Greetings!

As everyone knows, I've twice now, used the chapters of this fic to write a small eulogy regarding a recently-deceased actor whom I admired. It seems I must do so again, and because the figure in question is a man whom I, as a writer, drew more inspiration from than almost any other, this is rather heartwrenching, but to me, necessary.

So here goes…

There was once a man who fancied himself a writer with an idea. A new idea.

It was 1961. Comic books were nothing new, they were getting… dull. Superheroes tended to be slack-jawed, muscular do-gooders with no flaws whatsoever. Admiral, maybe, but unrealistic. Old-time favorites like Superman and Batman were starting to become campy, cheesy parodies of themselves. It was time for a change.

As the writer stated himself, "For just this once, I would do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading... And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to: they'd be flesh and blood, they'd have their faults and foibles, they'd be fallible and feisty, and — most important of all — inside their colorful, costumed booties they'd still have feet of clay."

And so, with the help of his partner Jack Kirby, the writer designed four new characters; a scientific genius with grandiose goals, his young and naive girlfriend, his old football-star friend from college, and his girlfriend's spirited brother, then put the four through a freak accident that gave them superpowers.

As he had planned, these super-human heroes were as much "human" as they were "super", unique individuals with actual lives to occupy their time when they weren't righting wrongs. Not at all resembling the one-dimensional characters of previous years.

He dubbed them The Fantastic Four, barely knowing that he had not just written a story. He had planted a seed. A seed that would grow into a project that would create an entire fictional world.

The writer applied the same formula again, and with both Kirby and another artist, Steve Ditko, created a story with a troubled high school student accidentally granted the powers of a spider; another brilliant scientist cursed to transform into a dimwitted brute when angered, and a literal Norse god turned crimefighter.

Half a century later, the seed planted by Stan Lee has produced an entire universe of comic stories that are read by the children and grandchildren of the original fans.

Rest in Peace Mr. Lee. You were an icon, a visionary, and to this humble fanfiction writer, an idol. You will never be replaced.

Excelsior.

And so, onward. For this last chapter of my fic, I'd like to thank my beta-readers and co-contributors, 7th Librarian, MultiplePersonas, Metal Overloard 2.0, and Mei1105, not just for the help, but for putting up with me all this time.

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To elaborate on something brought up earlier, a Leomund's Chest is an enchantment commonly used by powerful wizards, where a chest is cast into the Astral Plane in order to keep its contents secure. The wizard must then use a small replica of the chest, one about the size of a fist, to recover it. In engineering terms, the small replica is about a 1:15 scale model of the actual chest

Eden had realized - as Jalal had - that whoever had built this structure was using a similar design, just not with chests, but with buildings. The main temple could be accessed and its contents released via a small scale model.

The structure the Shadowchasers and their allies were in now… It wasn't the main temple. It was the small scale model. And the structure itself was no temple. At least, it wasn't anymore.

It was the grand temple built by the tierre as a monument for their beloved god, and then converted to a jail when he proved ungrateful and selfish.

Everyone who had sought the great power they believed inside this place - Eden, the Determined, and Antisthenes himself - had learned of its existence from documents taken from the Keepers, who were intent on confiscating them for reasons known only by their mysterious - and long-dead - summoner, and they had never questioned the honesty of the notes. After all, the Exarchs of Law never tell lies; such deception is a tool of Chaos.

But… Nothing ever said they must speak the entire truth…

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Chapter 62

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Losing my Religion

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"Ragnora…"

The Shadowchasers - all of them - heard it. Fanciullo and his gang heard it. The Determined heard it.

All of Creation heard it.

Eden's final strike against the platonic had obliterated both of them, but there was no time to celebrate or mourn, as it seemed to have caused the whole planetarium to dissolve. Just as the gazebo had caused them to cross a border, they had now passed from the Road of Regrets into the Pathway to Oblivion and now into… someplace else.

Now they were standing on what seemed to be a rocky, jagged ledge, and in front of them was a vast, stormy, angry sea. Below them, the waters churned with the ferocity of a giant maelstrom, in a dizzying vortex or water and arcane power that seemed endless. Bolts of lightning flashed from an equally angry sky.

Even worse, the whole place seemed to be thick with a malignant presence. The Shadowchasers were fond of calling these places - where potent, concentrated evil had caused the land to generate negative energy - a "chill grill", but when you were looking straight into one, it was hard to use such humor. Even Wells would later describe this as looking into the very depths of Hell.

"Karl, get me a reading on this," said Jalal, not turning around to address him.

As Karl did this, Philip dug into his pocket for the map, hoping to find some explanation for it all. Unfortunately, as he unfolded it, he got his answer quickly. Some dark magic had changed the illustration, adding a whole new wing beyond the Pathway to Oblivion, one depicting part of the building destroyed by a fiery cataclysm.

They were at a junction much like the gazebo and the planetarium, and now… they were at the nexus of the Pathway to Oblivion and the Edge of Madness…

"Eden…" said Jennifer, softy. Francis was holding and trying to console her, but was pretty upset himself.

"Uh, we miss something?" asked Uomo.

"Everyone calm down!" urged Jalal. He noticed the book and Duel Disk Eden had dropped, and went to pick it up. "We'll have to wait to mourn. We can't panic or Eden's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

"Who the devil is 'Ragnora'?" asked Fanciullo .

As Jalal picked up the book, the card Eden had been using as a marker slipped out. Sofia, who was close by, noticed and bent to pick it up.

"A primordial," replied Jalal. "A very powerful entity that lived even before the Titans. Possibly one of the Elder Gods. Or rather, an aspect of one. The god the tierre worshipped was an aspect of one of these primordials, and in itself represented the concepts of wealth, industry, trade, and commerce.

"But when the tierre presented their grand temple to their god, they instead attracted the attention of a darker aspect of the same entity, one who embodied greed, avarice, and thievery. He's been a prisoner of this place ever since. Barely conscious and degenerating further and further into madness. Thanks to Antisthenes starting this whole mess, he's starting to wake up."

"Heads up, everyone!" shouted Edgar.

His alarm came as wisps of black flames shot from the center of the vortex, quickly growing in size and changing shape. One of them turned into an odd, shark-like fish with bat-like, razor-sharp wings, and long, clawed arms. Another became a demonic bird with sickly, orange skin, and yet another turned into a cracked egg with feathered wings.

The three weird creatures swooped upon the assembled group. "Allow me," grunted Prospero. He stepped forward, and with a hastily spoken incantation, blasted three Bolts of Bedevilment from his palms, eradicating the three creatures.

"What are these things?" shouted Fanciullo.

"Uh, I believe those were a Whiptail Crow," said Nitro, "a Winged Egg of Life, and a… uhm…"

"Morinphen," added Prospero. "Someone's throwing really old cards at us…"

Then behind him, another flew fully formed, a freakish creature that could only have evolved in the deepest sea, where no light ever goes and aesthetics mean nothing. It had a fat, deformed sea slug of a middle with a single eye and fang-filled mouth, and two tiny webbed feet. On either side, wide, leathery flippers spread out like butterfly wings.

As Akihiron swooped at Prospero, Douglas stepped in, drawing his broadsword from his back. "C'mere, ya ugly bastard, ah've been waitin' fer somethin' like this!" He slashed downward, cutting clean through it, causing it to shatter.

"Come on, send more'a these binder bait monsters up here, ah DARE ya!"

"Douglas, don't tempt him!" Philip looked into the vortex. "One thing's for sure, he woke up cranky."

"Well, he's still mostly dormant," said Karl. The technomage was typing on SAL's holographic screen as several status bars appeared on it. "The magical and divine energy present in this being is close to Overwhelming right now, but the output is much lower."

"That's a good thing?" asked Fanciullo.

"Cthulhu usually registers similar readings," answered Jalal.

"YOU GUYS HAVE DONE THIS WITH CTHULHU?" shouted the mobster.

"Not the time for that! Maybe later."

"Well, the comparison is accurate," continued Karl. He wiped sweat from his brow before he resumed typing, the strain starting to show. "This being has inherent divine might comparable to that of Cthulhu or similar bound abominations, but in his debilitated and sedated state, can't use it. For now."

As Philip peered out into the maelstrom, Sofia - who was trying to stay close to him, both out of concern for their safety and concern that he'd do something dumb - got a good look at that card-bookmark. It wasn't a Vehicroid. Not even a Machine, or something you'd normally use with such cards.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt," said SAL, "but this may have gotten slightly worse. The livestream broadcast hasn't ended, and something is still siphoning the Duel Energy from everyone watching. Without the actual duel, it's viewers are decreasing, but -"

"That's impossible…" The straining, painful words came from Sylvester.

"Will you be quiet?" Despite the stern tone from Viola and the best efforts from her and Wells to tend his wounds, the efreet was close to death. Ferdinand wasn't in very good shape either.

"Antisthenes was directly controlling the nanobots, and they were controlling the livestream. They should be nothing now but microscopic pieces of junk…"

"Ragnora is controlling them." Wells stood up and looked out into the maelstrom, the one barrier keeping the primordial locked up. "This area we're in is a nexus, just like the others, leading to his true prison. If there was ever a key or passcode to link the two in order to free him, he has no way to access it. But Antisthenes provided him with another way."

"So what now?" Sofia edged over to the ledge and peered towards the center.

"I'm working on it." Karl brought up a second holographic screen and started scrolling over some files, even as the storm seemed to get fiercer. "Maybe we can... SOFIA! Get away from there, it…"

Too late. SAL had transmitted the warning, but it had hardly been fast enough. A giant tendril burst from the center of the storm, darting towards the female Shadowchaser.

"PHILIP, WAIT!" Again, the warning came too late as Philip lunged for Sofia hoping to grab her. He succeeded in grabbing her waist, only to be yanked into the maw of the storm with her.

Philip could barely describe what was happening. It was like being dragged through thick, sticky, fog at incredibly high-speed, with cotton stuffed in his ears, the rapid and long pull making him nauseous. He barely heard Sofia's voice, and couldn't make out the words, although he was pretty sure it was something along the lines of, "Philip, you jerk, what were you thinking?"

