Prologue

A heavy silence hung over the boat taking everyone back to mainland Egypt. Even the waves crashing against the boat sounded muted. Everyone had settled into their rooms, leaving each other alone, sleeping away the grief that came from seeing Atem returning to the afterlife.

Returning to the afterlife.What a bunch of bullshit.

Kaiba sat with his head in his hands, looking down at his knees. He hadn't moved since they returned to the boat, much less thought about getting some sleep. His cellphone was blinking with ten missed business calls, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

I refuse to believe he's gone,he thought bitterly. The memory of the stone slabs opening, the blinding light, the crumbling of the rocks around them, an outstretched hand… Kaiba shivered nauseously. He's not gone. He can't be.

A quiet knocking came from the door to his room. He rotated his neck to look over at it. It was late, very late - nobody in their right mind would be up at this hour. He grimaced at his own hypocrisy and stood, shaking his stiffened limbs out before walking briskly to the door. If they were coming to him at this hour of the night, it was important.

With a click of the lock, he swung the door open - only to feel his heart sink in his chest and his stomach churn.

"Yugi," he said coldly, praying his voice sounded as level as he willed it to.

"Kaiba," Yugi said, nodding seriously, contradicting the wobbling of tears in his eyes. "I'm glad you're awake. I was hoping we could talk-"

"Talk about what?" Kaiba said quickly, coolly. He felt nothing but boiling anger upon looking at Yugi - the boy who had sent his rival away, who took his rightful spot as the final duelist against Atem…no, the Yugi Kaiba knew. "I have nothing to discuss with you, Yugi. Go back to your room."

He went to shut the door, but Yugi slipped through the crack, forcing his way inside. Kaiba glared down at him, but refrained from saying anything. He turned on his heel and walked away from Yugi, hoping he'd see himself out, but the annoying brat followed him further into the room, staying on his heels like a puppy.

"Yugi," Kaiba said in a warning tone, but Yugi did not back off.

"We need to talk, Kaiba."

"About what?" Kaiba said, attempting to keep his frayed temper calm. He dug his nails into calloused palms. "You won your duel, Yugi. That's it. It's over."

"It's not, though, is it," Yugi said cryptically, though Kaiba knew exactly what he was getting at. It pissed him off to no end.

He sat down, crossing his arms. Yugi continued to stand, looking down over the back of the couch at Kaiba. Through clenched teeth, Kaiba continued. "Your persistence is tiring."

"I'm sorry."

Kaiba looked over his shoulder. "For what?"

"Taking your last duel." Kaiba's entire body froze. Yugi looked down at his chest, hands cupping at the end of a chain, at something that was no longer there. A nervous habit that would take months to break. "You wanted to, but…I had to. So I'm sorry-"

Sorry?Kaiba could not believe the words that were coming out Yugi's mouth. Sorry? "You're sorry?" He let out a barking laugh, which made the smaller boy jump frightfully. "You're sorry? Don't make me laugh, Yugi. You're not sorry. If you were sorry, you'd…you'd…"

"I'd have let Atem win," Yugi said sadly. He knew. He knew.

Kaiba paused, rubbing at his lips. Was Yugi pitying him? Implying that his greatest rival losing to someone other than Yugi would have solved this? His hands were shaking, but he couldn't discern why. He glanced over at Yugi, and a surge of anger flowed through him. This boy, this kid - he had done what Kaiba had never done. Beat Atem. The thought alone made Kaiba feel sick. And was enough to send Kaiba over the edge - this Yugi, the stranger in his room, didn't understand a single thing.

"Get out of my room," Kaiba growled slowly, holding his stare on Yugi. "Get the hell out of my room."

"Kaiba-"

Kaiba launched upwards, grasping the front of Yugi's shirt. "Don't ever show your face around me again," Kaiba seethed, his voice rising higher than he would have liked. "You're not the Yugi I know, not anymore. You're an imposter to me. The real Yugi's-"

"Dead," Yugi said weakly, lifting a hand and pulling Kaiba's fingers away from being clenched in his shirt. He showed a pained smile, but his eyes didn't meet Kaiba's. "Sorry, Kaiba."

Dead.It didn't feel real to Kaiba. He looked down at the hand that had been entangled with the fabric of Yugi's shirt mere seconds before. Had he ever touched Yugi like that before? At the click of the door shutting, Kaiba slumped to his knees, his hands shaking.

Dead. Atem was dead, forever.

A droplet of water slid down Kaiba's face. He raised a shaking hand up to his face and held it against his weeping eyes, his expression turning ugly as his crying became sobs.

He was gone.

For the first time, Kaiba didn't know what to do.