Millennium Key (manga)

The Millennium Key

The Millennium Key, known as the Millennium Ankh (千（せん）年（ねん）錠（じょう） Sennen Jō) in the Japanese version, is an item in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. This is the original depiction of the Millennium Key.

The Millennium Key is one of the seven Millennium Items, which were created to use as weapons to help Egypt defend from foreign invaders.

History

Ancient Egypt

See also: Millennium Items (manga) § Creation

The Millennium Items were created using shadow alchemy and a sacrifice of human lives in the Kul Elna massacre, in order to protect the Egypt from foreign invaders. Their first owner of the Millennium Key was Siamun Muran.

The Millennium Key was later passed on to Shada.

A criminal, who attempted to rob Akhenamkhanen's tomb, was brought before Dark Yugi and the High Priests. Shada used the Millennium Key to look into the man's heart and saw the evil ka, Dark Spirit of Chaos. The other High Priests proceeded to extract the ka and seal it in a stone slab.

Bakura, King of Thieves entered the Pharaoh's palace and confronted Atem and the High Priests. Shada prepared to use the Millennium Key to look into Bakura's soul and was advised by Akhenaden to proceed with caution as the shadows of Bakura's soul were deep. When Shada peered inside, he was overwhelmed by the size of Bakura's ka, Diabound, and correctly predicted that the sealing stone they had prepared for it was too small. In the the Diaha that ensued, Shada used the Millennium Key to summon a dragon ka from a slab in the Shrine of Wedju, but it was defeated by Diabound.

Akhenaden acquired all the Millennium Items and placed them in a tablet, as part of a dark pact to gain power. He became the High Priest of Shadows and waged war with Atem.

The Millennium Items were looked after by generations of Tomb Guardians with the Scales, Key, Ring, and Eye eventually falling into the care of Shadi.

School

Shadi traveled to Japan to put Professor Yoshimori and Curator Kanekura on trial, considering their excavation of a Pharaoh's tomb to be an act of defilement and trespassing on the territory of the gods. He used the Millennium Key to see inside Kanekura's soul room and considered it to be full of the decaying scent of money and greed, and that monsters like Ammit enjoyed making their homes in places like that.

Shadi uses the Millennium Key to look into Yugi's soul

Shadi heard that Yugi Mutou was the one who completed the Millennium Puzzle. Knowing that the one who solved the Puzzle gained great power, he wished to check if Yugi had such power and used the Millennium Key to look into his soul room. He found two rooms in Yugi's soul; one for Yugi filled toys and another tomb-like one for Dark Yugi. He was met by Dark Yugi and Shadi introduced himself as an unwanted guest. Not willing to simply show Shadi the power, Dark Yugi imposed a Shadow Game, Labyrinth Treasure Hunt; somewhere inside the soul was Dark Yugi's true room and if Shadi could find it, then he would find what he was looking for. Shadi accepted, but announced his ability use the Millennium Key to "redecorate" and change an individual's personality when inside their soul room. Shadi lost the game as he was left dangling above a bottomless pit, but was saved by Dark Yugi.

Shadi uses the Millennium Key to redecorate Yoshimori's soul

Intent on punishing Yoshimori for the defilement of the Pharaoh's tomb, Shadi first used the Millennium Key to look into Yoshimori's soul room. He found the room to be filled with books on archaeology, artifacts excavated from tombs, and a photo of his family covered in dust. Shadi's reading was that Yoshimori has obsessed with the past, which caused him to neglect his family, which he came to regret. Shadi suspected the darkness in the room was fear and anxiety concerning Kanekura's death, but also saw light of hope as Yoshimori was awaiting a visit from friends. Shadi recognized Yugi among his friends and decided to postpone killing Yoshimori in favor of using him as a pawn to draw out Yugi's power. Shadi then used the Key's "Marionette Design" power to redecorate Yoshimori's room, turning him into a zombie-like puppet determined to make Yugi's friends suffer.

An ushebti holding up the Millennium Key Anzu Mazaki, reading to slide to Anzu's hand

The redecoration of Yoshimori alone was not enough to draw out Dark Yugi, so Shadi sought to create another puppet and used to Millennium Key to enter Anzu Mazaki's soul room. From what he saw in her room, Shadi found Anzu to be a likeable person. Regardless, he opted to use her to push Yugi, but gave her the dignity of not turning her in a monster, like he did to Yoshimori. He instead turned her into a doll, who stood motionless, unable to think or speak, but prepared to die on his command. This prompted Dark Yugi to emerge and take control of Yugi's body.

Shadi set up the Trial of the Mind Shadow Game to test Dark Yugi. He stood Anzu on a board, hung over the edge of the Domino University roof. The board was suspended by a rope, supported by four ushebti, representing Yugi's heart. The ropes ran through the Millennium Key, which was represented by one larger ushebti, representing Shadi's heart. The ushebti were configured to break if weakness in their corresponding heart was detected. Should all four of Yugi's break, the board would lose its support, letting Anzu fall to her death. Should Shadi's break, the Millennium Key would slide along the ropes and touch Anzu's hand and return her to her normal self.

Dark Yugi won the game, causing the Millennium Key to slide to Anzu, returning her to normal. Meanwhile Jonouchi held up the board that had become unstable, while the zombified Yoshimori harassed him. Dark Yugi helped Anzu back onto the building and instructed Jonouchi to make Yoshimori touch the Key, returning him to normal too.

King's Memories

Bobasa uses the Millennium Key to take Yugi and his friends to Yugi's soul room.

Yugi thought about how it was his duty to collect the Millennium Items and when listing the Items he had yet to collect, recalled how the Millennium Key and Scales were in Shadi's possession.

Following Shadi's orders, Bobasa was entrusted the Millennium Key and Scales and sent to Domino City Museum to meet Yugi and guide Dark Yugi to his World of Memories. Bobasa had slots in his clothing for each Millennium Item and had his two items inserted. (In earlier printings, the slots were in his skin.) He functioned as a safe by fastening a lock on his coat and swallowing the key, which he could regurgitate at will.

Yugi's friends wished to follow Dark Yugi to the World of Memories to help him and Bobasa agreed to help them. He used the Millennium Key to make them enter Yugi's soul room, where they searched for the entrance to the world.

Rite of the Duel

The Tomb Guardians looked after the Millennium Key and Scales and returned them to Atem in the Shrine of the Underworld. Atem placed the Key along with the other six Millennium Items into the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories. This caused him to split into a separate body from Yugi, so that the two may face each other for the Rite of the Duel. By experiencing defeat, Atem was deemed ready to pass on. His passing through the door to the afterlife, caused the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories to break and fall into the depths of the earth, taking the Millennium Items with it.