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"Chapter 698: Dream
At night, under the bright moonlight, a private jet belonging to Industrial Illusions cut through the clouds. The people on the plane were all immersed in their respective dreams due to the day's exhaustion and the time difference.
Honda, lying on his bed, hugged a pillow with a lecherous-like smile, dreaming a sweet dream. "Shizuka, hehehehe, fragrant and soft..."
"I won't hand Shizuka over to you that easily!" Joey Wheeler, lying next to Tristan, seemed to have his dream derailed by Tristan's sleepy mumbling. "Even when Mai and I get married... hehehehe..."
As for Marik, he was even more of a heavyweight. Instead of sleeping properly in bed, he was half-rolled off the bed while asleep, like someone with hyperactivity, with his buttocks sticking up and his face pressed against the floor. But even so, he slept like a log. Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up with a sore waist and neck the next day.
Compared to the three sleeping in the left aircraft cabin, Téa and Yugi on the right side had much better sleeping postures, with only the sound of steady breathing.
Hayato was also in his dream, but the expression on his face while asleep was not very pleasant.
In the dream ---
"Alright, this time we're dueling. After the new card pack came out, Blackwing Dragon got a significant enhancement and finally made it into the archetype, so this time we're playing a pure Blackwing deck. I'm old Crow."
Muttering to himself while drawing from the duel disk, Hayato looked up at the duel platform across from him, which was shrouded in darkness. "But this time we didn't get the first turn, but it doesn't matter, let's see what kind of deck the opponent is playing..."
"Wow, a bald head!"
Hayato wasn't just saying things; he found that in front of the duel platform across from him, which had finally lit up, there was indeed a bald man wrapping white cloth around his head.
Oh, isn't that Shadi? Let's look at the cards in our hand, everyone.
Looking down, Hayato found that there were no cards there. Even the duel platform under his feet and the duel disk on his wrist had disappeared without him noticing. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a bit strange. Why would he still stand on an old-fashioned duel platform when he had a duel disk?
"We meet again at last, Hayato Kobayashi. I am Shadi."
Hayato was still wondering if he was dreaming when he heard Shadi, who had finished wrapping the white cloth around his shiny forehead, speaking to him.
After the duel platform disappeared, Hayato found himself in a gray world. The surroundings were hazy as if covered in mist, but it was fine up close, he could see clearly. However, further away, it was blurry as if out of focus. Shadi, who was speaking, was standing almost a step away from Hayato.
"Hmm, it must be a dream, no doubt. But it's so strange, why would I dream of Shadi, that bald head?" Hayato said with certainty, crossing his arms over his chest, then muttered to himself with some confusion. "Not only did I not dream of the Underworld God, our sole designated target as duelists, I didn't even dream of cards with strength and beauty like Accesscode Talker or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. It's too strange."
While muttering to himself, Hayato even reached out with some curiosity and poked Shadi, who was standing right in front of him. However, the instant Hayato's finger touched Shadi, golden light points emerged from the spot on Shadi's body that Hayato poked and ascended into the air, and Hayato's hand passed through Shadi's body.
Because Shadi's body became slightly transparent with Hayato's movement, Hayato could even see his hand that had entered Shadi's body.
Shadi didn't pay attention to Hayato's actions but continued speaking. "Because of certain existences within you, even using the power of the Millennium Key, I cannot see exactly what kind of existence you are. But I believe you will stand on the side of the Nameless Pharaoh and help him find his memory and return to the Underworld. Therefore, when you approached Egypt, the footage left behind — which is me before you — would be triggered."
"My true identity is a Tomb Keeper, an inheritor of another branch different from the Ishtar Family, and the last inheritor. However, as a human, I died many years ago. To fulfill the important mission of the Tomb Keepers — to help the Nameless Pharaoh return to the Afterlife and find peace — I rely on the power of the Millennium Scale to reconcile the boundary between soul and body, drifting in the human world."
"To retrieve the Nameless Pharaoh's lost memory, one must enter the Memory World itself. The necessary items for this are the seven Millennium Items possessing great power, the tablet used to bear the powerful force of the Millennium Items, and the ultimate shadow game required to open the Memory World."
Although Shadi was saying a lot of important information that others might take seriously, Hayato, listening to Shadi's rambling, basically didn't believe a single word of what Shadi said, except for his name.
As far as Hayato knew, was Shadi on Dark Yugi's side, hoping he would find his memory and return to the Underworld? Yes, without a doubt, Shadi was on the ally's side and wanted to help Dark Yugi. But was it truly as Shadi said, that he, like Ishizu, was purely helping the Nameless Pharaoh to fulfill the Tomb Keepers' ancestral teachings? That might not be the case.
