The Shadow Realm is known for being one of theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise’s most terrifying topics. This bizarre and cruel dimension could only be accessed with the power of the Millenium Items, with the souls of those who lost a game being trapped inside forever. Once there, the unfortunate duelists captured would be tortured ruthlessly, until their captors were defeated and their souls freed.
Despite how horrifying this idea might be, the sequel series,Yu-Gi-Oh! GXhas its own version of this twisted world, one that is surprisingly worse.The World of Darkness, home of the final antagonists of the anime, was a place where humans would be forced to see their dreams broken and confront their worse fears, until their will broke, and they became another slave for Nightshroud.
The World of Darkness Breaks The Will Of Any Human
No Living Person Could Hope To Defeat Its Power
In episode #6 of theYu-Gi-Oh! GXanime, it is revealed thatmany Obelisk Blue students mysteriously disappearedafter performing an ancient dark ritual in their dorm. This enigmatic occurrence was a recurring topic throughout most of the series, with one of Jaden’s best friends, Atticus, having been one of the duelists involved in the event. The truth behind the abandoned dorm was not revealed until episode #159, in which the ritual was depicted as carried out by Fujiwara. Atticus’ best friend successfully completed the steps to awaken the embodiment of darkness,the powerful and manipulative Nightshroud.
His actions prompted this evil force to take him back to his realm, the World of Darkness,a place filled with nothing but shadows and nightmares. Those who enter this dimension are tortured every day, with the entities who live there forcing them to confront their worst fears until their will is broken. Once this occurs, the humans abducted by Nightshroud are forgotten by the people who knew them, effectively erasing them from history. They immediately become willing puppets of the dark creature, following his every whim.
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Nightshroud would then use them to hunt and challenge other humans, kidnapping them as well if they failed to defeat his vessels. The duelists controlled by the embodiment of darkness were fully aware of their actions and could not free themselves from his influence. The dangerous entity did so to fulfill his desire to bring peace to the universe, as he believed that emotions and free will were the cause of all evils.
Nightshroud Forced His Slaves To Hurt Their Loved Ones
He Used Their Opponent’s Emotions Against Them
Although the fact that Nightshroud used the duelists he abducted as harbingers of pain after stripping them of their will to live is already terrifying, this is by far not the worst thing he did. Throughout season 4 of theYu-Gi-Oh! GXanime, the ruthless nature of this creature was brought to light whenhe forced his slaves to duel against their loved ones. He would force them to do this knowing that their targets would not want to hurt them, making it easier for them to lose their duels.
This was better exemplified during episode #174, which featuresthe infuriatingly unfair duel between Atticus and Fujiwara. The former spent most of their battle trying to appeal to his friend’s humanity, hoping to free him from Nightshroud’s control. Fujiwara took this opportunity to overpower his best friend, winning the duel andoffering the soul of his once dear companion to the forces of darkness. Since he was fully aware of his actions during this encounter, Fujiwara was left with the memory of his friend being dragged to a world where he would be tortured mercilessly.
Doing so caused the Obelisk Blue student to feel responsible for Atticus’ fate, as proved by his fear and guilt once he was rescued from the darkness byJaden’s powerful monsters. It is fair to assume that most other duelists controlled by Nightshroud went through a similar experience, being forced to watch as they doomed their loved ones to be tortured and stripped of their humanity. A trauma like that is likely to stick with them for the rest of their lives, continuing to torment them even after being freed from their monstrous master.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GXis undoubtedly one of the darkest and most ahead-of-its-time seasons in the franchise. While its first few episodes might make it seem like a joyful anime about a dueling school, this amazing show hides a plethora of horrifying details that prove it is a complex and mature story. This is one of the reasons why fans of this iconic series love Jaden’s adventures so much.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Cast
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX follows Jaden Yuki, a talented young duelist, as he enrolls in Duel Academy, a prestigious institution where students train to become expert duelists.
