Luxu sat at the table, his face concealed by the hooded black coat he and his master had taken to wearing. He tapped his finger on the table, eyeing the playing mat they so often used in the games the playful mentor of all the Foretellers had so lovingly made for this strange game he seemed to enjoy so much. He eyed off the two neatly stacked decks of cards resting on either side of the playing field. And then he eyed off the strange Keyblade hanging on a wall just to his left; Black with two shafts that formed the upward ascent to the "head" and teeth of the mystical weapon, the figure of a long-horned goat adorning the guard.

How many times had the Master of Masters called him here, to his private study, of late? True, he had spoken with each of the other five apprentices individually too…but Luxu, Luxu had been called to audience more times than the other five combined. The only one of the five to not form unions of Keybearers, as per the Master's orders. The only one of the five to clad himself not in robe or mask but instead in the Black Coat. And thus far…the only student the Master had not seen fit to outfit with a Keyblade.

As Luxu pondered for what reason he had been called, the door to the study opened, Luxu looking over his shoulders to see the tall, slender, hooded figure that was The Master of Masters slowly slink in through the door, his movements surprisingly languid and slow as if he were tired from the stresses of the day. That was understandable, at least, to Luxu; no doubt his fellow apprentices had been pressing him harder of late with their questions regarding the Book of Prophecies. As if to confirm Luxu's suspicions, his master let out a long, drawn out sigh before slumping his shoulders and slowly making his way towards the table before sitting down on the chair opposite Luxu…and leaning back, his arms hanging lazily over the sides of his chair, his face staring straight up at the ceiling.

Luxu waited for a moment as the Master remained in his seat, seemingly blissfully unaware of anything going on around him. "Uhhhh…sir…" Luxu began, "...do you..want me to…go?" The Master looked over to Luxu. A few moments passed before Luxu stood up to leave…

…and no sooner had he than the Master suddenly shot up, at once seemingly alive and filled with energy. "Ah, Luxu," he, at last, replied, "When did you get here?"

Luxu sighed. "I've been here the whole time," the apprentice answered, "But now seems like a bad time for whatever you've got planned…"

"Nah, sit, sit!" The older figure pressed, Luxu obeying and resuming his previous position as the Master sat up straight and faced him properly, "There's never any time better than the present, after all." The Master planted his elbows onto the table, his hands sliding together as Luxu felt himself being studied as he so often was, weighed, evaluated as if the first and greatest of the Keyblade Masters was waiting for Luxu to meet some qualification that he, and only he, could. "Shall we play a game, then?" The Master gestured to the deck sitting next to Luxu, the apprentice quickly picking up the deck of cards and beginning to shuffle.

"I honestly don't see the point," Luxu stated, his hands pulling small stacks of cards from the main pile before reinserting them at separate, random points, "Given you can see the future. You'll always know what move I'm going to make before I even think of making it." The Master chuckled at this response, picking up his own deck and mirroring Luxu's movements as he too shuffled. "And why is it always me you play with these days?" Luxu questioned, the Master's movements not slowing a beat, "...do you…not enjoy playing with the others?"

The Master placed his deck in the middle of the table. "Nothing like that at all," he answered, Luxu placing his own deck next to the Masters, "You just…get me better than the others do." The Master took the top half of Luxu's deck and placed it below the bottom, Luxu doing the same with The Masters. "And who knows…maybe you're one of those who have the gift…" Luxu and the Master both grabbed the bottom half of their opponent's decks and placed it onto the other before handing their respective cards back to their owners.

"I'm sorry…but what gift?" Luxu asked as he drew five cards from the top of his deck. The Master hummed a little as he, too, drew five cards from his own deck. "What kind of gift are you talking about?"

The Master held his free hand to his chin, pondering the cards he drew. "Oh, you know," he casually began to answer, "Just the ability to change the flow of Destiny." The Master slid a card from his hand before placing it onto the table, face-down and sidewards. He then placed two further cards behind the first, also face-down, but laying them vertically instead. "I have seen the future, that much is true," he continued, "I've written down everything I've seen into the Book of Prophecies and I've shared those insights with all of you; my trusted apprentices." He gestured to Luxu. "But…even though I've seen what will come to pass…I have also seen that there will be those who, when standing at the crossroads of destiny, possess the capacity to deviate from what should otherwise be a set path."

Luxu tilted his head, as he drew his next card. "You mean like making a decision?" He looked at the card and then his hand. "Everyone can do that." Luxu placed a card down onto the field; Leng Ling, a Dragon monster with 1500 ATK. "I just chose to play this card; how does that make my decision from any other you've seen?" Luxu tapped his Master's horizontal card…only for the Master to flip one of his other set cards, revealing it to be the trap card known as Mirror Force. Luxu sighed, playing Leng Ling into his newly formed Graveyard pile. "I mean…you've seen events how they unfold, you've seen the choices that people make." Luxu also placed two cards face-down, vertically.

"Well you're right in that regard," The Master replied, drawing his next card, "I have seen things that have yet to pass and I've seen the choices people make…but I'm not talking about just anyone." Luxu could also see his Master's grin through the blackness from the coat that covered his face. "I'm talking about the people who can make decisions I could never have seen and make decisions with consequences I couldn't even have imagined me imagining." Luxu shook his head, not noticing his master making a mouth with his free hand, curling his thumb under his fingers..

"That's impossible! The future is the future!" they said in tandem, the Master moving his hand mouth as he spoke for added measure.

"See?" Luxu asked, though it was less a question than a statement.

