Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my own characters.

CHAPTER 43-A Duel in the Shadows

"Before I start kicking your chauvinistic ass," said Eva "What's your name?"

"I am Arog Dohran," said the man "Remember it well because I will become known as the one who defeated the Keeper of Black Mana and stopped the Awakening!"

"Wait," said Arrathir "So you're the one behind all this? You sent those two summoners after me?"

"No," said Arog "The One is far greater a summoner than I will ever be. Now, let's begin! I'll take the first turn."

Arog's hand burst into black flames, the mana forming into a withered human wielding a sword.

"Dauthi Cutthroat (1/1, Shadow)," said Arog "Your move."

"So what are you getting out of this?" asked Eva, summoning her Jackal Pup (2/1). The pup appeared on the field and growled menacingly at the threat to his mistress. "What did the One promise you? Power? Fortune?"

"Justice," said Arog "The right to punish the one who killed my mother!"

He's talking about me, right?

Unfortunately, yes.

"Yes, you," said Arog, as if he'd read Arrathir's thoughts. His eyes burned with intense fury as he glared at the Keeper. "You killed my mother and you will pay dearly."

"Save it," said Arrathir "Do you know how many people have been trying to kill me? Quite a few, and let me tell you something: I'm still alive!"

"The One will defeat you if I do not," said Arog.

"If you doubt my power," said Arrathir "Try this! Putrid Imp (1/1)." The zombie appeared on the field and yawned, exposing a row of small, but sharp teeth. "Now I send my Hypnox to the graveyard to give my Imp flying!" Two wings sprouted from the Imp's back. He flapped them experimentally and then took off, hovering above the field. "And now the finale: Reanimate! I bring my Hypnox (8/8, Flying)!" The nightmare horror appeared on the field, towering over Arog's creature. "What are you going to do now?" asked Arrathir as the nightmare tightened its tentacles around him, absorbing his life essence.

AROG: 20
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 9

"This," said Arog "Terminate!" The deck rumbled as a small volcano appeared underneath the Hypnox. It erupted, sending a jet of liquid-hot magma at the creature above it. The Hypnox shrieked in pain as its body was consumed by the flames.

"Very useful spell," said Arog "Kills any creature and it can't be regenerated."

"My turn!" said Eva "Magma Jet to your creature!" A tongue of fire shot from her fingertips and consumed Arog's Cutthroat. "Now I attack with Jackal Pup!" The Pup jumped at Arog, biting his neck.

AROG: 18
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 9

"By now," said Arrathir "You guys should have learned that you can never really kill off my creatures since they'll always come back! I cast Exhume!" The ground shook as Arrathir's Hypnox reappeared on the field. "You get your Cutthroat back, but it won't be around for much longer."

"Neither will your Hypnox," said Arog "I play Breeding Pit!" A hole appeared in the ground beside Arog. A faint yellow light emanated from it, pulsing gently like the beating of a heart. "At the beginning of my upkeep, I must pay two black mana to keep this enchantment in play, but at the end of my turn, it produces a 0/1 Thrull." The pulsing light increased its tempo, building to a rapid series of flashes. Finally, a small creature climbed out of the pit. Its body was still wet from the embryonic fluids of its recent birth.

"I summon Mogg Fanatic (1/1)," said Eva. A small goblin appeared on the field, grinning in anticipation of the chaos it was going to cause.

"So you got yourself some useless creatures," said Arrathir "That's not going to save you from my flyer!" The Hypnox lashed out with its tentacles, bowling Arog over.

AROG: 10
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 9

"They may be useless for now," said Arog, spitting out a mouthful of blood "But just you wait. First, I'll cast Death Stroke on your Hypnox. This spell only works on tapped creatures, which your Hypnox happens to be." A warrior wielding a sword appeared and slashed savagely at the Hypnox, killing it in a flash of white light. "Now I play Grave Pact!" A freshly dug grave appeared beside Arog. "Whenever a creature I control is sent to the graveyard, each opponent must sacrifice a creature." The Breeding Pit began to flash again as it spawned another Thrull.

