Fandom 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 || (𝑳𝒊𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒆𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆)

[Lilure]

𝙊𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨: 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚: 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙮𝙯𝙮𝙜𝙮
~​

Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power. They did battle with magic and monsters for riches and glory, for county and kingdom. From these Shadow Games erupted a war that threatened to destroy the world, until a brave and powerful Pharaoh locked the dark magic away, imprisoning it for all eternity within the mystical Millennium Items. But even eternity doesn't last forever...

Lightning flashed, followed by the growling of thunder. It was loud enough this time that Karina looked up from the yellow light spilling warmly across her desk and over to the raindrop-spattered window pane. Droplets of water rushed down in tiny waterfalls on the other side of the glass, edges of the flows highlighted just so by pale light from the streetlamps glowing below. Another white flash from the storm, but the resulting crashing in the clouds was quieter this time. Karina returned her attention to her desk, reaching over to adjust the illuminating lamp, and then tucking one leg up under her; finding a new comfy position was necessary after her focus breaking enough to realize she'd gotten tired of the old one. For a moment, one hand found the string of citrine encircling her ankle, fingers fiddling away at it. The other pressed against her lips and the lamplight illuminated her considering eyes. Across the surface of her desk, gold gleamed and glittered in the desk lamp's glow, lightning sparking off the metal edges with each roll of the storm.

It was never to happen. And for 5000 years, it never did. The secrets of the Millennium Puzzle remained safely beyond reach, within the imponderable conundrum of its intricate design. Though thousands of hands had sought the puzzle's completion, it never came to pass.

The girl's desk belied her interests. The far edge was lined with binders, handwritten letters stickered carefully to their spines--an assortment of colored statements, some in curling script, others in block, but all with what was coded language to the owner. "Warriors," "Spellcasters," and "Continuous Traps" were among some of the titles denoted to these numerous collections. Aside the binders there were books, the professionally-designed spines a contrast to the lovingly homemade ones. Here were volumes such as The Paper Labyrinth, How to Beat Anyone at Chess, Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons, and The Everything Tabletop Games Book. Notebooks with pages sticking out, covered in rapid scribbles of excited notes capped the end of the media section. A small, fishbowl-shaped vase with a curling lace rim housed an assortment of pens, most of them colored or adorned with dangling charms. One set of pink, green, and yellow held images of the character Moomin. A table-sized easel had a sketchbook propped against it, open to pages of furry, rotund creatures scribbled in various colors of Copic markers. Two sets of glasses were folded underneath the wooden frame, one crystal clear and the other pink-tinted tortoiseshell. Half a deck of cards sat patiently on one side of the desk; the other half was strewn about, some of the cards placed in sequence with others, remnants of the owner's deck building session from earlier in the evening.

But the items that held Karina's attention on that stormy night were the pieces of the old puzzle Grandpa had given to her eight years ago. They'd come in a gold inlaid box, covered with symbols--hieroglyphics--that she couldn't read. Grandpa told her once what the box said, a sort of poem about the puzzle inside, and an invitation by it to try and solve this 'unsolvable puzzle'. Perhaps unsolvable wasn't too far of a stretch. Karina had been working on this puzzle since she'd gotten it, and had made very little progress at all. Not even Grandpa had been able to put the whole thing together before he passed it on to her. And yet, even with those very real hurdles, Karina still worked on it in the evenings at least three times a week. Behind her, in the dresser that didn't store clothes, there was one drawer dedicated to similar puzzles as this one. Boxes, pagodas, rings; the assortment was vast, and Karina had solved them all. That was the only difference between the ones behind her and the shimmering pieces currently in her hand. There was no reason to think she wouldn't solve this one too. It was just taking a tiny bit longer. Karina smiled to herself, testing out two pieces against each other. They clinked slightly as they always did when she went about see if there was a fit, but then something unusual happened, eliciting a gasp aloud from the girl. The two shards in her hand had just clicked together.

