Authors notes: A day in and I've got close to a hundred hits. Thank you everyone who's come to read (and anyone who's come back again). And greater thanks to everyone who's added my story to their favourite/watch list.
Here's chapter 3. I do intend to title my chapters sooner or later. I just need to come up with good titles. I'll take suggestions into consideration if anyone wants to give them. Hope you enjoy.
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The Emissary of Extinction
Chapter 3
The Legend of Fear
In the early morning, as the sky was just being lit by the morning sun, a young man stood upon the railings of a place he'd once called home. Leaning on the railing as the sphere of light dyed the sky with it's glow. He knew, while staring at the skies, as the birds nearby awoke to sing, as the ocean began to glisten with the reflected rays. That soon a great darkness would come. And he would stand to fight it.
Judai pulled out his deck, spreading it to look at the cards within. "We've another battle to fight, my friends."
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From atop of the main Duel Academia building a man stood in the shadows as the light spread. He smiled as the light reached him, exposing him to any eyes that might have been looking for him. Yet he knew he wasn't looked for. The people who knew he was here had already left, they would not have told anyone about him. He was not striking or memorable enough, no, he thought with a chuckle. He just wasn't striking in the way people would want to talk about. He looked up to the sky.
"A new dawn rises. And now the dawn of extinction has come."
Today was going to be an interesting day.
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Xiaolang flinched as Freed the Matchless General was destroyed. Cronos had decided to book the P.E. hall for a class duel. He had also decided to be a little unfair, or encouraging. Depends how it was looked at. Rather than keep the duellists to people facing people from their dorm, it was completely random. Xiaolang had gotten paired off with a Ra Yellow. On the one hand, it could be seen as him trying to let the higher ranked students beat the weak. On the other, it could be considered a shot for the weak to get stronger. Looking around, Xiaolang wondered just how random the selection was, there were very few "Red VS Blue" matches.
His opponent set a card. "I end my turn." (LP/1400)
Xiaolang nodded. "Alright, my turn. Draw!" (LP/1100) "I activate Bait Doll. I can force the activation of a face down card, as long as the card I select is revealed to be a trap that is. I select your face down card." The card was flipped up, revealing Scapegoat. Xiaolang smiled. "Bait Doll must return to my deck." He placed it in and shuffled. "I summon Field-Commander Rahz." (attack mode. ATK/1600 DEF/1200) "Next I activate Vindictive Sword. I can only equip it onto Warrior-type monsters. The monsters points don't change." Rahz's sword was replaced with a golden hilted, black Katana. Glowing Violet. Now since you sacrificed your monster to destroy mine, you're defenceless. Rahz attack him!" Rahz rushed forward, pulling it's sword back for a swing.
"I activate my Scapegoat. I can summon four sheep tokens to defend me." (All defence mode. ATK/0 DEF/0) "You wont be getting to my life points this turn."
"Guess again! A monster equipped with Vindictive Sword inflicts Piercing Damage!"
Rahz cut down one of the sheep in an instant. (Ra Student LP/0)
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Elsewhere on the Island the mysterious man stood in a darkened area. He looked ahead of him, in front of him was a long stone bridge, barely wide enough for one person to cross, the holes either hide appearing to go down forever. On the other side of the bridge he saw a very small stone altar, with a small set of stairs on either side. The creature appeared once more.
"This is the place. This place is holds a dormant portal."
"But to open it. We need..."
"It's not just about opening the portal you fool! We need to open that. My powers are limited while it's closed! And with the destruction of that monolith I'm bound to your soul!" It's not just power we need to open that which entraps my body. Power is just one thing we need. The other, the other is for my power. For now we must concentrate on extracting raw energy. Energy produced by duellists." The man smiled. "You have a plan?"
He nodded.
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As the bell for lunch rang Xiaolang and his class cleared out of Cronos's classroom before he decided to give them homework. "Though the class itself was fun." Xiaolang slowed down now he was a distance from the classroom, walking at a leisurely pace through the halls of the Academia. He looked to the shining sky. "It's such a nice day. But last night..." He felt a shiver run down his spine as he recalled the feeling. He had no words to describe it, and he was glad for that. He very much doubted the words that would describe it would put him at ease. "I can't help but see darkness on the horizon. But with the bright sky, it's like the sky itself wishes to deny the reality that is about to unfold." Xiaolang stopped, turning to face the window. "But what's coming? Who's coming? Could it be-?" He turned and walked on, shaking his head. He wasen't going down that road of thought. "It's a stupid thought anyway." With that Xiaolang was off to the cafeteria.
"I'm getting that Eggwich today."
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Outside of the Academia a boy sat. His white hair not quite shining in the light, his dark green eyes looking through his deck. "I'm supposed to be a Ra, how could I lose to that Osiris Red? Why do I lose so many duels?"
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Above him, a hidden figure smiled, dark energy forming in his hand.
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"If only I had a strong card."
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It formed a card.
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"Then I'd beat everyone!"
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He dropped the card, the dark energy visible only to him preventing a breeze form carrying it away. He began to step back slowly. "The wheel of fate now turns."
