SACRED BEASTS
In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, the Sacred Beasts are legendary creatures whose cards were sealed by Kagemaru underneath Duel Academy behind the Spirit Gates, which requires seven Spirit Keys to open, as he could not unlock their power at the time. Should they ever be set free from their stronghold, chaos and darkness will envelop the world, destroying everything. The Shadow Riders sought to acquire the Spirit Keys and revive the Sacred Beasts. In order to open the gate, a strong dueling presence is required; if the keys are stolen and placed in the gate, (as attempted by Don Zaloog) for example, nothing will occur. To meet the challenge of the Shadow Riders, seven of Duel Academy's finest duelists were selected, these duelists were Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Chazz Princeton, Alexis Rhodes, Bastion Misawa, Lyman Banner (the only Shadow Rider to get his key by default, due to the fact his true identity was unknown at the time) and Vellian Crowler, and although the Shadow Riders were defeated, Kagemaru managed to awaken the Sacred Beasts because of the dueling energy released from the duels. In exchange for freeing them from imprisonment, the Sacred Beasts slowly returned Kagemaru to a youthful state, empowering him with the energy sapped from Duel Monster spirits, but Jaden Yuki's interference resulted in the man's downfall. They were thus locked away once more.