Yu-Gi-Oh
By Kihmiitehra no Vehra Valentine
Space.
The infinite void, the infinite voice.
Eddies of time shift and swirl, comets dart to and fro, playing, and stars look on at their bright children, filled with a kind of God-like love.
This is a playground for all of Kihmiitehra and Vincent's creations, great and small, shadow or light, dark or bright. I feel the Cosmic Wind run through my astral body, the Breath of the Universe itself. I feel Its thoughts and emotions, and the emotions of Its source.
Here in the Assimilation Room, I am one with the Universe. I hear the voices of the Gods, and know their secrets.
The Blackness. Here in the infinite dark, the soul of the Universe makes its home. Gods coalesce and plan their destruction or creation here. I am here to speak to one God.
Nekorai.
The Ultimate God Cat. She is the Original, the one who made all of Creation, and is Kihmiitehra's great-great-grandmother.
I am here, Great Mother. She comes into view, a rainbow-colored Cat with endless, fathomless eyes. A third eye in the middle of Her forehead is closed.She greets me. You are going to perish soon, my son. The humans are coming back to your world.
The humans! The war with them had just ended two millennia ago. Now they were coming back?
I had to warn my people. I said goodbye to the God Cat, and the Assimilation Room came back into focus as I opened my eyes.
I sat in a circle within circles on the floor of the Room. Red symbols and Egyptian hieroglyphs surrounded me, and the torchlight reflected off the stone walls. First . . . before I did anything else . . . I had to talk to Nanako.
Nanako. The Flower of my life. Should the humans attack, my court, and her along with it, would be the first to be killed. I had to tell her . . . how much I cared for her . . . Before it was too late. I stood up and walked out the entrance. The guards greeted me. I said to one, "Tell Warlord Terago to ready the army for war."
His face grew grim. "Yes, my Lord," and ran off down the hall.
Nanako would be in the garden right now. My awareness stretched beyond my immediate surroundings to the limits of my Kingdom. All Kings in my bloodline had such ability. There she was. My Nanako.
Her name meant "Egypt's flower." She was sitting in the middle of the field of white-pink blossoms, singing softly. I smiled. The language was a casalith language, the type of flower that surrounded her. The wind blew, blowing her white tunic and earth-brown hair, petals floating up to caress her form. She caught my presence and looked around, complex brown eyes shining in the bright sun.
"Hello, Pharaoh!" she smiled warmly. Her pale skin glowed in the sun. How often had I'd dreamt of stroking that soft skin. I did not smile back, merely stared at her, wondering if this would be the last time I'd ever see her. I walked forward, through the flowers, and she stood up, a questioning look on her face.
"Nanako . . . " I said, gently taking her hand. Could I really feel her heart quickening, or was it just my mocking imagination? "I need to tell you something that only you must hear . . . Will you come to my chambers for a minute?"
"Sure, Pharaoh," she said, wondering at my unusual solemn expression. I smiled, eyes shimmering, and walked to my chambers.
In my bedroom, I sat on my bed and motioned for her to sit next to me. A little color graced her cheeks. My heart quickened slightly. I stared her right in the eyes, my violet gaze holding hers.
"Nanako . . . There is another war coming. Humans are returning to this world, and I am going to die at their hands."
Her eyes widened. "Why are you telling me this, Pharaoh? Shouldn't the council be the first to know this?"
"I have time. I have to tell you . . . " I stared into her gorgeous eyes like dark sand, "I love you, Nanako."
I waited for her to reject me. What came was, "I . . . love you, too, Pharaoh!" She was smiling in true joy, and tears streamed down her face. "I've loved you for so long! I didn't think I'd ever get the courage to tell you!"
I was stunned. I leaned forward and gently wiped the crystalline streams from her face. "Nanako! . . . " I started to say, but it came as a whisper. She whispered my name, and our lips brushed, and met.
The taste of her filled my body, she filled my arms, my hands, my soul. We began undoing the cloth bindings on each other's tunics, and melded with one another, shedding as we went.
5 years I'd known her. And for 5 years we'd desired each other. 5 years of pent-up want and love flowed through us now. Our tongues played in one another's mouth, our bodies slid and moved; oh Ra, I loved her so much! If I somehow lived, by some chance of fate, I would make her my wife, and spend the rest of my immortal days with her at my side.
