Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Whatever. I wonder if anyone has ever told you that collecting all seven Millennium Items grants you the power to make a wish? Although you wouldn't think of it that way, I still want to clarify that this isn't like the Seven Beads where you can just have your wish granted. Rather, if you collect all seven Millennium Items for me, I can give you the ability to fulfill your own desires."

“Poor Bakura hates the royal family, so I gave him the power to challenge the Pharaoh and trample the dignity of the royal family underfoot; your father Aknadi wants you to become the Pharaoh, so I gave him the power to help you clear away obstacles. Thinking about it this way, I am willing to grant their wishes even though I haven’t collected all the Millennium Items. There is indeed no one more loving than me.”

"So, are you tempted? Come, tell me your wish, Se~te~"

Bakura's tone was full of temptation, like a bewitching demon, but Seth thought that even walking with a demon was fine, that was why he had come.

"Power, give me more power."

Bakura, sitting on the stone slab, spread his hands: "You really know your stuff. Your thirst for power has even continued for three thousand years. But it's also thanks to that that you can become my help."

"Then, I'll grant your request."

Without rushing to take the Millennium Jewelry from Seto, Bakura pointed at Seto, and the magic power in the Netherworld Stone Tablet, using him as a conduit, surged into Seto's body!

"Hmph, hmph! Ughhhhhh, ahhhhhhh!"

Miracles and magic don't come for free. Great power often comes with great risks. As dark magic surged into Seth's body, even Seth couldn't help but cry out in pain because his body was being eroded and transformed by this power.

Bakura, meanwhile, crossed his legs and remained seated on the stone slab, enjoying Seth's suffering with a contented squint.

Before Seto, he had also infused Bakura and Aknade with dark magic to strengthen them. However, Bakura had kept his hands to himself and only gave Bakura a small amount of magic to prevent him from getting out of control. As a result, Bakura was ultimately defeated by Hayato and died in the Valley of the Royal Sleep.

When Bakura replaced the second chess piece, Aknadi, he learned from Bakura's mistake and thought that giving the chess piece more power wouldn't be a problem. He injected a lot of magic into Aknadi and even dyed his hair. However, the result was that Aknadi broke free from Bakura's control and became uncontrollable. This angered Bakura so much that he ruthlessly squeezed out Aknadi's usefulness when it was about to become useless.

After that, Bakura realized that humans were unreliable and decided to stop using pawns altogether. So he used the Millennium Items to inject magical energy into Hayato and Seto, who were holding them at the time, to trick them. The amount of magical energy was lethal, but unfortunately, he failed to trick Hayato. Even Seto was interrupted by Hayato in time.

Unexpectedly, it was because Hayato knocked the two Millennium Items from Seto's hands in time that the amount of magic power injected into Seto's body was just right. Even Bakura himself did not expect that he would turn Seto into his third pawn by chance, and that Seto would be used to the greatest extent at the most appropriate time, and retrieve the last missing Millennium Jewel for himself.

He was never one to discard someone after they had served their purpose; on the contrary, he was quite considerate of the pawns he used, whether within or outside the world of memories. Of course, those like Aknadi who angered him didn't count.

Since Seth had satisfied him, he didn't mind helping Seth out and giving him the power he wanted. Although he couldn't completely control Seth like Bakura, Seth was much easier for Bakura to manipulate than Akhenaten, and giving him power would better buy Bakura time.

Using his magic, Bakura caught the Millennium Jewel, which Seth was about to drop, and picked it up, frowning. He sensed that the Millennium Jewel's magical power was roughly the same as he had previously perceived, but it felt like something important was missing, as if that part had been damaged and moved elsewhere.

However, it doesn't matter. The power inherent in the Millennium Jewelry and the other Millennium Artifacts is not the point. The point is what Bakura can do after collecting them all.

After embedding the "Millennium Jewelry" into the last gap in the stone slab, Bakura waved his hand again, retrieving the metal plaque from Set from a distance and looking at the words on it.

"Gold is blood, silver is bone. The sinful gold born from blood has returned to the gates. Name of the King of Decay, open the gates of the underworld!"

"And then, I finally got to see this moment! Hahahaha!"

Amidst Bakura's loud laughter, black mist continuously billowed from the Netherworld stone slab inlaid with the [Millennium Treasures], and under his control, it sank into the ground, leaving behind only an entrance leading to the underground from which dark power continuously surged outwards.

At the same time, an empty hourglass appeared in Bakura's hand, and black energy poured into it, turning into black sand grains that flowed.

