Soul of a Duelist

Turn 2: Bugs in the System

Aegis stormed his way through the preliminary rounds with ease. In fact he ended up finishing all the games in less than three turns. Aegis felt his confidence returning to him as it was almost trivial. Before he knew it he had entered the semi-finals. By then he was the only person from the center still left in the tournament. The center's members had taken to the stands and were cheering Aegis on from the sidelines.

He couldn't help but keep a near sinister smile on his face ever since his first game where he defeated his opponent with Orpheus alone. It didn't take very long for Aegis to develop some kind of reputation amongst the tournament's duelists. He dressed very darkly and most of his face was covered up with either his hat or his hair. The participants were murmuring feverishly in-between rounds, afraid they'd end up dueling the 'Executioner', at least that's what people began to call him because of his appearance and his duel-disk.

For the moment the officials had decided to take thirty minutes to prepare the stadium for the semi-finals, meaning they were preparing the stadium's biggest projectors to start broadcasting the games nationwide. Feeling rather exhausted, Aegis retired in an isolated hallway where he was fairly sure no one would find him. The persona he had when in a tournament was considerably different from who he really was. It was mostly all a front to play mind-games, doing so took a toll on him as he had to ensure all his actions were in-line with his persona as well as to focus on the game itself. But now he was alone and he could be himself, though it seemed that meant another mask to put on. His face stiffed and he could feel his body slowing down, sliding into a state of its own time that was slower than the rest of the world.

A roar from the crowd signalled that the break was over, but Aegis was not very concerned as it was not his match that was next. Thus he slid down the wall and simply sat against it, eyes closed and just thinking over the day. At this rate he would be able to win the tournament, however he suddenly recalled the advice that David gave him prior to starting.

"Iris Lifian, huh? I haven't seen any trace of her yet…" Aegis mused for a bit, entertaining the thought that she may have been knocked out of the tournament already. However he remembered David saying she was undefeated. Aegis frowned at remembering that thought, but he still wanted to think someone had beaten her along the way by dumb luck.

The sound of footsteps derailed his train of thought. Aegis felt a bit annoyed but paid no attention as he assumed that no one would bug him because of the persona he had shown. However he was very wrong as someone nudged him in the ribs with their foot. Annoyed, Aegis opened his eyes and looked over at who disturbed him with an icy glare. But he quickly regretted the decision as he stared up at Maria and the faces of everyone from the center.

"What are all of you doing here?" Aegis asked, trying to leap onto his feet but tripping himself with his trenchcoat; had some of the people not acted fast enough Aegis would've landed on his face. The reaction caused everyone to start laughing, Aegis burying his face in the collar of his trench coat to hide his beet red face. So much for his stoic aura he thought.

"What happened to that intimidating aura you had there, Aegis?" An older male voice reiterated Aegis' thoughts rather well, only making Aegis feel more embarrassed. "Come on, leave him alone, Earl. We were all looking for you!" Maria chirped. Aegis looked back at the crowd to find they were all looking at him with respect and admiration.

"What do you mean?" Aegis asked slowly.

"We all wanted to congratulate you!" The voice of one of the children from yesterday said happily.

"No one thought anyone would get this far! The prize money is so close!" The man named Earl spoke again; his gruff voice was even able to express happiness very easily.

"Do your best, Aegis! No matter what happens we're all real proud of you!" Aegis smiled back at the crowd and then bowed his head.

"I will! Don't worry, that money will be ours and we'll even have enough to keep the center open and buy everyone something after!" Aegis couldn't help but join in at that point, caught up in the whimsical moment. They talked for a moment but another roar from the crowd told Aegis that the game was coming to an end; he would have to prepare for his match. He bid farewell to those from the center as they promised to cheer him on in. Aegis felt warm inside from all the compliments and for awhile he felt that all the bad memories associated with the cards he carried were a bad dream. Aegis clenched his fist tightly as he made his way back to the stadium. There could be no room for error; he had come too far to fail.

He made his way back to the stadium grounds just as the previous match was ending. He looked up at the scoreboard to find that Iris Lifian was indeed still in the tournament, and as he expected the board showed her life points at an untouched 8000 while her opponent had 0. Aegis wanted to catch a glimpse of the winner but he had no idea what she looked like. Deciding it was best to just ignore it Aegis caught a glimpse of David; it seemed he was still the announcer for his duels.

"Wasn't that an awe-inspiring match?" David's voice blasted through the stadium, the crowd cheering their agreement.

"Alright, let's not waste any time here! To see who is going to face off with Iris, we have two more duelists shooting for number one!" David knew how to play a crowd, and with each sentence from his mouth the crowd grew louder and louder.

"On my left we have someone from our own backyard, already making waves in the pro circuit I give you James Raven!" The crowd had gone insane by that point; it was rather amusing to watch. However Aegis was focusing his gaze to the man striding towards the platform.

James Raven was about the same age as Aegis, probably a few years holder however. James carried himself with a very different air than anyone Aegis had met thus far. He wore expensive looking clothing that made him look like a wealthy millionaire that made his fortune on the stock market. Wearing perfectly pressed black dress pants with polished black shoes he had a white dress shirt covered up by a dark navy blue jacket over it. He had elegant blond hair that was gelled to one side; resting perfectly in place. The man screamed perfection, and he also screamed money. His duel-disk was a standard issue model, but it was painted a radiant gold with what appeared to be a diamond as the central gem. Aegis knew right off the bat he wouldn't like the man.

James reached the platform and then looked at Aegis with an arrogant smirk and then looked down at him over his pale nose. Aegis was positive he wouldn't like James one bit. David finally succeeded in calming down the raging sea of people so he could continue his introduction.

"To my right we have an old face coming back into the game! A blast from the past that just didn't die! Here he is, Aegis Hallow!" Much to Aegis' annoyance the crowd did not erupt in cheering. Instead the stadium was full of murmuring amongst each other. But to his relief twelve brave men and women ignored the awkward atmosphere and hooted and hollered while cheering his name.

Aegis felt better and then decided it was time to put on his second face. He folded his arms and placed a stoic expression over his face, if people were calling him things like 'Executioner' he was going to make sure that everyone believed it then.

With a quiet dignity he strode down the carpeted path to the platform. When arriving atop of it he noticed that James was staring at him with the same intent a shark had when eyeing its dinner. Aegis was somewhat put off by the look, but glared back with his one eye.

The ground in front of the two duelists opened up and revealed a podium rising from the metal in front of both duelists. It was a familiar sight for Aegis, that metal area that would be his kingdom for the next 8000 life points. Both duelists stepped into the podium and armed their duel-disks.

"Mister Aegis Hallow, was it?" James spoke with a voice as slick as oil and as arrogant as an emperor. Aegis took note that just about everything about this person was irritating to him and set the thought aside for the time being; there would be plenty of time later to recount how many things he hated about rich snobs. Aegis steeled himself and narrowed his left eye subtly, it was that icy gaze that paralyzed so many duelists before James, yet it wasn't able to faze him for a moment.

"My, my, how callous." The man chuckled at Aegis' intimidation attempt and returned it with his own devilish smile, his mouth pressed so thin it appeared to vanish into the flesh of his face. "I seem to remember hearing of a duelist by that name a long time ago…" James' voice trailed off into speculated silence as his eyes tried to read the man's reaction. Aegis shut his eye and feigned an amused smirk.

"It's your imagination." Aegis reply was firm as stone, James appearing somewhat surprised as he seemed to accept the statement on face value alone. For a moment Aegis wondered why the response he gave was a lie; his body had instinctively reacted without him able to intervene. James shook his head and smiled back with the same malicious intent.

