Darkness.
An entity of emptiness that one cannot see, feel, smell, or taste. Hearing within the void is limited, as sound can come from any and everywhere. This space of nothingness is a place of uncertainty and the unknown, where everything around seems virtually endless. If one were to be confined in this prison of negativity, their senses will be overwhelmed and amplified a hundred fold, losing their sanity lost in the process.
And it is here in this darkness, that evil stirs.
Seven figures could barely be seen from the little bit of light that shone from a small opening of a cave from above. They were waiting for the day that they would reveal themselves. And now it was that time.
"Our time… has finally come…" A voice said, "You have made a pact to help me retrieve the cards of destiny. Who will be the first to lead us into this battle of fate?"
"Tsk, took ya long enough." One voice, clearly a young man, sighed in relief as he leaned on the cavern wall. "I was just about getting bored of waiting."
"Why don't you save your grudge match for later?" Another voice echoed, as this one was a young woman's. "From what I heard, your arch nemesis will be out of commission for a while because of an outside party."
"As usual, always getting into things he shouldn't." The first voice shrugged off.
"It's not going to matter either way." A third voice said, giggling like a madman. "As long as we win this war, we're to ensure that it will be a grand spectacle otherwise."
A fourth voice, one much more stern, groaned, "Why must you be like this?"
"As long as he carries out his duties, it doesn't matter how he acts." A fifth voice said, as their voice was much deeper yet raspy. "After all, he and I are a lot alike after the humiliation we suffered at the hands of the Duel King."
The last member was silent which put the more talkative members off.
"Now, who will be the first to go?" The first voice asked.
"I will go."
Coming out of the darkness was a young man with dark brown hair arranged sporadically in a fashion similar to that of a certain teenage girl. He wore a tight-fitting overcoat, with raised shoulders and waistline and gold and green trimmings, a tight black turtleneck, black leather pants, and black shoes.
"Darkness…" The first voice muttered. "You are confident that you will bring about our first victory?"
"I won't fail." Darkness affirmed. "Besides…" He then looked to his neck and held something in his hand, it was half of a medallion, eerily similar to the one that of a certain other half of an artifact in question.
"Hmmmmm… do remember that what you wear contains greater power than you realize." The first voice pointed out. "Our compatriots' items also come from the same point of origin, myself included. If they are to be reunited…"
"I know the risks." Darkness told them, as he equipped the Academia Duel Disk onto himself. "I told you before that I will not fail you. That is a promise."
"Hmm… very well." The first voice said. "Go forth! Darkness of the Seven Stars! Bring us victory!"
The Gaia Library.
It is a visual representation of Philip's vast knowledge of all the information known on Earth, represented as a pile of bookshelves, containing dozens of books, each book representing a unique knowledge, including people, venue or a certain knowledge, etc. He is capable of accessing the library due to his nature as an avatar of the True Gaia Memory, allowing him to narrow down information. Essentially, he is a living search engine.
And in this instance, he was looking up information pertaining to Duel Academia and the Abandoned Dorm. Ever since encountering Oogumo for the first time, he had been intrigued by the mystery of the Abandoned Dorm. He had attempted to look up any information on it, but for some reason, he was denied access.
"Hmm," The archivist quickly pondered, "Just like Heaven's Tornado and… my memories."
"Oi, Philip. What are you doing?" Shotaro asked, snapping the Gaia Memory Avatar out of his thoughts and exited the library, bringing him back to the real world.
"Sorry, Shotaro. I was trying to look up more info on the Abandoned Dorm, but it's like Heaven's Tornado." Philip said. "I need a special keyword in order to access it."
"Huh, so I guess the info's pretty well-guarded if that's the case." The detective mused.
"I've managed to make a copy of the missing students files as well in the library, hoping to find that special keyword there, but so far, I have nothing." Philip added.
Shotaro was puzzled as to how they could crack this case. After all, their leads were slim at best and non-existent at worst. What's more, neither know which keywords they need.
"This is gonna be rough." Shotaro thought out loud. Little did they know that this was only just the beginning of their worries.
The next day had come too soon. Rex's condition was bad, but the silver lining was that he was strong enough to be able to walk and get to classes. However, it will be some time before he could actually be active to Duel again. Such was the price for protecting a friend.
As of now, it was late at night, as Kuromu was staring out into the horizon at the dock next to the lighthouse. While he was glad that Rex was out of immediate danger, he still felt guilty that he had to get hurt because of him.
"Are you okay, Kuromu-san?" OOO said, as he appeared, who then took out his Core Medals and reverted back to his civilian form, Eiji Hino. He was a young man with wavy brown hair and wore a multicolored long-sleeve shirt, brown pants, and sneakers.
"Eiji-san…" Kuromu muttered, before looking back out at sea. "I… really don't know. I mean I should be, since Asuka helped me out of my funk, but…"
"You shouldn't feel that guilty about your decision." Another voice said, as Kuromu turned around to see the Singularity Point approaching him.
"Ryotaro-san…" Kuromu looked down in shame, but did smile that he was okay.
"What you had to do, that took determination and courage for you to make that hard decision." Ryotaro said, as he now stood next to him. "Believe me, I would know. For the longest time, before I became a Kamen Rider, I was simply a guy with a lot of bad luck."
"Huh?" Kuromu said surprised. "You… can't be serious. No one should be that unlucky their whole life."
"It makes more sense if you were there. Momotaros and the others can vouch for me, same with Eiji-san." the Singularity Point affirmed. "The point is, it took a lot of determination and courage for me to get out of my bad luck streak. Sure there were some ups and down along the way, but I still kept moving forward."
"Y-Yeah…" The Rider Duelist nodded, "I guess there's that."
"My gramps once told me that all a man needs is a pair of underwear for tomorrow." Eiji joked.
"What… does that have to do with anything?" Kuromu said, stunned with a sweat drop.
"It means that sometimes, the bare essentials are all you really need." the wanderer interpreted. "In your case, your friends and family."
Kuromu became wide-eyed with shock. "You… do have a point." he admitted.
"Obaa-chan ga itte ita." Souji said, as he too appeared. "Life is a long path to a goal. Drop your heavy luggage and enjoy walking with your hands empty."
"Don't worry too much and loosen up. That's what that means, right?" the Rider Duelist guessed. Souji smiled and nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, I guess I was being all stiff, huh… sorry about that."
*DRIP, DRIP, DRIP*
"Hm?" Kuromu looked up at the sky and moments later, rain started to pour. "Ugh great…" Luckily the dorm was nearby so he and Ryotaro were able to get back before the rain could fall any harder. But just as he and the Singularity Point would enter the dorm, they saw something gliding in the sky. "What's that?" He frowned.
"I don't know." Ryotaro frowned too.
Soon, the rain turned into a rainstorm as thunder and lightning crashed in the sky. The two then made it a point to get back in as soon as possible.
It was dark in the Principal's Office, Samejima stood at the window looking out. The wind howled as the rain came pouring against the pane of glass as thunder crashed in the air.
*CRAAAAAAAAASH! CRAAAAASH!*
"It begins…" he muttered with a frown on his face. He then looked at the sky and noticed the same figure that Kuromu and Ryotaro saw, gliding across the sky. "So they're really here… just as I had been informed…"
Meanwhile at the Osiris Red Dorm…
Judai snored away without a care in the world, sleeping throughout the whole thing. Sho was scared of his wits due to the constant crashing of the thunder that rumbled and the lighting of the lightning that shone through the curtains. Every time thunder crashed, the Roid Duelist would hide under the blanket. For Rex, he couldn't get any sleep. Not because of the thunder and lightning. Not because of Judai snoring, but something else entirely.
