Meanwhile, Yugi and the others kept a close vigil over the body of Ryou Bakura. His body remained completely covered in red for what felt like an eternity, before the light disappeared completely.

"Look!" Honda was the first to exclaim, though everyone took immediate notice.

"It's gone!"

"He's gonna' wake up now!" Jonouchi shouted, and pressed his hands into the stone.

"Ryou?"

"Oh thank Ra…" Isis breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's finally over!" Malik sighed as well, letting a smile replace his usually stoic demeanor.

They all huddled closer to Ryou. But he didn't wake up. He didn't move. In fact, he didn't even breathe.

"… W..wait…" Yugi suddenly gasped. His hands trembling, he put his hand on Ryou's neck. He couldn't feel a pulse. "… I… I… no… No…"

Yugi fell back into Jonouchi, trying to shake the reality of the situation from his head. The boy on the stone slab couldn't be dead… He just couldn't be.

"Yugi?" Anzu gasped, trembling as well. Her voice grew louder as she started to panic. "Yugi!"

She put her shaking hand on Ryou's neck as well. She couldn't feel a pulse either.

"Oh god, no…" Honda gulped, shaking Ryou's body gently. "Come on, wake up! Ryou, do you hear me? Wake up!"

Jonouchi did the same, even harder. But it was no use. The white-haired boy didn't stir. And not a single breath escaped his lifeless lips.

"Oh god… Oh god…" Anzu buried her head in Honda's shoulder, the nearest she could find. She couldn't stop the tears from falling, and neither could anybody else. "Oh god, no… We… we drove him to do this! We killed him… Oh god, we killed him!"

Her cries were so intense; Malik feared they might tear the cave apart.

Yugi fell to his knees, leaning against the stone slab.

"…we… we killed him…" he repeated, his tears swelling in his throat. He choked every word he attempted to speak.

"Please, my friends." Isis attempted to console them. "You could have done nothing to stop fate. Just as the pharaoh's duel was predestined, so… so was Ryou Bakura's…"

Jonouchi slumped down next to Yugi, his face buried in his hands.

"Don't try and tell us that." He whispered back. "If we would'a done more… Just a little more, he wouldn't have come here."

"He… he might have stayed in Domino City… and… and not…" Anzu couldn't even finish without swallowing her own tears.

"I do not think there was anything you could have done." Rishid replied. Malik didn't dare say anything.

His words fell on deaf ears, though.

"He's really gone…" Honda whispered, still numb.

"He's… the little guy's really…" Jonouchi leaned back, allowing tears to stream down his cheeks, behind his neck.

Anzu only nodded, as did Yugi, who was too distraught to say anything else.

Isis wished she could comfort them more, but there were some things not even fate could accomplish.