Chapter 35: The Nexus

[Turn 10 - A(H:2)/D(H:0) LP:4750, T(H:0)/P(H:0) LP:3600]

It was Astral's turn, they only had Drakes Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon against the power of New Orders seemingly unkillable Meklord Emperor Xeltron ∞ which combined the powers of its overlay units, Meklord Emperor Wisel ∞, Wisel Attack, Granel Carrier and Wisel Carrier, along with the power of the Seal and Sigil of Orichalcos.

[Meklord Emperor Xeltron ∞ - ATK: 3200/DEF:1300, OU:4]

"Draw. The effect of Blustering Winds has now ended, returning our dragons attack and defence to normal." Astral calmly stated.

[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon – ATK:5500 > 4500/DEF:4800 > 3800]

"I set three cards face down, then I attack Xeltron with Neo Blue-Eye Ultimate Dragon!"

[NBEUD ATK:4500 > MEX ATK:3200 - T/P LP > 2300]

"Again the effect our Xeltron inherited from its overlay unit 'Granel Carrier' effect saves our monster. Preventing it from being destroyed in battle once per turn." Tesla said as the current controller on New Orders side of the field in this tag duel.

Since Astral had no Blue-Eyes fusion monsters in his extra deck, he was unable to trigger Neo Ultimate Dragons ability.

"I end my turn."

[Turn 11 - P(H:0)/T(H:0) LP:2300, A(H:0)/D(H:0) LP:4750]

"Draw. I play the spell <Tag Draw> this is a special spell card designed for team duels, so now each duellist draws 2 cards." Said Proteus.

The duel had lasted a long time so far and both sides were suffering from a depletion of resources, in other words, empty hands. So the sudden card draw was a welcome relief to them all.

"Next I activate <Infinity X> with this spell I send the top five cards from my deck to the graveyard, then I can special summon any number of 'Wisel', 'Skiel' or 'Granel' monsters sent to my grave this way. But I must banish them at the end of my turn."

From the five cards he sent to the grave Proteus then return three of them to his field.

"I special summon <Wisel Attack 3>, <Wisel Top 3> and <Skiel Guard>"

[Wisel Attack 3 – Lv3 ATK:1600 > 2100/DEF:0, Wisel Top – Lv3 ATK:600 > 1100/DEF:0, Skiel Guard – Lv1 ATK:200 > 700/DEF:300]

The three monsters appeared on the field, each infused by the power of the Seal, and then they began to attach themselves to Xeltron, with the upgraded Wisel Attack 3 replacing the missing right arm, Wisel Top 3 finally giving Xeltron a true head and the Skiel Guard fixing itself as a backpack on to Xeltron.

Finally, Xeltron seemed like a whole monster, complete and ready to destroy Astral and Drake.

"Due to the inherited ability of Meklord Emperor Wisel, my Xeltron gains the attack of all the monsters I just summoned. By my calculations this increases Xeltron's attack to 7100."

[Meklord Emperor Xeltron ∞ - ATK:3300 > 7100]

"Then I summon Granel Attack 3 for another 2300ATK."

[Granel Attack 3 – Lv3 ATK:1800 > 2300/DEF:0, Meklord Emperor Xeltron ∞ - ATK:7100 > 9400]

The golden monster joined the field and attached itself as a second left arm, boosting the Meklords attack once more.

"I now attack your Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Infinity X" said Proteus.

With 9400 ATK his monster had enough strength to wipe out Drakes dragon and the rest of their life points in one blow, but Astral was prepared.

"I activate <Terminator of Titans> this trap targets a monster summoned from the extra deck and reduces its attack to zero while negating all of its effects!" Astral said, with this Xeltron would be destroyed and New Order would be wiped out, allowing them to finally save Yuma.

"Look out!" warned Drake.

"Your move is in error! My Wisel Top 3's ability activates, once per turn I can negate a Spell or trap card you activate." Said Proteus as his white armoured head monster blasted a beam through Astral's trap card, destroying it.

"Then I will just have to activate my <Damage Diet>! This trap halves all the damage that I would take this turn." replied Astral.

[MEX ATK:9400 > NBEUD ATK:4500 – A/D LP > 2300 (4900/2 = 2450)

*Boom!*

The crimson energy blast of Proteus's Meklord tore through Astral and Drakes Ultimate Dragon, destroying it along with almost half their life points. It was only thanks to Damage Diet that Astral and Drake were still standing.

"I end my turn. At which point Wisel Attack 3, Wisel Top 3 and Skiel Guard are banished."

And with their loss, Xeltron lost almost 4000 attack points.

[Meklord Emperor Xeltron ∞ - ATK:9400 > 5500]

But that still made it stronger than any monster Drake had in his deck, and so long as it had the Wisel Carrier as an Overlay Unit, Drake could not destroy Xeltron with card effects.

