第四章　シャイニング・ドラゴン
Chapter 4: Shining Dragon

Dark Yugi felt that this battle was a Game of Darkness.
A Game of Darkness is a fierce battle where the damage in a duel doesn’t just stop at as a numerical value, but affects on the duelists’ body and spirit.
However, there was something mysterious in this one compared to past Games of Darkness. Kaiba was not in possession of one of the seven Millennium Items. In the past, Pegasus J. Crawford, Malik, and even Dark Bakura, all of which Dark Yugi engaged in a Game of Darkness with, were each a possessor of a Millennium Item.
The Millennium Tome of Sorcery is a book that descends from ancient times in Egypt. However, deciphering the spells written in it was difficult, its contents were long, and it remained a mystery. It was Aknadin the Wise during the reign of Aknamkanon that was the first who could decipher it.
The arts as written in the Millennium Tome of Sorcery spoke of contracting rituals with deities and devils known as The Laws of Dark Alchemy. The implements needed for these contracts are the Millennium Items.
The Millennium Items were made from alchemy by transforming base metals into precious metals by using special techniques. Possessors undertake great anguish as a cost and there are even some who lose their life.
Arts are written in the Millennium Book of Sorcery that allow one to, by controlling both deity and demon, make any kind of troop fall prostrate before them. If they had that power, they could dominate the world.
It is said, according to the ideas of Ancient Egypt, that humans have demons living in the darkness of their minds called Ka. The art to call forth these Ka into the real world and control them with human’s spirit, or Ba, was the mysterious power that Ancient Egyptians couldn’t stop wishing for.
There were those who contained these Ka in stone tablets and controlled them at will. The game of Duel Monsters itself is based on these practices and the Games of Darkness are has these practices brought back into the present day.
Therefore, you need a Millennium Item for a Game of Darkness. That would mean that the one behind the Game of Darkness was someone other than Kaiba, since he lacks a Millennium Item.
The three God cards are placed at the highest rank in Duel Monsters. The God of Obelisk, The Saint Dragon of Osiris, The Winged Dragon of Ra. Each of the three Mythic Divine Beasts symbolizes a polarity of all things in the universe: Obelisk for light and dark, Osiris for good and evil, and Ra for heaven and earth.
The one who obtains all three of these rare cards can obtain the reigning title over the pinnacle of the reigning classes of the Dueling World along with the legend of being eternally unbeatable. They say that Pegasus J. Crawford said that creating these three rare cards was his biggest mistake afterwards, for those cards had enormous strength as if they had a godly force dwelling in them.
They are forbidden cards which can be either good or evil depending on the handler. If an evil heart controls the cards, they could endanger the lives of their opponents. No, they could possibly possess their powers as ultimate weapons, not only as part of the game, but even in the real world.
Pegasus attempted to dispose of the three Mythic Divine Beast cards with his own hands, but all of the severities of their power involved made him unable to do that on his own, after all. Pegasus was struck with the idea of putting the three God cards to rest for all eternity deep in the bowels of the earth in the Valley of the Kings, their birthplace. The Egyptian Bureau of Archeology sealed each of the cards in three spots in the Valley of the Kings.
Kaiba, who doesn’t even have a Millennium Item, shouldn’t be able to seal off the three God cards, with the degree of power they have, with a single card, the Pyramid of Light.
Dark Yugi had a hunch. (Someone is behind Seto Kaiba. My bet is that Kaiba is being controlled by that force. That someone must have some kind of Millennium Item. No, maybe that reversed Millennium Puzzle we saw at Domino City Museum, that pyramid made of crystal, was an eigth Millennium Item!? But at any rate, I have to end the Game of Darkness immediately and get us out of the Pyramid of Light…If the vision I had back then is really a premonition, then I will lose…and Kaiba, having won, will forfeit his life…I have to end this duel with me winning in order to make sure that premonition is never realized.)
Where were they at in turns? Yugi continued the duel within a foggy consciousness. However, the Genocide Virus once again stretches its eerie tentacles towards the deck on Yugi’s arm.
“Wah ha ha ha ha! Ten cards will once again be randomly sent from your deck into your Cemetery!”
Kzzt Kzzt! Sparks flew from Dark Yugi’s Duel Disk, destroying ten cards and sending them to the Cemetery. He caught sight of Black Magician Girl, looking as if she was in pain, amongst those cards.
(It even got Black Magician Girl…) To Dark Yugi, his spellcasters are special. Not only does he refer to them as pivotal points to his deck, but also as good and very close friends. Dark Yugi has climbed over many a difficult situation to this very date by gaining the strength of his spellcasters. (You guys have protected me countless numbers of times before, yet I failed to protect you all again. I’ve lost more than half of my cards already…) Despite needing to win the duel, the only things getting denser were the signs of defeat.
Yet another Peten the Dark Clown crops up and stands aside Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
