A Game of Shadows [Adventure]

[Izanami Midorikawa]

Walking up the ever expanding staircase wasn't boring or confusing or even adventurous for Nami it simply was to her. Staircases were simply steps leading to something which meant that although she couldn't see what was waiting for her at the top she simply knew that getting there was the next step and thus it was natural. When she finally got to the top and saw the massive doorway Nami had to ponder how she could open it without any of her abilities as a Fullbringer in this dimension. As the began to formulate a plan the voice began to speak once again inside of her mind. It seemed that whatever game the entity wanted her to play would begin once she got through this door. Based on what was said she could be sure that so long as she learned how to use what had been given to her in place of her Fullbring then she'd succeed and be able to return to Karakura where she was meant to be.

As the door opened causing the white light to cascade through it washing over her form Nami looked forward passed the door. As she walked forward through the door everything became much more clear. She was in what looked to be like some sort of glass tower surrounded by a void. If anything it was quite comparable to the realm that lay between Soul Society and the Human World. As she continued forward she heard the door shut once again. This simply meant that it served no further use and she had to continue forward. What was a problem or at least could be a problem was what looked to be a few shadows crawling upon the glass towards her. Nami didn't have a weapon with her nor did she trust what she didn't understand with pure logic. Utilizing the cards that she had on her waist didn't make any sense to Nami so the Fullbringer began to back up away from the shadows.

Chasing after her the shadows were classified as enemies in Nami's eyes. She didn't possess any of her abilities as a Fullbringer not did she have her Fullbring. This wasn't good. Although she was relatively good at fighting with her body more so her legs than her arms yet physical altercation with beings formed from shadows wasn't something that Nami felt was reliable. As she got back to the stair case she would descend down a few then stop. As the shadows chased after her Nami would back step and then kick with her left leg high enough to hit the upper body or head of the shadow. If her body could physically interact with them and they didn't possess more strength then her Nami would be able to knock them off the staircase down into the darkness below.

[Ranth]

Each of the three heroes would find their efforts to defeat the creatures futile. Beast would find that the creatures paid no heed to his shout and if he didn't make a move to defend himself, their claws would rake his flesh as they lunged at him. They were not powerful foes, but their blows could hurt and given the fact that normal attacks did nothing but delay their advance, it would truly be a case of death by a thousand paper cuts if things carried on the way they were. Impo tired the fastest, whilst Izanami would find that her attempts to leave the platform either by jumping off the side or trying to climb the ramp would be thwarted by the invisible barrier that caged them in with their enemies.

However, when all would seem lost. When the final spark of hope for victory faded to be replaced by nothing but defeat and exhaustion, a bright light would erupt from the container at their hips and congeal to form a solid shape that stood between the creatures and the exhausted heroes. For beast, this figure would be one he might recognise as the enormous ape from the card he'd acquired earlier. For Impo, it would be a slender magician dressed in white with flowing silver hair. For Izanami, it would be a knight clad in blue and gold armor.

Each hero had inadvertently tapped into the power of this strange new world to summon a guardian spirit from the cards that had bene bestowed upon them. All that remained was for them to take charge of the situation and command their servants as befitting of a true duel master. When they did, they would find that the attacks of their summons were more than capable of damaging the creatures and wouyld be capable of making short work of the three shadows that had plagued them until now.

Once that happened, a visible distortion in the air would be noticed by all of them where the path that led to the next platform awaited them. Upon investigation, they would find that the barrier that had previously blocked the way was now gone and they could proceed to the second platform with their summons following close behind. Once they reached the center of the platform, they would find that a new foe appeared through a portal of darkness in the air.

This foe hovered in the air with its strange sword held at the ready as its yellow eyes surveyed the opponent before them. Then it would attack, going straight for the heroes unless they commanded their summon to intervene fast enough! In the case of Impo's silent magician, it would obviously struggle in the clash with this new enemy, whilst for Izanami it would still be a struggle - albeit closer to an even fight- and Beast, his ape would go toe to toe and blow for blow with this enemy in something akin to a stalemate.

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC:}
The new enemy has 2000 ATK and 2000 DEF and no special abilities.

You will require 2100 ATK (or more) to defeat it and your monsters will perish if it engages in combat with it for 3 posts at a lower ATK level.

In the case of Impo, Silent Magician will passively gain 1 spell counter per post on top of the effect that is described in my earlier post

In order to make use of your monsters DEF value, you only have to order your monster to defend. Take note: unless an effect says otherwise, a monster cannot destroy another monster while it is in defense mode.

