*Author's Note & Disclaimer*

All copyrighted characters solely belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Rumiko Takahashi, & Tetsuya Nomura as well as all copyrighted products & consumers used within this story rightfully belong to their respective Companies & Affiliates. All original characters, theme, & plots being used & written solely belong to Taz Tehrani. Any changes towards names, locations, or objects is only used for fictional purposes, with or without alphabetical translations of other languages. Viewer Discretion is strongly advised. Please feel free to review & comment. To get to know more about me, please go forward to my bio & visit my Instagram page. Thank you!

Chapter 1: Dreams of Blue

Domino City, Tokyo, Japan

May 4th, 2018 1:45am

A figure lay on his own as he turned & tousled in his once pristine sheets. Memories he's never witnessed before, until he came back from the afterlife, all came flashing in his mind & conscience. Sweat trickled down his sun-kissed body as vivid images from his previous life entered one by one. If one were to be there physically, seeing the renowned ice prince of Domino, looking like he couldn't handle a nightmare, they'd be so fearful of what said ice prince would do if this moment was caught on an image or video and published for the world to see. His chestnut brown hair splayed across his forehead, eyebrows drawn in confusion and worry, his teeth clenched hard.

In his mind, the young woman who haunted his visions, would remain in his thoughts throughout his days. No matter where he would be standing or when he would look towards the sky in daylight & in darkness, her vivid azure eyes, much like his own but full of warmth & serenity, would make his mind call out her name constantly. He'd often wondered if she thought of him in the same manner while being on the opposite side of the world pursuing her ambitions. Every day, memories of their current life would linger in his thoughts. Every night, memories of their past lives would consume his deep conscious & he'd come to write most of those visions in his journal.

"Arghh….where are you?" He mumbled in his slumber. "Princess….why? Please..come..back…."

His breath kept hitching in his throat, he turned & turned in his soft sheets, hoping she would come back into his arms in his vision. More sweat trickled down his body & he became numb by the minute.

"Princess…. Give her back to me…. She belongs….nowhere….but here..with me."

His heart was hurting so much. Her screams & cries tore at him. Why would or how could anyone subject to such torture on someone like her. Someone who couldn't dare hurt a soul. Someone who would speak with loaded ferocity in her compassion. Even in her current life, she was the same exact person. Seto Kaiba still laid dreaming in his bed of this torturous vision of his past life. All of a sudden, a violent surge went through his body as the woman in his vision fell unconscious as the last whip of torture lashed at her numb & bruised body. His own body jerked up from its sleep & his azure eyes opened into the darkness of his bedroom. Nothing in that moment could numb his thoughts and no one, not even his little brother could've asked what had happened to him.

The only thing, the only name, that was stuck in his head, was her. Seto Kaiba was feared of, but he himself didn't fear of anything or anyone. But time seemed to stand still in that moment, even when he woke up from his vision. Not controlled by reflex or consciousness, his voice screamed. For her.

"TEANA!"

He clutched at his bare chest, breathing hard, & clenched his eyes shut. His heart rate was beating too fast & he tried to calm himself down. In steady breaths, he finally began to calm down. His throat felt so dry with every inhale & exhale. He slowly began to open his eyes again, & saw that he was in his own bedroom instead of Ancient Egypt. He looked around & noticed nothing was amiss. But he still felt worried. Ever since his visions began coming to him more often, he slowly had thoughts of wanting to go see her in America.

"Damn it, Téa. What are you doing to me?" His thoughts muddled on the last time he's seen her in person. When they all graduated Domino High School & when she flew out to depart to New York City. It didn't feel odd when she left Domino, but it felt empty when his visions started. He turned his towards the window & looked at the full moon's silhouette shining through his sheer curtains.

'You're always stuck in my head. Why haven't you really been back at all? Just come back, Téa..' His mind settled on thoughts of departures & he decided that he would finally give in to his visions. He's going to New York & not returning to Japan until she comes back with him. He couldn't take the emptiness anymore around here. He's seen & experienced first-hand of all the unexpected adventures he endured with Yugi & the geek squad. Although in the past, he repeated that he didn't believe in "the hocus pocus mind tricks" & "destiny", he's accepted it all after coming back from the afterlife dimension. He reminisced about his last duel with Atem, which he nearly died for, how Mokuba had cried his heart out when he returned from the afterlife with Yugi behind him, & how Wheeler (of all people) pestered him to no end about 'Live the life you have now instead of dying for something that is completely worthless'. He accepted it all after returning to this life.

