The sun's glistening rays streaked through the windows of a large classroom, warming the students with its golden radiance. The warmth signaled many of the students, and even woke up a few, to the eminent arrival of the time of the day they had been patiently awaiting for many hours - the end of the school day. Many students proceeded to start packing up and chatter amongst themselves, stirring a growing commotion that caught the attention of the professor avidly scrawling on the blackboard at the head of the classroom.
The professor turned around to face the classroom and cleared his throat with a thoroughness that quickly silenced the commotion and captured the attention of many of the students.
"Ahem," started the professor, "As class has not yet been officially dismissed, I believe I still have permission to keep on teaching. I realize that you're all worked up for summer vacation, only slightly over a week away, but this doesn't mean you should ignore our in-class review sessions. The final exams will be an important part of your grade and serve as a great precursor to the official college entrance exams. Now I know most of you plan on going to a good college so you won't have to waste your life working at a gas station or a fast-food restaurant so it is imperative that you stay focused."
The professor's diatribe had captivated the attention of all of the students causing them to meticulously return to scribbling down notes of the material on the blackboard - all of the students except for one: Kazuya Satoru.
Kazuya was a teenager with black hair, chestnut-colored eyes, and an average stature that made him seem as normal as any teenager. The one quality which made Kazuya stand out in the eyes of the rest of his peers was his failing grades. Although Kazuya possessed an exceptional intelligence that had once afforded him good grades in middle school, Kazuya lost his motivation for studying a long time ago.
Ignoring the proceedings of the class, Kazuya focused on a duel he was having on his datapad against a random opponent, hidden from view behind a large pile of textbooks or so he thought. The professor glanced around the classroom to make sure that the students were all focusing on the lesson. Then he turned to Kazuya, who seemed to be slouching more than usual. The professor immediately became suspicious.
"Kazuya, could you sit up straight? You'll have trouble seeing the board with that stack of textbooks obstructing your view."
"Professor Yosuga," responded Kazuya without even looking up, "I studied the reviewed material on my own time."
"Is that so? Then you must surely be an expert on the subject to not even need to cover it again in class. Perhaps you're so knowledgeable about this lesson that you could even teach it to the class in my stead."
"Oh, that won't be necessary Professor Yosuga. I'm sure you're doing a great job."
"Oh, is that so? Perhaps, you'd like to explain to the rest of the class how to determine the most stable chair conformation of cis-1-t-butyl-4-methylcyclohexane?
"I, um I -"
One of the students sitting in the back screamed out. "Just use the heart of the cards, loser!"
The rest of the class laughed at the comment, well-aware of Kazuya's obsession with the famous card game.
"I - don't - um…"
"What's wrong, Kazuya? Surely you were paying attention to the lessons on chiral stability and structural conformations for unstable intermediation? It was an entire chapter's worth of material, after all."
"I… I forgot. Is that a - does it just have stabilizing resonance structures?"
The rest of the class burst out in laughter.
"Pathetic," remarked the professor snidely, "You don't even care enough about your grades to pay attention in class. I wonder what your parents would think of your disgraceful behavior. They would surely be ashamed of you for throwing your life away…"
As the words resonated through Kazuya's ears, Kazuya started trembling in his seat. Before the professor could say anything else, Kazuya stood up and rushed out of the classroom with his datapad. The rest of the class gasped in surprise.
"That boy is a failure. He will go nowhere in life. Let's not concern ourselves with him."
The professor turned to a tall boy with a stern disposition sitting at the front of the classroom. "Ryouga, would you care to solve this problem just before class is dismissed?"
"Of course," answered Ryouga as he walked up to the board. "The compound shown here has an unstable configuration characteristic of all organic intermediates thus it needs another propagation mechanism to attain the proper configuration. It does not possess resonance chirality so the only way to stabilize the secondary reactions is to induce hyperconjugation in the second order quantum hybrid orbital…"
-x-
- Satoru Residence -
-x-
Kazuya stopped running as he approached the apartment complex his uncle lived in. It was a relatively luxurious establishment in the Katsushika district of Tokyo allowing its tenants to have plenty of space for their personal recreation. The space afforded Kazuya a place to be isolated from the troubles of the rest of the world while he immersed himself into his obsession.
