Time for Kai to have another duel (finally).
Chapter Five-Lost Ages
"How's she doing?" Etsu asked, looking up at Tenken as he came in from another room. Leaning up against a wall near the door frame that he had just come through, the Guardian folded his arms, and tilted his head forward.
"Asagi used up significantly more than half of her energy transporting Nikolas here. Not only is she less experienced at it than I am, but she wasn't exactly sure of where exactly to teleport to. As such, she had to divide her concentration in order to pinpoint my location. However, splitting her attention like this caused a great deal of power to leek out. Then there was the duel with Kesi, which although it didn't use much of her power, it was enough of a catalyst to overwhelm my sister." he explained, although he didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that moments after winning her duel, his little sister had suddenly collapsed.
'He doesn't seem to show any type of concern for the people around him, much like how Kai does. However, Kai does have his limits of what he can and can't take. Not only that, but underneath his callousness, Kai really does care about everyone. But I can't tell if that's the case for Tenken or not.' Etsu mused, turning back to her deck, which she was sifting through. Turning her head up towards the room opposite her she found her attention waver again.
"Those two are still at it? I don't understand why they have to be like this." she commented to herself.
"It's because they see their own talents cancelling each other out, meaning that they're equals, something neither of them wants to accept." a voice explained. Turning up to the stairs, Etsu smiled as Kai walked down. "They view each other as polar opposites, and for men such as themselves it's hard to deal with the fact that you have an equal. Nick is perhaps the greatest thief in generations, based on what he's said. He's a gifted fighter, a cunning strategist, and very cutthroat. Vaun, on the other hand, can be just as merciless, is an even better fighter, and he can track Nick's movements. They have both always considered them the best at what they do, but now they have met a rival in the other; one who can't beat them, yet one they can't beat. It's frustrating for men of pride to handle."
"How childish." Etsu dismissed the issue, turning back to her deck. Then, smiling with a hint of mischief, she turned back to Kai, who was re-tying his hair, his eyes pointed down, unaware of the sly look she was giving him. "Kai, if you're so good at interpreting how people think and feel, then why don't you analyze me?"
At these words, Kai's eyes snapped wide and his body went rigid. Turning to face Etsu, he was startled to see her approaching him, apparently trying to look seductive. Quickly looping his hair through the band that would hold it in place, he turned to Tenken and uttered in a rushed tone "I'll take up my watch now." and slipped out the front "door", batting aside the blanket they had hung there to serve as a temporary entree.
Pouting slightly, Etsu returned to her seat and picked her cards back up. As she removed a magic card and slipped it into the case on her hip, she was startled as Tenken spoke.
"You could always tell him rather than showing him."
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Sitting on the porch steps, Kai hung his head and raised his right arm to massage his brow. There was far too much going on, but he now found himself distracted with something else entirely.
"She came onto me again. And this time she was completely different, trying to act like a seductive school girl. Frankly, if she wants to flirt with me, I'd much rather she go back to her previous methods of being kind and soothing."
Shaking his head, he looked up at the stars as they appeared one at a time, appreciating the silence. Precious silence that he been lost two days ago when Vaun had first arrived for an overnight visit. Normally Kai didn't mind short bursts of excitement, but he had never expected it to be of this magnitude...
And still he found all of his thoughts coming back around to Etsu, no matter how hard he tried to think about the pressing matters of the Dark Guardians and the Court of Eternity!
"What is this power she has over me?" he asked aloud, as if expecting Heaven itself to answer. When he received no response, he continued, "Yes, she is beautiful. Yes, I like her a lot. I want to be with her. But I can't get past myself. I keep holding myself back. I keep on denying myself. I thought I was over the past. I thought that I was starting anew!"
Still no answer.
"Why can't I say it? Why can't I say those three small words? I can't even admit it to myself, let alone her!"
Silence.
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In the small living room of Kai's house, Nikolas Selket, Dark Thief of the Desert, stood, his lone eye laser focused. Across from him stood Vaun Hiten, heir to two of Japans greatest swordsmen, his body tense, ready to make a rapid counter in response to even the slightest twitch.
And respond he did, as Nick suddenly seemed to vanish from view, a fraction of a second later at Vaun's side, reaching for an object tied to Vaun's obi. Noticing Nick's movements, Vaun pivoted on his toes and leaned backwards, performing a rapid back flip to escape while at the same time kicking away Nick's arm.
Coming out of the crouch which he had landed in, Vaun was startled that Nick was already in his face, again reaching for his belt. In surprise, Vaun grabbed his sword and began to unsheathe it, the force of the pull sending the hilt sailing into Nick's arm, again deterring the grab.