In his dreams, he kept seeing a ghastly image of two beasts, one aquatic and the other winged, locked in eternal battle.
"Seriously, how do you guys sleep with this guy snoring?" Jun groused irritably.
"You get used to it after a while." Rex chuckled.
"Still, Aniki's something." Sho muttered, looking down at the bottom bunk where Judai turned on his side. "He's sleeping through this whole storm like it's nothing."
"I bet you could sound off an air raid siren in this room and he wouldn't move an inch." The mutt joked before wincing in pain a bit, as he was still bandaged up from taking the blast.
"Hey now, we don't need you overexerting yourself." Jun muttered. "I'm surprised Ayukawa-sensei would let you walk. And even that's a miracle in itself."
"I've seen my share of scraps." Rex remarked. "As long as I don't participate in Duels, I should be fine for a while." He looked away, 'That doesn't explain why I'm dreaming about the king and the champion.'
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!" Judai snored.
"Ugh, the Osiris Slacker must have sleep apnea or something." Jun groaned as he now covered his ear with the pillow.
"You and me both." The mutt rolled his eyes but smirked.
Over at the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorm…
*CRAAAAASH!*
"Eeeeeek!" Rika squeaked in fear as she hid under the blanket.
"Rika, it's just thunder and lightning." Asuka smiled with slight exasperation, as the two of them were having a sleepover.
"Y-Yeah, you're right… It's just nature. It's just! Nature!" she tried to reassure herself.
*CRAAAAAAAAASH! CRAAAASH!*
"Eeeeeeeeeeek!" Rika yelped as she now hugged Asuka tight, much to the Obelisk Queen's surprise, as the Foodon Duelist was shaking like a leaf.
"Relax. You'll be fine." Asuka reassured her.
"Mmmmmmm… mmmmmmmmmmmm…" Rika whimpered.
"Rika?"
"P-Please… don't leave me…" Rika whimpered as tears were forming in the corner of her eyes.
"Alright, alright. Come here…" she chuckled as the two snuggled together.
Laying on the bed, Asuka wrapped her arms around Rika as the latter was still shaking from the rumbling of the thunder. But gradually, Rika started calming down, her breathing becoming more stable as her body shook less.
The Obelisk Queen let out a sigh of relief as she stroked Rika's hair.
'What am I going to do with you?' she thought to herself.
"Ne…"
"Hm?"
"Do you remember… when we were kids, the four of us were walking home from school in the rain?" Rika began. "It was so bad that day… a lightning bolt almost struck us."
"Yeah, I remember. It was scary." Asuka shuddered.
"I… remember when you… tackled me away from where that lightning bolt would've struck." she muttered softly, "I just… I was so scared." she gripped the Obelisk Queen tight for comfort.
"I know. That's why you have a fear of thunder and lightning, ever since."
"But… I also remember when you were… on top of me when it happened." Rika blushed. "I… saw you differently."
"You mean… that's when you started liking girls?" Asuka asked.
"W-Well…" Rika trailed off. "I… kinda crushed on you for a while after that day…" She admitted.
"I figured as much. You started your assaults two weeks later." the Obelisk Queen giggled.
Rika was surprised. "You… You already knew? Then why-"
"For one, I didn't want to say it unless you freaked out and the next…" Asuka stopped herself as she blushed.
"Asuka-chan…" Rika muttered, before the gears started turning in her head. "Wait, you don't mean…"
"I mean, I never fully stopped you, did I?" she giggled.
"T-Then you-"
"No. Not going there. I'm not talking about it." Asuka denied.
Rika pouted with a puffed cheek, "But you said-"
"I know what I said." Asuka stated. "But at the end of the day, I can't hurt Kuro. I don't want to betray him, for someone whom I also care about."
"I… can see what you mean." Rika agreed with a sigh.
"Rika… I may not be able to care about you in that way, but I don't want you to stop looking." Asuka said. "I'm sure there's someone out there for you who will appreciate you for who you are."
"I hope so…" Rika murmured.
"You will." Asuka said, holding Rika closer. "I promise. I'll help you out. Kuro, Koji, and the others too."
The chef smiled before falling asleep in the Obelisk Queen's arms.
The next day…
Kuromu, Rika, Koji, Judai, Sho, Rex, Misawa, Asuka, and Jun were all in Daitokuji's class as everything had returned to normal. However, for Judai, he was sleeping throughout Daitokuji's class. Rex knew what to do as he pulled the balloon from his pocket and was about to blow it. But then he felt someone nudging him and saw Sho shaking his head, then pointed to Daitokuji, silently telling him if he did that, he's gonna get in trouble. The mutt sighed as he put the balloon away and tried to find another way to wake Judai up.
"Hey, you okay, Rika?" Junko murmured. "You look like you haven't slept well."
"It's fine. It's just a little lightning." Rika wearily said. "Nothing that a snuggle from Asuka-chan couldn't fix…"
*PFFFFFFFFT!*
Kuromu silently did a spit take to the side, ironically aiming at Judai.
"Wha?! I'm up, I'm up!" The Elemental HERO Duelist panicked as he quickly sat up, earning looks from everyone. "Uh… sorry…" He muttered, before the class went back to looking back at the front of the classroom and the lesson continued.
The mutt was surprised to see that.
"Uhh, thanks?" Rex said to Kuromu with an unsure tone.
"That wasn't intentional." Kuromu muttered.
"No way, you're snuggling with Asuka-sama?" Momoe squealed softly.
"Shhhhhh…" Rika hissed, as Asuka sighed. "Shut up, Momoe… nothing happened…! We just cuddled!"
"Mhmm~ sure you did." Momoe smirked with half-lidded eyes. "You better not let Kuro catch you stealing her." She pointed behind, to which Rika looked and saw Kuromu gritting his teeth while looking at his childhood friend irritably, causing the chef to feel a comical sweat drop run down her face.
"P-Point taken."
*DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG!*
Rika sighed when she heard the bell ring, saved by the bell as they said. Classes were done for the first half of the day.
"Alright! It's lunchtime!" Judai cheered.
"Whew, I'm starving." Koji said as the groups were about to make their way back to their respective dorms.
"Hold on now, before you have your lunches… I need several of you to stay back-nya. Yuki Judai, Kururugi Kuromu, Shinamori Koji, Ryusaki Rika, Misawa Daichi, Manjoume Jun, Tenjoin Asuka, and Rex Taylor."
The group looked at each other with unease, still remembering what happened the prior day.
"Uh-oh, I have a bad feeling about this." Sho muttered.
Once the students that were not called left the classroom, Daitokuji led the group in question over to the Principal's Office. Upon arriving, surprisingly, Chronos, Ryo, Tsukasa, and Kyoshiro, and Ryotaro were there too with the Principal.
"What's going on?" Kuromu muttered.
"Everyone, thank you for coming." Samejima said, turning around to face the students. "First off, Kururugi-kun, Taylor-san, how are you two feeling?"
"I've been through worse…" Kuromu sighed. "But I'm okay for now."
"I'll live." Rex said, crossing his arms.
"I see." Samejima nodded. "Well, now that we're all here, let's begin this meeting. I've called you all here for a reason. Tell me, have any of you heard of the Three Phantom Demons?"
"First I've heard of them." Kuromu frowned as did the others who voiced their agreement of never hearing of these cards.
"Allow me to explain then." Samejima began, "Sealed within this island, three cards have been with us since ancient times. Originally, this school was built over where those cards are sealed."
"Ehhh?!" The group gawked.
"Hold the 8-trak, you mean the cards are right below the school itself?" Koji asked incredulously.
"I don't like where this is going." Rika feared.