“Now where have I seen this sight before? Déjà vu, isn’t it Yugi? Your turn was nothing but a bunch of futile resistance in the end.”
(Kaiba’s right…) Dark Yugi had nothing to retort with and did nothing more but murmur “I end my turn.” (Kaiba’s deck is terribly well thought out…I need to do something about that surging combo of his…) Dark Yugi sincerely thought.
The card Kaiba drew and that is in his hand was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. (You’re all here, my dragons.) Kaiba murmured and chuckled inside of his mind.
Dragons are Kaiba’s key cards as spellcasters are to Yugi. Kaiba himself didn’t know that he was the reincarnation of the Priest Seto, son of Aknadin the Wise, younger brother to the king, during the reign of King Aknamkamon in Ancient Egypt. The special Ka produced by the Ba of a white-skinned woman the Priest Seto loved was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Seto Kaiba didn’t choose the Blue-Eyes White Dragon merely because of the level of his own choice. They have a deep relationship where there spirits are drawn towards one another.
“I activate the Magic card Fusion, fusing together the Blue-Eyes on the field and the two Blue-Eyes in my hand!” Zmmmm—With their silver skin gleaming, the three Blue-Eyes White Dragon came on to the scene with a majestic air about them. The gleam got even brighter as the three dragons overlap into one and form an amassing of silver light. “Come forth, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” The three-headed Ultimate Dragon emerged from behind the tremendous light and smoke with Kaiba’s words.
Gweeeergh! The Ultimate Dragon lifted its three heads and roared. Multi-headed dragons are symbols of ill omen that lay waste to even the gods. And now, a three-headed dragon had appeared on the field as a symbol of Yugi’s destruction.
(Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?! Kaiba’s mightiest monster! An ultimate dragon, which exceeds even the Gods in terms of attack power!) Dark Yugi marveled at the emergence of the hetromorphic white dragon.
Kaiba declares, brimming with confidence, “Yugi, let’s battle! Ultimate Burst!!” The three heads flip open their jaws and fires its energy with a wooshing sound. The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, with an attack power of 4500, pierces right through the Magician’s Valkyria, with an attack power of 3600. The Magician’s body had evaporated within an instant in the overly tremendous energy rather than being destroyed, and the tremendous pressure shot through Dark Yugi.
“G-Gggh…” Dark Yugi’s Life Points reduce by 900 from 2400 to 1500. If Magician’s Valkyria didn’t have Mage Power equipped to it, Dark Yugi’s Life Points would have reduced to 0 in front of the overwhelming attack power.
An amount of glowing blue life force, more massive than any before it, rose from his body. Dark Yugi clutched his arm and sunk to one knee. (There’s no doubt in my mind! I myself am being damaged every time my Life Points reduce…This is a Game of Darkness being ruled by the ancient practices.) Dark Yugi’s vague hunch was turning into certainty. (Kaiba should be getting damaged when his Life Points reduced as well.) Dark Yugi endured the pain and sternly faced Kaiba.
“Kaiba, aren’t you noticing it as well!? You have to be feeling an extreme pain, unlike any you would ever feel normally, when your Life Points decrease. Just stop and try to think why that’s happening. It’s because this is a Game of Darkness!”
“Game of Darkness, you say…?”
“Yeah, the field has been engulfed in a wicked force ever since the Pyramid of Light was activated. It’s because the Pyramid of Light you used is a card of darkness descended from ancient times which holds magical powers and can wield influence on the real world!”
“Quit making your accusations, Yugi! Do you intend on going on about your nonsense occult tales!? Hurry up and continue with the duel!!”
“What…?” Dark Yugi glanced at Kaiba, who was brimming with confidence. (The look on Kaiba’s face is clear and serene…Has Kaiba not realized the dark powers…? Or maybe the guy behind this duel already has his soul under his control. Tch…The guy who’s using Kaiba and who’s behind this duel has to be somewhere…) Dark Yugi remembered the voice he heard along with the vision at the Domino City Museum.
When both Light and Dark intersect—The King of Light will destroy the Sacred Beasts of Darkness and lay waste to the King of Darkness. When enough light is fulfilled—The King of Destruction will reborn.
(The speaker of that voice is somewhere in this Dome…)
“It’s your turn!” Kaiba was anxious in the face of victory.
Dark Yugi was clearly distracted by the Game of Darkness and lost concentration towards the duel. Although not having any kind of monster barrier in the face of the Ultimate Dragon, he wouldn’t take a break.
“Yugi…This is your ultimate choice. Do you want to be finished by my Virus Combo? Or do you want to be finished by my Ultimate Dragon? Pick one or the other!” Kaiba says to draw Dark Yugi’s sentiments back to the duel.
Whether Dark Yugi’s sentiments had returned to the duel, he glanced sharply at Kaiba.
(There’s only about ten cards left in my deck, but I will not lose! I will defeat all that stand in the way, for my partner, for Kaiba—and to honor the promise I made with Mokuba.) “You’re too ahead of yourself, Kaiba! I’ve always trusted in my deck until the very last card…My drawing has pulled me through even the toughest of situations before.” Dark Yugi poised his Duel Disk sternly. “I’ll let everything ride on this draw!”