I trust you can all figure out how to achieve victory using the cards you currently have available to you.

[Beast]

The shadows would not heed Beast's call to join him. A pity. As he moved to defend himself with his boxing and hakuda skills, he found that it was futile. Their scratches could hurt him, plenty, but he could not hurt them. Just when he was about to feel despair, just when he felt like he wasn't going to make it out of here and get his Zanpakutou back, a bright light shone on the pillar and a wild Ape appeared. Wearing Shoes, pants, and a helmet, the red muscular ape appeared to answer Beast's despair. "Ape Fighter? Crush these fools who won't heed my call." Listening to Beast's command, and obeying immediately, the Ape Fighter cruised into action.

Grabbing the first shadow off of Beast and flinging it towards the ground, the shadow was unlucky enough to not be defeated by that initial blow. Nor the second as the Ape swung a fist down like he was Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Pound after pound after pound struck the shadow until it was a pulp and dissolved into nothingness. The second shadow leapt at Beast to try and disable him, but the Ape Fighter grabbed him out of thin air and flung him off of the pillar that now had loosened its barrier. The third shadow hesitated, and the Ape Fighter capitalized on that and rushed on the offensive. A brutal upper cut sent the shadow flying upwards. Winding back his fist, and charging some sort of super attack, as soon as the shadow got back towards the pillar the fist shot out and crushed the face of the shadow and made the head explode with the sudden force.

Proud of the Ape Fighter and his immense power, Beast commended the creature from his card and commanded him to follow. "You're just the kind of fighter I can respect. Come, let us continue." Heading up the stairs, Beast was stopped by a much larger shadow holding a sword that emerged from a dark portal. "Ape Fighter! Protect your Master and use Smash attack!" The Ape Fighter jumped in front of Beast to protect him from that initial blow from the sword that probably could have killed Beast instantly. He caught the sword and punched the shadowy figure, but the figure responded by headbutting the Ape Fighter and wrenching the sword free.

They continued to trade blows without seeming to have any results. Beast looked around to see what he could do about this stalemate, when he saw a number floating above the Shadow man's head. It said 2000/2000. That must be the Attack and Defense values of the monster they were fighting. On Ape Fighter's card it said 1900/1200. That wasn't good. Ape Fighter was bound to be destroyed if they kept fighting like this. Pulling out the card, Beast read it more completely. Oh! Ape Fighter gains power from defeating other enemies. He had just trounced 3 shadows, so his power should raise by 900 Attack and Defense. "Ape Fighter! Umm... Activate effect? Whatever you've gotta do to gain the power from your defeated shadows!"

Ape Fighter's muscles bulged and the next punch cracked the monster's sword. The following punch shattered it completely. The last punch blew the head off of the monster with 2800 ATK force. "Good, Ape Fighter, good! Now, we just need to keep you attacking so we don't lose the power you've gained. Let's move on quickly! But... where to?" Not seeing any immediate path available to him, Beast decided to wait until he received further instructions. After all, it'd be foolish to just jump off the edge of the pillar if another path was going to open up to him for defeating the sword wielding monster.

[Izanami Midorikawa]

This wasn't turning out to be anything that Nami was ready for the creatures made from shadows didn't receive any sort of pain or damage from her physical attacks and she couldn't make herself any stronger without her Fullbringer. What she was suppose to do wasn't clear to her, would it have been clear to anyone though? She had tried to put some distance between herself and the creatures, but as she tried she slammed into what she realized was an invisible wall preventing further movement. It looked like she was going to fail at whatever game the entity that had brought her and the others here wanted them to play.

There was only one thing she could think to try. She couldn't release her true power simply because her Fullbring was no longer with her, but she did possessed something that she didn't quite understand yet knew was potent compared to other Fullbringers. She began to focus on her eyes sending her reiatsu through her veins in the hopes that she would be able to command the environment of this world like she could in any of the other dimensions. As she prepared though something happened. The container on her hip began to shine and suddenly the large knight with a massive shield that had been on the surface of one of the three cards was now in front of her blocking the attacks of the creatures like an adult playing with children.

It took a few moments yet Nami watched as the knight began to cut down each creature one after another with its short sword. Once they were all slain Nami began to piece things together now knowing that it seemed the cards that she received were the keys to playing this game. She would need to read them over carefully and then use them accordingly. As she progressed onwards Nami took out the other two cards that she had been given taking note that both stated that they could increase the attack of whatever they were equipped too. It was obvious that Nami herself wasn't meant to battle in this dimension meaning that she would have to rely on this knight like she were a Bount.

