Here we go. This is the major section of the final duel of the story, so let's get it on!
Chapter Twenty-Four: Rising Shadows; Blazing Light Part Two
Kai glared at Bakura who now controlled the field with his Diabound Carnal and the Dark Soul Token that had copied the demon. Kai, on the other hand, was out monsters on the field and only had one magic or trap card set, along with just three cards in his hand.
Kai-1600/Bakura-500
"Well Kai, I set one card face, and end my turn." Bakura smiled at Kai, who was still shaking with rage over the fall of his monsters to the silver skinned demon. Pulling a card from his deck, Kai continued to plan.
"I summon Sorcerer of Ages (1900/1100) in attack mode." A man in close fitting silver garments appeared, various symbols printed on his clothes. "Sorcerer of Ages, attack Diabound Carnal!" Raising his wand, the mage began to chant, preparing his attack.
"Useless." Bakura muttered as he snapped his fingers and another card ejected from his graveyard. Again the nearly invisible barrier appeared around Bakura's monsters, protecting them from the coming magic attack.
"Perhaps I couldn't kill Diabound this turn, but I could hurt your defense." Kai explained, choosing another card in his hand. "That's one less monster to fuel your shield. In the end, I'll either wear it down or I'll destroy it. Either is fine with me. For now, I play Mystic Moon Dial, speeding time ahead by three and allowing us both to draw two cards." Both did as directed, giving both a hand of four.
"Now that three turns have passed, Magicians Era has generated three magic counters to my Sorcerer of Ages, who also gains another one because I played a magic cards. Now I'll sacrifice three of those four to summon one Eternity Token (500/200) to my field." Kai finished, slipping one more card face down onto his field.
Drawing again, Bakura glanced at Kai's three face down cards with interest. "Let's see what you have, Kai." he laughed. "Dark Soul Token, possess Sorcerer of Ages and weaken its attack power!" Again becoming a wisp of spirit, Bakura's faithful ka entered into Kai's monster, who suddenly seemed very depressed and shadowed in color as its attack points dropped. (Sorcerer of Ages-100/1100) "Diabound Carnal, attack! Death Spiral!" Again forming a ball of the ethereal flames, Diabound fired a column of light aimed at Kai's monster.
"Go face down card, Dark Magic Revival!" Kai responded as an ark appeared before him, the lid sliding off and a magic card extending out. "I'll use it to reactivate my Shrink card, cutting Diabound's attack down to nine hundred for the turn!" Instantly Diabound began to shrink until he was roughly half his normal size. However, despite the change in his strength, Diabound continued the attack, shattering Kai's monster.
Kai-900/Bakura-500
"How annoying." Bakura growled lightly. "End turn."
"I summon Envoy of the Archives (1800/1900) in attack mode, who will place one random magic counter from my deck into my hand." Kai explained as a card pushed itself free from his deck. Gripping the card between his thumb and forefinger, Kai offered a silent prayer. 'Anything that can destroy his Ghost Shield or let me get rid of Diabound. Please!'
Whipping the card into his view, Kai grimaced in disappointment to find that the card he had been given wouldn't be able to do what he had hoped. Sighing, he set the card face down, then turned to his monster.
"Envoy of the Archives, attack Diabound Carnal!" he ordered. Again Bakura reached down to his Duel Disk as it ejected another one of his demonic monsters, producing the paranormal barrier to halt Kai's attack.
"You're really getting desperate, aren't you Kai." Bakura smirked. "To risk leaving your field open to a direct attack, just to try and get rid of Diabound. How sad. It only proves your lack of focus and hope."
"Wrong." Kai called back, breathing deeply. "There's no risk to great to go after Diabound, because if the general falls, the army collapses!" Kai paraphrased the common strategic proverb.
"Try as you might," Bakura continued, drawing a card and setting it face down, along with a second from his hand. "You can't overcome the darkness. Darkness if ever present! And it consumes all in its path! Watch. Dark Soul Token, posses his Envoy of the Archives!" Kai's monsters features began to droop from their hard glare as Bakura's demon possessed it, dropping it to zero attack points. "Death Spiral!"
"Activate Soul Spell!" Kai shouted as his magician disappeared, and seconds later reappeared, but this time crouching with his staff held in front of himself defensively. "This card allowed me to return my monster to my hand and then re-summon it in defense mode! That means that your Dark Soul Token is gone, that he's back at full strength, and that I get to place another random magic card into my hand." Kai called, snatching the card his deck ejected with renewed energy. His Envoy of the Archives had one hundred defense points more than Diabound's attack points, and as much as he wanted to abuse that, Kai realized he needed to take a different course of action. Pressing another button on his Duel Disk, the card he had set two turns before flipped up. "Magicians Ordination ends your turn and allows me to draw again." he said, drawing again. Then he drew once more to start his turn.
"I play Pot of Greed!" he called, drawing two cards more. "I sacrifice my Eternity Token, who allows me to draw one card when removed from the field, and then I'll summon Disintao-Elder Mage (2300/1700) in attack mode." The elderly mage in purple robes and the stern face appeared, brandishing his staff. "And now it's time to destroy your Ghost Shield, as well as anything else you had planned!" Snatching two cards from his hand, he forcefully shoved them into his graveyard. "Disintao, destroy his magic and trap cards!"Chanting in some lost tongue, Disintao's staff began to glow with a golden light. Raising the staff into the air, the elderly magician smashed the tip against the ground, golden flames washing over Bakura's field and burning away his three set cards, along with his active Ghost Shield.
"I activate one of my face down card, Invulnerable Shadow!" Bakura shouted as his cards exploded, but three black orbs shot from the flames, circling above Diabound's head like a black halo of sorts. "This places three Shadow Counters on Diabound and will take any blow you aim at him in his place." Biting back his frustration, Kai made his next maneuver.
"I set one card face down. Envoy of the Archives, attack Diabound Carnal!" Raising his staff like a spear, Kai's monster charged, lighting the tip of his staff with energy. With a quick thrust, he impaled Diabound, who merely looked down at the mage before raising his hand and charging more of the ethereal flames into his palm, which he swung down, bursting the demonic flame on Kai's monster, who pulled away in pain until his ashes fell to the ground. Diabound then looked again at the hole in his chest, and one of the dark spheres left the circle above his head and entered into the wound, becoming part of Diabound and regenerating the flesh. "Disintao, attack!" Again smashing his staff against the ground, the older magician released a wave of light at Diabound, who glared at the coming attack with an utmost loathing for its purity.
"Kai, did you think I would prepare a deck that wasn't ready for your magic and trap removal tactics?" Bakura laughed, again reaching for his graveyard. "Activate grave trap, Betrayal of the Dark Heart, which will search out the darkness within Disintao and turn his attack directly upon you!" Kai's eyes widened in horror as Disintao's attack faded away. The mage then turned to face him, his normally silver eyes now a cold black. Muttering again in his own language, Disintao aimed his staff at Kai, striking the boy with a different wave of light, this one black and corrupt. When it struck, Kai felt as though hundred of ice cold needles were being raked over his skin.