“Why don’t you show me the strength of your draws?”
Dark Yugi, drawing the card from his deck quickly, feels a definite response and smirks. It was the card that would revive the severed bonds between Dark Yugi and his spellcasters. Dark Yugi aligned himself with his spellcasters and switched to the offense at a single stroke.
“Reverse card, open! I use Resurrection of the Dead to Special Summon Black Magician Girl!” A warm light shines and the cute Black Magician Girl appeared on the field. “Next! Reverse card, open! Philosopher’s Jewel! When a Black Magician Girl is on my side of the field, this card’s effect can Special Summon a Black Magician from my deck!” A card shot from his deck and the dark-spellcaster appeared on the field.
“Resistance is futile, Yugi! You have your two Magicians out together, but you can’t do a single thing!”
“My turn isn’t over just yet.”
“Grr…” Kaiba remained quiet, overawed by Dark Yugi’s drive.
“I sacrifice both of my Magicians…!” Black Magician Girl and Black Magician disappeared into darkness. With a bodiless shadow left on the field, it mixed into one and formed a black vortex like a black hole would.
“Special Summoning the Black Magic Priest – Magic Hierophant of Black!” Another dark shadow emerged from the black vortex. Its black cloak covered a wall of light like the darkness of night covers the evening sky. Its cloak billows in the wind. Appearing from underneath was a sage with a level of majesty more than any spellcaster before. “Magic Hierophant of Black’s effect will reduce the attack power of Blue-Eyes White Dragon! During battle, the monster targeted for battle will have its attack and defense power reduced by 500 for each Spellcaster-type in each and every Cemetery!”
“What?!”
“As of now, my Magician’s Valkyria, Black Magician and Black Magician Girl are resting in the Cemetery. That means that with the help of my magicians, Ultimate’s power will reduce by 1500 points.”
The prayers of the spellcasters in the Cemetery encompass the Ultimate Dragon.
Gweergh! Raising its three heads, Ultimate Dragon writhes in agony. The situation had taken a sudden and unexpected change. Tmp, tmp, tmp, tmp—The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon’s attack points dropped noisily.
“How could this be?! How could Ultimate and Magic Hierophant of Black’s powers have switched around?!” It was the first time in the entire duel that Kaiba displayed an outburst of emotions.
“Kaiba! Let’s battle!” The Magic Hierophant took action with Dark Yugi’s declaration. The 3200 attack power Magic Hierophant of Black headed towards the 3000 attack power Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. “Celestial Black Burning!!”
Its cloak fluttering, magical energies surge from the floating Magic Hierophant’s wand. Dooooogm! The shining purple aura engulfs the three-headed dragon. Kweergh! The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, its final cries of death lifting from its three sets of jaws, was destroyed.
Woooooosh—The dragon disappeared from the Ring, leaving only fierce vapors behind. Only Kaiba’s Peten the Dark Clown and Dark Yugi’s Magic Hierophant of Black remain in the Ring. The purple aura covered even Kaiba and his Life Points decreased from 2300 to 2100. The glow of life force slips out of Kaiba’s body as soon as his Life Points decrease.
(This?! Does he mean that this pain is evidence of a Game of Darkness?!) Kaiba may have lost his Ultimate Dragon, yet a strong radiance dwells in his eyes. “Yugi! This pain is being caused my Kaiba Corporation technology. The realistic Virtual Reality generated by the duel’s Solid Vision System, deceives the human brain so much that one senses even the feeling of pain.”
(No good, huh? It seems like it’s no use no matter how hard I try to convince Kaiba.)
“It’s my turn!” Kaiba draws Resurrection of the Dead, making Kaiba’s hand compose of that single card. He looks over the field, but only sees his Peten the Dark Clown. (Damn you, Yugi…But, I still have my last Peten left on the field. As long as he doesn’t destroy it, he can’t attack me directly. And the moment he destroys Peten, my Genocide Virus will activate to engulf his deck and that will be the end.)
Kaiba’s turn ended and turned into Yugi’s turn. Dark Yugi’s hand had a single card he drew as well, Exchange. “Magic Hierophant of Black’s effect drops Peten’s defense power to zero!”
“You’re attacking Peten?! Impossible! Aren’t you afraid of Genocide Virus’ effect?!”
“Let’s battle!” Dark Yugi declared in a resolute manner. The Magic Hierophant of Black, keeping the majestically wise expression on its face, with an attack power of 3200 and Peten the Dark Clown, in its smiling mask, with a defense power of 1200, confront each other. “Attack! Celestial Black Burning!!” Yugi cried and magical energies surged from the Magic Hierophant’s wand.
The Dark Clown had vanished from the field, wailing, “Kyeeeeeh!” At the same time, that should have meant that Yugi would lose.
“You’re a fool, Yugi! According to the activation of the effect of my Genocide Virus on the field, Yugi, you lose.” Dark Yugi kept silent. “You’ve disappointed me, not two times but three, Yugi! Ten cards will be sent from your deck to the Cemetery!”
On that, there should have been no more cards in Yugi’s deck and the duel should have been over. The Virus’ tentacles assaults Dark Yugi’s Duel Disk, but the Magic Hierophant stands in their way. It extends the wand in its hand out and its aura shines, making the Virus recede away.
