Much like going from the frying pan into the oven, Daniel found himself free from the gatherers that wandered the Chancel and now stood within the den of the Shadow as the entity roared its way through the Inner Sanctum. He saw, to his dismay, that the place was nearly wholly covered with disgusting webs of moving red slime. It would not be long now before his death, and Daniel dreaded to think of failing after his grand adventure through the entirety of Brennenburg Castle. As he walked towards the massive double doors that would take him into the Orb chamber, Daniel could not help but feel that he needed a break. I need to catch some sleep, Daniel thought as the weariness from his journey descended upon his eyes. He gritted his teeth and placed his hands firmly upon the door; the Shadow seemed now to be right behind him, a glowing red aura of death that consumed everything in its path, and soon, he would be eaten up by it as well. Taking in a deep breath, Daniel pushed open the door.He was in no physical state or shape to take on Alexander if the Baron used the powers of the Orb against him. Even his walk was sluggish as Daniel slowly eased his way into the Orb chamber. His mind at the moment was in an indescribable state; he seemed to be on the edge between conscious and unconscious, unable to fully register what was happening to him and yet in enough control to still be able to move and speak. He looked around him and saw a grand room with dark gray walls, a white stone floor, and a tall black dome-like ceiling around which floated many large boulders. There were three large pillars arranged in a triangle near the center of the room, though they looked rather unstable and on the verge of collapse; perhaps the reason why was because a pedestal stood within their triangle holding the Orb, and it was channeling energy in the form of light blue electricity from each pillar.
But there, at the very back of the room was Daniel's mortal enemy, or at least that was what his self-written diaries had explained to him. Daniel did think that his memories held true, for his journey through the castle had allowed him to remember, quite clearly, the heinous acts which Alexander had forced him to do: the murders of the innocent, the torture that was so depraved it froze him to the bone to think that he, a sane and good man, could inflict such pain and suffering upon another. He looked and saw a veil of blue fire protecting Alexander, who was floating naked at the very back of the room.
"I was wondering if you were going to show up," Alexander said. "I see Agrippa convinced you to run some errands. Tell me, is everything nice and clear now? Am I the villain?"
Daniel frowned. He slowly reached for the severed head he held inside his inventory bag.
"Good and evil - such comforting concepts, but hardly applicable," Alexander continued. "Are you so blind, that you see no good in me, or evil in Agrippa?
Something burst forth out of each pillar, and Daniel witnessed a purple portal of light slowly forming where the Orb stood. He thought he felt something above him - indeed the rocks were beginning to spin faster, and energy seemed to be channeling through them so that they were calling something down into the room, down into this plane of existence.
In a fit of rage Daniel charged forward and tried to attack Alexander, but his body suddenly exploded in pain as he rammed himself against the pillar. It was like he was being burned and electrocuted at the same time as the blue fire protecting the baron seethed into his body. Daniel recoiled in and dropped to the floor, but he let no expression of defeat show on his face, and rather continued staring straight at the one who ruined his very life.
"Stay your hand," Alexander whispered. "Calm your anger! Do not let all our work go to waste. We are so close! The portal is about to open."
Daniel stood up and brushed himself off, continuing to give Alexander his cold and hard stare. He no longer had his hand upon Agrippa's head, which was still lying in his inventory bag.
"Is there something wrong?" Alexander asked.
"Let's settle this with a children's card game," Daniel responded as suddenly the Millenium Puzzle around his neck flashed with a brilliant golden light, and the hair on his head began twisting and contorting itself, gaining several new colours along the way, until they formed into the most ridiculous and gravity-defying shapes anyone had ever seen. In response, the Millennium Orb that Alexander held beamed with power as well, and the baron quickly took out his duel disk.
"This will be no ordinary game," Alexander declared. "This will be...a Shadow Game."
It was no ordinary shadow that then attacked the two. There came the mind-melting shriek and wail of the Shadow as it tore through the walls of the Orb Chamber, but then the two were surrounded by a mysterious purple fog, and streaks of lightning flashed in the background. The Shadow continued covering everything in the room in a dark red slime, and soon Daniel and Alexander found themselves trapped in a web of red. Daniel quickly grabbed his duel disk as well.
"I'll go first," Alexander said as each acquired 4000 life points. "I'll place one card face down before ending my turn." Decrepit old man, Daniel thought. This shouldn't be too hard for me to win. "First I'll summon Penumbra dog to the field in attack mode;" a big, black, evil-looking dog appeared with 1000 attack and 800 defense; "then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."
Alexander revealed no expression upon his face. "I place one more card face down and that's it for me as well."
"Is that all you've got!?" Daniel exclaimed. "Alright, Penumbra dog, go forward and strike the baron down with your claws!"
"Activate trap card!" Alexander responded. "This card is called Sanity Drain. From now on, until the very end of the game, you will lose two hundred life points each turn as long as the card is in play." Dammit! Daniel thought as he felt his body being weakened by the shadow game; he could feel his vision becoming blurry as his mind grew to have a slight headache. Alexander's life points was reduced to 3000, and his to 3800.
