Turn 6— Ishizu
The Millennium Necklace glowed faintly as Ishizu drew, its warmth steady against her chest. She raised a spell with calm precision, her voice clear and commanding.
"Card of Sanctity."
Brilliant radiance washed across the field as both duelists' hands refilled, cards materializing in a golden shimmer until each held six. The spectators murmured in surprise—the duel's rhythm had shifted again, resources flowing like the Nile in flood.
Without hesitation, Ishizu revealed another spell. "Double Summon." The glyphs pulsed, allowing her two normal summons this turn.
Her first was swift. Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier emerged, his weapon gleaming beneath the spectral sun of Necrovalley. His power, bolstered by the valley's blessing, stood at 2000 ATK. The soldier lowered his spear, ready to strike at any intruder.
Then Ishizu raised her hand in a sweeping gesture. "Now I tribute summon!"
Spear Soldier and a second servant bowed into dust, their forms dissolving into the sands. From the shifting mirage, a commanding figure stepped forth again—Gravekeeper's Chief, robes billowing like desert winds, hieroglyphs glowing faintly across his staff. (ATK: 2400).
The Chief raised his hand, and Ishizu's graveyard responded to his call. "With Chief's effect, I return the fallen to serve again—Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" The soldier reappeared at his master's side, ready once more. (ATK: 2000).
The field was hers again, guardians restored to full strength. Ishizu's calm never wavered; her eyes glowed faintly with certainty, as if the Necklace was showing her the battle unfolding exactly as expected.
"Battle," she commanded softly.
Spear Soldier lunged at Destiny HERO – Doom Lord, spear tip glowing with ancestral energy. The strike pierced the shadowy figure cleanly, scattering it into fragments.
Jason lifted a hand, cutting her triumph short with chilling composure. "I activate Kuriboh from my hand. I take no battle damage this turn."
The tiny spirit appeared in a brief shimmer, cushioning the recoil before vanishing in a puff of energy. Ishizu's lips curved faintly, almost serene, as though even this had been predicted.
Doom Lord still collapsed into nothingness, its data scattering into the void, sent to the graveyard.
With her attack complete, Ishizu slid two cards into her back row. They glowed briefly before vanishing into the holographic grid, unseen but waiting—silent promises of traps yet to spring.
She folded her hands before her, the Necklace glinting against her robe. Her monsters stood tall: Gravekeeper's Chief (2400 ATK) and Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (2000 ATK). The desert was alive once more, guardians braced against Jason's dark science.
Turn 7 — JasonJason's hand moved with machine-like precision. He slid a card forward and placed it facedown. A new monster materialized in a crouched silhouette—its identity cloaked, its defenses raised.
"Destiny HERO – Dystopia," he commanded. The hulking HERO surged forward, coffin-like armor grinding as it hurled its fist toward Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier. The air rippled with its killing intent.
But Ishizu's voice cut through the tension with serene certainty. "I activate my Trap—Draining Shield."
The barrier erupted between her soldier and Jason's monster, a radiant wall that devoured the attack. Dystopia's blow vanished into light, its strength twisted into energy that poured back into Ishizu's form. The spectators gasped as her Life Points swelled, the Necklace gleaming triumphantly against her robe.
900 + 2800 = 3700 Life Points.
Jason's jaw clenched almost imperceptibly, his lips pressing into a straight, rigid line. He slid two more cards into his back row with a sharp motion, their holograms flickering like predatory eyes hidden in the desert storm.
And yet, his greatest weapon was slipping away. Fusion Destiny's drawback loomed, its countdown ready to erase Dystopia at the end of his turn. As the crimson-eyed titan began to flicker and destabilize, Jason's hand hovered briefly at his side. For the first time, his annoyance broke through—the faint tightening of his brow, the twitch of his mouth. He adjusted his sunglasses, but the cold control he'd shown until now carried the smallest crack.
The duel had tilted again, and Ishizu's composure only deepened. She stood straight-backed, her eyes calm, the Millennium Necklace glowing faintly as though whispering reassurance.
Turn 8 — Ishizu"Your power is fleeting, Jason," she said, her tone as smooth as the Nile. "This is the fate I have always seen for you."
The Necklace glimmered faintly against Ishizu's robe as she drew, its warmth filling her with quiet certainty. She lifted her next card with deliberate grace.
"I normal summon Gravekeeper's Recruiter."