Kazuya entered the building and walked past the lobby to arrive at his uncle's residence. His fingers typed in the digits of the passcode in quick succession from years of practice causing the door to slide open and reveal the extravagant suite that lay ahead.
Kazuya's uncle, a man by the name of Hidetaka Satoru, was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper. The sound of Kazuya's arrival hardly stirred his uncle's attention.
"Back already?"
"The review session was short today. We're almost running out of material to look over. I might be able to skip the entire next week."
"But that's the week before your final examinations, right? I would think that your teachers would want you to review the most then."
"I can review by myself if I need it."
"Are you sure? I remember you not doing so well on the midterm for organic chemistry. Maybe you should go seek out your professor to get some extra tutoring."
"I said I'll be fine! Geez, uncle, you don't have to always remind me about everything."
"Alright, alright. Just trying to be a good guardian. Impress me next time, will ya?"
Kazuya ignored his uncle and quietly walked into his room. Inside, the room resembled that of any normal teenager with a bed surrounded by untidy sheets with clothes scattered throughout. In addition, there was a large screen with a virtual neural interface system, consisting of a helmet with a screen and hundreds of extremely sensitive sensors that could transmit and relay data to stimulate the mind into a state of virtual reality. It was a relatively new application of virtual technology created largely through widespread demand with the enormous global popularity of the card game of Duel Monsters. Kazuya had spent a large portion of his parents' savings for him to acquire the system, allowing him to become a beta tester for one of the most anticipated virtual games to be released - Duel Monsters Online.
"Time to get rid of all this stress…"
Kazuya sat down on the cushioned chair by the gaming system. As the system had built-in voice command controls, Kazuya casually stated, "System on," causing the system to immediately turn on and transmit data into Kazuya's mind.
-x-
- ONLINE -
-x-
The logos of the sponsors and designers of the system briefly flashed through Kazuya's interface before quickly fading away. A few seconds later, the main menu appeared.
"Duel Portal Online."
Kazuya transformed into his chosen avatar, a large imposing figure clad in ebony armor with a large broadsword strapped to his back. Kazuya's username displayed: Satsugai-Sha, the slayer. Satsugai-Sha selected the FREE WORLD mode to enter into a massive server that could connect and support up to millions of players. The world was rendered meticulously to the highest quality of detail perceivable by the human eye with seemingly endless landscapes stretching into the horizon with a wide array of diversity reflecting the many biomes of the real world. A player could stand in awe, admiring the sheer beauty or magnitude of the world for hours, but Satsugai-Sha had a different course of action in mind.
Satsugai-Sha engaged the built-in duel function and enabled his status to READY. He then set his minimap visual settings to LOCAL DUELING which automatically tracked the coordinates of every player that had their duel modes set to READY within a one kilometer radius. Satsugai-Sha only spotted one duelist, a strange contrast to the usually abundantly filled world of Duel Portal Online. The duelist was only a hundred meters away and had set their record to PUBLIC allowing any duelist to look up their profile and see their dueling record alongside the statistical data.
-x-
- PROFILE -
Name: Oki no Akatsuki
Gender: N/A
Rank: 102547
W/L Ratio: N/A
Statistics: N/A
-x-
"A noobie, huh? Easy pickings to start off the session."
Satsugai-Sha quickly jogged to the location. The environment consisted of a large metropolitan area that had fallen into ruin being encroached upon by the lush, surrounding forest. It was a classic portrayal of the popular post-apocalyptic setting. Satsugai-Sha walked further into the ruins and noticed a large clearing with a player in the center. Satsugai-Sha sent the player a message.