He may not have let it be publicly known, but within their remaining gang of 'friends', he accepted that magic does exist, that destinies are part of who you are today, & that there are those few that actually belong in your life. In this case, Téa belonged with him in every lifetime. Even if he didn't fully believe in the whole destiny & incarnation thing, he's Seto Kaiba & Seto Kaiba always goes after what he wants. What he wanted was Téa Gardner & he was going to make sure of that. She belonged to him, as he belonged to her. In every lifetime.


Memfis, Ancient Egypt

3000 B.C.

In the golden sands of Egypt. Back in the palace of the Pharaoh. Well, of the former Pharaoh, his dear cousin Atem. He never felt like the palace belonged to him since part of his childhood, he wasn't living there after his late father, Akhnadin, had left him & his mother to go help forge the millenium items. Even after Atem had given the throne to him as his successor & passed on into the afterlife after losing his duel with his incarnation, Priest Seto couldn't help but wonder how he & his own incarnation can be so completely different, yet exactly the same as a person. He caught glimpses of him when Atem's incarnation, Yugi, & his friends had been warped into Egypt. They all left together as well.

Who could've known that his future self had to witness all that occurred within this land. His supposed home, his family, his former love Kisara, & the last of the destructive battle with Zorc & Bakura. Priest Seto, after seeing who Seto Kaiba is, silently prayed to the Gods that his incarnation would have a different future with positive outcomes. Oh, how wrong he slightly was.

He turned towards the sound of footsteps from behind him & saw two of his viziers walking towards him. Priestess Isis & his 'newfound' grandfather Shimon. Wily as he was & quite the comical one of his viziers, Seto was quite glad that he didn't inherit the odd genetics of spiky hair & midget height that somehow ran in his family bloodline. It didn't make sense considering his father & his late uncle, Akhnemkhanen, even the late queen herself, were all tall! He let the thoughts be gone from his mind & turned the rest of his body facing them. He nodded his head towards them both.

Isis speaks first. "My Pharoah, the plans are all underway for Atem's tomb to be prepared. Are you sure that you are still willing to go through with this? He was your cousin, after all, Seto."

"She is right, Seto. Our lands are being rebuilt under your orders, & our kingdom is in safe hands after Zorc's destruction. But erasing Atem's existence from our records is beyond impossible & ridiculous. He is not a ruler from another kingdom or land. He was our Pharaoh. Our family. He is your blood cousin. Why not let our future generations know of him?" Shimon questioned.

Seto closed his eyes for a second before reopening them to state his reasons. "I need his namesake to be erased from our records for future purposes. I've seen the millenium puzzle end up in the right hands for the sake of our futures. It must be done this way, therefore in the end, Atem rests in peace in the afterlife. His future incarnate shall receive the millenium puzzle & solve the pieces in order to unlock the memories of our former Pharaoh. Do not dread this decision, Shimon. All will turn out very well in the end for your grandson."

Shimon looks at Seto skeptically, "As you say so, Seto. Atem will remain as the Nameless Pharaoh. But remember, my young grandson, that doesn't mean he will be forgotten among our growing family."

Seto raised a brow at this, "...Growing family….?" He was having an odd time just learning of his royal family as his own blood, let alone still referring to his vizier by his name rather than 'grandfather'. But growing? He was just handed the throne by his own cousin, who departed quickly after that, without even consulting with Seto himself. Now his only blood relative is mentioning of a growing family. He was the only heir left. Unless….

"Yes, my Pharaoh, Atem shall not be forgotten among your future heirs. In light of his departure, he was to be preparing for his other duties after gaining his throne. Including the preparations for his marriage. But as fate would have it, his duties are now passed onto you, Seto. This is why we are here. As your plans are underway for Atem's tomb, we must also begin the preparations for your marriage." Isis stated.

