It is April 1st, 2040... It has been 20 years since the battle against Aigami, and since the veil of darkness was cast away... The world has changed; our heroes are grown, their legacies chiselled in stone as legendary duelling heroes. But, all is not right in the world... As time goes on, the disparity grows between people and classes, injustice, societal unrest, and the lack of a unified goal leaves humanity aimless and left to their own devices. The true colour of human nature shows and the cracks in society begin to form on their own. Conflict arises, ashes fall, time and time; there is war... The world has radically changed in the 20 years since we've seen our heroes.In the year 2038, Kaiba Corporation's R.R.D. division (M.I.D.S. in the original) has developed Ener-D (Momentum in the original) thanks to groundbreaking discoveries by an incredibly young university student. Shortly after that, Synchro Monsters are created, and a prototype version of illegal Turbo Duelling explodes in popularity in the urban centres of the world. Massive expansions of Kaiba Corp's own societal infrastructure have created global gentrification. The enormous interest in the promise of 'infinite' energy from Ener-D has given Kaiba Corporation record profits, giving the company more power than most governments through their sheer wealth of resources alone.Many consider Seto Kaiba to be an uncaring tyrant and is constantly drawing ire from everyone, including increased pressure from governments worldwide to scale back his operations... Tonight is no exception, but tonight is notable for one thing and one thing only... The Duel Monsters World Finals. Even for only a significant fraction of the earth's population, tonight is a night where the global unrest of the world is meaningless in the face of the world finals matchup; Yugi Muto, the King of Games, defends his title against a sensational masked duelist from the Bronx in the main event simply known as 'Ichigo.'Although many initially assume that this match is simply the main event to end a spectacular year of the professional duelling juggernaut known as the World Duelling Federation's (W.D.F.) programs, this event holds more significance than many would assume. As both men make their way down opposing entrance ramps in Madison Square Garden, Seto Kaiba stands at the gorilla position knowing something that most of the boys backstage and the entirety of the audience don't. Not only is Yugi's title on the line, but tonight would mark his retirement match. His wife, Rebecca Hawkins, is expecting, and it's time for him to put down the cards his grandfather had given him so many years ago, and call it quits...Madison Square Garden, the entire show had been on an emotional rollercoaster and on fire, having witnessed some of the greatest matches of all time in one night on the mid-card bracket leading up to the finale... And now, the final game of Yugi's entire career, and unknowingly, his entire life. In a massive upset, the rising star Ichigo defeats Yugi after an incredibly gut-wrenching and emotionally draining affair, having the crowd captivated at every moment, but none more than a young boy who sits in the front row. Finally, after the highly heated bout, Ichigo claims victory over the King of Games, the first time he'd been defeated in almost 3 years since the last King of Games, Jaden Yuki.Madison Square Garden is in a state of chaos. Many are cheering, but many, many more are booing and jeering. Many lose thousands in bets and gambling on the match, but it's still a moment of celebration for the victor... In a display of what many would consider disrespect, Ichigo refuses the post-match ceremony and simply makes his way to the exit. Before he does, he removes the mouthpiece from his helmet and hands his deck to the young boy in the front row. As he stands in the archway, he raises his fist and makes his exit. Unseen to everyone, he quickly withdraws a handkerchief from his pocket and coughs a light smattering of blood into it...The young boy holds the deck that defeated Yugi Muto but has a sombre look on his face as if it's not what he wanted. Nevertheless, he clutches the cards into his coat, knowing they are one-of-a-kind and priceless due to their history... He hides them in his jacket and hastily exits the arena before the crowd. While walking the streets back home with his mother, an eerie red fills the sky, the moon is just barely visible behind the light pollution, and the grimy haze of the city fills with a bloody red. The ground shakes, and the sound of what the young boy recognises as a duel monster can be heard... Soon, fires erupt, and the screaming begins...April 2nd, 2040, 12:58 AM. Five massive monsters erupted from land, air and sea and set the city ablaze, sending everything into chaos. The five monsters were there for one thing, and one thing only; to do battle. And over the course of an hour, nearly 2/3rds of New York City and her people were erased... The young boy, now losing sight of his mother, saw one thing to guide him out of the black smoke of the burning city; a single shaft of golden light pierced through the darkness. In only an hour, an entire city was almost reduced to rubble, millions dead. All were cut by a single shaft of light, a spot that would soon be known as the final resting place of Yugi Muto. As the fires died, all the young boy saw were five crimson red cards whose eerie, ominous glow cut through the darkness of the night...The screaming stopped. And his world after that was never the same...Yugi Muto is dead.

