You son of a bitch! I'll fucking kill you for this! I don't know where you are, but I swear to whatever god is out there that I will find you! And when I do, you'll be sorry!

The Tantalus Takes To The Sky

“So would you mind explaining what's going on?” I asked. We had been sitting on deck for a while, and Hideaki had returned with food. Not very good food, but whatever.

“It's a long story,” Tony said. “I've been spending the last few months trying to learn about the Fears. I needed to get away from you for it to work.”

“Um... what?” I asked.

“That fight was fake,” he said. “I was never actually mad at you. I figured it would work out for both of us if they thought we weren't friends anymore.”

“Yeah, that makes makes perfect sense,” I said sarcastically. “So just what have you been doing this whole time?”

“I've been looking for servant hideouts, and trying to get information,” he said. “I ended up meeting a former SMSC agent, and we started helping each other out. Then we were spying on these Dolls, and the pirate and the samurai ended up attacking them. They brought us here and-”

“Wait, why would you be attacking Wood Bitch's servants?” I asked Hideaki. “Don't you work for her?”

“Not anymore,” he said. “I've had enough of her crap.”

“'Bout damn time,” I said. “But didn't you pull us through her domain to get here”

“I can still access it, but I can't stick around too long, and going there too often is dangerous,” he said.

“But can't the fear seal their domains to different people?” I asked.

“They can, but they leave it open for more powerful traitors, in the hopes they'll get a chance to ambush us,” He said. “At least, some of them do.”

“So how do you know Garrot?” I said. “I heard about him once from Black Vice. One of my ancestor's was named after him or something.”

“He's my father,” he said. “He served the Wooden Girl before I was born, but fled from her after obtaining the Godslayer.”

“The what?” Seraph asked.

“A sword that is rumored to be capable of killing a Fear,” Hideaki said. “However, it's power was never actually tested, and my father hid it away and had the memories of its location erased.”

“By the Blind Man?” Tony asked.

“Seems likely,” Hideaki said. “But the Blind Man doesn't have it.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“It's complicated,” he said. “Anyway, he married my mother, but was kidnapped by the Wooden Girl before I was born. He betrayed her again, and she tricked me into serving her.”

“Well, I'm gonna go talk to him,” I said, getting up.

“You sure that's a good idea?” Kyle asked.

“Don't care,” I said. “I have questions, he has answers. End of story.”

“The door's locked,” Hideaki said, as I approached it.

“Not a problem,” I said. I closed my eyes for a moment. Hey Justin, you there?

Yeah, man, He relied. What do you need?

Can you pick a lock? I asked.

Um... no, He said. I could probably break the door down, though.

Great idea, Captain Subtlety, I replied.

Sorry, He said. Give me a second.

I waited for a few seconds before he spoke to me again.

Found someone who can help, He said.

Who is it? I asked.

Been a while, said a familiar voice.

Servik? I asked.

Hey, man, Servik said. I've been meaning to thank you for getting my soul before the Archangel could.

You can thank me by opening this door, I said.

Alright, He said. But how do I do that from inside your head?

Easy, I said. I allowed myself to transform into him.

“Whoa!” he shouted! “What just happened!”

He wasn't the only one who was startled. Pretty much everyone there was surprised to see me shapeshift into another guy.

I can shapeshift into anyone whose soul I've absorbed, I told him. But it's only temporary, so you might wanna see about that door.

“Right,” he said, examining the lock. “Old school lock, but seems simple enough.”

He proceeded to pick the lock until it clicked and popped open.

“No sweat,” he said, just before I took control again.

“Okay,” I said, stepping through the door.

I though navigation would be easy, but I was wrong. Although I've seen this same ship in my subconscious, the one in my subconscious is different on the inside than the real one. It's stretched out in some laces, scrunched in others. There's rooms missing and rooms that shouldn't exist. So, it took me longer than normal to find the room Garrot was hiding in. I stopped outside when I heard the voices.

“And why would that matter?” Garrot said.

“I think it's something that should be taken into consideration,” another voice said.

“You're too hesitant,” Garrot sighed.

“And you're too reckless,” the other voice said.

“I'm a pirate, what do you expect?” Garrot said.

“Everything will be fine,” said a third voice, which was strangely distorted. “I've taken the necessary precautions.”

“Ugh, that really bugs me,” the second voice said.

“What does?” the distorted voice said.

“The fact that you do that to your voice,” the second person said. “Why are you distorting it like that?”

“Because we're being eavesdropped on and I can't risk Daniel recognizing me yet.”

The door was immediately opened by Garrot, who was smiling brightly.

“Ah, yes, Mr. Ferris,” he said. “I was just about to come get you!”

I caught a glimpse of a glowing silver figure in the corner of the room before it faded away.

“So what, you're just gonna turn invisible?” said a middle aged man in a dark suit lying on a hammock.

“Yes, that's exactly what I'm gonna do,” said the distorted voice.

“I know you!” I shouted at the empty corner. “You're that weird phantom guy that I met in that cult town!”

“Yes, I am,” the voice said.

“Just who are you?” I asked. “And why did we have to get those items from the cult?”

“My name is Marshall,” the voice said. “And as for those items, they are necessary for a ritual I need to perform here.”

“What kind of ritual?” I asked.

“A magic one,” the voice replied. “Now, if you'd be so kind as to meet me on deck in five minutes, that would be great.”

“Wait!” I said. “I have more questions!”

No reply.

“Geez, I hate that guy,” the middle aged man said. “I'm Moss Garden, by the way. Tony's told me about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, before turning to face Garrot. “So what's going on?”

“Well, we're currently attempting to turn this ship into a suitable mode of transportation,” he said.

“So how do you know me?” I asked.

“Mostly from your friend, Tony,” he said. “I was quite interested in learning that you're a Devil Killer, like Leo's son was.”

“You mean Garrot Ferris, right?” I asked. “The one who was named after you?”

“Yes,” he said. “I was there when his father Leopold Ferris made the deal with the Jack Of All.”

“He did what!?” I asked, shocked.

“It's true,” he said. “In order to protect their son from the Fears, Leo and his wife formed a pact with Jack to give Garrot Ferris and all of his descendants the power to fight the Fears. Although, there is one thing that confuses me.”

“And what's that?” I asked.

“Why are you the only member of your current family who possesses Devil Killer powers?” he asked.

“Now that you mention it, that's a really good question,” I said.

“And one we unfortunately don't have an answer to,” Moss said. “We can assume that they faded away as generations passed, but why they reawakened in you is a mystery.”

“And what about this ship?” I asked. “Why is there a replica inside my subconscious?”

“Leo sailed this ship in his lifetime,” Garrot said. “Remnants of the ships memory must be inside your soul, along with other places visited by your ancestors.”

“Okay,” I said. “I'll just pretend that makes sense for now.”

“We'd best get up on deck,” Moss said.

“You're right,” I said. “Weird ghost man said 5 minutes, didn't he?”

“Indeed he did,” Garrot said. “Let's be on our way.”

We got back up on deck. A sphere of silver light was floating just beneath the mast.

“Good to see you've arrived,” said Marshall's voice from the sphere. “Now, if you'd be so kind as to approach me.”

“Fine,” I said, walking up to the sphere. As I looked into the orb, an image of a circle of cult symbols burned in the back of my mind.

