Cardfight Vanguard: The Neo Generation

Ride 58: Nearing The End

My mind was clouded with various thoughts and feelings. Part of me wanted to just give up here and break down crying, another much smaller part wanted me to turn back and run from all this chaos, the final part of me wanted this to just be done with. I shook my head and continued to push forward, not for anyone else's sake but my own, I'm tired of my parents thinking I'm just a small child who runs the first chance he gets. That's also who they were killed.

"Hey Ralph? You okay there body?" I snapped back to reality when I heard Shun's voice by my side and saw him walking backwards up the steps, dangerous and stupid but he seemed to be doing just fine. "Yeah, why do you ask?" I lied, in truth, I was terrified to continue on. This place felt less like a spiral and more like a staircase to heaven. "You're lying, tell us what's wrong." Jacob said with an evil glare and venom to his voice. In his eyes I probably wasn't the one he faced back at lunchtime in school, but probably some coward who wanted to leave it to the adults again.

"Please stop you two, I'll admit that I'm not doing so well, but I'm continuing and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me." I stopped dead in my tracks and stared up at the other two who also stopped. We stared at each other for the longest time while I took it all in. The more we go upwards the more violent I've seen to become, and I have no true explanation for that. It pisses me off that I don't have an answer to all this, it made me seem like some weak child instead of a teenager, but maybe that's why. I'm not a teenager am I? No, I'm definitely not and no matter how many times I like to believe I am, I never will be one until I grow up.

"You have to choices here Ralph, you can head up those steps and be prepared to be the next one to fight, or you can turn back right now and run!" Jacob yelled at me. His fierce brown eyes stared daggers into my soul and it didn't help that his hazel hair seemed to blow like a main protagonist in a movie or something. Jacob was wearing the school uniform which was black dress pants, his normal grey sneakers, and a brown undershirt with the school vest opened up. The school vest was a navy blue button up with a popped color you could fold down and a badge of a Golden Lion head on the right breast.

I looked over to Shun and his face was less violent than Jacob's, and more calm like a standard soldier marching forwards. His long, black hair fell to block the left side of his face and touched his folded color, he was also wearing the uniform. From the one eye that was revealed I could see the calming sensation of his crystal blue color. I laughed once I noticed the two other friends I had recently made were almost exact polar opposites.

"What's so funny!" Jacob grabbed my red jacket and pulled me closer, but I continued to laugh and eventually they both joined in. "Alright alright. Let's just go meet up with the others, alright?" They all nodded and we all ran upstairs where a surprise was waiting for us.

When we reached the floor there was no pillar, but rather a creature of darkness that stopped us dead in our tracks. I looked over to Ezekiel and the rest of Tri-Paladins to see what they were going to do, but they were just as confused as me. I turned back towards the thing and took a couple of steps forward which drew the creatures attention.

"Ah, there you are. Ralph Vanice right? I've been waiting for you." He said with a malicious tone to his voice. "You were waiting for me? Why?" I prepared myself for a fight, I know Dark Union well enough at this point. "To test who's truly better, why else?" I turned back towards the others and they were just as confused as me. "To see which of us is better at what?" The Dark Union member just chuckled before holding out his hand and a ghostly rope launched forward before tying around my wrist.

"I heard you play Dragonic Overlord's, well, I play the Dark Union version of them so I want to see which is better." The Dark Union member explained as he lightly tugged onto the rope. I looked over to the others and they all nodded, except for Shun and Jacob, and started to run past the Dark Union member. The member was about to stop them when I took full advantage of him not paying attention and rolled to the side, pulling him alongside me because of the rope.