Millenium Items (Part 3/3) : The Millenium Puzzle
Throughout the yu-gi-oh! manga and anime, we are introduced to the different millenium items and their dark powers. From what I’ve gathered, all seven items share similar dark and defensive powers (see part 1 and 2) as well as having one unique ability.
The powers of most millenium items are well defined during the anime and manga. A lot of the items give their bearer knowledge on other people’s intentions, thoughts and personnalities, giving them access to other people’s secrets and feelings.
In this category, we have the eye (which let Pegasus read the mind, thoughts and strategies of his opponents), the scale (which allowed Shadih to detect whether someone was lying or telling the truth), the key (which gave Shadih access to people’s soul room and gain knowledge on their personality) and the necklace (which gave Isis insight on someone’s past and future).
Other items have the power to mind control people: Malik’s rod by implanting false memories into people’s mind and Shadih’s key by accessing other’s soul room and altering their tastes, dreams and knowledge.
And last, the ring is able to lead its bearer to the place, person or item of his choice. Bakura has used this ability several times to get out of mazes or find other items.
But what is the millenium puzzle’s unique ability?
Most powers used by Yami Yuugi are actually powers that all seven items can perform. What magic that he used is actually specific to him and his puzzle? He does say at some point that his puzzle has the power of unity but what does that mean exactly?
First, we know since the beginning of the manga that the puzzle grants its holder one wish. Yuugi assembled the puzzle twice in his lifetime and both his wishes came true: the first time he became friends with Jonouchi, the second time he was able to put together the puzzle in minutes so that he could meet with his other self one last time.
This ability of the puzzle is powerful enough for malevolent people to want to get their hands on it. However, the millenium eye has the same ability. In the manga, both Pegasus and Aknadin are able to make a wish upon the eye. Pegasus asks to see his dead fiancée and Aknadin wants his son Seto to become king. Therefore granting a wish to its holder cannot be the puzzle's true power.
On the other hand, we also know that all four holder of the puzzle that we know of have been kings: Aknamkanon, Atem and Seto were pharaohs and Yuugi is the king of games.
Also, several foes that Yuugi had to confront wanted his puzzle to become king in his place (see Otogi's father, Malik, Aknadin and even Seto in DSoD says that the one who completes the puzzle will be king). It can therefore be suggested that the puzzle has to go to a king and/or make his owner a king.
A king has usually a lot of power and influence over others and have powerful allies as well as powerful foes. Yami Yuugi once says to Shadih (in the manga) that the power of his puzzle is about union and Shadih also said that the items were attracted to each other.
What if the items are actually attracted towards the puzzle / towards the king that has the power to assemble them into one powerful force as did Aknamkanon with his court.
In the story, every millenium item holder eventually became Yuugi's ally: Shadih (who gives his life to save Atem), Bakura Ryou (who is fully part of the gang in DSoD), Isis and Malik (who both gave their item to Atem), Pegasus (who expressed regret to Yami Yuugi in the manga).
This power could also extend to other people without millenium items as Yami Yuugi is often able to reach his friends through his puzzle to get them back on his side when they were mind controlled, lost or kidnapped. In the anime, he disrupts several shadow games to get back Ryou who is under the control of Bakura (ep. 13), to talk to Mai during her duel against Malik. In the manga, he finds Jonouchi who had been forced to duel against Bonz (thanks to @thesilentduelist who pointed this to me).
We could thus understand the power of union in this manner: the owner of the puzzle becomes a king who gets the ability to unite his allies and their powers in order to create 'miracles', kind of like he created Horakhty by uniting the egyptian gods.
