An Elegant Awakening!

It was the day of the Struggle Tournament! Yuuki was participating as one would expect, the matches weren't too notable this time around... Evidently, she had done a lot of improving due to all of the training and fighting she had done. It seemed like, at the very least, she was going to win the Tournament. Most of her matches ended up being quick, as she plowed her way through each opponent and snatched up all the points she could in the process. Even if they were half decent fighters, and could even outmatch her normally... Most weren't prepared for her one-two combos.

You see, she had been pushing herself even harder, so that she can throw two attacks in a shorter time span, it ended up being doubly beneficial because now she could also react twice as fast for defensive maneuvers. In a prolonged fight, it would probably be dangerous for her to keep that up... But she hit hard and fast, most of the competitors just weren't ready for it. Even the final round of the Tournament had ended the same way, Yuuki found it a little disappointing that it had gotten so much easier.

Sure, this was her goal. But what was next? Well, there was still the Champion... Things carried right onto him getting announced into the ring, and as he stepped into the fray... Something was off, it was like time was slowing down. The cheers of the crowd slowed down around her, and everyone just froze into spot. It was an odd sight, to say the least. "Uh... The heck is going on?", the youth questioned as she glanced around. Still, no one was moving, and that meant no one could respond to her question.

Mood Music

She didn't have to wait much longer, the world around her began to fade into darkness. Including the ground! "Whoa!", she shouted as she fell over, though despite the fact that it looked like there was nothing below her... She still hit a solid surface. The inky black beneath her began to slowly turn into what appeared to be a brightly colored stained glass. Yuuki slowly stood up, and looked around her... Nothing as far as the eye could see, it was just a big empty void aside from whatever it was she was standing on.

It looked like a stained glass surface... So what was depicted on it? Yuuki walked around to try and get a good feel for what was on it. It was a depiction of... Herself? Why? That didn't make any sense. Just what the heck was this place, anyway? The more she questioned, the less the answers came. It wasn't entirely unpleasant here at least, it was just... Incredibly odd. "I'm pretty sure I didn't take any nasty blows to the head...", the girl commented to herself, her voice echoing through the darkness.

Still nothing appeared to come of it, however...

A voice called out from the dark void..yet it also felt as if it was calling out from within her at the same time. It was understandable to her, yet it made no noise.

"Do not be afraid, you have been chosen. Chosen to awaken to your true potential."

"There is a primal darkness within mankind's hearts...You will soon unlock the power to free them from this darkness."

Three objects rose from the platform...A blade, powerful and strong, a shield, couragous and protecting. A staff, wise and teaching. All of these carried a description she instantly understood without ever having reason to, yet it was natural to her as if she knew before even thinking about it.

The voice grew silent, she could already tell it was awaiting her decision before speaking again, this voice was calm...Patient, wise, all of these things she could feel just from within her, without ever truly hearing it. It was kind on top of it all, only seeking to teach her, to clear her confusion and help her realize her power, it never said a word about any of these things, she had the natural ability to tell without even thinking of it, as if it gave that to her.

It was such an odd sensation... To hear, but not hear someone speaking to her. To understand someone without ever meeting them, and of course... To know the meaning of three objects that had appeared before her. A Sword, a Staff, and a Shield. Each of these represented different forms of power, and to pick one meant to give that power strength. She had always been rather fond of fighting, so that seemed a rather obvious choice... Yuuki calmly makes her way over to the sword, and carefully climbs up onto the large stone pedestal. After doing so, she grasps the sword by the hilt.

She examines it's blade, it looked rather well made... She tests out a few swings with it. "Huh... Not a bad sword. I still prefer mine, though.", Yuuki mused as she then glanced upwards, as if waiting to hear from that person again. "What exactly happened to me? Did I die or... Get knocked unconscious, or something like that?", she inquired. Whoever this being was, they were being friendly to her. Trying to guide her through all of this, so she didn't register them as a potential threat...

Maybe they had the time to answer her questions about all of this. "Well, I guess that wouldn't really make sense... If I'm here to get power given form, does that mean I'm going to fight something? Is that why you've brought me here?", the girl took the time to correct herself, and asked what she thought to be the proper question in this scenario. Although, given the circumstances... It was a little hard to tell what was right, and what wasn't right. The usual concepts didn't seem to apply here.

Wherever 'here' was.

The voice spoke once more. "The choice of a warrior..."

The pedastals all sunk into the floor, vanishing from sight, her questions were all answered soon after. "There is a strong power inside you, it waits to be awoken..." A rather indirect answer, though it seemed to confirm she wasn't dead, anyway.

"The darkness will attempt to consume the world, that is what you must fight." It led this brief statement by causing the platform to slowly fade until she was left in the dark...And then the world around her appeared, she was back in Twilight town...At the struggle tournament. But something wasn't right. Three of her opponents stood before her, each spoke one after the other, giving her time to process them all.