"As you know, these Three Phantom Demons lie dormant underneath Duel Academia. According to the legend of the island, if and when those cards are brought up to the surface, the world will be shrouded by evil, chaos will enshroud everything, and the darkness dwelling within man will be released." Samejima said. "Before long, the world will end as we know it."
"So in other words, the school is one giant Pandora Box." Rex frowned as he shook his head, "Yare yare…"
"Those who have challenged us, with ambitions to break the seal on those cards have appeared." Samejima continued.
"Who exactly are they?" Ryo inquired.
"They are Duelists known as the Seven Stars." Samejima answered. "Duelists who are shrouded in complete mystery. In fact, one of them has already arrived on this island under the guise of last night's storm."
"How cliché…" Misawa said dryly.
"Ryotaro-san…" Kuromu gasped with wide eyes. "Could that have been…"
"It's possible." The Singularity Point guessed.
"So… how exactly are they going to try and break the seal?" Asuka asked.
"To release these cards from their prison, one must unlock the seven Spirit Gates. These stone pillars are the actual seals that protect these cards." Samejima responded. "And the only way to unlock them is with seven Spirit Keys. That is where you all come in."
"Figured as much. I mean the encounters with Oogumo show we can handle something like this." Koji commented.
"That's the gist of it." Tsukasa spoke up. "So that's your assignment. We're asking you kids to guard the Spirit Keys. Meaning, if you have them, these Seven Stars will try to take them from you. The only way they could… is by Dueling."
"A Duel?" Jun said wide-eyed.
"Fortunately for our side, the keys can't simply be stolen. An ancient edict commands that these Spirit Keys be acquired by winning them in a Duel." Samejima stated.
"And knowing our luck, they'll all be Games of Darkness." Rex figured.
"That's why Principal Samejima called on you, the best first-years to guard these Spirit Keys." Kyoshiro spoke up. "Of course, if you back out, we won't think any less of you. That being said, they'll be coming after you. However, we're not gonna make that easy for them."
"What do you mean by that, Tou-chan?" Kuromu asked.
"We will be employing seven decoys to throw them off."
"Seven fake Spirit Keys?" Misawa said incredulously. "Not that I am against this plan, but the risks involved are high. Are you sure that is wise, sir?"
"It's fine. We won't be putting more students into harm if we can help it." Kyoshiro reassured them, "That's why we will serve as the decoys."
"And it's my duty as your senpai to look after you, the kouhai." Ryo said.
"You've done a lot to protect me, so I will repay my debt by protecting you all." Ryotaro added. "They won't expect a real Kamen Rider to defend the keys."
"Let alone two." Tsukasa chimed in.
"Marufuji-senpai, Ryotaro-san, Kadoya-sensei…" Kuromu muttered.
"So that's it? We're basically guardians of an ancient evil trying to keep it out of the hands of some psychos that wish for death and destruction?" Rex then shrugged, "Well, as if having Oogumo breathing down our necks wasn't crazy enough."
"You'd be surprised…" Tsukasa muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." Tsukasa said quickly.
"So, who are going to get the keys?" Kuromu asked the principal.
"Your father did say that I call upon the best first-years to guard these Spirit Keys." Samejima said, before pulling out from under the desk, a metallic box. He then opened them, revealing several puzzle pieces with some kind of writing on them.
"We're protecting… ancient Tetris pieces?" Rex deadpanned.
*WAPISH!*
"Ow!" Rex was bopped on the head thanks to Rika. "Still hurting y'know!"
"Then enough of the nonsense!" She snapped.
Judai merely smirked as he took a piece, revealing it to have a lanyard attached to it. He then put the key on.
"Sounds fun. I'll do it." he chuckled.
"Never thought the world dancing stage would be this dangerous, but hey, if it means saving the place where we can all dance, I'm all for it." Koji said, taking a piece.
"Same here." Rika nodded, taking hers as well.
"Hmm…" Jun frowned, but then decided to take one as well.
Rex soon reached for one of the keys and took one, but as he did, the principal quickly gave him a small folder.
"What's this?"
"It's a gift from Pegasus." Samejima explained.
The mutt was confused until he prepared to open it, only to hear the same roar that called out to him when he first took up the Gladial Beast deck. Confused, he quickly opened it and found some cards in there. Kuromu and Judai felt a commanding presence, almost suffocating to a point as the mutt had to struggle to breathe from feeling the aura of the card, before putting it back in the folder, letting the three of them breathe.
"You cool?" Koji asked.
"Y-Yeah, just… whew." Rex shrugged it off; 'What the hell was that? I knew the king was powerful. But this?'
Kuromu then looked back at the remaining two Spirit Keys and was about to take one until Asuka stopped him, "Are you sure about this? There's no turning back once you take it."
"I'm sure. I'll deal with Oogumo when we cross that bridge." Kuromu nodded. With this answer, the two of them took the last keys.
Afterwards, Samejima took out another metallic box and opened it up, revealing exact replicas of the same Spirit Keys the others have taken.
"Gentlemen, it's time." The principal said.
"Headmaster, you must not be too alarming. In short, a few challengers are coming to steal the keys from the school's most prominent faces, yes?" Chronos asked while the other decoys took their fake keys.
"Even so, we must uphold our duty as the first line of defense." Misawa said. "There can be no mistakes."
Once everyone got their keys, Judai felt excited about the prospect of Dueling.
"So, if I was one of them, I'd handle it prison style." The Elemental HERO Duelist said.
"Fight the biggest guy in the yard?" Rex asked to which Judai nodded, "That means Ryo might be the first of us to Duel then given his Kaiser status."
"But at the same time, they won't care about who they choose." Tsukasa said. "All that matters to them is getting the Spirit Keys."
Samejima nodded, "From this moment, the battle has begun. Please stand by to duel at any time and protect the Three Phantom Demon cards and the keys to the Seven Spirit Gates."
Later that night, Judai, Jun, Rex, and Sho all gathered at the dorm as the former three all looked at the Spirit Keys they had in hand. Sho had been informed of the situation, and to say he wasn't happy was an understatement.
"Oh man, I knew it was something bad…" Sho groaned. "First Oogumo and now this?"
"Relax! Everything's gonna be fine!" Judai reassured him.
Rex pondered, "I'm honestly curious about those Phantom Demon cards. How strong would they have to be to have this much security behind them?"
"If I had to guess, I bet these Three Phantom Demon cards are probably on par with the Egyptian Gods…" Jun said.
"Whoa, really?!" Judai asked excitedly.
"Well no wonder then. Those cards are pretty strong." the mutt said before he heard Judai yawn.
"Anyways, I'mma head to bed now." the Elemental HERO Duelist said.
"Huh? But the enemy is coming." Sho argued, "Shouldn't you guys be waiting for them?"
"Yeah, but they can't Duel me if I'm asleep. So they'll have to wake me up." Judai shrugged.
"Wouldn't be surprised if they just try to shank us first." Rex feared.
Back at the Ra Yellow Dorm…
Kuromu, Koji, Misawa, Asuka, and Rika all gathered at Kuromu's dorm room discussing the meeting they had with Principal Samejima. No doubt that all of this was weighing heavily on their minds. Especially for Kuromu since he has to double time in not protecting the Spirit Key but also watching out for Oogumo.
"Sorry you had to get the short end of the stick, Misawa." Koji said. "I know you're our first line of defense, but…"
"No worries. I understand the risk." the genius reassured him.
"So which Attribute Deck will you use now?" Rika asked. "You've already used FIRE, WATER, WIND, and LIGHT from what we've seen."
"I plan to have all of my decks on hand, so that I can be ready for whatever comes for me." Misawa said as he opened his jacket and revealed that he lined them with deck boxes.
"Goodness, armed to the teeth." Asuka blinked in surprise.