Out of nowhere there was another creature now in the sky that began to rush towards her. Flipping backwards Nami leaped off the ground landing behind her knight. "Defend against him." The rapid impacting attacks hitting against the large shield were deafening yet Nami could see that this creature had an attack value higher than the defense of her own creature. She would already have to use one of the other two cards in order to progress any further. Raising the blue card towards her knight suddenly the short-sword that it had been holding in its right hand shifted in a white light into a massive battle ax. "Attack." Whispered Nami as the knight bashed the creature with its massive shield only to then slam the ax down cleaving it in two. It was time to keep moving forward.

[Impossible]

Just as hope for the young failure seemed gone, a bright light started to glow from his hip. In reflex, Impo shielded his eyes from the light, hoping to avoid being blinded. After a few moments, the lightshow faded, and the failure lowered his arm, revealing the cause. Standing before him, between himself and the shadowed creature, stood what he could only describe as a priest or mage. A short person with silver hair, preventing the monster from ending his meager existence. His mouth was agape at the sudden intervention from his now savior.

The beast that had very nearly ended his life had been stunned by the lights, giving the mage ample time to dispatch it. Pointing something at the creature, another blast of light followed, dispelling the threat with little effort. It let out a pained screech as it faded back into nothing, flailing for the briefest of moments. The other one followed shortly after, falling victim to another blast of beautiful lights. Impo actually felt a twinge of jealousy. He was unable to do anything against these things, yet this person could destroy them with ease?

Impo, still staring with his mouth hanging loose from his position on the floor, didn't notice his savior until he turned around to offer a hand. Or she, since it appeared that the spellcaster was a girl. And he did mean girl, as he took her hand. She struggled to help him, due to both her youthful appearance, as well as her smaller stature. She barely looked ten, and looked like someone going out trick-or-treating with how out of place those large robes and hat appeared on her. It was adorable really. He was about to thank her, when he noticed the smug look on her face.

Naturally, the failure gave her a half hearted glare. "What's so funny?" He asked, not exactly sure he would like the answer. She giggled silently, before putting her finger under her eye, and dragging it down like a tear. The human could feel a vein on his head throb, as she made silent crying motions to taunt him further. "Why you little!" Impo jump at her in an attempt to throttle her, a fruitless attempt, as she not only was stronger than him spiritually, but also physically, dodging any attempt he made, silently laughing all the while, taunting him even further.

After a few moments, he gave up with a huff. Impo let her have her fun for saving him, so now it was time to move on. Taking a short look around, they saw only one way to continue. A small bridge on the edge of the platform, leading to another one. Impo let out a heavy sigh. "Come on, let's go see what else this place has waiting to kill us." He motioned for her to follow, and she did so without hesitation, still not speaking a word to him. It took the two less than a minute to cross over to the next platform, and boy do he regret that.

Almost as soon as the two touched down, a darkness appeared from the middle of the stage. A swirling black void hovered in the air, before a new, more demonic opponent appeared before them. With an evil visage, the creature wasted no time in launching an attack on the failure, swinging its odd sword in an attempt on splitting him in two. "Sh#t! Help!" He called out, taking a step back, before falling down. Hearing his cry, the loli-mage jumped in, blocking the cleaving blow for Impo, barely managing to do so. Her defense wasn't enough to fully block the attack, and sent her flying into the failure.

It was clear that the Silent Magician wasn't strong enough to defeat the demon with the power she had at the moment, but what could he do? Then, a glow came from his pocket. One of the other cards! He quickly grabbed it. "Magical blast? What's a spell counter?" He was confused, but his companion perked her head at the term, nodding to him. "Okay, here goes nothing." Holding out the card at the monster, he yelled out its name. "Magical blast!" He yelled, as a large purple mass of energy shot out at the monster.

The blast impacted and overwhelmed the demonic swordsman, carving a large hole though its torso, killing it near instantaneously. The white mage glowed for a second once the spell activated, before losing it altogether. Something she wasn't exactly eager to explain. This time Impo helped her up, and they both gave each other a nod of respect, before continuing forward. The failure now had one spell left, and just barely made it out alive of this these last two encounters. The next threat could be their last if the duo weren't careful. Only time would tell if they survived.