Here it is, readers! We're closing in on the final battle! I'm grateful for those of you who stayed with me this far and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations! Please enjoy!
*Heaven*
After following Dante into the Gate of Heaven, Spiral found himself in Heaven... Okay, yeah, that statement sounded too on the nose. Spiral looked around so he could see what the place looked like. It was exactly how Spiral imagined how Heaven would look like; it was a series of Greek-like architecture's on top of the clouds. Spiral couldn't find Dante anywhere.
"Where is he?" Spiral wondered. "He came here shortly before I did, so he shouldn't have gotten far."
Something then tugged on Spiral's jacket. Spiral became startled and turned around quickly. He was schocked to see who it was. He didn't know how to respond to what he was seeing. The person he saw was none other than...
"Etsuko?" Spiral looked right at the person.
The person in question was definitely Etsuko.
"Are you okay, big bro?" Etsuko asked.
Seeing the sight of his little sister again made Spiral well up with tears and hug her like he hasn't seen her in a while. That's because he hasn't.
"What's wrong?" Etsuko asked.
"I... I missed you so much." Spiral cried.
"I missed you, too." Etsuko responded.
There was a touching moment between these two that they would wish could last for an eternity.
"You are one of the few people who can understand me."
Spiral turned around to see that Dante was right behind him.
"You lost someone precious to you by those who have no right to continue living." Dante stated. "We long to be by their sides again and spend the rest of eternity with them. Unfortunately, you're more likely to come here when you die than I am. Which reminds me: Are you sure what you're doing is the right? My intentions are in everyone's best interest and I made sure that all innocents are left unharmed. If I become God, I don't plan to change anything. I merely wish to be with my daughter until the end of time."
Spiral thought about it for a moment.
"If you think about it, you and I are one and the same." Dante stated.
"That's not true!" Spiral reacted.
"Denying your true feelings again?" Dante questioned. "Oh, which reminds me to ask you something. How does this place look to you?"
"It looks like Heaven." Spiral answered. "What's your point?"
"Heaven is designed so that whatever the person sees is their ideal paradise." Dante explained. "Different people view the afterlife in different ways, which is why this place is meant to look like whatever the person imagines this place to be. 'Heaven' might not even be the true name of this place. That's just what Christians believe. In fact, how she sees this place is completely different than how you view it, is it, Etsuko?"
"How do you know her name?" Spiral asked.
"I watch everything that happens in Hell, even if I can't physically interfere." Dante answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my daughter."
Dante then walked away.
"Hey wait!" Spiral was about to chase after him.
"Spiral?" Etsuko tried to get his attention. "Where are you going?"
"I need to stop that guy!" Spiral responded.
"Why?" Etsuko asked. "Isn't he just trying to see his daughter? Did he do anything wrong?"
"I... well... no, I guess not..." Spiral realized. "But I feel like I have to for some reason. I'll be back, Estuko. I promise."
Spiral ran off after Dante, leaving Etsuko behind to wait for him.
Spiral had to run for a bit before finally having Dante in his line of sight. He saw him in what looked like a clearing with a small girl with long, black hair. The two appeared to be hugging, so it was safe for Spiral to assume that the little girl was Dante's daughter.
"I'm going to be right back." Dante told her. "After that, we can be together until the end of time."
"Hey, Dante!" Spiral called out to him.
Dante noticed Spiral standing not far from him.
"I presume you're still going to stop me?" Dante guessed. "Fine then! We'll Duel! Remember, if I win, you have to go back! If I lose, I'll drop what I'm doing. Sound fair?"
"Completely." Spiral agreed as he pulled out his Duel Disk and Duel Gazer.
Black shadows engulfed Dante's left arm and left eye that transfigured into a Duel Disk and Duel Gazer respectively.
"Let's Duel!" They both exclaimed as the Duel began.
Dante (LP 4000) Spiral (LP 4000)
"The first move is mine!" Dante drew his first card. "I summon Demonic Prisoner (Lv.4 1500/1400) in attack mode!"