"You must be prepared for anything on the battlefield." Misawa reminded them. "Kuromu's friend Sento contributed as much."
"Is that why you borrowed his card all day after the meeting until now?" Kuromu sweat dropped, to which Misawa nodded.
"When you meet a fellow genius, sometimes things just click." The physicist argued. "In this case, Misawa and I are a-"
BEST MATCH!
'Somehow I get the feeling that you put that in the wrong context…' Kuromu muttered in his thoughts.
"But my point stands, I am fully committed to keeping them away from the Spirit Keys." Misawa affirmed.
"Hey kiddo." Tsukasa called out, to which the group turned to the door to see the Dimension Rider and Singularity Point approaching them.
"Kadoya-sensei, what's up?" Kuromu asked.
"Might wanna look at this…" Tsukasa said as he took out from his pocket, the half medallion… which was actually glowing.
"What the-" Kuromu got out.
"That can't be good." Koji gulped.
"Why is it glowing like that?" Rika asked.
"Whoever has the other half of that medallion… is nearby." Ryotaro answered. "And I'm willing to bet it's the Seven Star that arrived here."
"But who is he going to go after first? It would likely be Ryo, right?" Asuka guessed.
"No… if this Seven Star has the other half of the medallion…" Kuromu feared. "He's coming after me."
Sure enough, the group could feel a dark presence nearby. The group quickly looked at each other and quickly put on their Duel Disks.
"Momotaros." Ryotaro said.
"Ryokai!" Momotaros said, before possessing him. Ryotaro's hair suddenly spiked upwards having the red streak of hair and the red eyes glowed. "Alright, let's kick some ass!" Ryotaro-Red declared as he rushed out of the door.
"Oi, baka!" Tsukasa called out, but to no avail. "Come on you guys!" He groaned, before running out.
Sure enough, as the fog rolled in, there stood Darkness as a bright light ended up shining bright enough to illuminate the Riders as well as the other Duel Spirits of the group. However it was that same bright light that soon blinded everyone.
When the light faded, they found themselves standing on an invisible barrier of light, which stood over… a volcano?!
"Wha?! WHAT THE HECK?!" Kuromu gasped.
Just then a fiery dragon arrived and flew down on the barrier to reveal Darkness in his full might.
"Who the hell are you?!" Ryotaro-Red demanded.
"My name is Darkness."
"Darkness?" Kuromu got out.
"I'm one of the Seven Stars." Darkness said. "And you, Kururugi Kuromu will be my first opponent." That's when the two halves of the medallion began to glow. "I see… you're the one with the other half of this medallion. But that is not important. What I desire is the Spirit Key around your neck. I'll steal it through a Game of Darkness."
"A Game of Darkness?" Asuka gasped.
"Over my dead body you-" Kuromu got out, but then he stopped when he noticed something familiar about him. "Hold on… have we met before?"
The Seven Star clutched his head, "It doesn't matter, the Game of Darkness has begun. Whoever loses this duel will lose their lives."
Kuromu noticed how he clutched his head, but shook his head. "Regardless, you're not getting your hands on this Spirit Key!"
"Don't waste your breath on him, Kuro! I got this!" Ryotaro-Red said before taking out his Den-O belt and wrapped it around his waist. He then pressed the red button and his signature electronic tune played. "Henshin!"
SWORD FORM!
Soon, the familiar change began to occur as they watched Ryotaro-Red transform into Kamen Rider Den-O.
"O-re… sanjou!" Den-O declared, striking his pose.
"Tsk. So the time walker lives…" Darkness groaned.
"I'm gonna enjoy beating the crap out of you!" Den-O said, then threw his weapon parts to form the DenGasher in sword form. "From start to finish, I'm at a climax! Ikuze, ikuze, ikuze!" He shouted, before charging at Darkness, sword in hand.
That was when the fiery dragon appeared and quickly flew at Den-O by its master's command.
"Watch out!" Kuromu shouted.
The train Rider stopped in his tracks and moved to block the incoming dragon's charge against him. Even more so that the DenGasher was starting to melt, prompting the train Rider to jump back and drop the weapon.
"Achachachachachacha…" Den-O shook his hand roughly. "The hell was that?!"
"Baka, this isn't like back home." Tsukasa groaned.
"I've no need to battle the likes of you. I'm here for the Key Keeper and him only." Darkness said, before looking back to Kuromu. "Shall we? Because it's time we Duel." Darkness once again challenged Kuromu.
"Gh…"
"Hm, perhaps you need more incentive." Darkness hummed in thought.
"Asuka-sama! Rika!"
Asuka, Rika, and Koji flinched in fear upon recognizing those voices. Just below them, there was a small rock island where Junko and Momoe were trapped in its barrier of light.
"Junko-chan! Momoe-chan!" Rika gasped.
"'Ey! Leave my Foxy Mamas out of this, jive-turkey!" Koji snapped.
"Then your friend better win. If he takes too long, the lava will consume them both." Darkness warned them.
"Gh…" Kuromu gritted, before inserting his Deck inside his Duel Disk, activating it. "Ryotaro-san, Momotaros, Kadoya-sensei, let's go."
"On it!" The two affirmed before returning to his deck.
"Kuro…" Asuka murmured worriedly.
"I'll be fine, Asuka." Kuromu reassured her. "As long as you're all with me, I'll be fine." He then glared at Darkness, "Bring it on!" He shouted, before both players drew their starting Hands.
"DUEL!"
Darkness:4000
Kuromu:4000
"I'll go first. Draw!" Darkness declared, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Army Dragon in DEF mode!" Soon, a green anthropomorphic dragon clad in armor was summoned as it knelt down in defense (2/ATK: 700/DEF: 800). "Then I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo."
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his next card. "I summon Kamen Rider Ryuki in ATK mode!" After slapping the card on the tray, the mirrors soon emerged as the dragon Rider appeared on the battlefield.(4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200)"Next I'll equip him with Kamen Rider Machine - Dragreder!"
The dragon Rider drew a card from his Advent Deck and slid downwards the top of the DragVisor, before inserting the card and sliding the top back in place.
ADVENT
The sound of a metallic screech echoed as Ryuki's signature Contract Beast arrived at its master's side, snarling at Darkness.
"And finally, I activate Final Henshin! With this card, Kamen Rider Ryuki evolves!" Kuromu declared. "Shinji-san!"
"Got it!" Ryuki said as he took out an Advent Card that showcased a flaming red wing. Then he held out his left hand and a gun-like weapon in the shape of a dragon's head, the DragVisor Zwei appeared. He opened up the dragon-like gun's mouth and inserted the card in before closing it.
SURVIVE
Ryuki was then engulfed by the flames of the volcano, transforming him into a brand new form. His armor became more red with golden accents on his arm guards and boots. His shoulder pads flared up to the back, and the visor of his helmet became wider to resemble the crest of a dragon; even gaining two small golden antenna. (8/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2200)
Dragreder also got to transform as well, gaining a much bulkier body with large shoulder pads, shin guards, and a visor that matched the DragVisor Zwei, achieving his form as Dragranzer.
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Ryuki - Survive Form!"
"Hmm? So you Fusion Summon without using Fusion?" Darkness observed.
"It's called a Transformation Summon, get it right!" Kuromu snapped. "Now in exchange for Ryuki evolving this way, Dragreder's effect is negated, but that's fine. Because now we're going to battle! Kamen Rider Ryuki - Survive Form attacks Army Dragon! And when he battles, he inflicts Piercing Damage! Dragon Fire Storm!"
Soon, Dragranzer flew in for Ryuki to jump onto before, to everyone's surprise, transforming from dragon into a heavily modified Honda X4 motorcycle.
"Whew, Dinobreaker much?" Koji observed.
