Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my own characters.
CHAPTER 52-A Duel with the Past
"This brings back so many memories," said Chihowaido "Remember the last time we faced off like this?"
"No," said Chikuro "I don't."
"Still amnesiac?" taunted Chihowaido "Maybe this will refresh your memory: Black Lotus!" A black flower appeared on the field "I sack it to add three white mana to my mana pool." The flower exploded into three black petals that faded to white and settled on Chihowaido, bursting into mana as they touched his body. The mana surrounded Chihowaido like an aura. "Then I cast Circle of Protection: Black and I summon Suntail Hawk (1/1, Flying)." A black ring appeared around Chihowaido with golden symbols engraved around the perimeter. A small hawk formed from the last mana, perching on its master's left shoulder. "That stir up any souvenirs?"
"I invoke the Black Lotus!" said Chihowaido.
"And what is a little flower going to do against me?" laughed Chikuro.
"This little flower is a powerful artifact!" said Chihowaido "It harnesses the power of mana, allowing me to sacrifice it to add three mana of any color to my mana pool! I sacrifice for three white mana!"
"I am still not impressed," said Chikuro.
"This is but the beginning," said Chihowaido "Next, I invoke the enchantment, Circle of Protection: Black! Your dark magic cannot penetrate the sanctity of this enchantment. By channeling mana into it, I can prevent all damage one of your spells or creatures would do to me. Finally, with my final mana, I summon my Suntail Hawk!"
"Ah, good," said Chihowaido as a look of shock dawned on Chikuro's face "You remember."
"I do," said Chikuro, in a hushed voice "You played those same moves all those years ago."
"A fitting opening to your downfall," laughed Chihowaido "Your last win was just a fluke."
"A fluke? You sacrificed yourself to kill me!" said Chikuro "I'd say it was more like I was kicking your ass and you couldn't stand to loose so you made sure nobody would win."
"I chose to die and take you with me rather than to let your darkness rule the Multiverse," said Chihowaido "I'm going to cleanse the Multiverse of your evil once and for all!"
"I repeat," said Chikuro "I am not trying to take over the Multiverse again, but since you're too obdurate to understand this, I'll have to show you the hard way! I cast Buried Alive, sending three creatures I possess to the graveyard!" Two gravediggers appeared next to a grave that dug itself in the ground. Concentrating, Chikuro called upon his Havoc Demon, Hypnox, and Avatar of Woe, each creature appearing on the field before falling into the grave. Once all three creatures were in, the gravediggers seized their shovels and began filling in the grave, soon muffling the cries of the creatures within.
"You plan to revive them next turn with Living Death," said Chihowaido "Classic reanimation strategy: dump a big creature into the graveyard and bring it back with a cheap revival spell. However, I have the perfect counter. I play Honor the Fallen." A golden light surrounded Chihowaido and Chikuro gasped as he felt the spell consuming his graveyard. "This spell removes all creature cards in all graveyards from the game and I gain one life for each creature removed this way."
Shit. This kind of blows my opening advantage to Hell. Let's hope he doesn't have too many of those spells ready.
CHIHOWAIDO: 23
CHIKURO: 20
"Now I'll give my creatures something to fight for! I cast Crusade," said Chihowaido. Golden dust rained down from the mouth of the crater, settling over Chihowaido's creature. The hawk's eyes became fiercer and it grew larger. "All white creatures have their power and toughness increased by one. Attack, my Suntail Hawk (2/2)!" The hawk let out a piercing screech, flying over to Chikuro and raking his face with its talons.
CHIHOWAIDO: 23
CHIKURO: 18
"Not bad," said Chikuro "But you shouldn't have tired yourself so much. Now you've exhausted your mana, leaving you defenseless! I summon Putrid Imp (1/1)!" The small zombie appeared on the field "And I discard Spirit of the Night to give my Imp flying until end of turn. Next, I cast Exhume. This spell allows both players to return a creature from their graveyard to play. I return Spirit of the Night (6/5, Flying, Trample, Protection from black, Haste)!" A grotesque creature appeared on the field, its body made of what looked like brown smoke. It opened its mouth and let out a low moan that echoed through the crater. "Spirit of the Night, cut down Chihowaido a few notches, eh?" grinned Chikuro. The creature wrapped its smoke-like body around Chihowaido; the smoke turning black as the Keeper could be heard screaming in pain.
CHIHOWAIDO: 17
CHIKURO: 18
"I summon Paladin en-Vec (3/3, First Strike, Protection from black)," said Chihowaido. A man dressed in white armor wielding a pike and a round shield appeared on the field. "That will be all."
