"Me, get scared? Don't be ridiculous." Dark Bakura scoffed. "If you're trying to mess with my decision-making, Hoshino, don't bother~ I've heard all about the trash talk you like to use in duels."

As a seasoned veteran of the Shadow Games, Dark Bakura was a master tactician. Baseless provocation wasn't going to rattle him—especially now that the game had completely fallen under his control.

Corrupted by the dark power of the Millennium Eye, Aknadin had fully embraced his desires after destroying the God Card tablets and concluding that the Pharaoh had fallen to Thief King Bakura. No longer hiding anything, he openly declared himself Seto's father and began preparations to crown Seto—who also carried royal blood—as the next Pharaoh.

Seto, however, was thrown into turmoil. Since becoming a priest, he had always regarded Aknadin—with his strict training and genuine care—as a fatherly figure, especially after losing his real father at a young age.

But "like a father" and "I'm your father" were two very different things. Not that Seto blamed Aknadin for leaving him and his mother behind; he could understand the need to keep them far from the darkness of the Millennium Items.

Still, to suddenly learn that your father was the younger brother of the former Pharaoh, that you carried royal blood yourself, and that—with the Pharaoh missing—it was now your duty to inherit the throne?

Who could process all that at once?

Especially for someone like Seto, who had always seen himself as a loyal servant of the Pharaoh. Claiming the throne now, before the Pharaoh's death was even confirmed, felt like outright usurpation.

To say that Seto lacked ambition would be a lie. He was proud, strong-willed, and possessed a powerful ego. With the chance to stand at the very top laid before him, it was only natural for his heart to waver.

"Master Aknadin, I don't believe I yet have the strength to become Pharaoh. Please… give me more time to consider."

It was an excuse—a weak attempt to delay the inevitable—while softening the sting of his own temptation.

But it wasn't entirely untrue. After witnessing the vast gulf between himself and the Pharaoh wielding the God Cards—and after suffering a brutal defeat at Hoshino's hands—Seto's former confidence had been badly shaken.

To comfort his shaken son, Aknadin even ordered his men to capture the girl with the power of the White Dragon, intending to grant Seto that godlike strength. But their mission failed.

Meanwhile, Thief King Bakura—still under Dark Bakura's control—returned to the Valley of the Kings with the Millennium Puzzle in hand. His destination: Kul Elna, the village once used to forge the Millennium Items.

When the Millennium Items had been completed long ago, the ground of Kul Elna split open, revealing a stone slab—perfectly carved to hold all seven Items.

That slab was the true secret behind the Millennium Items' dark power. It was the ultimate key that could tip the scales of the Shadow Game.

Satisfied, Bakura embedded the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Puzzle into the slab. Overwhelming darkness poured into his Diabound.

"With this, none of those weakling priests stand a chance against Diabound anymore."

Though it sounded like he was talking to himself, Bakura was clearly showing off to Hoshino, smugly confident now that he believed victory was assured.

"Especially those two brainless priests who followed the trail I left and came all the way to Kul Elna just to hand me their Millennium Items. With things like this, how could I possibly lose?"

"You just said the 'how could I possibly lose' line… That's one hell of a death flag you just raised for yourself," Hoshino grinned, mirroring Bakura's posture by crossing her legs and lounging back—like a strategist surveying the battlefield from on high.

Two priests were now on their way to the Valley of the Kings in southern Egypt: Shada, wielder of the Millennium Key, and Karim, bearer of the Millennium Scales. Neither had any hope against Bakura. Their decision to come despite the odds was likely fueled by rage over losing the Pharaoh.

They were almost certainly walking to their deaths. But Hoshino had another perspective.

If, as she had claimed, she truly had no connection to this memory world, then she shouldn't be able to interfere.

But that was only true if there was no connection.

So when she realized that Hoshino Alter had also entered this memory world alongside her, she couldn't help but laugh.

That broken barrier of "no connection"—the presence of Hoshino Alter still within the memory world—was the crack in the armor, the perfect chance for Hoshino to turn the tide.

And now, with Yugi safely reunited with Hoshino Alter, the odds of victory had shifted dramatically in her favor.

"Moshi moshi, this is Hoshino. Can the other me hear this?"

"!!"

Hoshino Alter jolted in shock, thinking she was just hearing things. She shook her head rapidly and tapped her delicate little ear.

Seeing this odd reaction, Yugi asked with concern, "What's wrong, Hoshino? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I think I heard my partner's voice… Could it be a hallucination from missing her too much?"

"It's not a hallucination! It's really me! I'm so glad the connection worked—this proves my theory was right!"

Upon confirming her other self's voice, Hoshino Alter's eyes lit up. She jumped to her feet in excitement.

"Aibo, it's really you! But where are you? I don't see you anywhere!"

"Where I am… that's a long story. Just open the Special Summon Shop in the system. That'll make it easier to explain."

"Special Summon Shop?"

Still confused, Hoshino Alter scratched her head but obediently opened the system. With a poof and some cartoonish smoke effects, a chibi-style avatar popped out in front of everyone.

"You thought it was Chibi Da Vinci, but it was me, Chibi Hoshino~"

The miniature Hoshino, barely the size of a Medjed, had shrunken proportions, a rounder face, and long white hair that now nearly touched the ground due to her tiny height.

