Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

He lost.

Alister looked up at the sky, a little dazed.

After about two seconds, realizing he wasn't dead and his soul was still in his body, he finally understood—

—Oh, I guess it wasn't a Shadow Game.

Back then, Alister and the other two of the Doma Three Swordsmen gained dark powers through the Seal of Orichalcos. After Dartz's fall, they were redeemed and lost those powers.

But the experiences with Doma allowed Alister to unlock a talent for Shadow Games. Even without the seal, he'd learned to use Shadow Games. Over the years, he set up a Shadow Duelist alliance, using dark duels to punish evil—a sort of atonement for past sins.

So he'd played a lot of high-stakes duels, and his skills hadn't dulled.

He was so used to risking his life in duels that, when his LP hit zero today, he instinctively thought he was dead.

Then he realized—oh, today wasn't a Shadow Game. The only reason it felt dark was because his opponent's deck was just that twisted.

They say the way you play reflects your heart. After being Lava Golem'd three times in one duel, Alister's mind was filled with that grinning giant. He couldn't help but wonder if his opponent's heart wasn't a little bit dark, too.

"You're amazing, Kira. Even Alister couldn't beat you," Mokuba patted him on the back, laughing. "Maybe you can even go toe-to-toe with my brother now."

The semester was almost over, and the half-year promise with the president was approaching. The next Duel City Tournament would open at the end of the semester—that'd be Kira's main event this winter break.

Dueling the president...

Kira glanced at the president, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and the president's lips curled in interest.

Strangely, just from that look, Kira could almost hear his voice in his mind—

Fujiki Kira, the time has come. Full☆Speed☆Ahead☆—Duel!

"..."

"Kira's duel was great, right?" Mokuba smiled at Alister.

Actually, Mokuba's relationship with Alister was better than with Kaiba. Back then, Alister saw his late brother in Mokuba and even gave him his brother's most precious keepsake. Since then, Mokuba had kept in touch.

"Yeah, I guess. Pretty impressive, played... pretty well."

Alister said this, but his expression toward Kira was odd.

It felt a bit forced, like he wanted to say more but couldn't.

Can't deny he's good—he lost, after all.

But to say it was beautiful duel? As the victim, he really couldn't.

"By the way," Alister remembered, "Kira, you're in Ra Yellow Dorm at Duel Academy, right?"

"That's right," Kira confirmed.

"Oh ho, such an excellent student only in Yellow Dorm—Duel Academy sure can't spot talent," Alister said dryly.

Aren't all the elites in Blue Dorm?

I bet the teachers and principal together couldn't handle a freak like this.

"Nah, Yellow Dorm's great," Kira smiled. "I personally like being in Yellow Dorm."

Alister pondered.

Speaking of Ra Yellow...

Naturally, he thought of the squishy chicken among the Egyptian Gods, and then of its master back in Duel City. And then of the Lava Golem that kept eating his monsters this duel...

"Can I ask, Kira," Alister said, "do you know Marik Ishtar?"

"Uh, I've just heard he was a legendary duelist who controlled the Gods, but I've never met him," Kira replied.

"I see."

Alister laughed awkwardly.

"I've never met him either, but I think if you two met, you'd have a lot in common. You'd probably get along well, ahaha..."

Kira narrowed his eyes.

What does that mean? Are you saying my deck's as cursed as his?

"..."

But, facing someone who just got Lava Golem'd three times and then KO'd by the same monster, it's hard to argue.

But Marik had the most notoriously cursed Egyptian God—The Winged Dragon of Ra.

If I could get an anime-effect Egyptian God card, then I'd really deserve the yellow robes.

He shook his head.

Forget it. Too far-fetched.

Everyone knows in the anime, the three Egyptian Gods aren't just cards—they're real gods who choose their users.

In DM, even Pegasus needed the Millennium Eye just to design the God cards. Every other designer who tried was struck down by divine punishment—killed or driven insane.

They never said exactly why. Maybe the gods thought their card art was ugly.

Now, the original three God cards are extinct, gone to the underworld with the Pharaoh. Only people like Kaiba, with black tech and permission, can use floor-draw skills to try the God cards.

'But as I recall, in GX Season 2, someone managed to copy Ra.'

Industrial Illusions never gave up on duplicating the Gods—even after the Pharaoh left. They're the strongest cards, after all.

But copying them is dangerous. Summoning them in a duel is even more so. If the Gods think you're unworthy, they might strike you down like they did to Marik's servant, Odion.

But in the anime, a genius designer developed a field spell called "Mound of the Bound Creator" to avoid divine punishment and force the use of the God cards. It was playing with fire, but it worked.

It shows Industrial Illusions never gave up on the God cards, even developing more support cards.

'Frankly, I know I'm just a mortal, so my chances of being recognized by the Gods are slim. But if I had to pick a support card, I'd want the "The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode" that came out after the anime.'

It looks just like the golden ball Marik summoned after Mai Valentine stole The Winged Dragon of Ra in Duel City—nicknamed Egg.

ATK 0, DEF 0, but it can tribute three of your opponent's monsters and normal summon itself to their field. The next turn, it returns to you and transforms into Ra, recreating the classic scene.

Only the Gods have this kind of power. Lava Golem eats two; it eats three. Lava Golem is a strong threat on your opponent's field, but the Egg's 0/0 stats are just for trolling. Plus, it comes back and transforms.

Looks fun.

'Maybe I'll visit Pegasus' company and ask the Tenma brothers about it someday. If I can't get a real God card, getting the Egg is good enough.'