A robed figure stepped onto the field, scroll in hand, his tally of names a reminder of the tombs' endless servants. With Necrovalley's blessing, his attack power rose to 1700 ATK.
The battlefield shifted; Ishizu raised her hand and gave her command.
"Gravekeeper's Chief—attack his facedown monster!"
The Chief swept forward, staff ablaze with desert light. But the moment his strike fell, Jason's trap snapped open.
"Magic Cylinder."
Twin glass tubes erupted from the ground, capturing the Chief's attack and reflecting it back toward Ishizu herself. She narrowed her eyes, her serenity unbroken as the energy slammed into her.
Her Life Points dropped: 3700 → 1300.
Jason remained motionless, his hands still, his coat settling lightly against the air. His expression was unreadable, a statue in a lab coat, his sunglasses two pieces of black glass cutting him off from the world. There was no glee, no triumph—only a cold fascination, the gaze of a man dissecting a possibility as though it were a specimen under his scalpel.
Ishizu's lips curved faintly, not in pain, but in something sharper—mockery. Her voice rang clear across the dueling platform, calm and cutting.
"All your vile deeds… every experiment, every desperate clawing for knowledge… the sacrifices you made in the name of your science, Jason… they will amount to nothing."
Her tone deepened, echoing with the weight of prophecy. "You've stolen, manipulated, twisted the lives of others just to inch closer to power. And for what? To grasp at shadows? Compared to the Pharaoh, your works are nothing. Your scientific obsessions will be buried and forgotten, while his name will echo for eternity."
The crowd stirred at her words. Joey slammed the rail, nodding fiercely. "Tell him, Ishizu!"
Rebecca's eyes flashed with conviction, and Connor's small fists clenched as he shouted, "Yeah! He can't beat Yugi!"
Yugi said nothing, but his gaze flickered between the two duelists, his face unreadable, though his fists were tight at his sides.
Ishizu raised her hand again. "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier—attack!"
The soldier lunged at Jason's last facedown monster, spear piercing through the shadow. But the creature revealed itself at the last instant—Destiny HERO – Defender. Its massive shield slammed down, protecting Jason with a towering wall of defense. (DEF: 2700).
The impact sent Spear Soldier staggering back. Ishizu absorbed the backlash, her Life Points dipping further: 1300 → 600.
Across the gulf, Jason did not flinch. He stood motionless, his stillness eerie, his presence oppressive. The sunglasses gave no glimpse of the man beneath, only the impression of a predator waiting for the moment to strike.
Marik folded his arms, chin lowering, his features shadowed in thought. He did not nod, did not smile. He simply watched, his mind caught between the sister who wielded destiny and the mentor who had taught him to abandon it. The words Ishizu hurled at Jason cut deep into him as well, each one a reminder of his own path and the choices that had brought him here.
Turn 9 — Jason
The shadow of the past lifted. With Doom Lord's effect expired, Ishizu's Gravekeeper's Descendant returned to the field, his weapon gleaming as he knelt back into position. (ATK: 2000).
Jason, however, was already moving. He slid a card into place with the same mechanical precision as ever.
"Double Summon."
Another slot opened. His hand flicked forward. "Destiny HERO – Disk Commander." The fragile figure appeared, thin and wiry, visor glowing faintly. (ATK: 300).
But Jason was not finished. "I tribute Disk Commander."
The weaker HERO dissolved into data, only for its fragments to twist into something far more menacing. Emerging from a vortex of steel and shadow came Destiny HERO – Dasher, its form a hybrid of predator and machine, its stance crouched and ready to spring. (ATK: 2100).
Jason's fingers tapped once on his set Defender, then snapped downward. "I tribute Defender with Dasher's effect. Dasher gains +1000 ATK this turn."
Defender dissolved in a burst of shards, his towering shield crumbling into dust. Energy surged into Dasher, its claws igniting as its power spiked to 3100 ATK. The monster crouched low, muscles coiled, prepared to tear through Ishizu's lines.
The Necklace warmed against Ishizu's chest. She felt the future unfold, the exact line she had already foreseen. Her eyes narrowed. Her facedown trap was the key. She would end Jason here."You've betrayed your own soul, Jason," she said, her voice carrying across the dueling arena with the weight of prophecy. "All your vile experiments, the lives you twisted, the knowledge you clawed for—every sacrifice you made for your science—it will all crumble into dust. Compared to the Pharaoh, your ambition is meaningless."
