Raphael and Yugi faced off. "I need to capture the soul of the Pharaoh himself, in order to save the world", Raphael said, fixing Yugi with his harsh raised an eyebrow. "Save the world? Can't you see that what you're doing is going to destroy the world?", he countered. "You're the one who can't see. This world is a dark and lonely place to live, poisoned by mankind. I'm trying to fix what's been ruined by people like you. And I'll do it by locking your spirit away forever. Now let's duel", Raphael replied.
"Fine. You have given me no choice. But in the end, righteousness WILL prevail."
"That's what I'm counting on."
Deirdra watched from the sidelines as Yugi and Raphael activated their duel disks and prepared to duel. She wasn't sure who to root for. She was on Dartz's team and therefore owed her loyalty to him and consequently, to Raphael, but she was fearful of what would happen if Yugi lost. Could Raphael really take his soul?
The duel was now officially under way and Raphael was first to draw. He played a magic card, Guardian Treasure, allowing him to draw two new cards and discard the five in his hand. It additionally allowed him to draw two more cards every round. He then summoned a monster in defense mode, placed a card face down on the field, and ended his turn. Yugi drew Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and used Polymerization to fuse it with Berfomet, creating a new monster. He ordered it to attack Raphael's monster, but the attack failed. Yugi's life points went down to 3900 as Raphael laughed. Raphael drew two cards and played Gravity Axe, allowing him to summon his Guardian Grarl. He next equipped his monster with Gravity Axe, and thereby increased its attack points. Guardian Grarl attacked and destroyed Yugi's monster and reduced his life points to 3000. Though one of his monsters from the fusion returned to the field. Things aren't looking too good for Yugi. He needs to step up his game, Deirdra thought to herself. Raphael must have been thinking the same thing, because he said "I've got a deck full of Guardian monsters, each more powerful than the next. You'll need more than your puny Berfomet to beat me". Yugi was silent. Raphael spoke again. "You could never understand the connection I have with my cards", he said sofly.
"You are mistaken. I also share a bond with my deck, trusting and respecting every one of my cards."
"See these cards?", Raphael asked, holding up two for Yugi to see. "I've played them hundreds of times. Even though they're falling apart, I'll never replace them. Want to know why?"
Yugi nodded.
"I've sworn to protect them the way they've protected me. 12 years ago, these monsters saved my life. When I was a kid, I was fooled into thinking that the world was a happy place. Then I discovered the truth -nothing's fair and no one gets what they deserve."
"That's sad."
"Life is sad and the sooner you realise that, the better off you'll be. I used to have everything a kid could ever want until one day..."
Yugi and Deirdra watched as Raphael closed his eyes briefly, trying to shut out some of the pain that was written on his face. Deirdra felt guilty for having thought that he was just Dartz's brainless yes-man. He was obviously haunted by his past and his pain as much as Alister was.
Raphael continued."When I was a kid, my family and I were on a cruise. On the night of my birthday, during dinner, my brother and sister gave me a special present. A Guardian Eatos card. My sister told me they had went to 18 stores before they found it, then she told me not to forget my birthday wish. But I told her I already had everything I needed -a loving family. Suddenly the ship lurched to one side. The dishes slipped off the table, crashing on the floor. I ran out on the deck to see what was happening. My brother and sister followed, thinking I was playing a game. Little did we know, the ship was headed right for a tidal wave. It hit with such force that the three of us were knocked overboard. That was the last time I saw my siblings -unless you count seeing them picked up by a rescue boat. I was forgotten and left for dead. I was washed up on the shore of an island with nothing but the clothes on my back and my Duel Monsters cards. I knew at that point that I had two choices -sit around and feel sorry for myself or toughen up and move on. I chose the latter. I knew that if I were to survive, there was no time for weakness. I learned at a young age that the world was cold and lonely. I lost my childhood. But I gained an undying trust for the only family I had -my three guardian cards. Those cards kept me strong and sane and I owed it to them to save them. Guardian Grarl, Guardian Eatos, and Guardian Kay'est saw me through the hardest years of my life, and they continue to protect me."
Yugi's face showed compassion but his voice was stern as he spoke."If you truly respect your cards, why do you use them for evil?"
"What you think of is evil, I look at as saving the planet from falling apart at the hands of people like you and your little friends. It's my destiny. When I was on that island, I oftened wondered 'why me?' After three long years, I got my answer. One day I saw another island rising from the ocean with a large city on it. I paddled towards it on a raft, but before I got there, it sunk beneath the waves. I was then washed off my raft and, descending into the depths, I saw that the city was beneath me. I heard someone say 'Remember my voice. We'll soon meet again'. I passed in to a state of unconciousness and later woke to find myself on my raft with a ship coming to my rescue. My teenage self made the cover of newspapers and magazines worldwide. The so-called 'miracle boy' had rejoined civilisation. But the world I came back to was anything but civilised. That island may have been lonely, but at least it was a peaceful place to live. Unlike in the 'civilised' world, there was no one on that island who could walk out on me -like my family. But I have a new family now."
