Days passed and Yugi was still learning to live with Dark Yugi. Sometimes, they would leave messages to each other. Sometimes, Yugi would wake up in random places doing random things.
Yugi woke up with a spoon full of cereal with water in his mouth once, it was disgusting.
With enough practice, Yugi was learning how to refuse control to his alter ego, his counterpart wasn't happy with that, but it was necessary for Yugi to be the primary owner of his body or he would go crazy.
One morning, the short boy was having breakfast while reading the newspaper, one news in particular made Dark Yugi very restless inside him.
"Tomb from the New Kingdom Era found in the Valley of the Kings…Maybe I should go to the exhibit?" Yugi thought aloud.
His grandfather overheard him and read the newspaper in his hands, "Oho! Yes, you should! This 'Professor Yoshimori' fella is an old friend of mine from my days as an archeologist! Maybe he can get you and your friends in for free?" the old man smiled.
"I would love that!" Yugi has liked history since he was a kid, maybe this exhibit could also shed some light over his Millennium Puzzle?
Two months later, the date of the exhibit arrived and Yugi invited his friends.
"Hey, do you guys want to go to the Egypt Exhibition in the museum with me?" He asked his friends.
"Of course we do!" Anzu smiled.
"Sounds interesting, I heard that they found a mummy!" Hiroto said.
"A mummy? I don't wanna get cursed!" Katsuya cringed.
"Your puzzle is egyptian…maybe they'll know something about it?" Anzu frowned at the object.
"Your puzzle is an egyptian relic? You're not cursed, are you?!" Katsuya took a step back.
"N-No! I'm not cursed!" Yugi laughed nervously, and Anzu glared at the puzzle.
"It's Sunday at 1:00 PM! Let's meet in front of the museum!" The group agreed.
The friends plus grandpa Muto met in front of the museum to wait for the old man's friend. It was the first time that Hiroto and Katsuya saw Yugi in casual clothes. He had a black Darkthrone t-shirt, his usual oversized sneakers and leather.
Lots of leather.
His pants were leather, his choker was leather, his belts, both of them, were leather and all his other accessories were either leather or chains.
"No offense, Yugi, but your fashion sense doesn't fit you at all! You look like a total edgelord!" Katsuya threw his arm around Yugi's shoulders. He was wearing old faded jeans and a baseball jacket, Honda had a stylish jacket that complimented his broad shoulders, Anzu was wearing a pink skirt and a yellow sweater, no one knew how she kept her legs warm and they were too embarrassed to ask.
"It's not about looking good! I just like dressing this way!" Yugi pouted.
"Relax! I'm just messing with you!"
"Muto!" While Yugi and Katsuya discussed the shorter boy's fashion sense, a pair of older men approached the group, one of them shook Sugoroku's hand.
"It's good to see you, my old friend! Kids, this is my friend, Professor Yoshimori!"
"Pleased to meet you," The man smiled politely.
"And who is this gentleman?" Sugoroku clearly didn't know the other man.
"My name is Kanekura, the owner of this museum and sponsor of this exhibition!" Kanekura turned around and whispered something in Yoshimori's ear.
"Oh, yes! Sugoroku, you told me that your grandson solved the puzzle?"
"I did tell you, right? Yugi, introduce yourself!"
"H-Hi! Nice to meet you!" The boy waved awkwardly.
"So you're Yugi-kun!" The museum owner approached Yugi, "And this is the legendary Millennium Puzzle! Please, you have to sell me this! How much?"
"It's not for sale!" Yugi said harshly, the glint in his eyes made it clear that this wasn't the kind boy anymore.
"Then lend it to me! Just for today!" The man got uncomfortably close, earning a glare from Dark Yugi and a concerned look from Anzu.
"No," The dark being said.
"I…I see…Sorry to bother you!" Kanekura glared at Yugi and left, as soon as he left the view, Yugi got control of his body back.
"Yugi, that was very rude!" Sugoroku scolded his grandson.
"I'm sorry!"
The group walked through the museum, impressed with the relics and antiquities. Even Hiroto and Katsuya were visibly engrossed in the exhibition.
"So many treasures! And all of this belongs to the one who found them?" Katsuya asked the professor.
