She was not very happy. When she awoke, she was in the hotel room of Crystal Point Tower. She already tried to sense the others, but could not sense a single out of the ordinary energy signal. She knew something was off. When she went outside, there were people, or what she thought were people, but they took no notice of her. As a matter of fact, things seemed painfully normal. People were walking the streets like there was nothing wrong. It was as though they had completely forgotten who she was and what she was connected with, what they had accused her and her friends of, what her and her friends had been on their journey for. But where were they? Were they masking their energy? Why would they be? They were the ones looking for Lynette, not the other way around. They had no reason to mask their energy. She was then disturbed by another fact she discovered; her own powers were diminished. It was to the point that she could not teleport. She could sense her energy locked away inside her Shadow Item, but could not release it. She decided to go to the first place that came to mind. Her only choice was to walk to her regional office headquarters not too far from Crystal Point Tower.
There was an eerie feel to the city. Not having her powers made her feel uneasy, but there was something else to it. She had been without her powers before, like on the planet Lunatte, but it was somehow more dangerous this time around. At the same time, it was refreshing to be on Earth again without having to avoid people. After becoming the superstar that she was, walking the streets was not easy for her. With her power and prestige came the inhibitions that go with it. When you are as popular as she was, walking down the street like you were an ordinary person meant possibly being trampled to death by people seeking autographs, interviews, or wanting you dead. That is the same problem any celebrity faces, but her issue was exacerbated by her history. When the media and the paparazzi cannot find anything about your history, it only makes them want to dig even deeper. That was impossible. She had to cover all of that in a deeper bunker than anyone could believe. It was not to keep her fame and fortune, she had gotten along without just fine, but not having anyone there to share any of it with made it even harder. Even the largest celebrities have family, friends, even acquaintances that they can talk to. Her family was all, long dead, her friends were nothing but a sealed away memory, and she could not afford the luxury of new friends or acquaintances. When your true existence causes concern about hostile alien attacks and produces an inclination to have you executed, you tend to shy away from others.
It was probably why she wanted to be with Kenshin so much. When Runa had to defend herself when she was very young, when she was hardly aware of the powers she had at her disposal, she was all alone, and it terrified her. She hated being alone. It was why she was content to side with Genosa, at least until she found out about Kenshin. Having a person that was not just like her but related to her was fantastic. She wanted to have someone by her side that would stay with her forever and her only brother seemed the best choice. Destroying all humans on Earth so that they could enjoy it as their own little paradise also seemed like a good idea at the time. But after her brother succeeded in preventing her from making that awful mistake, she was very content with simply being around him. At some level, she supposed that she realized that it was weird to want to marry her brother, but the hope that she one day could gave her a hope and a sense of peace. After all, despite saying he hated the idea he never left her and never went anywhere she couldn't find him.
Fast-forward thirteen thousand and a few hundred years and that brings us to her encounter with Yugi. She probably couldn't explain it if you asked her to, but it was like she had become completely infatuated with him. After Kenshin told her that Yugi would be her next challenge, she was highly skeptical and disinterested. Even after observing him, she told herself that he was just another contest her brother presented her with. For some reason, however, she could not stop thinking about him and for that reason she took to teasing Yugi. He took it better than her brother had. For whatever reason, he allowed her to stay by him when he could have just as easily turned her away. Having him by her side made her feel comfortable. It was a wonderful feeling to her and she would do almost anything to keep it.
But the city felt like an empty shell. She felt as alone walking this street now as she did when she first awoke to her powers and had no one to turn to. She would first go to her office. If the others were here and their powers were as diminished as hers were, then they would likely go to her office thinking that she would be there.
Walking into her building, she was somewhat shocked that she was escorted to her office. Under normal circumstances, it would have been perfectly normal, but these were not normal circumstances. In addition, there was apparently someone awaiting her in her office. She was hopeful that it was Kenshin, Yugi or the others. Her hopes were quickly dashed, however. The person was sitting what would have been her chair and was backing her. She could not see the person at all.
"Who are you?"