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"Especially that Osiris Red!"
As if in response to his declaration a card landed in his hand, as if by magic sliding right into his spread deck. He took it out and looked at it. "Now this is a card! But who's is it?" He looked around, no one was to be seen.
"Is anyone there?"
Seconds passed, his smile forming. No one was around, which meant this card had no one to claim it. "Guess it's mine then."
He placed his deck back in it's holder.
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The rest of the day passed. Leading up to sunset, once again Xiaolang and Judai were on the floor, cards spread out as they fought another duel. "So did you find anything today, Judai?" Xiaolang set a card face down. Leaving him with a set monster and a single face down card." (LP/1700)
Judai drew 1 card. (LP/2900) "Nothing in particular. "But once I talk to Yusuke tomorrow I want to look around some of the temple ruins on this island. There are quite a few of them actually." He revealed a card in his hand, revealing he was playing R - Righteous Justice, destroying Xiaolangs Defense Draw. He then summoned Neo-Spacian Grand Mole in attack mode, signalling he was attacking Xiaolang's face down monster with it, returning both to their hands. He then attacked with his Darkbright to finish the duel.
Xiaolang collected his cards together, shuffling again. "So you think there might be some information on the island?" Judai nodded, shuffling his own cards. "Yes. It's here, and the only reason I can think why is because there's something here it wants." Xiaolang placed his deck on the floor. "Any guesses as to what?" Judai placed his own deck down, shaking his head. "Could be anything. Just be careful. It could strike at any time."
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As the sun lowered in the sky, an Obelisk blue student could only back away in horror at the monster in front of him. "He's supposed to be a Ra! I'm the elite!" He flinched as his only monster was destroyed. (LP/2100) He looked at his opponents monster. "What is that card?"
The white haired boy chuckled. "Oh don't worry about that. Now you'll remember I played Double Attack, so now my monster will attack you again. This time directly!"
True to his word his monster slashed at him. (LP/0) He suddenly felt tired. "But...it's points...were..." He fell back, conciousness leaving him.
The boy removed his new card from his duel disk. "This card...is amazing." His smile turned wild. He raised his hand to the sky. "With this I shall become the strongest!"
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Hidden in the shadows the figure smiled. ""Excellent."
Today was an interesting day.
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The next day had come, a boat arriving at the docks. On board Yusuke smiled. He was glad to be at Duel Academia again. Sure, Fubuki and Ryo had graduated but the place still had a charm about it.
And he still had one irreplaceable friend here. "That was an interesting dig, master."
Yusuke nodded. "I've never seen ruins quite like that. It's amazing to see how your world has affected ours in so many ways. I think I see now why Duel Monsters is so popular. It's not just because it's a fun game. It's because it's so tied to the roots of society that when it was reintroduced into the world it was like humanity was looking at it's roots once more. Though it's still most popular amongst younger people."
"As rooted as it is in human history, it remains a game, Master. Not everyone will play, or understand it's meaning."
Yusuke nodded sadly. "That's very unfortunate." The boat stopped, having reached it's destination. Yusuke was the first off of course. Even though his friends had forgiving him, most of the student body was still a little skittish around him. He didn't blame them.
As he walked down down the staircase, he noticed someone standing at the base of the stairway. He noticed it was a Orsiris Red at first glance, but then his eyes raised up.
"Judai?" Judai nodded and smiled. "Been a while, Yusuke."
"That it has, Judai. What brings you back?" Judai frowned. "Long story short, I need your help."
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In Yusuke's room each sat on a different sofa as Judai recited his story for the third time. By the end of the story Yusuke had his eyes closed, in apparent thought. After a minute Judai spoke up. "Yusuke?" The former resident of the world of darkness raised a hand, signalling his desire for silence. He stood up, walking over to his book shelf, taking a few seconds to find a book that Judai guessed, was written by Yusuke himself by the look of it. He grabbed the book and moved to a desk, placing the book down.
"During my time here I have collected a lot of notes and data about duel monsters mythologies. The one you described..."
Judai stood up, walking to Yusuke's side as he moved from page to page, showing a range of monsters. Among them he saw notes on the Gravekeeper's (brining back memories of a of spear being run through him), Dark World monsters (the memory of Brron still made him frown), he caught a brief glimpse of animals in armor. A drawing of Archlord Zerato. Until finally Yusuke flipped to a page that sent chills down Judai's spine.
He had to admire the detail in Yusukes drawings. The drawing on the page was no less detailed than the one on the monolith. "Is this the creature you faced?" Judai nodded slowly. "Yes. You know what it is?" Yusuke shook his head. "Honest does."
The spirit of Honest appeared. Standing next to Yusuke, nodding and smiling as he acknowledged Judai. "Judai. I hope I find you well."
Judai nodded. "Hello again, Honest. Sorry we have to meet like this, but do you know what this thing is?"
Honest looked to the creature on the page, and nodded. "I have never seen the creature with my own eyes. I've only ever seen drawings of it. But in the monster world it's legend is still whispered in fear. A legend from a time long gone by."
