It's fitting that I should be covering this chapter around when I'll be celebrating the spring equinox, starting from when all of us in the northern hemisphere will be inheriting A LOT of light over the next few months. It's not as if I'm NOT looking forward to it, because I am so tired of being cold all the time. I just need to do a lot of work in the garden, even more than last year. I have these plans to transfer some herbs to a nice little herb spiral, but I'm still very unsure of where to put it - my yard is surrounded by trees, so there's not really ANYWHERE in it that gets sun most of the day. I also have to construct my last planter and figure out where to put THAT too, so I'm just generally behind on planning for the spring and summer months.
Not that gardening isn't the furthest thing from these characters' minds at the moment...
Priest Seto kneels on their strangely intact dueling platform surrounded by rubble, in front of a blank tablet that once held the white dragon, wondering where the fuck he even IS. Atem calls out to him from across the way, and Priest Seto looks up in alarm at the pharaoh, and it starts to come back to him how his father chose to die, dragging his soul along for the ride into the shadows. A vision of Kisara's backlit peaceful face appears to him again, and he identifies her as his savior from the shadows.
You know, for how similar I'm meant to view Priest Seto is to Kaiba, I can't help but get a little caught up in the most bizarrely glaring differences. If it were Kaiba in Priest Seto's position here, he DEFINITELY would be smacking that offered hand away.
Priest Seto and Atem stand facing each other, but they're really looking at the rubble as far as the eye can see all around them. Priest Seto comments on how the darkness has faded, but left deep wounds in the now calmed earth. Atem remains silent as Priest Seto goes on about how many lives they've lost and how they have to keep a light for the fallen in their hearts, while working to build a new future. Hopefully those hearts are looking a little less like fucking PRISONS to these guys, at least. Otherwise that new future's going to seem a little bleak when all is said and done.
Atem glares down at his palm for a second, though it's not clear why. Afterwards, he looks up at Priest Seto and asks him to grant him the favor of inheriting the throne and becoming the new pharaoh. Priest Seto gapes in shock at the request, having to ask Atem to repeat himself, a sweatdrop at his temple. You mean to tell me that Akhenaden didn't even HAVE to permanently scar Priest Seto in order to get his stupid fucking wish??? Priest Seto starts demanding that Atem duel him again here and now, then, because he can only become pharaoh when he's defeated Atem, apparently. Ugh, men always have to make shit so complicated.
Atem grasps the string looped around his neck in his fist and softly asserts that he does NOT have the kind of time it takes to do a whole new duel for the throne.
The absolutely ABSURD level of trauma Priest Seto has to have after all of this...
And to add to the frustration, Atem starts going on about sealing Zorc Necrophades's and his own soul into the Millennium Puzzle 3000 years before, and the ending of the conflict is different now, but his body was lost beyond this point so he doesn't have any memories after this. Predictably, Priest Seto just kinda gapes in alarm, silently pondering the pharaoh. Probably not any wiser in the "what's going on?" department, unfortunately.
Atem appears to have pulled the Millennium Puzzle from around his neck, and is indicating that it didn't have to be shattered to defeat Zorc this time. He holds it out to Priest Seto and tells him it's the symbol of the pharaoh, demanding he take it. Atem commands Priest Seto to become the pharaoh in his stead restore peace to the land most of all, but also to... ahem, "make Egypt great again". I guess this "make x great again" phrase wasn't pegged as the fascist dogwhistle that it is today, to be fair. And I would wear a purple MEGA hat LONG before I'd so much as touch a red MAGA hat with a ten foot pole, so...
Priest Seto goes ahead and takes the Millennium Puzzle, but it doesn't look like he's really got full command over that decision. He's just operating out of shock at this point, jaw still slack with astonishment. Just before Atem disappears completely, he says he's counting on Priest Seto. Then he's gone in one final wisp of smoke. Priest Seto looks down at the puzzle in his hand, then up at the ruined kingdom he's inherited.
Goooooooooooood luck.
I kinda wish we could have seen asshole!Bakura completely implode before poor regular-sized Bakura passed out on the table.
A beam of light emits from the top of Yuugi's head, signaling his transformation, and when he opens his eyes again they're sharp and angular. Atem is back to sharing a body with Yuugi once more. Roomies! Anzu starts to say Yuugi's name, but Jonouchi blurts out Atem's name before she can get past the first syllable. Atem grins wide, addressing them all with joy that they got back, and gets confirmation back at just the same level of happiness.
Something catches Atem's eye and he glances off to the side where the coffins are still sitting all in a row, though empty now. He hangs his head, reflecting on how his friends' souls were trapped in the memory world while he was playing a shadow game with asshole!Bakura. He thanks his lucky stars that they all made it out of there okay.
