Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

A burning village, hellish scenes. Flames danced like demons, devouring every inch of land. Green fields and old houses were reduced to ash. The air was thick with the smell of burning wood, cloth, anything that could burn.

People wandered like zombies, bodies twisted, skin rotting. Some were charred to cinders, yet their blackened forms still moved mechanically.

A boy sat on the ground, tears blurring his vision. He stared ahead, terrified, unable to speak.

A man crawled on the ground, skin blackened, desperately dragging himself toward the boy. The man opened his mouth, eyes hungry like a beast.

"…"

The dream ended.

The last of the Doma Three Swords, Loren, sat up, tears unconsciously falling.

"That dream again?"

A voice beside him.

Loren stood and bowed respectfully.

"Arbiter."

The Arbiter was a handsome man, quietly standing nearby.

"Yeah, another nightmare."

Loren sat up, rubbing his temples.

"It's fine. It's almost over. As long as I defeat him…"

He glanced at the Duel Disk and deck nearby.

Yes, as long as he won…

Or got defeated.

Either way, he'd be free of the nightmare.

"Get ready. The time has come," said the Arbiter. "The wheels of fate are turning. A new era is coming—no one can stop it."

"Yes."

Loren nodded and stood.

…

Zane was the sixth to register.

Though his loss to Kira had affected him, Zane quickly regained his rhythm and won the last puzzle card, securing the sixth spot in the quarterfinals.

"Oh, Zane made it too!"

Seeing his friend, Jaden rushed over excitedly.

"Maybe we'll face each other in the finals. I won't lose this time," Jaden grinned.

Zane's fighting spirit was back. Arms folded, he smiled: "Sure. But I won't hand over victory so easily."

Jaden: "Let's both give it everything and duel with no regrets!"

"Right!" Zane replied, fired up.

Kira appeared: "So you made it too, Zane. Congrats. Hope we meet in the finals."

"Kira…"

Seeing Kira, Zane's fighting spirit visibly dimmed.

"Yeah… okay."

He agreed, but his face showed anything but excitement. Maybe he was thinking, anyone is fine as an opponent—just not you.

Kira didn't mind, just smiled.

He didn't have Jaden's people-loving charisma, but that was fine. Winning was what mattered.

Kira looked around.

Most of the top eight were familiar faces. As they waited for the last two, finally, two people walked in at their own pace.

They were from Doma: the Arbiter and the last swordsman, Loren.

Kaiba, who'd been silently waiting, now glanced over with a meaningful smile.

"Finally here?" Kaiba said coolly. "Lucky for you, there were only two spots left. I thought you'd chicken out."

The Arbiter said calmly, "Fate has long been decided, Kaiba Seto. The last two spots are ours, just as the direction of the tournament was decided from the start."

Kaiba scoffed.

"I've heard that kind of crap too many times. Fate is an excuse for the weak. The strong carve their own fate."

The Arbiter just smiled, not arguing.

Kaiba now noticed the person beside the Arbiter, whose eyes had been locked on him the whole time.

"The moment has finally come, Kaiba Seto," Loren said coldly.

"And you are?"

"My name is Loren, the last of the Doma Three Swords, a revenant from hell. You stole everything from me—now I am your angel of vengeance."

Loren probably expected that to be dramatic, but Kaiba just snorted in dismissal.

"Take a number. Plenty of people want revenge on me."

He didn't even bother asking why.

"You!"

Loren grew angrier, stepping forward as if to fight.

Of course, going hand-to-hand against Kaiba, with his superhuman physique, would be a losing proposition.

"Oh? Planning to fight here?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"I don't mind."

The Arbiter's eyes narrowed.

At that moment, it seemed as if dark clouds gathered overhead, sunlight dimming. Thunder rumbled—a sense of ancient beasts roaring in the clouds.

Even Jaden noticed something was wrong.

"Why is it suddenly dark?" Jaden asked, surprised.

Could it be this guy?

Could someone really change the weather with just a look?

"…Though we could settle this here, since we already agreed before, I suggest we duel instead. What do you say, Kaiba Seto?"

"My answer is the same," Kaiba said, arms folded. "So long as it's a duel, I accept any challenge."

The Arbiter smiled, and the clouds instantly cleared.

Settling things by duel was what both sides preferred.

Kaiba's logic: Summoning monsters for a real fight would cause too much collateral damage. If this guy really was the snake god who fought the Egyptian Gods, Kaiba had more faith in his dueling than his monsters.

As for the Arbiter…

He acted calm and in control, but as he passed Kira, he couldn't help glancing at him.

He didn't care about Kaiba or his Blue-Eyes; the only one here he was wary of was the boy or rather, the thing Kira had unsealed.

Once bitten, twice shy, as the saying goes. After getting ganged up on by the Gods years ago, even now he still felt the pain. If he could help it, he didn't want another Pokémon battle.

Better to bet on cards than war.