"Save the world?"
Yugen asked.
Mizuchi nodded.
"My brother... he has become strange for quite some time." Mizuchi said, "He is now a man with two faces.
One gentle face, and another demonic face that derives pleasure from leading the world to destruction."
"Indeed." Yugen nodded, "You noticed that too."
Mizuchi bowed her head.
"My brother and I... we were born with the power to see through others' destinies. This power revealed itself to us at a very young age, but it wasn't luck; it was... a curse."
She let out a long sigh.
"Yes, a curse. Because of that, everyone who noticed this avoided us. Almost everyone we knew felt uncomfortable, and gradually, no one interacted with us anymore.
Because of this, the bond between my brother and me became deeper than that of ordinary siblings.
But just like that, my brother suddenly changed one day. Now that I think about it, that was the time..."
Mizuchi stood up and waved her hand lightly. The scene around them abruptly changed.
Flickering candlelight, an eerie mansion. A slightly younger Takuma Saiou sat at a table, opposite him a man dressed in black, with his face covered by a scarf.
This was a scene Mizuchi programmed and constructed in the Virtual World, recreating the events of those days.
"Someone came to the fortune-telling mansion my brother opened. That person brought a card and asked my brother to take a look. At that time, I felt an ominous force from that card."
Mizuchi said.
"I told my brother to throw away that card that very night, but..."
The scene changed, showing Takuma Saiou in a sinister room, holding a card high in his hand, his expression grotesque and twisted. The light released from the card acted like a cage, trapping him inside.
"My brother had already been manipulated by that card." Mizuchi explained, "It was a terrifying hero card born to lead the cosmos to ruin, awakening the existence known as the terror's root."
Yugen nodded. He clearly understood, as the card was the ultimate Destiny Hero, Blood Demon D, which Ed had been searching for.
The person who brought that card to Saiou back then was none other than Ed's current guardian, the real culprit who killed his father and stole Blood Demon D, known as D.D, a Professional Duelist.
This person leveraged Blood Demon D and the power residing within it, even once winning the world champion title. But now, the Light of Destruction no longer resides in Blood Demon D, only the evil remnants left behind.
Yet even remnants of power were enough for D.D to thrive in the professional circle.
The Light of Destruction that once resided in Blood Demon D, upon encountering Saiou at the mansion, quickly concluded Saiou was a superior vessel. It coveted Saiou's talents and thus transferred from the card to Saiou, remaining within him to this day.
"With my current power, there's nothing I can do. My brother's ability has always surpassed mine, and now it's even stronger under the influence of evil.
So, there's only one thing I can do."
Mizuchi stood up, her voice firm.
"I will log into the Digital World, and I don't plan to come out. I want to digitize my soul, to forever protect my brother..."
"No need."
Yugen interrupted her.
Mizuchi was taken aback.
"Because I will take action."
Yugen suddenly smiled and said.
"Don't worry, I understand what you're talking about. The evil force dwelling in Saiou, I may know a thing or two."
Mizuchi hesitated for a moment.
"I know you are strong," she said, "but the evil force within my brother is not to be underestimated. Plus, he has an evil plan, and if I don't digitize myself..."
"The Satellite Cannon plan, right?" Yugen said.
Mizuchi's eyes widened, and she looked at Yugen in surprise.
As if asking, how do you know even this?
That is precisely the plan of Takuma Saiou, or rather the Light of Destruction.
The plan involves a young prince named Prince Aojin from a small nation. Although it's a lesser nation, they have developed a world-class satellite named "Sky," said to possess the ability to incinerate all life on Earth.
It seems odd for a small nation to have such exaggerated technology, and the fact that the key to unlocking such dangerous technology is always carried by the nation's prince seems even stranger.
Especially in such a world where everything can be gained through card games, it's akin to letting a three-year-old parade with a treasure equivalent to an entire vault.
So, in the original work, it's no surprise that Saiou won against Prince Aojin in a duel, seized the key, and attempted to use "Sky"'s power to purify the world.
If we follow Yu-Gi-Oh's logic, perhaps the nation thought keeping the key by the prince was the safest option. For the prince was their country's strongest duelist.
After all, in this world, any treasure, regardless of how secure the safe it is locked in or how well-armed the army guarding it, is not as secure as being on the person of a skilled card player.
Prince Aojin entered with immense confidence in his card skills, renowned for his OTK strategy.
During his duel with Saiou, he indeed demonstrated top-tier duelist skills, or more accurately, "drawing power." A perfect starting hand allowed him to directly make Satellite Cannon with 4000 Attack Power on his first turn and then pull out Time Goddess's Mischief, almost instantly defeating Saiou in a FTK move.
Who would have thought Saiou printed two cards on the spot, hand traps that took down Prince Aojin even before Saiou's own turn. This marked Yu-Gi-Oh's unprecedented ZTK, or Zero Turn Kill.
From the exhibition of OTK Destiny Power in that match, Prince Aojin might genuinely be a remarkable figure. Without Destiny Power strong enough to allow Saiou to conjure hand traps, any ordinary duelist facing him would likely not even get a chance to play before being defeated instantly.
Mizuchi gazed at Yugen, her eyes flickering.
Even she didn't know the full details of this plan; after being controlled by evil, Saiou trusted her less fully, keeping many important matters to himself.
That's why she decided to digitize her soul, to find a way to uncover the truth. As shown in the animation, just before satellite "Sky" was launched, Mizuchi, having become a cyber ghost, hacked into "Sky" and forcibly suspended its operation, buying precious time for Judai to send Elemental Hero Ultraman to destroy "Sky."
"You even know about 'Sky'..."
Yugen smiled, "I know far more than you think... Don't worry, I can save your brother. Well, perhaps later I'll need a bit of your cooperation; would you be willing?"
Mizuchi, you wouldn't want your brother to be continually controlled by the Light of Destruction, right?
Mizuchi pondered for a few seconds before nodding.
"Alright."