Hello, all! Here is the next chapter in the story.

I don't have much to say here, really. This chapter is shorter than some recent chapters, and I am sorry for that. I am also trying to write smaller sentences and paragraphs, so you don't get bogged down by reading large chunks.

As a side note, I hope you all had a Happy New Year, and have good plans for 2018.

Here are the Japanese-to-English Names for the chapter:

Ushio = Trudge
Rutger = Roman
Godwin = Goodwin
Aki = Akiza
Takuya = Taka
Jun = John
Micchan = Mitch

Onward to the Chapter.

I stumble on a loose rock on the rubble-filled path, and barely right myself. Ushio and Martha are several feet ahead of me, now. I can hear their breaths as I get closer and closer to them. The buildings around me are no distraction to my current goal. The giant purple spider in the sky is a beacon to that goal.

Those children need my help. I will do what I can to keep them safe against the Dark Signers.

[Think this through. The transmitters you are carrying could get additional help for your goals.]

'There's no time for that. Lives are in danger, and I need to help them.'

[Your reasoning is not the most logical action you could take here. Additional agents are needed to fully—]

'SHUT UP! I know what I am doing!'

My implant doesn't respond back. I probably shouldn't have thought that, but it's too late to change it. Besides, I should be fine, if I don't directly get in the way of the Dark Signers.

As I turn a corner behind the pair, I catch Ushio's eye as he looks behind himself. He doesn't react, but I am sure he sees me: I am only a few feet behind him by now. If he didn't hear my words back at the orphanage, he now knows I am here.

I stay behind the adults as we move past the ruined carcass of what probably used to be a car. We pass another corner to turn onto another street. Ushio and Martha stop in their tracks, and I dig my boots into the ground to not collide into them. Then, I look where they are looking.

A wall of purple fire, several stories high, cuts through the street in front of us. Two separate buildings, one on either side of the street, are sliced in two by the wall. Despite this, the two structures have not collapsed yet. It's momentarily amazing, but my amazement goes away when I remember this is like when I Dueled the possessed Elizabeth Palus.

No, this isn't like that. It's worse.

"This is—! Ah, I see," Ushio states to himself, and us. "So, this is the flaming geoglyph that Yusei and the others were talking about."

"The children!" Martha quickly asks as she takes a few steps closer to the wall. "Where are they?"

I slide past Ushio, and then Martha, to approach the wall. The air grows hotter with each step I take. It gets unbearably hot several feet before the wall. I go no further when I feel my skin start to burn.

"I can't see through it," I say to the adults as I squint my eyes. "We need to get to higher ground."

Ushio asks, "How about through here?" a few seconds later. I turn around and see him point to an open doorway of another ruined building on the road's right side. This one is adjacent to the one split by the fire wall. It's as good as any option right now, especially since it is close to the flames. Martha and I stick behind Ushio as we go inside.

We get to the building's second floor without a problem. We take the first door we come to, and enter a large room. An upturned desk is to one side of the area; all the windows are shattered to bits. A few shards of glass crunch under my boots as I move to one window and look outside.

Yusei and Rutger stand in the center of the flames, on a relatively flat area of ground. Their Duel has already begun. Rutger has a large altar behind him, with one of four torches lit up. The altar corresponds to a revealed Trap on his field. I am too far away to read the effect, and the wall of fire blocks my metal eye from scanning it closer.

Yusei has a Defense Mode warrior on his field. A large spider web extends out from the Dueling field's center to the surrounding flames. Yusei's Monster is bound in these webs. Is the web part of a Field Spell, or an effect Rutger conjured because of his Mark of the Spider?

Aki stands close by Yusei. She looks tense as she observes the field. Hopefully, my arrival won't make her feel any worse. I don't feel anything special from my false Signer mark when I see her, but I'm not going to take any chances. Besides, I don't want to draw a real Dark Signer's attention.

Martha lets out a worried, "Yusei?" at the sight of the Satellite. She then looks down and exclaims, "Oh, no! The boys!"

I look down. Two of the boys from the orphanage are close by Yusei. A circle of flames surrounds them, no way in or out.