"You shouldn't leave yourself open!" said Eva. A flaming feline appeared on the field, its skin a carapace of fire. It opened its mouth in a flaming roar. "Blistering Firecat! Attack!" The Firecat lunged at Arog, ready to kill.

At Arog's command, his creatures moved in to block the attack. The four creatures crashed together, exploding into mana.

AROG: 6
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 9

"Well, now you each loose three creatures," said Arog.

"Before that, I sack my Mogg Fanatic to deal you one damage," said Eva. The goblin cackled madly and ran up to Arog, exploding on impact. The grave beside Arog suddenly vanished, reappearing beneath Arrathir's Putrid Imp. The creature fell in with a shrill cry, disappearing into the tomb. Eva's Jackal Pup suffered the same fate as the Imp.

AROG: 5
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 9

"Now the final piece of the puzzle comes in," said Arog "I cast Attrition!" A stone archway appeared on the field, its interior full of dancing flames. "By sacking a creature and paying one mana, I can destroy a nonblack creature."

"In other words…" said Eva.

"He can practically lock down the field by sacking his Thrulls to kill off our creatures and because of Grave Pact, he kills two creature for the price of one," finished Arrathir "However, there's one flaw: Attrition only works on nonblack creatures."

"I doesn't matter!" sneered Arog "She won't be able to summon anything, leaving her wide open for an attack! When your girlfriend is dead, you will know what I have been through. You will know the pain and anger I felt when I learned my mother had been murdered by the Keeper of Black Mana! You have no idea," he continued "What it was like, growing up with no parents. The closest person I had to a mother was Hana, the keeper of the orphanage I grew up in. She was a good woman. It was her who introduced me to Magic: The Gathering. Who knew that a card game would eventually rule my destiny? I left the orphanage at 18 for military service and that's when I met my mentor, Shirog. He taught me everything I know and just before dying, he revealed that you had killed my mother, Nira."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" said Arrathir "I don't know anyone called Nira!"

"My mother cast off her name and took on the name given to her by the One: Anima."

"Anima? Don't tell me…"

"Yes," said Arog "Anima, formerly Nira Dohran was my mother!"

Arrathir was stunned. The news that Anima's son was now after him brought flashbacks from the first week of the Awakening: his meeting Eva, Anima's arrival, his mother's death, their meeting with Erik, and the Sliver duel.

"Wait a minute!" said Arrathir, remembering, "I didn't kill Anima! The Keeper of White Mana did."

"You lie!" snapped Arog "It was because of you that my mother died! I have waited for this day."

"Your logic makes no sense!" said Arrathir "How can you avenge someone you didn't even know?"

"True," said Arog "I did not know her, but she was my mother and I feel it is my duty as her son to avenge her."

"Enough talk!" said Eva "You done?"

"No," said Arog "I summon Dauthi Slayer (2/2, Shadow)." A creature with wild hair appeared on the field. It drew a long knife and licked the curved blade expectantly, thirsty for blood. As Arog's turn ended, another Thrull appeared on the field.

"I summon Seal of Fire," said Eva. The red disk appeared on the field, pulsing with magical energy. "Next, I play Sulfuric Vortex!" A giant column of fire appeared on the field, rising high into the night air. "At the beginning of each player's upkeep, this spell deals two damage to them."

"Eva, are you nuts?" asked Arrathir.

"He's at five life," said Eva "He's got two turns left."

At the beginning of his turn, Arrathir cried out in pain as a solar flare erupted from the vortex, burning his skin. Gritting his teeth, he prepared himself for his next spell.

AROG: 5
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 7

"Zombify!" said Arrathir "Hypnox comes back to play!" The nightmare reappeared on the field for the third time. "Your move!"

The vortex spat a lightning bolt at Arog, who winced as his lifepoints fell.

