Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As Ameruda pointed this out, Atem realized what was happening and looked at Osiris in confusion. He discovered that, as Ameruda had said, the attack power values ​​of Osiris's Sky Dragon were not displayed at all. However, the Monster Resurrection he had activated earlier was still there, indicating that the Duel Disk's virtual projection system was not damaged.

'If there's nothing wrong on my end, could it be...?'

Atum looked at the game, whose eyes were closed and who seemed to be deep in thought.

'Aibo, what did you do?'

'The other me, I knew all along, if it were you, would surely summon God again.'

Even though neither of them spoke, Yugi's inner thoughts coincidentally matched Atum's. Yugi opened his eyes, looked at the Sky Dragon of Osiris, and slowly raised his arm.

Beside him, the [Sealed Golden Chest], which had previously contained a card, gradually began to emit a strange golden light, attracting everyone's attention.

"That's...!" Atum looked at the [Sealed Golden Chest] and realized that the strangeness of [Osiris] was indeed due to the game.

"Right now, the instant your other self activates [Monster Resurrection], the [Sealed Golden Vault] will also be unsealed!"

As the game's sound began, the lid of the closed gold vault automatically opened, slowly descended, and gradually raised the cards hidden inside.

"The sealed cards have been released?" Honda looked at the [Sealed Golden Chest], while Jonouchi exclaimed in surprise, "It's not even the second round of the game yet..."

As the card fully rose, the light that had been obstructing others' view of its true form dissipated, revealing a card with a green border. The familiar "Anka" rune was identical to the one still present on Atem's field.

It is indeed [The Dead Resurrected]!

"Cards sealed by the [Sealed Golden Vault] have their effects nullified. This effect applies to both players." Striving to remain calm, Yugi finished explaining the second half of the [Sealed Golden Vault]'s effect, then looked at Atum and said, "You also cannot use the [Monster Resurrection] that I sealed in the Golden Vault."

"Therefore, your Special Summon to [Sky Dragon of Osiris] is negated this turn, and my other self..."

As the game's calm voice faded, white smoke billowed from [Sky Dragon Osiris], and in a very short time, its form became transparent and disappeared from the field. Also disappearing was Atem's invalid [Monster Resurrection] card.

"The Sky Dragon of Osiris has disappeared..."

Watching the Sky Dragon of Osiris disappear, Otogi murmured, while Muto Sugoroku beside him stared at the game with his head down, thinking to himself:

"【Monster Resurrection】is a very powerful card, but you deliberately sealed it away, Yugi. Is this a message you left for another Yugi? 'The souls of the dead should not linger in the mortal world,' but you're a gentle child. Although you repeatedly emphasized this to hypnotize yourself, in the end, you couldn't bring yourself to say those words again."

'Did you pour all your determination to win this game into this ace...?'

As he watched the Sky Dragon of Osiris disappear, Atum, though initially slightly surprised, smiled the moment he understood its meaning. He lowered his raised arm and slowly said, "This is truly..."

"My turn is over."

Atum: 1500 LP, 4 cards in hand

Chapter 932 The Tale Ends in the Light

"My turn is over."

Upon hearing Atum's words, Yugi looked up and met his gaze.

'My other self, with four cards left in hand, has already ended their turn?'

'Ah, you've read out which card I wanted to use; you've completely surpassed me, Aibo. Besides, I've already sensed your feelings.'

Atum wore a contented smile. Although they were not truly one, their feelings had been conveyed to each other without any hindrance.

“Atem only has one Cotton Ball on his field, and there are no cards set in the back row.” Looking at Yugi and Atem staring intently at each other on the field, Bakura said in a deep voice, “As long as Yugi can destroy the Cotton Ball, a direct attack from any monster with an attack power of 1500 or more can decide the outcome.”

“Game... Atem..." Jonouchi murmured the two names, his lips tightly pressed together, his fists clenched at his sides, not wanting to blink for a moment, wanting to witness the end with his own eyes. Honda and Otogi beside him did the same. Kyoko clasped her hands together in front of her chest, waiting quietly with everyone else.

"My turn..." This was the most difficult card draw he had ever made since learning Duel Monsters. His fingers hovered over the deck, unable to draw the card. He bit his lip and finally managed to draw it, saying, "...Draw..."

His voice was slightly choked with emotion.

The card he drew was the "Black Hole," which could destroy all the monsters on both sides' fields.

"I activate the Spell Card [Black Hole] to destroy all monsters on both sides' fields, and then Normal Summon [Silence Magician LV4]."

In a rather low state, Yugi used a card to destroy Atem's only barely defensible "Cotton Ball" on the field and send it to the graveyard, and then summoned the "Silent Magician" in its initial state for the second time on his field.