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❛ it was said that whoever solved the puzzle would be granted one wish, but the puzzle was never the pyramid strapped around his neck, but the life he shared with us; all of us. It has taken me almost 30 years to realise that it was never the magic or the mysticism that granted wishes, but the heart and the soul of a man i used to acknowledge as my enemy that gave him everything he wanted and more. and now, after all these years, i no longer have a way to sit down and tell him to his face that he was right, that he was always the better man, and that the events that transpired around him helped me solve the real puzzle, life; and finally find a way to move on, and take the first steps to make peace with my own shortcomings. although his journey has come to an end, i know he is in a better place. and of all the wishes and prayers i have ever had in my life, i only wish one thing, and that is for my message to somehow reach the man i've spent my entire loathing and deriding to know that i will never forget the things he's done and the lessons he taught me, that i'm sorry, and to not worry about what he's left behind. even now, as i utter these words, i know he is well. even if he is departed, and our hearts are heavy; he is resting. and that for now, and forever, he is resting in the kingdom of god, and that he is happy and not alone... ❜

⠀

— an unreleased excerpt from seto kaiba's eulogy for yugi muto

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10 Years Later. The fires that washed over New York City, in a way, have cleansed it... What was once a dense, crowded cityscape is now much less compact. Many who survived the events of what is now known as 'the impact' have long since left the city and have restarted in the rest of the New York State. Despite the rebuilding efforts, the skyline of New York City is entirely different, with only a few historic buildings being restored. New York City is no longer a sprawling urban jungle but a much smaller, humbler, quieter city. 'The City that Never Sleeps' is now still and quiet at night. And in the 10 years that have transpired since that day, those that stayed and those that came in have contributed to creating an even more diverse and culturally distinct corner of the world than the big apple ever has been.Among those that migrated in, the biggest name is Seto Kaiba, who has sold off a large majority of his stake in the company that made him. Although he is still chief executive officer, his duties are massively downplayed. In the last 10 years, he has attempted to reshape his image. Although incredibly high and stable, Kaiba Corporation's stock value has massively tanked in value and has lost over 70% of its value despite a buyout and subsequent merger with Industrial Illusions. Although they still own the proprietary technology to create the Ener-D reactor, only one remains due to fears of instability. In the 12 years since it was created, it has been running 'just fine' according to internal reports from Kaiba Corporation.Regardless, the Japanese-based Kaiba Corporation has shut down most of its departments and is solely responsible for the continued production of Industrial Illusions prior engagements, general merchandising, and technology development to assist in the production and play of Duel Monsters. Since the 2040 world finals, there has been a massive surge in indie professional duelling promotions, and almost 7000 miles away; Seto Kaiba plans to open the first of his Professional Duelling schools in over 30 years to be personally overseen and maintained by him as a side-venture. This new school, built on the New Union Square, has been entirely funded by himself, not Kaiba Corporation, and runs under the old-style-duelling-philosophies made famous by the late Doctor Vellian Crowler.This new academy runs under the old Slifer-Ra-Obelisk ranking system but includes an incredibly prestigious and ruthless group of young students known as the 'Royal Violets,' whose dorm represents Yugi and those wounded in the events from ten years before now. Among these four groups, they have their elected 'heads' of class, the 'elite four.' The Slifer Red leader, 'Akikta ', the Ra Yellow leader, Yori-Alexander Suarez, the Obelisk Blue leader, Kishi Reeds and Violet's leader, Hayashi Akiko. Among students at this new duel academy is a young man, the boy from the front row all those years ago now all grown up...The story truly begins on his way to his induction match against his soon-to-be roommate Chipp Macaster, who is paired with him due to a clerical error. On his way to Madison Square Garden, he looks at himself in the reflection of a window and thinks about how long he and this city have come since ten years ago... On his way to Madison Square Garden for the first time in many years, he accidentally bumps into his idol, Jaden Yuki, and causes his cards to scatter. Jaden notices his very-incomplete Elemental HERO Deck and notes how long it's been since he's seen someone play the (admittedly) outdated deck he made famous... Then, in a scene mirroring one almost 30 years ago, Jaden signs the young man's special-edition printing of Elemental HERO Sparkman and unknowingly sticks something 'a little extra' at the back.Unseen and unheard to the boy, Yubel says she feels something special about him that is 'irregular' and 'not normal.' As the young boy is fawning over his newly autographed collectable, Jaden thinks to himself that he can feel it too— and not just in him, but a lot of the kids around the city. Yubel feels like something is amiss about the youth and the air in this city and that it's the exact same feeling they experienced with Nightshroud... Jaden asks the boy for his name, and he answers;Kagami Yuusuke.

— EXPANDED TIMELINE OF PRE-2050 EVENTS —

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— FULL 2050 TIMELINE OF EVENTS —

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PEN NAME | AGE. insert a short description of yourself, (M/F/E), pronouns, occupation, etc. keep it to a small para! 3-5 sentences.