"Playing defensively?" asked Chikuro "Fine, let's see what you have planned. Duress!" Chihowaido winced in pain as the Keeper of Black mana probed his mind, visioning his spells.
"Ah, Kismet, eh?" said Chikuro "Loose it. Next, a change of scenery. I play Unholy Grotto!" The field around them changed to a dank cavern, full of broken weapons set on the graved of their former owners. Water dripped from the inexistent ceiling, collecting in small pools formed by crevices in the rocky ground. "Rather appropriate, no?" asked Chikuro "Next, I swampcycle Twisted Abomination, gaining a swamp for next turn. Finally, I summon Darksteel Brute to deal with your pro-black creature." An enormous black wolf appeared on the field, frozen in an attack position. "This artifact allows me to channel mana into it to create a 2/2 creature. Also, since it is made of Darksteel, it is indestructible. Since you have the mana necessary to activate your Circle, it would be pointless to attack. Make your move."
"I summon Dawn Elemental (4/4, Flying)," said Chihowaido. A blue winged creature appeared hovering above the field. "As you know, all damage done to Dawn Elemental is prevented," said Chihowaido "End turn."
A million to one says he enchants it with Pariah next turn.
I think the odds are a bit higher than that. More like ten million to one.
"I dump Avatar of Woe into my Graveyard," said Chikuro "Gain an extra land from my swampcycle, and Zombify the Avatar (6/5, Fear)." A woman dressed in a black dress with a blue shawl appeared of the field. Her hair was arranged in a curious fashion: It curved around her head to two points on either side of her face. She wore a thin blue mask over her eyes and wielded a staff ending in a horizontal crosspiece.
"I enchant my Elemental with Pariah," said Chihowaido. A thin golden line shot out from Chihowaido's chest and connected with the Dawn Elemental "All damage that would be dealt to me is dealt to Dawn Elemental, but since Dawn Elemental takes no damage…"
"I get it," growled Chikuro "You have the perfect defense."
"Exactly," said Chihowaido "Even if I spend all my mana and cannot use my Circle of Protection, the damage you could deal me will still be prevented. Now I cast Swords to Plowshares on your Avatar of Woe. That thing is too dangerous for my taste." The Avatar's staff exploded into pieces, the creature itself falling to the ground before turning back into mana. "You gain life equal to the creature's power, but that's a price I'm willing to pay."
CHIHOWAIDO: 17
CHIKURO: 22
"I summon Kokusho, the Evening Star (5/5, Flying)!" said Chikuro. A giant dragon appeared on the field, its deep purple scales shimmering in the pale light. It coiled its snake-like body around the perimeter of the field, awaiting its master's orders. "Now to break your perfect defense, Terror on your Elemental!" A black beam shot from his hands and destroyed the creature. "I know you have a Wrath of God ready, but do you really want to give me the extra lifepoints?"
"I have something much better in mind," said Chihowaido "I invoke Loxodon Warhammer and equip it to Paladin en-Vec (6/3)." A giant hammer appeared on the field. The Paladin picked it up, the weapon humming with energy. "This equipment raises the attack of the creature using it by three and gives it trample. Now, Paladin en-Vec, cleanse the field of his darkness! Attack!" The Paladin charged forwards, Warhammer held high.
"I channel three mana into my Darksteel Brute to turn it into a 2/2 creature!" said Chikuro as the Paladin approached. The steel wolf came to life as the Paladin reached it. Slashing out with its claws, it carved three deep gouges in the creature's side. The Paladin replied by smashing the wolf's face in with its hammer, the shockwave from the attack throwing Chikuro off his feet.
"As well," said Chihowaido "Whenever the equipped creature deals damage, I gain that much life."
CHIHOWAIDO: 21
CHIKURO: 18
"I summon Hypnox (8/8, Flying)!" said Chikuro. The nightmare horror appeared on the field with a chilling screech. "Since it was summoned directly, you discard your hand."
"I know Hypnox's effect!" snapped Chihowaido.
"Fine then. End turn."
"Your end is near!" cackled Chihowaido "Come forth now, Akroma, Angel of Wrath (7/7, Flying, first strike, trample, haste, protection from black, protection from red, vigilance)!" From the mouth of the crater there descended a beautiful winged woman with purple hair. She was fully dressed in battle armor and wielded a large broadsword. As she landed, she looked confusedly about.
