Soul of a Duelist

Turn 1: Once More, and With Feeling!

This is a story. What kind of story? I don't know maybe journal is more accurate than story. But I do know that this is a story of many things, of hardship and agony, of happiness and joy, of heroes that will not otherwise be known without this story. But as such this is still only a story, you have not lived the events that I will speak of and therefore cannot fully understand what it felt like and what it all really meant.

I am no writer, I am merely a storyteller. I wish only to make sure that the world knows of what has happened, know so that its people will be able to properly immortalize those that this tale speaks of. However, to tell you everything as it happened would be asking you to dismiss my story as nothing but fantasy. So I will turn these events into something that you will all understand. You may ask then what the truth is and what the lies are. But it wouldn't matter if I told you; the only thing that matters is if you understand the things I am saying to you.

However, as it is you that must listen to me I will allow you to wonder one thing freely. You may ask who I am then. Well that is an interesting answer, one that-

For a moment the pen stopped moving. Then it was moved away from the notebook's pages and ultimately upwards. The hand that held the instrument paused for awhile, shook the pen around furiously and then ultimately let it drop back onto the notebook page where it rolled from side to side for a moment and then came to a rest.

"This won't do." The frustrated voice of a young male muttered to himself. The voice was a quiet one that had a rough feeling to it, possibly from the lack of any emotion when the man spoke.

The would-be writer sat on a worn out green park bench with his legs folded and an open notebook on his lap. The youth was at most just entering his twenties; however the man did not keep very good care of his appearance and had a heavy amount of stubble that simply did not grow thick enough to become a beard. It made him look much older than he really was. He had untidy ebon black hair that had grown out much faster in the front than at the back; however it was able to reach shoulder length. The hair at the front seemed to have a tendency to curve to one side as it fell, covering the man's right eye and just leaving his right burgundy eye for sight. His clothing was tattered and the navy blue of the trenchcoat the man wore had nearly faded away in favor for grey in some areas. Unlike many articles of clothing by the same name it was a proper trenchcoat that was originally meant for businessmen to wear in cold weather, fitting as it was getting cooler as the seasons began to shift from autumn to winter.

The man murmured something incoherent under his breath and began to slowly scratch the back of his head but ultimately let out a defeated sigh and let his head fall slack, simply slumping over in his seat. To try and rekindle some form of inspiration he looked around at the scenery for ideas. Unfortunately the park was not very scenic. It was mostly wide open space with paved paths and the occasional tree, but mostly wide open space. The man grumbled and shook his head at the lack of anything to draw his eye.

He picked up the pen and placed it in his pocket, closing his notebook with his other hand. The man bent over to his side and unzipped his duffel bag so he could slip the book in. His hand paused for a moment and then lazily it slipped into the bag and moved around looking for something. It stopped for a second when it felt something familiar and then began to retract from the back, pulling out a rather large dark blue rimmed traveller's hat. Very methodically the man placed it upon his head and pressed down lightly to secure it.

It had been weeks since he was able to write anything, sadly without his pen in constant motion he had no money to buy food with; well such was the life of a homeless man. The money he made from the last short story was enough to hold him over for the last two months rather nicely, it turned out that his story was considered a hit and made more money than usual. The extra income provided a sense of false security, as if it would never end; but money was finite and soon the nights of warm beds in hotels were long gone. The man laid himself out on the bench rather uncomfortably, his leg hanging off of the back of the bench while the other kept him balanced, his arms folded together to try and keep himself warm in the cool air, pulling his hat over his face to block out the dim sunlight.

The man grunted to himself again and shifted slightly to try and bury himself into the groove of his bench to be more comfortable, the attempt failed. Another repositioning, still no good, so he continued to squirm and shift like some kind of grub worm. Ultimately he realized there was only so long he could delude himself into thinking a cold metal bench would be comfortable in the first place. Emitting another sigh he removed his hat for a moment so he could turn his head up to the sky above.

Autumn would be over soon, the skies had greyed over with a layer of dark clouds, signs of the clear blue sky would be few and fair apart. In all honesty the city had strange weather at all times of the year, it had been cloudy for most of the year so he couldn't exactly remember what that clear blue sky felt like.

Yet another sigh later and the man decided it was best to figure out a way to deal with his lack of income. Writing did not come naturally to him any longer and he had no other way to make money. Yet even when he thought that a voice in his head spoke up to remind him that he wasn't right about his skills.

