After a simple opening ceremony, the tournament directly entered the dueling phase.
Persuaded by Yugi's talk, Kaiba gave the first round's chance to challenge Aigami to Yugi. Thus, Aigami, who had been beaten continuously in previous days, was once again pushed onto the dueling arena, and this time his opponent was none other than the legendary First Duel King, Muto Yugi.
Logically, after suffering so many defeats, Aigami should be nearing a state of self-isolation, but upon seeing his opponent, he suddenly felt confident again.
Hmph, a Duel King? Just Pharaoh's proxy after all!
If I can't beat Pharaoh, does that mean I can't beat you!?
Although Aigami had never won a match, he appeared very confident. His indifferent stride as he walked on stage clearly showed it.
Then... then Aigami's symptoms of isolation deepened once more.
Aigami, who completely underestimated his opponent, couldn't have imagined that Yugi, who looked harmless on the outside and possibly even a bit timid, would be so ruthless in a duel.
Throughout the duel, Aigami faced nothing but obstacles. Tiny pits were everywhere, and bigger ones appeared every five steps; any movement would trigger a trap, leaving him in disarray.
After the match, Aigami lay sprawled on the cold floor of the dueling arena, gazing hopelessly at the chandelier and the dome, plunging into deep self-doubt.
However, Kaiba didn't give Yugi a chance to catch his breath. Without a word, he took up the Duel Disc and stepped into the arena. Yugi, unfazed by back-to-back duels, continued the fight against President Kaiba without any adjustments to his Card Deck.
Yugi delivered a brilliant performance in this duel as well. He elegantly countered Kaiba's attack with the effect of the Magician Girl, and then summoned Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition to destroy Kaiba's trump card, Deep-Eyes White Dragon.
But this duel was never about winning or losing from the start.
For Kaiba, this duel was nothing more than a stepping stone to finding Atem, never taking Yugi seriously from the beginning.
And for Yugi, his goal was not to win the duel, but to convey a message to Kaiba through it.
Right in front of Kaiba, he placed the final piece into the Millennium Pendant.
With the last piece embedded, after a year, the Millennium Pendant was once again complete in Yugi's hands. At that moment, Kaiba's pupils contracted, and the stunned Aigami lying aside was wide-eyed, as were many of the observing Plana watching with bated breath.
Everyone witnessed a moment they might never forget—
—nothing happened.
The Pendant was assembled, lying quietly and peacefully in Yugi's hands, as if asleep.
Yugi slowly released it, letting go of the Millennium Pendant, and softly said, "You came here to see Atem... I understand your feelings, Kaiba... but this is reality.
The fact is... he's no longer here. Not in this Pendant, not in this world... never to return."
Kaiba widened his eyes, staring blankly at Yugi, speechless for a while.
Though it might be unethical to say, President Kaiba's expression indeed resembled a large-scale heartbreak scene...
"Unacceptable... Unacceptable, Yugi!"
Kaiba immediately entered into the state of "I won't listen, I won't listen, you have to bring him back," instantly activating the Trap Card "Speed Chanting," allowing him to activate the effect of a Magic Card from his hand.
Kaiba discarded the "Monster Reborn" that Yugi had handed to him via Magic Effect the previous round, attempting to revive Deep-Eyes White Dragon from the Graveyard to conclude the duel.
Yet at that moment, Yugi also activated the trap "Final Geas", removing all monsters from both players' Graveyards from play while Special Summoning "Dark Magician" to the field from the banished zone.
With the targeted "Deep-Eyes White Dragon" removed from play, the activation of "Monster Reborn" failed.
As Dark Magician's finishing blow landed, and Kaiba's Life Points reached zero, the president finally understood why Yugi handed him "Monster Reborn" and received the message Yugi intended.
The departed are gone.
No matter how much he misses, invests, or tries, that person... will never return.
Kaiba lost.
The audience present didn't display much surprise. After all, Kaiba Seto losing to Muto Yugi was not a rare occurrence, nothing surprising.
However, Youyu did notice that on the opposite side of the audience, the White Dragon girl Kisara stood up abruptly when the president's Life Points hit zero, hesitating for a while before slowly sitting back down.
She seemed slightly inclined to comfort the defeated president, yet hesitant...
Suddenly, the entire lighting in the venue went out. The holographic systems covering the venue were abruptly turned off, like a monitor going black without any warning. The massive venue was plunged into darkness.
Youyu's expression slightly changed.
What's happening now?
He immediately pulled out the Millennium Ring, frowning at it.
As if sensing Youyu's displeased glance, the Millennium Ring trembled violently, its dials shaking back and forth as if waving profusely, indicating, "It wasn't me, honestly it wasn't me."
Indeed, the Millennium Ring had been held honestly by Youyu, with the malicious entities inside not daring to make a peep, not inclined to cause trouble.
Besides, the movie's antagonist Aigami lay like a salted fish on the arena's side, seemingly drained and in no position to cause trouble.
Then who could it be?
"Brother! Our system has been breached!" Mokuba said.
Kaiba furrowed his brow: "By whom?"
"I don't know, I'm still trying to track the identity... but I recognize this wave, the energy reading." Mokuba said, "It's identical to the traces left when Kaiba Land experienced security breaches last time!"
Kaiba squinted.
The crowd began to murmur, and the atmosphere began shifting. The air in the venue hissed as if uneasy, vibrating like a fleet of drones surrounded the place.
The entire venue shuddered, as if trembling.
Someone cried out in terror, pointing at the dome. The glass dome cracked visibly, and the metal frame creaked under strain. Cracks spread along the floor and walls like vines grown excessively.
The floor shattered, and a massive creature ascended to the skies! Thick smoke like a river billowed; its body, as big as mountains, rose with a deafening roar in the middle of the dueling arena.
The two individuals in the arena bore the brunt. Yugi was flipped over by the shockwave; Kaiba staggered, kneeling as his white coat fluttered in the smoke.
The massive "mountain" moved, waving its long neck, revealing five distinct-colored heads!
That is... Five-Headed Dragon!
Not a holographic image, nor a false illusion; the entity had solid mass, with huge paws that splintered the floor beneath.
All of Five-Headed Dragon's mouths opened, unleashing the five elemental assaults of earth, water, fire, wind, and darkness, surging mightily towards Kaiba!
But at that critical moment, Kaiba's pupils contracted, seeing a silhouette flash like a teleportation, coming between him and the five-colored assault in a mere breath.
A girl, her eyes as clear as the sea, with silver hair like a dream.
She stood in front of Kaiba, extending her petite hand, with the rotating assaults seeming harshly striking against an invisible barrier. The girl bit her lip, her white hair flowing like a raging tide.
Kaiba stared at the familiar yet strange back, momentarily dazed.
"Blue-Eyes... White Dragon?"