Seti walked back toward Ryou's house, clutching his prizes in his hand. He looked down at the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "These are very powerful monsters. Perhaps I can use them for something. But right now, my main concern is the next step in my plan. Now that I have the Items that I required, I can complete the ritual. But the question is: how do I keep Yugi and the others from interfering? Well, I'll worry about that later."
The dark spirit continued back with the book in Ryou's backpack. His plans would soon come to fruition.
The breeze blew slightly through the trees of the park as Yugi sat on the bench. He went out for a short walk to get away from the stress of being hunted down by every duelist within a hundred mile radius, but he had to be careful not to be seen, because these days, every duelist he met had something to prove by beating him. 'I wish I would've known that all this trouble was going to come with the title of King of Games.'
"Would knowing have made things any easier?" Yami asked. He knew that he had to beat Pegasus and assume the title of Game King; otherwise, they never would've got back the soul of Yugi's grandfather back in Duelist's Kingdom.
'I guess not,' Yugi said as he looked up at the sky and thought about Pegasus, the eccentric billionaire creator of Duel Monsters. Yugi looked down at the ground and caught a glimpse of the large golden pyramid called the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. It was glowing slightly, but he just figured that it was coming from the sun reflecting off the surface. Yugi asked just make sure, though. 'Pharaoh, is everything okay?'
There was some silence, but Yami sighed and spoke up. "No. There is trouble in the air. A shift in the balance of Shadow magic had occurred. It's as if one side has gotten stronger, while another side became weaker."
'What do you suppose caused this shift?' Yugi asked, letting a hint of concern creep into his voice. Usually, anything that had to do with the balance of Shadow magic was bad.
Yami sighed again, then, spoke. "Only one thing has created the shift. I'm afraid that a Millennium Item has changed hands."
Yugi's heart skipped a beat and he immediately tried to think of all the people who owned Millennium Items. 'The Puzzle and Necklace are still safe with us. That just leaves the Eye, Key, Scale, Rod, and Ring. I think it's safe to say that Shadi can handle himself, so we can rule out the Scale and Key.'
"That just leaves the Eye, Rod and Ring," Yami said.
'The Eye is our best bet since we don't know where it is. The Ring is with Jason and the Rod should still be in Kaiba's hands.'
"I don't know. I can feel an evil, yet familiar presence tampering with the forces of the Items, so we should check out all of the Items, just to be safe. Let's start with the Rod, since we know for a fact where that is."
'That sounds like a good idea. Let's go.' Yugi got up and walked out of the park towards Kaiba Corp.
Ryou swept up the dirt from the floor. Seti knocked over a vase in his search and left a terrible mess all over the house. Ryou's head still hurt from being thrown into the wall, but he'd be fine. A loud knock at the front door shook him out of his concentration. Ryou picked up a nearby baseball bat and swung it over his shoulder. He walked over to the door. "Who's there?" he called out timidly, his British accent heavily lacing his voice.
"Delivery service. I've got a package for a Ryou Bakura," came the deep voice from behind the door. Ryou placed the bat down by the door and opened it, catching a hard jab to the face that knocked him to the floor. He looked up at Seti, who stared down at him with a look of disgust. "Your trusting nature sickens me," he spat venomously. Seti reached down and picked up Ryou, who was shaking in fear, by his throat. Seti glared into his eyes, then, looked over at the bat on the floor. "You were going to use that on me? Damn you're pathetic. I see you need another demonstration of what a Millennium Item can truly do."
Seti let go of Ryou's throat, but the boy still hung suspended in the air. It felt as if Seti's hand were still wrapped around his throat and tightening its grip. Seti blasted Ryou with a wave of shadow energy, which sent him flying into the back wall where Seti kept him pinned. "What are you going to do with me?" Ryou asked, whimpering on the wall.
"You shouldn't worry about that right now," Seti replied with a twisted smirk spreading across Jason's features. "You should instead count yourself lucky to be here right now. You shall witness the birth of a god."
