Flashback: Three Months ago: Location: Ghost Zone: Royal Library: Unknown location within:
Lord Phantasm, the newest Sith Lord and the first of the New sith of the New sith Order of the New sith Empire was sitting at a desk within the Ghostwriter's vast library with several ancient scrolls and books that Ghostwriter had been nice enough to allow him to look over. For the scrolls that were too delicate or valuable to be taken out of the vaults for ghosts who lacked the proper credentials, there were microfilms that he was also looking through. Nearby him was the blue mask that he had found in the chest on Korriban that was still sitting there, doing nothing.
The library itself is immensely large. The library entrance is shaped like a giant stone gateway carved into the side of one of the mountains that flanked the Kingdom of the Ghost Zone with two massive thirty foot wide stone doors. After that is a large square-shaped hall with another closed double doors entrance on the other side. It had grey tiled floors, beautiful carving of animals and people on the walls, which seemly told a story about something. After those double doors is an underground maze which is designed to protect the library should anyone find it and enter it.
At the end of the maze is a massive man-made underground cavern with a single large stone bridge to walk on. At the other end of the bridge is a massive floor level, stretching as far as the eye could see from one side to the next. The entire floor level was filled with hundreds of bookshelves hat were twenty meters high and were filled with hundreds if not thousands of books and scrolls.
Underneath the bridge in the vast chasm below it are dozens of more levels on both sides of the cavern connected by more stone bridges with each level as vast as the first and filled with just as many scrolls and books.
The entire mountain is the library which is why no one has ever wound it since from the bridge it looked like the chasm was bottomless. There are more than enough books for anyone person could possible read in a dozen lifetimes and Ghostwriter had only scratched the surface of it. Lastly each level is dedicated to different subjects such as History, Music, Architecture, Biology, Languages, Science and many other subjects.
"Anything yet, Lord Phantasm" A voice asked as Danny, now known as Lord Phantasm, looked up to see Ghostwriter there with a cup of tea in both of his hands. Sighing, Danny gently sat down the book he had been reading, making sure to mark his place as he did.
"Nothing, the only thing I think I have for the mask is a legend called the Shadowkhan, also known as the Oni, but they blend with other spirits and demons in Japanese Lore to separate one from another or to be sure. I might have to head there in the near future to look through their libraries and museums."
"The Shadowkhan, huh," Ghostwriter hummed as he set the two cups onto the table and took one of them. After slipping some of the green tea, called Pi Lo Chun or Green Snail Spring, Ghostwriter frowned at what Danny had said.
"The one legend that includes the Shadowkhan is the Shadow Realm, a very dark subject, my King. It is a dark and dangerous place, but it is not that different from the Ghost Zone actually." He said. That got Danny's attention as he immediately turned to face Ghostwriter who continued, "Nothing lives in that realm other than pure creatures of darkness that enjoy being evil far too much…"
"Ghostwriter," Danny began as the Ghostwriter frowned knowing Lord Phantasm's stance on such thoughts and that where powers come from doesn't make them evil, it was how they were used and for what purpose that did.
"I know, my King, but that is what the legends and rumors say." Ghostwriter said as Danny sighed and then opened another book which he had marked. The page he had opened had a picture of a temple on it.
"What I have is an old temple without a location or map to find it and about the Shadow-Binders. In the days of chaos before the power of the shogun were ever considered, a race of Oni, which I presume are the Shadowkhan or at the very least their ancestors, ruled over all Japan with a council of nine different tribes, each with a queen. That is until someone called the Red King appeared. He gathered all of the Shadowkhan tribes and their generals and threatened the Queen's rule, actually killing them in the final battle." Danny finished with a grimace since he still didn't like killing another person or being even as the battles continued in the Unknown Regions.
"Yes, I know that legend. The Red King is called Tarakudo who according to legend entered the Shadow Realm with the mask those Shadow Binders made to seal him so they couldn't seal him away." Ghostwriter said.
