"Guys… I don't think this guy is Marik," Jounouchi told his friends.
"What are you saying, Jounouchi?" Honda asked.
Yugi kept quiet, knowing the full truth, but not wanting to betray his sister's trust.
"Akia! Don't you think so too? This guy has fought fair and square this whole time. If it was the real Marik, he would've used cheap tricks like back when he forced me and Yugi to fight!"
Akia looked at her friend and, as she was about to agree with him, Rishid interrupted them.
"What utter bullshit," the man interjected and took out his Millennium Rod. "This Millennium Rod is proof that I am Marik!"
"But it could easily be a fake!" Jounouchi retorted.
Marik wasn't about to let their suspicions get any stronger and he knew that Akia might divulge his secret any time now. He needed to distract them all from the truth.
"Rishid…" the platinum-haired young man communicated telepathically with Rishid. "Defeat Akia by the hands of the god card! If you are a true member of the clan of Tomb Guardians, your strong heart will allow you to control the copy of the god card."
"But I…" Rishid hesitated.
"If you can control the copy of the god card, my late father will accept you as his true son," Marik added, "you will no longer be treated as a mere servant. You will be treated as the true heir to the clan."
Everyone looked on at Akia's opponent. He was not making a move.
"Is that all you've got? Why don't you surrender if you don't have anything in your hand? We'll discuss whether or not you are really Marik afterwards," the red-eyed girl told him.
Rishid looked at Akia with a pained expression.
"This turn I shall prove that I am a wielder of the god cards," the man said with a resolved tone.
Akia's eyes widened in shock.
"Don't tell me…! He's going to summon the card that he put away in that ark earlier?" Mai exclaimed.
"Right now, the god card is resting in the Holy Ark. I must sacrifice Mystical Beast Serket and half of my Life Points to open the lid. The moment I do, the Winged Sun Dragon of Ra will be summoned to the field," Rishid explained what he was about to do.
Yugi's Puzzle then glowed, switching places with the pharaoh.
"The Winged Dragon of Ra?!" The latter exclaimed.
Rishid then turned towards the temple that was materialized behind him ever since he had activated the Temple of the Kings and pointed his Millennium Rod at it.
"I give up half my Life Points along with Mystical Beast Serket," he said and his Life Points dropped to 2000. "O soul of the god that sleeps in the ark! Rise and show us your sacred form! Winged Sun Dragon of Ra!"
Marik smirked, feeling as though his plan was going to succeed after all. Kaiba grinned widely as well, at the imminent reveal of the third god card. A beam of light shot up to the sky and a silhouette of the Sun Dragon appeared from behind the temple.
"This is not good…" Akia muttered under her breath.
"Come forth! God of all gods!' Rishid yelled out.
The Winged Dragon of Ra made its majestic form visible, filling the sky with its gigantic appearance.
"Finally, the third god card!" Kaiba exclaimed.
Akia was feeling something getting riled up within her.
"Ordinarily, it would take three sacrifices to summon the Winged Sun Dragon of Ra," Rishid explained, "but since Serket has absorbed your D.D. Scout Plane three times, the attack power of my god card is the combination of the full attacks of all four monsters, bringing it up to 5700 attack points! Akia, your Gren Maju Da Eiza, only has 4400 attack points. Once I attack, you will lose your strongest monster."
Everyone watched while holding their breath.
"Prepare yourself, Akia!" Rishid exclaimed, "Winged Dragon of Ra, attack her monster!"
As soon as he called for the attack, all the Millennium items resonated. Akia held her Scale close, feeling imminent danger.
"Don't do it!" Ishizu exclaimed.
Everyone looked at her, since that was the first thing she had said all duel, but it was too late. Rishid had already angered the real god in Marik's deck. Since the copy god card wasn't attack, Rishid urged it to attack once more. The god card then stared at Akia and she felt an intense amount of hatred and anger directed towards her. She started shaking in fear.
"Akia! This isn't normal! Get out of there!" The pharaoh yelled out to her.
"If you move, you will be disqualified!" Isono warned her.
