The Transmigrated Duelist

"Release the Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon on your field!

I bestow this powerful monster upon you, kishishishishi!"

"K-ki sa ma!!!"

Seeing the Three Phantom Gods he had just summoned with great effort being swapped for a Lava Golem before he could even properly enjoy them, You Ling felt an urge to throw a punch if not for the screen separating them.

"Hahaha! Kimo ji~ You Ling! How does it feel to have the Three Phantom Gods you painstakingly included in your deck, even at the cost of hand-clogging, used as sacrifices?"

Even through the screen, You Ling could feel that his childhood friend's face must be plastered with the same exaggerated expression as Marik.

"You bastard, bringing out cards like that! What happened to a 'daylight duel' between real men!"

"Daylight duel? Sorry, this is a 'Shadow Game' where the loser has to grant the winner one condition!

For victory, of course I'd cast aside such useless things!

I only respect victory!"

"Besides, what era is this? Still clinging to 'Three Phantom Gods' from the old days.

You old fossils, there's no ship in this new era that can carry you anymore. Make your exit!"

The cold words came through the microphone. Though You Ling's retort had been sharp, his heart had turned to ice.

[Damn, I wanted to pull off some fancy moves, but now it's turned into a circus.]

Looking at the bluff card he'd had set for ages on his back row, then at the "Last Kami" in his hand that perfectly matched the opponent's style, and the 'meaningless' card he'd held from the start...

Sigh~ Maybe I should just buy a ticket back to Gotham.

[No! It's not over yet! I still have Life Points. As long as I survive the next turn, I definitely can...]

You Ling shook his head, his resolve firming once more.

"Oh, don't forget, compared to your life points, which are like a candle in the wind, your deck might run out first~"

This perfectly timed remark made You Ling suspect the opponent could hear his thoughts.

[Did this guy go to Egypt and secretly swap for Golden Eyes or something?!]

But since the opponent mentioned the deck, You Ling casually glanced over.

"Hmm, isn't there... just one card left?!"

It's over. Now there isn't even time to buy a ticket.

Next time, The Death of You Ling!

Duel standby!

"End of turn. Enjoy your last turn! You~ Ling~"

"Heh heh~~ I wonder what condition I should ask for then~"

As everyone knows, Yu-Gi-Oh! players tend to become less restrained as victory approaches.

The opponent's voice was growing increasingly perverted, as if he were already fantasizing about the wonderful settlement screen after victory.

Time ticked by, and You Ling seemed to have accepted his fate.

However, just as the opponent was growing impatient, a stirring BGM suddenly started, followed by a booming line delivered through the microphone to the opponent.

"Sore wa dou ka na!"

"What the heck! You scared me! Did you drag this out just to set up this ridiculous BGM!"

You Ling completely ignored the opponent's words and continued speaking.

"You just used the word 'candle in the wind', didn't you!"

"Hm? So what~ This isn't an anime, there's no such thing as a 'shining draw'."

Seeing You Ling like this, the opponent also re-entered the duel state.

"And with my Life Points and back row, there's no way you can break through in one turn!

And when the turn ends, it will be your defeat. That's right, just wait until the turn ends!"

"Thank you for the reminder. But don't forget, my deck only has one card left!

In other words, I know exactly what my next draw will be!"

"So what? With just one card, you can't—"

"For a duelist, nothing is impossible! I'll win for you right now!"

"My turn! Draw!"

As if it were a destined draw, a golden light flashed, and You Ling looked at the card he drew.

"YA☆ DA☆ ZE!

I activate the set card [Monster Reborn]! Revive, [Obelisk the Tormentor]!"

"Huh?! You've had a Monster Reborn face down for this long without activating it?"

The opponent clearly hadn't expected to be fooled by a normal spell for so long.

"Are you playing cards with me for the first time?"

"That's right~ It's definitely your style. But so what? Even if you revive all the monsters in your graveyard, you still can't defeat me in one turn."

