Finality and the Road to Awe:
Staring at the distinct foreign characters carved into the wall, Atem was starting to understand exactly how everyone else felt staring at ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs when they had been Egypt. To him, the Mayan glyphs that Itza was so well versed in were nothing but doodles and pictures. He could not understand the world damning prophecies and the ancient tragedies that were sculpted into the wall with obvious care.
Staring at the same color stone with the same characters as they had been for months was starting to get tiresome. Atem hated not understanding, hated not knowing, what the words said.
"The longer you ogle, the less those words will make sense," Bakura commented from his hunched over position against the opposing wall of the tunnel. The advice came from experience; Bakura may have claimed to have been a Thief King, but the King part was a stretch. He had never learned ancient Egyptian and used to stare the glyphs of his homeland the same way Atem was staring at these foreign characters.
"Seeing them etched into the walls that guide of journey makes me think they are relevant," Atem explained with a flourish. The tunnel they were traveling through ran from the depths of the Mayan hell Xixbalba to the tip of Yaxche, The Tree of Life. Before either ghost could enter their respective afterlives, the old spirits were ordered to set the world back in balance.
The Tree of Life was dying and the key to saving it, to healing the disease of the world, rested with the last remaining daughter of Itazamna, an impossibly powerful Mayan deity. Both Atem and Bakura flicked their eyes to the woman sleeping quietly on the hard stone floor.
She did not look like a savior, but she was brilliant.
"I certainly would prefer if the world ended," Bakura commented silkily, studying the characters with disdain. His afterlife would consist of hell. That much was certain and as usual the Thief King was looking for an escape. If existence itself was destroyed, then his soul would not be eaten by Ma'at.
Simple as that.
But glancing at Itza, part of him nagged that it was not quite so simple. Atem had been quite open about his fondness of the girl; with her wild hair and her temperament, she reminded him of Mana. On the other hand, for the greater part of their journey, Bakura had held her in nothing but the highest disdain.
Still though, he noticed the toll this was taking upon her. They were the non living undead, so neither Bakura nor Atem had felt any ill health from the journey. However, Itza had not fared so well. The thinness of her arms and legs and face, the growing sadness in her eyes were the most obvious signs. The pain she felt as the world died was the only thing he could not see. He understood all these things, they stirred something in him.
Not sympathy or remorse, but something close to human.
"Is that sunlight?" the woman stirred as a stray beam crossed her face.
The last time she had seen sunlight was before she entered Xixbalba, before she entered hell.
Their journey had been one of literal darkness.
Yes, it was sunlight.
Unfiltered, glorious sunlight.
"It is!" with a look of joy, she stumbled to her feet. There was a small portal, a window, nearly eight feet above the ground. Even on the tips of her toes, she could barely make out the sunrise. Her utter joy for as something as simple sunlight only pained Atem's heart. It made Bakura cringe as he realized how pathetic it was that she was desperate and excited to see something that was so basal to human life.
"Come." With a careful gesture Atem held his hand out. With a shy nod, she allowed him to hoist her over his shoulder so she could sneak a peek at the world outside. In answer to Bakura's questioning glare, Atem sighed and answered in Egyptian; "It's all she has left."
"We should move." Bakura reminded him. If they were seeing sunlight, it meant their journey was almost over. Upon sunset on this day, the world's fate would be decided.
"Let her have this moment." Atem swallowed away in a lump in his throat. The end was near, he could feel it. They all could.
Though he acquiesced, Bakura gritted his jaw as he watched her face.
Never a beautiful sight had Itza Heron beheld. It was remarkable how a trip through the underworld made something as simple sunrise seem like a miracle. It brought tears to her eyes. As its warmth swept across her face, Itza could do very little but cry. At this very moment, upon the first rays of light touching the vast earth, her family would be cooking breakfast; everyone would be rising with the expectancy of a new day. It was for that simple fact that Itza was fighting. She could feel the world rotting, deep within her, but the light gave her hope.
"Let's go," Itza turned away, having seen what she wanted to and they started walking.
