Soul of a Duelist

Turn 11: There and Back Again: Cops and Robbers

(Noah: 7500 Aegis: 2000)

"Tell me, Aegis!" Noah laughed lightly. The first time he had done so in over five years. He pointed his disembodied right hand forward at Aegis, who had seated himself rather comfortably on the metaphysical floor.

"I have over three times your life points. My best monster, Orpheus is on the field (3100/1600) and he's been powered up! I have a hand full of powerful spirit monsters, while you've used all your cards. You just barely survived my turn, what on earth are you going to do now?" Noah posed his question much the same way a game-show host would ask an unwitting contestant a slew of rhetorical questions.

Aegis tilted his head thoughtfully, resting it against his left hand as he thought. Then he snapped his fingers, stood up, dusted himself off and folded his arms together.

"I think I'll go win." Aegis sneered at Noah's distasteful raspberry which he blew in response. Aegis moved his right arm nice and close to his left hand and carefully peeled a card off the top of his deck. One look, and it was set in defence mode instantly. "One monster facedown. Come and get me!"

"Come on, Aegis! You're barely holding on! Call it a day and let me put you to sleep!" Noah patted his metal pedestal a few times, metal clanging echoing through the void.

"Don't think I'll let some occult freak beat me at my game!" Aegis fired back, Noah's pride hurt by being called a 'freak'. Aegis smiled, amused that it was so easy to cut down the 'Master of the Shadows', as he had introduced himself.

"Are you that sensitive now? Ahaha, fine, I'll take it back." Aegis mused over the conversation he was having. Somehow, despite being somewhere between life and death, it really felt like he had visited a simpler day. Amongst the darkness, after all of the dramatic speeches and agonizing attacks, the situation boiled down to a friendly reunion between old friends.

"Aegis, I got a question, if you don't mind me asking." Noah was a bit nervous as he pushed forward his question, flipping his turn's card off the top of his deck as he did so.

"Why did you start dueling anyway? I remember when you first started you practiced so hard that you even told me you didn't like it! So it never really made sense to me." Aegis shut his eyes and thought carefully, humming to himself all the time.

"If…I tell you the reason, I hope you don't get offended." Aegis' reply was strange to Noah, but it also made him more eager to hear the answer. Though it was supposed to be a cautionary statement, Aegis was well aware it would be pointless, and simply proceeded with his explanation.

"You remember when you used to try to do your experiments, I would always try to stop you, right?" Aegis started slow, feeling the water gingerly. Noah nodded his head slowly, inquisitive look all over his face at the mention of such a delicate topic.

"Well, after each one we had to run from the law for awhile. Thankfully no one knew it was us. But that got me thinking…" Aegis stopped at a juicy part, Noah's arms motioned for him to continue. He sighed and decided to throw away all subtly and would tell the tale as it was.

"If I could become famous somehow, I could plaster my name and my face everywhere. By extension I could then plaster your name and face everywhere the public eye reached. If I did that then it would become much harder for you to even start an experiment since you had enough sense to know what would happen if you got caught." Aegis' origins surprised Noah. The tale was a bit sad, yet it seemed to fit the man it came from.

"So you worked yourself to the bone to shoot for pro status, hoping that when you made it, I'd give up my experiments so you could save countless lives." Noah filled in the gaps for himself, a black rain cloud of guilt showering down on him.

"That was the plan. But it wasn't that easy. I did throw our names and faces everywhere, and it still didn't stop you. Well, ok, that goes without saying as here we are." Aegis lowered his head feverishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his metallic hand.

"I wish I wised up then. But it sounds exactly like something you'd do. Throwing away your childhood to try and help someone else…I'm sorry." Noah also looked away at the tale's end. Aegis shook his head and looked straight at his friend.

"Don't be. I didn't start dueling because I wanted too, but…After awhile, I didn't think I was forcing myself since I really liked playing the game. I loved that competitive spirit, and you know, if it kept some people safe at the same time, so much the better." Aegis thought back to all the hours he had spent growing up amassing his collection, practicing with his deck until his cards began to fade and tear. All for that one win, inching towards the top.

"Sounds exactly like you. Well, I'm glad you didn't hate it." Noah smiled weakly back at Aegis. The moment was over however, and Noah decided to resume play.

"You know, as kids I never could beat you! But I think I'll change that today!" Noah's grin widened, the same confident look he used to wear on his face all the time. But suddenly it dimmed. "…If I win, you'll be alright. There wasn't any challenge so this isn't a Shadow Game. When we're done I'll just send you back."

Aegis nodded, he was wondering at what would happen when the last card was played. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, what happens to you if I win?"

"Nothing big. I'll just get thrown back like before. But since I've become so enmeshed with the Shadow Realm, I'll just pull myself back together after awhile." Noah's reasoning seemed to reassure Aegis. There was truly nothing at stake. It was the equivalent as dueling each other on a table top. Both duelists at ease, even Aegis didn't worry about the pain he would experience with each blow to his life points. It was superficial in the end, only the mind would remember it, the body wouldn't.

"With all that settled, I'll start my turn with summoning Fushi No Tori! (1200/0)" By Orpheus' right side a crimson flame ignited in the air, taking on the form of a phoenix. With the flick of his wrist, Noah tossed another monster into play, the outline of a crimson knight entering view before he even announced the move.

"With one spirit present I summon Heroic Spirit Freya in attack mode! (2300/0)" Noah grinned widely. "You fought hard, but I'll put another loss on your record! Fushi No Tori, attack Aegis' set monster!" The phoenix breathed a breath of flames to the rectangular square defending Aegis' field. The fire uncovering a large metallic pot, a single glass eye situated inside of its opening, demonic rows of teeth grinning madly at Noah before the monster burst apart.

"W-what is that thing?" Noah found the parting grin rather unnerving, it didn't matter how much he had seen in the shadows, that smile was spine-chilling.

"It's a monster named Cyber Jar. If it's flipped over then all monsters on the field are destroyed. Sorry, but you walked straight into my trap!" Aegis' voice was taunting, a sort of singsong tone that could be used by a much younger Aegis to mock a five-year old.

Noah braced himself as he could feel the connections with his three creatures vanishing, each of the visages being sucked into oblivion. However a thin sneer crossed Noah's face as he watched the silver body of Orpheus fade away.

"After all the monsters are destroyed, we both draw five cards, showing them to the opponent. Any level four or lower monster is then summoned to the field, so you first, Noah!" Noah obliged, nodding his head briefly. He drew five cards, flipping them over and showing them to Aegis. He took note that Noah had drawn only high level spirit monsters; none of them would be useable to Noah.

Aegis felt reassured to face an empty field, at least empty of monsters. His second counterattack would begin with yet another new hand. He drew his cards, showing them to Noah as well. He took note that he had two useable monsters, his silver right eye resting on one of them for a moment.

"Alright, I drew into two monsters, the first one is my Machine Angel, which I summon in attack mode! (1800/1800)" Monsters rallying for Aegis' cause were surprisingly few and far between. However each one that he summoned was very impressive. His latest automation was similar to a cyborg, its body mostly a mechanical gold skeleton made of gold and silver that was operated by large brass gears like a clock. The head however was human, at least it was the face of a rather pleasant looking woman, yet it was this juxtaposition that made for a rather startling aura. For its namesake, the machine had two large metal wings fixed to its back.

"That's…Quite…Something…Man, I'm not that freaky when I look at some of the cards you play, Aegis!" Noah simply couldn't help himself, he had to get a shot in on Aegis for once. Aegis appearing rather disgruntled at the observation and mumbled under his breath.

"The second monster I drew." Aegis did his best to shrug off the jesting, still it was hard for him to ignore the jab; he had to get Noah back for it later. "Is a card you should remember, Noah. It's the one I beat you with last time, The Unwavering Maiden! (1000/0)" Noah cringed as he recalled the past for a distasteful moment.

Beside the mechanical angel, the figure of a kneeling woman materialized. The woman wore a large dress formed of dozens of large diamond shaped clothes of a light blue material with gold trimmings to each part. The woman's face was covered up by long locks of golden hair, but the figure and posture instilled a very peaceful demeanor.

"I remember that one…It's the card you said Kiris passed on to you. I didn't realize how much she meant to you to be honest. But to see that card reappear now…" Aegis nodded his head slowly. It was still a very delicate subject; the time he had spent overseas was traumatic. After all was said and done that his face would be forever scarred, his eye infused with a fate he never dreamed of. And his first love would be cut tragically short.

After that, the marks would be left on his body and soul. The way he saw the world would be different, how he behaved would change. It was such a far reaching change that even the deck he used was changed.

Originally Aegis never had a set deck-type, rather he would switch very rapidly. After he returned he found his soul settling on a rather strange theme: machines. Every card Aegis used began to inch towards an automated perfection. It seemed to still be the case after so many years.