Damn, now I've done it. Whatever the bastard wants with Sofia is gonna happen to me now…

Yet, this revelation only made him hold on tighter…

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Philip sat up. "Are we alive?" He felt a sharp sting as Sofia slapped him in the face. "Ow, I'll take that as a yes."

She helped him up, and they looked around. He had no idea where they were, but it was not a nice place.

It looked like they were in a vault, a giant, cathedral-sized vault, one full of valuables like the sort you'd find in a dragon's den. Piles of gold lay around jars - many spilled - of gemstones, candelabras, goblets, and crowns. All of it had been tossed into a heap.

The two even recognized some famous treasures among them. Excalibur was in a corner, still embedded in its stone; Buddhas and talismans lay next to Egyptian scrolls and Cornish tapestries. In one corner, it seemed the Golden Fleece had been draped over the Ark of the Covenant, with Mjolnir and the Seven-Branched Sword lying nearby.

Yet, these piles of legendary treasures were all lying haphazardly and neglected, covered with dust and grime, as if someone had tossed them in a junk pile and forgotten them all.

Priceless relics of every human culture, thought Sofia, looking around. She picked up a gold cup, shook her head, then dropped it with a loud "clunk". It all might as well be a bunch of old mufflers and showerheads for all the power they have here. Endless wealth, without anything to spend it on, or anyone to share it with…

The place seemed to echo sadness, regret, and despair. For all the splendor, it seemed empty melancholy, and they could swear they heard faint weeping coming from…

...a door.

The realization came suddenly. An entire wall of this vast chamber was a DOOR. A huge, solid, metal door.

"Uh, Sofia, your cards!"

She turned her head, noticing that her deck had spilled onto the floor. Oh, for crying out loud, she thought. She blushed a little and bent over to pick them up.

But she didn't need to. Some sort of wind whipped them up off the floor, forming them back into a deck, and then slammed the deck into her Duel Disk for her. Then the Disk - and Philip's - sprung to life, activating. The auto-shuffler too, as the Life Points counters set.

"Sofia, Philip, do you copy?" Jalal's voice was scratchy, but recognizable.

"Yeah, we're here." Sofia backed from the DOOR slightly. "I think someone here wants us to duel."

"Then DO it. We think we know Ragnora's plan here. He wants to continue Antisthenes' experiment and draw in enough Duel Energy from the spectators to wake up, regain his full power and escape."

"Uh, Jalal, not to state the obvious," answered Philip, "but wouldn't that be a better reason not to duel him?"

"Let me put it this way, Philip, right now, Ragnora is only slightly awake, and due to his isolation only has a sparse fragment of his true power. Yet, even with such limited awareness and ability, he has control over a high-ranking platonic's technology and a vast army of nanomachines that have doubtlessly spread via the livestream. Now, if he were to fully wake up and become angry…"

"Yeah, we get your point." Jalal's previous description of what rough nanomachines could do suddenly came back to them, more vivid and terrifying than before. Sofia turned towards the door, and tapped the side of her Gazer, clicking it on.

"Good luck," said their leader's voice. "Everyone is counting on you."

The door slowly started to swing open with a loud, gravely rumble. They already felt the presence, the despair and sadness around them acquiring a sour taint of anger and hate from the divine being trapped within.

"Philip? No pressure but… We're in the fight of our lives…"

(Philip: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ragnora: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (Sofia: 8,000)

It was very hard for either of them to accurately describe their opponent; beings like this lived in a time where anything was possible, and the definition of form and function for living beings had not yet been established. Possibly, the form Ragnora wore in front of the tierre had resembled a tierre, likely a handsome and charming one.

Now, while the physical form they saw had length, width, and depth, it had… a couple other things too that mortal eyes could not properly perceive. The best description they could give would be a tattered grey cloak, with smokey, dark mist inside. Five smaller wisps of the same stuff appeared over its head, like small, dark candlelights.

"I draw," said a voice. Well, sort of. It was difficult to tell whether this being's words were an actual voice, telepathy, or were revealed to them some other way. It wasn't pleasant to hear, reminding them of a swarm of angry wasps over the boiling waves of an acidic sea. They, did, however, see a sixth small flame appear with the others, and when two of them were snuffed out,

"I discard one card to use Cost Down, and as a result, bring forth Golden Einherjar of Mertion with no sacrifice."

As a third card was played and it revealed itself, shiny, metallic, golden waves were drawn into the card, which shattered to reveal a very tall man in fancy armor, made of pure gold. The helmet covered his entire head and had wings on either side, while the chestplate had fancy pauldrons and the gauntlets had flared wrists. He held a long, scimitar. The only part that wasn't gold was the tabard, which bore a black triangle with a horizontal bar through the center, the symbol seemingly scratched on to the tabard with charcoal. (2,200 ATK)

"Because the card I discarded was Dark Aegis, and I have an Einherjar on the field, I can pay 500 points to summon Dark Aegis in Defense Mode."

A dark puddle formed next to Golden Einherjar, and an odd object levitated out, an ancient yet elegant, dull iron European sword, slightly frayed and rusted with age yet still sharp enough to carve flesh. It was draped behind a crest-shaped shield, which while finely made, seemed plain and unremarkable. Then, however, the same odd symbol was traced on its surface. (1,800 DEF)

(P: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 7,500) - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,000)

"When this monster is in play with an Einherjar, it is the only monster that you may attack. Then, the Seal of Agathon."

Playing the card - a Continuous Spell - caused a large, iron sarcophagus of some sort to appear, far larger than was needed to hold a man-sized corpse. Another odd symbol had been scratched on it, this one suggesting a spiral, or maybe the start of one.

The sarcophagus opened, and the backs of two cards appeared to either side of it, taken from what they assumed was his deck. Both cards were drawn inside, and the lid slammed shut.

"Don't suppose you'll tell us what happens to them?" asked Sofia.

"I set two cards facedown and conclude my turn. It is your move."

"Okay, I'll take that as a no." He didn't reply again, so she drew a card; in fact, his words barely seemed to be directed to her - or to anyone - at all.

"I'll activate Hidden Armory! First I'll send the card from the top of my deck to the Graveyard." She stopped to discard the card, grinning widely when she saw what it was. "Then I get to take an Equip Spell from my deck. I can use it now too, Overdone Burial!"

She played it, and the floor started to churn. "I just have to discard my Level 5 Executioner of Mist Valley, and I can summon the Level 4 monster I just discarded. Neat trick, huh?"

Mist Valley Falcon rose out of the ground, shaking the dirt from her wings and drawing her sword. (2,000 ATK) The cloaked figure didn't seem to react at all.

"What, you seen that one? Well here's another one. Overdone Burial nullifies Falcon's effect, meaning she can attack your Dark Aegis!"

Falcon held the weapon in both hands and slashed at the odd device, causing it to shatter like glass.

"Dark Aegis' destruction also banishes it, but I also draw once."

Sofia set a card behind Falcon, then turned to Philip and nodded.

He drew his first, and clearly liked what he got. "I activate Terraforming! I'll use it to get this!" He flashed his City of Eternity Field Spell in front of him. "So let's all leave this musty place and step out for a breath of fresh air, shall we?"

Taking the Field Spell, he played it, causing the dark chamber to melt away and City of Eternity to rise around them.

"Now I can get rid of this to bring Spell Striker out." He stuffed the Terraforming card into his pocket, playing the card and causing the smiling, toy wizard to spring out of the ground. (600 ATK)

Then he used another, causing Toy Soldier to appear, aiming its musket at the Golden Einherjar. (800 ATK)

"Stand down there, fellah, not yet. I'm setting one card and ending my turn. It's your move."

A new dark wisp appeared with the others over the aspect's head, but he seemed to disregard it for the moment, as it pointed to Philip's monsters. "Attack the Toy Soldier. Golden Razor."

"I activate Gravity Lash!" replied Phil. His Trap Card activated as Golden Einherjar readied its weapon. "This decreases your monster's Attack Score by its Defense Score." (2,200 ATK -) (700 ATK) "So not very smart there!"

Toy Soldier's musket fired, and the Golden Knight burst into a cloud of golden dust…

(P: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 7,400) - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,000)

But then, the dust seemed drawn into the aspect's body, as if he were inhaling it deeply. It lifted its hand, and a new set card appeared. Then, the symbol on the Seal of Agathon changed, turning into two triangles, an upright one below an inverted one.

Then, more shiny, shimmering dust, but a different metallic color, started to rise from around them.

"My turn ends, and the destruction of Golden Einherjar of Mertion summons two Silver Einherjar of Bothion."

The silver dust caused two more knights to appear, with silver armor that, while just as fancy, was a very different style. Shorter and blockier than the golden one, the helmets were rounded and had violet plumes. They held large, solid mallets. Again, they wore tabards, the charcoal-etched symbol on each resembling the symbol now on the Seal. (1,900 ATKx2)

"Okay, maybe that was kind of smart."

"Yeah, we've seen bigger stuff than this," said Sofia. She drew, then used a card to conjure Mist Valley Thunderbird. (1,100 ATK) Her Trap opened. "I use Relieve Monster, and send Thunderbird to my hand to summon Mist Valley Soldier!"

Thunderbird quickly lifted its wings and disappeared in a plume of, well, mist, replaced by the winged Warrior in a blue robe. (1,700 ATK) Then, Thunderbird appeared again, alighting next to Soldier via its own power. (700 DEF)

"I Tune together my Level 4 Soldier and my Level 3 -"

"Activate Cursed Flagon of Thuldanin." Ragnora's Trap Card lifted, interrupting Sofia and oddly, causing her two monsters to collapse to the floor with an undignified flop, mid-Tuning. The two mortals were hit by a sudden stench, like old, fermented honey with badly soured ale.

"This Continuous Trap prevents any monster from being sent from the field to the Graveyard, unless it is destroyed. Your birds' wings have been clipped."

They clearly noticed the lame joke, along with slightly less rigidity in its voice, and neither of them liked it.

He's starting to wake up, thought Sofia, and we're helping him. Damn, Jalal, this plan of yours better really be something.

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Francis' sword flashed, cleaving through the Mega Thunderball that had been hurtling at him. Jennifer was a bit more clumsy, but still managed to hit the Ocubeam flying towards her, stumbling and almost falling over as it crashed.