Satsugai-Sha: Yo, would you like to duel?
The player's avatar consisted of a masked figure clad in a pristine white cloak. The player turned to face Satsugai-Sha.
"Yes. Let us duel."
Satsugai-Sha activated his virtual duel disk and shuffled his deck while his opponent mirrored his actions. The two simultaneously declared, "Duel!"
-x-
Duel Start
Satsugai-Sha: 8000 (5/0/0) || Oki no Akatsuki: 8000 (5/0/0)
-x-
The coin flip landed in favor of the masked player, giving him the choice.
"I will start," declared the masked player as he drew a card.
-x-
Turn 1
Satsugai-Sha: 8000 (5/0/0) || Oki no Akatsuki: 8000 (6/0/0)
-x-
"I summon Seraph of Prophecies!"
-x-
Seraph of Prophecies
Monster | LIGHT | **** | ATK: 1800 | DEF: 1200
Fairy | Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 Fairy-Type monster from your Deck to your hand except "Seraph of Prophecies". Discard 1 Fairy-Type monster from your hand.
-x-
"Using its effect," continued the player, "I add Seraph of Salvation from my deck to my hand and discard it. Its effect activates, letting me draw one card."
-x-
Seraph of Salvation
Monster | LIGHT | **** | ATK: 1500 | DEF: 1000
Fairy | Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Draw 1 card. During either player's turn: You can discard 1 card and banish this card from the Graveyard; banish 1 Fairy-Type monster you control and return it to the field in the same Battle Position at the start of the next Phase.
-x-
The masked player inserted a card into his duel disk's S/T slot. "I activate Solar Recharge by discarding Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress to draw two cards and mill two cards. One of the cards milled is Compensation which lets me draw a card."
-x-
Compensation
Trap| Normal
When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Draw 1 card.
-x-
"To finish," added the man, "I'll set one monster and one support card. Turn end."
-x-
Turn 2
Satsugai-Sha: 8000 (6/0/0) || Oki no Akatsuki: 8000 (6/1/1)
-x-
Satsugai-Sha Field:
N/A
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki Field:
1 Set Monster
1 Set Support
-x-
"A graveyard-oriented strategy, huh? Interesting. I summon Forerunner Avian!"
-x-
Forerunner Avian
Monster | WIND | **** | ATK: 1800 | DEF: 800
Winged-Beast | Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WIND monster from your hand in addition to your Normal Summon/Set.
-x-
"Using its effect," stated Satsugai-Sha, "I'll bring out Malevolent Avian!
-x-
Malevolent Avian
Monster | WIND | **** | ATK: 1800 | 1200
Winged-Beast | Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can destroy 1 Support Card on the field. You must control 2 or more face-up WIND monsters to activate and resolve this effect.
-x-
"My avian destroys your set support card!"
The masked player stood motionless as a fierce whirlwind sliced through the set support card, cutting it into a rain of pixels.
"There's a good chance your set card is a Ryko so I'll overlay my two monsters to Xyz Summon Lightning Chidori! When it's successfully Xyz Summoned, it spins one set card you control to your deck. In this case, your set monster is spun!"
The masked player still showed no concern now that his field was clear.
"Now," continue Satsugai-Sha, "Lightning Chidori, attack him directly!"
"In response," declared the masked player, "I special summon Guardian Angel from my hand."
-x-
Guardian Angel
Monster | LIGHT | * | ATK: 0 | DEF: 0
Fairy | Effect: When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then end the Battle Phase. During your Main Phase: You can tribute this card; draw 1 card.
-x-
The thunder beast stopped its assault and retreated back to Satsugai-Sha's side of the field.
"Fine," said Satsugai-Sha, "I'll set two cards and end."
-x-
Turn 3
Satsugai-Sha: 8000 (2/1/2) || Oki no Akatsuki: 8000 (6/1/0)
-x-
Satsugai-Sha Field:
1 Lightning Plover (R4/X2/1900/1600)
2 Set Support
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki Field:
N/A
-x-
"I normal summon Card Trooper and use its effect to mill three cards, increasing its attack to nineteen hundred points. Then, I activate Divine Resurrection."