"You're right and those Shadow Binders created masks and sealed all of Tarakudo's Generals and he vanished before they could seal him. However, the history of before Tarakudo is unknown so I am not sure why it was with Tarakudo's victory over the Shadowkhan Queens that forced the Shadow Binders, an alliance of three Sages, to move into action against him and his Generals and not the Queens and their Generals. The book is vague and damaged but it seems that the sages carried out three tasks after their victory. One hid the Oni that they had defeated, another hid their power, and the last one crafted the Hana Fuda cards," Danny said.
"Hana Fuda cards?" The Ghostwriter asked.
"Yes, the book and the scrolls say they are a deck of cards which contained the knowledge of the Shadow Binders. Unfortunately the car company they were storied in had been destroyed last year and the cards are for the moment lost."
"Car Company?" Ghostwriter asked.
"Yes, it would seem that the descent of that Shadow Binder didn't believe the legends and used the symbol on them as his symbol. The cards were blank to his eyes because he didn't know how to use them so he didn't know what they said or what was in them."
Ghostwriter hummed, "Knowledge," He tasted the word. Despite having read most of the books about legends and stories, he knew little about the Shadowkhan and the Shadow Realm as did everyone else in the Ghost Zone. Knowledge handed down from their ancient foes would be invaluable. He then looked at the mask on the table.
"So is this one of the nine masks?" He asked.
"I do not know. I haven't found anything that shows the pictures of the masks, but if it is then my question is. How did a mask that was supposed to be hidden somewhere on Earth end up in space on Korriban within a chest that the Old Sith found and kept it within their treasures?" Danny asked as the Ghostwriter frowned.
"I am not sure. I can have the Bookmen you have assigned to help me protect and maintain this library look around for anything that might shine some light on this mystery." Danny nodded at that.
The Bookmen was another division that Danny had created as an independent group that is responsible for protecting and maintaining the great library and insuring that the knowledge and artifacts in it are kept safe.
Their duty is to guard the great library and help categorize, maintain or copy various books and scrolls. They are led by Ghostwriter. Their uniform is a simple white porcelain animal mask with no identifying markings and they wear standard New sith Empire uniforms with a white hooded cloak over it. Most of them were retired watches of the Infi-map.
"Agreed, I hope we'll figure out this mystery and soon since it is troubling," Danny said as Ghostwriter nodded.
"You're right. I can't really believe that the Shadow Binders knew about the Ghost Zone and just threw that Mask into it and it somehow landed on Korriban since they were before Pariah, but I also doubt they had space travel mastered by that time." Danny just nodded at that as he went back to the books and scrolls on the table.
"Do you find anything else of worth?" Ghostwriter asked only to see a wide grin spread over Danny's face,
"Well, I did find something interesting. I have found some very ancient scrolls from before the Ghost Zone actually existed and they seemed to have been written by Pariah himself," Danny said as he lifted the microfilm so that Ghostwriter could look at it. After reading it twice, the Ghostwriter looked at the smirking Ghost King.
"Where did you find this?" He asked as Danny pointed to a bookshelf some ways away that was mostly covered in dust since the Bookmen haven't been able to completely clean the library up yet. The Ghostwriter shook his head at that.
Good lord, it would only be Danny, with his luck of the gods, who would find something unbelievable like this and in a dusty corner of the library. Good grief, what are we going to do with you, Danny? He thought as he looked at the microfilm again and then at the two Bookmen who had turned from their work when they heard what their King had found who was chuckling.
"What is this Dark World then if it is not the Shadow Realm?" Danny asked.
"There exists Twelve Dimensions, Lord Phantasm. The Human, Ghost and Shadow Realms are only three of them. The other nine are still unknown. We believe that six of them represent the six elements, including the Shadow realm representing Darkness, but since this record mentions Dark World, I am not so sure anymore." The Ghostwriter said as Danny frowned.