It was never to happen. And for 5000 years, it never did. But though the desert does its best to conceal that which should remain buried, it eventually yields its most ancient and terrible secrets.

She'd actually scored a link? How? When? This had never happened before and Karina could only stare dumbfounded at the newly connected pieces. Suddenly her heart was hammering in her chest, the urge to shout rising in her throat. It was a wonder she didn't launch herself out of her chair right then and there to run down the hall and show Grandpa what she'd just done, but the second she considered it, her eyes darting from piece to piece as she inhaled a thrilled gasp, a new realization was forming in her mind. Somehow, out of nowhere, she could see it. Her hand darted out for another piece, knocking others aside in her haste and almost sending her target skittering away across the desk. The leg that had been tucked under her found its way back to the floor, the balls of her feet pressing into the wood as she leaned forward. With the new piece in her hand, she gave it a test and sure enough, it fit. Another click. Then the process began to fly by. After all this time, her mind presented her with a blueprint, each subsequent addition to the growing structure in her hands causing the next piece in question to present itself in the forefront of her head. Piece by piece, click by click. Each time she guessed that one piece might fit with the ones she had, and each time, she was still delighted when her prediction actually came to pass. After eight years, she was finally getting a glimpse of what the final form of this thing looked like. It was a pyramid, and Karina suppressed a laugh. How appropriate.

And then, she had what was actually an upside-down pyramid, with one gaping hole in the center. On her desk remained one final piece. Karina sucked air in through her teeth. Her heart was beating so fast it even caused her hand to shake. She steadied her fingers and picked up the last piece and slid it into place. It clicked against the others. The moment it did, Karina swore she saw a vibration of light shine through the lines where the pieces joined. With a blink, it was over, and Karina laughed out loud again, tilting the completed puzzle in her hand. Actually, now that she was looking at it, it was kind of... dull? There weren't any patterns, besides a stylized Eye of Horus. What had made this thing so hard in the first place? The shape of it maybe? But... now it was done. It was actually done! After eight years... then without a second thought, she did shoot out of her chair. "Grandpa!" she yelled, realizing she might be startling him, screeching about like this, but not even caring. He wouldn't care either once he saw what was up. "Grandpa!" Karina clutched the puzzle in one hand, tearing the door open and throwing herself into the hall, feet thumping in thrilled footfalls against the floor. "You're never going to believe it!"

In her empty room, the shadows between the eaves in the walls and the corners of her bed shuttered with life. Flickering, they snaked forward, seeking the light of the desk lamp like moths to flames. As they slithered by, light in their wake disappeared into the inky black tendrils, consumed by the darkness there. But as the reaching fingers clawed their way up the desk, swirling ever closer to the lamp and the deck of cards that occupied the space, a figure appeared, and snuffed out the shadows with one wave of a hand. As they and the ethereal form dissipated, a breath of a whisper, a woman's voice, could be heard under the thunder. "Begone from this place."

It was never to happen. But after 5000 years, it did. And with it, the Shadow Games begin again....

 

[Ceyrise]

A lightning flash leeched what little color there was from his side profile. The office was just barely lit by the watery glow from the skyline beneath it, its occupant having long lost track of time and failing to invoke any proper illumination. Despite the gloom, the young man’s eyes found the letters on the papers scattered over his desk with ease, the pen in his hand creating smoothly curled, inky lines. Trade reports, product test results, meeting templates—items that would’ve read like gibberish to another were typed in perfect clarity to him. Sheet after sheet, he signed his approval. When he didn’t, he drafted notes to return to the department so they’d know exactly what needed to happen in order to get that approval. Absorbed totally in his work, nothing could’ve shaken him out of it except a force to nature. And right then, a force of nature did. In fact, it shook the whole building.

