Chapter 17: All the Gods in One Hand

Bryan's duel had proved quite the ordeal, visibly taking its toll on the young duelist both physically and spiritually. He was offered a moment's reprieve in the citadel's covered entrance hall. The temperature in that room was so low the locals sometimes set themselves on fire just to keep the blood from freezing, and Bryan was happy to be there. The citadel's atrium was even worse. In fact, the warmest he felt since he arrived in Yasna was when he held in his hand Uria, Lord of Searing Flames.

The card's shimmering surface provided the heat of a contained fire. Perhaps the fire had always been there, or maybe it grew stronger as the World Collapse approached. Even Matt, who had joined Bryan in the entrance hall to admire his Norse god cards, knew nothing about the situation.

"You what I hate?"

Without missing a beat, Bryan offered as an answer, "When people begin a conversation with a rhetorical question?" His sardonic humor was not greeted with the good cheer he had hoped for but rather with a blank, expressionless stare. Clearly Matt was going to hold himself in that position until Bryan offered the traditional response to such a query. With a sigh, he changed his answer to a poorly acted, "No, Matt. What do you hate?"

If the sarcasm bothered Matt, he didn't show it. "Unanswered questions, and sadly for us, this entire situation is as littered with them as the Matrix movies are with sunglasses."

"That's true. Do you think Garry's okay now?"

"That's not an interesting question."

Bryan made a face. "Dude."

"What? I'm not saying I'm not worried about Garry. I'm saying that is an easy question to answer. We go check on him later and we'll know what happened after you defeated Ren Bacon. A better question is: What exactly happened to Ren?"

It would be a tricky question had Bryan not fought against him in the Shadow Realm. The sensation was undeniable. At the end of that duel, Ren finally absorbed a portion of the Shadows into himself and became an incarnation of ethereal darkness. The irony is that Bryan's salvation was also the Shadow Realm, bringing to life his cards so that he could fight back against Ren's god-like spirit.

"It was the Ars Notoria," Bryan explained. "It was the same ritual Maya Kawamura attempted back in our freshman year. He figured out something she didn't. He merged an Egyptian God and a Sacred Beast with one of Pegasus's Wicked Gods. Maya thought she could complete the ritual with only the Wicked Gods. It allowed him to merge with the Shadow Realm and become a human god whereas she just opened a door and got absorbed through it."

"If he was really a human god, you would not have beaten him so easily."

Bryan huffed. "You think that was easy?"

Almost with a smile on his face, Matt asked, "Well, what do you think happened? Are you more powerful than a god?"

"Definitely not." But the question was there: If Ren melded his spirit with the Shadow Realm, then how did Bryan defeat him? A step further… Why did Ren's body reemerge after the Shadow God – Lemegeton was destroyed? Shouldn't he have been destroyed with it? The Lemegeton was nearly impenetrable! It was a perfect blend of stony armor forged from black Shadows. Except for the tail—which was red and flesh. It didn't match the rest of the body.

He realized, "The base of the monster was Obelisk the Tormentor, so The Wicked Eraser was the wrong vessel. Raviel is Obelisk's shadow, but the Eraser was created to mirror Slifer the Sky Dragon. If Ren had fused The Wicked Dreadroot instead, he truly would have become part of the Shadow Realm."

"Of course he would've," said Matt in the fashion of a know-it-all. "But your part in that confrontation is not to be underestimated. It would have been nice had you managed to protect the stadium. I mean, we can't well be expected to duel against one another on that now, can we?"

Matt had failed to notice the look of shock on Bryan's face. "How could you know what Ren's flaw was?"

"It's patently obvious when you think about it. Fusing Obelisk, Raviel, and Eraser? One might as well fuse the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl with Flying Fish."

"You just called me stupid, didn't you?"

"Don't be so sensitive. Only someone of extraordinary intelligence could figure out something like that without adequate exposure to context." He saw the befuddled look on Bryan's face. "Now I'm just messing with you. But seriously, the only thing I've known that can overwhelm the Shadow Realm is the Collective Consciousness that powers it. Obviously Ren fell short of merging with the Collective because he lost, and that's because his Tributes were not of a single consciousness."

"You say it like that was an easy conclusion, yet you sound so confusing when you explain it."

"Still."