A humanoid-shaped shadow with red marks all over it appeared on the field. It made a moaning sound as if it was suffering.
"Since I have a Demon or Demonic monster on my field, I can Special Summon Warden Demon (Lv.6 2500/900) and Guard Demon (Lv.5 2100/700)!" Dante continued.
Another humanoid-shaped shadow with red marks on its body, only larger and with gas-like hands appeared on the field alongside a giant, almost brutish-looking shadow monster with red marks.
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell Cycle of Suffering!" Dante continued. "Now when I Tribute a Level 4 or lower Demon or Demonic monster, it's brought back to the field! I'm activating this because I'm going to use Guard Demon's effect to Tribute Demonic Prisoner so I can draw a card from my Deck!"
Guard Demon picked up Demonic Prisoner with its fist and crushed it into dust. Then that dust rematerialized into Demonic Prisoner due to the effect of Cycle of Suffering.
"Since Demonic Prisoner was used as a Tribute, I gain 800 Life Points!" Dante stated.
Dante (LP 4800) Spiral (LP 4000)
"Also, since a Demon or Demonic monster was used as a Tribute, Warden Demon sends the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard." Dante continued.
Warden Demon extended its gas-like hand towards Spiral's Deck, picked up the top card, which was Legendary Guardian Setsuka, and sent it to Spiral's Graveyard.
"I end my turn by placing one card face-down!" Dante finished.
Spiral then drew his first card. "I summon Legendary Guardian Wave Fighter (Lv.3 1400/800)! Since I control a non-Tuner Legend-type card, I can Special Summon the Tuner Legendary Guardian Flame Lancer (Lv.3 1200/700)! Before I Synchro Summon, I'm going to use Wave Fighter's ability! Once a turn, I can select a card on the field and that card has its effects are negated and it can't be activated for the rest of the turn! I choose your face-down card!"
Wave Fighter shot a sonic pulse at Dante's face-down card, preventing it from activating this turn.
"Now I tune Flame Lancer with Wave Fighter to Synchro Summon Legendary Guardian Echo (Lv.6 2400/1900)!" Spiral said. "Echo, attack Guard Demon!"
Echo dashed toward Guard Demon and he tried to crush her. She easily dodged the attacks and slashed its arm off. Then she jumped up to its face and stabbed it in the face. The attack destroyed Guard Demon and inflicted Dante with 300 points of damage.
Dante (LP 4500) Spiral (LP 4000)
"I end my turn by placing two cards face-down!" Spiral concluded.
Dante then drew his next card. "I Tribute Demonic Prisoner to summon Fear Demon (Lv.6 2400/600)!"
A tall humanoid, red-marked shadow with long arms and legs appeared on the field.
"Since I used Demonic Prisoner as a Tribute, I gain 800 more Life Points and Cycle of Suffering brings it back from the Graveyard!" Dante pointed out.
Dante (LP 5300) Spiral (LP 4000)
"Also, since I used a Demon or Demonic monster to Tribute Summon Fear Demon, he can banish one of your monsters until the End Phase!" Dante stated.
Fear Demon clutched onto Echo and apparently caused something to frighten her so much, that she was banished.
"Now all of my Demons will attack you directly!" Dante declared his attack.
"I activate the Trap Card A Hero Emerges!" Spiral responded. "When you attack me directly, you select a card in my hand and if it's a monster, I can summon it!"
Spiral had two cards in his hand.
"I choose the card to your right!" Dante said.
"Excellent!" Spiral smirked. "That means I can summon Legendary Guardian YX-19 (Lv.5 2100/1500)! And I'm summoning her in attack mode! And here's why! I'm also activating the Trap Legendary Willpower! When a Level 5 or higher Legend-type card is attacked, it gains 700 attack points this turn, all monsters with less attack points are destroyed and you take Battle Damage equal to the difference between the monsters destroyed and my monster's attack points!"
