GAME START! Shiki Murasaki's Fate

Like a steady flow of traffic, kids walk up and down the stairwell from the bystander seats to the area below and along the corridor that seems to circle the stadium. The people that walked along had a mix of different expressions from fear, sadness, excitement, and pride. Not necessarily in equal degrees. As an entrant circled the wide hall, they'd pass by numbered gates until they come across the one marked on their ticket. Through it, a lady in a stewards uniform would be waiting with a poised and professional posture.

"Welcome. Please come this way this," the assistant would say. "Allow me to see your deck, please."

After receiving the deck, the woman would place the cards on a pedestal where a red light seemed to wash over it three times.

"Very good. Your deck meets basic standards. Please hold out your left arm."

Upon complying, the assistant pulls out a device.



It appeared to be one of the older models. Despite being used for years for these exams, the device looked polished and well-tuned. The assistant placed it on the entrant's arm and spent a minute adjusting the fit until the metal brace fit snuggly around the forearm. It kept in place and held tight but wasn't uncomfortable. The entrant's deck was placed in the duel disc and they would be guided towards a pair of doors that opened on their own, letting in bright vibrant lights as they were led into an open field.

~~~~~

"Murasaki, Shiki, correct?" a man asked from the other end. He wore a black suit and tie over a white shirt. His brown hair was short but moppy. He had a young face but held himself professionally. On his arm was an identical duel disc to what Shiki was made to wear. "I will be your test proctor for the practical exam. You will be expected to display the basic skills of a duelist and more. Be aware that obtaining victory here will count towards a large percentage of your overall score. Please try your best."

The man pressed a button on his duel disc and like automatic, Shiki's lit up. In unison, the duel discs counters went up, stopping at "4000 LP".

"Beginning practical exam duel," the test proctor announced. Five cards were pushed out from both discs and each entrant drew their first hand. "I will be going first. Draw!"

At the start of the test proctor's turn, he pulled a fresh card from the top of his deck and added it to his hand. He glanced briefly at his cards before pulling up one.



"To begin, I'll normal summon Gold Gadget!"

Placing a card on his duel disc, a funnel of light appeared in front of the proctor and a gold metal monster emerged.



"When Gold Gadget is summoned, I can special summon a LV 4 machine monster from my hand," the test proctor explained. "Say hello to Yellow Gadget!"



"Yellow Gadget allows me to move a Green Gadget from my deck to my hand!"

The test proctor's duel disc ejected a card and as he pulled it out, his duel disc shuffled his deck automatically.

"Two monsters in one turn. Let's see how you are able to handle it," the test proctor stated. "I'll set a facedown and end it!"

A facedown card appeared in front of the proctor. A light went off on Shiki's duel disc, indicating the start of her turn

Shiki's first five cards seemed like a standard hand.

Shiki's hand:

With her turn starting, Shiki just needs to draw her first card.

Shiki's draw:

Why am I here?

The question came as Shiki was walking towards her assigned room. It had caught her so off-guard that she had actually stopped in her tracks.

Unlike the others who seemed motivated or nervous about the entire exam thing, Shiki had been rather passive and neutral. Automatic, even. Lifting up her clenched right hand, she opened it. The two wooden runes seemed to stare at her like mismatched eyes against the white of her palms. Around, she saw tiny pressure marks that had embedded into her skin as a result of holding onto them so tightly.

"..."

It was true that Shiki had no aspirations like the others here. It was true that Shiki had no motivations, either. There was nothing here that she felt was at stake nor anything she wanted to truly look forward to. But if that was the case...

Shiki breathed out and started walking again.

None of that matters, though, she thought to herself. Motivation, desire, fear...all are irrelevant in the end, all are irrelevant now. All that matters is...

She came in front of the doors. They opened and her eyes were met with glaring bright lights. A stadium was in front of her as was a platform for where she was about to stand. Shiki's eyes squinted, but they slowly accustomed to the illumination and she moved forward. Across the field was another platform where a young man was. From his attire to his appearance, he appeared to be her opponent as well as the proctor for the duel.

When he called out her name, she replied.

"Yes."

Realizing that her voice had come in barely a whisper, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Yes. That is correct."