-x-
Divine Resurrection
Spell | Normal
Activate only if you control 1 face-up Fairy-Type monster. Pay 1000 Life Points; Special Summon 1 Fairy-Type monster from your Graveyard.
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki: 8000 - 7000
-x-
"Divine Resurrection brings back Darklord Superbia. Then, Darklord Superbia brings back Archlord Kristya! Now, I activate Divine Judgment, targeting your two set cards!"
-x-
Divine Judgment
Spell | Normal
Activate only if you control 1 face-up Fairy-Type monster. Pay 1000 Life Points; destroy 1 card for each face-up Fairy-Type monster you control.
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki: 7000 - 6000
-x-
"Chain," responded Satsugai-Sha, "With Counter Cyclone!"
-x-
Counter Cyclone
Spell | Quick-Play
Activate only if you control a face-up WIND monster. Negate the activation of a Support Card and destroy it.
-x-
"Irrelevant," declared the masked player, "Darklord Superbia, attack his Lightning Chidori!"
The fallen angel swept over to Satsugai-Sha's side of the field and unleashed a swirling orb of dark energy on the thunder beast. Before the orb could hit the thunder beast, it dissipated alongside the fallen angel.
"I responded to your attack with Wind Barrier, negating the attack and returning your monster to your hand!"
-x-
Wind Barrier
Trap | Normal
Activate only if you control a face-up WIND monster. Return an attacking monster your opponent controls to its respective owner's hand and draw 1 card.
-x-
"Archlord Kristya, finish the task by destroying his Chidori!"
The archangel swept across the field and pierced the thunder beast with a pummel of blinding light, causing the thunder beast to shatter into a shower of pixels.
-x-
Satsugai-Sha: 8000 - 7100
-x-
"Then," continued the masked player, "Card Trooper will attack you directly!"
-x-
Satsugai-Sha: 7100 - 5200
-x-
Satsugai-Sha stepped back from the assault and started panting. The virtual pain simulator was particularly sensitive in this duel.
"Is that it?"
"Enter main phase two. I tribute Guardian Angel to draw one card. Then, I set another card and end my turn."
-x-
Turn 4
Satsugai-Sha: 5200 (3/0/0) || Oki no Akatsuki: 6000 (4/2/1)
-x-
Satsugai-Sha closed his eyes and took a big breath. Then, he opened he eyes and smirked.
"Not bad beginner, but nothing I can't handle. I summon Whirlwind Avian and use its effect to bounce your Kristya back to your hand."
-x-
Whirlwind Avian
Monster | WIND | **** | ATK: 1700 | DEF: 800
Winged-Beast | Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can return 1 monster your opponent controls to its respective owner's hand.
-x-
"Response," declared the masked player, "With my Seraph of Salvation in grave. By banishing itself and discarding a card, I can banish my monster and bring it back during the next phase."
"That's all I need. I activate Nest Migration by targeting my Whirlwind Avian to special summon another one from my deck! My second Avian will bounce your Card Trooper to your hand! Then, I'll overlay the two to Xyz Summon Empty Space Manipulator!"
-x-
Empty Space Manipulator
Monster | WIND | Rank 4 | ATK: 2100 | DEF: 1800
Psychic | Xyz | Effect:
2 Level 4 monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card to target 1 banished monster; Special Summon that target to your side of the field. Its effect is negated. When this card is removed from the field: Banish the monster summoned by this effect.
-x-
"And that's not all. I activate my last card, Fluttering Gust!"
-x-
Fluttering Gust
Spell | Normal
Special Summon 1 WIND monster from your Graveyard. Its effect is negated. Return it to your hand during the End Phase.
-x-
"Fluttering Gust lets me bring back Forerunner Avian," explained Satsugai-Sha, "Which means I have enough to end this."
