Millennium Scales (manga)
The Millennium Scales (
The Millennium Scales is one of the seven Millennium Items, which were created to use as weapons to help Egypt defend from foreign invaders. The Scales were later safekept by the Tomb Guardians and used by Shadi Shin to judge people's sins.
Contents
History[edit]
Ancient Egypt[edit]
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. The first holder of the Millennium Scales was a High Priest serving Akhenamkhanen.[1]
Tragoedia was caught intruding in the Shrine of Wedju and his involvement in an assassination attempt on the Pharaoh was questioned. The Millennium Scales holder conducted a Weighing of the Heart on him to test his sins. The White-Winged Ka assimilated the sin of Tragoedia's heart and was placed in one side of the Millennium Scales. The Feather of Ma'at, which represented his good deeds, was placed on the other side. The side of Tragoedia's sins quickly slammed to the ground and was so heavy that the White-Winged Ka turned black. The Priests were astonished that a man's sins could be so heavy, but Tragoedia laughed that theirs must also be heavy after what they did at Kul Elna.[2]
The Millennium Scales were later passed on to another High Priest, Kalim.[3]
Bakura, King of Thieves entered the Pharaoh's palace and confronted Atem and the High Priests. His presence caused the Millennium Scales to tilt wildly as it weighed his evil.[4] In the the Diaha that ensued, Kalim used the Millennium Scales to summon the ka, Bastet, from a slab in the Shrine of Wedju.[5]
During another Diaha with Bakura, Kalim used the "Ka Fusion" ability of the Millennium Scales to merge his ka, Curse of Dragon, with Seto's ka, Duos.[6] A piece of his and Seto's ba were placed in either side of the Scales, which resulted in balance and enabled the fusion,[7] combining the two ka into Duos Dragon.[6] However Bakura killed Kalim in the battle and took the Millennium Scales. This caused Duos Dragon to defuse and Curse of Dragon to disappear.[7]
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.[8]
The "Scales of Truth" (真理を量る天秤) were mentioned in the scene "The Final Judgment" or Weighing of the Heart in the 125th chapter of the Book of the Dead; When the deeds of the deceased are weighed before Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, the Feather of Ma'at is placed on one side of the Scales and the heart of the deceased on the other side. If the sins were heavier than the feather, the deceased was to be fed to Ammit.[9]
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[edit]
Shadi traveled to Japan to use the Millennium Scales 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.[9]
Shadi first visited Kanekura and reminded him of The Final Judgment from the Book of the Dead. He placed the Millennium Scales on the table before Kanekura, identifying them as the Scales of Truth and conducted the Question of Truth Shadow Game, which operated similar to the Weighing of the Heart; The Feather of Ma'at was placed on one side of the Scales. Shadi asked Kanekura a series of questions and if he lied, the other side would become heavier with the weight of his sins. Should that side touch the table, Kanekura would suffer a Penalty Game. Kanekura failed and as Penalty Game, imagined himself being eaten alive by Ammit,[9] which resulted in him dying from a shock-induced heart attack.[10]
Shadi intended to likewise put Yoshimori on trial, but postponed when he saw an opportunity to use Yoshimori as a puppet in testing Yugi Mutou's worthiness as holder of the Millennium Puzzle.[10] Upon conceding defeat to Dark Yugi in the Trial of the Mind, Shadi spared Yoshimori.[11]
King's Memories[edit]
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 Scales and Key were in Shadi's possession.[12]
Following Shadi's orders, Bobasa was entrusted the Millennium Scales and Key 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.[12][13]
Yugi's friends wished to follow Dark Yugi to the World of Memories to help him and Bobasa agreed to help them search for the entrance from inside Yugi's soul room. However before letting any of them in, he used the Millennium Scales to test for evil in their hearts. Anzu Mazaki, Katsuya Jonouchi, and Hiroto Honda all passed. However the Scales sensed evil within Ryo Bakura's heart, which Bobasa and Yugi suspected was to do with Bakura's possession of the Millennium Ring.[14]
Rite of the Duel[edit]
The Tomb Guardians looked after the Millennium Scales and Key and returned them to Atem in the Shrine of the Underworld. Atem placed the Scales 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.[15] 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.[16]
History of possession[edit]
| Holder | Means of acquisition |
|---|---|
| High Priest | First holder, after the Millennium Items were created |
| Kalim | Succeeded his predecessor as High Priest |
| Bakura, King of Thieves | Stole |
| Akhenaden | Took to summon Zorc Necrophades |
| Tomb Guardians | Safekept |
| Shadi Shin | One of the last tomb Guardians |
| Bobasa | Looked after for Shadi |
| Tomb Guardians | Looked after for Shadi |
| Yugi Mutou | Given to |
| Nobody | Buried in the Shrine of the Underworld |
References[edit]
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 308 (Millennium World Duel 30): "The Birth of the Millennium Items!!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX chapter 31: "Darkness on the Move!!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 283 (Millennium World Duel 5): "The Six Chosen Priests"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 285 (Millennium World Duel 7): "Bakura, King of Thieves"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 287 (Millennium World Duel 9): "The Father's Shadow"
- ↑ a b Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 317 (Millennium World Duel 39): "Return of the Priests!"
- ↑ a b Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 318 (Millennium World Duel 40): "Together Against the Darkness!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 305 (Millennium World Duel 27): "Ruler of Shadows!!"
- ↑ a b c Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 13: "The Man from Egypt (Part 1)"
- ↑ a b Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 15: "The Other Criminal"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 20: "Game Over"
- ↑ a b Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 281 (Millennium World Duel 3): "Mystery of the the Artifact!!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 282 (Millennium World Duel 4): "Voyage into Memories"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 285 (Millennium World Duel 7): "Bakura, King of Thieves"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 338 (Millennium World Duel 60): "The Rite of the Duel!!"
- ↑ Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel 343 (Millennium World Duel 65): "The Journey of the King"