"Legend of what?" Honest took a deep breath, clearly he too feared this legend. "The legend...of the Emissary of Extinction."
"Emissary of Extinction?"
Honest continued. "You know that in the monster world, there are as many noble monster spirits as there are evil ones. One legend that even the evil are said to fear is that of the Emissary of Extinction. It's legend is written on the walls of the Sanctuary of which I once lived, as so many are. It speaks of an age gone by. In that age, an evil stalked the monster world, it's name was never recorded, but it's actions were." Honest looked the creature's image for a moment, his eyes darkening as he recalled the legend. "It suddenly appeared, out of nowhere. Attacking any civilization it met. From high up my people watched, as down below the world was driven into chaos and fear. Where it came from no one knew, but soon the world understood why it was there. The creature possessed a hatred for all life, and in it's view, life had to end. It is said whatever it walked near, died. To this day, when plants start dying it is considered an ill omen, as that was how spirits knew the beast was near. And when it came, it attacked. So many monsters, so many powerful and noble creatures fought against it, all failing, some becoming corrupt after witnessing it's dark powers. Others dying. And some..." Honest suddenly stopped. Stopping to breathe before he continued to say something that clearly disturbed him. Judai could not wait. "Some what?"
Honest shuddered. "Some rose back from the dead. No one understood at first, we still do not fully understand even now. But many of the creatures that were slain by this abomination rose from the dead. Some tried to fight him again. Others, maddened or intoxicated by their new forms, attacked everything else. What you know as Zombie-type monsters originate from this creature's slaughters. Up above, from the Sanctuary, from far above where most would come, my people waited for the creature to come for us. We knew it would. Wherever there was life it would come. But then something...unexpected happened."
"What was it?"
"The creature was defeated. By who or what is uncertain. But pieces of information were passed throughout the monster world. Later on in time we learned what had happened. At least, what was said to have happened. It is said the monster attacked another area of the world, looking for another population to slaughter. But the place it had found fought back. After a battle the creature retreated. But they would not let it go. It is said that the band of warriors pursued the monster to the edges of the world. The battle's details are unknown from here, all that is known is that afterwards, the creature was never seen again. sssI had tried to find the warriors that defeated him, but to no avail. They clearly did not want to be known. But I did find...what they had done with the creature. And to my horror, I learned that they didn't kill it."
Yusuke couldn't stop himself from speaking up. "They didn't? Why? A creature like that and they left it alive? What were they thinking?" Honest frowned.
"I later came to the conclusion that they didn't leave it alive. They just couldn't kill it. I found a gate, the most unholy of gateways I had ever set eyes upon, one I guessed the creature had made itself. I knew the gateway was a portal into another world, but where it went I did not know. The gateway was locked, with power far beyond my ability to break. It was then I understood. That is what they had done with the creature. They could not kill it, so they sealed it far beyond where it could do anyone else any harm. Since that time my people have done what we could to make sure that the beast's seal was never found. Until now I had assumed our efforts were successful." Honest stopped. Taking a minute to let the facts sink in. "We have failed. Someone knows, they have found the Gateway. And soon, they will find a way to unlock the Gate and release the Emissary of Extinction once again." For a few minutes everything went silent, as the information Honest had given sunk in. A creature of death itself. How could such a thing be stopped?
Something occurred to Judai. "Honest? On the gateway, was there anything that might give us a clue about who sealed it away?" Honest thought for a moment. "Yes. There was." He held up a hand, moving his arm so Yusuke and Judai could clearly see it, an image of something appeared in his hands. "This symbol was on the doors of the Gateway."
It looked like some coat of arms, consisting of a bolded outer circle and another circle on the insider of it. The inner circle was unique. On the inside of that circle their were six much smaller circles in the centre of it, each connected to one another and the circle by a series of intricate lines that ran through most of the circle. Judai could see that on each of the smaller circles a symbol was placed. Representing, in clockwise order. Light, Earth, Water, Dark, Wind and Fire. Aside from the fact that it represented the six main attributes of monster cards Judai did not understand what it meant.
"Do you know what it means, Honest?"
The spirit shook his head. "I'm sorry Judai. And I was never able to find the symbol anywhere else either. Though I must confess, I was not able to look for very long before I was called to this world." He smiled and nodded to Yusuke. "The truth may have been found by now, but I am afraid I have no way to know. I still have to fully recover my energy before I can open a portal for to world travel, I am still not quite at full strength after my battle with Trueman."
Judai frowned. "If we cant find the ones who defeated him last time...we're on our own."
Silence filled the room after that.
They really were.
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End of Chapter
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Today's Strongest Card
Scapegoat
Spell
Quick-play
If you activate this card, you cannot Summon monsters this turn. Special Summon 4 "Sheep Tokens" (Beast-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position. The "Sheep Tokens" cannot be used as a Tribute for a Tribute Summon (or Set).
Commentary: Commentator: Judai
"A last defence. It's like summoning four Winged Kuribohs." "Kuri Kuri!"