Author's Notes: Part 5 of the Eikyuu duel starts now!

Chapter Forty-Three: Heaven Shatters!

All eyes now turned towards Dalin who had two fingers on the top card of his deck. "Prepare yourself Eikyuu, for in this turn my true strength will be revealed, and all of your defenses and your power will crumble! Now, I draw!"

The card slid off his deck, and he held it up above his head. Light shimmered around it, pulsing across the field. God of Necromancy, God of Might, and Holy Sentinel all inched backwards away from that bright light. "This is your fate Eikyuu, and this is my power. Behold my truest strength!"

He slammed the card down on his field, and everything was consumed by that holy golden light.

Seraphim Guardna, Seraphim Sabre, and Seraphim Gunner all shuddered as their bodies were compress together, forming three spheres of energy. Those spheres shot together and created an even larger ball of light. "I sacrifice Seraphim Guardna, Seraphim Sabre, and Seraphim Gunner to summon a god beyond the strength of your petty monsters!"

The expanding sphere of energy died down slightly, revealing what was within. What was revealed was in fact a golden sphere all of it's own, and didn't appear to be much of a monster at all. But those duelists gathered together, including Eikyuu, all knew what this beast was.

"Meet the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(9200/9500)! Or at least you will meet him once I unlock him from his sealed state and unleash his wrath upon you." Dalin closed his glowing silver eyes for a moment, and then he began to chant.

"Great beast of the sky, hear my cry, Transform thyself from orb of light and lend your power to me in this fight. Envelope the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe. Unlock your powers deep within so that together we may win. Appear to me as I call your name. The Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!" The moment he finished reciting the text on the card, the sphere began to unlock itself.

Eikyuu watched passively as the massive golden dragon that was Ra descended from above in its full glory, ready to unleash its power against the opposing gods. As soon as it had fully touched down it shrieked at the gods on Eikyuu's side of the field, and they responded in kind. "It appears that these gods of opposing faiths cannot stand the sight of each other. So now is the time to decide precisely which god is the strongest."

Dalin nodded and flipped one of the two cards in his hand around, revealing a green grinning pot. "I use the power of Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He slid another pair of cards off his deck and felt the power flow through him and to the cards. He knew without looking what they were capable of.

Misuno stared up at Ra's massive form and his eyes widened in awe. "It's been millennium since I have seen the true shape of that beast, it is a wonder that it has remained the same even in its card representation. Pegasus did a truly masterful job with this beast. Ra's holy glow...it's awesome power...that must be the key to defeating Eikyuu."

Despite Misuno's words, a chill ran down Takuya's spine. 'My warrior's intuition is telling me that it won't be as easy as Misuno might think it could be. I've got the feeling that things are just now starting to get heated up.'

Kirani and Hikari had no idea what to think. Although Kirani had seen Ra in action before, it still amazed her the pure power that this monster possessed. Hikari on the other hand had never seen Ra before, and even Osiris' power that she had felt paled in comparison to Ra's. 'It's amazing...'

The mighty Dalin held his hand out in front of his cemetery slot and held up seven different cards, each one a monster. "These seven cards and God of Necromancy are the boundary between Ra and your life points. So I must break down that barrier before I can succeed."

"You have only two monsters capable of attacking God of Necromancy with any degree of success, therefor it is impossible to destroy that barrier. In addition to this you cannot defeat God of Might in battle, regardless of the brute power of your god. As long as God of Necromancy is in play I can also negate the destructive ability of Ra. You cannot break this barrier." If Eikyuu had been a normal duelist, or even had any mouth to speak of, he would have been smirking at that very moment.

Dalin's eyes snapped open, and a silver aura flared up around his body. His power shook the ground around him and he held up one of the two cards he had drawn. "I activate the magic card God's Breath Cannon! This magic card will along Winged Divine Dragon of Ra to continue attacking the opponent provided he still has monsters on the field."