"Attack!" Kuromu called out.
Soon, on the back of Dragranzer, Ryuki Survive rode in as he took out a card and inserted it into DragVisorZwei, closing it after.
FINAL VENT
Dragranzer then roared and unleashed several fireballs from its mouth which destroyed Army Dragon before swerving around and riding back towards Kuromu's side.
Darkness: 2400
Kuromu: 4000
Smoke billowed from the explosion, lingering for a moment before it cleared. Darkness felt actual damage from it, indicated by the scuff marks on his face and clothes, his body shaking and trembling.
"Nice, first blood!" Rika cheered.
"Clever…" Darkness snarled, shaking off the damage as the lava began to bubble. "However, thanks to you destroying my Army Dragon, I can Special Summon another one from my Deck to take its place! And I summon them in DEF mode!" He said, and a second copy of the dragon appeared. (2/ATK: 700/DEF: 800)
"Tch. I'll place one card face-down." Kuromu finished as a reverse card appeared on the field. "Ta-n endo."
"Watashi no ta-n! Draw!" Darkness declared, drawing his next card. "Activating face-down! Call of the Living Dead! This allows me to Special Summon a monster from my graveyard in ATK position! And I'll choose my Army Dragon!"
From the fireball that was left behind by Dragranzer's attack, Army Dragon walked back, stronger than ever.
"And now I'll Tribute them for something stronger!" Darkness said as the two dragons disappeared.
"Dragon of unlimited potential, unleash your fury and ferocity onto the battlefield!"
Suddenly, from the night sky, a large shape quickly descended onto the battlefield. But, once it landed, Kuromu and the others stepped back in shock upon seeing the familiar winged dragon with scales as black as the current night sky and piercing red eyes.
"Advance Summon! Come forth, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" (7/ATK: 2400/DEF:2000)
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" Asuka gasped.
"Hey! Leave Jounouchi-san's card out of this!" Rika snapped.
"And yet I have heard you summoned Silent Magician while studying in this school. So you have no leg to stand on." Darkness argued.
Kuromu was left confused, how could he have known that? However, he shook that off as he could feel how wrathful Red Eyes was in comparison to the one the group was familiar with.
"Moving on, even though my dragon is strong, its ATK is equal to your monster, so I'll Tribute my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and evolve it with darkness!"
Suddenly, Red-Eyes let out a shrilling hiss. Darkness that enveloped it and flames that erupted from the volcano surrounded the dragon.
"Dragon of unlimited potential, let forth the darkness in your heart and unleash your unyielding rage!"
It soon transformed into a much larger black dragon with red across its body and orange gems on its wings, legs, body, and head.
"Advance Special Summon! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" (9/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)
"Egads…" Misawa murmured.
"And it gets worse for you. Because for every Dragon-Type Monster in my Graveyard, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 300 ATK." Darkness smiled darkly. "And I count three, which means he gets 900 ATK point boost for a punishing grand total of 3300 ATK!"
The dragon soon felt the flames of the volcano empower him.
Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon: (ATK: 2400-3300)
"Now he has enough ATK to boot Ryuki off the stage!" Koji exclaimed.
"That's exactly what it means!" Darkness said. "Battle! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon attacks Kamen Rider Ryuki - Survive Form! Darkness Giga Flame!"
After taking a deep breath, the black dragon quickly let out a fiery red and black spiral ray that incinerated Ryuki and Dragranzer on the spot, its heat hot enough to affect Kuromu as the flames licked his body.
"Aaaaaargh!" Kuromu cried out in pain as the wind pushed him back towards the others.
"Kuromu!" Asuka, Rika, and Misawa cried out.
"Kuro!" Junko and Momoe shouted in worry.
"Yowza, that heat's insane!" Koji yelped.
Darkness: 2400
Kuromu: 3100
"Errrrrgh… arrrrrgh… haaaaa… haaaa!" Kuromu wheezed, clutching his chest tight.
Asuka rushed to help the Rider Duelist back onto his feet whilst he was still in pain. It was clear that this was different from the Games of Darkness he experienced when dueling Oogumo.
"I told you that this is a Game of Darkness with our souls on the line, did I not?" Darkness chuckled.
"Dammit, that… what the hell was that?" Kuromu gritted in pain.
"Kuro, stay with me." Asuka said worriedly, holding onto him.
"Haaaaa… haaaa… I'm okay…" Kuromu tried to reassure her, as he staggered to his feet with the Obelisk Queen's help. "Thanks, Asuka."
Darkness smirked, "I shall set one card facedown." A reverse card appeared on the field. "Ta-n endo."
"O-re… no ta-n!" Kuromu gritted, attempting to draw a card, but his right arm gave out. "Ergh…"
"Don't push yourself." Asuka told him.
"I know, I know…" The Rider Duelist sighed. "Asuka, can you…" The Obelisk Queen nodded as she became Kuromu's hand once more. She quickly drew a card to increase that hand from two to three. "I activate Final Henshin's secondary effect. During my Main Phase, I can shuffle it back to my Deck from my Graveyard and draw one more card."
The Rider Duelist soon gained an extra draw and quickly began strategizing with Asuka.
"Got an idea on how to beat this guy?" She asked him.
"Yeah. But I need to draw them." Kuromu said, before looking back at Darkness. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! Now both of us draw until we have six cards!"
Both then drew until they both had six cards each, which allowed Kuromu to see if he got what he wanted.
"Yes! Just what I need! First I summon Kamen Rider Den-O in ATK mode!" The familiar electronic tune echoed in the air.
SWORD FORM!
Den-O soon arrived onto the battlefield, quickly performing his signature pose. (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000)
"Ore… futatabi sanjou!"
"And when he's summoned while I control no other Monsters, I can special summon a Kamen Rider from my Hand! And I choose… Kamen Rider OOO!"
After Asuka slapped the card on the tray, the medals came circling around.
TAKA!
TORA!
BATTA!
Images of three animals in the form of symbols appeared. A red hawk was on the top, a yellow tiger was in the middle, and a green grasshopper was at the bottom. The three images then combined into one large crest which flew backwards and into his chest. His body then became enveloped in energy which swiftly hardened into solid armor. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 0)
TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!
"Kuromu-san, are you alright?!" OOO gasped, after being summoned and saw the condition he was in.
"I'll be fine." Kuromu reassured him, before looking back to Darkness. "Now I'll activate the Equip Spell… Core Medal Roulette!" Upon Asuka activating the card, the card was revealed to have a mandala of various color-coded crests, related to some family of animals in some way.
"What does this one do?" Darkness pondered.
"During every one of my Standby Phases, I can roll a die, and OOO gains a certain Attribute and effect depending on the roll. So let's see what's in store! Go, dice roll!"
He soon sent out an OOO-themed die which clattered onto the ground, landing on a four which had the dots replaced with the Taka Medal symbol.
"Yes! A four!" Kuromu grinned. "OOO now becomes a FIRE-Attribute!" He then saw two coins materializing, both being red, but one of them is engraved with an image of a peacock and the other being an image of a condor. He then grabbed the Core Medals. "EIJI!" He shouted, before throwing them at the animal combo Rider to which the latter caught.
"Thanks!" he called out, before replacing the two medals of his main combo, with the new Kujaku and Condor Medals.
OOO immediately re-scanned those medals.
TAKA!
KUJAKU!
CONDOR!
Like the Red-Eyes, the animal combo Rider quickly found himself engulfed in the flames of the volcano after the holographic images of the Core Medals lined up and pulled towards his chest. But as the roulette appeared, OOO found himself given a completely new form. This gave him a red bird-like suit with yellow spikes on the legs and rounded wings on the arms. His entire chest armor now sported a pair of spiked shoulder pads alongside a central chest symbol that depicted the image of a phoenix. Even his helmet had transformed to have the wings on his helmet become more flared out.