Bryan sighed. "Okay. So the reason Ren's body reappeared after the Lemegeton was destroyed was that he actually failed the ritual. That, plus your brother's spirit showed up and sapped his power just in time for Lucy's card to save my life."

That part was strange and unexpected. Angra Mainyu was also part of Bryan's salvation. Allegedly, part of his spirit had been given to Bryan by the so-called Ghost Duelist during the most recent fall semester. Suddenly Zeke's appearance at this tournament seemed nowhere near coincidental. Fortunately, Zeke hadn't gone far yet. He also waited in the entrance hall where the temperature was relatively warm, provided the point of comparison was a steel barrel filled with liquid nitrogen. When Matt asked at first, Zeke claimed he was waiting for his flight here because his rented space was occupied again. It must have been occupied by the hundreds of people who visited Yasna's booming tourism industry.

"I don't think a ritual that turns a man into God is even possible. But it seems like merging man with god is possible. Perhaps Zeke is waiting here to tell us about Angra Mainyu's adventures in three-dimensional space."

Bryan was at the point where frost was beginning to settle into his joints. The unexpected and unnoticed benefit was how well the cold prevented his head from swelling. But he still felt the exhaustion of his Shadow Duel turn his muscles into jelly. He required assistance from his sworn brother to cross the cold marble hall to the cushioned folding chairs where Zeke sat and spoke with Jean-Paul Poirrot. He looked just as decadent and smug as he had that first day when he tried to take Matt's god card in a harebrained scheme to enroll himself in the tournament.

"Turns out I was wrong about you," Jean-Paul directed at Matt. "To be one of the finalists, your god must have been the real deal."

There was a smirk on Zeke's face while Matt replied, "My god has yet to prove himself, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"They're here to ask me some questions," said Zeke. Jean-Paul looked disgusted by the thought of discourse with such people, but he excused himself and walked away to have words with Joker.

"Interesting company you keep," said Bryan.

"Ren's power destroyed the duel station during that battle," Zeke reminded him. "In order for the tournament to continue, you'll want to use his portable hologram board. It lacks the splendor of a full-size station, but it will accomplish the task if need be."

With a chuckle, Bryan commented to Matt, "It'll be the first time in a while we duel one another."

"Let's save it for a warmer climate." He quickly produced the three Aesir from his deck box and handed them to Bryan. "I didn't earn all of these. Zeke had me cornered and then backed off. By contrast, you defeated the nearest thing to a human Shadow Realm this world is likely to see. You deserve these more than I do, plus a shot at Eldar to take The Wicked Avatar home with us."

Matt's hand stayed near his deck box. "I'm just… nervous about giving you Spenta Mainyu and Zurvan. I know you need them for the Ars Arcanum."

"No, he doesn't," Zeke interrupted. In response to the bewildered expression on Matt's face, he added, "I made that up. The gods of the Overworld did not design the magic arts that tap into the Shadow Realm. Humans did whenever they made contact with the Shadows; therefore, the gods of the Overworld have no role in them."

"Really? How do you know that?"

He laughed. "Because Angra knows, of course."

"Oh, right." Bryan settled his nerves for a moment as he tried to think of a tactful way to get the answers he wanted.

"Just ask me your questions straight-out," said Zeke.

"Okay. How did Angra Mainyu's spirit end up inside me?"

Zeke smiled and pointed. "That's the question that burns most within you. Angra Mainyu was contacted by a man named Tobias Joly and his wishful cohort only decades ago, and during that conversation, he provided a small portion of his consciousness to the children. Primarily, it gave them visions of the Ultimate God the two of you defeated last fall."

"Too fast," Matt protested. "Tobias Joly? He said he spoke with a messenger of the gods named Harpo."

"His name was Aiwass," Bryan corrected him, "and he was a messenger of Harpocrates. Harpo was a mute Marx Brother."

"Aiwass is just one of the identities Angra Mainyu has assumed over his millennia of existence. How he fits within mythology varies depending on the one who first heard his voice. A fluke ritual cast in attempt to reach the Shadow Realm actually reached Angra's ears, and he decided to have a little fun with the group by teaching them the seven spiritual seals placed on the Ultimate Shadow God."

