Story information:

Title: Afterlife
Verse: Yugioh
Rating: T, but I may bump it to M if needed.
Main pairing: Multiple parings. major pride and major puzzle. ship development. ;'D

Summary: A king has found his peaceful end at last, but he leaves unsatisfied friends who would do anything to have him back; after all, he had just began to open up and make an impact on their lives. When his undaunted rival is hellbent on his obsession to win against the king, Pharaoh Atem is torn from his destiny and forced into a new fate.

Prologue

This had been what he wanted. This was what Yugi and his group of friends had worked so hard to accomplish for him.

The Afterlife.

The battle had been fought and he had lost. The Pharaoh had finally been defeated, he could finally go home. He was happy, he could finally go to the place he was meant to be. The door to the afterlife had opened after he yelled out the name he had given up so long ago and with it, the floodgates of his friends' sorrows had opened as well.

They cried, yelled, and pleaded for him to stay with them, but the group of friends knew it was futile. What was done, was now done. They could not untangle the threads fate had finished woven. Still, as one last act of kindness for the friendships that he harbored for the youths shouting at him from behind, Yami -no, his name was Atem - did not move as he faced his destiny. He listened to their words about the memories they shared and how they would never forget him. The spirit closed his eyes and soaked in the kind words of his friends. He would never forget them, or the new memories he created with the group. Even in the afterlife he would remember them and would wait for the day they could be reunited after they had lived long and happy lives.

Turning back to glance at the group, the Pharaoh offered them a smile and committed their tears soaked faces to memory. He gave a nod to the group along with a simple "yes", as Jonouchi preached about how he and the others would never forget about him. He hoped that they would not look back on this day as one to hold remorse towards, but as one to celebrate. He was finally free from his golden prison. Their friend's soul was now free from the dark and heading into the light.

The Pharaoh turned back towards the door to his afterlife, smiling, even though he felt anxious about traveling into the unknown white abyss. However, that anxiety was washed away when he could make out the faint appearances of his family and friends from the past, from when he was Pharaoh. His nerves calmed seeing the familiar faces. He was not alone, he would never be alone again. Steadily, the former pharaoh took his first steps towards his future, towards his eternal peace. As he walked at an unrushed pace, the pharaoh lifted his arm with a thumbs up. His last signal to his friends that he would never meet again, a sign that he will be okay. He would no longer be in pain or bring pain to them.

When his left foot stepped over the threshold of the border between the living realm and the afterlife, the spirit's appearance began to change. His adapted image as an older and more serious and sinister version of Yugi, dissolved in a wisp of smoke leaving behind the true appearance of the spirit. His pale skin was now a bronze tan, and his clothing was the typical elegant regalia he wore as Pharaoh. The spirit had officially stepped out of Yugi's shadow and was finally able to be himself for the first time in thousands of years.

With just a few more steps, the spirit's body was engulfed by the bright light of the afterlife. He felt the ground beneath his feet shake. Startled, the king looked back at his friends, only to see the massive stone doors closing off the living world from this burgundy eyes were trained on the closing doors. Normally, the spirit wasn't one to hesitate or look back due to his pride, but just this one time, he allowed himself to hesitate and watch his friends until he could no longer see them.

The moment the doors of the Afterlife had been sealed, Atem found his world becoming so bright, it was dark. The light of the afterlife was too intense for the former king to keep his eyes open as he turned to continue his journey onward. When he took a step forward, his body became overwhelmed with a strange and nostalgic warmth. It was such a foreign feeling, however, Atem knew it wasn't the first time he felt this 'warmth'. It was happiness...peace. It was the feeling he felt when he was child playing with Mana and Mahad, or was able to spend time with his father, and even during the nights when he and Yugi would lay awake and converse about new strategies to use for Duel Monsters. Sadly, that feeling did not last long as the warmth vanished and so did the bright light.

