Chapter 6
Saphon was struggling to get up again, the snow felt so warm and comfortable under his skin, he wished for it to be a pillar, for himself to be in his bed and that everything that happened the last days was just a bad dream.
But this fantasy was torn apart soon: "Get up, bastard! I won't let the snow take my honor of defeating you." Toshs was sounding enraged, Saphon assumed that, if he wouldn't get up, he would come over and beat him up. So he got back on his cold and shivering feet and took a look onto the field.
Saphon:
1100 LP
Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora / Xyz / Rank 4 / LIGHT / Zombie-Type / 2500 ATK / 0 DEF / 1 Xyz Material
Cursed Twins / Effect / Level 4 / DARK / Zombie-Type / 1000 ATK / 1000 DEF
Cursed Twins / Effect / Level 4 / DARK / Zombie-Type / 1000 ATK / 1000 DEF
Spell/Trap Cards: none
Tosh:
4000 LP
Cold Hunter / Effect / Level 3 / WATER / Warrior-Type / 800 ATK / 600 DEF
Cold Enchanter / Effect / Level 4 / WATER / Aqua-Type / 1900 ATK / 1200 DEF
Spell/Trap Cards: Frozen Egg (face-up)/1 Ice Counter, Cold Grave (face-up)/Target: Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora
"Passing out again, or what? It is still your turn, bastard, although most likely your last." Tosh bluntly said. He must get tired of waiting for Saphon.
However, his opponent was still thinking over the dream he just had. Was it a dream, or was it just a memory? It felt to real for a dream, but also, it felt to unfamiliar to be a memory. Saphon never lived through this things. He was a Barian, ever since he could remember. But, what about the times he couldn't remember? 'It's not the right moment to think about such stuff.' he thought. Tosh was still having the upper hand in their duel, but Saphon had a card to change that. A back-up strategy, so to say.
"S-Spell Card, 'Dragons Mirror'!" Saphon said as fluently as he could, as he inserted the card into his D-Pad.
Tosh had a very questioning look on his face as he asked: "A Dragon-Type Fusion Monster in a Zombie-Type Deck? Sounds as desperate as you might be."
'He will see soon', Saphon thought. He might have been able to entomb his Number, but Saphon was sure, he couldn't pull of the same thing twice. As he pulled out another card from his Extra Deck and sent his two 'Cursed Twins' to the Graveyard, Tosh eyed him curiously, as he seemed to want to know what card Saphon thought could be a help for him right now.
As he placed the Fusion Monster on his D-Pad, he took all of his power to yell: "Arise! Dragon born from undead souls! 'Underworld Dragon Dragonecro'!" A huge serpent dragon emerged onto the field, having enormous black, bad-like wings and vicious claws. It growled threateningly to Tosh and then settled next to Saphons Number, which was still trapped in ice.
Underworld Dragon Dragonecro / Fusion / Level 8 / DARK / Dragon-Type / 3000 ATK / 0 DEF
Now, having his second boss Monster to his side, Saphon felt a bit more secure now. However, since he had already battled this turn, he had no choice but to end his turn. But he still set two cards face-down, one to protect Dragonecro from 'Cold Hunters' devastating effect and the other one as a back-up for his back-up.
"It's my turn then, bastard." Tosh said while he drew his card. "It's truly impressive. You managed to perform a comeback like that, after I entombed your Number in ice." He took a card from his card and added it into the Field Spell Card Zone of his D-Pad. "I activate 'Grey Glacier'. I hope you aren't to cold, because now, we are truly freezing this field."
The village around them vanished and the color of the snow turned from a chalk-white into an uncomfortable grey. When the field transformation was finished, the two were standing in a grey landscape, nothing but grey hills, grey clouds and murderous cold surrounding them.
"Now," Tosh explained, "Every Monster that is Normal or Special Summoned and that is not WATER, will receive an Ice Counter. And if a Monster with an Ice Counter battles a WATER Monster, it will lose 400 ATK." Saphon still stood tall at what Tosh said. He had everything he needed so far, to break Toshs combination.
"I tribute 'Cold Enchanter'!" Saphons opponent suddenly shouted, what surprised him, as he thought that his field was set up perfectly.
"Arise, 'Snowman Watchman'." A new Monster appeared on Toshs side of the field, looking like a Snowman with a binocular.
Snowman Watchman / Effect / Level 5 / WATER / Aqua-Type / 2200 ATK / 1900 DEF
"I immediately use its effect. Once per turn, I can remove one Ice Counter from anywhere, like my 'Frozen Egg', to make the level of all my Monsters five." The piece of ice disappeared from the egg behind Tosh, and at the same time, 'Cold Hunter' was engulfed by a blue aura.
