Wreathed in a golden crown and resplendent armor, a crimson divine bird swept in with a ringing cry, a halo gleaming behind it as it descended.
[Simorgh, Bird of Bringing] — Level 2 | WIND | Winged Beast | 1000 ATK ]
Zane watched in astonishment.
He'd always known Darkness weighed on Atticus, back then, it even warped his Deck into Red-Eyes cards mid-Duel. Atticus had clawed his way past that, but Zane never imagined that even wearing the Darkness mask, Atticus could still resist its pull, and even… play cards he'd never shown before.
The divine bird swooped low and nuzzled Atticus's cheek. "Good work," Atticus said softly.
"Simorgh, Bird of Bringing, on Normal Summon, add 1 'Simorgh' card from my Deck to my hand, except itself."
"I'll add Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry to my hand!"
'Bird of Ancestry!?' Murmurs spread through the gathered Duel Spirits.
'Isn't that the leader of the Simorgh?'
But he had already used his Normal Summon. What good was adding it now?
"Field Spell, Elborz, the Sacred Lands of Simorgh!" Atticus declared.
Gales howled. Clouds unrolled like banners. Mountains thrust up around the Duel Field, enclosing the arena in wind and stone.
Hikaru watched, eyebrows raised.
Unlike Hikaru, who traveled endlessly, most Interdimensional Duelists explored a few fixed places. Even Atticus hadn't been everywhere. He'd spent months visiting mountains, earning the guardians' trust with his record and his kindness to children. In time, he'd won a new power, and the coordinates to this mountain.
Atticus hadn't been idle at all.
"Elborz: all WIND Winged Beast monsters on the field gain 300 ATK/DEF."
He held up the card. "Once per turn, I can reveal a Level 5 or higher WIND Winged Beast in my hand; this turn, I reduce the Tribute count to Normal Summon Winged Beast monsters by 1. And if I control a WIND Winged Beast, I can immediately Normal Summon a Winged Beast."
Atticus revealed the card he'd just fetched. "I reveal Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, reduce the Tribute by 1 this turn."
Zane's eyes narrowed. He understood at once.
"That's right," Atticus said. "And now, Elborz's second effect. Since I control a WIND Winged Beast, I can Normal Summon again."
"I Tribute Simorgh, Bird of Bringing to Tribute Summon."
"O master of the wild gales, welcome the intruders, and call down the sacred wind!"
"Tribute Summon! Level 8, Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry!"
Golden feathers drifted from the sky. A vast bird with sun-bright wings and a slow-turning wheel of light at its back descended in stately arcs.
[Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry] — Level 8 | WIND | Winged Beast | 2900 ATK / 2000 DEF → 3200 ATK / 2300 DEF
Zane instantly realized the bad implications.
"Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, is a classic; everyone knows that card."
It was treated as a Normal Monster in the hand, and while on the field, it reduced the Tributes required for WIND Tribute Summons by one. Meaning, as long as Simorgh, Bird of Bringing and Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry were both present, Atticus could Tribute Summon high-Level Winged Beasts much more easily, sometimes without needing any Tributes at all!
"More importantly, Ancestry has another effect!"
"Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, when it's Tribute Summoned using only WIND monsters, return up to 2 cards your opponent controls to the hand!"
Atticus slowly raised his arm and pointed across the field. "I choose Cyber Dragon Nova and Cyber Twin Dragon."
Gales howled. A tornado swallowed both machines. They fought the wind, then vanished, hurled back: the Fusion returned to the Extra Deck, and the Xyz returned as well while its materials fell into the GY.
Zane's face tightened.
"Hss… then Atticus just attacks Cyber Jormungandr with Simorgh, and swings directly with Meteor Black Comet Dragon!"
"This is outrageous! Atticus is actually suppressing Zane!"
"And from start to finish, Zane's lines never once exceeded Atticus's expectations."
Only now did the crowd grasp that Atticus Rhodes, the "King" of Duel Academy, stood on equal footing with Zane Truesdale for a reason.
"Battle, Zane!" Black flames surged off Atticus, scorching his clothes red. "Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, attack Cyber Jormungardr!"
