Chapter Seven – Discussions of Chaos
True to his promise, the Purple Knight had remained vigilant throughout the night. Yugi's mind teemed with questions upon awakening, and he turned to his remaining companion to answer them.
"I won't speak of anything about my Lord Yami or my past," the Purple Knight warned. Contradicting his warning of being unhelpful, the knight opened shadow-chests Yugi hadn't even realized were there and pulled together a breakfast for him. Yugi accepted the plate of food and the mug containing some steaming beverage gratefully.
"No, I understand. I won't ask anything about that," Yugi replied. "That – thing – in the forest yesterday – you said it was a Shade? And it said it was spying for the Lord Dragon of Blackness and Chaos? What is a Shade? Why is it interested in me?"
"A Shade is what is left of a Shadow once it has been turned to become one of Chaos' minions. Most of them are Cold Shadows that escaped the Citadel, or failed to return from an errand..."
"Errand?" Yugi asked. It seemed rude to eat when his companion had nothing, so holding the plate and mug had become sort of awkward. As if sensing his dilemma, the Purple Knight reached forward and took the plate from his hand.
"Drink. At least taste it. If you don't like it, I'm sure I can find something else." Yugi hesitated again. "Yugi," The visor lowered, as if the knight were pinning him with a stern glance. "I don't eat, so watching you eat will not bother me. What will bother me is if you faint from lack of food and I must carry you."
Yugi gulped at the image that produced, and took a hasty sip from his mug. Coffee! He hadn't had coffee since leaving home, the Water Sage had served him tea, and the taste was a welcome delight across his tongue. The Purple Knight chuckled as Yugi drained the mug in quick order.
"Coffee is to your liking, then," the Purple Knight said. He traded Yugi the plate for the empty mug and filled it again. Yugi wondered about the nature of the food. If it were the stuff of shadows, how good could it be for him? Still, the coffee seemed to sharpen his focus, even if it were shadow-coffee, and the food on his plate, even if it were merely shadows, satisfied the gaping hole where he stomach was supposed to be.
Now, patiently holding the refilled coffee mug until Yugi wanted it again, the Purple Knight continued his explanation. "Even before gaining the Gloomblade, my Lord Yami held some control over the Cold Shadows themselves, even if not over the Well that spawned them. Cold Shadows serve a purpose in the world, but they are very dark, and need a strong hand to control them."
"What sort of purpose could they serve?" Yugi mused aloud.
"Humans need monsters to vie again, and compare themselves to. Humans don't like nightmares, phobias, and darkness – but they need them. Shadows, and, when necessary, Cold Shadows, serve as the things that go bump in the night, that humans need to bring out their best qualities. Yami, as Lord of Shadows, helps to keep a level of darkness in the world, so that humans have something to be heroic about."
"So Yami is the Lord of Nightmares, and of Darkness, along with being the Lord of Shadows?" Yugi shivered. He traded his empty plate for the full mug, and sipped at the hot coffee.
"Not all nightmares, and not all darkness. Some darkness is already within the human heart. But, as people become more and more adept at sublimating it, they tend to forget it even exists. Darkness unnoticed can fester, and then erupt into full-blown evil – that is the sort of Darkness that becomes the Blackness the Lord Dragon of Chaos seeks to spread. We Shadows, under the control and command of a Shadow Lord who understands this, help humans to confront and master that darkness within, so that it never becomes true evil."
Yugi considered. And, on top of this, Yami had also had to battle the Cold Shadows night after night to prevent them from breaking loose entirely from the citadel, and his control. No wonder he had such a grim sort of air about him.
"Wow. So many things I never knew. How many know of this?"
"Very few. Yami, myself, perhaps a few of the more intelligent of his Shadows. The Water Sage knows, but I doubt the other two Kindly Lords are aware of the full extent of Yami's duties as the Shadow Lord – just as we are not completely aware of what their duties are. The Lord Dragon of Blackness and Chaos surely knows, since it is creating Shades to unbalance Yami's work. Beware of them, Yugi. If you wander too close to one, it might take you and then..."
"Then?" Yugi whispered.
The Purple Knight shook his head. "Humans taken by Shades become the worst of the monsters the Chaos Dragon rules. Everything of light, every ounce of compassion, and every impulse toward good is warped into its opposite. You are the Hero of legend, destined to defeat the Dragon of Blackness and Chaos. It would like nothing better than to prevent your foretold confrontation from ever taking place."
"What else can you tell me about – it?" Yugi stumbled a bit over the pronoun. He'd met the Lord Dragon of Chaos, and to him, he was no mere 'it'. Yugi wasn't sure if he should tell the Purple Knight or Yami that he'd already been approached by the Dragon of Chaos.
"It is very cunning, and personable. It flies above the Three Lands surrounded by many of its monsters – Shades, which you know about, and Drakors, which are warped versions of some of the Lord of Dragons' subjects, while Knaves scour the ground beneath the storms for anyone unfortunate to be out in the storm. Knaves are the corrupted Knights of the Lord of Warriors. We have been able to tell that some people are converted into Shades, if they are caught in a Chaos Storm, but others – perhaps they serve as sustenance for this army of blackness in some way for they are never seen, in any form, again."
