AN: Hello, I have the next chapter here. A lot has happened since I posted the last one, the main being the passing of the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, Kazuki Takahashi. I will not go into it in this AN but will at the end of this chapter with my grief on the topic. For now, I want to focus on return to this series and what is going to happen. Like I said, I will do three chucks on the tournament at a time. Basically, of the 36 duelists, I will go until about 12 are knocked out at a time. However, the gap between breaks will be shorter between the first and second than the second and third. This is so the first chunk does not feel like filler and the second chunk is not as long of a wait. I may still do some work on other smaller series between this one, but I am more putting this as my focused series for a while now. We are in the endgame now as this is the final major ark of this series. And this first duel is setting the tone for the tension that is to come. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

See Datasheet Chapter for cover art details.

Chapter 51 – The Destined Duelist

The sun had just started to shine over Duel Academy. It was the start of a new day, the day of the Genex Tournament. Across all the dorms, students readied their duel disks and decks. The visiting challengers also prepared for the long battles to come. In one Slifer Red dorm room, a silver-eyed girl put on her hood. She looked down at her deck, seeing Guardian Eatos at the bottom looking back at her. After loading it into her duel disk, she exited her room. At the same time, another Slifer Red exited his dorm, looking back at her with a smile.

"You ready?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah," Ruby responded with a nod, "Let's go meet the others." The two walked down the stairs and into the woods. They're a duo of Ra Yellows was talking, "Yang, Bastion!" the hooded Slifer red called out as she ran over, hugging her big sister.

"Hey, hope you slept well," Yang responded as she hugged her little sister back, "But you were probably up all night excited." She said with her giggling.

"We were just going over the time limit for the tournament." Bastion said as he looked to Jaden, "The event will start in a few minutes and last all day or until one duelist is left standing."

"How will we know whose left?" Jaden asked.

"The duel disk will let you know when you have been defeated and removed from the tournament." Bastion responded, "All models currently on the island have had the program auto installed already."

"Yeah, it was a pain when this thing started updating in the middle of the night," Yang said as she rolled her prosthetic right arm, "Still, that's how we know who's still in this thing and who we need to defeat."

"Of course," the group turned to witness Weiss and Alexis walking up, "The tournament is going to be chaotic, but we need to be on the lookout for anyone doing something bad." The heiress Obelisk Blue spoke.

"The chancellor did tell us not to worry, the professors will handle it," Alexis commented, "But that won't stop us from doing what's right."

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod before seeing Chazz and Blake walk up, "How are the others?"

"Blair was a bit annoyed that she was sent to the other side of the island." Blake commented, "But this was so we could cover more ground in watching for trouble."

"She has Nora and Dreads to look out for her," Yang commented, then looked to Alexis, "As well as your brother, right?"

"Yeah," Alexis spoke, but was breaking eye contact, "He was feeling a little off last night, I hope he'll be okay."

"Zane is on that side too, as well as some of the other pro leagues, so they will be good for a while." Chazz added, "As for me, I'll start sweeping this side before combing this whole island to stack up all the wins."

"Unless you want any of us to knock you out of the tournament first, we should start splitting up soon." Weiss said as she checked the time, "It's about to start."

"Right," Ruby said as everyone looked at her, "We went over it before, but one last time." She said before letting out a deep breath, "This isn't like the shadow riders where we had to protect each other, ourselves, and those keys. We need to make sure all the people dueling on this island are safe to do so without fear of harm." She said with the image of the sadistic Obelisk Blue appearing in her mind, "I don't know what we will be up against, but we have to stop it." The hooded Slifer Red said before smiling, "And I know we will." Ruby said before extending her left hand, "So, let's give it our all, and at the same time, one of us can win this tournament!"

"Heh, I was planning on that anyway," Chazz said as he put his hand in.

"Same, except I will win this thing," Weiss said as she put her hand in.

"Both of you will have to settle for second or third," Yang said as she put her hand in.

"I would not underestimate my new formula. It will lead me to many victories." Bastion said as he put his hand in.

"I plan to make up for what happened last year. This time, I will be on the right side." Blake said as she put her hand in.

"No matter who wins, all of us will be there for each other," Alexis said as she put her hand in

"Yeah, everyone here." Jaden said as he put his hand in, "Let's all get our game on!" he said before everyone raised their hands into the sky.