"I hope this isn't too much but…"
"You want me to make a copy of what is written, word for word, so you want take it to Lord Revan and Lord Clockwork" Ghostwriter said.
"Am I really that obvious?" Danny asked with a sweat fault since thanks to the special seals that were placed on all the books and scrolls in the library a person could not take a book or scroll from the library since the book or scroll would immediately return to their original place in the library once the person stepped out of the library.
"Yes, Lord Phantasm. What exactly are you planning to do with the mask?"
"At the moment, nothing, but it will not be joining the other artifacts in this library until I am sure that it is only a mask and not something heavily dangerous and if that is correct, I still might not allow it to not be under lock and key something under heavy guard. I still have a failsafe plan just in case everything else fails. On the matter of this Dark World…well,"
Ghostwriter frowned at his King's expression. It was mysterious since it was a look of either confusion or a sense of lost. "There is something that the microfilm mentions about the beginning of time where there existed nothing until the Big Bang happened. After that only light and darkness existed. The universe was divided into darkness and light. For some reason that the microfilm doesn't explain or more likely no one knew, the light vanished and the darkness filled the darkness filled the universe and created life. If this microfilm is correct then all life was created by darkness." Danny began.
"My King,"
"Ghostwriter, the text continues saying that the darkness created the worlds, life and something called the Duel Monsters Spirit World and the darkness existed in between those dimensions. Eventually the stars and planets were created. Also eventually the light returned. When it saw what the darkness had done, it was furious and attempted to destroy everything that the darkness had created. This created the first war with the light and darkness at war against another." Danny then opened another book and showed Ghostwriter the picture of two warring factions with the underneath saying 'The Duel Spirit's forces do battle with the light of Destruction's invading army.' The picture didn't look pretty in the slightest, like two different starship fleets in combat with neither side the victory. The Ghostwriter gently took the aged book as he began to read.
"It calls the Light, the light of destruction in this war and I think this shows exactly what happens when the balance of Yin and Yang, good and evil, is damaged." Danny finished, but then opened another book.
"The story continues with wars after wars until a Hero rose who had abilities unseen ever before. He was the darkness's answer to ending the war. Aimed with dueling abilities and the power to command all spirits, the Supreme King with the Gentle Darkness raced to the front lines and brought the war to an end since the Darkness of Justice that the Gentle Darkness is also called is the only weapon that could defeat the Light. The microfilm is very vague and damaged, but from what I can tell the Light of Destruction does not appear to hail from any of the Duel Spirit Dimensions and seeks to dominate them. The battle ended with a bittersweet victory for the forces of Darkness. The Light was defeated, but the Supreme King was killed. However, his powers remained and were sealed into another family line that begins with 'Mu.' Knowing that the Light would return, those powers were sealed within the King of the Duel Spirit King's son. As expected the Light of Destruction did return and the wars went on and on with the Supreme King defeating it again and again at the cost of his life every time, but he was reincarnated over and over again." Danny continued with a confused look on his face as he continued to read the story.
"And the Light of destruction"
"Not much is known or written about it," Danny finished. "The Light of Destruction is also known as the Light of Ruin. It seems to be a malevolent extraterrestrial entity which is highly infectious and dangerous and wreaks havoc on the world when it comes in contact with it. From what I have read its ultimate ambition is destroying all life in the universe and returning things to how they were in the beginning but the Light is arrogant in its beliefs that its actions are justified. It boasts that humans would go on a path to self-destruction despite the fact that it displays no regard for human life. However, I am more interested in this Supreme King of theirs. From the legends I have read, he seems to be a leader such as me or Lord Revan or anyone on the council. He might be a willing ally if he actually exists." Danny finished as the Ghostwriter looked at the book, the microfilm and then at his King.
"Are you sure…"
"No," Danny said. "I don't. I will have to show copies of these to Lord Revan, Lord Clockwork, perhaps even Lord Frostbite and the whole council if it goes up that far to figure this mystery out. Honestly, if I haven't been to Korriban, seen the Sith Spirits, be Half Ghost, I would just count this up as the ravings of a madman or madwoman."