"Really now? Even if I don't know your name I know that duel-disk belonged to someone on the circuit a few years back. After all the company I work for did produce a model like that; model EXCA, short for Excalibur if I'm correct." Aegis visibly flinched; he didn't like where the conversation was going, or why it was heading in such a strange direction. Something about the questions James was asking were unnerving him, his right eye beginning to tingle.

Aegis placed his left hand over his face, covering up his right eye in the process to appear like he was in a state of intense thought instead of one of anxiety and uneasy panic. Whenever his right eye began to tingle like that it was a sign of impending danger. It was only because of that eye was Aegis able to survive some nights in the slums of the city. But there were no visible physical threats, so why was his eye acting so strange? It was a dueling arena not the back alley between warehouses on the pier.

Being aware that his composure was starting to waver, Aegis let out a breath he never knew he was holding in and slowly let his hand slide off of his face and fall limp at his side. Aegis tilted his head up slightly so he could subtly look down at James and then narrowed his left eye. "Like I said, it's your imagination." Aegis stood firmly by his statement even though James was right, but something told him not to acknowledge the fact that he was the original owner of the duel-disk. Something would happen if he admitted it, Aegis knew it, his eye was never wrong about impending danger.

James let out a melodramatic sigh, lifted his hands up and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head disappointedly. "I suppose you're right, Mister Hallow." James chuckled to himself and lowered his head slightly, looking up with unnerving emerald green eyes that tried to see into Aegis' soul.

"This is getting trite. Since I feel sorry for a no-name like you, Mister Hallow, I will let you have the first move." The insult was hidden beneath James' refined dialect and way of addressing Aegis, but it still agitated him nonetheless. Aegis' duel-disk lit up as the corresponding locations in the metal floor in front of his podium glowed.

"How generous of you, but you will regret that arrogance." Aegis shot back with venom, James losing his composure for a moment as he wrinkled his brow in annoyance. But the man's refined aura did not waver and another 'hmph' escaped his thin lips.

(James: 8000 Aegis: 8000)

Aegis grabbed a cluster of cards from the top of his deck, counting to five and quickly pulled them off the stack. Having the initiative he augmented his hand with a sixth card and evaluated it. For the entire day he made sure not to reveal many of his deck's tricks. As expected of something Noah would leave behind his deck could do impossible feats with few cards and turn duels onto their heads with the flick of a wrist. However Aegis was duly aware that a tournament open to the masses meant only a small handful of the participants would be in league with him. From the introduction it looked like James Raven was one of them. Aegis nodded to himself and decided it was time to hold nothing back; he was going to show the world Noah's legacy.

"I summon Orpheus in attack mode! (1900/1600)" The metal panel hummed to life and let out streams of light as life was given to the card's image. A silver metal body arose from the ground, shining in nonexistent light with its exquisitely polished exterior. The monster's head was tilted back with a large opening signifying its mouth open and crying out in a haunting voice to the heavens, its slit eyes barely open. Finally it came to rest on its two metal feet, the large harp on its back shifting slightly as it did so; Aegis still couldn't help but marvel at the detail in the holograms.

"I end my turn." Aegis shut his eye as he declared his move; he felt confident in Orpheus after using him to win so many of his matches, even on his own the card was a force to be reckoned with.

"Haphazardly summoning your signature monster so early in the game? My, my, you haven't learned much today, Mister Hallow." No response was given off at the taunting; Aegis had become something comparable to stone. James laughed to himself and drew a card.

"I set one monster facedown. Your turn, Mister Hallow." James made his move without any thought or effort, a style fitting with his demeanor.

After drawing his card a thought occurred to Aegis. It was the ease of James' move that was worrying Aegis. "He made that move too fast. Does he have something bigger planned behind that card or am I reading too much into things?" With only a split-second to deliberate before the crowd would protest, Aegis decided to pressure his opponent before he could form a cohesive strategy.

"Orpheus, attack his face-down monster!" Orpheus reached behind itself and grabbed onto the handle of the large silver harp. Kicking off from its spot the silver humanoid raised its instrument and brought it crashing down through the center of James' face-down monster.

James' smirk widened, a confident snicker coming out of his mouth. Aegis froze up, but it was too late to call of the attack. The monster revealed itself to be a darkened brown beetle like creature that was also human-like in form. It had two enlarged claws and enlarged legging areas while its head was built into its torso. The creature appeared to be a large insect of some kind, but Aegis couldn't study it for very long as its visage leapt onto Orpheus and latched onto the metal body. With a ferocious crunch that unnerved the majority of the audience as well as Aegis both monsters vanished from the field.

"Your monster foolishly attacked into my Man-Eater Bug. As a result of flipping it face-up a monster on the field is destroyed, namely your Orpheus." James' explanation was condescending in tune, but also in the fact that he felt the urge to explain what had happened to Aegis, as if he were a child. "You've lost your key card so early in the duel, what hope do you have now?" James watched for Aegis' spirit to be crushed, however he only smiled back.

"I'm not finished yet. Since I haven't summoned this turn I'll take this moment to summon a new monster, my Occult Cultist in attack mode. (1500/1800)" The panel that was once reserved for Orpheus lit up again as this time a hunched figure in a royal blue velvet robe appeared. The figure had a hood up that obstructed view of their face. With its right arm raised and a wrinkled spindly hand extended from the cloak, the figure carried a dangling silver pendulum in its hand.

"Whenever this monster is summoned I can add one spirit monster from my deck or graveyard to my hand. So I'll place Susa Soldier into my hand from my deck. Finally I set a face-down card. I end my turn." James appeared somewhat miffed at the second wind that Aegis gained, and in a rather disgruntled way he hastily drew his new card for the turn. He paused for a moment and smirked at Aegis with a look of feigned pity.

"Without your Orpheus on the field I can safely play my spell and trap cards, isn't that right, Mister Hallow?" There was no right answer Aegis could give to James' rhetorical question as they both knew the answer. Waves of regret struck Aegis as he wished that he didn't do such a hasty move. "James let me go first intentionally to bait out a card he knew would be a threat. I was played like a violin!"

"First, I summon Pinch Hopper in attack mode! (1000/1200)" With a card finally gracing James' field Aegis could feel a part of himself starting to eat away at the resolve he had walking into the duel. From the space a large green grasshopper appeared with its wings extended and staring at Aegis with large prismatic eyes. At that moment all of Aegis' confidence began to dissolve.

"B-bug…s" Aegis stammered under his breath, his eye widening substantially at the appearance of the monster. James picked up on the reaction immediately and began to grin like a wolf.

"What's wrong, Mister Hallow? Are you afraid of a small little insect? It is just a hologram, after all…" James changed his voice to suddenly become sinister and ominous, normally such a ploy wouldn't work on Aegis but it was affecting him a fair bit in the presence of the two foot grasshopper.

Aegis dug as deep as he could, even searching for Noah's angry voice as something to encourage him. Aegis never liked bugs, he couldn't stand looking at pictures of them; especially if they were highly detailed images of an insects' anatomy. "Bugs? Giant bugs at that?! This isn't good; he's intimidating me with his monsters alone! If I can't pull myself together I'll lose just because I'm scared! And then…" Aegis didn't need to complete the thought in his mind as a hand gripping his heart told the story for him. If he failed at that point the money he would be awarded wouldn't be enough to cover even one month of bills for the drop-in center. Now the faith of a hundred people rested in him and Noah's cards.