"Two hands, Jenn," said Wells. "See, like this." As a Dark Chimera pounced towards him, he swung his own blade and decapitated it.

Behind the Shadowchasers, Fanciullo loaded a magazine into his Glock 39 with a loud snap. "What you mugs got left?"

"Seven clips left here," replied Uomo. He tossed one of them to Drago, who nodded back. "At the rate they're coming, we might have enough for ten minutes if we're lucky. I don't know what the brainiac is up to, but it better be dyno supreme."

He motioned to Karl, who was again, working on SAL's holographic screen. "You're enthusiasm is comforting," he replied.

"This should work," replied the AI. "We've managed to hack into KaibaCorp's webmaster. It helped that Sylvester hacked it first."

"So you're going to cut the juice on the livestream?" asked Drago.

"Nope, we're going to expand it."

Unfortunately for him, the wave of Duel Spirits had lulled for a few minutes, and everyone heard the comment.

As this was happening, Jalal, unperturbed by it all and rather exhausted, stood watching in the background. His eyes fell on the journal Eden had dropped.

Karl continued:

"Know how you can subscribe to channels on YouTube and get pop-up alerts whenever they update? The reason this live stream is getting so much attention is because a lot of subscribers got one, and then shared it with folks on their contact lists. And most such viewers subscribe to multiple channels. If all goes right, this program is going to find everyone on every current viewer's contact list and send them an alert. And then send alerts to everyone in their contact lists, and so on. Seeing as a lot of folks back home with internet access are already likely using their search engines to find out who Ragnora is -"

"You're trying to get everyone on Earth to start watching? What the hell for?" Fanciullo was starting to question Karl's sanity right now. Most folks on the World Wide Web wouldn't be interested in the duel, but many would click on it assuming it was one of their subscriptions, and even if they viewed it for a second...

"Fanciullo, right now, trying to halt the nano infection would be about as easy as trying to clean up a flash flood with a mop and bucket. But the more it spreads, the more -"

"Karl, DUCK!"

The warning from Uomo came as a Turtle Bird swooped down towards Karl from the darkness above. The assassin fired five rounds, and it crashed just a foot away.

But it hadn't come alone. A pack of Turtle Tigers were growling and licking their lips, while a savage horse with a long, fish's tail was behind them.

"Tatsunootoshigo." grumbled Karl. He started to scoot away from them. "Now I have seen everything."

With one hand resting on the hilt of his sword in case it was needed, Jalal started to read what Eden had. After a minute or two, he moved aside slightly as two of the Turtle Birds hit the ground with a crash, followed by the Tatsunootoshigo on top of them a second later.

Then, something piqued his interest. Not the fight between his men and the Duel Spirits, but a name in the paragraph he had just reached...

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Soldier and Thunderbird stood up again, looking dizzy and disheveled, possibly drunk from simply taking a whiff of the cursed mead.

Okay, let's see… thought Sofia. No sending from the Field to the Graveyard, so Synchro Summoning and Tribute Summoning is out… Just gonna have to do this the old fashioned way.

"Falcon attacks Silver Einherjar!"

Falcon flew towards the blocky knight and swung her sword, causing it to dissolve into dust like the Golden one had.

(P: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 7,300) - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,000)

"I'll set one card, and then end. Your go, Philip."

"And with your End Phase comes two Bronze Einherjar of Pelion."

Again, the symbol on the seal changed. This new one looked like the symbol for pi, but with two sets of two vertical bars below the horizontal curvy line. Again, the aspect seemed to consume the silvery dust, as a different dust started to flow around it, much duller than before.

The Warriors who appeared this time were female, with Spartan helmets, bows and quivers, and battle dresses that seemed to have the sheen and texture of bronze but the flexibility of cloth. Their flesh was richly tanned, almost bronze in itself. (1,700 ATK)

Again from his deck, she thought, what is he planning? Who'd have ever thought I'd want to see Thunder King Rai-Oh?

"Also, you may draw twice due to the cost of Cursed Flagon," interrupted the aspect. "Never let it be said I could not be generous."

"Fine, I won't say it," replied Philip. Still, he drew twice.

"First due to Toy Soldier's effect, two more appear in Defense Mode."

The first Soldier produced its bugle and sounded the call of arms, causing its two comrades to appear kneeling. Then, Philip turned the first one's card, and it also kneeled. (300 DEF x3)

"Philip? Use this!"

Sofia's Trap opened, and Dust Tornado activated. It ripped around the arena, causing City of Eternity to collapse into rubble.

"You always pick the best gifts, So-So," he said with a laugh. He discarded the Field Spell, taking a second one from his deck via its effect. As the last of the City crumbled away, Bridge of Eternity rose around them.

"I'll draw again, using the one Pilgrimage Counter from the Field Spell. I'll set one monster, then it's your move."

The creature's eyes flashed like miniscule pinpoints of light, as it produced another card. Then, it lifted its hand and pointed, and the two Bronze Einherjar drew their bowstrings and fired, one of the arrows skewering Thunderbird, and the other piercing Philip's set monster. A metal, spherical drone appeared, and was blown into triangles.

Then the Silver Einherjar skidded towards Falcon, swinging its wasn't impressed, and one swing of her weapon knocked the bludgeon out of its hands; the Einherjar tumbled backwards and shattered.

(P: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 7,400) - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,000)

"I set one more card facedown and end."

"So what now?" she asked. Of course, it was obvious now what he intended. She watched the aspect inhale the silvery dust again.

"Don't worry," assured Philip, "he couldn't possibly summon two more of the Bronze ones."

As the set card appeared in her foe's Spell Zone, the symbol on the Seal changed again to three upward-pointing triangles, the one in the center about twice as large as the other two. "I summon two Steel Einherjar of Shunos."

Two more of the strange Warriors appeared, bare-chested, with breechcloths, sandals, and Spartan helmets covering their entire faces. Their flesh was dull, grey and metallic. The had long spears and shields, the symbol printed on the latter. They knelt in Defense Mode. (1,700 DEF)

"I have got to stop tempting Fate. Any ideas, So-So?"

Sofia looked at her Disk, where the message "DRAW TWO" was registering. She did so, then nodded to Philip. "Here's another gift, Burning Land!"

With a dramatic motion, she slammed the card into her Spell Zone, and flaming, fiery meteors crashed around them, smashing into and shattering the Bridge of Eternity. Sofia started to have second thoughts about that move as it crumbled, sending both them and their monsters into a freefall, towards the river of lava below…

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"It's working, Karl, they managed to put a crack in it."

Karl sheathed his sword, turning away from the Octoberser he had just brought down. SAL's screen opened again next to him.

"What, what cracked?"

Disregarding Fanciullo, Karl looked at the info he had been monitoring. "Just need a little more…"

"WHAT?" demanded the don. "More WHAT?"

"Uhm, eleven o'clock, Mr. Fanciullo," said Karl, offhandedly.

The mobster turned his head, and saw a Meda Bat fluttering towards him. "Meh," he said, and swatted it away with the back of his wrist.

"You know how divine pride works, Mr. Fanciullo? Take the world's worst control freak, the world's most shameless gloryhound, and the world's most annoying narcissist, combine them, and multiply that by about a hundred. They crave attention, and the reason they get it because they have the clout to demand it. Ragnora is almost starved for it."

"So, you're going to give it to him until he chokes?"

"That and we're going to show him what it's like to play before a hostile crowd. Given what we've seen so far, he's not gaining many fans, and each blow to his pride is a blow to the bridge he intends to use as his escape route. Right now, Sofia and Philip managed to put a hairline fracture in it. Ten o'clock."

Fanciullo turned and drew his revolver, firing three rounds at the Lucky Trinket, causing it to crash and shatter like a ceramic vase.

Karl adjusted his glasses, hitting a command that caused a third screen to appear. "If they keep it up, we can hopefully shatter the bridge completely. It's all up to Sofia and Philip."

"And if they can't?"

"I'm trying very hard not to think about that right now. Two o'clock."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"OOF!"

Sofia was a little surprised to land on a solid surface, of sand no less. Their foe floated down in front of them, his faceless expression somehow looking irked.

"Not the most pleasant landing," said Philip, "but thanks to So-So's Spell Card I was able to take Desert of Eternity from y deck, and then banish the other two Field Spells to use it."

"Then proceed," it demanded, indicating Sofia.

"You in some sort of a hurry?" asked the Shadowchaser. "I've got a second course here, the Quill Pen of Gustos! By sending two Wind Monsters in my Graveyard back to my deck like Mist Valley Executioner and Mist Valley Thunderbird, I can send one card back to your hand. I choose Cursed Flagon of Thuldanin!"

She pointed to the Trap, and a fierce gale blew through the desert, blowing into the Trap card before blowing it away.

"Still hungry? That was just the appetizer! I'll drop 1,000 Life Points to activate Instant Fusion and summon Mavelus."

Activating the card caused a tall, lanky, flightless bird with golden wing-feathers and a crimson plume and underside to appear. (1,300 ATK)

She placed another card, causing Mist Valley Windmaster to appear alongside it.

"Then I'll Tune together Windmaster and Mavelus…"

The two birds flew upward, flying in corkscrew formation, gracefully flying through the Synchro Rings as their master chanted:

"From the loftiest heights where the eagles cry, come down from your perch and cleanse your domain of whatever foul taint that invades it…"

(*2 + *4 = *6)

"Synchro Summon… Mist Valley Divine Gryphon!"

The sacred creature landed, screeching as lightning started to flash over the sky of Desert of Eternity… (2,500 ATK)

"You're up again, Falcon, take care of that Bronze Einherjar!"

For the third time, Falcon swiped with her blade, slicing through the female archer. Again, the Einherjar turned to a cloud of metallic dust.

Gryphon spread its wings, and made a flying leap at the second Bronze Einherjar.

"That is quite enough," said Ragnora's voice. "I activate Spellbinding Circle."

One of the two Traps opened, and a magical pentagram formed around Gryphon, freezing him in place.

"This Trap disables your -"

"I know what it does, fellah,that's an old card. And a lame one too. Case in point, Gryphon can't attack, but he can use his effect, meaning I can Normal Summon again."

