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"Who are you?! Was everything just now your doing?!"
Looking at the Mysterious Person who had suddenly appeared before him, Kaiba, who had been abruptly transferred to this unfamiliar place, hadn't let his guard down at all. At this moment, while questioning the other person, he also raised the Duel Disk he always wore on his wrist, ready to duel.
However, seeing Kaiba's wariness towards him, the Mysterious Person calmly stepped forward from the points of light, standing in the light illuminated by the flames, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice: "It really has been a long, long time, Seto."
"No, I was mistaken. You aren't Seto. After all, three thousand years have passed. Neither you nor I are the same as we were back then."
The Mysterious Person's voice revealed a hint of nostalgia, making Kaiba feel again that he definitely must have heard his voice somewhere before. However, Kaiba didn't need to rack his brains to guess, because the Mysterious Person had already taken the initiative to lift the hood on his head, revealing a face that left a deep impression on Kaiba.
"Karim?!"
"Hmm? So you can still recognize me, Seto. Could it be that reincarnation is different from what I know, and you can retain memories of your past life?" With bangs level with his eyebrows, hair on both sides reaching his earlobes and slightly curled inwards, a middle-aged burly man sporting a standard bob cut and a golden hoop as a headband, who else could it be but Priest Karim from three thousand years ago?
"No, after all, you later became a Pharaoh. Perhaps a Pharaoh's reincarnation has some privilege."
Unlike the arrogant and harsh noble in Kaiba's memory, the Karim who appeared before him was not as stern and overly reserved as he was in the Memory World. He even made jokes.
This made Kaiba suspicious: "You... are you really Karim? Why are you, who should have died three thousand years ago, appearing here?"
Because he believed in science, Kaiba still firmly believed that the events that happened in the Memory World were merely images of the past that he saw while accidentally being in a state of quantum entanglement at that time. And human beings are absolutely incapable of surviving for more than three thousand years. The "Karim" before him was definitely someone in disguise!
Ghosts? That kind of thing is fundamentally not within the consideration of Kaiba President's genius mind.
Karim glanced at the suspicious-looking Kaiba and frowned: "What kind of look is that? Of course, I'm Karim. It's rare to see someone I recognize before this remnant soul of mine is about to disperse, and I wanted to chat properly. Do I have to say something unpleasant for you to believe my identity?"
Hearing Karim's expression when he spoke with a stern face, Kaiba finally nodded. *That* tone felt right. Looking at Karim, he said: "No, now I'm certain. You must be Karim, no mistake. But let me make it clear beforehand, don't associate me with Seto. I have no relationship with That Person. My name is Kaiba Seto."
"Whatever you say. Seto, Seto, isn't it still the same pronunciation?" Karim shrugged and said indifferently.
Shifting his gaze from Karim, Kaiba again surveyed his surroundings. Looking up, he saw that the ceiling was painted dark blue, which made him even more certain that this was a Tomb. This was because in the Memory World, he had unintentionally heard Hayato mention that Ancient Egyptians painted the tops of Tombs blue to represent the Starry Sky, symbolizing the Sky Goddess and mother of the stars, Goddess Nut.
"Where exactly is this place? Did you bring me here just now, Karim?" Kaiba, unable to figure it out, asked Karim. "Why are you from three thousand years ago appearing in the present? What is your goal in bringing me here? How did you do those things before? Also, what did you mean just now by 'remnant soul about to disperse'?"
Hearing Kaiba's string of questions, Karim frowned again: "When asking questions, you should ask them one by one. I remember Priest Aknadin taught you etiquette in this aspect. You have so many questions, which one do you want me to start answering first, Seto— no, Kaiba Seto."
Although he said this, Karim saw that Kaiba's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. He was still staring at him firmly, seemingly waiting for an answer. He also sighed helplessly: "They say you've reincarnated, but the result is still the exact same stubborn and annoying personality. Fine, I'll start with the ones that are easy to explain."
As he spoke, Karim beckoned to Kaiba, signaling him to follow. He turned and walked towards the darkness in the distance. Kaiba, not worried at all about whether there would be any traps ahead, followed without hesitation.