YX-19 focused her power and she gained 700 attack points. Then she sent out data streams at all three of Dante's monsters, which destroyed them and inflicted Dante with 300, 400 and 1300 points of damage, totaling 2000 points of damage.
Dante (LP 3300) Spiral (LP 4000)
"The only drawback is that I take damage equal to my monster's original attack points!" Spiral pointed out as he took 2100 points of damage.
Dante (LP 3300) Spiral (LP 1900)
"Before I end my turn, since I don't have any monsters, I can Special Summon Experiment Demon (Lv.1 0/0) in defense mode!" Dante said. *I was hoping I wouldnt use this card, but it appears I have no choice.*
A blob of shadows appeared on the field.
"I end my turn!" Dante said.
Echo returned to Spiral's side of the field and Spiral drew his next card. "YX-19, attack that thing!"
YX-19 shot a data stream at the blob, but it rematerialized back to its original form.
"What the hell?" Spiral reacted.
"When Experiment Demon is destroyed by my opponent, it's Special Summoned to my side of the field." Dante explained. "However, I take 800 points of damage."
Experiment Demon formed a spike that stabbed Dante, inflicting him with 800 points of damage.
Dante (LP 2500) Spiral (LP 1900)
"I can still have Echo attack it and deal you 800 more points of damage." Spiral declared another attack.
"I activate the Trap Reaper's Bribe!" Dante responded. "When a Level 6 or higher monster attacks, it's destroyed and you take damage equal to half of its attack points!"
Echo was dragged off by shadows and destroyed, which inflicted Spiral with 1200 points of damage.
Dante (LP 2500) Spiral (LP 700)
"I end my turn!" Spiral finished.
Dante drew his next card. "I activate the Spell Card Black Rebirth! This allows me to Special Summon 2 Demon or Demonic monsters from my Graveyard, but their attack and defense points are reduced to 0 and their effects are negated! I'm bringing back Fear Demon and Warden Demon! Next, I overlay Warden Demon and Fear Demon to show you the ultimate Demon!"
Warden Demon and Fear Demon turned into red shadows that engulfed Dante. Rather than completely transfiguring Dante, they were simply attacked to him as full body armor, covering every part of his body. The armor was jet black and blood red, with the helmet designed to look like there was a black visor completely covering the face. He was also carrying a long red sword in his hands.
"Behold my true form!" Dante said. "Demon Lord, Judge of the Underworld (Rank 6 3400/3000)! I may not have as many Xyz Materials or attack points as Daisuke's Demon, but I make up for that with powerful abilities! For example, when I attack a monster, I can choose to not destroy it to inflict you with twice the damage! Also, for each Demon or Demonic monster on my side of the field, I can attack that many times each turn!"
Dante then dashed toward YX-19 and prepared to slash her.
"I send Legendary Guardian Greatshield Knight (Lv.4 0/2300) from my hand to the Graveyard to reduce all Battle Damage I take this turn to 0!" Spiral responded to the assault.
A knight carrying a massive shield that was bigger than he was appeared in front of Spiral, ready to defend him against any Battle Damage he may take. Dante then slashed YX-19, but didn't destroy her and the knight blocked any damage that Spiral would have taken.
"That may protect you from Battle Damage, but it can't do anything against effect damage!" Dante pointed out. "I now remove one of my Xyz Materials to halve both of our Life Points!"
Both Dante and Spiral were hit by black shadows that halved their Life Points.
Dante (LP 1250) Spiral (LP 350)
"I end my turn." Dante said.
*I need to finish this and fast!* Spiral thought. *But I'm not sure how at this point.* He then drew his next card. "This is it! I activate the Spell Card Plentiful Bounty! This allows me to keep drawing until I have 6 cards in my hand, but during the End Phase, I have to send my entire hand to the Graveyard! Next, I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn to bring back Echo! Next, I Special Summon Legendary Guardian Xin Ling (Lv.6 2400/2200) from my hand since I control a Level 6 Legend-type card! Now I Normal Summon the Tuner Legendary Guardian Wall Golem (Lv.2 0/1800) and then I tune him with YX-19 to Synchro Summon Legendary Guardian Black Slayer (Lv.7 2500/1900)!"
