Hey gang! Sorry I didn't post last week. I was super busy, plus I had a lousy day on Thursday. Work didn't go over so well for one thing, with my computer going on the fritz for some reason. Plus, my dad, step mom, and step brother left out early that morning on a mission trip to Montana. I volunteered to take care of their animals, with exception of one (my step mom's little house dog). So, I left work 2 hours early, mainly due that my mate and I were to go shopping, plus I had to pick up my dad and step mom's car from the church. I made it out and fed the lone dog, then went on the hill to doctor 2 of my dad's horses. He has 5 altogether, but 2 have something called Rain Rot. Pretty much, the hair falls out on a portion of their body and if not treated, will continue to spread. It normally only happens during rainy seasons, and this year it has been rather rainy. Anyways, I went and began working on them. The first horse, Cherokee, she is real easy to work with. Just stands there while I did work on her. Then there is Fancy… She does not like it when anyone touches that Rain Rot. She just backs up and tries to back away. I worked with her and kept trying to make the process go faster, but no luck. It took over an hour to treat her, which was way too long, but oh well. Once I got off the hill, my mate and I left for shopping, only to remember part of the way there I needed to get the car keys for my dad's car… We ate and did our shopping, but not without dinner not agreeing with me for some reason. On the way home, I got sick and had to pull off and let my mate drive us home. Once home, we unloaded the groceries and I felt better, so we went back to my dad's house and got the car keys for his car, then went and picked up the car. I drove it back to his house, where I had left my car earlier, and left. Well, on the way home, a deer jumped out in the road from the side of the hill. I nearly got stopped, but still bumped it in the rear. Part of my lower hood got crushed in, plus the plastic grill got pushed down thanks to the hood, and I have a small dent in the right front quarter panel. When I hit it, I just thought 'great, one more thing for this rotten day.' Needless to say, Thursday sucked, lol. Friday was better, though I've seemingly gotten worriedly sicker due to something from a few weeks ago. I'm off to the doctor later today to find out what's up, because it's gotten to the point when I cough, I can hardly breath. It's a very scary feeling. Other than that, life seems normal enough, I suppose. I've gotten better at treating the horse, but it's still a work in progress.
Writing wise, I had a brilliant streak of writing early Sunday morning. By early, I mean 3 AM, lol. I had one of my coughing fits and got up to try and calm down. While up, I wrote up most of the end of the chapter, so go me. This is the next to last chapter, so next time I post, this story will be wrapping up. I've said this before, but let me repeat it once more, there is no sequel. This is the final story to the Illidan and Marie saga. It's kind of sad in a lot of ways, but in a few, it's kind of a relief. Honestly, I never thought the saga would get this far. I never expected the first sequel till halfway through Tournament of Power, and then the sequel to The Wolves Seal just kind of came to me. This final sequel was more complex and mostly ardee's idea, but I'm still happy it turned out like it has.
Moving along, review time!
Supreme-Chaos-Angel: Glad you liked the last duel. Heh, yeah, Bonds of the Universe is interesting and no one really expected it to summon a Wicked God. Really, I had to ask ardee what it did when I began to use it, and he explained it out to me, hehe. True about Gozaburo could've been truly considered Lucifer judging by his deck. It was more or less a code name we came up with for him and the other members of the Fallen Angels, but in the end, it kind of did really live up to it's hype. The sacrifice of Hermos was more or less to Illidan building up his life points in an attempt to figure out a plan on how to beat Gozaburo. After all, if he had left Hermos out, he'd have been a big target for a Wicked God or Yubel, which would have done far more damage than Luster Dragon. Heh, yep, Gozaburo is most definitely a sore loser since he's attempting to kill everyone within the dimension now. Yes, the final Chaos monster, Chaos Apocalypse Beast – Envoy of Divinity, is nearly unbeatable. It was meant to be a one-turn kill monster, but summoning it would be hard. Alone, you need four monsters, plus none are really searchable to top it off. But yes, it's meant to be a single turn ender, plus it has hardly no weaknesses. It could be stopped by an effect that negates it's summoning or effect, but that's it. Nothing else could really stop it. Of course, you could still play cards from your hand or Grave, but only a handful of cards could do anything about that monster. At that, thanks for your review!