AROG: 3
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 7

"Heh," laughed Arog "You've just done me a great favor, playing that enchantment. I play Dark Ritual!" Arog's hand burst into flames. The black fire moved up his arm until it completely engulfed it. Flinging his arm forwards, Arog threw the mana onto the ground, where it formed into three piles of mana. "Three mana floating," he said "Now I cast Consume Spirit on the Keeper of Black Mana! Five damage and I gain five life!"

Arrathir collapsed in pain as the spell sucked out his life essence in the form of a green mist that flowed into Arog's body.

AROG: 8
EVA: 20
ARRATHIR: 2

"Now die! Dauthi Slayer, kill him!"

The creature sprung forwards, its body turning translucent. As its reached Arrathir's creature, it simply passed through the Hypnox, unharmed.

"Sack Seal of Fire!" yelled Eva.

As the creature was about to deal a killing blow to Arrathir, the seal split in half, the pieces flying over to the Slayer and exploding, killing it.

"Thanks for the save," said Arrathir as his Hypnox was swallowed by the grave.

"It doesn't matter!" said Arog "Next turn, you are dead!"

"Can you do it, Eva?" Arrathir asked, turning to her "Can you finish him off this turn?"

"I can sure try!" said Eva as the vortex burned her.

AROG: 8
EVA: 18
ARRATHIR: 2

"I summon Mogg Fanatic," said Eva as the goblin appeared on the field. "Follow that up with a Magma Jet to you!" A jet of fire sprung from her fingertips and struck Arog in the chest, throwing him off balance.

AROG: 6
EVA: 18
ARRATHIR: 2

"Then, I summon Seal of Fire, sacking it to deal you two more damage!" The disk exploded, taking another chunk of Arog's liferpoints.

AROG: 4
EVA: 18
ARRATHIR: 2

"Now I sack my Fanatic to kill your Thrull! Thought I'd forgotten about it, eh?" The two creatures exploded into red and black mana.

"Now for the finale," said Eva, charging her mana. She suddenly clutched her chest, a shocked expression on her face. She doubled over in pain with a cry.

"Eva!" yelled Arrathir, catching her "You OK?"

"Yeah…" panted Eva "Just…a…little…winded…"

"Can you finish your spell?"

"No," admitted Eva "I'm sorry, but I can't. You're going to loose."

Arrathir knew it was true. He eyed the vortex warily.

Is there anything we can do, Chikuro?

No. You're all tapped out.

Is there anything you can do?

Arrathir, I can't keep bailing you out of these situations. You have to learn from your mistakes.

But he's gonna kill me!

Arrathir, you're a Planeswalker. You can't really die. He'll absorb your life essence, then next turn he's down to two and then Eva will burn his ass.

You'd better be right about this.

"Eva, promise me one thing," said Arrathir "Don't loose to him."

The vortex shot another flame of fire at Arrathir as his turn began. He screamed in pain as the flames burned away at his body. When the flare subsided, Arrathir's lifeless body fell to the ground. Eva couldn't believe it; she refused to believe it. The Keeper of Black Mana had been defeated.

"No!" she screamed, running over to Arrathir's body. Kneeling, she lifted the keeper's head and placed it in her lap, stroking his ears mournfully as the first tears began falling from her eyes.

"How touching," said Arog, arrogantly "Someone actually cared about that monster."

"Arrathir is not a monster!" shouted Eva, glaring at Arog "And when I beat you, he'll be back!"

"Wrong!" said Arog, triumphantly "He'd dead, and even if you beat me, it won't change a thing."

"He's 'died' before, but he came back."

"You seem to forget that when two summoners duel, the winner absorbs the loser's life essence, thereby gaining his power," said Arog "I simply let his life essence leave his body and fly away. Without his life essence, he's nothing more than an empty shell."

"You lie!"

"I'm glad that I'm not," said Arog as the vortex burned him "The Keeper of Black Mana is dead. My mother is avenged."

