Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Decks
The Description of both the decks made by Miquella doesn't make the choice easier between the two but using the names of the decks as methods to analyse the decks if go off the decks to guess what would be the decks.
I start by trying to analyse the Goddess of rot Deck, well the decks itself can easily be identified to be focusing on Malenia but if it did why isn't it called Blade of Miquella or something like how she likes to Mention during her fight but With Miquella's words that he has no idea who half the spirits in the deck are it makes me believe it focuses on beings connected to the scarlet rot.
pivoting from that analysing it turn to the other deck obviously i would assume its gonna focus on Miquella since his name is in the decks title and it would be easy to assume it would involve the DLC content since he mentioned the Adherents which i would think he means the NPC who followed him into the land of shadows. at that though a revelation occurs to.
Isn't the entire reason of Miquella journeying into the land of shadows as a plot to ascend to godhood, but the deck is called Miquella's plots, plural!
Then another realisation occurs to me, Radahn and Mogh in that deck, those must be the unhappy souls he's talking about, I can determine this due to how he plotted both their downfalls and their deaths are required to access the DLC.
'This choice is really hard, Could it be possible to just give me access to both of the decks or just a look at them'
as I think this a message appears in front of me from Miquella.
[I could give you both the decks but i would be stretching my powers even thinner than I am already but i will be honest the Most taxing part of the process is Grasping the Fragments of the souls in this Quagmire which is your soul to form Cohesive enough masses that their usable, it doesn't help that I'm having to hold back the more aggressive things in here.]
[Just as a statement WHY is Bayle in here and why is he Constantly fighting with at two headed Dragon in here also just the sheer amount of things in here is staggering but I would say the most corrosive would be the Wisps of frenzied flame in here
at hearing my souls is essentially a mixing bowl of an entire worlds souls isn't I'm less surprised until I read Miquella mentioning the frenzied flame and I start patting down my body looking for a certain object in a panic.
Though my actions I feel a Golden needle buried in my flesh just above my heart, at finding the Needle I breath a sigh of Relief learning that I won't have to worry about the Frenzied Flame or Scarlet rot using me as a method to fuck with the world, but in my relief I get another message from Miquella.
[How, How do you have my needle, I thought it lost in the Aeonian Swamp that occurred in Caelid after my sisters fight, I even felt it break but for some reason it seems to be completely pristine!]
Reading Miquella's Words it just reminds me of her journey all I respond with is, 'I was given it by a Companion who was willing to die instead of becoming something she was not.'
The statement doesn't illicit a response from Miquella but I can feel that Struck a cord with him on some level, but the silence just makes the decision re-occur as the subject then a though appears.
'Could you show me the strongest card of each deck, that might make it easier to choose.'
[Sure its not like it would cause a problem. Here they are]
[[Malenia, Goddess of Rot ★★★★★★★★★★★★ Fire][Goddess/Fusion/Effect][ATK:?/DEF:0]]
[[Promised Consort Radahn ★★★★★★★★★★★★ Light][God/Ritual/Effect][ATK:?/DEF:?]]
getting a view of the pair of Deck bosses it confirms my idea about the deck's lore but still doesn't make the choice easier.
Though examining the cards I make a multiple observations, Both cards are God cards meaning their spiritually strong enough to contend with the Egyptian God cards meaning I won't have to worry about Marik and his mega ultra chicken.
Another observation is that each of their ATKs are Variable but don't give a good show of how strong that would make them, they could get stomped by Ra, Obelisk and Slifer so that makes me apprehensive with my choice Malenia seems to have a higher ATK threshold than Radahn but his effect is a straight Win condition.
Placing my fingers against my bridge which is a habit I have when a Headache is forming in my head, after a while of just rubbing my head to try and relief the ache I come to a decision.
'Fuck it Give me both of them, its too hard to choose between the pair, it would be better anyway since it'll allow me to use the better deck if I face someone I remember.'
thinking this I watch as a pair of Glows starts to appear in my trench coat, Looking into the coat I find in one of the many pockets A red glow and a Golden Glow emanate from a pair of the pockets, as the light fades i can feel the weight of the decks and each of the pockets holding the decks have changed slightly in that just beneath each of the pockets a very familiar symbol has appeared indicating the pockets.
The pocket that was glowing Red Is indicated by Malenia's Great rune but in high enough definition that I can even make out the small red butterflies in the rune and the other pocket is marked with not Miquella's Great rune but with Miquella's Cross emblazoned in Gold.
Reaching into my trench coat and taking out the Goddess of Rot deck I flip it over so i can Look at the cards and low and behold that the first card i see of the deck is a certain Red haired Goddess.
[Malenia, Blade of Miquella ★★★★★★★ Fire][Warrior/Effect][ATK:2500/DEF:1000]
From just looking at her card I can feel a sense of foreboding creep up by neck but within that foreboding I feel a sense of both reluctance and happiness. I don't quell on it since trying to understand the mind of a woman is men's greatest mystery but I would guess its about being reunited with her brother.