As the group split up, Jaden walked through the woods, "Man, I wonder in that last line was a bit too cheesy." He said to himself before shrugging, then checked his surroundings, "Now, I wonder which duelist I'll go up against fir-" the spirited Slifer Red said before gasping. Walking through the shadows was the embodiment of shadows.

Salem looked back to Jaden but then continued to walk through the woods.

"H-hey, wait up!" Jaden called as he ran after her. However, he was slowed by his clothes snagging on the vines and bushes in his path, "Why are you here!?" he called out again while running after.

Again, Salem did not say a word before reaching the end of the forest and entering the light. Only a few seconds later, Jaden exited the forest, but could not see the embodiment of darkness anywhere. He stood at the shoreline of the beach, standing with a look of confusion on his face. The spirited Slifer Red sighed before hearing someone approach. It was the destined pro duelist with a smile on his face.

"Look who we have here." Aster spoke with a smirk, "I think I heard of you before, a duelist who uses a Hero deck as well."

"Yeah, I use Elemental Heroes," Jaden responded, "But uh, did you see a woman come out of the woods before me?"

"No, just you." Aster said, "Now, let's stop stalling and cut to the chase." He said before readying his duel disk, "The Tournament has officially started. And as a warmup, I have decided you will be my first opponent." The destined pro duelist said he had a slight look of rage form on his face, "I will show you what being a true hero means."

"Huh?" Jaden said in confusion, but then smirked, "Okay, let's do this!" he said before putting on his duel disk, "It's time to get your game-" he said while loading his deck, but in reaching for it on his belt, realized it was not there, "EH!?" Jaden spoke as he searched his pants, "Where are my cards?"

"Uh, is there a problem?" Aster asked, "Did you forget to prepare?"

"No, I just had them when I-" Jaden said before he realized something, "I must have dropped them on my way out of the woods."

"Oh, in that case, I guess you're already out of the tournament." Aster said as he lowered his duel disk, "If you do not have your deck on you when challenged, it is an automatic disqualification."

"When was that said to be a rule!?" Jaden said before clasping his hand, "Can you just give me five minutes to go a search for my cards? Pretty Please?"

"No," Aster coldly said, "You would just use it as an excuse to run away." He said before taking out a cellphone, "I'll let the head proctor of this section of the island know."

"Well, most of the teachers would let this slide" Jaden responded with a smile, but slight worry remained, "Who is that you're calling again?"

"That Dr. Crowler guy," Aster said, then spoke under his breath, "I think it was a guy."

"I'm doomed." Jaden said as he fell to his knees, "I'm out before even getting to duel." Suddenly, he felt a hand on his right shoulder. I looked up, it was the mute pro duelist, "Neo?"

"…" Neo smiled back then looked to Aster with a glare, "…!" she pointed with Aster looking at her.

"You want to challenge me now?" Aster said before smirking, "Well, you are a rank above me in the pro league, so this could be a good test of my new deck." He said before putting his phone away, not making the call, "Okay, I guess because I have a new opponent, I don't get to report this one as not following the rules for a match."

"Really," Jaden said with a smile forming before getting up, "So I can find my deck now and stay in the tournament?"

"For now," Aster said, then looked back to Neo, "You should thank your friend for altering your destiny."

"Thanks Neo," Jaden said while hugging the mute pro duelist.

"…" Ne hugged back, slightly blushing before letting go, "…" she tilted her head, signaling him to leave.

"Don't worry, I won't run into anyone else." Jaden said before running back into the forest, "I owe you one!" he called out before vanishing in the woods.

"…" Neo waved before looking back to Aster with a scowl, "…"

"Those eyes, they seem to be full of a type of hatred," Aster commented with a smile, closing his eyes, "A hatred I know all too well." he said before opening his eyes and glaring, "Revenge, a want for justice."

"…" Neo looked on now with half-open eyes, then typed on her duel disk. Suddenly, a message appeared on Aster duel disk, "Can we start already?"

"Why rush destiny," Aster said as he readied his duel disk, "It will catch up to you eventually."

"…!" Neo readied her duel disk.

"Duel!" Aster said as Neo change the orientation of her eye colors.

Neo: 4000 Life Points

Aster: 4000 Life Points

"…!" Neo drew first, then summoned her quiet mage in her LV form, Silent Magician LV4. However, this card went to the grave as the mute pro duelist summoned her Silent Magician without its LV restricted, (1000 ATK / 1000 DEF). She then ended her turn, which left her hand with four cards to increase her monster's attack points by 500 each. (1000 + 2000 = 3000 ATK).