Bryan was taken aback by the casual way Zeke relayed that information. "'A little fun?' He was just having a little fun when he taught Starza Almasi and Salman Nazari how to summon some kind of Shadow Lord? And when he taught Tobias Joly and Lorn Kruse how to summon the Apocalypse? All of that was just for fun?!"

"It may not be your idea of fun, but that communication was Angra's first contact with three-dimensional space in ages. Humans are so much more exciting to interact with than the relatively immortal stiffs in the Overworld. His own brother was one of the most insufferably boring people he had to deal with on a regular basis. Mixing things up from time to time in three-dimensional space kept him enjoying life. That's what pushed him to inhabit the body of a human infant almost immediately afterward."

"He's trying to destroy the world!"

Zeke just sat back and grinned. "He's a god to us. He just wanted to see what would happen."

"Are you crazy?"

"He was only putting our world in jeopardy to see if it could rescue itself," said Zeke. "Think of it like dangling someone out of a window. You have no intention of letting that person fall to his or her death, but you still want to know what information you can glean from performing the act."

By this point, Bryan was fuming. His rage boiled up inside him so hot there was actually steam rising from his frozen skin. He couldn't tolerate the mindset of threatening the world's safety for fun, but he also couldn't find the strength to take revenge in the form of delivering bodily harm upon Zeke.

In stark contrast, Matt remained calm and tried to find a place for all the pieces before getting upset. "Those four college students you named were part of a college secret society calling themselves the Hellfire Club. Rumors on the Internet claim that the college organization started as a recruiting tool for a real-life Hellfire Club made up of the most influential and well-connected people in the world. And, well…" He chuckled as he realized he was starting to ramble. "No sense prevaricating about the bush, is there? I find it hard to believe Angra's connection to four members of the Hellfire Club and your presence here and now at a tournament loaded with Hellfire Club members are coincidence."

"Actually, that is coincidence. I was invited because of the corporeal Angra Mainyu in my deck and not because of any affiliation with the alleged Hellfire Club."

Bryan distrusted the statement and assumed Zeke was claiming the same kind of technicality Matt sometimes did. "So you aren't a member of the Hellfire Club?"

Zeke replied with a smirk. He liked Bryan for his quick ability to read people. "I joined before I was ten."

"How did you manage that?"

"I've had Angra Mainyu using his brand of godly magic to give me power every step of my childhood. Use your imagination. That's what I did."

"It wasn't sneaking onto Academy Island, digging up a box of god cards, and then delivering them to a bunch of Hellfire Club leaders for free, was it? Because I could see how that kind of gift could earn you membership."

"I wasn't lying about being ten years old when I joined. Additionally, no one received any god cards from me. If I bothered to put in the effort to steal them, I would keep them for myself. I know Angra Mainyu dwarfs a few windows to the Shadow Realm, but the entertainment value is tremendous."

Matt tapped Bryan on the arm. "He's telling the truth. We're going to have to talk to Eldar and Ingrid if we want to know how those cards got here."

"Word of advice," said Zeke. "Those people have the ability to order executions with a single word, so they deserve all the respect you can give them. Don't call them by their first names."

"Duly noted," said Matt as he led Bryan toward where Ingrid Lund and Eldar Vanko were now talking to Jean-Paul Poirrot. Before they approached the influential Hellfire Club, Matt told Bryan, "He is hiding something."

"He confessed to teaching Tobias Joly how to summon that monstrous Apocalypse. What else is there to hide?"

"Let's find out."

Eldar wore an expression of complete neutrality. He once approached Matt with growing concern that the state of the world's existence was dire with significant chance of pending destruction. Now his expression was nonchalant like he hadn't a care in the world. Even Ingrid seemed more amiable than before, returning to the type of woman who would seduce men for power instead of threatening them. She lived by Machiavelli's creed that it was better to be loved than feared if she could not be both.

Of course, Jean-Paul looked thoroughly bemused that Bryan and Matt approached him yet again. "Planning to run me off yet again, are we?"

"It was not my intention to 'run you off' the first time," said Matt. "As connected as you are, and as intelligent as you must truly be to design that portable duel arena, you may be just as likely to have the knowledge we seek."

"Oh, goody goody gumdrops." His reply was simply dripping with sarcasm. "How complete my life would be if I could provide the key hint to a couple of students from Duel Acad—"

"Maya Kawamura," said Matt, interrupting him abruptly. It worked, too. Jean-Paul stopped cold without even finishing the name of the school. Eldar and Ingrid showed no sign of recognition, but they noticed it in Jean-Paul and graciously remained silent while Matt questioned him.