Looking at Shadi, who was speaking, Hayato reached for the Millennium Ring on his chest, gripping the golden wheel like a fist blade in his hand, and looked at Shadi with a half-smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, bald brother, but I'm genuinely not interested in all that nonsense you're talking about."
"However, I think you should be very interested in this thing that killed you 'many years ago'."
Saying this, Hayato didn't care that the Shadi before him claimed to be just footage. Gripping the glowing Millennium Ring, he shouted "Eight-Pointed Light Wheel" and smashed it towards Shadi.
Then, Shadi dodged, as Hayato expected, and his incessant babbling came to an abrupt halt.
"Hayato Kobayashi..." Looking at Hayato, who seemed to have seen through from the start that he wasn't just footage but a conscious existence, Shadi was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Are you being vigilant, wary that I might be detrimental to you?"
Shadi didn't ask how Hayato knew about the connection between the Millennium Ring and himself.
But facing Shadi's question, Hayato chose to deny it. "No, I'm quite certain you're on our side and want to help us assemble all seven Millennium Items. You won't be an obstruction to our actions."
"The reason I don't want to hear you ramble on is purely because I'm annoyed with you." Single-handedly pushing back the hair that fell in front of his eyes, making it stand up as if gelled, Hayato's gaze met Shadi's seemingly unfocused, lifeless eyes. "A rat who doesn't even dare to appear before me."
Shadi frowned, finding Hayato a difficult person to communicate with.
Do you think I don't want to appear before you? I already tried to find you during Battle City, okay? You almost completely killed me, almost scattered me to the wind. How could I dare to appear before you now?
This time, I had to utilize the mark left on the Millennium Ring from last time to sneak into the dream, which is separate from the mind, just to meet Hayato Kobayashi. As a result, I said a lot, but this guy didn't listen at all.
He glanced at the Millennium Ring, which hung down on Hayato's chest again as he released his hand. Even Shadi, who was usually without sorrow or joy, felt somewhat annoyed with the Millennium Ring, after all, this thing had repeatedly obstructed Shadi's plan.
More than a decade ago, of the seven Millennium Items in the world, besides the Millennium Necklace and Millennium Scepter/Staff kept by the Ishtar Family, and the Millennium Puzzle slumbering in the Royal Tomb, the remaining four Millennium Items — the Millennium Key, Millennium Scale, Millennium Eye, and Millennium Ring — were all collected by Shadi.
However, at the same time, just like how the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, Shadi found an eighth Millennium Item, named the Quantum Cube, and learned that it possessed the most unique power of dimensional ascension, which could elevate the world into the Dimensional Realm.
Having experienced the beauty of the Dimensional Realm for the first time, Shadi instantly understood that it was an ideal land-like existence. Although one would fall into the Dark Dimension if they became tainted with hatred and darkness in the Dimensional Realm, by using the power of the Quantum Cube and harmonizing the power of the seven Millennium Items, humans could become "complete goodness". At that time, all humanity entering the Dimensional Realm would achieve salvation.
This discovery made Shadi ecstatic, and he eagerly used the power of the Quantum Cube to gradually create a new world. But the good times didn't last long. After only a few years, Shadi suddenly discovered that the Quantum Cube had lost that power.
Following the prevision left by his ancestors a thousand years ago, the soul of the Nameless Pharaoh three thousand years ago seemed to have returned to the human world when someone took out the last Millennium Item from the Royal Tomb and completed the Millennium Puzzle. The Quantum Cube also lost its power due to the return of this a thousand years ago soul and could no longer harmonize the power of the Millennium Items, which had become silent due to the Pharaoh's soul's revival.
Without awakening the power of the Millennium Items, they could not be harmonized into "complete goodness". At the same time, without sending the Nameless Pharaoh back to the Underworld, the Quantum Cube could not perform dimensional ascension. For his own goal, Shadi began his actions.
The first thing to do was to ensure that the Millennium Items were not just objects enshrined in a temple, but were used to awaken their power by those with the qualification. So Shadi first chose to go to the Ishtar Family tribal land and secretly guide Marik's actions, ultimately leading Marik, who had inherited the Millennium Scepter, to kill his father and leave the Tomb Keepers.
And Shadi was not stingy with the Millennium Items in his hand. When Pegasus, who was traveling globally, followed Shadi out of curiosity to the tablet where the Millennium Items were placed, he "gifted" the Millennium Eye to Pegasus and gave him a large amount of knowledge about the Millennium Stone Spirit, indirectly facilitating Pegasus's creation of Duel Monsters and the evolution of the Millennium Stone Spirit into Card Spirit.