The Rainwalker: Yeah, she's getting back on her feet from not getting that job. Heh, I'm not too worried about my job at the moment. Our contract is in the process of being renewed with the Air Force, but it's almost a guaranteed deal, plus even if our company don't get it, my office is covered for sure due that we're here thanks to grant money for WV. So true about never count out an opponent until they have zero life points and the duel is over. That's the great thing about Yugioh TCG, the game is never over if you have the will and life points to keep fighting it out. Yep, it only took one turn for Illidan to turn things around at long last. Yeah, it's not too surprising that Gozaburo would cowardly make one last stand before dying off. Glad you liked how I did things and enjoyed the chapter. Yep, the story is coming to an end. This is the next to last chapter. Next time I post, it's over, at long last. I'll try and stay in touch for sure. Sounds cool about possibly meeting one day. Lol, it's all good about skipping through portions of Forgotten Guardians. It happens, hehe. Oh, a cat person, eh? LOL! Fun fun to find out you're allergic to them. I was allergic to dogs and cats, but my step mom had a small dog when my dad and her got married, so I had to learn to live with the dog. Oddly enough, I built up an immunity to it eventually, but cats still get to me. Thanks once more for your review!
Genma no Ou: Yep, the longest duel I've ever written is done. Really, if I had it done over, I'd have posted it in five chapters or less probably, but oh well, it's over with now. Yeah, the Orichalcos Stone appears to be a serious threat. Lol, yeah, let's hope no more Gozaburo, ever, hehe. Thanks for the review!
frankcarlo mills: Thank you so much for your comments. Yes, Illidan is OC. The name came from a game called Warcraft 3, but the defined character is all OC. The same for Marie, his wife. Thanks once more for your review!
Well, that's it for me this time around. Thank you, all four of you, for your reviews. I hope everyone enjoyed the longest duel ever that never seemed to end, lol. I think it did get a little too long, but my fault on that one for busting it up into 10 chapters. At any rate, this is the next to last chapter for this story, so I hope all of you enjoy it. Till next time, later!
Chapter 59
Hearing the group of five rushing up behind himself, the brown haired duelist turned towards them. With a hint of concern on his normally stony face, Zane asked "Are you alright, Illidan?"
"I'm fine, but we don't have much time. Look after the others."
Receiving nods from each, the five rushed to the other four fallen duelists. Alexis naturally went to Jaden with Chazz in tow, while Zane went to Marie's side, Syrus to Yugi's, and Jesse to Seto's. Seeing the others were being cared for, the brown haired duelist slid his eyes shut and reached out with his senses. Finding a faint signature of the one he was searching for, he opened his eyes and began moving forward.
Getting about thirty feet away from the group, Illidan found a small dark barrier that kept it's contents concealed. Reaching out, he touched the barrier, finding it's energy was fading. Calling up his Shadow Powers, he shot out a small blast of Shadow Magic at the barrier, causing it to flicker for a moment before vanishing. With the barrier gone, the sound of loud wailing erupted, making him slightly smile and cause his eyes to grow misty.
Reaching out, he picked up the young child that had been hidden within the barrier and began to softly coo to her. "There, there Arya, it's alright. Daddy's here."
Holding his daughter out to look her in the face, Illidan smiled as she slowly stopped wailing and looked him in the eye. Kissing her on the forehead, he smiled once more and said "That's my big girl. I'm so sorry for keeping you. Let's go find Mommy."
Moving quickly back to the group, the brown haired duelist found the group of four unconscious duelists were slowly waking up. Reaching his wife, he kneeled down and turned to Zane and asked "Has she woke up yet?"
"She's very groggy. I'm having trouble getting her awake." Zane replied.