Frozen Egg: 0 Ice Counters
Saphon tried to frown, but the cold had his face frozen solid. Much to his relief, Tosh immediately explained this action. "Don't you think it would be bad to defeat you, without you seeing what we are fighting for? Even a bastard like you deserves that honor."
For a moment, Saphon had no idea what he was meaning, but then it hit him like a freight train. The legendary Number.
"Level Five 'Cold Hunter' and 'Snowman Watchman', overlay! Arise, Number 48! Show this bastard your boiling cold rage! Snowdust Demon!"
After the galaxy-shaped portal exploded, an icicle emerged from it, however, it soon changed form, revealing slender arms and legs with long claws, a thin body and a demonic face, made completely of ice. Once it had found its final form, its eyes were starting to glow piercing red. Two blue Xyz Materials cycled it.
Number 48: Snowdust Demon / Xyz / Rank 5 / WATER / Fiend-Type / 1800 ATK / 1800 DEF / 2 Xyz Materials
So, this was the Legendary Number of this ruin. Saphon couldn't say why, but somehow, this Number was familiar to him. Not like Number 105, but still
"I activate its effect! By detaching one Xyz Material from it, I can place one Ice Counter on every face-up non-WATER Monster!" Tosh yelled, the ice demon grabbed one of its Xyz Materials and … ate it. Afterwards two orbs of blue light formed on its claws.
Number 48: Snowdust Demon: 2 Xyz Materials → 1 Xyz Material
Although this was not harmful to Saphon on the first look, as both Aurora and Dragonecro had enough ATK to withstand an attack even with the 400 point loss from 'Grey Glacier'. However, he thought there must be something else behind this move, so he had to prevent it, as long as he still could. He brought his shaking fingers up to his D-Pad and flipped his Trap Card face-up: 'Breakthrough Skill' and pointed at the opponents Number.
However, Tosh just chuckled: "Denied. During the turn a Xyz Monster is Xyz Summoned using 'Snowman Watchman', it is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards."
Saphon watched helpless as his Trap Card busted into light particles and the Ice Demon shot the two balls at Saphons Monsters, completely uninterrupted. As a result, pieces of ice grew on both 'Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora' and 'Underworld Dragon Dragonecro'.
Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora: 1 Ice Counter
Underworld Dragon Dragonecro: 1 Ice Counter
"And now, the second effect of my monster," Tosh continued. "You did not think, that a Legendary Number would have only an effect that weak. As long as there is an Ice Counter on the field, my Numbers ATK is doubled."
Number 48: Snowdust Demon: 1800 ATK → 3600 ATK
"And now, it is time for you to say goodbye, bastard."
Tosh was right. If he attacked Aurora, Saphon would lose 1500 Life Points. And he had only 1100 left, so this duel was over now.
"No, wait. It would be easy to defeat you right now. To make it short and painless. However," he was getting silent, as he was reasoning something, "'Number 48: Snowdust Demon' attack 'Underworld Dragon Dragonecro'! Use your effect and negate the Dragons effect, before wiping it from existence! 'Cold Revenge'!"
Underworld Dragon Dragonecro: 3000 ATK → 2600 ATK
The demon let out a breath of snow, which froze Dragonecro solid, afterwards it jumped on it and tore it apart, using its claws.
Saphon: 1100 LP → 100 LP
At the moment Dragonecro entered Saphons Graveyard, 'Frozen Egg' took its Ice Counter hostage.
Frozen Egg: 1 Ice Counter
Saphon heard Tosh say something about pain, but his vision started to blur again. 'Not again, not again, please,' Saphon begged in his mind. He did not wanted to experience such a vision again. However, he had no control of him anymore, when he collapsed in the snow the second time in this duel.
When he came back to consciousness, he felt surprisingly warm. The Body-Saphon was sitting in small wooden cabin, a fire burning in the chimney. He could see himself eating a soup, however, the Mind-Saphon couldn't recognize what kind of soup it was. Through a window in the cabin, he saw that there was a snowstorm outside and was glad that he was in here.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, what surprised Saphon, both Body and Mind, as none of them expected someone to come through a snowstorm. When he opened the door a group of six people stormed into the cabin, all covered in various layers of fabric, against the snow and the cold. The Mind-Saphon could recognize the man among them, that brought Toshs body to the Body-Saphon during his last Blackout-Vision.
One of them, a woman, grabbed the Body-Saphon at his collar and screamed hysterically: "What have you done to my brother, bastard?"
Mind-Saphon could see some frozen tears in her eyes, while Body-Saphon was trying to calm her, saying that he had no idea what she was talking about and that he did not know her brother.
