Transcending Time
Prologue
He had been ready to return to the afterlife.
He'd accepted defeat at the hands of his partner, Yugi Moto; he stood before the passageway to the afterlife, hands clenched at his sides, eyes ahead as he stood stiffly. His outward appearance was the picture of calm and collected, but on the inside his heart raced in his chest as he tried valiantly to settle the raging emotions he felt. A bizarre mix of relief, sadness and unease. Relief that it was all over and he would soon be reunited with his ancient friends; sadness that he'd be saying goodbye to Yugi and the others.
And a strange anxious prod in the back of his mind telling him that something wasn't quite right, that something was missing. He'd done everything he needed to do, so why was uncertainty eating away at him?
His questions were answered when he stared into the open gateway and his ancient friends stared back. Initially, they all seemed overjoyed to see that he would soon be joining them again, but as his eyes darted over their faces, searching, he noticed the mirth slowly draining from their expressions.
Atem opened his mouth and paused, confirming that he was correct in his observation before speaking, "She's not here."
Behind him, Yugi perked up as the Pharaoh spoke, and then he frowned. "Atem?"
Atem turned his head slowly, looking over his shoulder at the group behind him, "Eshe… she's- she's not-" the Pharaoh trailed off and Yugi could see Atem's mind working behind his eyes, trying to piece together a puzzle.
"It doesn't make sense", Atem spoke, turning back to the gateway.
"My Pharaoh", Mahad addressed, "Queen Eshe's soul never made it to the afterlife."
"But why?" Atem asked, struggling to keep his voice steady from the abounding frustration he was experiencing. After everything he'd gone through with his friends, after saving the world multiple times, he was sure he could finally enter the afterlife and be reunited with everyone he had left behind- including his wife, the queen.
Mahad frowned, "I do not know, my Pharaoh."
There was a prolonged pause as Atem eyed the stone floor at his feet; he searched his memories for anything that could offer an explanation.
The Pharaoh had entered the world of his memories on the day of his coronation. Overwhelmed and confused, he had sat on his throne, surrounded by his priests and advisors, watching the celebrations unfold before him. There was music and there were dancers, crowds of noblemen and noblewomen feasting at banquet tables.
He breathed deeply to calm his nerves, and let his eyes travel over everyone in the room, eventually settling on one of the closer banquet tables. Men and women wearing rich, white linen clothing talked animatedly amongst each other; most of them holding themselves in a very conceited way with their noses held high- however, at the end of the table closest to him, there sat a young woman who was graceful and elegant.
Her tanned skin was flawless; her slim body was dressed in the finest white robes decorated with a lapis lazuli trim; her long, black hair fell perfectly over her shoulders, complete with an expert braid. She wore jewellery on her arms and hands, and a blue-jewel golden tiara on her head.
And on her face, a warm, shining smile aimed in his direction.
He was rather stunned by her beaming expression; there was something about her that oddly stood out, a small spark of familiarity that he couldn't quite place.
At his prolonged stare, she raised her hand and waved at him gently; he blinked a few times and then reflexively raised his own hand to wave back, a small smile appearing on his face.
His attention was drawn away from her when Shimon cleared his throat beside him, the elderly man regarding him with a raised eyebrow, at which the Pharaoh gave a nervous chuckle before turning his consideration back to the celebrations at hand- though he sneaked a glance back at the girl every so often.
When the Thief King had disrupted the Pharaoh's coronation, the girl had been rushed away from the danger, along with the many nobles in the room.
The Pharaoh hadn't seen the girl again until a while later, after he had encountered Mana. The young apprentice to Mahad had been strolling with him through the palace grounds, and the King had come to learn that Mana was quite a vibrant character, and not only that- but they had been friends for years.
They had stopped walking when the Pharaoh saw the girl from earlier appear from around a corner; she spotted the two and smiled, making her way towards them.
"Mana, that girl- who is she?" the Pharaoh asked while the girl was still out of earshot.
Mana regarded him with a bewildered expression, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, "Uh, you're talking about the Queen, right? You're kidding me, Pharaoh, you can't be so exhausted that you'd forget your own wife's name?"
The Pharaoh froze.
Wife.
Well, that had been unexpected. His composure was barely intact but he refused to give that away when he turned to Mana with a forced smile and responded "Of course not, I was just joking."
Mana had burst into a fit of giggles, "Oh Pharaoh, you actually had me there for a moment! Of course you wouldn't forget Eshe's name! How could I fall for that?"
He was lucky Mana wasn't too observant or she might have noticed the relief on his face when she'd actually given away the Queen's name.
"Mana, what in the world is so hysterically funny?" Eshe asked as she reached the two. She smiled brightly at the magician's apprentice; her joy was infectious, after all.
The Pharaoh stared at Eshe; now that he was able to see her up close, he noted that her twinkling eyes were a warm, light brown.
Mana snickered as her giggling died down, shaking her head and waving her hand "No, no- it was- it was nothing, really." She let out an exhale as she regained her composure.
Eshe turned to the Pharaoh, her eyebrows knitted almost imperceptibly at the odd expression on his face.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly, the concern was audible in her voice.
