Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

[Yugi LP: 800 → 0]

[Hoshino LP: 600 → 0]

[Duel Over!]

Jonouchi stood there, mouth agape, words stuck in his throat:

"Both players' Life Points hit zero at the same time… so that means the final match of the KC Grand Prix ended in—"

"A DRAW?!!"

An eruption of gasps and exclamations from the audience swallowed the entire arena. As the lucky spectators witnessing the very last showdown of the KC Grand Prix, no one had expected the duel to end in mutual destruction—Obelisk and Okita striking each other down simultaneously.

"If both Life Points hit zero, what does that even mean? Who's the actual winner!?"

"There can't be two champions—that's unacceptable!"

"Right? How can a tournament end in a draw like this?!"

But this kind of rare occurrence—no, unprecedented in official Duel Monsters tournaments—wasn't something most people were willing to accept.

Especially the fans who had been rooting solely for either Hoshino or Yugi from the beginning, firmly believing their champion should have won. For them, this ending was simply unconvincing.

"We demand a rematch—let them duel again!!"

Eventually, someone's shout rang out—and it quickly won over the overwhelming majority of the crowd.

"Yeah, yeah! If the duel didn't settle things, then they should just go another round. No way it ends in a draw, right?"

"We don't mind watching another one—let them keep dueling!"

"Honestly, getting to see another duel like this for the same ticket price is a total win!"

"But they better not use that Blood Witch card again. I don't think I can handle that a second time."

Mokuba, wearing a helpless expression, turned to Kaiba and asked:

"Brother… with how things are now, shouldn't we just let Hoshino and Yugi duel one more time? Otherwise, this is gonna end on a sour note."

However, Kaiba had already left the viewing platform. His face was pale with rage, not even considering whether a rematch should happen.

After Elizabeth's outburst—an attack that affected all duelists watching the global livestream—she even destroyed the broadcast equipment, making it impossible for the general public to see the final moments. Furious fans swarmed the internet, and keyboard warriors everywhere turned their anger on KaibaCorp. The company's stock value was now plummeting at a rate visible to the naked eye.

At that moment, Kaiba was starting to regret organizing the KC Grand Prix altogether…

Or rather, he regretted ever letting Hoshino participate.

"Hoshino, you bastard… Every time, you cause some kind of disaster during the decisive matches. Do you have it out for KaibaCorp or something!?"

It happened during Battle City too—Hoshino bailed on the finals without warning, which made KaibaCorp the target of public outrage for a long time afterward. That gave their business rival, Zigfried, the perfect opportunity to rise.

And now, in the KC Grand Prix—even though Hoshino did bring Zigfried down—Elizabeth's global Noble Phantasm attack inflicted damage on KaibaCorp just as bad as Zigfried ever did.

"Big loss, big loss! This is a huge loss!"

Realizing that Yugi's final move forcibly turned the tide of the duel, Hoshino groaned in frustration:

"How many Saint Quartz did I just lose?!"

With the power of the three Egyptian Gods, Yugi's level was beyond standard—it was on par with EX-tier duelists like Jaden and Dartz. Which meant, at the very least, this duel had cost her the equivalent of 300 Saint Quartz.

Naive little Hoshino still hadn't realized...

What she lost the most wasn't the Quartz.

Yugi, eyes half-closed and wearing a satisfied smile, said:

"That was a beautiful duel, Hoshino. Ever since Battle City ended, my restless soul has been waiting for this moment… I'm glad I got to know you."

Hoshino instinctively shivered.

"Ugh... Yugi, don't say stuff like that out of nowhere. It's weird."

"Enough with the flirting! Duel another round already!"

"This isn't the time for romance—true duelists don't need love!"

The crowd burst into playful jeers, completely ignoring the organizers, and began chanting for Yugi and Hoshino to duel again.

"What should we do? Are we really doing another round?"

Hoshino shrugged helplessly. Honestly, back-to-back duels like this were exhausting. But if they didn't go another round… ending in a draw just felt *so* unsatisfying.

"I'm fine either way," Yugi replied. "But… Hoshino, could you turn off your Duel Disk's special effects first?"

