Drayan LP: 1850
Leah LP: 6850
Spell & Trap Card Zone: Burden of the Mighty, 1 set card
"I activate the Spell Card, Summoner's Art!" Drayan roared. "With this, I can add any Level five or higher monster from my Deck to my hand! I choose Spiral Serpent!" His duel disk spat out the card, and he placed it in his hand. "Next, I'll play another Spell Card, Ancient Rules!"
"Another Ancient Rules?" Leah asked.
"That's right! And with it, I Summon Spiral Serpent!" The massive sea serpent appeared, hovering just behind Drayan.
Spiral Serpent: Sea Serpent-Type/WATER/Level 8/ATK 2900/DEF 2900
"But don't forget," Leah butted in. "Due to my Burden of the Mighty card, your monster loses 100 ATK times its Level."
Spiral Serpent: ATK 2900 → 2100
Drayan grunted. "Whatever! Now I activate the Spell Card, Silent Doom!" A purple revival circle opened up on his field. The Spell Card appeared, and from it, a glowing hand extended into the circle. "This card lets me Special Summon any Normal Monster in my Graveyard, but I have to put it in Defence Position! So get over here! Tri-Horned Dragon!" The hand came back out of the circle, pulling with it the ugly dragon, which settled behind its owner alongside Spiral Serpent.
Tri-Horned Dragon: Dragon-Type/DARK/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350
Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2850 → 2050
"Two Level eight monsters?" Leah gasped. Despite everything, she was pretty nervous. The last Rank eight Number she'd seen was Number 15: Sealed Horror Fuinshin, and that thing had been practically unstoppable.
Drayan, meanwhile, was getting frustrated with the Burden of the Mighty card. "Stupid Spell Card, get out of here! Go on, get lost!" The Spell Card chose to rudely ignore Drayan's threats. "You hear me? I said get lost! Shoo!" The Spell Card exhibited a profound lack of movement. "GAH! Fine, I'll play the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy it!" Drayan's own Spell Card whipped up a mighty typhoon, which annihilated Burden of the Mighty.
Spiral Serpent: ATK 2100 → 2900
Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2050 → 2850
Leah didn't quite know whether to laugh or facepalm at her opponent's antics.
Drayan grinned wickedly. "Now comes the best part! Level eight Tri-Horned Dragon and Spiral Serpent, Overlay!" The two Xyz Materials turned fully purple and blue respectively, and shot upwards, straight into a galaxy portal that had opened up on the clouds above them. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The portal exploded, and a column of pure darkness descended from the portal, shaking the earth as it hit the ground behind Drayan. "Descend now! Number 93: Soul of Draconis!"
The red number ninety-three on his chest flared brighter than ever. From within the column of shadows a creature roared – a deep, rumbling sound that sent shivers down Leah's back. The column of shadows parted, and the silhouette of a colossal dragon was revealed within, towering well above the two duelists, above even the nearest buildings. It had a long, serpentine body, with no arms, legs, or wings. What it did have was a head, with many tentacle-like things protruding from it. To Leah's surprise, it remained silhouetted, hidden within the shadows, so nothing of its bodily details were visible. Two purple Overlay Units orbited it.
Number 93: Soul of Draconis: Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 0/DEF 0 - 2 OLU
"Zero attack points?" Leah asked, confused.
"That's right!" Drayan shouted. " Now, it's time for battle!" The dragonic creature shifted behind him.
"Battle?" Now Leah was starting to get worried. "You're attacking me with a monster with zero attack points?"
Drayan grinned evilly. "Nah, I won't be attacking you with the Number! I'll be attacking you... with these!" He punched a hand into the air. "I use Number 93's effect!" In response, the tentacles on the dragon's head began to wave about wildly. Suddenly, two of them reached out and snatched the two Overlay Units out of the air. More tentacles all wrapped themselves around the orbs, engulfing them and hiding them from sight. Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light from both of them. When it faded, both Overlay Units had transformed back into their original monsters: Tri-Horned Dragon and Spiral Serpent. Both of them were covered in some sort of blue slime, and both of them were fully restrained by the Number's tentacles.
"What's going on?" Leah asked nervously, taking a step back.
"Well, it's like this," Drayan explained. "Obviously Number 93 can't attack you because it has no attack points! But here's the best bit – any Overlay Units attached to Number 93 can attack you as though they were still monsters on my field!"
"What?" Leah gasped. "That thing can use its Overlay Units to attack?"
Drayan laughed at her worried voice. "You betcha, brat! Tri-Horned Dragon, direct attack!" The tentacles from the Number swung around in a huge arc, swinging the monster towards Leah. It seemed like the Number was just going to smash the monster straight into her.
