One morning, Yugi reads in the newspaper that a new tomb was discovered in Egypt by a team of archaeologists from their own Domino University. Two months later, the findings are coming to an exhibit at the Domino City Museum. Yugi tells Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu at school that his grandpa is friends with the professor who discovered the tomb, so they can all get in for free.

Anzu mentions that Egpyt is where Yugi’s Millennium Puzzle comes from.

“Didn’t your grandpa say the archaeologists who found it all died mysterious deaths?” says Anzu.

“No way!” cries Jonouchi, “Yugi, you aren’t cursed, are you?!”

“Of course I’m not cursed,” says Yugi, But still, he thinks, Ever since I completed this puzzle, there’s been times when I lose my memory. I’d better not tell everyone, they’d think it was creepy.

Yugi and his friends agree to meet up the next day on Sunday at the museum.

The next day, when they arrive at the museum with Grandpa, they are greeted by Professor Yoshimori, the man who discovered the tomb. They also meet a man named Kanekura, the owner of the museum and the one who funded the excavation.

When Kanekura sees Yugi, he notices the legendary Millennium Puzzle around his neck and is thrilled to see it. He asks Yugi if he can put it on display. Although a little hesitant, Yugi agrees to let it be displayed for one day.

Then Professor Yoshimori gives the crew a tour of the museum.

“So all this belongs to the person who dug it up?” asks Jonouchi.

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” says Yoshimori, “Until 1921, the excavator could keep up to half of the artifacts he found, but now they belong to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiques!”

Yugi says, “I thought archeologists were treasure hunters with dreams of hitting it big,” says Yugi.

“That’s just in the movies,” explains Yoshimori, “But when after months of searching, you open the door to a piece of history that no one has seen before, there’s an excitement that you can’t begin to describe. That’s what I’m in it for.“

Anzu notices something hanging on the wall.

“This is a scene drawn on papyrus,” says Yoshimori, “showing the Weighing of the Heart, the judgment of the dead. The judge is the god Osiris. That’s Anubis on the left. He weighs the deeds of the dead man on a scale. If the scale falls on the side of good deeds, they pass on into the afterlife, but if the scale falls on the side of bad deeds, they are fed to Ammit the devourer!

“And over here we have the mummy,”

Jonouchi is scared they will get cursed and runs away. The others soon follow, except for Yugi. While looking at the mummy, Yugi notices someone standing beside him.

“Why are you crying?” asks Yugi.

“These tears are not mine,” says the man, “The cry of his soul becomes tears and flows down my cheeks. In this shriveled form, he has become a doll of dust, but still he is the eternal Pharaoh. His spirit lives on with his name. Even the eternal sleep he is denied.”

Then the man walks away.

Yugi catches up with the others.

“Hey, Anzu, I saw this Egyptian guy,” says Yugi.

“Huh?! I didn’t see anyone,” says Anzu.

Then they see Yugi’s Millennium Puzzle on display. Kanekura is there with another man.

“Mr. Kanekura, the Millennium Puzzle is spectacular. I’ll pay any price!” says the man.

“Yes, well, let’s finalize the sale in my office ten minutes before the museum closes,” says Kanekura.

Yugi and his friends get a picture in front of the Millennium Puzzle. Then they leave the museum.

“I wish I could go to Egypt!” says Yugi. (Careful what you wish for, Yugi.)

Yugi decides to stay outside the museum and wait until it closes so he can get his puzzle back.

Meanwhile, Kanekura is waiting in his office for they buyer. He hears a knock on the door and says to come in, but it’s not they buyer…it’s the Egyptian man.

“Who the heck are you?!” asks Kanekura.

“My bloodline has guarded the tombs for 3,000 years,” says the man, “I am a servant of Anubis. Because of your greed, another tomb in the Valley of the Kings has been defiled. You have trespassed in the territory of the gods. For that, you will go on trial!”

The man places a scale on the desk and says, “You know the scene of The Final Judgment in the 125th chapter of what you call The Book of the Dead.”

The man takes a feather out of his turban and places it on one side of the scale. Then he says, “We not begin the game! The Shadow Game! (The first person besides Yugi to instigate a shadow game.) On this side of the scales I place the feather of Ma’at. As you see the scales are now balanced. I will now ask you several questions. If you do not tell the truth, the other side will grow heavy with the weight of your crimes. If the side of the scales should touch the ground, the penalty game of death awaits you.”

Then the man asks the first question, “A young girl falls into a deep well. You are the only one to see it happen. However, at your feet lies the golden ring the girl was wearing. What do you do?”

Kanekura says, “I save her! I save the little girl!”

The empty scale begins to lower.

“What?! But I’m telling the truth,” says Kanekura.

“Next Question,” says the man.

Meanwhile, Yugi realizes it’s almost time for the museum to close and goes inside to get his puzzle back.

Back at the office and several questions later, the empty scale has come within one wrong answer of hitting the table. Kanekura still claims that he is not lying.

“Before the last question, I’ll tell you about the Penalty Game…It awaits within your heart.”

Kanekura’s chair then transforms into a terrifying alligator-like monster.

