The room was still eerily silent. The judges sat along with Osiris. They were not needed for the second portion of the trial, the weighing of the heart of the accused against Ma'at's divine feather.

Anubis strode towards them. Glancing down at Bakura, he knelt, reaching inside the thief's bare chest. His hand pulled forth a silent heart.

"Lord Osiris, I present to you the heart of Bakura, the king of thieves, along with the record of his crimes for the past three thousand years, as transcribed by Thoth, master of wisdom." He bowed before the other gods. "May we proceed?"

"Yes." Osiris answered.

The frail goddess Ma'at stood on the great scales. She removed the feather from her band, and placed it on one side.

"This is the feather of truth. Should the soul of this spirit weigh equal to it, regardless of his crimes, he will be permitted entry into the western kingdom. Should the scale not be in balance, he will be cursed with the fate of all the wicked."

Anubis nodded, and another door opened.

The goddess of Ammut approached the great scale. She was as fearsome as Ryou could have possibly imagined. She had the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. And the deity appeared pleased with the thought of ridding the spiritual plane of the great thief once and for all.

"Then let the judgment be decided!" Anubis bowed, and lifted the heart for all of the other gods to see.

Ryou watched, horrified.

"I'm… I'm here… in this chamber… I… I have to be here for a reason! I… there has to be a reason, yami…" his hands trembled as he spoke, eventually reaching his pocket. His eyes grew wide. "Duel Monsters. That's it!"

Ryou looked back at the jackal-headed creature that carried his yami's heart with a new sense of vigor.

That was the answer, the entire reason that he had come here, Ryou thought to himself. If a duel could prove the readiness of the pharaoh to enter the afterlife, it just might be enough to prove that lack of readiness for the king of thieves. It just might be enough to save him from a second death, and give them both a chance to learn everything that Yugi and his yami were able to learn. It just might work…

Anubis placed Bakura's heart on the scale, and it began to tilt wildly. Ma'at, trying as she might to steady the great scales, could not. The sheer force shook her from its top, sending her into the waiting arms of Anubis.

"What is this?" Osiris questioned the great goddess of order. "Why is your scale moving so chaotically?"

"It cannot weigh the evil of this man." She answered. "There is that much imbalance."

Ryou watched the scale move, trembling as he somehow found the strength to stand up.

Somewhere, deep inside of him, he knew what fate was asking him to do. Success would give him everything he not only wanted, but also needed. The cost of defeat, on the other hand, was immeasurable, far more so than his yami's soul.

"His heart will break the scale!" she shouted, pleading for Osiris to stop. The sides swung wildly, crashing into the floor of the great chamber. The sheer force shook the entire temple, and threatened to tear it from its very foundations. It sent Ryou flying from his feet.

"Then judgment has spoken." The great lord of the dead added.

Anubis bowed his head, and took Bakura by the chains again. His body still unresponsive, the god unceremoniously dragged him towards the great devourer. Ryou reached out again, but his hands passed right through them both.

"Ammut, his heart, body, and soul are yours." Anubis bowed to the other goddess, and removed the blackened heart from the great scale of judgment.

Ryou gulped.

It was now or never.

"… I… I have to stop this!" he whispered, and dashed to the scale just before Ammut could even stare at the heart of Bakura. "… I… I have to save my yami!"

He stood in front of Osiris, pulling a deck of cards from his right pocket. It was the deck built by his yami prior to the Battle City tournament. Sweat dripped with tears from Ryou's cheeks as he struggled to push his fear deep down inside of him.

This was it.

"Osiris!" he shouted, his voice echoing clearly through the chamber, causing all of the gods to freeze in their tracks. "I order you… to stop this trial! And face me! In a duel!"