As the two stepped into the darkness one after the other, the braziers behind them extinguished on their own as if they had burned out. The points of light that had appeared before because Kaiba read the hieroglyphs on the wall automatically sought out the unlit braziers in the darkness and drifted towards them. One by one, the braziers were lit as Kaiba and Karim moved forward, and then extinguished one by one as they moved away, keeping the two constantly in the light while only allowing them to see the darkness in the distance.
"Your first question: What is this place?" Karim kept his gaze fixed ahead, as if the darkness that Kaiba couldn't see through didn't exist for him. He said calmly, "It seems like although you can recognize me, it's not through memories retained from reincarnation, but through some other means. Otherwise, you should be able to recognize this place."
"This is a Stone Tablet Temple similar to the ones around the Royal City, used to house tablets that seal spirits. But this is also a Tomb, a Tomb for tablets. The Millennium Items held by us Priests can perform seal removal on the spirits hosted within the human heart. Although most of the tablets sealing spirits can be used by us, a considerable portion had to be abandoned and sealed because they were too evil, thus creating this Tomb."
Although Karim said this, Kaiba had already used his dueling-obsessed mind to perform a certain degree of translation on Karim's words: "In other words, you Priests made Duel Monsters Cards, found you weren't good at using them, thought it was a pity to throw them away, so you simply prepared this Storage Room to put the cards?"
Karim turned his head and gave Kaiba a deep glance. After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You could say that, barely."
"Also, there's a mechanism where you're about to step."
Kaiba's foot, which he had just lifted and was about to step down, immediately stopped. Looking down, he then realized that because his attention was mainly focused on Karim and the walls on both sides, he didn't notice at all that a tablet with an engraving had appeared under his feet at some point. The tablet was engraved with a divine beast that only had the head of an alligator, the upper body of a lion, and the lower body of a hippopotamus.
"Ammit, the divine beast representing truth, fairness, and order, and also the assistant of Death God Anubis, who absorbs those burdened with sin, preventing them from resting in peace. I should have mentioned this is a Tomb, right? Naturally, there are mechanisms prepared for Tomb Robbers."
Karim watched Kaiba cautiously walk around the conspicuous tablet floor tile, his voice slightly tinged with a smile, as if enjoying Kaiba's predicament. "Be careful, you know. Get any closer and you'll be melted. That acid trap is very amazing, if it hasn't become ineffective yet."
Kaiba glared at Karim. If he didn't still have several questions waiting for him to answer, he would have already started cursing at him.
"You bastard, you deliberately wanted to see me become a joke, right?!"
Okay, he had already cursed.
"Ahem, next is your second question: Why am I here? This question can be explained together with the reason I brought you here. However, instead of explaining, I think 'seeing' might be more appropriate."
Saying this, Karim reached out his palm towards the darkness ahead. The points of light around the two obeyed his command and flew forward, illuminating a tablet standing in the darkness far away. However, although it was called a tablet, Kaiba found that it was slightly different from the tablets he had seen before in the Memory World.
It wasn't about size or material, but rather that this tablet didn't have engraved patterns like other stone tablets for sealing spirits. It was a remarkably strange flat surface. And even stranger and more perplexing is that there was even an irregular hole in the center of the tablet, as if it had been intentionally dug out.
And as the points of light approached the tablet, Kaiba's eyes widened, because he saw that several figures had faintly emerged around the tablet.
Seto, holding the Millennium Rod in his hand; Karim, balancing the Millennium Scale; and Aknadin, wearing the Millennium Eye with a look of authority/dignity – Kaiba actually saw the Priests who served the Pharaoh three thousand years ago reappear before his eyes.
Looking at Karim beside him, Kaiba spoke: "Karim, why are there two of you?"
"No, watch closely, Kaiba Seto. Although that is me, it is also not me." Karim shook his head and answered Kaiba with ambiguous words. Although Kaiba didn't understand what he meant, he looked towards the Priests again, only to see that "Seto," "Karim," and "Aknadin" all had serious expressions, looking down at another figure in front of them.