"Writing wasn't the first thing I was doing, was it?" His eye lazily wandered down his torso, paused and then shifted very slightly to focus on his right arm as it lay dangling off the edge of the bench. He moved it slightly, listening to the sound of metal plates shifting and making contact with each other. From his sleeve a glint of metal peeked out for a second only to be covered up by a loose edge of his sleeve.

"Five years ago was it? I made a decent living from prize money-" Suddenly the implication of the thought dawned on him. There was a possible way to make enough money to live comfortably however as he began to think over the prospect his mood fell apart. The memory of a certain time began to bother him and the idea evaporated.

"I've been here too long; it's time I got going again." The man grunted, swinging his leg back around to pull himself into an upright position. He quickly grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder and placed his hat firmly on his head. The man walked away quickly to try and escape the thoughts he had on the bench, the bottom of his coat fluttering in the breeze.

The day was starting to wear out and soon the sun would start setting. Thankfully the city council was generous enough to open up drop-in centers when the weather got cold. With that thought in mind he felt better justifying his lack of money. He didn't need to go back to the game, there was a place he could get some refuge from the cold and be provided with food from time to time, yes it was good enough for him.

However he found that his stride ceased and he felt somewhat nostalgic, gripping his right arm unconsciously. The sound of metal rang out, this time he raised his right arm and pulled back his sleeve. His right hand was covered with a metal gauntlet that originated from a large silver plate of metal, connected to it was another plate that slid under the first giving the impression of scales. Just past his wrist there was a large circular blue gem with a design in the center that made it resemble an eye. Connected to the base of his wrist was a large piece of elongated metal that formed a point at his elbow.

Though it would only appear to be some kind of fashion statement to most people those with the proper eyes could tell it was a duel-disk. A custom one made just for him actually. For a split second his stony face was cracked by the appearance of a thin smile. He looked into the palm of his silver-clad right hand; there was a small trigger that was difficult to see and he contemplated pushing the button. But in the end he decided against it, the time when he would use his gauntlet for the game was long gone.

He covered his arm back up and kept moving he had a long way to travel to get to the drop-in center. He laughed for a moment and shook his head very slowly.

"This is just a child's game, so…How did it become like this?" He wondered with a bit of resentment, feelings of bitterness were starting to form and swirl in the bottom of his heart. Another bitter laugh came out of his throat, this one load enough to draw the stares of those passing by. "Nothing to see here. Just another crazy bum walking down the street." The sentiment amused him enough to cause a faint smile to stay on his face until he arrived at his destination.

The drop-in center for that winter was a large retail store that was scheduled to be torn down in the spring, but for many homeless people it would be the only place out of the cold. The building was just a large green rectangle with a few doors and a row of large windows that allowed a view inside at the merchandise back when the store was operating; at that point the windows were covered up with cardboard to reserve the privacy for those inside.

The man smiled wearily and pushed open the doors; the walk had drained his energy and his feet were protesting vividly at anymore travelling after seeing the center. The interior of the building wasn't much nicer than the exterior. It was vast open space with the occasional pillar and poor quality lights that gave everything a slight yellow tint.

The man glanced from side to side to find somewhere to sit. Most open floor space was already taken with people unpacking things like sleeping bags or just lying down and spreading their arms and legs out to try and take up as much space as they could to relax.

Then something caught his eye. Off against the right wall was a small gathering of children. Curiosity got the better of him and he found that it was such a potent force that it was able to drive his worn feet towards the focus of attention. As he approached he began to hear familiar words that he used to shout all the time.

"I attack your life points with my Vorse Raider!" A young boy shouted with a voice full of confidence.

"I activate Mirror Force!" A second boy's voice responded, this one sounded a bit older and was much smugger, knowing that he successfully fended off the attempt on his life points. The first voice dismayed, the crowd of little kids mirroring one of the two players in reaction.

The man moved a bit closer to the playing field, ending up behind the boy that was thwarted. For a moment the man had to suppress an urge to flinch like he had seen something traumatizing. The flinch turned into a small shift of a muscle over his cheekbone, essentially his face remained unchanged. The man then examined the game before him.

The tide was against the little boy; his field was wiped clean from the trap card while his opponent still had a tattered copy of Feral Imp defending itself all alone on the field. The game continued with the second boy picking up a new card from the top of his deck. For a moment the man found that his left hand had once again found its way to his right arm, the sound of metal tapping metal rang out for a brief moment; but it didn't disturb the game or anyone watching it. It took a moment for him to realize what he had done again; when he did he spun around and began to walk away briskly. However when he tried he walked straight into something.