"This is bad," Ushio states. "Those two are inside the geoglyph!"

"Martha! Ushio-san! Epsilon!"

Aki calls out to each of us. She says my real name, which is quite surprising. Does this mean she's forgotten about our past?

"An Earthbound God is about to be summoned!" Aki explains. "If that happens, those children will be sacrificed!"

"Wait," Ushio repeats, "'Sacrificed'?!"

"No way!" Martha states. She then turns to Yusei with a strong glare.

"Yusei!" she calls to the Satellite Duelist. "Stop playing around and save those children!"

Yusei turns to her, and nods with a determined expression. I make eye contact with him for a moment, but he doesn't react. Did he know I would be coming? Does he think I will be safe here, since I'm not a true Signer?

"My turn!" Rutger calls out as he draws a card to his hand. He then points to Yusei's only Monster as he declares, "There is one defending monster on the field!"

A second torch on the altar lights up at Rutger's words. Two more torches are dark, but I doubt it will be that way for long.

"You've used your bag of tricks quite well to hold out this far," the Dark Signer comments as he looks over his hand, "but that ends right here."

'Bag of tricks'? How long have these two been Dueling before we got here?

"Trap Card, open!" Rutger shouts with a wave of his arm. "I activate Offering to the Bound God. By paying half my Life Points, this places two 'Earthbound God Counters' on my altar."

Yusei tenses up as he shouts, "What did you say?!"

"No!" Aki adds in as she raises a hand close to her face. "After he came this far, too!"

'Came this far'? I must have missed a lot of this Duel for her to say that. But, that doesn't matter so much right now.

"Now," Rutger declares with a wild grin, "I have four 'Earthbound God Counters'!"

Cracks appear on the altar's stone surface; purple light shines through the cracks as they grow and spread. Then, the entire altar explodes. A column of purple light launches to the Spider Mark in the sky. The column quickly fades, and a giant metal heart hangs in the air. The heart begins to expand, and contract, like a human heart.

The black mist that hangs around the field flies towards the heart as it pumps in and out. The heart absorbs the mist into itself like it is breathing the air in. It expels the energy as purple flashes across the lines in its body.

Yusei understands the situation quicker than I do when he shouts out, "The mist!"

"Yes," Rutger explains above the steady throbs, "the mist contains the souls of Satellite's people. I sacrifice these souls to my God!"

"Oh, no!" Aki looks at the two boys as their cries grow louder. Their bodies glow purple, and something starts to rise from them into the air. I squint my eyes to try and get a better look at it.

I then clutch my throat with one hand. The other joins it as I realize I can't breathe. Some kind of pressure, or force, blocks me from breathing normally. My chest quickly starts to burn with excess carbon dioxide. I stand behind Ushio and Martha, and their eyes are on the boys outside. I try to say something, warn them of what's happening, but no sound comes out.

My right arm burns as harshly as my chest. I glance at it and see my false Signer Mark glow brightly. Red vines spread from it, and along my arm. The vines remind me of Hivemind – and Apex – because they look organic, and yet unnatural. Having them on my body is not a good sign.

"Jun!" Martha yells to the boys. "Micchan!"

('Can't get a word out!' I think as I the burning in my chest spreads to my arms.'Someone, help!'

The roar of engines reach my ears. A white-colored D-Wheel ramps over the flames. It sports a familiar single-wheel design, and the rider's white outfit quickly explains who it is: Jack Atlas.

The former King of Riding Duels shouts out, "Your 'Earthbound Gods aren't so great!" as he flies without wings.

"Jack!" Ushio shouts. I don't know whether he is angry, or confused, by the Duelist's arrival.

"Jack, please!" Martha shouts to him. "The children!"

"Don't worry about it!" he responds as his D-Wheel starts to fall towards the towering flames. "Jack Atlas always protects the people who cheer him on!"

The vehicle comes down on the wall… and breaks right through it. Amazingly, the vehicle and its rider don't catch fire from the intense heat. Even more amazing, Jack lands his ride safely on the ground. He quickly gets off and races to the boys. They shiver violently as purple silhouettes start to rise from their bodies.

