A/N: Well, I thought I'd try to explain this fic a little bit. First of all, I'd like to point out that it's not exactly AU. Maybe it is a little. But the way I see it is like this: If there can be monster spirits that are actual tangible bodies in Dark World, then Haou as a spirit, can also be a tangible body. Also, Dark World seems to be a place where time does not affect the spirits as much. For this reason, he is still viewed as young, around Juudai's age. Also, since Juudai has come into existence, and he is Haou's reincarnation so to speak, Haou has the same sort of physical appearance as Juudai (well, that was in the anime too, so I didn't really need to explain that). Anyway, Dark World is a parallel universe to Juudai's universe, sort of like in the anime too. So basically, Haou has his own body, yet he is a spirit living in Juudai's mind and is still his dark half. Also, I think this can be possible since Juudai can see monster spirits and all, yet they're sort of part of him (but not nearly in the same way as Haou is). Oh, I guess you get my point. That's all.

Disclaimer: I do not own GX.

Chapter 1: The Wanderer

The castle that the young king lived in spared no expense. There were eloquent dining halls, lavish bedrooms, and spacious sitting areas not to mention a library packed with books from all origins and rooms showcasing more artifacts than a museum. However much there was within the castle, though, there was still something important missing. It was too quiet. Despite the many monsters that roamed the halls, guarding him, Haou had no one to talk to. He was lonely.

For a long while, he'd had Yubel as someone he could count on. But she was not with him any more. She'd gone to protect another now. For years, he'd suffered. His loneliness had turned to resentment, his resentment to anger, and his anger to hatred. At this point, he could not go back. Rather, he ruled his kingdom with an iron fist. And nothing was going to change that.

Nothing except change itself. For the past 17 years, a new presence had entered his life—or lack thereof. His name was Yuuki Juudai, and he was Haou's only entertainment. Being a part of the other boy meant ample access to his thoughts and emotions. And even though a great deal of it thoroughly disgusted the king, he found some of the information intriguing. He possessed so much potential—if only he were not so naïve to not know how to use his assets. And if only he'd further develop his talents by using his brain every now and then. Haou could tell that there was something special about him—he was far more intelligent than others took him for. If fact, he possessed more acumen and wisdom than they! If only he'd just come to realize it…

But Juudai didn't just provide Haou relief from the horrible boredom that came with being a tyrant. He also reminded Haou of memories, painful memories. Something about him really bothered Haou; perhaps it was his carefree attitude towards life. Whatever it was, it angered him and struck a terribly agonizing bitter pain through his heart. He ached to have Juudai's opportunities; he yearned for the chances that were thrown Juudai's way. Which brought him to another pet peeve: Juudai did not make proper use of his opportunities. Nor did he ever develop to his full potential. There he was, nearly grown, yet still as childish as ever. Haou could not understand what made Juudai so clueless about the world around him.

As of that moment, the king was leaning out of a stone opening and gazing down in boredom at the courtyard. He had been sitting there idly all day, yet he'd failed to catch any activity from below. The kingdom had been far too quiet. Perhaps they were plotting something against him? Frowning, he shook the thought from his mind. Not a soul was stirring. They might as well all be dead. He need not worry, not now anyway. If only he could find some way of amusing himself. Picking up a pebble from the window sill and tossing it carelessly down at a small pool of water, he sighed in exasperation and considered conquering some villages. At least it would cure him of the absolute monotony. However, he strangely did not possess the motivation to do so. Not that day.

He closed his eyes tightly and concentrated. By this method, he'd found a way to enter Juudai's mind. Perhaps this would be the day Juudai found and acknowledged his presence. As he found himself surrounded by darkness in the recesses of the boy's mind, he focused on his thoughts. Well, just as was to be expected, Juudai was sleeping through his lessons…again. Haou frowned disapprovingly. That was no way for Juudai to prepare himself for greatness. Nevertheless, he sighed and decided to leave him alone. There was no way that Juudai would know he existed.

Right as he was about to withdraw from Juudai's mind, he felt the close presence of the boy's spirit. He stopped and scanned the darkness. There, in the corner, he saw a young child hunched over something. Peering closer, he saw that the boy was holding Duel Monsters cards. He would've waved it off, had he not caught a glimpse of one particular card: Yubel. There was no doubt about it in his mind.

Curious, he moved closer. The young boy turned around and looked up at Haou. Immediately, he recognized the child as a younger form of Juudai. But what was this past era of Juudai's life doing in his soul? Did it mean he'd never let his childhood go? It sure didn't seem like he had.

The boy stared up at Haou with large chocolate eyes. Haou only stared back with a chilling amber gaze. He wasn't sure how to react. Juudai put his cards back in the deck and shuffled it. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Haou wondered what the child expected of him. It soon became apparent, however, that Juudai wanted a duel.

