Once upon a time, there were five kingdoms. These kingdoms were situated in a place known as the divided lands. There was the land of light, and right across from it there was the land of dark. Both lands were surrounded by the infinite forest, a wood so enormous that many who ventured into its clutches never returned.

The first of the five kingdoms lay in the land of the dark. It was known as the kingdom of DM, and was ruled over by the great Pharaoh Atem. Known to his friends as Yami, he ruled over the land with a kind heart but a strong sense of justice. He would probably be even harsher with criminals were it not for the influence of his chief advisor and best friend Yugi Muto. It wasn't the fact that Yugi complained or asked Yami to be more merciful, it was simply having him around that softened the regal man's heart. Along with all his other friends too, like the court priest Seto Kaiba and the captain of the royal guard Joey Wheeler, as well as his second in command Tristan Taylor. The royal healer Isis and her family were highly valued too, her children Ishizu, Marik and Odion had lived in the palace and been friends with the pharaoh for a long time. The other members of the court were like family too, this included the royal sorcerer Mahad and his apprentice Mana; one of his vizier's, and Yugi's grandfather, Solomon Muto; the kingdom's spiritual advisor Shadi and Yami's personal spy Duke Devlin. The group were also very close to some of the nobles, such as Lady Téa Gardner, Duchess Mai Valentine and Lord Ryo Bakura.

Then just a hop skip and a jump away from the kingdom of DM was the kingdom of 5D'S, the other kingdom in the land of the dark. This kingdom was ruled over by Prince Yusei Fudo. He was a calm and reasonable ruler but believed in protecting the innocent and equality amongst everyone, his people both loved and trusted him. His court consisted of his advisors and best friends Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan and Kalin Kessler. Then there was his adopted brother and sister Luna and Leo, the two had lost their parents in a tragic accident but Yusei had taken them in and treated them as if they were his real siblings. Another important member of the kingdom of 5D'S was Yusei's friend and personal mechanic Bruno. He had need of a mechanic, for the kingdom of 5D'S was famous for turbo duelling and the royal palace even had its own duel track. Yusei and his friends battled on it whenever they could, even though no one could defeat Yusei, he was the turbo duelling champion after all. When he wasn't duelling he was running his kingdom with the help of his friends. Aside from those in the palace, he also found friends in Dame Sherry LeBlanc, Countess Akiza Izinski, Lady Carly Carmine and Baroness Mina Simington. With all of them around, as well as all the children Crow kept taking in, much to the annoyance of Jack, the palace was always full of life.

Then over in the land of light, there was the kingdom of GX. This kingdom was under the rule of Supreme King Jaden Yuki (don't worry he's not evil). He was a good ruler but he had a tendency to slack off and not worry about things. His friends chose to describe him as laid-back, though they used the term loosely. Due to his way of seeing things, he tended to rely on his advisors Chaz Princeton and Cyrus Truesdale to get things done. Cyrus's brother Zane Truesdale also worked in the palace, as head of the guards, he frequently butted heads with his second officers, Aster Phoenix and Tyranno Hassleberry, but all in all, they were good friends. Other members of the palace included the kingdom's intelligence advisor Bastion Misawa; Jaden's personal spy Axel Brodie and the duel spirit trainer Jim Crocodile Cook. You see, the kingdom of GX was inhabited by many duel spirits and while most were friendly, some could be a bit hostile. Fortunately, Jim had lots of experience with duel spirits and was able to help them open up to humans. Jaden himself was famous for his strong connection to the spirits, particularly to his partners Yubel and Winged Kuriboh. The nobility of this kingdom consisted of Dame Alexis Rhodes and her brother Duke Atticus Rhodes as well as Jaden's best friend Sir Jesse Anderson.

