"Brother!"
Seto Kaiba walked out of the building and saw Keihei approaching him from the front.
"Is it over? Did everything go smoothly?" Keihei asked anxiously.
"Hmph." Seto crossed his arms, keeping his head high. "Of course it did."
"That's great."
Keihei let out a sigh of relief.
"So, this means our grudge with that guy is finally settled, right?"
"Yes." Seto nodded.
Saying this, he turned around and gave one last glance at the company building behind him with the giant sign "Abiak," which eerily mirrored the spelling of "Kaiba" in reverse, like a reflection, akin to an attack from the shadows of his past.
But nothing could stand in his way. Not in the future, much less in the past.
It's all over now.
"See, I told you Yugen would be helpful." Keihei laughed.
"Hmph, he was somewhat useful, I suppose." Seto scoffed.
"But before heading back, I want to stay here for a couple more days." Keihei said. "Since we're here, we should at least take some local specialties back."
Seto smiled slightly. "Suit yourself."
"..."
With the matter concluded, within the month, the company named "Abiak" was wiped from existence by the power of the Kaiba Group, along with every trace of those behind it.
The AI secretly manufactured was also entirely destroyed, without exception. Seto Kaiba personally ensured that even the slightest trace of their existence was eliminated, leaving nothing behind.
A month later, the New Doma Organization was annihilated. Kaiba led his team to flatten Doma Headquarters and once again sealed the Cheating Snake of Orichalcos.
He accomplished what he couldn't back then, something Atom had achieved.
The Duel City tournament was held successfully. After years of not participating in public duels, Seto Kaiba finally made a comeback, battled through challenges in the new Duel City, won the championship, and earned the long-vacant title of "Duel King," becoming the new generation's Duel King.
The following year, the Kaiba Group achieved a significant breakthrough in scientific research. The development of advanced technology proved that the future of aerospace also lay hidden within the power of Duel Monster Cards.
Harnessing the power of the cards, the Kaiba Group led the world into the space age. Cosmic space stations, new spacecraft, and even a new Duel City established on Mars...
And Seto Kaiba, the man who achieved all these remarkable feats, was naturally hailed as the greatest person in human history. His contributions were so extraordinary that they overshadowed all historical greats, acknowledged worldwide as a living legend.
The influence of the Kaiba Group grew ever more extensive. Its development reached a point where no country, organization, or even humanity as a whole could operate without Kaiba Technology. While ushering the era into a new epoch, they also became as essential as water and electricity to all humanity... No, it would be more accurate to say they had become the very air humanity breathes.
Without the Kaiba Group, any institution or organization would instantly collapse; Seto Kaiba virtually stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Yet after achieving all this, Kaiba sat in an empty space station, looking at everything he had accomplished through the porthole.
This isn't right.
He rose from his seat and walked towards the endless cosmos.
Everything here, the peak he stood upon, none of it was real.
"I don't know what kind of ridiculous trick this is, but it ends here!"
Kaiba declared in a stern voice.
In an instant, a burst of white light erupted from him as a center. Even the darkness of the cosmos seemed to be dispelled. The space station he was in, the Kaiba Empire's interstellar city, the entire world shattered like an illusion.
After the tumult, Seto Kaiba too found himself in the same narrow, dark corridor that Yugen had faced, amidst a chaotic realm leading to an unknown darkness.
Kaiba frowned and stepped forward.
Mirrored in the dark as if by reflections, twisted images appeared on either side of him.
There was him as a child, a small figure sitting before a large desk, surrounded by stacks of books and heaps of papers. His adoptive father, Gozaburo Kaiba, stood beside him with arms crossed.
"Remember this, Seto, your future is not given by others; it is carved out by your own hands." Gozaburo said sternly. "You won this opportunity through your own efforts, but whether you reach the end still depends on you."
Kaiba walked past the flashing scenes without looking aside, with a cold, indifferent gaze.
New images quickly surfaced from the sides.
"Starting today, you'll begin to handle Kaiba Group's business affairs."
Gozaburo Kaiba leaned back in his chair, against the bright sun. He squinted at the teenager Seto Kaiba, who had already grown into a young man.
"Prove yourself a child of the Kaiba Family, don't disappoint my expectations."
"Yes, Father." The young Kaiba said firmly, "I won't disappoint you."
"..."
Kaiba continued to stride forward past the images without sparing them a glance. The scenes blurred and disappeared swiftly as they passed by him.
As expected, numerous scenes continued to unfold, all featuring Seto Kaiba at different times and ages, along with his adoptive father, Gozaburo.
But he never once looked at them, not even for a moment.
The final scene was the last time the two, in name father and son, saw each other.
The young Seto Kaiba revealed the fangs of a young lion for the first time, giving a victorious smirk. The entire board stood behind the young Kaiba, and Gozaburo found himself alone at the other end of the table.
He had greatly underestimated this young man.
He thought himself to be the one in control, considering Kaiba just a pawn; little did he know he was facing a fellow dangerous player.
He never imagined that Kaiba, only sixteen at the time, could gather the company's entire upper management under his nose, strip him of his authority, and boldly seize his company.
After that, Gozaburo quickly died.
There was no doubt; Gozaburo died harboring deep resentment towards his former ward and was filled with regret for being so oblivious, failing to notice any abnormality.
To his last breath, he was convinced that he was driven to death by Seto Kaiba, with Kaiba almost directly being his killer.
Only at this final scene did Kaiba pause, fold his arms, and reveal a cold smile.
Just like the young Kaiba in the image, it was a victor's mocking smile towards the defeated.
"What, showing me these, hoping to get my thoughts?" Kaiba said coldly. "Then alright, I'll be frank. I only see a pathetic loser, barking helplessly after losing everything."
With that, he turned around and shouted sternly.
"Stop this childish trickery and face me, Gozaburo!"