She didn't know if these monsters were real or if it was just the Number, but she had no desire to find out. "I activate the Trap Card, Borealis' Haze!" The Trap Card flipped up as the monster loomed closer. "With this, I can Special Summon any Level five or lower Borealis monster from my hand, ignoring Summoning conditions. So go, Borealis Kita!" Another rainbow-lit angle soared onto the field, with large wings like an albatross. It settled on her field in Defence Position.
Borealis Kita: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 1900
Drayan snorted. "Whatever! Guess you don't know about Number 93's other effect!"
"Other effect?" Leah said. "What do you mean?"
"Whenever one of my monsters attacks," Drayan explained, "it inflicts Piercing Damage!" At that moment, Tri-Horned Dragon smashed into Kita with the force of a speeding truck. The spirit dissipated, and the shockwaves knocked Leah onto her back. It was then that she realised that these monsters were real, and that she was in horrible danger because of it.
Leah LP: 6850 → 5900
"Spiral Serpent, direct attack!" The Number pulled Tri-Horned Dragon back, and sent the other monster hurtling at Leah. She threw herself to one side as the monster slammed into the ground next to her, missing her by mere inches. But the force of the impact sent pieces of grass and soil flying in all directions, pelting her like a swarm of bees.
Leah LP: 5900 → 3000
As the Battle Phase ended, both monsters shrunk back down into purple orbs of light, and resumed their orbit around the Number. Drayan laughed maniacally. "I'll place one card face-down! Turn end!" His set card flickered into being.
Leah struggled to her feet and began her turn. "My turn, draw. I Normal Summon Borealis Tatami!" The rainbow-hued angel took to the field for a second time.
Borealis Tatami: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100
"Then I'll use its effect," she declared. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can add any Borealis monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose Borealis Leger." She pulled the card out of her Deck and placed it in her hand.
"Hmph, is that the best you can do?" Drayan yelled.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Leah said. "Your monster may be a Number, but that doesn't mean I can't inflict damage to you. Battle! Borealis Tatami, attack Number 93: Soul of Draconis!" The spirit charged a series of spectral lights in her hands.
"Nice try kiddo!" Drayan shouted. "I activate the Trap Card, Impenetrable Attack! With this card, I take no Battle Damage this turn!" He was coated in a yellow aura, which reflected away the rays of light fired by the spirit. Being a Number, Draconis was also unharmed by the attack.
Leah gritted her teeth. "Fine, then during Main Phase 2, I activate the Spell Card, Mystic Box!" A colossal box encased the dragonic creature, while a slightly smaller one swallowed up Leah's monster. "With this card, I target one monster on each player's side of the field. Then I destroy your target, but in exchange, you gain control of my target." A series of bright steel swords appeared around the box on Leah's field, then buried themselves in the sides of the box. The doors on the front of the box slowly swung open, and Leah peaked inside, expecting to see Number 93: Soul of Draconis' card, neatly swapped with Borealis Tatami.
It wasn't in there.
Instead, thrashing about against the swords that had skewered its body, was Tri-Horned Dragon.
"What's going on?" Leah gasped.
"It's Number 93's effect!" Drayan snapped. "If ever it would be destroyed, I can detach one of its Overlay Units instead!" The dragon dissipated from inside the box. The other box swung open, revealing Borealis Tatami and Soul of Draconis, both safe and sound inside.
Number 93: Soul of Draconis: 2 → 1 OLU
"Fine then," Leah said, "but since no monster was destroyed, Mystic Box cannot resolve properly, so you don't gain control of my monster." Borealis Tatami leapt out of the box and soared back to her field. "I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn there. And during the End Phase, Borealis Tatami goes back to my hand." Sure enough, the angel faded into mist once again.
Drayan impatiently began his move even while Tatami was still disappearing. "My turn, draw! Battle time!" Number 93 gave another low, rumbling growl. With a flash of violet light, Spiral Serpent reappeared, entwined with the tentacles like before. "Spiral Serpent, direct attack!" The Number launched the sea serpent at its opponent.
"I activate the Trap Card, Mirror Force!" Leah declared. "With this, when you declare an attack, this card destroys all monsters you have in Attack Position!" The Trap Card flipped up and blazed with light. 'Yes,' she thought to herself. 'If this works, then he'll have to use Draconis' last Overlay Unit to protect it. And once it does, it won't be able to hurt me anymore.'
