DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, as all rights to the official work belong to Konami, Studio Dice, TV Tokyo, and Shueisha. The only things that I do own are my OCs and any fanmade cards throughout this fanfic, though the OC names may contain Shin Megami Tensei vibes, but no other aspects of that franchise will ever be in this fanfic whatsoever. Also, I use the original names of all the canonical Arc-V characters and not the dubbed names.
Prologue - Origin of the Contradiction, Enter Serph Vesta!
Before the advent of moving time and space, there were the Kyodai - a race of celestial beings that hailed from newborn galaxies and stars. They would periodically meet with each other on the current situation regarding the movement of the universal order, and then split off after.
However, there were those Kyodai that had disagreements with others, believing in their own agenda, which lead to the forming of two opposing factions - the Sepentritones and the Triangulum.
The Sepentritones all focused on the progression of life throughout the universe without interfering too much into their lives, but the Triangulum's focus was to halt progress without certain lifeforms going too ahead of their time.
The select bunch that never sided with either party all had their own different agendas, though they mostly agreed on one thing - to never help out either the Sepentritones or the Triangulum.
The celestial feud was temporarily halted by the emergence of various Gods and Goddesses humanity had conceptualized with their primitive minds, thus leading them to devise a way to get most of the deities to be demonized by the very people that brought them to life.
That's where they had enlisted the help of the Pleiades - a group of humans that were the first recorded of their kind for taming and syncing with their respective demons - to perform the smear campaign. Although they were 50% successful in their mission, a few of them started to doubt this mission, which was vindicated when after the defeat of one of the Gods, the dying God revealed to them that only the Triangulum enlisted their services without the Sepentritones knowing, and that the real reason for why they wanted the Gods demonized by man was to not have any more competition in their wake, thus giving the Pleiades a reason to turn back on their mission, and instead, oppose the Triangulum. However, they would soon realize that going against them meant imminent death, yet they pushed forward with their new mission.
They had faced one member of the Triangulum - Taiyangshou, who had proven himself to be far more powerful than all the Pleiades combined, so they had devised another plan to ensure that the Triangulum suffers a setback - by having their leader sync with their concubine, and so with the sacrifice of the 5 Pleiades, the leader and concubine synced with each other, transforming into a false messiah that opposes the stars themselves - Seraph the Contradiction Messiah. This was enough to defeat and kill Taiyangshou, but at the cost of Seraph being a potential target by the other Triangulum, so rather than waste her breath on the rest of them, Seraph decided to split herself back to her two original forms, however, the two separated and became lost in the ocean of space.
One of the halves of Seraph would later end up in a dimension where the rules from his original world were now completely different, yet he will have no memory of his original home…
Somewhere around a park area, in Heartland City…
A young, silver-haired boy with sky blue eyes groaned, apparently laying on the ground as he got up and looked around himself, not knowing what he was doing here.
"My head… where am I?" The youth inquired to himself while putting a hand to his head as he got himself off the floor, and standing on his feet.
"He's right over here! C'mon!"
"What…?" Before the boy could finish his question when he was turning around to the source of the call, he sees three people heading towards him - one was a boy with spiky black and light purple hair, another boy with straight blueish-black hair with light green bangs, and the last was a girl with long dark purple hair and short, lilac side tails. After the three that the silver-haired youth were unfamiliar with got to him, the girl had breathed what seemed to be a sigh of relief.
"For a second there, I thought he was feeling sick…" The girl said after her sigh of relief.
"Ruri, you dragged me and Shun over for some random guy that you said was out cold? Now look, he's perfectly fine, at least I think he's fine…"
"I… don't get what is going here. Can someone please give me some context of where I am?" The silver-haired boy asked, still confused about the current environment around him.
"Oh." The girl - named Ruri by the spiky-haired boy - turned to the silver-haired boy with a slight apologetic look. "Sorry about that. Anyways, you're in Heartland City! Me, Yuto and Shun were just about to get ready to go to the Duel School."
"Duel School?"
"Yeah, the Duel School. May I add - do you Duel?" Ruri asked, her eyes trailing to the silver-haired boy's arm.
The latter had no idea what she was saying until he looked at his arm, seeing that he has a Duel Disk strapped onto his arm, though inactive at the moment, as well as a Deck that was also in there.