"I am merely an admirer of your work. You have quite an impressive resume. You could say that I have watched you throughout your entire life,"
"That doesn't explain much, except that you might be a perverted freak,"
"How do you like this city? It is wonderful, is it not?"
"You mean Crystal Point,"
"Well I suppose you can call it that if you would like. This is not the real city that you knew. It is a recreation, a perfect copy in most respects,"
"Where are my friends?"
"They cannot be here. It has been decided that, in the attempt to make a perfect society, you and your friends cannot be allowed to exist in the same realm. You are all far too destructive when you are together. I am sure that you have noticed that your powers are greatly limited. That is because it has been decided that your powers add to the danger that you and your friends present to the universe as a whole,"
"This is ridiculous. You cannot possibly be serious,"
"But that is it. I am very serious about it. You have a remarkable chance here. It was offered to a small group of humans by the Pharaoh Yamiyugi,"
"There is a big difference,"
"Really?"
"Yes. Those people had recklessly allowed creatures to rampage across the planet Earth. They were asked to stop but only cared about their own power. Yamu's only choice was to stop them from causing further destruction. My friends and I have only protected the Earth and have tried our best to protect our home planet of Nemesis,"
"Improbable,"
"What do you mean improbable?"
"There is no way that you can protect the Earth and Nemesis. Geia and Nemesis have a completely divergent path. They can never coexist. As long as any being lives on either world, they will do what they can to oppose each other and seek the others destruction. During that conflict, other worlds suffer because of it, such as Altelia. That is why I have decided to stop it. I will allow you to live, if you choose to live, on Earth. This is a simulation of what the world you will be returning to would be like. It is absolutely perfect. Meanwhile, I will eliminate Nemesis once and for all. It was Nemesis, anyway, that began all of this when it launched an unannounced attack on Earth and tried to conquer it,"
"And you think that I would let you do that?"
"I thought you hated Nemesis?"
"I have never said I hated Nemesis. In fact, I like Nemesis, a lot, but it needs work. Most Lucifer Hawks on Nemesis, like most Humans on Earth, have no idea that this war has been raging between the two worlds. Meanwhile, Nemesis is dying from the death grip of evil on it. Lynette is at the center of that evil right now and that is why we must stop her. Now if you please, release me and my friends and allow us to get back to the task of creating peace between Geia and Nemesis,"
"Not so fast Serenity Runa Inasha Dantes Rosencraft. Since it is clear reasoning with you is not possible, I will get my point through in a form that you are likely more open to. I will challenge you to a Shadow Duel,"
"You are challenging me to a Shadow Duel?"
"Indeed I am. Not just any Shadow Duel, a true Shadow Duel,"
"Sorry, but you must have a screw loose. Only a person with access to the Shadow Realm has the power to make such a challenge. Since you do not have a Shadow Item it would be impossible for you to do such a thing,"
"You underestimate the power of the one who I am working for. You see the Great One has sent me here to stop you and your friends. The Great One has much more power than you all realize. But that is not important right now. I have the power to take us there on my own accord, I always have. Do you accept my challenge or not?"
"Fine, I accept your challenge to a Shadow Duel,"
"Good. We will begin right away,"
The person turned the chair around and arose. Runa could not believe whom she was staring at. It wasn't making any sense. He smiled at her reaction and began to release the magic of the Shadow Realm all around them. She was still stunned. It didn't make any sense to her.
"What's wrong, have you lost your nerve already?"
"This… This…"
"Are you sure you don't want to back out now? You could choose to live in the world I helped design for you. You and I could live in it together for all eternity with no one else to ever get in our way again; not Lynette, not Lafiel, not Rini, no one,"
"It's a lie," Runa was purely upset.
"What's wrong Runa?"
"Shut up! Your lies aren't going to work on me. You don't seriously expect me to believe that you are who you say you are,"
"What lies? Is there any reason to believe that I am not who I say I am?"