However, when giving away the Millennium Ring, Shadi accidentally ran into trouble. He never intended to give the Millennium Ring to that man who had learned of the Millennium Items' existence by accident and developed a greedy heart. He only intended to slightly inflict penalty on the opponent, letting him wear the Millennium Ring to briefly experience the terrifying dark power.
Among all seven Millennium Items, except for the Millennium Scale which symbolizes "balance", three Millennium Items possess the will of justice, and three Millennium Items possess the will of evil. Among these, the dark power within the Millennium Ring, modeled after the symbol of Sun God Ra's other identity — Aton God, was the most powerful.
And the result was as Shadi had expected. The instant it was put on, the Millennium Ring unceremoniously released its terrifying dark power, blasted away and defeated that man who didn't even have the qualification to touch the Millennium Ring.
But before Shadi could recover it, the Millennium Ring was picked up by the man's son who was traveling with him, under his command. The instant the golden wheel was picked up, the dark power within the Millennium Ring was released without reservation, completely flooding into that young boy's body.
The evil soul from three thousand years ago hidden within the Millennium Ring, which even Shadi was unaware of, took over that young boy's body and immediately utilized that dark power to kill Shadi, who hadn't reacted.
Although Shadi managed to remain in this world by utilizing the power of the Quantum Cube, he was almost banished to the Dark Dimension due to contact with the dark power. It was only by relying on the power of the Millennium Scale and Millennium Key that he barely gained the ability to act in the world. But even so, in most cases, Shadi could not interfere with the world too much.
And now he came to find Hayato precisely because of this point.
"Although you are unwilling to accept my help, I will help you at the appropriate time." Looking at Hayato, Shadi paused, then continued, "Perhaps you cannot understand, but the vortex of destiny is concentrating the scattered Millennium Items towards Egypt."
"Oh, possessor of the Pharaoh's great power and Prana, before your time of destiny arrives, accept this gift..."
Reaching out and placing his hand on his chest, Shadi performed a bow, then turned into countless ascending light points and disappeared.
Hayato then opened his eyes and saw the nascent sunshine streaming into the aircraft cabin through the gap in the drawn curtains.
And shining with golden radiance under the sunshine was the Millennium Ring on his chest, and an Ankh symbol-shaped Millennium Key pressed on the quilt."
At night, under the bright moonlight, a private jet belonging to Industrial Illusions cut through the clouds. The people on the plane were all immersed in their respective dreams due to the day's exhaustion and the time difference.
Honda, lying on his bed, hugged a pillow with a lecherous-like smile, dreaming a sweet dream. "Shizuka, hehehehe, fragrant and soft..."
"I won't hand Shizuka over to you that easily!" Joey Wheeler, lying next to Tristan, seemed to have his dream derailed by Tristan's sleepy mumbling. "Even when Mai and I get married... hehehehe..."
As for Marik, he was even more of a heavyweight. Instead of sleeping properly in bed, he was half-rolled off the bed while asleep, like someone with hyperactivity, with his buttocks sticking up and his face pressed against the floor. But even so, he slept like a log. Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up with a sore waist and neck the next day.
Compared to the three sleeping in the left aircraft cabin, Téa and Yugi on the right side had much better sleeping postures, with only the sound of steady breathing.
Hayato was also in his dream, but the expression on his face while asleep was not very pleasant.
In the dream ---
"Alright, this time we're dueling. After the new card pack came out, Blackwing Dragon got a significant enhancement and finally made it into the archetype, so this time we're playing a pure Blackwing deck. I'm old Crow."
Muttering to himself while drawing from the duel disk, Hayato looked up at the duel platform across from him, which was shrouded in darkness. "But this time we didn't get the first turn, but it doesn't matter, let's see what kind of deck the opponent is playing..."
"Wow, a bald head!"
Hayato wasn't just saying things; he found that in front of the duel platform across from him, which had finally lit up, there was indeed a bald man wrapping white cloth around his head.
Oh, isn't that Shadi? Let's look at the cards in our hand, everyone.
Looking down, Hayato found that there were no cards there. Even the duel platform under his feet and the duel disk on his wrist had disappeared without him noticing. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a bit strange. Why would he still stand on an old-fashioned duel platform when he had a duel disk?
"We meet again at last, Hayato Kobayashi. I am Shadi."
Hayato was still wondering if he was dreaming when he heard Shadi, who had finished wrapping the white cloth around his shiny forehead, speaking to him.
After the duel platform disappeared, Hayato found himself in a gray world. The surroundings were hazy as if covered in mist, but it was fine up close, he could see clearly. However, further away, it was blurry as if out of focus. Shadi, who was speaking, was standing almost a step away from Hayato.
