Episode 48: Showdown of Shadows Part 3

Yugi is gawking at Ruin's new monster, Supreme Darkness Evolution: Lich Lord the Divine. Slowly, the shadows cloaking the monster begin to disappear. They revel the new monster. It is another rotting zombie corpse, but his one is less rotted than previous Lich monsters. It wears a dark purple cloak, that's wrapped around its body, and holds a staff out in one hand. Around it, there is a dark, shadowy, purple aura. It still has glowing red eyes. He says, "What kind of dark magic is this!?"

Ruin says, "It is that exactly, dark magic. In fact it is the ultimate ability of Darkness. An ability that can normally only be preformed by the Lord of Shadows. However, Lord Oblivion was kind enough to lend me the power. You see, like a normal Darkness Evolution, a Supreme Darkness Evolution can only be preformed while Corruption of Darkness is on the field. In addition to that, you can only Supreme Darkness Evolve a Darkness Evolution monster that has been on the field for more than a turn. This is one of the mightiest monsters that you will ever face!"

Yugi says, "I see no difference between this monster and any other. It can still be beat. Not to mention, I get to draw another card thanks to Draw Force."

Ruin corrects, "You're wrong. My monster can't be beat at all. Lich Lord the Divine's effect prevents it from be destroyed by card effects. Pair that up with the fact that Corruption of Darkness prevents all of my Darkness Evolution monsters from being destroyed by battle, and my monster is invincible!"

Yugi looks shocked. He says in disbelief, "What!?"

"That's right. My monster is unbeatable! Now, to activate it's first effect! Like Lich Lord the Tyrant, Lich Lord the Divine can special summon a Lich monster from my grave. I call back a Lich Knight (Dark/Level 4/Zombie/Effect/ATK 1700/DEF 0). Then I'll activate Lich Reborn in order to special summon yet another Lich Knight from my grave. Now that I have some ammunition, I can unleash my main force. By tributing a Lich monster, I can destroy a monster you control. I'll destroy Cyber-Tech Gardna!" Lich Lord the Divine raises its staff and suddenly a horde of zombies raises out of the ground around Yugi's monster. They all pile on top of it and destroy it. "My monster's surprises don't end there however. Lich Lord the Divine, attack a Cyber-Tech Scout, Undead Apocalypse!" The monster attacks the same way that it used its effect.

Yugi says, "In case you forgot, when you destroy my Cyber-Tech Scout, I can summon a Cyber-Tech monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck! I summon Cyber-Tech Mystic (Water/Level 1/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK 300/DEF 200)!"

"That's irrelevant! For I activate my monster's next effect! Just like Lich Lord the Despot, my monster is allowed to attack a second time! First I must tribute a Lich monster though, so I'll tribute my other Lich Knight. Also like its predecessor, my monster can't inflict any damage from it's second attack, but once again, it doesn't matter because your monsters are in defense mode! Attack his Cyber-Tech Mystic!" The lich attacks again and destroys Yugi's monster. "With this monster at my side, I shall finally defeat you and claim the Another Hope card as my own!"

Yugi looks down at Yuni's holo-locket and says in shock, "What!? You're telling me that this is all about Another Hope!?"

Ruin laughs evilly. "You mean that you haven't figured it out yet? Ha! This has all been about Another Hope. Is not obvious? It was the Disciples of Darkness that sent Seto Ossius to retrieve Another Hope!"

Yugi has a flashback to his first duel with Seto. He says, "So wait, you've been blackmailing him with his brother?"

"Exactly. But it was soon evident that Seto would not do the job, so we took the chance of the World of Duel Tournament to retrieve what was rightfully ours ourselves."

"What do you mean rightfully yours?"

"Do you really not know? Did Yuni never tell you how he got Another Hope?"

"He told me everything he knew! That his parents were forced to flee for an unknown reason and left the card with him. The only other thing we knew was that your Oblivion destroyed them after they fled."

"So you really don't know then. I suppose that you deserve to know. Yuni's parents, Ben and Jade Oha, stole Another Hope from it's rightful owners, the Disciples of Darkness."

Yugi says, "No, I don't believe you!"

"Believe what you like. I know what happened. Many years ago, the Disciples, under the new leadership of Oblivion, finally uncovered the ancient ruins were the legendary Another Hope card was hidden." A flashback scene of several Disciples in an ancient temple finding the card appears. "Lord Oblivion had prophesized that we would find that card, and from it we would achieve great power. We had the card in our possession for all of a month before it was stolen from us by Ben and Jade Oha. We would have no quarrel with you and Yuni, if not for the fact that his parents stole our property and gave it to him, and as thus, you."