"However, you have seen things that most normal humans and ghosts would call crazy," Ghostwriter said as Danny sweat-faulted at him just before his comlink started to beep
"What now"
Meanwhile: Location: Unknown Regions: Unknown Planet: Onboard the Ra:
Captain Sakoria Mara, a red skinned Twi'lek, was standing on the walkway above the two crew pits of her centurion-class ship called the Ra. She was wearing a skin tight black new sith Empire navy uniform with a black jacket with blue trim and high-heeled combat boots. She had a smile on her face as she waited for the Emperor of the rising New sith Empire. She and her people owned Lord Phantasm much for helping them fight against the Kingdom of Matatak as well as saving her brother from the live as a slave.
In the past, the resistance she was about of was heavily outmatched against that kingdom, but with the help of the New sith Empire they were now well on their way to victory, but at the moment that wasn't so important. On a normal planetary exploration within the Unknown Regions, Sakoria and her crew had discovered a 'new' planet.
It was new to them at least since from their scans; the people below had never been visited by any extraterrestrial or galaxy wide government or anything of the like. It was completely off the major and minor hyperspace lanes. It was by pure luck that the gravity field around the moon had pulled their ship from hyperspace and not over the planet itself.
That would be a disaster that she wasn't planned or ready to explain to not only the people living on the planet, but the Emperor himself. Gulping a little, she hoped that her team that she had sent in cloaked to the planet's surface wouldn't be found out and they would arrive before the Emperor contacted her.
"Captain, ma'am, we have just detected Jumper 6 returning to the hanger and the Emperor is waiting for you as well," A controller said as Sakoria nodded,
"Good. Have the team report immediately to the war room when they arrive."
"Yes, ma'am," The controller said as Sakoria turned and then left the bridge, entering the war room that was located right behind the bridge. On the holo-protector was the Emperor with his arms crossed with his full Sith Armor on.
"Emperor Phantasm, I have happy to report that we have found another planet that is unknown to any other planet…"
"Does that mean they haven't encountered another race from the stars?" Danny asked with some annoyance in his voice.
"Forgive me if I am digging into your personal time or are interrupting your study."
"There is nothing I have to do that I cannot do with copies or at a later time, Captain. Remember that the people of the Empire will always take priority over everything else and don't ever ask forgiveness when none is needed." Danny said in a harsh, strict, but warm voice as Sakoria nodded.
"However you are right, my Emperor, this planet and its inhabitants haven't been visited by aliens before." She said as Danny frowned at that.
Suddenly the door behind them opened as three armored troops walked, one of them was holding a strange device in his arms and the other holding a crate.
"Captain, ma'am,"
"Chum, Violet, Cam, what do you have to report?" The Emperor asked immediately turning to face the three who had face-faulted when he said that.
"How in the world can he tell who we are without us taking off our helmets?" Cam asked removing his to show his brown eyes and short brown hair.
"Got me," Chum said showing his black hair that was neatly arranged, with a large portion flushed back and slightly to his left, featuring different layers where the sloping changes direction.
"For some reason I don't think I want to know," Violet said removing her mask to reveal her long red hair and black eyes. The Emperor just chuckled and then gestured for the three to report.
"Right, well, this world is about the same as Earth in terms of technology, but there is a major difference."
"This world is completely serious about a card gave called Duel Monsters, enough to have a Pro League and several schools meant solely to train duelists. Being a duelist is like being a celebrity on this world." Chum said with a look that said that he couldn't believe it.
"Excuse me?" Sakoria asked.
"Chum is right, Captain. The world is solely controlled by the duel giants and all of them care about Duel Monsters, a game mind you is only a few years old."
"I find it difficult to believe that a simple card game has an entire world involved in it and that there are actual schools solely meant for training duelists. Can you tell us anything about this Duel Monsters?" The Emperor asked.