In this situation, had Eikyuu had real eyes they would have widened in surprise. For the first time in the duel Eikyuu had no way to truly respond in reaction to this. "In other words...you can continue attacking until all of my monsters are destroyed. Only God of Might is capable of fending off Ra's attacks."

"We'll see about that won't we? Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, attack God of Necromancy! God's Breath Cannon!" The golden dragon opened up its beak and fired a beam of pure golden energy at the half-rotted god.

"Necromantic Defense!" A corpse form of Seraphim Gunner appeared in the path of the attack and was blown away. Dalin barely even seemed to notice its demise, and merely tucked the card into his back pocket, leaving six cards left. (DLP: 4300)

"God's Breath Cannon!" The golden energy wave was next intercepted by Seraphim Sabre, who was vaporized in less than a second. Still God of Necromancy remained, but Dalin had only five more points to burn away before the barrier between him and Eikyuu's life points was destroyed utterly. (DLP: 4000)

"Attack again! God's Breath Cannon!" Seraphim Guardna was the sacrifice for the next attack, absorbing the blast and protecting God of Necromancy. Dalin calmly added the angel to his back pocket along with the other two. (DLP: 3700)

"Again! God's Breath Cannon!" Uranus, Angel of Good Will appear and was ripped to pieces by Ra's power. Dalin took the damage without flinching, and slipped Uranus into his pocket. Now he had knocked down four points of the barrier. (DLP: 3400)

"And again! God's Breath Cannon!" Ascend Man rose up out of the ground, its flesh falling from its body, and took the beam of energy square in the face. Dalin refused to back down in this moment, even as his own monsters were destroyed to protect his opponent. (DLP: 3100)

"Continue the attack! God's Breath Cannon!" Neptune, Angel of Emancipation was the next victim in the line of sacrifices for the defense of Eikyuu and his life points. But with its destruction and removal the final piece of the puzzle was removed, and now the path was clear. (DLP: 2800)

"The barrier has broken down, and the time is now. Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, obliterate God of Necromancy with your God's Breath Cannon!" Ra shrieked in triumph, its raging power shattering the opposing god and ripping into Eikyuu's life points. For the first time in the entire duel Eikyuu took a significant amount of damage. (ELP: 2900)

"One more time! God's Breath Cannon!" Ra continued attacking, sweeping the energy attack across from the previous point of impact and directly into Holy Sentinel. The lower level divine monster's shield held briefly, but then it buckled under and the monster was consumed by the higher god's power.

"God of Might remains untouched and untouchable, and in my next turn I will eliminate Winged Divine Dragon of Ra and remove it as a threat once and for all. Although you have succeeded in damaging my life points, it is merely superficial." Dalin paused for a moment upon hearing this, and then snapped the other card he had drawn from Pot of Greed up, and showed it to Eikyuu.

"I'm far from finished! Activate quick-play magic card, Dance of the Phoenix! This card instantly allows Ra to transform into its phoenix mode and use its ability to destroy one monster on the field, free of charge. Ra, Dance of the Phoenix!" The golden dragon flew up into the air, and converted its entire body into that of a fiery phoenix. Then it descended upon God of Might.

"God of Might is a tier two god, whereas Ra is a tier three god. Even the immunities of God of Might are as nothing against the power of the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra. Watch as the last barrier to your life points crumbles!" Eikyuu was forced backwards nearly a foot as the flames exploded all around him, burning away the remains of his god.

Ra returned to its normal shape and back to Dalin's field, shrieking its triumph at having obliterated all of the opposing gods. "Since that was a quick-play magic card, it's still my battle phase. So, Sol the Angel of Justice(2400/2400), attack Eikyuu directly!"

A beam of white light collided with Eikyuu's chest, but unlike the attack of Ra this one didn't even phase him. He merely brushed it off. But what he couldn't brush off was the damage that the attack had done to his life points. "You're just one step away from defeat!" (ELP: 500)

Kirani, thoroughly overjoyed, punched her fist into the air. "That's the way to do it! The one-two combo that takes Eikyuu down is the power of Ra, the strongest of the gods! Show him how it's really done Dalin!"