Black Slayer was an armored knight with armor completely covering his body and it was completely white and gray. His blade was shining with a heavenly glow.
"When Black Slayer is Synchro Summoned, he can banish a Dark monster on the field!" Spiral stated.
"That won't work on me!" Dante pointed out. "I'm immune to my opponent's card effects!"
"Who said I was planning to banish you?" Spiral asked.
Black Slayer used his sword to completely disintegrate Experiment Demon, banishing it.
"Since Experiment Demon can only use its ability when it's sent to the Graveyard, I thought banishing it would be the best choice." Spiral said. "Now I activate the Spell Card Chaos Cloning! I select a monster on my field and I can summon as many Chaos Clone Tokens (Lv.? 0/0) to my field as possible with their Level equal to the monster I selected! Unfortunately, the selected monster also has its attack and defense points dropped to 0. I'm going to clone Black Slayer for 2 Chaos Clone Tokens and then I'm going to overlay Black Slayer with the 2 Chaos Clone Tokens to Xyz Summon Brave, the Hero of Legends (Rank 7 3800/3200)!"
Black Slayer split into 3 versions of himself and then they turned into yellow streams of light that entered a cosmic vortex that appeared. Brave then came out of the vortex.
"Now I overlay Echo with Xin Ling so I can Xyz Summon Legendary Guardian Yukimaru (Rank 6 2800/2200)!" Spiral said. "For each Spell and Trap on the field, she gains 500 attack points. Since you have Cycle of Suffering on the field, she gains 500 extra points! Next, I remove one of her Xyz Materials to destroy your Cycle of Suffering Spell! She may lose 500, but she gains attack points equal to that of the Xyz Material I removed! Since both of those materials have 2400 attack points, she gains 2400 attack points! Next, I use Brave's ability! I detach one of his Xyz Materials to increase Yukimaru's attack power by 2000 this turn! So Yukimaru now has 7200 attack points! Yukimaru, Brave, attack Demon Lord and finish this Duel!"
Brave and Yukimaru joined back-to-back and they began to charge up their energy.
"No! This can't be! How can you beat me? ! I am the Lord of Hell!"
"It doesn't matter who you are! The Guardians are meant to bring justice and that's exactly what they do, no matter what!"
Brave and Yukimaru turned into a spiralling torrent of ice and blades that headed straight for Dante. The attack completely wiped him out and reduced his Life Points to 0.
Dante (LP 0) Spiral (LP 350)
As Dante's body returned to normal and the remnants of the Duel started to vanish, Spiral couldn't help but fall on his back in exhaustion.
"It's... finally over..." Spiral sighed. "I... don't believe this..."
"DADDY!"
Spiral then looked up and saw that Dante was not only laying on the floor, but he was fading away. His daughter was at his side, pushing on him.
"What's happening to you?" She asked.
"Losing the Duel meant that I would face divine punishment for trying to overthrow God himself." Dante explained. "Even though I didn't want to change anything. You were my reason for doing this. The only thing I ever wanted was to be by your side for eternity, but I guess that's not going to happen."
"Wait..." Spiral realized something. "Since I defeated you, am I..."
"No." Dante answered. "You won't become the Lord of Hell. That only applies if you defeated me in Hell. Spiral... there's something I need you to do for sure that you go to Heaven. Don't make the same mistakes I did. In fact, I'm not going to either Heaven nor Hell. I'm going to a place that is completely separate from them both. Oblivion. Sweety..." Dante put his hand on his daughter's cheeck. "Daddy will always love you..."
Dante then completely faded from existence, leaving his daughter crying. She then looked at Spiral with an angry look on her face.