The child held his deck out towards Haou to shuffle. He hesitated, wondering if he should waste his time. Finally, he took the deck, though he had no idea why. He shuffled the cards and handed them back to Juudai. The boy looked expectantly up at him. Sighing, Haou reached in his pocket and pulled out his own deck. He leafed through the cards, thinking about how new and strange this was. Yet, at the same time, it felt familiar. He quickly brushed the feeling away and shuffled his deck. Before he got a chance to hand them over to Juudai, though, a loud, obnoxious voice split through the darkness, interrupting Juudai's dream state and causing the small boy to fade away.

Haou's eyes snapped open. He rose to his feet, a bit shaky. Every time he entered Juudai's mind and was ripped away like that, it always drained him of all energy. Yet it had never made him this weak. He took a deep breath and glared at his surroundings. About now, he was in the mood to duel someone, anyone—and when he did, it would not end well for his opponent.

At that moment, the sound of someone pounding on the front door echoed through the halls. He startled slightly, confused and irritated. How could someone get this far onto his property? Well, in that case, the guards on duty at the front gate would be dead by that evening. He waited for someone to open the door, but no one did. Angered, he stormed down the hall to the entryway and flung the door open.

No one was there. His brow furrowed in a scowl. Glancing around, he noticed that the clouds in the sky were turning blacker than usual. And the wind was picking up. Perhaps the wind had blown a branch against the door. Or maybe he had just imagined it. Grumbling, he shut the door and turned to walk up the stairs. Once more, there was a loud, distinct knock on the door. Now this hit his last nerve. Whirling around, he grabbed the sword from his coat of arms and slammed the door open, ready to slice whoever the intruder was into bits.

Ice blue eyes met his, causing him to freeze. Something about this stranger was different. He found himself completely unable to move. The sword dropped from his hands and clattered to the stone floor. The man had a young face, but his eyes seemed old. He wore a dark hood over his head, concealing his overall appearance. Haou slowly stepped back, allowing him to enter, though he didn't know why. Some mysterious force caused him to back away; something about the man caused him to yield. This irritated him to no end.

The man looked around the room, then shut the door. He turned to Haou and tapped his walking stick three times on the stone floor, causing the sound to echo through the halls. Giving a little hum, he looked back at the king.

"I suppose you're wondering why I came here." His voice was clear as crystal--quite pleasant to listen to actually—but held an authoritative quality to it that Haou disliked greatly.

He refused to respond, so the man went on. "I was just wandering through the area," He murmured, stepping over to the fireplace and looking about at the paintings, "and I needed a place to stay for the night."

Haou glared at him, his teeth clenched. "My guards should have stopped you."

The man turned and stared at him steadily. "Guards? There were none."

Eerie silence filled the castle. Haou turned towards the window and looked out. By then, it had begun to pour down raining. His eyes searched for the familiar silhouettes of his guards; however, they were strangely missing from the landscape. He trembled in anger.

He heard quiet footsteps behind him and found the man standing behind him. "They have all left, I suppose," The man murmured, "Things are changing around here. And no one wants to face what is coming."

Haou raised an eyebrow skeptically, "And how are you so gifted as to know all this?"

The man smiled wryly. "I'm a traveling merchant," He explained, "so I hear a lot of things from many different areas."

Haou glowered, "What is your name, cur? I don't think I've given you a license or a grant. And if I haven't, then you've broken my law and must be killed. Well, you will be eliminated anyway. You've trespassed on my property without authorization. And the punishment for that is a slow, torturous death."

The merchant seemed unalarmed. He blinked calmly. Rage filled Haou as he tried to grab his sword again.

"If you give me a place to stay for the night," The merchant told him quietly, "then you will find it to be greatly worth your while. You will receive a reward beyond your wildest dreams, and you will find a treasure on the other side that is far more valuable than anything you could ever buy or even find in this world. It will save you from the imminent downfall of this world."

"What are you talking about?" Haou snapped, "I can do and get whatever I want."

"Oh, but only if you have the opportunity," The man told him, smirking impishly.

"Stop mocking me," Haou commanded, narrowing his eyes, "I gave you an order to tell me your name."
"I don't have one," He said simply.

"That's ridiculous!" Haou snorted, "Everyone has a name."

"Not by being born," the merchant told him.

Haou opened his mouth to protest, however, he changed his mind and shut it. Perhaps there was something useful that this man could offer him. And for that reason, he decided to allow him to live. If the merchant took advantage of his hospitality, he would show him his place in this world. It seemed as though the man didn't know how things worked around there. For this reason, he made up his mind that he would give him a rare benefit of a doubt.

"Very well," Haou sighed, relenting, "I will allow you to stay for the night. Follow me."

The merchant muttered a quick word of gratitude and followed Haou down the dark hallway. For some reason, his presence made Haou quite uneasy. Something about this man seemed strange. He seemed…otherworldly. He stopped in front of a large wooden door and gestured towards it.

"You'll stay here for tonight," Haou told him, "But only tonight. I expect you to leave tomorrow morning."