"He would never do what you are planning,"
"You talk as though I am not here. Kenshin was the same way before I took this from him," He tossed to her feet what looked like Kenshin's sword, his Shadow Item. "He doesn't need it anymore. You can't carry things like that with you after you die,"
"Shut Up! You are not who you say you are! You could not have killed Kenshin!"
"That is his sword, is it not? And it is the Shadow Pyramid around my neck?"
"I don't care! I don't know how you got them, but they are not yours,"
"They are not the only ones I have. I met Anzu, Rini, Sisi and May already as well. Their Shadow Items have all returned to me,"
"Stop lying! You wanted to duel, then why don't we have a fair duel. Stop all these lies and tricks,"
"The thing is, these are neither lies nor tricks. I destroyed each and every one of them and took their items. I have to say, Yugi was much more of a challenge than I thought he would be. I know that he was to be the next Pharaoh, but I had no idea that he had become so powerful so quickly. Tea too. She put up quite a fight trying to protect him. But as you can imagine, none of them had a chance against me. They were as shocked to see me as you are. You may have beaten me before, but I will not lose to you again,"
"Ha hah ha hah ha! You must really take me for a fool. There is no way that I can believe that you are the real Pharaoh Yami. Yami would never do this. Let's get this duel going,"
Runa seemed composed once more. She was composed, but fiercely upset. She was questioning whether she could be sure that this was not indeed Yami. But her anger was more in part due to not knowing whether Kenshin and Yugi or anyone else was okay. If this person wanted a duel, Yami or not, she was ready to duel and was going to make sure they paid for this.
"Glad you're ready to face your fate. I'll go first. I summon one monster in defense mode and set one card facedown. That will be all for now,"
"I set two cards. Then I summon one monster in defense mode,"
"You didn't think that I would fall for the same move you made the last time you beat me, did you? Your face down monster is Revival Jam. You have Jam Defender down for when you summon your Ra, which you plan to do your next turn using the multiply on the field and the Jam Breeding Machine in your hand. I don't think that will be happening today. Let's take care of that with my facedown card, Heavy Storm. Next, I will take care of your monster. I play Cost Down, sacrifice my facedown monster, and summon, Berserk Fury. This Machine-Type monster automatically destroys all other monsters on the field the moment it is summoned. Now, Berserk Fury, attack Runa directly,"
"I protect my Life Points with Kuriboh,"
"I can't say that I didn't expect that. I set two cards and end my turn,"
"My move. I place four cards facedown and a monster in defense mode. That will be all for now,"
"I hope you're not going easy on me because we used to be friends. I would hate to defeat you without you trying your best,"
"You and I were never friends. I do not know you. No matter what you do, I will never lose to you,"
"It is a shame that you don't know your Pharaoh, because you will never get the chance to know me now that I am going to destroy you. I play a very powerful Spell card, The First Seal of the Orichalcos. This card gives me quite a few special abilities to use. For now, it increases the attack of my monsters by 500 points. Berserk Fury, destroy the facedown monster,"
"You attacked my Cyber Jar. Your Berserk Fury is destroyed and we have to draw five cards,"
"Not so fast. I activate the Trap card, Sheltering Wings of the Protector. I will send one card in my hand to the Graveyard so that my monster will be safe,"
"All right, I set three monsters,"
"Good. I have only one monster that I can play. Your time is just about up. I play four monsters, Silhouette of a Dragon, Silhouette of a Demon, Silhouette of a Spirit, and Silhouette of a Warrior. I then activate the Trap, Dark Magic Curtain, and summon not only the Dark Magician, but the Dark Magician Girl as well. Next, I activate, Ultimate Offering. Now, I activate Soul Exchange on one of your facedown monsters. Finally, are you prepared for your utter destruction? I sacrifice the two facedown monsters and Silhouette of a Warrior, to summon the Saint Paladin of Chaos, Obelisk the Tormentor," A horrified look came to Runa's face. To summon that beast meant that this person must have obtained the card from Lynette. "But I am not finished yet. I next sacrifice, Silhouette of a Dragon to summon, Saint Beast of Osiris, Slifer the Shadow Dragon. To conclude the trio, I sacrifice Silhouette of a Spirit, Silhouette of a Demon and Berserk Fury, to summon, Saint Beast of the Sun, The Winged Dragon of Ra,"
Runa was beside herself. She did not know what to think. She was without her powers, so telling if this were a real Shadow Duel was impossible. It surely seemed real. But admitting that would be admitting that she was really dueling Yami, Pharaoh and King of the Shadow Games. She was now staring down three of the most powerful monsters in the game and only two monsters and two traps protecting her Life Points. Luckily, his Battle Phase was over, so she had one chance to protect herself. But with five monsters on the field, three of them being Saint Beasts, that was not going to be easy, just about impossible. Even Exodia the Forbidden One was no match for the Saint Beasts; the powerful creatures nullified his effect. It was virtually hopeless. There was nothing she could do. Even if she had found a way to win the duel, what would she do then? She was all alone in the world again. Yami killed all of them. He killed Lynette. He even killed Yugi and Kenshin. There was nothing left for her. It might have been easier to just give up and let him finish her off. But she didn't. She realized something and it brought her back from surrender.
