Chapter 871: Boring, I Want to See Rivers of Blood
As Karim and Aknadin sealed Tragoedia into the stone tablet, it seemed that because Seto had drawn away some of its power with the Millennium Rod, Tragoedia's relief on the stone tablet appeared for only a moment before disappearing again, and a hole also appeared in the center of the stone tablet.
The phantoms dissipated one by one, and Aknadin and the others' figures disappeared. Only the image of that stone tablet remained, perfectly overlapping with the stone tablet Kaiba had seen illuminated by specks of light earlier.
"What was that just now...?" Kaiba cast a questioning glance at Karim beside him, seeking an explanation.
"That was a depiction of a scene from three thousand years ago, occurring before Pharaoh Aknamkanon's soul returned to the Underworld and before the ascension of the Pharaoh we served. The astrologer Tragoedia's motives for his transgression were not important to us at the time, and we believed that merely sealing the monster Tragoedia away like that would resolve everything."
Kaiba nodded, having heard the name Thieves' Village from Tragoedia's mouth. Even if Karim was reluctant to mention it, he could roughly guess what had happened.
However, what was unexpected was that in the Thieves' Village chosen by Aknadin for the creation of the Millennium Items, besides Bakura, who styled himself as Thief King and personally experienced the massacre as a survivor, there were also others who had escaped disaster by being away from the village and not returning.
And despite hailing from the infamous Thieves' Village, to still become the Pharaoh's astrologer, Tragoedia clearly possessed considerable ability.
Karim paused, then continued, "At least for the first few decades, that was indeed the case."
"But a long, long time passed, so long that the three High Priests who sealed Tragoedia—Aknadin, who betrayed the Pharaoh to become the Dark High Priest; myself, Karim, who sacrificed my life fighting Zorc Necrophades; and you, Seto, who became Pharaoh—no, your past life, Seto Kaiba."
"Pharaoh Seto I's final decree during his reign was to separate and seal the Millennium Items, which possessed otherworldly power that humanity was not yet ready to receive. But at the same time the priests abandoned the Millennium Items passed down by their predecessors, the sealed Tragoedia quietly reawakened."
Hearing this, Kaiba was somewhat puzzled: "Wait a minute, you said before that Tragoedia's power wasn't strong, right? Even Seto alone could suppress it. So why did the succeeding High Priests become so useless that they couldn't suppress Tragoedia even without the Millennium Items?"
"Could it be that within that so-called stone tablet sealing spirits, Tragoedia continued to grow in strength?"
Karim shook his head, refuting Kaiba's wild guess: "No, although Aknadin later betrayed us, the knowledge he used was undoubtedly genuine. Monsters sealed within a stone tablet can still perceive the outside world, but all they can do is simple 'resentment' and 'impotent rage'. Their power won't change in the slightest due to this; instead, their intelligence will be completely eroded over the long passage of time."
"However, while its internal power did not change, that doesn't mean Tragoedia's strength couldn't increase. There is one thing that humans cannot speed up or slow down, and it was also the thing astrologer Tragoedia was most familiar with."
As he spoke, Karim pointed upwards.
Kaiba looked up and once again saw the deep blue ceiling of the Burial Site. Karim was, of course, not referring to the Burial Site itself, but to the starry sky above.
"That Tragoedia can actually use the power of the 'stars'?"
Although he didn't believe in such mystical things, Kaiba, as a Duelist, could easily accept Cyber Dragon, which supposedly uses the "Cyber Style" brilliance from the Draco Constellation, and Drytron, the manifestation of the Draco Constellation itself. And now, it seemed he had encountered a third type of Duel Monster related to the 'stars'?
"Human astrology? No; the stellar power of Duel Monster cards? Yes!"
Karim nodded in affirmation: "So-called astrology is the ability to predict the future based on known celestial phenomena. It appears vague, but is actually a profound study. And three thousand years ago, this power became incredibly strong due to the occurrence of a rare celestial event. That was the 'Planetary Alignment', also known as 'Nine-Star Alignment' and similar terms."
"Do you believe in gravity, Seto Kaiba? Gravity exists between all things; all things possess gravity. And the stars orbiting the supreme sun have always been pulling each other with gravity. When the signs of a 'Planetary Alignment' appear, the gravitational forces between the stars will be in a perfect superposition. And at that moment, astrology, which originally had limited power, would erupt with immense strength."
"It could even provide power to Tragoedia, who was once the Pharaoh's best astrologer but later became a monster sealed in a stone tablet, allowing its power to break through the limits of the stone tablet originally prepared for ordinary monsters and extend into the outside world."
"Mind Control – this was the power possessed by the monster that Tragoedia had fused with. Its original strength was quite weak, probably only enough to make someone suddenly feel a strong urge to go to the bathroom, and it wouldn't even work on someone who had just finished using the restroom."
"But under the enhancement of astrology's power, Tragoedia, who had been driven completely mad and whose entire being had transformed into a monster's mindset due to decades of seal, became so powerful that its ability could slightly take effect on High Priests who had undergone rigorous training and held the Millennium Items!"
Although Karim said the effect on the High Priests was only "slight," Kaiba still caught the key point: "The premise is that the Millennium Items were still in the High Priests' hands, right? But you said earlier that Seto's last command during his reign as Pharaoh was to separate and seal the Millennium Items?"
"That's troublesome, it sounds like it, doesn't it? Monsters invading, darkness engulfing, the kingdom falling into crisis as a result. I would love to tell a similar story, one that is full of twists and turns, captivating, and showcases my storytelling skills, but I cannot. Because in reality, the impact brought by Tragoedia stopped abruptly before it could even spread."
"The 'Planetary Alignment', which could maximally enhance 'stellar power', certainly benefited Tragoedia due to the influence of astrology. But ultimately, the astrology he used was merely the ability to utilize the residual light of the stars." Karim spread his hands, "How can mere starlight contend with the blazing sun?"