The other kingdom in the land of light was the kingdom of ZEXAL. The leader of this kingdom was Prince Astral, although his personal servant and best friend Yuma Tsukumo helped him out so much, they pretty much ruled the kingdom together. For you see, Yuma was hot-headed and prideful but he was also kind-hearted and loyal, he believed in second chances and never gave up on anyone or anything. Astral was rather stoic and serious, but he was logical and always had a plan for everything. In short, the two completed each other, a mind and a heart. Then there were the other servants in the castle: the royal messenger Bronk Stone; the head maid Tori Meadows; the healer Dextra; the royal spy Flip Turner; the disciplinarian, in charge of the servants, Caswell Francis; the chief advisor Kite Tenjo, and the royal protection force. Unlike the hoards of guards all the other kingdoms had, the kingdom of ZEXAL had an elite team of warriors in charge of protecting the kingdom. They were known as the Emperors and were stronger than the combined forces of most armies. They were lead by Reginald Kastle, although his friends knew him as Shark and the other Emperors called him Nash. He was somewhat reclusive and apathetic, but deep down his heart was good and he would do anything to protect the kingdom and those he held dear. His second in command, Dumon, was also his best friend and the two would frequently team up for assignments. Dumon was incredibly loyal to Nash and always follow his orders without question. Vector and Alito would sometimes tease him for it, but he just ignored it, he was one of those people that just didn't care what others thought. Alito, on the other hand, could get incredibly frustrated when others insulted him. He was very outgoing and eccentric, and though it sometimes annoyed the others, in truth they were very fond of him and his childishness. He was like Yuma in many ways, and the two adored dueling each other, each seeing the other as their perfect rival. As I said before, Alito didn't take well to people poking fun at him, but he got nowhere near as worked up as Mizar. He would snap if someone so much as hinted that he was weak in any way shape or form. Out of all of the Emperors he was the most prideful, he saw himself as the master of the galaxy eyes (his favorite monster), and one of the greatest duelists in the kingdom. He frequently butted heads with Kite over this, as Kite also possessed a galaxy eyes monster, and thought he was the most worthy of being its master. Moving on from them though, another member of the Emperors was Girag. Now Girag was what you would call, big, lovable, but make him mad and it'll be the last thing you ever do. He wasn't the smartest of the Emperors and his plans frequently failed, but you had to give him points for perseverance. He stood by his friends to the bitter end though, and was always first to defend them if ever they were in trouble. Unless of course Yuma was there, no one could beat him to protection. But enough about that, the next member of the Emperors was Ray Shadows, known as Vector to his teammates, he was the scariest member of the group. While he generally had an outgoing fun loving personality, some of his ideas about fun could get a little out of hand at times. He was a good person really; he just didn't have a very good concept of what was going too far. Although his methods of fighting were questionable, and Nash had to keep an eye on him during their battles, he was still brave and loyal and would do anything to protect the kingdom and its people. Then there was the final member of the group, Rio Kastle. She was Shark's sister and the only girl in their little team. The rest of them knew her as Marin, and she was known for her "heart of ice". Though really she was kind and always helping those in need, if anyone got on her bad side, they would either live to regret it or not live at all. The nobles in the kingdom of ZEXAL, as well as friends to those in the palace, were: The lords, Quattro, Quinton, Trey and Vetrix; however these were only titles, their official names were Tomas, Christopher, Michael and Byron Archlight. Then there was Lady Cathy Katherine, Duchess Anna Kaboom and Sir Nistro. In short the kingdom of ZEXAL was incredibly large, and everyone there treated those around them like family, no matter who they were. For the kingdom of ZEXAL was inhabited by both humans and Astral beings. The astral beings had come to earth many years ago in search of somewhere new to live since their home on Astral World had become too crowded. The humans of the ZEXAL kingdom, who were so few at the time, gladly accepted them, and in a few short years the kingdom had advanced incredibly.