TA~JA~DORU~!
BGM: Time Judged All
Darkness was left shocked, while Asuka, Koji, Rika, Misawa, Junko, and Momoe were left in awe of this new form of OOO.
"Wowzer, he bringin' the heat!" Koji exclaimed.
"So dashing!" Momoe and Junko gushed.
However, Kuromu couldn't help but notice something. Namely, the voice that called out the medals. It was… different…
"So what if you have this new form? It doesn't change a thing." Darkness scoffed.
"That's where you're wrong! First, with OOO being a FIRE-Attribute, he gains 1000 ATK!" Kuromu declared, as a red aura surrounded OOO, powering him up. (ATK: 2000-3000) "And before you say anything about it not being enough, that's where I activate Soul Release! I banish your three dragons from play! Meaning Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon loses his power boost!"
Suddenly, a red and black aura siphoned away from the dragon as the souls of the two Army Dragons and Red-Eyes Black Dragon faded away from existence, forcing Darkness to pocket the cards.
Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (ATK: 3300-2400)
"With this, I'm getting an exact win! Battle! Kamen Rider OOO attacks Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! Prominence Drop!"
OOO sprouted his wings out before flying up into the air. He then took his O-Scanner and scanned the Medals once more.
SCANNING CHARGE!
OOO dived down with a war cry as he flipped forward, before righting himself up. The Raptored Edges protrude outward as he did, glowing with heat and fire as he was about to perform a dropkick with them.
"SEIYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
That was when the Seven Star made his next move.
"Not so fast, I activate the Trap, Half Unbreak!" Darkness declared, "This prevents my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon from being destroyed and all Battle Damage involving him is cut in half!"
Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon unleashed a spiral of black and red flames at OOO whom the latter blocked with his Raptored Edges. At first, it was a struggle, but OOO managed to push the flames back and land a direct hit on the dragon, causing it to roar in pain as OOO flew back up and over to Kuromu's side.
Darkness: 2100
Kuromu: 3100
End BGM
"The hell was that?!" Den-O snapped at OOO.
"Ugh, I thought I had him…" The animal combo Rider groaned.
"Tch… I'll place one card face-down." He declared as he pointed to which card for Asuka to put down, which she did. "Ta-n endo…"
"Watashi no ta-n. Draw!" Darkness declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand from six to seven. "I summon Blizzard Dragon in ATK mode!" Coming onto the field was a blue-scaled dragon with wings that were attached to its arms and a long slender tail. Its red eyes glared menacingly at Kuromu. (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000) "Next, Blizzard Dragon's effect activates! Once per turn, I can target one monster my opponent controls and they cannot change their battle position or declare an attack until the end of the opponent's next turn, and I choose Kamen Rider OOO!"
"I don't think so! Activate Counter Trap! Danger Sense!" Kuromu said, as Asuka helped activate the card. "If a card or effect is activated, targeting a "Kamen Rider" monster I control, I can negate the activation, and destroy it!"
Suddenly, the blue dragon was quickly taken out by OOO, who kicked it into the lava.
"Tsk, then I shall use the spell card Dragon's Mirror to banish the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon in my hand for a Fusion Summon!" He declared as a large mirror appeared.
"Harbinger of the apocalypse, unleash your rage upon my foes and smite them all!"
From the mirror, a huge purple dragon with a yellow underbelly, and red markings all around its body emerged and let out a mighty roar.
"Fusion Summon! Meteor Black Dragon!" (8/ATK: 3500/DEF: 2000)
"HOLY SHIT!" Den-O exclaimed.
"Relax, we'll be fine." Kuromu tried to reassure the train Rider. 'I hope…'
"Next I'll activate the Spell Card, Stamping Crush! If I control a Dragon-type Monster, then I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field and deal 500 damage to its controller! I choose… Core Medal Roulette!"
As soon as the card shattered and OOO lost his ATK boost (ATK: 3000-2000), Kuromu felt his energy being sapped away as he clutched his chest and staggered on one knee. "Errrraaaaaaagh!"
Darkness: 2100
Kuromu: 2600
"Now then, attack my dragons!" The Seven Star declared.
"I activate Kamen Rider Intervention!" Kuromu said, as Asuka pressed the button to reveal the trap card. "During the Damage Step, when a "Kamen Rider" monster is targeted for an attack: I can target 1 other "Kamen Rider" monster I control, and the battling monster gains ATK equal to half the targeted monster's original ATK. In this instance, I'll have OOO gain half of Den-O's ATK points!"
Kamen Rider OOO (ATK: 2000-2900)
"But you'll still take damage!" Darkness laughed as the dragons both fired their respective breath attacks at the two Riders, with Meteor Black Dragon launching a molten fireball whilst Red Eyes Darkness Dragon fired its spiral ray. Both hit their targets as the Riders yelled in pain before shattering into pixels. Meanwhile, Kuromu had the strength to push Asuka out of the way as the flames also struck him.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Darkness: 2100
Kuromu: 1400
He quickly fell to his knees as he felt more of his soul taken.
"KURO!" Asuka shouted, as she rushed over to him again.
"Haaaaa… haaaaaa… haaaaaa…" Kuromu panted heavily. "A-Asuka…" He stuttered as he tried to get up, but collapsed in the Obelisk Queen's arms.
"Kuro?! Kuro!" Asuka panicked.
"Hey bro! C'mon man!" Koji said as he, Rika, and Misawa rushed over to him as well.
"Get up, our fight isn't over yet." Darkness barked.
"You shut up!" Rika snapped at the Seven Star.
"Guys…" Kuromu got out. "I… I can't…" he shook his head and clutched his neck, "I can't breathe…" He began to cough heavily.
"Oh no…" Rika feared. "Kuro, c'mon, stay with us!"
"Haaaa… haaa… Asuka, draw the next card…" Kuromu said. Asuka nodded and drew it. He weakly looked at the card drawn, "Play it…!"
Darkness couldn't help but tilt his head at the four before him.
"The card drawn… was Supremacy Berry! Since Kuromu's Life Points are lower than yours, he gains 2000 Life Points!" Asuka said. A bright light appeared in the sky and a dove descended down, holding a small branch with two berries attached to it. The dove soon landed on Asuka's finger as she plucked the two berries off the branch before the dove flew off.
"Here, Kuro. Eat this." Rika said, as she took the berries off of Asuka's hand and fed it to him. His body glowed, as he felt his strength returning.
Darkness: 2100
Kuromu: 3400
This allowed the Rider Duelist to get back on his feet with the help of his friends.
"Are you alright?" Misawa asked.
"Yeah, I am now." Kuromu sighed in relief. "Thanks guys…" He then turned back at Darkness with a look of determination.
"So you got some life in you. What makes you think you can pull a reversal at this point in time?" Darkness taunted. "And in case you've forgotten." He pointed to the trapped Junko and Momoe, showing that the light barrier was starting to fade. "Their lives are still in your hands."
"Kuro, help!" the girls cried out.
"Don't worry, Junko, Momoe, I'll save you two. Just hold out a little longer." Kuromu said, as he looked at his two cards. 'But what am I supposed to do with these two cards compared to those?' He thought, looking back at the dragons that's staring him down. 'There's gotta be something I could use to defeat this guy, there has to!'
"Quit your stalling or you'll forfeit the match and your life! As well as the lives around you!" Darkness snapped.
"Tch, I'll never give up!" Kuromu countered.
"We'll see." the Seven Star declared.
Kuromu looked back at his hand. 'The cards I have left now are Resurrection of the Dead and Support of the Riders. Playing the latter means I have to bet it all on this next turn.'