Closing his eye he reached into his trenchcoat and produced his worn out travelling hat. With slow and methodical motion he carefully positioned the hat over his black hair and pushed it down into place. Aegis smirked and looked up at James with his eye lazily, mockingly. "A bug is a bug. I just need a big object to crush a big bug." In recalling what he was fighting so hard for the confidence flowed back into Aegis' body. James growling at his opponent, he had hoped for an opening to launch a psychological attack on Aegis.

"Enough of this. It's still my turn! Next I play the spell card Insect Imitation!" A large green card rose from the ground behind his Pinch Hopper and no sooner had it appeared the monster left the field; much to Aegis' relief. "By tributing an insect monster on my field I can summon an insect from my deck that is one level higher than the monster I tributed. In this case I can summon a level five monster. So emerge, Grasschopper! (2350/1000)" The prospect of another insect appearing on the field made Aegis cringe, but he had to withstand the fear.

A ten foot praying mantis like monster appeared on the field. With a body that had a black underside and yellowish green plating that appeared to be like armor the insect was able to tower over Aegis. The insect had a head designed like a praying mantis with two large orange oval compound eyes that looked over the entire field. Balancing on two rather thin legs the creature began to fidget from side to side as it appeared restless. The insect had two massive claws fashioned like the real mantis with a smaller set of claws underneath it. Aegis looked up at the insect with small beads of sweat forming on his forehead; he just had to keep reminding himself it was a hologram, a trick.

"Now then, Mister Hallow!" James began to shout with a near maniacal laugh to his voice as he removed another card from his hand. "Because I used my Pinch Hopper as the tribute its effect activates! I can summon another insect monster from my hand, so I summon my Howling Insect in attack mode! (1200/1300)" Next to the behemoth of a bug the form of what could only be described as a demonic cricket appeared. It was roughly the same size as Pinch Hopper was except its face was much more distorted and sinister, its wings emitting trails of blue flames as the insect lived up to its name and emitted an eerie noise that was like the whistling of the wind but much louder.

"My, my. Your not going to enjoy this. However, what must be done must be done. Howling Insect, attack his Occult Cultist!" James' command made Aegis draw back from him. He knew that James was aware that his Cultist had 300 more attack points so the move made no sense. But there was no hesitation in the command and they both watched as the insect let loose a deathly wail against Aegis' monster which responded by shaking its pendulum slightly. The action let loose a shockwave that distorted the air and cleaved through the insect instantly.

(James: 7700 Aegis: 8000)

"If Howling Insect is destroyed in battle I can summon an insect with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field. I summon my Ultimate Insect LV1 to the field in attack position then. (0/0)" A pulsating red egg appeared on the field, and then tipped over. It suddenly tore open to ooze a viscous purple fluid onto the metal ground and the body of a large blue larvae crawled out of the egg. With a strange set of eye markings running along the body and small spines, the insect appeared much more sinister than the massive beast next to it.

Aegis was more confused at his opponent's course of action to really be fearful of the new insect. A part of him knew that there had to be a reason that James was a so well respected, yet all his actions seemed to make no sense.

"Grasschopper, get rid of that occult freak! Terror Slash!" James' insect hissed darkly and charged for Aegis' field, swiping one massive claw and shattering Aegis' monster in a heartbeat.

(James: 7700 Aegis: 7150)

The crowd began to cheer at the first sign of blood being let. Aegis' beginning to feel frustrated at the state of affairs he was in. James smirked to himself and moved his hand to his hand again; Aegis wasn't going to be let off the hook that easily. "I set a card facedown and now I play my spell Cathedral Hive!" The ground behind James glowed and a massive structure rose out of the holographic projectors. The building was a series of tall sand pillars that had countless thousands of large holes punched into it, most likely by the foot large white termites weaving in and out of the structure.

"Did you know that some termites can create gigantic mounds in such intricate designs that scientists have given these structures the name of 'Cathedral Mounds'? I can respect such diligent creatures, so here I provide my tribute to that dedication with my Cathedral Hive!" James appeared to gain a new found level of confidence; or maybe it was just arrogance. Aegis glowered, trying his best not to make his reactions visible and therefore easier to exploit by James.

"So what does it do?" Aegis instantly regretted asking the question as James shut his eyes and smirked. "Why don't you find out?" James laughed at Aegis heartily, but Aegis took solace in knowing his turn was coming around at long last.

Aegis drew his card and placed it into his hand, evaluating the field and then his cards a wave of relief washed over his face. "He might have baited out Orpheus but he's made a large commitment to the field." Aegis looked closely at his opponent and noticed he only had a single card in his hand. With a firm nod Aegis' confidence soared. "If I can take out his field this turn then he should be out of options!"

"Time for my counterattack! I summon the spirit monster, Tsukuyomi in attack mode! (1100/1400)" A robed woman with waist length ocean blue hair materialized onto Aegis' field. The woman had light blue eyes and a set of blue symbols running down her right eye. In her hand she carried a stone disk that emitted a glow from its underside. After being summoned Tsukuyomi raised the disk into the air and turned it so its glowing face was directed at James' Grasschopper. With a slow turning of the disk it ceased emitting light and when it did James' monster instantly reverted into a small rectangular card on the field.

"What did you do?!" James demanded, actually slamming a fist into the podium. Aegis was surprised at the livid reaction but couldn't help but smile as it appeared he had ruined his advances. "Whenever Tsukuyomi is summoned I flip a monster into facedown defence position." Aegis took a moment to relish the feeling before he played another card from his hand.

"Now I play the spell card Binding Ritual." A green card appeared next to the facedown one on Aegis field, From its image chains erupted and shot skywards, straight into what seemed to be a portal in the air.

"This card ignores summoning restrictions on a spirit monster and lets me summon that monster from my hand or graveyard. As an added bonus any monster equipped with this card doesn't have to return to my hand at the end of the turn either! Now come forth, Susa Soldier! (2000/1600)" The chains latched onto something and began to retract from the portal, pulling down a large man who wore a similar robe as Tsukuyomi, except his was a dark brown. He also possessed a large chest plate with two metal plated shoulder pads that extended to where his elbow would be. His face was strict with a glower on his face and only white slits for eyes. A jagged blue marking ran down the left side of his face, originating from his spiky white hair. Finally to live up to its name Susa Soldier also carried a black long sword that had jolts of electricity leaping to and fro along the length of the blade.

Aegis was rather proud of himself at the move and even more so when he noticed James starting to fidget at the second monster on his field. With his voice loud Aegis proudly began to order the destruction of the massive insects. "Tsukuyomi will attack your face-down Grasschopper! (2350/1000)" The card responded immediately by pointing its disk towards James' face-down monster. From the stone rays of light shot out and pierced the card, the visage of the once towering insect appeared and was instantly shattered into polygons that vanished from the field.

James twitched at the loss but came back immediately by slamming his fist into the podium once more. "I'll activate my Cathedral Hive! During either player's turn I can summon a level three or lower insect monster from my deck, so I choose my Gokipon! (800/800)" One of the pillars in the sand cathedral split apart and from it the tiny form of a rather comical creature emerged. With a massive head and twinkling blue eyes the tiny insect found its way next to James' Ultimate Insect LV1.

Aegis grinned to himself and lifted his hat slightly so he could get a better view of James and his desperate move. "If you think I forgot about your Ultimate Insect then you're out of luck! Leaving it in attack mode is going to cost you, Susa Soldier, attack!" The chains around Susa Soldier let go for a moment, allowing the entity to glide across the field and raise its electrified sword against the larvae.

