Thomas couldn't believe it at first, but after weeks of practice, he had become one of the two finalists in the National Duel Circuit. And right now he was in the waiting room, figuring out which strategies to use.

His opponent was a duelist by the name of Reginald Kastle, and according to previous duels he witnessed, Reginald specialized in sea creature monsters, especially with his ace monster Big Jaws. He had to make sure to counter that monster, but how?

Suddenly, Thomas remembered an envelope his older brother Chris gave him right before the tournament finals. He took the envelope out of his vest and looked at it. Sure enough, it was addressed to him. He opened it and took out a letter.

To Thomas Arclight,

By the time you have received this letter, you have already grown up into a fine young man. I'm writing these letters to you and your brothers because I know you're going to have amazing futures.

As I'm writing this, you are only three years old, still an innocent young child. But having innocence isn't a bad thing. Cherish it, and never forget to be kind to others, even those who don't deserve it at first.

I have already planned to have all of my dueling cards go to a dueling museum for display purposes, but I have made an exception for only one card. It's enclosed in this envelope. Use this card for your future duels. It will be as if a part of my heart is in your deck.

You have amazing potential, dearest great-grandson. I know you're capable of great things. Never waste your talents, and always remember to believe in the Heart of the Cards.

Love,
Your great-grandfather, Yugi Moto

Thomas set the letter down on the table and looked in the envelope. Sure enough, there was a single card in there. He took it out. It looked old and a bit worn out, but he knew the emotional significance of this card.

"You believed in me all those years ago," Thomas said quietly, speaking to the card. "But why-"

"You disappoint me, Thomas Arclight."

Thomas felt tears coming from his eyes. He vowed to restore the Moto family legacy, but what he did to Rio…

He knew he could never forgive himself for that accident, especially with the scar on his face, a constant reminder that he brought shame to his family name that day.

Thomas quickly wiped the tears away. "Don't worry, Great-Grandpa," he quietly said as he shuffled the card into his deck. "I won't let you down."

Thomas was in a tough spot. He was down to his last few life points and Reginald had already brought out his Big Jaws. Worse, the only monster he had on the field was his Wretched Ghost of the Attic, which he was able to narrowly save thanks to his Mirror Force card. And with his only other available monster being Gravekeeper's Descendant, it seemed he was going to lose.

"I got this," Reginald said, gasping for breath. "Just one more turn…"

Thomas was too scared to even draw a card. Even though he was using a duel disk, it felt like the deck was moving away from him.

"Come on, Quattro!" Michael called out from the audience, using Thomas' current stage name.

Thomas closed his eyes and readied to draw his final card. "Heart of the Cards…" he muttered under his breath. "Guide me."

"What are you blabbering about?!" Reginald asked, getting impatient. "Draw already!"

Without opening his eyes, Thomas drew a card from his deck. He opened his eyes, and a huge smile appeared on his face. "It worked…" He started laughing in pure delight. "It actually worked!"

"What worked?!" Reginald asked.

"I drew the right card," Thomas explained. He placed it on his duel disk.

Suddenly, a tall black box materialized around Wretched Ghost of the Attic. "Wh-What's going on?!" Reginald asked, confused.

"Just a spell card called Mystic Box, courtesy of my great-grandfather," Thomas explained as swords were stabbed into the box. "It's going to be the card I'll use to win this duel."

"By sending your own monster to the graveyard?" Reginald asked. "That doesn't seem like a smart move."

"Think again," Thomas said. Sure enough, another black box materialized around Big Jaws. "My tough little puffball wants to perform a little magic trick, but he needs an assistant. So I'll let him borrow your Big Jaws."

The first black box opened, revealing Big Jaws stabbed by numerous swords. "Big Jaws!" Reginald exclaimed, starting to get nervous.

"Oh, and as for the second box…" Thomas continued. He snapped his fingers, revealing his Wretched Ghost of the Attic. "My monster is completely unharmed."

"Yeah, but you forgot one other detail," Reginald said. "Now you're completely defenseless."

"Not exactly," Thomas said. He proceeded to finish his main phase. "I play Gravekeeper's Descendant, and I'll boost his attack with Book of Secret Arts. Now Gravekeeper's Descendant, finish this duel!"

With a bright flash of light, Gravekeeper's Descendant attacked Wretched Ghost of the Attic, wiping out all of Reginald's remaining life points. But the poor guy was freaked out for another reason.

"Mystic Box was printed out of circulation years ago," Reginald said. "So how…" Then his eyes widened. "Y-Y-You're…"

Thomas smirked. "I guess you learned not to mess with the Prince of Games," he bragged.

"Yeah!" Michael cheered.

Chris, on the other hand, was more horrified, noticing that everyone else who was watching the duel was starting to realize why Thomas had called himself the 'Prince of Games', and that this duel was televised all over the world. "Trey, do you realize what our brother has done?"

Michael finally noticed that the crowd getting more and more delighted by the subtle reveal. "Oh dear…"

The next day, the Arclight brothers had to lock all the doors and windows of their home. "I hope you're happy with your little stunt, Quattro," Byron said, sounding a bit irritated. "Thanks to you, we can't leave this house without people bombarding us! It's going to take weeks for this whole mess to calm down!"

"I was caught up in the moment," Thomas explained. "I won the duel thanks to Great-Grandpa Yugi's card. Didn't you want me to win?"

"Yes, as it was part of my plan," Byron said.

"So there," Thomas said.

"Well, alright," Byron said. "But you better not screw up next time!"

"Duh," Thomas said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. But he didn't like this revenge plan. He would remain true to his great-grandfather's message and carry out his legacy, even if that meant going against Byron's plans.