She used another card, causing Mist Valley Shaman to appear. (1,200 ATK) "There. Philip, he's all yours."

"Not until I summon two Brass Einherjar of Porphatys."

Again, the cloaked form started to inhale the bronze residue, and the symbol on the sarcophagus changed, this time to an infinity symbol with an arrow through the center, pointing down.

The Warriors that appeared this time seemed different than the others, in that they seemed far more sinister. Black-cloaked assassins with long, bronze knives (the only visible part of them that was bronze) with scarves covering their faces, revealing only cold eyes that lacked any emotion or soul. (1,000 ATK)

Philip noticed something else quickly. Each time he does this, the summoned monster is a Level lower than the destroyed one… There's a strategy here, but I'll be damned if I can see it.

"Gladly," he said. He made his draw, then winced a little, the flames from Burning Land licking at his heels. "Hurts a little, but it had to be done. I summon Mono Synchron!"

Playing the card caused a cute robot with a green torso and yellow, rounded head, with large, fierce looking eyes. Its arms had no hands, instead ending in pistons. (0 ATK)

"How cute," said Ragnora's voice.

Sarcasm aside, this sudden show of emotion unnerved the two of them further. Philip gulped a little, and kept going. "When this guy gives another monster a 'Tune-up', so to speak, those monsters automatically become Level 1."

Mono Synchron leapt upward as both Spell Striker and one of the Toy Soldiers followed, and each of the three monsters turned into a single star to dart through the rings.

(*1 + *1 + *1 = *3)

"Synchro Summon… The Martial Metal Marcher!"

Sofia heard the monster before she saw it, and she didn't like what she heard. A loud and unnerving racket that might vaguely have been considered rock music on a broken antique jukebox. When it appeared, it seemed that it was, sort of. It looked like a cross between an old nickelodeon slot machine and a pipe organ, with trumpets and tubas protruding from its back. Like a robot, it had arms and legs, the left arm having a French horn in place of a hand and the right having a long rifle. It wasn't still, dancing a jig as it sounded its cantankerous din. (500 ATK)

"Yu ask me, that's the monster that needs to be tuned!" shouted Sofia. She stuck her fingers in her ears.

"That's the idea," said Philip. He smiled broadly and tapped his Disk again. "But first, I can use this guy's effect to summon a Tuner from my Graveyard, like the Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion!"

This new Machine that rose from above was more modern, a spherical drone-like satellite with an solar panels radiating around and orange lights on the front. (1,000 DEF)

"Then, because Martial Metal Marcher is a Synchro and a Tuner, I can Tune it and my other two Toy Soldiers…"

Like before, the Synchro Rings appeared and the robotic noisemaker soared towards them, horn first, its racket subsiding as it and the two Soldiers melted into stars.

(*3 + *3 +*3 = *9)

"Synchro Summon… Vermillion Dragon Mech!"

Sofia had seen Philip summon this one before, and was almost giddy with excitement to see the huge mechanical dragon-tank land with a impact that shook the desert. Its gun extended with a whir at Ragnora's monsters. (2,700 ATK)

Philip wasn't near-done yet. As he used a new Spell Card, Sofia heard music again, but this time, it was soothing, beautiful orchestral music, a melody she was quite familiar with.

Tchaikovsky? she thought. Then she remembered something and almost laughed. "You brought that card?"

"Yup, the same one you got me the last Christmas we were together, and it's almost time to celebrate again. I'll pay 1,500 Life Points to use Nutcracker Suite! For each 500 spent, I get a Nutcracker Token!"

Three more toy soldiers marched from the enlarged card as he played it, with the same uniforms as the others - purple, green, and blue - but even less human-looking, and obviously made of wood, with ugly, exaggerated faces and long, gaping jaws. (0 ATK x3)

"So then, with Sky Union, I can get rid of two of them and Vermillion Dragon Mech! Begone!"

With the now-familiar Spell Card, the three Machines crumbled into pixels, and the shadow of Air Fortress Ziggurat started to cover the desert. (2,500 ATK)

"Still not done, everyone!" He placed Martial Metal Marcher's card in his shirt pocket, casing Silpheed to appear next. (1,700 ATK)

"Then I'll fuse together my Level 4 Silpheed, Level 3 Nutcracker, and Level 2 Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion!"

The elemental magic in the hearts of these beings is intertwined to fuel a magical engine of unspeakable power!"

(*2 + *4 + *3 = *9)

"I Synchro Summon… Cloudcastle!"

"Impressive," said Ragnora's voice. Its aspect tilted its "head" a little, "looking" up at the second flying behemoth that was now blocking out the sun. (0 ATK)

"I'll show you impressive. I use Cloudcastle's effect to bring back Vermillion Dragon Mech!"

There was more thunder overhead, and the giant draconic tank appeared again, bellowing in time to it. (2,700 ATK)

"I'll be using him first, by the way." He took Mono Synchron's card and placed it in his shirt pocket with Marcher and the Dragon Mech aimed its artillery at the Seal of Agathon. With one mighty concussive blast, the sarcophagus was blown to shards.

"Hmm. Guess we won't be seeing what it does after all. Ah, well. I'll use the effect of my Field Spell next, and pay 1,000 Life Points to swap the Attack Scores of every monster on the field with their Attack Points!"

(Cloudcastle: 3,000 ATK, Air Fortress Ziggurat: 2,000 ATK, Vermillion Dragon: 1,800 ATK, Steel Einherjar of Shunos. 1,000 DEF Bronze Einherjar of Pelion: 1,000 ATK, Brass Einherjar of Porphatys: 1,000 ATK)

Cannons, missiles, rockets, turrets, and ballista unfolded on the buttresses, counterforts and underside of Cloudcastle, while Ziggerut aimed its multitude of high-tech cannons…

"You may fire when ready," ordered Philip.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Well, well, thought Jalal. Why am I not surprised.

He was interrupted by cheers coming from the others; there had been a lull in the onslaught of Duel Spirits, and many of them had gathered around Jennifer while SAL projected the livestream on yet another holographic monitor. The cheers came in reaction to Cloudcastle blowing the last Bronze Einherjar apart, Sky Fortress Ziggurat and Vermillion Dragon doing the same to the Steel and Brass ones. He shoved the journal in his coat and stood up.

"Don't let your guard down, everyone," he warned.

"Don't worry, chief," said Karl, "I'm running a few abjurations through SAL and she should be able to see another attack coming a mile away. And besides, it seems our plan is working. That one round did a lot of damage. In fact, I may be able to give our plan a try right now."

"Uh, hold that thought, Karl," responded the AI. "About those abjurations you mentioned -"

Everyone stopped and stepped away from the edge, as the water started to boil on top of all the fury, while the ledge itself started to crack and buckle.

What crawled out of the maelstrom this time was the Turtle from Hell. There was no other way to describe it. The gigantic thing looked like it was made of volcanic rock that was cracked and crumbling, with molten lava underneath, seeping through the continual hardening cracks.

Subterror Behemoth Ultramafus roared at the much-smaller humans gathered in front of it, and it then became clear it hadn't come alone. Among the creatures they saw clinging to its rocky back were a Grappler, Ancient Brain, and a Hitotsu-Me-Giant were clinging to its shoulders.

"SAL, continue the attempt!" shouted Karl. He drew his sword and ran to join the others, even as the mighty Pyro slammed one foot down, shaking the ledge even fiercer.

"I'll try, Karl, but keep in mind, given where we are, if you go, I go with you…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Something was very wrong, and the two duelists could sense it.

(P: 5,000) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 3,600) - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,000)

"Uh…." said Sofia. "Isn't this the part where you absorb the soul or life essence or something of those guys to summon two weaker ones?"

They both heard a dark, sinister chuckle from the cloaked figure.

"You mortals can be so naive sometimes," said Ragnora's voice. "You assumed the effects of those monsters were summoning their kin? In truth, the phenomenon you witnessed was all an effect of the Seal of Agathon. And since it used that effect a total of four times, I can summon the two monsters I sealed within it."

The monsters that appeared now weren't Einherjar at all. Not even Warriors. In fact, they were both an easily recognizable - but rarely used - Reptile called Serpentine Princess. Each resembled a woman with a snakey trunk in place of legs, much like Hebi-Na or some other ophidia, but their faces had hideous gins and had triangular fins on the crowns of their bald heads. Each carried a scepter topped with a green gem. (1,400 ATK x2)

"I also activate the Trap Card, Bell Tower of Richemulot." The Continuous Trap revealed itself, and more of the dark fires started to appear over the figure's cloak. "By banishing the Seal of Agathon on the turn it is destroyed, along with Golden Einherjar, I draw one card for each Special Summoned monster you possess."

"Wait, does -" thought Philip. He looked at Sofia's three monsters, two of which had been Special Summoned.

"Five cards?" He hastily set his last two cards.

"I'll set two cards, and then I'm done, meaning the Scores of all Monsters on the field return to their original values. Oh, and I get this guy from Air Fortress."

One of the Ziggurat's Toy Robot Tokens leapt from above, kneeling on one of the vacant spaces. (0 DEF)

Cloudcastle is unassailable unless he summons something that's at least Level 9. If he does that will likely be his target. And I have Inverse Universe set to give him a big surprise when he tries it.

"I draw one card," said Ragnora.

"And you lose 500 Life Points," added Sofia.

"A pittance compared to the pain I intend to inflict on you both. For now I can use the true effects of the Einherjar armies. First, the effect of Silver Einherjar banishes itself and a Brass Einherjar from my Graveyard, summoning a Steel Einherjar from it."

The now familiar Spartan appeared, again defending with the other one. (1,700 DEF) Yet another of the small, dark flames started to form.

"By summoning it this way, its effect now causes Gold Einherjar to return to my hand, but I won't be using that one this turn. I then use the effect of Brass Einherjar, banishing itself and the other Silver Einherjar to summon Obsidian Einherjar of Chamada."

This time, the Einherjar was short and squat, like a dwarf in plate armor, which was jet black. It held a long, heavy maul. (600 ATK)

Then I send the two Steel Einherjar, Bell Tower of Richemulot, Shadow Spell, and SIX cards from my hand back to my deck."