“What!?”
“That’s too bad! Magic Hierophant of Black is a top-level magic priest! It’s able to negate the activation of Trap cards and destroy them!”
“Damn you…You had an ace like that hidden in the hole, did you?” However, the expression on Kaiba’s face was one which had a feeling of satisfaction having seen his rival’s real strength. “Only from you, Yugi…Duel King! By beating someone strong like you, I will be able to prove my own strength!”
“Kaiba…”
“It’s my turn!” The card that Kaiba drew was brimming with a celestial light which has never been seen before. The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon: that was the second of the cards he brought back from over at Pegasus’ place. (At last you come! I’ve been waiting for this moment! A new part of my dragon team! My dragon which transcends dragons!) “I activate a Magic card from my hand, Resurrection of the Dead! Be revived, Ultimate Dragon!” The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appeared on the field, wearing a white light. “And next, I’ll offer Ultimate Dragon as a sacrifice to Special Summon from my hand!”
(What?! The Ultimate Dragon should be the mightiest monster in Kaiba’s deck! And he’s going to offer it as a sacrifice!? Is he telling me that there’s a monster that even surpasses Ultimate Dragon!?)
“My monster cannot be Normal Summoned, because a power so huge is needed that all of Ultimate Dragon’s enormous vital force must be offered up for its summoning!” The three-headed dragon begins to writhe in pain and its silver skin chaps away. “My dragon who can only be summoned from my ultimate monster, who obliterates all, show yourself!”
“What? Are you telling me that there’s a dragon that surpasses your Ultimate Dragon!?”
“Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!”
The dragon with the name Ultimate begins to writhe in pain with Kaiba’s words. Dazzling light surges through the cracks in its skin. Dark Yugi spontaneously covered his face with his arm towards the brilliant shine. Ultimate’s shining silver skin crumbles away. Let there be light: the words which are said that God cried when he created the universe are appropriate as, right now, a new life-form comes into being, surpassing the level of ultimate and clad in light.
Shiiiine! Spreading its wings wrapped in a light on the level of being celestial, the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon rules the air.
“This is Blue-Eyes’ final evolutionary form!”
“Blue-Eyes’ final evolutionary form, you say?! But, however, Magic Hierophant of Black is the better in terms of attack power.”
There was no mistake with what Yugi said. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon’s attack power is 3000, but Magic Hierophant of Black’s attack power is 3200.
“Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon’s attack power increases by 300 for each Dragon in my Cemetery!” This was the cause of Kaiba’s unwavering confidence. Rare Metal Dragon, the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, and the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, making a total of five, in his Cemetery, writhe in pain as they release their energies. Energy focusing on it, the Shining Dragon clad itself again in an armor of dazzling light. “There are five Dragons in my Cemetery! Its attack power increases by 500! That means Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon’s attack power climbs to 4500!”
“But with Magic Hierophant of Black’s effect, its attack power will drop by 1500 with the help of my magicians.”
The parameter’s figures seesaw back and forth. This was just what a clash of the Dueling World’s ultimate combos should be.
“It’s no use, Yugi!” Kaiba broke a contemptuous smile. “Shining Nova!”
Energy emanated from Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon and encompassed the Magic Hierophant like a barrier.
“Gggh!” The Magic Hierophant, who had a majestic expression which has never been broken, had a look of pain about its face for the first time ever.
“What!? What happened?! The Magic Hierophant should have the upper hand.”
“The player can decide at his own discretion whether to let the effects of Magic, Traps, or Monsters which target Shining Dragon affect it or not!” Following Kaiba’s words, Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon’s attack power parameters remained at 4500.
“It had that kind of monster effect?!” Dark Yugi stood motionless in astonishment.
“Did you see that? This Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is proof of my power! I shall completely destroy all those who stand before me! Yugi, we battle!! Shining Burst!!”
The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon spread its jaws open wide with a boom. The tremendous swirl of energy could be seen inside its throat. Gwoooosh! The main torrent of light assaulted the Magic Hierophant; their attack powers being, the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon’s 4500 against the Magic Hierophant of Black’s 3200.
“Ggmmfh!” the Magic Hierophant of Black sadly wailed as it turned into black mist and disappeared. The tremendous flow of energy continued on, as if the gates of a dam were opened by muddy waters and drowns out homes. The surging flames even consumed Yugi in one burst.
“Waaaaaah!”
Yugi’s Life Points reduced by 1300 points at tremendous speed and eventually came at 200 points. Dark Yugi, white smoke raising from his whole body, wobbled forward and fell face down on the ground. Dark Yugi, face down and fallen, unconsciously murmured, “Partner…”