When the spirit of the Pharaoh opened his eyes, he was in complete darkness, other than the faint glowing light emitting from his soul. At first, Atem was confused, but the moment he felt the familiar presence of someone staring down at him, his culture and religious beliefs hit him full force. This was infamous the Hall of Two Truths, the place where his soul would be judged before he would pass on to the afterlife. To say the young king was intimidated, would be an understatement, but Atem showed no fear nor any emotion. He wore the face of a stoic and just king well. He knew he couldn't show weakness during his trial here. His uncertainty could cause the scales of judgement to tip.

"Young soul, you have took your time traveling to your trial. But now, you shall be judged for your sins and weighed against the feather," The powerful god's voice boomed loudly and echoed in the dark judgement hall. "I have witnessed your struggles to stand before me and be judge. You are either daft for chancing damnation or confident you will pass my test and journey onward to your desired Afterlife."

"No, it is neither of the reasons you have stated," Atem responded to the god with a steady voice. "I have came here because I must. It was my destiny to come here once I had finally been released from the Millennium Puzzle. That is why I am here, standing before you." 'It is also what I wish. I wish to reunite with the ones that I had to leave behind, so many centuries ago.'

The god's eyes narrowed at the lowly spirit before him. He was but a mere child, and he had dared to challenge him. Osiris, was the god's name, held no opinion towards the king, but he was both annoyed and impressed by his confidence. "It matters not. The reason for your presence here will not affect your judgement. You still be judged just as any other man who has been tried."

A massive scale fell from the dark emptiness above the spirit and smashed into the ground before the spirit. The scales closely resembled the Millennium Scales, and was bathed in a brilliant gold light. A feather was placed on the right platform of the scale and before Atem could take in any more details, the god spoke up. "Come, it is time for your judgement."

Atem did not hesitate as he moved towards the scales. He tried to think of anything that may cause him to fail his test, but he had yet to recover all of his memories from his past life. He only had his name and the more recent memories before his unfortunate death. But with the few memories he did have, Atem was certain he had lived a just life and did not commit any major sins other than arrogance. After all, he just barely reached his adulthood.

As he stepped on the scales to be weighed, it fluctuated and became uneasy. He had been a good king. He was a good king, he chanted over and over in his head as he he tried to balance himself as the scales' platform wobbled. Slowly, the scales became balanced and the god along with his forty-two judges, were able to pass judgement on to the Pharaoh.

"Son of late Pharaoh Aknamkanon, The last King of upper and lower lands, Ra's beloved son and Aten's fiery justice, Pa'rah Atem; your heart and soul has been weighed and it matches the weight of the feather. You bare no great sin and have proven yourself worthy of entering Everlasting Paradise."

The booming voice of the God of Death should have brought fear to the Pharaoh, but the spirit found himself feeling as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His body relaxed and a sincere smile slipped onto his stoic face.

Atem bent at the hip and bowed to the god, keeping his head down. "Thank you, for your mercy." The pharaoh spoke to the god before standing straight and looked in the direction of where the god Osiris' voice was ringing, as he waited patiently for in the information that would lead him to seeing his family and friends.

"Anubis will lead you to Ra's boat, where you will journey for three days and three nights to Paradise. Once you land, you will resume the role you previously held in your life while surrounded by your loved ones with no hardships," there was a brief pause in the god's speech. "Anubis! Come forth and guide this soul to his destination, insure this youth has made the journey safely."

Snickering. Atem heard the sinister sounds of a chuckling jackal before to red dots appeared in his line of vision. "Of course, of course, my sire. Tis my job after all as the god of necromancy and passage to the next world."

The new god took his time emerging in front of the former king, but it did not surprise the Pharaoh. Anubis was known to take his time, even the priest who specialized in his worship and practiced embalming, had said so. The jackal headed god finally appeared before the pharaoh and towered over him. His red beady eyes gazing straight into the very core of Atem's being. "Let us go, youth, we have a but a short walk ahead of us and so much to discuss."

The pharaoh let his confusion show as he held his head high to meet the eyes of the god. What did the god wish to discuss with him? Nodding his head, Atem regained his facial composure. "Very well, let us go."