⸻ Icon Credit: (artist)

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PEN NAME | AGE. insert a short description of yourself, (M/F/E), pronouns, occupation, etc. keep it to a small para! 3-5 sentences.

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THE
DUELIST
REQUIEM.

✧

❛ the writers and contributors to the 2050 project. ❜

your name.
age. pronouns.
timezone.

established october 6th 2019.

PEN NAME | AGE. insert a short description of yourself, (M/F/E), pronouns, occupation, etc. keep it to a small para! 3-5 sentences.

⸻ Icon Credit: (artist)

✧

PEN NAME | AGE. insert a short description of yourself, (M/F/E), pronouns, occupation, etc. keep it to a small para! 3-5 sentences.

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ACT 1 ⸻ 'Awakening,' the First Steps into the Future

❛ insert a short quote here.
keep it to two lines, short sentences. ❜

01. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!02. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.03. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.04. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

05. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!06. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.07. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.08. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

09. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!10. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.11. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.12. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

13. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!14. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.15. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.16. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

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17. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!18. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.19. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.20. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

21. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!22. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.23. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.24. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

25. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!26. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.27. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.28. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

29. insert short & notable headcanons here that you would want people to have an immediate first glance at. they could be something as small as likes / dislikes, or bigger things! or, use this as a plot wishlist / verses / hooks section! go wild!30. lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. a iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit.31. purus in mollis nunc sed id semper risus in hendrerit. sed risus ultricies tristique nulla. gravida quis blandit turpis cursus in hac habitasse. posuere ac ut consequat semper viverra nam.32. platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit. risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum quisque non. elit eget gravida cum sociis natoque. a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi ipsum.

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lore.

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✧

❛ End of the king's road.. ❜

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"The End of the King's Road" refers to a series of tournaments held throughout March of 2039 through May of 2040. This series of tournaments, organised by the National Duelist Alliance, were all qualifiers for the 2040 World Championship, the most held in a single year for the largest World Championship event to date in celebration of the imminent retirement of Yugi Muto from competitive duelling.This series of events due to the special occasion didn't follow standard regulation, and instead featured a points system based on your records, where duelists were encouraged to participate in as many tournaments as possible. Duelists with points totalling over 150 throughout the course of the promotion or a top-cut victory at National Qualifiers would automatically advance to the World Championship to compete for the Duel Monsters World Cup on night 1, while duelists only with over 150 points would compete in another, smaller tournament the following night to compete for Yugi's last match.As incentive, and as part of the New Age Initiative, each one of these massive tournament events had unique prize cards given to #1 duelists at each individual event, many of which were Synchro Monsters introduced in the previous year, which until this point had been and have continued to be exceptionally rare.

During this tournament, a newcomer to the professional duelling scene, the Masked Duelist had quickly risen up the global rankings by having several tournament final matches against Jaden Yuki, most notably at events where the prize card archetype Xtra HERO were on the line OR when there was a Synchro available as the top-cut prize. The two had many repeat main-event matches in the finals of these tournaments, making it one of the most heated rivalries of the year, but, the Masked Duelist would almost always come out on top, only losing their first and last matches during the qualifiers.Both of them were unique cases, as both of them entered the 2040 World Finals due to both of them having one national top to their name. On Night 1 of the World Championships, Jaden came out victorious, now having won the World Cup for a second year in a row by a submission victory due to the Masked Duelist citing an inability to continue. On Night 2, however, the Masked Duelist came out on top due to Jaden not having met the 150 victories threshold.Much later on, Jaden had learned from those higher-up at KCI2 that his specific appearances and 'PR Tour' were specifically at areas around the country determined as being 'low-skill' as a means for him to easily win the Xtra HERO cards as a marketing stunt to ensure Yugi's last match would be against him and that the Masked Duelist showing up was unprecedented and 'unbelievable' due to the immense cost one would have to pay in order to meet as many dates as he did.This event caused a massive falling out between Jaden, Kaiba and his friends who were still employed at Kaiba Corporation, which Jaden cited as a direct reason as to why he retired shortly after the 2040 incident.

JANUARY 2039

01/02/2039. Xtra Kuriboh (Won by Jaden Yuki (6 points)
01/09/2039. Xtra HERO Blazar (Won by the Masked Duelist) (7 points)
01/15/2039. Necrom Dragon (Won by x) (7 points)
01/16/2039. Xtra HERO Fractal (Won by the Masked Duelist) (15 points)
01/22/2039. Kaeru-no-Kami, the Frog Deity (Won by x) (8 points)
01/29-30/2039 (USA National Qualifier). Red-Eyes Black Dragon (alt art), (Won by Aliana Macaster (15 points)

MAY 2040

05/06/2039. Xtra HERO Alius-X (Won by The Masked Duelist (156 points)