Kai-0/Bakura-500
"You see Kai, even the purest sage who has devoted his entire life to serving the light has a dark heart and has betrayed you. And now," he paused for dramatic effect. "You've been dealt two thousand points of damage. That means another Hari breaks, and another memory plays." he laughed maniacally as Kai's eyes glazed over, trying to brace himself for the coming memory, but he had no way of knowing just which one it would be...
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Thirteen year old Kai Kaethan set in the grass of the valley where his village was set up. It was a pleasant day, warm, breezy, but with a fine layer of gray clouds blocking out extra heat and glare. Yet despite the pleasant conditions, Kai bore a very serious, almost pained expression. His knees were up and he was resting his chin on them, looking at the group of boys approaching. Sighing, Kai opted to close his eyes and forgetting about them, hoping that they wouldn't feel instigated if he wasn't even looking at them.
Sadly, this tactic never worked.
"Hey boys," one of the teenagers called to his comrades in fake surprise. 'It's Kai. The kid who always beats us on tests and who all the teachers love. What a surprise to see him, and what an honor."
"Hey Kai, did Ms. Yukatiri give you a silver studded dog collar with a name tag with her own personal nickname for you?" Another jibed.
"Yeah, how long before you get promoted so you can get down her skirt?"
"Give an answer Spot! If you don't answer correctly in three seconds you'll have to lick the principles shoes clean."
"We've got a soccer ball, Kai. Do you know about soccer? I know you can tell me the rules and all that crap, but can you actually play it, can you. I don't think you've ever even touched one."
"Let me see that." one of them seized the ball. "I'll show you guys a special variation of the game." He raised the ball above his head before smashing it down on Kai's head, the force knocking the boy forward onto his face. The ball bounced away a bit, and another boy kicked it, nailing Kai in the ribs.
Coughing, Kai rolled over and tried to pull himself to his feet. However, he didn't get the chance because another boy had kicked the ball, this one getting him hard in the side of his knee, pressing it inward, nearly snapping. Kai let out a gasp of pain as this happened and collapsed, no longer able to support his weight.
"Stop." he gasped, barely audible to the boys. "Please, no more. I've had enough."
"I don't think so, Kai." their apparent leader smirked. "Because we're sick and tired of getting showed up by you. And even if we weren't, it's just too much fun to do this." he laughed, and was joined by the other boys.
'I want them to stop.' Kai called in his mind. 'I want it to go away! I don't want to be alone anymore! I want them to stop, and to never hurt anybody ever again!' But no one could hear the please for help in his mind. No one but Kai alone could know what he wished.
And then he felt it.
He felt it. A sudden explosion from within himself. Light filled his mind for a second. Strength came to his limbs. The pain vanished!
Rising to his feet, Kai could feel strength coursing through him. It was incredible! He was suddenly a new person. All around himself, Kai could see a light, shaded slightly blue, pulsing with his heartbeat. He even noticed that a lock of hair had fallen in front of his face and was now a platinum blonde color rather than his usual black.
"What the crap?" one of the boys asked in shock.
"What's going on?" another shouted. Other boys were backing away from the lone figure, who stood in the midst of them, his posture making him appear rather oblivious to why they were so afraid. Some of the boys began to run, while others simply stood frozen with surprise and cursing foully.
"You cannot escape." the figure seethed, turning to the boys who had turned their backs to him. They instantly froze, as if struck by some unseen force, which, in reality, had happened.
"What the...?" one asked, swearing profusely. "I can't move!"
"Your body is locked in time." the blonde figure declared, using Kai Kaethan's voice, only lowered, slightly more mature. "You cannot escape justice. You will not taunt me anymore. I have dealt with your childishness long enough. Now it is my turn to return the suffering...ten fold. Do you feel the fear? It's time for you to learn that in the end, time catches up to you." The blue fire around his body began to intensify, and then Kai knew nothing more.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kai fell to his knees, fear clutching at his soul. "That was the day I..." he trailed off, not wanting to admit it. "The say I..."
"The day you nearly killed." Bakura smiled. "How lovely. Like I said, if you search far enough, you find darkness even in the seemingly most pure and innocent heart. Would you like to know the extent of corruption?" Bakura chuckled. Kai continued to stare blankly ahead, the memory replaying itself, confusion continuing to wrack his mind.
"Etsu Akira, for one, appears to be most pure, and yet she is full of lust and selfishness. She came here to Battle City with the sole desire of facing you, hoping to impress you enough to win your heart. She lusted after your body and desired to make you hers alone." he taunted. "Or Sakura Haeru, a weak little child, deceiving the entire world with her happy face. She's in fact full of childish bitterness for the world and the cruelties therein that are outside of her control. She is full of fear and allows it to control her." Still Kai had nothing to say. "The Darkness Realm reveals all to me, Kai. Truth cannot be hidden. You appear calm and decisive on the surface, but deep down, you're scared and gentle. You don't deserve your powers, and you couldn't use them correctly even if you wanted to because of how scared you are of hurting others."
'Why is it that no matter where I go, I'm forced to live this cycle, to dance this dance with others?' Kai asked himself. 'Why am I trapped?'
"You aren't." a spectral voice echoed through his mind. "How many times do I have to say it, Kai?" the voice continued. "You're not alone Kai. You've just spent so much time convincing yourself that you are that now you're caught between reality and the false world you built up in your mind. You have got to let go. You have got to wake up!"
'But how can I? How can I break from what I've always believed? How can I do it, Etsu?' he asked, this time calling the voice by name.
"Have faith."
Nodding, Kai began to rise. "Have faith." he repeated to himself. Bakura, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow of amusement concerning Kai's display.
"Well, this is interesting. You may actually be the first to see this game through to the end. How does that make you feel?" he asked without an ounce of sincerity. Kai merely stood in his place, his entire body hanging rather rag where it was, his head bent over.
"I haven't enjoyed this. I haven't been able to cry for years, and now I wish I could. But perhaps it's for the best. Perhaps destiny allowed me to experience all of the pain and suffering so that I would be strong enough now to face you. Maybe my life hasn't had any meaning until now, when I could duel you. But," at this he raised his head. "This life is no longer only mine to live. I have someone who's waiting for me to return, and I just can't give up now. I'm not ready to face my maker, Bakura, nor am I ready to face my parents." His fires began to fill with life and light. "But I am ready to send you to Hell."