"Well, I can see you're walking down memory lane, Aegis." Noah interrupted Aegis' ruminating, for once Aegis became a bit annoyed with having his train of thought derailed. It didn't seem so bad to think of the past while standing in the same position he was in the past actually.

"But, if I don't, this game will take forever! Since you destroyed Orpheus, I'll activate the trap card, Mourning Nightingales!" A fire ignited in Noah's soul. He had waited years to finally get a chance to use the trap. The shadows resonated to their master's enthusiasm and trembled with anticipation. Aegis gulping slightly as he realized that all was not well suddenly.

"You remember what my favorite myth was, right?" Noah proposed a rhetorical question to his best friend, he knew the answer instantly.

"Orpheus. You loved the story of Orpheus." Aegis gave the answer anyway, just to make sure Noah was still aware that Aegis' dedication was not discarded.

"That's right! Orpheus was a masterful musician, his instrument the lyre. With his melodies he could lull any beast, and even breathe life into stone. Orpheus was even one of the pioneers of civilization, teaching us the art of writing and even medicine! Not only that he was a seer!" Noah's face always lit up when he fired off into a rant on his favorite storybook character.

"However, Orpheus had a bit of a darker streak. He was known for travelling into Hades and back. The trip had changed him and he forsaken the gods. The name Orpheus is also believed to come from the Greek word 'orphe' which means darkness. Of course it also is similar to 'orhpanos' which means orphan and-" Noah paused as he realized he had gone off on a completely different topic. He cleared his throat with his floating right hand and smiled feebly at Aegis' ever patient stance.

"Well, in the end Orpheus was torn apart, his head and lyre sent floating down a river. The rest of Orpheus was left to the winds. However…" Suddenly Aegis became acutely aware of a chill firing down his spine.

"I found his head. And then I placed it onto a new body, that silver mechanical form you know as Orpheus. But that's not really Orpheus." Suddenly the sound of many birds singing besieged Aegis' senses, his hands covering up his ears at the loud whistling and chirping.

"I've decided it's time to put Orpheus back together, one decayed limb at a time. So first, by the effect of Mourning Nightingales, I summon The Head of Orpheus in attack mode! (0/0)" The silver body-or the carrier of Orpheus' head, reappeared before Aegis. The body was rusting away rapidly, crumbling to pieces. Yet the black-skinned white-haired head did not change, its eyes staring forward blankly. The metal body finally turned to dust, only the head remained, floating in the air, unmoving, not living.

"Since I had to send my entire hand to the graveyard just to resurrect the Head of Orpheus, I'll end my turn." Noah folded his arms together, closing his eyes as he did so. In such a position he could tune into the haunting singing that came from the severed head after he ended the turn. Aegis' skin crawled at the melody, first it was the shrill sound of the nightingales, now it was the haunting voice of Orpheus.

"What's going on?!" Aegis found his question was laced with fear; he never took to the supernatural very well.

"At the end of every turn, Orpheus' head will seek out one more of his limbs. So I'll summon Remnant of Orpheus – Dismembered Body in defence mode! (0/0)" Aegis looked away as a large black mass simply floated out of the ground, causing ripples in the darkness. The mass was barely recognizable as a torso, it was rotting heavily, and was mostly just a dark lump that drifted by Orpheus' head.

"The Head of Orpheus gains 700 attack points for each Remnant of Orpheus on the field (700/0). As well, each remnant gains 200 attack points for each remnant or the head being on the field! (400/0)" Aegis fidgeted as he noticed the undead masses gaining strength. Albeit, it wasn't very much strength, it was the fact that such grotesque things were slowly becoming more powerful.

"Noah has no cards left in his hand, and he can't defend himself during my turn. But there's got to be something to these remains, Noah knows my two monsters can trample his. So what am I missing?" Aegis groaned as he knew that he was to learn what Noah's plan would be the hard way.

"This will go without saying, Machine Angel (1800/1800) attack The Head of Orpheus! (700/0)" Aegis threw his hand forward, ploughing recklessly into whatever was ready to pounce on him. Aegis' winged clockwork cyborg took to the air, flapping its metal wings and charging for the black floating head on Noah's domain. The automation raised an arm, and then struck the head with a mighty punch, the sheer force creating a shockwave that nearly toppled Noah.

(Noah: 6400 Aegis: 2000)

"Unfortunately for you, my soul's ultimate manifestation will not yield that easily! The Head of Orpheus cannot be destroyed in battle!" Noah's dramatic moment did not have the effect he was looking for, Aegis shrugging his shoulders casually.

"The pieces of my soul don't come without their own tricks. If Machine Angel damages you, I can summon a second Machine Angel from my deck, so now you can deal with another one of my machines!" Aegis' counter was simple and elegant, diffusing Noah's moment rather easily. He watched feebly as a second clockwork pretty-faced angel descended onto Aegis' field.

"However, I can't attack with the monster I summon." Aegis shrugged off the condition just as easily as he shrugged off Noah's comeback. "If your head can't be destroyed, I'll simply attack the limbs! The Unwavering Maiden (1000/0) will destroy your Dismembered Body! (400/0)" The kneeling maiden lifted her head up delicately, her robes parting to let her pale hand through.

With the flick of her wrist a gigantic steel blade lodged itself in the center of the Head of Orpheus, the black mass recoiling under such a tremendous impact.

(Noah: 5700 Aegis: 2000)

"Why did your head get attacked?!" Aegis fell into a false sense of security from so little happening to stop him. The simple redirection was enough to cause a rather substantial reaction however.

"The Head of Orpheus can redirect an attack against one of its limbs to the head. You didn't think that the yearning soul of Orpheus' would sit back and watch you destroy one of his body parts, did you?" Noah regained center stage of the duel, Aegis grimacing as he watched the severed body parts bopping up and down in the air.

"I'll set one card." Aegis paused after he placed a card into his duel-disk. A smirk crossed his face, his eyes locking with Noah's for a brief instant. "Want to see something cool?" Noah's ever-present smile widened, his eyes lighting up.

"If I remove two Machine Angels from the field I can combine their machine souls to create Virtue! (2300/2300)" Noah whistled as the two clockwork angels broke down, two wisps floating out of their bodies. The wisps then joined together, grew and then solidified into a single entity.

The monster named Virtue was also an angelic creature, two large feathered angel wings affixed to its back. The body was covered by a thorough suit of gold armor which glowed brightly in the darkness of the Shadow Realm. It was hard to tell what the gender of the monster was as it had an androgynous figure, the head covered by a large pointed helmet with two slits cut into it to let the angel see.

(Noah: 6700 Aegis: 2000)

"Always full of tricks, aren't you, Aegis? Well you can't have forgotten about my Soul Absorption, since you removed two cards from play I gain a thousand life points." Noah mused to himself, his chin resting in his left hand laxly. "So what does this thing do?" Aegis was hoping for those words, an aura of malevolence radiating from his smile.

"Any monster Virtue battles with has its effect negated, during the battle and after it as well. Meaning…" Aegis did not finish his sentence, Noah's mind filled in the gaps and his panic was spreading out into the shadows, the walls trembling.

"I end my turn." The parting words left Noah straining his mind for a good idea. Regardless he did his best to get back into the game, and Aegis' pace.

"When your turn ends another piece of Orpheus is summoned to the field! Come forth, Remnant of Orpheus – Bloody Left Hand!" On the left side of the head, a small black, rotting hand clawed its way out of the void. At its appearance, the other two remains pulsated with the force of a heartbeat.

"So now The Head of Orpheus' power increases again (1400/0). The same is true for both of my remnants! (600/0)" Aegis mouthed Noah's gloating, mocking him as he did so. Noah sighed and shook his head.

"Isn't that what you did whenever you were losing to me, Aegis?" Noah had waited patiently for his opening, and jabbed Aegis hard for the last insult. Aegis winced, feeling the metaphysical force of the jesting.

Pleased with himself, Noah drew a card from his deck and immediately set it onto the field facedown without so much as a glance. Aegis was about to point out the phenomena when Noah intervened yet again.

"Aegis! This deck is my soul! I know exactly what it will give me each turn. It is just an extension of myself, as your deck is now." Noah paused, looking rather awkward for some reason. He then proceeded to scratch the back of his head, messing up the silver locks of hair slightly.

"You know, this is the first time I've seen you in five years, and I haven't even asked how you've been!" Aegis' nerves unwound themselves, for a moment he was afraid something disastrous would occur. Instead his body warmed up, it had been so long since he had the pleasure of speaking so freely, so happily.

"Well, I've become a writer. I got published in a few anthologies; my last short story did pretty well actually." Aegis recalled the brief cash-flow he experienced at that publication, it was a very good few months.

"Oh yeah? I wish I could read some of your stuff!" Noah held the conversation up as he then motioned for the floating head of Orpheus to target Aegis' vulnerable maiden. "But for now, I'll have The Head of Orpheus (1400/0) attack your Unwavering Maiden! (1000/0)"

Orpheus' mouth opened up, slowly at first, then ripping open so wide it seemed like it would tear itself apart. A ghostly song came out of the mouth, though it was impossible for such a thing to occur. The music was of course, brilliant and fit for a maestro, waves of dark energy surging through the air at the crouching maiden.

