Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Bakura: "The weight of history is overwhelming."

Otogi: "It is truly magnificent. It is unbelievable how people three thousand years ago could have built such a great feat."

Soroku: "After all, he was Ramses II, who was nicknamed the 'King of Construction'."

Malik: "I have to say, even I feel excited here."

Jonouchi and Honda: "woc, so big!"

Compared to the others, Hayato and Isis appeared rather calm as they looked at the Abu Simbel temples. Isis, as the director of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority, was used to dealing with mummies, stone slabs, temples, pyramids, and the like. The Abu Simbel temples were also relics that needed protection, and this wasn't her first time visiting the site.

Hayato, on the other hand, acted as if he were at home, completely at ease.

Although this Egyptian trip, initiated by Bekas but which he withdrew from halfway through, was all about going wherever he felt like, and the idea of ​​visiting the Abu Simbel temples was something Hayato suddenly suggested, thanks to the presence of Isis, a government official, they didn't need to make reservations or buy tickets and arrived at the temple entrance very smoothly.

Although the managers here belong to the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the Antiquities Authority is the Tourism Authority's superior department—after all, most tourist attractions in Egypt are for viewing cultural relics—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Isis is their superior's superior.

Despite the existence of the saying "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal," arranging for people to visit the Abu Simbel temples was a trivial matter for Isis. For ordinary tourists, coming here required crossing the desert and military escort, making it quite troublesome.

Above the temple entrance, between two stone sculptures of Ramses II, stands a falcon-headed, human-bodied statue of Ra, the sun god. Under Ra's watchful gaze, the group entered the temple, showing little interest in the "Anka" symbol souvenirs being promoted by the staff. After all, they were merely gilded plastic props, while the group had recently watched a similarly shaped, but pure gold, "Millennium Key" fall into the ground.

Upon entering the main part of the temple, there is a rectangular hall of about several tens of square meters. The first thing that catches the eye is sixteen stone sculptures standing on both sides, all of which are statues of Ramses II.

“Even I know that Ramses II was indeed one of the most outstanding pharaohs, but didn’t he erect far too many statues of himself?” Jonouchi said, glancing at Hayato. “Isn’t he a little too narcissistic?”

“Stone carvings are fine, but the carvings on the walls here are all murals recording the achievements of Ramses II,” Bakura said, looking around. “The Battle of Kadesh, the Hittite peace... although these are all historical achievements, isn’t he ashamed at all for showing off his accomplishments like this?”

"Hmph, there's nothing to be ashamed of in the king's life." Hayato said casually, but skillfully walked through the hall toward the stone chamber at the end of the temple, which served as the altar. Along the way, he suddenly said to the group, "Speaking of which, there were really a lot of pharaohs in ancient Egypt, and after their souls returned to the underworld, they would rule their former people again."

“There is such a myth.” Malik, who was following behind Hayato, nodded and said, “After death, people go to the underworld and are judged by Osiris in the Hall of Truth. Their hearts are weighed and they answer forty-two questions about everything they did in life. Those who pass can go to the Reed Plains to enjoy eternal spring.”

“Religions all over the world are pretty much the same in this respect, like heaven and paradise,” Jonouchi said casually, then added with a touch of ease, “Atum should have arrived at Reed Plains by now and reunited with his old friends.”

"But Hayato, why did you suddenly bring this up?" To prevent others from becoming sentimental again because of Jonouchi's words, Honda deliberately steered the conversation back on track.

“Because I was thinking that there must be many underworlds. After all, there are so many pharaohs, each of whom is immortal and rules over their own people. If all the pharaohs stayed in one place, it would be chaos.” Hayato paused, stopped in front of the altar, and looked at the four stone statues at the end. “Each pharaoh has his own underworld, and each underworld also has different gates leading to the real world.”

"And this is the location of a gate to the underworld."

"Eh!?"

Hayato's words were incredibly informative, and to everyone's surprise, he crossed the fence that read "No Entry for Tourists" and walked up the steps toward the statue.

Although it wasn't yet the Festival of the Sun, and the sunlight couldn't directly reach the far end of the temple to illuminate the statues, the power of modern technology didn't care about sunrise or sunset. Slender lights on the wooden floor protecting the ground shone day and night, illuminating all four statues. Hayato's gaze remained fixed on the statue of Ramses II, which bore a striking resemblance to himself, perhaps even nine-tenths.

“No, something seems off.” Malik felt a slight itch on his head, as if his brain was about to grow, and scratched the back of his head. “Let’s not even talk about the fact that there’s more than one gate to the underworld. Even if the Abu Simbel temple really does have a gate to the underworld, we’ve come to the wrong place, haven’t we? Brother-in-law, you should know that the original location of the Abu Simbel temple was underwater, which we passed on our way here.”