Bakura's face became a sharp scowl in response to this, his eyes narrowing. "You're enjoying this, aren't you? You're so pathetic that you revel in suffering, don't you? Fine. Suffer and die!" Bakura shouted, drawing a card. "I remove Army God of the Dark Realm, Military God of the Dark Realm, and Advance Guard of the Dark Realm from my graveyard from play to special summon my Dark Necrofear (2200/2800)." A feminine figure with electric blue skin was Bakura's newest monster, with black and silver armor and cradling a cracked baby skull in her arms. "Diabound, posses Disintao-Elder Mage!"
Diabound charged Kai's monster, becoming a spirit of his normal body, striking into the heart of the mage, who actually appeared to be grieving for having attacked his master with the brutality he had. In fact, there seemed to be little change to his mourning continence as he was overtaken by Diabound's powers and his attack points dropped (500/1700).
"Dark Necrofear, attack!" Widening her soulless eyes, the demoness released two crimsom beams of necromantic powers that seared Kai's monster away. "Fortunately for you, I couldn't do the needed damage to destroy the final Hari. Set two cards face down and end."
Before drawing a card, Kai pressed a button on his Duel Disk and his face down card flipped up. "First off, I chain Disintao's death with my Tempus Reversa trap card to revive Disintao and also to place a monster from my graveyard into my deck." As Kai spoke the purple robed mage reappeared, seeming to be somewhat rejuvenated by the rebirth. At the same time, Kai reached down to his graveyard and caught the card that was released. "Also, when I last used Disintao's effect, I discarded Repayment of Losses, so I drew a card last turn. Now, since I still have my Gates of Time on the field, I can special summon my Time Mage (2400/2500) that I just retrieved with my Tempus Reversa."
Bakura watched with both annoyance and fear as Kai's first soul monster appeared, twiling his staff around with a pleasant flourish. It was if the very presence of this monster gave Kai strength.
"Time to finish Diabound's defenses off!" Kai called. "Disintao, attack Diabound Carnal!" Charging energy to the tip of his staff, Disintao aimed at Diabound and fired a beam of white light that aimed to spear though Diabound's chest. However, another of the black orbs launched from above Diabound and intercepted the attack, taking the brunt of the attack. "Time Mage, attack!" Firing a ball of magic at the demon, the final sphere of dark magic left its position circling the center horn and formed a shield in front of Diabound, negating the attack. "That ends my turn."
"Begin praying Kai, to whatever deity you may have ever considered worshiping that I don;t draw my ultimate monster, because once I do, my wrath with be swift and unparalleled."
"No doubt." Kai countered. "But I'll face it anyway. Isn't it interesting, Bakura, that because of your own twisted rules that I'm still in this. If you hadn't initiated these rules, I would have lost, but because I still have a Hari, I'm still in this."
Bakura's anger merely grew as Kai made this point. He had made a serious miscalculation. He had hoped that by using the Hari and the Kioku he'd be able to break Kai more easily, but instead it was becoming harder.
"Diabound, possess Time Mage so that Dark Necrofear can destroy it!" Kai's monster quickly dropped to the low score of four hundred attack points while Dark Necrofear fired another set of crimson beams that burned away his monsters flesh. However, because he no longer had Life Points to protect, so long as the damage he would take was less than four thousand, he was safe. "I'll set two cards face down, ending my turn."
The two cards appeared as declared and Kai eyed them nervously. Thus far, Bakura had managed to either protect his cards from Kai, or he had used Kai to move them into a position where they could serve a greater purpose. However, if he didn't destroy them, Bakura would have a greater advantage later on. Then again, Bakura knew about Disintao's effect and he had gone after Time Mage instead of Disintao.
"I summon Guardian of Time thanks to my Gates of Time magic card." Kai began his turn, the blue robed magician appearing once again. "Next," grabbing two of the three cards that remained in his hand, he made his decision. "I discard two non-monsters from my hand to activate Disintao's special ability once again!" As he shoved the two cards into his graveyard, Kai watched both Disintao as his released the wave of golden light that burned the cards away, and also Bakura, who began to smirk once again, and he realized that he'd been correct in his guess.
"Go Horde of the Night and Repressed Memory of Suffering!" Bakura called. "These two cards can only be activated when sent to the graveyard, but both are rather effective. First off, my Horde of the Night will special summon two of your monsters from your graveyard to my field and make them undead creatures, and also it will lower their attack points by five hundred. So, I'll take your Tempus-Archmage of Fate and Chronos-Archmage of Destiny (1700/1600x2) both to my field." The two named monsters both emerged from the ground on Bakura's field, their robes now colored brown with dirt and their skin corroded by bacteria.
"Next, Repressed Memory of Suffering will select two monsters on your field and they cannot attack, change their battle positions, or be sacrificed. They're incapacitated by haunting memories, just as you are, Kai. Ironic, ne?" Bakura laughed as Kai's two monsters both collapsed to their knees in pain, clutching their heads and silently screaming.
"That's fine." Kai breathed, setting his final card face down. "I've overcome my memories, so let's see if my monsters cannot inherit my strength."
"Yes, we shall see. Here in the Darkness Realm, your monsters do acquire part of your personality, so I suppose we'll see the proof soon, wont we, that you can't carry the weight you've taken upon yourself."
"Only time will tell, Bakura." Kai responded, his tone even and threatening.
"I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card." Bakura began his turn, a cyclone of wind drilling through Kai's set card, which exploded. "Now you're defenseless! Diabound, possess his Guardian of Time!"
"Go trap card!" Kai shouted as the card Bakura had just destroyed ejected from his Duel Disk. "Millennial Curse destroys all monsters on the field when activated!" he called as both players monsters began to explode. "And that includes Diabound!"
"No!" Bakura gasped. He had been used by Kai the same way he had been using Kai up until then.
"Destroy the general, and the army will fall." Kai repeated the proverb as their field cleared.
"You may have destroyed Diabound for now, but just as in the days of old, he will return. And not only that, but when the monsters revived by Horde of the Night are destroyed, Horde of the Night returns to my hand from the graveyard." Bakura laughed, adding the named card to his hand, the only one therein.
Drawing a card, Kai began his turn. "If you think you can use Dark Necrofear against me, you're wrong, Bakura. Before meeting Kevin, I faced someone else who also used Dark Necrofear, and I learned quite well then how to deal with it. So first I'll play Card of Sanctity, allowing me to draw six cards while you get five." Both duelists drew their new hands of cards and surveyed their new options.
"I'll set four cards face down and play Hand Rebirth!" Kai shouted as both players ditched their remaining cards and drew new hands of five. "And that takes care of Horde of the Night." Kai breathed with a bit of relief. "I end my turn there. And since I've have no more monsters on my field, Dark Necrofear can't possess one, and so her effect is now worthless."
