His left arm, injured in yesterday's warehouse district battle, still throbbed with a dull ache. Yuugi walked through the nighttime Domino Port with his sleeve hiding it, when Jonouchi beside him confirmed, [serious]"Is it really here?" His voice was small. Uncharacteristic of the usual Jonouchi. [serious]"Warehouse Nine. That's what Maria said." The port at night was quiet. The smell of brine was strong. Only the sound of waves striking the seawall repeated endlessly. As they entered the area lined with warehouse buildings, the number of streetlights suddenly decreased, and their feet were plunged into darkness. Maria walked slightly ahead of the two boys. Her white coat swayed in the night breeze. She'd been quiet since earlier. Yuugi was still caught on what she'd said yesterday—"my brother's subordinate." Brother—Zepharen. That name, Maria still hadn't told Yuugi. He pressed the Millennium Puzzle against his chest. The sensation of being pulled grew distinctly stronger than yesterday. Closer. They arrived in front of Warehouse Nine. The iron door was old, creaking faintly in the wind. It smelled of rust. Maria stopped in front of the warehouse. She placed her hand on the door and paused for a second. Her profile was, ever so slightly, tense. [gentle]"Maria, are you okay?" [cold]"...I'm fine." It was a short reply. With just that, she pushed the door open. The air inside was—different. The smell of brine from outside vanished. Heavy. Cold. A pressure like being dragged to the bottom of the deep sea bore down on all three of their bodies. The density was a step above yesterday's Shadow Game. Completely different. [scared]"...What is this?" whispered low. Yuugi unconsciously gripped the Puzzle tighter. The interior was vast. A abandoned warehouse with an eight-meter ceiling. Concrete cracks across the floor. In the depths of the warehouse, in the center of the darkness—a human figure stood. Tall. Tawny skin. Long silver-gray hair that reflected faintly despite no visible light source. Below his left eye, a tattoo of ancient Hieratic script. The same characters as the back of the deck the pair from yesterday had carried. The man didn't look surprised when the three entered. He lifted the corner of his mouth slightly. A smile—yet the air around his body was frozen like a midwinter sea. [cold]"The vessel of the King. You've finally come." His voice was low. There was a lyrical rhythm to it somewhere. Yuugi took a step forward. [serious]"Are you—Zepharen?" Instead of answering, the man pulled a black deck from the leather bag at his waist. All the card backs were engraved with Hieratic script. A texture similar to papyrus. He drew one card with his finger and held it up to the faint light of the warehouse. A profile floated on the card's surface. There was no mistaking it—Atem. Deep in Yuugi's chest, the Puzzle pulsed violently. Atem's memories had become a card. It was real. Right before his eyes, it was real. [surprised]"...That's Atem's..." gasped. Zepharen returned the card to his deck. [cold]"If you want it, try to take it." He deployed a Duel Disk with one hand. The black deck was set. Maria—in a small voice, "...Big brother" whispered. Zepharen didn't look at his sister at all. Yuugi activated his Duel Disk. [serious]"I'll accept." The moment Zepharen set his first card—the entire warehouse changed. Black-purple mist rose from the floor. Circles of ancient script light floated across the entire floor. The ceiling disappeared, transforming into endless darkness. The Shadow Game he'd experienced yesterday looked like a child's toy as a heavy barrier repainted the space. A Shadow Game—an ancient Egyptian magical duel. A battle where the power of cards affected reality. [serious]"Here I go! I summon Black Magician!" A black-robed sorcerer materialized. Footsteps struck the floor. There was weight. It was real. Zepharen remained unmoved. He placed one card. [cold]"<<True Darkness Devourer>>—Summon." A massive shadow monster materialized. Humanoid, but its outline was blurred. It moved—swinging its arm toward Black Magician. CRASH!! Black Magician shattered. One hit. Fragments scattered across the floor. The shockwave of the attack struck Yuugi's body directly. A dull impact to his solar plexus. Nothing compared to yesterday's grazes—the air in his lungs vanished for a moment. [scared]"Yuugi!" Jonouchi took a step forward. Zepharen turned only his gaze toward Jonouchi. [cold]"If an outsider interferes—this boy's soul will be erased along with him. If that's acceptable, I won't stop you." There was no emotion. He spoke it as fact, not as a threat. Jonouchi's feet stopped. His fists clenched tightly. His teeth gritted. Yet—his feet wouldn't move. Faced with the risk of Yuugi's soul being erased, he couldn't step forward. [serious]"Jonouchi, don't come." said, placing his hand on his knee to recover. [serious]"I'll do this." Jonouchi trembled with his fists clenched against the wall. Yuugi drew from his hand. <<Magic Cylinder>>. Good. A trap card that bounced back the opponent's attack—if <<True Darkness Devourer>> attacked next, he could activate it. He set it. Zepharen drew his next card and glanced at it. Then—he activated a Magic Card. <<Abyss Perception>>—negates the effects of face-down cards on the field. <<Magic Cylinder>> shattered. Yuugi's hand froze for a moment. (He