"You know, I figure you can eventually just get a full body on your own, Noah. I bet you could just come back on your own sooner or later." Aegis casually flipped over his set trap card, the projection of the red background lifting off the ground to face Noah.

"You know…I told you already, least I know I thought it. But I'm not like you, Aegis." Noah looked away, a bitterness in his heart. "The power I have…I know I can go back to the real world at any time. But with the power I have, it'll corrupt me. I can't control myself like you." Noah raised his head, smiling with his heavy heart at his best friend.

"So I think I'll stay here until I finally know I can control the power, and not the other way around. But don't worry, Aegis." In Noah's mind he saw a day in the future. The day that he would finally walk upon the bountiful earth underneath a clear sapphire blue sky, the radiant sun above and warming his skin. On that day he would walk side by side with Aegis, it would be the day he finally would catch up to him and his ever steady back.

"I will be back one day. Until then just know I'm always looking out for you in here. Now, what's your trap card do, Aegis?" Noah looked at his friend peacefully, but was greatly disturbed to find that Aegis had buried his head in the sleeve of his right arm.

"A-Aegis?! Are you ok?!" Noah was about to leap over his pedestal, but Aegis waved his left hand at Noah to ease him.

"Yeah…You know, these days I'm like a baby, always crying…But…This time I'm really happy." Aegis removed his arm, a few streaks of liquid still under his right eye. He smiled back as best he could, face as red as a beet; how embarrassing it was to cry in front of another guy.

"My trap card…Right. This is the trap card called Machine Soul Resonance! By sacrificing my Unwavering Maiden, I can summon a new monster from my deck." Aegis gave his face one more fierce wipe from his sleeve before he pulled his deck out to thumb through it. Though the monster he was looking for was placed at the very top of the deck. The happiness in his heart faded slightly, but it was alright, the memories that chipped away his happiness also contained hope.

"Machine Soul Resonance allows me to summon the one-of-a-kind machine soul monster, XI-5 – Kiris! (0/0)" Directly in front of Aegis a beacon of light opened up, penetrating the shadows and temporarily blinding both duelists as neither were used to the sudden light.

Standing at just a few inches taller than Aegis, the soul took form. It was a thinly built woman who only wore a tattered blue cloth loosely around her body, almost like a large wrapping. However Noah noticed that her right leg and right arm which peeked out from the cloth were not human, but intricate machinery. The parts were a metal replica of the human body, a black steel bar that made up the skeleton, wires and small motors for each joint and muscle. The hand was a masterpiece of tiny gyros and metal, the hand more articulate than a real human hand.

The left side of the woman was not like the right. Instead it was covered in skin and flesh, or perhaps it was just a covering for the machine workings. The face was another testament to the engineer, Kiris' face was perfectly serene, calm and with a faint smile that warmed the heart. She had rather shortly cut black hair that gave her a slightly tomboyish appearance, but it was still not able to overcome her artificial feminine charm. Yet the right side of her face, more specifically the portion around her eye was uncovered. The skin covering was missing and revealed the inner mechanics of the face beneath, metal parts and a skeletal design with a single azure blue lens that was the same color as her 'normal' left eye.

Noah whistled to himself, impressed with the display. "You know how to pick them, Aegis! She's a real looker!" He laughed light-heartedly, Aegis blushing somewhat as he positioned the card in his duel-disk. "I'm placing Kiris in defence mode." Aegis murmured under his breath, the woman crouching down and putting her arms over her chest.

"It's just how I remember her. But you know, I always thought she was beautiful, steel or not." Aegis felt some lovesickness from six years ago. Noah nodded his head approvingly. "You always find the good in people, Aegis. So what mind-blowing power does she have?"

"She cannot be destroyed in battle." Aegis spoke very blandly, like a professor would to his class. Noah paused, he waited, but Aegis did not continue.

"That's…It?" Noah did his best not to sound rude, as the maiden in front of Aegis was his first love, but it was a bit anticlimactic.

"For now. You can replay the attack and see just what she can do." Aegis' confidence was overwhelming. Noah couldn't resist.

"With my Bloody Left Hand on the field, whenever The Head of Orpheus destroys a monster, you take damage equal to a hundred times the destroyed monster's level and then I gain that amount…Well, it's not useful here, she can't be destroyed in battle." Noah's moment was cut short as he remembered the ability of Kiris. Still he would oblige Aegis and pointed at her, Orpheus' head opening up to sing once more.

Kiris stood up at the sound of the song, waves of energy ripping apart the fabric of the dimension. She took a step forward and then raised her machine right arm, the hand open and about to receive the attack. To Noah's surprise, her mouth suddenly opened up, a fierce voice coming out of it as well. "I will take it with this hand!"

The sound waves struck the metal, and ricocheted off of it, bursts of energy flying dangerously in all directions. Noah braced and covered himself up from the dangerous shrapnel, but thankfully neither of the two was injured.

"A Duel Monster that can talk? My, my, you gave her a lot of your soul, she's almost alive!" Aegis nodded his head, however Noah was not pleased by it.

"Aegis, you can't rely on someone else like you did before. You have to stand with your own strength, Aegis-" Noah ceased prematurely when Aegis shook his head.

"I gave a lot of myself to Kiris. However, if you think that this card will be my new crutch than you're wrong!" Aegis smiled defiantly, his soul ignited and was burning under its own fuel.

"Don't worry! When the time is right, I will show you the power I have all on my own! I've realized that all this time I didn't need to rely on someone else. I just needed to have some confidence. The strength to do anything was always with me!" Noah laughed at the speech, Aegis flinching from the reaction, feeling rather insulted. "Hey, I liked my speech…"

"Now you know how I feel! I'll end my turn by summoning Remnant of Orpheus – Severed Legs! (0/0)" Two floating leathery black legs floated up into the air, positioning themselves slightly under the large torso mass. Aegis clicked his tongue and wagged his finger at Noah.

"Hold on! I have a few more tricks before you finish your turn!" Aegis grinned widely, the silver orb that had been taking up his backrow for so long began to react. "By paying 1000 life points I can bring back my Valkyrie Module at half of its attack strength until my Standby Phase, so here she comes! (1500/1600)"

The orb broke apart into metal fragments, gold plasma connecting together wings and a suit of armor. The monster situating itself on the other side of Virtue, arms folded together and assuming a defensive stance.

(Noah: 6700 Aegis: 1000)

"You sure you should be tossing your life points around when you have so few?" Noah mused at the reckless move. Aegis laughed harshly, ignoring the comment entirely.

"Whenever Kiris is involved in a battle, afterwards I can equip a union monster from my deck to her. So I'm giving her Electric Tears! (200/0)" Over Kiris' metal face portion, a small blue jolt of electricity began to spark from the lens. However the electricity did not dissipate and almost laid down along the steel, outlining the trail a real liquid tear would run.

"You better stop holding out on me, Aegis!" Aegis did not fall for the provoking, but he was getting nervous. The new deck was working for him so far, but any duelist would be hard pressed when the opponent could horde almost 6000 more life points over their head. At the same time, Noah's fragments of Orpheus were proving to be incredibly dangerous cards.

He already amassed four monsters on the field, giving The Head of Orpheus 2100 attack points, while each Remnant of Orpheus was given 800 attack points. Aegis' strongest monster, Virtue had 2300 attack points, and an ability that could destroy Orpheus. Yet, Noah did not seem overly concerned for some reason.

"When I end my turn the last piece of Orpheus will be summoned. Not only will The Head of Orpheus have 2800 attack points, but I know that there's something more that will happen when all those body parts are gathered." Aegis didn't like the situation, but he lost his control over the duel. The only viable option left would be to fortify his position so he could try to take control again.

"I'm positive I won't be able to destroy his head this turn, so I should focus on damaging his life points."

"I'll equip Virtue with Cestus of Dagla, increasing its attack points by 500! (2800/2300) Now any damage that Virtue causes is also added to my life points!" Two golden metal blades appeared in the iron-clad hands of Virtue, the angel preparing itself for battle. Aegis' Valkyrie Module suddenly stood up as well, the plasma igniting and blazing embers of gold energy.

"Since I brought my Valkyrie Module back during your end phase, I just had to wait until my turn for her attack points to return (3000/1600)" Noah hummed to himself, the game was not even close to being over.

"Virtue will attack The Head of Orpheus! And by its effect, your monster's effects are negated, stripping away its invulnerability and every single attack point! (0/0) Go, Seeking Light!" Noah fell back under the charging angel. It raised both of its new found weapons, the defenceless head losing its power and barely holding itself up in the air.