“This is the place. I know Ramses II very well. Although he might have some OCD and want to choose a place that makes him feel comfortable, the most important thing is symbolism. It doesn’t matter where the temple is; this temple is enough.” Taking out a card from his pocket, Hayato, who was standing in front of the statue, turned around and looked at Isis. “Isis, could you turn off the lights here for me?”

“Iss?” Malik raised an eyebrow. “Is that some kind of nickname between lovers? And you told me there’s nothing between you two—Bug!”

With a casual gesture, she sank her noisy younger brother and gave him a third bump on the head. Isis nodded to Hayato and walked to a spot in the temple, where she turned off the lights at that particular altar.

Although she didn't know what Hayato was going to do, all she needed to do was trust him.

As the light source in front of the altar disappeared, although the lights in the hall behind them were still on, the game and the others were shrouded in darkness. They could only vaguely see Hayato raising the card in front of the statue.

"Though their positions have shifted, the stars that illuminated the night sky a thousand years ago still shine. Let them return to their state three thousand years ago at the call of this place, under the gaze of Ra, under the call of Draco, and in the name of the Pharaoh!"

Suddenly, a light burst forth from the [Dragon Art - Heavenly Dragon Meteor = QUA] in Hayato's hand, but the light disappeared in a very short time. The lights illuminating the hall behind the game players also suddenly went out for some unknown reason.

However, the darkness enveloped them for only a moment. Suddenly, a golden light shone from behind them, dispelling all the darkness in its path and shining directly into the altar at the end of the temple. The light was perfectly accurate, illuminating the three statues except for Ptah.

It's like the scene that was only seen during the Sun Festival before the Abu Simbel temples were moved.

The group turned around and looked back. They saw that the entrance where they had entered the temple was no longer there. The administrators who had been standing there promoting the Anka symbols were gone. All that remained was a pure white expanse.

They had seen a similar sight not long ago at the underground temple where the Underworld Tablets were placed, when Atum opened the gates to the Underworld and saw the same view!

Chapter 935 The Method to Pass Through the Gates of the Underworld

"That's... the Gate to the Underworld!?" Malik's eyes widened. "It actually opened?!"

"It actually opened?" Hayato exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the opened gates to the underworld.

Hearing Hayato's words, Malik was also taken aback: "Wait a minute, brother-in-law, aren't you sure this place can open the gate to the underworld? You seemed so confident just now!"

"Nothing beats a try, hehe~" Hayato said somewhat casually as he walked down the steps and looked at the open gates of the underworld.

"By a bit of a coincidence, in the world of the stone tablets of the King's Memory, Ramses II obtained my memories, and conversely, I also obtained a part of his memories long after leaving that world. Although I only extracted the most boring part of a seventy or eighty-year-old man's recollection of his glorious past, it also allowed me to accidentally discover the secret of the Abu Simbel temple in it."

"What kind of monsters were the pharaohs of ancient Egypt?" Jonouchi muttered, then belatedly realized something, "Wait a minute, since Hayato, you've successfully opened the gate to the underworld, doesn't that mean if we miss Atum, we can go through this gate to visit him?"

Upon hearing Jonouchi's words, Yugi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the door not far away. After their previous separation, he had prepared himself for a permanent parting from his other self, never to see him again. But now Hayato was telling him that it wasn't necessarily forever, that there was still a possibility of meeting again?

In an instant, smiles appeared on the faces of Yugi, Kyoko, Honda, and the others. Muto Sugoroku looked at Hayato and said, "No wonder you were so calm before, Hayato. Even though you were about to part ways with another Yugi—no, with Atem—you didn't get as emotionally agitated as Yugi."

“I only just got the results now, Grandpa Sugoroku. I wasn’t quite sure before, but the answer now is pretty good, isn’t it?” Hayato smiled and looked towards the gate to the underworld. “However, there’s still one thing we need to confirm: whether the gate to the underworld left by Ramses II can lead to the underworld where Atum is.”

As soon as Hayato finished speaking, before he could take any action, Hayato's voice rang out: "Then I can answer you, yes and no."

"Hmm?" Otogi looked at Hayato with some confusion and said, "What do you mean by 'can' and 'can't,' Hayato?"

He didn't quite understand why Hayato suddenly started asking and answering his own questions, but when he saw that Hayato's mouth hadn't moved at all, he was stunned.

“I didn’t say that just now.” Hayato shook his head, looking at the gazes cast by the others in the city, and looked at the gates of the underworld again. “You’re still awake? You haven’t been completely destroyed? I thought your mummy was already rotten to the point that you should have died long ago in the underworld, Meliamon.”

