With his god card destroyed, Ryou thought he would have finally gained the upper hand in the duel. Osiris, however, simply smiled at such a ridiculous proposition.

"You have just sealed your own fate by playing that card." Osiris added. "Mark my words. It will allow me to become even more powerful later."

"Don't listen to him, Ryou! He's a filthy liar!" Bakura shouted again, before a staff struck him in the back of the head. "No one can beat Zorc! Not a person! Not a god!"

Ryou only nodded as his heart throbbed in his chest. He was terrified, not only from the duel, but also from the possibility that Osiris was right.

"I lay one more card face down." Osiris announced. "And I also play the magic card, Dian Keto, the Cure Master. And with her power, I gain a thousand life points."

A woman in turquoise appeared beside Osiris, carrying a round pitcher. She bent to one knee, and offered him the refreshing drink. The Lord of the Dead nodded, and held out his hands. She poured the elixir of life into his palms, and he raised them to his lips. As he tasted the sweet liquid, he could feel his energy being restored.

His life points rose to 3200, while Ryou's remained steady at 4100.

"He's still weaker than you, Ryou!" Bakura shouted again. Ryou nodded at his yami's comment, but dared not take his eyes from Osiris for even an instant.

"I end my turn." Osiris stated calmly.

Ryou drew another card, and glanced down at his hand. There was nothing he could use this turn. The card he drew was his Summoned Skull, a level six monster. It required at least one sacrifice before it could be played.

He studied the field. Osiris had no monsters on the field, but he did have two trap cards, and a reckless attack could destroy his god, and wipe out most of his remaining life points. Ryou knew he had to be cautious.

"It's still your move." Osiris reminded him. Ryou trembled, and nodded.

"There's nothing I can do this turn…" he whispered back. "It's your move."

"If that is how it will be. It is time to begin phase two of my strategy. Something I have been planning since the very beginning!"

Ryou gulped, hoping that the thief was right – that this was really just a bluff. Deep down, though, he knew it probably wasn't.

"I flip my face down card, to reveal the pyramid of light!" Osiris shouted. A great monument of light appeared behind him, giving the god the golden radiance of Ra himself. "And this allows me to sacrifice 1000 life points, in order to summon two of my most powerful monsters! I summon my Andro Sphinx in attack mode and my Sphinx Teleia in defense mode."

The first great beast stood proudly over the chamber. His lion-like face let out a mighty roar, shaking the foundations of the temple. Even the former thief king gulped at his strength. As powerful as one of Seto Kaiba's blue eyes white dragons, the sphinx boasted 3000 attack points.

A massive female sphinx, with flowing red hair, joined her mate. The level ten monster sat in a defensive stance, 3000 defense points protecting both her and the god who summoned her.

Both monsters alone were enough to destroy the god on Ryou's side of the field. Their brute power made even the guardian of the shadow realm shake.

Ryou froze. This was it.

He had fought so hard, and now, the Andro Sphinx would tear Zorc apart, and the Sphinx of Teleia would tear her claws through his own heart. He recalled his life points. He could take two hits, and that was counting no other surprises. But that was about all he had left.

He glanced down to his yami, with an apologetic gaze. Bakura pretended not to notice it.

"Let him have it, Ryou!" he chanted, refusing to believe that his hikari was about to be defeated. Anubis pulled his body off the ground, slamming it into the stone again. But Bakura acted as though nothing had even happened. "Hold nothing back! Let Zorc at them! Show them what the lord of darkness can do!"

Ryou nodded weakly, even though he would probably never get the chance to activate Dark Master Zorc's special abilities.

Osiris, however, then did the unexpected.

"I end my turn." He smiled, and held his hands at his side. Even though he only had 2200 life points, and a wide-open shot, he chose not to attack!

Ryou gasped. There had to be a reason, he thought to himself. Is he biding his time? Is he merely defending against what could be a stronger monster in my hand? Does he want me to attack them?

Dark Master Zorc only possessed attack strength of 2700. It was not high enough to defeat either of the Sphinxes, the way they were summoned. However, just like Yami Bakura always had another way of fighting, so did the god he followed.

"I activate Zorc's special ability!" Ryou shouted, holding up a die.

"I knew you would." Osiris shouted back. "Let's see you use it to stop me."

"I will." Ryou answered, and held up the die. "If I roll a one or a two, both of your sphinxes are destroyed! If I roll a three, a four, or a five, I choose one of your monsters to be destroyed. If I roll a six, I destroy myself."

Osiris just watched calmly, as if Ryou had made an empty threat.

"Show him what kind of damage Zorc is capable of, Ryou!" Bakura shouted from the side. "I know! You know! Send his entire field to the graveyard, and then attack! You'll kill him in one turn!"

As he cheered, Bakura leapt to his feet. The chains, however, along with Anubis' spear, quickly brought him back to his knees. Truth be told, though, he hadn't felt this alive in a long time, and he was as far from alive as someone could get.

"You can do it, Ryou! You can do it!"

The die stopped rolling.

"It's a one! All of your powerful monsters are destroyed!" Ryou shouted with a timid smile. "And that means I can attack your life points directly, Osiris! And I win! My yami… he's free to go! And you have to honor the… the terms of the challenge!"

He pointed Zorc in the direction of the deity, and the dark god couldn't be more pleased.

"I think you are mistaken." Osiris replied with a smile. Ryou gasped. "This isn't the end of the game. And you have no idea what you just unleashed!"