Holding a [Magic Wand], he wanted to equip it on the [Silent Magician LV4].

The card in my hand was only a short distance from the Magic Trap Zone on the Duel Disk; I could insert the card with just a slight movement of my hand.

However, he couldn't do it; his fingers, holding the card, trembled, and he couldn't insert it.

Despite emphasizing it countless times and repeatedly hypnotizing himself, when the game was just one step away from completing the duel ritual, defeating Atem and granting him peace, he still couldn't take that final step.

The closer the card in his hand gets to the Duel Disk, the more memories of Atem flood Yugi's mind.

During the Duel Kingdom, in order to retrieve Chicken Sauce's sealed soul, I and another version of myself used a "switching" tactic to fight Pegasus.

In the city of duels, they fight side by side to defeat one powerful enemy after another;

During their battle with Doma, the two were separated and then reunited after a long and difficult time.

Let's go to Tokyo Skytree together; the warmest place in the world is at the top of Skytree. Let's go to Kaiba Park together; lots of kids are playing games there. Let's go to Disneyland together; the haunted house is scary, but with another me there, it's not scary...

Amidst countless memories, Yugi found himself unknowingly inserting the card into the Duel Disk, his voice trembling with a hint of a sob as he instinctively uttered, "Activate the Equip Spell Card [Magic Wand], increasing [Silent Magician LV4]'s ATK by 500 points..."

[Silent Magician LV4] [ATK 1000 → 1500]

The girl in the white robe silently accepted the wand, waiting with the others for her master's command. She was merely dueling monsters; she could do nothing, unable to help the game change anything, only waiting for the game's orders and then carrying them out, even if it was an order that even the game itself would least want to utter.

Looking at the game, whose head was bowed and whose eyes were reddened beneath his bangs, Atum still smiled and said, "Come on, Aibo!"

“Another me…” Hearing Atum’s words, Yugi looked up again to meet his gaze, but the relief and joy in Atum’s eyes felt heavy and painful to Yugi at that moment. Closing his eyes, Yugi shouted, “[Silent Magician], direct attack on player!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the Silent Magician waved his wand, unleashing his final attack, the dazzling light hurtling towards Atum.

Although in his heart he couldn't bear to watch Atem be defeated, it was something he had to witness. His tearful eyes watched the Silent Magician's attack.

As Atum watched the Silent Magician's attack approach, he closed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

'I still remember clearly to this day, Aibo, how lonely you were back then, and the wish you made to the Millennium Puzzle was for friends. And now, you've grown up and have many friends. We've truly walked a long way together...'

'You are no longer alone, Aibo, and I no longer need to be by your side... The hand you should hold is no longer mine.'

"boom!"

The magic bullet exploded, releasing a bright light that made everyone watching instinctively want to blink. However, just like in the game, they all tried their best to keep their eyes on the field and witness the event together with the game.

As the light faded, Atum's smiling face appeared before everyone, while the numbers on the basic score panel displayed beside him were rapidly decreasing.

Atum: 1500LP → 0

As Atem's Life Points reached zero, the Silent Magician disappeared from the field, leaving space for Atem and Yugi. Even the Duel Disk that appeared on Atem's wrist due to the Eye of Horus vanished.

However, having witnessed Atum's base score drop to zero, the player had lost the courage and ability to look Atum in the eye again. He slumped down, his knees touching the ground, and his overwhelming grief turned into tears that fell to the ground.

Atum walked slowly towards the game with a gentle smile on his face. He squatted down in front of the game and said softly, "What an interesting duel, Aibo. But as the victor, you can't just kneel on the ground like that. What kind of behavior is that?"

“Another me…” Looking at Atum in front of him, Yugi’s throat was choked with sorrow, and he couldn’t say anything. He could only utter the name he used to address Atum.

"Stand tall and get up. That's the posture you should show after defeating me, the powerful you." Patting his friend on the shoulder, Atum helped himself to his feet. "If it were me, I wouldn't let anyone see my tears."

"That's because... because the other me is different. I'm just a crybaby, not strong at all, and you've always been the one protecting me..." Yugi sobbed, but tried her best to control her tears, just as Atum had said. "So for me, you've always been my goal, wanting to be as strong as you, always..."

"In that case, haven't you already achieved it? Your strength has surpassed mine."

"Besides, you're not a crybaby. You've always possessed a strength that rivals others, a resilience called 'gentleness'," Atum said with a smile. "On the contrary, I've learned so much from you, Aibo. Your courage in accepting the duel ceremony has shown me the path I should take."