When the god started walking forward into the abyss it was difficult for the spirit to keep up with the god. It was like he was walking aimlessly within the shadows of the puzzle again, however, the god's red eyes where the beacon of light that the spirit needed to shift through the darkness. Eventually, they came to a stop at a large door, where Anubis simple pushed aside and lead the Pharaoh into a dimly lit area.

"Well, now that we are out of earshot from those eavesdroppers, I can finally have a nice conversation with you. I typically don't care much for commoners but you sir, are a special case." The jackal spoke with a snicker at the end of his claim.

The pharaoh looked at the god with suspicion, but didn't comment on his tone, nor the fact he was called a commoner. He merely waited for the other to speak as he was lead through a plain of tall grass.

"You see, due to your 'situation', I've come to find you intriguing. You were pharaoh, and a damn impressive one for just being a mere boy, but you shouldn't have even been able to make it here!" The god chuckled loudly, causing the ground they walked on to shake. "You've lost your body, your name, and even your ba! The fact you are even getting into Paradise is amusing. What luck you have, that you were blessed by the god when you saved the mortal world millenniums ago. Still, you are being punished, as a pharaoh that is."

The pharaoh sighed through his nose and averted his gaze from the god, but kept his head high. "I knew there would be some restrictions giving the conditions of my death, but that does not dishearten me. I will still be able to spend my eternity in peace among my friends."

"My, well aren't you the optimistic one? A pharaoh who is fine with dwelling with commoners and not among the stars with his predecessors and with the gods? What modest thinking, were you not taught that you are above the people? That you were a living god?"

Atem felt his anger bubble up as the god continue to provoke him, but he would not lash out and let the other steal away the life he had work so hard to achieve. "I am a human, just like my subjects were when I was alive. I was told that I was more, but I never believed it to be true. Therefore, I will be happy, if not happier, to be with my fellow 'commoners' in our afterlife."

"Interesting. What an interesting creature you are. You gave up your afterlife once, and here you are accepting to give up a even better afterlife to have one with these so called 'commoners' you love," Anubis stopped walking, just as he reached the beginning of a dock stretching out into a that reflected the blue skies that were no doubt the ones Atem had stood under not too long ago when he shared a body with Yugi Mutou. Turning, the Jackal like god dressed head to to toe in golden accents, gazed down intimidatingly at the spirit of the Pharaoh.

"We part ways here, boy. See that raft?" Anubis pointed to the small wooden reed canoe that was tied to the end of the dock, "You will be using that to travel across the Living realm's skies to reach Everlasting Paradise. Be careful though, should you tip over by looking down on the mortals, you'll fall back into that realm and remain there as a wandering soul for the rest of time!" The Jackal let out another round of wicked laughter. "I wish you luck, boy."

Atem glanced up at the god and gave him a firm nod and a confident smile. "Thank you, Anubis, god of necromancy."

There were no more words spoken between the two as the jackal headed god disappeared without even a single sound, leaving Atem alone at the edge of the sky. With a confident smile still on his face, the Pharaoh took quick even strides towards the raft while gazing at the beautiful sight before him. Below him was the blue sky of the land he had been born in, ruled, and had died for, and above him was the dark sky of the night, but dotted with bright shining stars of his predecessors. And if he listened closely, the spirit could hear the faint sounds of laughter coming from sky above him.

This was it. His feet came to a halt when he reached the end of the dock with the canoe he would row across the sky to get to his afterlife that he had worked so hard to achieve. He was almost there. Just three days, just three more days of hard work and he could finally see the faces of the friends he had left behind. He would finally be home.

It had been a long and uneventful journey to get from one side of the sky to the other. The pharaoh has worked himself to exhaustion rowing himself across the sky to get to his Everlasting Paradise. When his arms became too tired to row, he would stop to rest and would gaze down at the living, but there was never much to see. Just the golden sands of his homeland with an occasional black speck moving slowly across the horizon. During the times he gazed down at the living world, he often found himself thing about his partner, Yugi. What was he doing? Was he faring well without him? How were their friends? Were they still upset from them parting ways? Despite worrying about the friends that had helped him get to where he was now, Atem knew they would be fine without him. They were the strong people he had come to know, even stronger than himself.