"Hmm, it must be a dream, no doubt. But it's so strange, why would I dream of Shadi, that bald head?" Hayato said with certainty, crossing his arms over his chest, then muttered to himself with some confusion. "Not only did I not dream of the Underworld God, our sole designated target as duelists, I didn't even dream of cards with strength and beauty like Accesscode Talker or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. It's too strange."
While muttering to himself, Hayato even reached out with some curiosity and poked Shadi, who was standing right in front of him. However, the instant Hayato's finger touched Shadi, golden light points emerged from the spot on Shadi's body that Hayato poked and ascended into the air, and Hayato's hand passed through Shadi's body.
Because Shadi's body became slightly transparent with Hayato's movement, Hayato could even see his hand that had entered Shadi's body.
Shadi didn't pay attention to Hayato's actions but continued speaking. "Because of certain existences within you, even using the power of the Millennium Key, I cannot see exactly what kind of existence you are. But I believe you will stand on the side of the Nameless Pharaoh and help him find his memory and return to the Underworld. Therefore, when you approached Egypt, the footage left behind — which is me before you — would be triggered."
"My true identity is a Tomb Keeper, an inheritor of another branch different from the Ishtar Family, and the last inheritor. However, as a human, I died many years ago. To fulfill the important mission of the Tomb Keepers — to help the Nameless Pharaoh return to the Afterlife and find peace — I rely on the power of the Millennium Scale to reconcile the boundary between soul and body, drifting in the human world."
"To retrieve the Nameless Pharaoh's lost memory, one must enter the Memory World itself. The necessary items for this are the seven Millennium Items possessing great power, the tablet used to bear the powerful force of the Millennium Items, and the ultimate shadow game required to open the Memory World."
Although Shadi was saying a lot of important information that others might take seriously, Hayato, listening to Shadi's rambling, basically didn't believe a single word of what Shadi said, except for his name.
As far as Hayato knew, was Shadi on Dark Yugi's side, hoping he would find his memory and return to the Underworld? Yes, without a doubt, Shadi was on the ally's side and wanted to help Dark Yugi. But was it truly as Shadi said, that he, like Ishizu, was purely helping the Nameless Pharaoh to fulfill the Tomb Keepers' ancestral teachings? That might not be the case.
Looking at Shadi, who was speaking, Hayato reached for the Millennium Ring on his chest, gripping the golden wheel like a fist blade in his hand, and looked at Shadi with a half-smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, bald brother, but I'm genuinely not interested in all that nonsense you're talking about."
"However, I think you should be very interested in this thing that killed you 'many years ago'."
Saying this, Hayato didn't care that the Shadi before him claimed to be just footage. Gripping the glowing Millennium Ring, he shouted "Eight-Pointed Light Wheel" and smashed it towards Shadi.
Then, Shadi dodged, as Hayato expected, and his incessant babbling came to an abrupt halt.
"Hayato Kobayashi..." Looking at Hayato, who seemed to have seen through from the start that he wasn't just footage but a conscious existence, Shadi was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Are you being vigilant, wary that I might be detrimental to you?"
Shadi didn't ask how Hayato knew about the connection between the Millennium Ring and himself.
But facing Shadi's question, Hayato chose to deny it. "No, I'm quite certain you're on our side and want to help us assemble all seven Millennium Items. You won't be an obstruction to our actions."
"The reason I don't want to hear you ramble on is purely because I'm annoyed with you." Single-handedly pushing back the hair that fell in front of his eyes, making it stand up as if gelled, Hayato's gaze met Shadi's seemingly unfocused, lifeless eyes. "A rat who doesn't even dare to appear before me."
Shadi frowned, finding Hayato a difficult person to communicate with.
Do you think I don't want to appear before you? I already tried to find you during Battle City, okay? You almost completely killed me, almost scattered me to the wind. How could I dare to appear before you now?
This time, I had to utilize the mark left on the Millennium Ring from last time to sneak into the dream, which is separate from the mind, just to meet Hayato Kobayashi. As a result, I said a lot, but this guy didn't listen at all.
He glanced at the Millennium Ring, which hung down on Hayato's chest again as he released his hand. Even Shadi, who was usually without sorrow or joy, felt somewhat annoyed with the Millennium Ring, after all, this thing had repeatedly obstructed Shadi's plan.
More than a decade ago, of the seven Millennium Items in the world, besides the Millennium Necklace and Millennium Scepter/Staff kept by the Ishtar Family, and the Millennium Puzzle slumbering in the Royal Tomb, the remaining four Millennium Items — the Millennium Key, Millennium Scale, Millennium Eye, and Millennium Ring — were all collected by Shadi.
