After the Oracle of Eternity finished telling him everything about evolution, Atem took a deep breath. The weight of that knowledge sat in his chest, heavy but steady. He placed his hand over his heart and nodded once.
"Very well," he said softly, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Let us go and meet this sealed dragon. Perhaps I can learn something from him."
He stepped forward. The cave was darker here, the faint glow of crystals on the walls dimming as if warning him away. But the Oracle's presence in his mind was constant, like a lantern that didn't shine outward but inward, guiding his path.
<
The deeper he went, the heavier the air became. At first it was just a slight thickness in his lungs, like breathing through fog. But as he walked, each breath seemed to carry weight, as though the cave itself was pressing down on him. His skin tingled, small shocks running along his arms and legs.
"This… is magicules," Atem murmured to himself.
<
The sound of water dripping from the ceiling filled the silence, each drop louder than before. Pools reflected the faint glow of blue crystals, but the light seemed warped, bent by the thick magicules. Atem's eyes narrowed as he adjusted to the strange haze, his instincts sharpening.
He slowed his steps, each footfall echoing like a drumbeat. His cloak dragged softly over the damp stone. The further he walked, the more his heartbeat matched the strange rhythm of the cave itself, as if the very walls pulsed with hidden life.
Then it happened.
A voice thundered in his head, so sudden that Atem stopped mid-step.
"Human—come closer."
The words didn't echo like normal sound. They struck directly inside his skull, vibrating in his bones. Atem's breath caught. His eyes scanned the dark, but there was no figure, no movement. Only the voice.
It was powerful, filled with weight like a storm ready to break. Yet beneath that power, Atem sensed something strange—almost curious, almost playful.
He set his jaw. "Who are you?" he asked firmly, though his voice echoed only in the cave.
The Oracle's tone returned, calm and matter-of-fact.
<
Atem narrowed his eyes, steadying his breath. His mind raced, but he kept his voice calm, controlled.
"So this is the dragon… sealed here in the depths," he whispered to himself.
The voice came again, louder, impatient, filling his mind with pressure.
"Come closer, human. Show yourself..."
Atem clenched his fists for a moment, then released them. His steps resumed, slow and deliberate. He would not show fear. Whatever waited in the shadows ahead, he would meet it as Pharaoh.
Atem kept walking, step by slow step. The closer he came to the hollow, the heavier the air felt. It pressed at his chest like a hand. His breath came a little shorter. The glow in the crystals around him brightened and the cave itself seemed to lean in.
At first he only felt the presence. Then he saw it.
Veldora was enormous. Bigger than any beast Atem had imagined. The dragon lay coiled, each turn of his body as wide as a ruined hall. His scales flashed with pale lightning that ran beneath the skin like a trapped storm. Where the dragon brushed the stone, the rock looked worn and polished, as if wind had rubbed it smooth for ages. His wings were folded like great clouds, layered and heavy. His tail curled and disappeared into the dark like a rolling hill.
Up close, Veldora's bulk gave Atem an odd, dizzying feeling. He thought of the great cards and monsters from his old life — Obelisk's raw power, Slifer's sky-sweeping presence, Ra's godlike heat — and all of those flashes came together. Veldora felt like all of them in one living thing: the force of Obelisk, the storm reach of Slifer, and the divine weight of Ra. It made Atem's heart beat faster, not with fear but with a sharp respect.
As he stood at the rim of the seal, Veldora slowly lowered his head. The dragon's eyes opened, wide and wet with light. They took him in with a calm, almost curious stare that made the cave seem smaller by comparison.
Then the dragon's voice filled Atem's mind—deep and soft and enormous. It did not come as sound so much as a thought that wrapped around him.
"You are the first human that is able to approach me and not die because of the pressure," Veldora said. His tone held no anger. It was a little surprised, a little amused.
Atem felt a rush of many things at once: shock that he had come this far, relief that his body and will were holding steady, and a quiet pride that his training had not failed him. He swallowed and found his voice steady.
"I am Atem," he answered, low but clear. "Pharaoh. I came to speak."
Veldora's great head tilted, as if studying the small figure before him. Atem could feel the dragon's curiosity like a breeze. For a long moment they simply looked at each other — man and storm — each measuring the other in silence. The cave held its breath.
Veldora was coiled like a mountain given life, each scale gleaming like polished stone, arcs of pale lightning crawling beneath his skin. His folded wings were layered like storm clouds, and his tail stretched into the shadows. Even sealed, his body radiated power that pressed down on everything. Atem's eyes narrowed slightly, taking in the size, the sheer weight of his presence.