Ever since Hoshino had activated Formal Craft, the space around them had been distorted—and Yugi had a growing sense of unease.

"Huh? Turn off the Duel Disk? But I already..."

Hoshino lifted her arm—the Duel Disk was already shut down. It wasn't even active anymore.

"Why isn't the spatial distortion going away, then? Don't tell me KaibaCorp's hologram system is malfunctioning again?"

Clueless, Hoshino defaulted to the classic move—blaming Kaiba.

But this time, Kaiba didn't seem interested in taking the fall.

Hoshino had assumed the twisted space was just a flashy effect from the card she'd used for the first time—Formal Craft. But something was off.

"Yugi… this might be bad…"

The glowing Millennium Bracelet on her wrist and the burning heat of her Millennium Necklace—even through her clothes—made it clear.

This wasn't just a Duel effect.

The warped space in front of them was something much more dangerous.

Worse yet—the distortion was expanding. Even Jonouchi and the other spectators were starting to realize something was wrong.

Yugi cautiously eyed the growing vortex and drew out the three Egyptian God Cards from his Duel Disk.

"The Millennium Items and the God Cards are reacting… Is this because of the duel just now?"

Hidden among the crowd, Dark Bakura—his chest marked by the glowing Millennium Ring—began looking around frantically.

"This feeling... could it be?!"

As his anxious gaze scanned the arena, it finally landed on a man in the crowd wearing a distinct ceremonial robe.

"You came here in person… Shadi!!"

Shadi, bearer of the Millennium Scales and the Millennium Key—a man Bakura knew all too well from his quest to collect the Millennium Items.

"The Millennium Scales, the Millennium Key... add in my Millennium Ring, the Millennium Rod, Pharaoh's Millennium Puzzle, Hoshino's Millennium Necklace, and that fake Millennium Bracelet—"

Bakura's eyes turned toward the dueling stage and the ever-widening distortion.

"—Damn it! I was careless! Even though Pegasus and his Millennium Eye aren't here, there are seven Millennium Items gathered in this venue right now!"

Dark Bakura, now grasping the situation, could already anticipate what was about to unfold—

A miracle that transcended human understanding and spanned across millennia.

And within the KC Grand Prix venue, aside from Dark Bakura, the only other person aware of the incoming events was Shadi, who had been silently observing Yugi from the shadows.

Feeling the intense golden glow radiating from the Millennium Scales and Millennium Key, Shadi turned his gaze toward the duelists.

"The Pharaoh invoked the Obelisk The Progenitor, a being that transcended divinity, while Hoshino summoned a Demon Sword infused with multiple massive divine attributes.

The clash of their divine powers shattered the dimensional boundaries set by the Millennium Tablet and awakened the dormant Millennium Items."

Dark Bakura & Shadi in unison:

"It's beginning… No one can stop it now—

—The Ultimate Shadow Game!"

The space around the arena, now twisted and unstable, surged even more chaotically under the combined influence of the Gods and the Millennium Items. The energy had become so overwhelming that Hoshino and Yugi could barely stand.

"What… what the hell is going on?!"

Hoshino shielded herself with her arms against the overwhelming gravitational pull, her body slowly sliding forward. The warped space in front of her had become like a black hole—its suction power growing stronger by the second.

"Careful, Hoshino! Grab my hand!"

Because of her lighter weight, Hoshino looked as though she'd be swept away at any moment. Yugi, in a panic, reached out and grabbed her arm.

But the moment he made contact, the power of the Three Evil Gods surged into the Millennium Puzzle. The gravitational force multiplied—and both of them were instantly sucked into the vortex.

"Wait—Yugi! The Pyramid of Light—!"

In stark contrast to the two being pulled into the distorted space, the Pyramid of Light, which had a similar shape to the Millennium Puzzle, seemed repelled. With a whoosh, it was launched from Hoshino's chest and flew off into the distance.

"Yugi! Hoshino!!"

From below the stage, Jonouchi screamed in worry as he watched the two vanish into the distortion.

But they, too, were in no condition to help. With Hoshino and Yugi now gone, the twisted space continued to expand, showing no signs of stopping. It was as if it intended to devour the entire arena.