"That may be," Bakura snarled, drawing again. "But it's time I started to take control of the field back. Go Ouiju Sanctuary!" Bakura sneered as a gothic temple appeared behind him, complete with gargoyles and pitch black spires. "This continuous magic card has a useful effect, in that I may now remove demons from my graveyard to summon other demons in place of field sacrifices." he explained. "Now I will remove Evnoy of Hades-Gozu and Envoy of Hades-Kaien to summon my Thanatos-Envoy of Death (2500/1500)."
Another decaying figure appeared on Bakura's field, this one in ragged black robes and wielding a scythe which had a blade on either side, looking rather menacing. His steed look no less frightening, black as ebony with dark leather straps holding it at the riders command and black iron armor weighing heavily on it's body.
"Now, since you have no monsters, and since you've managed to irritate me all duel long, I think I'll have Thanatos attack and draw a bit more blood from you." Bakura chuckled as the black rider charged Kai's field.
"Go, River of Time!" Kai shouted as he slipped one of his cards into his graveyard. "This card allows me to negate one instance of direct damage and destroy one card on your field." he explained as Thanatos was overrun by a surge of water that had appeared out of no where. Except, it wasn't water, it was something else, similar to liquid, but an entirely different form of matter unto itself.
Clenching his fists and trembling with rage, Bakura looked at the five cards in his hand and ended his turn, glaring daggers through Kai's body as the young man drew.
"I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn." Kai said, taking his short and simple turn, again glancing at his face down cards.
"Your defenses are about to shatter!" Bakura laughed as he looked at his drawn card. "Go Dark Energy Storm, removing one demon monster in my graveyard from play to destroy all of your magic and trap cards!" As a card clicked out of his Duel Disk, Bakura watched with satisfaction as a rain of black and crimson lightning bolts showered Kai's field, obliterating his four set cards.
"Now I summon Wraith-Proprietor of Souls (2100/2200) in attack mode and attack your set monster!" Bakura shouted as another figure in a black cloak appeared, this one wielding a jagged and evil looking sword. Raising his sword, the monster complied, slashing through Kai's set card, leaving another bloody mess on the ground.
"Mystical Historian allows me to take cards in my graveyard and place them in my deck equal to the level of the monster that destroyed him, so I get six magic cards back." Kai explained, taking the cards and shuffling them back into his deck. Glancing at Bakura, Kai took his cue to start his turn, and drew a card.
"I play Treasure of the Guardian Goddess to discard my five cards and then draw two more, plus I get to draw two more each turn.' Kai explained as he payed the cost and then drew the new cards. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"You're rather confident, Kai. However, I hold the advantage, both in Life Points, on the field, and concerning the fact that I currently have two Kioku while you only have one Hari left." Bakura teased while drawing a card.
"Just go." Kai growled, trying to hide his doubt. Shaking his head and blinking, he continued to breath deeply while adrenaline coursed through his body. 'I have to believe. I have to remove all doubt. I have to have faith that Etsu and the others are on my side. I don't want to hurt them unless they are willing to make the sacrifice. I have to believe that they are!'
"I summon Eros-Ensign of Impurity (1600/1400) in attack mode." A female in a long, form-fitting skirt and what could hardly be described as a bra appeared. Kai recoiled in disgustat her immodest appearance, and was further annoyed when she began to dance in a rather provocative manner. Kai realized that she was a succubus, a demoness of ill morals.
"Next I will remove a demon from my graveyard to special summon my Soul Reaper (1800/1900) in attack mode." Another monster in a black cloak appeared, this one wielding a single scythe in his skeletal hands, looking the most of all Bakura's monsters like the Grim Reaper himself. "And when Soul Reaper is summoned, he summons one Avatar Token (1900/500) to the field." Next to the embodiment of death appeared a smaller version of itself.
"Now I activate one of Wraith's special abilities to remove a demon monster from my graveyard to place Ouiju counters on my monsters equal to the level of the removed monster, and the raise each monsters attack by two hundred for every counter. So I remove a Death Caliber Knight from my graveyard to place ones Ouiju counter on each of my monsters." (Wraith-2300)(Eros-1800)(Soul Reaper-2000)(Avatar Token-2100) "Wraith, attack his face down monster!" Rasing the sword of wickedness above his head, the denizen of darkness slashed down, leaving another pile of gore in on the now very red floor.
"Immortal Magister has returned and allows me to summon another Immortal Magister from my deck while also drawing a card." Kai explained as another horizontal card appeared between him and Bakura and as his hand grew to two cards.
"Fine!" Bakura shouted, looking at his other monsters. "Eros, Soul Reaper, destroy the last two!" he commanded. First Eros danced across the field in a seductive manner while Kai's crouching magician appeared in preparation for the coming strike. Instead of having a face firm with resolve, Kai's monster began to gawk at the seductress, dropping his guard, allowing the harlot to approach kiss him. Quickly she moved from a simple kiss, though, to licking his face all over and kissing his neck. The magician seemed completely enthralled with pleasure, and so did not notice the fangs spring forth within Eros's mouth just before she clamped down, sinking deep into his neck and dropping his lifeless body to the ground. Kai kindly leaned over to his side and threw up, and was completely unaffected when he watched the Grim Reaper slice the final Magister in two, leaving the halves of his body between Kai and Bakura.
"Now Avatar Token, attack Kai directly!" Raising his small scythe, the ghostly image of Death lunged at Kai, who could do nothing besides roll to his right side to avoid getting a sheet of steel embedded in his skull. However, he failed to dodge completely, and felt a bitting pain as his left leg was cut. Screaming in pain as he came out of his small roll, Kai glanced at the wound and realized that it was rather deep. In fact, if it weren't for the amount of adrenaline surging in his body, Kai was sure he would have fainted from the pain.
"It hurts, doesn't it, Kai. And with that leg injured, you wont be able to evade any further attacks. Even if I fail to deal the needed four thousand damage to destroy the final Hari, if you die it would be considered a forfeit, and so I'd still take your powers and the souls that I've collected here, giving me more than enough energy to revive the God of Darkness!"
Hissing in pain, Kai began to rise to his feet, his power once again flaring. Breathing deeply and trying to ignore the pain, Kai began to focus on the injury, which really wasn't that easy. However, he managed to generate enough power to lightly cauterize the ripped skin. However, if he tried another sharp move, he'd easily rip it open again, and this time it would be much more painful.
"I draw." Kai called, drawing again, but was sorely disappointed with the card. Shaking his head in frustration, he passed his turn.
"Excellent." Bakura chimed, drawing a card and looking at Kai. "Time to die." Rasing his arm, he directed his four monsters. "Wraith, Eros, Soul Reaper and Avatar, attack and kill him!" he commanded. Each of the beasts turned to Kai, and although the succubus was the only one whose face he could actually see, he was certain that there was a twisted grin on the face of each of Bakura's monsters. Releasing another large burst of energy, Kai attempted to both intimidate them while reassuring himself of his strength. He didn't understand quite his limits or how to control the energy in a useful way, but he had figured out how to control the flow of the power. To his dismay, Bakura's monsters merely laughed, intrigued by the prospect of ripping him apart. As one they charged across the field, crushing bones and splashing blood as they closed in on their target, who had nothing left on his field.