"I wish! Until 1921, the excavator was free to keep whatever he found! But now, it's all cultural property, belonging to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities! It's strictly illegal to sell it!" Yoshimori laughed.
"I thought that archeologists were adventurers looking for fortune," Yugi said.
"That's only in movies! Archeology is one of the worst paid fields, but nothing beats the feeling of opening an ancient door that you found after decades of research, it's a sensation that I can't even describe! But enough of this, let's talk about your puzzle. You're very protective of this, right?"
"Yes, it's something that I can't part with, not even for a day."
"I understand, it's a shame that this will not be put on display, but I understand your side," The man smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
The group went around the exhibition, admiring many artifacts and antiquities. But a papyrus in particular caught their attention.
"The scene drawn in this papyrus is the 'judgment of the dead', the god overlooking the judgment is Osiris, the god of the dead, the god who's passing judgment is Anubis, god of mummification and responsible for judging the souls of the dead. Anubis weighed the person's heart against the feather of Maat in his scale, if the person's heart balanced with the feather, they were free to pass into the afterlife, but if their heart was heavier than the feather, their soul was devoured by Ammit, destroying the soul completely," The professor explained, "And this is a mummy!" He changed topics immediately.
"Do we really need to see the mummy?" Katsuya asked.
"What? You're scared?" Hiroto smirked.
The group looked at the mummy for a few seconds and moved on due to Katsuya's fear. Yugi stayed behind, distracted by the Egyptian man who was also watching the mummy.
The mysterious man was crying.
"Sir, why are you crying?" Yugi asked.
The man looked at him, his face was indecipherable, "Those tears are not mine, this man might have been reduced to this shriveled form, but he still is an eternal pharaoh, his immortal soul keeps living on. But he had his eternal sleep disturbed…the cry of his soul turns into tears that flow down my cheeks."
The man turned around, revealing a scale in his hand.
"I see that you have completed the puzzle, I apologize for my lack of manners, but I need to test you," The man took his ankh-shaped necklace in his hand.
"What do you mea-" Yugi was interrupted when the man pressed the object on his forehead.
Shadi was concerned that the one who solved the puzzle was just a kid, but if the kid was able to complete the puzzle, then he was the one and Shadi had no right to object.
Shadi expected the boy's mind to be affected by the puzzle's black magic, but what he didn't expect was to find two soul rooms inside him.
"One room is open…there are lots of toys and little trinkets lying around, clearly the boy's soul…" Shadi turned to the other door, a thick iron door with the same symbol as the Millennium Items.
He took a step forwards and the door opened by itself, revealing a teenager with the exact same appearance as the Puzzle-bearer.
"A visitor? How unusual…Come on in, I want to play a game," He said.
Shadi hesitated, "This dark room looks just like the tomb of a pharaoh…"
"I don't know how you got here, but you better explain yourself," The teenager frowned at the invader.
"...Well, I am an unwanted invader, so explaining my motives is the least I can do. I came to learn about the powers of your Puzzle, it's the only Millennium Item whose powers are unknown to me."
"What you seek is in this room…but you know the drill, right? Let's play a game, a shadow game!"
Shadi nodded.
"The rules are simple! Somewhere in this room, you can find my true soul room, maybe you'll find what you seek there?"
"I accept your challenge."
The boy smiled, "Then you should start looking!" And the dark room lit up, revealing a labyrinth.
"Dozens of doors all over the labyrinth…I will have to look into them one by one!" Shadi opened the first door, but his instincts screamed at him to jump back, barely avoiding a large rock that fell from above.
"Good luck! I'll be waiting for you in the real room," The teenager disappeared.
Shadi walked through the labyrinth, opening every door in his way. Some of them led to traps, others were completely empty, others had a wall behind the door.
"This one!" Shadi opened the next door, finding the boy sitting in an elaborate throne, "Did I find it?" The egyptian took one step into the room, and the floor collapsed.
Shadi grabbed the edge of the hole, "If I fall, I will be consumed by his soul!" He looked down to the darkness below him, knowing that this was the end.