But then, the man stepped forward: "Liar! I saw you carrying away a corpse yesterday! Thank God the fabric slipped from its face, so I was able to see it was Tosh! You bastard, what have you done to him! Yesterday morning, he was still alive!"
If the Mind-Saphon still had control over his stomach, he would have vomited right now. This man had killed Tosh and was now tying to blame Saphon for it.
"I always knew it," another man spoke up. "If you guys do not have work, you create your own."
The Body-Saphon was desperately refusing, telling that this man was the one to kill Tosh, not him, but nobody believed him.
"Liar! Why should I have murdered this guy? I did not even know him until today!" the man said, getting backed up by the other people.
"A Liar and a Murder!" A man suddenly screamed, as all six people jumped on Saphon, punching and kicking him, pushing him against the wall, tearing his clothes and his hair. At that moment, the Mind-Saphon blacked out again.
When he woke up again, the Body-Saphon was lying face-down in red snow, he could see that his left arm was missing. Saphons stomach turned around again, seeing himself lying in the snow like this, as disturbing for him. However, the body was still breathing, but the Mind-Saphon knew that he wouldn't be alive long. Almost as a confirmation, the Mind-Saphon blacked out.
He was waking up again, in the field 'Grey Glacier' had created. When he realized he was lying face-down in the snow, the picture of his body in the red snow shoved himself into his vision and Saphon couldn't help himself but vomited in the snow next to him.
Suddenly, two rough hands grabbed him and pulled him up again, before slapping him across the face. Tosh.
"I will NOT let the cold take away my honour to kill you. Get up and do your last turn." He was not hiding the anger and malice in his voice any more, spitting every word in Saphons face. However, Saphon felt guilty for him, from what he learned about him in his vision.
After his opponent had returned to his side of the field, Saphon took every little leftover of warmth he had, to say: "I am n-n-n-not your m-m-murder."
As he heard this, Toshs eyes widened: "LIAR! The last things I remember are myself, buying some soup at a tavern and then, I was lying in a grave. And it was so cold. I screamed and tried to dig myself up, but I couldn't. Nobody heard me. And YOU were the only undertaker near our village. It was YOU and no one else, who killed me. And you deserved what you got afterwards. You think you were born as a Barian, but you aren't. I was told, that you go to Barian World to atone for your sins, before they finally let you pass to hell. It is a hilarious joke that you managed to come to this world again."
Saphon said nothing. It was too much for him right now, if he started to think about what Tosh said now, he would break down in tears. But he was in a duel. A duel, he couldn't afford to lose.
Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora: 2 Ice Counters
However, it looked very bad for him. The last card in his hand was 'Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon' and his face-down was 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'. None of them could defeat Toshs Legendary Number. So it was all up to this last draw.
Taken logically, there were many cards that could win him the duel in this situation. The problem was that he had very few of them in his Deck, as it was focused on a beatdown using his Number or Dragonecro. Both of that had failed. And suddenly, there was only one card left. It was a vary chance, however, since he had no idea what effect it may have, but he still needed it right now.
'Come on, just draw,' he heard Telgus voice from the past in his head. It was what he had always told him, when he was struggling to make his move.
"Draw!" Saphon yelled and didn't even take a look on the card, he just inserted it into his D-Pad. "I activate 'Rank-Up-Magic Barians Force'!"
Suddenly, Saphon was feeling fully warm again, also, he knew exactly that this duel was not lost. "I Rank-Up 'Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora'!" The Number broke free from its icy coffin and turned fully yellow, before shooting into a Galaxy-shaped portal.
"Arise, Chaos Number 105! Fallen comrades, fallen enemies, greet your master! Aurora, Goddess of Souls!"
When the portal exploded like a volcano, the same stone cross appeared and opened again, however, the figure that emerged from it looked entirely different. Its hair had got a golden shimmer, its wings were no longer bandaged, they were black, raven-like wings with a golden shine. The monster had discarded its cape in favour of a golden and black dress and was looking down on the battlefield in unbandaged, merciful eyes. Two yellow Xyz Materials cycled it.
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls / Xyz / Rank 5 / LIGHT / Zombie-Type / 2800 ATK / 0 DEF / 2 Xyz Materials
Saphon gazed in awe at his Chaos Number. He never saw something that impressive before. He had no idea, why Telgu wanted to hide it from them. At the same moment, the glacier around them vanished, leaving them in the small village again.
"I use the secondary effect of Barians Force, to take one of your Monsters Xyz Materials and add it to mine." The last one of Snowdust Demons Materials broke orbit and flew to Aurora, where it changed colour, from blue to yellow.
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls: 2 Xyz Materials → 3 Xyz Materials
"I activate my Trap Card!" Now, that his Chaos Number had appeared and Saphon knew what its effect was, he knew that he could win this duel right now. "'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'! Now I can bring any Number of Zombies from my Graveyard back to my field."