Suddenly, however, a pillar of white light shot up around Kai, blasting the four demons back to Bakura's side of the field. Bakura himself was merely staring with a mix of rage, surprise, and confusion as the light around Kai continued to burn for a few seconds more before fading away. "How did you..."
"I activated a card I discarded the first time I used Disintao's effect." Kai explained as a magic card and five others spat out of his graveyard. "Defiance of Destiny allows me to shuffle five cards, plus itself, from my graveyard back into my deck to block your attacks for a turn." Bakura merely shook with anger as he realized that Kai had avoided death once again. Snatching two cards from his hand, he set them face down and ended his turn, leaving him with two in his hand.
Taking a second to inspect his new cards, Kai smiled with relief. "I summon Master of the Archives (1900/1200) in attack mode, who lets me select one magic card from my deck when summoned and place it into my hand." Pulling his deck free, Kai took a deep breath, trying to decide on the card he wanted. Finally, he settled on one and then shuffled his deck and placed it back in his Duel Disk. He also took the time to notice that his deck was actually beginning to thin down. Bakura had said that the deck was linked to his soul, meaning that if the deck was now wearing thing, it did not bode well for his power. Shaking this aside, Kai inserted the chosen magic card into his Duel Disk.
"Magical Dimension activates if I have a spellcaster on the field, destroying one of your monsters and allowing me to summon a new magician to my field." The golden sarcophagus appeared and released its chains, wrapping around the sword wielding demon and pulling it in. When the coffin again opened, out stepped a new magician, even to Kai, female and clothed in golden robes and wielding a staff that seemed to be made of pure sapphire. "Aeon Magician (2500/1500) will be my weapon for attack." As Kai spoke, the mage struck a pose. Grabbing two more cards from his hand, Kai slid them both into his magic field.
"Poison of the Old man will grant me twelve hundred Life Points."
Kai-1200/Bakura-500
Bakura nodded, and then Kai pointed to the other card. "Diffusion Wave Motion costs me one thousand Life Points to attack all of your monsters, so go Aeon Magician, attack!" Kai commanded, a ball of light forming at the head of the sapphire staff. The light then began to expand off of the staff in the form of large white rings, each one at a different angle and slicing through Bakura's monsters, turning them to dust.
Kai-200/Bakura-0
"Activate face down cards!" Bakura called over the destruction and Kai gritted his teeth in frustration. "Ouiju Revival activates when one of my monsters is destroyed, and I may then revive a monster from my graveyard." Kai groaned as he looked at the trap card, depicting an ankh etched into a stone tablet. Just as Kai predicted, from beneath the dust and carnage emerged a silver monster with a snakes head for a tail. "Return to me, Diabound Carnal!" Kai then watched as the other face down card flipped up, revealing a simple box mirror. "Mirror Wall Ouiju activates when a monster is destroyed and increases the attack points of another monster on my field by half the attack points of the monster that was attacking. That means that Diabound will gain half the attack points of Aeon Magician!" (Diabound-3050)
Shaking with anger at seeing Bakura's Ka again, Kai set a card face down and ended his turn.
"I now equip Diabound Carnal with Unholy Armor!" Bakura cried as black steel bands wrapped around his monster, becoming a very tightly fit yet flexible suit of armor, complete with large spikes extending from the shoulders and long, curved blades starting at the wrists and reaching nearly a foot past Diabound's knuckles. Finally, a black helmet formed around the head, allowing for the three horns to still stick out, but the face now appeared much more menacing. "This card increases Diabound's attack by three hundred and his defense by eight hundred. Also, normally, by paying two hundred Life Points, I could remove one monster in my graveyard from play and increase the attack points of my Diabound by two hundred times the level of the removed monster, and would last for three turns. Regrettably, I no longer have the Life Points to pay, so you've been spared for now." (Diabound-3350/2400)
Failing to hide his fear, Kai continued to stare at Diabound, a creature of great and hidden powers that refused to die. Not even three thousand years had been enough to erase the monster from existence, and now Bakura was giving it his all. What chance did Kai, in all his inexperience, stand?
"Next I'll play another Afterimage of Ghost to once again make a Dark Soul token (3350)." Next to Diabound formed another exact double, equipped with the vile armor. "Next I play Growing Darkness to make a number of tokens on my field equal to the number of a monster I currently have in play. As such, I'll now gain two more Dark Soul tokens (3350)."
Kai gawked as he stared down four copies of Diabound, each one equipped with the black armor and powered up with strength taken from his own Aeon Magician. All Kai could do was sigh with the small relief that Bakura didn't yet have a monster with a minimum of four thousand attack points, and was now out of cards to play.
"Diabound, attack Kai's Aeon Magician!" Bakura ordered and the demon complied, forming a sphere of energy and hurtling it at Kai's monster, shattering the sorceress to pieces.
Kai-0/Bakura-0
"Dark Soul's, attack directly and burn him to ash!" Each of the three copies raised their arms and formed spheres of the other realm flames. Kai, in response increased the output of his energy to form a shield. The three beams of flame lanced towards Kai, colliding with his energy. They remained in a deadlock for a few seconds more before Kai's barrier gave and the three streams, now severely weakened by the struggle, passed through and struck Kai in the chest, casting him into the air and sailing several feet back, crashing to the ground and skidding.
Laughing, Bakura ended his turn, his hand now void of cards to play. Kai, meanwhile, was struggling to stand, his shirt now mostly gone, the front burned away, the remnants of his sleeves and the back of the shirt hanging rag on his body. Clutching his chest, Kai winced as his left arm lifted up so that he could draw. "I summon a monster in defense mode set one card face down. End." he coughed, rubbing his sore chest.
Drawing a card, Bakura frowned in frustration, no doubt irked that he hadn't drawn a card to enable him to finish off Kai's Hari. Adding the lone card to his hand, he directed his attention back to Kai. "Diabound, attack! Death Spiral!" In another flash of mystical flames, cards monster became another pile of ashes on the ground. "Dark Souls, direct attack!" This time, Kai did not raise another wall of energy, partially because he didn't have the strength to waste at the moment, but mostly because he was instead activating his set card. Bakura caught a glimpse of a green border before a swirling wall of some sort of vapor appeared, solid enough to block the oncoming attacks.
"Eternal Witness was one of the cards I returned to my deck with Mystical Historian." Kai explained as the attacks faded away along with his shield. He was safe, for now.
"Why wont you die?" Bakura screamed at Kai, who was breathing deeply while drawing his two cards. "Why is it so difficult for you people to realize that even if I'm delayed now, I cannot be stopped? Why can't you just give up and die? You yourself have witnessed the cruelty of humanity, so why do you continue to struggle to save them? They'll never know that you bought them a little time. You won't be rewarded in the slightest bit!"