“Use the cult knife to carve those markings into the deck,” he said.

I did what he told me to.

“Now, place the bone at the edge of the circle.

“Okay,” I said. “Now what?”

“Now, we wait for the final ingredient to arrive!” Marshall said.

“And what ingredient is that?” I asked.

“Fear,” he replied.

That sounded familiar. I suddenly remembered the dream I had, where ParaDan triggered a magic symbol using the Cold Boy's presence.

“So a Fear needs to be here in order for this ritual to work?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” he said.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my right arm, and a cut appeared.

“Ouch!” I shouted.

“Sorry,” Marshall said. “I need to draw him here.”

“Draw who here how?” I asked.

“You do know what that bone does, right?” he asked.

I glanced down to see that some of my blood had dripped directly on the bone. Of course. A bone that draws Fears to it. All it needed was blood. I heard a growling at the edge of the ship, and the circle began glowing. I turned to see the Rake crawling onto the ship. It looked at me for a moment, before leaping. I was ready to draw my sword, but I didn't need to. A figure resembling the Vision appeared from no where and kicked it so hard it crashed into the cave wall.

“What!?” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“Why shouldn't I be here,” the figure said, speaking with the same distorted voice as Marshall.

“M-Marshall?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Why do you look like the Vision?” I asked.

“Allow me to explain,” he said. “That ritual has temporarily revived me. After that, I changed my appearance. As I said earlier, I can't have you recognizing me.”

“But why the Vision?” I asked.

“Why not? “he asked.

“Because it's creepy!” I said, rather loudly.

“Oh, so she can possess any of her male Scions whenever she wants, but when I take her form, I'm the creepy one?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Ugh, fine,” he said. “Anyway, we'd better do this before Claws over there wakes up.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“This,” he said.

A black portal appeared before us, and the ship rose into the air.

“No wind,” Marshall said. “Damn. Guess I'll have to make some.”

A strong wind filled the cave, catching the ships sails and pushing it through the portal. We were sailing in the sky above the Path Of Black Leaves.

“How did you bring us here?” I asked, as the portal closed behind us.

He didn't answer. He raised a hand to his mouth as he coughed up a black substance. He looked into the distance, smiling. I looked in the same direction, although I didn't need to. I knew exactly what was there. Slender Man stood, a distance away, watching us. He was enormous, towering over the trees like a fucking skyscraper, just staring at us. Marshall grinned even broader.

“Long time no see, motherfucker!” He said, delightedly.

He was surrounded in a Saturn-like ring of silver light, which he grabbed and threw at Slender Man. It struck Slender Man's face, leaving a gash that leaked black and blue blood. Slender Man paused for a moment, before turning to watch us again.

“Really?” Marshall said. “You're just gonna take that? You're just gonna let me scar you!?”

Marshall had gone from frighteningly joyful to outraged, as though he was insulted by Slender Man's lack of action.

“I don't think you should antagonize it,” Kyle said.

“Whatever,” Marshall said. “We've gone far enough.”

we were suddenly out of the Path Of Black Leaves and sailing over the ocean.

“The spell that brought me back will be wearing off in a few minutes,” Marshall said. “Use this ship wisely, and make sure you keep Malkator's last words in mind.”

He then vanished.

“What are we supposed to use this ship for?” I asked.

“It's our transportation to Veratis Kalohella,” Tony said.

“What's that?” I asked.

“Garrot knows,” Tony said.

“You'll see when we get there,” Garrot said. “It's kind of important.”

“How so?” I asked.

“It's where the Mirror is,” he said.

“What Mirror?” I asked.

“I can't explain,” he said. “You'll have to see it for yourself.”

So, we're on a flying pirate ship on our way to a place with a weird name and a Mirror. Fucking perfect...

Copycat

I made it to Tony's house. His mom said he wasn't there, and hadn't been for over a week. My next bet was Kyle. I figured he might know. So I made it to his house and knocked on the door. He answered, looking really stoned.

“Dan!” he exclaimed. “I haven't seen you in ages man!”

“Hey bro,” I said. “I gotta talk to you.”

We caught up with each other after that. Turns out, he's been paying attention to my blog, so he already knew a lot of what's been going on. After a while of talking, I asked him about Tony.

“I don't know man,” he said. “He hasn't spoken to me that much lately. I think he's been busy with detective work or something. Every time I see him, he's always looking through documents, and he'd step away sometimes to make phone calls to some guy.”

“Do you know where he is now?” I asked.

“No clue,” he said.

“Well, I have one place left to look for him,” I said.

“Where's that” he asked.

“The old church,” I said. “He said something about it in his voicemail.”

“I'll go with you,” Kyle said.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Like hell I'm letting you go alone,” he said. “Look at your fucking arm!”

“I guess you have a point,” I said. “Alright, if you insist.”

As soon as we walked out the front door, I was slapped hard across the face by Seraph. Very hard.

“Okay, I deserved that,” I said.

“Gee, you think!?” she shouted at me. “It's been months, Daniel!”

“I'm sorry!” I said defensively. “I was possessed by a Dying Man shard! I had to leave for everyone's safety!”

“And what about when you got rid of the shard?” she said. “Why didn't you come back then!?”

“My arm is badly injured and using the Godsway is fucking painful,” I said.

That comment was met with another slap.

“Ouch!” I said. “Okay, I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you!”

“Oh, will you?” she asked, grabbing me by the earlobe and pulling hard.

“Ow!” I exclaimed.

I touched her hand and gave her a small shock with the Convocation's power.

“Look, I'm really, really sorry for being gone so long,” I said. “But right now, something's going on with Tony, and I have to figure out what's happening.”

“Fine,” she said, sighing. “But this conversation isn't over!”

“Okay,” I said.

So, after all that happened, we made our way down to the church. As soon as we got there, I could tell something was wrong. Someone else was there. Someone I didn't wanna see right then.

“Let's split up for a bit,” I told them. “I'll check inside.”

I opened the door. The place was still torn up from my fight with the Archangel. And in the middle of the wreckage, the other me was standing there. The Devil Killer. Although, he wasn't wearing his normal torn coat. Instead, he was dressed in the exact same clothing as me, right down to the blood stained bandages on his arm. He had his samurai sword in his hand. As if on cue, my own wakizashi appeared in my working hand and burst into flame.

“I've been waiting for you,” he said.

“What's with the clothes?” I asked.

“I'm going to kill you now,” he told me. “Then, I'll will assume your identity.”

“They'll hear us fighting in here,” I told him. They'll come in and see you trying to kill me.”

“And when that happens, they won't be able to tell us apart,” he replied.

“Except for one small problem,” I pointed out. “Our weapons are different. They'll be able to differentiate between the two of us.”

“Oh really?” he asked. “Tell me something; do you understand what power a Devil Killer gains from the Empty City?”

To demonstrate my knowledge, I focused on some rocks lying on the ground a few feet away. They rose into the air and few straight at him. He cut them all into pieces with his sword before they could hit him.

“I see you're learning,” he said. “True, the Empty City grants us geokinesis, but it goes deeper than just that. Allow me to show you.”

The blade of his sword glowed brightly, and in a few seconds, it shrank down to the size of my own sword.