They walked.
This last day, this final stretch, was the end of it. It was just a matter of one day.
They walked.
For Atem and Bakura, it had been a long time coming. Eons had disappeared, temples had become ruins, and Pharaohs and thieves had become allies.
They walked.
For Itza, it seemed that at the very beginning of her life, she was being taken away. She had not asked for the honor of saving the world, nor had she asked for the world to die. In fact, she was a simple person with very simple needs. Such grand things as quests were beyond her scope. Still, she glanced at Atem and Bakura and had to admit, there were few people she would rather be with at the end of things, if it came to that.
They walked.
It was cumbersome really, if Bakura thought about it. It was cumbersome that somehow he was saddled with the burden of saving the same world he once tried to destroy. If nothing else, the Gods had an interesting sense of irony. Yet here he was. It would be so easy to turn and kill Itza, assuring that everyone would die at sunset, but with every glance back at her, Bakura realized how little resolve he had for the task.
They walked.
Often during this journey, Atem's mind had traveled back to his comrades. The only reason he had been complacent to forestall his entry into the afterlife was because this was Yugi's world. After all the incredible things that the boy had done for Atem, to secure Atem's peaceful end, the old pharaoh could hardly let his world die.
They walked.
With burdens of the past, present and future, they walked.
As the world began to die, so did Itza. With irregular breathing, her pace slowed and she had to brace herself against the wall, but she continued trudging behind Bakura and Atem.
Gradually, the sunlight changed. As the sun moved, they gauged how much time was left.
As the light started to dim, they approached the end of the tunnel. The characters had long ago ceased to appear on the walls, leaving smooth, untouched stone.
It was when she stumbled, bumping into Bakura that either of them noticed how weak she looked.
Exchanging glances, Bakura held out a hand to her, his very first sign of something close to worry or affection. Leaning heavily against it, Itza hobbled towards the end of the tunnel.
Emerging on the other side, no one had any clue as to what to expect.
It was awe.
It seemed like every beautiful thing that was living and death was within the mystical tree that lay beyond a green field with a crystalline, square pool in the center. Spiral stairs ran around it, the tree, climbing to the top. The Tree of Life was remarkable and ordinary all at once and rose above, far above any ordinary tree. In the dying embers of day, every leaf glistened with the dew of heaven itself, the wind that stirred was blown by gods and the earth was made from the hopes of mankind. It was the fabled land; it was every utterance of beauty.
Even Bakura could not deny that a more perfect existence could be found in any land.
A single tear landed on his hand and glistened like a diamond. It had fallen from Itza's eye.
This was it.
"Travelers, welcome, your journey ends upon this grass." A Mayan chieftain, perhaps several thousands of years old, bowed to them deeply, "Itza, daughter of Itazamna. You have arrived."
She swallowed; "What do we do now?"
"To reach The Tree, you must face cross every pain the world has ever felt." The old messenger looked at the peaceful looking pool of cool, blue water. And here they thought there would be no more tests of valor or courage, "To reach the tree, you must swim across."
They were ominous words and stirred a measure of fear in Itza. Clenching her jaw, she took careful, slow strides towards the pool. Some natural instinct assured both Atem and Bakura that it was not their place to approach any closer. Taking a deep breath, and dropped in.
A fire raged within the water.
Every sort of physical torture assaulted her body.
She was stabbed, shot, beaten, tortured, raped, and burned all at the same time.
She raised an arm and propelled forward through fire and ice. The extremes crushing the breath from her lungs.
Her bones were broken, she was disemboweled and cut down but Itza kept moving, if only by the beating of her heart.
"She's not going to make it," Bakura growled and took a step forward only to have Atem bar his path. Though the Pharaoh's eyes were narrowed in worry and pain, Atem understood better than Bakura did that some things one could not interfere in.
Agonizing seconds passed and finally, Itza's hand latched onto the stone at the other end of the pool. Letting out a sigh of relief, Atem removed his hand from Bakura's arm and the Thief King's stance eased. She was breathing hard and Itza was only so thankful that a single sob tore through her throat before she collected herself.