"Allow me. Check on the others and try to rouse Yugi and Seto, quickly. We haven't much time before that stone goes boom."
Nodding, the duelist in the black trench coat stood and moved over to the sides of the two specified duelists and began trying to wake them.
Turning his full attention to his wife, the brown haired duelist carefully lowered his daughter a few inches away from his wife's face and softly said "Marie, wake up. There is someone here that wants to see you again."
Noting he was getting hardly any response, Illidan carefully tickled his daughter, causing her to let out a small giggle. In a flash, Marie's snapped open, with a single word coming out of her mouth. "Arya!"
Seeing her mother awake, the baby immediately reached out for her. Quickly moving into a sitting position, Marie took hold of her daughter and held her against her chest.
"Arya, you're alright. Thank goodness."
Slowly, the smile on the brown haired duelist's face faded. He quickly stood and reached out a hand to his wife, saying "Come on, we have to move."
"What's going on?"
"Come on, there isn't much time. I'll explain to everyone at once."
Agreeing silently, the female duelist reached out her free hand and was hoisted to her feet by her husband. Quickly, the two joined the group of others duelists who were all up on their feet once more.
"Illidan, you did it!" Jaden exclaimed happily while Alexis clung to his right arm and a barely visible form of the demoness behind himself.
"Yeah, we'll celebrate later." Illidan commented. "For now, we haven't much time."
Earning the group's attention, he took a deep breath and quickly said "When Gozaburo was about to be defeated by me, he brought out The Orichalcos Stone. That's it floating back there."
The group took a quick glance and then heard the brown haired duelist add "As his last act of hate towards me, he told me that the stone would become unstable without his energy to keep it in check. Without someone keeping it's power stabilized, it'll explode. All the Duel Energy he and his minions had collected is still within the stone, and without him here to stabilize it, it will explode. The power within it is enough to blow away this dimension and everything within it."
All as one, the group let out gasps of shock. Quickly, before anyone could say anything, he added "But I have a plan to get us out of this. Yugi and Seto, I need you two to call out Timeaus and Critius. I'll call out Hermos."
Nodding, the spike haired duelist and the duelist in the white trench coat quickly drew their desired card from their decks and turned them away from their bodies. Joining them, the brown haired duelist did the same. The three cards glowed to life immediately, bringing forth the three knights that they spoke of.
"Well done, Illidan Stormrage." Hermos congratulated. "You have destroyed the remnants of The Seal of Orichalcos."
"It is at last over." Timeaus added.
"No time for that." Illidan interrupted. "The Orichalcos Stone, which housed the power of The Orichalcos, is about to explode. If it does, it'll take out this dimension. Can you three open a portal and get us out of here?"
Surprised at the words of the brown haired duelist, Critius quickly replied "Yes, the three of us can open a portal to take all of you home, but how long do we have?"
"Probably three to four minutes left before that thing goes boom. Gozaburo told me it would take about five minutes for it to destabilize."
Biting his lower lip, the green armored knight quietly mumbled "To open a portal to Terra, the dimension all of you live in, it will take five minutes. There isn't enough time."
"Why so long!?" Seto demanded.
"Terra is protected by ancient barriers." the red armored knight spoke up. "They were put in place to keep creatures from jumping from dimension to dimension. It's much like the Realm of the Pharaoh, where only a Pharaoh can enter."
"Just great…" Marie ground out while holding Arya. "Now what!?"
Remaining quiet for a moment, Illidan finally spoke up, saying "What if I stabilized the stone a bit. That could by us a little bit of time and allow you enough to open the portal. Would that work?"
"In theory, yes, but the power necessary to keep the stone stabilized will be tremendous. After all, Dartz originally kept it in check, then Darcia, and finally Gozaburo Kaiba. I would be willing to wager it took a lot of his power to keep it stable." Timeaus remarked.
Turning away from the group, the brown haired duelist ground out "It doesn't matter. Whatever it takes, I'll keep it from exploding. Get to work on the portal and open it as fast as possible."
