He'd lost.
And it was all his fault. He'd acted out of a selfish desire for victory and a fear of loss and now he'd lose his soul. He'd let down his friends, his partner and himself. Let the darkness in his own soul consume him.
I get what I deserve…
That was the thought that flashed through the nameless pharaoh's mind as the barrier began to close in on him. He'd never recover his memories but perhaps now his Partner would be safe from the dangers he'd been dragged into time and time again. His only regret was how devastated he knew the others would be by his loss.
Goodbye, Partner. Goodbye everyone. I'm sorry.
"Other me!" Yugi called
The voice rang so familiar in his ears but this time he wasn't pleased to hear it. He suddenly felt himself be pushed from behind, he spun around to find his partner standing in his place.
"Partner! What are you doing?"
Yugi gave him a little smile "I believe in you...other me."
The barrier closed in and in a flash of green light it was over
"PARTNER!"
No. This wasn't possible. The pharaoh felt as if his own soul had been shredded to pieces. He collapsed to the ground, the shock too much for him to manage to stay on his feet any longer.
He woke up in his soul room. This wasn't happening. His partner couldn't be gone.
He left his own room and entered the hallway where he and Yugi had talked for the first time. He saw the door on the other side of the hall. Yugi's soul room. He sprinted over and looked inside.
His heart broke all over again. He had been so sure that Yugi would be there, so in denial of his own mistake and what it had cost him that seeing the toy-scattered room without Yugi there brought him to tears.
He's gone. He's really gone.
This was worse than losing his own soul. Far worse.
He looked around at all the toys that surrounded him. Symbols of Yugi's innocence. The pharaoh sank down against the nearest wall. A wave of sadness overwhelmed him. He had lost something more important than his own life. He opened his eyes and saw a small teddy bear just within his reach. He picked it up and hugged it to his chest, trying to find a semblance of relief from the hollow emptiness and guilt that was threatening to eat him alive.
An innocent soul paid for the costs of his own sins. He would stay here, stay alone and drown in his own darkness and loneliness just like he probably had before Yugi had solved the puzzle and revived his soul. So what if he never recovered his memories. They would probably be nothing but more misery anyway.
"Yugi!"
"Yugi wake up"
"Yugi-kun!"
The sound of the name he shared with his partner was almost more than he could stand. But those voices called to him. Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi.
His friends. He still had friends.
He couldn't just sit here and wallow. If there was any chance, no matter how slim, that he could save his partner he had to try.
I'll do it. I'll save him no matter what. I swear.
He gave the teddy bear one last squeeze before dropping it, closing his eyes and then he woke up again, blinking in the bright sunlight, staring up into the three faces of his friends.