"Say WHAT?" shouted Philip.

"A costly sacrifice, yes, but worth it, to summon a weapon more potent than any even the Ancient Artificers could have conceived. Come forth, Destroyer of Worlds."

Then the Desert of the Eternity started to shake, and large monoliths started to emerge from beneath the sand. Philip and Sofia recognized them quickly; they were the ruined remains of Antisthenes' destroyed Qlippoth.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Ancient Brain let out a loud, piercing shriek as it soared over the cavern, its dark spells from its cudgel. It paused to let out an evil cackle.

"SHUT UP!"

Not that Prospero was going to wait to see if it did so on its own. The Fiend was cut off as another Bolt of Bedevilment made it shut up, and then crash to the floor.

"Uh, some help here?" grunted Jennifer. She had found out quickly how Grappler got its name, as the Reptile was trying to tighten its hold on the young Shadowchaser.

"Gimme a minute," replied Douglas. He finally managed to punch the Hitotsu-Me-Giant full in the face, knocking it over the ledge and into the maelstrom below.

Meanwhile, the others were trying their best to avoid the stomps from Ultramafus' mighty feet, interspersed with fiery gouts of flaming breath. Uomo was trying to aim with the same rocket launcher he's used on Antisthenes - using a normal shell this time - waiting for just the right opening.

Then everyone - both the humans and Duel Spirits - froze as a roar came from the abyss.

Well, maybe not a roar. Maybe it was better described as a wailing, or a howl. It was hard to say. But then, it was also hard to say if it was made out of anger, anguish, or pain, or even a combination of all three. It was, however, certain that only eons of burning in the lowest infernal bowels of Hell could have caused a being to utter it. Even Ultramafus seemed frightened…

"Everyone hit the dirt!" Heeding Uomo's warning, the Shadowchasers did so, Jennifer freeing herself from Grappler with a single backward kick before diving for cover. The rocket shell was propelled over them, slamming into the Pyro with a resounding strike that rattled their teeth…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Ragnora's voice echoed over the Desert of Eternity.

"I'll bless you two with a magnificent gift, one that so few receive: a rare vision of the unstoppable juggernaut that shall bring about the end! Bow, humans, before everything you shall grow to fear! Tierra, Source of Destruction!"

As the figure stretched its hand outwards, the two young duelists were caught off-guard by a strange sensation. They had expected an earthquake, an explosion, or some sort of void opening, some sort of cataclysm heralding the arrival of some giant monster. But what happened instead was surprisingly mundane. One moment the field was as it was a moment ago, and the next… IT was there.

The thing was as difficult to describe as Ragnora himself was, a nightmarish hodgepodge that must have been a mile high. Even its very nature was confusing, leaving the duelists wondering if it were biological, mechanical, or even an inanimate structure. It stood upon four column-like legs, two black with a white zigzag, and the other two a reverse pattern of white with black. In the center, it looked more like a tower than anything else, a vase-shaped structure wrapped in two gyroscopic rings that led up to what could've been the Eye of Sauron. Flaring out from the eye were two crystalline sculpted wings, and growing from the top of said eye was an even higher tower holding a brazier that belched smoke high over their heads. A segmented metal tail extended out behind the freakish monster, adding further to its confusing appearance.(3,400 ATK)

"I activate Horn of Heaven!" yelled Philip. His Trap lifted, and the Toy Robot Token shattered. "By sacrificing this monster, I can -"

Then he screamed as Tierra's mighty eye focused on him, the Counter Trap twisting and pulling itself apart, imploding unto itself.

"Well, guess it was worth a shot." He held his stomach as he said it, trying very hard to keep from actually kneeling and giving his foe the satisfaction.

"Pathetic. Tierra is the very embodiment of destruction. Reality itself cannot stand before its tremendous power. Soon, all shall be but a memory!"

It took a moment for the two lovers to notice that as soon as it had appeared, the bizarre creation was sapping the very fabric of existence from around it. Sofia's Mist Valley monsters, Philip's Machines, and even the two Serpentine Princesses all disintegrated in its presence. But it didn't stop there. Even when the Field Spell faded and they had returned to their original surroundings, everything around them, the treasures, Door, and dungeon walls crumbled and blew away like dust. Not just the objects and the building, but the entirety of reality seemed to be collapsing. Philip and Sofia could only gape as the world around them blurred and distorted.

They were standing in a static white void with only each other and Tierra for company.

'Gone," sobbed Sofia, at the emptiness of it all. "Gone…"

"Sofia, now's not the time to panic," said Philp.

"I beg to differ, mortal. Observe."

The aspect extended its hand again, and two Bronze Einherjar one appeared to each side of the abomination. (1,700 ATK, 1,700 ATK)

"The Serpentine Princesses…"

"They returned to my deck, and as a result, two more Einherjar come from it. Onix Einherjar has a similar effect, summoning Platinum Einherjar of Nidavellir."

Yet another of the odd warriors appeared, and this time, it was a female in armor of the same style of Zigfried's Valkyries. She had no horse, but whether she needed one was debatable. She was almost seven feet tall, with muscular limbs, and angry, fiery eyes, long black hair cascading down from under her helmet. Her armor, while platinum, was tarnished and dull. Strangely, she had no weapon. (2,400 ATK)

She looked at Philip, and her angry eyes started to glow as Ragnaros continued his rant. "The hour of your twilight is nigh, mortals."

"No…" said Philip.

The half-elf screamed as a powerful blast from the giant Einherjar struck him, but the worst was yet to come. Tierra's terrible eye looked down on him.

"So-So, I tried, I'm -" he started.

"Dark Chaos Purge."

Then he screamed louder as all of reality started to blur around him from the abomination's hellish glare…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

What was left of Subterror Behemoth Ultramafus collapsed in a heap. Uomo fell on one knee, more exhausted than he had been in his entire life.

"Everyone in one piece?" asked Jalal.

"Uh, I think so," replied Wells. "Think they've gone away for now."

"SAL, how's it coming?" asked Karl.

"Well, good news bad news," came the reply. "Our program took hold and the nano stream has successfully been infected."

"Uh, you going to let us in on this?" asked Prospero.

"Simple," said Karl. "Ragnaros is using Antisthenes' program to send the nanomachine army through the livestream to infect whoever was viewing the duel. At the same time, the Temple is receiving information from the viewers, also through the nanos."

"You're trying to infect the entire Temple?" gasped Fanciullo.

"Not 'trying' now, the infection has started."

"So it's over?" asked Drago. "We won?"

Karl let out a long sigh. "Drago, have you ever used a slow, laggy computer? That sort of thing is often caused by viral infections, but a 'sick' computer still works. We need to crash the system in order to sever the connection, and as of now, from this point…" He looked at the maelstrom. "...that depends on Sofia and Philip…"

"Uh, actually," said turned to her; she was looking into her iPad again. "It may be only Sofia now…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Philip? PHILIP?"

(P: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 3,100) - - - - - - - - - (S: 7,000)

He was gone. Right in front of her, Tierra's assault had caused him to crumble into silvery dust in front of her.

She turned to Ragnora with rage in her eyes. "You dirty son of a -"

She was interrupted as the arrows from both Bronze Einherjar pierced her torso. She fell on her knees, sobbing. Her clothes were in tatters and bruises covered her skin.

"Submit," ordered Ragnorra. "Surely, death is preferable to oblivion?"

(R: 3,100) - - - - - - - - - (S: 3,600)

Sofia looked up at him. She held her shoulder, noticing that an arrow was still embedded in it, just like the one in her thigh.

She forced herself up onto her feet. "Up yours," she hissed. "And don't call me Shirley."

"Amusing," said Ragnora. "As my monster cannot convince you, I'll end my turn, and because I sent Obsidian Einherjar to my deck this turn, I draw twice.

"It is your move."

Sofia nearly collapsed there. She was bleeding, it was painful to even move her right arm, and she had no way to treat - or even bind - the two wounds. She remembered old first aid classes she had taken years ago, which included how to treat such trauma. Most started with, "call paramedics", and "make sure there's no further threat".

Snap OUT of it! she told herself, slamming herself in the forehead with the blunt of her hand.

She looked at the giant abomination. Its power had sent her entire hand and entire Graveyard to her deck. This one draw would be all she would have to fight it. Did she even have one card that could do it?

She fought back tears as she pulled the card off the deck…

At first, she nearly cried out in anguish at the high-Level monster one that would have been a dead draw…

Then… Then she felt something warm. A hug? Something holding her up and reassuring her?

It passed very quickly, but she looked closely at the card, wiping her eyes free of the tears and sweat obscuring them.

Huh. Son of a bitch, she thought.

"WELL?" demanded Ragnora.

"Tell you what, fellah," she said. "I'm not up to snuff right now, so you just give me your best shot, and then I'll give you mine. End turn."

The demon didn't answer for a second or two. Then it produced a third card. "So be it," said the aspect with a shrug, or something like one. "Crush her."

The Source of Destruction lifted one mighty limb, positioning it over Sofia to smash her flat...

"Not this time!" she shouted. She held the one card out in front of her.

Please let this work… she pleaded.

"I summon the Goddess of Sweet Revenge!"

From out of the card - the card Eden had left behind, using like a bookmark until Sofia picked it up, unknowingly mixing with her deck when it had spilled - a lovely woman with long, flowing green hair, encircling her body like a long scarf, and a gown that was a matching green. As the giant foot descended, she produced a long, golden staff with a silver tip shaped like an eagle, and chanted a mighty eldritch command…

Tierra froze, then something from it let out an unholy howl as its armored hide started to crack, rays of light forcing outward from it as diving fire started to consume it from within. Goddess of Sweet Revenge closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and started to chant a different incantation. The three Einherjar tried to flee, but were crushed by flaming debris that had once been part of the the abomination over them. Finally, the goddess threw her arms out, and what remained of the Bringer of Destruction tore apart, then dissolved into formless vapor.

"So much for that," said Sofia. "Goddess of Sweet Revenge also lets me Special Summon any monster from my deck I want, so here comes Mist Valley Apex Avian!"