"On my turn, I'll finally summon the monster 'Grunt'", Alexander said, bringing into field a rather ugly looking zombie creature with a loose jaw that had 1700 attack and 1200 defense. "Then I'll play the field effect 'Call of the Shadow.' By sacrificing all the cards I currently have in my hand, I can bring a horror-themed room from Brennenburg straight into the battlefield."
The Orb chamber began morphing until it transformed into what appeared to be an underground storage of sorts, covered in barrels, shelves, torches, and crates.
"This storage is home to many grunts," Alexander continued. "I'll show you what it does on my next turn."
"Alright, I'll move," Daniel declared, feeling the pain from the Shadow Game again as he lost another 200 life points, bringing him to 3600. "First, I play a second Penumbra Dog onto the field. Then, using their special abilities, I can link them together to form 'Philip the daring physicist!'"
"How the heck does that work?" Alexander demanded. Philip the physicist appeared onto the field, armed with a hammer and with 1800 attack points.
"Screw the rules, I'm Daniel!" Daniel replied. "So, I'll have it attack you directly!"
"Activate trap card: torture device." A giant wheel appeared and enclosed the Phillip within it, causing his attack to be stopped and also his attack points to decrease by 500 down to 1300.
"I'll do the same as well," Daniel said as he showed the trap card he put down to be "Toxic Spider attack," causing a legion of spiders to crawl out of the ground and eat the torture wheel into dust, and Philip continued his attack.
"Not so fast," Alexander protested. "Let me show you how my Storage field effect works." As Alexander's life points decreased to 2600, a second grunt appeared to slash Philip into pieces, and Daniel's life points went down to 3200. "By paying 400 life points, I can at any time bring another Grunt into play," Alexander said. "But I think I've had enough of these 'grunts' by now. Why not allow me to show you the Brute?"
The two grunts were sacrificed, and a much bigger and uglier creature with a split head and a metal sword for an arm was summoned to the field. It had 2800 attack and 2000 defense. "Looks pretty brutal, doesn't it? I'll also change the field effect to 'Morgue' now."
The storage area disappeared, replaced by what appeared to be a room full of dead bodies.
"Now, Brute, why don't you mess Daniel up a bit!?"
Daniel cowered back in fear as the Brute charged forward and sliced him across the face, reducing his life points to 400. Then the Sanity drain continued and he lost another 200 life points, bringing him to 200. The strain of the Shadow game made him fall in pain to the floor, and his head was now pounding, his hands shaking.
"You're hopeless," Alexander said. "Well, your move." Let's get back on track here! Daniel thought. Two hundred life points, dead on my next turn. Sweat poured down his forehead as Daniel realized the reality of his situation. This was a true Shadow game that he was playing; if he loses, he would be banished to the shadow realm forever, or more realistically, DEAD. "Come on, heart of the cards," Daniel whispered to himself as he placed his hand upon the next few cards in his deck. "Let's go! Give me something good!"
He pulled up his next card. A pot of greed. Okay, that works too. I'll draw two more cards. Heart of the cards...don't fail me now...
He looked at the cards in his hand. Just what I needed.
"First, I'll play Laudanum!" Daniel yelled, and a greenish-white bottle appeared, allowing him to recover 800 Life points, bringing him up to 1000 LP. This should buy me some time. "Next I'll play the magic card 'Error box!"
A giant screen appeared above Alexander's head with the words " caused an exception_access_violation" written upon it. "This card lasts two turns. As long as it is in play, you may not attack."
Alexander crossed his arms and grunted.
"Then I'll play the monster card 'Infected, of the Tuurngait Virus'!" A big, ugly, bloody-lipped monster appeared onto the field with 1600 attack and 1500 defense. "I'll end my turn by placing two cards face down."
"Is that all you've got?" Alexander snickered. "Well, allow me to sacrifice 800 life points so that I can call a second Brute to the field with the 'Morgue' special ability!" Going down to 1800 LP, a second Brute monster appeared. "Next, I'll change the field effect to 'Sewer,' and then I'll sacrifice my first Brute so that I can summon the KAERNK."
As the Brute disappeared, the place transformed into a sewer, and an invisible entity appeared within the water, manifesting as the splashing of footsteps. "The Kaernk, fortunately, has the ability to bypass all magic cards. Its attack points is randomnly generated between 1000 and 2000 every time it attacks or is attacked. I'll place one card face down and end my turn for now." Ouch! That sanity drain, Daniel thought as his life points decreased by 200 to 800. And due to the Kaernk's randomnly generated attack points, I'm not sure my 'Infected' will be able to take it down. Unless...
Daniel picked up another card and placed it upon his duel disk. "Watch and cry, Alexander, as I play my card 'Super Grunt Smack!'" Large and deadly claws appeared upon the Infected's hands, increasing its attack points by 500 up to 2100. "Now, go and attack the Kaernk!"
"Activate trap card," Alexander yelled, revealing a Brazen Bull. The Infected flies straight into the bull and the lid closes it in.
"The Brazen bull is slowly heating up. In three turns, your Infected will be gone," Alexander laughed. "Of course, you'll be long dead by then, so I wouldn't worry about him."