When the end of the third night of his travel had started to come to an end, the Pharaoh spotted land in the distance. The sky above him began to fade into sunrise and the sky below him grew dark and became the murky blue of the Nile River. At these changes, Atem felt his chest grow warm and his heartbeat increase. As he grew closer, the spirit began to notice more details about the land he was coming closer to. It held the golden sands of his home and even the buildings in the distance resembled his home from long ago. The crops growing by the nice where healthy and plentiful,and the people...the people! Along the coastline were rows and rows of people gathered and looking in his direction.

He could hear the buzz of their excited chatter and even see a few hands waving. No doubt the crowd was welcoming him home, to where he had dreamt to be. As the pharaoh closed in the distance quickly he could make out faces, although most of them had been a mystery to him, the crowd seem to know who he was.

"Welcome home!"
"Per'a-ah!"

"Thank you for your sacrifice!"
"Glad to have you!"
"Thank you!"

"May the gods bless you!"
"Nsw-bity!"
"Per'a-ah!"

"Atem!"
"Prince!"
A chill went through Atem's body and he almost dropped his ore from shock as he heard his name, his true name and his old nickname, being called out. Scanning the crowd, Atem's burgundy eyes search for the source of his name. His eyes soon landed on a single familiar face, a female standing further out than the rest of the crowd, knees deep in the water.

It was Mana.

The pharaoh felt his eyes sting. Behind his childhood friend was none other than his court of priests, all smiling at him warmly. Atem wasted no time jumping out of his canoe once he was in waters shallow enough where he could walk-though, he attempted to run to his long lost friends.

Home. He was finally home.

Mana was the first one to reach him, running through the murky water of the heavenly Nile, just as Atem had been. She practically jumped and latched on to him with a tight hug. "I thought you would never be able join us!"

Atem couldn't respond verbally. He could only return his friend's hug and attempt to his tears of joy from soaking the girl's elaborate linen dress. A hand was placed on his head and ruffled his hair. Atem pulled away from Mana's embrace, just enough so he could lift his head and gaze at the one ruffling his unique hair.

Mahaad stood proudly behind his apprentice. His own eyes plagued by tears as he smiled at his long lost friend and king. "Per'a-ah, welcome home, my friend. "

Atem smiled warmly, his eyes warm but sad. Tapping Mana's back gently, Atem eased the girl down on her feet so he could properly greet Mahaad. The priest took Atem's hand and knelt on one knee. He kissed the back of Atem's hand as a sign of respect to the king. "We've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Mahaad," Atem pulled his hand away and fell to his knees. "My name. My name is Atem, use it. " He hugged his friend and a fresh stream of tears trailed down his cheeks. "I am not your king, I am your friend!"

Author's Note:
Short prologue, but the chapters will be much longer. Hopefully this story will be loved the way I love it. There won't be a set schedule for updates, simply because I have no idea when I can post. Chapter one is when things will heat up and the plot introduced. Let me know what you think based on this prologue. Below is some term information that was used in this prologue. I'll try to get chapter one out soon.

Hall of Two Truths; A great hall where the god of death, Osiris and 42 judges. It is the place where Osiris' scales will weigh the sin of a soul against a feather. If said soul has committed too many sins or a great sin, they are damned and have their soul ate by a beast and thrown into hell. If they are equal to the feather or lighter, they proceed on their journey to the afterlife to the field of reeds. Pharaohs would ascend to the stars and live with the gods, while everyone else would travel to Everlasting Paradise and spend their days with family and friends.

In order for one to have access to the afterlife, Egyptians believed that the body acted as a vessel during the nights for the spirit to rest in, a person's birth name was the key to open the way to the afterlife, and a person's Ba or spirit beast, provided them guidance and energy to sustain their soul during their anyone of these elements, it was considered impossible for one's Ka, or spirit, to enter the afterlife and they were doomed to roam the earth for eternity.