Misuno smirked, proud that one of his own comrades in arms was capable of such strength. "Sumatin, you never cease to amaze. Not even Eikyuu can stand against your strength."

Hikari stuck her tongue out at Eikyuu, dancing from foot to foot. "Take that you mask with a super-sized ego! You just can't beat the power of the human heart, no matter how hard you try!"

Even Takuya, who had previously been uncertain of the likelihood of Ra's success was now jumping for joy. "One more blow and Eikyuu's down for the count! This whole ordeal is just about ended."

Dalin slashed his hand through the air, an obvious command for silence. The other three let their cries of joy die down, and Dalin was ready to continue. "As successful as that move was, it is merely one step on the path to defeating Eikyuu. If we want this to continue, then we have to use all of our strength for it. This is how."

He held up the last card in his hand and flipped it around, showing a man raising up his arms as coins rained down around him from the sky. "Card of Sanctity now allows each player to draw until they hold six cards."

Dalin swiftly drew six cards, fanning them out to take a look at them. Kirani picked up four cards from the top of her deck, as did Takuya. Hikari and Misuno each drew six cards, while Eikyuu had five appear in his hand. "Now that we have all replenished our hands, I will eliminate the very final barrier. Your face down cards."

"I activate the magic card Wingbeat of God! This magic card activates only if a divine type monster is in play, and it will instantly destroy all non-divine cards in play, negating any effects as it does so!" Ra flew up into the air and flapped its wings, sending fire raining down upon the field. His three allies gasped in horror as their fields were burned away, but took solace in the fact that Eikyuu's cards were also eliminated and he had just five hundred life points left.

Eikyuu flared his own power, pushing away the flames and making them die out. The last burst of flames had completely melted the snow around them, leaving them standing on barren rock in a one hundred foot circle free of snow. "Your efforts are impressive, however Wrath of the Almighty cannot be destroyed by any effect once activated. So it remains in play."

"That doesn't matter. You already stated that Wrath of the Almighty cannot activate its effect until your next turn. There are three duelists who have turns before you do, and your field is utterly barren besides that one currently useless card. Prepare for defeat Eikyuu, as for now I set one card face down. End turn!" One card appeared behind Ra, making those two cards and Eikyuu's continuous card the only ones in play.

Kirani fanned out her seven card hand, and saw exactly what she could do. This was her chance to finish of Eikyuu. Although she would make the killing blow, she knew that in reality it was Dalin who had saved the day. "Let's end this Eikyuu! Gilford the Swift(1400/500) in attack mode!"

Eikyuu did his little head tilt frown thing, but still remained as impassive as ever. Kirani's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out whether or not there was a good reason for Eikyuu to be so calm in this situation. 'Does he not care that he's going to lose? Is he trying to bluff me? Or does he actually have a method of fighting back?'

She knew perfectly well that in this circumstance or in any other she was the one who had to make the choice. She was going to have to decide. 'Oh screw it, he can't possibly have a way to fend off the attack. Even if he does, Misuno, Takuya, and Hikari are all waiting in the wings if this doesn't go through.'

With her decision made, she was ready. "Gilford the Swift, attack Eikyuu directly!" The rapier wielding warrior darted forwards, weaving in and out of the rubble. He got within a few feet of Eikyuu and raised his blade to make the final strike.

"Bow before your master. Bow in awe of my divine light." To Kirani's great surprise, Gilford the Swift did exactly as Eikyuu directed. He sheathed his rapier and bowed at the god's feet.

"What are you doing? Go on out and attack him! You can't just sit there and let him tell you what to do!" Eikyuu made a shooing gesture with his hand, and the warrior scuttled back to Kirani, bowing the whole time.

"He obeys because he must. My magic card Holy Awe, which can be activated at any time from my hand, prevents any monster from engaging in battle until the end phase of my next turn. Your pathetic attempt to defeat me has failed." The group grimaced, realizing that their best chance at taking down Eikyuu once and for all had failed.