Yugi says, "I believe in Yuni, and he believes in his parents. I know that if they did indeed take Another Hope from you, it was because they had a good reason to do it! If they saw it fit to steal it, it's because they knew that such a card had to be kept from hands such as yours!"

"It does not matter what you think. In no time at all, you will lose this duel, and when you do, I will banish your mind. Then you will be in no position to stop me when I retrieve Another Hope from your lifeless body."

"Over my dead body!"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Either way, it's not happening!"

"We'll just have to see about that. I believe I'm ready to end my turn (Ruin's hand: 2)."

Yugi draws. He thinks, Wow, this is all so much. I guess it makes sense in hindsight that the Disciples of Darkness would want Another Hope. This Supreme Darkness Evolution is unsettling. I'll just have to step up my game, Yugi looks at his hand, and it looks like I just drew exactly the card I needed to make that happen. He says aloud, "Your Lich Lord the Divine may be almost unstoppable, but I've found its one weakness! Your monster may be supreme, but its still just like any other Darkness Evolution monster. Which means if Corruption of Darkness is removed from the field, so is your monster. That's why I activate another Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Ruin smirks. "And the result is the same! Just as my Lich Lord the King could negate cards that destroy other cards, so can Lich Lord the Divine!" Yugi's storm heads towards Ruin's card, but Lich Lord the Divine creates a shield the blocks it.

Yugi shouts, "No!"

"That's right, your one way to beat my ultimate monster has failed. You are absolutely doomed."

Yugi looks back at his hand. He thinks, I've drawn so many cards, you would think that there was something I could do, but there isn't! In most circumstances, there'd be plenty I could do, but this is not most circumstances. I'll just have to keep on defending. Yugi says aloud, "In that case, I'll set a card and then summon Cyber-Tech Falcon (Wind/Level 4/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK 1500/DEF 1000) in defense mode! When I summon Cyber-Tech Falcon, I'm allowed to add one Cyber-Tech card from my deck to my hand! I'll add the trap Cyber-Tech Reboot to my hand, and then immediately set it as well. I also get to draw another card thanks to Draw Force! That's enough to end my turn (Yugi's hand: 6)."

Ruin mocks, "I am getting tired of your defense. I assure you, it won't last past this turn."

Back with Seto, Tori, Brutus, and Zenith, the Battle Royale continues. The Disciples have various monsters from their previous duels on the field. Brutus has a Brutal Massive Dragon, Tori has a Monolithic Sphinx, Zenith has an unknown Invader monster, and Seto has Cosmic Plasma Dragon. Cinder says, "And now that I have Corruption of Darkness on my field…"

All ten of the Disciples of Darkness Shout at once, "Go, Darkness Evolution!"

One by one they say, "I Evolve Darkfire Wild Fire into Darkness Evolution: Darkfire Storm (Dark/Level 9/Pyro/Evolution/ATK 3500/DEF 2300)!"

"Shadowfrost Barricade evolve into Darkness Evolution: Shadowfrost Blizzard Barrier (Dark/Level 9/Aqua/Evolution/ATK 0/DEF 3500)!"

"I metamorphose my Dark Hive Queen into Darkness Evolution: Dark Hive Swarm Lord (Dark/Level 9/Insect/Evolution/ATK 0/DEF 0)!"

"I Darkness Evolve my Night Terror Boogey Man into a facedown attack mode Darkness Evolution: Ultimate Night Terror Grim Reaper!"

"I Evolve Shadowsaurus Rex into Darkness Evolution: Shadowsaurus Tyrant Rex (Dark/Level 9/Dinosaur/Evolution/ATK 3100/DEF 1000)!"

"I summon Darkness Evolution: Barbarous Zrenggyll (Dark/Level 7/ATK 3200/DEF 0)!"

"I advance my Cryptic Plato into Darkness Evolution: Cryptic Father of Philosophy, Socrates (Dark/Level 8/Spellcaster/Evolution/ATK 0/DEF 0)!"

"I further the infestation by Evolving Steelswarm Cyclone into Darkness Evolution: Steelswarm Goliath (Dark/Level 10/Fiend/Evolution/ATK 3700/DEF 0)!"

"I Evolve Archfiend Lord of Doomsday into Darkness Evolution: High Archfiend Lord of Armageddon (Dark/Level 10/Fiend/Evolution/ATK 3600/DEF 3100)!"