"Not bad, I heard your use of those unique LV monsters is impressive. If I recall, you debuted those cards on this island last year." Aster said as he drew, with Neo looking on with half-open eyes, "Even so, I am confident my new deck will perform better than yours did." He said before playing the card he drew, "I summon Destiny Hero – Doom Lord in attack mode." He said as a cloaked person with a skull white mask and dark aura emerged, (600 ATK / 800 DEF).

Neo then watched Doom Lord charge in, thinking it was an attack. However, as he punched Silent Magician, her monster vanished in white light, "…!?" Neo looked back to Aster in confusion.

"Doom Lord can let me banish a monster of yours in exchange for not attacking this turn." Aster spoke, "Don't worry, she'll be back in after my second standby phase." He said before setting two cards, "Your turn."

"…" Neo drew, then smirked at her result before summoning it. It was the blond fairy knight with a sword and shield, Silent Paladin, (500 ATK / 1500 DEF). She then had a card ejecting from her deck, revealing it as Silent Swordsman LV 3. However, the mute pro duelist played a ritual spell, Ritual of Grace. The mausoleum appeared with Neo offering her level four Silent Paladin and level three Silent Swordsman. The tomb then glowed with a white light, causing the Divine Grace – Northwemko, (2700 ATK / 1200 DEF). "…!" Neo pointed, causing Northwemko to raise her staff, unleashing a holy light to obliterate Doom Lord in a massive explosion.

Aster: 4000 – 2100 = 1900 Life Points

"…" Neo crossed her arms, but through the smoke, she saw a signal light to the sky. In looking up, a 'D' emblem was seen.

"Destiny Signal," Aster said as the smoke cleared around him, "When a monster is destroyed, I can summon a new Destiny Hero from my hand or deck." He said as a card ejected from his deck and onto the field, "I pick Destiny Hero – Defender. In defense mode, of course." He as a massive stone golem was seen in a blocking stance, (100 ATK / 2700 DEF).

"Tsk," Neo scoffed before ending her turn.

"You must have realized that you cannot beat over my Defender with that ritual monster of yours." He said before drawing, then smirked at the result, "However, I don't think either will be on the field for very long." He said before putting the card in his hand, then taking out a different one, "I summon Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude in attack mode." The destined pro duelist said as a warrior in a tattered cloak appeared with sky blue gemstones erupting from his body, (1400 ATK / 1600 DEF). "And with his effect, I can excavate the top card of my deck to the grave. And if it is a spell, then I can activate it next turn." He said before showing it was a spell called Destiny Draw, "Lucky, but it is only the will of fate." Aster said with Neo rolling her eyes, "Perhaps I should give you more of a demonstration." He said before pressing a button on his duel disk, "I activate my trap card Destruction of Destiny."

"…!?" Neo gasped, knowing this card's effect. The owner mills three cards from the top of their deck and takes 1000 damage for each spell or trap sent to the grave by this effect. Neo watched as he drew a monster, a spell, and another monster.

Aster: 1900 – 1000 = 900 Life Points

"You see, I am still standing." Aster said with a smile, but then had a focused gaze, "Because I will not lose here, not until I get my revenge." He said with Neo having a look of confusion again, "I suppose I should tell you why I'm here." The destined pro duelist said before looking up at the sky, "I'm looking for the person that killed my father."

"…!" Neo gasped.

"Yes, and I know they are here, I can feel it." Aster said before clenching his right fist, "I waited for justice to be served on them, but nothing happened. They got away, and I have devoted my life to finding them and making them pay!" he said with his teeth grit, but a look of sorrow in his eyes, "My father, he was everything to me. The one thing I cared about above all else." Aster then looked back to Neo, "Can you understand that?"

"…" Neo waited but solemnly nodded.

"Then you see my point, right?" Aster responded with a smile, "This is why I play the Destiny Heroes, the only true deliverers of justice in the world."

"…" Neo shook her head from side to side, then typed a message, "Revenge is not the same as Justice. Your cards are not heroes."

"What!?" Aster said with a scowl, "My father dedicated himself to these cards, he was my hero!"

"I know, but revenge cannot motive your actions." Neo typed more, "It's not right."

"At least it's honest!" Aster responded, slightly raising his voice, "Unlike those who act for others when they are only acting for themselves. They lie and will put on a mask and pretend to be heroes for others." He raised his head towards Neo, "Tell me, what is a Hero to you?"

