The card Yugi drew wasn't anything else, but the blank card from the Pharaoh's Tomb that Youyu had handed to him at the start of the duel.
Though it was still just a blank card, at this moment in the duel, the feelings Yugi had holding this card were entirely different.
The clash between the power of Egyptian Gods and Evil Gods, each collision was like a flood crashing through the dam, impacting the door to his long-sealed memories.
And now, those memories spanning over three thousand years have mostly awakened.
He's slowly beginning to recall everything from three thousand years ago. The chaos caused by the Thief King, the Great Evil God descending with despair to destroy the world, the heroic priests sacrificing themselves one after another, the fall of the gods, and finally, the decision he had to make to sacrifice himself to seal away the Evil God...
Yugi closed his eyes, feeling the flood of images revive with the stimulation of his nerves, as if he had watched a complete movie in a fleeting moment, with each frame and each shot vividly real.
Even the immense sadness when the priests and friends around him fell one by one, leaving only the solitary king on the battlefield covered with corpses, felt as real as if it happened yesterday.
Three thousand years later, history repeats. The Evil God descends once again, and he stands up against it one more time, as if crossing a cycle spanning over three thousand years.
But this time, it is different; the king is no longer alone.
He now has companions he can trust and rely on by his side.
He remembers the symbol Anzu drew with invisible ink on the backs of the hands of their four-member squad. Each person had only one part, but together they formed a complete smiling face.
No matter the ends of the earth, this world or the netherworld, or beyond the realms of time and space, their bonds could keep them closely connected.
And now he also has teammates fighting alongside him... and Youyu, who shares the title of "Duel King" and has given him great assistance throughout this Ultimate Darkness Game.
Somewhere along the way, they have become partners who share hardships.
Eyes reopening, the king's gaze has abandoned all confusion and only determination remains.
And the card in his hand that was once a blank sheet gradually revealed text and images amidst golden flickering lights.
The Great Evil God Sok couldn't comprehend what was happening, yet instinctively, bright red words appeared on his forehead —
—Danger!
What's happening?
Just what did he draw? Why does his whole demeanor seem completely different from before?
Yugi turned his head towards Youyu: "I'll need to borrow your power, Youyu."
"Alright."
"Activate the Magic Card 'Galaxy Cyclone' discarded in the graveyard!" Yugi shouted, "Remove 'Galaxy Cyclone' from the graveyard, and destroy one face-up Magic Trap Card on the field.
I destroy the Field Magic 'Zombie World'!"
"Oh, nice!" Jonouchi exclaimed, "'Zombie World' being destroyed means Bakura can't summon the Evil God!"
"Not only that," Yugi said, "With 'Zombie World' in play, neither player can Tribute Summon monsters other than Undead-Type.
Which means, as long as this field exists, the other me can't summon the god."
"That's it!" Jonouchi was surprised, "So, Youyu had even calculated this for Yugi in advance... so strong!"
Youyu coughed lightly.
Low-key, low-key...
"Troublesome guy." The Great Evil God Sok glared at Youyu unhappily and shouted, "Then at the instant 'Zombie World' is destroyed, activate the other effect of 'Haunted Shrine' in the graveyard!
If you have no monsters on your field, remove the card from the graveyard to Special Summon an Undead-Type monster from your graveyard with its effects negated!
Resurrect once more! The Wicked Avatar!!!
A black pillar of light shot skyward, darkness coalesced into a sphere in mid-air, and the Ultimate Evil God descended again!
[The Wicked Avatar, Attack power?]
"Of course, traps are ineffective against gods," Sok said, "So the effect of 'The Wicked Avatar' won't be negated!"
Yugi was undisturbed: "Magic Card - Pot of Avarice. Shuffle five Monster Cards from the graveyard into the deck, then draw two cards from the deck.
I shuffle 'Magician's Rod', 'Dark Magician', 'Watapon', 'Slifer the Sky Dragon', 'Obelisk the Tormentor' back into the deck!"
"'Obelisk'!? Wait a minute, Obelisk should have already been removed from play..."
Sok expressed, you think you can bluff an old veteran like me!?
When he had activated the Magic Card "Burial from a Different Dimension," he had distinctly removed one Slifer and one Obelisk from their graveyard. There were two Slifers in the graveyard, one removed leaving one, fine, but where did this Obelisk come from?
Could the Pharaoh be so shameless as to sneak it back while he wasn't paying attention?
Then Sok suddenly recalled what happened during the last turn...
Youyu: Using the effect of "Destiny Hero Dasher," during the Drawing Phase there's one time you can Special Summon the drawn monster. I Special Summon "Obelisk the Tormentor"!
Bakura: Then discard "D.D. Crow" from hand, remove "Destiny Hero Dasher" from your graveyard! Obelisk's summoning failed!
Youyu: Then activate "Angel's Charity" from hand, drawing three cards, then discarding two cards from hand.
"..."
Sok: "!?"
Was it discarded at that time?