Taking Nick's moment of disruption, Vaun reached to the right side of his waist and unsheathed a short kodachi, which he then lunged at Nick with. In response, Nick ducked low, swept Vaun's legs out from under him, and then sprang to his full height while he completed his spin.
Thrusting his left arm down, Vaun caught himself on his palm and used his momentum to twirl around, coming to a rest on one knee, his right arm thrusting towards Nick, only to stop with his arm outstretched when he noticed the small knife in his face, Nick's arm outstretched.
'A draw?' Vaun cursed within his mind. 'Again? Are we that even? He keeps on trying to take the bell from me, but he can't. I, on the other hand, can't seem to land any kind of finishing blow on him!'
Glaring at Nick, he was surprised when the thief loosened his arm, retracting his knife and turning away. Blinking in surprise, his muscles slightly loosening in shock, Vaun simply stared as Nick shook with light laughter.
"What are you snickering at?" he demanded. Nick did not answer, but simply shook his head as his laughter died slightly. Finally, the man of the desert decided to cast over his shoulder a comment, since Vaun had simply continued to bore into his back with his stare.
"I just find it odd that, even though that's our twenty-third skirmish, we don't seem to get any headway."
"And why is that so amusing?" Vaun asked, his voice rather curt.
"Because," Nick said, turning his head to look over his left shoulder, though he couldn't see anything since that eye was no longer there. "The definition of insanity is when you try and do the exact same thing over and over again, expecting a different result."
XXXXXXXXXX
Rubbing some fatigue from his eyes, Kai glanced once again at the stars, which still hung in serenity over his home. Though he didn't like to admit it, he was very envious of those stars. They never spoke or moved, yet people still turned to them, looking for hope and for answers to questions. They didn't need to speak, yet people still seemed to get their answers anyway.
"To live for millennia, seemingly eternity, they've been looking down on this earth. They know more about the events of our history than any archive. They have the experience to deal with any situation." he breathed deeply in reverence. Casting his eyes back up to the dots of light, he found himself muttering "What should I do?"
"Hey, you Kai Kaethan?"
Tensing up instantly, Kai snapped his head down to look forward. Coming up the path to his house was a young man, probably about Vaun's age, with light brown hair, wearing jeans with a white t-shirt and a black vest hanging open. Strapped to his arm was a silver duel disk, deck in place.
Wearily Kai watched the boy as he approached. He seemed pleasant enough. No ominous appearance, no insane cackle, nothing implying he was here for any sinister purpose. After just a moment the boy came to a halt, standing the perfect distance from Kai that would be needed for a duel.
Leaning in, the boy squinted his eyes to try and see Kai better in the dim light. Moments later his face split into a wide and excited grin as he happily declared "It's you! It's really you! The world champion. I recognize you from the picture taken of you after you won Battle City!"
Relaxing, Kai realized that this young man was just another young duelist looking for a duel with him do to his title.
"I'm sorry, but if you want to duel with me, you'll have to come back another day. It's late, and I'm having to take of some...business over the next few days." he responded.
"Oh, come on, it'll only take a little while. Besides, you seem tense. A duel will help you feel better."
"I'm afraid that I must ask you to wait till a later date." Kai responded, his voice gaining a bit of an edge. He suddenly found himself feeling uneasy. Looking at the boy as if for the first time, he noticed that the young man seemed to be deliberating something, and as he pondered, a sense of foreboding struck Kai. It was as if the wind, sound, everything, had shifted just as this boys thoughts did.
"They said that you might try and make excuses to try and avoid dueling me." he growled. "Which is why they gave me this!" he said, whipping the top card off of his deck. Instantly Kai felt the dark energy burst from the card, and knew what was going to happen. The young mans duel disk began to whir and the field card zone opened. He slammed the card into it before Kai could make any objection, and instantly the two were surrounded by a ring of green light.
"You idiot!" Kai shouted at the boy. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"Of course I do." the boy responded, drawing five cards from his deck. "This card makes it so that you can't leave. Not only that, but my monsters all get a five hundred point attack boost."
Clenching his hands into fists and gritting his teeth, Kai glared at the boy for a few seconds longer. Obviously the kid didn't know about the penalty for using this card. 'The Dark Guardians must have given him the card and told him just that much. They must have promised him that if he used it he'd get his chance to duel me, and that it would give him a better chance at beating me.'
"Hey, can we get started?" the kid asked, his voice dripping with impatience. "I wanna show you just how good I am."