The boy approached him in a lazy stride, he leaned with a sadistic smirk on his face, "How does it feel? To be at my mercy?" He knelt down and offered his hand, "Grab it, this is not a trap," Shadi grabbed the hand and the boy pulled him up.
"I am in your debt, I never thought that you would save me."
"Leave."
"This is only the beginning," Shadi turned around and walked out of the door, waking up in the real world.
"Sir, are you alright?" The boy asked innocently.
"He didn't notice?" Shadi straightened his robes, "Yes, I am quite alright. I just had a run-in with your other self."
The boy's eyes widened..
"So he knows… Wait, I understand!" He looked at the teenager's eyes and said, "Boy, you must solve the puzzle's true enigma, only then you will be able to utilize its full power."
"My name is not 'boy', it's Yugi!"
Shadi smiled, "My name is Shadi, we will meet again soon. I will be taking my leave now, I have other matters to attend to."
Yugi frowned, what did he mean by 'true power'? How did he know about Dark Yugi? Who was that man?
"Yugi! Let's go! How long are you going to stare at this mummy?" Anzu called him from the other side of the room.
"Sorry, I was just talking with that man." Yugi ran to his friend.
"What man?" She asked, confused.
Yugi froze.
On that same day, at night, the museum's director was found dead.
"It's depressing to think that someone we just met is dead…" Sugoroku sipped his tea.
"Grandpa, do curses really exist?" Yugi asked.
"Who knows? When the tomb of Tutankhamun was found, many people involved died mysterious deaths, but now it's widely accepted that it was just a rumor from the media. But something else is bothering me, Professor Yoshimori just lost a coworker, he must be feeling down. I'll stop by his lab to cheer him up."
"Grandpa, can I come with you?"
"Of course you can!"
The grandfather and his grandson left the store, meeting Anzu and Katsuya who were coming their way.
"Hey! We just saw the news about Kanekura and decided to meet with you two and go visit Professor Yoshimori together!" Katsuya smiled nervously, "Besides…I'm pretty sure that it was a curse…"
"I don't think you two should go." Yugi frowned, he had a gut feeling that something was wrong that night.
"Don't worry about us! You're just worried about Jonouchi's fear of curses, right?"
"I'm not scared! The professor showed us around the museum and told us some pretty cool facts! I'm just worried about the guy!" Katsuya defended himself.
"Okay, sorry for being weird!" Yugi smiled.
The group arrived at the university and made their way through the dark hallways to the archeology lab.
"God, I hate schools at night! It's so creepy!" Katsuya walked awfully close to the rest of the group.
"Jonouchi! If you show up looking like this, you'll just make the professor even more depressed!" Anzu poked his ribs.
"She's right! Let's not mention the museum at all, okay?" Yugi said.
"The professor and I can share some of this sake that I brought, that'll cheer him up for sure!" Sugoroku shook the bottle lightly.
The group counted to 3 and entered the room, "Professor Yoshimori, we came to visit!"
The man got up slowly and turned around, "Welcome…thank you for coming…come in…come in…come in," His eyes were empty and his movements erratic.
"We brought some souvenirs! You know, as thanks for showing us around the mus-" Katsuya got interrupted by a punch from Anzu.
"You moron!" The girl scolded the blonde.
"Oh, yes…the museum…somebody killed him…somebody killed Kanekura-san…" The professor smiled.
"Hey, something weird is happening…" Katsuya took a step, standing in front of Yugi.
"Professor, are you alright?" Sugoroku asked his friend.
"Yes…I'm fine…I was just waiting…waiting for Yugi!" The man ran towards the group, grabbing Katsuya's neck.
"Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi and Anzu tried to pry Yoshimori's hands away from their friend's neck while Sugoroku tried to pull his friend back.
"I want to see the other Yugi! Show me!" The professor's grip was inhumanly strong.
"I apologize for my puppet's rudeness." An ominous voice said from the dark, revealing an Egyptian man with a scale in his hands.
"Shadi! What did you do to the professor!" Yugi yelled.
"If my theory is correct, this will bring out the other Yugi."
Katsuya started to turn blue, Anzu released her grip on the professor and ran to the other side of the room.
"Anzu! What are you doing?!" Yugi yelled as he doubled his efforts.