Deirdra wondered if by 'family' he meant Dartz and his fellow teammates or his treasured cards. She was reminded of something Alister had once told her. The time he had showed her the charred remains of his brother's action figure, he had said that it was his only family now.
"I don't see how you can blame all of mankind for what happened to you", Yugi said to Raphael.
Raphael narrowed his eyes. "People are evil. But it wasn't always that way. Once the world was perfect. Years after I rejoined civilisation, I once agin saw the mysterious island city rising from the ocean. The same voice that had spoken to me before asked me if I was ready to leave my old life behind. I was and said so. A pathway to the island appeared and i walked across. There I met my master, who told me of how together we would rebuild paradise. "
"I don't know what lies you were told, but no good can come from this plan."
"Too bad you won't be around to see how my plan turns out."
Yugi didn't respond. Instead, he drew two cards a played one. It was a magic card, Five Star Twilight, which allowed him to summon five new monsters since he had a five-star monster on the field. The five monsters that appeared, the Kuriboh brothers, did not intimidate Raphael one bit. He laughed and said mockingly "My cat's coughed up scarier objects than those". Deirdra agreed, secretly of course, that they were pretty pathetic, especially compared to Raphael's Guardian Grarl. But Yugi warned that looks could be deceiving, as he commanded his monsters to combine. Together they formed Kuribabylon, a creature with 1500 attack points. Yugi next played Pump Up to make Kuribabylon even stronger. Raphael still looked unphased, even as Kuribabylon moved to attack his guardian. He simply activated a special magic card from his graveyard, repeling the attack. Then he drew more cards, set two face down, and played another magic card, Purity of the Cemetary. It would inflict 100 points of damage for each monster in Yugi's graveyard every turn and would stay in play for the duration of the duel as long as there were no monsters in Raphael's graveyard. Raphael smiled cruely at Yugi. "Just so you know, I have no intention of playing the Seal of Orichalcos, but your fate is still sealed. You'll lose your soul by your own doing", he said and ordered Guardian Grarl to attack the Kuribohs. But Yugi warded off the attack by activating his monsters' special defense. Then he drew and played Pot of Greed, allowing him to draw two more cards. He smiled. He now had in his hand what he needed to take a bite out of Raphael's life points. Or so he thought. He sacrificed the Kuribohs in order to summon Dark Magician Girl and his legendary dragon, the Eye of Timaeus. Next he fused them together to form Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight. His dragon was weaker than Raphael's guardian, but he discarded one card from his hand in order to destroy the other monster. The dragon prepared to attack but, at the last minute, Raphael activated one of his face down cards, Self Tribute, sacrificing 1000 life points to save his monster. Yugi and Deirdra were both shocked. "You really meant it when you said you would do anything to protect your monsters", Yugi observed.
"Unlike you, I actually care about my cards. You discard yours as soon as a better one comes along."
"I value all my cards."
Raphael scoffed. "You're as disrespectful as everyone else. Everyone in the world has darkness in their hearts, but you're too afraid to admit it. Deep down, you're evil. Ten thousand years ago, people lived in paradise, but then the ancient stone showed up -the Stone of Orichalcos." Raphael touched the stone on his necklace and Deirdra absent-mindedly grasped the one in her pocket. Raphael continued. "The stone unlocked the darkness that was buried in the hearts of mankind. Only a few were pure. A battle broke out between good and evil and, in the end, the evil side won."
"Whoever told you that lied. The only evil is in the stone around your neck", Yugi said.
"The stone only shows us the truth."
"You're wrong."
"Need I remind you, your memories were erased. So how do you know you were'nt an evil Pharaoh?"
"It can't be. It's true that I remember very little about my days as Pharaoh, but I do know that I once saved mankind."
"The people you saved were evil, therefore you're evil too. Five thousand years before you ruled, the Orichalcos stone appeared, dividing the world into two sides: the pure of heart, and those ruled by darkness. The two sides faced off in the most devasting battle the world had ever seen. The battle between the two sides continues. You and I are here to continue the fight, and I'll make sure my side wins. We have two things you don't -the power of the Orichalcos and the Great Leviathan. We can capture the souls of men and offer them to the all-powerful beast. Then the world will return to the way it was -a peaceful place with a worthy leader."
"You've been brainwashed."
"Look around you. If things go on as they are, soon the entire planet will be as desolate as this desert. You did come back after five thousand years to save the world -by surrendering your soul!"
"I'm growing tired of hearing about your evil plan."
"It isn't my plan. I'm just carrying out the wishes of my master, who told me all about your history as the king of Egypt, ruling as an evil dictator who used the power of the Shadow Realm to control your subjects."
"Your master lied. I was a worthy ruler and the one who locked the dark magic away."
"Your heart is dark, and I'm about to prove it."
Raphael drew two cards, set one face down, and activated Exchange, which allowed them each to trade one card from their hands. The walked up to each other, each giving the other a card. Raphael laughed as he walked back to his side of the field. Yugi looked in shock at the card he had been given. It was the Seal of Orichalcos!