After the end of the duel I look towards Joey, he and his friends eye me as they approach him to console him, but I simply smile and I approach.
Once I'm face to face with him, I extend my hand forward towards him palm up, my pose causes confusion to show on his face but I speak.
"I said I wouldn't take the Lord of Cinder but, I still need to take a card so, hand me the Firekeeper."
My statement causes Joey and his friends to frown but probably the one looking the worst would be Serenity since it's her card.
With great reluctance and some pointless statements that it's not his to give which I tune out; I stay firm and silent waiting for the card.
He fishes it out of his deck and hands it to me.
With her in my palm I finally understood what was causing me to be so polite to her, now I would be polite to a woman who was willing to give everything for her partner but even I could tell something was off with all the emotions I felt towards them.
With a small chuckle, I look at her spirit form who also has a light smile on her lips.
"Want to know something interesting about this card Joey?"
this catches his attention from the depression he enters from losing his sister's card to listen to me.
"Well, it's very simple really, from where these cards are from the first flame had led a countless amount of people over countless years to their deaths, each of these people has names and fancy titles, from simple men to grand gods. But also, in that world, there was one title that never faded from in the time from the start till the end of the flames life."
I send a mental message to Miquella and Mogh who I can sense tilt their heads before shrugging and doing what I request, behind me a Blood Red Rune starts to form in the air.
The very air seems to become denser as I hold the Firekeeper card by each top corner of the card, I then Start to Rip the card in half in front of Joey.
"Whoa, What the hell are you doing!" Joey starts to go into a rage but pauses as he spots something, behind me stands the phantom form of the Firekeeper visible to everyone in a semi-solid form.
I rip the card vertically in front of everyone but the form of the Firekeeper behind me stays the same. "I realized during the duel when the Time wizard did its magic, The card is not of the Firekeeper as an entity, it's the Title's legacy made manifest, which means it's not complete yet."
I take the pair of ripped pieces and move them away from each other, as they are separated the card in question shimmers in light and now in a pair of my hands are two different cards but each technically depicts the same character.
[The Firekeeper ★ Fire][Saint/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:100]]
[The Last Firekeeper ★ Fire][Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:100]
Seeing the shock on joeys face I smirk, "And that's just the last one, each had their story to tell" I palm the Last Firekeeper before ripping the Saint Firekeeper card again and again each time in a shimmer of mirage-like light another card is formed, this happens 6! more times, but with each rip a new figure appears behind the Last Firekeeper behind me.
The Last Rip though interests me since sadly the Firekeeper card is destroyed and spent forming the other cards but in its place is a lady and her loyal knight who appears in Token form.
[Blind Irina And Stalwart Eygon ★★★★ Earth][Fiend/Tuner/Effect][ATK:2000/DEF:1600]
[Emerald Herald Shanalotte ★★★★ Fire][Dragon/Tuner/Effect][ATK:1100/DEF:1600]
[Dark Moon Knight Fina ★★★★ Fire][Warrior/Tuner/Effect][ATK:1600/DEF:1500]
[Crippled Anastacia ★★ Fire][Fairy/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:500]
[The Three Crones ★★★ Fire][Zombie/Tuner/Effect][ATK:1600/DEF:1500]
[The Fair Lady ★★★★★★ Fire][Insect/Tuner/Effect][ATK:0/DEF:2000]
[Thorn-Knight Kirk ★★★★ Dark][Warrior/Token/Effect][ATK:1500/DEF:1000]
The congregation of women behind me each show a smile upon their faces be it that of a humorous grin from the crones or a sad but hopeful one from the mute Anastacia, each one has a smile for in a world of utter bleakness and misery their kind souls have lit the way for their champions and downtrodden.
With the release of the firekeepers from the card, I take a look at the Last firekeeper and watch as her card changes back into the original Firekeeper card meaning the card just represents her now and not all of the firekeepers.
I collect the 8 cards letting the rune and the phantoms fade before handing them to Joey, As I do I feel a slight Prick of heat appear below the 8 cards, I go to check but I feel a hand on my shoulder from behind me.
I peer to the side and see a green-robed woman with a finger on her lip to indicate silence before whispering a word into my ear.
I just smile before speaking to Joey. "As a statement you should hand them back to your sister, since you're out of the tournament there isn't a reason for you to use them is there?"
I say this before going to the elevators, I go down towards the lobby when I'm there the place is silent, oh yeah Me and joey just pulled out God cards and they had no idea there were more god cards in play.
I'm already on all of their shit lists so I don't care, I go raid the buffet table and just hang with Patches who looks like he's about to be sent to the gallows with the amount of sweating he's been doing.
"What's wrong pal?"
he looks at me with a jittery look, "The moment Kaiba and Pegasus saw the god cards they started to hound me for answers since I'm associated with you, I swear if I wasn't still in the tournament Kaiba would have had me head on a pike since I don't snitch on pals."
I grow a smirk, "Correction, Pals you owe something too." he just gives a wave of annoyance at that but doesn't correct me.
"How persistent are they? Hollow? Undead dog? angel of londor?"
he sighs before speaking, "Angel of Londor, if they see ya, run like the wind chum."
I laugh at that since it's kind of impossible to run away from Seto Kaiba on his own blimp, maybe Ishizu with her future sight but me nah.
The ball machine in the centre of the room activates this drawing everyone's attention, it turns out that Yugi and his friends have arrived so the drawing could continue.
The machine produces a sphere which the guard collects, observing the sphere the guard next throws it into the crowd.
This time the person who catches the sphere is fully robed who's is mostly hidden under his cloak, He catches the sphere in one hand, and it depicts a pair of hands hovering over a crystal ball.
"The First duellist of the next round is Fortune Salim, and their opponent is." as he says this the machine produces the next sphere, which he throws away from the crowd this time.
It's caught by the sole last remaining female duellist in the tournament.
Guinevere catches the Sphere and holds it to reveal the sphere's symbol of a Half Skull half helmet with a back emblem of raised wings behind the skull and helmet.
"Guinevere. Can both Opponents make their way to the arena for their duel!"