Yuugi appears in his mind and welcomes him back, to which Atem responds with even greater joy than before. Suddenly, Yuugi's expression gets serious as he recalls that they found Atem's real name on this adventure, adding that asshole!Bakura tricked them into the shadow game so he could find the great power that names, rather this specific name, affords. They both look across the table at the still passed-out regular-sized Bakura. KT missed a golden opportunity to draw a little line of drool out of the corner of his mouth. For comedy purposes.
The group rounds the table to at last go check up on the poor guy, asking his unconscious form if he's okay. Honda assures everyone that it's all good, and he's just out cold. I don't know, guys, I'd still be getting him to the doctor ASAP if I were in their position. Jonouchi reaches for the Millennium Ring that is half-buried in the sand within the diorama, plucking it out of there as if it HASN'T been housing a malevolent spirit this entire time. No hesitation touching that thing whatsoever? Really?
But he turns to Atem and hands it straight over, saying it's best if HE hangs onto it. Atem glares at the artifact, thinking about how it housed all that evil for 3000 years, and he has to seal it away again to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. HOLD UP, WAIT, Atem STILL has to seal it back up? They didn't get rid of that asshole entirely with this? Dammit, should have known!!
Anyway, Anzu and Jonouchi have turned to the sarcophagus propped up behind the unconscious Bakura, Anzu telling them to take a look at it. Though Jonouchi is creeped out by it, he does look closely at it too.
The group's moving right along again, examining the diorama and its ruined little buildings. Jonouchi muses on how the temples and structures are all just rubble now, expressing some disbelief that they were actually IN there. Honda eagerly points out where the palace used to be, and Atem gazes at the spot thinking of Priest Seto. He's sure Priest Seto and the other survivors have a long hard road ahead, but he's also certain that they'll build a new world from the ruins, the light of their souls being passed through the generations.
Uhm, I seem to recall that this was a GAME world, and that the little people in there weren't actually the folks from the past and they're just projections from the memories in the puzzle...?
Regardless, Atem thinks he can absolutely see it now, the light of glory that shines so brilliantly. It's a vision of Priest Seto standing with his own battery of priests in a line behind him, arm raised to a crowd of cheering people below the elaborate balcony on which he's standing. Life goes on, I suppose.
Atem sees the puzzle also half-buried in the diorama sand, him and Yuugi both regarding it while the latter thinks at the former that it's almost time. Atem agrees, then pulls the puzzle from the diorama, looping its chain around his neck.
Too bad the trip isn't for pleasure.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? A fairly quick wrap-up, but not unsatisfying for the most part. Priest Seto kinda got shafted at the end there - as usual, he was just not given any time whatsoever to process what was happening. But at the same time it was just a little funny. Poor guy just gets the craziest shit dumped on him in some of his most vulnerable moments and no one sticks around long enough to take some of the burden off. It was probably just me, but after Atem disappeared on him, I got some major "well, this may as well happen" vibes off his expression, lol.
The group examining every point of the "game room" at the end there was understandable, since I too would be more than a LITTLE curious about all the weird details of the place in which I'd been unconscious for the last few hours. It was done a bit awkwardly, though, coming across as almost systematic in some places in order to give Atem his final thoughts on each matter. It didn't flow in a natural way, for the most part, so I found myself anticipating the next stop on the tour the moment the one before started.
And there are a couple of things that I don't think were tied up all that well, as I probably expressed above. It's still not quite clear just WHAT asshole!Bakura is, and therefore I'm not certain why a seal on the Millennium Ring is necessary. Thief!Bakura appeared to be using the ability of the artifact to put a piece of his soul into stuff BEFORE Zorc came out. Also, thief!Bakura just seemed to be a pawn in the larger game that asshole!Bakura was playing before, and he was taken out the moment that he wasn't needed anymore, so I very much doubt that it's just HIS measly soul-piece still taking up residence in there at this point. How many pieces of asshole!Bakura are in there, and would he be capable of starting up another Zorc resurrection plan with so many pieces of him obliterated by his LAST attempt? I'm supposing that such a chance at further chaos might be what Atem is guarding against, but I would have appreciated it being worded more in that vein, just to clarify.
Then there's Atem's fantasy of the game world continuing on through several generations as the real one might, which is kind of supported by the couple of panels that follow Atem's disappearance from it. It doesn't just collapse and end after he leaves, which has some interesting implications. Since the autonomy of the NPCs was established already, I get the impression that asshole!Bakura has created some sort of pocket dimension that continues to exist after the game based on Atem's memories is over. Asshole!Bakura ALSO established that this little game dimension is outside of time and reality, its inhabitants removed entirely from the cycle of reincarnation, and their souls going to oblivion after death in this world. Pretty dark consequences to asshole!Bakura's plan, even though Atem and company were ultimately able to defeat him and get back to their reality. I hate to know what might happen if they disassemble that diorama!