Seti strolled over to the back of the house, leaving Ryou to hang from the wall like a living picture frame. Ten minutes later, he came back with two long poles with mirrors attached to the ends, and was dressed in a ceremonial robe that hung down to his shins. Seti carefully set the poles up under the skylight. He dragged the coffee table over and draped an ancient cloth over it. "What are you doing?" Ryou inquired, fearful of the answer, but still curious. "And where did you get this stuff from?"
Seti glared at him through empty black eyes, then, curled his upper lip, baring his teeth in a look of disgust. "Sit still and watch! Your stupid questions are starting to give me headaches," he said in his usual pugnacious manner.
When he was done, he dragged the book out of the backpack and set it up on the table. Seti glanced at the clock on the wall near the door. It read 11:57. He walked over and picked up a large ancient statue from the end table and hurled it at the skylight, shattering the glass and letting the sun filter in, much to Ryou's anxiety. It would hard to explain to his father that a 5,000-year-old spirit broke the skylight and tore the house apart. Seti spoke in a different, almost imperial voice.
"Now it is time."
He pulled the Millennium Rod and Eye out of his pockets and placed them on the table, on both sides of the book. He, then, slipped the ring over his head and placed it above the book. Seti opened the ancient tome and flipped through it, stopping on a page. He began reading the ancient hieratic script aloud.
"Keetash ootah parem. Setui dormus naramba kisash, rasheem ooloo kashka. Yath tu ai mal, yath tu ai mal, yath tu ai mal!"
Seti's voice began to rise as he screamed out the words to the incantation. The room began to shake, and the sun reached its apex at noon, reflecting light off of the mirrors and onto the three Millennium Items, casting them in an eerie yellow glow. Seti was now screaming at the top of his lungs, as if though each word he spoke caused him pain.
"Arise spirits of Egypt! Seek your revenge by the burning sands! Kadeesh mal pared ootash! Pared oos! Pared oos!"
A brilliant golden flash blinded both Seti and Ryou as an unearthly moaning filled the room. A twister of pure radiance shot from the book and spirits rose into the afternoon sky, screaming in fated agony. Seti screamed back at them. "Go! Seek your proper hosts, then, destroy the Pharaoh who condemned you to the pits of the underworld! Destroy Atem!" The spirits took off in different directions with a cacophony of shrill screeching. Seti turned to Ryou and spoke in a hoarse whisper due to his earlier screaming. "This is where it gets fun."
Yugi stood outside of Kaiba's office. It took some coaxing to get Mokuba to let him see Kaiba, considering the mood he was in. Mokuba walked up behind Yugi and looked at the door, a distant sigh escaping his lips. Little Yugi turned around. "Mokuba, what's the matter with you?" he inquired, hearing the sigh.
Mokuba continued to stare at the door blankly, but still answered Yugi's question. "My brother is extremely upset about something. He kept mumbling something about his pride, a duel, and some ring."
Yami grew increasingly worried, and the word 'duel' didn't help matters at all. He paced back and forth in his soul room before deciding to check things out for himself. He concentrated and took his transparent form, standing next to Yugi. "I have a very bad feeling about this whole situation, Yugi," the pharaoh said as he stared at the door.
"So do I," Yugi whispered.
"What was that?" Mokuba asked.
Yugi immediately lied and said 'nothing', making sure to make a mental note that only he can see Yami outside of the Puzzle. Mokuba sighed again and opened the doors to his brother's office. Seto was furiously typing away at his laptop, mumbling to himself. Mokuba hesitantly knocked on the door, knowing that Yugi was the last person Kaiba wanted to see. "Big bro? Someone is here to talk to you," he said in a timid voice.
Kaiba looked up at Yugi, then, snarled in anger. "Mokuba, what did I tell you about inviting him into my office!" Kaiba spat out the 'him' as if Yugi's name were a disease. "Especially when I'm in a bad mood!"
He looked back down at his laptop and continued typing. Yugi slowly walked over towards the desk, but was stopped by Yami. "Perhaps I should talk to him. I have a better time dealing with Kaiba's hostility," he suggested. Yugi nodded and switched places with the pharaoh, allowing him to pick up where the boy left off.