"Because," Kai gasped, trying his best to ignore the pain he was in. "Because, despite all the pain I've witnessed, and how much I was tortured throughout my life, I still don't want anyone whose innocent enough to have to die when I could have stopped possibly prevented it. None of those people, despite how cruel I think they may have been, deserves to die. And I don't have the right to judge them, because I made myself believe my life was worse than it really was. I don't have the right to allow the destruction of someone just because I couldn't deal with life. I made that mistake once, but I wont let it happen again!"
"Bold words." Bakura chortled. "I look forward to ramming them down your throat, suffocating you with guilt and hypocrisy as you die!"
"I set one card face down, and end my turn." Kai choked in pain as his muscles retaliated against his moving.
"Now you die!" Bakura shouted, gleefully staring at his drawn card. "Ouiju Tome allows me to remove one demon in my graveyard and add its attack points to Diabound for one turn. I think I'll equip a Death Caliber Knight to Diabound." Instantly, Diabound's attack points shot up by nineteen hundred, much to Bakura's joy and Kai's lament. (Diabound-5250) "Diabound Carnal, take your army and strike him down where he stands!" The four monsters each raised their hands, each one preparing an identical ball of phantom flames. Kai looked on, knowing full well that there was no way he had the strength left in his to block all four. "Die!" The four streams launched, the force of each of them sending dust, ash and bone everywhere and instantly drying the blood that had remained somewhat liquid, baking it into the ground.
"Go face down card!" Kai called, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. Bakura began to curse. A ball of energy formed between Kai and the attack and began to spin in place rapidly, stretching into the shape of two cones connected at the tips, each player being faced by the larger end. "Time Gyre negates all attacks this turn and raises my Life Points by the total levels of your monsters multiplied by three hundred." The four attacks merged into one and entered the spiral of light and then emerged on Kai's end as a collection of small streams of light, flowing into his body, filling him with a bit of warmth and a slight boost to his energy, but nothing fantastic.
Kai-6000/Bakura-0
"Damn you!" Bakura shouted. "Can't you understand that I want you dead!"
"I know." Kai breathed, most of the aching in his body gone now, thankfully. "But really, I don't give a damn." Slowly, he drew his two cards, adding one to his hand and holding the other alone in his fingers. As quickly as he could, he moved it to his Duel Disk and slipped it into one of the many vacant slots. "Go, Hell-Heaven!" As he declared this, a bright golden ring appeared around both duelists, acting as a boundary of some sort. "This card generates a mystical aura around us, destroying all monsters currently on the field." Kai explained as Diabound and the three Dark Soul tokens instantly exploded into fragments of metal and skin.
"No, Diabound!" Bakura cried as his faithful Ka disappeared for the second time.
"He'll be back." Kai assured. "Because now we'll each special summon one monster from our graveyards to the field." Both players reached down and held out their hands as their graveyards ejected their desired cards. "I summon Time Mage (2400/2500) in attack mode."
"Return to me, Diabound Carnal!" Bakura shouted as his mighty monster rose from the depths of Hell.
"Also, from now on, during each of our standby phases, we'll each get to special summon one monster from our graveyards." Kai explained. "For now, Time Mage, destroy Diabound!" Kai ordered and his monster complied, spinning his staff around while charging energy to the head, firing a ball of light and blasting Diabound to pieces. Sadly, since Bakura already had zero Life Points, nothing else happened. "I end my turn." Kai completed, pleased with his new control of the field. Sadly, Hell-Heaven was a two-edged sword, and could easily come back and cause his destruction. He just had to stay ahead of Bakura, now.
"I draw!" Bakura started his turn as Diabound reappeared on his field and Guardian of Time on Kai's. "I play Altar of the Dark God!" Between the two duelists appeared a grotesque pedestal made of bones and skulls. "Now this card will generate one Ouiju token (700/400) to my field." A blue flame suddenly erupted upon the altar, and from it emerged a demonic creature with large black bat wings wrapped around its body. "That ends my turn."
Kai drew a card, his Aeon Magician (2500/1500) appearing while Bakura's Soul Reaper (1800/1900) did as well, producing its Avatar token (1900/500). Meanwhile, another of the demonic Ouiju tokens appeared, completely filling Bakura's field, but that would soon change.
"Time Mage, Aeon Magician and Guardian of Time, attack Diabound Carnal, Avatar token, and Soul Reaper!" Kai ordered. All three magicians raised their staffs, preparing their magical bursts. With a nod from Kai, they released the attacks, each one aimed for one of Bakura's monsters.
"I activate the ability of my Ouiju tokens!" Bakura shouted as the two bat creatures vanished. "I will add their attack points to Diabound Carnal and my Avatar token, making them strong enough to counter attack!" (Diabound-2500)(Avatar-2600)
Kai gritted his teeth as the two monsters power shot up and they beat aside Kai's attacks before launching their own, destroying both of Kai's monsters, while his Guardian of Time's attack destroyed the Soul Reaper.
Kai-5800/Bakura-0
"Go face down card!" Kai shouted as his trap card lifted up. "Hope of Desperation will increase my Life Points by the total attack points of a monster that was just destroyed, so I'll absorb Aeon Magician's twenty-five hundred!"
Kai-8300/Bakura-0
"Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Altar!" Kai called as a twister of wind drilled into Bakura's altar and broke it to pieces. "Now Guardian of Time will use his special ability to remove Diabound from play!" Raising his staff, the magician aimed at Diabound and fired two small balls of light.
"I activate one of the abilities of my Avatar token, redirecting a targeting effect from one demon on the field to him." The two dots of light suddenly curved to the side and struck the small incarnation of Death, dissolving him.
"I set one card face down and end." Kai concluded.
Bakura drew his card and Kai revived his Time Mage while Bakura once revived Thanatos-Envoy of Death. Looking at his drawn card, Bakura smirked, which was never a good sign.
"I play the magic card Death Spiral, which lowers the attack points of your monsters to zero this turn and prevents you from chaining to Diabound's attacks until the turn is through." he explained as a ball of the gold flames appeared in each of Diabound's palms, which he then directed at Kai's two mages, dropping them both to an attack power of zero. "Diabound, attack the Guardian of Time! Thanatos, destroy Time Mage!" Diabound fired another burst of flames at Kai's Guardian, effectively burning him away.
Kai-6500/Bakura-0
"I couldn't chain to Diabound because of your Deathh Spiral card. However, Time Mage is under no such restriction with Thanatos attacking him, so I remove the magic counter from him that was formed when you played Death Spiral, removing him from play and keeping him safe." Kai called over the gallop of Thanatos's horse. His mage faded away just as Thanatos attacked, his scythe cutting nothing but the wind. Seconds later, Time Mage reappeared. Bakura nodded, and Kai drew a card, his Time Mage returning to full strength.