Now we come to the final kingdom in the lands. This one was very special, it was formed many, many years ago when two people from the light and dark lands met for the first time. Never before had anyone crossed the borders between the lands. While these two people did not look it, they were incredibly different. For you see, there was a reason they were called the light and dark lands. The land of light got its name because all the people there had light magic, and in the land of dark people had dark magic. Of course, there were those that were born without magic and some who chose to move between lands, although this didn't occur very often. Anyway, when these two people met, they crossed the borders for the first time, and after meeting all the people in the other lands, more started crossing. Eventually, these people formed their own kingdom right on the border, it spread out into both the light and dark lands, with the royal palace sat on the very heart of the boarder. Since the kingdom lay between both lands and was inhabited by people with both light and dark magic they named it the Kingdom of the Pendulum. Nowadays the kingdom was ruled by Queen Yoko and King Yusho Sakaki. The two were incredibly kind and fair rulers, much beloved by their people. They worked as hard as they could to ensure everyone, whether light or dark, was accepted. Yoko was incredibly wise and always knew the right thing to say or do in different situations. Yusho was much the same, although he was a bit more reckless than her, he enjoyed dueling and putting on shows. The entire pendulum kingdom was famous for its action duels and great dueltainers. Yusho was known throughout both lands as the best dueltainer in the kingdom. However, even though he had to rule a kingdom and preform for it, he still managed to make time for his family. This family consisted of him, Yoko and their three, triplet sons. The eldest of the three was Yuto, a friendly but serious boy with flared eggplant hair, purple at the front and black at the back. He had grey eyes that always seemed to be looking around him with caution and coldness. However, this was because he was very protective of his brothers and friends, Shay and Lulu Obsidian, because he was the oldest out of all of them and felt he had a duty to protect them. Though he was never harsh with people he thought might be a threat, as he was against violence and had no desire to hurt anyone. Very much unlike the youngest of the triplets, Yuri. Yuri was sadistic and thought it was fun to bully and torment people. Yoko and Yusho frequently tried to discipline him, but it never worked. He would always set up pranks and tricks to mess with his brothers, but never did anything to really hurt them. Sometimes he would to others but Yugo would sort him out for that. Yugo was the middle child and the most open of the triplets. He was hard-headed and stubborn, but very optimistic and fun-loving. He enjoyed playing games with his best friend Rin, and the two were often joined by Lulu, Shay and Yuto. Sometimes even Yuri would join in when he wasn't torturing some innocent person. All in all, life was good for the three young princes; and it was only going to get better. When they were five their parents informed them they were going to have a new brother or sister. All three boys were ecstatic. Yuto couldn't wait to have a younger sibling to care for, Yugo was looking forward to teaching them how to duel and playing all kinds of games with them, and Yuri… Well, Yuri was just wondering how he could make them upset or angry. Unfortunately, none of them got the chance to for fill their goals… But we'll get to that later. The queen's pregnancy was completely successful and a healthy baby boy was born to the royal family. Yoko gave him the name Yuya, he had bright red eyes and small tufts of red hair showing on top of his head. He was adorable and his family simply adored him, except Yuri, he just kept scaring him and making him cry. Yuto and Yugo would do what they could to make Yuri behave though. Now, as with all newborn children, Yuya had to be taken to the kingdom of DM to find out about his magical abilities. The millennium items, owned by Atem and his court, could show a person's soul and the magic within it. With most people this was just to tell whether they had any magical powers, and how strong they were, but with children from the pendulum kingdom they also had to determine whether it was light or dark magic they possessed. Since the kingdom crossed into both lands, the people born there could have either power. Yusho and Yoko both had light magic, as did Yugo, whereas Yuto and Yuri had dark magic. What power, if any, that Yuya possessed was unknown, until they reached the kingdom of DM and the high priest Seto used his millennium rod to gaze into Yuya soul. He saw that he had a pure heart, full of happiness and fun, but he saw something else too. Something that shocked the entirety of both lands. Yuya had been born with both light and dark magic! No one in the history of the divided lands had ever been born with both kinds of magic. His two entities were pretty powerful too, according to the readings. It was such a shock to everyone, they didn't know whether to be thrilled of terrified by the news. At first, Yoko and Yusho simply took Yuya home and decided to give people time to come to terms with the news, and as it began to set in, people started to believe this was a miracle of some kind. There were celebrations all throughout the five kingdoms for the child with light and darkness. Since it was also known he had a good heart, people believed Yuya might be able to do wonderful things for the world. There were parades in the streets and fireworks in the evenings, everyone celebrating the miracle of Yuya's birth. All except one. The evil sorcerer Don Thousand was not at all thrilled with the news. Someone with light and dark power could be a threat to him and his goals. For you see, Don Thousand was an evil man who sought to become the most powerful sorcerer in both the lands. In fact more than a sorcerer, he wished to be a god. To have infinite power and control over everything. This Yuya was supposed to be incredibly powerful, and not just one but two kinds of power, he could be a real danger. Though on the other hand… The more he pondered over it, the more Don Thousand realised Yuya's abilities could be just what he needed. He already had an idea of how he would gain his infinite power, but he would need a powerful soul and strong magic. Yuya could be just what he needed…

So one night, while the kingdom slept, he crept into the room of the prince. He used his skills as a sorcerer to reach into Yuya's heart, trying to steal his soul away. The entire room was bathed in crackling white light as Don Thousand searched for Yuya's soul, he'd never felt so much resistance before, even in the most powerful of magicians. Eventually he couldn't take the strain and was forced away. The evil man stared in shock as Yuya simply whimpered a bit and shifted around in his sleep. Clearly his powers were stronger than anyone realised. Don Thousand was snapped back to reality by the sound of shouting and general commotion throughout the palace. Clearly his presence had been discovered somehow. Acting purely on instinct, he grabbed Yuya and transported away. The king and a handful of soldiers burst into the room a second later, only to find it empty with no trace of the evil sorcerer or the young prince. The two had been transported back to Don Thousand's castle in the infinite forest. As soon as they arrived Yuya began wailing in distress, almost as though he understood what had just happened. Don Thousand immediately silenced him with a spell, then took a moment to process what had just happened. Kidnapping the prince had not been his plan, he had only intended to steal his soul. However, since there seemed to be some kind of barrier preventing him from doing so, this would appear to be the next best thing. He decided he would keep Yuya here and raise him to be his servant, all the while monitoring his powers, until the time was right for him to take them for himself…