Startled, Xander’s fingers gripped the edge of his desk as a roar of thunder deafened him and set the world around him vibrating. Periwinkle-colored eyes flitted to the torrential downpour presently splattering across the panoramic windows, half-wondering if he’d see cracks spidering over the surface. Of course not. The glass in this building was heat-tempered. Nothing short of a direct impact, one of considerable force, could crack it. Xander let out a quiet sigh as the sound stabilized and then it was just the sleeting rain he could hear again. For a moment, he set his pen down and swiveled in his chair to face the water-falling glass. Some storm... did it rain like this often here? Close as he was to having moved, he couldn’t help it when he started musing about the old office. It had hardly ever rained there, let alone the thunderbolts and lightning clashing through the clouds now. An odd thought meandered down the river of his mind; hopefully this wouldn’t be an omen of things to come. Xander sighed out again, closing his eyes briefly. Then, he swirled back to the desk, picked up his pen, and kept writing. No. No. This was going to be good. This change in location was good. The house was nice. The office was nice. Most importantly, Rory’s new school was nice and the boy in question actually seemed excited to attend. That was all good. This had been a good move. Domino City was different, but would prove to be good.

Minutes passed into hours. He took a break from hte signing and the notations to flip through contracts and agreements with Industrial Illusions once again. Of course they’d agreed to partner with him on the new holo tech, they would’ve been stupid not to do so. Still. Some part of him was amazed at the prospect. The holograms and the dueling arenas were the most fun he’d had with a new product in a while. Even he wasn’t immune to the thrill of seeing living, breathing (sort of) monsters hurling fire and lightning at each other. If he liked it so much, then he could only imagine how excited others would be; other duel enthusiasts, kids who already imagined the monsters on the cards fighting a certain way. Rory had tested some of the products, of course, and he was totally in love with them; so much so that Xander had to pry him out of the arena and half-force him to go eat his snacks. What were other kids his age going to think, seeing their favorite monsters come to life? This was going to be good. He knew this was going to be good.

Another rumble of thunder, this one distant. The arenas were going to be unveiled at the Domino City Regional Tournament. It was an event with a big enough ticket, and doubled as an announcement of Arko’s change in home base. That said, Xander was already thinking beyond that. The arenas were cool, yes, but they weren’t something the average player could get their hands on. They took up space, too big for a house or an apartment, and the components on the equipment made them expensive. They’d be good for tournaments or dueling lounges, but surely there was a way to get this tech into the hands of individual duelists who wanted it? Yes, naturally. Locked behind the most advanced password encryption and firewall systems anyone could get, on a simple piece of black glass, were the personal concept sketches of Mr. Bernadotte himself that proved this. That, however, was still a ways out of development. He wasn’t even done with the preliminary designs. Still though… Xander gazed out the rain-streaked window, clicking his pen absently. There were enough ideas he’d compiled already to start tinkering with a prototype, maybe? Maybe. He’d have to see, but see he would and it wouldn’t be long. Unlike him, he was trying to hold off on cramming his agenda for the next few weeks. Very much like him, it was because he anticipated a parent-teacher conference at Rory’s school, and that was something he would not miss.

Thinking about his younger brother led from one thought to another, wondering if he’d gone to bed or was still up. With no school the next day, it was okay to stay up a little extra. But that would be coming to an end soon with the academy’s semester rolling in. Through all these musings, Xander did eventually come to one conclusion; it was probably time to call it a night. No reason to overdo it the first week in the new office. The employees around here were jumpy enough as it was with his sudden incursion. And if Rory was still awake, there would be time for a round of a game or for Xander to decompress to one of the cartoon’s Rory was in to these days.

His side profile was outlined in silhouetted relief by the watered-down nightscape outside. Xander rose form his desk and organized his papers with practiced efficiency. Some were stacked on his desk; others found their way into a drawer or a file folder. Nothing in front of him now was confidential or sensitive. The only thing that he wouldn’t leave out was the tablet already cushioned in his briefcase next to the dragon’s share of Duel Monsters cards. Two clicks on the intercom and he’d alerted his driver that he was coming down and to be ready. Xander left the office, the door automatically locking shut in his wake as he strode purposefully towards the elevator. His mind was elsewhere, trying to remember what was in the fridge at home that he could eat for dinner.