The Pharaoh blinked rapidly for just a moment, "Oh, uh- yes, I'm fine."
Eshe raised an eyebrow, "You're sweating and you're clenching your fists, like you're nervous about something." Her lips curled into a knowing smile, "You know you can't lie to me."
The King blinked in surprise at her perceptiveness and cleared his throat, "I suppose I'm just feeling uneasy after the interruption during my coronation celebrations." He hoped that would suffice as a believable lie- the truth was that his stomach was filled with butterflies as he spoke to her - his wife - whom he had not known existed until just prior.
The Pharaoh didn't miss the way Eshe regarded him with a lengthened look; it was obvious she didn't buy his fib, but she didn't press him for the real reason he was so nervous, to his relief.
Eventually, she nodded, "I am sorry you had to witness that… that tomb robber is going to get exactly what he deserves", her expression darkened to a deep frown.
"Yeah! Just you watch, Pharaoh, I'm gonna freeze him in solid ice with the new spell I learnt!" Mana piped up, raising a victorious fist.
The Pharaoh smiled and then nodded to Eshe, "He will not get away with what he has done, rest assured."
Eshe sighed and nodded with a small smile; she took a step closer to him, "I know you will bring him to justice", her smile grew as she added, with a playful lilt in her voice "my Pharaoh."
He inhaled softly at the suddenness of the close proximity, and now that she was mere centimetres away, he discerned that Eshe was about an inch shorter than him. Before he had time to react, she had already leaned in and sealed the gap between them, pressing her soft lips lightly against his.
Stunned and unsure how to react, he hesitantly kissed back, and her hand came to rest on his shoulder. It was just a quick peck on the lips, over before it started, and Eshe had giggled at his dazed expression.
"Ugh, you guys are gross", Mana had grumbled from beside them, arms crossed over her chest and her eyes darting away.
This had only caused Eshe to erupt with laughter, and for the Pharaoh to soon follow. Mana sighed and shook her head, before joining their amusement.
When Atem had learnt his name and his memories came flooding back to him, he recalled everything about his ancient life, about his friends and family, and everything about Eshe. He remembered how he slowly but surely fell in love with her, and it only made him all the more determined to see her again in the afterlife.
But here he was, and she was nowhere to be found.
"I don't get it!" Joey interjected, breaking the grim silence that had befallen everybody in the room. "Where could she be, if not in the afterlife?"
"We don't know Joey, that's the problem…" Téa sighed.
"Well hang on now, let's just think… we all saw her in the Pharaoh's memories. Did anyone see anything out of the ordinary?" Tristan murmured, scratching his head, trying to recall anything that might help.
Yugi shook his head, a frown on his face, "Maybe… we could ask Ishizu if she knows anything…?" he offered falteringly, clearly lacking confidence in his own suggestion.
Atem opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by the abrupt appearance of blinding light protruding from the gateway.
The others covered their eyes while Atem's grew wide; accompanying the glowing light was a booming, deep voice.
"I am Osiris, God of the Afterlife." The deity spoke, and the group collectively shuddered at his breathtaking presence.
"Pharaoh Atem, you are perplexed at the disappearance of Queen Eshe's spirit. I can tell you that the reason she never took passage to the afterlife is because the circumstances surrounding her death were irregular, and involved dark and powerful manipulative magic."
Atem eyes twitched ever-so-slightly.
"Dark magic?" the Pharaoh whispered, his mind whirring endlessly to try and come up with a possible explanation for what this could mean. He swallowed, "Please, Osiris, where is she now? What must I do to bring her back?"
"Her reincarnation walks the Earth. I will grant you ninety days to find her and return to this gateway. If you do not return, you will never be granted passage to the afterlife and you will remain in limbo for eternity."
Yugi bit his lip at the thought; he couldn't bear to think of his friend in such a place.
"Ninety days!? That's- what, three months? Is that all? She could be anywhere on the planet!" Joey snapped, his fist clenched in annoyance.
"Joey, maybe you shouldn't anger hi-" Yugi stammered, but was quickly interrupted by his friend.
"Atem saved the world like three times, man, can't you give him a little leeway?" Joey continued.
"SILENCE!" the booming voice called, and the group fell quiet, freezing up in unease as the God's voice resounded in their minds.
Atem was unaffected. "Ninety days", the Pharaoh repeated, "Alright. Thank you for allowing me this time, Osiris. I will find her and bring her back."
He bowed his head respectfully and light of the God shone brilliantly in acknowledgement before fading quickly. The entryway to the afterlife began to close and the stone gates rumbled as they came together, leaving the room dim for a moment before everybody's eyes adjusted to the change in brightness.
Atem's gaze dropped with a heavy exhale; he noted that his complexion had returned to the deep Egyptian tan of his original body.
The Pharaoh turned back to his friends, regarding them with a tired expression, and they frowned apologetically at him.
"I'm sorry, Atem… but don't worry. We'll all help you find her." Yugi spoke up in reassurance, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.
Atem nodded and smiled softly.
"Thank you, my friends."