"It won't be that easy, Aegis!" Despite Noah's defiance, the angel still cleaved through the blackened head. However the attack did not split it in two, instead the largest floating black mass, which was the torso glowed a magnificent red.

(Noah: 3900 Aegis: 3800)

"The Head of Orpheus should be destroyed! I negated its effect!" Noah sneered and waved his hand back and forth arrogantly. "I activated the special ability of my Dismembered Body. If The Head of Orpheus or any remnant would be destroyed, I can prevent the destruction!" Aegis was not surprised by the still drifting disembodied head. It only occurred to him at that moment he had not seen the ability of the decapitated body.

"I didn't use the ability last time in case of something like this. If you had attacked my body, no matter what I did I would have lost a vital piece of Orpheus. So sorry, Aegis!" Aegis frowned at the cockiness of his opponent. Even though a large chunk of Noah's torso was being consumed by blue flames, it was nothing to him as he still had all of his army intact.

"Don't get too carried away. Our life points have equalled out. But since I'm still lower than you, my Valkyrie Module has 3000 attack points which I'll use to cleave apart that head (2100/0)! Attack with Celestial Cleaver!" Noah grimaced as the energy based valkyrie slashed beautifully through The Head of Orpheus, the vast majority to his left arm being burned away in flames.

(Noah: 3000 Aegis: 3800)

The mechanical knight returned to her original position, though the majestic flames coming off of the body faded away (2000/1600). Aegis glanced over the cards in his hand and placed one facedown onto the field. With shaky nerves, Aegis forced the hardest words he had to say out of his throat. "I end my turn."

Noah's grin got wider. "Now the last piece of Orpheus is uncovered! I summon Remnant of Orpheus – Mutilated Right Arm! (0/0)" The excitement pulsated through the darkness, every shadow alive and with bated breath to witness the final summoning.

"The Head of Orpheus is now at full power! (2800/0) Each Remnant has been reunited with the soul of Orpheus, every remnant gaining a total of one thousand attack points! (1000/0)" Noah wasted no time to command the floating head, pointing both of his limbless hands at Virtue. "Orpheus, attack! Call From Beyond!" The ghastly mouth opened, the air vibrating in preparation of the next song.

"With my Mutilated Right Arm on the field, if The Head of Orpheus attacks, then before the damage is calculated I can destroy a spell or trap card on the field! So I'll blow away your Cestus of Dagla!" The green equip spell was eradicated from the field, the golden blades in either hand of Virtue shattering as well (2300/2300).

"I won't let you!" Much to Noah's surprise, Kiris rang out right as Orpheus' song began. The air rippling and distorting under a harsh cacophony. The maiden charged in between the two combatants, raised her right arm and blocked the attack just as before.

"What?! What happened?!" Noah looked to Aegis for the answer, though he regretted it as Aegis was simply grinning madly back.

"Do you remember how I equipped Kiris with Electric Tears?" Noah thought back to last turn when he carelessly attacked the android. In retrospect he dearly wished he didn't play into Aegis' hand so easily.

"Once a turn I can redirect an attack to the monster equipped with Electric Tears, so Kiris took the attack instead! And since you attacked Kiris, I can equip her with another union monster, so I'll give her Mechanized Heart! (100/100)" There was no visible addition, instead a loud ticking like a clock came from the maiden, the sound mimicking the rhythm of a heartbeat.

"Let me guess, another one of Kiris' abilities is one that lets her equip more than one union monster, isn't it?" Aegis smiled cunningly and nodded.

"Well don't think you're the only one with tricks! The Head of Orpheus! (2800/0) Attack Virtue (2300/2300) with Call From Beyond!" Aegis flinched, Noah shouldn't be able to declare another attack with the same monster!

"With Severed Legs on the field, The Head of Orpheus can attack twice in the same turn!" Noah relished the feeling of finally getting back his foothold of the duel; it was getting a bit irksome to have Aegis constantly one-upping him. "Also with Mutilated Right Arm, I'll destroy that new union monster you summoned!"

The song split the air apart, the metal armor of Virtue clanging against itself violently. As the floating head continued singing, the angel quaked and finally cried out before shattering into colored fragments. The backlash of the singing finally made its way through Aegis' defences and struck his body, rattling every fibre of his soul.

Aegis howled as it felt like his spirit was having punches hurled at it, but it was mostly from not expecting such a sudden impact than was it from pain.

(Noah: 3000 Aegis: 3300)

"Finally, with the ability of Bloody Left Hand, you take 100 points of damage times by the level of the destroyed monster, and then I gain that same amount!" Aegis found himself mocking Noah yet again. Somehow Aegis felt like he was nearing the end of his rope.

(Noah: 3600 Aegis: 2700)

"Let's see what you got, Aegis!" Noah put his hand out and carefully unfurled each of his fingers lightly, he had just laid down the gauntlet. Aegis shut his eyes momentarily, reopening them only to have his silver eye lit up again. The light was more controlled than before, Aegis himself more in tune with the device embedded in his head.

"Getting serious, are we?" Noah's mocking was backed by a feeling of excitement. It was a gruelling duel, but he finally pushed Aegis past the limit, he would finally see it: Aegis' burning soul.

"I'm bringing back The Unwavering Maiden! (1000/0)" The crouching maiden rematerialized on Aegis' side of the field. Her dress overflowing onto the ground around her. Noah twitched, Aegis had not played any card to justify the summoning, it was simply came out of nowhere.

"Remember my Machine Soul Resonance? The monster I sacrificed will automatically return to the field on my second turn after I activate it." Aegis looked down at the card he had drawn as the turn began. It would be the start of his last push in the war of attrition. It would work, it had to work.

"I'm detaching Electric Tears off of Kiris, returning it into its monster form (200/0)." The small bolt of blue electricity on Kiris' face detached itself and floated onto an open space on Aegis' field. "Next I'll activate my facedown card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter! With it, Kiris will leave the field until the end of my turn."

As the android teleported away, Noah's outline glowed lightly, it was the power of his Soul Absorption spell card activating to empower him.

(Noah: 4100 Aegis: 2700)

"Now…" Aegis spread his legs apart and assumed a fighting stance, his left hand grasping onto a card in his right hand. "For something completely different! I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Spirit of the Betrayer! (2900/2500)" A thick haze descended onto the field, the fog overpowering the darkness.

Heavy metal footsteps preceded the appearance of the imperial warrior. The spirit assumed his position in front of Aegis, guarding his counterpart with his muscular armoured body. Long black hair drenched in a dark liquid, forming into long bangs that fell across his face. The spirit looked with gray eyes that stared through the strongest of men with a long scar running through the right eye.

"You…You destroyed that card! Why did you recreate it?" Noah was perplexed by the contradiction. Aegis however appeared solemner because of it.

"I found this card in your deck after I returned from the Shadow Realm. I feel that it is the sum of all my past experience. Every sin, and every fight I fought, this card embodies it. If I truly want to move on in life, I decided that I must accept the past in all of its lessons." Aegis' speech did not make Noah laugh as the previous one did. Rather he nodded his head approvingly, admiring the maturity of someone just a year younger than him.

"With this card, I promise you that I will destroy every last trace of Orpheus by my next turn!" Aegis' warrior obliged the declaration, drawing the two long blades strapped to his back. "As this warrior is the accumulation of all my experience, his power his tremendous! For one, if my life points are lower than yours, he gains attack and defence points equal to that difference! (4100/3900)" The warrior's body glowed in black flames, Noah shrinking under his fierce gaze.

"My spirit can attack twice in the same turn just like your head as well! However, when my spirit attacks, anything next to my target is struck as well! With each of his blades he'll rip through your defences, and can deal you damage through your defence monsters, Noah!" Noah found himself fidgeting at his pedestal, gripping onto the sides of it tightly.

"Destroy The Head of Orpheus (2800/0) with Twin Blades of Torment! (4100/3900)" The spirit warrior leaned forward and armed both blades, then vanished into thin air. The warrior reappeared before Orpheus' blackened head with both blades raised over his head, the weapons emitting two massive golden auras.

"I'll activate Negate Attack!" Noah waited until the very last second to activate the trap card, Aegis growled to have his massive press for victory cut short. The two blades came down on an invisible barrier that halted the earth shattering attack, the warrior retreating to Aegis' field.

"Well that's alright too actually." Aegis' scowl vanished and became a sinister smile. "My spirit is unlike any spirit monster, it has a very unique ability at the end of the turn." Noah twitched heavily, the surprise was minimal on his face, but it provoked an incredible reaction in the shadows.

"Spirit of the Betrayer, Wail of Doom!" The warrior dropped both of his blades, crouching over with both arms over his head. He groaned and then arced his back, head whipped backwards and began to howl to the heavens. The screaming was intense, decimating Noah's very soul as the warrior cried out.

The moment past, Noah recovering from the spiritual bombardment released by the card, but it still felt like someone took a sledge hammer to his soul. His eyes were a bit out of focus from the supernatural screaming; however he swore that when he looked at his cards that they had all turned green. Then it occurred to him that it was impossible to suffer from a physical ailment like seeing things.