The man hit the ground roughly ending up flat on his back. He quickly pushed himself up to see what he had walked into. To his embarrassment he had walked into a woman, specifically one of the volunteers that he talked with on occasion.

She appeared to be a bit older than him, somewhere in her mid-thirties if he had to guess. She had a very homely appearance wearing a pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt. A neatly bound single blond braid that went down to her waist was lying in disarray upon the floor. Had the impact been a bit more forceful her thinly framed glasses may have been knocked off of her face. She took a moment to adjust her glasses to make sure that they were on properly, closing her blue eyes as she did so.

"Sorry. Wasn't paying attention." The apology was rather mechanical, the man speaking in bursts of syllables. The man bent over slightly and extended his arm and offered it to Maria in a fashion similar to a crane machine.

Maria smiled warmly and took his hand for a moment to help her get back up. "It's alright. Did you find anything to write about while at the park?" Maria seemed to have no grudge for being run over. The man debated for a second whether or not to mention the three paragraphs he wrote, but decided they weren't worth mentioning.

"No, not really. It looks like I'll be here for awhile longer." Immediately after he replied he became incredibly self-conscious; though it was silly, as it obviously he couldn't do much to better his opinion as an unshaven homeless bum. As he began to ponder his social status in the world, Maria noticed something about the man and quickly grabbed onto his right arm, causing him to jump slightly.

"I didn't know you also played Duel Monsters! Are you also trying out for that tournament's prize money tomorrow as well?" Maria asked with surprising enthusiasm. The man raised one eyebrow slowly; it seemed that everything the man did was slowed down than normal. His eye moved downwards to his right arm, he didn't notice that when he fell his sleeve was rolled up a bit, at least enough to reveal enough of his gauntlet to classify it as a duel-disk. A part of him felt like denying what it really was but he couldn't think of any good explanation.

"I know some of the kids-actually even the adults who can are all going to try to win that tournament tomorrow." Maria's statement struck a nerve in the man, for a moment he felt the familiar sense of competition igniting. But with a quick reminder of the past he squashed the immature flame in his soul.

"Ah, I see…I guess everyone here could really use some money." The commented produced a frown from Maria, the man shifting his head slightly in response.

"I guess you haven't heard since you're not always here, but they're hoping to win that money to keep the drop-in center open for the next few months." Maria appeared to be somewhat troubled when she relayed the news to the man. The feeling of guilt sprouted in his chest after hearing the news; however this time he couldn't suppress it entirely. He looked around to see that there were a fair number of people with small handfuls of cards that were being passed back and forth.

"But I thought this place was supposed to be open until the spring." The man's voice rose slightly, his guilt was slowly becoming mixed with the feelings of panic as he realized he would be back out in the cold soon. Maria shook her head and gave him an apologetic look.

"Apparently city council overspent their budget for the year so they need to cut money off to some things. The drop-in centers were hit the hardest because of that. In a few weeks if we can't come up with some money the power and gas will be cut. They say that they'll leave the doors open but it won't really do anyone much good inside of a cold building or to be outside in cold air." The news hit the man with the force of a hurricane. He felt his legs become a bit weaker and his hands getting clammy. His stony façade was crumbling rapidly and he could do nothing to stop it.

"I wish I could help them, but I never really learned how to play as a kid. But maybe you should join tomorrow as well! The sad thing is that most of them know they won't win, but it's real brave of them to try anyway." Maria's explanations kept striking the man with verbal slings and arrows, for awhile he swore he could feel a few arrows and swords sticking out of where his heart was. To make things worse a nagging, self-righteous voice started screaming at him from within his head.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing wasting your time like this?! A writer?! Give me a break! You're supposed to be kickin' butt all over the place back in the arena! At least be a man 'bout things!"

The tone, the raw emotion, the voice was so real. It was exactly as it was five years ago when he was still alive. Always with an air of overwhelming confidence and lack of regard for anything else, that was always how he was. The man's shoulders slumped and he let out a heavy sigh.

"What am I doing? Like I know the answer…" He buried his head within his coat's collar and mumbled to himself.

