CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 403: THE WEIGHT OF DUELING

"Mr. Koyo!"

As the duel ended, Jaden was the first to rush onto the stage.

The Orichalcos barrier was shrinking, wrapping only Koyo inside. Jaden ran up and called his name through the barrier.

Koyo, barely conscious, lifted his eyelids and looked his way.

"Jaden..."

Seeing Jaden’s clear eyes, full of worry, he seemed to see his younger self.

In youth, Koyo was also obsessed with dueling, always passionate and fearless.

But back then, dueling was more pure.

Still, he considered himself lucky.

Years in the pro circuit had its lows, and he’d seen the dark side of society. Dueling became less simple.

But he held onto himself, and was still that same boy at the very end.

He had no regrets.

The world spun, sights and sounds faded. He could vaguely see Jaden and his sister shouting to him, but no longer heard their words.

Koyo slowly drew out the deck he’d fought with for years, the one that brought him the world championship—his soul deck.

He gently placed it before Jaden.

"From now on... it’s up to you, Jaden."

He whispered words only he could hear.

"Become a greater duelist than me."

Then he closed his eyes, letting himself fall.

The green light vanished, the arena fell silent. Koyo collapsed, but a satisfied smile remained on his lips.

"Hmph, I overlooked something," the Arbiter narrowed his eyes, glancing at Jaden.

"You seem to have something special..."

He raised his hand, pointing at Jaden with a strange green glow.

"What!?"

Jaden looked up, but as soon as his gaze met the green light, he froze as if electrocuted. His eyes became vacant, countless images flashing through his mind.

"You! What are you doing?" Kaiba stepped forward.

But before he could act, a blinding golden light burst out. Sacred and awe-inspiring, it pushed back the Orichalcos green.

Everyone looked toward the source.

It was Kira, who was as surprised as anyone.

It was the Millennium Item.

Sensing the Arbiter’s power, the golden light burst from Kira’s chest as the inverted pyramid-shaped Millennium Item floated midair, golden lines forming its outlines, then becoming solid.

In that light, a king’s shadow briefly appeared, raising a hand toward the Arbiter in a gesture to stop.

The green light faded away as if swept aside; Jaden quickly snapped out of his trance, looking around confused.

"Jaden!"

It was all over in a moment; only now did Midori rush over, shielding Jaden protectively, glaring at the Arbiter.

Kaiba’s pupils shrank as he looked at the golden light.

That aura... could it be...

The Arbiter shielded himself from the light, sneering, "Even in death, you won’t rest, damn Pharaoh..."

But it was only for a moment.

It was just a reflexive burst of energy sensing the Arbiter’s power. The Arbiter withdrew, and the energy faded.

"Doesn’t matter."

He put his hands behind his back and calmly left the arena.

But before stepping down, he glanced at Kira.

"You’re next, Fujiki Kira," he said coldly. "Your soul will be captured in this duel, along with that Pharaoh’s cursed item."

"I’ll be waiting," Kira replied.

Koyo’s duel wasn’t in vain. Before, even Kira wasn’t sure what deck the Arbiter, the serpent god’s incarnation, would use.

It seemed the Arbiter planned to use HEROes to play a mirror-match, but Koyo forced him to reveal his true trump card.

So, the Arbiter’s main deck was likely the Orichalcos deck, just like Dartz’s.

"No."

Jaden picked up Koyo’s deck, stood up, and looked firmly at the Arbiter.

"I’ll defeat you first."

"Oh?"

Only now did the Arbiter look at him.

Before the tournament, the only opponents in the Arbiter’s eyes were Kira and Kaiba. He’d ignored Jaden, until now.

But from a brief contact with Jaden’s mind—though quickly interrupted—he sensed something.

This boy’s spirit hid a power from another dimension, a reincarnation, so deeply asleep that even the Arbiter almost missed it.

From that contact, he also sensed confusion in Jaden’s memories.

Jaden himself was unaware, but much of his memory was in chaos, as if something crucial was missing, patched over with fragments.

He thought his memories were whole, but much was false.

The Arbiter found this interesting.

And this soul might be one of a kind.

But he just smiled.

"Then you’ll have to reach me first."

He left the stage.

After all, the semifinal pairings were still to be determined.

Jaden watched the Arbiter leave, unconsciously clenching his fist, gaze fixed.

For the first time in his life, he truly felt—

what it means to bear the weight of a duel.

PS: Bonus Chapter at 100 PS