The Spirit of the Ring was watching everything unfold and he had also felt the eeriness of it all. "Akia, you're in danger if you stay there!" He yelled out to her.
Marik was also starting to get worried. He had witnessed the wrath of the god card before when he made his Ghouls use counterfeits.
"Why are you targeting me?" Akia whispered, her voice shaking. That's when lighting started shooting down from the sky, right next to Akia. She screamed and took a step back.
"Akia!" The Spirit of the Puzzle yelled out to her and was about to get up there and get her. He was however held back by his friends.
"Yugi! It's too dangerous!" Honda exclaimed.
Yami Bakura then turned to the real Marik, hatred clear in his eyes and grabbed him by the collar. "Make it stop right now, you bastard. If anything happens to her I swear-"
Before he could finish his threat, the Spirit of the Ring was interrupted by a blood curdling scream coming from Akia. As he turned around to see what had happened, his eyes widened in horror. It had seemed as though all of the lightning had concentrated on her, striking her multiple times.
"Akia!" Everyone yelled out her name, except for Marik, who was frozen in place, not understanding what had just happened.
"…Akia…" He muttered under breath, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
"Akia-san!" Rishid yelled out as he tried to go to her, only to be struck himself by the lightning.
Finally, the lightning ceased, leaving both duelists on the ground, Akia being completely out cold.
"Akia! Hang in there!" Jounouchi yelled and then ran to the dueling platform, trying to climb to get to his friend.
"The duel is not over yet," Isono warned him not to get any closer.
"What are you saying?!" Anzu shouted.
"The holograms are not fatal, they both probably suffered minor mental damage from the flashing lights," Kaiba calmly explained.
"Then how the heck do we know who won the duel?!" Mai yelled back.
"Then I shall simply call a draw and disqualify them both," Isono started saying.
"Wait," Kaiba interrupted. "Both have Life Points left. We will wait for five minutes. Whoever shows the greater will to continue the duel within the next five minutes shall be the winner."
"What?!" Honda retorted in disbelief.
"Akia-chan…" Mai called out.
"Akia…!" Yugi, who had switched back, shouted out to his sister.
"Please stand up!" Anzu exclaimed.
While they were all calling out to their friend, Marik was holding his head in pain.
Akia looked around and found herself surrounded by darkness.
"Where am I?" She wondered. She felt so alone and scared. Akia then remembered the anger and the hatred that the Winged Dragon of Ra seemed to have towards her.
"What did I do to it…? Is this something else that has to do with my past life?" The black-haired girl sighed. She then looked around some more and spotted a pair of red eyes.
"Red Eyes!" She called out to it, knowing exactly who it was. When she did, the dragon got closer to her and laid its head on her lap. "It's nice to see you again…" Akia said as she petted its armoured head.
"My little Dragon Maiden…" A deep dark voice sounded from above Akia. It made her freeze in fear. The Red Eyes Black Dragon was getting agitated as well. Akia didn't know who or what that voice was, but her entire being was afraid of it.
At the same time, Bakura's Millennium Ring started shining brightly. "What the…?" The Spirit of the Ring uttered as he felt a part of him resonating with something inside Akia's soul.
"Arise, my priestess. We cannot be destroyed by this lowly god." The voice was heard by both the other Bakura and by Akia. As soon as it said that, the red-eyed girl and her dragon got up as if in a trance.
Her real body got up as well, with the Red Eyes Black Dragon materializing behind her.
"Akia is up!" Yugi yelled out.
"Red Eyes?! Since when…?" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"Akia doesn't look normal…" Anzu observed.
The red-eyed girl was up, but did not seem actually conscious. The Red Eyes Black Dragon was towering over her, as if protecting her.
"The system must be malfunctioning," Kaiba stated, "no matter. Resume with the announcement, Isono."
"The winner is Mutou Akia!" Isono announced.
As soon as he was done with the announcement, the duelling platform was lowered and everyone ran to Akia's side.
"Akia!" Yugi called for his sister and held her hands in his. As soon as he did, she finally woke up, letting out a little gasp. Once she did, the Red Eyes Black Dragon disappeared. Akia blinked a few times, still dazed by everything.