"Hmph, fool! So-called mummies are nothing more than boring corpses. How could mere things that have passed away possibly interfere with what exists in the underworld?" The voice that was identical to Hayato's rang out again, full of confidence and arrogance. "Even if it has an effect, nothing is impossible for me. All things and phenomena are in my hands!"

Following Hayato's gaze and the direction from which his voice came, everyone saw another "Hayato" appear within a pure white gate to the underworld, as if looking in a mirror. Unlike the Hayato who wore a breathable long-sleeved shirt, this other "Hayato" was shirtless and adorned with a dazzling array of golden ornaments, with a white cloak draped over his shoulders.

Is that Hayato? He doesn't look like him, but he does.

Despite seeing the person before them for the first time, Malik, Otogi, and Sugoroku all had this conflicting thought immediately, while Isis guessed the other's identity in an instant: "Meriamon... is it Pharaoh Ramses II?"

"Huh?" Ramses II glanced at Isis, raised an eyebrow, and muttered to himself, "A descendant of Iseno?" He then looked at Hayato and said, "Did you tell that woman over there about me? Otherwise, how could she have guessed who I was so easily?"

“There’s no need for that. Isis isn’t just a pretty face; she’s very intelligent. Besides, I’ve already introduced yourself. Even a three-year-old could guess who you are.” Hayato paused, then asked curiously, “By the way, who is Iseno?”

“Isenofrete, another queen after Nefertari, looks ten or even nine parts like this woman. It’s quite a coincidence that Isenofrette means ‘beautiful goddess Isis’. Even I have to marvel at the wonder of fate that you, my reincarnation, have met this woman who also has the name Isis.”

"Huh? I never admitted that you, this exhibitionist who likes to go shirtless and all gold, were my past life, or that you were a promiscuous man who married eight wives and fathered hundreds of children."

"Fool, this is the common attire of my time. As a pharaoh, I have already dressed very modestly and approachably. Besides, I am not a scumbag; it's just that my heart is broken into many pieces. No, what right do you, a guy who calls a card 'Tamashi,' have to judge me?"

"It's so noisy! What's so inconvenient about Tamashi?"

Seeing the strikingly similar Hayato and Ramses II interacting so "affectionately," Malik couldn't close his mouth, as if his jaw had dropped in astonishment: "I thought my brother-in-law and Ramses II just happened to look alike by chance, but they're actually reincarnations!?"

"Could it be that what you guys said about seeing a guy named Mariko in the world inside that stone slab was actually true?!"

Honda shrugged and said, "We already told you, but what can we do if you don't believe us?"

“The game looks almost exactly like Atum, and Hayato is the reincarnation of Ramses II…” Otogi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache from the overwhelming amount of information. “Don’t tell me that Jonouchi is actually the reincarnation of some incredible ancient Egyptian.”

“Jonouchi, I don’t think so,” Bakura said with a smile. “But that Kaiba guy is, I think his name is Seth, he’s the reincarnation of that kind of person.”

However, compared to the others, Yugi, who already knew about the relationship between Hayato and Ramses II, was more concerned about what he had just said to Hayato.

"This gate to the underworld leads to another version of me, to the underworld where Atum resides, right, Mr. Ramses II? But what does it mean that it can't?"

Not only in the game, Kyoko was also very concerned about what Ramses II had just said, and looked at Ramses II standing on the other side of the gates of the underworld.

"As living beings, not subjects of my rule, you may simply address me as 'Ramses II' or 'Ozymandias,' though I prefer the latter," Ramses II said amiably in response to the gamers' question. He then pointed to himself and added, "The reason why you can and cannot do so will become clear once you touch this door."

Filled with curiosity and not worried that Ramses II would plot against him, Hayato heard his words and reached for the nearby Gate of Light. However, unlike when Atum entered the gate to the underworld, Hayato felt an unusual resistance when he touched the gate, as if he were touching a hard wall.

Not only Hayato, but Yugi also stepped forward to touch the Gate of the Underworld. Just like Hayato, he was unable to enter. He could only watch as Ramses II stood on the other side, arms crossed, calmly saying, "Although it's not a principle like 'the living cannot enter the Gate of the Underworld,' even if the Gate of the Underworld can be opened, it's not something that can be passed through at any time."

“There is a strong barrier separating the human world from the underworld, permanently dividing the world of the living from the world of the dead. This barrier is even stronger than the barriers between different worlds.” After a pause, Ramses II spread his hands. “Otherwise, do you think I wouldn’t be able to open the gates of the underworld from this side?”

“Without the Gate to the Underworld, we can’t enter the Underworld; even with the Gate to the Underworld, we still can’t get into the Underworld,” Hayato said unhappily. “Then what’s the point of having this gate? It’s just for show.”

Hayato originally intended to use Ramses II's Gate to the Underworld to allow Atum to travel between the human world and the underworld.