The Master sighed. "I suppose it's something you have to see for yourself to appreciate," The Master stated, undoing the Mouth Hand to slide his face-down monster into his own freshly minted graveyard pile before placing another card onto the field; Kuraz the Light Monarch, a powerful monster with 2400 ATK…and one Luxu remembered to possess a potent effect; the ability to destroy any two cards…though Luxu would be able to draw two cards if his were destroyed. The Master tapped both of Luxu's set cards, Luxu groaning a little as he placed them both above Leng Ling before drawing two more cards. Then the master flipped his second set card which, to Luxu's surprise, was not a Trap at all but instead the spell Double Summon. He then slid, from his hand, another card onto the field; Blade Knight, a monster with 1600 ATK that gained an additional 400 when its controller had one or less cards in their hand…just as the Master did. He tapped Blade Knight and then pointed to Luxu, the apprentice keeping a mental tally of the damage he was taking; he'd lost half of his life points already.

"I don't think it's something I'll ever get to see though," Luxu noted, drawing his next card.

"You think so, huh?"

Luxu looked at his Master, equally confused and intrigued. The Master shrugged his shoulders before gesturing for Luxu to continue. Beneath the concealment of his hood, however, Luxu smiled before throwing down his next card; the Spell known as Dark Hole. The Master gasped in an almost exaggerated fashion before quickly sliding both of his monsters into his Graveyard pile. Luxu knew he wouldn't have long to capitalize on this and placed down another Spell Card; Polymerization. The then placed two more cards into his graveyard, Dark Magician and Dark Blade, before placing down a new card; Dark Cavalry, one of his strongest monsters that got stronger the more Spell and Trap cards that were played and in the graveyard. By Luxu's reckoning, it would have 3400 ATK by now. He played one final card; Ego Boost, to raise Dark Cavalry's attack first by 1000 and then by a further 100 due to the monster's own effect. Luxu looked up from the playing field to the Master…and felt as if the first and wisest of Keybearers was peering into his very soul, into the deepest recesses of his heart. He hesitated for a moment, thinking on his Master's recent words. Was he meant to win this game? Or was he, as his Master suspected, about to walk down a path separate from that which was inscribed within the Book of Prophecies?

"What's wrong?" The Master questioned, his voice lower, almost to a menacing degree, "It's still your turn." Luxu gulped…before tapping the Dark Cavalry card before pointing at the Master of Masters. By Luxu's reckoning that would've meant The Master would've taken 4500 points of damage; enough to wipe him out in a single strike. "Interesting…" The Master mused "...I honestly didn't see that one coming. Well done."

Luxu felt his jaw drop. "Th-that's impossible," Luxu stammered, "Y-You're just saying..that…" Before Luxu could finish his sentence, the Master slid a copy of the Book of Prophecies into Luxu's grasp, the page already opened to a body of text coupled with a picture…of them playing this same game. The apprentice scanned the words upon the page, his eyes widening beneath his hood; according to the book, Luxu elected not to attack, unable to see through the Master's plans. He put the book down, the Master retrieving it and placing it upon his main desk before then looking up to the Keyblade on his wall.

"Guess it's time then," The Master said to himself, grasping the magical weapon and handing it to Luxu, "Here, take it." Luxu reached out and grasped the handle of the Key-shaped weapon. The Master pointed to what appeared to be an eye-shaped gem inset at the top of the weapon's head. "The niftiest feature about this Keyblade is this; the Gazing Eye."

"The Gazing Eye?" Luxu questioned, "Is that what this Keyblade's called?"

The Master scratched the top of his hood. "Actually, that weapon has no name."

"No Name, huh…" Luxu quietly mused, "So what's the deal with this Gazing Eye thing?"

The Master looked over the Book of Prophecies, nodding. "I suppose it'd be more fitting to call it my Gazing Eyes..." Luxu jumped when he heard this. "Oh that grosses you out, does it?" Luxu shook his head. "Well anyway," he continued, "About your role. I need you to sit back and watch the others for a bit. And then, when the dust has settled, you need to pass that Keyblade onto your apprentice so my Gazing Eye can bear witness to everything."

Luxu gasped in realization. "Then the Book of Prophecies…"

The Master suddenly shot an outstretched finger towards Luxu. "Bingo! The fact that it exists is proof that you've trained a worthy apprentice, passed on that handsome Keyblade there and fulfilled your Role! Congratulations!" The Master clapped his hands together excitedly, Luxu staring at him in utter confusion. "What are you worried about? You did a great job!"

"But I haven't done anything yet…"

The Master stood up. "You're right, better get going then," he added, "And no Book of Prophecies to keep you company either; I can't have you causing any temporal paradoxes." The Master turned back towards his desk before bending down to get something. "So you, that Keyblade…" he heaved, pulling forth a large, trunk-like chest, "...and this box need to lay low for a while."

Luxu looked at the box. "Well…what's in it?"

The Master chuckled a little. "Here's the thing though; You can never open it!"

"What?!" Luxu balked, "Now I have to know!"

"You really wanna know?" The Master questioned, "Well then…" Luxu leaned in closer to the Master as he whispered softly to his apprentice. After a few moments, Luxu leaped in alarm.

"B-But why?!"

Beneath the shadow of his hood, The Master of Masters, ever playful and mysterious in his ways, he grinned. "You'll see…"

…

Luxu struggled to hold back a tear as he watched the last of the combatants arrive within the Badlands outside of Daybreak Town, the unions of his peers at last turning to open hostilities just as The Master had predicted, each battling to preserve the light, unaware by just how overcome and driven by the Darkness each of them was. He looked to No Name, the Keyblade entrusted to him by his Master, then to the deck they'd built together to enjoy their many games…and finally…to the box, whose contents Luxu was forbidden to let loose. He slid the deck back into one of his pockets before grasping the handle of the box.

"May my heart be my guiding key…"