"…" Neo waited before typing, "A Hero is someone who protects others from harm." She said as her mind flashed back to Jaden shielding her from Cinder's final attack, "Who is there for you when you need saving, even if you don't think anyone will come." When the spirit of Roman shielded her from the Supreme King, "Who will give you the motivation to move forward to live a peaceful life, not one shroud in hatred. That is what I learned a Hero is to me."

"…" Aster remained silent as he read the message, "…Nobody was there to save my father." He said before glaring at Neo, "Just like nobody is here now." The destined pro duelist said as a card ejected from his graveyard, "Destiny Hero – Malicious was sent to the grave by my trap, so I'll banish it to special summon my other copy to the field." He said as a brown and black demon-like warrior was seen on the field, (800 ATK / 800 DEF). "Now, I have three destiny heroes to tribute for one of my strongest monsters." He said as all three cards on his field turned into black cyclones, then merged into one, "Come on, Destiny Hero – Dogma!" he said as a giant black armored hero, his demon wings expanding with a gust of wind, (3400 ATK / 2400 DEF).

"…" Neo gasped at the attack points of this monster, then looked to her Divine Grace in panic.

"Go, Cross Destiny Slasher!" Aster pointed with Dogma attacking Northwemko with blades ejecting from his forearms. They slashed through her staff and body before she exploded, the shockwave hitting Neo.

Neo: 4000 – 700 = 3300 Life Points

"Tsk." Neo gritted her teeth as she drew.

"Oh, one more thing." Aster spoke, "Dogma can cut your life points in half at the start of each of your turns now."

"…!" Neo gasped before a pillar of purple light engulfed her, causing her to fall to one knee.

Neo: 3300 / 2 = 1650 Life Points

"…" Neo glared before standing back up. Setting one card to end her turn and wait.

Meanwhile.

"Come on, where is it?" Jaden as he searched for the deck, "Here deck, come here boy, come on." He called for his cards as if they were a dog.

"Arf!" a dog barked back, causing Jaden to pause for a second. He then looked down to see the corgi looking up at him, "Arf!"

"Oh, it's just you Zwei." Jaden spoke, "For a second, I thought Wroughtweiler was calling out to me." He then knelt to the corgi, "Do you think you can sniff out my cards?"

"Arf!" Zwei said before putting his nose to the ground. He waddled around with Jaden following, "…Grrr." The corgi snarled with Jaden looking up, seeing someone holding his cards.

"Are these yours?" Yuri spoke with the deck in his right hand, "You should take better care of them."

"I dropped them, that's all." Jaden said with Yuri offering the deck back, "Thanks." He said before opening the box to check the cards inside.

"Did you think I would take your Super Polymerization in such an obvious way?" Yuri said with a smirk, "Please, give me a bit more respect."

"Sienna said you might try something like this and for me to be careful." Jaden said before seeing Super Polymerization in his deck, "But, everything looks to be here."

"Of course," Yuri said before walking away, "Now, run along."

"You don't want to duel?" Jaden asked.

"Not now, I have places to be." Yuri said before looking back, "And you should let me go. After all, you do owe me one."

"Yeah, I guess." Jaden said as he rubbed the back of his head, remembering something, "Wait, Neo!" he said before turning around, and running back to the beach.

"Arf!" Zwei barked as he followed.

Yuri looked back with a smirk, "I didn't take anything from your deck, but I did confirm something." He said before continuing down his path, "To make my copy, I need a certain kind of soul." The sadistic Obelisk Blue spoke with a smile, "Now, which one will make the right vessel?"

Meanwhile.

"…" Neo looked at her hand on three cards, setting one of them to end her turn. After Aster drew, her Silent Magician returned to the field, (1000 ATK / 1000 DEF). However, with only two cards in the mute pro duelist's hand, the boost was not enough to match Dogma. (1000 + 1000 = 2000 ATK).

"Doom Lord's is not the only Destiny Hero's effect to come true this turn. Thanks to Diamond Dude, I can now use the effect of Destiny Draw." Aster said with a smirk, "And since the spell is not being active by being played, you can't negate it with your Silent Magician." He said before discarding Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious to draw two cards, playing one right away, "Now, I summon Destiny Hero – Dunker in attack mode." He said an athlete with purple dreads was seen, (1200 ATK / 1700 DEF). "And now, for discarding another Destiny Hero, I can hit you with 500 more points of damage." He with Destiny Hero – Dread Servant going to the grave. Dunker then leaped into the air, a ball of energy forming in his hands. The ball was then slammed onto Neo, who recoiled from the hit.