"What? I-I didn't even see it there when I came to. Anyways, I didn't get all of your names, so could you three introduce yourselves without me being confused?"
The first to introduce himself was the spiky-haired boy - Yuto. The second was Shun Kurosaki, and the last was Ruri Kurosaki, the young sister of Shun. After their round of introduction was up, Ruri asked the silver-haired youth, "Mind telling us who you are?"
The boy, at first, looked a bit indecisive about who his name is, until a sudden flash came over him, although no one else saw it. After that, he finally mustered up the courage to speak his name.
"Serph Vesta."
"Serph, I like that name." As soon as Ruri said that, Serph felt like he was getting death stared at by Shun, which got the former slightly shivering a bit.
"N-no, it's just a strange name I happened to be named by… nothing special about it anyways."
After his recovery answer to Ruri's comment about his name, Serph felt the death-stare weight lighten up a bit, which was a relief. He then turned to Yuto and asked, "Mind showing me where your Duel School is?"
Yuto nodded, "Yeah, let's just go."
Serph was led by the spiky-haired boy to the path of the Duel School, which Shun and Ruri following. This was Serph's journey to learn the game of Duel Monsters with his cards and what he could do with them. Over time, he adapted to some situations and made some friends along the way.
Little did Serph knew, this path was going to introduce him to a sneak peek into tragedy and death…
The moment Heartland City was under attack by the Obelisk Force, Serph didn't know what it felt to lose those you were forming bonds with until he saw them either die or get carded before his eyes.
In those moments, Serph felt powerless, unable to quickly save most people in time just to see them being struck down.
And yet, Serph felt only pings of anger come up in those moments, and shed some tears to those he was almost connected to on a friend-bonding level.
After the invasion…
Serph had walked around the ruins of what used to be a fun, colorful and bustling city, now nothing but ruined buildings and dull gray all around him. For some reason, this was familiar to him, yet he doesn't know what that familiar feeling was.
As Serph was traversing the shambles of a building, he spots a lone figure hiding out, so he decides to approach and call out to whomever was inside.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
As he was nearing the ruined entryway of the building, Serph's sight was suddenly flashed white, along with a ringing tone blaring in his ears, as he recoiled to the ground, rubbing at his eyes to try and get the white out of his sight. As he was doing this, a voice resonated from the building.
"Hahaha! Fool! You fell for one of the classic blunders. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to walk through my flashbang trap, but you've proven yourself to be on the level of belligerent foolery!"
After Serph got his sight to return to normal after 30 seconds, he looked up to see a figure standing partially in the shadow of the inner building. This figure looked to be a robed man, but Serph couldn't really tell due to the crow mask hiding the man's face.
"So, young man. What gave you the right to limp over here and enter my temporary hideout?"
Serph blinked, dumbfounded of the question. "What? I thought there would be any survivors here."
"Survivors? Survivors?! Tell me, how many do you think survived all of THIS?" The man gestured to outside the ruined building.
Serph got himself up onto his feet, as he gazed at the man. "You… are you the one that caused all of this destruction?"
"Hoh? So you would point a finger at me being the mastermind of all this? Well, if you're so eager to know, then you will have to Duel the answers out of me!" After saying this, the man threw one side of his robe, revealing that he has a Duel Disk, and immediately activates it.
"Guess I have no choice…" Serph concluded, as he also activates his own Duel Disk.
Duel Theme Start: Hear this in the game (Extended) - Yakuza 3
DUEL!
Serph Vesta LP: 4000
Vs
Mystery Man LP: 4000
Both Serph and the man drew their respective hands of five cards, as Serph goes for the initiative.
"I'll go first! I summon Gagaga Magician!" Gagaga Magician appeared on Serph's field in Attack Position, with slight jolts of light green energy surrounding it.
Gagaga Magician: DARK | Level 4 | Spellcaster/Effect | ATK/1500 | DEF/1000
"Since I Normal Summoned a Level 4 monster, I can Special Summon Kagetokage from my hand!" The black lizard shadow appeared in Defense Position, its red eyes levitating from its shadowy form.
