The Amber Sword

– Accelerated Thoughts (Paradise of Adversity)

– Consumes 22 Light or Dark EP

– Barrier

– Effect: When this card is used, draw 3 cards from the summoner’s deck. Before the next time this Card is reactivated, shuffle 8 cards from the hand into the deck.

– “Acting fast is the advantage of the battlefield.”

Once the card was activated, a faint glimmer appeared on Brendel’s eyelids, revealing to him to Cards. The grey card was Holy Swords, and the white card was Silver Colt. There were only two Cards, because Brendel knew very clearly that there were only two cards left in his deck, so the chances of getting either were the same.

He tentatively drew the Card.

This was the first card he received since coming to this world. The Holy Sword represented a Knight’s firm belief. Its light could be felt by the heart. This sword had been with him throughout his journey: from the time he led the people of Riedon out of the siege, to the time he swore his oath, to when he conquered lands and painting battlefields blood red. As he walked down the road he swore on, with the goal yet to be reached, the sword would not be sheathed.

Brendel placed two fingers on the card, like a famous knight testing his sword, its blade cold like ice, shining with a frosty light.

He placed the card horizontally and said, “Attach to Wind Spirit Spiders.”

“Lady Ina.”

As Brendel’s voice rang out, the skies seem to light up with small sparks and golden light encasing the Wind Spirit Spiders. Ina looked up, the sight was as if a wall of fire painting the night sky, weaving and intertwining to form a net of flames.

“How are there of Anrolda’s Divine Ring?” Brendel asked.

“Such beauty,” Ina raised her head and sincerely praised the sight before her eyes. Her eyes were just as pretty as the starry sky, especially when she smiled. “Anrolda’s Divine Ring. In the Paradise of Adversity deck, there are four of them. I have two of them, while the Pendulum monster has two as well.” The doe demoness seemed to know what Brendel sought to know, providing a detailed explanation for him.

“Shut up! You dare tell an outsider information about our master’s deck? Ina, your actions clearly betray the master’s expectations! How disappointed I am!” The Pendulum Golem interrupted coldly.

Ina raised her head and glared at the Pendulum Golem silently. She used her most condescending gaze to convey her message. Pendulum Golem, you do not represent our master’s ideals. The Paradise of Adversity has been dormant for too long, it is time for a new successor, lest it be lost under the earth in an everlasting slumber.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for only a moment. For thousands of years, neither of them could convince the other, and today would be no exception.

Even though Ina said only a few words, Brendel had gotten the message. Communicating with intelligent people truly requires little words. It was the first time Brendel agreed with that logic. He tried to remain composed, but it was hard to suppress the flash of excitement. At long last, the chance he was waiting for would present itself. The Pendulum Golem had two Anrolda’s Divine Rings, but one had already been used against Assassinate, and the other was now in its hands.

Even though Brendel did not know how the card ended up on Half-crystallized Leder, he was satisfied with knowing the results. The Holy Sword had already been ignited, and he had chosen the Pendulum Golem’s Nightmare Forges as his target. He intended to destroy the floating cog above the monster’s head, but he needed to test its defenses first.

Despite knowing that the Pendulum Golem would not have another chance at using Anrolda’s Divine Ring, Brendel still wanted to play it safe. There were two methods of gambling; one was to act like a loser and charge in recklessly, the other was to set up an intricate strategy and advance step by step.

He rested Halran Gaia’s blade tip on the ground and watched the bright flames pour from above, forming golden streams that flowed onto the dome overhead. The flames were directed by a beam of light that scorched the earth. Whenever the beam touched one of the Nightmare Forges, a sizzling sound could be heard. The automatons’ defenses were alarming as a single beam of light could not melt through its exoskeleton, but as more golden beams appeared, the creatures could do naught but shriek as it melted into a puddle.

The golden flames were reflected on the Pendulum Golem’s face, which looked as if that was its first time being in a pinch. It braced against its staff, the pendulum beneath its cloak ticking away, as if it was desperately trying to figure a way out of this mess. At last it gave its command, and the Death Sentinels left the battlefield, ignoring the onslaught of Ina’s creatures, instead clambering towards the golden flame pillar.

It was a sight to behold.

They were creatures of the darkness, yet they threw themselves into the golden blaze like moths to a flame, turning into ash within instants. Even if they could only buy a millisecond of time, they had to prevent the Holy Swords from advancing any further. A blink of an eye was all that was required, and the Pendulum Golem managed to salvage ten of its Nightmare Forges and recall them.

“Are you mad, you Pendulum monster? That’s not how you use Cards of Fate!” Ina couldn’t help furrowing her eyebrows, at the same time turning her head and whispering, “That metal brain is panicking. Little one, keep going, victory is within sight!”

This woman.

Brendel thought that this woman was always contradicting herself, but he nodded his head, as it was the time for the final push.

