"He's going to lose." She said panicked as she watched the duel through the shadows. "You have to do something." She locked her green eyes on the stern violet eyes of her husband and pharaoh. He was resolute.
"I cannot. You know I am cut off from their world, that I chose to do so when I left."
She did know, but that did not mean they had to stand by idly and watch him lose. This duel was far more dangerous than even those involved suspected. She narrowed her eyes at her husband, feeling anger welling within her before looking back through the shadows once more to the events that lay beyond. She could not help having a soft spot for one of the duelists. He reminded her of another, one she also loved dearly, but one she had chosen to give up. Her time trapped in the shadow realm had changed her mind, but it had not changed her heart. She glanced at the priest by her husband's side, the one who shared his incredibly blue eyes.
"If the Plana take control…" she started, trying to form some sort of argument.
"I am not happy with Shadi's meddling in all of this, not even an iota, but it does not change the fact that I cannot help him. Kaiba is on his own." She read in his face that he was also worried about Yugi. Of all of the guardians of the items, he had been the most attached to their world. She had bled through after she had been cast to the shadows, latching onto his spirit as it was reborn. It was the connection she had with her other self, Yugi's twin sister, that had led her home. That connection had also led the poor girl into the arms of the young man now battling for his life, just as she had been drawn to his counterpart. That attraction had also been her ruin. She squeezed her eyes shut at the memories.
When she opened them, she tried to focus on the duel before her. Every attack made her wince, ever life point lost brought him one step closer to oblivion. She could not let that happen. It would have dire consequences for the universe, and for her other self, who stupidly loved this stubborn, self-centered, self-absorbed, jackass of a man. But she could not blame her other self.
As his life points dwindled, he seemed less like a man and more like a caged tiger—though he would have preferred a caged dragon. He had tried every trick, every strategy in his book, but nothing worked.
She turned back to her husband, her eyes now streaming tears.
"Please." She pleaded. At his silence, she turned to the priest who shared his eyes.
"Seto, help him." She begged. He shook his head, refusing to help the man who would be his other self. Her tears turned to steel as they denied her and it strengthened her resolve.
"Fine. You will do nothing. Then I will." She used her force of will to summon a stone tablet carved with a massive monstrous creature.
"Obelisk, the one who was once your master needs your aid. Go now to his side."
"What did you do?!" Atem stormed down the dais to her side.
"My duty as God's Wife. I directed a God." Her eyes were fire as he met his.
"We cannot interfere with our other selves, Neferet. Not anymore."
"You cannot, Husband. I, having never been bound to the Millennium items, have no such restriction." Her mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Besides, I am not helping her." A mist swirled around the stone tablet that bound the god-like creature to this plane of existence. From the mist, the creature rose and faded between worlds.
The blue eyed priest gasped as the door between worlds opened and he felt the anger and pain of his counterpart. He placed his hand on Neferet's shoulder, lending her his will as their souls sang in unison with the one now fighting for his existence in the other world.
Seto Kaiba was not used to being brought to his knees. True he had lost duels before, but he had never been in quite this situation. Everything had turned on its head and Seto Kaiba was not about to let that happen. He had his own goals, his own plans, and he would be damned before he let this… upstart nobody disrupt them.
But what could he do? He had already pulled out every trick he knew, every strategy. Hell, he had even contemplated cheating. But he knew he was not in a normal duel, not any more. He could feel that the stakes had been raised, and everything hinged on his victory… or defeat. But he would not be defeated. Not now, not by him. Not when he was so close.
But his beloved Blue Eyes had failed. He did not know what he could do. He only knew he could not give up.
That was when he felt it, the tug at his heart, as if someone were calling to him from a great distance. He could feel the power building through that connection, and he knew. He would deny later what he had felt and the miracle that he would create, but for now, he could hear them. Their voices echoed through the earth, through the dimensions and the shadows that separated them.
He would not lose.
Their strength flowed through him, stood with him as he drew power from the very land itself. His failing Blue Eyes exploded in a blinding light as the God took shape. Obelisk the Tormentor rose from the ground, from between dimensions, from the stone itself. His opponent stood there stunned, wondering how he could have pulled off such a feat. He would wonder himself, eventually, and would rationalize away any misgivings he would have, but for now all he knew was that Obelisk was his to command.
His opponent fell. They always fell. All except for him. Seto looked up at the image of the God as it slowly faded back into the shadows, and renewed his vow to face him once more—at any cost.