"What is it that you most want in life?" Said the first combatant inexperienced yet willing.

"What is it that you're so afraid of?" Asked the second combatant, wiser, yet calmer.

"What do you treasure most?" Asked the third and final combatant, her words boastful, yet happy.

The endless void of inky blackness then began to distort and fade around her. Yuuki was soon standing back in Twilight Town... But something was different here, it looked so lifeless. The three combatants she had faced earlier were standing in the ring now, but they didn't seem to be seeking a fight. Instead they asked her questions, their mannerisms, their tone of voice were different somehow. But all the same she felt compelled to answer their questions. The first was what she wanted most out of life. The girl thought it over for a moment, her immediate answer was just 'to be a strong warrior!'

But that felt like an answer that would be cheating. "I want to be a hero, someone that people can rely on no matter how bad things get!", the girl responded truthfully. The next question was what she was afraid of, this was a more difficult question to be poised to her. There were plenty of things that she was afraid of, but what was the correct answer in this regard? Silence took hold as she brought a hand to her chin and thought it over as best as she could.

"Not being able to protect everyone I care about. That's what I'm most afraid of.", Yuuki stated in a calm tone of voice. It was a lot for her to admit... But it was true, that was why she ended up pushing herself so hard in the first place. She wanted to be someone that people could rely on, and if she wasn't able to do that when it mattered the most... Well, that was her greatest fear. The two tied rather nicely together. So the final question turned to what she treasured most.

It was pretty clear what her answer would be at this point, but Yuuki responded all the same. "My friends and family are what I treasure most. Without them, I don't know if life would be worth it.", she stated. That was all three questions, she still had some of her own. But... It seemed like the further she went along, the more she would find out. Yuuki opted to wait patiently for what was going to happen next, rather than incessantly ask questions of the mysterious voice she could understand.

"A hero? Is that really something to strive for?" The first combatant asked in a tone of genuine curiosity, not as if mocking her answer.

"Is that really so terrifying?" Asked the second, once again showing more curiosity than actually questioning her choice.

"Family...Commendable." With this short statement from the third, the area vanished, the familiar black void returning once more. The platform too returned. Though something was off...Indeed a shadow appeared from out of the floor, a strangeinky black creature adorned with sharp claws.

"Do not be afraid. You have the power to drive away darkness." The voice from before stated, the blade Yuuki had acquired began to dimly glow.

________

One Heartless has appeared! Stats: 750 Potential, 250 Willpower

Each of the combatants voiced curiosity or some form of praise to Yuuki's chosen answers. It was strange, they seemed alive and yet... Somehow devoid of it at the same time, like they weren't their original selves at all. As much as she tried to keep her cool about it, she had to admit that it was pretty creepy... But she wasn't going to back down now! Bravery didn't mean that you weren't afraid, it just meant that you were afraid but chose to face down with those fears anyway! That thought pattern caused her to tightly grip her sword's hilt.

Good timing, as a weird creature just appeared out of nowhere! Yuuki immediately eased herself into her fighting stance, which... Wasn't really all that refined, but hey, it was better to be prepared rather than just stand there like nothing was wrong! She 'heard' that voice again, or was able to understand the words without hearing them. That was still a confusing concept for her... But in any case, it told her not to be afraid, as she had the power to drive away the darkness. With that, Yuuki grinned in response.

"Darn right I do! You aren't prepared for all this CLASS!", she leaped through the air straight at the creature, swinging her blade down fiercely at it. She poured all of her strength into the blow, but being able to accurately judge her opponent, she knew that alone wouldn't be enough to deal with it! "Take this!", she'd add in another shout as she spun around and extended the palm of her free hand towards the creature! Shortly after, a bolt of lightning would crash down on it!

...Well, that's how it went in her head. There was the possibility that the creature was able to react in some fashion, but she didn't care! This was her unique fighting style, to combat physical power with magical ability! This sorry little thing didn't stand a chance! She'd almost feel bad for it if not for the fact that it would likely claw her face off if given half the chance. Shame, almost looks like it'd make for a cute pet, really. Ah well, no time to be distracted by that train of thought!

Yuuki needed to keep her guard up, even if she had somehow wiped out this enemy as fast as she intended, that didn't mean there weren't more on the way! And now she needed to be careful... She was able to keep up this style of offense up for longer than if she went purely magical or purely physical, but either way she'd still feel the drain as the battle went on without rest. She'd need to pace herself, and that meant she would be at risk of taking injury... But hey, upsides.

She only saw the one creature so far.

_______________________
Using Elegant Stride [SK Level 1] for 175 damage! 1 Stamina used
Yuuki then proceeded to make use of Time Out [AB] to perform a second action!
Using Thunder [SP Level 1] for 175 damage! 1 Mana used

The creature struggled in vain to rush Yuuki, however failed as first it was knocked away by her odd key shaped weapon, then struck by thunder as it had little chance of escaping the vicious combo attack.