Jack kneels behind the boys and pulls them towards him. A red light glows, and then spreads into a bubble around the three. The silhouettes return to their bodies. A second later, the boys start to move normally again. If I could sigh in relief, I would.

Martha's breathless, "Jack, thank you!" echoes my own thoughts on his actions.

"Dang," Ushio adds, "that was close. Had me worried for a moment." He then turns around, and finally notices my predicament.

"Woah, Epsilon!" he shouts, which gets Martha's attention as well. "Are you alright!?"

"Your arm!" Martha adds, "What's wrong with it?"

I shake my head at their questions, and point a finger at what's going on outside the window. What's out there is more important, but I can't say that to them. Nevertheless, they realize what I am trying to tell them, and turn to look at the Duel outside.

"What a farce!" Rutger shouts from outside. "Descend, my God! Earthbound God, Uru!"

The heart's purple light spreads out to the flames. The ground buckles and breaks as a gargantuan form breaks through the planet's crust. It rises into the air, higher and higher, taller than any of the buildings around here. Once it stops rising, It quickly takes the shape of a spider. A spider with a midnight-black body, and dark-red lines and orbs along its massive frame.

Eight glowing red eyes rest on its face, each one the size of a small star. Eight legs slam into the ground as the spider twists its body free from any confines. Twin pincers open and close with loud snaps of air. The creature hisses, or maybe roars, like hundreds, thousands of people crying out in terror all at once.

'An Earthbound God...' Just looking at it terrifies me. Dueling against it must be a whole lot worse.

"Yusei!" Jack calls to the Duelist who is doing just that, "Hurry up and crush this Dark Signer!"

"How naïve!" Rutger taunts. "You think you can stand up to an Earthbound God? They stand above everything else; just like the ultimate energy, Momentum!"

"Momentum?" Yusei repeats. "What are you saying?"

"It's quite funny, actually," Rutger states without answering Yusei's question. "The person I am Dueling in this five-thousand-year battle is none other than Dr. Fudo's son!"

'Dr. Fudo? That sounds like Yusei's father. Of course, it's just the name, but…'

"Dr. Fudo? You know about my father?"

'Well, that confirms it.'

"Know?!" Rutger shouts the word back at Yusei like it is an insult. "I was in the Momentum Development section that he spearheaded seventeen years ago: the M.I.D.S. team. In fact, I was his assistant!"

"Assistant?" Yusei parrots back.

'The M.I.D.S team? The 'Moment Investigation and Development Section'? But, that's the same team the Superiors were on, before Zero Reverse happened!'

"Yes, and there was one other assistant… my brother, Rex Godwin!"

I manage a gasp as I stare at Rutger in disbelief. Everyone else I can see does the exact same thing. It sounds impossible that the Dark Signers worked alongside the Collective… but some sliver of my conscious wants to know more about it.

[Listen closely.] my guidance implant suddenly advises, after being silent for so long. [This could be potential evidence that the Dark Signers are linked to the Collective.]

"One last thing," the Dark Signer continues. "Dr. Fudo eventually chose to stop progress on the Momentum Project. He judged the negative energy caused by the device's rotations were too dangerous to allow further tests. But, the Neo Domino City officials and sponsors wanted it done, at any cost. They handed control of the project to me…"

He pauses to give a sinister grin.

"…and then Zero Reverse happened."

Yusei tenses up as he quickly asks a question Rutger's words imply as true: "Did you intentionally set off that explosion?"

"Who knows?" Rutger ends his response with a sinister laugh. So, it must be true. That's just diabolical!

[It is also a serious development. The Dark Signers were probably influenced by the same negative energy that the Superiors were. But, they embraced a different vision for the world's future.]

"Answer me!" Yusei demands with a raised fist. "Why would you do that!? What the hell happened between you, Godwin, and my old man!?"

"You don't have enough time to hear the answer." Rutger states. "Earthbound God, Uru!"