saw it...?) Zepharen's monster attacked. The second direct hit. This time Yuugi was blown backward. He rolled across the warehouse floor and stopped. His Life Points were drastically reduced. The cracks in the Millennium Puzzle—spread slightly wider. A stabbing pain shot through his chest. Yuugi stood up. His hands were shaking. Next draw. <<Monster Reborn>>—he could revive Black Magician and launch a counter-attack. He activated it. Black Magician materialized again. Attack declaration— Zepharen immediately opened a trap card. <<Banishment>>—removes an attacking monster from play. Black Magician vanished from the field entirely. It was the third time. The card Yuugi was about to play next, Zepharen had already read one move ahead. All of them. The trap he'd set, the Magic he'd activated, the monster he'd revived—all of it, countermeasures were already deployed. His hands were shaking. (This person... they really can see all my moves.) Zepharen was quiet. While cornering him, there wasn't a trace of impatience. He watched Yuugi like he was observing an insect. [cold]"This is all you are without Atem. ...I see." His voice was like a murmur. Not disappointment, but confirmation. That made it even colder. Zepharen took the final card in his hand. [cold]"Let me end this. <<Blazing God—Ra Mode>>—" A colossal figure appeared, reaching to the warehouse ceiling. A scorching monster reminiscent of the Winged Dragon of Ra. One of the three Phantom Gods that Marik had used in the Battle City finals—an otherworldly existence modeled after that energy spread its wings. Heat pressed down. The concrete floor began to char. The monsters remaining on Yuugi's field—were completely annihilated. Blazing flames engulfed Yuugi. His Life Points reached zero. The shockwave struck directly, and his entire body was blown away. BOOM!! He was slammed into the floor. He fell on his back. He couldn't breathe. He stared at the ceiling. The Millennium Puzzle flashed violently. New cracks running across its surface were visible to the naked eye. The light—was disappearing bit by bit. Then Jonouchi came flying over. [scared]"Yuugi! Yuugi!" He dropped to his knees, shaking both shoulders frantically. [scared]"Hey, snap out of it! Yuugi!!" Yuugi opened his eyes slightly. [gentle]"...Jonouchi, don't shake me. It hurts." [sarcastic]"Hurts!? If you can say it hurts, you're fine, you bastard...!" His voice cracked. It was anger on the verge of tears. The black-purple mist thinned. The Shadow Game's barrier dissolved with the victor's departure. The air of the abandoned warehouse returned. Zepharen showed no emotion of victory even after Yuugi fell. He pinched the memory card between his fingers and held it up to the faint light of the warehouse. Atem's profile floated there. [cold]"This is all you are. ...The vessel of the King is laughable." He spat it out. He returned the card to his deck. He turned on his heel and began walking toward the darkness in the depths of the warehouse. Maria had been watching Zepharen's profile the entire time. Her brother—hadn't looked at her once. She bit her lip. [whispers]"...Big brother, why?" Her voice was trembling. Zepharen didn't turn back. His footsteps grew distant and faded away. For a while, no one moved. Eventually Maria knelt beside the fallen Yuugi. [gentle]"Are you injured?" Her voice was calm. But her eyes—wavered slightly. Yuugi looked up at Maria's face hazily. Her silver hair created only an outline in the darkness. Blue eyes and golden eyes. The depths of those eyes held a slightly different color than before. [gentle]"Maria, you were struggling too, weren't you?" Maria's expression nearly crumbled for just a moment. She immediately looked away. She turned toward Jonouchi and said curtly, [serious]"Help me get him up." It was the swift evasion of someone unaccustomed to showing emotion. Jonouchi watched the exchange between the two from the corner of his eye. As he pulled Yuugi up from the floor, he thought internally—(I don't really understand the vibe here.) --- They exited the warehouse. The night breeze of the port was cold against Yuugi's sweat-dampened body. Yuugi walked with his shoulder supported by Jonouchi. His gaze floated in empty space. The hand gripping the Millennium Puzzle was limp. The Puzzle had lost its light, cold as ice. Jonouchi said, [serious]"Yuugi, stay with me," shaking his shoulder. [gentle]"...Yeah," Yuugi replied. His voice was emotionless. All his moves had been read. Every single one. The traps he'd set, the monsters he'd revived, each and every move had been countered in advance. Without Atem, he—couldn't reach him. The cracks in the Millennium Puzzle had spread significantly tonight. He understood that the time limit until Atem's complete disappearance had been drastically shortened. Maria walked behind the two. She looked once at the silhouette of Alcatraz floating in the distance. She turned back toward the direction of the warehouse where Zepharen had vanished. It was too dark to see anything. Even after Yuugi fell—her brother hadn't turned back. She watched Jonouchi's back as he supported Yuugi and walked. Covered in wounds, yet still standing beside his friend—it seemed like that friend's presence was barely keeping Yuugi tethered. (Next time—what should I do?) No answer came. Only the sound of the port's waves continued.