Sighing in defeat, Kai closed his eyes and reached for his belt. "Very well," Pulling his deck from his waist, he inserted it into his duel disk. "But before we begin, let's return to a more formal environment. My name is Kai Kaethan, current world champion." He drew five cards. (KLP:4000)
"And I'm Kira Kondo." the boy replied. (KiLP:4000)
"As champion, I'll go first." Kai said, drawing a sixth card. Adding it to his hand, he chose a different one and placed it onto his duel disk. Seconds later a horizontal card appeared in front of him. "One monster in defense mode and two cards behind it. End."
"My move." Kira called as he drew a card. Glancing at his drawn card he quickly laid it down on his field. The monster that appeared taller than either player, with olive skin. It's body was quite muscular, covered in a teal shirt and gray pants. However, it's face was what separated it from being human. It was beastly, with a wide jaw filled with fangs. In its hands was clutched a long pole with a curved blade at either end. "This is my Vorse Raider (1900+500/1200). Next I set one card face down, and then I'll have my Vorse Raider attack your monster!" Howling into the night, Vorse Raider hefted its weapon and sprinted across the field, slashing Kai's set card in half, which quickly revealed itself to be a man in white robes.
"You've destroyed Immortal Magister (700/1000), allowing me to draw a card and set another from my deck onto my field in defense mode." Kai explained as he took the card from his deck and set it onto his field. "Also, since my magician was destroyed I'll activate my set card known as Time Helix which activates when a spellcaster is destroyed, and summons two Eternity Tokens (600/600) on my field." he explained as two men in deep crimson clothes appeared on his field, crouching on either side of the set monster.
"That's such a cool move." Kira complimented with a smile. "Then again, you are the World Champion. Anyway, that ends my turn."
Drawing a card, Kai looked his options over. With a sigh, he folded the cards up and passed his turn without making a move, despite the fact that he had five cards in his hand.
"No move?" Kira raised an eyebrow, but shook it off almost immediately as he added the card he drew to his hand and then slapped a different one onto his monster zone. "I summon Super Vorse Raider (1900+500/1200) in attack mode." The monster that appeared looked just like his normal Vorse Raider, only in armor that seemed to be of a more futuristic brand in place of the thin fabric garments of the first monster. "And I'll have both of my monsters attack your Immortal Magister, and then the one that will be summoned in his place!"
First to move was the first Vorse Raider, hefting his weapon and crouching his legs slightly before springing forward, arms arched back. Seconds later he was in striking distance and swung down with all of his might, severing the card in half, only to be replaced by another horizontal card, which the armored monster cut in half equally fast.
Nodding, Kai drew two cards, meaning he now held seven cards in hand. Not only that, but he'd draw another card at the start of his turn. That meant he would have to play at least two of them, or he'd have to discard cards to keep his hand at six.
"Since all three Immortal Magister's have been sent to the grave they are automatically shuffled back into my deck." Kai explained as his graveyard ejected three cards into his hand, which he then quickly shuffled into his deck before returning it to it's holster.
"What do we have here?" a voice asked, sounding both casual and tense at the same time. Turning around, Kai noticed Nikolas as the one who had spoken, his lone eye reflecting the light emitted by the Seal, his arms hanging loose behind his back. Seconds later Kai's eyes adjusted to seeing through the bright light of the Seal and into the darkness of the night outside of it, and noticed that Tenken, Etsu and Vaun were also watching from the hole that had once been the door.
"How long have you all been there?" Kai asked, turning back to an impatient Kira.
"Since the Seal was activated." Vaun spoke. Mentally shrugging, Kai looked his cards over, then up at Kira, who was holding one of his four remaining cards apart from the others.
"I set one card face down and end my turn."
Picking up his eighth card, Kai made the move he already had planned. Quickly grabbing one of his cards he slid it into his duel disk and the holographic image of said card flipped up, revealing a magic card. "I play With Time Comes Wisdom to sacrifice one of my Eternity Tokens to special summon a spellcaster from my hand or deck whose level is at least three greater than the one I sacrifice."
One of the crimson robed magicians dissolved into a mess of lights, replaced moments later by a man in black robes with a white over-robe. Clasping a staff in his hands, he fixed Kira's field with a hard stare, ready for battle.
"Time Mage is a level five monster." he explained. "Also, when an Eternity Token leaves the field I get to draw a card." Again returning his hand to eight, Kai took in any new options he had available to him. "I play Eternity Ring. This magic card destroys one of your monsters and raises my life points by your monsters level multiplied by two hundred."
