Five thousand years ago, a brave pharaoh sealed away the Shadow Games within seven mystical items.
What no one else knew was that he himself sealed the spirit of the chief of his personal guard, who was a very powerful fighter, within a sword.
Present day . . .
A young boy named Yugi Moto finished putting together the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, unleashing the spirit within it.
The spirit revealed in time that he was a powerful pharaoh in the days of Ancient Egypt and that he was the one to seal the Shadow Games up in the Millennium Items.
Days after Seto Kaiba's Battle City tournament, all of the Millennium Items were brought together to the Game Shop, where Yugi and the Millennium Puzzle resided.
But, when Yami saw the items, he announced that there was one missing.
He then explained that, if the Shadow Games ever came back, the spirit of his chief guard would come out in the body of the person who brandished the item that he resided in.
Within the confines of a hidden forest, a young man took possession of a mystical sword, unleashing the spirit within it.
The spirit told the young man that he was to seek out a person who had in his possession a golden upside-down pyramid with an Egyptian mark on the center of it.
The young man then went on a journey to Domino City, to search out the Millennium Puzzle . . .and, unknowingly, the wife of the spirit.
Chapter One: The appearance of the Sword
In a card shop situated in a town called Domino, a group of young teens were sitting down, watching two people play a card game.
One of the players, who had tri-colored hair up in spikes, played a card, allowing him to take two of the monsters he had in play with a purple-bordered card with a picture of a monster, with the name 'Dark Paladin" written in a box at the top of the card.
The person who played the card smiled and said, "I win again, Joey."
Joey grabbed his hair and growled slightly, saying, "Aw, man . . .I didn't even see that one coming, Yug."
Yugi smiled and was about to say something to cheer Joey up, when one of the spectators stood up, holding a golden object in his hands.
One of the smaller pieces on it was ramrod stiff, pointing at the door to The Game Shop.
Yugi looked over and asked, "What's it detecting, Bakura?"
Bakura glanced over at Yugi and said, "Apparently that one Millennium Item your spirit told us all about."
Everyone stood up and watched the door with interest, waiting for it to open.
It did not take them long, as it opened, the light from outside blinding everyone temporarily.
When the light died down, everyone got a good look at the new arrival.
He was dressed in a red uniform with a blue undershirt, blue wristbands, a blue sash, and blue boots with golden-like cords holding it to the feet. On the chest was a Japanese marking which said 'Piccolo Daimaou' and on the back was another marking which said 'Gokou'.
Strapped to his back was a sword with a golden handle sheathed in a scabbard that was attached to the body with what looked like a modified seat belt.
Without so much as a glance at anyone, the new arrival headed for a display and looked at the cards in it.
Smiling, the new arrival asked, "Can anyone help me over here?"
Yugi headed for behind the counter and asked, "What is it that you want?"
The young man looked down and said, pointing at various cards, "The XYZ-Dragon Cannon monster set, the Valkyrion the Magna Warrior monster set, the Exodia set, Contract with Exodia, Black Luster Soldier, Black Luster Ritual, Magician of Black Chaos, Black Magic Ritual, the Gate Guardian monster set, the Thousand-Eyes Restrict monster set, the Dark Paladin monster set, Metalmorph, and the Black Skull Dragon monster set."
Yugi nodded and pulled the selected cards out for the customer. The others were watching the exchange with mild interest . . .except for one Te� Gardner, who was eyeing the customer intensely, trying to remember where she remembered him from.
Yugi looked up at the customer and asked, "You know how to use them?"
The customer nodded and said, "The ones I like using is Exodia Necross and Dark Paladin. Their special abilities are very useful in a duel, although Soul Release can hamper Exodia Necross . . .unless you got the right cards in play, of course. Dark Paladin's ability works very well against a dragon deck, not to mention Buster Blader's ability."
In the customer's mind, there was another conversation taking place . . .between the customer and a spirit.
<Gohan, look at the item around his neck.>
<Yeah, so?>
<That's the Millennium Puzzle.>
<You're kidding, right?>
<Nope. Apparently that kid put it back together. That means the pharaoh's back and the Shadow Games have returned.>
<I see.>
At the same time Gohan was talking to the spirit, Yugi was talking to Yami at the same time.