AROG: 2
EVA: 18

Eva didn't know how to react. She felt a great void inside of her. After her parents' death, Arrathir had been her anchor. He'd helped her through her grief and given her the power to avenge her parents. Though she had trouble admitting it to herself, she'd grown attached to Arrathir. He may have been clumsy, temperamental, and a bit crazy, but it was all those flaws she loved about him. She knew he genuinely cared about her and hadn't taken her in because he pitied her. Now, he was gone.

As the reality of the situation set it, Eva's grief came tumbling out and she wept openly as she held Arrathir's lifeless body close to her, gently rocking him.

(He saved my life several times and I wasn't even able to return the favor)

"How pathetic," said Arog "To think that anyone would shed a tear over the death of that monster. He never deserved to live."

At Arog's words, Eva's grief was replaced by an intense burning rage. She stood up, her mana manifesting itself in a faint red glow around her body from her rage.

"You only say that because you think he killed you mother! She was no saint either! She killed my parents, Arrathir's mother, and an entire room of harmless people just to get to him! If anyone was a monster, she was!"

Arog's smug expression faltered. "Do not," he said "Insult my mother that way!" His voice was cold and menacing. "I originally only intended to kill the keeper, but your words will not go unpunished!"

"Bring it!" yelled Eva.

"Fine!" said Arog "Corrupt!" Black tendrils shot from Arog's fingers, wrapping themselves around Eva's wrists and neck. The tendrils pushed Eva down until she was kneeling. She writhed in pain as the spell sapped her lifepoints away. "Five to you and I gain five life," said Arog.

AROG: 7
EVA: 13

"End turn," said Arog as another Thrull appeared "And thanks to your enchantment, you loose more life."

AROG: 7
EVA: 11

Eva tried to stand, but collapsed under the strain of the effort.

"You are weak," taunted Arog "I am a fully-fledged summoner while you were only a pitiful apprentice to that monster."

"I," said Eva, slowly getting up "AM," she continued, charging her mana. The aura reappeared around her, only stronger and larger. "NOT," the aura turned into a blazing inferno that surrounded her. She threw her hands, the fire flowing into her hands and forming a small ball of fire. The fireball grew as she pulled her hands apart, stretching the flames. "WEAK!" She thrust her hands forwards, the fireball flying at Arog with a deadly roar. The spell hit him head-on, throwing him against the stump of the mainmast. He lay there, groaning in pain.

AROG: 1
EVA: 11

"Now," said Eva, still seething "My vortex will finish you off! Burn in Hell, you son of a bitch!"

Arog screamed as the vortex shot a final solar flare at him, burning through flesh and bone to terminate his life. When the flare died out, his lifeless body lay on the ground, still smoking.

Eva was suddenly flooded with images as Arog's life essence was transferred to her: a young boy running through the filthy streets of a city; the same boy, older this time, playing a game of Magic: The Gathering; the boy, now an adult, kissing an old woman as he left his home. She was a bit disoriented and had to sit down to avoid falling over, but soon the images stopped.

"Hey, Arrathir," she said, shaking the keeper's body "Arog's dead. Arrathir? Arrathir!"

The keeper didn't respond. Eva felt more tears welling up in her eyes. She had clung onto the desperate hope that Arog was lying and that Arrathir was not dead.

"Don't do this to me, Arrathir," she pleaded "Don't leave me. I need you. You're the only one who was always been there for me. Without you, I don't know what I'd do. I know you think I hate you because of the whole demon thing, but I don't. I love you, Arrathir!"

To be continued…
Author's Note: Well, I've done it again: I've killed of my character. This time, it won't be so easy for him to come back. Also, we finally get the confirmation of Eva's feelings for Arrathir. Will her love be enough to bring him back in the clichéd Hollywood style?

A merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all have a safe a happy holiday season. Don't know if I'll get another chapter by the 31 st. If I don't, see you in the New Year!