"If I can't go on the attack, then I'll just have to wait it out until I can. Two cards face down, then that's all." Two cards appeared behind her monster, and then Kirani placed her hands on her hips to wait until her next turn.

Misuno frowned at his hand of cards, then glanced over at Dalin and Kirani. "Sumatin, I was respecting you previously, but next time don't go and do something that fucking reckless okay?"

Dalin simply ignored the comment, leaving Misuno to continue his move. "Fine! If I get nothing from you, then you'll get nothing from me. We're in this together whether you like it or not, but don't expect me to help you. I'll help the rest of you, but not Sumatin."

"Do as you wish, I don't care. Simply continue the duel." The others looked at Dalin strangely. He was acting rather differently than he did in most duels. There was something even more intense than normal about him, and it wasn't his shining silver eyes.

The spirit felt anger bubbling up in his chest at Dalin's attitude, but knew that it would be pointless to lash out. Most of his anger came from his sister's defeat and from Eikyuu's arrogance. "Very well then, I begin my turn with one monster in defense mode!"

It appeared face down in front of him, hanging lonely above the rocky ground, with no other cards behind it. "Finally I set two cards face down. Since the rest of my cards were obliterated, I'm done for now."

Takuya drew and closed his eyes, feeling a chill run down his spine. That bad feeling was coming back again, and he didn't know how to react to it. "I don't know what sort of power you've got waiting for us Eikyuu, but I'll do my best to oppose it. And I start with this card: Poker Grave Fusion!"

The ground in front of his feet began to swirl, and three figures rose up out of it. "Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight fuse together from the graveyard in order to form Arcana Knight Joker(3800/3000) who sadly appears in defense mode."

Each of the three knights warped together, and what emerged from the warp was a towering knight with a blade in each hand and fantastic armor. "Arcana Knight Joker is a powerful monster, but power isn't what I need right now. So it's time to say goodbye to him. Go, Defusion!"

Hikari looked at him as if he was crazy, but he merely flashed her a grin and slid the fusion monster into his cemetery. Then he fished out the three fusion components and slammed them each down onto his Duel Pod. "Defusion breaks Arcana Knight Joker into his component pieces of Queen's Knight(1500/1600), King's Knight(1600/1400), and Jack's Knight(1900/1000). They all are summoned in defense mode!"

Eikyuu didn't blink at the sudden appearance of three monsters on his field. Takuya knew by now that no force, not even a god, would make Eikyuu blink. After all, he didn't have real eyes. "If you think three monsters so fast is impressive, watch this. Knight of Ten(1800/1600) in attack mode!"

A tall warrior in white armor with ten horizontal red stripes across its chest materialized next to Jack's Knight. The two greeted each other with slight bows, and then energy began to surge off to their right. "If Knight of Ten and Jack's Knight are together I can special summon Ace's Knight(2400/1500) from my hand or deck to the field!"

The new monster that completed his set of five was taller than the rest, and had seamless white armor. In his right hand he held a massive claymore that looked light the way he was holding it. "I can see that you don't know the significance of this set-up. Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. When it comes to poker, you just can't beat that set-up. Give me a few turns and I'll show you why."

"Show me whatever you wish. No power can stand against my wrath." Takuya nodded, not bothered in the least by Eikyuu's reply. What he was still bothered by was the chill that was running up his spine.

"I've just got one more play to make. First I set one magic or trap card face down. Then I play the normal magic card B.S.! According to the first step of this card's effect, I have to draw a card." He followed suit, and looked at the card.

"Now that I've drawn it, I have to declare what type of card it is. Of course I don't have to tell the truth. After I've declared the type of card, you get to choose to let it lie, which means believing I told the truth, or you can declare 'bull shit' which means I'm lying." He smirked and waggled the card back and forth.