Though first he decided he would need to ensure no one ever recognised Yuya, should they somehow see him, plus it would be an excellent excuse for why Yuya had to stay here in his castle. So Don Thousand used his magic to transform Yuya into a monster. His physical form remained the same, but his skin turned to a deep, inky, black and dark, ruffled, wings now sprouted from his back. Fortunately, his hair remained the same small red tufts it had always been, and his face was left the same pale pink colour, although large curls and spikes of black grew around the edges of his face, curling onto his cheeks, chin and forehead. It satisfied Don Thousand that no one would ever recognise the boy, especially once he'd grown a little.

Meanwhile, back in the pendulum kingdom, great fear and panic began to weave its ugly hands around the citizens. They were fearful of who could have taken their prince, and for what purpose. This panic spread across the lands until everyone was feeling concern for themselves and Yuya. When the news reached the other four rulers, they ordered their guards and/or soldiers to search every inch of their kingdoms. Yusho had already had the pendulum kingdom searched thoroughly, but of course, they came up with nothing. The dual magical prince had vanished off the face of the earth.

After a few months, it became terrifyingly clear to everyone that the missing prince was not going to be found, and as a result, the searches were called off. The people were still encouraged to have hope, and report anything they should hear concerning the matter. However, as the months faded into years, people's hope began to fade also, until most simply forgot about it altogether.

Yusho always blamed himself for what happened, despite the protests of his wife that no one was at fault. Their three other children weren't much support either. Yuto kept saying it was all his fault, and that because he was the oldest he should have been there to protect Yuya. Yugo was much the same, only unlike Yuto, who only mentioned it when asked, he was more than happy to go off into rants about how stupid and careless he, and everyone else, had been. Yuri kept to the sidelines, watching his family's distress with a smirk on his face. To him, this whole thing was like a show, one that helped distract him from the pain in his heart. Despite his sadistic nature and reluctance to show his feelings, Yuri did care somewhat for his family, and like all of them he had a hole in his heart right now. A hole where Yuya should have been…

Unfortunately, Yuya was miles away in the infinite forest. The forest surrounded the entire divided lands, and Don Thousand's castle happened to be in the land of the light. The closest kingdom to it was the kingdom of GX, it was about half an hours walk away. Though Yuya would never get to make that trip. He spent the first thirteen years of his life slaving away for his "master". Don Thousand told him he'd been abandoned as a child for being a freak and a monster, he said that as he was so repulsive he must never leave the castle, else people would attack him. He also said that Yuya was a freak for having light and dark magic, and in order to protect himself, he must never use his powers. Yuya believed every word he said, after all, there was no proof he was lying. In fact, Yuya thought his mere appearance was evidence enough that those words were true. By this time his red hair had grown into a thick mane around his head, and a patch of green hair sat directly on top of it, with one green curl spiking upwards. His skin had remained the same inky black and his eyes were still a perfect crimson. Whist his wings had grown to reach his waist, and were shaped as though meant for an angel, even if they were black as the night. Yuya wasn't really as monstrous as he'd been brought up to believe, but that belief had been carved into his mind and continued to torment him. Each time he looked in the mirror he would wonder whether anyone could love someone as hideous as him. Though he tried not to dwell on it too much. He always went around with a smile on his face, no matter how much work he had to do. He liked Don Thousand, because he was under the impression the man liked him, and had taken him in when no one else would. Someone who accepted and took care of a monster like him couldn't be a bad person. Sure he was harsh at times, and Yuya had to work almost every waking hour, but at least he had food, shelter and a warm bed, he knew there were people in the world who would give anything for those, so yeah, he was happy. He learnt all he knew from reading the many books in the vast library Don Thousand had, whenever he could snag a small second to himself he would grab a book and learn something new. He loved it because it allowed him to enter a new world, even for a moment. For despite being grateful for his life, he couldn't help dreaming of more. What he wanted more than anything in the world was the make people happy. No, more than that, he wanted to entertain them. Whenever he read of magicians or performers and the way they could make whole crowds jump to their feet with cheering or laughter, it made Yuya feel something deep in his heart. Like performing was in his DNA or something. It was as if destiny had wanted him to discover what it means to entertain. Sadly, he knew deep in his heart it would never be more than a dream. People would never smile and cheer for him, they would scream and run away. For he was a monster, and that was all he'd ever be, and it made his heart ache with pain and longing. Longing to be different, to be free. Often he would look out his window, in his high tower, at night and think to himself:

What's the point of having wings, if I cannot fly…?