Yugi stilled. So close. He'd been so close to becoming one of those unfortunate humans. Why? Why had the Chaos Dragon spared him? Was it because he wanted to toy with him longer? Was it because he was afraid that Yugi was the Hero and taking him then would have started some sort of mystical conflict he wasn't ready for yet? Yugi knew he wasn't ready for any conflict with the Chaos Dragon. Not yet. Not ever, if he could help it.
"What – what does it want?" Yugi whispered aloud.
"Just this: complete control over everything. To spread chaos across the entire land. To rule everything with caprice and darkness."
Yugi looked up. It hadn't been the Purple Knight answering his question, it had been Lord Yami. Suddenly, it seemed important to be completely honest.
"I – I met the Lord Dragon of Blackness and Chaos, once."
"WHAT?!" The surprised word rang in doubled tones since both Yami and the Purple Knight uttered it.
"Before – before I met the Water Sage, even." Yugi scrunched his eyes closed to avoid the accusing eyes facing him, and in an attempt to recall every detail of the memory. "I had been caught out in a Chaos Storm, and tried to hide under some bushes at the base of a tree. I had only ever read about the Storms before and never realized how horrible the sounds, much less the tortured faces in the sky, could be. It – he, greeted me, while I was trying to hide. I..." Yugi blushed at the memory. "I offered to move aside and make room for him to hide under the bushes, too, you see, I never looked up to see who it was, my eyes were closed, and it was so awful. I thought he was just another traveler caught on the road, and I wanted to – save him..."
Arms closed around him, and he was pulled back against a chest. Soft shadow-stuff cushioned his cheek, so Yugi knew it was Yami offering him comfort.
"Tell us what happened," Yami suggested softly.
"Nothing much to tell. I was scared out of my wits," Yugi admitted. "He asked me my name, I gave it to him, and he said we'd meet again, after I had, oh, how did he put it? 'Seasoned more to his tastes' or something like that. I think the Dragon wants to – to... eat me."
"Most assuredly metaphorically, Yugi. The Dragon Lord of Blackness and Chaos has no more need for food than I do," the Purple Knight stated. "It – he subsists upon the very chaos he creates."
Yugi pulled back from Yami's comforting embrace at that. "And fear is part of chaos, isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes. "That stupid...! He made me frightened just so he could taste...!"
"Probably," Yami agreed. He gave Yugi another quick squeeze, then let him go. "But, you are the first human I've ever heard of who confronted the Chaos Dragon and lived to tell the tale. Don't get too upset that you felt an entirely natural fear during the encounter."
"I suppose." Yugi sighed. He grumbled mentally at his own memory of the incident. He then shot a wondering look at Yami. He seemed – softer today, somehow. Perhaps unburdening himself even a little about what happened between him and his friend helped somehow.
"How did you sleep, my lord?" It seemed as if the Purple Knight sensed it, too.
"Like a – like a human, throughout the night without interruption." There was a faint note of wonder in Yami's tone.
"It makes sense, my lord, now that the Cold Shadows are fully under your dominion. I have been telling Yugi a few things about Shades, and the other creatures twisted through the Chaos Lord's power. Please forgive me that I also mentioned how your power over Shadows is ultimately used to help humans challenge and master their own darkness."
"Only that?" Yami asked casually. The tenseness around his eyes betrayed him.
"There is no need for me to elaborate upon what we spoke of yester-eve."
Yami let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Right. The sun is up, and we will make it to the edge of the Dragon Lands before nightfall, if we leave now."
A thought struck Yugi. It was the thought that had been niggling at his mind when they left the citadel. "Yami, can't you just 'shadow-walk' to the Dragon Lands? You shadow-walked us from the Shadow Realm into your library, across two reality realms, right? Staying in one realm would be easier, wouldn't it?"
The Purple Knight turned toward Yami expectantly. Yugi wasn't sure, but he thought he sensed deep amusement from the towering knight as Yami replied.
"You are right, it is easier to shadow-walk in the same realm. But, the Dragon Lands are under the control of a fellow lord..."
"One inclined to not be so 'kindly' toward my Lord Yami," the Purple Knight finished.
"Hey!"
The Purple Knight bowed hastily. "No offense, my lord!"
Yugi thought there was still quite a way to go for these two friends to reforge their friendship with each other, but at least Yami wasn't torturing his friend with exile or assault by shadows.
"Lord Seto would not look too kindly upon me just popping up within the boundaries of his land without some sort of advance notice," Yami finally admitted. "He most likely won't be happy to see me at all..."
"Lord Yami thought to vie against Lord Seto for the position of Lord of Dragons before becoming the Lord of Shadows," the Purple Knight supplied.
"Oh, that's the 'history' between you!" Yugi exclaimed.
"The start of it, anyway," Yami muttered. "In any case," He glared at his knight, then turned his glare on Yugi. "it would be – wiser – to approach on foot. So we don't take the Lord of Dragons by surprise. He tends to keep himself on a hair-trigger."
"What is blacker than a dragon?" The Purple Knight muttered so that Yugi could hear. "A shadow, of course!" Yugi snickered at that, catching the Purple Knight's subtle allusion to pots calling kettles black. The more he learned of the Purple Knight, and the closer he got to Yami, the more he liked each of them. Even if he accomplished nothing more as the 'Hero' of legend, bringing these two friends back into better accord with each other was a feat he was satisfied with.
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Author's notes –
Next chapter teaser – Shadows on Ice