“What?” I asked. “How did you do that”

“The Empty City grants a Devil Killer complete and total control over all matter, if used right,” he said. “I can not only manipulate it, but I can alter the size and shape at will. Now, I just use some of the Bride's power, and...”

His sword burst into flames, just like mine.

No more talking. He charged at me, and our blades met with each other. I fought back, and as I guess, the others heard us and ran inside to see two identical Daniels swing flaming swords at each other. Everything about him, even his fighting style, was a perfect mirror of myself. He even faked being in pain from his arm. And he pulled it off. We were exactly the same, impossible to tell apart. Almost impossible, anyway. There was one thing I had that he didn't; a handgun with infinite ammo. I reached into my belt with my injured arm, ignoring the pain, and grabbed the gun. Just as I pulled it out, he slammed into me with his shoulder, knocking it from my hand. He tackled me and pulled us both into the Godsway for a moment. We both reappeared a few feet from each other. My arm felt like it would fall off, and he was faking the same pain I felt. I had made the difference between us clear for a moment when I had drawn my gun, but after vanishing and reappearing like that, we were back to being indistinguishable. The gun had landed right next to Seraph, who had picked it up. Yes, I seriously got into one of those situations.

“Shoot both of us!” the other me said.

“Do it!” I said. I didn't wanna get shot, but it seemed like the only way to stop him. “Shoot us both!”

“I have a better idea,” said another voice.

Tony stepped out of the shadows and snatched the gun from Seraph's hand. Both me and... um, let's go ahead and call him Dark Daniel... froze. Neither of us had noticed him here before.

“Tell me something,” he said, raising the gun and pointing it at the space between us. “What's the last thing I said to you on New Years?”

It suddenly occurred to me; Dark Daniel didn't appear in this universe until after the fight I had with Tony, and I hadn't posted what he said on my blog. There was no way he could possibly know what was said.

“Um...” Dark Daniel said. “Go fuck yourself?”

Waaay off.

“And one last thing,” I said, quoting what Tony had said that night. “If you get your dumb ass killed by the Fears, I swear to God I will drag you back from Hell and beat the ever-loving crap out of you.”

Tony and I looked each other in the eyes for a moment, and then he smiled.

“Close enough,” he said, turning the gun to Dark Daniel and pulling the trigger.

The bullet tore through his chest, and he collapsed in a pool of blood. Tony approached me. Instead of helping me up, he reached down and tore the bandages on my shoulder aside, exposing the bullet hole from when I had shot myself.

“Yep, it's you alright,” he said.

“Been a while,” I said. “What's going on What was with that voicemail?”

“I found some stuff,” he said. “I thought you should know about it. Unfortuanately, there was some disturbance.”

“Is that so?” I said.

“I'll explain things later,” Tony said.

“No you won't,” Dark Daniel said, getting to his feet. “Because I'm going to kill all of you right here and now!”

He had changed. His skin was now completely pale, and black markings in the shape of Nightgaunt wings covered his eyes. His hair, which had been brown and slightly curly, like mine, was now dark black, and was straight and pointed, like hedgehog quills. He tore the bandages from his arm and grabbed his sword, which changed size again, becoming about twelve feet in length. He raised it and brought it back down. I shoved Tony out of the way and grabbed my own sword.

“What happened to replacing me” I said. “You won't be able to do that very well if you kill all my friend!”

“I don't care!” he shouted, swinging his sword sideways. I barely blocked it. “I'm gonna kill you!”

He had lost it. His hatred had completely overwhelmed him. He swung his sword again, knocking the wakizashi from my hand. He raised his sword again, prepared to behead me. As soon as he brought it back down, a man appeared before me, blocking the sword with a five foot long daito.

“Excuse me,” the man said. “Wielding oversized samurai swords is my thing.”

“Akihiko!” I said. I took me a second to recognize him, but It was definitely him.

“That's not my name anymore,” he said. “I change it frequently.”

“So what should I call you then?” I asked.

“I've gone back to using my old name,” he said, swinging his sword with such force that Dark Daniel was thrown backwards. “You may call me Hideaki Kelterry.”

“Out of my way!” Dark Daniel said, charging at Hideaki.

Hideaki sidestepped the attack and slashed with his sword, sending Dark Daniel flying again. He then grabbed me by the arm. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of a tall, decrepit tower, before landing face first on the deck of a ship hidden away in what appeared to be a grotto. Hideaki appeared again, carrying Kyle, Seraph, and Tony.

“Where the hell is this!?” Kyle asked. “Who are you?”

“You'll know what's going on soon enough,” Hideaki said.

I looked around for a moment, before realizing what this ship was. I've seen it before. The same exact ship from my subconscious.

“This ship,” I said. “This is...”

“The Tantalus,” someone said. I looked up at the helm to see a man dressed in an old pirate's longcoat standing there looking down at us.

“Who... are you” I asked.

“My name is Garrot Kelterry,” he said. “And boy, do I have a lot to tell you, Daniel Xavier Ferris.”

“You... know me” I asked.

“I know a lot,” he said. “But I can't tell you everything til our other acquaintance gets back.”

He vanished bellow deck, locking the door behind him. Hideaki had also left. So... here we are, in an old pirate ship, which somehow has internet access... Great...

Voicemail

When I woke up this morning, there was a missed call from Tony. I... I haven't heard from him since that fight we had. He had left a voicemail, so I listened to it. It was mostly static, with some words jumbled into it.

“Daniel... puppet... the old church... Malk... Moss Garden... Fire...”

And then it ended.

“What did all that mean?” David asked. He had heard the whole thing.

“I'm not sure,” I said.

“He mentioned an old church, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “That place has been pretty significant so far. Justin died there. I had my first fight with the Archangel there, plus the rematch, and it's where the alter that caused the Dimensional Bleeding was hidden. And the Vision transported me there once.”

“Your first fight and your rematch, huh?” David asked, stroking his chin. “Of course!”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Wha? Oh, it's nothing much,” he replied. “I just realized something. What about Moss Garden? Where is that place?”

“It's not a place, it's a song,” I told him. “By David Bowie.”

“He must be talking about an SMSC agent,” David said. “And then... puppets, and fire?”

“You think he might be in trouble?” I asked.

David sat on his bed and thought for a while. It was several minutes before he spoke again.

“You should go,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“If he is in trouble, you should go help him,” David said.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “What about Gordon?”

“I'll handle Gordon,” David said, pulling the card Gordon had given him from his pocket. “This conversation helped me realize where to find him.”

“You sure you can take him?” I asked.

“It should be me to fight him,” David said. “I killed him before. This time, I'll destroy him.”

We sat in silence for a minute.

“Okay,” I said. “Good luck. If you need help, you know how to reach me.”

“Got it,” he said. “You take care of that friend of yours.”

Tony... I know we had a falling out, but if he contacted me, he must need help. I'm going to lend him a hand, as soon as I wrap up this post. Hope I'm not too late to do anything.

Fairfield

Red Daniel tipped us off about where we could find Vocallass. In Fairfield. We arrived there. It was deserted, except for the giant robots that were there. There were five of them. I recognized two of them as the chaos droids that Haisuke used against me in our duel; Double Chainsaw and Fear Hunter. The Fear Hunter stood at the center, with the other machines at its side. A light flickered on on the Fear Hunter's head, and a projection of Vocallass appeared before us.