She set the card on her Disk, fumbling a little, causing Apex Avian to appear, then cover itself with its large, spanning wings. (2,000 DEF) Goddess nodded to her, then disappeared into the same mist.

"Resourceful," said Ragnora. "But then, so am I."

Unfortunately for Sofia, the Quickplay Spell that sprang into existence was one she recognized only too well.

"A deal with Dark Ruler?" she gasped.

"The loss of Tierra was unfortunate, but never let it be said I couldn't improvise. I use Tierra itself as an offering to summon Berserk Dragon."

A foul odor of rot, decay, and death filled the chamber, the infamous undead dragon appearing as the card shattered. Its roar amplified the stench, suggesting nothing less than an arson attack on a condemned slaughterhouse. (3,500 ATK)

"And I'm not done. Because you destroyed Platinum Einherjar, I can pay 1,000 Life Points to summon the Adamantine Einherjar of Maladomini."

The vault shoot once more, as the largest, most monstrous of the Einherjar leapt from above. The most distinguishing feature of this Warrior was… It was black. Like a solid, bulky, hulking suit of armor sculpted out of shadowy blackness, the size of an ogre. Very little indicated that there was anything alive underneath. (2,800 ATK)

"And now I can resume that battle."

Sofia cringed a little as Adamantine Einherjar slammed its mace into Apex Avian, smashing it into particles. Still, the true shock came as Berserk Dragon spewed a wave of rancid, rotting filth from its maw…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

There seemed to be a lull in the onslaught of Duel Spirits for now, and none of the Shadowchasers were complaining. Few of them had much energy left to handle another attack, much less if Ragnora actually broke free.

"Prospero, Viola, question," said Karl. "Did Belle ever teach either of you how to cast Nahal's Wildzone?"

The expressions on the faces of the two leaders of the Determined indicated that they clearly didn't expect him to ask that. Wildzone was a spell that hexed an entire area, turning all magic cast in such an area into wild magic. It almost always done to hinder the conventional magic of other wizards, and could create - purposely or accidentally - Wild Magic Zones, dangerous places where the laws of magic and occasionally the Laws of Physics were twisted and altered. .

Viola answered with a nod. "It would take about three minutes to cast, but -"

"Good, we need one in five minutes. That and a Reckless Dweomer."

"Uh, dare we ask why?" asked Wells.

"Because that's when SAL is planning to strike at the connective barrier between the replica Temple - that's where we are - and the true Temple. Picture a wall with a target painted on it, and then picture five wizards casting lightning bolts at the target. This little program is going to do that through cyberspace, the "wall" being the part of the barrier that's been weakened by our sabotage of the nanomachine infestation. If it works, that should crash the system and leave Ragnora trapped."

"Uh, Karl," said Prospero, "fine and dandy, but with those two spells active, we'll be hitting this entire structure with us in it with five Surges at once!"

"And potentially amplifying the destructive power of the assault itself, which I believe right now has about a 3% chance of actually shattering the connection. At best."

The whole rift was quiet as they considered this. Karl adjusted his glasses.

"Anyone have a better idea?" he asked. "If Ragnora actually breaks free, our chances are going to be, by all logic -"

"- squat," added Francis.

"Exactly."

"Do it," ordered Jalal.

Not like we have much more to lose, thought Prospero.

He and Viola gave brief nods, then both started to concentrate to prepare the spells.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You were lucky to have summoned that Winged Beast in Defense Mode," said Ragnora, "but you haven't much left."

(R: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - (S: 100)

Sofia held her shoulder, noticing that the arrow was gone, at least. Possibly they disappeared along with the Bronze Einherjar, but she'd think about that later.

"I'll end my turn, which means Berserk Dragon loses 500 Attack Points." (3,000 ATK) "It also means that, because Adamantine Einherjar slew a monster, I take a Quickplay Spell from my Graveyard and set it."

Sofia's head was swimming worse than it was before, but even so, it was easy to figure out which card that was, and what he intended to do with it.

Both his monsters are Level 8, she thought, so if either of them is destroyed, I'll have a second Berserk Dragon to deal with.

She started to draw the top card from her deck. That means I have to win this turn or not at all. I've had a lot of luck get me through this whole mess… Hope I still have a little left…

She turned the card to look at it. Her heart in her chest - which had been struggling simply to beat a minute ago - started to pound faster.

"Know how they say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step?" she said out loud. She fit the card into her Field Zone. "Well, that's how the journey ENDS too! Temple of Eternity!"

Playing the card started to cause the void around them to melt away, and she felt two things she had, for an hour or two, almost forgot existed. Fresh air, and more importantly, the sun. Around them now was open sky and a fresh, invigorating breeze. She saw the Desert of Eternity again, but below. The card had taken them to the peak of the ziggurat, the physical embodiment of the ultimate Truth that Eden and Philip had so long searched for.

She remembered what he had said what seemed an age ago when he confronted her at Graceland:

There's one thing that keeps the world from plunging into chaos and anarchy. One thing that preserves peace and keeps civilization from falling into ruin. It's a very fragile thing that would be very easy to destroy if the wrong people found it.

While it had all been a fiction planted for the opposite reason, maybe now it would be a weapon she could use to accomplish the exact goal the Determined were striving for.

"Peh, another Field Spell? It has no monsters to enhance.

"This one does a bit more," started Sofia. "In order to use its effect I have to banish every last card in my hand, field, and Graveyard, except itself. Then, to draw five cards."

She made the five draws, but didn't look at them right away.

"But before I use any, there's one final cost…"

She took hold of the rest of her deck, removed it from the holder, and placed the entire thing in the pouch on her belt.

She swore she could see the "eyes" within the darkness serving as the aspect's face widen a little.

"Your entire deck? You have truly gone mad."

Still, she knew she heard a faint quiver in Ragnora's voice as he said so.

"Dunno, big guy, you have to be a little crazy to do this for a living after all. So, let's see what we've got…" She turned the cards over to look at them. "Oh YEAH, these will do."

She started, taking two of her final five cards, placing one of them. "Since you have monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon Cockadoodledoo!"

A chubby rooster about half her size leapt in front of her with a cackle. (1,600 ATK) "However, its Level changes to 4. Then, because the monsters you have are both Dark, I'll summon Alector, Sovereign of birds!"

The monster she summoned now was also a rooster, but more regal and noble. Humanoid in shape and size, it wore silver plate armor and had marvelous, red-feathered wings. (2,400 ATK) Cockadoodledoo chirped loudly, jumping up and down with delight.

"Now I can use his effect, and choose one face-up card and nullify its effect." Alector looked down at Cockadoodledoo, its eyes fixating as an orange pentagram formed around the smaller bird that slowly turned yellow.

"Because I did that, its Level returns to 5. Then I'll use the Spell Card, Level Lifter. I'll discard Mist Valley Baby Roc, and as a result of that, both of my monsters lose 2 Levels. Also, discarding Baby Roc causes him to be summoned to the field."

The small Roc chick wearing a skull as a helmet appeared, flapping its wings in midair. (400 ATK)

"Is there a point to all this?"

"Sure there is. Next I'll summon Mist Valley Cassowary!"

She used the same card from the duel with Ferdinand, causing the fierce-looking flightless bird to appear. (300 ATK)

Here goes nothing, she thought. "I'll Tune Cassowary and Baby Roc…"

(*1 +*1 + *1 = *3)

Mist Bird Clausolas!"

The stars combined together through the ring, creating a bird of prey with long, emerald wings and sharp talons. While it stood partially upright, it had no arms. It's anatomy was an odd cross between that of an actual bird and the human-like Winged Beasts that seemed so common in the game. (0 ATK)

"Yeah, I know, zero Attack Points. But via his effect, your monster isn't gonna be so strong either."

Clausolas flapped its wings fiercely, and sharp feathers darted at Adamantine Einherjar like arrows, piercing its metal carapace. It groaned a little as its Attack Score also fell to zero.

"Bah! Pointless. With my Life Points as they are -"

"Will you let me finish?" she interrupted. "Alector isn't strong enough, but in case your forgot, I lowered his Level to 4 and Cockadoodledoo to 3. And I have one more card, Surrogate Synchro. By Tributing a Synchro Monster, like Clausolas there -" She activated the card, causing Clausolas to shatter. "I can summon Apex Avian from my Graveyard."

While the giant bird appeared no less noble and majestic as before, it seemed to be lacking any enthusiasm it once had this time. (0 ATK)

"It's powerless."

"Doesn't matter, because it also loses Levels equal to the monster I just sacrificed, making him Level 4. Meaning I can Tune him and Cockadoodledoo."

The Synchro Rings formed again, the smaller rooster flapping its stubby wings and then soaring through them, it's older patron taking flight and following.

"Twisting lightning dances upon the howling gale! With the roar of thunder, descend to the battlefield!"

There was a mighty, vigorous bellow as Mist Valley Thunder Lord landed with an earth-shaking tremor, crouching with its wings spread and ready to pounce. Lightning flashed again as it roared to the heavens in bloodlust. (2,600 ATK)

"Still not strong enough."

Sofia frowned at him, then took Alector's card from the Disk, causing Alector himself to disappear. Thunder Lord roared even louder, flexing its huge muscles… (3,100 ATK)

"Thunder Lord's effect returns a card to my hand and gains 500 points. Strong enough now?"

Sofia got no answer, but needed none.

"Attack Adamantine Einherjar!" she ordered. "Thunder Rage Fury!"

As the storm reached a crescendo, the furious oni pounced. As loud, unholy bellow came from beyond the door as the Einherjar was torn in twain…

(R: 0) - - - - - - - - - (S: 100)

The Goddess of Sweet Revenge had given Sofia a the final ounce of strength she needed to claim victory, but now, she truly hadn't an ounce left. Just what the victory would gain her, she had no idea, even as consciousness started to slip…

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"Everyone hold onto something!" warned Karl.

"To what?" Tormento looked around the ledge, trying to find something to anchor himself. "Each other?"

"Don't even think about it," warned Drago.

As he and SAL initiated the final ten-second countdown to his multi-spell, the tell-tale signs of the Wildzone were already becoming clear, and not just by sight. It was starting to permeate the air like ozone.

