Yu - Gi - Oh ! Duelist - Duel 172 " Out of the Past " , also known as " Darkness of the Past " in the Japanese version , is the 172nd chapter of the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Duelist " manga in the English version and the 231st chapter of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " in the Japanese version . Summary . Horrified , Kaiba looks at the image of " The Sun Dragon Ra , " protesting that this isn ' t Ancient Egyptian . Mokuba asks Seto what ' s wrong , and Kaiba realizes that these are real hieroglyphs . He ' s never studied them , and yet he can read every word ; the secret power of " The Sun Dragon Ra , " a truth so shocking . With a gasp , he hunches over , Mokuba asking if he ' s all right . Kaiba remembers Dark Marik explaining about the Hieratic Text that the chosen ones could read with their hearts . He remembers Ishizu pointing out that the beast Summoned by the young priest who fights the Pharaoh is not unlike his " Blue - Eyes White Dragon . " Kaiba protests that this can ' t be , that vision he saw , was it a memory ? He asks himself what is happening to him . As the airship flies through the night sky , Isono announces that the day ' s events have come to a close with four Duelists advancing to the semi - finals . He explains that the semi - finals will take place at the third and final arena . Their ETA is approximately 7 a . m . Walking down the hallway , Anzu questions the third arena , and Jonouchi points out that the prelims were at Domino City , and then they fought on the ship . Yugi wonders what the third arena is like , guessing that it ' s where the blimp is headed . Jonouchi comments , who cares where it happens . He vows to make it to the finals with Yugi , and Yugi agrees . Anzu states that both Yugi and the other Yugi must be tired , asking how many people they fought today . Yugi admits it was a lot , and his other self ' s exhausted . Anzu sadly states that too many people have gotten hurt in this tournament , and Yugi agrees ; he didn ' t know it would be so hard . This reminds Jonouchi that he wants to check up on Mai . They arrive at her room ( Room 6 ) , but as Yugi raises his hand to knock , Ishizu walks towards them . She explains that she is also worried about their friend , as Marik left her in critical condition , and requests to join them . They enter the room , and Jonouchi asks Honda how Mai is doing . Honda replies that she isn ' t doing well and hasn ' t moved at all . Jonouchi whispers his friend ' s name , remembering Dark Marik telling him that the time limit is 24 hours ; if they don ' t kill him within that time , Mai will never regain consciousness . Jonouchi mentally begs Mai to hang in there , swearing to defeat Marik . Behind him , Shizuka begins to cry . Jonouchi turns to her in surprise , and Shizuka says that she knows Katsuya tells her to be stronger , but she can ' t take much more of this . Bakura , and now Miss Kujaku ; people are getting hurt and almost dying . She didn ' t know Jonouchi ' s Duels were like this , she didn ' t want to see these kinds of things . Jonouchi apologizes , starting to say that he didn ' t mean for her to see those things , but Ishizu interrupts , stating that they should never look away from anything . Their world is full of conflict and pain . That is a fact of existence . Both today and thousands of years ago . She explains that from the days of Ancient Egypt , those with the blood of the Tomb Guardians have dedicated their lives to one goal . As Yugi muses on the " blood of the Tomb Guardians , " Ishizu explains that their goal is to protect the power that lies in the Millennium Items . She glances at the Millennium Puzzle before addressing Shizuka , stating that even if the world is full of sadness , there are those reach out with open arms in hopes of merely catching a glimpse of it , in the hopes of being part of that world , sorrows and all . Shizuka looks at Ishizu , thinking that she has sad eyes . Yugi speaks up , asking Ishizu if she ' s Marik ' s sister . He asks her why Marik wants to kill them , and why Marik ' s dark side hates them so much . Ishizu looks at Yugi , thinking that he is the chosen one who houses the Pharaoh ' s soul , and she agrees to tell them the tragic past of the Ishtar family . The Ishtar clan were the descendants of the grave keepers who protected two Millennium Items and the location of the Pharaoh ' s memories . They lived deep underground , away from the rest of the world . According to the sacred rituals , the eldest sons of the clan have the glyphs of memory carved into their backs , and are forbidden to contact the outside world , until the day when the Pharaoh returns . That was the life imposed on Marik . The tragedy took place five years ago , one year after Marik underwent the ritual . Rishid is shown wetting bandages . As he passes Ishtar ' s room , Ishtar asks what Marik ' s condition is . Rishid replies that Marik still has a fever , but if he gets some more rest , he should recover by tomorrow morning . Rishid states that he and Ishizu are taking care of Marik and he asks Ishtar to get some rest . Ishtar agrees , but then he sees the carving on Rishid ' s face , and furiously asks how many times he has asked Rishid to wear something on his face so that he doesn ' t show Ishtar that blasphemous carving . Rishid turns his face away and apologizes . Ishtar warns Rishid not to think that because he carved that he is a son of the Ishtar family ; Rishid is a servant . Rishid walks away . In his bed , Marik states that he said he ' s going , and Ishizu quickly warns him to keep his voice down . Marik points out that their father should be asleep by now . They ' ve been waiting for this day for so long ; if Marik pretends he ' s sleeping , their father will never find out that he left the tunnels . Ishizu reminds him that if their father finds out , that will mean Marik broke the law of the clan . Marik states that Rishid will take care of that , and Rishid agrees . Marik states that he wants to see what it ' s like out there ; he has to go . He begs her to take him just this once . Rishid reassures Ishizu that he ' ll cover for Marik , asking her to make Marik ' s wish come true . Ishizu finally agrees to leave in the morning , much to Marik ' s joy , but only for two hours . Marik agrees . The two siblings snuck out , Rishid using blankets to make it appear that Marik was still in bed as he watched over him . And for the first time in his life , Marik felt the light of the sun wrapping around his entire body . . . The two siblings arrived in town , and Marik eagerly noted all the people . Ishizu noticed the top of Marik ' s carving being exposed and quickly covered it up . As Marik ran around , Ishizu warned him not to touch anything of this world . He then trod on a book by accident , shocked that he had done so , and read it , amazed at the realism of the pictures , before a picture of a motorcycle caught his eye . He asked Ishizu what the machine was , and she explained that it was a motorcycle , a vehicle that ran on gas , like the lamps in the tunnels . Marik then sadly realized that even if he went on living , there was no way he could ride a motorcycle and travel on yop of the land . Ishizu looked at him , sadness in her eyes , and she told him that it was time to go back . Marik is surprised , but Ishizu reminds him that that was their agreement . Marik reluctantly agrees , requesting to keep the picture of the motorcycle . Ishizu agrees to let him keep it , warning him not to let his father see it . But as the Ishtar siblings moved through the crowd , a man in a turban , with a golden ankh hanging around his neck stood in front of them . The man told them that the time was nigh when the Pharaoh ' s soul would be resurrected . Shocked , Ishizu asked him who he was , but the man told the two Tomb Guardians that their fate had caught up with him . Soon , blood would spill upon blood , and tragedy would tear their clan apart . This was the will of the Pharaoh , Shadi explained . Featured cards . The following cards appeared in this chapter . Cards in italics debuted here . Production History . This chapter was first printed in Japanese in the " Weekly Shōnen Jump " magazine . It was reprinted in volume 19 of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Duelist " .