After a pause, looking at Yugi, who was no longer as short as before and had grown into a man, Atum said in a gentle tone, "So, from now on, continue to grow strong gently, Aibo. No, Yugi Muto."

As Atum spoke, wiping away the tears welling up in his eyes, Yugi saw that his body was no longer staring as it had during the previous duel; instead, it was changing into the same soul state that only he could see when it resided in the Millennium Puzzle.

"...Another me?"

“I am no longer the same you.” Atum shook his head and glanced at his own body.

As the duel ended, is the power of the Eye of Horus also fading away? The fingers that touched Aibo are gradually losing the feeling of touch.

Atum withdrew his hand from Yugi's shoulder and continued, "Furthermore, you are yourself, not anyone else. You are the only one in this world named Yugi Muto. You are Chicken's grandson, Jonouchi's partner, Kyoko's childhood friend, Honda's friend, Hayato's comrade-in-arms, Kaiba's rival, and Bakura's classmate."

“He is a legendary duelist, a powerful figure who helped the soul of the nameless pharaoh find his true name and buried it,” Atum said with a smile. “Indeed, he is a partner I, Atum, will never forget.”

"Another me..." Looking at Atum's smile, Yugi nodded in agreement, "Yes!"

Just then, the Eye of Horus, which had been giving Atum and the game a lot of time and was very good at reading the atmosphere, finally responded to the end of the duel ceremony. Light emanated from its red eyeball and quickly spread, covering the entire Eye of Horus embedded in the gate to the underworld.

Jonouchi looked on in surprise: "What's wrong with the eyes on the door!?"

"The Eye of Horus, which guards the gates of the underworld, has confirmed the truth of the Pharaoh's soul through battle." As a descendant of the tomb-guarding clan, Isis, though wanting to give Atum and Yugi a little more time, let go of Hayato's hand and stepped forward, proclaiming loudly, "This is the Pharaoh's soul, which has wandered the world for three thousand years, and has only one chance to return to the underworld and find peace."

Upon hearing Isis's words, Atum exchanged a glance with Yugi, nodded, and stood facing the gates of the underworld, bathed in golden light, leaving his back to the others behind him.

"Please call upon your true name, Pharaoh, towards the Eye of Horus!"

Looking at the golden relief, Atum said, "My name is Atum!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Eye of Horus embedded in the gate to the underworld split in two as the gate opened. The aura from the underworld poured into the underground temple, but instead of giving people a gloomy and cold feeling, it was incredibly warm and peaceful.

As the gates of the underworld opened, pure white light enveloped the entire world, and within this white holy light, Atum strode forward.

But just then, three voices suddenly rang out behind him.

"Games!" X3

Despite knowing Atum's real name, in the heat of the moment, Jonouchi, Kyoko, and Honda instinctively called out the name that was most familiar to them—the name Atum.

Atum stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around, leaving only the back view of the three people who had come up the steps and called him.

Atum's friends were reluctant to see him leave, and Atum felt the same way. But he had to leave, so he could only turn his back on his friends to hide and suppress the same reluctance and sorrow in his heart.

However, just as the three were about to say something, Hayato, who had also walked up the steps, suddenly called out to them: "That's fine, everyone."

"Hayato, I still don't understand!" Honda looked at Hayato, who had stopped them, wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes, and said excitedly, "I'm stupid, I'm not smart, I don't understand, do we really have to go to the underworld, Atum?"

"For the other wanderer... for Atum, the other side of the gates of the underworld is where he should return, I understand. But no matter how much I understand, that light still represents the boundary that separates us from you!"

Even the tough-guy Honda shed tears in this atmosphere, let alone the naturally sentimental and emotional Kyoko. With teary eyes, she looked at Atum's retreating figure, "You, who have always been our companion, are suddenly disappearing right before our eyes. I don't understand!"

“So, that’s good.” Hayato took a deep breath and said calmly, “Even if we don’t understand, as friends, all we need to do is support the game and Atem in doing the right thing. All we can do is remember.”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s okay if you don’t understand, Kyoko.” Jonouchi calmed down and said to Honda and Kyoko beside him, “Keep Atum in your heart. Remember the time you spent together, the memories you shared, and everything you saw today.”

"People always have to move forward, and we will continue to move towards the future, so let's send Atum off to his future from here."

'Everyone...' With his back to the crowd, Atum lowered his head and a smile appeared on his lips.

“...Hmm.” Hearing Jonouchi’s words, Honda said to Atum, “Whether you’re the Pharaoh or Atum, you’ll always be our game!”

“Even 3000 years from now, we will still be comrades!” Anzu shouted to Atum, wiping away her tears.

“I will never forget what happened to you,” Game said loudly, standing behind Atum.