Karl's hand hovered over the ENTER key. "Initiating attack in, five, four, three…"

"Oh, hell with it," said Drago, and grabbed hold of Tormento for support.

"...two… one…"

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"SOFIA!"

She barely heard her name called, even as she landed in Philip's arms.

"Philip…" she groaned.

"Hang tight, baby hang tight!" he urged. "We're almost there, and now I gotta finish it."

She had no idea what he meant, but it was plain to him. Her final assault had almost closed the giant Door. Almost. A giant hand that seemed to be made partially out of darkness and Chaos itself had jammed the door and was trying to pry it open!

Holding onto Sofia with his left arm, Philip gestured with the other, causing the Fist of Chaos to again surround it. Barely knowing what he was doing, he thrust it at the door, screaming in pain as the glove - and he was certain, every bone in his hand - shattered…

And then, the world around them seemed to implode….

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Philip slowly started to wake up, and felt the sun on his face.

The sun? he thought. What…

"Baaa."

He was still holding Sofia, who was sound asleep next to him. He started to sit up, clutching his forehead. It was pounding.

"Baaa?"

A sheep?

To his incredible shock, that's the first thing he saw as his vision started to come back. A curious ewe was nudging him with its nose.

"Shoo, shoo," he said, urging the animal away. Where was he?

He rubbed his eyes and saw they were on a grassy gnoll, with more sheep nearby, and a farmhouse in the distance. Around them were olive trees, and seeing as it was November, the olives were almost ripe.

The sound of Sofia's Duel Disk and Jalal's scratchy but still coherent voice snapped him fully awake: "Sofia? Philip? Do you copy?"

"Uh, yeah, Jalal, we're here," he said, slowly, the headache making it painful to talk. "This may sound crazy, but I think we're in Portugal. Or Greece..."

"Actually, it makes perfect sense," continued Jalal. "The replica Temple kind of collapsed in on itself and everyone was, well, scattered. Thank goodness nobody ended up in the middle of the ocean."

"Wait, wait, what about Ragnora?"

"Like I said, the replica Temple collapsed in on itself, along with Ragnora's escape route. Karl's multi-spell was boosted by five surges, and they somehow got a last-minute boost of power from a sixth one."

Philip looked at his bruised and burned right hand, where the Fist of Chaos had been. He let out a long sigh, actually a little glad that surge had wrecked it.

Sofia, meanwhile, turned her head, and saw four cards, oddly placed in a row next to her. It was the four Field Spells, the City, Bridge, Desert, and Temple of Eternity. Instinctively, she reached for them, but they dissolved into formless vapor before her hand reached them.

Just as well, she thought, never want to try THAT again.

Then, to her surprise, she saw two other cards. Goddess of Sweet Revenge, and...

"Out of curiosity, where are you?" asked Philip.

"I think about a mile or so north of Kathmandu, I think. The portal network is moving slowly finding everyone, so this may take a little while."

Sofia managed to pick up the two cards this time. The second one was Damned Magician Girl, but it had changed. Much like the one in that video game, her sullen sneer had been replaced by Dark Magician Girl's happy, bubbly expresion.

"We'll be fine, Jalal," said Philip. "Take your time."

He felt Sofia's warm arms embrace him.

"In fact, take as long as you need. We're in no rush."

He switched it off, then held Sofia closer. "Damn, So-So, that was a pretty risky move…"

Epilogue comes next, after one final listing of fanmade cards:

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Nutcracker Suite (Quickplay Spell Card)

Image: Three Christmas nutcrackers, one red, one green, and one blue, surrounded by holly and ivy leaves.

Effect: Pay any amount of Life Points in increments of 500; for each 500 Life Points spent, Special Summon a "Nutcracker Token" (Machine/Earth/Lvl3/0ATK/0DEF) in Attack Position. "Nutcracker Tokens" cannot attack and are destroyed during your next End Phase.

This card is an updated version of a card that appeared in "Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Messiah".

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Surrogate Synchro (Normal Spell Card)

Image: Junk Warrior helping a wounded and exhausted Total Defense Shogun to his feet on a rocky battlefield.

Effect: Tribute 1 Synchro Monster you control and select 1 non-Synchro Monster from your GY with the same Type and Attribute and higher Level than the Tributed Monster. Special Summon the selected monster in Attack Position. Its ATK and DEF become zero and its Level is decreased by the Tributed monster's Level. Until the End Phase of your turn after activating this card, you may not Normal nor Special Summon any monsters except via Synchro Summon.

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Seal of Agathon (Continuous Spell Card)

Image: The throne from Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen, but dusty and cracked, in a dark, ruin.

Effect: Upon activation, select 2 Level 4 monsters from your deck that can be Normal Summoned, and banish them. During each End Phase, select 1 of your "Einherjar" monsters that was destroyed this turn; Special Summon from your Deck 2 "Einherjar" monsters with 1 Level lower than the selected monster, and then place an "Einherjar Counter" on this card. "Einherjar" monsters summoned in this manner cannot use their effects while face-up on the field. While you control this face-up card, you may not Normal Summon nor Special Summon monsters via any means except the effect of "Seal of Agathon".

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Cursed Flagon of Thuldanin (Continuous Trap Card)

Image: A bejeweled,golden flagon lying on the floor in a dark, deserted wine cellar.

Effect: Neither player may send cards from the field to the GY unless they are destroyed. Your opponent may draw an extra card during each of their Draw Phases.

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Bell Tower of Richemulot (Continuous Trap)

Image: A rickety bell tower amist castle ruins, under a dark, cloudy sky, the bell lying rusted and cracked on the ground. Behind it, the dark figure from the card "Vain Betrayer" extends a claw towards it.

Effect: Activate during the turn when you take 3,000 or more points of damage from battles involving "Einherjar" monsters. Draw 1 card for each Special Summoned monster your opponent controls. If this card is destroyed or banished, destroy all cards you control and send every card in your hand to the GY. During the End Phase of your turn, destroy this card.

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Dark Aegis (Effect Monster)

Rock/Dark/Lvl5/300ATK/1,800DEF

Effect: If you control at least 1 "Einherjar" monster, you may pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon this card from your hand in face-up Defense Mode; you may only Special Summon 1 "Dark Aegis" this way per turn. If you control this card and an "Einherjar" monster, your opponent can only attack "Dark Aegis". If this card is destroyed by battle, you may banish it and draw 1 card.

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Golden Einherjar of Mertion (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Light/LVL5/2,200ATK/1,000DEF

Effect: If this card is in your GY and a "Seal of Agathon" with 4 or more "Einherjar Counters" you control it is destroyed, you may activate the following effect during your next Standby Phase: Select 2 of your banished Level 4 monsters and Special Summon them. They cannot attack or use their effects that turn.

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Silver Einherjar of Bothion (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Light/Lvl4/1,900ATK/1,200DEF

Effect: if this card is in your GY, you may banish it and a "Bronze Einherjar of Pelion" in your GY to Special Summon 1 "Steel Einherjar of Shunos" from your hand or deck.

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Bronze Einherjar of Pelion (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Light/Lvl3/1,700ATK/1,000DEF

Effect: If 1 or more of this card is Special Summoned from your deck, you may Special Summon an "Einherjar" monster from your deck except a "Bronze Einherjar of Pelion". The Level of the monster Special Summoned via this effect must be equal to 3x the number of "Bronze Einherjar of Pelion" that you Special Summoned this turn.

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Steel Einherjar of Shunos (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Light/Lvl3/1,000ATK/1,700DEF

Effect: When 1 or more of this card is Special Summoned, add 1 banished "Einherjar" monster to your hand; you may not summon it that turn.

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Brass Einherjar of Porphatys (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Dark/Lvl2/600ATK/1,000DEF

Effect: If this card you control is sent from the field to your deck by a card effect, you may, after the resolution of that effect, Special Summon 1 "Platinum Einherjar of Nidavellir" from your hand or deck.

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Obsidian Einherjar of Chamada (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Dark/Lvl2/800ATK/200DEF

Effect: f this card you control is sent from the field to your deck by a card effect, you may, during the next End Phase, draw 2 cards.

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Platinum Einherjar of Nidavellir (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Dark/Lvl6/2,400ATK/1,400DEF

Effect: If this card is destroyed by your opponent's card effect, Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher "Einherjar" monster from your hand or deck.

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Adamantine Einherjar of Maladomini (Effect Monster)

Warrior/Dark/Lvl8/2,800ATK/2,000DEF

Effect: On the turn this card is Special Summoned, you may activate the following effect if this card destroys an opposing monster by battle: during your End Phase, select 1 Quickplay Spell Card from your deck and set it.

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Temple of Eternity (Field Spell Card)

Image: Close-up view of the pyramid pictured on the other "Eternity" Field Spell Cards, now with the ominous Eye of Providence on the top underneath a spiraling portal.

Card Description: If this card is added to your hand via the effect of an "Eternity" Field Spell, you may banish 3 "Eternity" Field Spell Cards with different names from your GY; activate this card from your hand. (This is a quick effect.) Also, if this card was added to your hand from your deck by the effect of "Desert of Eternity", place 3 Pilgrimage Counter on it when it is activated, and then draw 1 card for every Pilgrimage Counter it has. Once per turn, you may activate the following effect: Banish every card in your hand and GY and all cards you control except this card, then, draw 5 cards; if you do, banish all cards remaining in your deck. This turn, Effects of cards you activate and Normal and Special Summons you make cannot be countered or negated.

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Epilogue

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Five months later…

Jalal straightened his tie with the full-length mirror in his study, a place he had barely even entered in months. He often wondered why he even maintained a house he used only a few days a year. Or a wardrobe he rarely even touched. At least the tuxedo still fit, and he was glad to finally put that armor away for a while. While the enchantments made it comfortable, it was really starting to stink.

As he looked over himself, he felt the cellphone in his pocket - his Duel Disk wouldn't be appropriate where he was going - vibrate. He withdrew it and checked the number before answering.

"Go ahead, Bob."

"Good news, Jalal," said the doctor. "Both Ramón and Yolanda are eating and able to talk coherently. Ezekiel and Drumer are starting to show progress too."

"And the folks from Copek?"

