Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

A god had descended.

The serpent god let out a piercing roar, spewing chaotic energy from its maw—a black torrent that ripped through space wherever it touched.

But it was useless.

The apocalyptic blast struck the sacred flames. Golden light like the dawn, the sun's fire easily dissolved the darkness, like sunlight shredding the night.

Then the Sun God opened its mouth, its golden body blazing like a phoenix, holy fire swirling within.

Divine Blaze Cannon!

The cannon fire, like a scorching meteor, cut through the darkness. Light and shadow clashed for a moment, but darkness was quickly suppressed. The flaming cannon pierced the serpent god's massive body; from below, it looked like the night itself was being torn apart.

The serpent god's body quickly burned, stripped from the chaos, falling from the night and turning to ash midair, vanishing into nothingness.

After completing this attack, the Winged Dragon of Ra soared, letting out a sharp cry, spinning upward like a meteor, then turning into flames and dissipating.

Kira watched the direction the god vanished, frowning. "That was…"

"The Winged Dragon of Ra, the Sun God, the strongest of the three Egyptian Gods… but not really," BLS said softly.

"I think, just like the serpent god, it was only a remnant."

Kira nodded.

Right.

None of the Egyptian God cards had appeared; without cards as a medium, no matter how strong the spirit, it couldn't show its full power. What they'd just seen was probably just an afterimage of its might.

Using the Millennium Puzzle derivative as a medium, a trace of the god's sealed power remained, designed for emergencies like this. Only a pharaoh's artifact could command such power.

Even if he couldn't control it now, this mini puzzle was undoubtedly a great treasure. If he ever managed to get a Winged Dragon of Ra card, maybe this thing could help.

Even if he couldn't wield it directly, it'd be a good token—maybe the gods would see it as a approval signed by the Pharaoh himself?

The battle of gods seemed to shake the heavens and earth, but in reality it happened in an instant. In a blink, Kira was the only one left standing in the valley.

All the cultists were instantly wiped out. Even funnier, they weren't even defeated by the enemy god, but by their own serpent god devouring them all at once.

Kira could only shake his head at these poor souls who backed the wrong side, inheriting their will…

Through their decks.

Don't underestimate this simple task. The serpent god wiped out its own followers in one blow, and collecting all those decks was exhausting. He couldn't even take them all back in one trip…

The biggest gain, though, was the spirit he'd encountered along the way.

After finishing up, Kira took out the Caius the Shadow Monarch card again. Black mist emerged, coalescing into Caius's form.

But this time, Caius was more silent than before, his expression a bit odd.

"Alright, I've got time now. Where were we in our conversation?" Kira asked. "Let me think… I remember you were saying something about me killing your duelist and being pretty bold?"

Caius shook his head rapidly.

"No, you misheard."

"Huh? Really?" Kira tilted his head. "Because it sounded like you two were close and you wanted revenge."

"Heh, what a joke."

Caius snorted, folding his arms in the mist, answering firmly:

"We aren't close."

Kira narrowed his eyes, thinking he was pretty sure Caius hadn't said that before.

"I was captured by that disgusting serpent god of Orichalcos and had no choice but to join him. I've long been sick of that slimy creature. Now that I've met a true master, please let me serve you, join the fight against the evil god, uphold justice, and restore order to the worlds!"

Caius was full of righteous indignation.

Kira pondered.

You say you want to fight evil and uphold justice, but you do realize your card is called "Shadow Monarch," right?

Well, the details don't matter. What matters is, that his Monarch collection was one step closer—he'd obtained one of the strongest Monarchs, and it turned out to be a spirit. All in all, a good haul.

If there was a minor complaint, it was that the Monarch spirit was Shadow Monarch. If he had a choice, Kira would have preferred Storm Monarch.

But he couldn't swap.

Well, Shadow Monarch would do.

After pledging allegiance, Caius quickly adjusted his attitude and returned to his card.

Of course, he did—could he not? During their duel, he'd already sensed this kid was extraordinary, and what he showed was just the tip of the iceberg, but even that was beyond his expectations.

The Sun God! The Winged Dragon of Ra!

A god at the very peak of all Duel Monsters, blasting the Orichalcos serpent into oblivion in one attack.

Compared to that, what was a mere Shadow Monarch?

So Caius swiftly settled into his subordinate role. He didn't yet realize that the Winged Dragon of Ra wasn't technically summoned by Kira, nor did it act on his orders…

All in all, Kira had reaped great rewards—tangible ones. He returned to reality with a new artifact, a new spirit, and a pile of new decks.

He might owe Kaiba an apology, but in the end, he'd gotten the Sealing Device the spirits had been passing down.

….

Kira hadn't noticed while wandering the spirit world, but once back, Kira felt the mental exhaustion and, returning to his dorm, was really tired.

He flopped down for a nap, woke up refreshed, showered, and went to the cafeteria for a bite.

Dueling really was both mentally and physically draining. He ate three big bowls in one sitting.

Full and satisfied, he left the dorm for a walk around campus to digest. As he strolled, he checked his student terminal and saw an unread message from Mokuba, reminding him to sign up for the Duel City tournament.

Though he'd already been handpicked by the president to participate, it seemed he still had to go through the signup process.

Just as he was thinking about filling it out, he heard footsteps running up behind him.

Kira turned and saw Jaden and his two ever-present roommates.

Though it was break time, the boat to pick up students would only come the next day, so most students were still on the island.

"Huh, Kira?"

The three stopped briefly as they passed.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Kira asked casually.

"Haven't you heard? A pro duelist! A real pro!"

"Huh?"

"There's a pro at the Academy giving a lecture!"

Jaden was excited, grabbing Kira's hand and dragging him along.

"Come on, let's go together!"