"Hold it!" James objected with his usual sinister undertones, Aegis flinching as a result. "I activate my trap card, Sacrificial Drones!" The final card on James' field revealed itself, and whatever it meant Aegis knew things were not going to go as he planned. James laughed lightly to himself and then pointed straight at Aegis accusingly. "Don't think me to be a fool. I left my insect like that so you would attack it carelessly! By the effect of Sacrificial Drones once per turn I can redirect your attack to a level three or lower insect. Gokipon, protect Ultimate Insect LV1!" The tiny insect darted in between Aegis' Susa Soldier and James' Ultimate Insect, the poor creature being cleaved apart with the killing blow that was meant for the larvae.

(James: 7100 Aegis: 7150)

"Because of Susa Soldier's effect I only take half the damage I normally would have. What a pity, Mister Hallow." Aegis' soldier fell back to its original location, the chains wrapping themselves around its body again. James extracted his deck from his duel-disk and was looking through it as he nonchalantly explained his reasoning. "When Gokipon is destroyed in battle I can place an insect with 1500 or less attack power into my hand. I think another Pinch Hopper will suffice."

"That thing again? He must be planning something big like with that Grasschopper last turn." "As you know spirit monsters have to return to my hand at the end of the turn. So I'll be taking back Tsukuyomi." Quietly, the hologram of the monster faded away from the field. "I end my turn." Aegis felt weary of saying those four words but it was all he could do.

James eyed the man for a moment and then drew his card. With a chuckle he removed his Ultimate Insect from the field and promptly placed it into the graveyard. "As you should know, because my Ultimate Insect survived your turn it powers up, in its place Ultimate Insect LV3 comes to the field! (1400/900)" This time the small larvae had grown three times its size and resembled a massive demonic caterpillar. Able to rear up and look at Aegis with its small red face but also with the red eyes that used to be simple symbols, the sight was unnerving Aegis greatly. He pressed down his hat so he concealed the majority of the insect from sight, but he knew it was still there.

"Because it was summoned by its previous form all monsters on your side of the field lose 300 attack points as well." Aegis winced as he saw Susa Soldier's attack power decrease down (1700/1600). "Now I understand. He was using his Grasschopper to bait out my initial attacks last turn. He's going to try and level that insect up to its most powerful form! I have to get rid of it, but how?" Aegis growled as he was played for the second time; he hated how easily it was for James to mislead him.

"Next I summon my Pinch Hopper (1000/1200). You remember this insect well, don't you, Mister Hallow?" Aegis was becoming annoyed at the constant belittling. James smirk widened at Aegis' expense, and feeling a bit of pity he gave his attack order silently. Pinch Hopper leapt up into the air and attempted to strike Aegis' Susa Soldier, but the attempt failed as his insect ended up being impaled by the soldier's sword; shattering the bug instantly.

(James: 6750 Aegis: 7150)

"You don't seem that interested in your life points." Aegis couldn't help but point out that most of the damage that he had incurred was due to actions that James himself had performed. He simply laughed and adjusted his tie casually. "Life points mean nothing if I'm in control, Mister Hallow. Now, with Pinch Hopper's effect I summon the monster Brain Crusher from my hand! (2400/1500)" Taking the spot of its massive predecessor, the mutated form of some cross between a mosquito, an ant and a mantis burst onto the field. The creature's body was colored like a gradient, going from blue at the top to a reddish hue for the underbelly. The creature balanced itself on the ground with four segmented insect legs and a massive abdomen trailing behind it. The insect had two sets of thin translucent wings that would occasionally vibrate to give off a noise similar to a helicopter approaching. Its head was rather small for the size of the creature but it appeared as if the upper half to a praying mantis was grafted onto the body as small sets of claws lined its neck. As if that wasn't intimidating enough the insect had two abnormally large arms that had even larger sets of claws on them, Aegis dared a glance at the giant insect and quickly looked away as he noticed that it was staring straight back at him.

"What a lovely beast, don't you think?" James was enjoying the cowering figure of his opponent as he hid behind his face behind his hat. "Regardless, Brain Crusher destroy Susa Soldier! Mind Harvest!" The roar that came from James' monster echoed throughout the stadium, the beast rearing its head as it did so. Then with a charge it tore into Susa Soldier and shattered it into countless small lights.

(James: 6750 Aegis: 6450)

Aegis grunted at the loss, his hands very rigid at his side for some reason. James didn't complain and shot his arm forward triumphantly. "Ultimate Insect LV3, direct attack!" The overgrown caterpillar hissed in response and spat a mass of green ooze that splattered against Aegis' podium, further decreasing his life points. "Normally I would summon the monster my Brain Crusher destroyed, but as it's a spirit monster I would be giving it back to you, so needless to say I won't be activating my monster's effect." Aegis couldn't help but wonder why he felt the urge to explain things if he felt it was pointless in the first place.

(James: 6750 Aegis: 5050)

"Before my turn is over I activate my Cathedral Hive again, this time I set my monster in face-down defence position. And lastly I set one facedown card. Your move, Mister Hallow." Aegis duly noted that each time James referred to him like that his voice became more condescending than usual.

However, despite the dire circumstances Aegis couldn't help but smirk. A part of him was still shaken by the sight of twenty foot tall insects appearing each turn but something just felt right about being on the losing end for a bit. "That's right…Most of my games went like this. But in the end I always made a comeback somehow. Then one more time!" Aegis drew his card and wasted in time in revealing his second counterattack.

"I really like your monster, so you don't mind if I borrowed it right?" Aegis' comment seemed meaningless until James noticed that his facedown card had finally revealed itself. "I activate the trap card, Echoing Banishment!" The massive mutant insect began to vanish, James visibly panicking at the turnabout.

"My Echoing Banishment is a very unique card so let me explain. I can remove a monster on your side of the field and then summon this trap card as a monster with the same level, attribute, type, and of course attack power as the monster I removed. (2400/1500)" As the trap card was resolving it shifted into position on Aegis' field, producing a large bronze statue. "This is my Spirit Construct. Oh, another interesting thing is if the monster I banished was an effect monster, my construct also gains the effect of that card." Aegis finally brought his head back up and smiled devilishly at James who was hunched over in his podium, glaring straight at Aegis.

"Don't forget, my Ultimate Insect decreases your Construct's attack power! (2100/1500)" James shouted in response, looking for anything to find solace in. Aegis nodded his head; he didn't mind acknowledging that fact as he knew he had the advantage again. "I've been holding onto these cards for most of the game. The last two attacks I made didn't do me much good so this time I had better make my attacks count!"

"I summon Tsukuyomi back to the field! (1100/1400)" Aegis didn't care that his monster's attack points had dropped at that point (800/1400). His smile intensified as Aegis pointed his finger at James' Ultimate Insect. "Tsukuyomi, flip that annoying thing facedown!"

James growled and like the times before slammed a fist into the podium, this time with enough force to dent the metal. "You're testing my patience, Mister Hallow!" Aegis smirked.

"With your monster facedown, mine gain back their attack points." Aegis made sure to let each syllable strike James before he continued speaking. Sure enough his Construct (2400/1500) and Tsukuyomi (1100/1400) were back to full strength. "Next I'm activating another copy of my Binding Ritual spell card!" James let out a disgusted 'tsk' and it seemed like he was going to spit at Aegis at that point. "Returning that annoying Susa Soldier?" He asked angrily. Aegis shook his head and instead pulled a second card from his hand. "I'm summoning Asura Priest! (1700/1200)"

As the spell card reappeared onto the field, the chains shot up into the sky and latched onto a new monster. Pulling down from the heavens the chains were tethered to a blue-skinned man's body that was draped with silk red cloth and large golden pieces of jewelry. The spirit had a total of six arms, three from each shoulder. In a similar appearance to Tsukuyomi, the priest also had long blue hair that was tied together with red bands and a small gold ornament tied to the end of its ponytail.