"You probably think that I should give up right now,"
"There is no harm in admitting defeat when you have nothing left to fight for. Go ahead. Surrender to me and I will end it all so that you and the others can be together in death,"
"But I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to quit because I do still have something that I can fight for. I don't know who you are, but I know that you have made a gross error in judgment,"
"How so?"
"First, you tried to be someone you are not. I know Yami. I may have only dueled him once, but I have watched him duel many, many times. I know his dueling style. You duel very sloppy. If the real Yami had the capability to summon three Saint Beasts in a turn like that, he would have made sure that he ended everything that turn. You still haven't ended your turn, but you cannot attack for the rest of this turn anyway.
"Your second error was underestimating me. You tried to make me believe that you destroyed my friends. You wanted me to believe that I was alone and my existence was meaningless. You thought that if I just gave up and quit, that you could get away scot-free. But it is not going to happen. I don't care if this is a Shadow Duel or not. I don't care how you say that you got your hands on the Saint Beasts or if those are even really the true cards. I know that the others are still alive and I am going to defeat you,"
"Bold words. But you see my Slifer alone has an attack power of 21100. You don't stand a chance. I play Card Destruction, sending both of our hands to the Graveyard. Then I activate my last facedown card, Card of Sanctity. This gives Slifer a grand total of 28300 attack points. I do end my turn now,"
"Good. I am going to show you how Yami would do things. I play, Swords of Revealing Light. Next I activate my trap card, Force Power. This little card makes it so that you must activate one of your monster's special abilities. I choose Obelisk,"
"What are you thinking?"
"Obelisk will destroy your Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl so that it can destroy my two facedown monsters. But just as important, without the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, you cannot control Slifer,"
"No! No matter, I will bring it back under my power,"
"I don't think so. Now I play Shadow Realm. Then I play, my second trap, Dark Magic Coffin. It allows me to revive a Dark Magician in the Graveyard on my side of the field. Next, I play, Revival of Dark Magic to revive the Dark Magician Girl. Do you know what comes next? Of course you don't. You see, now that Slifer is no longer under your control, it can be controlled by anyone with a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, and if they know the spell.
'Great dragon of the Shadow Sky,
Please hear my respectful cry.
Transform from thy bolt of light,
As you rain down from the clouds this fight.
Ensnare my enemy in your coil,
With the air itself beginning to boil.
Revealing your power as it was before,
Release from deep beyond the Chaos Door.
Arrive here on this Shadow Stage
And bring me victory with your rage
Slifer the Shadow Dragon.'
