Chapter 1 - It Has Begun

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Blue, that was the only word to describe the place Ruka found herself in. It was covered in the color, from the carpets to the bricks surrounding her.

Though, she wasn't focusing on any of the decorations. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the man sitting in front of her. To say he was odd would be an understatement, he was creepy enough to make a Fiend monster cry. His nose was the most prominent part of him, it was impossibly long, causing it to awkwardly jut out of his face. He was balding, with the top of his head just being a shiny, skin colored dome. His eyes bulged out of his face, which was only made creepier by how bloodshot they were.

"Welcome to my Velvet Room, please do not feel frightened." He broke into a toothy grin, his head tilting to his side.

Ruka was familiar with Duel spirits, she had even visited the spirit world before, so she wasn't in too much shock. "Is the spirit world in trouble? Is that why I'm here?" She asked, remembering her past experience with situations like this.

The bald man let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head. "No, your Spirit friends are perfectly fine." He told her in his deep, booming voice. "This world is similar to the Spirit World, though different." He gestured around the room, which appeared to be a large castle from the looks of it. "This is the Velvet Room, and I am Igor, the master of the room." The man revealed his name, Igor, as well as his status in the room.

Ruka was slightly confused, the only person with her was Igor, who didn't give off any hostility. But because of her experience with deceptively calm people who are also deranged maniacs, she was very cautious of Igor.

"If this isn't the Spirit World, then what is this place?" The blue haired girl asked.

"The Velvet Room exists between consciousness and unconscious. The cognition of one's surroundings plays a part in how it appears." Igor explained. "Take this room for example, the main hall of a castle, an image of decadence, but notice the crumbling, the overgrowth, the imperfections." Ruka took another look at her surroundings, they were as Igor described, a desolate castle filled with overgrowth and cracked bricks.

"This is how I see things?" Ruka asked sceptically. Though she was rich, she never thought of her surroundings as a castle, unlike some other kids of similar standing. The desolate state of the castle was also worrying, she couldn't think of anything in her life that was falling apart.

"Many are unaware of their cognitions, it's understandable that you can't see immediate parallels." Igor told her before clapping twice.

The sound of a door opening took Ruka's attention, she turned to see someone new had entered the room. "For what reason have I been summoned, master?" The new arrival said in a bored voice.

He was definitely male, with completely white hair and glowing yellow eyes. He was dressed in a weird blue jacket with a darker blue stripe and several light blue circles that acted as buttons down the middle. Said jacket was unbuttoned, leaving a view of his black undershirt and loose blue tie. His hair was long, shaggy, and unkempt, falling into his face and swaying around a lot.

His general appearance and the way he spoke showed Ruka that he was someone who didn't really care about anything.

Igor pointed to the arrival and gestured for him to walk over, the man advised and stood near his master, towering over him. "This is Victor, he will be your-" Igor attempted to introduce the man, but got interrupted by him. "Just Victor? Really, you let Caroline and Justine introduce themselves as 'wardens', why don't I get that?" Victor asked, his voice still carrying the boredness and apathy he had before.

Igor paused, "They got called that because of the Tricksters' status of prisoner. Your visitors' cognition has nothing to do with prison. So if you can think of a title, then you may call yourself that." He said eventually.

Victor nodded before turning to Ruka and bowing, "You may call me… KING VICTOR! I am your supreme ruler, and you answer only to me!" He introduced himself, playing the 'King' role completely straight.

The blue haired girl found the apathetic man's joke rather charming. She assumed it was a joke, knowing the people she knew, he could be entirely serious.

Victor looked over at Igor, "Okay, I did my charming introduction, may I leave now?" He asked. 'So he was joking.' Ruka thought to herself. "We can hear your thoughts, I believe you meant to think; 'My supreme overlord requires respect'." The white haired man told her.

Ruka giggled slightly, it was clear that Victor specialized in deadpan humor. Though that was undercut by a more pressing thing revealed by him, "You can hear what I think?" Ruka asked.

Igor nodded, "This world is of your cognition, meaning your thoughts are open to us while you're here." he informed her. "Your mind is a book that we can occasionally read." Victor summarized.

"Thank you for telling me all this, but why am I here in the first place?" Ruka asked the two men in front of her. In response, Igor pulled out a deck of blue cards and began to shuffle. Ruka was expecting a duel when he first got the cards, but then she noticed they weren't Duel Monsters cards. Instead, it was a deck of Tarot Cards. "Another world is approaching ruin. A ruin not dissimilar to the ones you've already fought against." Igor stated before placing some cards on the table.

"Ruin… another world? If that's true, then why didn't you get the other signers?" She asked in a worried voice. "I'm afraid I'm unable to contact your friends in the same way. Out of all of the signers, you're the only one who can enter the Velvet Room." Igor told her. "Honestly, you should be pretty used to getting visions your friends don't get." Victor added.

Ruka knew what he was talking about, the dream she had before the dark signers appeared, the first time she saw her brother's Life Stream Dragon. "You know about that?" She asked.

Igor nodded, "I know all that happened to you and your friends, that is why I've chosen you. You have a gift that no one else has." he told her. "Yeah, you have the god-like ability to talk to trading cards. Or as I call it; Schizophrenia with extra steps." Victor added, no emotion to be found in his voice.

There was a slight pause from everyone, "He is referring to your ability to communicate with Duel Spirits." Igor clarified. "Thank you for clearing that up. But why would he say it like that?" Ruka thanked him before asking for clarification. "It was a- you know what, nevermind." Victor shook his head, his hair swishing around wildly.

"I'm sure you still have more questions… Unfortunately, our time is up for this meeting." Igor said suddenly before the room seemed to spiral away. Ruka couldn't get any more words in as she woke up.

Now alone in the castle, Victor looked down towards his boss. "Why add her to your little game?" He asked him.

Igor chuckled, "Her addition is needed to help grow the Trickster's power…" He answered. Victor narrowed his eyes, "But letting her in was pretty risky. Doesn't she have the power to tell when people are good or bad?" He asked. "She does that by reading someone's cards. I'm not a duelist, so I have no cards to read." Igor answered.

"Still, it seems unnecessarily risky. What if she finds out what happened to the real Igor? All your plans fall apart if that happens." Victor asked. Igor(?) looked deep in thought for a second, "I find it odd that you care so much, considering your apathy was the only reason you're still intact." he said eventually.

Victor had no reaction, "I don't care, I simply don't understand your reasons." he responded. "A problem has arisen within the tricksters world… one that the girl has experience with." Igor(?) told him. "So this is just a way for you to save your own ass?" Victor asked.

"If you must put it that way, then yes, I recruited her to avoid danger."