Also, can we talk about how completely callous these kids are toward regular-sized Bakura? Poor kid has been suffering under the tyranny of asshole!Bakura this whole time, has been put out more than once over all this nonsense, worked to the bone, and his own so-called friends just wave off his unconsciousness as though it's not the direct result of serious trauma? I mean, just because the guy LOOKS like the main antagonist doesn't mean that he hasn't been as much of a victim of that shit as the rest of them.
Maybe his fan club should come in and bear him out of there instead. I'm still quite put off by the concept, but at least THEY would be a little more concerned for the dude's health!
Yeah, the MEGA comment gave me pause when I reread this a while back. That didn't age very well.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of Evil Bakura, I think he's supposed to be some weird amalgam of Thief King Bakura and Zorc that just serves as an avatar for the latter, kind of like how the High Priest of Darkness was a separate entity from Akhenaten at one point. It's not really ever explained too well though. And yeah, the Millennium Ring is just straight up evil. For whatever reason, it is easily the most corrupted of the items.
I sure hope someone doesn't get in trouble over that bisected mummy.
LMAO 😂 Could you imagine if Bakura got in trouble with the museum staff and his father, the museum owner, over the split mummy? Like honestly I really feel sorry for Bakura, between the destroyed mummy and Pegasus's murder, he's going to have to be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life for any possible legal consequences of what asshole!Bakura did. Assuming that legal authorities beyond Domino decide to follow any of this up, of course, so eh, Bakura should be okay lol
DeleteIt must be the little stabby bits on the outer edge of the ring that make it so evil, lol!
DeleteAnd I seem to recall what limited police presence in Domino has been utterly impotent throughout the entirety of the story thus far, so my guess is ALSO that Bakura will be fine. Most he'll get is a little slap on the wrist by his dad. XD
Regarding the Millennium Ring, even without Zorc Necrophades, I think it just has bad vibes in general. Mahado did say that he had to use a significant portion of his magic to restrain the evil of the Millennium Ring well before any spirits got sealed up inside of it. I mean, ALL of the Millennium Items SHOULD have some evil to them; going back on Pegasus's comment of the Items having an evil intelligence to them (which I think can be inferred to be Zorc's influence), so I don't really know WHY the Ring would be particularly MORE evil than the rest of the items, but for some reason, it is I guess. I always thought asshole!Bakura is the essence of Zorc's consciousness and the reason he wanted the Millennium Items and Atem's name is so that he can open the door to the afterlife and the seal on his soul in order to give himself his own body again. You had Akhenadin with Zorc's mind/consciousness/influence and Atem sealed in the Millennium Puzzle and as Blue Magic said, you have a blend of the Theif King's and Zorc's soul sealed within the Millennium Ring.
ReplyDeleteWhen Horakhty destroyed Zorc, I think the destruction of Zorc was absolute: anyone or anything with Zorc's essence lost that essence. Akhenadin, in my opinion, DID seem to have more agency after Horakhty destroyed Zorc. I think at that point Zorc within the Millennium Ring was destroyed, which is why asshole!Bakura didn't attempt some last ditch attack on Yugi and everyone while they were still in their coffins unconscious and Yugi and everyone were able to wake up without incident, Bakura was already passed out from Zorc's destruction. However, I think even without Zorc, the Ring still has a lot of leftover evil (which Mahado referenced). This is just my headcanon though, I may be wrong. :^/
I'm actually not sure if the Memory World continues past that final panel with Pharaoh Seto; I always thought of that vision Atem had of Pharaoh Seto and his cadre of priests being a final vision (sort of like an epilogue in an RPG video game, like Final Fantasy) the Millennium Puzzle showed him. Seto does become pharaoh in the actual timeline (Ishizu does say that Seto commissioned that stele after Atem died, which I imagine he must have been pharaoh to do that), though Seto in the actual timeline couldn't have had the Millennium Puzzle, since it had been shattered and laid to rest in Atem's tomb, so idk. Also if you look at the panel of Pharaoh Seto and his priests, you can see Mana with the Millennium Ring, so she ended up taking Mahado's position, which is cool. 🙂
So this morning during breakfast I went and re-read the chapter where Mahado says that he had to restrain the evil of the Millennium Ring using a significant portion of his magic and he says exactly that the Millennium Ring hides a dark power and that it must have absorbed the evil of the last priest who wore it, that anyone not blessed with powerful Heka would have their soul set on fire the instant they put on the Millennium Ring. So I was mistaken, there is actually an in-story explanation on why the Millennium Ring is inherently more evil than the other Millennium Items, I had just forgotten this part of Mahado's dialogue to thief!Bakura. Whoops, my bad lol 😆
DeleteSo I may be mistaken but I THINK (I would have to go back and check) that Shadi says at one point that the Millennium Items are sort-of compasses of the soul (or was it Bakura?) and maybe they inherit the energy/vibes of those they choose? Not counting that bag of dicks Shadi (KT may try to frame him as a secret ally to Atem in the manga, but we all know the truth lol), the Millennium Items that were used against Atem both in the past and the modern day were the Millennium Eye, Ring, and Rod and I THINK those were the items taken by Akhenadin and the two priests that conspired with him in the Kul Elna massacre (again, I would have to go back and check, I may be mistaken). The Millennium Pendant/Puzzle is Atem's item and the Millennium Necklace and Scales was NEVER used against Atem (I think Shadi exclusively just used the Key against Atem in both Shadow Games in the modern era and even though Shadi is a great big bag of dicks, KT is clearly framing Shadi as being an ally to Atem and having just tested Atem without malicious intent).