"Saving his life!" The girl picked up a globe and hit the Professor with all her strength, knocking some of his teeth out and making him release Katsuya.
"F-Fuck…I…Almost…met…that Anubis guy…" The blonde struggled to regain his breath.
While the group checked their friend, Yoshimori got up and ran back to them like a zombie, "Split up!" Katsuya yelled.
Even after splitting up, the professor still went after Katsuya. Sugoroku jumped in front of the boy and tried to reason with the insane man, "Yoshimori, don't you remember me?"
"Gramps, careful!" Katsuya yelled but it was too late, the zombified man backhanded the old man with his monstrous strength, throwing him against a bookshelf and knocking him out.
"Grandpa!" Yugi ran to his fallen grandfather while Katsuya distracted the professor.
"Hey, asshole! Don't you want a piece of me? C'mon! Come and get me!" Katsuya ran out of the room with the zombified Yoshimori on his trail.
"You have good friends, Yugi."
"Shadi! I forgot about him!" Yugi quickly turned around, finding Shadi with Anzu by his side, "Shadi! What have you done to her?!"
"I used the power of my Millennium Key to redesign her mind, now, she is all but a puppet in my control! Now, Yugi, let him out! I want to see the other Yugi!"
"Fuck! This guy is fast!" Katsuya ran through the hallways of the university, "I'm finishing this now!" He turned a corner and raised his fist, and as soon as the professor turned the corner, Katsuya punched him with all his strength.
Katsuya approached the fallen man, "Hey, professor, are you okay?"
Yoshimori got up with the same maniacal expression and ran after Katsuya again, "What the hell is wrong with this guy?!"
"Shadi, why are you doing this?"
The Egyptian smiled, "Yugi, if I order this girl to die, she will die!"
Yugi's expression twisted in fury, "Shadi!"
"We finally meet in this world, Yugi within Yugi! The last time we met, I entered your mind to search for your power, but you forced me out. Now, I will test your powers in the real world! It is time for our final battle!"
Dark Yugi frowned, "It looks like I don't have any other choice besides accepting."
"Our game starts in 10 minutes, I will head to the roof and make the preparations. I will be waiting for you."
Shadi left, taking Anzu with him.
"Shadi…Why are you so obsessed with my Puzzle? Even I don't know the full extent of its powers, they are hidden deep in my soul…But this doesn't matter, you're my enemy, Shadi! And no matter what your challenge is, I will succeed! Both for Anzu and my other self!" Dark Yugi thought with conviction. After the 10 minutes that Shadi requested had passed, he headed for the roof.
When Dark Yugi arrived at the roof, he froze. Anzu was standing on a plank extended on the roof's side.
"Anzu!"
"Very well, let's start the game. The 'Trial of the Mind'!"
"You're not getting away with this, Shadi! How dare you put Anzu in danger! You will not use her in your game!"
"Yes, Yugi, I will, and if you lose, the girl will fall 4 floors to her death."
Yugi gritted his teeth.
"But before you begin, I must tell you something. I don't know how you found it or how you managed to solve it, but it is not a coincidence. The Puzzle choose you, just like the Scale and Key choose me."
"Don't you dare suggest that we're allies! Now shut up and tell me the rules of your game!"
Shadi nodded, "Very well. But you do not need to be afraid."
"I'm not afraid!"
"Yes, Yugi, you are. You fear the power of the Puzzle, you fear what I can do to your friend, you fear me, your other self fears you because he doesn't understand it. This is the weakness of your heart. Are you seeing those clay dolls tied to my key?" Shadi pointed to the Millennium Key that was tied to a rope with 5 dolls around it holding the many ropes that were being used to hold the plank with Anzu in place. One of the dolls was cracked, "This proves your weakness!" The cracked doll broke, releasing one of the ropes.
"What the?!"
"Yugi, you did not realize it yet? The game has already started! These dolls are called 'ushabti', they used to be buried with the deceased to serve them in death. The four ushabti on the key's sides, now three, represent your heart. Each time you doubt yourself, one of them will break, releasing one of the ropes that are holding the plank in place. The ushabti above the key represents my own heart. If you manage to break my ushabti before all of yours break, the key will slide through the rope and touch the girl's hand, returning her to normal and saving her life. This is how you win this game! Stage 1, start!"