The turn had come to Drake, be he didn't know what he could do.

He clenched his right fist in frustration, the edges of Yuma's Golden Key that he held in that hand cut into his palm drawing blood. Drake prepared to draw his card, perhaps the last draw he would make in this duel.

But before he could do so he felt an odd pulse of energy from the key in his hand that was now stained with his blood. And what followed was an equally surprising answering pulse of power from the Seal of Orichalcos that surrounded them.

Proteus, Tesla and even Astral seemed ignorant as the Seal and the key each began to emit increasingly stronger pulses of energy that slammed into Drake. Faster and faster they came until…

"Stop stalling and make your move." demanded Tesla.

But it sounded as faint as a whisper as Drake's consciousness was swallowed by darkness.

---

For a moment Drake was confused. One moment he was almost 20,000 feet in the air duelling in his most important duel since coming to this new world and the next he was here, where ever here was. Surrounded by a thick mist in a place of grey twilight he was standing on rocky ground.

No, a rocky path, either side of him he could now see the fall that awaited him as the fog slightly cleared to reveal the path that he was stood on.

A strange force filled the air, a sinister force that seemed to try to cloud his mind and memory, but it would take more than that to confuse him. His mind was protected by the legendary dragon while his will was strong enough to push pass such an annoyance to focus on the here and now.

With little choice Drake began to walk forward to where ever this path may lead.

{What do you think Critias} he asked the Dragon in his head.

{Its like a kind of Mindscape, a real place but shaped by illusion. Everyone who entered here would each see something similar but different.} Critias replied as he observed this strange world through Drakes eyes.

{Dangerous?} Drake asked.

{Maybe… or perhaps the only dangers here are those that we bring with us.}

{I will take that as a yes then.}

Drake lost track of the time that had passed as he walked the path, but eventually the path widened and he reached an end. An end blocked by a great chained door. Drake knew that this scene was familiar. It was the location of the mysterious door, the door that had brought Astral to Yuma, the door that Yuma had said had brought him the power of Shining evolution.

But the door before him was different from what he was expecting.

The stone doorway was large, as wide and as tall as a house. It was bound by dozens of golden chains that ran from the top right corner of the door frame to the bottom left and from the top left to the bottom right. Forming a great X shaped seal across the door.

The stone was a light grey, almost white and instead of a single carving of a demonic face across the entire door like he was expecting, instead this door had two faces on it, one on each side of the double door. On the left-hand side was carved the face of a man, without expression or emotion it was an aloof purity that looked down on all before it. Its impersonal perfection marred only by a single straight scar or gouge that ran down its cheek.

And on the right was the face of a beast, savage cruelty and dark instinct filled its face like a primordial monster, a lost figure of ancient terror. Across one side of its face spread a faint web of cracks.

"Is it strength that you seek against the odds? Is it power that you pursue in the face of danger?" a strange duel toned voice spoke out from both heads at the same time. Seemingly both demonic and divine at the same time.

"If you would seek, if you would pursue, then enter beyond and claim that which is your due."

*SNAP*

The chains on the door began to snap from the base and dropped to hang from either side of the doors as the door opened a slight crack before stopping, an invitation to be opened. Drake knew that he merely had to give the lightest touch and this door would open for him. But he just stood there as from beyond shone a bright light though the crack of the door.

A familiar green light…

"If you would seek, if you would pursue, then enter beyond and claim that which is your due." The door chimed again, slightly louder this time and with a touch of impatience.

"No thanks, I'm good." Drake said as he turned away.

He wasn't sure what was going on here, but he had no intention of entrusting his fate to some unknown door in a land of illusion. He just had a bad feeling that something was off…

As he began to walk back the way he came from in search of an exit back to the real world, the sounds of chains flying towards him caused him to duck. But he was too slow! The golden chains of the doorway had attacked him, seeking to entangle and capture him in their clutches. Although he had dodged most of them one had still managed to wind around his arm and was now pulling him back to the door where the other chains lunged again to entrap him.

"Enter beyond and claim that which is your due!" the door practically screamed in a shrill voice as the eyes and scars of the carvings began to light up the same green light as what came from beyond the doorway… the green light of the Orichalcos!

The chains pulled him slowly towards the door.

{Critias!} Screamed Drake to his partner. He felt the dragon try to materialise itself and attack the door before them. But something was wrong!

{I can't! Those chains are sealing the entrance to your mindscape. I'm trapped!} Critias helplessly cried as it battered against the barrier that separated him from the outside world and his chosen duellist.

"Blast it! Let go of me! You stupid door!" Drake cursed as he struggled.

A duel card appeared in his hand as he thrashed about.