"At the end of the turn, my spirit releases all of the energy he has gathered from his victims. This is the Wail of Doom." Aegis also appeared shaken by his own monster's attack, arms trembling a bit and hands barely grasping onto his cards.

"Every face-up card has its effect negated. All set cards are destroyed, and every monster on the field is petrified, turned into emerald statues. They cannot attack, they cannot change positions, they cannot even be used as tributes for summons or effects." Aegis motioned towards the fallen emerald statues that used to be Noah's most fearsome creature was neutralized. Each limp lying on the ground uselessly, even the Head of Orpheus had fallen out of the air and was lying on a nonexistent floor.

"Now that the coast is clear, XI-5 – Kiris also returns to the field in defence mode! (0/0)" Noah realized why Aegis had sent away his fair maiden at the start of the turn. He didn't imagine Aegis wanted to see her be rendered dead while under his watchful glowing eye.

"I'll draw and set a card. That's the end of my turn, Aegis." Noah played another card without looking at it. But he wasn't nearly as confident as he was last time he did the same thing. He couldn't even switch his weakened and defenceless head into defence position to protect his life points.

Aegis smiled, his eyes closing slightly to amplify the serene look on his face. "It's time, Noah." Very carefully he put a hand on the top of his deck. Methodically he slid it off the top of his deck very delicately, very slowly.

"Time that we both saw the power of this weary soul." Aegis' eye lit up, the silver light illuminating all the corners of the Shadow Realm. "I summon Seraph the Fallen! (1700/1600)"

Standing at the same height as Aegis, a thinly built man wearing a cleanly cut navy blue jacket materialized. He wore sleek black pants that had four long tail flaps at the back which connected into the jacket. On the shoulders were two large intricate silver metal pads, each wrist covered in a large silver finned gauntlet. The man's face was thin, two black horns on the side of his head over his ears. His hair was very long, forming into large bangs of silver hair.

The man folded his arms together, closed his sky-blue eyes and then forced six long bat-like wings out of his back. The upper wings were long and arced downwards while the lower set were small and jagged. The middle sets of wings were the most pronounced and resembled proper wings the most.

"The Seraphim are the highest ranking angels, yet this one was been thrown from heaven, fallen from grace." Noah thought aloud with an air of intrigue. As the monster was the equivalent to his Orpheus in its meaning, Noah tried to connect the man to the card.

"Don't think too much into it, Noah." Aegis made sure to cut off the train of thought as quickly as he could. Even Aegis wasn't entirely sure of what it meant for the card to have such a name, but it was right for him. That was all that mattered. The fallen angel folded his arms together, standing at the ready for his first command.

"Remember how I told you that I'd destroy all of your pieces of Orpheus by my next turn?" Aegis started slowly, speaking in an indirect manner to elicit feelings of uneasiness in Noah. "It's time that I followed through! If all those pieces are your soul then I will break you once and for all!"

Noah recoiled under some presence Aegis gave off. Perhaps it was the ability of his silver eye that he inherited from Kiris. Or maybe it was the power of his own soul that shone through at long last. Whatever it was, Noah could feel his shadows parting and moving away from the man and the light around him.

"I activate the spell card, Angel Impact – Final Destiny!" As the spell card slid into an open slot in Aegis' duel-disk, Seraph's right arm broke apart. The skin and cloth around it vanishing and revealing a tangle of blue vines that looked like metal tentacles from the texture on each.

The vines writhed about and then spiralled around each other to form the barrel of a cannon. From Seraph's shoulder, two small white angel wings sprouted and pointed towards the heavens. Within the barrel a white light began to collect, energy gathering in the weapon.

"By the effect of Angel Impact, every monster on your side of the field is destroyed!" Aegis clenched his fist tightly as he spoke. Then he lunged it forward at the same instant a stream of white plasma launched out of Seraph's arm and vaporized the jade remnants of Orpheus, sending them back into the abyss.

Noah braced himself for the impact of the attack, though it did not damage his life points, the backlash was felt throughout his soul. With every piece of Orpheus that was destroyed Noah could feel a portion of himself being broken apart. He groaned wearily after the worst of the blast was over, it was difficult for him to stand properly, using the pedestal as his means of support.

"After I use this card I have to end my turn. But without your pieces of Orpheus, I don't think I will be in too much of a hurry to take out the last of your life points!" Aegis felt proud of what he had done. Though it did cause Noah a fair degree of harm, he kept reminding himself that Noah would not yield so easily. At least, it was the only thing keeping him from running over and making sure that he was indeed unharmed.

"Now…Now you've done it, Aegis!" Noah's voice was harsh, fading away and rather hoarse as well. It only made him sound more discerning than he normally did. "By destroying all five pieces of Orpheus, you've gathered them together in my graveyard…Orpheus' soul has finally been reunited."

"You…Planned this from the start!" Aegis' eye twitched, his face contorting in fear. Noah grinned and chuckled to himself.

"When The Head of Orpheus and four Remnants of Orpheus gather in the graveyard, then I can activate the second ability of Mourning Nightingales!" The shadows around Noah grew darker, somehow darkness grew darker. A void opened up from under Noah's side of the field that allowed something to rise up from it. Whatever it was, Aegis knew it was the true form of Noah's soul, his ultimate monster. But he would have to wait to see what it was. Things only got worse as the singing of the tainted nightingales began once more. The song more like a harsh screeching like a banshee's.

"By removing every card with Orpheus in its name, and my Mourning Nightingales I can summon the reunited soul of Orpheus! Behold my ultimate monster, Orpheus – Maestro of Nightmares! (2000/2000)" The shadows were thrown apart like the folds of a magnificent cloak. At the center was a towering demon that put Aegis' greatest card to shame.

Over his face was a large two piece mask that was formed from large bones that resembled a bird's peak. With the top portion a large dagger-like segment with two empty holes for eyes. The jawbone was long and pointed sharply at the chin with razor sharp rows of spikes for teeth.

Orpheus' body was still human, a rugged muscular black form which stood proudly with Noah. The demon wore a massive black cape that flowed through the air despite the lack of any wind. His two massive arms folded together, each hand covered with pristine white gloves like a composer's.

"When Orpheus is summoned I can equip him with Orpheus' Lyre. As Orpheus was the inventor of the instrument, it is only fitting for him to receive his lyre! When equipped with it, Orpheus can truly conduct your worst nightmares!" Aegis cringed, for whatever reason the monster emitted nothing but the purest essence of darkness. The shadows felt suffocating as they surrounded Aegis; it was the final hour of the duel.

A massive black bowed instrument formed in the hands of Orpheus. The metal grip formed out of massive coffins that were arranged like a torn angel wing. The strings arranged themselves diagonally across the length of the lyre. Orpheus strummed the strings lightly, blood flowing off of his fingers as he did so, the melody just as elegant as the drops of blood which dropped to the floor.

"Let me play you a melody. I will put you into slumber by the song of Orpheus. Let me play you a melody to make you sleep forever." Noah's spirits were lifted by the summoning of his ultimate card. It filled him with a grandiose persona that made Aegis forget that the man was his friend; he believed for a moment that he was facing Satan himself.

"Orpheus! (2000/2000) Attack Seraph the Fallen (1700/1600) with Hell's Chorus!" The maestro obliged the requested melody, striking the strings and causing blood to lash out and off of each one. The blood itself then gathered in the air into a large dark red mass that then flew into Aegis' blue angel.

"I activate the effect of The Unwavering Maiden! If she is in my graveyard when you declare an attack I can negate it and destroy your monster!" It was a bit regretful for Aegis to declare the move. In some strange way he wanted to see the full power of Noah's demon, but to secure victory it was better to hold nothing back.

An ethereal visage of the beautiful maiden returned to Aegis' field. The ghost put a hand out and caught the globs of dark red blood as they flew through the air. The moment the two forces made contact, the blood was erased from the dimension by the maiden's touch. Afterwards the ghost shot through the air and pierced the black body of the demonic maestro.

A grotesque howl escaped the bone jaws, the demon in pain and so was its master. Noah recoiled under the attack, but he recovered swiftly. Actually, his demon recovered just as quickly, it did not succumb to Aegis' will.

"It won't be so easy to destroy Orpheus! Each time he would be destroyed, the destruction is prevented and instead a Remnant of Orpheus is called back to the field." In front of the maestro a large black mass floated up from the ground. "I'll summon Remnant of Orpheus – Dismembered Body! (0/0) However now each remnant is given a power of its own, instead they empower my Maestro rather than act as lost limbs."

Orpheus' thick arms parted for a moment to let the floating body drift towards the demon's own torso. The black rotting mass twisting and turning in the air to change its shape into a chest-plate fashioned from black coffins. Noah's smile intensified as he watched the armor attach itself. Even Aegis couldn't help but watch in awe, the armor was morbidly made, but it was an incredible design.