The floor around Dark Yugi broke and from the cracks many zombies started to rise. They grabbed the teenager and crawled up his body, immobilizing him.
"Answer my riddle! 'What creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars'?"
"This…this is clearly an illusion! But I can't move! Maybe if I solve it I'll free myself? Think, Yugi, think!" He closed his eyes, "What creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars? What is creeping on the ground…are the zombies! And I'm the pillar! What else creeps on the ground…I got it!" Yugi opened his eyes, "The answer is 'my own shadow'!"
The illusion dispelled, "Very well, you passed the first stage. But the next one will be harder!"
The ground broke again and a large reptilian creature came out, grabbed Yugi's arms and opened its mouth above his head.
"Listen, Yugi! There's only one way of escaping Ammit's claws! You must win the game!"
"Is…Is this another illusion?"
"Yes, Ammit does not exist as a physical being, but even if she is just an illusion, if she sinks her teeth on you, you will die. Her last meal was that museum owner a few hours ago, she must still be ravenous."
"So it was him who killed Kanekura!"
"Allow me to explain the rules," Nine stone plates in a 3x3 pattern appeared in front of Dark Yugi, "This is a simple game of 'Concentration'. Just like cards, those plates have pictures on the other side."
"Wait! There are nine plates! There's an extra plate!"
"Yes, in this version of the game you don't need to form pairs, you just need to find out what is in the extra plate, but with one condition: You can not turn over a single plate! The time limit is 5 minutes, when the time ends, Ammit will close her jaws and devour your soul."
"What?!"
"Let me tell you the key to solve the puzzle: The plates are a mirror of Ammit. Game Start!"
"A mirror?" Dark Yugi closed his eyes and started thinking, "I-I can't think straight! If I get it wrong, Anzu dies! I'm too scared!" One of his ushabti cracked, "No, I can't be scared now! I can't afford to be afraid! Think!"
Katsuya found a fire extinguisher and had an idea, "Wait, I'll fight you, you shitty old man!" Katsuya stopped running and turned around, stealthily picking the extinguisher up and hiding it behind his back, "Follow me! Let's settle this!" He entered the room by his side.
The professor entered after him, Katsuya took his extinguisher and fired it at Yoshimori, "Take that, zombie professor!" The older man ignored the foam and threw the extinguisher away from Katsuya's hands. He punched the professor, but the old man grabbed him by his shirt and ran towards the windows.
"W-Wait! This is the third floor!" Yoshimori shoved the teenager through the window, "Shit!" Katsuya fell but managed to grab a ledge. He looked up and saw Anzu on a plank, "Anzu? What the hell is happening there?" But Yoshimori, crawling out of the window, took him out of his thoughts, "Oh for fucks sake!"
"Yugi, you have one minute left!"
"Okay, if this is concentration, then there are four pairs! But what are they? Wait a second!"
"5 seconds."
"Ammit has two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and two hands! The answer is 'Ammit's mouth'!" The plates turned over, revealing two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two hands and the singular mouth in the center.
Ammit disappeared.
Shadi frowned, "Final stage!"
"How can I break Shadi's ushabti? Does he have any weakness at all?"
"The next game must be played by two people! Let me introduce you to your opponent!" Another illusion formed, this time, it was Katsuya.
"Jonouchi?"
The illusion snatched the Millennium Puzzle from his neck.
"This image was created using the other Yugi's memories! The 'friend' who tormented you in the past is reborn!" The ground around them broke, "In this game, you will take turns rolling the Puzzle as a dice! For each throw, your opponent must move two squares in the direction of the tip! The first one to fall, loses!"
"I'm pretty sure that this is another illusion…but it might be the actual Jonouchi under Shadi's control!"
"Hey, Yugi! What's this? Jewelry? Only a girl would walk around with something like this!" The illusion-but-maybe-the-real Jonouchi taunted him.
The original Yugi assumed control, causing two of his ushabti to break, "This can't be happening! I must win, if I show more weakness, Anzu will die!"