The massive spider-god hisses as it looks down at Yusei's field. The Fortune Cup Champion looks like a small bug before this beast, ready to be squashed.

"Attack Yusei directly," Rutger commands, "and destroy him!"

Yusei braces himself as Uru opens its massive pincers apart. When Rutger shouts, "Hell Thread!" Uru spits out a long stream of webbing from its mouth. The stream flies at Yusei like a missile; the impact will certainly kill him.

"Trap Card, Open!" Yusei shouts before the webbing hits him. "Iron Resolve!"

The card flips up and causes a white bubble to appear around Yusei, like Jack's Signer bubble.

"By paying half my Life Points," Yusei explains, "this reduces the Battle Damage to zero and ends the Battle Phase!"

Uru's attack bounces right off the bubble, and then impacts the distant fire wall. It splits into multiple strands that impact the ground nearby. The ground shakes from the strands impacts, which spreads up to the building I stand in.

"I Set one card," Rutger states, "and end my turn."

As Rutger does those actions, our building quakes even more. The attack is over, but the aftershocks continue. Martha gasps as she loses her balance amidst the shudders.

Ushio shouts out, "Martha!" as he reaches for the caretaker. He grabs her arm with his hand. His other hand holds his body against the doorway. He manages to stay in place, and Martha does not fall to the ground.

I scrabble my feet against the floor to try and stay upright. I take my hands off my throat, and wave them in the air, to keep my balance. The burning in my chest fades, but a general ache across my body replaces it.

Martha lets out a quick, "Thank you!" at Ushio's maneuvers. I try to breathe normally through my nose, and succeed. My mark still glows, and the vines on my arm still pulse and throb.

A new voice cries out from above us. Ushio stiffens up as he hears it.

"That voice—!" His eyes widen as he realizes who it is: "Takuya!"

"Roof!" I manage to croak out. "The roof!"

Ushio storms off, with Martha in tow. I stumble behind them as best I can. The stairs to the roof are broken in several places. Even so, I manage to get up there a few seconds after the adults do. I hear their shocked gasps at what they see. Once I get to them, I see what has them so scared.

A blue-haired boy – Takuya – rests against the edge of the rooftop. He looks at us with a scared expression, no doubt afraid of all the things going on around him.

"Martha!" he calls out, addressing each of us in turn. "Mister Ushio! Netrunner!"

"No way…!" Ushio growls out at Takuya's situation. His anger worries me, especially since it is for an orphan in Satellite. Ushio hates the people in Satellite, right? That's what I last remember.

Has Ushio's attitude changed since I worked with him in the kitchen? If that's true, is he going to do something reckless to help this kid?

Martha then says, "I'm coming, Takuya!" To my surprise, she starts to walk along the slanted rooftop towards the boy. I wasn't expecting her to be reckless like this. What is she thinking?!

"Martha!" Ushio yells out. My throat is still locked up, so I can't call out to her as well. I can only watch as she keeps low to the ground. She gets closer and closer to Takuya as Uru hisses in the background. To my great relief, she makes it to him.

She exclaims, "Takuya!" as she hugs him tightly. Her smile spreads to Takuya as the two share a moment together.

"I'm sorry, Martha," I hear Takuya say against the roaring flames and distant rumbles of breaking ground. "I just wanted to help everyone."

"It's fine!" Martha replies with a wide smile. "You need to be this brave if you want to join Security."

"Martha! Takuya!" Ushio calls out louder as he extends one hand towards her and Takuya. "Take our hands!"

I extend my left hand out as best I can; it doesn't get as far as Ushio's does. I hold the side of the doorway with my right hand, even as that hand and arm ache with pain. Martha helps Takuya crawl across the rooftop towards us. They stay together as the building continues to shake. I don't think we have much time before the whole think collapses.

'Move faster, you two!'

"Alright, Takuya," Martha tells the boy as they get within several feet of us, "you go first."

Ushio, being the closer one to Takuya, reaches out to grab him. He grunts, "Got him." when he gets Takuya into his arms. I move around him, and Takuya, to grab Martha. Before I get to her, the building shakes wildly. Martha falls back as she digs her fingers into the roof's stone surface.