"So that puts me at three monsters to your two. Alright, with Asura Priest's ability I'll attack all the monsters on your side of the field! Starting with that Ultimate Insect I flipped facedown!" At the command a sword formed out of light appeared in one of the priest's hands and was launched at the card in question. James growled and quickly flipped his facedown card.

"I won't let my effort go to waste! I activate my trap card, Waboku!" Just before the sword would have pierced the card three robed nuns appeared behind the card. The sword struck the card and simply revealed the massive caterpillar again, Aegis annoyed that his attack had failed to destroy the giant bug. Knowing there was no point in continuing his attack Aegis retired his monsters for the turn.

"If that's the case I'll activate another spell card, Spring of Rebirth." Behind Tsukuyomi a gorgeous stone fountain materialized. The water was crystal clear and radiated a soft blue glow, Aegis could almost smell the fresh water within the fountain. Within the center of the waters was a large stone spire that was cast in the gentle glow of the water around it. "I'll set one card facedown and return Tsukuyomi to my hand. Thanks to my Spring of Rebirth now I gain 500 life points as well." Aegis placed the trusty spirit back into his hand, in doing so the fountain that Aegis had summoned began to glow and emit small green lights into the air. Even though Aegis was closing the gap in life points he was still feeling uneasy. "I've been launching attack after attack against him and he keeps stopping them cold. If I can't make a breakthrough soon he'll have his Ultimate Insect at full power…"

(James: 6750 Aegis: 5550)

"My turn! Since my Ultimate Insect LV3 was flipped up by your attack I tribute it to bring out its next evolution, Ultimate Insect LV5!" James also appeared to be feeling the pressure from the prolonged duel and his refined voice had been reduced to a low growling. Both duelists knew the game was entering its final stage.

The massive caterpillar on James' field faded away and in its place an insect that was even larger than Brain Crusher assumed its rightful place in the food chain. The insect's body was drastically different and appeared to be some kind of metal pupa that sprouted thin spindly arms and spines. The eyes from its previous form were still present but they didn't grow with the organism and appeared to be more like red bands. It balanced on thin legs like a spider the insect looked like it should collapse under its own weight, but of course it didn't. Along its back were four large spines that twitched in the air, on the opposite side of the structure were smaller recoiled arms that would occasionally lash out for a brief moment. The insect also had a near human face that was uncharacteristically disturbing on the body of such a creature. For a finishing touch underneath its head was a single massive horn.

Aegis examined the creature and found it somewhat easier to look at since it was clearly not anything that could occur in the natural world. Still the fact that it was able to fill most of the stadium with its presence alone was quite frightening. James glowed with pride as he looked up at the behemoth, and then he shot a glance over at Aegis who had placed his hand on top of his hat and actually tilted it down to cover his face from view.

"Giving up, Mister Hallow?" James sneered, Aegis remained perfectly still like his Spirit Construct. James took the silence for whatever answer he wished, but the lack of a direct response left him feeling unsatisfied. "Fine, I can pry your cries of mercy from your lips with my insects. I reveal my facedown monster, another copy of Man-Eater Bug! (450/650)" As the card flipped over the brown insect charged towards Aegis' Spirit Construct and latched onto it. With one quick bite it tore the statue apart and retreated to its side of the field.

"Your Echoing Banishment is gone, and from the look of things my Brain Crusher returns! (2400/1500)" A third insect appeared next to Ultimate Insect, the strange writhing body of Brain Crusher joined its brothers on the field and screeched in what was probably joy. Aegis appeared troubled by the turn of events as he pulled his hat down further. Yet he remained silent. "Don't forget about my Ultimate Insect's ability, now your Asura Priest will lose 500 attack points. Your spirits are as flimsy as the name implies, Mister Hallow." James tried to provoke Aegis with his last comment, but still nothing as Asura Priest's points plummeted (1200/1200).

"Screaming in silence? Fair enough then, Mister Hallow. Brain Crusher, Mind Harvest! (2400/1500)" The mutant insect reared its head to roar again before stomping towards Aegis' final line of defence. The crowd waited with bated breath as the beast approached. The people from the center that were in the audience had gotten to their feet and leaned in reflexively. Losing the priest would mean that Aegis would be open for an onslaught of flying pincers and claws.

Aegis smirked.

Finally removing his hat from his head Aegis revealed a devilish smile that he couldn't suppress, so he instead used his hat to cover his face up. James recoiled from the expression as if Aegis had pulled a gun from his hat. "W-What are you smiling about?!" James demanded, firing his fist back into the podium and further damaging it.

"Your turn to be played like a violin! I reveal the quick-play spell card, Spirit Light!" James began to growl like a rabid wolf as he knew that he had fell straight into a trap. Aegis pulled a card from his hand and sent it to the graveyard, not explaining his actions so as to agitate James. "He's losing his composure, if I do things right I can make sure that he doesn't think straight for the rest of the duel!" All of the doubts that would come and go with each turn of the card were finally eradicated; Aegis knew he could pull through no matter what James could throw at him.

"You're not going to like this!" Aegis narrowed his eye and thinned his mouth in a manner similar to the first looks that James gave Aegis; the effect was immediate as James slammed his fist into the podium with enough force to shake the small structure. Aegis' monster began to radiate red fire that grew in size exponentially. "What did you do?!" Feeling that he had tormented his opponent enough Aegis nodded his head slowly with a satisfied glow to his entire stature.

"When I activate Spirit Light I have to send a spirit monster from my hand to the graveyard. But in return a monster on my side of the field gains attack points equal to the combined attack and defence of the monster I discarded. Unfortunately for you I sent Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi to the graveyard meaning a total of 2800 more points for my priest. That's considerably stronger than your Brain Crusher (2400/1500), isn't it?" Aegis gave one final smirk as his Asura Priest formed a new sword in one of its arms (3000/1200). James growled and pounded the metal podium once more as he watched his Brain Crusher have a sword thrown straight through its underbelly, exploding in holographic smoke and flames.

(James: 6150 Aegis: 5550)

The crowd hooted and hollered at the sudden turning of the tide, the upset was dramatic and came from absolutely no where. It seemed like James was only a hair's width away from losing his advantage despite his impressive field presence.

"I understand now…You were trying to make me attack your monster to trigger that card. You were probably going to use that last turn if it wasn't for my trap card. Furthermore you were aware of my Sacrificial Drones' effect and didn't waste your monsters on what wasn't a sure thing." James appeared to have clamed down somewhat as he pieced together the steps that led to his fallacy. "I summon another insect facedown with my Cathedral Hive. It is your turn, Mister Hallow." A spire on the hive collapsed and a new card appeared next to his Man-Eater Bug. It seemed that James had lost a fair amount of his enthusiasm and boasting after getting a taste of being so easily tricked.

Aegis' face stoned over, he secured his hat back onto his head and took a card from the top of his deck. "Another Man-Eater Bug, huh? If I do this it'll leave me wide open if anything goes wrong but…There's a chance that I can cripple him once and for all. Three strikes already, I don't know if I can afford another turnabout but…" "First, I re-summon Tsukuyomi (1100/1400)." James growled loudly at the reappearance of the spirit, and with a flick of her wrist she had once again put his Ultimate Insect into the dark. The attack power of Aegis' monsters restored themselves to their original values; the successive beeping had never been so gratifying for Aegis.

"You did your best, but it's time I got rid of that Ultimate Insect once and for all! Asura Priest (1700/1200) will attack your facedown Ultimate Insect! (2300/900)" James further increased the dent he had caused in the podium and then shot his arm forward to activate his cards.