The man would brief her about what was going to happen. Her performance was going to weigh in her final results and whether or not she would attend the school. She nodded. Her dueling apparatus activated and her hand was drawn. The man was the first to perform, and with that had two monsters on the field within his first turn, a normal summon and a special summon of the Gold and Yellow Gadget monsters respectively. The Gadget monsters appeared to be capable of summoning other monsters to the field, so she wanted to make sure that by the next turn she was able to even out the field numbers. That said, the facedown card...best not to think about that now.

Upon the start of her turn, she declared that she was going to draw her first card. It was the Spellbook of LIfe. Currently, she wouldn't be able to use it, and she had her own plans as to how to use it later on. For now, she needed to get Spellok Why am I here?

The question came as Shiki was walking towards her assigned room. It had caught her so off-guard that she had actually stopped in her tracks.

Unlike the others who seemed motivated or nervous about the entire exam thing, Shiki had been rather passive and neutral. Automatic, even. Lifting up her clenched right hand, she opened it. The two wooden runes seemed to stare at her like mismatched eyes against the white of her palms. Around, she saw tiny pressure marks that had embedded into her skin as a result of holding onto them so tightly.

"..."

It was true that Shiki had no aspirations like the others here. It was true that Shiki had no motivations, either. There was nothing here that she felt was at stake nor anything she wanted to truly look forward to. But if that was the case...

Shiki breathed out and started walking again.

None of that matters, though, she thought to herself. Motivation, desire, fear...all are irrelevant in the end, all are irrelevant now. All that matters is...

She came in front of the doors. They opened and her eyes were met with glaring bright lights. A stadium was in front of her as was a platform for where she was about to stand. Shiki's eyes squinted, but they slowly accustomed to the illumination and she moved forward. Across the field was another platform where a young man was. From his attire to his appearance, he appeared to be her opponent as well as the proctor for the duel.

When he called out her name, she replied.

"Yes."

Realizing that her voice had come in barely a whisper, she cleared her throat and spoke louder. "Yes. That is correct."

The man would brief her about what was going to happen. Her performance was going to weigh in her final results and whether or not she would attend the school. She nodded. Her dueling apparatus activated and her hand was drawn. The man was the first to perform, and with that had two monsters on the field within his first turn, a normal summon and a special summon of the Gold and Yellow Gadget monsters respectively. The Gadget monsters appeared to be capable of summoning other monsters to the field, so she wanted to make sure that by the next turn she was able to even out the field numbers. That said, the facedown card...best not to think about that now.

Upon the start of her turn, she declared that she was going to draw her first card. It was the Spellbook of LIfe. Currently, she wouldn't be able to use it, and she had her own plans as to how to use it later on. For now, she needed to get Spellcaster monsters out on the field. Deciding on an action, she pulled out her runes and flipped them. Her brow furrowed. She then looked back at her opponent.

"I place a card face down in defense position," she declared. "In addition to this, I use the Spellbook Library of the Crescent. The card states if I have no Spell cards in the Graveyard, I can select three from my deck for to which you add randomly to my hand."

Among the cards from her deck she'd pull out were The Spellbook Grand Tower, Spellbook of Knowledge, and Spellbook of Power.

A holographic projection of three cards appeared in front of the proctor. He could only see the back of each. Without thinking about it too much, he picked the middle one and all three faded. A single card was pushed out of Shiki's deck. When she pulled it out, it was Spellbook of Knowledge. The rest of the deck shuffled itself.

The proctor had selected the Spellbook of Knowledge. Placing this within her hand, and the deck back, she considered her next moves. It wouldn't be awhile until she could do something again, but she now had an idea of what she was going to be able to do.

Nodding, she flipped her runes casually in her hands. The outlook was not good. She had feared this, but her first hand had suggested this in the first place. It was a matter of riding it out.

"I end my turn," she said plainly.

"Very well," the proctor stated as he drew his next card. "Hmmm...."



"I'm going to summon the Green Gadget I added to my hand," the proctor stated.

A monster similar to the Yellow Gadget appeared but this one was green in color.



"Green Gadgets adds Red Gadget to my hand," the proctor stated, pulling another card from their deck and displaying it to Shiki. "Now I have three monsters on the field and you only have one. "Sorry, but this is gonna hurt a bit. Gold Gadget attacks your face-down monster!"

With a big leap, the Gold Gadget lunges. Shiki's facedown flipped up, revealing Stoic of Prophecy, the strong man holding its scepters crossed in front of his face. Gold Gadget plunged and crushed Stoic, dispersing it into dust.