“Greetings,” she said to us. “I heard you two would be stopping by.”

“Well, we're here now,” David said. “And we're gonna crush you.”

“Is that so?” she asked.

“Yes,” David said. “But first, would you mind explaining what these machines are doing here?”

“The Chaos Droids are some projects I've been working on for a while. Weapons that the Newborn commissioned me to build, as weapons to use against the other Fears. Impressive, aren't they?”

“I guess,” I replied. “But if you think you'll be using them, you'd be wrong.”

“Oh?” she asked. “And why would you wanna stop me from crushing the other Fears?”

“Because if the Newborn has weapons like that, it won't stop at the Fears,” David said, pointing out the obvious.

“Well, if you're planning to stop me, why don't we make it interesting?” she asked.

“And what do you mean by that?” David asked.

“She's challenging us to Yu-Gi-Oh,” I said.

“How can you tell?” David asked.

“She made me duel her servant last time I met her, so it makes sense she would play the game herself,” I said. “Am I right?”

“Correct,” she said. “I challenge you to a tag duel, and if I win, you will both become my Towerborn.”

“And if we win, you'll destroy these robots and get the fuck out of my birthplace,” I said.

“Wait, you were born here?” David asked, startled.

“Yes,” I said. “My dad was in the Navy at the time.

“That's... pretty cool,” David said. “But, are we seriously gonna duel this chick?”

“Sounds easier than fighting her,” I said. “As weird as it sounds, I think playing a children's card game is our best option. Besides, I built a new deck the other day for just such an occasion.”

“And where did you get the cards for this new deck?” he asked.

“That's not important right now,” I said.

“Daniel, did you steal those cards?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“Really?” he asked.

“Okay, yes!” IO admitted. “Now shut up already! We have card games to play!”

“How are you gonna duel with one arm?” he asked.

“I have a plan,” I said.

“Okay then,” he replied. “You said this is a tag duel right? Where's your partner?”

Vocallass flickered for a moment, and split into two replicas, one with red hair and a red duel disk, and the other with blue hair and a blue duel disk. I closed my eyes for a moment, and entered my subconscious.

“Justin, where are you!?” I called out.

A man wearing a white mask and sleeping under the mast of the ship woke up.

“The blonde dudes, at the helm, I think,” he replied.

“You're the Faceless Bastard, aren't you?” I asked.

“Yeah, what of it?” he asked.

“Weren't you resurrected or something?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe in another universe,” he said. “Now shut up and let me sleep.”

I left him alone and approached the helm. Justin was there waiting for me.

“Hey, Daniel,” he said.

“It's time,” I said.

“Alright,” he said. “You'll need to walk me through this, though.”

“Right,” I said.

I opened my eyes, and allowed Justin to take over my body.

“What the fuck!?” David asked, startled.

“'Sup?” Justin said. He unzipped my backpack and strapped on my duel disk. “Let's do this.”

“I'll go first,” said the red haired Vocallass. “I summon Vocaloid Rin from my hand!”

A hologram character appeared on their field. It was level 3 with 1400 attack and 1000 defense.

“I activate the effect of Vocaloid Len from my hand,” Blue Vocallass said. “During any player's turn, I can special summon this monster to join Vocaloid Rin!

Another one appeared, also level 3, with 1300 attack and 1200 defense.

“I'll now use the spell card Vocaloid Party!” Red Vocallass said. “With this card, I can special summon a level 4 or lower Vocaloid monster. I summon Vocaloid Sweet Ann!”

A third Vocaloid appeared. It was level 4 with 1700 attack and 400 defense.

“When a Vocaloid spell or trap card is activated, I can activate the continuous spell card Vocaloid Synching from my hand,” Blue Vocallass said. “Once per turn, we can target a Vocaloid card we control and change the level of every Vocaloid card we control to match its level.

“Also, when Vocaloid Sweet Ann is special summoned, I can add a Vocaloid spell or trap from my deck to my hand,” Red Vocallass added. “I choose Vocaloid Fire Dance. Then, I activate the effect of Vocaloid Synching, so Rin and Len will become the same level as Sweet Ann. Now I build the overlay network with these three level 4 monsters!”

The Vocaloids all turned into glowing orbs and circled one of the Chaos Droids. It's eyes flicked on, and it stepped forward. It had 2600 attack points.

“So you'll be dueling with the actual Chaos Droids?” David asked.

“Yes,” Red Vocallass replied. “I xyz summon Chaos Droid Blaster!”

“Careful,” David said to Justin. “She can use it's overlay units to cut the attack powe rof any monster in half and render it invincible in battle.”

That's a troublesome effect, I said to Justin.

I have no idea what's going on, He replied.

Don't worry, just do what I tell you, I said.

“I set a card face down and end my turn,” Red Vocallass said.

Our move, I said to Justin.

“I'll go next,” Justin said. “What do I do?”

Activate Ancient Rule and use its effect to special summon Tri-Horned Dragon, I instructed.

“I play Ancient rule!” Justin said. “With this card, I can special summon a level 5 or higher normal monster from my hand. I summon Tri-Horned Dragon!”

The dragon appeared on our field, with 2850 attack points.

“Great!” Justin said. “This guy is more than strong enough to take that thing down!”

Not quite, I said. She can use its effect to weaken our monster, or weaken her own monster and make it indestructable.

“So... what do I do?” he asked.

Stop talking out loud, for one thing, I told him. Then, summon Parsec, The Interstellar Dragon.

But it only has 800 attack points, Justin pointed out.

Trust me, I said.

Alright, he replied. Then, out loud, he said “I summon Parsec The Interstellar Dragon! Since I control a level 8 monster, I can summon this guy without tributing.”

An alien looking dragon with 800 attack and defense emerged.

“I activate the effect of Vocaloid Sonika from my hand,” Blue Vocallass said. “When my opponent controls two monsters that were both summoned on this turn, I can discard this card to increase the attack power of a machine type monster on my field by half of its original attack power.”

Their Chaos Droid was powered up to 3900 attack points.

“Oh, shit,” Justin gasped.

Don't worry about it, I said. Now, you know how she summoned that machine by stacking it on top of her other monsters?

Yeah, he replied.

Do that with these monsters to bring out galaxy Eyes from our extra deck, I said.

“I build the overlay network with these two level 8 monsters to xyz summon Number 107 Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!” Justin announced.

A dragon with glowing eyes appeared. It had 3000 attack and 2500 defense.

Now, enter your battle phase and activate it's effect, I said.

“I begin my battle phase, and then...,” he paused for a moment. Um, what do I do?

Take one of the cards stacked beneath Galaxy-Eyes and send it to the graveyard, I said.

Which one? He asked.

Go with Parsec, I said.

“I send one of Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon's overlay thingies to the graveyard to negate your monsters effect,” Justin said. “Also, it's attack power returns to normal!”

Blaster's attack power returned to 2600.

“Now, I attack!” Justin declared.

The attack hit, reducing their life points to 7400. The Chaos Droid backed away and powered down.

“I activate the trap card Death Machine's Power Charge!” Red Vocallass said. “When a Chaos Droid monster is destroyed, I gain life points equal to the number of overlay units it had times 700. Blaster had 3, so we gain 2100.”

Their life rose to 9500.