"That's exactly what I expected you to do," Daniel continued as he revealed one of his face down cards, which was called 'You Have to Carry On...' "Whenever a trap card is activated, I can bring any monster of four stars or less from my deck straight out onto the field."
"How would that help you!?" Alexander laughed.
"It's not the monster that's important," as Daniel summoned a Toxic Spider (attack: 800, defense: 600) to the field, "It's what I'm planning to bring out next!"
"What do you mean?"
"I'll sacrifice my Infected inside the Brazen Bull as well as my Toxic Spider to bring out the strongest card in my deck: Penumbra Worm!" The field began to shake, as if struck by an Earthquake, and then a giant worm with spikes jutting out of its mouth burst through the floor, towering far above the battlefield. It had 2700 attack and 2500 defense.
"Ha! Its attack points are still inferior to my Brute's."
"No matter - I'll take down your Kaernk first. Penumbra Worm, attack the Kaernk!" In response, the Kaernk generated 1600 attack points, but is eaten up nonetheless by the Penumbra worm, and as it dies, Alexander loses 1100 LP and is reduced to 700 LP.
"Damn it!" Alexander yelled as he felt the strain of the shadow game affecting his mind as well. "I will not lose!"
"The error box is still holding your Brute for one more turn," Daniel said. "You better hurry up, Alexander. Meanwhile, I'll end my turn by playing another card face down."
The old man pulled another card out of his deck. "I'll make sure my Brute finishes you off," he said. "Are you ready to lose?'"
"Try me!"
"I'll play the card 'Orb of Shadows!'" Alexander cried, calling to the field a sphere-shaped ball leaking streams of dark energy. "For each torture device that I've used, my brute's strength will increase by 300." Daniel groaned as he saw that its attack points went from 2800 to 3400.
"Now, remember the 'Call of Shadows' field effect card that I used near the very beginning of this game?" Alexander continued. "It has a very special effect: if I remove it from the field, it will also clear out all other magic cards currently in effect!"
Daniel gasped as the Error Box above Alexander's head disappeared along with the scenes of Brennenburg.
"I see a very vulnerable Penumbra Worm you've got there," Alexander said. "Next, I'll play one card face down. Now, Brute, attack it with your sword arm!"
"Activate trap card!" A barrage of crates was launched into the air, blasting the Brute and reducing its attack points by 500 down to 2900. "Next, I'll use Penumbra Worm's special ability," Daniel continued, and suddenly the creature's attack points were raised to 3000.
"What!? How is that possible?"
Daniel's life points went down by 300, but at the same time, he loses another 200 LP due to the sanity drain, bringing him to a mere 300 life points remaining. "On any one turn, I can give or take up to 500 attack points from the Penumbra Worm to add or subtract to my life points. Now, Penumbra Worm, attack and destroy the Brute of Amnesia!"
"No!" Alexander yelled. "Activate trap card: cave-in! This card will immediately stop your creature's attack."
"And that's where you're wrong," Daniel continued. "I'll activate my second face-down card: Teleporting Naked Man!"
A flying jesus crashes through the ceiling of the Orb Chamber and knocks out Alexander's cave in-card. Penumbra Worm eats up the Brute, destroying it and causing Alexander to lose 100 life points down to 600.
"Let's end this," Daniel said, feeling once again the sanity drain bringing him down to 100 life points. "I play the magic card: 'Infinite Retries'! My Penumbra Worm can now attack twice in one turn."
Alexander screamed the biggest rage face he could muster as Penumbra Worm slams him through the chest and he is clearly reduced to 0 LP.
The purple mist surrounding the battlefield recedes, and Alexander stumbles back in terror. A big, blackish-red blob of shifting energy suddenly strikes Alexander. He begins floating in the air, his body seized by the Shadow as if it was a mere rag doll. The baron lets out a depraved wail of pain as he feels the Shadow ripping apart every molecule of his body. Daniel knew, then, that his mortal enemy was receiving the penance that the hateful man deserved.
Tears stream down Alexander's eyes as the Shadow slowly consumes his body, big red blobs from the demonic entity beginning to cover every inch of the body. Every torture that he had ever inflicted upon another is instantly returned to him. The Baron grabs at himself as if every inch of his skin was being flayed, his limbs ripped apart, his head about to be split into two. Then his entire form disintegrates into nothingness, into air. All that is left of Alexander, seconds later, is a ghostly mist floating through space, soon about to disappear out of existence, washed away by the winds of judgment and eternity. It was my greatest triumph...and I never looked back. You think I was afraid of fleeing Brennenburg? Quite the contrary. I knew that it was my purgatory - hellfire made to wash away my sins. There's no denying the things I've done - but I have paid my tribute. I gave them that awful man. I did the right thing.
As Daniel made for the light at the exit of Brennenburg, he felt something head-shaped squirming, twisting around in his pockets...
Since you love stalking other users' profiles... did you know that you can use the "Who's Online" feature to see what EVERYONE is doing? This way, no-one will know who you're stalking... Hehehe...
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