"I revive Aeon Magician!" Kai called.
"Return to me, Wraith-Proprietor of Souls (2100/2200)!" Bakura shouted.
"I play the magic card, Eternity Ring!" Kai shouted as a glowing circle of light appeared above his monsters before descending at high speeds, striking Thanatos's horse in the neck, decapitating the beast before moving on and cutting the rider in half. "This card destroys one of your monsters and raises my Life Points by two hundred times its level, so I gain fourteen hundred Life Points!"
Kai-7900/Bakura-0
"Next, I must pay five hundred Life Points and shuffle it back into my deck." Kai did so, shuffling his deck together for a second before returning it to his holding position.
Kai-7400/Bakura-0
"Aeon Magician, attack Diabound Carnal!" Raising her staff, the sorceress released a magical attack that struck Diabound head-on, burning it to ashes once again. "And now, Time Mage, attack Wraith!" Slashing his staff through the air, Kai's soul monster fired a crescent of magical energies that dissolved Bakura's last monster.
Bakura drew a card and his servant, Diabound appeared while Kai's Guardian of Time emerged. Glancing at his new card, Bakura wasted no time in playing it. "Death Wave!" Raising his arms over his head, Diabound began to charge his attack as normal, but this time the sphere became much larger until it was about the size of Diabound's torso. Swinging his arms down, Diabound crashed the ball against the ground. A massive shockwave rocked the ground as the flames consumed Kai's monsters. "In exchange for my attack this turn, Death Wave destroys all monsters on the field except for Diabound."
Drawing a card, Kai summoned his Aeon Magician once again while Bakura summoned Thanatos. Glancing at the six cards in his hand, he made his choices.
"I set two cards face down and I'll have Aeon Magician attack Diabound." Without any retalition on Bakura's part, Diabound exploded into a shower of pixles. "I end my turn." Kai concluded
"I revive Diabound." Bakura started his turn while also drawing a card.
"And I'll get back Time Mage." Kai called.
"Go, Blood Sacrifice!" Bakura called, activating a magic card from his hand. "I sacrifice Thanatos to draw cards equal to his level, seven in this case." His rider of death exploded and his bones covered the floor while Bakura drew, giving him a hand of eight. "Now I play Shadow Pulse, raising Diabound's attack points by one thousand, and decreasing them by one hundred each turn until he returns to normal." (Diabound-2800) Clenching his teeth, Kai took a second to consider one of his set cards, but decided against it. This required precise timing on his part. "Diabound, attack Aeon Magician!" Screaming in pain, the female spellcaster burned to ashes, littering the ground even more.
Kai-7100/Bakura-0
Kai drew, reviving his Guardian of Time while Bakura retrieved Thanatos. Then, sliding another card onto his Duel Disk, Kai made the first extra summon outside of Hell-Heaven in some time. "I play Bond of Brothers, paying one thousand Life Points to special summon two monsters from my deck of the same time as one on my field and who are level four or lower. So I summon Time Paladin (1900/1800) and Guardian Magician of the Future (1800/1500) in attack mode!" First a figure in black armor that seemed to be lighter, like a cross between standard armor and magicians robes and wielding a sword which glowed with a mystical light appeared. Next to him was another figure, this one in crimson robes and armed with a staff that had a blade at the end on either side, like a very short double-bladed scythe.
Depressing a button on his Duel Disk, one of his set cards flipped up, revealing two men in robes with their staffs crossed. "Magicians Cross allows my two new magicians to attack as one with an attack power of three thousand!" Kai declared as the sword and small scythe were crossed over each other, generating a ball of magic at the point of intersection, from which was released a blast of light that burned Diabound away. "Aeon Magician, attack Thanatos!" Kai ordered and his magess prepared an attack that would cost her life this time around. Firing her attack off, she shot a hole in Thanatos's stomach, but with his last bit of strength he managed to swing his scythe down, decapitating her.
Grimacing at the sickening sight, Kai turned to his Time Mage and nodded. Again, firing a stream of magical energy, Kai's attack went unobstructed, hitting Bakura in the chest and bringing him to his knees for an instant.
While crouching, clutching his chest and wincing in pain, Bakura heard it, as did Kai. The cracking of glass! Both turned to the black Kioku just in time to see it shatter. Rising to his feet, Bakura's face was a mixture of anger and pleasure.
"And there goes Kevin Hunter." he laughed.
"I end my turn." Kai finished. He now had control of the field, and was on even terms with Bakura, except he had far more Life Points. Bakura drew and Kai revived Aeon Magician while Bakura returned Diabound.
"I wasn't going to give you the honor, Kai, of meeting my greatest creature, but it seems that now I have no choice." Bakura spat. "But for now, I require a moment more of preparation. So, I sacrifice Diabound!" Kai was taken aback. He didn't think Bakura would ever send Diabound to the grave under his own power. In the end, all Kai could think was that Bakura was more shallow than he had originally thought, having no loyalty, even to his most trusted creature.
The monster that took Diabound's place actually looked a great deal like Diabound Carnal, only much bigger, with actual claws in place of fingers and a feral face with large fangs. It also had green skin, and the wings had become very demonic in appearance. Instantly, less than a second before Bakura announced it, Kai recognized it from the vision he'd been shown.
"I summon Diabound Spirit (3500/2900) in attack mode!"
Kai took a few steps back, his mind reeling. This version of Diabound had been nearly impossible to defeat in the ancient world, and since it was Bakura's turn, Kai could only guess that soon he'd lose his advantage.
"Diabound Spirit, activate your special ability!" Bakura ordered and a card ejected from his graveyard. "I remove Thanatos from play to destroy all monsters on the field whose level is at least two less than him, meaning all but your Aeon Magician die." he chuckled as three of Kai's monsters exploded, their fragments piling up to Kai's knees. Now the field was even with one monster a piece, but Bakura's was much stornger. "Now I'll use his other special ability to remove another demon, in this case my Demon Soldier (1900/1500) from play to deduct his attack points from your monsters attack points!" Kai's last monster suddenly screamed and grabbed her stomach, as if she were being eaten alive from the inside. (Aeon Magician-600)
"Diabound Spirit, attack!" Raising both palms, this Diabound connected his wrists and formed a large ball of dark energy which it turned into a stream of purple flames, consuming Kai's monster.
Kai-4200/Bakura-0
"Finally, I play Conversion to Darkness, allowing me to search for any card in my deck that is either a Dark monster or a card that has 'Dark' or 'Darkness' in its name." Bakura smirked, pulling his deck free. "However, that card cannot be placed on the field during this turn, so I end." he concluded, slipping one card face down.