Neo: 1650 – 500 = 1150 Life Points

"You had to keep at least two cards in your hand to survive this attack," Aster said before pointing, "But now, you cannot escape your destiny!" he said before Dogma leaped to attack again.

"…!" Neo revealed her facedown card, which was a set of three magical hats. She took two spells from her deck, then shuffled them with Silent Magician. Dogma slashed one of the hats, but it was empty. However, when Dunker then unleashed his attack, the hat he targeted exploded to reveal Silent Magician inside. Neo watched as her monster was destroyed as well as the other magical hat.

"You may have delayed the inevitable." Aster said as he took a card from his hand, "But this duel is all but over." He said before setting the card but then went into thought, "Strange, she didn't use that monster's effect to get out her silent Magician LV8. Why?

"…" Neo scowled before drawing, then was encompassed by the pillar of light again, cutting her life points in half again.

Neo: 1150 / 2 = 575 Life Points

"…" Neo's breathing was heavy, but her eyes widened when she saw the card. She then took out the two spells from her graveyard that she used for Magical Hats. They were Silent Burning and Silent Sword Slash. With that, she added Silent Magician LV8 and Silent Swordsman LV7. She then took the other three cards in her hand and set them all.

"Was that her plan? To add it to the hand later?" Aster thought before he drew, then looked at the cards in his hand, "I use Dunker's effect again to discard another Destiny Hero." He said as Destiny Hero – Disk Commander went to the grave, causing Dunker to slam on Neo again.

Neo: 575 – 500 = 75 Life Points

"Also, I play Mystical Space Tycoon." Aster spoke as a cyclone of wind went over the arena, "And I'll destroy the middle card." He said as the set card shattered, revealing it to be the holy barrier, Mirror Force, "I see, that's why you were confident you could still win." The destined pro duelist said before pointing, "Too bad it wasn't enough. Dogma!" she said before the slasher destiny hero rushed in for the final attack. However, he stopped as something was in his way, "What?" Aster looked over to see the tiny angel in the middle of the field, Winged Kuriboh, (300 ATK / 200 DEF). behind it was a quickplay spell, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh.

"…" Neo smirked as Winged Kuriboh had a focused gaze. She then typed a message, "This is what a hero looks like when they protect someone." It read after Dogma continued his attack, but Neo revealed her last set card, which had her discard the two in her hand, Transcendent Wings. This caused her little angel's wings to expand to its final form, Winged Kuriboh LV 10, (200 ATK / 300 DEF), "…!" Neo pointed, activating LV10's effect to destroy all attack positions monster and inflict damage to her opponent equal to their combined attack points. However, as she waited for the Destiny Heroes to be destroyed, they were not. Rather, they merged, "…!?" Neo looked and her eyes went white she saw Aster's final face down.

"D-Fusion." Aster said as he showed the trap card, "With it, I can fusion summon using destiny heroes." He said before clasping his hands together, "Come on, Destiny Hero – Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer!" the destined pro duelist declared as the fusion emerged from an eruption of magma. Its crimson body was equipped with massive claws, feathered wings, and a dragon-like tail. (2500 ATK / 2100 DEF). "And thanks to D-Fusion, he is not destroyed by card effects."

"…!" Neo gasped as Winged Kuriboh LV10 was sent to the grave, leaving her wide open.

"Go, Flames of Revenge!" Aster said as Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer eliminated a red flame from his body, then divebombed into Neo. The monster faded, but the mute pro duelist fell backward as her cards ejected from her duel disk.

Neo: 75 – 2500 = 0 Life Points

"No matter what you try to do, you can't escape your destiny." Aster spoke, then turned around, "Only delay the inevitable."

"…" Neo scowled, but then looked down at her cards on the sand, seeing one that made her want to type something. Aster looked to see a new message on his duel disk, "You don't have to get revenge for the sake of the one you loved. It is not what they would have wanted." It read with Aster looking back in rage but gasped as Neo had a look of remorse in her eyes, then saw more of the message, "I have been there, and it took a hero to save me from making the biggest mistake of my life." Neo's message read before concluding, "Please, at least let someone save you before you do something you'll regret."

"Let someone save me? What are you even saying?" Aster commented, then sigh, "We're done here. And I don't need anyone to save me." He said while walking away, "Even if it is my fate to lose at the hands of my father's killer, I will late least find a way to take them down with me. That will be my final justice." The destined pro duelist said before leaving, causing Neo to lower her head in sorrow.