Drayan gritted his teeth. "I'll use Soul of Draconis' effect! By detaching its last Overlay Unit, it won't be destroyed by your Trap Card!" As the light grew brighter, the Number gave one last tug, pulling Spiral Serpent into the path of the oncoming blast. The serpent was obliterated, and the resulting explosion consumed his field.
Number 93: Soul of Draconis: 1 → 0 OLU
"Yes!" Leah celebrated. "Now you have no more Overlay Units to use to attack me, and that thing doesn't have any ATK of its own!"
She stopped abruptly as Drayan came back into view. He was breathing heavily, his teeth bared, his muscles clenched, and the red symbol on his chest flickering erratically. "You... now you've done it... now you pay dearly..." He suddenly looked up at her, and now there were glints of red in his eyes. "By forcing me to detach all of Number 93's Overlay Units, you've unleashed its true power!"
"Its true power?" Leah repeated. "What do you mean?"
Drayan laughed. "I mean this! When Number 93: Soul of Draconis has no Overlay Units attached to it, its original ATK is restored!"
"Original ATK?" Leah gasped. "I thought its original ATK was zero!"
"You thought wrong!" Drayan snarled. "Its original ATK is much… much… higher!"
Behind him, the curtain of shadows surrounding the Number began to ripple and distort, like the surface of a pond on a windy day. The Number became more vocal as well, snarling and growling, and shifting restlessly. Suddenly the veil of darkness shattered, falling away from the creature like shards of glass.
What Leah saw then made her blood run cold.
The dragonic creature was a sickly grey colour, and had a series of red eyes running along its entire body in pairs. But its head was the most frightening part. The white tentacles that had protruded from it turned out to be attached to some sort of skeletal helmet – it looked like a set of ribs being worn on the dragon's head. It had four beady red eyes, and a jaw that resembled that of a human skull, complete with decaying teeth. Leah could smell its breath on the wind – it smelt like rotten meat.
Number 93: Soul of Draconis: ATK 0 → 3800
"Are you kidding me?" Leah gasped. "Its ATK was 3800 the entire time?"
Drayan just laughed at her fear. "Now you understand! Now you know how hopeless you really are! Battle! Soul of Draconis, attack her directly!" The dragon began to draw in darkness energy, seemingly from nowhere.
Leah knew that she couldn't take a full powered attack from that thing. Even a half powered one would probably cause her severe injury, but she had to try. It was the only option she had left. "I activate the Trap Card, Half Shield!"
"What's that?" Drayan shouted as the Trap Card activated. A large heart-shaped shield materialized, made half out of glass and half metal.
"With this," she explained, "any damage I take from this attack is cut in half!" The dragon fired a shadowy beam of pure darkness at her. It crossed the field in less than a second and smashed into the shield. The metal half held, but the glass half simply shattered and allowed the blast through. Leah screamed as it consumed her.
Leah LP: 3000 → 1100
The pain was unbelievable. She could see nothing but the shadowy energy swirling around her as the Number's attack engulfed her, pushing her back, threatening to blow her away. The shadows tore at her face, causing her excruciating pain. She threw up her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself. Her hands and her lower arms took the full force of the blast. The dark energy tore at her arms like a pack of hungry wolves...
And the metal band around her wrist shattered.
Author-made cards:
Borealis Kita
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 1900
FLIP: Add 1 Spirit monster from your Deck to your hand.
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand.
Borealis Tatami
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: Add 1 "Borealis" monster from your Deck to your hand.
Number 93: Soul of Draconis
Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 3800/DEF 0
2 Level 8 monsters
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. While this card has an Overlay Unit(s) attached to it, its ATK is always 0. Face-up monsters you control inflict Piercing Damage. While this card is in face-up Attack Position, Overlay Units attached to this card can declare an attack as if they were face-up monsters you control (apply their original ATK and DEF for these attacks). If this face-up card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead.
Borealis' Haze
Trap Card
During your opponent's turn: Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower "Borealis" monster from your hand, ignoring Summoning conditions.
Fun Fact #4: Those people who have stayed with our stories since the beginning know exactly what those metal bands are for. And those people probably know what happens if it gets broken...
Fun Fact #5: No, Drayan is most certainly not a total rip-off of Drayden, the Dragon-type Gym Leader from Pokemon Black & White. And he's absolutely and totally unrelated to Dragan, the first member of Team Ragnarök from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
Fun Fact #6: Has anyone else noticed that Drayan never actually talks? He always shouts.
Fun Fact #7: We've added yet another new feature to the intro of each chapter (we'll probably never stop updating it). This one will show all Spell and Trap Cards a player controls at that point in time, which will make it easier to pick up where a duel leaves off in the previous chapters.