"No way… There's no way something this absurd can happen!"

Back in the stands, Kaiba was utterly stunned. The phenomenon unfolding before his eyes couldn't be explained by science. On top of that, his own Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards were behaving abnormally.

Even with his genius intellect, he had no clue what was going on.

And in the very next second, that genius mind was knocked out cold—as the Pyramid of Light, sent flying at high speed, struck him square in the face.

(***)

Swallowed by the twisted space, Hoshino's consciousness was hazy. Through the narrow slit of her barely opened eyes, she could only make out fragments of her surroundings.

The swirling currents of space around her had no clear shape—very similar to the dimensional tunnels she had passed through in her previous journeys.

But something about this one… felt decisively different.

When Hoshino fully came to her senses, she found herself standing inside a palace that, while clearly ancient in style, still radiated an unmistakable elegance.

Next to her, Yugi—who still hadn't let go of her arm—was now dressed in extravagant foreign garb: a flowing white robe, a nearly floor-length blue cape, and, in addition to the Millennium Puzzle on his chest, his wrists, ankles, and even his forehead were adorned with ornate golden accessories.

More striking, however, was his appearance: Yugi, who had once had fair skin, was now so tanned he looked several shades darker—almost comparable to when Hoshino had fused with Chloe.

"Are you… Yugi? Or is this... other Yugi?" Hoshino couldn't help but ask.

But judging from Yugi's bewildered expression, he was just as confused as she was.

Let alone why he now looked like this.

"Pharaoh, the people awaiting you outside the palace are ready. They can welcome the new Ruler at any time."

Just then, a tall, dark-skinned man dressed in the same exotic style as the Pharaoh entered the room, knelt on one knee, and respectfully reported the situation.

It was only after speaking that the man noticed the fair-skinned girl standing beside the Pharaoh—someone who definitely hadn't been in the room before.

"And this is…? A guest of the Pharaoh? Please forgive me, I am Mahad. I did not realize someone else was present. I meant no disrespect."

"Dark Magician…?! And the Millennium Ring?!"

The man named Mahad bore an uncanny resemblance to the Dark Magician, both in appearance and presence. But what truly shocked Hoshino was the Millennium Item hanging from his chest—

The Millennium Ring.

Back during the Battle City, Hoshino had taken the Ring from Dark Bakura. But after her duels with Yugi and Kaiba, it had mysteriously vanished.

And now, it had appeared here of all places.

Things only grew more baffling from there.

After Mahad, five more individuals entered the room—each holding one of the remaining Millennium Items. Even the Millennium Necklace that Hoshino had been keeping in her pocket—now mysteriously gone—was around the neck of a stately woman whose appearance closely resembled Ishizu.

Among those holding the Millennium Items, aside from the dark-skinned woman who looked like Ishizu, was a man holding the Millennium Rod—

Who looked exactly like Kaiba.

Just then, a raspy, aged voice came from behind the crowd:

"Oh my, a friend of the Pharaoh? That's quite rare. Why not join the priests who guard the Millennium Items and take part in the celebration welcoming our new Ruler?"

"Grandpa?!" Hoshino exclaimed.

The elderly man inviting her to the ceremony… even though his hat obscured his hair, there was no mistaking it—he looked just like Grandpa Sugoroku.

"Show some respect! You're addressing High Priest Simon, the Pharaoh's personal advisor!" snapped the man holding the Millennium Rod. His voice, his tone, and even his insufferable personality were all identical to Kaiba's.

Simon simply chuckled, stroking his beard.

"Ohoho, Priest Seto. No need to be so uptight over something this minor. I quite like bold children. Besides, she's a friend of the Pharaoh~"

"Seto…? Isn't he look like Kaiba's?" Hoshino thought, her mind racing to piece things together. She turned toward Yugi, who had been silently standing next to her all this time.

"Yugi… the priests who guard the Millennium Items, and they're calling you Pharaoh… Could this place be…?"

Yugi nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Hoshino… I think I'm starting to remember. This place… should be Egypt, from three thousand years ago."

(*****)

If you'd like to read 25 chapters ahead, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/ANeet. Your support means a lot. Thank you!