The ancient solemn hall, flickering firelight casting twisted shadows on the walls.
Sharp and piercing screams echoed within the hall, and blood flowed down the steps. The air was filled with a rich scent of blood and the helpless despair of vanishing life.
Souls interwoven with darkness were forcibly stripped from their bodies, including men, women, children, and the elderly.
These souls were devoured by a gigantic demon's shadow and eventually absorbed into the body of a white-haired young boy beneath it.
The ritual concluded, and the demon's shadow vanished. The soulless bodies fell to the ground like drained puppets.
Soon, minions emerged to handle these empty shells. Bakura, having absorbed nourishment, turned away without a glance at these shells, merely licking his lips with lingering satisfaction.
"Heh, though that old man Dartz was useless, he sure left behind a lot of good stuff," he chuckled softly, "the darkness birthed in human hearts... the taste is indeed quite delightful."
The accumulation of ten thousand years left Dartz with considerable wealth. Even after Doma's downfall, these treasures remained undiscovered by outsiders, and now they benefited Bakura.
Many now gradually began recognizing the extraordinary nature of the "Duel Monsters" card game, discovering its power beyond human comprehension, able to overturn many common beliefs and understandings, though few yet understood its true meaning.
Duel Monsters isn't just a game. Its origins are ancient, even older than the history of Ancient Egypt where the Egyptians discovered and utilized this power as a battle ceremony.
If traced further back, this existence even touches the origins of the world. The cards, now sealed in card games, are actually miniatures of corresponding world laws.
For example, the common "Monster Reborn" is a forbidden spell capable of subverting life and death. Although in modern games it's merely a card, the spell and magic it corresponds to indeed reverse life and death as a forbidden technique.
Over ten thousand years, Dartz somewhat mastered some secret techniques and acquired abilities like summoning storms, flash fusion, and body possession as he demonstrated before.
Perhaps when he summoned storms and tsunamis, devouring the ship Rafael's family was on, he used the spell corresponding to the powerful Magic Card "Heavy Storm" in dueling.
Of course, the stronger the card, the more difficult its corresponding magic to master, far beyond ordinary human understanding. Even for one with the Orichalcos' oracle and Dartz's millennia-long lifespan, his learning was quite limited.
After Dartz's death, none could comprehend the precious spell records and ancient texts he left behind.
...that is, until Bakura appeared.
He, the Great Evil God Sock, was no ordinary person. Though the Millennium Ring only sealed a fragment of Sock's soul and his supreme skills were sealed with his memories three thousand years ago, learning simple magic from the manuscripts was still manageable.
The ritual Bakura just used to devour souls was what he had recently learned from Dartz's records, the "Altar for Tribute." In contemporary Duel Monster Cards, it is a Trap Card that sacrifices monsters to restore the original attack value as life points.
If someone could fully harness the powers contained within all Duel Monster Cards and use them for themselves, they would have control over the world's laws, able to warp reality and time-space as they please. By then, they would wield absolute power akin to a true god.
...Of course, achieving that is no easy feat.
Dartz, that old monster, researched for ten thousand years and still failed to grasp any advanced magic paths. But even so, with his level, he could easily show off and display miracles before others.
"...My lord! Amir has been taken down!" someone came in to report.
"Heh heh." Bakura heard the news without any reaction, as if not surprised in the least.
"Such riff-raff, dead is dead," he spoke as though discussing a casually discarded piece of trash, "that fool probably spilled all my information, didn't he?"
The minion beside him paused, "Huh? So then..."
"Just as I calculated," Bakura smirked coldly, "Youyu, is it? If it's that guy, he should launch an attack immediately after getting the intel, right?
Ha, in doing so he'll fall right into the trap I've set for him!"
He prepared a relatively simple yet highly effective trap for Youyu, called "Bottomless Trap Hole." In the Duel Monster Cards, it's a powerful trap that destroys monsters with over 1000 attack points instantly upon summoning.
When Youyu, acting on information from Amir, attacked Doma's new headquarters, he'd find it empty, with only the deadly trap "Bottomless Trap Hole" waiting for him.
Catching him off guard, not even the Duel King would stand a chance!
"Heh, so-called Duel King is merely a mere mortal," Bakura scoffed.
Unlike other freaks, he did indeed have the capital to mock.
Because he was darkness itself, he was the Great Evil God mastering the ultimate power!
...though currently a little groggy, his power slightly diminished.
But that didn't stop him from looking down on others!
Bakura was indeed planning trouble, but first he had to eliminate unstable variables.
Like Youyu, for instance.
To him, Youyu was different from Kaiba. Kaiba Seto was a priest reincarnated, and Bakura knew well his past life. Clearly Kaiba wasn't interested in supernatural matters or his past life memories related to Yugi.
Bakura had never considered Kaiba a threat, even voluntarily gifting him the "Millennium Eyes," inviting him to join their century duel with Yugi.
But until now, Bakura hadn't figured out Youyu's background. Since Youyu could wield the Three Egyptian God Cards, he must be significant, but no matter how Bakura searched his memories or ancient records, he found nothing on Youyu.
It felt as if this Duel King had suddenly appeared from nowhere.
As the saying goes, the unknown is the most terrifying. As the Great Evil God Sock, Bakura feared neither the Pharaoh nor the Priest, but now, with the decisive battle imminent and an unknown factor lurking, he felt uneasy.
He must be eliminated first!
Besides, there was also his Nightwalker World association. Although Bakura didn't consider anyone other than Youyu a threat, he might as well take care of them all at once.
With this thought, Bakura's lips curled into a cruel smile.
That Youyu was completely unaware he'd fallen right into his trap.
Bakura laughed loudly, raising his right hand and clenching his fingers into a fist.
"Youyu! No matter where you sprang from, after today, you will forever be buried by darkness!"
BOOM!!!
A heavy explosion shook the massive doors of the hall, blown open with great force from the outside.
Bakura's laughter abruptly ceased. He stood in the stiff posture with his right fist raised, looking down to see Youyu at the entrance, with the imposing Masked Hero Blast before him.
Youyu stood by the door, trench coat billowing with the wind kicked up by the gust, "Did I just hear someone calling for me?"