Use Galaxy-Eyes' second effect! I instructed.

“Since Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon's effect was used this turn, I can have him gain 1000 attack points after one of your card effects resolves, and then he can attack again!”

Galaxy-Eyes' power rose to 4000, and it attacked, bringing them down to 4500 life points.

Now, set the trap in your hand face-down and end your turn, I instructed.

“I set one card face down and end my turn,” Justin said.

“My turn,” Blue Vocallass said. “I activate the spell card Vocaloid Encore! Now, I target two Vocaloid cards in any players graveyard, and return them to their owner's hands. I choose to return Len to my hand and Rin to my partner's. Then, I summon Len in attack mode!”

“And since Len was summoned, I can special summon Rin!” Red Vocallass said.

Both of the Vocaloid's had reappeared.

“I build the overlay network with these two level 3 monsters!” Blue Vocallass said. “I xyz summon Chaos Droid Missile Fist!”

One of the Chaos Droids stepped forward. It had giant missile launchers for hands. It had 2100 attack and 800 defense.

“I activate the spell card Death Machine's Heavy Cannon,” Blue Vocallass said. “Now, any monster Missile Fist battles this turn will lose 1000 attack points. Now, attack Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!”

Galaxy-Eyes lost 1000 of it's attack points, making it just weak enough for her to destroy. Galaxy-Eyes was defeated and we lost 100 life points.

“Now, I activate Missile Fist's effect,” she said. “By detaching an overlay unit, you take damage equal to the level or rank of your destroyed monster times 100!”

We took 800 points of damage, reducing us to 7100.

“Damn it!” Justin said. “I knew I'd screw this up!”

“It's okay,” David said. “Don't beat yourself up. We can still win this.”

“I end my turn,” Blue Vocallass said.

“My move!” David said. He then leaned over and whispered “What's your face down?”

“Um, are we allowed to do this?”

“Those two are technically the same person, so I bet they know each other's cards,” David said. “This is perfectly fair.”

Go on and tell him, I said.

“It's Limit Reverse,” Justin said. “I was gonna bring back Parsec with it.”

“Don't bother with Parsec,” David said. “I have a better idea for it. I summon SlenderProxy Sniper in attack mode!”

A level 3 monster with 1700 attack appeared.

“Next, I play the spell card Hallowed Summoning!” he said. “By discarding SlenderProxy Dalia The Poisoner, I can summon a SlenderProxy Hallowed Token with the same stats as her!”

A token monster appeared on his field. It was level 3 with 900 attack points.

“Now, I activate this guys card, Limit Reverse, to bring back a monster with 1000 or less attack points!” he said. “I bring back Dalia, and by using these 3 level 3 monsters as overlay units, I xyz summon Convocation nest- The Crow!”

I recognized his monster as Malkator's old friend, Andrew. His card had 2200 attack points.

“I activate the Crow's effect!” David said. “By detaching an overlay unit, I can cut your monster's attack power in half. Now, attack!”

Their monster was reduced to 1050. The Crow attacked, dealing them 1150 damage. The Chaos Droid backed off and powered down.

“I set a card face down and end my turn,” David said.

“I draw,” Red Vocallass said. “I activate the spell card Vocaloid fire dance. Now, I can summon one Vocaloid card without tributiing, and it gains 300 attack points until the end phase. I summon Vocaloid Miku in attack mode!”

Hatsune Miku herself appeared on their field. She was level 5 with 2200 attack and 1500 defense.

“When Miku is the only monster I control, I can pay 500 life points to summon a level 4 or lower machine type monster from my hand,” Red Vocallass said, reducing their life points to 2850. “I summon Thoughtborn Vocallass!”

The purple haired hologram appeared on her field. She was level 2 with 700 attack and zero defense.

“You summoned yourself?” David asked.

“That's right,” Vocallass said. “And I'll use my effect. Since I was special summoned, I can pay 500 life points to have each player draw one card!”

Everyone drew a card.

“Now, I tune level two Vocallass to level 5 Miku!” Red Vocallass said. “With these two monsters, I synchro summon the Manufactured Newborn!”

A giant tower made of flesh and steal rose up behind the Chaos Droids. It was level 7 with 2500 attack and 1300 defense.

“From my hand, I activate the trap card Fear Shackles!” Blue Vocallass said. “I can activate this card automatically when a Fear card is special summoned to our field. Now, I can reduce the attack power of a special summoned monster to 0 until the end phase! I choose the Crow!”

The Crow had his attack power reduced to nothing.

“Now, I attack with the Newborn!” Red Vocallass proclaimed.

The Crow was destroyed and we were reduced to 4600 life points.

“I set a card and end my turn,” she said.

“Looks like I'm up again,” Justin said, drawing. “What now?”

Activate Double Summon, I told him.

“I play the spell card Double Summon!” Justin said. “Now I can normal summon twice this turn.”

Bring out Dark Effigy, I told him.

“I summon Dark Effigy in attack mode!” Justin said.

A level 4 dark monster appeared on our field. Justin immediately collapsed.

What's wrong!? I asked him, but I already knew what was happening. His form reverted back to mine, and I regained control.

Sorry, dude, He said. Guess we pushed it a little too far.

“It's okay,” I said out loud. “I have a plan B.”

My shadow responded to my words, and rose from the ground.

“Your shadow is alive?” both of the Vocallass's asked.

“Yep,” I said. “I use the effect of Dark Effigy. When I summon a high level dark monster, I can treat it as two tributes, so I offer it as tribute to summon Archangel, Lord of the Fallen!”

My shadow took the Archangel from my hand and placed it on my duel disk. The Archangel appeared on my field.

“So you've finally brought it out, have you?” she asked.

“Bitch, I've got 99 problems, but your Newborn ain't one of them,” I said. “I activate Archangel's effect, and equip him with Dalia The Poisoner from David's graveyard! Now, when he's destroyed, I can destroy one of your cards during the end phase. Now, I'll have him attack the Newborn! And since their attack power is the same, they'll both be destroyed!”

“I activate the trap card Charged Barrier H!” Red Vocallass said. “By paying 1000 life points, I can negate your attack, than banish one spell or trap card on the field. Since Dalia is being treated as a spell card, I'll banish her.”

“Shit,” I said. With her banished, the Archangel lost her effect.

“I end my turn,” I said.

“I draw,” Blue Vocallass said. “I activate the spell card Hateful Return. Since we have less than 2000 life points, I can pay half of them to summon a monster from our graveyard. Due to the Newborn's effect, I can't summon xyz monster except from the extra deck, so I'll bring back Vocaloid Miku in attack mode.”

Miku was summoned to the field again. Their life dropped to 925. Just what they'd need to bring out Fear Hunter.

“Next, I normal summon Vocaloid Luka to the field!”

Luka appeared there. She was level 4 with 1900 attack and 900 defense.

“I activate Vocaloid Synching,” she said. “Now, Luka will be raised to level 5. I overlay Vocaloid Miku and Vocaloid Luka to xyz summon Chaos Droid Dimension Splitter in attack mode!”

A Chaos Droid with a glowing blade stepped forward.

“Since this monster was summoned using a monster under the effect of Vocaloid Synching, I can't use its effect this turn,” Blue Vocallass said. “But since our life points are bellow 1000, I can use it to xyz summon Chaos Droid Fear Hunter!”