***
Yugi lead both Jonouchi and Honda in running on the cold stone pavement.
“Over here!”
The three go through a stone-paved passageway and project towards the great cosmos, arriving atop a broken bridge.
When they look up, a giant upside-down pyramid, the Millennium Puzzle, and a rightside-up pyramid, the Pyramid of Light, float in the pitch-black universe, clashing into one another. It was exactly how it was in the vision Yugi had.
Looking through the red eye on the Pyramid of Light, the Duel Ring looked like an illusion.
“Other Self!” Yugi inadvertently called out.
Dark Yugi lay fallen on the Ring, just like the premonition stated.
“Isn’t that Yugi there too!?” Honda exclaimed. “So that’s the other personality he’s always talking about, is it?”
Jonouchi nodded.
“The duel is still going on…But, my Other Self looks strange.”
“We came here right when Kaiba used his Pyramid of Light card, right Jonouchi?”
“Yeah, we were sucked into that swirl in that red eye.”
“The Pyramid of Light?”
“Yeah, walls of light surrounded the Duel Ring, and there was something similar to that red eye in a wall, too.”
The life force drawn out of Dark Yugi, in the Duel Ring, streams its way through the red eye to the Maze. Its glow was as beautiful as a swarm of fireflies crossing the pitch-black universe.
Yugi follows the glow with his eyes and considers something.
“What’s the matter, Yugi…?” Honda asks.
“—I had a vision in front of the mummy at Domino City Museum where me and Kaiba-kun are fighting…Kaiba won the duel, but Kaiba, the winner, got grabbed by somebody…and then I heard a premonition saying that when enough light is fulfilled, the King of Destruction will be reborn.”
“’Enough light is fulfilled’…” Honda leaned his head to the side.
“Now that you bring it up, back when the Pyramid of Light emerged, I was sure that I had the feeling that light was filling up the place,” Jonouchi said.
“—I’m sure that duel is the Game of Darkness that was in the prophecy!”
“What do you mean!?” simultaneously question both Jonouchi and Honda at what Yugi said.
“Now isn’t the time to explain the details, but I can say this. If things are left as they are, my Other Self might die. That means that I wouldn’t have a body to return to. That’s not all, Kaiba-kun, who could be fighting without a clue as to what’s going on, is in danger, and then, we might not be able to return to our own world ever again.”
“What—! So you mean we’ll die too?” Honda exclaimed.
Yugi saw the glow of life force streaming through the inside of the passageway.
“So that’s it…That shine is the glow of my Other Self’s actual life…Does this mean that this might be a Game of Darkness!? In a Game of Darkness, your Life Points aren’t just points in a game. They’re human vitality itself!”
“So it’s a game for your life, huh?”
“Isn’t there any way to save him, Yugi!?” Jonouchi was losing his cool.
“—I don’t know…But…there was a pyramid with a red eye placed in it in the altar placed in the room that those mummies were enshrined in. That glow has been flowing into that room.”
“All right, let’s try getting back to that altar room! We’re not going to understand anything by just sitting still around here, right Jonouchi!?” Honda said vigorously.
“But, we’d have to go back to the room those mummies are in again to do that,” Jonouchi muttered with a morbid face.