Kagetokage: DARK | Level 4 | Reptile/Effect | ATK/1100 | DEF/1500
"With my two Level 4 monsters, I construct the Overlay Network!" Serph's two Level 4 monsters surged into the Overlay Portal, causing it to light up.
"Xyz Summon! Come, Rank 4! Gagaga Cowboy!" The dual-blaster wielding cowboy appeared, getting onto one knee on Serph's field, signifying it is in Defense Position.
Gagaga Cowboy: EARTH | Rank 4 | Warrior/Xyz/Effect | ATK/1500 | DEF/2400 | OU: 2
"Gagaga Cowboy can activate 1 of 2 effects, depending on its battle position. Since it's in Defense Position, I use its effect. By using one Overlay Unit, it can inflict 800 damage to you!" After one of its Overlay Units is inserted into its readied blaster, Gagaga Cowboy then blasted 3 bullets at the man, dealing him 800 damage.
Mystery Man LP: 4000 - 800 = 3200
"First turn and already giving me damage before my turn even begins, hmm?" The man remarked, brushing some dust off his shoulder.
Serph ignored the man's remark, as he picked another card from his hand. "I place one card, face-down. I end my turn."
Serph's hand: 2
"Hah! Ending off on defense won't do you any good against me! I don't know what type of Duelist you are, but know this - you are facing one of the mightiest and ultimate warriors that shall exceed over humanity! That warrior is me - Kuze Tegu! Now my turn, I draw!"
Mystery Man's (now Kuze Tegu) hand: 6
"Now, this is where I finish you! I summon Tegu Ops - Flashbang!" A crow-masked being carrying a flashbang in its hand appeared on the field.
Tegu Ops - Flashbang: DARK | Level 3 | Fiend/Effect | ATK/0 | DEF/2100
"Tegu Ops - Flashbang's effect! When he's summoned, I can negate the effects of 1 face-up monster on your field, in order to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Tegu Ops monster from my hand!" The Tegu Ops monster on Kuze's field tossed a flashbang at Cowboy, greatly blinding the opposing monster, as Kuze picked a card from his hand to Special Summon.
"I Special Summon from my hand, Tegu Ops - Landmine!" This monster, despite having the same crow mask as Flashbang, appeared whilst carrying a mine on its back.
Tegu Ops - Landmine: DARK | Level 4 | Fiend/Tuner/Effect | ATK/2100 | DEF/2100
"Then after that, Flashbang's Level becomes Landmine's Level for this turn!"
Tegu Ops - Flashbang Level: 3, now 4
"Then I activate this Spell Card! Tegu's Triple Threat!" The moment Kuze activated the card, three portals appeared behind him, each one a different color. "With this, I am allowed to perform a Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon all at once, using only my two monsters!"
"What?!" Serph had never heard of any card that could allow someone to simultaneously use three Summoning methods at once until now.
"So now, I shall start with the Fusion portion! Fiendish crows that meddle with all affairs, unify as one ultimate defiler! Fusion Summon! Level 8! Tegu Ops Marshal - Bioweapon!"
A crow-masked being with purple, spiked armor appeared, white gas surrounding it.
Tegu Ops Marshal - Bioweapon: DARK | Level 8 | Fiend/Fusion/Effect | ATK/2400 | DEF/2100
"Next comes the Synchro process! Ravager of scorching lands, descend now and cloud your enemies to a slow and painful humiliation! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Tegu Ops Marshal - Phosphorous!"
This being appeared with white armor, white gas surrounding it, and also sporting a crow mask.
Tegu Ops Marshal - Phosphorous: DARK | Level 8 | Fiend/Synchro/Effect | ATK/2600 | DEF/2200
"Finally, my monsters shall become food for my Xyz Monster! Shadow of looming desire, come to this stage and bring about despair in all of the foolish! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Tegu Ops Marshal - Oilsludge!"
The last monster to come out to Kuze's field sported black armor, which oozes black liquid from them, also possessing a crow mask on its face.
Tegu Ops Marshal - Oilsludge: DARK | Rank 4 | Fiend/Xyz/Effect | ATK/2500 | DEF/2300
"How's that for a better play? Three monsters of different Summoning methods all out on my field! But oh wait, it gets worse for you, because when Oilsludge is Xyz Summoned, your Cowboy loses all of its DEF!" Cowboy was drenched in grimy oil and struggled to get it off.