"I'm…alive?" she said in astonishment "I thought Kamahl…"
"He did," said Chihowaido "You are dead, Akroma. This body is but an illusion; a shadow of your past self I have summoned to aid me in combat."
"And who are you?" asked Akroma with contempt.
"I am Chihowaido, Keeper of White Mana," said the spirit.
"Why should I serve you?"
"Because you only exist in the real world because of me," said Chihowaido "If I choose to dispel you, your existence in corporeal form would cease."
"Fine," said Akroma "I suppose I have no choice then. I will serve you for the time being."
"That's more like it!" said Chihowaido "Attack the ghell! You too, Paladin!" Akroma beat her wings, taking off and she flew towards Arrathir. The paladin held the Loxodon Warhammer high as he rushed in to attack.
"Activate Steel Brute's ability!" said Chikuro "Have the creature block your Paladin en-Vec!" The steel wolf came to life again, intercepting the Paladin's attack. Akroma, however, had no trouble dodging Chikuro's flying creatures and slashed at the Keeper, her sword shining with holy light.
CHIHOWAIDO: 29
CHIKURO: 5
As Chikuro picked himself out of the cold pool he'd been thrown into by Akroma's attack, wincing in pain from the large, bleeding gash in his right shoulder, he felt the ground rumbled and suddenly become extremely warm. Jumping aside, he narrowly avoided being incinerated by the geyser of molten lava that erupted from the ground beside him.
Shit! We're still in the volcano. The attacks must be weakening the ground. This could make the volcano go into eruption. Guess that just means I'll have to hurry up and defeat Chihowaido.
"You know," said Chikuro, popping his jaw back in place "That really hurt, but what I'm about to do will hurt even more. I summon Abyssal Gatekeeper (1/1), enchant it with Casting of Bones!" A gray, scorpion-like creature appeared on the field. "Now I cast Night's Whisper, drawing two spells and loosing two life." Chikuro winced as a fresh cut opened on his right cheek.
CHIHOWAIDO: 29
CHIKURO: 3
"Next, I cast Innocent Blood, forcing us each to sacrifice a creature," said Chikuro.
"So you plan to gain life by sacrificing your dragon?" laughed Chihowaido as he dispelled his Suntail Hawk.
"I'm not sacking Kokusho!" said Chikuro "I sacrifice Abyssal Gatekeeper!" The creature exploded into mana, three bones falling onto the ground. "When a creature enchanted with Casting of Bones goes to the graveyard, I gain three spells and send one to the graveyard," said Chikuro "Also, the Gatekeeper's ability activates now: When it goes to the graveyard, each player must sacrifice a creature. I sack Putrid Imp." The zombie exploded with a squeal.
"Why you…" said Chihowaido, sacrificing his Paladin en-Vec, the Loxodon Warhammer clanking to the ground.
"Now," said Chikuro "To get rid of your angel. I cast Dark Ritual!" A black aura surrounded the Keeper of Mana "Three black mana, which I use to cast my own Loxodon Warhammer!" The artifact appeared on the field "Then, I cast Cabal Ritual! Since I have Threshold, it adds five black mana to my mana pool!" The aura around Chikuro intensified to a blazing inferno. "I cast Sinkhole on your untapped Plain," he said. The ground around Chihowaido exploded as the spell took effect.
"In response," said Chihowaido "Before my Plain is destroyed, I tap it to activate my Circle of Protection, preventing all damage your Hypnox would deal this turn!" The circle pulsed with energy and the runes glowed brightly.
"Fine by me," said Chikuro "I cast Chainer's Edict on you, so sack the angel!"
"No!" said Akroma "You cannot banish me!"
"Shut up!" growled Chihowaido as the angel exploded into white mana with a painful scream.
"Finally, I attack with Kokusho, the Evening Star," said Chikuro. The dragon opened it mouth, breathing black fire all over Chihowaido.
CHIHOWAIDO: 24
CHIKURO: 3
"I play Breath of Life," snarled Chihowaido "Bringing Akroma back to the field!" A golden light erupted from Chihowaido's field. When it faded, the Angel of Wrath once again stood ready for combat. "Akroma, finish him!" The angel flew at Chikuro, ready to deal the killing blow.
To be continued…
Author's Note: So Chikuro and Chihowaido duke it out in classic black vs white action, but can Chikuro beat some sense into the paranoid Keeper before the volcano erupts, killing them both?
On another note, I don't think I'm going to be able to meet the "KoRM awakens by the end of the month" challenge. However, the Keeper will awaken soon, I promise.
Until next time, Do vstrechi!