"Here's the problem though, doing either is a risk. If you let it lie, then at the end of the turn I gain two thousand life points. If you declare 'bull shit' then I have to show you the card. If I lied about what type it is and you declared bull shit, then I take two thousand damage which would kill me right now. If you declare bull shit but I was telling the truth, you take two thousand damage, which would kill you right now." Takuya felt his heart begin to pound, his nerves racing as he continued his move.

This one move could make or break the duel for either of them. There was no telling what sort of way Eikyuu would choose, so it was a risky move to make. "Here we go Eikyuu, I declare trap!"

There was a pause of several seconds, in which Takuya controlled himself perfectly, preventing any nervousness from showing. It wouldn't do to show any sign of nerves in a situation such as this. "Well, what's it gonna be big guy?"

"I choose to let it lie." Takuya sighed in relief, and hung his head as his turn ended. That meant that he would get to continue the duel in a better position, but it also meant that Eikyuu was still in the game. (TLP: 3650)

Hikari snapped up a card off her deck, and instantly threw it onto the field. A golden armored man was the monster that appeared. "Meet The Creator Incarnate(1600/1600)! But he won't stay long, because I sacrifice him to special summon The Creator(2300/3000) from my hand to the field!"

The warrior transformed, becoming a towering being of gold who had his arms spread out in an accepting gesture. "Once per turn this monster lets me discard one card from my hand to special summon a monster from the cemetery. So I'll discard and revive The Legendary Kraken(2800/2000)!"

Once again the giant squid appeared floating above her field in all its squidish glory. Now she had two powerful monsters in play, and four cards remained in her hand. "Since just like the others I can't attack yet, I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

A new blue card took shape next to Eikyuu's other five cards, giving him a few too many options. Each of them, except for Dalin, felt apprehension at the thought of Eikyuu having so many chances to recover. "I begin with Body of the Sanctioned, removing God of Might, God of Necromancy, and Holy Sentinel from the cemetery."

The three named cards appeared in massive form in front of him, just in card shapes, not as monsters. "By removing all monsters in my cemetery, I can increase my life points by five hundred points for each level of the removed monsters."

Each card shattered, and various points of energy floated up from each of them. Ten from God of Might, eight from God of Necromancy, and four from Holy Sentinel. "Total that is twenty-two stars, so I gain eleven thousand life points."

Misuno cursed under his breath as all twenty-two points of energy were sucked up into Eikyuu's body, undoing every ounce of damage that Dalin had done in the previous turn. 'How can we kill him if he can recover his life points so quickly?' (ELP: 11500)

Dalin's silver eyes shifted to look at Eikyuu's face-up continuous magic card. The god saw his line of sight, and nodded. "I initiate the effect of Wrath of the Almighty. By paying one thousand life points I may special summon one divine type monster from my deck to the field." (ELP: 10500)

A shape began to emerge from the hole in the ground in front of Eikyuu, and what appeared was no monstrosity. Instead it was a female form whose entire body was suffused by light, bathing the field in a comforting warmth. "Witness the birth of Goddess of Creation(0/0)."

The goddess lifted up her head and began to sing. It was a soothing song, but laced with enormous power. All of them felt themselves being drawn in by that power. "Once per turn, by forfeiting my battle phase, I may have Goddess of Creation sing her celestial song. This lets me special summon one divine type monster from my deck to the field."

Dark energy began to seep out of that hole in the ground as a new shape emerged. Suddenly fire exploded up from the hole, making a massive pillar of flame. When the flame dissipated a huge beast the size of Ra hovered over the hole. "Witness the birth of God of Death(0/0)."

Dalin was the only one amongst them who was able to look in to the face of this new creature and not shake in fear. Even Misuno, a man who claimed to wield the strength of the shadows themselves, was afraid. "It is...an impossibility...nothing could be like that!"

God of Death seemed to have no distinctive form, but for each duelist it appeared as something different. It became exactly what they imagined as the worst way for them to die, the thing that could bring that about. "This monster is death incarnate. Activate special ability, Death Ending Slash!"