That figure was wearing a plain white robe, but from the Usekh collar on their neck, it could be seen that they were also a member of the elite class, not some Commoner. However, such an existence was currently kneeling before the three Priests, head bowed low, with their hands tied behind their back, like a Criminal undergoing judgment.
Because the person was facing away, Kaiba couldn't clearly see the appearance of the kneeling person.
"Tragoedia, you, the Pharaoh's Astrologist, why did you sneak into this Stone Tablet Temple that seals spirits!" "Aknadin" had a serious expression, speaking with righteous indignation. It was hard to imagine that he would later become the Great Dark Priest who rebelled against the Pharaoh.
"Reason? Heh, my Priest adults, shouldn't you be the ones who know that kind of thing best? Aren't you holding the answer in your hands that prevents the wrath in my heart from subsiding?" Hearing Aknadin's question, the Astrologist Tragoedia also spoke without concealment, his voice full of mockery.
"Seto" frowned upon hearing this: "We are holding the answer in our hands? Hmph, are you coveting the Millennium Items that possess great power? Idiot, to dare trespass into the taboo temple just for the sake of power. You are a third-rate Commoner with fourth-rate ambition."
"Coveting? I thought that as someone who also climbed from the bottom to a high position, Priest Seto, you would be able to understand my wrath, the wrath of my village being destroyed." Hearing "Seto"'s words, Tragoedia instead laughed, and ominous black energy actually began to emerge on his body. "My hometown, my village, my family, were destroyed by the Kingdom, all for the sake of those Millennium Items in your hands!"
"This is the power of the spirit that was sealed?!" Noticing the strangeness on Tragoedia's body, "Aknadin" was somewhat surprised. "Disbelief, even we Priests who possess Millennium Items find it difficult to command these buried tablets."
"No, it's not commanding, it's assimilation! He has become one with the spirit inside the tablet!" It was "Karim" who saw the truth of Tragoedia's state at a glance. "Disbelief, the forbidden art that Priest Mahad and I are still researching has actually been used by such an Astrologist!"
"He is no longer human now, but the spirit [Tragoedia]!"
Tragoedia, who had been kneeling on the ground, ignored "Karim"'s exclamation. Under the erosion of the dark power around him, his body rapidly transformed into an abomination, and his voice also changed: "Don't attempt to persuade me with your so-called 'justice', 'protection', or 'great cause'! Things you can easily give up are everything we Small Fry have. You Important Figures up there fundamentally don't understand anything!"
"Watch closely! This is the wrath from Thief Village Creielna, which was destroyed by you—"
Just as his body was about to completely mutate into the giant ferocious spirit [Tragoedia], its voice came to an abrupt halt. Only to see "Seto" suddenly draw the hidden sharp blade from within the Millennium Rod in his hand, and directly stab it into Tragoedia's chest.
The human body, which hadn't fully undergone conversion into a spirit, directly entered a state of death because its heart was pierced. The spirit power that hadn't yet been able to manifest was forcibly extracted under the power of the Millennium Rod.
Although "Karim" and "Aknadin" seemed quite surprised when they spoke just now, their expressions hadn't changed much from the very beginning, nor were they surprised that "Seto" had controlled the Tragoedia before them so easily.
Tragoedia, being an Astrologist, originally had no talent and was just a Commoner. The spirit he merged with was also a monster that had been sealed by the Priests before. The combination of the two being easily defeated was fundamentally not something unexpected. If it could actually make Seto, the second strongest Priest after Mahad, struggle, *that* would be magical.
The two Priests together used the power of their respective Millennium Items to transfer the spirit's power stolen by Tragoedia from his body back into the tablet, transforming it into the spirit Tragoedia sealed within the tablet. "Seto" pulled out the sharp blade, and with a gentle flick, took off the portion of Tragoedia's power that had been stripped away, letting it fall into his hand.
Looking at the fallen Tragoedia, "Seto" said with a look of disdain: "You sure talk a lot of nonsense, all flashy and useless. Aren't you just a Small Fry?"