In the air above Kai formed a massive blue halo, at least three feet in diameter. Within it one could see a plethora of runes and symbols spinning rapidly. In many ways it seemed to be related to the Seal of Orichalcos. Silently the ring came to life, darting from its post above Kai's field and severing the normal Vorse Raider in half at the chest, causing the arms to fall individually on either side of the two pieces of the carcass. At the same time, Kai's life point meter began to tick upwards. (KLP:4800)
"Now I must pay five hundred life points to shuffle Eternity Ring back into my deck, no questions asked." he continued, taking the magic card and inserting it into his deck while most of the life points he had just gained faded away. (KLP:4300)
Next Kai grabbed two of his cards at once and inserted them both. They activated immediately, both being magic cards and each with the symbol on them for being a continuous card. From the flashing cards walked out two women in silk gowns, the first being a young girl with blue hair tied into long pigtails on either side of her head, ending past her waist. The other was older, seeming to be in her mid-twenties with blonde hair that was cut short.
"These are Goddess Skuld's Oracle," he nodded to the younger girl. "And Goddess Urd's Altar." he waved to the blonde woman. "These two are part of a triad of goddesses who look over the flow of time. Skuld is the watcher of Future and Urd is over Past. On my next turn you'll see what they do, since they activate during my standby phase."
Now holding five cards, Kai chose another and slapped it onto a monster zone. "I summon Time Paladin (1900/1800) in attack mode."
"But...my Super Vorse Raider is still stronger because of the Seal of Orichalcos." Kira said, confused.
"Yes, but I still have plenty of cards to play with." Kai said, holding up his four card hand before taking one of the mentioned cards and slipping it into another magic zone, meaning all but one were filled. "Magicians Cross will allow my two monsters to attack as one this turn with an attack power of three thousand."
The two monsters crossed their weapons and began to charge energy to at the point of intersection, growing rapidly. After a short time had passes they pointed the weapons away from the sky and towards Kira's field. Sliding the staff and sword along each others length, causing them to break in a sweeping motion, releasing a wave of energy that cut through the armored monster. (KiLP:3400)
"You've activated Super Vorse Raider's special ability." Kira called, smirking slightly. "When destroyed, I can special summon up to two Vorse Raiders or Super Vorse Raiders from my deck." he explained as two cards were ejected from his deck, which he took and then placed onto his duel disk. "I summon another Vorse Raider and Super Vorse Raider (1900/1200 x2) to my field."
"Turn end." Kai declared, seemingly ignoring the fact that Kira had, in essence, restored his field to the way it had been moments before.
Drawing a card, placing him at four, Kira began his turn. Adding the card to his hand he plucked a different card which he lay down. The monster that appeared was much like the previous monsters, humanoid body structure with dark skin and a beastly face. However, in place of the glaive that both of Kira's previous monsters had wielded, the one had two swords that had been made by taking two long metal poles and pounding them until they had edges, and as such lacked hilts or guards.
"This is Vorse Striker (1800+500/1100)." Kira declared, fiddling with another card in his hand. "Next I play Card Destruction, so we each discard our current hands and draw new ones of the same number that we toss." he explained, dumping his two cards into his graveyard while Kai had to give up three. Glancing at his new cards, Kira called out his next command. "Super Vorse Raider, attack Time Mage!" Twisting its weapon in its hand, the monster charged at Kai's monster, preparing to slash it in half vertically.
Snapping his fingers, Kai's face down card flipped up to reveal a quick-play magic card. "Magical Dimension requires me to have a spellcaster on my field to activate. By sacrificing a monster, in this case my final Eternity Token, I can destroy one monster on your field and then special summon a magician from my hand."
"Denied!" Kira shouted as his own set card flipped up, revealing a trap card. "Hand to Hand Combat negates all magic and trap cards played during battle this turn." he explained as the golden sarcophagus that had emerged from Kai's card suddenly exploded from within, it's effect negated.
With nothing else he could do, Kai watched as the very first monster his soul had created was slashed in half, but not before he had thrust the pronged head of his staff into the attacking monsters chest and fired a burst of energy that burned a hole in the monster. Both shattered to millions of fragments of computer data.
"And since a Super Vorse Raider was destroyed, I get to special summon the last one, as well as my last normal Vorse Raider from my deck." Kira grinned as two new monsters just like the previous ones appeared. That gave Kira four monsters total.
"I see." Vaun spoke from his position on the sidelines. "Makes sense. Vorse Raider was originally made as the first level four monster with such a high attack power, but no drawback. It was one of the best rush cards out there, and it would seem that this guy has managed to utilize that quality of theirs into a single deck. It may even be better at swarming than my warriors ever were."
"That may be," Etsu said, continuing to watch the duel. "But Kai still can't lose."