"Now," continued Satsugai-Sha, "Battle Phase! Empty Space Manipulator will attack you directly!"
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki: 6000 - 3900
-x-
"Followed by Archlord Kristya!"
-x-
Oki no Akatsuki: 3900 - 1100
-x-
"And finally, Forerunner Avian, finish him!"
"Response!" declared the masked man, "With my set card, Call of the Haunted!"
"What? No -"
"Call of the Haunted special summons Darklord Zerato from my graveyard in attack."
"I'll cancel my attack then."
Satsugai-Sha gritted his teeth in frustration at his own misplay. If I attacked with my weaker monsters first, I could've at least traded Kristya and his Darklord Zerato… It doesn't seem like there's anything I can do at this point.
"Turn end."
-x-
Turn 5
Satsugai-Sha: 5200 (0/3/0) || Oki no Akatsuki: 1100 (5/1/1)
-x-
"This duel was interesting, but it's time to end it. I summon Card Trooper and use his effect. Then, I activate Forbidden Alchemy!"
-x-
Forbidden Alchemy
Spell | Normal
Target 1 monster in your Graveyard; exile it. Send cards from the top of your Deck to the Graveyard equal to the Level of the banished monster. Draw 1 card.
-x-
"I exile Darklord Desire from the grave to mill ten cards and draw one card. One of the cards milled was Seraph of Redemption, letting me draw an extra card."
-x-
Seraph of Redemption
Monster | LIGHT | **** | ATK: 1500 | DEF: 1000
Fairy | Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Draw 1 card. During either player's turn: You can discard 1 card and banish this card from the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 Fairy-Type monster from your Graveyard.
-x-
"Now," continued the masked player, "Since I have at least four dark monsters in my graveyard, I'll use Darklord Zerato's effect by discarding one card to clear your field."
Satsugai-Sha grunted helplessly.
"Archlord Kristya returns to the top of my deck. Then, I activate Trade-In to discard Superbia to draw into Kristya. As I have exactly four fairies in the grave, I'll special summon it. Now, I enter the Battle Phase. Kristya, attack him directly!"
-x-
Satsugai-Sha: 5200 - 2400
-x-
"Then," concluded the masked player, "Darklord Zerato, eliminate him!"
-x-
Satsugai-Sha: 2400 - 0
-x-
Duel End
Winner: Oki no Akatsuki
-x-
Satsugai-Sha stumbled backwards, engulfed in confusion and despair.
"How… how could I have lost to a noob?"
Suddenly, a painful sensation flooded Satsugai-Sha's senses and overwhelmed him, filling his conscious mind with nothing but excruciating agony. Satsugai-Sha's vision started blurring, then fading as the last vestiges of consciousness crept away.
"Another failure," stated the masked player, "At this rate, the search will be hopeless. Contact him. It's time to speed the process up."
-x-
- Unknown -
-x-
Kazuya was back in his real body, alone in an endless expense of nothingness. Kazuya turned around to see an endless void, stretching into every direction as far as his sight could make out.
"Where am I? Why am I here?"
His voice echoed throughout the surroundings and then… silence remained.
Kazuya began to despair, but before he could be immersed in a panic attack, a blinding light emerged in the horizon. Peering deep into its source, Kazuya could make the outline of a strange figure in a vehicle of some kind. As Kazuya stood up and prepared to seek the figure out, the surroundings changed into the same blinding radiance that had emanated from the figure.
"Kazuya Satoru, known as Kami no Satsugai-Sha in this world, it seems that the program has deemed you worthy of surviving the cleansing. This is an honor bestowed upon few of your specimen. You will have to prove yourself in many trials in the time to come, but should you succeed, you will be the harbinger of a new age and become the last hope for humanity in the Great Purge. Unmei wa anata ni yūri ni hataraku koto ga…"
Kazuya's vision started fading again as consciousness slipped away. Then, everything became dark again.