However, at the same time, just like how the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, Shadi found an eighth Millennium Item, named the Quantum Cube, and learned that it possessed the most unique power of dimensional ascension, which could elevate the world into the Dimensional Realm.
Having experienced the beauty of the Dimensional Realm for the first time, Shadi instantly understood that it was an ideal land-like existence. Although one would fall into the Dark Dimension if they became tainted with hatred and darkness in the Dimensional Realm, by using the power of the Quantum Cube and harmonizing the power of the seven Millennium Items, humans could become "complete goodness". At that time, all humanity entering the Dimensional Realm would achieve salvation.
This discovery made Shadi ecstatic, and he eagerly used the power of the Quantum Cube to gradually create a new world. But the good times didn't last long. After only a few years, Shadi suddenly discovered that the Quantum Cube had lost that power.
Following the prevision left by his ancestors a thousand years ago, the soul of the Nameless Pharaoh three thousand years ago seemed to have returned to the human world when someone took out the last Millennium Item from the Royal Tomb and completed the Millennium Puzzle. The Quantum Cube also lost its power due to the return of this a thousand years ago soul and could no longer harmonize the power of the Millennium Items, which had become silent due to the Pharaoh's soul's revival.
Without awakening the power of the Millennium Items, they could not be harmonized into "complete goodness". At the same time, without sending the Nameless Pharaoh back to the Underworld, the Quantum Cube could not perform dimensional ascension. For his own goal, Shadi began his actions.
The first thing to do was to ensure that the Millennium Items were not just objects enshrined in a temple, but were used to awaken their power by those with the qualification. So Shadi first chose to go to the Ishtar Family tribal land and secretly guide Marik's actions, ultimately leading Marik, who had inherited the Millennium Scepter, to kill his father and leave the Tomb Keepers.
And Shadi was not stingy with the Millennium Items in his hand. When Pegasus, who was traveling globally, followed Shadi out of curiosity to the tablet where the Millennium Items were placed, he "gifted" the Millennium Eye to Pegasus and gave him a large amount of knowledge about the Millennium Stone Spirit, indirectly facilitating Pegasus's creation of Duel Monsters and the evolution of the Millennium Stone Spirit into Card Spirit.
However, when giving away the Millennium Ring, Shadi accidentally ran into trouble. He never intended to give the Millennium Ring to that man who had learned of the Millennium Items' existence by accident and developed a greedy heart. He only intended to slightly inflict penalty on the opponent, letting him wear the Millennium Ring to briefly experience the terrifying dark power.
Among all seven Millennium Items, except for the Millennium Scale which symbolizes "balance", three Millennium Items possess the will of justice, and three Millennium Items possess the will of evil. Among these, the dark power within the Millennium Ring, modeled after the symbol of Sun God Ra's other identity — Aton God, was the most powerful.
And the result was as Shadi had expected. The instant it was put on, the Millennium Ring unceremoniously released its terrifying dark power, blasted away and defeated that man who didn't even have the qualification to touch the Millennium Ring.
But before Shadi could recover it, the Millennium Ring was picked up by the man's son who was traveling with him, under his command. The instant the golden wheel was picked up, the dark power within the Millennium Ring was released without reservation, completely flooding into that young boy's body.
The evil soul from three thousand years ago hidden within the Millennium Ring, which even Shadi was unaware of, took over that young boy's body and immediately utilized that dark power to kill Shadi, who hadn't reacted.
Although Shadi managed to remain in this world by utilizing the power of the Quantum Cube, he was almost banished to the Dark Dimension due to contact with the dark power. It was only by relying on the power of the Millennium Scale and Millennium Key that he barely gained the ability to act in the world. But even so, in most cases, Shadi could not interfere with the world too much.
And now he came to find Hayato precisely because of this point.
"Although you are unwilling to accept my help, I will help you at the appropriate time." Looking at Hayato, Shadi paused, then continued, "Perhaps you cannot understand, but the vortex of destiny is concentrating the scattered Millennium Items towards Egypt."
"Oh, possessor of the Pharaoh's great power and Prana, before your time of destiny arrives, accept this gift..."
Reaching out and placing his hand on his chest, Shadi performed a bow, then turned into countless ascending light points and disappeared.
Hayato then opened his eyes and saw the nascent sunshine streaming into the aircraft cabin through the gap in the drawn curtains.
And shining with golden radiance under the sunshine was the Millennium Ring on his chest, and an Ankh symbol-shaped Millennium Key pressed on the quilt."