<Yugi, look at his forehead.>
<I see it. What does it mean?>
<It means that Bakura was right. His Millennium Item detected the person in front of us. All of the documented Millennium Items are here, which means that the person in front of us has the Millennium Sword.>
<Only one way to find out. Get the Tomb Robber to take the sword on his back.>
<I'll let him know about it, Yugi.>
In a darkened sanctuary, there was eight doors, each one with a Millennium Item marking it.
Seven of them opened and seven people walked out of them, with the door marked with a sword staying shut.
The seven people who walked out sat down in seven of the eight chairs, with six of them looking at the tri-colored haired man who was sitting in his chair with his chest on the back of the chair.
The one who came from the Scale-marked door asked, "My host body's starting to get some of my memories, Yugioh."
Yugioh looked at the speaker and said, "I know, Anzu. I felt the subtle Shadow waves coming from her when she was looking at him."
The one who walked from the door marked with the Rod narrowed his eyes and said, "Remember what you said, Pharaoh? 'If the Shadow Games ever return, he who resides in the sword shall be awakened to help rid the world of evil', am I correct?"
Yugioh nodded and said, "You are right, Malik."
Just then, to the surprise of everyone, the eighth door opened slowly, a brilliant golden light shining from the room behind the opened door.
After it died down, a lone person walked from within, encased in golden armor.
The new arrival stopped in front of Yugioh and went to one knee, saying in a harsh voice, "I have returned, Pharaoh."
Yugioh nodded once and said, "Myself and your wife have missed you."
The person nodded once as well, saying "I felt the Shadow vibrations coming from one of the people there. Is it the brunette woman in the light blue top and yellow skirt?"
Yugioh nodded and said, "It is. It's the reincarnated form of your wife Anzu."
The person put down the staff that was in his right hand and put both of his hands on the helmet over his head, slowly taking it off. The face that was shown was one hardened by battle, a shallow cross-shaped cut decorating his left cheek and a cut directly above his right eyebrow with a matching cut right underneath the same eye.
The man spoke, this time his voice soft and not gravelly or harsh, by saying, "I know what you're planning to do. Attempting to take the Millennium Sword from my host body is pointless. He has power that only the Egyptian God Monsters possessed. He is a hybrid of two different races, one from our planet, the other from a planet far away. He will be able to sense the Tomb Robber coming up behind him without even trying. He has gone up against vicious alien races whose power equals the power of the gods AND survived each fight."
Yugioh, not to mention everyone else's eyes, were about as wide as dinnerplates.
Yugioh looked at the man and asked, "Are you sure he is that powerful, Gohan?"
Gohan nodded and said, "When my host body, which I should mention is named Gohan, found this sword, I explored his mind . . .with his permission. What I found surprised me to no end, but the more I found, the more I realized that what I said before I was sealed away was coming true."
Yugioh smiled slightly and said, "You said that if the power of Shadow returned, you would inhabit the one who wields this sword . . .one who is of two planets."
Gohan nodded and said, "At first, I thought it meant that someone of the Moon Kingdom would find it, more specifically the one known as Endymion, the Prince of Earth. But then my host body found it and I figured out fully what I meant . . .and what Isis told me before she was sealed into her Item."
Gohan looked towards his door, as if hearing a voice calling for him.
Gohan then looked back at the others and said, "My host body sees the Eye of Horus on your host bodies."
The others gave a quick nod, and they all left the dark room, going back into their separate rooms.
Gohan looked over at Bakura and said, "Tomb Robber, if you want to try to get the sword, be my guest."
Bakura smirked and went into his room, closing the door. Gohan did the same, which ended the conversation.
In the real world, Ryou allowed the spirit of the ring to take over.
Smirking, Bakura crept quietly towards Gohan, with everyone else watching in anticipation. As Bakura reached out for the sword, Gohan made his move.
In the space of a second, Gohan's right hand grasped the handle of his sword and pulled it out. Whipping around, Gohan placed the tip of the sword against Bakura's throat.
With the Eye of Horus shining upon his forehead, Gohan gave the smirk that his spirit was known for and said, "I told you it was pointless, Tomb Robber."
The eye disappearing from Gohan's forehead, he said, not in his spirit's voice but his own, "Next time, you may not be so lucky, my friend."
At inhuman speeds, Gohan sheathed the sword within the space of a second.
He then looked over at Yugi and said, "If you and the others want, you can come over to my house for lunch tomorrow. My mom makes some of the best noodles and egg rolls in Japan."
next: On the mountain