The man nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Haou grumbled that he wouldn't have been so hospitable had he not been offered such a worthy reward. The merchant chose to ignore it, and bid Haou good afternoon. Haou refused to respond, only walked down the passageway back to his personal quarters.

The king hardly slept that evening. The storm outside was far too noisy. The wind howled through the castle, opening and slamming doors. It whistled around the corridors and blew objects against the walls. It certainly was an eerie night. He tossed and turned, trying to sleep, but found it impossible. Feeling cranky, he rose to his feet and paced around the room anxiously. Every now and then, he glanced out the window at the distant lightning streaking across the sky.

As he watched the torrents of rain being whipped against the glass panes, he thought about what the man had said. Was it true that times were changing so drastically that people were trying to escape it? Was that why his guards and servants had disappeared? Well, if they ever dared to show their faces in his presence again, he would most certainly put them to death. Part of him was worried, however. If things were worsening to the point that his subordinates were frightened by something more than him, then there must be something absolutely malicious coming for them. And with the way that all the villages had become ghost towns, and with the way that the weather had changed, then something big was definitely about to happen. He had to find a way to stop this problem before it started. There was no way that he'd allow anything to usurp his reign over the kingdom. He would not be swayed by this mysterious force.

Then again, what if the stranger had something to do with this "change"? He tensed up in anger, wondering exactly how he'd made such a mistake as of letting this man in his castle. He decided to throw him out immediately.

However, by the time he arrived at the guest bedroom, it was already vacant. He stepped cautiously over the threshold into the room and searched for the merchant. He was nowhere to be found. The room looked as though no one had touched it. Scratching his head in confusion, he stared at the made bed and the dusty furniture. Had it only been a dream? Was he so isolated that he was losing touch with reality? Shaking his head, he closed the door and locked it, just to be safe.

Once he ascended the stairs and re-entered his room, he sat on the bed to think. The merchant had said he needed a place to spend for the night. Well, as far as he could tell, it was still dark outside. Or it could just be that the storm was making it seem as though it were still night. Exasperated, he rose to his feet to dress. He couldn't sleep anymore. After all, he had a mystery on his hands. Everyone had been vanishing--his guards, his servants, and now the merchant. What was happening to his kingdom? If it was not a deity behind this phenomenon, but rather, a subject of his authority, he would have them severely punished. After he found out how he or she had managed to perform such an extraordinary feat.

He dressed, then walked over to the window to spend another morning staring outside. He wouldn't bother to look for his servants and guards until the afternoon, if they didn't come back first. Just as he began to ponder about how he should punish them for leaving, that's when it hit him. Something about the room was different. Slowly, he turned his head to find a mirror image of himself staring back. Startled, he jumped a bit, until he realized with great relief that it was only a mirror. Frowning, he stepped over to it to inspect it. Since when did he have a mirror in his room? He reached out and touched the faded antique brass frame. It was thoroughly elaborated with scrolls, grooves, and cherubim. It was tall and narrow, just big enough to see oneself along with a bit of the room. But it was taller than he was. He looked around, wondering where it had come from. Could this be the gift that the merchant had been describing? If so, he deemed it to be unworthy of someone of his nobility. Mirrors were not exactly something he was accustomed to having. Neither did he like the idea of owning one.

Sighing heavily, he turned around and walked out the door, shutting it. Perhaps he would go look for his guards and servants now instead of later. He didn't particularly like the idea of being in the castle alone, especially with his reflection. Something about it creeped him out. Not to mention he looked drastically different than he recalled. He looked like…Juudai. Something about this really made him uncomfortable, yet he wasn't really sure why. Nevertheless, he brushed the feeling away, and prepared to leave.

First, he put his armor on and made sure he had sufficient supplies for a long journey. He packed away staples of food and water as well as weapons. Then, he walked out into the rain to the stable. Normally, he didn't ride horses. But this might be quite a long trip, and he might encounter more than one enemy on the way. He needed a way of quickly eluding them. He was not going off to conquer; rather, he was going off to recover his lost possessions. He did not have the time to fight. If he had to, he would come back and take care of them later.

Sighing, he placed the bridle over the black stallion's head, followed by the saddle blanket and the saddle on its strong back. Finally, he mounted the creature and with a light whip of the reigns, rode off into the tempest. He would not allow any force, whether spirit or beast or human to outdo him. He would recover his armies. And there was nothing anyone could do about it. The merchant would have to be a question that he would answer later. For now, he couldn't afford to waste his time or energy on the man. But he would soon find out what the merchant had meant about the mysterious gift. It possessed far more worth than Haou realized.

A/N: Don't expect me to update any time soon. I have lots of work to do on Only Sixteen and I have to write a few oneshots plus a stormshipping fic. But it will get done, especially since summer is coming. I hope it made sense. And once more, not all of it is entirely literal. Though I am trying to stay closer to canon than pure fantasy. It will be explained.