"Right!" the three knights declared in unison. Moving away from the group, they formed a triangle among themselves and held out their arms. As one, the knights unleashed a stream of teal colored energy that met in the middle point between the three of them. A rift slowly opened and began to faintly shimmer while each knight continued to pour more energy out.
Moving out from behind the young brown haired duelist, the female demon with purple and white hair closed her eyes for a moment. Slowly, she reopened them as her body took solid form once more. Approaching the three knights, she stood in a gap and raised her own arms up and turned her hands towards the central point.
"I'll help you three. It's the least I can do to return the favor to Illidan Stormrage for saving me from that idiot."
Eyeing her warily for a moment, the three knights finally nodded in agreement. With that, the demoness released a burst of her own energy at the rift, seemingly help it form even faster.
Smirking at the actions of the demoness, Illidan pulled his Duel Disk off of his arm and turned to Jaden. Handing it to him, he said "Jaden, hold onto this for me. I'll be back to get it."
Receiving a nod of reply from the young duelist, Illidan turned away and began moving towards the large stone, only to hear his wife say "Wait Illidan, I'll come with you!"
"You hardly have the energy to help Marie." the brown haired duelist bluntly replied while coming to a stop. Turning around, he added "Everyone but myself and Zane are the only two with any energy left really. Zane has hardly any power to begin with, hence why I didn't ask him to help. If you come, you'll only be in the way and I can't guarantee I can protect you. Please, just wait with Arya. I'll be back, I promise."
Staring into her husband's eyes for a long moment, Marie moved forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, saying "You had better."
With her words spoken, she turned away with their daughter and walked back towards the group of duelists. Focusing his attention on the task ahead, the brown haired duelist turned away from the retreating form of his wife and continued on towards the large glowing stone that levitated above the ground.
Reaching the massive stone, the brown haired duelist looked it over. Using his senses, he began to examine it. "It's just as Gozaburo said. The stone's energy has become unstable and will cause it to explode in a few minutes. Damn him for doing this."
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Illidan drew his hands together before his body stretched them out towards the stone. Turning his palms towards the stone, he snapped his eyes open and let out a light grunt.
"Still, no matter what, I can't allow him to succeed in getting rid of all of us. I won't let him have his way. I'll protect all of them, even if that means I have to make the ultimate sacrifice."
Steeling his resolve, the brown haired duelist hardened his eyes and called up his Shadow Powers. A dark black glow immediately began forming around his palms while he held a throaty growl in his mouth. At long last, the black energy seemed to be formed well enough that he launched a beam of black energy straight at the stone. The stone sucked up the energy greedily in a flash and only seemed to continue crazing the dark energy of the brown haired duelist.
"This might not be as easy as I thought. I'll have to be careful how much energy I give it."
Continuing to pour out more of his Shadow Powers, the brown haired duelist grit his teeth while the stone continued to feed off of his energy. Not letting up, he inwardly groaned while the stone relentlessly took more of his power.
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Watching her husband with the others, Marie couldn't help but keep a look of concern on her face. The silent child in her arms felt it as well and let her know by clinging tightly to her mother's chest.
"Illidan…"
Feeling a gently hand land on her shoulder, the female duelist glanced over her left shoulder to find the spike haired young man beside of her. "Don't worry Marie, he can do this. I know it."
"I'm still worried Yugi." Marie quietly replied. "I can sense his power just steadily dropping. If he keeps that up, he'll run out before the portal opens I fear…"
"She's right." Seto spoke up from behind the pair, making them turn a glance towards him. "I know Illidan is strong, but even he doesn't have enough power to keep that thing from exploding."
Casting a worried look back at her husband, the brown haired young woman felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Sensing her mother's distress, the babe in her arms reached up and tugged on a few locks of her mother's hair, getting her attention.