The chest-plate was also adorned in heavy black chain links that wrapped around the torso. Each shoulder was given a much larger coffin that rested at an angle, the coffins on the shoulders also engraved with carvings of demons on the surface.

"I won't end my turn yet. Instead I'll activate the ability of Orpheus' Lyre. Rise From Your Grave!" Orpheus struck the strings once more, the song played was a long sorrowful melody. A robed man appeared behind the towering back of the maestro. Aegis recognized it to be a monster that Noah used at the beginning of the duel, Spirit Caller (900/0).

"Monsters summoned by Orpheus' lyre have their effects negated and attack strength cut in half. However, that is the price to pay for bringing back the dead." Noah's lips curled slyly. His eyes thinning into dangerous slits.

"But more importantly, their souls can be used to empower the pieces of Orpheus. Each soul that is brought back becomes an extension of the Maestro's soul, acting as his arms and legs. So I remove my Spirit Caller to bring back Remnant of Orpheus – Severed Legs! (0/0)" Aegis' eye twitched, somehow he believed that Noah forgot this was supposed to be a casual, friendly game. Though when Noah did get so fired up it was reminiscent of the days in the orphanage when they would play Cops and Robbers. Aegis smiling at the memory of all his crazy evil villain plots, they really made things more entertaining.

"It makes for a better hero…Huh? Thanks for looking out for me, Noah." Two long spindly black forms phased into existence a few feet in front of the maestro. But unlike the previous time it was summoned, the black mass began to contort and twist in the air. Each leg then turned itself into large plated armor of some kind. The armor was formed out of varyingly sized black coffins that affixed themselves in a manner similar to scales. The armor finally attached itself to the legs of the maestro (400/0).

"Wait, why are your remnants gaining power? They should only do that if another remnant or The Head of Orpheus is on the field!" Aegis' observation was just what Noah was waiting for, his smile widening at it. "You forget that my maestro is the true form of Orpheus. His name is also treated as The Head of Orpheus, therefore all the effects of my remnants are applied! If all four remnants are summoned again, then Orpheus' attack points increase to ten thousand!"

"T-ten thousand?!" Aegis stuttered reflexively, though any duelist would at hearing the news. Aegis found himself clutching his fists tightly, if he had something to grab onto he would probably be wringing the life out of it. Even the twitch that once plagued him a month ago returned to his right hand. His nerves could not fathom such a titan.

"Right now his monster only has 2000 attack points, but when he gets two more remnants on the field he'll gain something that has 10 000 attack points! Worse is that each remnant will give it more abilities…Wait! The remnants! If I destroy them I can stop this!"

"You've become a lot stronger. I'm kind of jealous actually." Aegis laughed nervously, still trying to recover his calm stoic exterior, though it wasn't happening as his voice did not hide any of his fear. The once gruff and rather quiet voice had become drenched in emotion, at least just in fear.

Noah only nodded his head, he did not feel the same way about how to view his strength. Aegis did not pursue the matter any further, beginning his turn with a trembling hand. If he did not think of something soon, the game would be over and it would be Noah's victory.

Aegis peeked at the card he had drawn very slowly. His nerves loosened slightly to see it was a spell card, something like that could be useful immediately, or be useless indefinitely. But when he uncovered enough of it to read its name, Aegis' spirits lifted and took flight. It would be a good card.

The already lit silver right eye intensified its light. Aegis' head pounded like a jackhammer as he moved the spell card closer to the duel-disk. His vision began to blur as he could feel something simply leaving him, using the eye as a portal to the outside world. It took a great effort for him to keep his consciousness intact, he was fading away quickly under the intense pain of his soul.

Despite the self-induced torture, Aegis held onto a single thought in his mind.

"Something like this…Won't break my soul!"

"I activate the spell card , Infuse Soul!" Noah's eyes widened, his moments of triumph and gloating halting as a silver wisp jettisoned out of Aegis' silver eye and shot straight into the body of Seraph. Aegis stumbled forward, his body exhausted from simply sliding the card into a slot in the metal duel-disk.

Aegis' body crumbled to the abyss, his legs buckling like broken twigs. The light from his right eye also faded away. Noah was halfway over his pedestal and about to break into a mad dash with his partly faded away body to help his friend. But it would be his own two monsters that answered the call, Aegis' body being caught in the two hands of Kiris and Seraph.

"AEGIS! Are you alright?!" Noah shouted across the void to him. Aegis moaned and raised his left hand, making a thumbs-up feebly with it. Noah sighed and shook his head. "Honestly…Making me worry like that."

Aegis chuckled weakly, his right hand covering his right eye up. "I didn't expect that to take so much energy out of me…"

"With a name like Infuse Soul, what did you expect it to do?! This is the Shadow Realm! No, because of your eye, you can give things form even in the real world! Don't throw around something as precious as your soul!" Noah's lecturing surprised Aegis, only because he just realized Noah knew something he didn't.

"What do you know about this eye?!" Aegis' voice was strained by raising it to a mixture of a growl and a shout. Noah cursed under his breath and hit his forehead with his disembodied hand. Another sigh came from him, the man walking around to the back of his pedestal very slowly.

"I can't tell you everything yet. Especially when it comes to your power. It's a delicate power that hasn't taken shape yet. If you don't know anything about it then I think you'll be able to better shape it into a power you can use." Aegis didn't really understand what Noah was talking about, but whenever his voice lowered like that it was impossible to get anything more. It was best to just continue the duel.

The android and the angel propped Aegis back up on his still wobbling feet and then took to their original positions on the field. Aegis murmured his thanks to his cards, as strange as that was to him. Finally he removed his left hand from his eye, to his dismay he saw that the palm of his hand was drenched in his own blood. It was exactly like how he passed out at the end of the duel with James Raven, only the pain did not come so unexpectedly.

Aegis shrugged it off as best he could, in doing so he wanted to put Noah's own concerns at ease. Though it seemed unlikely as Noah was about to fire off into another lecture.

"By the effect of Infuse Soul," Aegis spoke quickly to keep things moving. "I can give a piece of myself to my machines, and let them have a soul of their own. I'll select Seraph the Fallen and give him my soul to transform him into Cleansed Soul – Seraph! (2200/1800)"

The fallen angel's body glowed hot white, the silver ornaments on his body transforming themselves into a suit of winged armor. The cloth was quickly covered by tarnished silver metal that was the same color as Aegis' duel-disk. The design of the armor was even the same as his duel-disk, a suit of armor formed by overlapping plates of metal that gave for a feathered appearance like a bird.

"Seraph! Attack the Remnant of Orpheus – Dismembered Body! (400/0) Great Angel Impact!" Aegis forced his body into vivid motion, arm firing forward to point at the chest-plate on the great Maestro.

"Any monster Seraph attacks now will be destroyed and removed from the game! Its attack power added to my life points!" Seraph spread his six long blue wings and began to charge for the demon. He raised his right arm, the air around his fist distorting and spiralling around it.

"If you still want to fight, then I won't hold back!" Noah's mood flipped when Aegis' fighting spirit returned. "I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work! I won't need to use the protection ability of my Dismembered Body, I'm going to redirect your attack to Orpheus instead! (2000/2000)"

Aegis hissed, recoiling from the field. Seraph's fist colliding with the side of Orpheus' bony head instead of the black coffin chest-plate just under it, the impact not even budging the demon.

(Noah: 4400 Aegis: 2700)

The damage was nothing, especially when compared to what Noah was doing as a result of it. "Since Orpheus would have been destroyed, his effect activates, allowing him to summon another remnant. Because of my mistake, next turn Noah will summon the final remnant and Orpheus will be at full power!"

Noah laughed darkly, not feeling the urge to taunt. "I choose Remnant of Orpheus – Bloody Left Hand (0/0) this time. Each remnant now gains another 200 attack points (600/0)." A small shrivelled dark hand levitated from its grave. As before, the hand transformed itself into a single black gauntlet forged from the coffins of countless dead. The new gauntlet fitting overtop of the Maestro's pure white glove.

"I'll set one card. Then I end my turn." Aegis' voice had returned to its original volume of just being a low frequency murmuring; he was simply too tired to speak in a more energetic tone.

Noah added a card into his hand without even looking at it, in his position he wouldn't need much else anyway. "Rise From Your Grave, Occult Cultist! (750/900)" A second robed figure carrying a long silver necklace appeared behind Orpheus, lulled back to life by the melody the Maestro played on his lyre.

"Now, with this I will sacrifice my cultist to return the last remnant! Remnants of Orpheus – Mutilated Right Arm, return to the field! (0/0)" Aegis looked desperately at his field for a possible solution, the only one he had on hand was…

The black arm that appeared to Orpheus' side transformed into a single covering for the muscular limb. The coffins arranging themselves to weave between the two massive coffins on his shoulder, the arm's armor resembling a single black angel wing with feathers forged from black coffins.