"Also, here's another dose of pain for your monster! Battle! Bioweapon, attack Cowboy, and when Bioweapon declares an attack, he can target 1 Set Spell or Trap you control and destroy it, and you can't activate any cards or effects with that Set card's name in response to this effect!" Serph's face-down was destroyed, revealing it to be Battle Break, but Kuze wasn't done yet. "Also, while Phosphorous is on my field, all my Tegu Ops monsters can inflict piercing damage! Strike that wild west relic down into obscurity, Bioweapon!" Bioweapon struck Cowboy with a lariat, destroying the latter, and dealing great damage to Serph.
"NGH!"
Serph Vesta LP: 4000 - 2400 = 1600
"Now you have nothing left to protect you… Phosphorous, attack him directly! Oh and one more thing - Oilsludge prevents you from activating any monster effects from your hand whenever a Tegu Ops monster attacks! Game over!"
Phosphorous struck Serph down completely, leaving him no room to breathe.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Serph Vesta LP: 0
Kuze Tegu: WINNER!
(Duel Theme end)
Serph was launched out of the ruined building, though only a few feet away, leaving him a bit bruised and battered as a result.
"I lost… I just…"
"You lost because I already had you in checkmate, fool." Serph painfully looked to see Kuze approaching him.
"And here I expected a bit of a challenge from a kid like you, guess I was mistaken… however…" Kuze then pulled out a card before tossing it at Serph. "I shall lend you this. Got it off from an unworthy opponent that never treated it well. I expect the day that we meet again, kid. Until then, get stronger. Get stronger until you are at least up to my level, but I highly doubt you would even surpass an ultimate warrior like me. Hehehe, hahahahahah!" By the time Serph tried to get another good look at Kuze, the latter was already gone. Serph picks up the card and looks at it in befuddlement, wondering why the proclaimed ultimate warrior even gave him this to begin with.
Serph's destiny to finding himself has only just begun…
To be continued…
AN: Goddamn, this was a bit hard for me to type, especially the dialogue and the situations, not to mention, the fanmade stuff I had to write in for Kuze Tegu. Keep in mind, this is my first time trying my hand at a Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction.
Another thing: I will only post the effects of the fanmade stuff down below the author's notes, should they appear in a chapter, although some cards will have some of their effects confirmed while the rest is left intentionally in the dark. Also, I will not post the effects of real life cards here, same goes for anime/manga effect cards and anime/manga-only cards.
Card Catalogue
Kuze Tegu
Monsters
Tegu Ops - Flashbang | Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can negate the effects of 1 other face-up monster on the field, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Tegu Ops" monster from your hand, then this card's Level becomes that monster's Level. [Other effects unknown, though the first effect is a hard once-per-turn]
Tegu Ops - Landmine | [Effects unknown]
Spells
Tegu's Triple Threat | Effect: If you control exactly 2 "Tegu Ops" monsters (1 Tuner and 1 non-Tuner monster): Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Tegu Ops" Fusion, 1 "Tegu Ops" Synchro, and 1 "Tegu Ops" Xyz Monster, using only those 2 monsters as material, and if you do, attach them to the Special Summoned Xyz Monster as material. (These are treated as a Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon respectively.) You can only activate 1 "Tegu's Triple Threat" per turn.
Fusion Monsters
Tegu Ops Marshal - Bioweapon | 2 "Tegu Ops" monsters with different names | Effect: When this card declares an attack: You can target 1 Set Spell/Trap your opponent controls; destroy it. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects with that target's name in response to this effect's activation. [Other effects unknown]
Synchro Monsters
Tegu Ops Marshal - Phosphorous | 1 "Tegu Ops" Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner "Tegu Ops" monsters | Effect: If a "Tegu Ops" monster you control attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. [Other effects unknown]
Xyz Monsters
Tegu Ops Marshal - Oilsludge | 2 Level 4 "Tegu Ops" monsters | Effect: When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can change the DEF of the 1 face-up monster your opponent controls with the highest DEF to 0. (Your choice, if tied). If a "Tegu Ops" monster you control attacks, your opponent cannot activate monster effects from their hand until the end of the Damage Step. [Other effects unknown]