The Dimension Splitter backed off, and the Fear Hunter rose. It had 3 overlay units surrounding it.

“I use the spell card Draw Of Damnation,” she continued. “By destroying the Manufactured Newborn, I can draw a card from my deck.”

“Why would you destroyed it?”

“I demanded.

“So that you may see our ultimate combination!” Red Vocallass said. “You see, if Manufactured Newborn is destroyed, I can choose to special summon it to my opponent's field in attack position!”

The Manufactured Newborn reappeared behind me.

“And since we did, we gain 1000 life points,” Red Vocallass said. Their life raised to 1925.

“Next, I activate the effect of Chaos Droid Fear Hunter!” Blue Vocallass said. “Now, I can detach one of its overlay units to destroy the Manufactured Newborn! Then, it will gain its attack power!”

The Manufactured Newborn was destroyed, and their monster increased to 5500 attack points.

“Next, I use the effect of the Manufactured Newborn!” Red Vocallass said. “When it's destroyed by a card effect while under my opponent's side of the field, I can special summon it to my field again!”

The Manufactured Newborn reappeared on their field.

“Then, by discarding Vocaloid Lilly, a monster special summoned from my graveyard this turn can't be destroyed in battle this turn!” Red Vocallass said.

“Now, I attack the Archangel with the Manufactured Newborn!” Blue Vocallass said.

The Archangel was destroyed, leaving me wide open.

“Now, I attack you directly with Chaos Droid Fear Hunter!” Blue Vocallass said.

“I activate the effect of Battle Fader from my hand!” I said. “When my opponent attacks me directly, I can special summon this card to the field and end the battle phase!”

A level 1 monster with 0 attack and defense appeared.

“I activate the effect of Luka from my graveyard!” Blue Vocallass said. “By banishing her, I can deal you damage equal to half the attack power of a monster whose attack was negated this turn! You'll now suffer 2750 damage!”

Our life points were reduced to 1850.

“You see!?” Blue Vocallass said. “You can't win.”

“That's right,” Red Vocallass said. “You two may be good, but your not at our level.”

“Says the cheaters!” David replied. “Your decks have been rigged this entire time to give you exactly the cards you need!”

Red Vocallass laughed. “That may be so, but it won't matter for long!” she said. “Come our next turn, you, and your stupid friend over there will be destroyed and brought to join the god of machinery!”

“You may be a powerful crimson Knight and a Scion, but you are nothing compared to the strengths of a Thoughtborn!” Blue Vocallass said.

“Never!” David shouted. His voice had changed. It was still his, but there was a woman's voice yelling over his.

Both Vocallass's stepped back, startled.

“Insult!” David shouted, even louder.

A blue aura surrounded his body, and his irises merged together with his pupils, forming dark pits in his eyes.

“My!” He shouted, even louder still.

His aura expanded behind him, taking the form of wings.

“Scions!” he finshed angrily.

“Ah, so this is the Vision,” Red Vocallass said.

“I set a card face down and end my turn,” Blue Vocallass said. “Let's see what you can do.”

“I draw,” The Vision said. “I activate the spell card Gift From Hell! Now I can summon a monster with 2000 or more attack from my extra deck to your side of the field, then draw two cards!”

A glowing light erupted before us, and The Vision appeared. She was a level 12 synchro monster with 3300 attack points.

“I can now draw two cards, then I activate the spell card Cost Down!” TheVision said. “By discarding a card from my hand, I can reduce the levels of every monster in my hand by 2. Now, I offer Daniel's Battle Fader as a tribute to summon my now level 6 Slender Man to the field in attack mode!”

Slender Man appeared on our field. He had 2500 attack points.

“I now activate the spell card Tentacles Of destruction!” the Vision said. “By discarding a card while I control Slender Man, I can target one card on the field that was special summoned, and have it lose 1000 attack points! Also, it becomes level 4! I choose Vision, the Fear Of Destiny!”

That surprised me. The Vision was actually planning to attack herself.

“Attack the Vision, now!” the Vision ordered.

Slender Man lashed out with his tentacles, destroying the Vision. Vocallass lost another 200 life points.

“I activate Slender Man's effect!” The Vision said. “When he destroys a level 4 or lower monster in battle, that monster is special summoned to our side of the field!”

The Vision's card appeared on our field.

“The card's effect will be negated, and it's name is treated as SlenderProxy Hallowed,” the Vision said. “I now activate the trap card Chaotic Wings Of Nightmare! This card will now become equipped to the Vision, increasing her attack by 500 and restoring her effect!”

The Vision's wings of chitin cracked and broke apart, unleashing larger wings made of dark colored energy.

“The Vision can attack all monster's my opponent controls once each,” The Vision said.

The Vision now had 3800 attack. If this worked, we'd win. The Vision charged forward, targeting the Newborn.

“I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armor!” Blue Vocallass said. “Now, your monster will be destroyed before it's attack can be completed!”

The Vision's card was destroyed, and David collapsed, his aura fading.

“I end my turn,” he said

“My turn again!” Red Vocallass said. “I summon Vocaloid Prima in attack mode!”

Another Vocaloid appeared. This one was level 4 with 1500 attack and 1400 defense.

“By tributing Prima, I can activate the effect of a normal spell card from any graveyard! I choose Draw Of Damnation! Now, once again I'll destroy the Manufactured Newborn to draw a card, then gain 1000 life points and move the Newborn to your field.

Their life points rose to 2725. The were repeating their combo.

“I detach an overlay unit from Chaos Droid Fear hunter to destroy the Newborn and absorb its attack power!” Vocallass declared.

The Chaos Droid rose to 5500 attack points again, and the Newborn returned to their field.

“I now play the quickplay spell card fear Sealing,” Red Vocallass. “Now, I select a Fear monster in play, and change it into a non-Fear monster until the end phase of this turn. Also, you can't negate any battles involving that monster! I now attack Slender Man with the Manufactured Newborn! And since Slender Man is no longer a Fear card, the Newborn won't be destroyed by it!”

Slender Man was destroyed, and we were both thrown backwards by a shockwave. My shadow melt away and returned to its normal form.

“Shit!” David exclaimed. “You okay?”

“I'm fine,” I said.

“Not for long!” Blue Vocallass said.

“I now attack you directly with Chaos Droid Fear hunter!” Red Vocallass exclaimed.

“Not so fast!” David said. “I banish SlenderProxy Guardian from my graveyard and pay half our remaining life points to negate your attack!”

Our life dropped to 925, but their attack was stopped.

“Oh well,” Red Vocallass said.

“You've bought yourself another turn,” Blue Vocallass said.

“Not that it will matter,” Red Vocallass said.

“It'll all end soon,” Blue Vocallass said.

“I'll end my turn here,” Red Vocallass finished.

“my turn,” I said, getting to my feet.

“Your shadow is gone,” David said. “How are you gonna-”

“I have a plan C,” I said. “I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to it, but here goes nothing.”

I allowed the Red Cap's power to flow though my. I could feel my hair and eyes changing color. Normally, it hurts me too much to try and move my right arm, but I was hoping my masochism in this form would help me handle it. I lifted my arm. I could feel my splintered bones digging into my muscles. Even in Vessel Mode, the pain was almost unbearable. But I had to defeat Vocallass, even if it hurt me. I drew from my deck, and black mist surrounded the card I had drawn. I looked at it. It was new. I've never had it before. It was like Archangel and Archangel Discord. A new card.