Five long years; it felt like a time from an entirely different world. He ruminated for a moment, recalling his only friend in the world for so long. Standing with his head held high in the air, a head full of sleek silver hair that shined with the radiance of the sun. Always looking forward, that was Noah Ethereal. He was only a little bit taller than the man was but he carried himself like a king. Wearing only pristine white dress shirts with white dress pants with a nicely pressed white jacket he was like some beacon in the night. Noah never wasted time to help a person in need even if he had to smash through all impossible odds. Somehow he would make it out without a single spec of dirt on his white jacket.

If it was Noah being told the news then he would rise up, rally everyone within the center and march to the stadium with his head held up and voice booming, declaring that he would be the winner no matter what.

The man sighed once more when he imagined his friend in action. The courage to do something like that left him many years ago. His left hand moved over to right wrist again; it was placed over the part of the duel-disk that contained the player's deck. Through the material of his sleeves he could feel the shape of the deck in the device. As he did so he felt a surge of incredible sorrow. The deck wasn't his, it belonged to Noah; the cards that formed the deck were his crowning achievement. The man's lips arched slightly into a thin smile for a moment but vanished a second later. Noah really didn't care if something was possible or not, it couldn't stop him, and there in forty cards was the result; the impossible existing.

"Maria…?" The man spoke up for a moment, his voice barely above a whisper. The woman looked at the man curiously, tilting her head slightly. "I'm not sure how things will go…But, I want to go to that tournament tomorrow too." The response was even quieter than the first things he said, but they had been spoken and that was good enough.

Maria smiled proudly and folded her arms with the look of intrigue plastered all over her face. "Tomorrow some of the other volunteers and I are going to drive everyone to the tournament. If you stay here tonight you can just hitch a ride." The man nodded and gave her a feeble smile. Unhappy with his attempt it quickly faded away however.

"Now don't look like that. Even if no one makes it past the first round everyone seems really fired up. I think they're all just happy to do something like this together. Come on, if you're going to show your face to the whole world you better clean up a bit!" Maria's suggestion caught the man off guard, his hand quickly groping around his face to feel the stubble there. He let out a light chuckle and nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah…I guess I do look a little rough around the edges." In all honesty his mind wasn't focused on the conversation, just one thought ran through the man's head.

"With this maybe I'll be able to live up to him now."

The next morning about a dozen people had gathered in front of the city's largest Duel Monsters stadium. It was actually the pride of the city as it was the largest in the country, thus it was often the location of big events, drawing duelists from all over the world.

The building was as large as a sports stadium with a shape similar to it. With a large circular foundation the building had a white dome that could open up for allowing matches to be broadcasted citywide, the holograms visible for miles around. There was a dull roar of fans from the stadium conversing, and the loud roar of all the people getting ready to register.

Those from the center that were participating had all tidied up and were given fresh new clothing, there was nothing to any of their appearances that hinted at their social status, except for the man who was still dressed in his tattered and beaten trenchcoat; much to the displeasure of the volunteers.

The man had shaved shortly before arriving, giving him back his youthful appearance, however he did minimal maintenance to his hair, just enough to keep it in line but he refused to comb the hair covering his right eye away. He took a deep breath and found his nervous habit of gripping his right arm was more pronounced than normal. Doing his best to remain as stoic as possible he soothed his nerves and made his emotions as minuet as possible.

Suddenly Maria came up from behind him and gave him a firm pat on the back that nearly took him right off his feet, the man was barely able to catch himself by stumbling forward and nearly into a group of kids. "Take it easy there! Just have fun, if we do well enough we still get some prize money from what I hear." Maria was very evidently a morning person as she spoke loudly and with intense positive tones that the man wondered if she viewed the glass half full or that the glass was simply oversized for the contents.

The man silently followed the other members from the center to the registration desk. The man's eyes darted from side to side as he examined everyone's face to see if any of them showed signs of recognition of his own face. But no such thing happened and when it was finally his turn at the registration desk he felt confident that he had remained in stealth.

"Name please." A male voice asked routinely for the man's name, the man nodding his head quickly. For an instant he thought the voice was familiar.

"Aegis…Hallow. My name is Aegis Hallow." The nameless man had finally felt it safe to introduce himself, Aegis letting a slight smile slip his lips for a moment. Until the man that was registering him suddenly shot up in his seat. Aegis jumped back at the reaction, raising his arms to prepare for a confrontation, however the man simply stared at Aegis with green eyes wide open.

Suddenly it dawned on Aegis why the voice was familiar; he had dealt with the man before him quite frequently. Though it had been five years since they had last seen each other nothing seemed to change. The man was about forty; his brown hair was thin and cut very short as well. He still wore what seemed to be the exact same black official's attire he had years ago when he was the announcer to the duels Aegis was in.