"Emily was able to give us her 'upgraded' formula, but she might need treatment with golden ice before we can cure her. If we can. Ferdinand might need some physical therapy, but he should recover. Sylvester is still being kept under sedation. But as far as the nano plague goes, it seems to be gone from their systems completely."

"They probably simply couldn't function without their source," replied Jalal. "Switch to class-C observation, and let me know if anything changes. Hopefully, we can put this whole thing behind us with."

As he started to walk downstairs, he hit the speed-dial.

"Dolores, did you pick up the flowers?"

"On the desk at your office, chief. Along the envelope from you-know-who."

"It's been scanned for hazardous substances, I assume."

"Affirmative."

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Ten minutes later, he unlocked the door to the office, noting the bouquet of flowers on the desk - white lilies - and an old-fashioned envelope sealed with wax and stamped with a signet ring.

After the six Wild Surges separated the entire group, they were unable to locate Fanciullo or his men at all. Eventually, they found his townhouse in Italy. He wasn't there, of course, having cleared out and left only the envelope with Jalal's name.

He picked it up, breaking the seal with his finger. The letter inside was hand-written and in an easily recognizable style.

Stormbringer,

Since you're reading this, I assume you all made it out of there in one piece. Can't say I enjoyed myself during the whole thing, seeing as I didn't, but as my old man used to say, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Me and the boys are going to be out of the picture for a while, but don't go thinking we're gone, okay? Wouldn't want you going soft on us.

Still, if you're ever in Florence, and you're in the mood for steak or seafood, but don't have much cash, try Giovanni Duomo. If you go there on a Thursday, ask for Antonio and tell them I sent you. He owes me a favor. Just don't order the mussels, take my word on that.

Alla prossima

He folded the letter and placed it in the desk drawer, then picked up the lilies. As he started to open the door, the phone vibrated again, this time with a specific pitch.

"Go ahead, Karl," he said as he answered.

"Chief, SAL has finished the final scan. Seems the nanomachines are gone from her system and all our entire network. I think we can finally say with clarity that Antisthenes is gone."

"And the Pan Dimensional Homing Device?"

"Not sure about that yet. Hopefully it was eradicated, but with artifacts, you never know. One thing that does worry me a little, uhm -"

"Go on."

"SAL's records of the whole encounter seem to suggest that there was a minor dimensional abnormally at the precise time I restarted the implosion countdown that destroyed the TARDIS. It may have created a 'crack' within the realities, though which it might have drawn something through."

"Meaning Antisthenes could have left us a parting gift," sighed Jalal.

"I already did a global scan twice and can start a third, but it seems that if anything came through, there's no supernatural, paranormal, or psychic aura for our equipment to track."

That didn't seem all-too reassuring to Jalal. After all, neither Timothy McVeigh nor Osama bin Laden had any "supernatural, paranormal, or psychic aura'...

"We'll worry about that later," he answered. "Tell everyone I'll be there in half an hour. I have one more stop to make."

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In a courtyard within Shadowchasers Headquarters, a small shrine had been set up, with a modest headstone. Clearly, however, it had been visited frequently, as flowers, greeting cards, and other bric-a-brac had been left by mourners. The leader of the Shadowchasers approached it closed his eyes in silent prayer for a brief moment.

EDEN

Born a Gautiere

Died a Tiere

The simple message had been all that was needed. He placed the bouquet in front.

He noted one of the other mementoes that had been placed there, an open, somber-looking greeting card with a pocket that was used to include a cash gift. But instead of cash, the two cards with Damned Magician Girl and Goddess of Sweet Revenge were tucked within.

He sighed a little, then turned away. Hopefully, his final stop would be more cause to celebrate.

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Hampton Court Palace

Sofia was crying.

Not from sadness nor anguish now. She was weeping tears of joy as her father led her down the aisle towards the altar. Despite all her years as a Shadowchaser, she had no idea that Jalal had this much influence, enough to reserve such a beautiful venue, not to mention the gorgeous dress with tiara.

The happiest day of her life, and she truly felt like a princess.

Still, she managed to stifle the tears when she finally faced Philip at the altar. It was finally happening.

Jalal himself watched from a row near the back. After all, he had a feeling an impromptu guest was about to show up.

"Friends, family, honored guests," started the pastor, "we are here in this grand cathedral to honor the union of Sofia Witt and Philip Lupin. May their bond be as eternal as the wind, waves, stone, and fire."

Jalal finally saw him, the shadowy, trenchcoated figure sitting in the pew behind him as if he'd been there the whole time. Speak of the devil, he thought.

"They say so much of mortal life is lost in waiting," said Jemorille.

"I don't believe you were on the guest list," replied Jalal.

"You figured out the true purpose of the logbook, I take it."

Jalal sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, it was kind of obvious who 'Milly Niles, Jarl Hexer of Mt. Somee' was. It's a title that almost makes 'the Exile' seem profound. Also easy to discern that the 'tighmaevril' was actually a very specific type."

He didn't dare say the word "saronite" here. Not at a wedding where simply mentioning the Great Old Ones would likely bring ill fortune. Still, it was clear from the description that the penal colony inmates mentioned in the logbook had been driven insane by the ore itself, and that Antisthenes had used the cursed blood of the imprisoned abominations to rebuild itself. It was lucky he only malfunctioned the way he did.

"Jalal, like I told you, rilmani have a difficult task. The instructions I had been given at the time were, 'there's trouble at Thoth's Estate. Go deal with it'. So I presented myself as a young frost giant with promise, and was welcomed as an initiate. It took forty years before I was trusted enough to view the inner sanctum of the Grand Library for enough time to discern what the trouble was."

"So, is Ragnora some hated rival of Thoth?" asked Jalal. Jemorille shook his head. "Illegitimate son?" Again, the rilmani shook his head. "You don't mean…"

The nod - and the revelation - came as something of a shock to the half-dragon.

"Thoth and Ragnora are two aspects of the same primordial," explained Jemorille. "But they are not opposites. Thoth is an embodiment of a concept that exists apart from moral or ethical conflicts. He is not Good or Evil, nor Order or Chaos. He is Knowledge, and Knowledge does not discriminate. Ragnora's mere existence was anathema to him, and was something he wished kept dark.

"The gods do that a lot. They don't want mortals to know they're tainted or imperfect. Still, in Thoth's case, it was of the best interests of the rilmani to assure such taints remain hidden. The tiere were inadvertently about to turn Ragnora into their God-Emperor, and had that happened, his dogma would have spread. Thoth would have been forced to either accept his 'brother' as an ally or oppose him. Either way, it would have led to Knowledge itself weighing heavily upon one side of the Balance."

"Giving that one side too much of an advantage," said Jalal, with a slow nod.

"The plan fell into place quickly," continued Jemorille. "Some of the other acolytes had some of that… special tighmaevril stored in the vaults for… research purposes. I simply arranged to have it moved to a less secure vault, and then 'let it slip' within earshot of some unsavory folks who were attempting to mine and smuggle the stuff."

"You fooled a platonic into attacking the tiere," said Jalal with a sigh. "All to let them find out, the hard way, that he was a fraud. Don't know whether to be disgusted or impressed."

"I never expected the tiere to accomplish what they did. I'd hoped they would just flee and abandon their temple. But they did the unthinkable. They opposed and bound their deceptive god. And that intrigued Antisthenes, who was already malfunctioning due to the… tighmaevril he had used to rebuild himself. Realizing the truth after generations of deceit had given them power enough to restrain a god."

Jalal started to come to the realization of what Jemorille meant. "So he figured out that all he had to do was teach mortals to distrust so they could learn to see truths?"

"Remember my story about Nazi Germany?"

Again, Jalal was about to speak, but then, suddenly, it came to him.

"It's all about the Balance. Good and Evil, Law and Chaos, all must be Balanced. If one side gets too strong, the Wheel is incomplete, and it doesn't work."

"When the Balance starts to tip, Jalal, a rilmani can fix it by removing the source of the tip. But the Pendulum has two sides. When you encourage the other side to become stronger, not only is the problem solved, but the chance of it happening again is reduced."

"And Antisthenes? Did you lure him here on purpose so you could take care of him?"

Jemorille was quiet for a minute, and Jalal turned back to the ceremony.

"Sofia, Philip, do you accept one another into your lives, the two become as one, in union everlasting?"

"I do," came the reply from Sofia.

"Do I ever!" said Philip.

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, man and wife."

As expected, there were cheers and applause as the two kissed, although Jemorille took this opportunity to resume the quiet debate.

"He was a loose end, which I am glad to have finally taken care of. But I couldn't do so alone."

"So why didn't you just ask us for help?"

"I did what I had to do," came the reply, "although countless times, I've wished I could undo it. At least I was able "

"Sure, Jemorille, sure," replied the leader of the Shadowchasers. "You always have good intentions. You know, didn't someone say something once about a downside to having good intentions? Something about a road?" He stopped, waiting for a reply, then turned around. "Hello?"

The Exile was gone.

Jalal turned back to the ceremony, as cheers made way to cameras until finally, Sofia hurled the bouquet...

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Back at the memorial in the courtyard, the Exile appeared again.

He nodded, then took a second bouquet of lilies and placed them next to the ones Jalal had left, then turned and strode away, disappearing into the shadows once again.

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Jemorille: The proverb Jalal was referring to was, of course, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

As for why I deliberately follow such roads, I have no more clue than he does. Maybe, like Eden, it is because doing so it the only purpose I know of.

I will say one more thing, however.

If ever you hear news that seems outlandish or unusual,even if it is news you WANT to believe, stop. Think. Before accepting it as fact, look at all the angles and weigh it against what you know and what you can learn. Trying to find hidden motives where none exist leads to paranoia and fear. Jalal claims that "ignorance is not bliss", and while I agree, one has to admit…

...sometimes a small amount of it isn't a bad thing.

I am Jemorille the Exile.

– Finis –

I would like to finally thank readers for sticking with this fic until the end. I must confess, it went on much longer than I intended.

Am I planning anything else, you may ask? Well, maybe.

Keep watching my Fanfic profile, and in the upcoming weeks I may leave a hint or two on something. In the meantime, "Tournament of Shadows" should be complete soon.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone.