The Duelist: The Beginning

by UniqueSKD

Episode Zero, Chapter Four: Consequences...

"And the Devil blackened the sun, eclipsing the Earth in Darkness. The mortals screamed. Cried. Begged for the Light. One soul, standing terrified before the majesty of the Darkness, whispered to the Devil, "What art thou, abomination?" Replied the Devil, "I am Nothing. And to that - AMEN!"

Unique stared into the soulless eyes of the monstrosity before him, the bluish beast glaring back at him with murderous intent. The fog enveloping the cemetery grounds suddenly seemed to thicken, and the ground cracked beneath the feet of 'Zera the Mant'.

Now THAT is a big Monster, Unique thought to himself, unable to take his eyes away from the beast. I don't have any strong Monsters in play capable of beating that thing, either. Thank Faust my Monsters were defending my Lifepoints.

"Now, great 'Zera the Mant'!", the Ancient One bellowed, the Monster's eyes turning their attention to him, "show this mortal the extent of your power, and destroy his face-down Monster with your powers of Darkness!"

The creature let out a mighty ferocious roar, as it stepped towards the card its master had chosen as its target. The card turned itself over, revealing a young feminine creature, the 'Mystical Elf'. Even in the presence of its executioner, the elven creature looked so peaceful and calm, its hands put together as if in prayer, its lips forming an innocent smile.

The 'Zera the Mant' cried out in bloodlust, rearing back its claw, before thrusting it forwards, impaling the poor creature through the chest. The 'Mystical Elf' eyes shot open wide, filled with horror and shock. Unique watched helplessly, as his Monster convulsed and spasmed for a full ten seconds, before its body went limp, shattering into fragments of light that dispersed and disappeared, signalling the absolute end of the poor creature, which tried to swat away the particles with its claw before returning to its master's side of the playing field.

Even the 'Mystical Elf' couldn't defend against that power, Unique elaborated in his mind. I'll have to play an even stronger Monster if I am going to beat this thing.

The Ancient One continued. "Since I already know your remaining face-down card is the 'Dark Blade', my 'Mystic Tomato' won't be able to destroy it, its Attack slightly lower than your Monster's Defense, so lucky for you, you still have a card in play to protect your Lifepoints. I have no choice but to end my turn here". He raised a hand out to Unique. "Go ahead, mortal. Let's see how you try to fight this situation now," laughed the Ancient One.

Unique shifted his eyes away from the Anicent One and the massive monster, drawing a card from his Deck, and looking at what he now had in his hand. Two Monster cards, and then the new card he had drawn, a Spell card titled 'Monster Reborn'. He turned his attention to the cards placed on his Duel Disk, his 'Dark Blade' Monster, still face-down from the effect of the Ancient One's 'Book of Moon' Spell, and the Trap card Unique had set at the very beginning of the Duel, 'Reinforcements'.

The Ancient Ones 'Zera the Mant' Monster is too strong for any of my Monsters to beat. I've got my strongest Monster in my hand, the 'Summoned Skull', but it's not still not strong enough to beat his Monster, unless I can lure him into attacking me. I can use my Trap card to strengthen 'Summoned Skull', and destroy his Monster.

"I'll sacrifice my 'Dark Blade' as a tribute, and summon my strongest card, the 'Summoned Skull'!", Unique shouted, as a bright light surrounded his card. The light swallowed the card whole, and a large skeletal figure emerged from out of the light. The light disappeared as the creature's whole form was revealed, green eyes glaring with anger, its small black wings stretched outwards as it gave a mighty roar.

"Since your 'Zera the Mant' is stronger than my 'Summoned Skull', it'd be suicide to attack it head on, so I will command my Monster to destroy your 'Mystic Tomato'!". Unique motioned to the vegetable creature, which was still grinning that same wicked smile. "Go, my Monster! Destroy the 'Mystic Tomato'!"

The 'Summoned Skull' raised its large claws to the sky, as a great blast of lightning struck its body. Electricity now circling around its claws, the 'Summoned Skull' drew both its arms back, and with a great thrust, a blast of electricity shot out from its claws, striking the 'Mystic Tomato' and causing it to explode on impact, leaving only a scorch mark where the creature had once been.

As the wave of electricity waned away from the 'Summoned Skull's' body, Unique allowed a small to form on his lips. "Since your 'Mystic Tomato' was in Attack mode when it was destroyed by my Monster, you lose Lifepoints, Ancient One," the white pegasus said. Now if he tries to attack my Monster during his turn, I'll activate my Trap card and defeat his Monster.

The Ancient One smirked as his Lifepoints fell. "It matters not that you destroyed my 'Mystic Tomato', mortal, for in doing so you activated its effect." The Ancient One then removed his Deck from his Duel Disk, and began to search through it. "When the 'Mystic Tomato' is destroyed as a result of battle, it allows me to special summon one DARK Monster from my Deck to the field." He took one card out from the Deck, and placed it on his Duel Disk. "The Monster I bring to the field, is 'Melchild the Four Face Beast'!

The Monster that materialized before Unique's eyes was a creature almost as big as himself. The creature, true to its name, had four different faces, its 'body' rotating now and then alternating between them, sad face changing to a happy one, from that to a fierce expression, and finally a look of fear, before the cycle repeated itself.

"Huh, he may have a another Monster to replace his other one, but if he attacks me, I'll be ready," the pegasus whispered quietly to himself. "I'll end my turn," he said aloud.

Said the Ancient One, "That you will, mortal, and your last turn in this Duel, it shall be." He drew a card from his Deck, and examined it. His face lit up, a wide grin splitting across his face, followed by maniacal laughter. "And now I have the card that will seal your fate!", he roared as he took a card from his hand and placed it on his Duel Disk. "You will now bear witness to the power the Darkness, in its most horrifying and evil form, your hopes of winning this Duel crushed from a single blow from my ultimate Monster!"

Ultimate...Monster? But...I thought his strongest Monster was 'Zera the Mant'? What card did he draw? Unique felt a sudden unease wash over him like a tidal wave, a bead of sweat ran from his forehead.

Continued the Ancient One, "and your destruction begins with this Spell card - 'Enemy Controller'!". From out of thin air, small black cloud materialized, and two long clawed hands reached out of it, and grabbed hold of the 'Summoned Skull's' head, causing the Monster to roar in confusion and agony as the hands seemed to be trying to dig inside of it, before disappearing completely, cloud and all. Unique then watched in absolute shock, as his 'Summoned Skull' began walking over to the Ancient One's field, taking a place by the side of the opposing Monsters.

"W-what happened!? What did you do to my 'Summoned Skull', you bastard!?", Unique demanded. "'Summoned Skull'! Come back!". Unique's plea's fell on deaf ears, the 'Summoned Skull' did not heed its owner's order.

"Your 'Summoned Skull' is under my control now," the Ancient One chuckled darkly. "It is under the effect of my Spell card, 'Brain Control'. At the cost of 800 of my Lifepoints, I can assume command of one of your Monsters for this turn." His evil eyes scanned his opponent's field, before returning their focus upon the shocked pegasus. "You've no Monster to protect you from a direct attack. While I could command my Monsters to assault you directly, I would prefer to finish this Duel with my ultimate Monster." He smirked, and Unique felt a strange chill creep through his bones. "After all, it has been a while since it's bloodlust was last sated."

"And so, time will not be wasted any further. Mortal, you shall have the rare honor of meeting your end at the hands of the perfect incarnation of evil most foul!", cried the Ancient One. He grinned, baring his sharp teeth as he removed his Monsters from his Duel Disk. "To summon my ultimate Monster, I must offer sacrifice to appease it. Three offerings are needed, and now that I assumed control of your 'Summoned Skull', I have the necessary tributes to bring my Monster forth." Unique watched as the Ancient One's Monsters, as well as his 'Summoned Skull', disappeared from the Field as their cards were removed.

I've never known of a Monster that required more than two sacrifices to be summoned to the field. Just what the hell kind of creature is he summoning? Something flickered in the corner of Unique's eyes, and he looked up to see very faint lights in the dark void of the sky. They flashed at random intervals, spreading all over the place with each flash. "What the hell is going on?", wondered Unique, awe and fright in his voice.

Unique's attention was brought back to the Ancient One, as a massive vortex of shadows materialized behind him, growing in size as a thin tear in the fabric of reality, and opening slowly as the sound of screams accompanying the noise of thunder echoed all around the pegasus. From out of the tear in the vortex, a massive clawed hand reached out towards Unique, who jumped back in terror.

"Wha...what...is that thing?", Unique stammered, his eyes wide, his mouth agape, his entire being frozen stiff, paralyzed by a sudden feeling of dread.

The Ancient One only roared with laughter, as a massive shadowy figure began to force its way from out of the shadowy vortex. "This, mortal, is the ultimate incarnation of evil. A perfect instigator of torment and suffering in forms most cruel and legendary." The Ancient One turned around, and was greet by a pair of red eyes, and a hideous grin. The Ancient One raised his arm to the creature, which was nearly completely out of the vortex. "This Monster is exactly that - a true Monster. One that heralds the beginning of oblivion, and the end to it. A beast unlike anything you've ever seen in the game of Duel Monsters, and one you'll dream of in your eternal nightmarish sleep, mortal. Behold! Kneel before the might of my ultimate Monster! One of the Gods of Duel Monsters - 'Obelisk the Tormentor'!"

Unique stared in horror at the gigantic monstrosity before him. Never before had the pegasus seen such a terrible creature in his life, nor had there ever been a creature, both real or imaginary, that had filled him with such dread as what was running through him right now. When the creature roared, the skies exploded with thunder, erupting with flashes of lightning and fiery hot streaks at the sound of this ungodly beast.

And only the Ancient One was unaffected by the fear-inducing spell his Monster had on Unique. "Is my God not magnificent, mortal? Few have there been who proved worthy of seeing this glorious card, this perfect living oblivion. He is invincible. No effect can touch him. No Monster can match him. No Duelist can beat him!"

Unique backed away a few steps, intimidated. "A-a-a God M-monster!? No way! It can't be true!"

"Do you see the world with false eyes, mortal? Or are you not yet able to comprehend the truth when it clearly stands before you? Believe your eyes this time, fool. You stand in the presence of a God!"

Unique somehow managed to find the will to swallow the fear consuming him, his mind clear just enough to think. "B-but even if it is a God, it's attack power is still not enough to beat me in a single strike!"

Unique's fact was answered with a shrill laugh. "Have you not wondered why I allowed you to reduce my Lifepoints, mortal?" the Ancient One queried. "I have planned everything from the very moment our Duel began! You were never in control of the game! I permitted you the illusion of victory, so as to assure my own!". The Ancient One took a card from his hand, and showed it to the pegasus. "I activate this Spell card - 'Megamorph'! It is an Equip Spell that doubles the power of the Monster I attach it to when my Lifepoints are lower than my opponents." He placed the card on his Duel Disk. "I allowed you to lower my Lifepoints to make certain I would be able to use this card properly. With only 500 Lifepoints left, My 'Obelisk the Tormentor's' power will double!"

Unique's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. Oh no...oh no oh no oh no OH NO OH NO! Then that means... his Monster...he...he...!

The Ancient One let out a dark chuckle. "Yes, mortal. You have lost this Duel! I have WON!". He turned to face Obelisk the Tormentor'. "Great God of all Monsters! With the invincible powers you possess, I command you to end this Duel with my victory, and destroy this vermin! Strike him down, with the Godly Wrath Fist!", the maniacal stallion roared.

'Obelisk the Tormentor' gave a nod of the head, still wearing that awful smile on its face. Its red piercing eyes fell upon Unique, the white pegasus shaking in fear before the presence of the brute. The Monster raised a fist to the dark sky, and a thousand bolts of fire and lightning struck at it, charging it with all the energy of their power. Its fist ignited with flame and sparks, 'Obelisk the Tormentor' reared back its fist, and thrust it forward towards Unique, throwing its punch with all of its godly might while roaring a sickening sound.

When the creature's fist struck Unique, his whole world turned white instantly. Agonizing pain unlike anything even the most imaginative minds could hope to comprehend filled his entire being. Unique's flesh felt as though it had become sentient, and was trying to tear itself away from his body. His bones felt like they were repeatedly breaking into splinters, then reforming themselves, and breaking some more. His veins felt like they were on fire, and melting away like wax of a lit candle, or a plate of butter near an open fire, yet his blood felt not as if it was boiling, but freezing like water into ice.

Oh, the pain! The bizarre and maddening pain! So much of it, and from head to hoof the pegasus felt it. He felt the skin around his eyes pulling back, and the corner of his mouth. He felt his hair on the verge of tearing from his head, and his fur close to ripping from his skin.

And all he could do was stand there, and scream into the white light.

And when the pain finally did subside, after what must have felt like an eternity, his world ceased to be white, instead turning black as he fell to the ground, blacking out, his mind rendered unconscious.

The Ancient One walked over to his unconscious body, gazing down at the still figure, his cards scattered on the ground. "Oh, no no no, mortal," the Ancient One tutted as he shook his head disapprovingly.

"You do not have my permission to die. Not yet..."

- - - - - - - - - -

The sound of birdsong filled the white pegasus' ears as his consciousness returned to him. Opening his eyes, Unique groaned as he tried to sit upright, an immense pain still throbbing all over his body, a strange numb feeling in some places as well. As his eyes began to adjust to the warm sunlight peeking down at him, Unique realized he was no longer in the cemetery world. Of the Ancient One, there was no sign.

Ugh, my head...where...what happened? Where...where am I now? Picking himself up from the ground, he saw he was on a grassy hillside outside of a small town, one which was all too familiar to the pegasus. What the...it's my home town! But how? My travels took me a week's distance away from here. How is it I'm back so soon? Is this the work of the Ancient One?

Grimacing from his pain as he took a step forward, Unique sighed. |The Ancient One...damn it. I thought I had him. I was so close. I could have had my wish granted. I guess there's no point fretting over it now. Father must be worried sick about me. I only hope there is another way to treat his illness. Unique then looked down at his Duel Disk, still attached to his arm, the blades folded. My cards. My Monsters. At least they -

Unique stopped when he noticed that his Deck was missing. Thinking he had dropped them, he turned around to see no sign of them. He scanned the area for a while, but found no trace of his cards. Then a thought came to him. The rumors said that those who lose to the Ancient One lose something precious to them. Damn it! Then the Ancient One must have taken my Deck as his prize!. Unique sighed again, turning back around to carry on his way towards the town. Father gave me that Deck when he taught me the game. I only hope he won't be too disappointed.

Your father has more worrying matters at hand, mortal.

Unique stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat at the sound of that voice. "Ancient One!? What are you doing here?". Unique spun around, ignoring how much it hurt to do so, but saw nothing of the Ancient One. High and low his eyes searched, but of his enemy there was no sign. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

An awful laugh echoed in Unique's head, seemingly coming from all around him at once. You shall not find me nearby, mortal. I am here in my dark domain, your cards in one hand, and that which you hold dear in my other.

Unique's face scrunched into an expression of confusion. "What do you mean by that? My Deck was my most valuable belonging in my possession!"

Again, the wicked laughter echoed. Was it now, mortal? Are you sure there was not another thing that you held dear to your heart? A childhood toy? A trophy?. The Ancient One's voice deepened to a hinting sinister tone. A loving parent?

Unique's eyes went even wider at that, as a terrible thought came to him, and caused him to shake, both in anger and fright.. "What...w-what have you...?"

Those before you who have challenged me have sought many things. They sought power. Sought wealth. Immortality. Many have there been before you who sought to defeat me, and claim their prize, the promise of a single wish granted. Many have there been, and all of them have fallen before my power. Do you remember not the cemetery in which we battled? Each gravestone belongs to a Duelist as foolish as you were, broken and destroyed by my power. For the price for defeat in a Shadow Duel, is Death.

However, mortal, as foolish as you were to think you stood a chance against the power of Darkness, you were...mildly entertaining. A more competent foe than those before you were. Thus, you did not meet the same fate as the others. I spared your life, and saved you from meeting a most terrible torture. But merciful, I was not. You lost the Duel, mortal, and you must suffer consequence. Therefore, I exchanged one torment for another, and resigned you to it. Your life and soul are yours, but your dear, poor father...well...parents often sacrifice much for the sake of their children, do they not?