“I activate the spell card Fear Fusion!” I exclaimed, sticking the card into my duel disk painfully. “With this card, I can summon a Fear fusion monster by banishing the materials from my graveyard. I fuse Archangel, Lord Of The Fallen from my graveyard with the Slender Man from David's graveyard! With these two monsters, I fusion summon a new monster!”

Another card formed in my hand, and I slapped it on my duel disk, trying my hardest to ignore the pain. A tall creature appeared. It wore an outfit that was almost like a business suit, except for the armored sleeves and gauntlets that covered its four gangly arms. Its pale head was topped with long, black hair that fell past its high knees,a and a set of bat-like wings emerged from its back. Its face was completely blank, save for the glowing crimson eyes, staring hungrily at Vocallass. It was level 9, with 2800 attack and 2400 defense.

“Behold, Daesidgea, The King Of Fear!” I said. “When this is the only monster I control, I can use his effect to revive a Fear card from any players graveyard, so I'll revive the Vision from David's graveyard!”

The Vision's card appeared in my hand, and I fought through the pain long enough to summon her to the field. My Vessel Mode wore off.

“I can negate the effects of any monster the special summoned monster battles!” I said. “Now, I'll use the Vision to attack the Manufactured Newborn!”

The Newborn was destroyed, and they lost 800 life point.

“The Vision can attack all of your monsters, so I'll have her attack Chaos Droid Fear Hunter!” I said.

They lost another 300 life points, bringing them down to 1625.

“Now, I'll end this by attacking you directly with Daesidgea!” I shouted. “Finish her!”

Vocallass's life points hit 0, and she fused together into one again.

“This can't be!” She yelled. “I won't let this happen! Chaos Droid's! Crush them!”

All the Chaos Droid's turned on, and began walking forward.

“I should've know she wouldn't keep her end of the bargain,” David said.

“Not so fast!” said another voice. A man had appeared, and was standing on top of the Fear Hunter.

“Gordon!” David exclaimed. It was the same guy who had shown up during my duel with Pavouk.

“Nice to see you, Kallaway!” Gordon said. “And you, Vocallass. I thought you'd play more fairly than that, but you proved me wrong.”

“Who are you?” Vocallass demanded.

“My name is Gordon Tayler,” he said. “I'm your boss now.”

“Bullshit!” she exclaimed.

Gordon pointed the palm of his hand at the machine beneath him, and red lightning flew from his hand, charging through the Chaos Droid. The Vocallass hologram screamed in pain, before flickering and dying. The sparks continued to flow from Gordon's hand.

“Not so bright of you to keep all of your data in one mech, Vocallass,” he said. “You should have distributed it amongst different machines, or kept some of it backed up on the internet. Would've made this a bit harder for me if you had done that.”

The electricity surging through the robot returned to his hand, taking the form of a glowing purple ball of lightning.

“What is that?” I demanded.

“It's Vocallass,” he said. “Her data, her mind, her soul. Everything she is is right here.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass jar of brownish black stuff. He dropped it on the ground, where it shattered. The gunk expanded, taking bizarre shaped with tentacles or eyes or mouths, but never entering the same state twice. He dropped the orb into the mass, and it was devoured by the chaos.

“Ia! Ia! Shubb-Niggurath!” he chanted. “Rise, Vocallass, and Duel for me!”

The thing began twisting into a somewhat humanoid shape, eventually taking the form of Vocallass.

“That incantation,” I said. “Is that... a Shoggoth?”

“Correct,” Gordon said. “A modified Shoggoth designed to house a persons soul, much like Pavouk.”

“Is tht was he was?” I demanded.

“Yes,” Gordon said. “Also, since you've won a duel with Fear cards involved, I think you's earn a little prize. Take this.”

A card appeared, hovering in front of me. In was the Manufactured Newborn.

“As for you, Vocallass,” he said, turning his attention to the Shoggoth lying on the ground. “You will serve me, as a duelist.”

“Yes, master,” she said, emptily.

“However, you won't be using those Vocaloid cards,” he said. “I won't have my servant dueling with something that ridiculous. The Chaos Droids, however, you can keep. The cards anyway. The real things are useless to me.”

He snapped his fingers, and a giant, tentacle covered dragon with black and green scales appeared, and tore the machines apart.

“Now, one last thing before I leave,” he said. “Cthulhu God Dragon!”

The dragon looked at him expectantly.

“Destroy this place,” he said.

“No!” I shouted, but the dragon's tail knocked me aside before I could try to stop it. It a matter of minutes, it had completely decimated my birthplace. Fair field California is gone. Destroyed by that guy's dragon.

“You bastard!” David yelled. “Why are you doing this!?”

“You mad?” Gordon asked. “Good. If you're in the mood to punish me, you know where to find me.”

He tossed a card to David before vanishing.

So that's it then. He destroyed the place I was born then just left. That bastard! If I ever see him again, I swear I'll kill him!

Three Swords

Shortly after my last post, David managed to open up a portal into the Grove Of fetters, which we escaped through. It was... a pretty intimidating place. Ashes everywhere, chains extending from the ground and up into the sky, with seemingly no end. And the points where the chains entered the ground... I could swear there was blood there. As if we were standing on a giant creature, and the chains were digging into its flesh. Who knows, maybe we were.

We walked for a few miles, before David said it'd be best if we left. I think... the piece of the Brute inside of him might have been reacting to the domain around us. So, we left, and now we're back in the human world. We split up with Scia. We've decided to head back to California. That seems like the best choice right now. We're in Nevada right now.

It's been a ear since I started this blog. I'm surprised so much time has past. As if in some kind of twisted anniversary, my mind was plagued with nightmares last night. Most of them were inconceivable visions which I couldn't seem to comprehend. But a few could be described.

The first... I saw my self. Or rather, the other me. The Devil Killer who killed his universe's Malkator. My Darker self. He sat back to back with another man. He was transparent, and glowed with an eerie silver light. He was dressed in weird clothes, like a cross between modern day clothes and ancient garbs. He had long hair that didn't seem to have a color. It wasn't black, or white, or anything. It was the color of nothingness. If that makes sense, which I know it doesn't. His face... it was out of focus. I couldn't identify him. All I could make out were... could they even be called eyes? The left one was glowing brightly, and didn't seem to have any pupil or iris. Just a glowing orb inside his skull. It was slowly changing between several colors, but it seemed to linger on shades of blue and cyan. And his right eye wasn't there at all. There was a line, almost like a scar, going down his face, where the eye should have been.

“Can I ask you something?” the transparent man said.

My Dark self didn't reply.

“Do believe there's a Heaven and Hell?” the transparent man asked.

“How the fuck am I supposed to answer that?” the other me asked.

“If they did exist, which do you think you'd go to?” the man asked.

“I think that's obvious,” the other me replied.

“You think you'd belong in Hell?” he asked.

“Is there any reason why I shouldn't?” the other me asked. “I've been pulled this far into darkness already. There's no way out at this point.”

“But there is,” the man said, getting up and beginning to walk away slowly. “You must find the light, and strike a balance between it and the darkness.”