Could it be... that this Youyu deliberately discarded the god to the graveyard, achieving resource sharing with the Pharaoh through this method!?
After all, in the team battle rules, both players on the same team cannot share card decks or hands, but they can share the graveyard and field.
Wait, calm down.
Sok watched Yugi shuffle five cards back into the deck and squinted his eyes.
Shuffling five cards back into the deck, even if two of them are gods, drawing them all in one go is too mystical.
Even for the Pharaoh, this is unlikely...
"Draw!"
Two cards were drawn by Yugi, creating transparent red and blue streaks in the air.
Great Evil God Sok: "!? "
The aura of those two cards, could it be...
He actually drew two Egyptian Gods from so many cards in one go!?
Did you really shuffle them?
Yugi's face showed no signs of disturbance, as if every card, every miraculous draw was inevitable, predestined.
"Magic Card 'Graceful Charity', draw three cards from the deck, then discard two cards from the hand."
Yugi drew three cards, picked out two without looking, and then immediately slapped the remaining one onto the Duel Disc.
"What I drew is the 'Watapon' that was just shuffled back into the deck with 'Pot of Avarice', " he said flatly, "Since it was added to my hand via card effect, it's directly Special Summoned."
[Watapon, Defense 300]
Even the spectators were somewhat bewildered.
"Why does it seem like Yugi... knows exactly which card he's drawing without looking?" Jonouchi exclaimed.
Yami Yugi was equally surprised for a moment, but quickly regained composure, smiling as he said, "Because the other me, he's... the strongest!"
At this moment, the Pharaoh within Dark Yugi had awakened the state from the final battle in DM's conclusion.
In this state, every draw of the Pharaoh is freely. He can draw any card he wants and swiftly execute any needed tactic.
Now he is at the strongest, most peak state, known as the "strongest Duel King" by many generations in the Yu-Gi-Oh! legacy!
"Quick-Play Magic 'Multiply'," Yugi said, "Offer the 'Watapon' with attack strength under 500 as tribute, Special Summon any number of tokens.
I Special Summon four 'Watapon Tokens'."
The fluffy little Watapon disappeared and split, transforming into four identical white spheres.
[Watapon Token, Defense 300] x4
"Three 'Watapon Tokens' as tribute." Yugi raised the card in his hand, "Appear through the chaos of thunder and the Netherworld, amidst the pandemonium—
God of the Netherworld, Slifer the Sky Dragon!!!"
The azure thunder pierced the sky and earth, the crimson-bodied divine dragon appeared once more amidst lightning, roaring fiercely at Sok and his field of evil gods!
[Slifer the Sky Dragon, Attack Power 3000]
"It's meaningless." Sok completely ignored the Sky Dragon's roar, speaking indifferently, "Summoning the Sky Dragon at this moment, what could be its purpose?"
"Quick-Play Magic 'Dimension Magic'!" Yugi continued, "Activate when there's a Spellcaster-Type monster on your field. Offer a monster on the field as tribute, Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand."
Sok: "??? "
I'm old but I can still see. On your field, there's a soft fluffy Watapon, an inoperable pit dragon, where is the Spellcaster-Type?
"Because beforehand, my set card has already been activated."
Youyu's voice drew Sok's gaze, he pointed to the flipped card in front of him.
"Quick-Play Magic 'Code Change'," Youyu said, "After this card is activated, there is one chance this turn to change the type described on the effect text of cards in hand or on field to the specified type." (Anime Card)
This card was used by Yuki Judai against Yugi in the final battle of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Back then, it was also used by Yugi to modify the type described on 'Dark Renewal', resurrecting the Sky Dragon from the graveyard.
"According to 'Code Change's effect, I changed the 'Dimension Magic' listed 'Spellcaster-Type' to 'Divine Beast-Type'." Yugi waved his hand, "Hence, I offer 'Watapon Tokens' as tribute, Special Summon from my hand—
—Obelisk the Tormentor!"
A blue pillar of light shot into the sky, the giant landed heavily with a tremor shaking the earth!
[Obelisk the Tormentor, Attack Power 4000]
This unfolding began sending chills down Great Evil God Sok's heart.
First the Sky Dragon, then the Tormentor, at this rate...
He must not be allowed to continue like this!
"Flip Cover Card!" Sok shouted in a low voice, "Trap Card - Super Team Buddy Force Unite! Select one monster on the field, from hand or graveyard, Special Summon a monster of the same type but different card name!
I select 'The Wicked Avatar', its type is Evil Divine Beast-Type! So I resurrect from the graveyard another monster of Evil Divine Beast-Type—
—The Wicked Eraser!!! "
Ink-like darkness swept across the entire space at this critical moment with an aura of utmost despair. The giant scythe cut through the space, and the massive form of the Eraser descended once more!
"Eraser's effect! Use itself as tribute, all cards on the field are sent to the graveyard!" Sok laughed heartily, "Disappear, disappear, everyone just disappear!
Swallowed by eternal darkness, forever wandering in the endless abyss!!! "