***
The artificial grass in the Kaiba Dome, which should be lush and green, was covered with gray debris. Sugoroku, Anzu, and Mokuba, all helpless, were there standing on top of it. They get as close to the walls of light as they could, baring going inside the Pyramid of Light.
Though they pitch plasma as soon as you touch them, aside from a nearby translucent wall, the Duel Ring appeared dimly transparent.
By looking at Kaiba, standing triumphant, and Yugi, fallen in the Ring, one could surmise the situation of the battle.
“Yugi collapsed! Yugi, snap out of it! Can you hear my voice!?” Anzu frenziedly calls out.
“The premonition will have been fulfilled on whether Yugi has lost or not!”
“Then, my Brother will die?”
“This is no long a normal duel. Yugi’s actual life is being reduced along with his Life Points. Both Kaiba-kun Yugi’s lives could be in jeopardy.”
“Are you telling us…!? Isn’t there anything that we can do!?”
“How did Brother get involved with this Game of Darkness stuff!? My Brother said he got a card to overcome the Gods from Pegasus and that he would defeat the Duel King…and he said that he would control and reign supreme over the world…”
“It’s when humans have the ambitions to overcome God that the chance for them to be exploited by the Devil is created…Kaiba-kun might have made a pact with the Devil without him even knowing.”
“That’s impossible, Brother wouldn’t!”
Crkle crkle crkle crkk—The Pyramid’s walls of light increased in brightness, the dark clouds in the sky above swirled and lightning struck the earth. A crack runs down the Kaiba Dome’s field, opening an ominous black gap. The rift in the earth spreads under their feet, trying to swallow them down to the abyss.
Just when they thought all was lost, the whipping sounds of a gigantic rotor filled the area and a rope ladder comes down before their very eyes. A helicopter was hovering in the sky they could see from the break in the Kaiba Dome’s collapsed roof. The platinum blonde hair of the man leaning from the helicopter who had dropped the rope ladder swirls around in the wind.
Pegasus yelled down to them with intensity in his face without even hiding his black, open eye-socket, “Hurry up! Quickly, climb up!”
“Pegasus!”
They grabbed ahold of the rope ladder with Mokuba being first, followed by Anzu, and then Sugoroku. Pegasus holds out his hand, pulling each of them up aboard the copter one by one. The power exerted from the youthful noble’s thin arm, which had never lifted anything heavier than a paintbrush, was unthinkable.
Sugoroku and Anzu gave their thanks for saving them, but Mokuba, whether the attitude of his older brother was strongly in play, bared hostility.
“Pegasus, why are you here?! I’m sure that Brother didn’t invite you! I don’t have an invitation card, but I sure do have the rights! Kaiba-boy made off with two cards…”
“It was my understanding that it was an Ante Rule duel!”
“Yes. But, the only card I developed was Shining Dragon. The other card was not something that I made! There might be some kind of dark powers at play here. This duel is a Game of Darkness. We must stop this duel immediately.”
“So it was just as I had feared!?”
“But how can we possibly stop this? Our voices don’t even reach to the inside of that Pyramid…”
“I don’t possess the answer to that either…”
“Brother…”
Anzu thought, (Yugi…Maybe the one inside the Pyramid dueling is the other personality within Yugi…the Dark Yugi that Yugi calls his “Other Self”…) Anzu had known that Yugi had two personalities within him. At first, she was bewildered when she found it out.
The one that Anzu held feelings for more than a friend was the other personality—the Dark Yugi—who wins his duels using his sharp wit and profound understanding.
However, she realized one day that the reason why Yugi, the original personality, has such a seemingly weak character is because of the kindness within his heart.
And, she also knew that a blazing friendship that won’t succumb to the other Yugi is burning in the inner recesses of her heart. Right now, either of the two Yugi’s meant something essential to Anzu.
(Yugi…are you in the Mind Labyrinth while this Game of Darkness is going on?) Anzu’s heart may have reached Yugi’s heart. Yugi and the others showed up in the eyes of Anzu’s heart through the red eye. (Yugi…while the other Yugi is fighting, you’re also fighting in the Mind Labyrinth, aren’t you?)
Anzu had gained a fix on where Yugi was with the power of her heart, and she had also found out what she had to do at the same time. These friends, Yugi, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda, are connected together through their hearts.
“I know, Pegasus-san…What we must do to rescue Yugi…”
“Really…?”
“Yes, I do…Our circle of friendship…And what first taught us that best of all was your duel with Yugi, Pegasus-san…”
Pegasus stared at the light filling up the Oriental girl’s mysteriously deep-colored eyes. That is where a heart that believes in words of trust, friendship, and truth, which has been lost so long ago, resided. At the same time, Pegasus felt the inclusion of a pure yet dangerous intent right there.