Then, in the very same cadence, with the same cold precision, Jason's voice overlapped hers at the exact same time.
"You've betrayed your own soul, Jason," he said at the exact same time. "All your vile experiments, the lives you twisted, the knowledge you clawed for—every sacrifice you made for your science—it will all crumble into dust. Compared to the Pharaoh, your ambition is meaningless."
Every syllable mirrored hers perfectly, as though he had stolen the words from her lips before they had even formed.
Ishizu froze. Her mocking smile shattered, her composure breaking in an instant. Her breath caught as the blood drained from her face, and the Millennium Necklace throbbed painfully against her chest.
Her gaze lifted, cool and certain. But then Jason's voice cut in—flat, clinical, terrifyingly exact.
"Your facedown card," he said. "Blast Held by a Tribute."
The words landed like a knife. Ishizu's face went cold, her breath caught in her throat. How could he know? She clenched her jaw, telling herself he must be bluffing—that he was playing mind games, nothing more.
Dasher lunged forward, claws raised.
Ishizu raised her arm sharply. "I activate Blast Held by a Tribute!" Her voice rang with authority. "Because you Tribute Summoned this turn and attacked me, all of your Attack Position monsters are destroyed—and you take 1000 damage!"
Her soldiers lifted their weapons, the trap glowing with the wrath of the tomb.
But Jason's voice overlapped hers—chilling, exact, synchronized.
"I activate Barrel Behind the Door."
The words came at the same instant Ishizu spoke them, his tone a mirror of her own cadence, as though he had known precisely when and how she would call upon her trap.
The trap flared, reversing the blast of energy. The reflected strike bypassed Jason entirely and hurtled into Ishizu instead.
Her Life Points plummeted: 600 → 0.
She froze, her lips parted, the color draining from her face. The Necklace against her chest pulsed weakly, its light flickering. For the first time in the duel, Ishizu's certainty collapsed into dread.
Jason tilted his head back—and then it began. Low, at first, a chuckle rolling from his chest. Then louder, sharper, jagged with cruelty until it filled the chamber like breaking glass.
"Looks like I win, Ishizu."
Jason took slow, measured steps forward, his lab coat whispering against the floor. Each step echoed like a scalpel striking steel. He stopped just before her, lowering his chin, his grin stretched thin with cruelty.
"Don't worry, Ishizu," he sneered. "I'll make better use of your precious Necklace. You clung to it, worshipped it, thought it made you destiny's chosen. But all it ever did was chain you to a Pharaoh who never cared."
He lifted a gloved hand, plucking the Millennium Necklace from around her throat with surgical delicacy. Ishizu's fingers twitched as though to resist, but her strength was already leaving her.
"You could have been rich beyond measure," Jason continued, his tone mocking, every word dripping with venom. "Powerful enough that anyone—yes, anyone—would have killed infants to be in your position. But instead, you squandered it, like a dog crawling at the Pharaoh's feet."
He leaned in closer, his voice a whisper that carried across the silent arena.
"You could have been so much more. What a waste."
Jason's cruel smile widened. "Oh well. I'll just take this for my personal use. For science, of course."
The Necklace flared one last time in Ishizu's hands, then dimmed completely as Jason's cybernetic eye ignited beneath his sunglasses. With an almost ceremonial slowness, he removed the glasses at last, revealing the golden glow of the Millennium Eye.
"ISHIZU!" Rebecca cried out, clutching Connor tighter as she shouted her name. Joey slammed both fists against the rail, his voice breaking in rage. "You bastard!"
Yugi's gaze burned with fury and sorrow, the Puzzle around his neck vibrating with restrained energy. "Jason…" he whispered, the name laced with quiet wrath.
But Jason only stood there, slipping his sunglasses back on, the Millennium Eye glowing faintly beneath. His lab coat swayed as he turned from the field, Ishizu lying lifeless behind him.
"She wasted her chance," he muttered coldly, audible to all. "I won't."
He walked toward the shadows with measured steps, every movement clinical, as though the duel and Ishizu's fall had been nothing more than another experiment completed.
Marik, though—Marik stood frozen. His mentor had triumphed, his sister undone. The storm of loyalty, resentment, and awe in his chest was unbearable. His lips trembled, and for the first time, even he could not tell where his allegiance lay.
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