As we all know, the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, and the three-person team has four members. So although Bakura should theoretically only have three GM items, at this moment of collecting the [Millennium Items], he obtained the fourth and most important item, the "Hourglass of the Underworld".

Three thousand years ago, an unnamed pharaoh sealed the evil will beneath the stone tablet with his true name and soul. To break this seal, seven "millennial artifacts" and the pharaoh's true name are required. However, after collecting all the "keys," time is still needed to open the gates of the underworld.

The "Hourglass of the Underworld" has no power whatsoever; it merely indicates how much time is needed to open the gates of the Underworld and release Bakura's true form. When the last grain of sand falls, Bakura will be fully resurrected. At that point, Bakura will have won this ultimate dark game and will also be resurrected in the real world!

"Before the hourglass runs out, Sasser, go to the royal city and obtain the power you've been longing for. Use it as a warm-up act before the climax of my resurrection, hahahahaha!"

Without a second thought, Bakura crushed the nameplate in his hand, which was no longer of any use to him. His figure dissipated and disappeared into Seto's body. Seto raised his head and looked towards the direction of the royal city, his dark eyes reflecting Kisara's figure.

—I want to be number one in the world, women are just a hindrance—

"What do you mean by saying it can't be saved!" Upon hearing the doctor's words, Jonouchi angrily reached out to grab the doctor's collar, but his hand passed right through the doctor's body.

He then remembered that there seemed to be such a setting: "People in the memory world cannot see or touch them, the people in the real world, unless there are special circumstances." However, because there were so many "special circumstances," he had almost forgotten about this setting.

The doctor who angered Jonouchi, unaware that he had almost been beaten up by a blond delinquent, quickly added because Yami Yugi was present: "Lord Kobayashi Hayato's injuries have been healed with magic. Although they looked frightening, the timely rescue has prevented any serious problems."

"Then what do you mean by saying it can't be saved?" Maliku asked, frowning.

After Seth left, Hayato collapsed, unable to hold on any longer. Only then did everyone realize that his previous show of strength was actually just a facade. Seth's attack with the Millennium Jewels had actually hit Hayato squarely, but he pretended to block it with the Winged Dragon of Ra to scare Seth away.

As soon as he collapsed, everyone rushed him to the medical unit for treatment. However, after waiting for half a day outside the makeshift medical room, the head of the medical unit came out and said that they were powerless to help Hayato and could not save him.

Faced with everyone's confusion, the doctor quickly explained and stated the situation they had diagnosed.

Hayato's only external injury was the knife wound left by Seto, but because the [Spiritual Exophysis] deflected the wound's location, it wasn't a big problem. The key issue was that Seto had previously interrupted Hayato's resonance with the [Millennium Jewelry], which had been strengthened by the "Restriction Release," and then dealt Hayato a severe blow afterward.

Perhaps Seth's original intention was simply to release some of the power within the Millennium Jewelry that was about to explode in order to preserve the Millennium Artifact. He did succeed, but during this attack, a certain special power within the Millennium Jewelry was also injected into Hayato's body.

Although the medics in the medical corps knew some magic, they were no match for a court mage like Mana. Even Mana's teacher, Mahad, could only seal the Millennium Item with his own magic and was unable to resist its power. That's why they were helpless in dealing with Hayato's condition.

After listening to the doctor's explanation, Yami Yugi asked worriedly, "What will happen to Hayato now?"

"This is difficult for us to explain to you, Pharaoh," the physician said, scratching his head and glancing behind him. "We can only ask you to come in and see for yourself; perhaps then you will understand."

Led by the doctor, the group arrived at the temporary medical room and saw Hayato lying on the bed surrounded by doctors. However, after less than ten minutes of not seeing Hayato, they discovered that Hayato's appearance had changed drastically.

It's not that he was disfigured or mutated. Hayato, who was using the body of "Meriamon" when he was only eight years old in the memory world, has grown into the appearance of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old in the blink of an eye, and has become the appearance of Kobayashi Hayato, their classmate whom Yami Yugi and the others know.

The problem is that Hayato's body is still growing rapidly, as if he is constantly fast-forwarding into the future.

"With Hayato, time is being accelerated towards the future." Among everyone present, Isis was the most familiar with the Millennium Jewelry. She stared wide-eyed at Hayato, who seemed to have grown older in less than a minute. "The power of the Millennium Jewelry to the 'future' is constantly becoming a reality."