"Martha!" Ushio exclaims as he sees the orphanage's owner tumble over. Another few seconds, and she'll fall to her death.

I manage to shout, "I'll get her!" as I slide past Ushio and Takuya. "Take my hand, Martha!"

I spin against the wall to move a bit closer to Martha. I push my back against the wall, and hold a crook in the stone with my left hand. My mark continues glowing, but the eye's pupil is extremely dilated. The vines start to climb up my arm, too. I don't want to touch Martha like this – she might get infected!

No, that's not possible. This stuff is from my false Signer mark, not a real disease. She won't feel anything strange if I touch her. I need to help her!

I strain my hand out even further, and Martha reaches out as well. My fingers almost touch hers; just a little… bit… further!

The roof buckles. To my horror, Martha slides right back to the roof's edge.

'No! I had her! I had her!'

Martha gets up as I try to reach for her again. I can't get over to her while holding on to the wall. But, letting go will put me in as much danger as her. If she falls, I will fall with her. My efforts will have been for nothing.

Martha looks at me, or maybe Ushio. I can't tell for sure – the pain from my mark makes my eyes tear up. Even with that, I clearly see her give a strange smile, and shake her head. Is she… giving up!?

"No!" Ushio shouts to her. "Don't give up!"

"Martha, please!" I plead to her. "Take my hand!"

"Take care of Takuya, Ushio-san," she asks the officer while holding on as best she can. "You're his hero, after all!"

"Hero, my foot! I…" Ushio pauses, but I don't have time to turn around before he continues with a choked, "I've insulted the people of Satellite so much!"

So, it's true. Ushio does care about people from Satellite. What did Martha do to him while making dinner?

No, don't lose focus!

"Martha!" Yusei yells. His voice sounds so far away against the roar in my ears, and the pain across my body. Martha manages to turn her head towards them, still with that strange smile.

"Yusei, Jack. You two were such good boys. You two will rebuild the bridge between Satellite and Neo Domino, I'm sure of it!"

She looks back to me, closes her eyes, and lets go of the roof. Her body instantly starts to slide off the edge.

I scream out, "No!" as I let go of my last bit of safety. I charge across the slanted roof with the words, "I won't let you die!"

I manage to grab her arm just before it slips over the edge. I dig my feet into the rooftop, try to keep her up here, keep her safe. If she falls over, she dies. I cannot let that happen. Someone like her, like Aimi, like Takuya – everyone in Satellite, actually – does not deserve this fate.

My guidance implant's words were right; everyone deserves their chance for freedom. I will give Martha her chance!

Crack!

My heart leaps in my chest as I lose my footing. I stumble, and let Martha go.

I scream out. "Martha!" as she falls beyond my reach. I start to fall over the edge, too. My mind splits between seeing Martha fall, and realizing I am about to join her if I don't do something. The latter part wins over in an instant.

I spin to face the roof and raise my hands up. Just like Martha did, I dig my hands and feet into whatever solid surface I can touch. My hands find some cracks as my legs dangle uselessly in midair. The digits lance pain through my body as they bear my entire body weight.

'It hurts! It hurts! I have to…!'

I try to push myself back on the roof, but I hurt too much. I fall back against the roof, and almost lose my grip. I only have seconds left to do something before I take the same path as Martha.

I look down. Martha's body is now a purple orb that quickly flies into Uru's mouth. It sparkles once, and then vanishes. My stomach twists as Uru's pincers snap shut; it just eats her soul.

My disgust quickly turns to a fear-grown determination. A desire to say something important swells inside me. Some of this feeling comes from the pain of my Mark, and some from the fear that I am about to die.

I call out, "Everyone!" and everyone I can see looks up at me.

"Epsilon!" Ushio calls out. "Hang on! I'll help you up!"

I quickly yell back, "No, stay there! You need to live."

Ushio pauses at my words. I look back at Yusei, Jack and Aki as I say in a louder voice, "You all need to live, to fight! Fight the Dark Signers! It's your destiny!"