I could feel a dark pressure in my head, that meant enemies were approaching. I had to break away and tell the council what I'd learned from the God Cat. Our lips separated, and, panting, we gazed into each other's eyes.
The love I saw there was indescribable, and I returned it with all my soul.
"I have to go," I whispered. I kissed her one final time. She whispered my name and told me she loved me. I smiled and held her tight, and crawled off her, and gathered my clothes and got dressed.
I looked back at her at the doorway. She smiled sadly, her pale skin radiant, almost glowing. "I love you," I said, tearing up, and walked out the door.
I never saw her again.
………………………
The council room, like every other room in the palace, was made of stone, and the council members sat at a marble table. There were 13 council members, myself included, as well as the Kingdom's wizard, healer, and Warlord.
The Warlord was missing. I told them what Nekorai had told me. There were gasps of shock and concerned mutterings all around.
"Humans! We just finished the War with them, and now they're back!"
Councilor Nanaki stood up. "Where is Warlord Terago? He should be told this as soon as possible!"
"I'm here," said Terago, stepping into the room. "And I was notified to prepare for this war. The army and airforce are already ready."
"I will fight, too!" said the wizard, Nikiido. "I'm not just going to stand by and watch our people get slaughtered by those barbarians!"
"Who's a barbarian?" said an arrogant, unknown voice. Everyone turned.
There in the doorway stood a blond man, the arrogant smirk on his face marking his humanity. Behind him lay a guard, blood flowing from his throat and splattered on the stone wall.
I bristled, tail lashing. "Humans . . !"
He chuckled. "We're he-ere!" he sang.
Warlord Terago drew his sword. The wizard primed his staff. I readied the blade on my tail for use. The human just laughed.
"Your puny weapons are no threat to US! Now then," He pulled up an empty chair near mine and said, "We are here to discuss your unconditional surrender to the Human Empire—"
"WE'LL surrender? Ha! The Egyptian Monarchy will never surrender to your filthy species—" said Nikiido.
"Now now, no need for names," said the human, waving a patronizing finger. "All you have to do is kiss my feet and we'll let you live. For a while, anyway." He grinned. Two more humans came into the room.
Nikiido fired a red blast of energy from his staff, but the human deflected it with a hand. The second human fired a barrage from his Falaba rifle, killing Nikiido instantly.
Before they could kill anyone else, I whipped my tail blade into the first human's chest. The arrogant smile faded from his face as he died. "Agniita1 preserve me . . . " he breathed, and slumped over.
"Alex!" cried the third human, and fired at me. I dodged with speed the Holy Cat would've been proud of and axed him to death, three quick chops. He fell to the ground, and I chopped the second one's hands off, disarming him. He was dead in the next instant.
"Get everyone to the hangar, quickly!" I shouted. "We'll attack from the air and blow up their spaceship!" Terago complied. A Falaba barrage ripped through my chest. Another group of them had come in. I sank, bleeding fountains, to the ground. My vision faded.
………………………
He's lost too much blood. The Falaba bullets pierced his heart.
Do something, for Ra's sake!
If it were an ordinary gun, it would be no problem, but Falaba rifles are specifically engineered to kill Gods. The poison in the bullets is beyond my ability to heal.
I awoke. The infirmary in the Dragonfly (a large aircraft) came into focus. Terago rushed to my side. "My Lord! . . . I'm afraid . . . that we can't . . . . " Tears welled up in his crimson eyes.
I could feel my wounded heart slowing. I said, mouth streaming with blood, "Tell Nanako . . . I love her. And to escape before the War escalates . . . " Terago looked at me with surprise.
With my last ounce of strength, I concentrated on the Kihnaigo Puzzle, a gold, pyramid-shaped pendant that hung around my neck. I stored a portion of my spirit and consciousness in it, to be awakened someday, so I could continue to fight the War.
The puzzle glowed and fell apart. That was supposed to happen, though. When the puzzle was completed . . . I fainted, and the blackness engulfed me.
The blackness of space.
I felt the presences of the Gods. They surrounded me, comforted me, and pulled me toward them so my spirit wouldn't be destroyed by the Falaba bullets.
I felt my body fade away.
1 ag-nee-AI-tah