-Heartless has been destroyed after taking 350 damage!-

All seemed calm enough, however soon a large shade began to appear, shadows coming in from the void and gathering around it as it grew continually. Eventually a massive beast far bigger than the smaller shadow had appeared ahead of her.

The dark beast Lurched forward, glaring at Yuuki, clearly her opponent now, clearly far greater.

-Darkside has appeared! 1000 potential 400 Willpower-

The voice appeared in her mind once more, it's words reassuring despite the seemingly insurmountable odds ahead of the girl. "Do not fear the darkness, for your blade is the one that can banish it." It's words different, yet the same as before, as if driving the point in.

Yuuki grinned, and spun her blade around with a single hand. "That'll teach ya!", she'd exclaim. She loved being a show off... Just too bad there wasn't a crowd here to see that spectacular victory! ...But then, there was an overwhelming sense of foreboding in the air, like something really bad was about to happen, and that wasn't entirely off the mark. She turned to see a massive shadow forming, this one was big... REALLY big. It towered over her easily, and she'd wager it'd do the same for small houses.

As it finished forming, it lurched towards her, and she nimbly rolled to the side in order to evade being caught by the massive beast. Shortly after, she'd 'hear' the voice from before... She definitely wasn't afraid of this thing, even if it was a hell of a lot bigger than she was! She could "see" it... It wasn't that much stronger than the creature she fought before, at least not in the sense of being more stable... Another vicious combo, and it'd be in a world of serious hurt! Yuuki grinned and eased into stance again.

"Let's dance!", she'd shout. After that she'd charge into action! With one hand, she brought her blade into proper bearing, with the other, she opened her palm as electricity began to form above it. Yuuki would proceed to leap into the air, slashing at one of the creature's claws with as much of her might as she could throw into it! She threw all of her momentum into it, causing her to flip in the air. As she was facing upwards, however... It'd take just the right amount of timing!

But she'd point her hand outward, and unleash her lightning on the huge beast's head! "HAAGH!", would escape her mouth, she'd then hit the ground and roll again, getting back onto her feet as she'd turn to face the large shadow once more. If her blows were uninterrupted... That did a lot of damage to it! Hopefully they were, because she was starting to really feel the fatigue now. The girl was taking ragged breaths, she never was very good at pacing herself when she saw an opportunity to defeat an enemy.

That was something that Riyya was much better at, she thought. Hell, most Struggle matches didn't encourage you to take your time anyway! Just rush in there, pound away and pick up all the orbs! It was a simple philosophy of battle, and one that she personally felt that she got pretty good at! In any case, Yuuki would attempt to back off a bit. She could have done a huge amount of damage to it, but it certainly wasn't defeated yet. And it could be very pissed off with her after that...

Worth it.
________________
Using Elegant Stride [SK Level 1] for 175 damage! 1 Stamina used
Yuuki then proceeded to make use of Time Out [AB] to perform a second action!
Using Thunder [SP Level 1] for 175 damage! 1 Mana used
Stamina 1/3, Mana 1/3

The beast reached for Yuuki, but it was in vain as she reacted faster than it could, indeed her skills proved more than enough to best the creature. It struggled to block her attack, but was not fast enough, thrown off guard, it was then struck by lightning, reeling back from it.

The creature roars, sweeping it's arm across the platform right towards Yuuki, it's quite lanky, and reaches fairly far despite it all, even with it's inky dark appearence, it looked like it would hurt to be hit by it.

-Darkside used [SK1] Sweep against Yuuki for 350 damage!-

Darkside Stamina 2/3

The Darkside's huge reach became readily apparent, even as Yuuki tried to back off to a safe distance. Utilizing a sweeping attack with it's massive claw, the girl only had a scarce amount of time to react to it in attempts to block it! She'd move her blade in attempts to at least stop the blow from damaging her as much... It helped. But not nearly as much as she would have liked, Yuuki was sent crashing to the ground, and rolled a little too close to the edge of the stained glass platform for comfort.

But she managed to stop herself, and slowly got back to her feet. That hurt like hell... She was going to make it pay for that one! "My turn!", she'd shout, once more charging back into the fray. "HYAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!", would escape her mouth as she then kicked off of the ground with everything she could muster! Her aim wasn't the beast's claws, or it's torso... She was going straight for the head! She'd raise her blade overhead, and when the distance closed, she'd swing downward with the momentum.

"TAKE THIS!!", she'd exclaim as she hoped her blade would hit it's mark. If all else failed, she'd at least get some of her bearings back... She could fight from a distance with her magic, and that would surely be enough to take care of this thing if it reacted to this attack! She was so close to defeating it, and she wasn't going to let it have a victory after all of her hard work! One way or another, she was going to walk out of this alive!