Seto looked at Isis in shock. He was starting to think the Gods are out to get him, one after another. Not only is he Pharaoh now, but he has to get married right away? He began to think that life as a Priest was so much better than this & less of a hassle. 'I can't be here….I can't get married. ….Atem…. He better not have done this to escape his duties!' He turned his body away from his viziers & looked through the balcony at the afternoon sun casting it's rays over the kingdom. He wasn't prepared for all of this at all. He was prepared for life as a Priest under Atem's wing. But not as a Pharaoh with Atem gone from this world & him to rule over this kingdom. His mind started to numb as Isis spoke her next words.

"Seto, I know that none of us were prepared for all these changes. But it has happened. We must go on, we must move on, & at some point, you have to as well." Her eyes started tearing. All of the deaths that had happened in Zorc's destruction. Mahad, Karim, Akhnadin, Atem, Kisara.. She knew she had struck a nerve when she mentioned this entire topic, but she didn't dare try to voice it. She knew it was too soon for Seto to even let anyone in his life like that, after having to see his first love sacrifice herself for him. Kisara, who was known to have such a powerful Ka reside in her, a Ka of pure light, was feared by many in Egypt just for that knowledge. But instead of anyone looking at it in the positive, she was bullied throughout her lifetime, Seto being the only exception who was kind to her in the past, by everyone who crossed her path. It was truly heartbreaking to see someone who had a pure light about herself be gone from the world too soon. Her heart hurt for Seto as she looked at his back, tears rolling down her face. Tragic as may be, Seto was still lucky enough to have full rights & ownership of Kisara's Ka, as those were her last words before she died. He had the power over the most powerful & beautiful Ka of light, the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Isis continued, though her voice was broken. "Please Seto...You are all we have left. Just carefully think this over…."

Seto & Shimon heard the underlying sadness in her voice. Seto never had the chance to grieve properly for Kisara. He still didn't think he had enough time to mourn his love. He felt her inherited power from her Ka. But he couldn't feel the light of happiness like he previously experienced before her death. How was he to go on into a marriage without being able to experience long term love? His mother was killed in the village raid by thieves who had imprisoned Kisara. He didn't live the joys of having a father as he grew into his adulthood. The very love he reunited with, after years of helping her escape, was taken from him too soon. Where was he going to experience the dynamic of family & love? From anyone around him, his kingdom, let alone a stranger?

As he kept thinking, Shimon spoke again. "You may grieve for the departed as you see fit, Seto. But we must continue. You have a few days to sort out your thoughts for the future, but you must also journey out of our kingdom to meet with your bride." Seto perked his ears up at this. Shimon continued, "Her royal highness awaits for your arrival, so you should be on your journey soon enough."

Seto turned his body towards Isis & Shimon, then spoke. "A few days? Surely, you must be mistaken that all these decisions be made in the wake of all this madness & destruction? Isis, was this bride decided on an final answer when Atem was still here?"

Isis looked up at his questioning gaze. "No. She wasn't unless a catastrophic event would occur. And it happened. Atem is no longer here, & as with you as his successor, she is your intended bride. So you must depart within a few days to meet her & bring her back here on your returning journey, Seto."

Seto started to feel numb & his body felt tight, though his new blue & white robes were loosely fit on his lean muscular build. Frustration started to seep through his head down to his feet. All he could've hoped for in this lifetime was for Kisara to come back & age through time with her by his side. But she was gone. She wasn't going to come back. She wasn't sent into the darkness like some others. She was killed right in front of him because she sacrificed her life when Zorc made the move to attack him with his fatal blow. She was never going to be able to return to this world. And that had hurt a lot. Seto may have matured into a skilled, intelligent, stoic, & reserved young man. But he was still human. He still felt feelings. He still had a heart beating under that muscular chest. He trained himself to not give in to his feelings of attachments since childhood. Kisara had came & changed that, but he was still left with no one that he truly cared about. He wanted to retire to his chamber as he felt like he was going to pass out. So he asked the next two questions before making his move to leave. "When do I depart on this journey?"

Isis answered, having calmed down on her tears, "You must leave in seven days, Seto. I'll see to it that your belongings for travel are prepared."

Seto asked his last question. "And where must I journey to for my intended bride?"

Shimon had placed a half-hearted smile on his aging face answering Seto's last question. "You, my grandson, our present Pharaoh, will journey towards the land of the Mediterranean. To Greece." & with that, Pharaoh Seto walked out of the room & left for his chamber.