Everyone froze for a moment, stunned by the sudden appearance of this adorable creature.

"K-Kawaii!" Nitocris's eyes sparkled as she stared at the tiny Hoshino, clearly dying to scoop her up and cuddle her.

Hoshino Alter blinked in confusion. "You said I'd understand more once I opened the shop, but this just makes things more confusing! Why did you show up in chibi form?! And why are you this… overwhelmingly cute!?"

"Hmph, exactly as I predicted!"

Arms crossed confidently, Hoshino narrowed her eyes and smirked. It would've been an intimidating pose—if not for the stubby limbs of her chibi form, which only made it cuter.

"You, the other me—while I was gone, you secretly used my Saint Quartz, didn't you?"

Like a kid caught sneaking money, Hoshino Alter took a guilty step back. "Gasp! How did you find out!?"

"That was five whole Saint Quartz! How could I not notice? But when I saw Nitocris with you, I had a pretty good guess what happened."

You see, if Hoshino Alter used Quartz to summon a Servant through the shop, Hoshino's own Quartz would be deducted as well. Da Vinci, being the stingy merchant she is, would never allow a loss.

But it was exactly this oddity that made Hoshino realize: their system shops were linked. And even though it was only the shop, that single connection broke the notion that Hoshino had "no ties" to this world—contrary to what Dark Bakura had claimed.

Using this faint link, Hoshino reestablished contact with the Memory World. The catch? Her form now matched the same chibi version Da Vinci once used to trick her into spending money.

Yugi leaned down in disbelief to examine her. "Is this really the other Hoshino? The one who came to the palace with me? Why did she shrink!?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this just a hologram? Hoshino, are you messing with us?"

"It's NOT a hologram!" Hoshino jumped up in a rage and punched Kaiba's knee. The sharp pain was all too real, wiping away his doubts.

"Pfft, you okay, Seto?" Kisara couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the normally grim-faced Kaiba clutching his knee after being punched by something so cute was hilariously satisfying.

Marlene sighed, resigned. "Ever since I joined you guys, the weirdest things keep happening. I think I've had more mental shocks these past few days than in my entire life."

If this were the old Marlene, she probably wouldn't have believed any of it. But after literally pulling a Pharaoh out of a river, what else could surprise her?

While Hoshino Alter and Yugi exchanged information earlier, Hoshino had been watching everything from her godlike overhead view, getting a solid understanding of Kisara the Dragon Girl and Marlene the Bounty Hunter.

Now, even though her chibi body lacked combat ability, this godlike perspective allowed Hoshino to relay intel directly to them.

Whether this map or Dark Bakura's final GM tool would prove superior remained to be seen.

Switching her crossed arms to hands-on-hips (since crossed arms looked ridiculous in chibi form), Hoshino turned serious.

"Before I explain everything in detail, I have two pieces of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Aibo, if they're both bad, it doesn't matter—just spit it out already!"

"Alright then, I'll start with the less bad one~" Hoshino turned to Yugi.

"Priests Shada and Karim have followed the trail Bakura left and are currently tracking him to the Valley of the Kings in the south."

Yugi's expression immediately darkened. Even if they'd found Bakura's trail, Shada and Karim going alone was a terrible idea.

Unlike Mahad—the kingdom's most powerful mage, who could go toe-to-toe with Thief King Bakura—Shada and Karim were just average priests. A total party wipe was all but certain.

"Then we need to hurry to the Valley of the Kings—"

"Hold it." Hoshino interrupted sharply.

"I haven't even told you the second piece of bad news yet. And this one's worse."

Her chibi face grew uncharacteristically grim, making the earlier "bad news" seem like child's play.

"In the opposite direction of the Valley—in the north of the country—countless undead soldiers have appeared. They're advancing on the capital at an unimaginable pace."

This was a sudden development even Dark Bakura didn't know about—discovered only by Hoshino through her god view of the map.

On the battlefield grid, it was now clearly visible: an endless swarm of undead soldiers clad in blue armor, marching from Egypt's far north, forming a third force now intervening in this Shadow Game.

Yugi was dumbfounded by the revelation.

Undead soldiers invading from the north—could this even be real?

"You… you're joking, right, Hoshino?"

"You think I'd joke about this? In a few hours, the capital will probably receive word from the front lines. And the force behind this undead army? I'm sure you'll recognize them."

"I… would recognize them?" Yugi's mind went blank. In this era, who other than Bakura could wield such fearsome power?

"We've been ignoring one critical blind spot. If this is the world from 3,000 years ago, then there's a man who would still be alive during this time…"

Up until now, they had believed this world was just a construct of Yugi's memories, as Dark Bakura had claimed.

But when Hoshino spotted the invading undead army on the map, she realized: this was no longer just a memory—it was more like a Singularity, independent of history.

"Three thousand years ago, that man would still be alive. And the undead army marching from the north? They're the same Atlantean undead we faced before."

A third force had barged into this Game uninvited—commanded by the wielder of Orichalcos' power, the emperor of Atlantis who had survived since its fall 10,000 years ago:

Dartz.

In the present day, Dartz had been defeated by Hoshino, Yugi, and Kaiba working together. Even the god of Orichalcos had been slain by the three Legendary Knights and Arthur Pendragon.

But here, in this era from 3,000 years ago, this ancient monster still held dominion over the world.