"You two will have a different task." The Mayan King produced two ancient duel disks, "Creatures from The Underworld are rising. They will tear apart her soul before they let the world be saved. You must stop them."
The sound of wings and the hiss of evil confirmed this. From the tunnel through which they had entered, creatures started emerging through. They were the lowest form of life and the highest form of evil. With disfigured bodies made of hate, agony and torture, they were the irredeemable products of The Underworld. As sunset began, they gained enough power to cross the threshold into heaven.
"Itza go!" Bakura roared, summoning his Diabound. Mimicking him, Atem quickly summoned Slifer and the roar of the dragon emanated as a warning.
Obeying his order, Itza ran, taking the stairs two at a time. Her vision was hazy but Itza persisted, refusing to stop, to be beaten. Below her she could hear the sounds of battle. Of creatures baying and roaring and screaming in agony and fury. Something tugged at her skirt and Itza turned to find it was one of the monsters.
"Dark Necrofear!" Bakura's voice sounded from below and before Itza could fight off the creature, a woman appeared, with a fierce face and a broken doll in her arms. Running the monster through, the lady swooped back below to her master's side leaving Itza to gape for a second before lunging to the next step.
As darkness covered heaven, all three of our noble warriors worked even harder.
Finally, Itza reached the last step and found The Tree and the whole world below her. Turning her head back once, she glanced at Bakura and Atem, met both their gazes for a second and nodded.
She jumped.
And then.
Nothing. And everything.
Light and energy exploded through and from every corner, filling even the darkest crevice and cleansing the harshest of sights. Everything faded and was remade in a single instant.
Finality rang in every corner.
Waking to the familiar glow of an Egyptian afternoon, Atem found himself in his childhood home. The palace of his family, his ancestors and his past. The light glanced upon the stone and illuminated everything and everyone. All he ever strove for was around him.
There was warmth and kindness and bliss.
There was finally peace.
Atem whispered a silent prayer for all those he left behind and for Itza.
While The Nameless Pharaoh awoke to heaven, Bakura awoke to a darkened village. With a jolt, he realized this was Kul Elna restored. It was not heaven, but it was not hell either. It was contentment. It was perhaps limbo, but it was better than the Thief King had ever expected.
"My thanks, Itza, daughter of Itazamna."
And the Thief King stole away into the street.
"Why are we here?" Yugi wondered this out loud. He, Professor Hawkins, and Solomon Moto were all Egyptologists and Ryou was an anthropologist. Therefore it was easy to understand why Yugi was confused. They were in Mexico at a Mayan excavation site.
In truth, Ryou was glad to be here regardless of whether or not he had a talent for Mayan mythology or not. Studying Egypt all the time was tiresome upon occasion. It brought back unprovoked memories of his childhood, of him.
"To see a world outside of Egypt," Solomon explained quickly. Egyptology was a fine field, but given their history, he felt it pertinent to show his grandson the history of the world in large rather than just one country, "Ah, Hawkins, there she is!"
They approached a young woman with dark hair and an enigmatic smile.
"Professor Hawkins," the woman waved at them politely, "There you are."
"Eme, what a delight to see you again," Hawkins shook her hand enthusiastically.
"Our condolences for your sister," Yugi nodded respectfully.
"She was talented," Solomon added, shaking her hand. He remembered no other had quite a talent for Mayan translation, though Eme was a close contender.
"It's been years since then, Mr. Moto," she replied with a small, but mournful smile. Next, she turned to the white haired man, who she noted interestingly seemed slightly familiar. The softness of his features made him look kind.
"My name is Ryou Bakura," he held out a hand, with a pleasant smile and a soft accent.
"I'm Eme Heron," Eme held out hers.
As soon as they touched, it was like lightning struck.
And so the world lived on.
END
Inspired by 'The Road to Awe' from The Fountain soundtrack.
I was playing around with an idea for a multichapter story, but came out instead.
Rate/Review/Criticize.
VeilsofSleep.