"This is not happening,"
"It will only get worse. I bet you don't know about the Legendary Dragons. Even Yami has limited knowledge about them. They were locked far too deep behind the Chaos Door because of their danger. That was what was thought anyway. They actually serve as protectors of the gate on the other side. I think they will be able to come out for a little while to make sure that you are defeated,"
"I find you to be much more entertaining now that you have snapped. So, what are you going to do? You can easily wipe out my two remaining Saint Beasts. I do, however, have Ra's effect at my disposal, though I am not in need of it. I special summon a monster that you will never be able to stop. There is a good reason why you cannot stop it. This monster has an attack power of infinite. It can only be summoned if I have five or more monsters in my Graveyard, which I do as of the end of my last turn. It requires the Seal of Orichalcos and two more creatures offered to it as a tribute. It is called The Serpent Dragon of the Orichalcos. I may have just given up my Obelisk and Ra, but there is nothing that you can do to stop my newest creature,"
"That is what you think. I play, The Fang of Critias, The Eye of Timaeus and The Claw of Hellmos, so that I can summon, from my deck, Legendary Dragon Critias, Legendary Dragon Timaeus and Legendary Dragon Hellmos. Then I play Legend of Heart, giving up my three dragons to summon the Legendary Knights Critias, Timaeus and Hellmos. To finish, I play Brain Implant forcing you to take back the Mirror Force card in your Graveyard,"
"What is the point of this? All you have done is made sure that you cannot attack me, not that it would make any sense for you to do so anyway. I may be stuck behind the Swords of Revealing Light, but that will only last a couple more turns, and you still wouldn't be able to stop my creature. An attack power of infinite makes me unstoppable,"
"This is exactly what I was talking about. Yami is not so delusional as to think that he would be unbeatable. I learned something more about him when I watched him finish his test. That demon tried to copy his power at its highest, essentially facing a power of infinite. The only way for him to beat that was to go beyond infinite, go beyond the limits in his own power, and that is what I will do now. I will end my turn,"
"Nice speech, but I know better about my own powers than you ever could just by watching me use them. I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your swords. Now, Serpent Dragon of the Orichalcos, attack the Legendary Knight Critias,"
"I activate Critias's special ability, infusing him with the power of Mirror Force."
"How?"
"Critias can use the power of any trap card in my Graveyard. You sent Mirror Force to the Graveyard at the beginning of the duel,"
"Well, thanks to you, I can use Mirror Force to reflect your Mirror Force Knight's attack back at you with your Hellmos first up on the grill,"
"Which is exactly what I wanted. Now I use Legendary Knight Hellmos's effect. When one of my monsters is attacked and is about to be destroyed, Hellmos can attack the creature that destroyed mine with an attack equal to three times the total damage received. Infinite may not be defined, but three times infinite is definitely more than infinite. Your Orichalcos Dragon is destroyed and you loose all of your Life Points. Game over, you fake. I win,"
The Knight Hellmos swung his sword down at the ground, unleashing a devastating blast that cut through the Orichalcos Dragon. The shockwave from the blast knocked Yami down. He was down for only a few seconds. When he rose, he spread a large set of black, leathery wings, like a demon's wings.
"I told you, I am Yami, or, I was Yami,"
"Who are you? What are you talking about?"
"A long time ago, Yami destroyed a part of him, long before you met him. He didn't like me very much, so he got rid of me. Now, I am going to get rid of him and all of those people he cares about,"
"He destroyed a part of himself?"
"Yes. I know what you are thinking. You think I mean that he destroyed a Soul Fragment, but you are wrong. Yami has never been that close to death. He was close to true power once. All he had to do was embrace his full Lucifer Hawk powers, the evil side of his power, me! When I was set free, he couldn't handle it. He cast me away, said I couldn't be released until I defeated someone in a Shadow Game. That ungrateful little worm, I was the power he wanted and he just threw me away like a rusted sword! It wasn't enough to banish me, but he sealed away my powers as well. I had more power in my little finger than any of his stupid friends. By destroying any one of them, he could have become more powerful. I am going to win our duel and unlock my powers. Then I will destroy you, your friends and Yami,"
"Then what?"
"Hmm?"
"What good is all the power you want if there is no one to share it with?"