Looking down at Arya, Marie saw her daughter staring intently back at her. Without warning, the child's hands began to glow black with energy, making the young woman a bit concerned. Suddenly, she began feeling the child's Shadow Powers flare up, but instead of harm her, they seemed to be flowing into her.
Not sure what the young child was doing, Yugi slowly began to ask "What is …", only to be cut off by Marie whispering "She's transferring some of her Shadow Powers to me. Arya must be able to sense the struggle Illidan is in, so she's trying to help him by giving her power to me."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Seto asked with concern visibly on his face.
Brow furrowing, the female duelist bit her lower lip, replying "A bit if the two people sharing their powers aren't in sync, but it seems Arya is perfectly in sync with me."
Another minute passed before the small child's eyes began to droop and her power output began to falter. It sputtered onwards for a few more moments before finally fading, causing the baby to seemingly pass out.
"Arya!" Marie asked nervously. Feeling her daughter's neck for a pulse, she found it quickly and let out a sigh of relief. Turning towards the Yugi and Seto, she quietly said "She's just asleep. I think she overdid it, but what she gave me was enough."
Reaching her daughter carefully to the duelist in the white trench coat, she said "Seto, please take care of her for me."
"Wait, I'm no…"
"You'll do fine." Marie firmly stated. Carefully, she transferred her sleeping daughter to Seto, who gently took her and held her to his body. Pulling her Duel Disk off, she handed it to the spike haired duelist, saying "Yugi, hold onto this for me till I get back."
Nodding his head, Yugi stonily replied "Come back with Illidan."
Offering a small smile, she replied "Don't worry, we'll definitely be back. Just hurry up with the portal."
Waving goodbye, the female duelist instantly rushed off towards the direction of her husband with determined eyes. "Hold on Illidan, I'm coming!"
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Grimacing inwards, the brown haired duelist closed one eye while trying to concentrate on the distribution of his Shadow Powers on the massive stone before himself. "This thing just keeps taking my energy… Don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
Without warning, a second stream of dark energy shot out at the large stone and joined in with the single one. Taking a glance over his right shoulder, Illidan couldn't help but gasp to see his wife standing there and was the one firing the second stream.
"Marie, what are you doing!? Get out of here! I told you you're in no shape to help me out right now! If you keep using up your energy, you'll run out and possibly…"
"Don't worry, I'm not out." Marie firmly declared. "Arya transferred all of her energy to myself. She sensed the desperate struggle you were in and gave all of her powers to me to use."
Once more in shock, the brown haired duelist quietly asked "Is she alright?"
"She's sleeping. It was a bit taxing on her to give up all her powers to me, but she'll be fine. At that, shouldn't we focus on the task at hand?"
Irritably, the brown haired duelist returned his gaze to the large stone that continued to suck up not only his energy, but his wife's as well. Reaching out with his senses, a small smirk played upon his lips.
"It's working. I can feel the stone starting to stabilize a bit. Not much, but enough to hopefully keep it from blowing up for another minute." Illidan announced.
Gritting her teeth, Marie replied "Good, because this is harder than I thought…"
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Casting a glance back at the large stone that the two humans were keeping in check, Yubel ground out "Can't we hurry this up!?"
"You yourself should know this is not an easy task." Timeaus remarked in an irritated tone.
"I know that!" the demoness spat in reply.
"Concentrate more on the portal than talking then." Critius chimed in.
About to sharply retort, the demoness bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. Putting all of her concentration into the portal before herself and the three knights, she called out more power to try and open it.
Staring at the shimmering portal attempting to open, the duelist turned his attention to the sleeping babe in his arms for a moment. She seemed to be in a deep sleep and unaware of the danger around them. Returning his attention to the portal, he saw that it was beginning to seemingly stabilize.
In a low grunt, each of the knights and the female demon calmed their breathing. Speaking up, the green armored knight announced "The portal is finished. All of you, you must hurry and return to your dimension."
The entire group nodded immediately, with the younger duelists first being ushered in. Soon, the only people left were Yugi, Seto with Arya in his arms, and both Illidan and Marie, who were still holding the large green stone in check.