The Creator screamed in agony and was blown apart. But its energy didn't go to waste, as it was pulled into God of Death's form. "God of Death may once per turn destroy a non-divine monster and add that creature's attack and defense to its own. So God of Death gains twenty-three hundred attack and three thousand defense."

Hikari grimaced, since her Creator was gone for good now. Although it was a powerful and useful creature, it couldn't be special summoned from the cemetery. "Thanks for helping me Creator, I'll make sure your death isn't useless."

"All is useless. Activate magic card, Birth of a God. This allows me to special summon one divine type monster from my hand to the field." He threw the card out, and energy sprang forth from the hole that the other gods had emerged from. Another female form emerged, only this one was surrounded by a glowing energy bubble, making the actual appearance indistinct.

"Goddess of Immortality(0/0) emerges in defense mode. This monster and God of Death shall be the instruments of your utter annihilation. Now I set two cards face down. End Turn." Another pair of cards appeared on his field, one to each side of Wrath of the Almighty.

Dalin snapped another card off his deck, his eyes glaring daggers at Eikyuu. "Prepare for true power Eikyuu! My gods against yours! First, I activate the field magic card Temple to the Gods!"

The ground shook as an enormous building formed behind Dalin, rising thousands of feet into the air with fantastic spires and statues all over it. They could distinctly see statues of Obelisk, Osiris, and Ra. "Using the effect of this card I will sacrifice three cards from my hand in order to special summon a divine monster from my hand to the field!"

He shoved three cards from his hand into his cemetery slot, and then took the remaining card from his hand and threw it onto his duel disk. "Meet my newest mighty god! Heavenly Falcon of Isis(3000/3000) is summoned to the field!"

A brilliant silver falcon the size of an airplane swooped down from the top of the massive temple, and with a single flap of its wings it landed in a perch next to Ra. The others duelists besides Eikyuu stared at in it awe. "Another Egyptian god card..."

"Two of the cards I discarded were Repayment of Losses, so I draw twice." He snapped another pair of cards off his deck and held them up so he could see them. Then he pointed at the massive form of Isis.

"Isis' first special ability is that of a wife, and much the same as her piecing together the deceased Osiris. When tribute summoned even through the effect of Temple to the Gods, she allows me to special summon Saint Dragon Osiris(2000/2000) from my deck to the field!" A card shot out of his deck, and he slammed it onto his duel disk next to the other two gods.

From high above the familiar red serpent form of Saint Dragon Osiris began to descend, its twin mouths roaring at the other gods on Eikyuu's field as it came. "Saint Dragon Osiris is on the field, allowing me to use the power of my set card. Go, Icon of Osiris!"

Once again he drew twice, this time giving him four cards in his hand total. Saint Dragon Osiris roared, its power rising accordingly. "Eikyuu, I will not allow Goddess of Creation to continue to fill your field with divine creatures. Ra will eliminate your puny god with his effect. Go, Dance of the Phoenix!" (DLP: 1800)

Ra shrieked its rage as it converted itself into phoenix form, flames bursting at all edges. It swooped down towards Goddess of Creation, but instantly Goddess of Immortality expanded her barrier, and Ra's phoenix form bounced off. "What is this?"

Eikyuu motioned to one of his two cards, which was now face up. "My continuous trap card, Barrier of the Immortal One. This card will make Goddess of Immortality the target of all attacks and effects that I choose, and Goddess of Immortality cannot be destroyed under any circumstances."

"Also, Barrier of the Immortal One allows me to inflict one thousand life points of damage to the opposing player during the end phase of their turn in which Goddess of Immortality is still in play and an attempt was made to destroy one of my monsters." At that moment the group began to see what was happening.

If they attacked they would just fail by having their attack absorbed by Goddess of Immortality. Then they would take one thousand damage. He had effectively sealed off their attacks. Dalin closed his eyes for a moment, frowning as he did so. "You are very powerful Eikyuu, but I have seen what needs to happen. I understand precisely, just as shown to me by the events of the past."