(End of Chapter)
Looking at the Mysterious Person who had suddenly appeared before him, Kaiba, who had been abruptly transferred to this unfamiliar place, hadn't let his guard down at all. At this moment, while questioning the other person, he also raised the Duel Disk he always wore on his wrist, ready to duel.
However, seeing Kaiba's wariness towards him, the Mysterious Person calmly stepped forward from the points of light, standing in the light illuminated by the flames, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice: "It really has been a long, long time, Seto."
"No, I was mistaken. You aren't Seto. After all, three thousand years have passed. Neither you nor I are the same as we were back then."
The Mysterious Person's voice revealed a hint of nostalgia, making Kaiba feel again that he definitely must have heard his voice somewhere before. However, Kaiba didn't need to rack his brains to guess, because the Mysterious Person had already taken the initiative to lift the hood on his head, revealing a face that left a deep impression on Kaiba.
"Karim?!"
"Hmm? So you can still recognize me, Seto. Could it be that reincarnation is different from what I know, and you can retain memories of your past life?" With bangs level with his eyebrows, hair on both sides reaching his earlobes and slightly curled inwards, a middle-aged burly man sporting a standard bob cut and a golden hoop as a headband, who else could it be but Priest Karim from three thousand years ago?
"No, after all, you later became a Pharaoh. Perhaps a Pharaoh's reincarnation has some privilege."
Unlike the arrogant and harsh noble in Kaiba's memory, the Karim who appeared before him was not as stern and overly reserved as he was in the Memory World. He even made jokes.
This made Kaiba suspicious: "You... are you really Karim? Why are you, who should have died three thousand years ago, appearing here?"
Because he believed in science, Kaiba still firmly believed that the events that happened in the Memory World were merely images of the past that he saw while accidentally being in a state of quantum entanglement at that time. And human beings are absolutely incapable of surviving for more than three thousand years. The "Karim" before him was definitely someone in disguise!
Ghosts? That kind of thing is fundamentally not within the consideration of Kaiba President's genius mind.
Karim glanced at the suspicious-looking Kaiba and frowned: "What kind of look is that? Of course, I'm Karim. It's rare to see someone I recognize before this remnant soul of mine is about to disperse, and I wanted to chat properly. Do I have to say something unpleasant for you to believe my identity?"
Hearing Karim's expression when he spoke with a stern face, Kaiba finally nodded. *That* tone felt right. Looking at Karim, he said: "No, now I'm certain. You must be Karim, no mistake. But let me make it clear beforehand, don't associate me with Seto. I have no relationship with That Person. My name is Kaiba Seto."
"Whatever you say. Seto, Seto, isn't it still the same pronunciation?" Karim shrugged and said indifferently.
Shifting his gaze from Karim, Kaiba again surveyed his surroundings. Looking up, he saw that the ceiling was painted dark blue, which made him even more certain that this was a Tomb. This was because in the Memory World, he had unintentionally heard Hayato mention that Ancient Egyptians painted the tops of Tombs blue to represent the Starry Sky, symbolizing the Sky Goddess and mother of the stars, Goddess Nut.
"Where exactly is this place? Did you bring me here just now, Karim?" Kaiba, unable to figure it out, asked Karim. "Why are you from three thousand years ago appearing in the present? What is your goal in bringing me here? How did you do those things before? Also, what did you mean just now by 'remnant soul about to disperse'?"
Hearing Kaiba's string of questions, Karim frowned again: "When asking questions, you should ask them one by one. I remember Priest Aknadin taught you etiquette in this aspect. You have so many questions, which one do you want me to start answering first, Seto— no, Kaiba Seto."
Although he said this, Karim saw that Kaiba's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. He was still staring at him firmly, seemingly waiting for an answer. He also sighed helplessly: "They say you've reincarnated, but the result is still the exact same stubborn and annoying personality. Fine, I'll start with the ones that are easy to explain."
As he spoke, Karim beckoned to Kaiba, signaling him to follow. He turned and walked towards the darkness in the distance. Kaiba, not worried at all about whether there would be any traps ahead, followed without hesitation.