Honda scratched his head and exchanged a glance with Jonouchi, neither of them seeing anything wrong with it: "Is there a problem? Actually, we've been feeling pretty awkward lately. Hayato has been communicating with us like a child. There's nothing wrong with him becoming an adult, is there?"

“Idiot, the problem is, how long do you think a person can live? Especially Hayato, or rather, ‘Meriamon’ is an ancient person, his lifespan can’t be that long.” Kyoko quickly understood the problem with Hayato and said with a worried look, “Hayato has already grown from childhood to youth quickly, but after that comes middle age and old age. If we still don’t have a solution to Hayato’s problem by then, won’t he just die of old age?!”

Hearing his sister's words, Mariko gritted his teeth and said dejectedly, "But what can we do even if we know? There's nothing we can do. We can only watch Hayato..."

"That's absolutely unacceptable! How can Hayato die in a place like this!" Yugi clenched his fist and exclaimed excitedly, "No! If Hayato dies in this dark game, he'll never be able to return to reality!"

"Please, please don't die, Hayato! What will happen to Miss Isis if you collapse here!"

Upon hearing Yugi's words, Jonouchi also said to the unconscious Hayato, "Show me your usual spirit, Hayato! You are the strongest duelist who has defeated countless enemies. Kaiba, Yugi, and I will all challenge you after you wake up!"

"If it were you, you could definitely create a miracle!"

As everyone tried to convey encouragement to the unconscious Hayato, Kaiba simply crossed his arms and watched coldly: "Hmph, boring. What you're doing is pointless. Hayato Kobayashi is going to die."

Although Kaiba's tone was very cold, Nefertari, who was standing next to him, said, "Seti, no, Mr. Kaiba, your fists are clenched too tightly."

Hearing Nefertari's words, Kaiba looked down and saw that the wound on his hand, which had already been bandaged, had reopened because he had unconsciously clenched his fist in anger. Although he acted as if he didn't care, after everything they had been through, Hayato was no longer just a target to be defeated in Kaiba's heart, but had become a friend that Kaiba would never admit to.

Even though Nefertari pointed out that he was suppressing his emotions, Kaiba still stubbornly retorted, glancing at Nefertari beside him: "You're Hayato's friend, no, you're 'Meriamon's' friend, right? Your friend is going to die, are you just going to stand by and watch?"

“Hmm, Mr. Kaiba, it seems you haven’t gotten a single thing right.” Nefertari smiled slightly and walked over to Hayato. “Hayato, Meliamon, how could I mistake them? They are the same person. Besides, saying that I am Meliamon’s friend sounds too distant.”

"And also, Meliamon will not die. How can the sun set before it shines on all of Egypt?"

As Nefertari walked towards Hayato, her body began to appear somewhat ethereal, a strange sight that made Kaiba's eyes widen: "Hey, what are you doing?!"

The two voices also attracted the attention of others. The gamers turned around and saw that Nefertari's body was growing rapidly, just like Hayato's. In just a moment, she had become about twenty years old.

Upon seeing Nefertari's appearance, Honda finally confirmed his long-held suspicion: "As expected, Nefertari, Meliamon, you really are—"

Looking at Hayato lying on the bed, Honda uttered a name—

Chapter 804 Ozymandias

The Pharaoh was God's representative on earth and the ruler of all people.

With a few exceptions, the pharaohs who ruled their respective dynasties believed that they would be buried on the throne of the gods and with the Book of the Dead after their deaths. Most of them claimed to be descendants of Horus and were buried on the throne of the god Horus.

However, there was one exception among them: the Pharaoh who called himself God from his lifetime, and who, at the commemoration of the thirty-third year of his term, called himself "Ra, the man born of God."

“Ozymandias, also known as Ramses II…” Looking at the sleeping Hayato, Honda uttered the name he knew, “In the thousands of years of ancient Egyptian history, he is one of the most well-known pharaohs.”

Upon hearing Honda's words, Jonouchi, standing nearby, was also taken aback: "Honda, what are you talking about? Isn't Hayato our partner? The pharaoh from thousands of years ago or something..."

“I didn’t say Hayato was from thousands of years ago, but the name ‘Meliamon’ is indeed one of Ramses II’s names, meaning ‘one who is blessed by the god Amun.’ And more importantly,” Honda said, looking at the illusory Nefertari, “the name Nefertari was the name of Pharaoh Ramses II’s queen.”

Looking at Nefertari, who seemed less like she'd grown up and more like she'd reverted to an adult, Yugi, after Honda's reminder, finally understood the key point: "Could it be that, Nefertari, you really..."