Anyway, overall, the main point is that the Millennium Ring DOES have an evil to it even without any spirits sealed up inside of it.
I like your interpretation of the vision as an epilogue of a sort a lot better than my own, mostly because mine kinda creeps me out. It's interesting to think about as unavoidable consequences of asshole!Bakura's evil, but it reminds me of that line from the end of the Rick and Morty Story Train episode: "Do they exist? Yes, but not in any way that matters."
DeleteAnd I missed the part where Mana was in that vision with the ring! Girl's moving up in the world, love that for her!
Thanks for reminding me that Mahado actually mentioned that there was something off about the Millennium Ring in the first place, since I had totally forgotten. What you say here makes some sense about how the Millennium Items are implied to absorb some of the users' vibes, and those CERTAIN ones that were leaning way more evil were the ones used by the priests who went and performed the ritual at Kul Elna - that would explain to some extent why they and their users were a bit more on the corruptible side, and why it was so easy to amplify Akhenaden's resentment that he/his son didn't get to be pharaoh into full-blown hatred. The guy put that energy out there from DAY 1 in his little flashback dream, so that definitely would have gotten into the mix.
We're still lacking a bit of information about the guy who first had the Millennium Ring, though, so the fact that it is the MOST evil among all the items strikes me as a tiny bit arbitrary. I understand that KT didn't ultimately didn't have the ability to elaborate on a lot of these points, but the way that things shook out, with how much more info we have on the development of the eye and its long-time owner being the one to summon Zorc up, it makes WAY more sense that the eye would be the most corruptible item by far. Lacking the context around the ring's first owner, and its second owner being an undying loyal servant of the pharaoh, makes it seem like it should have accumulated less evil on aggregate.
True, that's a really good point, I didn't think of that; the eye should absolutely be the most evil of the Millennium Items considering it was the item of the main conspirator with a grudge that got explored at length in the manga (which even got a nice big boost in evil energy when thief!Bakura infused his own hatred into the Eye so Akhenadin would be his ally) who went on to became Zorc's fucking high priest of darkness of all things lol! The Eye SHOULD ABSOLUTELY be the most evil of them all!
DeleteLike yeah, thief!Bakura's first Millennium Item that he stole was the Ring (which later became a receptacle for the weird cocktail of his soul and Zorc's) but he also stole the Millennium Pendant/Puzzle and that isn't considered evil like the Ring, so not counting sealed souls, it is weird that it would shake down that the Ring is the worst one. On top of everything, the next two users after that first priest (not counting thief!Bakura because he also stole the Pendant/Puzzle which didn't affect it) was a guy who was absolutely good and had undying loyalty to Atem and then his student who is just as loyal to Atem.
I'm absolutely sure Mana took Mahado's place as priestess both in the Memory World and the actual timeline of events, especially considering we got lore in the card game of Dark Magician Girl being Dark Magician's student who isn't as strong as he is, yet has an ability to become just as strong as he is on the condition that Dark Magician is in the graveyard first because, as you noted in an earlier review of Atem's duel with Pandora, he died prematurely before he could pass ALL of his knowledge on to her (which is exactly what happened in the World of Memories so you absolutely called that correctly).
As you said, we're definitely lacking some context here. Between Mahado, Mana, and the fucking cinnamon roll that is regular Bakura (who life just shits on at every opportunity and interestingly, thinking about Mahado's line about one needing powerful magic to even wear the damn ring, WAS a high level wizard in the first Tabletop RPG campaign in the manga), on aggregate the Ring should absolutely have accumulated less evil!