Seemingly deaf to the outsiders, Kira continued with his move. "Super Vorse Raider (2400), attack Time Paladin (1900/1800)!" Much to Kira's surprise, though, his monster did not respond in any way. Turning to look at his monster, his temper began to get the better of him. "I said attack! Attack him, dammit!"
"That wont work." Kai interrupted. "You see, you no longer have a battle phase."
"What?" Kira asked, startled by these words. In response, Kai held up his hand, which had three cards, same as he'd held when he had ended his turn. 'Except he drew a card from when he sacrificed his token, didn't he?'
"When you destroyed Time Mage, I discarded a monster known as Time Slider (1500/2000), which ended your battle phase and prevents you from playing any more cards this turn, except those you already have on the field." the champion duelist explained.
"Fine, my turn ends."
"Draw." Kai began, returning him to four cards. "First off is the power of my Goddess Skuld's Oracle. Draw three cards but do not look at them. Instead, show them to me." Confused, Kira drew the cards and fanned them out so that they were facing Kai, who looked examined the cards for a moment before making his decision. "Move the middle one to the top and then return them to your deck." Doing so, Kira looked over at Kai's other goddess, expecting her to take some sort of action. Noticing this, Kai spoke up, "Don't worry about Urd, she can't use her ability since you don't have any set cards."
Looking at his new card, Kai smiled slightly. "I play Magic Well to search my deck for a magic card and place it into my hand, but I can't use that card this turn." he explained as he fanned his deck out, chose the card he wanted, and then returned the rest of the cards after shuffling.
Taking another card from his hand, he turned it around to show Kira what it was. "Mischief of the Goddess Time speeds time up by one turn." he explained before reaching for the card he had searched out less than a minute ago. "So now I can play this card, Goddess Bellandy's Guardian." Between the two women appeared another maiden, this one with pink hair that hung down to her shoulders.
"Now three magic cards have been played since I summoned Time Paladin, meaning I can now activate his special ability, sacrificing three of them to destroy a card on your field." Kai continued as the sword wielding magician slashed his weapon straight down, releasing a thin stream of light which instantly cut the Super Vorse Raider in half, just as its predecessor had done to Time Mage.
"I switch Time Paladin to defense mode and sent one card face down." Kai concluded, leaving him with just one card in hand.
"You can't beat me by just getting rid of one Vorse Raider." Kira smirked. "I can just summon new ones at least twice as fast." Keeping his drawn card in his right hand, he used the same hand to pluck a card from his hand which he then inserted into his magic zone, activating the magic card. "I play Medicine Eater, and then I sacrifice my Vorse Striker (2300) for my Vorse Lord (2500+500/1800) in attack mode."
The monster was much like the others before it, and yet it was drastically different. It was decked out in thick armor all over its body rather than thin fabric. Instead of a large, slack jaw it was closed, though two fangs did show themselves curling over its upper lip. In place of the thick headband of all the previous Vorse monsters, this ones head was bare of extra accessories, allowing two thin horns to curl out from his forehead and back, nearly piercing into the back of its own head. Finally, grasped in each hand was what appeared to be a cross between a trident and a sword, their handles shortened for single handed use and the center blades, being the only ones for actually attacking, were elongated.
"And Medicine Eater is a rather unique card. I activate in the turn that I perform a sacrifice summon, and the monster I summon receives half of the attack points of the monster sacrificed to summon it, as well as its effect." Kira went on to explain after his monsters appearance had set in and as its attack points rose by nine hundred.
"And what was the effect of your Vorse Striker?" Kai asked.
"Vorse Striker is actually one of my favorites. After destroying a monster, he is allowed to attack again." Kira answered. "Also, I will now activate Vorse Lord's personal ability. Once during my turn, so long as I have a monster with 'Vorse' in its name in play I am allowed to special summon another Vorse monster from my deck or graveyard."
Without pause, Kira's field flashed and another monster appeared. However, must to Kai's and everybody else's shock it was not at all like the other monsters. No, it was a massive dog, the size of a large horse. It's fur was pitch black and extremely shaggy, and its features were very wolf-like.
"This is Vorse Hound (1300/600), whom I will now union to my Vorse Lord, raising his attack by a further six hundred!" Kira called as his heavy-armored monster mounted the dog, his attack points coming to a rest at forty-five hundred.. "And since my Vorse Lord has been equipped with Vorse Hound he is unaffected by targeting card effects."
"Truly impressive." Kai commented honestly. It was impressive that Kira could summon a monster and make it nearly double in strength so quickly.
"Heh, compliments from the champion. How cute." Kira chuckled. "Of course, I'm about to take that title. Vorse Lord (4500), attack."