"Of course, they were created by someone called Maximillion Pegasus. He based the card designs on ancient Egyptian carvings and hieroglyphs that he found and is the CEO of Industrial Illusions, the company that makes Duel Monsters and publishes Dungeon Dice Monsters worldwide. He was the top duelist in the world until he was defeated in his own tournament by a boy named Yugi Mutou, who at the moment is the strongest and top duelist. After Industrial Illusions is the Kaiba Corporation which is a corporate entity specializing in the entertainment and gaming industry, more specifically aimed at creating technologies centered on the Duel Monsters game. The company's most-prized product is the Duel Disk, a dueling system which gives the card-based Duel Monsters game a holographic interface. To show this we were able to buy one of these Duel disks as they are called." Cam said as he activated the Duel Disk and placed it on his forearm.
"How exactly were you able to buy them?" Sakoria asked.
"Money makes the world go around and not just on our planet," Violet said as the Emperor and Sakoria shook their heads at that.
"That wouldn't really surprise me, or at least it shouldn't. Please continue,"
"Alright, if I remember this correctly,"
"Please remember correctly." Violet said as Cam sweat-faulted.
"I summon the monster card 'Axe Raider' in attack mode," Cam said as he set the monster on the duel disk and immediately the monster on the card appeared in the war room as a three dimensional hologram.
"Impressive for a race of humans to create such an advance technology and in different colors while we are forced to use Blue, red or a single color only." Sakoria said as the Emperor continued,
"If we could get a treaty with the people there we could get access to that technology, but please remember that these people have not been visited by aliens or anything of the like. I know that getting this sort of technology would be important for us, but I do not think we would have anything they would want."
"I am not sure about that, my Emperor. While on the planet we were able to get several different cards and booster packs from the few card shacks as well as some videos of previous duels that happened on the planet. Perhaps they have the key," Chum said as the Emperor nodded to one of the controllers who took the first tape and popped it into the video player that Danny had decided all ships will have since the possibility of finding an advanced race in the Unknown Regions was very small. As the group continued to watch the duels, Danny's interest continued to peak.
"Now I am intrigued, but still we can't just land on the planet. That would cause mass hysteria, Captain. We must wait for an opportunity to present itself for us to reveal ourselves to them." Danny said.
"Agreed, Emperor, but I will be looking over the cards my team got and might head down myself in the near future." Sakoria said softly, but excitedly, lightly bouncing on her toes.
"Uh…Captain, you're bouncing again. Can you at least try to act like a Captain and not a little girl," Cam said only to be slapped by Violet and fell to the floor with a thud.
"Ow," He moaned as the Emperor shook his head.
"Sorry about that, Emperor. You know how excited I get about things like this," The Emperor sighed,
"What about these schools you have mentioned about duelists?"
"Oh, yes, it would seem there exists an entire educational system with elementary, Jr. High and high school system with five different academies at the end of it. They are dedicated schools that train duelists to a professional level so they can ideally enter the Pro league. Duel Academy has four main subsidiaries: North Academy, South Academy, East Academy and West Academy, with Duel Academy itself sometimes called Central Academy which is owned by Seto Kaiba. That Academy is located on an island with a dock for boats, a volcano, beach and a lake, cliffs and waterfalls."
"And we care why?" Sakoria asked.
"Look underneath the underneath, Captain. Violet, finish your report," The Emperor said as Violet said.
"Captain, the reason we care is that several of their students have vanished over the years with no apparent reason. The rumors say that the students in that dorm were experimenting with the Shadow Games and the Shadow Realm itself, and paid price. Several of those duels we showed you were actually in the Shadow Realm, ma'am," That immediately caused the Emperor's eyes to go wide.
"I am researching the Shadow Realm at the moment, because I believe I found one of the masks of the Oni, the Shadowkhan. If this world has any connection to that Realm I want to know it immediately."
"Of course, my Emperor," Captain Sakoria said as the Emperor turned to the others.