"Kaiba, I need to ask you some questions," Yami said calmly. Kaiba didn't look up, but mumbled something about an inferior strategy. Yami continued. "Mokuba mentioned something about a duel. What happened?"
Kaiba stopped typing and folded the laptop down. He glared past Yami at Mokuba, who was shaking slightly at the thought of his brother's wrath. "You told him about the duel. How dare you! Get out of my office!" he shouted. Yami stumbled back slightly. He was used to getting yelled at by Kaiba, but he never thought he'd see Kaiba yell at his brother. Mokuba looked at his brother with tears forming in his eyes. He turned and ran out of the office, leaving Yami alone with an infuriated Kaiba. "I don't know why you're still here. I've got nothing to say to you."
"Please, Kaiba. Tell me what happened, and I won't bother you about anything else," Yami said, knowing that it was a lie. He had a million questions to ask Kaiba, and he intended to get his answers.
Kaiba leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. He finally spoke after a few seconds of utter silence between the two duelists. "I lost a duel. It was a Battle City style duel, so I lost the Millennium Rod and my Blue Eyes White Dragons, not that I care about that creepy, useless object that you gave me after Battle City, but my dragons were my pride. I know what you're wondering so let me get it out of the way: it was that Bakura kid that beat me."
Yami's eyes widened. There was no way that Bakura could've beaten Kaiba on his own, unless, the spirit of the Ring was back. "Are you sure that it was Bakura?"
"Yes! He had the strange ring around his neck, so I know it was him. He just looked different. Now leave me to my work," Kaiba demanded.
Yami turned around and walked towards the door. He stopped just short of the doorway and spoke without turning around. "You know, Kaiba, there is an expression that goes 'he who runs with aggression, walks with shame'."
Kaiba simply snorted, so Yami left the office. Kaiba sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. His heart began to feel heavy as he looked back down at the empty office. He picked up his locket and opened it, staring at the picture of his little brother.
"Mokuba…"
Yami walked down the crowded street, pondering the possibilities. Yugi spoke to him from inside his head. "If Kaiba saw the Millennium Ring, then Jason is the one we need to look for. But why would Jason duel Kaiba for the Rod and his Blue Eyes?"
'I don't think it was Jason at all. There's no doubt that he is involved, because Kaiba mentioned the Millennium Ring. But, someone else may have the Ring, and Jason is the only one who may know who and how. Now there is the matter of tracking Jason down,' Yami thought.
As he continued to walk, a tall man stood in front of him, not moving at all. When Yami reached him, he blocked his way. The pharaoh tried to sidestep, but the man moved with him. "Excuse me. You're in my way," Yami said.
The man looked down at Yami. His complexion was dark as night and his dark brown eyes shot daggers at Yami. He was dressed in nothing but black, despite it being a warm day. The man simply laughed at Yami's words. "Just like you were in the way of my master's plans," he said with a grating, deep tone.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed brightly around Yugi's neck. He stepped back slightly and glared back at the man. "Are you a Rare Hunter?" he asked cautiously.
"No. I am known as Amune-ra. But that is not important. What is important is what I came back for. I came back for revenge, pharaoh. You will pay for what you did to me!" the man declared, letting Yami know his intentions.
The Eye of Horus flashed brightly on the man's forehead as he spoke. Yugi became concerned about the unfolding events. 'Maybe he has something to do with the Millennium items,' the pharaoh thought. "Alright. If you want revenge, then come and get it," Yami said with an air of confidence. He didn't want to fight the man on the street, but it seemed that he had been given no other choice.
"Not here or now, but in one hour at the dock in the south section of Domino. Be there, and ready to duel, or there will be consequences. Grave consequences." After saying this, the man sank into the ground, passing through the concrete as if it were air. Yami looked around. Apparently, no one else had seen the confrontation, so that was good. But questions buzzed in Yami's mind.
'Who was that man? Who is his master? What did I do to stop him? What did I stop? And more importantly, why do I feel a great and terrible force pulling me towards certain doom?'