched his spiked armor. A distinctive heart shaped tattoo was prevalent on his left cheek and his hair was brown in a military style cut. "Quarter Knight's special ability is a doozy, so just watch our for this one."
He blinked in surprise as he felt his body suddenly warm up, and then as he saw the glow from AB's magic card he understood why. "Also, since my standby phase passed I gain two hundred life points from the effect of Breath of Life." (TLP: 4200)
Finally he placed one card face down, which appeared behind his knight. "That card goes face down, and then I'll end my turn. I don't see any reason why I should over commit on the first turn. Got to work on resource management for a duel like this."
The final player started her turn, and energy flowed into Hikari's duel disk, warming her up just as it had for Takuya. "Just like Takuya I gain life points because of AB's magic card. Thanks AB." She flashed a smile at the other girl, who gave her a nod in return. (HLP: 4200)
"Here's my move. I summon Medusa the Mythical Gorgon(1200/1900) in defense mode!" A woman with blue skin and hair of green serpents appeared on her field in a crouched position, her hair hissing at Eikyuu.
"This girl's gaze is so deadly that nothing can look directly into it and come out as the same again. In mythology she was one of the challenges that Perseus had to face in his quest to save his love from the dreaded Kraken. The head of Medusa was needed, but don't think her head is easy to get." Eikyuu didn't seem to care about her explanation of the monster's history, so she decided to get on with it.
"Since you're such a spoil sport I just set two cards face down. Now let's see exactly what you can do Eikyuu. Remember, we're all fighting with our all, so don't think you can go easy on us and not get crushed." Still there was no response from the god. Instead a blue card simply appeared in his hand.
Eikyuu fanned his hand out and then selected one of the cards. He held it out and it vanished from his hand. However, the ground beneath them began to shake as the card he had played took effect. "I activate Awakening of Gods. This card totals the stars of the opponent's monsters and cuts that number in half. I may then special summon monsters from my deck with an equal or lesser level."
Twenty-six bright lights flew overhead in a circle, going faster and faster with each second. Then they all shot straight into the ground, and it ruptured open, burning the ground as two figures started to rise from the opening. "Half of twenty-six is thirteen, and together my two monsters have twelve stars."
Two huge creatures rose from the ground, each one bigger than any monster on the field, even Berserker Gilford. One of them wore pure blue armor and had a sword that seemed to be on fire. "This is a level four monster, known as Divine Soldier(1800/1800)."
The second monster was even larger, and was far more disturbing. The left half of it was female, and would have been considered attractive if it weren't for the second half. The right side of the monster was that of a corpse, flesh rotted away to show brown and black rot within. "This is a level eight called God of Necromancy(1600/1600)."
Dalin frowned, beginning to see the implications. If he was right, then they were in trouble. "Divine Soldier raises the attack and defense power of God of Necromancy by four hundred." Energy flowed between the two, increasing the disturbing monster's power.
"Now, you must appease the gods themselves. I activate Cry of Supplication, which forces each opposing player to sacrifice three monsters from their decks as an appeasement to forestall the wrath of the gods." Each of the other six duelists searched through their decks and discarded the three monsters that they wanted to discard.
"Cry of Supplication prevents me from attacking during this turn. Now I set two cards face down and declare the completion of my turn." Two cards vanished from his hand and appeared behind the huge monsters, one behind each.
Dalin reached for his next card, knowing that great challenges awaited them in this duel. Somehow he knew that Eikyuu would be no ordinary duelist, just like Daisuke had implied. He would have to be cautious when confronting Eikyuu in this duel. "I gain two hundred life points." (DLP: 5200)
'This duel is just now beginning. Against Eikyuu, normal strategies will not suffice. Caution is absolutely necessary, and prior planning is also required. There can be no mistakes, or this entire duel will collapse on us.'
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In a place beyond normal perception three figures watched the duel as it progressed. Each one had different reasons for watching and a different interest in it. "I know you guys are strong duelists, I know you can beat Eikyuu. I know it."
Drake clenched his fists, watching fitfully as Dalin started his turn. Although he was unable to physically be there and support the duel he felt that he could still support them like this. Of course he was the only one who thought it would help. "If you're gonna be doing that the whole duel I'll have to come over there and kick your ass."
"You wish short shrift. With or without your new magical powers I can kick your ass, so don't make ME come over there." Violet eyes clashed with blue eyes as the two men struggled with their wills against each other. A third person groaned pounded his head against the wall just to drown them out.
"None of us are here by our own free will, so why don't you two shut up and just watch." The third person, who refused to face the others, had generally been watching in silence. Most of his focus was on the duelist who had just started his turn.
Taichi turned away from Drake and glared at their third companion. "I'll do whatever I so please Nikolas. After all, I outrank you even now. In each and every way." He snickered, drawing a glare from Nick's single eye.
Drake glanced down at the duel below, and frowned briefly. There was something odd going on, something that he couldn't explain. There was something unusual about this duel. "I've got a bad feeling about this duel."
"Perhaps you wish that you could help, is that it?" The three of them whirled around, and found themselves facing a handsome youth who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was dressed very casually in a hoody with the hood up and jeans, so he hardly looked impressive. The only thing impressive about him were his brilliant blue eyes, which were roughly the color of a robin's egg.
Taichi sneered at the newcomer and gathered a sphere of wind in his hand. "And who might you be?"
"I am simply a benefactor who wants to see Eikyuu fall just as much as the three of you, if for a different reason than yours. I offer a chance to the strongest of the three of you, for whichever one that is will be able to return to Earth and assist." The strange man grinned, waiting for their response.
Nick narrowed his one eye at the man. "So we have to prove our strength? And how exactly would we do that?"
"Simple, for my amusement and to help me decide, I want you to duel. All three of you against each other. Won't that be fun?" The three duelists cast glances at each other, sparks flying between them. Each of them wanted to get back to Earth, both to be alive and to take down Eikyuu. There reasons were all different, but they still had the same goal.
As one duel disks appeared on their arms, decks already in place. They drew five cards and positioned themselves in a sort of triangle, and then they were ready to begin. The stranger snapped one hand into the air, a big smirk on his face. "DUEL!"
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Author's Notes: It feels strange that I have reached this place, a point which I have been heading towards for a long time now. Something like a year. It feels good to be here, knowing that I'm reaching the conclusion to this story. Hope you'll continue to enjoy it.
Review Response
G.O.T. Nick: And your question on AB and Misuno got answered. Ta-Da!
The White Mage: As you can see this is what awaits them.
WolfGeneral: Sorry, can't say at the moment. You'll have to wait on that.
Time Mage: Dalin's deck is a Soul Deck, so it can change between angels and his other deck. As for those monsters you mentioned, you'll have to wait and see.
VoidTemplar: That was the real Drake, only in a sort of avatar form, as in it wasn't his body but it was his spirit. Just like Time Mage you'll have to wait on the Dalin deck thing. Also, thanks for the compliment.
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)
Dalin: Justice Unleashed, Jupiter-Angel of Life, Sol-Angel of Justice
Kirani: Berserker Gilford
AB: Breath of Life
Takuya: Quarter Knight
Hikari: Medusa the Mythical Gorgon
Eikyuu: Awakening of Gods, Divine Soldier, God of Necromancy, Cry of Supplication