Gozuki / Effect / Level 4 / EARTH / Zombie-Type / 1700 ATK / 800 DEF
Mezuki / Effect / Level 4 / EARTH / Zombie-Type / 1700 ATK / 800 DEF
Saphon watched happily as Mezuki and Gozuki took the field once again.
"Now I use the effect of my Number! First, I destroy any Number of Zombies I control." The Number absorbed one of its Xyz Materials through its wings, before Saphons other monster dispensed into light particles.
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls: 3 Xyz Materials → 2 Xyz Materials
"For this turn only now, Aurora can attack once for each Monster destroyed by this effect. Also, it gains 500 ATK each time it destroys a Monster by battle or by card effects."
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls: 2800 ATK → 3800 ATK
"Aurora, attack his 'Number 48: Snowdust Demon', 'Devour Soul'!" The Angel-like Number fired a blast of Light towards the demon, that pierced it through the chest, causing the enemy Number to fall.
Tosh: 4000 LP → 3800 LP
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls: 3800 ATK → 4300 ATK
"Tosh, please listen. I have no idea when we met, or who I was back then," Saphon calmly spoke. He knew, that this was the last moment, to get things right with Tosh. "But I didn't kill you. I was tricked. Somebody brought you to me, saying you were dead and I would have to bury you. But h..., but I," it was weird for Saphon to talk about his visions and use I instead of 'him' or 'Body-Saphon', because it was like talking over a stranger, to him, "was still sad, because my friend had just died. Please believe me, if I knew, that you were still alive I wouldn't have done anything!"
As Tosh said nothing to this, Saphon fought with his tears and just ordered his Chaos Number to deliver the final blow to Tosh.
Tosh: 3800 LP → 0 LP [LOSER]
Light particles started to engulf Tosh and before he vanished, he said: "I know." Moments later, he was gone, only one card was lying on the snow, where he had been standing: 'Number 48: Snowdust Demon', ready for a speechless and crying Saphon to pick it up.
Author-made cards:
Snowman Watchman / Effect / Level 5 / WATER / Aqua-Type / 2200 ATK / 1900 DEF
Once per turn, you can remove 1 "Ice Counter" from anywhere on the field; The Levels of all WATER Monsters you control becomes 5. If this card is used for the Xyz Summon of a WATER Monster, that Monster is unaffected by the Effects of Trap Cards, until the End Phase of the turn it is Summoned.
Number 48: Snowdust Demon / Xyz / Rank 5 / WATER / Fiend-Type / 1800 ATK / 1800 DEF
2 Level 5 WATER Monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle, except with a "Number" Monster. If there is an "Ice Counter" on the field: This cards ATK become double of its original ATK. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to place 1 "Ice Counter" on each face-up Monster your opponent controls. If this card battles a Monster with an "Ice Counter": Negate that Monsters effect.
Number C105: Aurora, Goddess of Souls / Xyz / Rank 5 / LIGHT / Zombie-Type / 2800 ATK / 0 DEF
3 Level 5 Zombie-Type Monster
If this card is Xyz Summoned, negate the effect of all face-up Field Spell Cards, except "Zombie World". Cannot be destroyed by battle, except with a "Number" Monster. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to destroy any Number of face-up Zombie-Type Monsters on the field (max. 5). This cards maximum number of attacks this turn is equal to the number of Monsters destroyed by this effect. If this card has "Number 105: Ghost Deity Aurora" as Xyz Material, it gains the following effect: ● If this card destroys a Monster, either by battle or by its effect: This card gains 500 ATK until the End Phase.
Grey Glacier / Field Spell Card
If a non-WATER Monster is Normal or Special Summoned: Place 1 "Ice Counter" on it. If a Monster with an "Ice Counter" battles a WATER Monster: It loses 400 ATK.
Cold Grave / Continuous Trap Card
Target 1 face-up Monster your opponent controls. Its effects (if any) are negated, it cannot attack and it cannot change its Battle Position. During your End Phase: Place 1 "Ice Counter" on it. Destroy this card if you do not control a face-up WATER Monster.
Legendary Number Number 1: done. Who thought that Tosh was a complete idiot for not attacking Aurora? I think you might know why, now.
Just to say that, although Malin was supposed to get the next Number Hunt, I changed that, since Malins and Saphons Duels were far to similar to me, so the next one will be Meza, then Belle, Intaka, Nitak and finally Malin.
Okay, here is a little game for you: In every of the Barians Past Life Flashbacks is a hidden Don Thousand. Can you find him? (I think it won't be too difficult in Saphons Story.)
Brace yourself for some Chaos, when the next few chapters show up.