"I turn my Bleck, Master of Dark World into Darkness Evolution: Shide, High Lord of Dark World (Dark/Level 9/Fiend/Evolution/ATK 3300/DEF 2500)!"

Zenith says, "Oh no, we're doomed!"

Seto says smugly, "Seto Ossius is never doomed. You Disciples of Darkness aren't the only ones who can Evolve a monster! Evolve now Cosmic Plasma Dragon! Cosmic Plasma Dragon comes from the stars, the power of the cosmos pump through his veins! Now that astronomical power multiplies times three! Come to me Cosmic Tri-Pulsar Dragon (Light/Level 10/Dragon/Evolution/ATK 4500/DEF 4000)!" Seto's monster transforms into its ultimate form. "Attack Darkness Evolution: Steelswarm Goliath, Pulsar Blast Attack!" The three heads of Seto's monster unleash a swirling stream of energy that hit and destroy the monster (Plague's LP: 2100). "When Cosmic Tri-Pulsar Dragon destroys a monster in battle, the attack of that monster is subtracted from my opponent's life points! However, I don't think I'll end it there! I activate Plasma Backlash! This card inflicts damage to all of my opponents equal to the amount of damage I just caused."

Enigma says, "You fool, that would also include your partners!"

Brutus says, "Don't jump to conclusions! I activate Burn Guard! This card negates any effect damage that I would take this turn!"

Tori adds, "Yeah, and I activate Lithic Sturdy! With this continuous trap, as long as I control a Lithic monster, I take no effect damage!"

Zenith also adds, "And don't count me out either! I activate Force Field of Invasion! I can activate this counter trap card when I would take damage, and I can negate it!"

Frostbite says in shock, "But that means…"

Seto finishes, "That means that you all lose! Unleash your power Cosmic Tri-Pulsar Dragon!" A massive shockwave surges from Seto's monster to all of the Disciples of Darkness (All's LP: 0).

The Duel Computer says, "Seto Ossius has dealt the final damage to Cinder, Frostbite, Swarm, Phantasm, Tyrant, Enigma, Savage, Doom, Plague, and Demon. For defeating so many opponents, Seto has been awarded with 921 points, for a total of 6,534 points."

All of the Disciples look completely shocked. Tyrant says, "You may have defeated us this time, but know this, if we ever meet again, you shall not be so fortunate." All of the Disciples turn into shadows and lower into the ground.

Brutus says, "Wow Seto, that move was pretty impressive…you know, for a snooty rich boy." Seto doesn't acknowledge him.

Tori says, "Oh come on Brutus. Seto's the reason we made it through that." She turns to Seto. "Come on, we need to get to Yug…I mean Yuni. Can you show us where to go?"

Seto sighs. "I guess, if I must."

Seto starts to walk off, but before he gets to far, Zenith shouts, "Hey, wait a second!" Zenith pulls of his backpack and starts digging through it.

Tori says, "This better be important Zenith, we need to go now."

"Oh don't worry, it's important alright!" Zenith pulls out a paper and pen and turns to Seto. "Mr. Ossius, can I have your autograph?"

Tori says, "Come on Zenith, we don't have time for that!"

"But…Seto Ossius is one of the greatest duelists of all time! I just have to get his autograph!"

Tori says seriously, "Zenith."

"Fine, sorry." Zenith grumbles under his breath and puts the paper and pen away.

Seto is already walking away. He says, "If you geeks want to find Yuni, I suggest that you follow me." The others rush to catch up.

After walking for several moments, Brutus says to Seto, "Alright, I'll admit it, that Plasma Backlash move you did was pretty sweet. I just have one question. How'd you know that we all had cards to stop effect damage?"

Seto says seriously, "I didn't."

Back with Yugi and Ruin, Ruin draws and says, "Your defensive game ends here. I will crush every ounce of resistance. You will not survive more than two turns…oh wait, I forgot, thanks to my Time Freeze, the turn count doesn't go up. That means you won't last any turns at all." Ruin grins devilishly. "First off, I think I'll use my Lich Lord the Divine's effect to special summon Lich Knight one more time, which I will immediately tribute in order to destroy your last Cyber-Tech Scout." Without saying anything, Yugi draws a card due to Draw Force. Then, Ruin's monster summons its undead army. "Then I'll attack your Cyber-Tech Falcon! Undead Apocalypse!" Next Yugi's falcon is destroyed. Ruin grins. "I think we'll have a little fun now."

Yugi asks skeptically, "And how's that?"