"Friends? Are you joking? Friends are a useless crutch for the weak to lean on. I would choose absolute power over insignificant friends any day,"
"There is no point in trying to talk any sense into you. You wanted to have a second duel, fine. But you better step it up a bit. I held back because I wasn't sure whether you really were Yami or not, but now that I know who you are, I will be more than happy to put you back in your place,"
"Not likely. I will start off by setting one monster in defense mode and setting two cards for later. Whenever you're ready, Runa,"
"As you like. I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode. I attack your face down monster,"
"You attacked my Backup Gardna, more than enough defense to survive your attack,"
"Well. I set a card and end my turn,"
"Thank you. I play the Spell card, Pandemonium. Next, I summon Shadowknight Archfiend in attack mode. I will attack your Beta,"
"I activate Negate Attack,"
"Very well. I will end my turn,"
"I play Soul of the Pure along with Dian Keto the Cure Master. Then I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior. I activate a Spell card known as, What are Friends For. It allows me to summon one monster with the same type and attribute as the monster I just summoned, and I choose Alpha the Magnet Warrior. Finally, I sacrifice all three warriors to summon my Winged Dragon of Ra,"
"Of course you do. Too bad it is of no use to you. I activate Pyramid of Light. This trap prevents the use of any and all Saint Beasts from participating in this duel. Your big yellow chicken is stuck on the sidelines," Runa and Ra were highly upset as a transparent shield rose up in the shape of a pyramid around their battlefield.
"You're going to pay for that. I play Destiny Draw and set the monster I retrieved from my deck. Then I set two cards and end my turn,"
"You will be done in only a couple more turns,"
"Not quite. I activate the trap card, Backup Soldier. I can summon up to three monsters from my Graveyard that have 1500 or less attack points. I place Alpha and Gamma the Magnet Warriors in defense mode,"
"Just more tiny obstacles obstructing my path. I sacrifice 500 Life Points to summon Andro Sphinx. I sacrifice another 500 Life Points to summon Sphinx Teleia. I will start the destruction with your facedown card. Go, Andro Sphinx,"
"The monster you have attacked is called Summoner of Illusions. When it is flipped face up, I am allowed to sacrifice any other monster on my side of the field to special summon a monster from my Fusion deck. I will tribute Gamma the Magnet Warrior so that I can special summon my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon,"
"A temporary fix,"
"I'm not done yet. I send the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to the Graveyard to summon the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. By its effect, I can sacrifice it to destroy your Pyramid of Light and your two Sphinxes at the same time,"
"Very bold move,"
"I may have lost the Shining Dragon, but my darling Ra is back,"
"For now, but not for long. I pay 500 Life Points and summon Theinen the Great Sphinx. Finally, I play the spell card Empowered Soul. It raises my Sphinx's attack by 3000, as long as I give up 1000 Life Points each Standby Phase, I can keep it there. And just to let you know what is coming, I have a trap card called Secondary Trap. It acts like any trap in my Graveyard, and I bet you know which one I choose. You have your turn to figure out how you want to die,"
"I really hate you. Don't get me wrong; I am not concerned about your trap because this duel will be over before then. I hate that you are such a pathetic opponent. Your dueling is quite good when compared to some of the normal people I end up facing, but compared to Yami and Yugi, you are nothing. You never stood a chance. You have wasted my time with your nonsense.
"My Winged Dragon already has an attack power of 4600. I play Card of Sanctity to draw six cards. I activate the magic of Shadow Realm. Now I play the ritual spell card, Royal Ascension. I know that you haven't heard of this card because I only recently created it. It is used to special summon any of several ritual monsters, and I have just the ritual monster card for you to face. I send two monster cards in my hand to the graveyard in order to special summon this special card,"
The image of a throne appeared on the field just in front of Ra. As the ritual was completed, blue flames erupted in the throne. When the fires went out, what looked like Yami stepped up from the throne.
"I have summoned, King of The Shadow Realm: The Pharaoh Yami. Next, I activate the spell card Shadow Pyramid. It allows me to Special Summon one monster of level 7 or higher to the field from my deck, as long as it is sent to the Graveyard at the end of the second turn after it is summoned. I use it to summon the Blue-Eyes Red Serpent Night Dragon: Suzami,"
The evil incarnation of Yami stood back in awe of the two monsters played against him. But his awe was in the existence of the cards and not their power. He was confident that he still had the upper hand in the duel, despite the two Divine-Beasts and the card created in the image of the one that had destroyed him.