“That is Ammit,” says the man, “The monster that has taken up residence in the room of your soul. Then the Last Question: Have you defiled the territory of the gods and sold their treasure to fatten your own pockets?”

It’s important to note that all Kanekura has to do is admit that he did something wrong, but Kanekura drags his pride down to his grave with him.

“Stop! Stop!” cries Kanekura, “I’ll pay anything! How much do you want?!”

The empty scale hits the table.

“There is not truth in the room of your soul,” says the man, “There is only greed. Therefore, you will be punished.”

The monster Ammit then devours Kanekura.

CHOMP!!!

(Whoops, I mean:)

The man begins to leave the office, but something on Kanekura’s desk catches his eye.

“This is the Millennium Puzzle,” says the man, “and in it’s completed form! In three thousand years, it has never been solved once! Does it mean someone in this country has solved the puzzle? Who is the world could it be?!”

After the man leaves the office, he meets Yugi in the museum.

Yugi recognizes him as the Egyptian from before.

“Excuse me, have you seen Mr. Kanekura? He promised to return my puzzle. It’s shaped like this.”

Yugi makes the shape of a downward-facing triangle with his hands over his chest.

Impossible, thinks the man, not this boy! The one who solves the Millennium Puzzle gains great power…the same power as my bloodline. If so, then this boy…I have to make sure! I must know if this boy has the power! I will use the Millennium Key to look into the room of his soul!

The man holds the Millennium Key next to Yugi’s forehead and turns.

When the man enters the realm of Yugi’s mind, he is astonished to see that Yugi has two rooms in his soul. One door is open, and inside is a room scattered with toys.

“It is pure…no thoughts of darkness,” says the man, then he turns to the closed door, but it begins to open on its own. Inside is Yugi’s alter-ego.

“Well, Well,” says the alter-ego, “A visitor in my room, come in if you dare. A game awaits you!”

The man enters the room. It is dark and cold, like the tomb of a Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt, assesses the man.

“I don’t know what power you used to find this place, but you better explain why you’re here,” says the alter-ego.

“I came to discover the secret of the power of your Millennium Puzzle,” says the man.

“So you know of the existence of the Millennium Puzzle?”

“Yes, I know. Also that it is one of the Millennium Items. The story of the Millennium Items has been passed down from Ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago in the Valley of the Kings. They were made to punish thieves who would defile the tombs of the Pharaohs and steal their treasure by the magicians who served the ancient Pharaohs. So it is written in the Pert em Hru (The Egyptian title for The Book of the Dead).”

“So you came here with a Millennium Item?”

“The power of the Millennium Key! This key opens the door to one’s soul. In the room of the soul, one discovers everything about a person. And one more: the Millennium Scales. They weigh the sins of a person on trial! These are the two that I possess. But even I don’t know the power of the Millennium Puzzle. I don’t know what power is bestowed upon the person who completes it because it has never been solved.”

“And so to find out, you entered my soul?”

“If I can see a person’s room, I can see what kind of power they possess. That is what I came to discover and if that power is needed, I will draw it into my bloodline.”

“This power you speak of does rest in my room. However, I can’t let you see it that easily! You know the routine…this is a game! A Shadow Game! The rules of the game are simple! Somewhere within this soul is my True Room. If you can find it, then you’ll find what you seek.”

“I accept your game!” says the man, “And I will find the true room of your soul!”

Then the man looks up and realizes the true nature of the room he is in.

What the man sees is a vast labyrinth of doors and stair cases that lead in a wide variety of directions. The design seems to resemble that of M.C. Esher’s “Relativity”.

“Game Start!” says the alter-ego.

The man begins to navigate Yugi’s Mental Labyrinth (hint hint).

The man opens several doors, but encounters traps behind each one.

• 

• 

He doesn’t find the room.

“So I have lost this game,” says the man.

“No, this is just the beginning,” says the alter-ego.

Then the man leaves Yugi’s soul room and reenters the real world.

“Are your okay?” asks Yugi (non-alter-ego), “You closed your eyes and stopped moving.”

“Yes I’m alright,” says the man, “Oh I almost forgot.”

He pulls out the Millennium Puzzle and gives it to Yugi.

“Thank you!” says Yugi.

“You don’t need to thank me!” says the man, “I am already in your debt.”

“Did I loan you something?”

“It was the other you.”

“Whaaa?! The other me?! I’m the only me there is!”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Yugi, not boy!”

This boy…he hasn’t realized the existence of his other self yet?! thinks the man, Two sides exist to this boy’s personality, but he has not realized it yet. When they join, the true power of the Millennium Puzzle will be awakened!

Then the man says, “Yugi, there is something you must do. You must discover your other self, and you must solve the riddle of the Millennium Puzzle. The puzzle that was hidden for three thousand years! That is the destiny of the one who solves the puzzle.”

Then he says, “My name is Shadi.”

Yugi is confused about what Shadi said. His other self??? The true power of the Millennium Puzzle???

Then Shadi says, “There is one more person I must place on trial, one more man who defiled the territory of the gods.”

But something was about to happen, narrates Yugi, that would make me face Shadi again.

To Be Continued…

**Images from the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga were obtained from https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/yu-gi-oh