"Yes, when Meliamon came to this world before, it seemed that he was worried that I would be too lonely if I stayed in the original place alone, so he brought me to this world in his own way. As a result, he, who could have been an adult, could only appear as a child like me."

Although her body looked like it was about to dissipate at any moment, Nefertari smiled calmly, as if she didn't care about her condition at all. "It's so nice to be able to go back to how I was when I was a child and be with Meliamon who was also a child. It's really something to miss."

“However, it’s time to wake up from this dream. My presence has taken away some of Meliamon’s power, preventing him from using his full strength in this world. But once I return, Meliamon will be safe and sound.” Nefertari walked to Hayato’s side, gently stroking his face, and said with a smile, “However, from now on, I won’t be able to stay with you anymore, Meliamon.”

Upon hearing Nefertari's words, Kyoko stepped forward and looked at Nefertari with concern, saying, "Nefertari-chan, no, Princess Nefertari, are you not going to sacrifice yourself?"

“No, Anzu, I just don’t want to be a burden to Meliamon. Just as birds soar in the vast sky, just as fish swim freely in the boundless sea, just as wildflowers bloom in the fields, he is destined to become the sun that shines on Egypt.” Nefertari smiled and hugged Hayato. “I’m just returning to the era I was meant to exist in, not dying. Besides, death is just another great adventure.”

A ball of light appeared in Nefertari's hand, and the familiar rainbow light shone on Hayato.

"I'm counting on you from now on."

"Curry~"

Hayato felt like he was having a dream, seeing a boy's entire life from childhood to adulthood.

Birth, succession, marriage, conquest, ascension to the throne, and restoration of the kingdom—Hayato watched as the life of a boy who looked exactly like himself unfolded before him, witnessing him experience birth, aging, sickness, and death, living a life that, even compared to modern people, seemed long and brilliant.

Hayato also noticed the familiar girl who had been by his side since his childhood but passed away when he grew into middle age; she looked exactly like Nefertari. Even more surprising to him was the striking resemblance of another queen who became the pharaoh to Isis.

"What... what is this?"

"Hmph, so it's come to this after all." Beside Hayato, Meliamon stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking at the life of the boy displayed before them. "Looking at my life from a different perspective, hmm, as expected of me, still so exciting."

"So this is your life?" Hayato turned to look at Meliamon. Meliamon, hearing Hayato's words, gave a helpless smirk. "You know perfectly well what I'm asking. Didn't you already guess?"

Hayato shrugged: "I don't know much about the history of ancient Egypt. At least, apart from a few famous pharaohs, like Ptolemy I, Tutankhamun, and Ramses II, I don't recognize any of the other pharaohs. So, which pharaoh are you?"

“Fool…” Meliamon glanced at Hayato, sighed, and said with a cold arrogance, “I have heard of your name, but I have never met you and know the brilliance you have basked in. Forget it, anything I say to you will only be an insult to myself in the end. Listen carefully.”

"My name is Ozymandias! King of Kings! Almighty gods, behold my great deeds—and then bow down in despair!"

With a shout from Meliamon, or rather, Ozymandias, the illusion before Hayato shattered, revealing chaos. Ozymandias pointed at Hayato, and chaos coiled around Hayato's wrist, transforming into a Duel Disk. Ozymandias also displayed a Duel Disk already inserted into his deck.

With Hayato's "I knew it would be like this" expression on his face, Ozymandias spoke up: "Although I lent you my body before, you have disappointed me too much, Hayato Kobayashi. So let's start the duel that we couldn't decide last time!"

"If you can defeat me, then I can forgive you for the sin of making Nefertari sacrifice herself for me. But if I win, don't blame me for taking back your body!"

Although Ozymandias crossed his arms and looked aloof, trying to project an aura of dominance over Hayato, in what seemed to be a spiritual world, both of them appeared in their full form. Compared to Hayato's height of 195 cm, Ozymandias was only 179 cm tall, which made him somewhat lacking in presence.

Hayato looked at Ozymandias and sighed, "Don't talk to yourself like that. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine. I don't agree to anyone taking advantage of me."

"However, I won't lose when it comes to playing cards. This mere [Netherworld] deck is nothing to be afraid of!"

"Duel!" x2

[Ozymandias: 4000LP]

[Hayato: 4000LP]

Having taken the initiative by drawing his own cards first, Ozymandias smiled mysteriously upon hearing Hayato's words: "When did you get the illusion that I'm using the [Netherworld] deck?"

"My turn, draw a card!"