***

Inside the Mind Labyrinth, no sooner as the legs of Yugi, who was headed towards the altar room, suddenly stopped than he had fell straight to the ground. Jonouchi and Honda, who were ahead of him, noticed something strange, stopped in their tracks and turned around.
“What’s wrong, Yugi?”
“I don’t know…But, all of the sudden, my strength just left my body…”
Honda quickly detected the glow of life force streaming near the ceiling.
“Look! It’s that same glowing from before! And there’s a lot of it!!”
“I’m connected with my physical body dueling in the surface world. If my physical body gets damaged, I’ll also weaken. My Other Self’s probably has a few Life Points left. You have to take me to that room, quick…”
“What should we do?” Jonouchi and Honda said looked at each other and exchanged looks, but the two realized the only way to do what Yugi said.
“Hey, hang in there!”
The two lend Yugi their shoulders and help him to his feet.
“The warriors should be searching for me after coming out of that hall, so they might not be in that room anymore. We’ll have to brave the risks and solve the secrets that are in that room…”
Jonouchi and Honda believed in what Yugi said and returned to the grand hall. The three scout out the grand hall. The altar could be seen behind the array of sarcophaguses, at the impasse of the stone-paved passageway.
A stone object similar to the Pyramid of Light sat atop the altar. A ruby was set in the object, shaping a red eye. Just as Yugi had said, the place was absolutely quiet and the mummy warriors were not to be found.
Yugi confirmed the direction the glow of the life force was taking. The blue flow of life force was being sucked into the red eye.
“Over there! My Other Self’s life force is being sucked into that altar!”
“Do you mean that’s the source of these dark powers!?”
“All right! Then in that case, all we have to do is destroy that thing!”
It was when Jonouchi shouted in a brisk voice that the mummy warriors once again appear all around, from the columns and broken stone walls, with their weapons in hand.
“No good, there’s too many mummies.”
The mummy warriors carried on luridly with their ancient chant. Another person’s thick voice rang from inside the altar out of the deep-bassed bellowing.
‘Defilers of the sacred chamber of the sarcophagus! May you all become sacrifices to the ritual!’
“Huh?!” three said as they stared at the direction of the voice. The voice came from the altar that supplied the mummy’s sarcophagus, beneath the Pyramid’s monument.
“That’s the same voice I heard in the Domino City Museum…”
‘When both Light and Dark collide, the King of Destruction will be reborn with light being fulfilled and by consuming the King of Light!’ The voice echoed again from the altar. ‘Let ruin fall upon you, Pharaoh of Darkness! The King of Darkness will be called upon together with the ultimate light. This world will be filled with a light of destruction.’
“My Other Self will never lose! This King of Destruction won’t be called upon!” Yugi exclaimed towards the invincible speaker.
‘Heh heh heh…The duel is a ritual involving the Pharaohs of Light and Dark in order to resurrect the King of Destruction! You’ll never be able to stop the divine ritual. The King of Destruction shall lay waste to the darkness and reduce it to rubbish!’
“What?!”
‘Vessel of the Pharaoh, thou are nothing more than dust in the divine presence of the light. You too shall be destined to disappear along with the Pharaoh of Darkness!’
“I’m not the Nameless Pharaoh’s vessel! I’m my Other Self’s friend!” Yugi’s voice wobbled with anger.
Yugi brushed Honda and Jonouchi’s hands aside and began to walk down the straight track of stone pavement.
“Yugi!? There’s a swarm of mummies over there! We have to do something, Jonouchi!”
“What’s wrong!? What do you plan on starting, Yugi?!”
“The life force is being sucked into the Pyramid on the altar, but the owner of that voice has yet to show himself, right!? What if he’s not completely resurrected yet!? If we destroy that Pyramid before the owner of that voice is completely revived, it may prevent the resurrection!”
“All right, then we’ll help too! Right, Jonouchi?!”
“Got that right, Honda! We’re more used to fighting than Yugi is, after all.”
“No, Jonouchi-kun and Honda-kun, get back to that place we were before! Remember! That red eye floating in that swirling galactic body! You could see the Duel Ring through that red eye. So that red eye is probably connected with the surface world! I think you can escape from there!”
“What are you talking about, Yugi?!”
“Jonouchi-kun, this has to do with my Other Self’s lost past. I can’t get all of you guys involved in this.”
“Stop messing around, Yugi! We’re not total strangers to one another, are we!?”
“Jonouchi-kun…”
“What you can see yet have never seen…It’s the Puzzle…but I told you that’s not all, that it’s the ties of our friendship too.”
“That’s right! That’s absolutely right!!” Honda also called out.
“But…but, I’m not going to drag my friends into this.” Yugi tried to further keep back Jonouchi and Honda and go by himself.