Dalin slid a card onto his duel disk, and Osiris was weakened because of that. "End turn Eikyuu. I know what comes, and I am prepared for that. I understand perfectly, and I am willing to do what is needed."

Kirani slid a card off her duel disk, but was interrupted by Eikyuu activating his remaining face down card. "I activate the continuous trap, Temptation of the Goddess. This allows me to force one opposing monster to attack one target on my field each turn. Gilford the Swift attacks God of Death."

She clutched her chest in pain as Gilford the Swift was ripped apart by God of Death, and had its power absorbed by the god. "God of Death(3700/3500) thanks Gilford the Swift for its sacrifice and for its power." (KLP: 3500)

"I...end my turn." She grimaced again as energy shimmered around her, draining her of even more life points since she had failed to kill Goddess of Immortality that turn and had attempted to destroy a monster. (KLP: 2500)

Misuno frowned, staring at the cards on the opponent's field and then at the one card on his own field. He sighed and drew, knowing exactly what was about to happen. "Temptation of the Goddess forces your set monster to attack God of Death."

"So this is how it ends then? Well so be it. Des Lacooda(500/600), reveal yourself and attack God of Death." The zombie camel made a braying noise, and then charged forwards, only to be slashed in half by Eikyuu's mighty divine monster. Misuno fell to one knee as pain lanced through his body. (MLP: 200)

"The rest of you...defeat Eikyuu. No matter what else happens, swear you will." Takuya walked up to him and extended his hand, which Misuno gladly took. Kirani and Hikari both gave him a brief hug, despite not knowing him very well. They knew what was going to happen.

Misuno turned to Dalin, and the two exchanged silent looks. Finally Dalin spoke. "What happens must happen. Go in peace."

Misuno nodded and turned back to Eikyuu, and then smirked. "I take great satisfaction in the fact that you're going to get your ass handed to you eventually. End!" His lungs heated up, seeming to be filled with liquid fire and then everything went black. (MLP: 0)

Takuya returned to his postion, and then drew. He grimaced when Eikyuu's trap started glowing. "I can see that your trap is limited in that we can choose which monster attacks. So I'll choose Ace's Knight to attack God of Death according to the effect of your trap card!"

He gritted his teeth as God of Death vaporized one of his strongest monsters, taking a big chunk out of his life points with it. "You may have brought down Ace's Knight and boosted God of Death's(6600/5600) strength, but I'm still alive." (TLP: 1850)

Taking a deep breath, he slid another card onto his duel disk. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Ace's Knight. Then I end my turn." Just like the others he felt the spike of pain travel through his body as the damage was dealt by Eikyuu's trap. (TLP: 850)

Hikari instantly threw her hand out after drawing and intoned her move. "Under the effect of your trap, The Legendary Kraken attacks God of Death! However, I activate my set Waboku!" The squid was forced backwards by God of Death's attack, but thanks to her trap card it remained intact.

"I know exactly how to eliminate your combo, and I intend to do so. I play Monster Reborn on Creator Incarnate(1600/1600)! Then I sacrifice it and Kraken for Sacred Phoenix of Nephyths(2400/2000)!" Both monsters burst into flames and were replaced by a frightening looking bird with flaming wings.

"Now I set one card face down and end my turn!" The trap card of Eikyuu's fired a beam of energy at her, slamming into her chest and blasting her backwards. She whimpered at the feeling of pain, but managed to get back to her feet. (HLP: 1100)

The very moment that a new card appeared in Eikyuu's hand, a cold chin burned through Takuya's body. It was a feeling of foreboding stronger than anything he had ever felt before. 'What could possibly make me feel this way?'

Eikyuu's continuous magic card started glowing, and a familiar form burst out of the ground. It was the massive spiked behemoth known as God of Might(?). "At a cost of one thousand life points Wrath of the Almighty allows me to special summon this monster." (ELP: 9500)

He fanned out his four cards, and then his eyes touched Dalin's. "I activate Evolution of God. This magic card will permanently boost God of Death's attack and defense power by one thousand as well as boost its abilities. It may now destroy divine type monsters."