In his wake, tendrils of curling shadow stirred, crawling along his heels as he went.

 

[Lilure]

One Week Later

Bright noon sunlight shone through the clear paned windows into the simple classroom. Although it was your typical high school setup, the accessories and items strewn across the desks gave it all the personality of the students mingling within it’s walls. At some tables, teenagers sat, writing quietly or reading. More commonly, groups of them could be seen laughing together, passing snacks back and forth, gossiping… all the works of an unsupervised study hall. In one corner, the sunniest spot in the room, three friends were shuffling through Domino City’s most popular card game.

Around their chairs sat three corresponding backpacks. The first was black, adorned with sparkling gems, and could be considered very chic. The second was weathered, maroon canvas fabric decorated with a variety of pins and keychains. The third stitched together scenes from popular comic books. From just these bags alone, quite a lot could be learned about the occupants of the pushed-together desks. Karina Arden, current referee and coaching extrodinare, observed the playing mats—both of which were hers—with a relaxed, practiced ease. On one end, the mat depicting four unicorns lined up in front of a rainbow storm cloud, Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan were both down on the field in attack mode. One card was face down in the spell/trap zone. On the other side, a mat with a sword-armed unicorn versus a dragon, a single monster was played in attack position: Elemental HERO Avian. Up from the match, Karina’s eyes slid curiously between the two players and she had to stifle her glee when she saw how focused both of them were on the game. They were really getting into it! Karina moved to prop one hand against her chin, but stopped when it brushed against cool metal near her sternum.

The girl looked down, unable to help but smile this time at the gleaming gold, upside-down pyramid there. After solving it one week ago, she’d rounded up a chain to snake through the loop on top. Clearly, it wasn’t just a puzzle but an accessory. And sure it was huge and kind of gaudy but she’d been wearing it everyday since, proudly displaying what she considered to be her greatest puzzle achievement to date. It didn’t matter that everyone who saw it didn’t know the significance of it. Because she did, and she hadn’t come down from the victory high yet. Her fingers brushed the cool surface of it and she was again struck by something interesting. The grooves where the pieces fit together were almost nonexistent to the touch, only locatable for her because she knew where to feel. This was probably the most seamlessly built puzzle she’d ever put together. Even the most ingenious ones left grooves behind, but not this one. Wasn’t that so cool?

Karina shook herself out of her musings, going back to the match. Normally, she’d never get distracted watching something like this, but in this case… “Finny?” she asked. It had been a while since he’d said anything, staring as intensely at his cards as he was. “Did you decide on a move?” Karina made sure to keep her voice kind, but hopefully the gentle suggestion would help. He was taking one of the longest turns she’d seen, even for a beginner. A slight, airy laugh escaped her at the thought. That was okay, as long as he was learning. But… Karina glanced to Haylin, happy exasperation setting in. She wasn’t sure her other friend would be keen to wait on Finny's move for much longer.

 

[Ceyrise]

“Yeah, alright!” Finny burst out. Rather than something akin to a bite back, this vigor came from the fires of determination racing in his veins. This would be apparent a moment later when he yanked a card from his hand and slapped it down onto the table. “Try this on for size! I’ll play the Flame Manipulator to back up Avian! Now we’ve both got two monsters on the field!” Finny crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest and grinned a crooked smile. “That’s not bad, right?” He asked, an eager glint in his eye as he shifted attention to the best instructor ever, the one and only, Karina!