I continue to look though the deck and my find my guess that it was centred around the those connected with rot was correct but the from looking though the cards I can see the decks strategy is very much Malenia, Its a Fast hitting Equip focused deck that has most of its monsters act as search engines for other monsters or cards.
My looking though the deck is stopped when I see an old Red haired companion, reading her card I read effect and look up the cards she references, When I read them I'm shocked at how she plays to the deck.
continuing to read the rest of the deck I come the end of it and find a Very curious card in the Deck, Miquella himself.
[Miquella, the Kind ★★★ Light][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK:100/DEF:0]
seeing him here it causes me to pause and read the card and ask him why he is there when he has his own deck.
[Well it would be easy to explain, Were Twins and there our connection is Very strong so were both in each other's deck, In hers my role is to find what i think what you would refer to as a Deck themed Field card as well as giving access to a very strong Card where we combine our talents, In mine she acts as a requirement to my Decks progress as well as a very strong combatant when needed.]
Hearing his response I feel he's using her slightly but i don't point it out when he has access to my very soul, I just continue on and find the card he mentions in Malenia's deck, When I read its effect my eyes bulge out of their sockets from shock, This card's effect is so broken that its going on the ban list the moment after the game I play it.
Calming down from the shock of that card I look at the final cards of the deck, I don't smile at one and the other is the Goddess of rot card I see, Seeing what I have I place the Goddess of Rot deck back into its Designated Pocket and fish out the Miquella's plot deck.
Looking though the deck my reactions are less explosive than when I was reading the first deck but maybe its because the monsters aren't as cohesive to a theme as the last one with the only thing connecting them is that each card is addressed as 'Adherent', the only one of the 'Adherent' monster cards that actually helps the group is Needle knight Leda but even she acts like her NPC counterpart and just has an ability to kill an adherent monster to destroy a monster on the field.
[Adherent Needle knight Leda ★★★★ Light][Warrior/Effect][ATK:1800/DEF:1800]
Looking though the rest of the deck I learn the overall theme of the deck, its a Boss rush deck, some of the Spell cards in the decks have the Term 'Plot' in common making it another keyword which is used for the deck and each plot card essentially special summons a Boss monster Its surprising but I find 5 Plot cards. . .
'Miquella, your a manipulative hypocrite aren't you, You killed your Siblings to become a god, Was it worth it.'
[I Did what was needed!! the Golden order had been rotting from the inside for a while and the Shattering made everything into a giant mess, When Marika went completely missing the world was going to turn into a mess.
I was right when Godefroy and his nephew sieged Leyndell assisted by Rykard. if it weren't for Margit the Fell and the Dragon knights from the dragon cult, they would have succeeded.
At that point my plan to become a god to fix the world wasn't the worst one I could have had, my only miscalculation was that Melania couldn't kill Radahn making it so the plan was delayed for so long and that Melania was in a coma so she could track down the decrepit omen for the ritual. and what do you mean siblings.]
With the most dead pan look I have I think to him.
'Mogh was a child of Marika and Godfrey, also Mesmer was Marika's first born. Finally i know what you did to St Trina in that pit.'
At those thoughts I imagine the look on his face isn't the prettiest but I digress and look though the deck since what's done is done.
Next come the cards which are linked to the plot cards and most of them make sense but one of them sticks out like a sore thumb amongst them.
[Radahn, the Starscourge ★★★★★★ Light][Warrior/XYZ/EFFECT][ATK:3000/DEF:3000]
For one having Radahn as a card makes sense but the type of card doesn't XYZs don't exist in this yugioh universe so Radahn being an XYZ shouldn't be possible.
'Why is Radahn an XYZ they don't exist here so they shouldn't be allowed'
[I tried to make Radahn as anything else but his soul is denying another form than XYZ, I can't force him since its not even his fault really.]
Looking at Radahn's card I come to a theory.
'Miquella can you try and fish for a specific soul if you can, i might have a theory why this is happening. Try fishing for Rellana or Rennala, they would either be connected to Mesmer or Radahn'
For a moment I feel a pinch in my chest before a message appears again.
[It wasn't super easy to get but I found Rellana's soul, I'm looking at her card form now and, yup it's an XYZ. . . Oh I get what your idea was, you think it has something to do with the house of Carian.]
'Correct, the Primeval current is described as otherworldly and if I remember my yugioh lore XYZ involves different dimensions or something so its interfering with their card forms.'
My thoughts are cut short as I hear Kaiba yell out from the monitors around.
"Now Get ready duellist, Let the Tournament Begin!"
Hearing the words of Seto Kaiba I look down at the Miquella's plot deck and places it back into its pocket before taking out the Goddess of Rot deck and placing it within the device. Once the deck is placed a transparent card is produced from the graveyard slot.
Taking the card I turn towards the alleyway and go to Join the Tournament.