After some clever negotiation, Youmi borrowed the Millennium Key from Shadi. It was only temporary—before Youmi left this world, Shadi would come to retrieve it.
"Although I don't have much hands-on experience, somehow, I feel this should work." A flash of garbled light flickered from her left hand as she pressed the Millennium Key against Marik's forehead and twisted.
The door to Marik's heart opened. Much like Yugi and Atem's situation, two doors appeared before Youmi, each leading to a completely different room.
Since Yami Marik had already vanished during the Shadow Game, the chamber belonging to him had begun to collapse. The dark memories within still needed to be reabsorbed by Marik.
The corresponding room was a dim underground chamber filled with torture devices.
In contrast, the world within regular Marik's heart was beyond Youmi's expectations… an endless highway. Marik sat astride a red motorcycle, riding along the road—though not very fast, likely because he had never seen what a motorcycle looked like at full speed.
"Marik!" Youmi waved, trying to call out to him, but failed to get his attention.
With no other choice, she used her own way to catch up. Since this was a mental landscape, abilities could bend to willpower. With practiced ease, Youmi summoned a Duel Disk, pressed her left hand to materialize a card, and placed it onto the disk. "I Normal Summon the Tuner Monster [Superheavy Samurai Motorbike]."
A magenta motorcycle appeared beside Youmi. She changed into a biker outfit and mounted it.
Marik had always yearned for motorcycles. Ever since the day he ventured into the outside world and saw bikes and their riders in magazines and on TV, he had longed to own one himself—to freely ride on the open road.
However, his fate as a member of the Gravekeeper tribe prevented that dream. Now, trapped in the vortex of vengeance, he could not escape.
For a long time, he had been haunted by two recurring dreams.
One, of being abused by his father—whipped mercilessly—and of Odion, who tried to protect him, beaten within an inch of his life.
The other, of returning from the outside world that day, still overwhelmed by all he had seen, only to find Odion near death and his father already killed.
Though today, for some reason, he was having a completely different, lighthearted dream, Marik couldn't fully immerse himself in it. After all, half of his revenge plan had already failed today… one of the Egyptian God Cards, [Slifer the Sky Dragon], had slipped into Yugi Muto's hands because of his mistake.
Huh? Did he just misremember the name of the Egyptian God Card?
Probably not. He had used it himself today.
While he was distracted by these thoughts, the roar of an engine suddenly rose behind him. Marik turned his head and saw Youmi closing in on a bizarre yet undeniably stylish motorcycle, speeding up rapidly until she drew even with him.
"Y-Youmi-onee-san?" Marik stared in surprise as she caught up, startled but not crashing—likely because he had never seen a crash before and thus couldn't imagine falling; And because this was a world of the mind, where awareness shaped form. "Why are you here?"
"Yo, Marik. So you like motorcycles, huh?" Youmi had indeed forgotten that Marik had this passion. Though she now wore a biker suit, she couldn't actually ride; she had simply set [Motorbike] to autopilot and activated [Soulgaia Booster] on her Duel Disk to boost forward. "Quite an unexpected hobby."
From her chest pocket in four-dimensional space, Youmi drew out the Millennium Key, traced a circle in the air ahead, and said, "As much as I'd like you to find some comfort in a dream like this, sorry—I'm in a hurry."
A golden circle formed, opening a portal directly in Marik's path. Youmi patted the [Superheavy Samurai Motorbike] beneath her, steering it slightly so they entered together.
Crossing through, the two emerged onto a vast plain. Before them stood a stone gate leading underground—the entrance to Marik's former home.
"This is..." Marik's motorcycle slowed and stopped. He dismounted, staring at the gate.
Youmi followed close behind. Her [Motorbike] powered down and vanished. She reverted to her default [Lovely Labrynth of the Silver Castle] attire and walked up beside Marik. "Marik, I remember you told me you came to Domino City to take revenge on 'Yugi Muto'—the 'Nameless Pharaoh', right?"
"Youmi-onee-san... that's right. I came to Domino City for revenge on the Nameless Pharaoh. But why ask that now?" Marik clenched his fists. Painful memories resurfaced in his mind, and even the sky seemed to darken.
Youmi pointed at his current form. "Because that's what I'm about to show you. Take a look at yourself first."
"My body?" Marik lifted his hands and found they had become transparent. "This is..."
"My field is mazes, but I don't want to play tricks in a moment like this. I'll just say it outright—" The Millennium Key shone brightly. Outside Marik's conscious chamber, the contents of Yami Marik's heart poured into his.
As storm clouds swirled, two familiar figures appeared beside them—a young brother and sister. "What I'm showing you now are the memories you've forgotten."
They were Ishizu and young Marik, sneaking out into the world.
"This... that time... why are you showing me this now?" Marik's voice trembled as he watched the siblings open the door, about to enter. Pain and sorrow colored his tone; he turned his head away. "This is... the past I least want to remember."
"Don't run away. You must face the truth." Youmi stepped forward, cupped Marik's face, and made him meet her gaze. Her silver eyes seemed to pierce straight into his soul, leaving no room to refuse. "If you keep avoiding it, you'll never move forward. Someone like that can never reach the future."
"Youmi-onee-san..."
Though he didn't want to revisit the past, Marik couldn't resist Youmi's determination. Together, they followed the young Ishizu and young Marik into the underground chamber.
"At that time, you didn't notice the trap at the entrance. If you had, maybe things would have turned out differently, huh?" Because of the Millennium Key, Youmi had previewed this blurry memory before entering Marik's heart. As Ishizu's gaze shifted, Youmi spotted the trap as well.
"Yeah, back then... If I had been more careful, maybe Odion wouldn't have... but Father—" As Marik retraced his memories with Youmi's guidance, he found the parts about his father oddly distorted—no matter how he tried, it was as if a fog kept him from seeing clearly. "Father... he must have been killed by someone from the outside world… because of the Pharaoh."
"Then let's keep watching." As young Ishizu realized something was wrong and ran downward, Youmi turned back and extended her hand to Marik. "Will you take my hand, little brother Marik?"
...
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