"I activate Visions of the Lich. Since I control a Lich monster, this card allows me to look at the top card of your deck. Let's have a look." A large AR projection of card appears in the center of the field, facing Ruin. The card is Chronos, the Temporal Lord. Ruin says, "Will you look at that? It looks like your next draw is the Yugohan Lord. How sad that you can't summon it. That card might have won you the duel."

Yugi says, "I don't need Chronos to win."

"That's not what it looks like to me." The card disappears. "Alright, I'm content to end my-"

"Not yet! I activate my facedown, Cyber-Tech Resurgence! Since I have no monsters on the field, I can pay half of my life points in order to special summon every single Cyber-Tech monster from my grave that was destroyed this turn (Yugi's LP: 1400)!" Cyber-Tech Scout and Falcon return to the field.

Suddenly from above, Brutus' voice says, "Great card Yugi!"

Yugi looks up and sees his friends looking over the edge. Seto is also there, but he looks indifferent.

Yugi says, "Thanks Brutus, I'm glad you could make it." Yugi returns his attention to Ruin.

Ruin says, "You just paid half of your life points for two monsters. I hope they serve you well (Ruin's hand: 2)."

Yugi asks sternly, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. I hope those monsters are worth the cost that you paid for them. Especially monsters as worthless as those."

"This deck has no worthless cards!"

"I beg to differ."

"Every card in this deck has its purpose. Even the weakest monster plays its role. Yuni made this deck, and I because of that, I believe in it."

"But just look at were Yuni is now. He's floating in a void of non-existence."

Yugi starts to sound angry. "Yes, because of you!"

"Do you know what happens to one who gets their minds banished?"

"No."

"Well, no one knows for sure, but it is believed that they find themselves floating in a void of darkness. A place devoid of all hope. While floating in this void, the person is faced with their inner demons. It is pure, agonizing torture."

Yugi sounds highly annoyed and aggravated. "Shut up!"

"What do you think is going across poor Yuni's mind right now? Do you figure he's seeing how he completely failed you?"

Yugi yells, "Shut up!"

"How he set you up to fail? Do you think he knows that this moment you are facing you doom, and that it's all his fault?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Yugi screams violently and dramatically draws his next card. Everything begins to go in slow motion. A close up of the card, still in the process of being drawn, is shown. It is Chronos, the Temporal Lord. Half way through the draw, the card begins to glow red. A red bar sweeps across the card, as it passes, the card changes. it turns into the card Slifer the Sky Dragon. The slow motion stops. Yugi looks up towards the sky, holds out his arms, and screams, "Yu-Gi-Oh!" A vortex of energy appears around him. On his forehead, the symbol of the Millennium Eye appears. On his chest, lines of energy appear and create the outline of the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi speaks, but when he talks, his normal voice is overlaid with the voice of Atem, "I will prove to you that you're wrong!"

Ruin looks completely shocked. He demands, "What is this!?"

Yugi-Atem says, "You have unleashed the power of Egypt that lies within this body! And that is the final mistake you'll make!"

Up with Yugi's friends, Zenith says, "This is so awesome!"

Brutus questions, "What the heck is happening?"

Tori says, "I…don't know. Yugi must have spent so much time sharing a body with Atem, that he still maintains some sort of link with him, including his powers."

Seto actually looks interested now.

Yugi-Atem says, "Witness the power of Egypt, and the Millennium Items! I activate my facedown card, Cyber-Tech Reboot, which lets me return Cyber-Tech Magician to my hand! Then by banishing the Cyber-Tech Mystic in my grave, I can special summon Cyber-Tech Magician (Dark/Level 7/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK 2500/DEF 2100)! Now I tribute my three monsters! God of Egypt, lord of the skies, grant me you power. Let lightning strike, and thunder cry, come to me in this hour! Come forth, Slifer the Sky Dragon (Divine/Level 10/Divine-Beast/Effect/ATK X000/DEF X000)!" Clouds fill the skies, lightning strikes and thunder crashes. Out of the clouds a beam of light appears and Slifer the Sky Dragon lowers from the light.

Tori says in shock, "That's an Egyptian God Card!"

Seto exclaims, "How did Yuni get an Egyptian God Card!?"

Tori and Brutus look at each other, not sure what to say.

Ruin says, "No, how could this happen!? This is not what my master plan called for!"