The Pharaoh had faced gods before—Obelisk, Slifer, Ra—but the sight of Veldora still stirred something in him. The raw strength of Obelisk, the storming presence of Slifer, the divine heat of Ra—all of them lived in this one being. Atem could not help but feel the comparison.
As Atem drew closer, Veldora's massive head lifted slightly. His storm-bright eyes focused, narrowing with curiosity. Then, with a slow movement, he leaned closer, lowering his head until the air quivered with his breath.
The dragon's gaze was sharp, but there was something else too—confusion.
"…Strange," Veldora muttered in a deep rumble, his voice echoing not just in the air but in Atem's very mind. "A human. And yet you can stand here, breathing freely… Most would have been crushed into nothing long before reaching me."
Atem held his ground. His red eyes glinted under the faint crystal light, calm but unyielding. "I have endured worse trials," he said evenly. "Your presence is mighty, but it does not break me."
For a moment, silence filled the hollow. Then—
Booming laughter.
Veldora threw back his head and laughed, a sound that shook the stone and made the puddles ripple like drums. "Hahahaha! Good! Very good! You are the first human in centuries to stand before me without crumbling. I like you already!"
Atem did not smile, but the corner of his lips twitched faintly. "If I am the first, then perhaps fate has its reasons."
Veldora tilted his head, still grinning with sharp teeth. "Bold words, little Pharaoh. Yes, I can tell—you are not ordinary. Your energy is strange, layered. Old and new all at once. And those…" He glanced at Atem's sides, where Dark Magician stood tall and Kuriboh hovered with a squeaky trill. "Spirits. Two of them, clear as day. Most humans couldn't dream of carrying even one. You must be powerful indeed."
Atem placed a hand lightly on his chest. "They are not merely followers. They are allies, guardians, part of me. We walk together."
Veldora's eyes softened with something almost like excitement. "Interesting, interesting! It has been so long since I had company. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Veldora, the Storm Dragon! One of the true dragons who reign supreme in this world. Remember that name well, Pharaoh Atem!"
His declaration boomed like thunder, the cave walls shaking as if to honor him.
Atem bowed his head ever so slightly, not out of fear but respect. "Then I shall remember it, Veldora the Storm Dragon."
Veldora's grin widened. "Hah! I like the way you speak. Serious, calm—nothing like the fools I used to scare away. Tell me then, Atem—where do you come from? Your energy does not feel like that of this world. And these spirits… they're far too unusual. You are not some wandering mage, are you?"
Atem paused. His hand lingered at his side, his cloak swaying gently as if stirred by the unseen current of magicules. His eyes met the dragon's glowing ones, unwavering. "I come from another world. My powers are my own, shaped by my past. As for my companions… they are born of bonds I cannot sever."
Veldora's eyes widened, and then he let out a surprised snort of laughter. "Another world, you say? Hah! Fascinating! No wonder you feel so strange! Truly, you're not boring at all!"
The dragon's amusement lingered, but then his voice dropped a little, carrying weight. "Since you are my first guest in centuries, let me share something in return. Long ago, I was sealed here by a hero. A single human, of all things."
Atem's brows furrowed slightly. "…A hero?"
"Yes," Veldora rumbled, his tone somewhere between annoyance and grudging respect. "I destroyed a city—carelessly. I thought it was just play, chasing storms, tearing through the sky. But the hero appeared. I laughed at him, dismissed him. One human against a dragon? Ridiculous! But he was clever. He used a sealing spell, with iron, chants, and a circle drawn into the very ground. Before I knew it, I was trapped here."
He let out a sigh that made the air swirl like wind through a canyon. "Centuries have passed since then. Centuries of silence, boredom, and loneliness. You are the first person I've spoken to since."
Atem studied him carefully. He could feel the dragon's loneliness hidden behind his proud voice. "So that is why you are sealed," he said softly. "Carelessness brought you here. Yet you endure."
Veldora huffed, his tone turning playful again. "Indeed! But now I have a guest—a human who can withstand my pressure! This is wonderful! Tell me more of your world, Atem. Tell me your stories!"
Atem allowed himself a small exhale through his nose, almost like a laugh but too soft to be called one. "Very well. We will speak. But I will ask questions too, Veldora. If I am to understand you, I need the whole truth."
The dragon's grin widened again, thunder dancing in his eyes. "Hah! Agreed! Ask, Pharaoh! I'll tell you all you want!"
And so, in that sealed hollow, a dragon and a Pharaoh began to talk—one loud, curious, and restless, the other calm, steady, and searching. Two beings from different worlds, meeting for the first time, their voices echoing in a cave heavy with storms and silence.