As the two stepped into the darkness one after the other, the braziers behind them extinguished on their own as if they had burned out. The points of light that had appeared before because Kaiba read the hieroglyphs on the wall automatically sought out the unlit braziers in the darkness and drifted towards them. One by one, the braziers were lit as Kaiba and Karim moved forward, and then extinguished one by one as they moved away, keeping the two constantly in the light while only allowing them to see the darkness in the distance.
"Your first question: What is this place?" Karim kept his gaze fixed ahead, as if the darkness that Kaiba couldn't see through didn't exist for him. He said calmly, "It seems like although you can recognize me, it's not through memories retained from reincarnation, but through some other means. Otherwise, you should be able to recognize this place."
"This is a Stone Tablet Temple similar to the ones around the Royal City, used to house tablets that seal spirits. But this is also a Tomb, a Tomb for tablets. The Millennium Items held by us Priests can perform seal removal on the spirits hosted within the human heart. Although most of the tablets sealing spirits can be used by us, a considerable portion had to be abandoned and sealed because they were too evil, thus creating this Tomb."
Although Karim said this, Kaiba had already used his dueling-obsessed mind to perform a certain degree of translation on Karim's words: "In other words, you Priests made Duel Monsters Cards, found you weren't good at using them, thought it was a pity to throw them away, so you simply prepared this Storage Room to put the cards?"
Karim turned his head and gave Kaiba a deep glance. After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You could say that, barely."
"Also, there's a mechanism where you're about to step."
Kaiba's foot, which he had just lifted and was about to step down, immediately stopped. Looking down, he then realized that because his attention was mainly focused on Karim and the walls on both sides, he didn't notice at all that a tablet with an engraving had appeared under his feet at some point. The tablet was engraved with a divine beast that only had the head of an alligator, the upper body of a lion, and the lower body of a hippopotamus.
"Ammit, the divine beast representing truth, fairness, and order, and also the assistant of Death God Anubis, who absorbs those burdened with sin, preventing them from resting in peace. I should have mentioned this is a Tomb, right? Naturally, there are mechanisms prepared for Tomb Robbers."
Karim watched Kaiba cautiously walk around the conspicuous tablet floor tile, his voice slightly tinged with a smile, as if enjoying Kaiba's predicament. "Be careful, you know. Get any closer and you'll be melted. That acid trap is very amazing, if it hasn't become ineffective yet."
Kaiba glared at Karim. If he didn't still have several questions waiting for him to answer, he would have already started cursing at him.
"You bastard, you deliberately wanted to see me become a joke, right?!"
Okay, he had already cursed.
"Ahem, next is your second question: Why am I here? This question can be explained together with the reason I brought you here. However, instead of explaining, I think 'seeing' might be more appropriate."
Saying this, Karim reached out his palm towards the darkness ahead. The points of light around the two obeyed his command and flew forward, illuminating a tablet standing in the darkness far away. However, although it was called a tablet, Kaiba found that it was slightly different from the tablets he had seen before in the Memory World.
It wasn't about size or material, but rather that this tablet didn't have engraved patterns like other stone tablets for sealing spirits. It was a remarkably strange flat surface. And even stranger and more perplexing is that there was even an irregular hole in the center of the tablet, as if it had been intentionally dug out.
And as the points of light approached the tablet, Kaiba's eyes widened, because he saw that several figures had faintly emerged around the tablet.
Seto, holding the Millennium Rod in his hand; Karim, balancing the Millennium Scale; and Aknadin, wearing the Millennium Eye with a look of authority/dignity – Kaiba actually saw the Priests who served the Pharaoh three thousand years ago reappear before his eyes.
Looking at Karim beside him, Kaiba spoke: "Karim, why are there two of you?"
"No, watch closely, Kaiba Seto. Although that is me, it is also not me." Karim shook his head and answered Kaiba with ambiguous words. Although Kaiba didn't understand what he meant, he looked towards the Priests again, only to see that "Seto," "Karim," and "Aknadin" all had serious expressions, looking down at another figure in front of them.