"What? Not going to take it back? Then I'll start!" Katsuya threw the puzzle, its tip pointed behind Yugi, "Walk two squares behind you!" Yugi did it, "Your turn!"
"I'm not doing this. I pass."
"Yugi! Are you throwing the game? Do you admit defeat?" Shadi asked.
"No, I won, Shadi. I trust my friend," Yugi said with determination.
"Trust? So you lost, this final game was made to test your heart's weakness of trusting too much! Trust, friendship, all of this is easily breakable! It is a weak heart longing for solace! True strength comes from the capacity of trusting yourself, it comes from not needing anyone else! Now, puppet, throw the puzzle! End this!" Shadi ordered Katsuya, but he did nothing, "What?"
The illusion smiled and vanished.
"Trust comes from forgiving, but never forgetting. I forgave Jonouchi-kun a long time ago, but I remember how he was! And it's because I remember that I know he's not a bully anymore!"
Yugi's final ushabti was intact, but the rope itself was almost snapping from the tension.
"Anzu!" Yugi yelled as the rope snapped, but she didn't fall.
"I'm here! Everything will be fine!" Katsuya yelled from beneath the plank, he managed to sneak beneath it and hold it in place.
Shadi's ushabti cracked.
"You probably won't understand it, but you can't have true strength alone! True power is the capacity to trust your friends!" Shadi's ushabti shattered, Yugi defeated his enemy.
"Impossible…" Shadi said while his key slid through the remaining rope, touching Anzu's hand and freeing her from the mental control.
"W-What the hell?!" The girl screamed.
"Anzu! Good, you're back! Now turn around and walk to the roof!" Katsuya said with effort.
"Are you crazy?! I'll die! I'll fall and die!" She yelled at him.
The zombified professor caught up to him, "The zombie professor is back! Anzu, go or we'll both die!"
"F-Fine! Hold on!" She slowly crawled towards the roof.
"Damnit!" Yoshimori pulled Katsuya, making him drop the plank. Anzu fell, but Yugi managed to grab her hand and pull her back.
"Good, good!" Katsuya sighed in relief, "Now, I need to take care of the professor…"
"Jonouchi-kun! Make him grab that thing!" Yugi pointed at a weird key.
"Got it!" Katsuya grabbed the Professor's hand and pulled him towards the key, snapping the man out of the mind control.
"Jonouchi-kun? What happened?" The confused man asked.
"Don't worry about that!" Katsuya held him so he wouldn't fall.
"Why do my mouth feel we-OH GOD!"
Just as the teenagers finished pulling Professor Yoshimori back to the roof, Sugoroku entered the roof.
"Is everyone alright?" The old man asked.
"Grandpa! Are you okay?" Yugi asked.
"Of course! I was just knocked out for a while, it takes more than a punch to hurt me!" The old man flexed his biceps.
Yugi faced Shadi, "Yugi, you defeated me completely. It is my loss," The Egyptian said, "I used my Millennium Items to show you illusions, but to me, the trust you have in your friends is the true illusion."
"Shadi, I think I finally realized the true power of the Puzzle. No matter how far we are, we'll always be together! We are just small pieces that come together to become invincible! Just like the pieces of a puzzle! This is my true power, the power of unity!" Yugi held his Puzzle, feeling his other self's agreement.
"Hey, weirdo in a dress. This is our turf, I have no idea how you did all…this! But you better not come again!" Katsuya pointed at Shadi.
"Yugi, I was beaten, but I am satisfied. You are the one that I have been looking for. Until we meet again." He turned to leave.
"Wait! You forgot this!" Anzu ran to him with the Millennium Key in her hands.
Shadi frowned, "Keep it," He turned around and disappeared through the roof door.
"Thank you for coming to my lab, I'm sorry that I couldn't offer you anything! I don't remember anything that happened!"
"Anzu, you broke his teeth!" Katsuya whispered to the girl.
"I only broke three! You broke all the rest!" She whispered back.
"Enough of this! Why don't we go out to eat something? My treat!" Sugoroku said.
"...But I have no teeth!" The professor exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Anzu stared at the key in her hands. Why did that man give it to her?