"I will send the attack into my facedown monster, Man-Eater Bug! (450/600)" Aegis chuckled, he was sure that he was right, and he was also sure of what would be targeted by the insect. As a sword was being launched from Aegis' priest the card revealed itself to be the third Man-Eater Bug that was quickly skewered with the blade of light. However despite its injury it still found the strength to latch onto the priest and tore into it. Both of the monsters then shattered into light. "You couldn't avoid it forever! Tsukuyomi, get rid of Ultimate Insect!" Tsukuyomi spun around her disk and finally let it stop, pointing the glowing face to the card and shot a ray of light straight through the once ferocious monster.

"Before you end your turn, I'll use Cathedral Hive yet again. This time I summon Petit Moth to my side of the field (300/200)." Aegis felt some relief at seeing some card that wasn't a Man-Eater Bug, instead a rather small green caterpillar materalized. It seemed that James had used up a fair amount of his resources; actually Aegis also felt the grind that was eating away at his resources. "At the end of my turn Tsukuyomi returns to my hand, and I gain another 500 life points with my Spring of Rebirth."

(James: 6150 Aegis: 6050)

"I set one card and end my turn." A single card filled out another space on Aegis' field, yet it didn't do much to help the fact that he had no monsters left on the field. Aegis closed his eye and thought for a moment. There were too many things that could go wrong. "Noah…I need help, I really don't think I can do this alone!" Aegis felt a bit guilty to continue relying on his friend, even in the afterlife.

James' hand had a slight tremble to it as he took a card from the top of his deck, but his face lit up at seeing the card."You've done well to last so long, Mister Hallow. But now I must cut your time here short. I will summon a second Petit Moth through Cathedral Hive! (300/200)" As another spire of the sand cathedral collapsed a second insect took its position next to the first. James sneered, albeit rather wearily but he was still able to come off as sinister. "I didn't think I'd need to use this card on you, I was saving it for my duel against Iris, but you've forced my hand! By tributing three insect monsters from my side of the field I can summon my most terrifying monster, the Megaton Mantis Shrimp! (2900/2500)"

Aegis took a step back and away from the podium at the news; James had thrown down the gauntlet for the last round of the duel. As the three small insects vanished from James' field they were replaced with a fifteen foot wide open dirt hole. At first it wasn't evident that James had done much else until the sounds of something massive moving beneath the stadium silenced the masses. Without any other warning signs some kind of beast from the bowels of the underworld burst into the air. The creature's body was formed of thick scales that were layered over the previous one, making its structure like a long armoured serpent. On each section there were two large talons that appeared to function like legs for the organism. Aegis didn't want to look up, but he wouldn't have to as the insect bent down to be just above Aegis' head.

The monster's upper body was a single enlarged scale that was opened on the underside to let two gigantic mantis-like arms a full range of motion. Between the two main arms were dozens of much smaller appendages that were smaller versions of its legs, all of them moving of their own accord. Above its arms was a single extension that had two large compound eyes that seemed to be the only trace of a head on its gargantuan body.

Aegis worked up his courage-mostly telling himself that it was just a hologram, and looked up into the face of the monster, trying to stare back at it. The mantis shrimp moved its head back for an instant, but shot it forward into Aegis' face and opened up some orifice located in the void between its arms to reveal its mouth, lined with rows of teeth. Aegis had just enough time to take in the sight before him before the monster began to emit some kind of horrendous sound that was like a screeching roar; whatever it was it incredibly fearsome.

Finally finished with its 'introduction' the creature straightened up and slid back down into its burrow and settled into place. "Feel honored, Mister Hallow! I will applaud you for getting this far but it's time you learned about this marvellous creature." James let out a confident chuckle and pointed his finger straight at Aegis, causing him to flinch. "Like the real Mantis Shrimp, mine can skewer you without even attacking your monsters, like THIS!" James' beast lifted one of its claws slightly and in the blink of an eye it shot it forward, ejecting a long white spine straight at Aegis. Before he could react the spine had struck him and the sound of his life points decreasing filled the air.

(James: 6150 Aegis: 4550)

"Once during my turn I can inflict 1500 points of damage to my opponent, and there's nothing you can do about it! However, now you'll have to deal with this majestic beast's awe-inspiring hunting capabilities! You fought hard, Mister Hallow but this is where your story ends!" James began to cackle, the noise irritating Aegis a fair bit. However he had been prepared for the situation and his facedown card began to lift off the ground.

"I refuse to give in that easily! I activate my trap card, Grave Marking! For every spirit monster in my graveyard I summon a Grave Marker in defence mode (1000/1000). I have four in the graveyard, so you're going to have to get through these first!" Aegis felt safe as he watched four black obelisks shoot up from the ground and occupy four of his monster zones. "This effect only lasts for a turn, then my markers leave the field, but this will be enough to last me until my turn!"

James simply began to laugh harder at Aegis; the man being taken aback by the reaction. "My Megaton Mantis Shrimp has a few more abilities that allow it to hunt with deadly efficiency. First it can decide the position of the monsters it battles with! Oblivion's Grasp!" Mortified Aegis watched as the beast reared up again and smashed one of his Grave Markers into oblivion, and with it 1900 of his life points.

(James: 6150 Aegis: 2650)

"But it's not over yet! My monster also has the ability to attack twice in the same turn! So again, my Megaton Mantis Shrimp, attack with Oblivion's Grasp!" Aegis teetered in place nervously as he watched the creature move with inhuman speed and obliterate yet another one of his defences. In the single turn he had taken 5300 points of damage; Aegis was barely still in the game.

(James: 6150 Aegis 750)

"I'll end my turn now, try and pull yourself together, Mister Hallow." James had found his calm and condescending composure once more; though understandable with slightly more than five thousand life points to hoard over Aegis.

Aegis had remained silent after the second attack. His field began to empty itself when James ended his turn, the remaining two Grave Markers on his field faded away into nothingness. "Don't despair too much, Mister Hallow. But you must understand that you really are no one in this world, so this is very good for someone like you." Aegis didn't respond, and remained bent over his podium. "Perhaps you were someone years ago, and that could be why a no one like you could amount to this much. But really, who are you supposed to be? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter at this point, just take your time as you realize the end has come."

"Hey…" Aegis finally spoke up; his voice had the texture of sandpaper as he opened his mouth. "I finally figured out why I don't like you." The statement took James by surprise, it suddenly didn't seem like Aegis was wallowing in misery from the way he was speaking.

"A person like you who's long forgotten what it means to live underneath the public eye could never understand what I've gone through." A completely different feeling overcame Aegis when he heard James' words. It wasn't fear of losing or the burning heat of competition, not even confidence; Aegis was consumed with rage. He had his right fist tightly clenched and twitching from keeping his entire arm tensed; the small motions being exaggerated by the erratic movement from his sword duel-disk.

"What are you babbling about, Mister Hallow? If you're stalling for time it won't do you any good!" James found it difficult to keep his voice from trembling. Aegis shot a glare at the man, James backing away from the gaze.

"You can't imagine all of the sacrifices, all of the deaths I've seen just so I could be standing here today!" Aegis' outburst had echoed through the stadium and silenced the crowd in fear that was more intense than the appearance of James' Mantis Shrimp.

"For you to just say it was all worthless, I will never allow it!" Aegis threw his right arm forward, pointing accusingly at James but also causing him to sweat nervously at the sight of the bladed duel-disk approaching him for an instant.