***

Anzu was staring at the red eye on the Pyramid of Light from the helicopter hovering in the sky above the Pyramid of Light. Yugi, Jonouchi, and Honda showed up in Anzu’s eyes.
Anzu looks at Pegasus, right next to her.
“Please! Bring the helicopter as close as you can to that red eye!”
“That’s dangerous! Anzu-girl, what are your eyes seeing?”
“Please, hurry!”
(This Japanese girl is seeing something that we can’t understand. Perhaps this girl understands the world of the occult which seems unbelievable to us.) Pegasus gambled on Anzu’s intuition. “Do what Anzu-girl says!”
Ordered by Pegasus, the pilot moved the controls. The helicopter slowly moves closer to the swirl of light. The fuselage begins to rumble violently due to the effects of the swirling red air. Anzu looked at the red eye with a languishing look on her face. Sugoroku felt uneasy.
“Anzu-chan!?”
When he had called out, it was too late. Anzu uttered a cry and flung her body towards the red eye. Anzu’s body unsteadily floated in the swirl of red air, wrapped in plasma.
“Let my heart reach them!”
Grains of light surge from Anzu’s body; they were shot from Anzu’s heart.

***

Particles of light emitting a warm golden glow, different to that of the blue life force, poured into the mummy’s grand hall.
“Yugi!” Yugi, Jonouchi, and Honda were all surprised when they looked in the direction of the voice. The light that poured in a corner of the sky gathered together and formed the shape of a person. The three knew right away that the golden shadow, shining dimly, was Anzu.
“Anzu, what are you doing here?”
“Jonouchi! Honda! Yugi! Do you remember the circle of friendship us four made?”
The circle of friendship is a circular mark drawn on the back of Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu’s hands joined together, a symbol of friendship that shows the ties to their hearts.
At one time, it was this circle of friendship that saved them from the Game of Darkness against Pegasus. At that time, Pegasus, carrier of the Millennium Eye, could read any card Yugi had. When Yugi was in a real fix, Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda had formed a human wall in front of the Millennium Eye and shielded his cards from being seen through.
The circle of friendship was bestowed powers to break down the walls of both the world created by the Games of Darkness and the mortal world. When Anzu said “I’ve learned a way to save Yugi,” that was what she meant.
Anzu quickly held out the back of her hand towards everyone. Her part of the circle of friendship pops up with a flash on the back of her hand.
“Sure, how could we forget?!” Honda set up his hand.
“We’re all connected together with invisible ties!” Jonouchi stuck out the back of his hand.
“Yugi!”
“Yugi!”
“Yugi!”
“Everyone!” Yugi also set up his hand.
The four set up their hands and the circle of friendship mark popped up with a flash.
“That’s right, Yugi! We’re always connected with our ties of friendship! I’m sure that with the power of our ties, we can smash these dark powers!”
“What you can see yet have never seen…Right now, we can see it clearly! Our circle of friendship…our power of friendship!”

***

In the red eye, wrapped in plasma, Anzu’s shoulders teeter-totter in strain.
“This Pyramid card isn’t something Pegasus created!” Only Anzu’s voice sounded through the Duel Ring in the Pyramid of Light. “Someone is using Kaiba and carrying out this Game of Darkness!”
Dark Yugi, face down in the Ring, checks Kaiba’s appearance.
“Grrr…” Kaiba grumbles, scowling at space.

***
In the mummy’s grand hall, the four could be seen creating their circle of friendship. Anzu began to be wrapped in light and shine golden.
“Please, hurry, Yugi! I know the one controlling this Game of Darkness is in this room. And that person has another Millennium Puzzle…the Pyramid of Light. If that red eye remains unbroken, the Game of Darkness will never end…”
From times of old, it’s said that the role of shaman, who link together God with humans, is a woman’s job. Women, who create and nurture life, may be born with the power to oppose against any evil which tries to eliminate life.
Anzu, glowing golden, gradually fades away.

***

In the mortal world, something strange happened to Anzu, captured in the red eye.
“Aaah!!” Violent plasma arises in the red eye, flicking out Anzu’s body and dropping it on to the field.
A whirlwind had swept the Dome which had made the helicopter make a crash landing.
“Anzu-chan!”
Sugoroku and Mokuba jump out the door in a mad rush. Pegasus descends from behind with one of his men pushing his wheelchair.

***

Around the same time, in the mummy’s grand hall, Yugi, Honda, Jonouchi, all which still remain, are all fired up after receiving courage from Anzu.
“So it’s just as I thought. We have to do something about that Pyramid on the altar.”
“Let’s go, we’ll battle for our very lives!”
“Mm-hmm!”
“All right!”
The three look glance sharply at the altar where the Pyramid of Light is at and break into a sprint. The three ran, pushing through the countless horde of mummy warriors.
‘My servants, bury those three in a world of darkness!’ The voice of the ruler of the Game of Darkness had sounded from the altar.