“What do you know?” The Pendulum Golem sneered, “This is a game of chess between Planeswalkers, every move has been well calculated. Just as time flows, everything was calculated down to the very second. This was the art Master showed us since thousands of years ago. Yet you never understood it a single bit. Today I will show you just what is adversity.”[T/L: reference to his deck.]

The Pendulum Golem’s words made Brendel shudder slightly. He took a look at the enemy’s expression. It was not a look of defeat, rather there was a fierce determination branded in its expression. Brendel frowned. This doesn’t seem like the look of someone who is losing. Does he have another finishing move? Brendel dared not dally any longer, he had tested its defenses enough. The enemy was willing to sacrifice its creatures to stop his Holy Sword, signaling that it was time to commence the final attack. He raised his eyes to the ceiling. The Wind Spirit Spiders took aim, hanging onto the Holy Sword, and fired at the cog above the Pendulum Golem.

With one shot, it broke into pieces.

“I order my summons to advance.” At the same time, Ina too had given the order to press forward with all their might.

The Pendulum Golem’s expression remained calm, as if it would never admit its loss until the very last moment. It raised its bronze staff, and the Death Sentinels began to collapse, at the same time the Ekronian Spellweavers who had been drained of energy started to stand up again. The Pendulum Golem redeployed the Spellweavers who started filtering the Light Element for it again, allowing the Nightmare Forges to multiply again.

“Shit!” Ina locked her eyebrows together. “It’s using Sacrifice, the power of Ekronia’s Furnace of Adversity! If it continues on, the Pendulum monster is going to die! Quick, stop the Nightmare Forges from multiplying!”

It was already too late for Brendel to stop his attack. The golden pillar had already decided on its target and he was determined to destroy that cog. If the core was destroyed, then the Pendulum Golem could summon as many useless Nightmare Forges as it wanted to. The victory was so close that he refused to believe the Pendulum Golem still had a way out.

The cog dodged in midair, but the cascade of molten metal kept on advancing. Just another hair’s breadth, and the cog would have been destroyed. However, never had Brendel imagined that a wall would suddenly be erected between him and victory.

That wall was the expressionless Pendulum Golem.

The Pendulum Golem stood in the middle of the flames, directing a victorious look at Brendel and Ina.

But what truly made Brendel’s eyes pop out was that it willingly dispelled its magic defenses, relying solely on its own life force to withstand the attack. Its cloak was disintegrated within seconds, and nearly half of its body had been turned into ash, yet his face betrayed not the faintest hint of pain, only gripping the bronze staff tighter in its right hand.

“You’re crazy!”

Ina was utterly shocked and couldn’t resist crying out. She would never even have dreamt that it would make such a decision. But what perplexed her the most was its decision to deactivate its magic defenses. After being fellow disciples for so long, she understood the enemy’s powers very well. If the Pendulum Golem used its full power to block the attack, it would not even suffer a single scratch.

Ina’s surprise was replied with a chuckle.

The Pendulum Golem’s crippled body stood among its summoned creatures and gave a smirk. Despite being wobbly on its feet, its smirk conveyed its utmost disdain towards its enemies. “It seems that you have forgotten Master’s first lesson, Ina. In moments of defeat, a Planeswalker must sacrifice themselves to protect the most important yet fragile card. If you do not include yourself in the game, then you have already lost a valuable piece.”

“Now, you lose,” the Pendulum Golem raised its chin smugly. Behind it was over forty Nightmare Forges, which were his final troops.

The cog above its head started to spin and fly higher. It started to expand, until it had turned into a steel door whose size was incomparable to anything. From the door appeared a gargantuan shadow. A hill had just appeared in midair. Brendel’s unlimited imagination and the strange body on the hill combined to form an ever-changing scenery. The hill seemed as if it had some sort of life to it. It merely floated, yet everyone could feel a chilling gaze from the top of the mount pressing down on all of them.

Brendel’s face turned white as soon as he saw it. This was the Ancient Devil from the legends, one of the strongest immortals to have ever lived: Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.

– Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (Paradise of Adversity XXII)

– 500 Will

– Creature — Legendary creature / Elrazi

– Effect: Emrakul, the Aeons Torn nullifies all physical attacks. When Emrakul is summoned, time flows twice as slowly for the summoner. Flight. Anti-colored spell protection. Immunity against Elemental spells. Annihilation 6. When Emrakul is sent to the Graveyard, the owner shuffles the Graveyard into their deck.

– Anti-colored spell protection: Nullifies all colored spells (required to sacrifice cards that are Dark, Light, Nature or the other four elements) and their effects, (required to sacrifice summoning cards that are Dark, Light, Nature or the other four elements) creatures also cannot deal any damage.

– Annihilation 6: Every time Emrakul attacks, the target must sacrifice six cards