You Ling ignored his opponent and continued his monologue.

"I'll proceed to banish the Revived Sky Dragon from the graveyard, and then retrieve Monster Reborn from the graveyard.

Then, similarly, revive! Slifer the Sky Dragon!

And then, what I just drew—Millennium Revelation activates! Send the Winged Dragon of Ra from my hand to the graveyard, and retrieve Monster Reborn again."

"N-no way!"

"That's right!

Millennium Revelation activates again! By sending it to the graveyard, I can revive the Sun God from the graveyard with Monster Reborn, ignoring its conditions!

Ra! Burn the enemy to ashes! The Winged Dragon of Ra, Special Summon!!!"

"?!"

"You, you're not going to summon that, are you?"

The person on the other side seemed to already know what You Ling was planning, and his tone already carried a hint of panic.

"That's right!

When Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra are all on the field simultaneously, the puzzle pieces for victory are complete!"

The 'meaningless' card in his hand, which he'd held since the start of the duel, finally glowed faintly, as if responding to the duelist who summoned it even at the cost of having a dead hand.

You Ling, without hesitation, responded to its expectation.

He straightened the chibi versions of the Three Phantom Gods he'd sculpted on the table, and clutched the Millennium Puzzle model he'd just assembled. After all, it was a rare opportunity to do something flashy, and You Ling was full of ritualistic fervor.

"In the name of the Pharaoh, I unite the Three Phantom Gods!

Descend, The Creator God of Light - Horakhty!"

He shouted the summoning incantation loudly, unashamed. Completely immersed in excitement, You Ling didn't notice that the Eye of Uagdo at the center of the Millennium Puzzle on his chest was simultaneously shining with light.

"Eat this! Toilet Cleaner—Hah!"

The excited voice abruptly stopped. You Ling himself, along with the three figurines on the table, vanished in the light, leaving only the overturned chair to record the fact that someone had been sitting there just moments ago.

The microphone icon on the screen continued to flicker, but there was no one left to respond.

"Hey! What the hell, that light is too damn bright! Bro, why is your animation different?"

"Why did it stop moving? Did you mess up the game by modifying the MODs?"

"Hey, are you still there? I'll be the one to pull the plug!"

"Bro, I'm a respectable duelist. Even though the game crashed, you still win this match."

"By the way, have you finished assembling the Millennium Puzzle I sent you? That's not some plastic junk from Bandai. I traded for it from a fellow fan when I was traveling in Egypt.

It feels like it's made of some special material. If it weren't for the lack of instructions, I wouldn't have been able to assemble it, and since it was your birthday, I ended up giving it to you."

"Also, did you finish making those chibi versions of the Three Phantom Gods you sculpted? How do they look? Counting the days, my adoptive father's birthday is coming up soon.

Ahem!

You know I'm a die-hard fan of Dark Magician, hehe~"

"Bro?"

"Still there? Lava Golem isn't out of the question either."

"Ghost?"

"Old You?"

"..."

"..."

In the depths of an unknown space, in a place undetectable by any instrument.

Within a ball of light radiating all around, You Ling, who had been engulfed, felt as if his soul had been shattered, his individual consciousness beginning to blur.

Well, not "as if"—You Ling's soul had indeed been scattered into three roughly equal fragments, with only one, slightly larger fragment managing to retain a sliver of consciousness.

"Could it be that 'Toilet Cleaner' attack was aimed at me?

Tsk, as expected, you can't joke around with these ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. 'Disrespect' still gets punished...

It's all that guy's fault for always calling me 'Ghost, ghost.' Now look, I'm really going to become a ghost."

Feeling his remaining consciousness gradually fading, You Ling's soul slowly sank into darkness.

The pure white light gradually contracted, then split into two light clusters, one red and one blue, enveloping two of the soul fragments.

The remaining light transformed into a sacred golden hue and surged towards the largest soul fragment, then led the other two clusters towards an even deeper unknown.

PS: New author here, just for fun.