"Of course you would wonder about her."

Bryan nodded. "Ren played a card representative of a Shadow ritual that Maya tried to perform on Duel Academy's quad. That's after she taught me how to use the card, of course."

"She taught you as part of the ritual," Jean-Paul clarified. "It wouldn't do to have the god cards at less than full strength during the ritual."

"Then you knew her."

"Yes. We met at a conference in Tokyo many years ago. I was a burgeoning engineer hoping to revolutionize the duel world with the next clever device while she was knowledgeable in many of the rarest and most elusive cards ever known. I spoke with her in hopes of learning what insight in the duel world would bring me to the technological realization of the century." He seemed sad as he spoke. His board-game-sized duel arena was cool, but clearly he was hoping for something much catchier.

"I tried to invent a dueling motorcycle," said Bryan. "You could try that. Or maybe just do something like Google Glass, where people don't actually need hologram projectors because they see the holograms right in front of their eyes. That would be cool."

Immediately Jean-Paul retorted, "That is preposterous." Yet his eyes went wide as he realized how popular the idea of a portable duel arena people could carry around their shirt collars. It was almost the type of idea worth stealing… or perhaps "purchasing" in exchange for a short information interchange. "What would you like to know?"

"Was Maya a member of the Hellfire Club?"

As if he had practiced many times, Jean-Paul said, "I know nothing of any Hellfire Club. But Maya did speak of a book that dictated ancient rituals related to the Shadow Realm. One of them was the Ars Notoria intended to permit a human ascension into the Shadow Realm directly, possibly offering the opportunity to mingle with the Collective Consciousness while maintaining a distinct personality. When I asked her what would be necessary to accomplish such a task, she informed me of the Ars Goetia which would open the gateway to the Shadow Realm and strengthen the god cards and the Ars Almadel to bring the human spirit to perfect harmonic convergence with the Shadow Realm. I have heard vaguely of other arts, but we did not discuss them together."

Bryan looked to Matt and said, "She was in the Hellfire Club."

"What was the book?" Matt asked.

"I never caught the name of it. The rituals are what stuck in my memory."

"Thank you," said Matt. Looking to Ingrid, he asked, "Madam Lund? Might I inquire where you obtained The Wicked Avatar?"

"Of course, child, but the information will not satisfy you. An underling brought it to me."

"You didn't ask where it came from?"

"I suddenly had possession of The Wicked Avatar, that fabled card created by Maximilian Pegasus himself to combat The Winged Dragon of Ra. Of course I verified the authenticity of the card, but testing was quick and no fakes have existed within known history. My concern for how it came to be in my possession was close to nil."

With a nod, Matt confessed, "That is perfectly understandable. I appreciate your patience." Turning his attention to Eldar, he said, "Mr. Vanko, I do have one question for you, as well."

Eldar licked his chapped lips and smiled just the slightest bit in the corners of his mouth. He handed The Wicked Avatar out toward Matt. "I come without god card. I also leave without one. I have no story to tell."

"Neither did Garry," Bryan noted. Garry had told them he found Raviel in the mailbox one day. It sounded like no one knew how the god cards left Academy Island. If none of the holders knew, the only far-fetched theory that seemed to fit was that Zeke took them and set up this whole tournament. But why would he do that? Was he a low-level Hellfire grunt trying to impress his superiors? Well, then forfeiting his duel against Matt was a ridiculous choice.

"You're sure you don't mind just handing it over?" asked Bryan.

"Is not necessary." Eldar exchanged a quick look with Ingrid and added, "My organization back home has need of new leadership, worth more than single card." Though he and the others wouldn't mention the Hellfire Club by name, Bryan was pretty sure that's what Eldar was saying. Maybe he was going to take over Ren Bacon's side of the business, or maybe Eldar figured out who the secretive Overlord on the phone was.

Perhaps spurred by his limited understanding of the hierarchy, suddenly an epiphany struck Bryan. "Where's the Joker?"

