Cough... cough, cough.
Yugi sat where he had been all along, coughing without pause.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
His vision was already blurring, but he still forced his eyes to stay open, fixed on Jaden and armityle.
Then-
After handing the God Card to Jaden, he smiled faintly.
"...Jaden probably never expected it."
"That among the two cards I gave him back then..."
"The real trump card would be the Winged Dragon of Ra."
From the very beginning, Yugi had known Atem's plan.
Jaden would face armityle.
It was inevitable.
Jaden was royalty.
The Prince of Spirits.
The most suitable challenger.
At first, Yugi had opposed it.
But when Atem said that if Jaden truly lost, he would send Slifer the Sky Dragon to save him-
Yugi agreed.
Not because of that contingency.
But because of a resolve he had carried since long ago.
"...Perhaps I should have died back then."
As his life approached its end, memories surfaced.
The time when Atem and Kaiba were gone.
When he, Jounouchi, and the remaining duelists faced armityle themselves.
They lost.
Completely.
Hopelessly.
He watched his friends die one by one.
Right in front of him.
At that moment-
Perhaps Yugi should have died as well.
In a sense, the existence called Yugi had already died there.
After that defeat, he lived on.
But barely.
Alone.
Indistinguishable from the dead.
Until Atem brought Jaden to him.
Until the Yuki Orphanage was founded.
"In a way, Jaden..."
"You saved me."
"You gave someone who had lost everything a reason to keep living."
So-
"Compared to me..."
"Someone who should have died long ago..."
"You still have a future."
"You're still young."
"You still owe Erina a wedding."
"The matter of armityle..."
"That's a hidden danger left behind by our generation."
"So it should disappear along with us."
"I'm sorry, Jaden."
"I'm leaving."
"You have to survive."
"The future..."
"...belongs to you."
Yugi's vision dimmed further.
Without the power of a God Card, he was just a human.
After being eroded by an enormous amount of dark power, the most a mortal could do was die quietly-
Rather than go mad.
Rather than become something else.
Using Kaiba's machine to preserve his body.
Letting it absorb the dark power.
Using replicated Egyptian God Cards-cards that couldn't endure that corrosion-
To keep suppressing armityle.
That was the limit of a human.
Yugi's eyelids grew heavy.
Just as they were about to close-
Light appeared.
A blinding light.
So intense that even in his current state, Yugi instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Then-
He turned his head.
Forced his eyes open.
And froze.
Because he saw someone.
"Jounouchi..."
It was Jounouchi.
Standing there.
Just like before.
Standing in front of him.
Blocking the dark power.
Even drawing it out of Yugi's body.
But it couldn't be Jounouchi.
Because Yugi knew-
Jounouchi was dead.
And then he saw it.
The Magic Card Jounouchi had left behind.
The Will of the Mortal.
It floated in front of him.
Performing something that only a God Card should have been able to do.
Blocking the dark power rebounding from armityle-the Chaos Phantasm.
But it wasn't a God Card.
The dark power scorched it.
Burned it.
The edges of the card were already fraying.
Yet even so-
Under that overwhelming dark power-
Jounouchi's figure didn't move.
Didn't retreat.
Didn't fall.
If one had to ask why-
It was probably simple.
He was protecting his friend.
Something you could see.
And yet couldn't see.
This was-
The Will of the Mortal.
...
Inside armityle's small world.
When armityle first saw the Winged Dragon of Ra, his eyes widened.
But once the light faded.
Once the phantom vanished.
Once he sensed that the dark power inside him had been completely purged-
And once he saw Jaden standing there, head lowered, as if deep in thought-
armityle burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha... hahahahaha!"
He knew.
Without dark power, he was no match for Jaden.
And yet he laughed anyway.
"Human."
"It seems someone on your side didn't want you to die."
"You're truly loved, aren't you~"
"But human emotions..."
"They are without a doubt the most ridiculous and blind things of all."
"That man gave you the Winged Dragon of Ra."
"But he himself doesn't possess the power of a God Card."
"He's probably dying right now."
"Dying under the dark power I threw back at him."
armityle watched Jaden's shoulders tremble slightly.
And laughed even harder.
"It's useless!"
"Even this is useless!"
"I admit it."
"As a human, you're the strongest I've ever seen."
"But so what?"
"The only reason you can fight me right now is because I was suppressed by the three God Cards."
"But now there's a problem with the suppressor."
"All I have to do is stall you."
"When the suppression fades..."
"When my dark power fully recovers..."
armityle bent down.
Stared directly into Jaden's eyes.
Eyes filled with madness.
"-You will all die."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
He straightened up again, laughing wildly.
Certain of victory.
He didn't notice it.
This small world had no sky.
No clouds.
And yet-
Lightning was forming.
Faint flashes.
Appearing where none should exist.
Jaden's head was still lowered.
His fists clenched.
armityle kept talking.
"Anger, is it?"
"You must be furious~"
"After all, the one suppressing me behind you messed everything up at the crucial moment."
"You can't defeat me quickly."
"And you're about to die."
"Dying because of your own comrade."
"You must be-"
"Get lost."
Jaden's voice wasn't loud.
But the energy that erupted from him was.
The explosion sent armityle flying backward.
Crashing into the ground.
Before he could get up-
A heavy force pressed against his chin.
Pinning him flat.
When he barely lifted his head-
He saw it.
Jaden.
Standing above him.
One foot pressing down on his chin.
Looking down with an ice-cold gaze.
"The suppression hasn't disappeared yet."
"That means the old man isn't dead."
"If that's the case..."
"As long as I get rid of you quickly..."
"And rush back..."
"He might still be saved."
Jaden muttered the words quietly.
Then-
He took a deep breath.
"Haaah-!"
Energy surged.
Raging.
His mouth opened slightly.
A low growl escaped his throat.
When he recalled the sensation of being corroded by dark power moments ago-
He could imagine what the old man was enduring right now.
Therefore-
He couldn't wait.
Not even a moment.
The lightning armityle had ignored-
Now became obvious.
But even that wasn't what terrified him most.
What truly froze him-
Was Jaden.
Standing there.
A golden aura ignited around his body.
His hair turned gold.
His eyebrows turned gold.
The pressure multiplied.
Exploded.
armityle froze.
Atem froze.
Kaiba froze.
Only Jaden understood what was happening.
Without a doubt-
At this moment-
He had become a Super Saiyan.