Yugi-Atem continues, as if not listening to Ruin, "Slifer the Sky Dragon gains 1000 attack for every card in my hand! I have seven (ATK: 7000)! Now Slifer, Thunder Force Attack!" Slifer gathers energy in its mouth and then unleashes a massive ball of lightning at Lich Lord the Divine. The monster is completely destroyed and Ruin is thrown back against the wall by the force of the attack (Ruin's LP: 0).

The Duel Computer says, "Yuni Oha wins. For overcoming his deck's weakness, Yuni has been awarded with 691 points, for a total of 4,557 points. For exploiting his opponent's weakness, Ruin has been awarded with 72 points, for a total of 366 points."

Yugi, still glowing with energy, approaches Ruin, who looks beat-up and bruised from the last attack. Ruin panics and tries to get up and run away, but he slams into the wall again and falls back down. He starts to try to turns into a shadow to flee, but Yugi-Atem says, "You won't escape this time!" He holds out his hand and a card appears in it. "I activate the Spellbinding Circle!" The Spellbinding Circle raps around Ruin and immobilizes him. Ruin tries to struggle, but to no avail. Yugi-Atem demands, "Now you will bring back Yuni!"

Ruin starts to chuckle under his breathe. He laughs harder and harder until he's laughing evilly.

Yugi-Atem demands, "What!? What is it!?"

Ruin stops laughing and says, "I never once told you that I could bring back Yuni!"

"What!?"

"Yeah, that's right. I can't. No one, save Lord Oblivion, has the power to return a mind banished to the Realm of Darkness. Besides, even if I had that power, it's been too long. After only a matter of days, the banished mind is stuck there permanently! Even Lord Oblivion couldn't return him! Yuni's gone forever!"

"What!? No!" Yugi looks down. A single tear falls from his eye.

Up on top, Tori starts to cry, and Brutus says solemnly, "Yuni…no."

Yugi balls his hand into a fist. It violently stats to shake. Suddenly all of the energy flowing around Yugi ceases. The Millennium Eye and Puzzle disappear. It is all replaced by a red aura of energy. He yells, now with a monstrous voice overlaid with his, "You have caused me nothing but pain! You shall be destroyed! You will know the pain that you have put Yuni through! I banish your soul to the Shadow Realm!" Yugi holds his hand up towards Ruin.

Suddenly a voice in Yugi's head says, No Yugi! Don't give into the Darkness! Now more than ever, we must protect the Balance of Chaos!

Yugi drops his hand. The Spellbinding Circle around Ruin disappears. Ruin quickly disappears into the shadows. Tears start to pour from Yugi's eyes.

Brutus calls down, "What is it Yugi!?"

Yugi says meekly, "It's Yuni…he's back."

The new scene shows Oblivion, sitting on a throne in yet another throne room. It appears he is staring at nothing. He sighs and says, "I am disappointed Ruin, I really am."

Suddenly Ruin materializes in the room. He instantly kneels down before Oblivion. He says, "Please, forgive me-"

Oblivion interrupts, "You do not need to tell me. I have seen it all." Ruin looks up in surprise. "You have failed me Ruin."

Ruin pleads, "No sir, please! Give me another chance! You said you saw it, you know that no one could have planned for that! Please, it's not my fault!"

"You have now failed me three times. That is three times too many. My patience ends here. Goodbye Ruin." Oblivion raises his arm towards Ruin and shadows begin to wrap around him.

As the shadows constrict him, Ruin begs, "No! Please! This is a mistake! I am your strongest follower! You are nothing without me! Nothing! Ahh!" Ruin is completely engulfed, and his body falls limp to the ground.

A dim, barely lit room is shown. The same room as the one that was shown after Yuni left the Duel Sanctuary Tournament. A chess board is shown on a table. A hand reaches over the board and moves the white king on to the spot of a black pawn. Otto says, "And another pawn is removed from the game of life." The screen changes to show Otto standing over the chess board. "It has been an interesting game. The white king was put in check by a mere pawn, but then the king came back. But, what is one pawn, in a greater strategy. Soon both the white king and queen will be taken out." Otto walks across the room. There is a shelf with two items. One is a crystal heart that swirls with white and black energies, the Heart of Chaos, and the other is an unknown technological device. Otto continues, "The Disciples may have failed to retrieve it, but at long last I have acquired the Shadow Drive. That's two down, only three artifacts to go."

Author's note: Thank you all for reading Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Season 2: Descent of Darkness! Make sure to read Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Season 3: Guardian of the Balance, out now!

Also, if you enjoyed the story, make sure to check out the Official Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Website. It has up-to-date news and updates, along with episode reviews and other exclusive content. Find the link for it on my profile page.