The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and the six-year-old felt capable once again.
This saying basically reflects Marik's inner feelings at the moment. One second, he looked like he was about to meet a tragic demise in the corner, and now he's swelling with confidence thinking everything's under control.
Kidding aside, do you know how many people I've entered? (referring to their minds)
The mind control function of the Millennium Rod is indeed reliable. It allows the wielder to see anyone's true inner self, to see the darkest and most vulnerable corners of their heart and exploit them, even turning others into puppets at the wielder's disposal.
No matter how strong the soul, there's always a weakness deep within. What Marik needed to do now was find the weak point within Bakura...
Marik: "...!!?"
As mentioned before, he has encountered countless people, brainwashed at least a hundred, yet he has never... seen such a bizarre mind.
Even though saying this makes him feel strange, the fact that appeared before him is undeniable—the heart of this young man named Bakura Ryou had nothing that could be called a weakness.
What Marik saw here was only darkness, boundless and vast, like an ocean, filled with pure hatred and anger, as if wanting to devour everything.
Deep in the darkness, he saw a pair of eyes. Scarlet in color, seemingly sizing him up with malice, as if waiting for him to step further in and be dragged into the abyss of darkness.
In the next moment, before he could respond, an instinctive fear drove him to retreat from Bakura's consciousness.
Marik noticed, shocked, that he was unknowingly drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked, his breath erratic, as if he had just returned from the gates of the Netherworld.
"Hahaha! Trying to exploit my inner darkness, are you?" Bakura laughed loudly, "Bad luck for you then! I am the darkness itself!"
Simply put, my entire being is black; if you have the ability, try exploiting even one bit of it.
Having his last resort countered, Marik had completely lost the ability to resist. Originally, he had intended to snatch Bakura's wisdom wheel while he was unconscious, but now it looked like he was the one about to be finished...
"Alright, obediently hand over the Millennium Rod to me." Bakura muttered, "Honestly, I should've done this earlier, letting myself lose a Dark Duel for nothing..."
After all, the Great Evil God Sok isn't at his full power yet, and his resurrection is limited. Even though losing the Darkness Game couldn't annihilate him, the pain was significant.
If Bakura couldn't walk away with a Millennium Rod to play around with, he'd feel like he suffered a major loss.
As Bakura thought he had everything under control and was preparing to make his move, the situation suddenly reversed once more.
"Uh... Ugh!!!"
Forced to the brink, Marik desperately clutched his head, letting out indistinct growls.
The previously dim Millennium Rod suddenly exploded with transparent golden energy. Bakura was startled and swiftly retreated a step, taking a defensive stance.
"What's happening?" Bakura frowned.
"Ah~! Oh my..." Marik began to utter nonsensical sounds, his body twisting at unnatural angles, "Kimoji (feels good)~"
Bakura looked on with disdain.
What was up with this guy? Was he trying to act insane and muddle through?
It didn't seem that way...
Marik suddenly let out two eerie laughs. When he raised his head again, a golden eye-shaped sign appeared on his forehead. His facial muscles twitched, pulling his face in increasingly grotesque directions, the overall aura becoming unsettling.
If that's not direct enough, just look at the guy's hair, rising up like a Super Saiyan, the hairstyle noticeably transformed to the point where he might actually play cards skillfully now...
His voice, expression, everything changed drastically from before, as if he became a different person in a split second.
Bakura, being the expert on Millennium Items, quickly guessed what happened: "Did you... switch personalities?"
Not too surprising, many Millennium Item owners have dual personalities. Like Yugi, or Bakura himself.
Standing before Bakura now was Marik's dark persona, bred within his heart.
"I finally came out, hahaha!!!"
Dark Marik, known for his dramatic expressions, made an impossible facial gesture upon entry, followed by some eerie laughter.
Usually, Rishid, as the elder brother, absorbs the pain for Marik, allowing the dark persona to be suppressed deep within Marik's heart.
But during the clash with Bakura's dark powers, Marik found himself completely overshadowed, forced to extremes, instinctively unleashing the seal, allowing the inner persona to seize the opportunity to emerge.
"Are we using the dark persona this time?" Bakura scoffed, "But it doesn't matter who you switch out for, the Millennium Rod is mine today!"
"Oh~ impressive." Dark Marik stuck out his tongue, licking the Millennium Rod, chuckling lowly, "Just coming out to move around and stretch a bit. Nice.
But let me make it clear, I'm not as easy to bully as that weakling outer persona."
Bakura chuckled, grabbing the wisdom wheel: "Wouldn't have it any other way."
The two dark personas stood off against each other, their Millennium Items radiating with brilliance. For a moment, dark energy filled the room, as if readying for a millennia-old battle to erupt at any moment...
Then footsteps were heard from outside the door.
"...Sounded like it was from Bakura's room!" Jonouchi's voice came through.
Evidently, as the two dark bosses clashed, Jonouchi and Kaiba's third match had already concluded.
"Bakura! Are you okay?" Anzu's voice followed.
"Bakura!" Yugi came right after.
Dark Marik glanced towards the door, sneering: "The Nameless Pharaoh is here, huh? Looks like you're a lucky guy indeed..."
Turning back around, Marik saw Bakura, who had just been itching for a fight, suddenly lying quietly on the bed with covers over him, eyes shut tight, resembling a dead fish.
Marik: "......"
Then the door opened.
Jonouchi burst in, standing protectively by Bakura's bedside: "Marik! It felt off not seeing you above, what are you planning against Bakura!?"
Technically speaking, Bakura was still a good friend and classmate of Yugi and the others when not possessed by evil consciousness, their relationship generally amicable.
Outside the door, Yugi had already switched to the Pharaoh's control. He had the Millennium Pendant glowing on his chest, gazing coldly at Marik: "Marik, what do you want?"
"Hmph, boring." Marik put away the Millennium Rod and stepped towards the door.
"Ah~, dull, really dull." Marik hummed as he walked, "Well, I should prepare for the showdown. Who will be buried in darkness next, I wonder? Hehehe..."