"You take no damage since your monster was in defense," the proctor stated, but you won't be so lucky with these two!"

Yellow and Green Gadget scurried across the field on their stubby legs, winding back their arms like windmills. In complete unison, they jumped and threw out a punch each towards Shiki.

Shiki's life points immediately went from 4000 to 1400, leaving her at a dangerous disadvantage.

"Your next turn will determine your ability to survive," the  proctor stated. "Make it count."

First, Shiki will need to commence Stoic's effect. Stoic adds a Prophecy monster Level 3 or lower from the deck directly to the hand. Shiki's duel disc displayed to Shiki the applicable cards.

* Amores of Prophecy
* Hermit of Prophecy
* Fool of Prophecy
* Temperence of Prophecy
* Justice of Prophecy

Shiki had to pick one. With an empty field and facing three monsters, she better make it count.

The blank expression Shiki's face usually possessed slightly turned into one of shock as her health went down to less than half in one turn.

How...how did...the runes they...

Shiki shook her head and tried to regain her composure. She had to do more than pay attention to her own cards. That was one of the major faults she had made. It did not help that she didn't know much about the Gadget archetype, but she had a feeling that if she didn't get any monsters on her field, she was going to go just like that.

The girl swallowed hard. She breathed out, keeping her voice as steady as possible, and then spoke.

"With Stoic sent to the graveyard, I'm given the option to add a Prophecy monster of Level 3 or lower directly to my hand," she said, a little louder.

Biting her lip, she hoped this technique would work. Considering her loss last time, she decided it was only fitting that she selected Justice of Prophecy. She then proceeded to move on with her turn.

"I now draw one other card from the deck."

Seeing that she got Temperance, Shiki's gaze turned into one vaguely akin to that of determination. She started shaking the runes in her hands.

I have Temperance regardless of my past choice. Perhaps fate really is on my side at the moment. The question is...

Shiki tossed the rune bones up into the air and caught them. They confirmed of her desire to put out her next plan.

...how long?

"Where odds are uneven as a result of the fragments of strewn into chaos," she said as she raised her card. "Knowledge is my answer. I activate the Spellbook of Knowledge which allows me to draw two extra cards from the deck. Since this requires me to discard a Spellbook card or Spellmaster, I discard the Spellbook of Life."

She placed the card on the field and would be soon shown her options. Her hand gripped the runes tightly.

Please. Please...

Looking at the cards, Shiki realized she hadn't exactly gotten the two spell cards that she wanted, but still, there was something important she had overlooked when she first entered the arena. She had been so focused on her runes out of nervousness that she almost entirely forgot to look at her cards and the very special properties her deck had which was that everything connected to one another.

Shiki just had to close her eyes and...

See the fragments of chaos...

In her head she saw her cards. There were endless possibilities and connections, and it was up to her to make up a chain. She thought about her hand, the number of cards in her graveyard, the number of spells she still had in her deck.

Maybe if...

Shiki opened her eyes and her somewhat dreamy, dazed expression seemed to disappear. If the proctor looked, her dull eyes started shining as she placed her runes in her pocket to better hold her cards.

Fate has already answered me. It was just a matter of understanding what it was saying, and that is this.

"Now that I have my two cards added, I call upon the Spellbook Magician of Prophecy in attack position," she said. "The Spellbook Magician allows me to add one spellbook spell from my deck and into my hand."

She'd place the card on the field and pick out her spell.

"From there I select Spellbook of Secrets added to my hand from the effect and place it down on the field," she declared. "This, too, allows me to add another spellbook spell card into my hand from my deck so long as it is not the card of the same name."

With this, Shiki added the Spellbook of Power.

"With the effect of the Spellbook of Secrets resolved, I send it to the graveyard," she said.

Four, she counted to herself.

She then declared her next move.

"From here, I place the Spellbook of Power from my hand to my deck," she said. "This allows me to add 1000 ATK points to the monster of my choosing and add 1 spellbook spell card to my hand from the deck for each monster I destroy. With that, I use it on my Spellbook Magician of Prophecy, giving it a total of 1500 ATK points and attack your Yellow Gadget!"

With that, the Spellbook Magician of Prophecy would go and attack the monster. Against its ATK points, the Yellow Gadget would be obliterated.

"With one monster destroyed, I now add one more Spellbook spell card to my hand."

For Shiki's spellcard of choice, she selected the Spellbook of Wisdom. It was then time to declare her next move.