Glancing from the pair still holding the stone's energy in check to the duelist in the white trench coat, Yugi called out "Seto, get Arya out of here. I'll go tell those two we need to go."
Seeing hesitation in his friend's eyes, the spike haired duelist firmly added "I'll be fine. Get her out of here."
"Right…" Seto muttered before turning away and walking into the shimmering portal.
Racing towards where the pair was holding off the destabilizing stone, the spike haired duelist came to a stop with ten feet between them and himself. Panting lightly he called out "Illidan, Marie, the portal is open. Let's go!"
Warily looking over his right shoulder, Illidan ground out "We're coming. Just go through!"
"Don't take too long! As soon as you come running, Timeaus and the others will close the portal." Yugi quickly replied.
"Understood." Marie answered.
With that, the spike haired duelist left the pair. Casting a sideways glance at his wife, the brown haired duelist noticed her fall to one knee while panting heavily.
"Marie, are you alright!?"
Wheezing a bit, she mumbled "I can't hold this much longer… Illidan, I… I just don't think I can make it to the portal. My body, it's far too exhausted. I'm so sorry…"
Keeping focus on the stone before himself while closing one eye halfway, the brown haired duelist sadly smirked, saying "I know… My body, it's about had it too. From what I can tell, if I stop stabilizing the stone, it'll blow before we could make it to the portal anyways."
"So what do we do?"
Earning herself a moment of silence, the female duelist sadly smiled, whispering "Illidan, I think I can hold the stone's power in check long enough for you to make a run for it, but you have to hurry."
"Don't be stupid, Marie. I know you don't have enough power to hold the stone's destabilization off." Illidan countered. Softening his tone, he added "Besides, I could never make it on my own to the portal. My body is in just a bad a shape as yours."
Biting her lower lip, Marie slowly asked "Then what we should we do?"
Not receiving an immediate response, she slightly smiled, saying "I guess I should have foreseen this. I had always wondered how our lives would end. Secretly, I've always wanted to be with you in the end. When I died in our last life, I know you suffered greatly after my death… I didn't want to go, but I had to. Still, this time, at least you won't…"
"Marie."
Stopping in mid-sentence, the female duelist glanced at her husband to see a sad smile playing upon his face. Slowly, he said "I've enjoyed my life with you. It's hard to believe that five millennia ago, we fell in love with one another, only to get a second chance at life once more in our new lives. I was so in love with you when I first met you, and that love was only solidified more when I found out about our past. It seemed to make everything in our lives connect together so much easier."
"Over the years, we've seen and done a lot together. I've always hated the fact that in the end, it always seems to be you that has suffered the most when enemies have come after me. Always you became their target because me, and even when I did my best, I couldn't protect you."
"Still, in the end, it was because of our love that I found the strength to save you and stop those that threatened not only you, but the world. I'm no hero to the world, I know that. All I've ever wanted was to be left alone and to live my life with you, away from all the dangers that were present, but fate is not so kind in that manner. Even though that was the case, I accepted the role I was handed, but even though I did so, my deepest and truest desire was to always just find peace within the world and to live my life with you."
Pausing for a moment, he added "We found that peace I desired for several years, and I was truly happy during that time. And when we came to Duel Academy, our lives seemed to be peaceful till finally a new darkness came about. Regardless of that, I was happy, and have enjoyed all of our time together. I can honestly say that my life has been happy and fulfilling. I've known the kind of love that so very few can ever feel."
"And because of that, I cannot allow you to perish. I love you too much to allow anything to harm you."
"What are you saying, Illidan?" Marie asked with confusion and worry on her face.
Closing his eyes for a moment, the brown haired duelist's body began to glow with a dark black aura. Gradually, he opened his eyes while gritting his teeth. Bit by bit, he moved his right arm away from his left and pointed it in the direction of his confused wife.
Letting out a low grunt while wincing, he cried out "Dark Magician of Chaos, I summon you!"