She then glanced around and saw Rishid being held by Ishizu.
"Rishid…!" She called out to him.
"Wait you know him?" Jounouchi asked.
Akia nodded and looked to the floor, "I have been keeping things from you all…"
"It's okay, Akia, I'll tell them," Yugi then explained everything to them while his sister ran to Rishid's side.
Rishid then opened his eyes and saw both Ishizu and Akia next to him. He smiled at Akia. "Akia-san… I'm very happy to have met you. You are a very kind and considerate person."
"Hey, don't overexert yourself!" The red-eyed girl told him, "let's go get you some help!"
"Please, do not concern yourself with me…" He replied and then pointed at the real Marik, "please stop Marik-sama's…"
Akia looked towards Marik and saw him clutching his head in his hands, groaning in pain.
"Marik…!" Akia called out to him. Without thinking, her body moved on its own and she ran to him.
"Akia! Don't go! He's dangerous!" Ishizu warned her.
The girl did not heed any warnings though and got closer to him. He however held up his Millennium Rod to keep her at a distance.
"Stay back!" Marik yelled out at her.
"So this is the real Marik…!" Jounouchi stated after hearing what Yugi had told them.
"So, Akia was lying to us…" Mai whispered low enough so that nobody actually heard her.
Marik then chuckled. "That's right, I am the Marik that you've been fighting all this time. Namu was just an alias to get close to you guys. Yugi… In order to destroy you I will do whatever is necessary."
While saying that last part, the Eye of Anubis shone on his forehead. Marik then clutched his head and screamed in pain. Jounouchi and Yugi had stayed behind with Ishizu and Rishid.
"That bastard…!" Jounouchi uttered.
Rishid then held on to Jounouchi's shirt to get his attentions. "Please stop him…! That man's other…"
"Other…?" Yugi asked.
"If I fall… That thing sleeping within him will gain power to… awaken… once… again…" Before he could finish what he had to say, Rishid lost consciousness.
This prompted Marik to scream in pain while the Eye of Anubis shone brighter on his forehead.
"Marik!" Akia yelled out to him and put her hands on his arms.
The young man looked at her with utter fear in his eyes.
"Akia… save… me…" He struggled to get the words out before his head shot back with him letting out a final scream.
The scream subsided and he let go of his head. Marik then chuckled and put his head back down to look at everyone. Akia gasped at what she saw. He had the Eye of Anubis shining on his forehead and he seemed like a different person. His eyes were cruel and he had an unsettling grin across his face.
"I finally broke free…" The young Egyptian man said, "I no longer need a shadow. When he is around, I am hidden."
"Hidden…?" Akia whispered.
"Compared to me, the other Marik is a child. That's why he can never finish a duel properly. He's afraid of the darkness. But…" Marik then looked straight into Yugi's eyes, "I love the darkness. Well to me, every single one of you are merely shadows. And that man in particular," he gazed at Rishid, "was one of the more convenient ones to disappear on me."
"Marik… You bastard…!" Jounouchi muttered.
"In the duel just now, that man proved something to me. As I expected, the only ones capable of controlling the god cards are only those connected to the Millennium Items," Marik explained, "right, Kaiba?"
Kaiba scoffed, "rubbish. I have no interest in your occult nonsense but the god card Obelisk obeys me like a loyal servant."
"Sure Kaiba," the Egyptian young man chuckled, "but perhaps your memories also stretch back three thousand years ago. Forget it. We will find the answer soon. Yugi, the real Millennium battle has finally begun. We are headed for the true darkness and none of us can turn back."
He then turned his gaze to Akia, "and you. Maybe my other self was incredibly fond of you, but I won't hesitate to kill…" Marik then clutched his head. He was unable to say what he wanted to say, as if an external force was stopping him. He regained his composure and looked back at Akia, "so that's what it was. We are bound by fate, just like that woman said. I'll have to deal with this accordingly."
The red-eyed girl couldn't do or say anything. She was so confused about what had just happened. Was that man still Marik? Or was he an evil personality like the Spirit of the Ring was? Was the woman he mentioned Ishizu? Then perhaps she had some answers regarding what had just happened.