That figure was wearing a plain white robe, but from the Usekh collar on their neck, it could be seen that they were also a member of the elite class, not some Commoner. However, such an existence was currently kneeling before the three Priests, head bowed low, with their hands tied behind their back, like a Criminal undergoing judgment.
Because the person was facing away, Kaiba couldn't clearly see the appearance of the kneeling person.
"Tragoedia, you, the Pharaoh's Astrologist, why did you sneak into this Stone Tablet Temple that seals spirits!" "Aknadin" had a serious expression, speaking with righteous indignation. It was hard to imagine that he would later become the Great Dark Priest who rebelled against the Pharaoh.
"Reason? Heh, my Priest adults, shouldn't you be the ones who know that kind of thing best? Aren't you holding the answer in your hands that prevents the wrath in my heart from subsiding?" Hearing Aknadin's question, the Astrologist Tragoedia also spoke without concealment, his voice full of mockery.
"Seto" frowned upon hearing this: "We are holding the answer in our hands? Hmph, are you coveting the Millennium Items that possess great power? Idiot, to dare trespass into the taboo temple just for the sake of power. You are a third-rate Commoner with fourth-rate ambition."
"Coveting? I thought that as someone who also climbed from the bottom to a high position, Priest Seto, you would be able to understand my wrath, the wrath of my village being destroyed." Hearing "Seto"'s words, Tragoedia instead laughed, and ominous black energy actually began to emerge on his body. "My hometown, my village, my family, were destroyed by the Kingdom, all for the sake of those Millennium Items in your hands!"
"This is the power of the spirit that was sealed?!" Noticing the strangeness on Tragoedia's body, "Aknadin" was somewhat surprised. "Disbelief, even we Priests who possess Millennium Items find it difficult to command these buried tablets."
"No, it's not commanding, it's assimilation! He has become one with the spirit inside the tablet!" It was "Karim" who saw the truth of Tragoedia's state at a glance. "Disbelief, the forbidden art that Priest Mahad and I are still researching has actually been used by such an Astrologist!"
"He is no longer human now, but the spirit [Tragoedia]!"
Tragoedia, who had been kneeling on the ground, ignored "Karim"'s exclamation. Under the erosion of the dark power around him, his body rapidly transformed into an abomination, and his voice also changed: "Don't attempt to persuade me with your so-called 'justice', 'protection', or 'great cause'! Things you can easily give up are everything we Small Fry have. You Important Figures up there fundamentally don't understand anything!"
"Watch closely! This is the wrath from Thief Village Creielna, which was destroyed by you—"
Just as his body was about to completely mutate into the giant ferocious spirit [Tragoedia], its voice came to an abrupt halt. Only to see "Seto" suddenly draw the hidden sharp blade from within the Millennium Rod in his hand, and directly stab it into Tragoedia's chest.
The human body, which hadn't fully undergone conversion into a spirit, directly entered a state of death because its heart was pierced. The spirit power that hadn't yet been able to manifest was forcibly extracted under the power of the Millennium Rod.
Although "Karim" and "Aknadin" seemed quite surprised when they spoke just now, their expressions hadn't changed much from the very beginning, nor were they surprised that "Seto" had controlled the Tragoedia before them so easily.
Tragoedia, being an Astrologist, originally had no talent and was just a Commoner. The spirit he merged with was also a monster that had been sealed by the Priests before. The combination of the two being easily defeated was fundamentally not something unexpected. If it could actually make Seto, the second strongest Priest after Mahad, struggle, *that* would be magical.
The two Priests together used the power of their respective Millennium Items to transfer the spirit's power stolen by Tragoedia from his body back into the tablet, transforming it into the spirit Tragoedia sealed within the tablet. "Seto" pulled out the sharp blade, and with a gentle flick, took off the portion of Tragoedia's power that had been stripped away, letting it fall into his hand.
Looking at the fallen Tragoedia, "Seto" said with a look of disdain: "You sure talk a lot of nonsense, all flashy and useless. Aren't you just a Small Fry?"
(End of Chapter)