Kicking his mount with his heels, the armored monster began his charge, lifting both of his weapons to his left side in preparation for a parallel strike. Within seconds he was within range and struck, only for his weapons to be deflected at the last second by a column of gold light that had suddenly appeared around Kai's monster.
"Before you ask, I'll tell you. When you attacked I activated Magicians Circle of Light, which prevents you from targeting my spellcasters for the remainder of the turn." Kai explained, holding up the trap card.
"Fine, I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Kira concluded, leaving him without any cards in hand. Then, as an afterthought, he said "This is fun, isn't it. I never expected I'd get to face the world champion. Then again, I also didn't expect him to be so weak."
"Weak?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow. Turning back to his two cards, he tried to think of a plan. "First off, my three Goddesses will use their effects, beginning with Skuld." he called and the youngest of the three raised her staff, smacking its head against the ground, sending a vibration throughout the field. Nodding, Kira drew the top three cards and showed them to Kai. "Switch the bottom and top one around." he commanded and Kira did so. "Now to show you what makes this combination so deadly. Bellandy allows me to guess the top card of your deck. If am I correct then you must set it face down on the field. So, set your second Vorse Hound onto the field." Grimacing, Kira took the top card off of his deck, noticed that Kai was, of course, correct about which card it was, and then set it on the field. "And now for Urd's effect. I name one face down card on your field, and if I am correct, then that card is removed from play." he explained. "So now Vorse Hound is removed from play."
As he lifted the card off of his duel disk and inserted it into his back pocket, Kira realized exactly what this meant. He didn't have any cards in his hand, and now Kai could arrange his cards to be drawn however he wanted.
"You really are the world champion, aren't you?"
Sighing, Kai continued to look at the card in his hand before turning to look at his companions outside of the Seal, coming to focus on Tenken. "Even if I am, there are duelists out there stronger than I."
"Heh, doesn't matter. My monster is too strong for you to overpower. Eventually I'll burn through your defenses, no matter how to try and stack my cards. It's only a matter of time." Kira declared.
"I summon Guardian Magician of the Future (1800/1500) in defense mode." Kai called, slapping the card onto his duel disk. "Then I play my magic card, Twilight Renewal to draw five cards since my hand is now empty."
Quickly pulling the new cards free, Kai examined his new hand. "I play Poison of the Old Man to increase my life points by twelve hundred." he declared as an elderly man appeared and offered Kai a thin flask with a purple liquid bubbling within it. Graciously, Kai accepted the bottle and downed the elixir in a single gulp. (KLP:5500)
"Now I play Eternity Ring to destroy one of your normal Vorse Raiders." Again the blue disk appeared above Kai's head before easily severing the target monster in half, raising Kai's life points by eight hundred before forcing him to pay five hundred life points to shuffle it back into his deck. (KLP:5800)
"And now I've played another three magic cards, so both of my monsters have received three magic counters." he continued. "First off, Time Paladin will destroy your last Vorse Raider." This time, rather than using his sword, the magician waved his arms through the air, making various signs in the air. After a moment his hands froze and the remaining Vorse Raider exploded, leaving only Vorse Lord on Kira's field. "Guardian Magician of the Future allows me to sacrifice three magic counters to increase my life points by an amount equal to the attack power of a monster in my graveyard, which will then be shuffled back into my deck. I, of course, choose Time Mage (2400)."
Taking the card from his graveyard, Kai shuffled it into his deck while his life points shot up by twenty-four hundred, easily putting him past double what he started out with. (KLP:8200)
"Turn end."
"Draw." Kira called and grimaced at the sight of the card Kai had placed on the top of his deck. It was useless. "I use Vorse Lord's special ability to summon my Cyber Vorse Raider (2200+500/1500) from my deck to the field." Next to the Vorse Lord appeared another monster of the same breed, only this one had thin metal armor and advanced circuitry could be seen through the joints.
"Cyber Vorse Raider, attack his Guardian Magician of the Future!" Lifting his right arm, palm open, the mechanical monster revealed a small gun barrel in his palm. Without warning of any kind a thin laser shout out and burned a hole in Kai's monster, destroying it.
'He could have used Vorse Lord to take out both of my monsters, plus a direct attack, and then fired a direct attack with his Cyber Vorse Raider.' Kai commented to himself. 'Meaning Cyber Vorse Raider must have an effect that can only be activated when he destroys a monster.'
"Now, since Cyber Vorse Raider destroyed a monster in battle, I get to draw a card. If it's level four or lower, it is instantly special summoned to my field." Kira explained, confirming Kai's theory. Drawing a card from his recently shuffled deck, he frowned, obviously not getting the low level monster he had hoped for. "Oh well, it's a card in hand nonetheless. Besides, Cyber Vorse Raider would have been useless any other way because all damage he deals is reduced to zero."