"From here, I place Magical Dimension from my hand to the field," she said. "This allows me to target one of my Spellcaster monsters on the field and tribute it and summon another Spellcaster-type monster from my hand and onto the field while also allowing me to destroy one of the monsters on the field. I tribute the Spellbook Magician of Prophecy and special summon the Reaper of Prophecy!"

She placed the Reaper of Prophecy onto the field and then pointed to one of the proctor's card.

"In addition to this, I destroy Green Gadget!" she said.

Shiki would proceed with her next moves.

"And with that effect resolved, I send Magical Dimension into the graveyard as well!" she said.

Shiki would place it in the Graveyard and do the oddest thing. She smiled.

Five, she said.

"First, I protect the Reaper of Propechy by placing the Spellbook of Wisdom on the field. With the Spellbook of Wisdom on the field, I can choose to protect the Reaper of Prophecy from either Trap effects or Spell effects. For this, I shall select protecting him from Spell effects until the end of the turn," she said. She then continued. "And now for the Reaper of Prophecy's own effects. With five spellbook cards in my graveyard, I can utilize the Reaper of Prophecy's effect," she said. "I add 600  ATK to the Reaper of Prophecy because of theI can add one more spell card to from the deck to my hand since I have four or more spell cards in the grave."

Shiki added the Spellbook of Fate to her hand. She then looked at the proctor raising one finger up.

"And it also says if I have five or more of these cards in the graveyard, I can special summon a Level 5 of higher Dark spellcaster-type monster from the deck. And for this, I summon the harbinger of the end of fate itself, the Prophecy Destroyer!"

Shiki would take Prophecy Destroyer and place it down on the field, the image of the ominous winged figure with a sword appearing in front of her in its dark splendor.

"Now I have two monsters on the field and you have one," she said before narrowing her eyes. "But not for long."

Shiki quickly slammed another card onto the field.

"First, I activate Spellbook of Fate," she said. "Spellbook of Fate allows me to banish up to three Spellbook spell cards from the Graveyard. Since I have more than 3 Spellbook spell cards in the graveyard, I banish Spellbook Library of the Crescent, Spellbook of Life, and Spellbook of Knowledge, and...for this, I can banish your Gold Gadget. This leaves your field empty and completely open for target! And with nothing to defend you, your fate is sealed! I have my Prophecy Destroyer attack the field!"

The large demon charged towards the proctor who shield their face with both arms as the massive blade cleaved down. In a single attack, the proctor's life points went down to 1400.

"All of this during the battle phase? No way..."

"With still no monster on the field and Magical Dimension having destroyed one monster on the field, that leaves me with my Reaper of Prophecy's turn," Shiki declared.

She closed her eyes for a moment and then breathed out.

"In the arcana, the card of death not only means literal demise, but the end of a former phase or cycle. With your demise on the battlefield, I open forth my own door into this academy!"

She then opened her eyes and pointed towards the bare field.

"My Reaper of Prophecy attacks the field, and leaves you with no points!"

The test proctor covered their face as the scythe came down. Their life points dropped to 0 and the duel was announced to be in Shiki's victory.

"I wasn't expecting that," the proctor winced as they walked towards Shiki. "Impressive and well played. Have you played in junior leagues before? Regardless, you performed very well. Make sure you remove your deck before handing your exam duel disc back to the attendant. And here, a reward for winning your practical exam.

Duel Reward:

Shiki's legs wobbled as the points went to zero and she had to lean on a wall for a moment. The rush from the making up the combo move had left her a little woozy as she had never done so before, and she had to admit that it had drained her mentally.

The proctor approaching her had her straightening up shortly, however, and the slightest red couldn't help but creep into her face as he praised her despite the fact she had made quite a blunder early on in the field.

"I-I'm afraid I haven't. This...that was the first time I've ever won, to be honest," she said.

He would hand her over a card after instructing her to move her deck, and she nodded.

"Y-yes, sir," she said meekly.

Looking at the card, she saw that it was the Calculator. She smiled to herself.

"Fate has brought me another ally," she murmured to herself.

With that, she'd remove her cards from the duel disk and make a bow at her professor, thanking him for the duel, and head to where she had to go next.

She looked at her runes. They predicted that she was heading in the right direction.

Yes. This is where fate wants me. It's just a matter of knowing where it'll lead me from hereon out.

--EXIT TAG--