"This is because of you!" She yelled at him. "All he wanted was to be with me and you couldn't let that happen, could you? ! You think of yourself as a hero, but you're nothing like that! I hate you!"
Those words left Spiral completely silent and filled his heart with lead. Spiral then proceeded to leave the area as the girl continued to mourn for her father.
Estuko saw Spiral coming towards her and immediately ran up to him.
"Big bro, how did i-" Etsuko was about to say to him before she noticed the less-than-satisfied look on his face. "Did you..."
"I... won... but at a cost..." Spiral answered, before looking back and then back at Etsuko. "Etsuko, do you think justice and heroism are the same thing?"
"I don't understand." Estuko said.
"Yeah, I don't either." Spiral said. "Listen, when I get older and come here, I promise that I'll spend as much time as possible with you. Then again, everyone here's got all the time in the world."
"You promise?" Etsuko asked.
"I promise." Spiral assured her.
The two made a pinky-swear and then gave each other a long, warm hug. Spiral then got up, touched his Deck, which then started to glow a golden light, and then Spiral vanished.
Back in the real world, it was morning and Pulse, Shroud, Naoto, Momo, Aura, Hikari, Asuka, Chan, Chun and Lilith were all in the principal's office.
"All right." Pulse said. "Listen up!"
Just then, a golden light appeared in the room and when the light faded, Spiral had reappeared in front of everyone.
"Spiral? !" Pulse seemed surprised. "What happened? !"
"Dante's gone..." Spiral said. "I stopped him... and he faded away... He won't be a problem anymore..."
"That's good to hear." Pulse sighed.
"I saw Etsuko there." Spiral said. "She really misses me. And I promised her that when I die and go to Heaven, we'll play together."
"I'm not surprised she misses you." Aura said.
"Anyway, good job, Spiral." Shroud congratulated. "And that's not a compliment I hand out often."
"You managed to defeat the Lord of Hell all by yourself?" Pulse asked. "You really do take after me. I'm proud of you, my son."
Pulse then went up to Spira and hugged him.
"Hey, Spiral, you seem a little down about this." Momo noticed. "Is everything okay?"
"It's... it's fine..." Spiral simply said as he walked out of the room.
"What's wrong with him?" Asuka asked.
"When I imagined this victory, I never thought it would be bittersweet like this." Naoto said. "I wonder what happened up there."
Spiral was back in his room, lying on his bed with the memories of Dante's passing and his daughter's hate repeatedly flowing through his mind.
*Did I really do the right thing?* Spiral thought. *Has my idea of justice all been a child-like facade?*
Just then, his dorm room opened and all of his friends were at the door.
"Spiral, we know something happened up there." Hikari said. "Normally, a person would be filled with glee, but you clearly don't feel that way at all."
"What happened up there, Spiral?" Aura asked.
Spiral simply laid on his bed and sighed. "Dante wasn't going to change anything if he became God. He just wanted to rule over Heaven so he could spend the rest of eternity with his daughter. After he faded away, his daughter said she hated me. This whole thing made me question my moral standing. Did I really do the right thing? It feels like justice and heroism are two different things. What I did might have been justice, but at what cost?"
Nobody knew how to answer Spiral's question.
"Spiral, listen." Lilith spoke up. "I don't know where you stand. In fact, the only person who can decide that is you. Only you have a say in the purpose of your actions."
"... Thanks, Lilith." Spiral said. "I'll keep that in mind. I know that you guys want to cheer me up, but I'm feeling pretty tired right now. How about we celebrate another time, okay?"
Everyone left the room and left Spiral to sleep.
English Voice Cast
Todd Haberkorn Spiral
Eric Vale Dante
Stephanie Sheh Etsuko
Kate Higgins Pulse
Alexis Tipton Aura
Maxey Whitehead Shroud
Monica Rial Momo
Caitlin Glass Asuka
Yuri Lowenthal Naoto
Laura Bailey Hikari
Cherami Leigh Lilith
Preview
spiralgamer: The story has come to a close, but there's still a little bit more. Stay tuned next time for the Epilogue of Awakening of the Soul. You don't want to miss it.
