Chapter 23: Heartless
The final day of the Astraea Star Cup Tournament had come. The final duel would soon begin, but first the duels of the semifinals were to take place. The first of these was the duel between Jaden and Jane. The stadium was once again packed with students and teachers from all three schools. As the duel was about to begin, Jaden and Jessie made their way out to the stage. They found Chikaru, Shion, Yaya, and Tsubomi waiting there to greet them as they entered.
“Hey guys.” Jaden greeted. “What’re you doing here?”
“What does it look like? We’re here to cheer you on.” Tsubomi told him. “I’d think that’d be pretty obvious. Where’s Striker?”
“We haven’t seen him since leaving the guesthouse this morning.” Jessie answered. “I guess he’s avoiding us since he’s mad that we didn’t tell him about the stuff with Tamao and the Four Witches.”
“It’s now time to being the first duel of the semifinal round.” Amane announced on stage. “Jane Hawthorn and Jaden Yuki, please get up on stage.”
“I guess it’s time.” Jaden said to the others.
“Good luck.” Chikaru told him. “And be careful against Jane.”
Jaden nodded and headed up on stage. When he got there, Jaden noticed that Tamao, Mika, Hiyori, and Tomoyo were down on the sidelines.
“By decision of the coin toss, Jane Hawthron shall go first.” Amane announced and Jaden and Jane prepared to face each other. “Let the duel… begin!”
“I set one monster on the field!” Jane announced after drawing her first card. “Then I set two cards on the field and end my turn!”
Jaden looked at his hand after drawing his first card. He found that it looked promising.
“First I summon Elemental Hero Prisma!” Jaden announced. Appearing on the field was a warrior made out of clear crystal. A large pair of crystal wings adorned his back. “Now I activate Prisma’s effect, and send Elemental Hero Necroshade to the Graveyard to have Prisma become Necroshade this turn!”
Prisma’s body shimmered and soon he transformed into a hulking creature that was mostly red and had large claws and yellow eyes.
“Now I activate Polymerization!” Jaden announced. “I use it to fuse Elemental Hero Necroshade on my field with Elemental Hero Sparkman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Darkbright!”
Sparkman appeared momentarily on the field before merging together with Necroshade. The resulting fusion was what looked to be an enhanced from of Sparkman with a black bodysuit instead of a blue one. The mask on his face was red, and attached to the gold armor on his torso was a pair of large wings.
“Darkbright, attack Jane’s set monster!” Jaden commanded. “Dark Flash!”
From his right hand, Darkbright shot a black lightning bolt that hit the monster. The monster in question was a female elf with blue skin and blond hair wearing a green dress. When the lighting bolt hit, the elf survived, as if the attack hi an invisible barrier.
“The DEF points of my Mystical Elf 2000, the same amount as Darkbright’s ATK.” Jane pointed out.
“After Darkbright attacks, it switches to Defense Mode!” Jaden announced as Darkbright suddenly took a kneeling position. “I end my turn!”
“I activate Orichalcos Ritual!” Jane announced. “I sacrifice my Mystical Elf and your Elemental Hero Darkbright to summon Wraith King of the North!”
The symbol of the Orichalcos Ritual appeared on the battlefield. Bolts of energy shot up from the symbol and slowly broke down both monsters. When the two were fully consumed, the symbol turned from green to red, and a pillar of red light shot up into the air. The lights in the stadium went out, and a cold luminescent mist suddenly rolled in. Once it cleared, the Wraith King of the North was standing on the field looking every bit like the grim specter of death. Down on the sidelines, Shion was holding a cold terrified Chikaru close to her.
“Since I can’t attack I end my turn.” Jane coldly announced. Jaden drew his next card.
“First I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards!” Jaden announced. “Next I activate another Polymerization and fuse Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Elemental Hero Clayman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster in Defense Mode!”
Appearing in the field in a crouched position was a warrior that looked like Burstinatrix wearing an enhanced version of Clayman’s armor. On her left arm was a red shield and on her right a futuristic blaster.
“Since Rampart Blaster is in Defense Mode, she can attack you directly!” Jaden announced. “Rampart Blaster, attack Jane with Rampart Shot!”
“I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!” Jane announced as Rampart Blaster fired off a blast from her cannon. The attack was sucked into a vortex that appeared in front of Jane.
“I end my turn!” Jaden announced. Jane drew her next card.
“I equip Wraith King of the North with Fairy Meteor Crush!” Jane announced. The Wraith King began to glow with a red aura that made him seem more frightening. “This card allows Wraith King to inflict battle damage when he destroys a monster in Defense Mode. Now Wraith King of the North, slaughter Rampart Blaster with Sword of Malice!”
