Chaos in His Heart

            “We battle!” the grey wolf declared. “Chaos Soldier slays Red-Eyes Demon!” he barked, pointing a clawed finger toward the hulking figure in blue and gold armour. In compliance, he thrust his falchion forward, creating an energy beam that pierced the horned skeleton. The wolf added, “Now that destroyed one monster successfully, he can attack a second time—”

“Not if I use my trap card!” the human woman opposite him interrupted. “I activate Michizure!” The card flipped. She explained, “I can only use this when a monster of mine is destroyed. It destroys one monster you control, and I pick your Chaos Soldier.”

Like the human, the wolf had three set cards, and he flipped the one on his right. “My Body as a Shield!” His life points dropped from 2700 to 1200, and a red glow surrounded the wolf, the light bringing out his all-black long-sleeve shirt and pants. “By paying one thousand five hundred life points, I can negate an effect that destroys a monster.” The woman’s card shattered.

“No interruptions,” Legoshi announced. “Chaos Soldier continues his assault—and slays Black Flare Dragon.” The armoured figure did the same move, his falchion emitting a flat beam—

But the woman flipped her second card. “Widespread Ruin!” she declared. “This destroys the opposing monster with the highest attack power.” She added nonchalantly, “I get to choose if tied, of course. Your Chaos Soldier’s not safe this time.”

“Wrong again,” the wolf countered. He flipped his second card. “I activate Destruction Jammer. I discard one card from my hand”—he showed the card that he was discarding, Chaos Command Magician— “I negate the activate of a monster-killing effect and destroy it.” The Widespread Ruin card shattered. The beam successfully pierced the heart of the black dragon with fiery wings. The wolf then declared, “Chaos Emperor Dragon attacks you directly.”

The teal dragon with golden plating breathed black fire upon the woman. She revealed her third card. “I activate Dimension Wall! When a monster you control attacks, you take the damage instead!”

“I counter with Solemn Judgment!” Legoshi objected, flipping his card. “At the cost of half my life points, I can negate your trap’s activation and destroy it.” The woman shielded her eyes, expecting flashes. Once the black fire dissipated, she could lower her arm. Her life points went from 4400 to 1400. Now, her opponent had 600 life points left. She looked at him sternly, but she understood him perfectly. The wolf continued, “I set this card”—a facedown card appeared— “And end my turn.”

The woman raised her left arm, to draw from her deck. “You interest me, Legoshi,” she spoke.

“What would you know about me, Trish?”

“This game can also show your traits. I know now, of your inner struggle. Your use of light and dark monsters indicates such. They may be your style, but they show more about you than you know.”

“Where are you going with this?” Legoshi pressed.

“You feel the adrenaline, don’t you? When you command your monsters to attack and when you react to your opponent’s monsters. You have a fighting instinct deep within. Wolves are predatory by nature: it goes hand-in-hand with their intelligence and strength. I admire your resolve, kid, but there’s more to regard. You bring light and darkness together, and I see your struggle, not just as a high-school student.”

“And what do you see in my deck, Trish?”

“You still think about that rabbit. You want to protect prey from all other predators. You’re willing to give your life for one particular rabbit because you love her. Take it from someone who’s been there: not everyone stays with their first love. Even if you try to make it work, something will go wrong.

“I commend your choice to bring light and darkness together: two rivals joining forces against the same enemy. The pure and impure cause havoc upon their foes. The question is what happens after. You would die for the woman you love, but if you die, nobody could defend her anymore. As the saying goes: ‘You are your own worst enemy and your own best friend.’ Say you do eliminate all threats to her. What if her most treacherous enemy, is you?”

“I attacked her before, and resisted the urge,” Legoshi rebutted. “I can resist that instinct again.”

“But for how long?” the human objected. “You understand my point now, don’t you, kid? Your two sides—your two forces—become one and cut down the opposition. Even when that is over, light and darkness clash with one another, and the conflict continues until all members of one half are dead. You, among many, have chaos in your heart. You can’t deny it, Legoshi: you would welcome chaos on your enemies, but not yourself.”

Her next point to make would be unclear. She played a card. “I summon The Black Stone of Legend.” A large, black, egglike gem with red light reflections appeared. “I activate its effect”—the gem faded out— “to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon.” In its place, an ebony dragon with bony wings rose. She added, “Next, I play Celestial Eclipse.” The two moons above and behind her seemed to merge, and shoot a violet beam toward the dragon. “Regardless of what card you set, Eternal Night protects Dark-Attribute dragons from card effects. Though Celestial Eclipse reduces my dragon’s attack power to zero, it can’t be destroyed in battle, and I take no damage. It also enables Red-Eyes to attack all opposing monsters, and destroy attack targets. Let’s see your chaos take this.” She pointed her finger with its nail painted red. “Red-Eyes, annihilate Legoshi’s monsters. Dark Divine Flares!” The dragon fire, backed by magical energy, became a broad beam, and as it swept across the ground, it seemed to disintegrate Chaos Soldier and Emperor Dragon.

“Next turn may be your last, kid,” Trish spoke after the smoke cleared and all bar the one facedown card was gone. “You prove powerful when you create your chaos, but can your next combo take my Red-Eyes Celestial deck?"