'He escaped the lock I had set up so easily. This boy could become something great, which is why I hesitate. He's innocent, so what right do I have to take his soul, and possibly his future from him? But if I don't, that holds the others at a strict disadvantage in this battle with the Dark Guardians. Damn them! They've been sending innocent people partially blind against us to try and test our moral limits!'
"Hey, you paying attention?" Kira barked, retrieving Kai's attention. With a nod, Kai encouraged the younger man to continue. "Alright, Vorse Lord, attack his Time Paladin and then attack his life points directly!"
Again spurring his mount, the apparent leader of this Vorse clan began his next attack. With a single slash he obliterated Kai's last monster before moving into a second strike without pause, this one directed at Kai.
In a feeble attempt to avoid the attack, Kai moved his body backwards, but wasn't able to catch himself and fell soundly onto his butt, wincing slightly. However, the damage was done and his life points more than cut in half. (KLP:3700)
"I set one card face down and end my turn." Kira concluded, again emptying his hand. As Kai drew to begin his turn, the young man activated the card he had just set, revealing a trap. "Vorse Crush destroys one card on your field for each card on my field with Vorse in its name. I have three, so I'll destroy your three Goddesses!"
Frowning, Kai watched as the three women shattered, leaving his field completely bare. "I'm sorry, Kira." he finally spoke.
"What for? The Seal has given me the last bit of power I needed to become stronger than you. I'm about to beat the world champion! What do you have to apologize to me for?" his young opponent laughed, not in mockery, but in joy, fully confident that it would all end as he had just described.
"Because I'm about to not only shatter your dreams against the rocks, but I'm also going to leave you on the precipice of life and death." Kai explained, his eyes trembling. "I once made a vow that I would protect the weak, but now it seems that in order to do that, I'll have to destroy someone who is weaker than I."
"What are you talking about?" Kira asked, confused by Kai's words.
"It's best if you don't know." Kai reassured, taking one of the cards from his hand. "Monster Reborn to revive Guardian Magician of the Future (1800/1500). Then Magical Interest to discard my hand and then draw double the number of cards I discard." he began as he threw out his two cards and drew four new cards, while at the same time the young mage reappeared. Taking one of his drawn cards, he flipped it around, revealing a common magic card.
"Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Vorse Hound, who is considered a magic card, currently." he continued, and a spiral of wind erupted from his duel disk, striking the hound and blowing it away, barely missing the Vorse Lord (3900), who had leapt from his mount at the last minute. Still he was left weakened.
"Next I play Magic of Revival to special summon Time Paladin (1900/1800) from my graveyard." Next to the young magician appeared the mystical sword wielder. "Now I'll remove the three magic counters from Guardian Magician of the Future to increase my life points by the attack points of my Tempus-Archmage of Fate (2200/1600) that I discarded when I played Magical Interest." (KLP:5900)
"What's the point of all this? Just trying to buy yourself another turn, like you did last time?" Kira asked, a look of perplexity on his face.
"No, I am ending this duel." Kai responded. "You've played very well, Kira. I have little doubt that had we met at a tournament that you could have pushed me much harder, and I you. However, I can't afford to just drag this duel out, and I can't afford to let you win. It ends now!" Picking the two monsters off of his duel disk, he slapped one of his two remaining cards from his hand onto his field.
In place of the two monsters was now a man in silver-blue robes with a gold staff in his hands. He did not touch the ground, instead levitating in the air, looking down on Kira and his monster. In his eyes there was a certain depth that seemed endless, like small black holes, only sapphire in color, lacking the appearance of complete doom, but instead holding a look of judgment.
"Behold my Eternity Mage (2700/2700)!"
"Impressive monster, but it's not nearly strong enough to beat my Vorse Lord." Kira rebuffed, sounding unafraid, despite the new monsters obvious majesty.
"Not yet, but now I activate my final magic card, Spell Accounting!" Kai shouted. "For every two hundred life points I pay I may generate one magic counter to a monster on my field. So I will pay forty-six hundred life points to generate twenty-three magic counters to Eternity Mage!"
As Kai's life points dropped drastically, several dots of light seemed to flow from him into his monster, causing the aura around his creature to glow with a greater intensity. (KLP:1300) It was so bright that it forced all but Kai and Tenken to turn away and shield their eyes.