Aki takes a step towards me, while Yusei and Jack tense up without moving. Rutger just laughs at me; his voice only adds to my pain.

"The False Signer gives his last gasp!" he mocks. "This is truly delightful!"

"You…!" I glare at Rutger as my anger takes hold. "The Signers will destroy you, and your Gods! The Crimson Dragon will win!"

My arms go numb at those final words. I feel my fingers let go, and I don't have the strength to grab for another handhold. I fall over the edge, purple fire and a hard landing waiting three stories below me.

Someone screams my real name as I fall. Yusei, Jack, Aki, Ushio, I don't know who. The vines along my arm suddenly grow like tree roots along my body. They come to my face as I lazily spin around to face the Signers, Light and Dark alike.

The vines envelop my eyes as the flames start to burn my skin. Darkness comes a moment later. I feel my body rise and fly somewhere. Something swallows me, and I tumble into a deeper darkness. I fall head over heels, over and over, for what feels like forever.

Something eventually holds me in place. It sticks to my back, and then wraps around my chest once I stop falling. Thick, smelly strands hold me tight, the scent enough to make me gag. I struggle against the strands, and they just tighten even harder.

It suddenly hits me what this stuff is; webbing. Spider webbing. Which means I must be inside that spider-god, Uru. That thing ate me like it ate Martha. That thought fills me with disgust, but also a small hope. If I am here, and I'm still alive, Martha might be still alive in here.

I listen to any sounds around me. I hear a dull throb, like a heartbeat, and a steady drip-drip-drip from somewhere far away. I can't see anything through the darkness, even when my eyes adjust to a lack of light. The strands are a dull white that easily blends with the shadows at a far distance. Nothing else is near me. IF Martha is in this place, she must be somewhere beyond my sight.

The strands around me bend slightly. Something walks along them towards me. When it stops, a strange voice whispers, "We've been waiting for you, False Signer."

Sharp claws slice through the webbing. Strong hands pick me up and toss me through the air. I land hard on another patch of webbing, and stick to it. I pull myself up, but the strands hold me back. They are stronger than me right now.

I stop as the strands near me bend down again. Something walks towards me along two separate strands that join together near my body.

"Don't resist us," the voice demands. "It will be easier that way."

A shade floats onto the webbing. Its body flickers orange against its black base, its eyes the same color. It walks on the webbing without getting stuck. It also doesn't have actual feet, just spiked ends that dig into the strands, and back out again. It does have human-like arms, but the fingers are unnaturally sharp.

"Who are you?" I ask the shade, my voice muted to my ears. "Where are we?"

"We stand inside Uru, the Earthbound God," the shade replies with a crackling female tone. "The shadows around us are its essence. We have been placed here by our masters to show you what the world is destined to become."

"Masters?" I frown as the situation quickly clicks together. "You mean the Dark Signers!"

The form's eyes change color, from orange to a sickly green. Then, a higher-pitched female voice speaks out: "Of course, idiot! Who else could achieve such lofty goals, such perfect desires? Who else wants a world made in their image?"

I take another look at this place. The strands of webbing hold countless balls in place, none of them close enough for me to see clearly. If something is inside each of them, it isn't moving around. It could be dead, but I block out that idea as soon as it pops in my head.

"Our masters know all about you." The shade's words draw my attention back to it. It tilts its head as it advances towards me. "They figured you would try to help the God's enemies. Your death will be worth the effort."

"What effort?" I ask as I tug against the strands that bind my arms and legs in place. "I'm not a real Signer!"

"We know. You aren't special enough for them. But, you are special to us. After all…"

The shade turns orange again, and the more mellow voice finishes the sentence: "... the Superiors only care about special people. Especially exploitable, that is."

My eyes widen. I look at the shade's face, or whatever replica it makes. Is this thing really…?

"Quetzal?"

The orange glow darkens as the shade gets within several feet of me.

My throat locks up as I ask, "Chaos Theory?"

The orange turns to green. The shade brings a clawed hand to my chest. She whispers, in both voices together, "Time to die, Epsilon."