"I'm afraid that the duel is finally over! Each of my remnants are at full power (1000/0) and more importantly, Orpheus – Maestro of Nightmares has reached the pinnacle of his strength! (10 000/2000)" Aegis grasped at the end of his facedown card which stuck out of his duel-disk, flicking it with his blood encrusted fingers.

"Orpheus! Attack Seraph (2200/1800) with Hell's Chorus!" Noah's titan readied his instrument, all the parts of his armor glowing as his attack readied.

"By the effect of my right arm, I'll destroy your set card and-"

"I activate it!" Aegis found he had cried out his command. His voice breaking and quivering. "Machine Soul Sacrifice…" Aegis' voice then fell silent, throat choked up. Aegis' monster, XI-5 – Kiris began to fade away from the field. Noah watched carefully as her body vanished, right as his Maestro hurled gallons of viscous blood at Seraph. The liquid stuck itself to an invisible barrier that repelled it, keeping Seraph safe from a fatal attack.

"By sacrificing Kiris, all my monsters gain immunity for the turn, as well as my life points. You won't beat me this turn, Noah." Aegis could feel himself wanting to cry. It was exactly how it was six years ago. Kiris…She gave her life to save Aegis back then, and now she was gone again, yet Aegis remained.

"Aegis…" Noah wanted to reach out and comfort his friend, but he knew it would be impossible for him to sooth the injuries.

"With…With this power…I want to protect everything…So I never have to loss another person I love because I was too weak." Aegis fought against himself fiercely, he would not shed another tear. He had cried too many times in his life.

When his parents died.

When Kiris died.

When Noah died.

Crying was useless. Aegis wanted to change something and not waste away as he drowned in his own tears.

"I've given up too much…So this will be the last time someone sacrifices themselves for me!" Aegis threw his head up to look forward. He would not stare at the earth again, standing there unmoving. Instead he knew that by looking forward and to the heavens would he finally be able to see that clear sky again.

Without a word, Noah knew his work was done. Aegis would be alright. "I end my turn."

Aegis did not glance down at the card he drew, he had something else in mind. Aegis' soul was on fire once more. He had perfect faith in himself, his soul and his deck were in perfect unison. The blood in his veins was boiling away as it ran through his body, his heart heating up with each passing of the magma. Even if it was Noah, even if the duel meant nothing, even then, Aegis would never back down again.

"I'll return the soul I gave to Seraph! Now Cleansed Soul – Seraph reverts back to Seraph the Fallen! (1700/1600)" Aegis' final monster lost his strength, for whatever reason, Aegis took back the advantage he gave it. The silver winged armor vanishing from his body, the cloth jacket underneath being revealed.

"In the process I also gain life points equal to Cleansed Soul's attack points, and Infuse Soul is placed in my hand again." Aegis removed the spell from his graveyard, Noah finally understanding what he had planned.

(Noah: 4400 Aegis: 4900)

"No soul is isolated in the world. Each experience shapes it, for better or worse. Wouldn't you agree, Noah?" Noah blinked in confusion, he didn't follow how Aegis' train of thought arrived at the statement, but he nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's true…Why do you mention it though?" Noah wondered if it was an obscure mentioning of how his soul turned out, the armoured demon Maestro breathing shallowly.

"Seraph the Fallen is no different. If he does not find atonement, if my angel does not save himself, he will descend into madness. The true ability of Seraph the Fallen is to embody the facets of the soul." Noah found he whistled again, he was constantly impressed by each new twist and turn of Aegis' deck. Despite Orpheus' unrelenting strength, Aegis never bowed down.

"By removing Seraph the Fallen, XI-5 – Kiris, Mechanized Heart and Electric Tears from the game I bring out the torment in Seraph's soul. I summon Seraph the Tormented! (1700/0)" Aegis' blue angel collapsed to the ground, his face literally cracking before the rest of it was covered by his long bangs of hair. Noah could only see the glowing light from two sky-blue slits.

"Over time Seraph's already tortured soul will deteriorate, his mind collapsing and succumbing to the rage and anguish in his heart. By removing Seraph the Tormented from the game and paying half of my life points I summon Torment! (0/0)" Aegis immediately muttered his apologies to his monster, just as its body burst. The cloth was shredded, the metal ornaments on his shoulders dropping to the ground with a loud clang.

All of the skin over Seraph's body was also discarded which revealed to Noah that the entire body of Aegis' angel was comprised of the strange blue vines that Seraph transformed into a weapon a few turns ago. The vines held each other together in the humanoid form, but without the skin overtop of it Seraph's face was no more. Instead a single large eye opened up in the center of his face, Noah flinching from the surprise of it blinking at him so suddenly.

"But even a tormented soul is still a soul. I'll play Infuse Soul to give a piece of my spirit to Torment. Even our worst thoughts are embed with a piece of our essence. With each tormented thought do we gain something we can hold onto." Aegis drew in a deep breath, now fully aware of what would happen. He placed the card fully into the duel-disk, gritting his teeth as he felt something in his chest leaving through his silver eye.

The fragment of soul flew into the back of Torment causing the beast to tremble. The vines parted at various places to let multiple dark silver metal fragments break the surface of the twisting vines. The metal on the body was arranged at random, but on the wings they covered it to make each wing into a long winding dragon. The wings moved with strange arcane life that made them as unnerving as the full-armoured Maestro.

"With this monster, I will win! Shattered Soul – Anguish! (0/0)" Aegis gasped after finishing the declaration, he had held his breath in ever since he placed Infuse Soul onto the field. After the first usage, Aegis did not suffer from the crippling pain or exhaustion.

Noah appeared troubled by Aegis' trump card. His face in great distress as he knew the card was a representation of some facet of Aegis' soul. Aegis looked on the figure without any outward sign of discomfort. There was a grace to the cacophony which formed Anguish.

"Even if you stay quiet, it won't stop me!" Much to Noah's surprise, Aegis sounded reborn. He talked with a firm voice that resonated throughout the darkness, it was a voice full of confidence that Noah only remembered Aegis using when they had first met.

"Anguish, attack Orpheus – Maestro of Nightmares (10 000/2000)! Soulless Angel Impact!" Aegis reared up along with his demon to launch the attack on Noah's demon. The great musician ran his fingers across his instrument at the oncoming silver dragons.

"Whatever you're doing, Aegis you couldn't have forgotten Orpheus has ten thousand attack points!" Noah's Maestro hurled darts of blood off of his lyre at each of the silver dragons.

"And you know I would attack if I had a good reason, like the fact any monster Anguish battles with is automatically destroyed!" Noah clicked his tongue and sneered.

"Looks like you figured out Orpheus' weakness. If all my remnants are gathered then he can't protect himself anymore. But my Dismembered Body will! Your attack will go through and you'll take the full damage!" Aegis' determined face did not flicker, the smile only creeping further out.

"Anguish can't be destroyed in battle, and I don't take any damage when I attack with it either!" The six silver dragons opened each of their jaws, engulfing and consuming the thrown blood. Noah noticed the loophole in Aegis' monster, in his mind he was planning how to destroy the demon on his next turn. But it would never come.

"By the effect of Anguish, it absorbs every point of damage I would have taken, now my monster also has ten thousand attack points! (10 000/0)" The smile grew again as Noah stumbled back worriedly. The glowing red aura that suddenly surrounded Anguish gave his metaphysical body chills.

"Now…Let's end this! Anguish's final ability activates! By reducing the attack points of Anguish I can inflict damage to your life points equal to that amount, meaning…" Noah gasped, his mouth hanging open. It had somehow ended so suddenly. The constant back and forth was finally over, and just as Aegis had done as children, he had prevailed.

"I reduce Anguish's attack points to zero to send ten thousand points of damage straight past Orpheus and right at you! Call to the Torment!" Anguish's eye opened up and gazed straight at Noah. The dragon wings locked up as if they were pinned against a wall. From the chest of Anguish, waves of black energy lashed out. The attack looked like a massive black claw that went straight through Orpheus' titanic body and slashed clean through Noah's ether body, the remnants of his white clothed form being consumed in blue fire.

(Noah: 0 Aegis: 2450)

"Yeah, like you'd give in that easily." Aegis closed his eyes tiredly. Gave his shoulders a shrug and sighed to himself. There would be no fun if Aegis had won with just that.

A crazed laughter rang out through the shadows. But then it suddenly became more playful than it was deranged. The blue fire surrounding Noah vanished at the same time that the laughter ceased, his body whole again.

"Ahahaha, I couldn't help myself. But you're right!" Noah clapped his hands together, from the site of impact millions of tiny lights were sent flying. Each of the lights took a place in the shadows, turning their surroundings into the endless night sky.

(Noah: Endless Night Aegis: 2450)

"I activate my trap card Endless Night, shifting play directly to me!" Noah's field cleared itself, even the great demon Orpheus howled and collapsed to the ground, the coffins which adorned his armor breaking apart into black fragments.