Though brief, the fury of the storm was subsiding. Aegis' body became limp; his head falling back and in doing so made his hat fall to the ground behind him. Aegis began to laugh from his strange position; he appeared to be possessed by a demon with how he was acting. His voice had become hoarse from shouting; or maybe Aegis intentionally sounded like that as it seemed close to his already weary, grating tune. "The reason I don't like you is that your soul is dead. You are the one that's worthless. You come here with a noose around your neck, so let me put you out of your misery! I will make you understand what it means to have an unyielding soul that can break through anything, even death!"

James fell back from the barrage of verbal attacks. He was shrinking away from the man, and actually was clutching at his chest with his right arm like some kind of war injury that flared up. The entire game changed and yet nothing changed on the field. James chanced a look up at the deranged Aegis, but quickly found it was difficult to keep his gaze steady. "E-Enough, Mister Hallow! If you're trying to avoid losing the duel-"

"Wrong!" Aegis' body snapped forward and forced apart the hair that normally covered the right side of his face. His black hair had begun to stand up and point in all directions which left his face completely visible. The area over his left eye had been severely burned leaving a unique deep crimson scar pattern that started from the forehead and tapered off just past the nose. Yet it wasn't the scar that caught James' attention but it was Aegis' right eye. For whatever reason his iris lacked any pigment and instead his entire eye was a shade of dark gray.

"I already said I'd put you and your soulless husk out of its misery, count on it!" With his rage subsiding just enough to form coherent thought, Aegis swiped the top card off of his deck, glanced at it and immediately played it. "I'm activating Spirit's Gift! By sending a spirit monster from my deck to the graveyard I draw two more cards!" Aegis didn't break stride as he almost instantly pulled out a card from his deck and slammed the stack of cards back into place. "I send Fushi No Tori to the graveyard, now I'll draw again!"

Aegis took his cards and suddenly froze up when he saw what he had pulled out of Noah's deck. The anger and fury within him ceased for an instant as a chill ran down his spine. "So this deck really has every card you used? Even this one…I guess people would call this fate; or irony. This is the help you can give me, Noah?" His ruminating dissipated not only the anger in Aegis' body but just about every other emotion he had felt in the entire duel. He felt numb while holding the card in his hand and he stood fixated in place by the object. Aegis finally shook his head and added his new cards into his hand.

"I'll activate the spell card Spirit's Calling, discarding my Tsukuyomi to activate it." James recoiled at the move, he was expecting to see the aggravating spirit yet again, but for Aegis to discard it meant he no longer needed it. Then it occurred to James to ask the most obvious, yet frightening question that came to mind. "What's Spirit Calling do?"

Aegis' grinned deviously, his expression demonic with the revealing of his entire face. "By discarding a spirit monster I can special summon a monster from my graveyard. There's only one card I'd want, so I summon Orpheus back from the grave! (1900/1600)." Making his return appearance since the beginning of the duel, the sleek metal body burst from the ground, Orpheus' crimson scarf flapping in the air. The darkened face turned to face James' ultimate monster, staring back with its slit eyes through the openings in its snow white hair.

"You seem to be aware of Orpheus' abilities, no doubt from watching my games." James nodded his head slowly, his attention still fixed on Aegis' scar than on the duel. "Once a turn if I forfeit his attack, I can destroy a spell or trap card on the field. So I'll activate his ability and destroy your Sacrificial Drones trap card! Discord!" Orpheus pulled his massive instrument off his back with his left hand and then moved his right hand towards it with a jerky motion from his machine arm. Very carefully the stout metal fingers plucked at the strings on the harp, creating harsh tones that caused a bolt of lightning to streak through the air and shatter James' trap card.

"I'll set one card and end my turn here." Another chill went down Aegis' spine, but he forced his hand to place his final card into the duel-disk. The crowd began to whisper among themselves; after such a dramatic outburst, to end the turn at that point meant that Aegis had failed to turn the game around.

James eyed his opponent carefully; he wasn't sure if Aegis had been bluffing or if the new card he had set was something awaiting his mantis. If it was then attacking could spell a dramatic turnabout. James however smiled and drew his card without even looking at it before he placed it into his hand.

"I was expecting more after such a dramatic speech, Mister Hallow. But you seem to have forgotten about my monster's ability." By then the crowd had resigned themselves from the duel. Maria and the others from the center were looking at Aegis for a sign that he had a plan, yet he stared at James like a statue.

"So where is it? That soul that can overcome anything? I fail to see it, Mister Hallow!" Roared James as his Megaton Mantis Shrimp raised one of its massive claws, opening it up to reveal another spine that was ready to be fired. Aegis finally shut his eyes in silence, folding his arms together as he did so.

"Lets end this drama show then. Megaton Mantis Shrimp, finish it!" With speed that only the most advanced cameras could capture, the claw whipped forward and jettisoned the white spear straight through Aegis, the hologram sticking out of the ground and passing through his chest. Aegis' supporters collapsed back into their seats with bereavement; it seemed like Aegis would put up a better fight in the end.

(James: 6150 Aegis: 0)

The crowd didn't react immediately as it seemed like they were divided in how they should feel. Should they cheer for the city champion or feel a bit disheartened that the underdog couldn't make a comeback after such a speech. But then those sitting in the stands noticed that despite hitting zero, the duel's holograms didn't fade away like they were supposed to. James caught onto the discrepancy immediately, shifting his eyes to Aegis' field; and at what used to be his set card.

"What have you done, Mister Hallow?!" James demanded, but his voice was shaking at the turn of events instead of being outraged like one would expect.

Aegis reopened his eyes and for a moment, could feel his hands shaking involuntarily. His right eye began to sting for a second, something he attributed to the intense impact the memory of the card had on him. He could still feel the pressure on his chest and the light of day fading rapidly before his eyes.

"I activate the trap card, Endless Night." The crowd's whispering had intensified at what should have been the end of the game. Maria and the other fellow duelists from the center leapt back up and began to lean in closer; some of them actually pushing off of the people seated below them.

(James: 6150 Aegis: Endless Night)

From Aegis' card waves of black ribbons shot in all directions that was covering not just the dueling field but the entire stadium in an artificial night sky. The onlookers were shifting in their seats to look into the endless starry sky that Aegis had created; in some ways it was a beautiful sight, but there was something unsettling about the scenery that made some people nervous.

James was spinning around in his podium, head darting from side to side as he took in the changed background. He began to sweat profusely at the appearance of the black sky and began to stammer something. "This…It looks like a-"

"That's right. A Shadow Game. But don't worry, it only looks like one." Aegis response was rather detached, he seemed to have lost all his spirit and was back to speaking in dulled tones. Aegis shut his eyes again and let his mind playback that dramatic night; it wasn't like he had a choice if he wanted to see the images or not as his mind couldn't hold back the torrent. But luckily for him he was spared from the experience by James' voice.

"Don't tell me…Did you?" James had become gravely serious, his eyes trying to find answers off of Aegis' stony face. With a quiet smirk Aegis shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Like I said, a person with such a weak soul would never understand the kind of strength that can overcome death." Aegis' explanation seemed to strike James deeply, he grabbed at his chest again as before. "Now, time for the technical explanations." Aegis unfolded his arms and leaned forward slightly, using the edge of his podium for support.

"I can only activate Endless Night when my life points drop to zero. When that happens your turn immediately ends and it becomes my turn. I can't draw a card however, but as long as I summon a monster before my turn ends I won't lose the duel." Aegis found that his left hand was scratching at a compartment on his duel-disk, the spot where he kept his fusion deck to be more specific. The stinging pain in his right eye began to intensify for some reason, Aegis was starting to consider the prospect that the pain was not from the memories he had but was instead something completely different. However he wouldn't have the time to wonder as hundreds of men and women waited with bated breath for the next move.