"Even if it were other Pharaohs from other eras, Tragoedia might have been able to cause quite a stir. But the Pharaoh who succeeded Seto was one who, throughout thousands of years of Egypt's history, could be called the strongest and most supreme. Ramesses II, a Pharaoh far surpassing other Pharaohs, who dared to proclaim himself a god during his lifetime, the only person on Earth not to be defied—he was the embodiment of the sun."
According to Karim's account, Ramesses II's process of dealing with Tragoedia went something like this:—
Tragoedia used its power to manipulate hearts, successfully controlling the Temple guard;
Tragoedia set an ambush, successfully luring Ramesses II to its home field, the sealed stone tablet temple;
Tragoedia felt it had a great advantage, Tragoedia went in for the attack;
Tragoedia, game over.
Ramesses II effortlessly broke through Tragoedia's abilities. Not only that, when Ramesses II learned that the 'Planetary Alignment' that Tragoedia utilized also contained a portion of the sun's power, this Pharaoh directly ordered the stone tablet, which already had a breach, to be further enlarged, forcibly separating the "stellar power" that made it stronger, to prevent it from causing trouble for others in the future.
Kaiba, who had originally expected to hear some good stories, ended up only hearing Karim's lavish praise for Ramesses II. He couldn't help but say, "Boring, I want to see rivers of blood."
"Since that Tragoedia has already been dealt with by that Ramesses II fellow, you still haven't answered my question: what is your purpose in bringing me here?"
Hearing Kaiba say this, Karim shook his head: "Problem solved? I thought so too a few years ago. But the problem is, other people actually stumbled in here by accident before you. That boy who ended up here was drawn by the gravity emanating from Tragoedia's stone tablet, spontaneously approaching and touching it."
"He was a child who, though somewhat gloomy in personality, was still considered kind. But perfect people do not exist in this world; he still had flaws deep in his heart. And these flaws and oversights were exploited by Tragoedia, turning that boy into its puppet."
"In the years that followed, that boy returned several times. Each time, he brought some cards here, and I recognized those cards—they were clearly the stellar power that Pharaoh Ramesses II had separated from Tragoedia's body back then."
"Three thousand years have passed, and unknowingly, the 'Planetary Alignment' is about to reappear. By then, Tragoedia's power will have grown to its strongest, yet in this era, there is no Pharaoh Ramesses II."
Karim looked at Kaiba and spoke solemnly, "That boy hasn't appeared for a year or two now, but I believe Tragoedia is still controlling him somewhere, attempting to revive itself. Please, you must defeat that trouble we carelessly left for future generations, Seto Kaiba. This is my request for bringing you here!"
As he spoke, Karim, to Kaiba's disbelief, actually lowered his proud head and pleaded sincerely.
Kaiba wasn't in a hurry to agree. Instead, he frowned and said, "Before that, you forgot something, Karim. You still haven't answered one of my questions: why are you, who should be dead, here? And why, despite knowing so much, are you just watching instead of personally intervening to stop Tragoedia?"
Hearing Kaiba's words, Karim sighed: "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. Let me show you something..."
As he spoke, Karim raised his hand. A golden light suddenly rose in his hand, coalescing into form—it was the Millennium Scale!?
"Three thousand years ago, to fight against the Great Evil God of Darkness summoned by the Dark High Priest, we High Priests gave our all to protect the Pharaoh, and I offered my life then." Looking at the slightly transparent Millennium Scale in his hand, Karim sighed with emotion: "I had thought my fate would be to fall into the Underworld and await the Death God's judgment. But to my surprise, the Millennium Scale possessed extremely special hidden power."
"The most famous legend of the Death God Anubis is the weighing of the heart and a feather to judge the fate of the deceased. Perhaps because of this, the Millennium Scale came to possess power related to death. After my death, I actually transformed into a wandering soul, carrying a portion of the Millennium Scale's power, roaming the world."
Glancing at the Millennium Scale in his hand, even Karim spoke with a hint of embarrassment, "Unfortunately, the real Millennium Scale seems to have also been affected and lost some of its power because of this, becoming somewhat weaker."
Kaiba nowadays was skilled at listening to supernatural topics he wasn't interested in and promptly forgetting them, not remembering anything Karim was saying. However, if Chumley were here, upon hearing Karim's words, he would most likely understand why Shadi was so weak when using the Millennium Scale.
Extending his hand, Kaiba watched his palm pass straight through Karim's body without any obstruction, and yet felt absolutely nothing. Kaiba instantly "understood."
"I see. Presumably, the so-called Millennium Items, made of gold, formed special internal structures due to the ancient people's primitive forging techniques, allowing them to retain a specific magnetic field for a long time. And the essence of human thought is the transmission of electrical signals; within a special magnetic field, a segment of electrical signals remains active and unconsumed for a long time. This is the true reason Karim has been able to 'exist' for thousands of years."
"Excellent, I am gradually understanding everything."
Watching Kaiba, who had suddenly become excited as if struck by inspiration, and unlike the chronically procrastinating Pegasus, was full of drive and wanted to immediately return to work, Karim spoke again: "The Tragoedia that has regained its 'stellar power' and is hiding in the shadows, awaiting the 'Planetary Alignment'..."
"The destiny of humanity, the future of the world, I entrust to you, Seto Kaiba."
As if experiencing a bad signal, Karim's figure before Kaiba suddenly blurred. The scene before him abruptly shifted as if a painting was fading. In the blink of an eye, Kaiba found himself leaving the Burial Site again and back on the street?
*(In the manga, Chazz isn't a comedic character from the anime; he's a proper male lead, who even defeated Jaden.)*
(end of chapter)