The divine bird ascended; golden feathers fell like rain, shredding the serpentine machine. Cyber Jormungardr sparked, collapsed, and was gone.
"Then, Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack directly!"
Its current ATK: 4100.
If that lands, Zane loses.
"Open face-down! Trap Card, Cybernetic Overflow!"
"Banish any number of 'Cyber Dragon' from my hand, GY, and/or face-up field; then destroy the same number of cards you control!"
On the artwork, Cyber Dragon's frame spits sparks, as if it might burst apart at any second, much like Zane's current predicament.
"Cybernetic Overflow… from your hand?" Atticus asked, unfazed. He'd prepared for this.
"No, from the GY," Zane said.
"The GY?" Atticus frowned behind the mask. There shouldn't have been a Cyber Dragon in Zane's GY.
Unless…
"There is," Zane answered with a strained smile. "When an Xyz leaves the field and returns to the Extra Deck, its materials go to the GY."
A tiny hitch crossed Atticus's brow, an almost imperceptible misread, but the mask hid it from Zane's view.
He made a slight mistake.
There was nothing he could do, he'd never seen an Xyz Monster before, so he didn't handle the detail right.
"I banish Cyber Dragon from my GY, Cybernetic Overflow! Destroy your Meteor Black Comet Dragon!"
A silhouette of Cyber Dragon crackled out of Zane's Graveyard and data-shattered as it was banished. Lightning lanced across the field and tore through Meteor Black Comet Dragon, blowing it apart.
"Good! That keeps me alive this turn!"
Palms were slick with sweat now. No one was thinking about which Duelist to cheer for anymore, only about the next card.
"Heh… you did destroy Meteor Black Comet Dragon," Atticus said evenly, "but don't forget, it still has an effect."
"Ugh…"
"When this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: target 1 Normal Monster in your GY; Special Summon it!"
"Ah!"
"Come, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
Pillars of black fire erupted again.
The Black Dragon finally entered this Duel in earnest.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon — Level 7 | DARK | Dragon | 2400 ATK]
"Monsters Special Summoned during the Battle Phase can still declare an attack. Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack directly!"
The dragon inhaled, then spat a searing orb of obsidian flame. Supercharged by the howling winds, it streaked across the field and slammed into Zane.
"Aaaaah!"
Agony knifed through his body, mind, and soul. The white Photon suit flickered as if it might short out under the assault.
Zane Truesdale LP: 3900 → 1500
Zane's knee hit the ground. Heat bled across his skin, reddening it, splitting it. He forced himself upright, cold sweat rolling down his temple, and managed a crooked smile.
"Heh. That doesn't hurt."
"Haha… I really love that stubborn streak." Atticus laughed, then flipped a card into his back row.
"Set 1. End turn."
Zane's gaze slid to the Set cards. Atticus had two now. One of them, he suspected, was a Red-Eyes revival Trap, the kind that could bring back a Normal Red-Eyes if Atticus already controlled a "Red-Eyes" monster. The other… remained unknown.
"My turn, draw."
He checked his hand and grimaced.
"Graceful Charity, draw 3, then discard 2."
He drew, but the line still looked grim.
"Fine… then I'll rely on cards I rarely use." He glanced at his Cyberdark suite, drew a breath. "I discard 2 Cyberdark Keel. Then I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Herz in Defense Position."
A small, gaunt machine-drake rose from the ground like a dim spark struggling to stay lit.
[Cyber Valley] — Level 1 | LIGHT | Machine | 0 ATK / 0 DEF.
He hadn't drawn anything to swing the Duel back, so all he could do was buy time.
"Set 1. End turn."
His chest rose and fell. He could feel the knife-edges of the wind, the heat of those black flames.
He thought of Atticus's words… and his actions.
He didn't fully understand "Darkness," but Atticus had proved that even drawing on it, he could still enforce his own will, and play his cards.
And Zane thought of himself…
Hadn't he, too, relied on will, and his Photon rig, to take down a Fusion Army soldier who wielded a Number?
It's just… he had never thought about what was really going on with the Cyberdark.
...
Stones