Before the man could open his mouth Aegis shot forward and placed his hand over it, putting a finger over his mouth to make the 'shush' gesture. The man looked confused but nodded, Aegis removing his hand. "Aegis? Is it really you?! It's been five years! What happened, man?!" The man had difficulty in suppressing his enthusiasm; his eyes shining with glee.

"It's a long story, David. We can catch up later, but for now don't make a big deal about this alright?" Aegis gripped his right arm tightly; he couldn't help but start his nervous looks from side to side again. David frowned but ultimately he agreed.

"Hey, Aegis." Just as the registration was complete and Aegis was walking away he was called back by David. He motioned for him to lean in close, David cupping his hand so as to whisper something into Aegis' ear. "I hear that Iris Lifian is going to be here. I don't know if you know but she's the best duelist on the circuit, so be careful, man. She's undefeated, so you know, good luck." David's advice somehow didn't seem to make Aegis feel much better. Regardless he nodded his head and walked away quickly.

In all honesty he could feel his posture slouching and sweat forming along his forehead; the characteristic symptoms for when he was feeling intense panic. Any attempt to suppress his emotions had failed dismally and he was revealed for the entire world to see. He tried his best not to show his uneasiness when he found his way back to Maria and the others. Thankfully they were all caught up in doing last minute preparations, swapping cards and giving each other tips or advice to notice Aegis' panic. "Honestly…What's happened to me? I used to be so confident and calm. I'm a wreck!" Aegis' inner voice felt panicked as well, he couldn't even think coherently.

No sooner had he sat down to wonder when the tournament would begin the intercom sparked to life with the message that Aegis used to love.

"Duelists please gather in the main lobby room! We will be starting the tournament in five minutes!"

Aegis hit his head against the wall at the news; it was his strange attempt to literally knock some sense into himself. Suddenly he felt someone's hand on his shoulder, the presence of it was enough to make Aegis spin around and press himself up against the wall like a thief who had just been caught.

Maria looked at him oddly, blinking a few times. Aegis smiled weakly and let out a quiet chuckle.

"Well, you just didn't seem that well, I just wanted to make sure you'd be alright. If you're not feeling well you shouldn't push yourself, you can drop out at anytime." Maria's concern felt reassuring and was able to sooth his nerves slightly. Aegis shook his head however and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. We'll win that prize money and keep the center open!" Aegis wasn't even aware of what he had said until he heard it come out of his lips, he instantly felt like a fool. Maria smiled brightly and laughed. "You sound a lot better! Come on, we have to figure out who you're playing against." Maria grabbed onto his left arm and began to drag him through the crowd. Aegis placed his right hand over his chest and sighed. He wasn't ready, but it wasn't going to stop the world from spinning.

Before he was even aware of what had happened, Aegis found himself standing atop of the platform in the center of the stadium, surrounded by spectators. Along with him were about a dozen other people that were arming their duel-disks, most in grandiose fashion. He looked around at the blur of faces in the seats; the cheering was deafening and impossible to interpret.

Aegis' mind had seemingly turned off, but his body still remembered the procedure. Walk up the stairs with your back straight and eyes looking straight forward. When you reach the top of the platform walk briskly to your side of the dueling field. Then prepare your duel-disk and prepare for the trash-talk that would follow between the opponent and himself. However to prepare his duel-disk it would require brain activity, sadly he was lacking in it. Instead he had plenty of panic and sweat rolling down his forehead.

He looked across the metal grid to see a middle aged man in a red and green sweater swinging his arms wildly to try and showboat. The spectacle would've normally amused Aegis but he could barely see straight as his vision began to blur. His heart was pounding furiously; it felt like he would pass out soon. But just as he approached his limit the same voice from the previous day came barrelling through his train of panicked thought.

"What are you doing now?! You've made it this far! Have you forgotten what I told you?!"

Noah's voice was crystal clear in his mind, as if he himself was standing next to Aegis. The words from the fictitious spectre were strangely reassuring. Aegis didn't understand why at first, but then remembered the time when he was in his first tournament.

Aegis had made it to the finals, however he was being beaten back by his opponent with such ease it was humiliating. Just as things looked their worst Noah leapt over the spectator's wall and charged straight at Aegis. Before the judges could react, Noah had leapt straight onto the platform and without any warning punched Aegis in the face with enough force that not only did it knock him off his feet, he nearly got knocked straight off the platform!