"I'll send another team to the planet's surface with orders to research the history of the planet and will send you anything they find."
"Thank you, Captain, but the war for the freedom of your system still rages. Are you sure you want to become this planet's defender. We do not have many resources to spread at the moment, especially that of the living kind. Our droid supplies are still high, but our recruitment into the Imperial Army is still well below acceptable." The Emperor said with a hiss that was recognized as annoyance and disappointment which the troopers nodded to agree with him.
Captain Sakoria closed her eyes when the Emperor had asked that question since it had hit home very hard. She had joined the rising New sith Empire to free her home and people from the tyrant that controlled it. She was only on this mission to see if there were any hidden allies or enemies that the tyrant didn't know about or were allied with, respectfully.
She wasn't on the mission to find an undeveloped planet that wouldn't help in the war. Yet she couldn't just King Sao'awa and his forces to find it, they wouldn't be as understandable and merciful as they were since it wasn't just the New sith Empire that was looking in the stars for allies in their war. On the other hand, by just finding this planet, Sakoria and her people might have placed them in Sao'awa's sight. To just leave would allow that tyrant access to those people, people that would be captured, killed and forced into slavery.
Then she remembered what the Emperor said some time ago 'Those in leadership positions are forced to pick a side, a decision. That decision is not between good and evil, it is the lesser of two evils that he picks for both will have their advantages and their disadvantages. Good and Evil will always exists to keep the balance, but we must do what we can to make sure darkness doesn't spread or put people at a disadvantage. If we have the power and ability, we will defend all those who don't have the strength, the options, and the abilities to defend themselves as we can. No decision can be taken at face value, even the simplest.'
The Emperor nodded approval when he sensed that Sakoria had remembered what he had said for he himself wasn't sure about what to do with this planet. With their war with Sao'awa entering a critical position, they couldn't take too many risks nor could they allow that king to get more power or planets under his command. It was a difficult decision.
"My Emperor, I'll have to think about this with the others and my crew. I can't really make that sort of decision without their decision with it. It helps that for now we are not needed at HQ and I can inform them about what we found and get an extension."
"I'll agree with it. However, if the battles still raging turn against us, I might have to recall you and your ships to the front lines at a moment's notice so make the decision correctly, but quickly if you can, Sakoria. Emperor Phantasm, over and out," With that the hologram shut down and Sakoria sighed and turned to her team who was looking through the cards they had gathered on the planet. Shaking her head slight, Sakoria started to leave until a hand stopped her.
"Captain, if you want some help, how about we have a duel?" The owner asked.
"Chum, did you get drunk or hit your head down on the planet?" Sakoria asked as Chum face-faulted.
"He just got interested in the card game, you know how much of a nerd he is," Violet said.
"Look who's talking? You have an entire deck already" Cam said as a tick mark appeared on Violet's forehead
"Why you!?"
Sakoria chuckled at that, but the out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the cards that were poking out of the crate.
"Hmm, well, well, what is this?" She asked as she started to look into the crate. Chum smirked at that knowing that once Sakoria dueled she would have a better understanding of the people on the planet or at the very least have some fun in between the serious moments that seem to plague those in command.
"Well, well, isn't this surprising. An entire series of female warriors," She said with a smirk that didn't look so nice, especially to the ones who were facing that smile.
"Oh, no," Chum moaned out knowing that he and his machine deck were going to be in a world of hurt. Violet smiled at that smile on her captain's face. No matter what deck she picked and built, it would be nothing against her Burn Deck.
Cam just stayed out of this for once in his face knowing that his deck still need some work before it was ready for combat.
"Well, give me some time to look over the rules of this card game while Violet finds us a place to duel on the ship since I have no clue how big of an area we would need for it, and from what I saw in the videos you showed us…we might have to head back down to the planet at worst"
"Right away, ma'am," Violet said as she and Cam left with the crate while Chum gave Sakoria a copy of the Duel Monsters Rule book and then left, leaving the smirking Captain to her deck.