With that, the Wraith King threw back his cloak and slowly drew his black sword. Then faster than anyone could see, the creature charged over to the other side of the field and stabbed Rampart Blaster through the chest. The armored hero’s body slumped down onto the field and faded away. Jaden’s life points dropped to 2700.
“I end my turn!” Jane announced coldly. “And since Wraith King destroyed Rampart Blaster, I now summon it to my side of the field in Defense Mode!”
Rampart Blaster reappeared on the other side of the battlefield in a kneeling position next to the Wraith King. Her red helmet and shield had turned grey, while the rest of her armor became pitch-black. The part of her face that was visible had turned chalk-white and gave off an unearthly glow.
“How does it feel to have the true nature of your monster revealed?” Jane asked.
“What’re you talking about?” Jaden replied.
“My Wraith King of the North reveals the true nature of the monsters he destroys.” Jane explained. “He transforms them into what they truly are on the inside, heartless lying creatures. Deep down the monsters we use in our duels are the same as people.”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jaden told her.
“Two years ago I attended a duel academy in England.” Jane began. “When I started going there I was nervous, but I quickly made friends. And I also fell madly in love with someone there. Her name was Amanda, and the moment we met she swept me off my feet. We were crazy about each other. Or at least… I was crazy about her.
“One day I was walking around the school looking for Amanda. I found her all right, inside a classroom snogging another girl. I was furious, and burst in on them. The girl trollop Amanda was with was startled of course, but Amanda just started laughing at me. She told me that there was noting special between us, that I was just another to get close to.
“I ran out of the room in tears. I couldn’t believe that everything that Amanda ever said to me, like how much she loved me or that I was the only one for her, were all just lies. I went to go find my friends and tell them what happened, and I found them all right. But when I did I overheard them talking about me. I won’t bore you with the details, but I basically found out that they were only using me. It was no secret that my family is quite wealthy, and my so-called friends were only spending time with me to try and get certain favors.
“I couldn’t remain at the academy after that. I went home hoping to find comfort with my family, but what I found instead disgusted me. I walked into the house to find my mother locked in a passionate kiss with a man that was not my father. She told me not long after that that her little affair was no secret, and that my father was doing the same thing with his secretary. I was appalled; I thought my parents loved each other. But it was just another lie, and then I realized the one great truth about the world. And the truth is that everyone is a liar, everyone is heartless. A person may tell you that they’re your friend or that they love you, but in the end all they care about is themselves.”
Jaden was rather stunned by the story that Jane had told him. Back down on the sidelines, tears were streaming down Tomoyo’s face. Though Tamao, Mika, and Hiyori were too focused on the duel to notice.
“I’m sorry about what happened to you…” Jaden said to Jane. “But not everyone is a liar.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that from you?” Jane laughed sarcastically. “You’re just another liar like everyone else. There’s only one person in this world who isn’t a liar, and that is the person who gave me the power I have now…”
* * *
Not long after Jane had transferred to Miator, she was out taking a walk behind the dorms. It seemed to be the only place on the island where she could get away from everyone else.
“Excuse me, but would you happen to be Jane Hawthorn?” a voice suddenly asked. Jane turned around to see that it was Tamao. “My name’s Tamao Suzumi. I’m running for Miator Student Council President, and I would love to have your help.”
“I’m not interested.” Jane replied coldly.
“Here me out.” Tamao said as she got in Jane’s path to prevent her from walking away. “I’ve heard about what a skilled duelist you are, and I believe that together we can create a new world.”
“I told you I’m not interested, now get lost!” Jane snapped.
“I also heard about the pain you went through at your old academy.” Tamao said, stopping Jane in her tracks. “I can sympathize with your pain, believe me. Rejection is a cruel thing. But I can help you.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you?” Jane asked with sarcasm in her voice.
“Look into my eyes.” Tamao told her. “Do I seem like I’m lying?”
Jane looked into Tamao’s Orichalcos green eyes and was shocked to see that seemed to show the absolute truth in Tamao’s heart.
“You think that all people are liars, that no one can be trusted.” Tamao observed. “I am not like that though. I possess the stone that reveals the truth, and I can give you the power to reveal the truth within others.”
Tamao held up her hand with the Orichalcos Stone ring, and with a blinding flash of green light a pair of cards appeared in her hand. One was the Orichalcos Ritual Spell, and the other was Wraith King of the North.
“Consider these a gift.” Tamao told Jane. “The only thing I ask of you in return is your help in creating a new world, a pure world, one that you might find to your liking. So how about it, care to lend me a hand?”
* * *
“After that I agreed to help Lady Tamao.” Jane said as she wrapped up her tale. “Together we shall destroy this world of lies and create a world of truth! And I will break anyone who gets in the way of our goal!”