"Now, Eternity Mage, attack Vorse Lord!" twirling his staff rapidly, the mage focused his magic to the crescent moon at the head of the pole, firing a beam of immense power at Kira's monster, who responded by crossing his weapons in front of him, stopping the attack. However, even though the attack did not actually touch Vorse Lord, it did still push him back, even as he dug his heels into the ground. Of course, all present understood that this was merely for dramatic effect, and sure enough, the heavy-armored brute snapped his arms out, causing the beam of energy to crack, leading back to the source, where it exploded, engulfing Kai's monster in blue flames. (KLP:100)
"Well that was pointless." Kira commented. "Did you become champion making that sort of bonehead move?"
"As a matter of fact, I did." Kai declared. "Eternity Mage special ability number one: I sacrifice five magic counters to reduce your monsters attack by his attack total, meaning your monster now only has thirteen hundred life points."
As Kai explained this, Kira noticed that his monster was panting heavily, clearly exhausted from the struggle with Kai's monster. Not only that, but his weapons were now chipped and cracked from taking the brunt of Eternity Mage's attack. Kira was about to say something, but was cut off by Kai.
"Eternity Mage's special ability number two, I sacrifice two magic counters when he would be destroyed to keep him in play." Instantly the blue flames that had engulfed the mage dissipated with a single wave of the magicians hand. All Kira could do was watch in both awe and confusion. And still Kai wasn't going to give him the chance to ask questions. "Eternity Mage's final ability: I give up three of his magic counters to allow him to attack again!"
With another twirl of his staff, the mage fired a blast of magic at Vorse Lord, this time burning him to ash without any trouble. (KiLP:2200) Next the mage turned to Kira's Cyber Vorse Raider and fired another blast, obliterating Kira's last monster, though because of said monsters effect, Kira's life points were safe. However, it was obvious what Kai planned on doing. His monster still had ten magic counters, and only one more attack was needed.
Without waiting for the command, the mage fired the final blast, striking Kira in the chest, knocking him onto his back. (KiLP:0)
"That was quite the duel." the younger man said from his position on the ground. "Now I just need to train to get stronger an-what the hell!" he shouted as ne noticed the green walls of the Seal of Orichalcos closing around him. "What's happen-" but he would never be allowed to finish his question, as he was stripped of his soul at that point.
Hanging his head, Kai said the only thing he could think to say, "I'm sorry."
Silence was the only response.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day found Kai, Etsu, Vaun, and Nick all in a circle around Tenken and Asagi, the latter having finally awoken early that morning, her energy fully restored. Now was the time for swift actions. They had to make their move before they could be interrupted.
"Kai, are you ready?" Tenken asked, though no sense of worry was in his voice. Nodding, Kai stepped into the circle somewhat. In response Tenken placed his palm on Kai's head, chanting in some unknown dialogue. Seconds later Kai's eyes snapped wide open, filling with a white light. Seconds later, the others felt their vision will with intense light, completely blinding them from the rest of the world. Seconds later they all went rigid, as if catatonic.
Turning to Asagi, Tenken gave her a somber look and sighed deeply. He had forced the memories that had been stored within Kai to come to the surface and then to spread to each other Guardian.
"Now I don't need to worry about them. They'll be fine." he told his sister. Then he spoke as if to the air itself when he said, "I'm ready. You can come out now."
Out of the shadows themselves stepped two men, one in a black cloak, his features completely hidden, while the other was a young man who looked to be about the same age as Tenken, with blonde hair braided down his back and a red shirt and jeans, and a duel disk.
"Tenken Arashi, Vanguard of the Court of Eternity." the man in black grinned wickedly. "Shall we begin?"
To Be Continued...
Next Time-While Kai and the others are met with the puzzles which are the memories passed down through thousands of years, Tenken if called to the forefront of the battle field to defend the Guardians during their state of vulnerability. But what is meant when he is called a Vanguard?
Next Time-Wrath of the Guardian Goddess
There you have it. Another chapter, with an exciting (hopefully) duel. Next I will try and work a bit on Way of the Dreamer, since that's well overdo for an update. Plus I need to do a bunch of work on Tenken's deck before I can write the next chapter of this story, so in the meantime, look forward to more in the life of Kazuki Katsura.
Damn, It spent a lot of time making up a bunch of Vorse Raider cards, and I only used about a third of them. I didn't even use the two most powerful monsters in the deck. But, meh, it doesn't matter, since Kai got to use Eternity Mage once again, and I do love that card.
I would like to thank Seeker of the Soul for creating Super Vorse Raider and, in doing such, inspiring that deck as well. Have some kudos!
As always, original cards are by either myself, Seeker, or G.O.T.Nick. No touchy!
Have a good weekend everybody. See ya.