"Kuromu! You need to hear this!" Philip said, appearing, much to the surprise of the others.
"Eh?! Philip?" Kuromu gawked. "What are you doing? I kinda can't talk at the moment! Having a Game of Darkness with my soul on the line!"
"It doesn't matter. This is important!" the archivist argued.
"What could possibly be more important than-"
"That Duelist you're facing is one of the missing students of the Abandoned Dorm!"
The group were left shocked as they quickly got a better look at Darkness. There was no way one of the students they were trying to look for was trying to kill Kuromu in a Game of Darkness, was there?
"A-Are you sure?" Asuka asked.
"For certain. In the Gaia Library, I couldn't access a certain book, as it needed a special keyword. But the name Darkness is what unlocked it."
"How did you figure that out?" Misawa asked.
"The Duel ended up giving us the keyword we needed." Phillip said before turning towards the Seven Star. "That Duelist you're facing… is not the Duelist itself. He's taken over by an entity that goes by the name of Darkness."
"He's possessed?" Koji said wide-eyed.
"Correct. In fact, this Darkness… is responsible for those missing students!"
"What?!" the group gasped.
…
…
…
"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhm… hahahahahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Darkness laughed, throwing his head back. "Well well well, you found out my secret."
"What?" Rika gasped.
"It's true that I was involved in the disappearances of those missing students at the Abandoned Dorm, however, you are only partially correct." The Seven Star explained, "It was because of a Duelist named Fujiwara Yusuke who conducted a dark ritual to bring about myself in order to let go of the idea of his friends forgetting him."
"Fujimaru… Yusuke?" Koji frowned.
"Fujimaru Yusuke, a troubled but talented Duelist during his time here at Duel Academia." Philip began. "From what I read, he lost his parents at a very young age."
"In an effort to obtain this power, he had to ignore his own Duel Spirit in order to obtain this power. But once he did, the fool ended up trapped between your world and the Duel Terminal, allowing me to arrive." Darkness posited.
"So then… the other students…" Rika got out.
"Hmhmhmhmhm, that's right. Those that resided in the Abandoned Dorm were part of the sacrifice for my summoning and are now trapped in the World of Darkness." Darkness chuckled.
"The… World of Darkness?" Kuromu got out.
"It's the world that separates Earth from the world of the Duel Spirits. It has existed since the dawn of time itself." Phillip explained.
"You are quite informed." Darkness mused, "In my world, those who are in this realm are forced to watch their dreams crushed repeatedly until they give up their individuality. So tell me, will you and your friends be joining them?" Darkness taunted him.
"Like hell that's gonna happen!" Kuromu snapped. "What kind of person wants to live in that kind of world?"
"You're looking at one." the Seven Star postured. "Besides, it's nothing to fear. Because in the end, all life will ultimately give up on their own individuality. We will become a single entity, sharing all joy and all suffering."
"You think that justifies anything?!"
"It does. With no more individuality, humanity's suffering will finally end. Every human has an insecurity and inner turmoil: where hopes and dreams fail before fear and guilt, thus creating "darkness". It is only natural for the World of Darkness to replace the human world."
"But that would mean that they would lose their freedom." Kuromu argued.
"Precisely. Reality breeds discontent, freedom gives rise to greed, free will creates doubts, and ideals lead to conflict. And so a new world order is needed to be rid of these things, thus restoring order and true peace."
This infuriated Kuromu, "So what? Do you really think a world where everyone is just the same would really grow? That things like hopes, dreams, and freedom are evil in its own right? I… no, we won't accept that world!"
Darkness scoffed, "And that will prove the world's downfall, just like all the rest."
"Wrong!" Kuromu shouted, "People are not simply just, nor are they eternally evil! We're all people who earnestly live our lives! So what if the world is all doom and gloom? That doesn't mean we don't have the power to change it!"
"Fool! As long as there's darkness in people's hearts, humanity will continue to move forward with its erroneous way. I'm here to simply correct that error."
"More like you just want to cause more pain to others." Kuromu snarled.
"Call it what you will. In the end, humanity is nothing but a flawed species,"
"You don't have the right to decide how we humans live!" A new voice said. They looked to see that Ghost appeared in spirit form, that being a boy with blonde hair, brown eyes, and a flowery robe underneath a long white shirt and pants, and not only that, Faiz, Gaim, and Zi-O appeared as well as they also disengaged their transformations to civilian forms.
Faiz, Inui Takumi, was a somewhat older man with long hair, an olive green shirt, and a black jacket, while also wearing dark pants and shoes.
Gaim, Kazuraba Kouta, was a young man with somewhat unkempt black hair wearing a blue plaid shirt with a blue zip-up sweater jacket that had a picture of a samurai in orange armor and had on beige-colored pants.
Zi-O, or rather Tokiwa Sougo, was a young man with a light shade of brown hair that was neatly combed, wearing a light pink polo shirt and beige pants.
"Everyone…" Kuromu got out.
"Life isn't just about being perfect. You can't grow without stumbling along the way. Their lives and the trials they overcome are what makes their soul shine brightest! No matter how dark it may seem, there's always a light that never goes out!"
"These children have dreams worth fighting for and realizing." Takumi added. "And while I, myself, may not have a dream, I can at least protect those dreams."
"Their ideals are what make them who they are." Kouta responded. "It's those ideals that help people strive to become better, to improve and grow into the people they want to be!"
"You can't create a world of peace through tyranny. That will only lead to more darkness." Sougo said. "More people are using these kinds of methods as an excuse to hurt people because they can. It will just end in a world of eternal suffering rather than peace or justice. Because people's freedom is more important than justice!"
"Takeru-san… Takumi-san… Kouta-san… Sougo…" Kuromu muttered, before looking at Darkness with determination.
"Tsk, are you finished?" Darkness clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Not even close! Because this is where it all ends! When I win this Duel, you are going to release those missing students from your World of Darkness!" Kuromu said.
"A bit daft to make these demands when you're losing." The Seven Star taunted him.
"And yet who's got the higher Life Points?" Kuromu shot back.
"Alright then, let's see if you can win on this turn alone?" Darkness challenged him.
"With everyone supporting me, I will win! I activate Support of the Riders! I draw two cards then I have to discard a Kamen Rider from my hand! If I can't… I have to discard my entire hand after. I'll have no more moves and I'll lose this Duel." He then placed his two fingers on his Deck. 'This is it… it all comes down to this…' He thought, then felt a hand on top of his. He gasped, and looked to his right and saw that it was the Obelisk Queen's hand.
"You can do it." she said simply, letting her expression show the rest of her trust in the Rider Duelist's abilities. "I believe in you."
"Asuka…" Kuromu muttered, before nodding, and looking back at Darkness. "You want me to draw the cards?"
"Then that's what I'll DOOOOOOOOOOO!"
*WOOSH!*
He drew his two cards and looked at it. "It's over, Darkness!"
"What?!" Darkness gasped.
"You heard me! First I discard Kamen Rider Hibiki in order to meet Support of the Rider's requirement!" He said, discarding said card. "Then I'll bring him back with Resurrection of the Dead!"
Soon, the ding of a tuning fork rang out as Hibiki arrived wreathed in purple flames. (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1400)
"I'm ready to finish this, shounen." Hibiki said, twirling his oni sticks.
"I am too. Because I'm activating the last card in my hand! Finish Henshin! Time to evolve!" Kuromu declared.
With that, Hibiki took out a very ornate sword with a second blade on the front of the hilt and let the heat of the volcano overtake him, transforming his body while countless disk-like animals began marching and leaping to his location.
"Whoa, where did they come from?!" Rika asked, bewildered, looking around.