A short while later.

Jaden and Neo sat at the beach, looking at the waves coming in, "Sorry you lost so early in this tournament on my account." Jaden said with a look of regret on his face.

"…" Neo shrugged as she petted Zwei, who lay on his side with a smile.

"Still, thanks again for covering me. And like said, I owe you one." Jaden said, "So, what can I do for you?"

"…" Neo pondered as she took out her device and typed a message. However, she deleted it before typing something else and showing it to Jaden, "Win this tournament for me?"

"Sure, I'll do my best?" Jaden said before tilting his head, "But, what was that first thing you typed?"

"Hehe," Neo giggled with a smile, then winked. Jaden had a look of confusion, turning to the spirit of Winged Kuriboh for any context. However, the tiny angel was blushing at having seen the message. The spirited Slifer Red then shrugged before he and Neo continued to look at the sea for just a bit longer.

AN: There you go, and my favorite girl Neo is the first to lose in the tournament. Aster's Destiny Heroes are not to be messed with, and but she put up a fight until the very end. Also went with killed father route here, but I will replace who did the deed. I really do like Neo's growth as a character this series, showing how far she has come since the start and how she really tried to help Aster here. (I am posting this while only having seen three episodes of ice queendom. If you want my opinion on it, I like it. It is a good retelling of V1 so far, but I want more original content. However writers, please do not cut Neo from this series, she deserves to be here). Our good guys are spread out as the tournament is underway, but who will get matched up against whom. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.

Now, time to answer some questions. The new support for Jaden is nice, as it always gives me more options for the future duels. However, I don't know if I will use Wake Up Your Elemental Hero because…what is that card art? I think they mistook a spell as a fusion monster or something with that one, but I don't know. I kicked out Adrian because I wanted a way to set up the fact that characters here can become cards. Also, I don't like Cloudian cards as counters are a pain to keep track of. So I would just do Exodia graveyard setup for him and just scrape how he got them in the show here. If I did have him here, he would have lost to Ruby with her using soul release on his pieces to win. I did not like him in the main story, so I just cut him here, but did at least want to give him a cameo. The new Amazoness support is nice, and you may see it very soon here. Mokey Mokey support is cool, but I do not think Belowski will be here like he was in the anime. I also think this chapter answers if you will see a Jaden and Yuri rematch, but you will still have to wait and see. Jesse will also use the new crystal beast support, but I do not think he will get the advanced dark version of any of his beasts here. He may use Adularia of the Moonlight water here, as I have a way he could have it in this series. Libromancer cards are cool, I might end up giving Fire and Fireburst to Yang since they look like something she could play. For Ren and Jaune I think I have already mentioned which decks, but I will just say again I think Ren would be Ancient Warriors and Jaune would be the Face of Cards knights. I just still did not want them here as main duelist just to cut on the characters to keep track of. Lastly, Tearalaments are cool, basically water Lightsworn fusion, that's for me. If Neptune was here, this would be his deck and he would be constantly hitting on all the female mermaid cards when he summons them. Those were all the questions I had, feel free to ask more, and I will answer them in the next chapter.

Now, for the sad part. As I said, Kazuki Takahashi had passed away not to long ago. He made Yu-Gi-Oh, which was one of my most precious childhood series and something I still hold dear to this day. I watched the first episode of the OG series as a kid and was hooked, it was what put me on the path I'm on today as a person. The aspects and themes of this series are still what I consider to be a gold standard of quality for writing. The characters and friendships are truly magical yet felt so real and made me have hope for a brighter future. When I started this fanfic, I just said wanted to make it a short thing, but I loved how it got me back into Yu-Gi-Oh and making me want to write more. It is why I feel the characters here are some of my best written, because I am pulling from those feeling I had when I saw the original Yu-Gi-Oh series as a kid. I do fully intend to finish this fanfic, but as life can sometimes shows, that is not aways a guarantee. This happened with Kentaro Miura, the creator of Berserk, and even Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY. Unlike either of them, my story will most likely not be continued by others after I am gone, but that doesn't mean it will be gone from the memories. Kazuki Takahashi proved that life can be fleeting, but the memories we have made will be eternal. I am not telling you to remember this fanfic of two series mashed together playing card games, all I am saying is…thank you for reading. And to the creators I mentioned here, thank you for sharing your stories with others. As a final note, if you wish to look up more about the life of Kazuki Takahashi, please check out the video from TGS Anime on YouTube. That is all for now, thank you again for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.