Then she was going to finish the Struggle Tournament, and walk away as a Champion! More than just a Champion of a game, but one out of true battle! With that type of experience under her belt, she'd be able to set out on an actual journey! There was a rising excitement in the girl, as if feeling the potential surging through herself... There was still so much farther to go, but she was finally able to realize some of it, even if it was small! And this thing, she was beating it! How many people could claim that?

One way or another, she was going to get back home to Riyya, too! Yuuki had no intentions of abandoning her little sister... Not yet, not ever! She'd finally drop to the ground, taking more ragged breaths as she slowly turned towards the creature again... So now the question was, did she actually manage to defeat it just now, or was she going to take another massive attack before getting another opening? She was about to find that out, and it sent a different sort of excitement coursing through her body... This really could be bad if it went on too long.

But she's been in situations like that all the time, she didn't get this far by backing out now! The only way out is through! That's it... She just had to think of this thing like it was blocking the way to her home, to Riyya!
________________________
Yuuki blocked with 125 defense! 225 damage taken!
Yuuki used Elegant Stride [SK1] again! 175 damage dealt!
Stamina 0/3, Mana 2/3

Yuuki's Final strike was dealt rather quickly, the fleeting Darkside could hardly even hope to keep up, it's strength mattered little in the end. As the strike met it's mark, the Darkside began to collapse...But not before reaching out and grabbing Yuuki. It's hands pulling at her as the shade formed below her, pulling her into the darkness and through the platform. The Darkside's grip was solid, not letting her budge.

It seemed terrible, like there was no hope, like her fate was to be consumed...But a light formed overhead, and the voice spoke up again. "It may seem relentless, but you are one of the few who will open the door, press on through even the harshest of challenges, and do not fear the darkness." "I am watching over you and your travels, the light will protect you. Always."

Yuuki grinned as her strike hit the shadowy beast perfectly on the mark! That was a hell of a victory! But... Damn it, it wasn't dead yet, somehow it was resisting death just long enough to grab hold of her and start dragging her down into the abyss forming below! The girl struggled with everything she could muster, but it was no use... Somehow, it was still so much more powerful than she was! "Grr... I will not be defeated after that...!", she'd shout, there was still one thing she could do in order to break free.

It'd be difficult... And dangerous, but in times like this, you just had no choice! "You think you can beat me?! I'll show you what I can do! TAKE THIS!!", she'd exclaim as a bolt of lightning then struck down, she was using her magic! It came in dangerously close proximity to her, but thankfully she knew enough about magic so that it wouldn't endanger her life TOO much. Not anymore than the thing holding onto her and dragging her down into the darkness! There was no way she'd just let that happen!

But somehow, it still wasn't letting go of her! "Determined... I am too! I'll show you all what I can do!!", Yuuki would shout again as another bolt of lightning struck down onto her foe. By that point, she was able to slightly edge her way out of the grasp of the Darkside, not that it mattered much... The darkness below had spread to the entire platform, but at least now, she was facing it on her own terms! With just a bit more resistance...

She'd pull herself free, and leap into the air. "My name is Yuuki Nagano! Remember it, not because I'll die, but because I'll overcome every single one of you bastards of the dark!", she'd add, steeling herself and raising her blade once more as she fell towards the inky blackness below. It felt as if time was slowing down around her... The adrenaline was coursing through her body at such an accelerated pace, the truth of the matter was, she'd been pushed to her limits. She couldn't keep fighting forever.

But she sure as hell was going to try! She'd finally hear that voice again... Assuring her that even if her enemies seemed relentless, she must press on through even harsher challenges... Yuuki grinned. "Yeah... This isn't an ending, it's a beginning!", she'd reply with confidence held in her heart. She refused to be overtaken by the darkness, she'd go down fighting every last enemy if she must, but she'd never lose herself! Finally, she'd impact against the ground, and begin sinking into the darkness that threatened to engulf her.

Yuuki would begin to swing her blade with all of her might, perhaps in a futile effort, but this was her way! If she gave up now, she'd definitely never see Riyya again!
_______________________________________________
Despite being grabbed, Yuuki makes use of Thunder [SP1] for 175 damage!
Yuuki makes use of Time Out [AB] to attack again!
Yuuki casts Thunder [SP1] once more for 175 damage! Both of these in attempts to break free! Upon doing so, fluffing attempted attacks to beat back the Darkness, but inevitably lose.
Stamina 1/3, Mana 0/3

(4th time)
Yuuki! Kingdom Key can't handle all this class!

For the awakening your gains are x2!

Since you're a basic human, your starting stats are 500/500 Willpower and Potential!

Your gains are as follows:

340 Willpower for 840 Willpower

290 Potential for 790 Potential

Munny gains are 405, I can't add this myself for some weird reason

Gains have all been distributed, have fun!