"I'm getting tired of your attacks on my character, Mister Hallow!" James decided to break the moment with his retort, Aegis smiling to himself at hearing the counter.

"Fine, lets see what you're made of then!" Aegis snapped his fingers and it instantly provoked a reaction from Orpheus. The metal body began to convulse violently for just a second before it crumbled into a heap on the floor. Around Orpheus five blue flames lit up, trails of some dark viscous liquid began to seep out of the air and outline a pentagram around the silver monster.

"By removing Orpheus and the five spirit monsters in my graveyard I can summon this card from my fusion deck." With the tremor returning to his hand, Aegis fumbled around to pull out a single card which he played without looking at it once.

The pentagram glowed for a second and then shattered into lights along with Orpheus. In place of the monster a ten foot tall figure stood tall and staring straight at James. The figure wore a cloak that was of the purest black that made it almost impossible to see the figure against the false night sky. But no matter how simple the appearance of the monster its very presence was able to chill the air in the stadium.

"What…Did you summon, Mister Hallow?" James wasn't sure if he wanted the answer but he needed to ask anyway.

"Death (0/0)." Aegis found that he had to dig deep into the depths of his own soul just to keep from shrinking in the presence of the monster. He decided it would be best to distract himself with focusing on the technical points of the game than to focus on the reaper standing in front of him. "As long as Death remains on the field I won't lose the duel. If you want to beat me you will have to prove that I was wrong about you." The pain in his right eye started to intensify and was causing his vision to blur slightly. "I'm not even facing this card but I'm still terrified after all these years. I better finish this as fast as I can"

"Now, Death will attack your Megaton Mantis Shrimp! (2900/2500) The End!" Aegis' command startled James as it appeared to be illogical. But he realised that Aegis' move last turn had made it impossible for him to redirect the attack without his trap card on the field. Glowering at being forced to play Aegis' game he threw his hand forward, his monster screeching in response. "Counterattack with Oblivion's Grasp!"

James' monster reared up and sent its claws straight at the reaper. Aegis' monster rose its arm slowly and from the black folds of its cloak a skeletal hand emerged that caught the massive flying appendage with no effort whatsoever. The mighty beast let out an agonized scream and writhed for a moment before the entire creature froze in time and began to fall apart like sand.

"Whenever Death battles, the opposing monster is destroyed and its attack points are deducted from your life points." Aegis explained quietly. In his mind he remembered his own cards being obliterated by that icy grasp, his ethereal self recoiling in pain as each monster fell.

(James: 3250 Aegis: Endless Night)

James growled and slammed his fist into the podium at having his ultimate monster so easily destroyed. But suddenly he noticed that his life points were decreasing when they should have already stopped. "What's going on?! I shouldn't be losing life points!"

"The second ability Death has is to inflict the damage I would have taken to your life points as well." Aegis' reply was very machine-like, he had completely ignored James' question like it was an irritating fly.

(James: 350 Aegis: Endless Night)

"That's enough then. I end my turn." Aegis watched James carefully to see what he would do next. But it seemed that he was consumed by the fact that Aegis had essentially broken all the rules to stage his last stand. "A soul that can overcome death…I wonder if I have the right to say he has a weak soul when I don't really know if I have such a soul myself…" Aegis caught himself before his train of thought could continue; instead he focused on his left eye that was still throbbing in his skull. Had it always been so painful?

James drew his card and began to stare at the reaper on Aegis' field. With only his Cathedral Hive on the field James began to run through all of his viable options. No card in his hand could be used against Death, he had already spent most of his resources fending off Aegis' other attacks. But then a thought dawned on James.

"Without any monsters on the field your Death cannot damage me. All I have to do is to wait until I draw a card that can dispose of your monster, and t hat will be enough to end this game!" James felt confident of himself as he ended his turn, Aegis however shook his head.

"Hiding from death will not put off the inevitable end." "So says the guy trembling in terror…" Aegis drew his final card of the game and pointed it towards James. "I don't know why your soul was broken in the first place, but I don't care anymore. The End."

Death complied and began to glide slowly towards James' podium with its robe almost spinning as the reaper approached. "If Death attacks you directly it deals damage equal to the number of cards in both graveyards multiplied by four hundred. From my count you have eighteen cards in your graveyard and I have seven in mine, making twenty five in all. A total of ten thousand points of damage." James shut his eyes solemnly and appeared to detach himself from the duel. He did his best to brace himself for the reaper's advance by raising his arms up. The spectre produced a large scythe from the folds of his cloak and raised it up in the air as he approached his target.

(James: 0 Aegis: Endless Night)

The sight of Death closing in on its victim made Aegis' body seize up. The memories he had been holding back came back in full force. He staggered for a moment and shut his eyes tightly, listening to his mind playback the time he last saw Death.

"This isn't over, Aegis! I activate Endless Night!"

"Noah, stop this! If this continues then one of us will…"

"Where is it, Aegis?! That burning soul that could never be crushed?! If you don't have it you will be consumed by the shadows!"

"This is murder! I won't do this! YOU can't do this!"

"Then I was wrong about you, Aegis! You couldn't protect her, and now you can't protect yourself from your own Death!"

"NOAH!"

Suddenly Aegis let out an agonized cry; collapsing over on the podium grabbing at his damaged right eye. The crowd began to gasp and try to see what had happened to the duelist when the holographic project of Aegis' monster flickered for an instant.

James noticed the fluctuation in the figure and swore he could see a black shadow being cast by the spectre against a portion of the night sky; something that should be impossible for a mere hologram. Knowing the implication of the event he leapt back from his podium as fast as he could, just as Death slashed at James' position with its massive scythe. But instead of passing harmlessly through the solid steel podium the weapon actually seemed to smash right through the podium and straight into the holographic projectors below. The projected night sky flickered and then fizzled out as the projectors near James began to explode in flames and sparks.

The man hit the ground roughly and looked up just in time to see the apparition still lingering in the air for a moment before it faded away; long after the rest of the holograms had disappeared. He was right in his action and avoided being caught in the swing of the scythe, or any of the blasts from the attack. James go back to his feet swiftly and despite what had happened he appeared preoccupied with something other than the fatal error in the system.

"Everyone remain in your seats! Something has gone wrong with the system's projectors, please do not panic!" David's voice echoed throughout the stadium over the speakers, but his reassurance did little as people began to file out of the building after seeing the explosions and small flames still lingering on the metal dueling area.

Judges and the officials poured onto the dueling field and began to swarm the epicentre with fire extinguishers and first aid kits, converging on James first to ensure nothing was broken on the prestigious figure. It seemed that Aegis' blight had been forgotten by the majority of people in the stadium, but Maria could be seen pushing through the masses of evacuating spectators towards him.

Aegis' head was throbbing with the intensity of a jackhammer; his vision was nonexistent and was just static from the intense pain that was radiating from his right eye. He did his best from collapsing to the ground, using the podium as support since his legs had been reduced to jelly. Suddenly he felt something warm against his right hand; the one he was using to clutch at his eye. Slowly he retracted it from his face and with all of his willpower he forced his eyes to focus on a dark mass in his palm.

Staining his metal gauntlet were trails of thick blood that ran down the slick surface and began to drip onto the ground below. Aegis was shocked at what he had found, feeling the hot fluid coming out of his eye and falling off of his face.

"What…Is going on?" Aegis struggled to pose the question to himself; but it was a dangerous thing for him to do. By speaking he had quickly drained all of his energy and found his body lost all feeling as he collapsed into a heap on the ground.