After the duel with Marik, it was already late. Kira had traveled long-distance with Ishizu to Egypt that day and hadn't settled in yet. She decided to treat him to a late dinner as hospitality, then have someone escort him to his lodging for the night. They'd talk details tomorrow.
It was Kira's first time in Egypt. He'd heard it was the birthplace of Duel Monsters, with more ruins here than the rest of the world combined. Since he was here, even if just sightseeing, he should explore the sites. Who knows? A flash of inspiration at a ruin might let him manifest a new card set.
But that was for later.
After a day of travel and a friendly spar with Mr. Marik, Kira was indeed a bit tired. Back at the inn, he washed up simply and was out cold within a minute of hitting the bed.
He didn't know how long he slept. In a haze, Kira felt like he was soaring through clouds, an invisible force lifting him into flight.
Drifting along, he followed the mist until he felt someone tugging at his clothes from behind.
He turned fuzzily and saw a silver-haired beauty trailing him, clad in white robes. Her jade-like slender legs peeked through the fluttering hem.
The Silent Magician stroked his face lightly with her small hand, then made a few gestures.
Kira's mind cleared as he watched.
"Silent?"
He shook his head, shaking off the last of the fog. Now fully awake, he looked around and frowned. "I remember arriving in Egypt, dueling Marik, eating dinner, then coming back to rest. Where is this place?"
Silent gestured again. Kira realized. "Oh, right. I'm dreaming. This is my dream."
Silent nodded eagerly.
"Wait, if it's a dream, are you just a dream version of you?"
Kira found it odd and pinched her cheek. It felt smooth, cool, and soft—remarkably real for a dream.
Silent blushed slightly but didn't pull away, gesturing that she was real.
"You can enter my dreams?" Kira praised. "As expected of the top-tier mage. Impressive skills."
Pleased by her master's compliment, Silent beamed proudly. But she quickly gestured that he should be cautious—there might be someone else in this dream tonight.
Before Kira could ask more, a voice laughed nearby. "Silent Magician—that's your spirit, right? Meeting in a dream... You're a man with an extraordinary bond to your spirits."
Kira turned toward the voice. In the darkness stood a tall, lean figure. As he approached, Kira saw the wiry frame was packed with well-toned muscle.
His upper face was shrouded in shadow, but faintly visible was an explosive, starfish-like hairstyle in red and yellow—impossibly distinctive.
Kira had to admit, he was stunned.
"Mr. Yugi Muto?"
The man before him was unmistakably Yugi Muto.
The absolute peak of the dueling world, the legend deemed forever unmatched even in future eras in the anime. After defeating the Pharaoh at the Battle Ritual, he ascended to godhood. Two years later, he crushed Kaiba Seto—whose Blue-Eyes deck had massively powered up—solidifying his unshakable status as Duel King.
After that battle, Yugi vanished from public tournaments. A few years on, rumors spread that the original Duel King had retired and sealed his cards. By then, he'd made no public appearances.
From the anime plots Kira knew, Yugi briefly appeared at GX's start, encountering Jaden and gifting him Winged Kuriboh's spirit, kickstarting the GX story.
At the anime's end, he reappeared before the fully matured 20-year-old Jaden, granting time travel to duel his past self and recover what he'd lost in growth.
And now, this retired king stood before him—in his dream, no less.
Yugi smiled. "You're Fujiki Kira, right? I've heard about you. In a way, we have a bit of fate connecting us."
Kira didn't catch the reference at first. Then his chest warmed; a golden light gathered into an inverted triangle—the mini Millennium Puzzle, the sealing artifact that proved invaluable against the sneaky snake god.
"Thanks to your help, Mr. Yugi, I barely defeated the Snake God back then."
Yugi shook his head with a smile.
"It wasn't me helping you. If anything, it was your own strength—and destiny. Like now, being drawn into the Evil Gods' vortex because of that guardian spirit. In a sense, it's destiny's choice."
Kira joked, "I figured you'd be the type of duelist who rejects fatalism."
Yugi smiled faintly. "Powerful duelists forge their own destiny. In your two years at Duel Academy, you've grown into a duelist with that power. Marik must have felt it deeply tonight."
So Yugi knew about the duel with Marik that evening.
Kira found it strange. It was in a remote underground arena, completely isolated. It had just happened today—how did Yugi know? Had he been lurking nearby?
Kira's senses were sharp now, backed by powerful spirits. Anyone approaching should have been detected, but he'd sensed nothing.
Had Yugi reached divine levels where even spying went unnoticed?
Kira asked, "Are you here for the Three Evil Gods too, Mr. Yugi?"
Yugi shook his head.
"My era is over, my story ended. The world always needs new duelists. Every world does."
Kira sensed an undertone.
"What you said today was spot on. As a duelist, tactics, awareness, knowledge, intuition for card use—they're all vital. But there's something even more precious: things unseen, yet undeniably real."
Only then did his expression dim slightly.
"The longer ago it was, the more profoundly I feel it. That's why this card was born."
He pointed gently at Kira.
Kira noticed his card holster glowing gold. Surprised, he opened it and drew a card radiating blinding golden light, obscuring its details.
A dream card draw?
This confirmed it: After losing the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi hadn't regressed to mortal—he'd advanced to godlike realms by some unknown path.
"Mr. Yugi, what is this card?"
He looked up to ask more, but in the blink of an eye it'd taken to glance down, Yugi had vanished.
…