Noah grabbed onto Aegis' shirt and pulled him up, his eyes furious at his best friend. "What are you doing?! You can mop the floor with this guy!" Noah shouted, his voice able to echo throughout the entire stadium without any microphones. Aegis looked away, terrified and in a fair amount of pain, but Noah gave him a rough shake, the action forcing Aegis to speak.

"I can't beat him! He's too good! I just made it here with dumb luck…" Aegis muttered. Noah growled at the response and furiously shook Aegis until it seemed like he'd pass out. Noah stopped and then let go of Aegis, the boy falling to the ground in a heap.

"What are you talking about? You made it here because you believed in yourself. You goin' to tell me you're goin' to give up now?!" Noah's voice had become a bit quieter, at least to the point where only the two could hear each other.

"I did enough already! I made it all the way here, that's good enough…" Aegis' voice was so defeated by then he felt like he could cry.

"What are you talking about? You just took some hits, not like you can't make a comeback! Just believe in yourself!" Aegis looked away, not saying anything in response. Noah let out a frustrated sigh and helped his friend back up.

"Alright, you can't believe in yourself that's fine. Just believe in me." Noah finally declared; his voice calm and confident once again. Aegis was confused at the statement; the logic didn't make any sense. "What do you mean?" Aegis asked his question tentatively, afraid of another punch.

Noah smirked and folded his arms, his usual air of confidence had returned in full force. "Believe in me who believes in you. You can do that, right?" Noah's grin intensified as he watched Aegis face for his inevitable answer. For some reason the words made Aegis feel at ease. He looked at his friend receiving only confidence from him. Aegis nodded his head and the spectacle was over. Noah was taken away by security for what he did, shouting that they could take him away after seeing Aegis win. And win he did.

Now it was an eternity since then, but whenever Aegis lost hope Noah would always repeat those words to him.

"Believe in me who believes in you."

The words came back crystal clear. Aegis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. By then the other games had started and his opponent was shouting at him. Aegis put his right arm out, pressed the trigger in his palm and caused a thick metal sword blade to eject from the plates of metal. Along the blade were five card zones, the rim of the blade glowing a mixture of all colors of the rainbow. The longer plate of metal shot out to the side and revealed an additional space for field cards. The metal plate over his wrist ejected itself revealing the protected contents, one pristine deck of cards ready to be used.

The duel-disk was terribly intimidating, Aegis swinging it around briefly before assuming a dramatic pose. He smirked to himself as the familiar feelings of competition reignited in his soul. Aegis deeply missed the feeling of dueling, especially with the roar of hundreds of people on all sides yelling and screaming. It was the noise that resonated within the depths of his soul. His stiff exterior was cast aside and he was more animated than he had ever been in the last five years.

Aegis paused for a moment before he drew his opening hand of five cards, closing his eyes to think. "I'll do my best with these, Noah." With the thought finished Aegis let out a cackle and threw his arms to the side with his cards at the ready.

His opponent backed away at the duel-disk, and after the laughter he had fallen to the ground in terror. Aegis smiled to himself, he made sure to make it a point to intimidate the opponent as much as he could to throw them off their game. It looked like it had worked very well that time.

"I'll be going first then!" Aegis declared, surprising himself with the confidence in his voice, but it was somewhat amusing.

With one more card drawn the game had begun, but Aegis came to a grinding halt when he looked at the card. Once again he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and let out the breath slowly. "Orpheus, to the field! (1900/1600)" Aegis found his voice again, loudly shouting his first move.

In the air in front of him a panel glowed and light began to shoot upwards. The shape of a humanoid monster began to form and as materialized Aegis noticed that a fair amount of the crowd had gone silent when he summoned the monster. It was a card that no one had ever seen before.

The monster was human-shaped but its body was mechanical in appearance. With thin black mechanical joints connecting large silver cylindrical limbs the monster folded its arms across its smooth silver body. The monster wore a long tattered red scarf around its neck that covered it from view. The monster's face was all black except for a mouth and two slits for eyes. For some reason despite the mechanical appearance the automated monster had short silver hair that formed into points. Upon the monster's back was massive silver harp that was shaped like a mirror except with fine strings in place of the mirror.

Aegis looked at the monster for awhile before looking at his opponent with his single eye. The action alone was enough to make the man recoil again. Aegis smirked, he felt like he never left, and that Noah was still waiting with his fist at the ready if he went astray.

"I'm not going to go astray."