"Blue-Eyes! Annihilate!" Drake cried as he tried to materialise his signature monster and blast free, but it failed! The card fell lifelessly to the floor without so much as a spark of power.

"ENTER BEYOND AND CLAIM THAT WHICH IS YOUR DUE!"

"Urrgh… Sword of- ach- Wisdom!" Drake croaked out a new chain tightened itself around his neck.

Critias sword appeared in his hands and Drake tried to take a swing at the chains that were dragging him closer and closer to the fell door. He might not have the duel energy need to activate its special powers, but it was still a legendary sword and not to be underestimated.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Drake managed to chip a few of the links in a chain or two, but his swing failed to truly sever even one of the chains. He lacked the freedom of movement to get a good swing in. He was only a few meters away from the door now and he was running out of time. In desperation Drake decided to attack the door itself with the Sword of Wisdom. Perhaps since the door seemed to be controlling the chains, attacking the door itself would free him.

But where do you attack a stone door?

The key had to be the figures; the carved faces were likely the focus of the door's consciousness. In which case what was a face's most vulnerable point? The eyes! Drake gathered his strength for a final lunge trying to decide which face to attack. The God or the Demon? At the last moment he noticed something strange and took a last desperate gamble shifting his target.

*CRACK*

Lunging forward Drake pierced the legendary sword through the scar of the face on the left side. A loud cracking sound was heard as he forced the blade in all the way up to the hilt and everything went still. The thrashing chains stop and fell listlessly to the sides. Freeing him and Critias.

"Critias!" Drake screamed as he back away from the door leaving the sword where it was.

*ROAR!*

With a mighty roar the infuriated dragon emerged, its power blasted out as a shockwave that ripped outwards and sent the world around them quivering before it dispersed like a mirage. The mist disappeared, the path disappeared, the twilight light vanished. Only the door remained.

But things were no longer the same.

Drake took a moment to steady himself as he examined his new surroundings.

He was standing on a piece of cobblestoned land, a circular disk about the size of a football field. In the centre of the disk was a large still pool of water and around the edge was nothing, nothing but the doors. It was like the disk was the edge of a world and beyond was nothing but emptiness, not land nor sky but the void.

And the doors? There was an uncountable number of them hanging in the air around the edge. Drake thought of them as uncountable because their number was continually changing as he tried to count them, new ones would appear without warning and old ones would simply vanish for no reason, the doors even seemed to move by themselves as Drake was sure that while trying to count them he saw the same door three times in different places each time. Soon he gave up trying.

Only a small handful of doors seemed fix in place, including the one behind him, but they were too distant to see in detail.

"What is this place?" he wondered out loud.

"The Nexus…" a voice whispered out so faint Drake wasn't sure if he imagined it.

"Did you hear that?" Drake asked Critias beside him who was examining the door that had tried to… well eat him was the only way Drake could come up to describe the experience.

{Hear what?} the dragon queried.

"Hello? Anyone there? You called this place the Nexus?" Drake shouted out, but his only answer was silence.

{You alright?} Critias asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just my imagination I guess…"

Drake turned back to the sword in the stone door and with a mighty pull, drew the sword out. The green glow had faded away but as the point of the sword was withdrawn it seemed to pull out several fragments of pale jade stone along with it that crumbled to dust as they landed on the floor. Not the kind of stone that made up the door, but what suspiciously looked like Orichalcos stone.

How had that ended up in a place like this?

*Clang*

Drake jumped back as the golden chains came back to life, but this time they only moved to reform the cross shaped seal he had first seen when he laid eyes on this door.

"If you would seek the unknown, cast aside all your burdens and pass beyond…" the duel toned voice gently sighed before falling silent.

"What do you think is beyond this door?" Drake asked the dragon next to him.

{…The deepest shadows no light shall reach, the chaos that holds all possibility. The Multiverse… this is where we entered this world.}

"And here I thought you punch a hole in the sky and sent me hurtling down in a fireball… naked. I still owe you for that." Drake joked as he absorbed the ramification of what Critias told him.

{Why is that my fault?}

"You created an entire body for me, don't try to say you couldn't whip up some clothes at the same time lizard breath."

{I am a dragon, why should I concern myself with human sensibility?} Critias responded innocently.

"A dragon… riiiight…" Drake knew that Critias was in fact originally a human knight of Atlantis that was cursed into a dragon form by Dartz during the first war of Atlantis. He knew the scale head had done it on purpose to mess with him.

"You sure it connects to the Multiverse?"

{The door is still opened a crack. I can feel the power of the between through it. If you had passed through it unprepared, we might never have found our way back to this dimension.}

That sent shudders through Drake. He was in the middle of a duel and two friends souls were on the line. If he had just upped and vanished there was no way Astral would be able to win on his own. New Order would have won without a fight.