Dante's Cards
Demonic Prisoner
Fiend/Effect (ATK 1500 DEF 1400)
Level 4/DARK
When this card is Tributed: The controller of this card gains 800 Life Points.
Guard Demon
Fiend/Effect (ATK 2100 DEF 700)
Level 5/DARK
If you control a face-up "Demon" or "Demonic" monster; You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn; You can Tribute 1 monster you control, and if you do, draw 1 card.
Warden Demon
Fiend/Effect (ATK 2500 DEF 900)
Level 6/DARK
If you control a face-up "Demon" or "Demonic" monster; You can Special Summon this card from your hand. When a "Demon" or "Demonic" monster is Tributed: Send the top card of your opponent's Deck to the Graveyard.
Cycle of Suffering
Spell/Continuous
When a "Demon" or "Demonic" monster is Tributed; Special Summon the Tributed monster to your side of the field.
Fear Demon
Fiend/Effect (ATK 2400 DEF 600)
Level 6/DARK
If you used a "Demon" or "Demonic" monster to Tribute Summon this card: You can banish 1 monster your opponent controls until the End Phase.
Experiment Demon
Fiend/Effect (ATK 0 DEF 0)
Level 1/DARK
If you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is sent to the Graveyard by your opponent (either by battle or by card effect); Special Summon this card to your side of the field, and if you do, inflict 800 damage to the controller of this card.
Reaper's Bribe
Trap
You can only activate this card when a Level 6 or higher monster attacks. Destroy the attacking monster, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of the destroyed monster's ATK.
Black Rebirth
Spell
Special Summon 2 "Demon" or "Demonic" monsters from your Graveyard. The ATK and DEF of those monsters are reduced to 0 and their effects are negated.
Demon Lord, Judge of the Underworld
Fiend/Xyz/Effect (ATK 3400 DEF 3000)
Rank 6/DARK
2 Level 6 "Demon" or "Demonic" monsters
This card is unaffected by card effects and can only be destroyed as a result of battle. The number of times this card can attack is equal to the number of "Demon" and "Demonic" monsters you control. When this card attacks an opponent's monster and would inflict Battle Damage; You can double the Battle Damage, and if you do, the attacked monster is not destroyed. Once per turn; You can detach 1 Xyz Material Monster from this card to halve both players' Life Points.
Spiral's Cards
Legendary Willpower
Trap
You can only activate this card during your opponent's turn while you control exactly 1 face-up Level 5 or higher Legend-type monster. That monster gains 700 ATK and destroy any monsters your opponent controls whose ATK is less than the ATK of that Legend-type monster. Inflict your opponent equal to the difference between the ATK of the destroyed monster(s) and your monster's ATK as Battle Damage. During the End Phase, the controller of this card takes damage equal to the original ATK of the Legend-type monster.
Legendary Guardian Greatshield Knight
Legend/Effect (ATK 0 DEF 2400)
Level 4/EARTH
You can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard: Any Battle Damage inflicted to you this turn is reduced to 0.
Plentiful Bounty
Spell
Draw until you have 6 cards in your hand. During the End Phase, send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard.
Legendary Guardian Black Slayer
Legend/Synchro/Effect (ATK 2700 DEF 1900)
Level 7/LIGHT
1 Legend-type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Legend-type monsters
As long as this card remains face-up on the field; other monsters you control cannot be selected as an attack target. When this card is Synchro Summoned; You can banish 1 DARK monster your opponent controls.
Chaos Cloning
Spell
Select 1 monster you control. Reduce its ATK and DEF to 0 and Special Summon as many "Chaos Clone Tokens" (Fairy-type/LIGHT/Level ?/ATK 0/DEF 0) as possible whose Level is equal to the Level of the selected monster.