Unique felt weak, his white body turned whiter as it paled, as he began to understand what the Ancient One meant. "No...no, you didn't...you...NO! FATHER!"

His wings shot out and flapped furiously as Unique hastily took off into the air. Pain came with each flap of his wing, but he forced himself to ignore it. His mind was set on one objective, one thing more important to him right now. The sun resonated shades of orange and red as it began to set in the horizon, the pegasus darting as fast as his little body could take him to the little house that he called home.

The front door was broken, torn from its hinges, and laying on the porch. Unique landed, his hooves meeting the wood, and ran inside. The sight within made his heart beat wildly as panic set in. Every room was a complete mess, as if a tornado had swept through the household. Furniture was either knocked over or broken. The walls were stained with sploshes of red, the wallpaper torn and abundant with claw marks. Picture frames had been damaged, shattered glass upon the floor, memories torn and shredded. Unique ran from room to room, terrified of the one sight he dreaded to see, but desperate to find the stallion he held dearly to his heart.

It was only when Unique entered the study room, the one room in the house which his father would often occupy the most, that Unique came upon a most upsetting scene, the pages of countless books torn and strewn around the room, the painting of Unique and his father and mother completely destroyed, and the small desk and table broken and scattered around the place.

And in the middle of the room, perfectly still, and covered in blood, was a sight the pegasus had dreaded witnessing.

"F-f-father...no...oh, divine mother of Faust, no..."

Author's Note:

Unique's father is dead. And with his death, Episode Zero comes to an end, and the beginning of Episode One.

Hope you enjoy this story so far. Episode One chapters will consist mostly of dialogue, no Duels happen in its chapters. There will be no Duels until Episode Two.

To everyone who is reading my story so far, thank you for giving it the benefit of the doubt, and I hope you'll be here to see what unravels in Episode Two of 'The Duelist - The Beginning'!

- UniqueSKD

Comments

[Utopianking]

He had Obelisk, one of the few monsters that I fear.
You said that enemy controller allowed you to take control of a monster by paying 800 points. I believe you meant Brain Control. Enemy Controller makes you tribute one of your own monsters to take control.

[Rootbeer Dew]

To everyone who is reading my story so far, thank you for giving it the benefit of the doubt, and I hope you'll be here to see what unravels in Episode Two of 'The Duelist - The Beginning'!

So episode two is the beginning, this is the prequel and episode one is a sequel/prequel?

[UniqueSKD]

4540834 Ah, yes, that's right. XD Sorry my bad. XD

Thanks for the correction.

[UniqueSKD]

4540847 No, this is all one story, but it is kinda like 'The Walking Dead'. You're reading the whole story, but in episodic parts at a time. It was so I didn't have to explain time-jumps between certain segments. XD

Episode Zero is the introduction, Episode One chapters explain what happens after Unique's father was murdered by the Ancient One, and Episode Two and onward follows Unique's quest for vengeance. Two new characters will come into Episode One, and we will learn a little bit more about Unique's father.

[UniqueSKD]

4540804 Attack values? Well, I thought that the links to the card images would suffice, but I guess I can consider it for Episode Two, when the Duels come back into the story. Thank you for the suggestion, and thank you for sparing a little of your time to read my story. It is very much appreciated.

[UniqueSKD]

4540962 Small Spoiler - the Duelist who had that Monster returns in the first chapter of Episode Two, so you'll see that thing again in due time.

Thank you very much for sparing some time aside to check my story. It is greatly appreciated and I hope you will have a pleasant day or evening, wherever in the world you are.

[DoctorWhooves1]

hi i would like to have a oc in this story please

[Kikio3000]

Hey Unique SKD! When Lesson 0 is completed, I can't wait to be an OC! By the way, do I need to do anything special, does the story have to be worked out, or do you do the story? Are there any requirments?

[Shadow Kick]

Cool.

[Queenofbloodandroses]

To bad this story died, it seemed really interesting