Materializing between both the brown haired duelist and his wife instantly was a blue skinned mage wearing black leather armor and held a staff in his hands. Fully formed, he turned his red colored eyes with yellow corneas towards the brown haired duelist.
"Master Illidan…"
"Dark Magician of Chaos, the end is near and before it comes, I have one last request for you that I ask you to fulfill for me."
Listening intently, the mage nodded, causing the brown haired duelist to continue on. "I want you to take Marie to the portal where the three knights and Yubel are. Take her through it."
"ILLIDAN, NOO, DON'T DO THIS TO ME!" Marie cried out. With her protesting, she nearly lost complete control of her powers, causing the stone to pulsate from the lack of the second host energy.
Ignoring his wife's words, Illidan quietly said "Please do this for me. It is my final request of you. Once you leave with her, you have only thirty seconds to get through. That's how long I think I can hold on."
Staring at his master with ruby colored eyes, the blue skinned mage couldn't help but feel tears welling up within his eyes. "There must be another way…"
"There is none! We have no more time left, so hurry and do this. I won't be able to hold out much longer. You must go now!"
Clenching his one empty hand, the mage slowly nodded his head and turned towards the young woman, who was barely able to keep her powers in check. Reaching out and grabbing hold, the mage threw her over his left shoulder, causing her powers to stop fueling the stone, making the brown haired young man grunt heavily from the extra power he began to lose.
"LET ME GO! ILLIDAN, MAKE HIM LET ME GO! ILLIDAN, ILLIDAN!!! PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS! I NEED YOU, PLEASE, DON'T!"
Paying no heed to the screams of the young woman slung over his shoulder, the mage gave one final glance back at the man he had called master for many years. Seeing a small smile on his master's face, the mage sadly nodded and sprinted towards the shimmering portal where the three knights and the demoness remained.
"Farewell, my love. I will never forget you. Be strong and live on with our daughter." Illidan whispered while taking one last glance over his shoulder at the fleeing mage with screaming wife.
Reaching the portal, the mage dashed through it without stopping. Seeing this, the three knights noted the lone young man stood before the stone. Hesitating for a moment, the knights and the demoness retreated through the portal, leaving the young man by himself.
Sadly smiling and glancing up at the sky, Illidan groaned from the strain of his powers beginning to fail. Quietly chuckling, he murmured "So this is how it ends. I guess it's alright. At least I know Marie, Arya, and all of my friends and family are safe. That's what matters."
Closing his eyes for the last time, the brown haired young man released the hold on his powers, allowing the stone's instability to accelerate. In his mind, the mental image of the woman he loved and his small daughter appeared. Smiling at the pair, he couldn't help but feel the warmth of their love wash over him just as the stone exploded.
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Checking on one another, the group of eight stared at the shimmering portal. Upon exiting it, they had found themselves in the place where they had entered the other dimension, which was a set of ancient ruins upon Duel Academy Island.
Without warning, a blue skinned mage carrying a young woman raced out of the portal and came to a skidding stop before the group. Not long afterwards, the three knights, along with the female demon, flew out from the portal. All at once, the portal wavered for a moment before closing completely.
Gently setting the young woman onto her feet, the mage couldn't help but see the tears falling down her face and heard her sobs beginning to pour out. Suddenly, she began slamming her fists into his chest, only to have him pull her closer to himself and encircle her in a warm embrace.
"What happened?" Jaden asked with confusion and worry in his voice. "Where is Illidan!?"
Not receiving an answer, the group couldn't help but feel uneasy. Eyes widening, the spike haired young man fell to his knees, whispering "No… Illidan, you didn't…"
"He's… He's gone…" the blue skinned mage whimpered out.
Breaking out of the mage's embrace, the young brown haired woman walked away about five feet to the place where the portal once stood. Falling to her knees, she began sobbing loudly while leaning forward and slamming her fists into the ground. In a loud, sad tone, she cried out "ILLIDAN!"