The Path to the Pharaoh King Begins

A flash of light, and amidst the shimmering brilliance, starlight fell, and a playful figure holding a staff slowly descended from the sky.

Wearing a blue and pink magician's hood, with long golden hair draped over her shoulders, a flawless white face, and slender legs, her mischievous eyes gave her a look that inspired pity.

[Dark Magician Girl] Level 6; Spellcaster/DARK

ATK: 2000; DEF: 1700

Description: Rumored to be the excellent disciple of the Dark Magician, possessing immeasurable power...

"Chimera, attack Curse of Dragon; Dark Magician Girl, attack Kycōr!"

With two attack declarations, all monster cards on Sona's field were wiped out.

Her Life Points then dropped by 100, leaving her with 3450.

"Excellent, you've managed to turn the tables so easily from such a desperate situation. Your talent is even greater than I imagined! However, I'm not weak either, because I believe in my deck, and I believe they will lead me to victory!"

The flames of battle began to burn in Sona's eyes.

"My turn, draw!"

Seeing her hand, Sona's eyes lit up. With a raise of her hand, one card was placed in the monster zone, and another in the Spell & Trap Card Zone.

"My turn, end!"

"End?"

Xiao Wen muttered, his gaze falling on the card Sona had placed face down in her monster zone. For some reason, that card gave him a sense of danger.

"But I have no other choice now. To attack Sona, I must first eliminate all the monster cards on her field!"

"My turn, draw!"

[Gifts for the Dead]

Seeing the Magic Card in his hand, a sharp glint flashed in Xiao Wen's eyes. With this card in his hand, his victory in this battle was practically assured.

"I activate the Magic Card [Gifts for the Dead]. By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy a designated monster on the field. The monster I wish to destroy is the face-down monster on your field!"

Xiao Wen placed a card from his hand into the Graveyard. The effect of [Gifts for the Dead] activated, and pale white bandages flew out from the card, wrapping around the face-down monster in Sona's monster zone.

The bandages coiled around the face-down monster, and a phantom image of a penguin wielding a long sword appeared, its eyes filled with terror.

"Is that Penguin Soldier?"

Seeing the monster phantom, the description of that card immediately came to Xiao Wen's mind.

Penguin Soldier is only Level 2, and its ATK and DEF are not strong, but what makes it troublesome is not its attack power, but its effect.

[Penguin Soldier] Level 2; Aqua/WATER

ATK: 750; DEF: 500

Description: When this card is Normal Summoned (Flip Summon: face-down card turned face-up), you can return up to two monsters on the field to their owner's hand.

In that instant, Xiao Wen understood Sona's plan.

If he wasn't mistaken, the card Sona had face-down in her back row should be a defensive Trap Card protecting [Penguin Soldier].

If he failed to deal with Penguin Soldier this turn, at the start of his next turn, Penguin Soldier would be Flip Summoned, and both [Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast] and [Dark Magician Girl] would return to his hand.

And by then, holding high-level monster cards but lacking the Tributes to summon them, coupled with no monsters on the field for defense, he would naturally be no match for Sona.

However, fortunately, at the critical moment, he drew [Gifts for the Dead], a card that could destroy it while bypassing [Penguin Soldier]'s effect.

Sona stood opposite him, sighing helplessly, and muttered, "Perhaps, this is fate."

"Chimera, Dark Magician Girl, attack the opponent player directly!"

Xiao Wen pointed with one hand, and Chimera and Dark Magician Girl attacked simultaneously. The high damage fell upon Sona, reducing her over three thousand Life Points to zero.

Throughout the entire exchange, the Trap Card she had placed in her back row never activated.

No one knew what kind of Trap Card it was, except for her.

"Young Duelist, you have won this match. Your growth speed has far exceeded my expectations. Perhaps next time you visit, I will need to find a stronger opponent for you," Sona said softly.

Xiao Wen smiled and bowed slightly as a sign of respect.

"Follow me, I'll take you to unlock the second stage of the Duel Disk. This time, you will also need to receive the baptism of divine power along with the Duel Disk and the Millennium Puzzle."

"A baptism of divine power?"

Xiao Wen scoffed inwardly. Gods, or beings that claimed to be gods, on all of Earth, there was perhaps only one such existence, right?

Even he himself was a notch weaker than that person.

Following behind Sona, he arrived before the statue of the three Phantom Gods in the city center.

Although this was the second time he had seen the massive statue of the three gods, and the inverted triangular pyramid in the sky, Xiao Wen's shock had not diminished in the slightest.

Sona looked at the three god statues with a devout expression, chanting words.

She spread her five fingers, palm facing down, and raised her arms above her head, bowing towards the statues of the three Phantom Gods.

As she knelt, the calm ground trembled, and an ancient altar rose from beneath the ground, inscribed with countless complex characters and the figures of powerful monsters.

"This... this is..."

As Xiao Wen's gaze fell upon these words, faint, illusory images began to unfold in his mind.

It was the rage of monsters towards the heavens!

It was monsters declaring war, monsters fighting with all their might.

It was the soul of monsters! Their indomitable spirit!

"Step up, receive the baptism of the gods, and only then can you be considered a true Heir of Duel City, and walk the path that all past Pharaoh Kings had to tread," Sona said earnestly.

Xiao Wen shrugged, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Is it really that serious? It's just a game, isn't it? Why make it so formal? It almost makes me feel like there needs to be some kind of ritual."

For a fleeting moment, an absurd thought crossed Xiao Wen's mind.

Perhaps this wasn't a game, but reality...

But it was only for an instant before Xiao Wen cast it aside, stepping onto the altar.

The moment Xiao Wen stood there, a beam of golden light descended from the tip of the inverted pyramid on the ceiling, illuminating the three Phantom Gods.

"Roar!"

"Grrr!"

"Screech!"

As if three exceptionally powerful bodies materialized from the petrified forms of the three gods, their roars and cries echoed in Xiao Wen's ears, making his soul tremble.

The Millennium Puzzle on his chest seemed to sense the power of the three gods, and it too erupted with a brilliant golden light, shining in response.

As the Millennium Puzzle revealed its power, six illusory golden figures suddenly appeared in the sky.

"These... these are the remaining six Millennium Artifacts."

Sona's mouth gaped open, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Ding!

Among the six Millennium Artifacts, the Millennium Eye suddenly burst into light, overpowering the other five and merging into Xiao Wen's body.

Outside, in the room, it was already bathed in a dense golden light. The ancient runes that were only on his chest and forehead began to spread, covering Xiao Wen's eyes, then instantly vanished, returning to peace.