Bryan's query brought to the attention of all the disappearance of the masked man who ran the whole show. He was not in the entrance hall with the others. Bryan stepped into the citadel's atrium once more to look around, but Joker was not to be seen. Perhaps he could have continued searching the citadel ruins, but Bryan felt a strong notion that Joker was already gone. Plus it was so cold outside he could pee crystals if he tried. He returned to the entrance hall where it was slightly warmer.

"Does anyone know who he was underneath that mask?"

Eldar, Ingrid, Jean-Paul, and the medical staff all provided negative responses either verbally or through head shaking. Zeke was the only one who never made eye contact. While not directly suspicious or guilty, that little behavior certainly made Bryan dislike Zeke even more than he already did. He watched Zeke stare at the front doors without saying another word to the other participants until Matt brought him out of his daze.

"Let's get going," said Matt. "We can wait at the airport for our plane just as easily as here. Let's get our stuff and go find Garry. With any luck, he should be up and moving around by now since you've defeated Ren Bacon."

Attempting to hide his distrust, Bryan asked, "What about Zeke?"

"He may not depart on the plane with us. I have contact information for him. Believe me when I say I will be keeping an eye on him. He says he did not take the god cards from Academy Island and I believe him… but he most definitely had an accomplice. Possibly one or possibly many, considering how far and wide the god cards were scattered across the globe. We're going to figure out who that was."

"Really? The student body at Duel Academy is pretty big. You've got to have some kind of plan to figure out who the culprit is."

Matt put on a big, toothy smile. "Don't I always have a plan?"

"No."

The smile disappeared. "No, I don't. I usually just wing it. But we'll get it all sorted out somehow. We always do. Look at the bright side!" His smiled returned and he put his hand on Bryan's broad shoulder. "You are the champion of this little tournament of the gods! Not that it matters, of course. What's important is we have all the god cards together again and headed back to Duel Academy where they will be safe."

"We still have to find the Key of Solomon, though. Whatever that means."

Matt nodded. "One step at a time, bro."

Duel Academy had once felt like a safe place for duelists and for the god cards. But throughout the multitude of plane rides and changeovers through the polar climate until they crossed back into the temperate climate where Duel Academy stood amid the vast expanse of ocean, Bryan kept his fingers on the god cards at all times.

The feeling of a god card was undeniable. No… not the feeling of the card: The feeling of the god itself—of the consciousness contained within the vessel of the card. That's what was undeniable, and unmistakable. It was a powerful, seductive feeling. The spirits called to him, wanting to delight him in the pleasure of their power—to feel the warmth they had to offer him. The temptation was great and too much for some to pass up. With all of them together, Bryan might even be able to tear the fabric of reality separating Earth from the Shadow Realm.

The fear was also undeniable. Maybe it came from that part of Bryan's spirit that knew what the gods could do if their power were allowed to flow freely. But maybe the fear came from the gods themselves. Maybe the spirits that made up the Collective Consciousness also foresaw their own demise as the World Collision would unravel all of time and space. Add all that fear to the support Bryan felt when he settled into bed that night with his fiancée pressed tightly against him, and he felt no desire to witness the power within his cards.

All he desired was completion of the Ars Arcanum.

Suddenly thunder clapped as the sky lit up as bright as day. Dark clouds rolled turbulently through the sky like waves in a maelstrom. Bryan was vaguely aware of the sensation of water wrapping around his feet like tentacles, slowly releasing their grip and receding back into the sea. A beach of white sand cemented Bryan's feet to the ground, making it difficult for him to get his bearings. The feeling in the air was clear to him. Slowly, with his feet held in place, he turned to see behind him.

All he saw was a giant, glowing blue eye staring back at him before he awoke with a start and a yelp.

"Bryan?" said Lucy, who also awoke with a start when Bryan jerked so strongly upright. She pressed her hand on his chest and felt his heart about the leap right out. "What's wrong?"

Breathing heavily, Bryan told her, "This feeling… It's not Slifer or Dreadroot or even Ra. There's another god card!"

I apologize for the wait. This time of year is particularly taxing at work as part of the retail sector. As you may have guessed, this is not the last chapter of the arc. (I also claimed 31 chapters several weeks ago.) This is the mid-season break, however. I'm going to work through the next section of my Pokémon adventure before coming back to this sometime after New Year's. Here's hoping all of you have an excellent holiday season, and I leave you with two questions:

What is the Joker's identity, and what is Zeke's title within the Hellfire Club?