Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 075
Originally Written: Saturday, May 7, 2022 434PM to 544PM
. . . . .
Pharaoh Atem decided to continue using the name Yami, in honor of Yugi, but he knew he needed to use his true name to end this. So he stood with Joey, Duke, Seto and Shadi some distance away from the main Kaiba mansion. The building had warped into something horrible, a maze of wall, ground, darkness and roof. Shadows swirled around the building. Cold winds that bit at their souls gusted around it, and towards them. The sky was dark over and around the building, permanently blocking out the sun.
Still, Yami persisted. The Millennium necklace became a circlet on his head. The Rod hooked onto the belt loops of one hip, the Key hooked on the other. The scales and eye floated in the air next to him. The puzzle sat perched around his neck.
Zorc stood guard in front of the building. He looked at Yami in confusion, unsure where Yami had come from.
Yami held out his hand, and focused. As though he told the universe to get out of his way, the Millennium Ring appeared in the air before him. He grabbed it. The prongs on the ring jingled.
Zorc scowled and ran towards them, slowly speeding up.
"You are an ant compared to me. Stay in your lane, peasant." Yami ignored Zorc in defiance. He focused more, and dropped the group through a portal of shadow. They appeared further back away from the mansion.
"Uh, why'd we move away?" Duke asked in confusion.
"Zorc is larger than one may imagine."
"Zorc is big." Yami and Seto spoke at the same time.
"Not far enough, King." Seto continued.
The Kaiba Mansion shook. It crumbled in the distance. Yami teleported them back again. Duke stumbled, as though unable to keep track of the speed Yami moved at. A large hand and arm of dark purple burst upwards from the mansion's crumbling remains.
"Holy..." Joey muttered instinctively and summoned small fires on his fingertips.
"Save your strength for the shadows." Seto told Joey. "Like this, Zorc-Amane is immune to traditional elemental magic."
Another arm burst from the mansion. As though the creature was pulling themselves up from the earth itself, Zorc-Amane in his true form rose from the ground. Joey glanced at Seto in surprise, but quickly composed himself. Zorc-Amane's true form was a beast Joey couldn't describe as anything but the Devil itself. Large horns protruded from its head, and sharp jagged teeth filled its mouth. Those teeth could kill any of them instantly if just one pierced them. All the beast was missing was the trademarked red skin.
Hoards of corrupted duel monsters rose from the shadows that quickly engulfed the area. Zorc continued to rise from the ground, breaking through all of The Great Thief King Bakura's seals. They heard each one finally succumb and shatter in succession. The sound was like shards of glass combined with the clanging of metal.
Duke backtracked to the center of the group. He focused, twisting some dice in between his fingers. Joey and Seto summoned Red Eyes Black Dragon and Four Blue Eyes White Dragons respectively. Yami summoned Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Exodia the Forbidden One, and Kuriboh. The Magicians immediately focused on Kuriboh. The trusted duel monster quickly began to multiply. Exodia focused on Zorc. Its attacks hit the immortal monstrosity dead center each time.
Yami backtracked closer to Duke. He dropped to his knees and started chanting and praying. A golden aura surrounded him. Shadi summoned a barrier of protection around them.
Zorc-Amane's bulky arm slammed against the ground and swept across the area like a videogame boss. In moments, that arm decimated what was left of the Kaiba Mansion grounds. Trees and bushes, the fountain in the center of the driveway, the nearby buildings. All were gone within moments. Turned to rubble. Duke stared ahead, mind stuck on the giant claws longer than he was tall that had just barely missed Seto and Joey.
Zorc's smaller counterpart slowly pushed through Exodia's beam. Exodia fired consistently, powered up by Dark Magician. Joey and Seto summoned other duel monsters to help against the onslaught of corrupted shadows.
The name of the game here was to survive. Yami couldn't do anything until Zorc was completely free. If they didn't last until that point, Zorc would win. Joey and Seto were their heavy hitters. Duke was long range. Shadi healer and protector, and Yami waited for his chance to strike.
"One more." Seto murmured.
Zorc-Amane's heavy leg erupted from the ground. The ground shook terribly as the beast took its first partial step. The area around them turned nearly pitch black. It was the middle of the day, yet darker than night time now. Its clawed hands cupped together, and a beam of darkness slowly charged in its hands.
"Is that what I think it is?" Duke murmured as he threw a handful of dice. They exploded upon impacting with a group of corrupted duel monsters, setting them scrambling away.
"A real life murder beam?" Seto replied, oddly calm. "Yes." He focused. Zorc-Amane shot its decimating shadow beam towards the group. Decimating, because it took out anything that it grazed even slightly without discriminating. Even Zorc's pawn and Zorc-Amane's corrupted creatures quickly realized they needed to move.
Yami glowed a golden light, but Seto glowed pure white. Lighter than his usual blue eyes white lightning. The further Zorc's attack went, the more it faded. The more it shifted. By the time it reached them it exploded into a flurry of sparkling balls of white lights. They rained down around them like snowflakes, and resembled stars that didn't get the memo as to where space was.
"I reject this outcome." The eye on Seto's forehead shined brightly.
"I am the only outcome." Zorc-Amane's voice was equally as demonic as the power it wielded and its appearance. "Rejection is not an option. None of you exist, without me."
"Says you!" Joey shouted, engulfed in his own brand of light.
"We survived before we even knew you were a thing!" Duke agreed. "We'll gladly survive without you!"
"Mortals." Zorc-Amane rose to full height, laughing. A snake-like dragon creature slowly formed and circled around its body. Large wings protruded from its back. Each wing rivaled Zorc's own height. He raised his arms. A myriad of broken buildings, downed trees and plants, the corpses of animals, and the ground itself rose into the air. "Always defiant to your own detriment. I don't plan on saving you."
Yami slowly stood, glowing. The items Zorc raised with the intention of using them as an infinite amount of projectiles froze in the air. The eye on Yami's forehead glowed with intensity.
'Are you ready, Pharaoh?' Shadi asked, though he knew the answer.
Yami held out his hands. Some of the items moved, as though forming a staircase that led right to Zorc. "Yes. I'd love to learn more about the effects of space time in the future."
'I'm not surprised. You always strived to learn after you took the crown, my Pharaoh.'
"Hopefully, this ends today, and you'll have all the time to learn and experience all the stuff you never got a chance to." Duke closed his eyes, and switched his focus.
Yami took a long moment to press his hands to Joey's cheeks. He kissed him. "I'll be right back."
"Da fuck is that supposed to mean? You ain't say anything about taking him on yourself." Joey looked at him in defiance.
"I'll be right back. Trust me." Yami backed away.
"I trust you, but..." Joey stepped forward. "Why do I feel like I ain't gonna like this plan when you're done?"
"Because you won't." Seto wrapped his arms around Joey in a bear hug from behind. "You're still a terrible liar, Atem. Go."
Yami smiled a wistful smile. He turned around, pushed through Shadi's barrier and leaped into a sharp sprint. Duke followed in obedience, somehow keeping up with the clearly faster Demi-God. Joey struggled and screamed.