“You think you’ll beat me just by throwing more monsters onto the field?” Haylin asked with venom in her smile. Or maybe it was just her lipstick—shade name ‘Poison Ivy.’ Iridescent violet glittered across her nails as she reached forward to flip over one of her facedown cards. “Since you added another monster, I’ll activate this trip card. It’s called Raigeki Break.” The surprised face Finny was making led her to elaborate. One hand rose up to push dark hair over her shoulder as she spoke. “It lets me discard a card,” she selected a card with too much confidence to be a random choice, flipped it across her fingers and revealed it to be the Petit Angel, and then set it into her graveyard. “To destroy a card. I’ll choose your superhero.” Purple shimmered in the light as she pointed out Elemental HERO Avian.

“What?!” Finny yelled, indignation lacing his loud voice. He drew the curious eyes of some other students in the room but, of course, didn’t notice. His head jerked towards Karina. “Can she really do that?!”

Not needing to wait for the ref’s call since she already knew the answer, Haylin went on with her turn. She flicked up another card to show Finny, the picture green and orange bleeding together. “I’ll use this spell card, Polymerization, to fuse Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan together. That let’s me summon,” she picked up the two cards in question and replaced them with single purple monster. “Sanwitch!” There was a cheer in her voice. The serious confidence she’d been projecting gave way to her delight at this particular monster.

“You turned your monsters into a sandwich?” Finny was leaning over the table now to get a good look at the creature.

“No!” Haylin exclaimed. “It’s Sanwitch! Sangan and the Witch, not some lunch item!” Finny remained dubious. Haylin regained her composure. “I’ll attack your Flame Manipulator with Sanwitch. That’s 2100 versus 900 attack points so he’s destroyed.” She paused, thinking. “Since he was in attack mode, you take the difference in damage. That’s...” Her fingers moved a touched, calculating. This game was super fun but she wasn’t the best at mental math. “1200. Which brings your life points to...” Then, she hid a giggle behind her hand. “Zero.”

 

[Lilure]

“Oh yeah, she can definitely do that!” Karina emphasized, entirely drawn back into the game now. Hearing Finny ask her questions pulled her out of whatever musings had been previously occupying her thoughts. “In fact, that was a great play.” Karina smiled at Haylin as she complimented the move. A trap card to destroy a newly appeared threat; simple but effective. In her own play style, Karina probably would’ve built a combo off the trap card—adding a spell effect or an equipment card, maybe even clearing the field in one fell swoop. But sometimes, those complex plays were difficult to pull off and she’d seen more than one opponent lose because they’d been too fixated on making a fancy play. If a basic trap won you the game, then basic was just fine in her book.

That wasn’t to say that Haylin wasn’t building a strategy. Karina watched in giddy excitement as her friend played a fusion and explained how it worked like she’d been using that mechanic forever. The reality was, Karina had only just given the other girl Polymerization and taught her how it worked—so maybe the sense of pride welling in her chest at Haylin’s quick studying ability was inevitable. With the play in motion, Karina did her job as the unofficial ref; she double checked the calcs in her head and then joined Haylin’s giggling with an exasperated laugh. “Yep, that’s the game. You both played really well!” Err... Haylin definitely had. Since her two friends had first requested she teach them Duel Monsters, Haylin was fast on the uptake. Although still a beginner, she understood the rules and mechanics, and rarely needed a clarification. She played confidently, and had only consulted Karina a little bit when it came to building a deck. Clearly, she knew what all of her cards did, which was the most important thing, and she’s even started to come up with a few of her own strategies.

Finny on the other hand... Karina looked at him, still smiling warmly. He’d lost all the matches he and Haylin had played so far. But he wouldn’t be too upset at this one, right? Even though he was still learning the game, Finny’s personality meant that he always bounced back quickly from losses. That was an important skill to do well at Duel Monsters, too. “Next time, maybe you could try placing your own traps,” Karina suggested. He usually wanted feedback on how to improve. “There are cards that could’ve stopped Haylin from destroying Avian.” As she spoke, a little chime played over the loudspeakers on the ceiling. Karina reached down and grabbed her bag, cutting card decks on the table and returning them to deck boxes. Dice strewn about were gathered up and put in a small velvet bag. “Good timing!”