She stabs me in the chest. Her hand goes through my body, through my insides. It feels cold, so very cold. But, it doesn't hurt. That makes the shade pause.

My mark flares to life. New energy surges inside me. I pull my right arm out from the webs, and the shade looks at it. I curl the arm into a fist, and punch it into her face. My attack connects, and she falls on all fours. Her hand goes out of my chest, and the cold vanishes with it.

I force the rest of my body free. I get to my feet, this new strength still inside me. I look at the shade as it springs upright, and I only feel sad. Two agents of the Collective have become this… creature, and they now want to kill me.

I don't want to hurt them, but I also don't want to die. Yet again, I must make a big decision. This time, there is no good outcome.

"You see?" Chaos Theory spits at me. "This is the 'effort' we spoke of. Once you are dead, the Collective will realize our master's logic is superior."

"You… the Collective won't do that!"

The shade leaps at me with bared claws. I raise my hands to block her strike, and grapple her hand-to-hand. Her touch is ice-cold, but this unnatural strength gives me enough heat to hold her back.

"Think about it, Epsilon!" Quetzal explains as she pushes against me. "The Superiors work with people who are homeless, scared, and lost. People with nowhere else to go, no one to help them, and no will to fight back. That's manipulation, at its core."

"No!" I deny as I push her back. She kicks me in the chest, and follows it up with a punch in the gut. I double over with raised arms, which blocks another strike from above. I charge forward to try and knock the shade over. I manage to flip her over my back as I barrel into her body. She feels very solid, despite being a shade.

"Everything about you was chosen by someone else," Chaos Theory explains as I whirl around to face her. "Godwin cloned you from a Psychic Duelist's corpse, to summon some ancient deity. The Superiors gave you upgrades, and took away from your humanity. The Arcadia Movement gave you control of your powers, but locked your freedom away. The Crimson Dragon keeps you alive, and puts the pressure of the world on your shoulders. You are a slave to them all!"

She leaps at me again. She swings from the right, and then the left. I block the first strike with my burning right arm, but the second delivers a cold punch to my chest. She presses her cold form against me as she tightly hugs me.

"Feel their grip, Epsilon: their control. This is your burden, your fate!"

I feel her squeeze me with enough force to break my bones. I cry out as everything hurts at once. It is only made worse by the fact her words are right. I am always being used by someone, for some purpose they want. No one cares about what I want; not the Superiors, not Godwin, not Divine, not even the Crimson Dragon.

"You want freedom, Epsilon! We see it inside you, and we can bring it out. All you must do is die, and then be reborn alongside the Dark Signers! We were given this freedom, and we want to share it with you!

Die? Is that all? Just give up, and let myself go, to get my freedom? Give up all my commitments, pain, secrets, friends?

Is it worth it? I don't know! I want to know!

The shade suddenly lets me go. I cough as my pain comes back in force. I see the shade look up through my tears, and I hear her whisper, "No. Not yet!"

White light then breaks through the shadows, incinerating most of the webbing around us instantly. The light grows into a beam, and then a cyclone. The shadows around it are ripped apart without a fight.

"This isn't over, False Signer!" Chaos Theory cries out. I look to her as the light barrels towards us. She points a clawed finger at me, clearly angry at this turn of events.

"We will be back," she continues. "We've sown the seeds of doubt in your heart. If you do not choose to die, we will destroy everything you care about to make you accept death!"

The light envelops us before I can respond. Quetzal and Chaos Theory both cry out as they turn into black smoke. Something pulls me away from this place, and then drops me somewhere away from the light. I fall through the air for a few seconds, blind to the world around me.

My body slams into water and rocks, and I black out.

Alright, that's all for now. What will Epsilon be facing next, in whatever new place he has been pulled to? How will the dark Quetzal and Chaos Theory destroy all Epsilon cares about? What about the great battle between Signers and Dark Signers? Stay tuned to find out!

As usual, any reviews, comments, constructive criticism, and feedback are well appreciated. I would especially like to know what you all think about this shorter-sentence writing style.

Draconos is taking off.