Drawing, Kai revived his Time Mage while Bakura's Diabound Carnal returned to the field. Looking his full hand of cards over, Kai couldn't think of anything to do. "Time Mage, attack and destroy Diabound Carnal!" Firing another blast of magic, Kai's mage easily eliminated Bakura's monster, but there was no further effect because it hadn't dealt four thousand damage. Nodding, Kai signaled the end of his turn. He had to hope that the card he had set a few turns ago would be enough.
Before Bakura could speak, Diabound Carnal returned once more, as did Guardian of Time. Making sure that Kai had nothing else planned, Bakura began.
"Before I summon this monster, I think I should eliminate as many threats as possible. As such, I'll play the card I set last turn, Black Thunderclap to destroy magic and trap cards on your field equal to the total number of monsters on my field, so both of those that you set a few turns back are destroyed!" From the void above the field emerged a bolt of lightning, incinerating Kai's two cards. "Also, Diabound Carnal, posses Time Mage." Again, Kai was powerless to act as his monster was enthralled by the shade. (Time Mage-600) "Now, I sacrifice Diabound Spirit to summon my ultimate monster!" Fading until he became a shadowed silhouette of himself, Diabound Spirit began to grow, becoming darker as he did so. There was another clap of thunder, black as night, and when Kai's vision had returned, he fell to his knee in terror, his eyes never leaving what was before him.
It was a being of pure evil. That was the first thing Kai knew. The darkness he had sensed from Diabound had been nothing compared to this. It was also huge, as in tall enough to crush any small building under its foot without noticing. Its arms both ended in five fingers with long claws, hardly visible because said claws were just as black as its skin. It's face resembled that of any stereotypical demon, with fangs, ram-shaped horns, and glowing red eyes. What enabled Kai to recognize it instantly was the snake appendage reaching out of its abdomen. Just like Diabound's tail, only black and much, much bigger. Kai stared in horror, his hope being literally drained from him by the very presence of this demon.
"Behold my god, Zork-God of Darkness (10000/10000)!" Bakura laughed with confidence, which was well earned, seeing as he had withstood Kai's attacks thus far and now had a monster with ten thousand attack points.
"Zork wants your blood, and your soul. Do you feel it Kai? Do you feel that desire?" Dropping his head to hide his face from view, Kai began to stand. All he had were his two time magicians, one of them currently being possessed by Diabound and weakened to a sparse six hundred attack points. "I see you've chosen to die with dignity, on your feet." Bakura chuckled. "Not that it matters. Being killed by Zork is the most honorable way anyone could die. You gave it your best, Kai, but in the end, you can't destroy three thousand years of hatred and vengeance."
"Maybe I can't." Kai agreed, his voice barely a whisper. "Maybe I can't destroy it because I don't understand it as well as I thought I did." Now he raised his head, his face firm and determined. "I thought I understood both your rage and my power, but in the end I'm still missing something. The only path left to me is to face this demon of Hell head-on, and see if my soul doesn't have the strength needed to pull through!"
Closing his eyes and chuckling lightly, Bakura decided he'd finally had enough. "I told you I would ram your bold words of heroics and determination down your throat. Go Zork, attack Time Mage! Destroy what's left of his Life Points, and the final Hari! Force him to die, reliving a moment in his life so horrid that he locked it away to the point that he cannot even remember it!"
Nodding, the dark god lifted his right hand and held it over Kai's still body. There was no light surrounding him to block off this attack. No cards to play from his hand or graveyard, and no monster to monster effect either. Nothing he did was going to stop this attack, and he knew it. Perhaps that's what allowed him to go with such peace of mind, even as he felt the black flames form in Zork's palm, felt them descend in a pillar of hellfire that surrounded him, so empty of any virtue that Kai was certain that the coldest of the Antarctic winds could never compare with it. And still he held his head high.
Kai-0/Bakura-0
He heard the cracking of glass, and felt himself be pulled into another day, another time, many years ago...
To Be Continued...
There you have it. Kai gave it his best in an attempt to save the world, and now he's hit zero Life Points and all four Hari are shattered, meaning he loses. So, what will happen now? And what is to be learned in the final memory of the Darkness Game? And is there a method through which anyone can beat Zork?
Next Time: Kai has lost to Bakura, and if forced to see the last memory which he had locked away. But what was it? And what is its connection to the third memory? What's that? Eternity Mage?
Next Time- Eternity Tempest
Original Cards-
Kai- Time Mage, Chronos Alchemist, Magicians Ordination, Sorcerer of Ages, Mystic Moon Dial, Envoy of the Archives, Soul Spell, Defiance of Destiny, Tempus Reversa, Mystical Historian, River of Time, Immortal Magister, Millenial Curse, Master of the Archives, Aeon Magician, Time Sage, Time Paladin, Time Gyre,
Bakura- Betrayal of the Dark Heart, Ouiju Sanctuary, Thanatos-Envoy of Death, Eros-Ensign of Impurity, Dark Energy Storm, Wraith-Proprietor of Souls, Soul Reaper,
Unholy Armor, Growing Darkness, Ouiju Tome, Death Spiral, Shadow Pulse, Conversion to Darkness, Diabound Spirit, Blood Sacrifice, Zork-God of Darkness
By Seeker of the Soul- Repayment of Losses, Horde of the Night, Repressed Memory of Suffering,
By G.O.T.Nick- Disintao-Elder Mage
Review Responses-
WolfGeneral- As you can see, one good magic or trap wasn't enough in the end. Yes, he kept on killing Diabound, but it kept on coming back, keeping things kinda all cycle-like.
Noble Paladin- You're the first person I've ever known to talk smack about Yami Bakura. I'm shocked. But I don't think your argument is that good. I mean, if you were nine years old and watched your family get melted into magical items, I think even you'd drop a few points on the sanity scale. Then again, I really don't know why I'm defending the guy, since I'm not his biggest fan. A fan yes, just not as much of one as some other people I know. But as you can see, Kai couldn't crush him.
Demon Fan- Although Dark Master Zork is a good ritual monster, he doesn't suit Bakura's style for this deck, which is one of graveyard effects mostly (Just so happens that a lot of the graveyard moves he had set up didn't get a chance to go off). And, as you can see, he's got a far better Zork anyway.
Seeker of the Soul- And now you know.
John- He has to do four thousand damage with a single attack to destroy the final Kioku. Of course, since he's now lost and everything, that would be a problem, wouldn't it?
White Mage- I like to think so.
G.O.T.Nick- Yes, it was good. A pain to script and write, but good still. And as you can see, Diabound hasn't changed much over the centuries.
The Helldragon- The Force is strong with this one you, revealing to you Bakura's ultimate move. As for the kudo bit, I really can't describe how they taste. As for getting one, my secretary will get back to you on that...Eventually. First I need to get a secretary, though.
DragonMaster- Why are you even bothering to read my story then?