Dalin stood ready, understanding what Eikyuu was about to do. "God of Death(7600/6600) annihilates The Winged Divine Dragon of Ra."

Ra's body was consumed by black flames, and burst apart. Dalin was sent flying backwards, his body burned by the explosion. He pushed himself back into a standing position, and continued to watch Eikyuu with a confident expression. "All of you will die. Activate Wingbeat of God!"

Energy swept across the field, blowing away every single card in play besides Eikyuu's divine monsters, Dalin's divine monsters, along with Icon of Osiris and Wrath of the Almighty. "There is no stopping my assault now."

"That's not entirely accurate. My set card was chained during the devastation. It was a trap known as Wound Back Time. During the end phase the field will be set to exactly how it was before my trap's activation." The group sighed in relief, knowing that the only had to hope for protection during this turn, and then they'd get back their cards. Then again, so would Eikyuu.

Eikyuu's eyes flashed with black energy, and then returned to their prismatic state. "You will be crushed. You are the most impudent of this entire lot, yet you would be the one to serve Order the best. For your actions, for your unspoken betrayal...I will obliterate your very existence."

Dalin didn't even bother to reply. He just continued to stare at Eikyuu. The god tilted his head to the side, and then held out two more cards from his hand. "I activate Death Knell of a God by discarding one card from my hand. This instantly obliterates one divine type monster on the field. Osiris is my target."

A bell tolled somewhere far away, and then Osiris shrieked as its body began to fade away. The vanishing started from the tail and traveled upwards, until nothing was left of the once mighty god. "Saint Dragon Osiris is gone, but I am still here. So far your words are just words, and they can do nothing against the power of a god. Heavenly Falcon of Isis prevents you from attacking with more than one monster while Osiris is in the grave."

Silence reigned for several moments, and then Eikyuu lifted one arm and pointed at Dalin. "God of Death(16800/16100), that is your target. Eliminate him utterly!"

The god that was death incarnate swooped down towards Heavenly Falcon of Isis, and each of them waited with baited breath. They knew that it wasn't over, because Dalin was always prepared. He always had the card he needed, even if it was in the cemetery. 'Dalin can't be beaten, he's invincible.'

There was a terrible noise that was then followed by a terrible silence. Then, for the first time since Eikyuu had been released, Dalin smiled.

DLP: 0

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Author's Notes: The unthinkable has just happened. The mighty Dalin Imaki Sumatin, the world's best hope at defeating Eikyuu, has lost. With Dalin gone, what hope do the others have of facing the mighty God of Order and actually winning? Guess you'll just have to wait and find out.

Review Response

G.O.T. Nick: Doomed sounds about right.

The White Mage: It has a point. Everything I do has a point to it.

WolfGeneral: As you can see, not Osiris and not so well.

Time Mage: There's a distinct difference(in my mind at least) as to what the Essences are and what the Gods are. The Dark Spirit first came into existence around the time that the people who worshiped Eikyuu were at war, plus Eikyuu never had major influence outside of that area until he was manifested physically on Earth. Looks like you guessed wrong.

VoidTemplar: That's Eikyuu's power, and not Osiris.

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: God's Breath Cannon, Dance of the Phoenix, Wingbeat of God, Temple to the Gods, Heavenly Falcon of Isis, Icon of Osiris

Kirani: Gilford the Swift

Takuya: Poker Grave Fusion, Knight of Ten, Ace's Knight, B.S.

Hikari: The Legendary Kraken

Eikyuu: Wrath of the Almighty, Holy Awe, Body of the Sanctioned, Goddess of Creation, God of Death, Birth of a God, Goddess of Immortality, Barrier of the Immortal One, Temptation of the Goddess, God of Might, Wingbeat of God, Deathknell of a God, God's Wrath

Anime/Manga Cards

Dalin: Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, Saint Dragon Osiris

Takuya: Arcana Knight Joker

Eikyuu: Evolution of God