“I knew you'd say something stupid like that,” the other me said.

“'Tis a blurred line between wisdom and stupidity,” the man said. “But then what do I know? I'm just a soul wrapped in Mana that the Archangel couldn't get his hands on.”

With that, the man vanished, leaving my Dark self alone.

Then there were more indescribable nightmares, before I had another rational dream. My Dark self was standing before a stone wall. On that wall was a gate, in the shape of a twisted, devilish face. It was chained shut by black chains that happened to be on fire.

“You have come,” came a voice from the gate.

“Yes,” my Dark self said, kneeling down. “I need to know what Jack is hiding.”

“You wish to know the true meaning behind your title,” the gate said. It wasn't a question. The gate knew exactly what the other me wanted. “You want to know what a Devil Killer truly is. The real reason why The Jack Of All created you.”

“Please,” the other me said. “I need the truth.”

“The truth lies past me,” the gate said. “If you are confident enough to face what lies ahead, you may proceed.”

The chains withdrew, and the gate opened. The other me got to his feet and walk through to the other side without any hesitation.

Then more nightmares, before the final dream. My Dark self approached Jack of All in an old temple of some kind. It looked Mayan... or something like that. They spoke, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. There was nothing but silence coming from their lips. The other me raised his hand, which emitted a black light. Not the kind of blacklight you use to find stains in a hotel room, it was light that was actually colored black. The light expanded, turning into a glowing sword. Jack summoned a sword that was almost identical, except for being red. They fought, savagely. Then, a third man appeared. He was hooded and cloaked, and his face was concealed beneath a black mask. A silver light appeared in his hand, tasking the shape of a sword just like the other two. They all fight. No one took sides. No one teamed up. They were each legitimately trying to kill the other two.

I didn't see the end of that fight. But the sight of their swords still linger in my mind. I can't forget them. A black sword, made of Fear. A silver sword, made of Mana. And Jack's sword... a sword that was neither Fear nor Man, but it's own form of power. A red sword of All. The swords were each made of pure power, and were stronger than any presence I've ever felt before.

I don't know exactly what those dreams meant. Were they my other self's past? His present? His future? Events from his original universe? I don't know...

we need to rest up for now, then we'll be moving again.

Items

Okay, I have to write this quick so we can leave. Slendy's in this town. He's not paying us any attention right now, but we need to leave before he does.

Scia and I met with Servik as planned, and he brought us to the hideout. Scia didn't seem to trust him, but I did. Don't ask me why, I just did. It was empty. I guess everyone was worshiping Slender Man somewhere else at the time. Anyway, we explored for a while before finding an alter with three items placed on it.

The first thing was a sacrificial dagger covered in blood stains. The words Erigian ta-almo Isalein forvourn were engraved in the handle.

The next item was a bone. A bone with fucking satanic symbols carved all over it.

The third object was small. I didn't even see it at first. It was a red crystal, smaller than a grain of rice. It was full of eldritch energy.

“So what is all this stuff?” I asked.

“The bone is supposed to draw spirits into the area,” Servik explained. “The knife is used to sacrifice something to the Unseen Face when and if it arrives.”

“Sacrifice what?” I asked.

“I don't want to talk about it,” he said. “Why do you think I want out?”

“And what's with the crystal?” Scia asked.

“Another sacrifice,” Servik said. “Meant to add to the Unseen Face's power.”

“Well, we can't have that thing growing any stronger,” I said.

“You can say that again,” Scia said, reaching for it.

“Careful,” Servik said. “That thing is-”

“OW!” Scia exclaimed. She jerked her hand back, and I could see the crystal embedded in her palm.

“-Sharp...,” Servik finished.

Scia cried out again. The Eldritch energy from the crystal was flowing through her body. When it stopped, a small mouth had appeared on the palm of her right hand, where the crystal had stabbed her.

“It's just like with Malkator,” I said. “He had a mouth like that on his chest, after getting cut open with an eldritch dagger.”

“So is this stuff what you're looking for?” Servik asked.

“Probably,” I said. “Although, I don't know why we'd need any of it, other than crystal.”

A path suddenly opened up, and a proxy stepped out of it. He had on a metal mask, and was carrying a Sonic Sword.

“Hello, Daniel,” he said. “Been a while.”

“Sound,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm just here to deal with you,” he said. “You've been causing problems, and my master has decided you need to be dealt with.”

Scia drew a blade from her shoe and charged at him.

“Scia, wait!” I called after her. “That sword can-!”

She ignored me, and he parried her attack with his sword. The sound wave it created hit her, and she fell over, clutching her ears.

“What is that thing?” Servik asked.

“A Sonic Sword,” Sound said. “It's designed to amplify sound waves.”

“Then why aren't you affected by it?” Servik asked.

Sound brushed his hair aside, revealing a device inside of his ear.

“If you're wearing earplugs, then why can you still hear us?” Servik asked.

“They're not ear plugs,” he said. “They're devices built to adjust the frequency of any sound wave they pick up so that my ears can handle them.”

Scia grabbed him by the ankle with her right hand, and he cried out in pain. She must have bitten him. The Eldritch energy inside his body left him, being absorbed by Scia. He angrily threw her off of him, then began laughing.

“What's so funny?” I asked. “All your power is gone. You're not an Enhanced anymore.”

“And I should thank you for that,” he said. “Enhanced have shortened life spans. I as nearing my limit. Now... now that's over. My body is no longer threatened by my power. Besides...”

He drew a gun and shot the alter. The bullet he fired was large, and had a mini speaker built into it.

“I don't need my Enhancement to beat you,” he said.

The bullet let out this ear-piercing screech. I grabbed the knife and stabbed it into the speaker, disabling it. He dropped a machine on the floor, and it let out an even louder noise. I used the Choir's power to restrain the sound as much as I could. Scia got up and continued fighting him. Servik charged at him two. They managed to knock him out, or so I thought. I grabbed the items and we ran to the door. It was then that I heard a gunshot. Sound wasn't knocked out. Servik... Servik fell to the ground, with a hole through his heart. Sound escaped immediately afterwards through the Path Of Black Leaves.

“Damn it!” I said. “He's... he's dead!”

“Where did that bastard go?” Scia demanded.

“I don't know,” I said. “But I'll make him pay for this next time I see him. Wait a second...”

I could see something. There was black mist rising from Servik's wound. I could sense him inside of it. His very essence was escaping his body. I reached out my hand and the mist was absorbed into me.

Servik, can you hear me? I thought.

Yeah, I heard him say. I'm on a ship... in the sky! What's going on?

I'll explain later, I said.

I could feel him. Slender Man was nearby.

“I can feel Slender Man,” I said.

“What do we do?” Scia asked.

“We run,” I said.

We took off, but I could feel him getting closer. I had to get us back to the hotel as quick as I could. I only had one choice.

“This is gonna hurt like shit!” I told Scia, grabbing her by the wrist.

“What's gonna hurt like-” she started to say, but she was cut off when I dove into the Godsway.

We fell on the hotel floor. My right arm felt like it was on fire, and she didn't seem much better. We explained the situation to Kallaway. I'm gonna finish typing this, then hes gonna try to open up a gateway into the Grove Of Fetters, then we're out of here.