From there, the Disk Animals each began attaching to, and transforming into pieces of armor that adorned Hibiki's new red form. Once the last of the Disk Animals became the oni Rider's chest plate, Hibiki quickly saw his helmet transform. With the transformation complete, Hibiki was now donned in a black bodysuit with red armor on his legs and arms, while his chest plate was now red and gold with wing-like shoulder pads. His helmet also became this with a new central symbol on his forehead. (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2300)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Hibiki - Armed Form!"
"Tsk, it doesn't matter if you evolve your monsters!" Darkness snarled.
"Oh it matters. Because not only does Hibiki have enough ATK points to destroy Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, but when he destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard, you take Damage equal to that monster's Level x300!"
"What?!" Darkness gasped.
"He did it!" Junko said excitedly.
"He won!" Momoe added.
"Hitoshi-san, let's end this Duel and save Junko and Momoe!"
"Got it, shounen,"
"Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! Ongekiha Kishinkakusei!"
With a swing of his sword, Hibiki Armed created a cyclone to sweep up Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon. Next up, he produced a gigantic blade of fire that rose up one-hundred feet much to the shock of the others as he swung at the entrapped dragon, causing a large explosion that threatened to upset the volcano. However, it also did its job of slashing the dragon and destroying it after.
Darkness: 0
Kuromu: 3400
The Solid Vision disappeared and Kuromu fell on one knee, to which the others gathered around him immediately. Meanwhile, Darkness roared an unholy sound as his hold on his host had weakened. Fire surrounded the host as his true form was expunged out of his host, revealing his true form.
He was a cloaked being who was actually a skeleton with glowing blue eyes resembling a Grim Reaper. He wore gray and red robes with gold trim, and had a dragon-shaped skull for a head with horns at the back of it.
"Damn you, you insignificant peon!" The monster roared, "DAMN YOOOOOOOU!" Darkness roared as the monster tried to fly into Kuromu, but the two pieces of the medallion quickly flew to one another. The moment they clasped together…
*SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!*
A burst of light appeared to whisk everyone away.
At the base of the volcano, Momoe and Junko quickly looked around and saw they were safe.
"Did we just…" Junko got out.
"We're saved!" Momoe cheered. They then saw Asuka on the ground, stumbling back to her feet.
"Asuka-sama!" Junko and Momoe called out as they rushed towards the Obelisk Queen.
"You two okay?" Asuka asked them.
"Yeah, but… where's Kuromu? And everyone else?" Junko asked.
"Oi!" They heard as right on cue, Koji, Rika, and Misawa were heading in their direction.
"Everyone!" Asuka gasped. "Are you all okay?"
"Yeah, but we can't find Kuro!" Rika panicked.
"Where did he go?" The genius asked whilst looking around the volcano's base. That was until he saw something up ahead, facing the horizon. "Ah! Over there!"
They all rushed towards the figure… or rather… several figures, as among them… were the missing students of the Abandoned Dorm!
"No way, are those…" Koji gasped.
Misawa began to do a headcount of each and every one of the missing students.
"It is… they're the missing students." Misawa said wide-eyed.
Meanwhile, Asuka looked around before noticing a familiar long tailed Ra Yellow jacket. "Kuro!" She gasped, rushing over towards his fallen form, as did Junko and Momoe. The three girls gathered around his unconscious body, the Obelisk Queen holding Kuromu in her arms. "Kuro! Kuro!"
Kuromu let out a groan, indicating that he was still conscious before slowly opening his eyes, his vision clearing. "Asuka…" He whispered, he then noticed the other two. "Junko-san… Momoe-san… you're okay… thank goodness…" He sighed softly in relief.
"Are you okay?" Asuka asked as the Rider Duelist slowly sat himself up.
"I… think so…" Kuromu got out, as he tried to stand up, but immediately cringed in pain, laying back down in Asuka's arms. "Ungh… haaa… haaa…" He gasped, panting heavily as he clutched his chest with both eyes shut.
"Hey now, don't strain yourself." Junko said worriedly.
"Did… did everyone get out okay?" Kuromu asked the others.
"Yeah, thanks to you." Momoe smiled. "And that deserves a hero's reward." She then leaned in towards Kuromu's face when-
A rather miffed Asuka pulled Momoe back by the collar, "Oh no, not if I got anything to say about it!" She snapped.
"Finally staking your claim?" Junko smirked, seeing the Obelisk Queen's stern glare quickly turn into a panicked blush.
"N-None of your business, Junko!"
"Ladies… not the time…" Kuromu groaned. He then looked over and noticed a card laying on the ground.
The Rider Duelist motioned Asuka to pick it up, which she did and it revealed the mask that Darkness wore. "Looks like he won't be getting out anytime soon." He then put the card in his pocket for safekeeping. "I'll have Haruto-san and Takeru-san seal him up… for good…"
That's when they noticed the person Darkness possessed was also amongst the group of unconscious students.
"Junko, Momoe, please look after Kuro." Asuka instructed.
The pair nodded as Asuka approached Darkness' former host. However, as she got closer towards said host, she noticed something very familiar about him. Upon close inspection, her eyes widened considerably. There was no way! Even more so when the person opened up his eyes and recognized her.
"A… suka…" He muttered, before falling unconscious again.
"It… It can't be…" Asuka uttered out with a trembling voice.
"Kuromu!"
Everyone looked to see Judai, Sho, Rex, Jun, Ryo, rushing towards them. Even Kyoshiro for that matter.
"We heard from Kagurazaka that you guys vanished, so we searched the island for you guys." Rex explained.
"Son, are you alright?!" Kyoshiro said.
"I'll be fine, Tou-chan…" Kuromu got out. "That Game of Darkness… was a lot more dangerous than Oogumo's… speaking of…"
"Who are all these people?" Sho asked, now realizing the many bodies on the ground.
"The missing students of the Abandoned Dorm…" Kuromu muttered, much to their shock. "It was Darkness. A demon of sorts that caused the incident. No thanks to a student named Fujimaru Yusuke…"
Ryo gasped, "Fujimaru… Yusuke?"
"You know him?" Judai asked.
"He… he was my friend." Ryo muttered in shock, "I met him when I first enrolled here with him and Fubuki. But then he disappeared. I didn't know why until… now."
"Philip said… because his parents died so suddenly, he was afraid everyone would forget about him, so he… he made a deal with that demon and well… we got the end result…"
"Yusuke… you…" Ryo muttered, clenching his fist tight as it shook, before… noticing Asuka, strangely holding the unconscious host with an embrace. Confused by this, Ryo went over to her. "Asuka?"
He then stood there slack jawed at who Asuka was looking at.
"Ryo… it's him… it's really him…"Asuka sobbed, tears running down her eyes. "It's Fubuki-niisan!"
"W-What?!" Kuromu gasped, hearing his name as he prompted Junko and Momoe to help him, which they did and helped him walk over to Asuka.
"Fubuki?!" Koji, Rika, and Kyoshiro shouted, as they rushed to where Ryo stood and had the same reaction as the Kaiser.
"Oh my god…" Rika said horrified, covering her mouth with quivering eyes.
"Holy shit…" Koji muttered as the Osiris Trio were shocked to see Asuka's older brother.
"Wait… so Asuka's older brother… was part of the Seven Stars?" Judai got out.
"Not willingly." Jun frowned heavily. "I'm guessing this Darkness guy had complete control over him this whole time until now."
"Until Kuromu showed up." Rex guesseed as he could tell the Rider Duelist likely went through a Game of Darkness.
And speaking of the darkness, the darkness of the night began to lift. The sun rose upon the horizon, signaling the start of a brand new day. They may have won the first round, but this incident was nothing but a prelude to what's in store for the rest of the Spirit Key Keepers.