"When I activated Mourning Nightingales I discarded two more spirits to place five in my graveyard. By removing all of my spirits and Orpheus – Maestro of Nightmares from the game I summon the ultimate force of nature, Death (0/0)." It was strange, Aegis found himself staring at the same scene as years before. The only difference was he had the resolve and peace of mind that gave him confidence in ending the duel.

"You don't have Kiris' help this time. If you want to beat Death you will have to rely only on your own soul! So let me see it again, that burning soul that can overcome death!" Noah's challenge only fuelled Aegis' competitive spirit. Last time Aegis had to fight for his life, he had to face his best friend with hatred. It was the only way he could justify killing him. To face Noah with a face that he would hate and loath, that way he would feel less betrayed.

A towering black robe lifted off of the ground, simply floating in place in the endless sky. The spectre that Aegis had summoned twice by his own quivering hand was once again with its rightful owner. The chilling presence that froze over Aegis' heart was just as he remembered. He could even feel the intense fear forming into cold bullets that rolled off of his face. The only difference was his fear did not overcome his senses. The instincts to run and cower were crushed, only fighting spirit remained.

"Death! Destroy Aegis' Anguish! Release him from the torment of his past! The End!" The Grim Reaper obeyed Noah with such obedience that Noah's actions seemed no more significant than ordering a dog to sit. The spectre's waving cloak parting to slowly allow a skeletal hand to appear. The bony fingers pressing lightly against Anguish.

The demon cried out in agony, twisting and turning in pain before seizing up. The silver metal would be the first piece to erode at Death's touch, quickly turning to dust and falling away. Then the vines that formed Anguish would rot away into mere dust.

"You knew about Death's ability, which is why you burned away all of Anguish's attack points last turn. If your monster's attack was zero then you would take no damage." Noah rolled his shoulders and sighed dramatically. Aegis chuckled lightly in response, clutching at his chest with his right hand. When Anguish was destroyed a piece of himself seemed to be damaged, but it made sense as he had given the monster a portion of his soul. In the Shadow Realm the act would be much more than a symbolic gesture.

"But if you didn't know, each time Death attacks he gets closer to reaping your soul…Watch." Noah pointed at the large spectre, he did not retract the skeletal hand as Aegis remembered it too. Instead it reached back into the folds of the vast cloak and produced a large hourglass which Death grasped in his single hand.

The sand in the top segment of the timepiece drained rapidly until a third had poured into the bottom section. Death gave the hourglass a gentle shake to see if anymore sand would fall, and when it didn't he replaced it into the folds of his cloak.

"In two more turns all of the sand will fall to the bottom and you'll lose anyway. Don't take too long in thinking of a way to beat Death, Aegis!" Aegis nodded his head firmly. It was not a taunt, it was a piece of good advice.

"Then I'll end things this turn. I play Heaven's Descent!" Aegis pointed a finger straight up through the night sky. His single finger parting the darkness and bringing forth the light of the sun into the eternal Shadow Realm.

"This card returns every card that has been removed from the game to our decks and then lets me draw two cards!" Noah did not pay any attention to Aegis, instead he stared into the light longingly. It was far too long since he had seen sunlight with his weary eyes. Noah's body overcome by nostalgia, he simply took a moment to remember the last time he had been under the shining sun.

Aegis let Noah enjoy his moment in the light. He drew his cards with a happy smile, he had made Noah smile in true sincerity just by bringing the light with him. With the summoning of a monster to his side of the field Noah snapped out of his daydream and lazily directed his eye to Aegis.

At Aegis' side Seraph the Fallen had returned to play. The blue garbed angel had both of his arms folded, him and his master radiating auras of quiet confidence.

"From the look on your face, you've either drawn nothing. Or you've got to make a choice you don't want too." Noah found his own voice had become solemn and somewhat remorseful.

"I…Don't want to say goodbye. When this duel ends you leave again…" Aegis sighed and looked to the ground.

"I told you, one day I will be back! And we can play Cops and Robbers all over again, Aegis." Noah put aside his own regret and gave Aegis the best smile he could muster. It didn't seem that Aegis was reassured, Noah sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Then an idea came to him.

Noah reached down to his pedestal and sifted through the cards in his deck. Aegis watched to see what he was aiming to do, viewing so the scene with such a fierce focus that his mind barely reacted in time to force his left hand up and to grab onto a hurled stack of cards.

Aegis turned them over in his hand, a stack of Duel Monster cards in his palm. At the top of the pile, staring up at him was the silver bodied musician, Orpheus.

"Take them with you, Aegis. Those are the fruits of my labour. All of my hard work, my soul is in those cards. When the time is right and you feel you're ready I would be honored if you called upon my soul. I promise you that the next time you see Orpheus, he'll play you a song to accompany your victory." When Aegis looked to his friend he found his smiling face looking back at him.

"Just don't try relying on me in a bind! I know you can take on the world and win! You're Aegis Hallow! The Hero!" Noah pumped a fist in the air, then pointed it straight at Aegis, his body moving underneath his trenchcoat slightly. Aegis finally smiled back and rubbed the back of his neck before nodding.

"You're still a bit rough around the edges, but you'll be alright! Now, let's see it, come at me with everything you got!" Noah leaned in on the pedestal, tenting his fingers together and resting his chin gently on them.

"Always remember the feeling you have running through your veins right now. Declare your name to the world, make sure the universe knows who the hell you are! Aegis Hallow!" At those words Aegis sprung into action, throwing both of his arms down to the night sky below, at the same time Seraph mimicked the action.

"Angel Impact…" A card slide between Aegis' two arms and into the duel-disk. Gigantic white feathered angel wings shot out of Seraph's right shoulder, the white wings overcoming his own set of blue ones.

Then Aegis threw his right arm up to the heavens above, Seraph's arm following suit as it split apart into vines. The limb's inner workings wrapped around each other to create a cannon with four long arced gray spikes which pointed into the center of a barrel.

"Thank you for everything Noah. Don't take too long. Let's play again soon."

"Destiny's End!" Both heart and soul acted together, Aegis and Seraph's arms pointing straight at the Grim Reaper. For an instance, time froze, Noah etching the fierce burning soul on Aegis' face into his mind over the memory of his enraged death roar and twisted face. It was a much better image that Noah would hold onto until they met again.

From the barrel of Seraph's cannon one final burst of light engulfed the black reaper, and Noah's smiling face with it.

"Looks like you caught me again, Aegis. Next time when we play Cops and Robbers maybe I'll be the cop for once…"

The audience and the judges worked diligently for over an hour to decide what to do. Never before had something so bizarre happen during the Millennium Tournament. The entire dueling field had been encapsulated in an unending pillar of black swirling energy. The only trace of either duelist was the black cowboy hat dropped by one of the duelists before the wall separated the duelists and the world.

However the thousands in the stands burst out into intense cheering and screaming. The authorities at the dueling field whipped their heads back and forth wildly, shocked at the sudden outcry. Finally David, who had been rubbing away more of his thinning brown hair, noticed it.

The massive monitor that displayed the stats of the duel had finally reacted for the first time since the start of the chaos. To his relief, the final results were in favor of his favorite.

(Ark: 0 Aegis: 2450)

The shadows faded rapidly, the first glimpses of true sunlight from the winter sky raining down onto the one remaining duelist. His opponent was no longer present, just a heap of straw and white cloth resting at the metal pedestal. The glint of a glass shard resting lightly atop of the mass.

Aegis' eyes weren't used to the light at first, squinting for a minute to adjust. His ears were also accustomed to the silence of the Shadow Realm, so the cheering was more deafening than normal. It took a moment for it to sink in, but Aegis nearly forgot that he was standing on top of the metal platform where the world's finest gathered to battle for the most prestigious title in the dueling world.

Aegis had won his first duel in the great Millennium Tournament, in the process he had found his best friend again. The past which Aegis used to be so afraid of, and used as his crotch was no more. From then on, Aegis would rely on the strength of his soul.

He took in the surroundings, the raving fans, the light. The light of a new day. Aegis looked down at himself to find that he had bled a lot more than he originally suspected. Blood left drying up on the front of his trenchcoat, a bit on his metal gauntlet, and a profuse quantity caking his left hand. He could only imagine how much was still left on his face.

"Somehow, I don't think this was from being injured…Kiris, even you're sad to say goodbye to Noah. I'm just glad you got to meet him." Aegis smiled to himself. Opened his mouth wide and took in a large breath of the air of the living. He then turned around on the spot with his stiff legs and bent over to pick up his fallen cowboy hat.

With one hand at the top and his other hand on the back brim, Aegis carefully fitted it over his black hair, tilting it down to make it just perfect. Very slowly Aegis walked away from the dueling field, savouring the memories he had created, placing them where the anguished thoughts of a time five years ago were.

"Good bye Noah. Until we meet again."