Atem wants to use his return to the underworld to bury the Millennium Artifacts, and also to allow Yugi to break free from his identity as the "vessel of the Pharaoh" and begin his own story. However, if Hayato's method succeeds, it will allow Yugi and the others to reunite with Atem from time to time, preventing them from being separated forever, while still achieving Atem's goal.

The gates to the underworld are open now, but they're unusable? Are you kidding me?

"That's not right. If that's what you're saying, then what about Atum? He just returned to the underworld from the human world." Hayato suddenly remembered that if Ramses II's words were true, the human world and the underworld were not connected, but Atum had only returned to the underworld a day ago.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush, I haven't finished speaking yet." Ramses II noticed the disappointment on the faces of the Yugi and the others after hearing his words, and continued looking at Hayato, "Barriers, as long as they exist, are destined to be broken, even the barrier between the human world and the underworld. Think carefully, when Pharaoh Atum returned to the underworld, did anything play a role?"

Upon hearing Ramses II's words, Jonouchi counted on his fingers: "Atum lost the dueling ceremony to 'lay down his sword,' and then shouted his true name in front of the gates of the underworld, and the gates opened to let him through. It seems like those are the only two things, right?"

"Indeed, there are only two things." Honda and Otogi recalled for a moment, then exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement with Jonouchi's words.

"No, there's one more thing, it's before the duel ceremony begins." Yugi seemed to remember something and said, "The duel ceremony can only take place because another version of myself separated from me, based on the power of the Eye of Horus on the gates of the underworld. But what activates that power is the Underworld Tablet containing the seven Millennium Items!"

"The 'Millennium Artifact' was created by a priest three thousand years ago using the power of an evil god from the underworld. Combined with the Underworld Tablets that carry the aura of the underworld, did Pharaoh Atum use this power to return to the underworld?" Isis, who already knew many things about the world of the King's Memory Tablets from Hayato, quickly came to a guess based on the game's speculation.

Ramses II looked at Isis and nodded with admiration: "Indeed, you are very intelligent, young lady who bears the name of the goddess Isis. Just as you predicted, to cross this gate to the underworld, what is necessary is the power to penetrate the barrier. Whether it is the [Millennium Artifact] which inherently possesses the aura of the underworld or something else, the most important thing is that power."

However, although Ramses II told everyone how to cross the Gates of the Underworld, it did nothing to cheer them up. Jonouchi said dejectedly, "This answer is as good as nothing. Even if we know that the Millennium Artifacts and the Underworld Tablet can cross the Gates of the Underworld, what good is it? The tablet is already broken and buried deep underground along with the seven Millennium Artifacts."

Upon hearing the words from within the castle, Ramses II smiled again and said, "So, you all know very well, don't you? It's just that seven of the Millennium Items were buried deep underground. But who said there are only seven Millennium Items?"

"Eh?"

Ramses II's words left everyone somewhat puzzled, even those who had previously possessed the "Millennium Artifacts," such as Malik and Isis.

“But there are indeed only seven Millennium Items, right?” Yugi frowned, recalling the information he had obtained from Aknadi, the creator of the Millennium Items, three thousand years ago, within the Stone Tablet World of the King’s Memory. “There are indeed only seven Millennium Items that were created together, and even the Stone Tablet of the Underworld has only seven empty slots.”

"Could it be that the Pyramid of Light that guy named Anubis used to have was also considered a Millennium Item?" Jonouchi remarked. "It does seem to have been around for over a thousand years and was quite powerful, but it's all over now. That thing was destroyed by Hayato, Yugi, and Kaiba a long time ago."

After saying that, Jonouchi belatedly remembered that Hayato had almost died in the "Pyramid of Light" incident, which had almost become a psychological trauma for him. He couldn't help but look at Hayato. However, Hayato had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was thinking about something, which made Jonouchi breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing Hayato's expression, Ramses II nodded: "Hmph, as expected of my reincarnation, you already know what it is? Although there is only one, that [Millennium Item] can do what the other seven [Millennium Items] can only do together."

"So, before you find that item and pass through my gates of the underworld, is there anything you need me to convey to Pharaoh Atum?"

Ramses II chuckled as he recalled the starfish-headed man who, upon returning to the Underworld, immediately went around looking for people to play cards with.

Chapter 936 Students should act like students

"Magic [Great Storm], destroy all the stone slabs in your backfield!"

"What?! My [Super Gravity Net]!"

"Then, my comrades will launch a direct attack! Go, Mana, Mahad!"

"Buga!!!"

Watching Atum easily defeat his opponent—a pharaoh who was also in the underworld—in one round of maneuvering, Ramses II, who was watching from the sidelines, clicked his tongue and clapped his hands, saying, "What a cruel massacre."