"My Theinen is still stronger than all the monsters you have on the field, you can't win,"
"Your brain must be on vacation. You must think I am some type of amateur. I am the one who revived this game and recreated every card in its use. Do you think I would forget about Theinen's special ability? I know that you expect that I will attack with Ra by sacrificing only 2000 of my Life Points to destroy it. Then you will counter by sacrificing 500 Life Points to raise its attack by another 3000 and destroy my Winged Dragon of Ra. I'm seriously disappointed at how stupid you are.
"Let me tell you how it is really going to happen. Yami gains 300 extra attack points for every Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in the Graveyard and Queen of the Shadow Realm on the field. I sacrificed a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl to summon him so that gives him 3600-attack power. Shadow Realm then gives him another 600 raising his attack power to 4200. Suzami gains 600 attack points for every card in each player's hand, on their field, and in their Graveyard. That gives Suzami an attack of 23300. With Shadow Realm, it equals 23900. I'm through with you. Suzami, destroy his Theinen and the rest of his Life Points,"
Suzami's attack burnt away the Great Sphinx and engulfed the evil Yami in its flames. The Shadow Duel monsters all vanished and a light appeared behind Runa. She noticed that her powers were suddenly back. She walked to the light and found herself back on the Nirvana Phoenix. She was greatly relieved to see Yami and Yugi as their normal selves, Yugi asleep in a chair. She gave a brief hello to Anzu and Yami, took no notice of Keiren and sat down next to Yugi, resting her head against his. He didn't awake and she smiled away.
"Who might you be?" Runa asked as Keiren approached.
"I was wondering the same thing about you. You seem quite comfortable there," Keiren asked, seeming a little unhappy with Runa's apparent brush-off in ignoring her presence just to get that moment with Yugi.
"Shouldn't I be? He is my husband, there shouldn't be anything wrong with me sitting here with him like this," Runa countered with a thin smile.
"I suppose if the others don't have any objections then I will not either. Well it is nice to meet you Runa. My name is Keiren," Keiren replied, resolving not to let Runa agitate her.
"You know my name? My guess is that you know something about this little game we have been stuck in," Runa surmised.
"A little. I know enough to have no fear that the others will be back here soon,"
"Well, you seem confident and happy about that. You are more grateful than Tea's other Soul Fragment,"
"You know I am a Soul Fragment?"
"Don't forget, I used to have Soul Fragments of my own, but that was a long time ago,"
"That you did,"
"So who is this Great One I have heard so much about?"
"I wish I could tell you, but you will have to wait for the others to return,"
"Oh, fine. Then can you tell me how long those two have been playing?"
"Well, Yami was first done as you know. Anzu was second, but she took a short nap. I would say about an hour or more,"
"They're dead focused on that game,"
"I'd say. They certainly do love their Shadow Games. The Great One would be happy to see this right now,"
"Can't you say anything about who the Great One is? How about that weird voice; who was that?"
"That, I can tell you. He is a former aide to the Rosencraft family. He actually served with them a long time ago. His name is Norman. Well, his name was Norman. He died, killed by Genosa II, while serving under Queen Relyna. It is only his spirit that has been assisting us,"
"He is quite the character,"
"He enjoys being able to continue his service to the family, and is greatly appreciated for it,"
"The Great One must have some kind of sway in order to have gotten permission to have the soul of Norman released,"
"You would be surprised. Yet though the Great One has that power, the Great One cannot do what they would most like to, and that is to protect this universe. So the most that the Great One can do is to make sure that certain objects do not fall into the hands of those who cannot control them. That is why the Great One has made this test. Only those looking for the swords journey through this region of space, so only those who pass through here are made to take this test. It is the only way to reach the destination that reveals the location of the swords,"
"I see,"
"It appears I'm needed. I will return shortly,"