I'm back folks, with the second part of Traces Through Time! There's few things to clear up though.

First, I have changed my pen name-previously known as Divine-Dreamer. I'm sorry if this change brought on slight confusion.

Secondly, I have also slightly changed the name of part one of this series (trilogy). I have given up just calling them part one, part two, etc-it's a little droll. I've renamed part one as 'Pieces'. Again, apologies if this causes confusion.

Thirdly-this chapter may be a little strange, but bare with me for awhile. The start of this might be a little rocky.

Thank you to those readers who reviewed 'Traces Through Time: Pieces'. It means a lot. For those of you who haven't read it, I think you can still read this part without going back-I'm a little ashamed of my writing in that section, it's improved since when I started it. Here's a summary of the main character, and her story, which is basically what 'Pieces' is in between the Orichalcos saga.

OC main character name: Efrona Kwan

Edited Prologue: Atlantis had been gone for many years. Not one person was known to survive; no one knew enough to pass on a legend hidden and faded through the passing of time, unknown to most of the used-to-be populace even when it began. The legend of the connection between Atlantis, supposed paradise on earth, and their other dimension partner, which was merely named the Heavens.

A race of angel-like people made of apprentices, masters, gods and goddesses was the dimension's structure. Apprentices trained since they were young to use their powers, for boys it was to become a master and maybe one day a part of the council of gods. For girls, they were trained to become goddesses that worked in different departments of managing their world. They had a high level of technology, much higher then any standard on earth, and even more advanced then Atlantis at the peak of its glory.

They were a discreet race, who sometimes helped the Atlanteans secretly without being detected. The few humans they revealed themselves to, were good people, who they decided specifically had a good heart and would remain that way. The royal family of Atlantis had a vague knowledge of the angel race, but since it was requested not to be written down, even that small bit of knowledge they had was lost in time. The people of the Heavens knew much about the people of Atlantis though-their technology relied on the amount of life on Atlantis, thus the secret relationship between the two dimensions.

Sadly though, when Atlantis was washed away in the tsunami wave, the gods had built their life styles too reliantly on their technology. Due to the loss of Atlantis, the whole mainframe shut down, or exploded. Not even any nature survived to power their mainframe. Each being in the Heavens had their life energy connected to the mainframe. As the mainframe was wrecked and corrupted, so did them. Their usually controlled emotions were given free reign, and their despair, sadness and horror overtook them. Most died, and their spirit set free to roam inside a sort of dream-like reality built on memories, where they could live as before without any danger. The ones that lived through the first wave of deaths grew twisted. They became more children for the Orichalcos, the entity which had infected Atlantis before its destruction, and joined the original monsters.

However, one goddess, named Belldandy, had not been directly at the Heavens, as she lived with her human lover in a modernised Atlantis. She had survived the tidal wave due to her original wind powers which protected her, but in the chaos, her lover had died. While she may have been a powerful, highly ranked goddess, her people did not have the power to resurrect the dead. She wept for him, then sensed something wrong in the Heavens, and went up to check. The sight she was greeted with was destruction.

Distraught and nearly senseless with grief, she fled back to earth (the original plane of reality), and coincidently ended up landing in the Nile River, in an early Egypt where Pharaoh Narmer was newly ruling the land. In the shallower parts of the Nile, she lay on the shores and let herself be consumed by grief, killing her by the next day. Before she died, she had taken her staff, the only remnant she had of Heaven, and changed it to a bracelet with simliar carving design to her staff. She cast a spell over it, and then set it adrift on the Nile, before she died.

The bracelet was to carry a destiny with it. Only one that was related to Keiichi, her lover, would inherit her powers, and may lay true claim to the bracelet. She had done that so if her body was found, none would be able to get her powers from her staff, or try and use her blood in dark spells. What she did not count on was that the gods and goddesses of Egypt would take notice of her, and help her, since she was a pure, powerful soul. They made her body a part of the Nile itself, thus changing her power-from wind to water, and consequently ice. Since she was dead, that power was stored with the rest of her own powers, to await the destined person.

For you see, Belldandy had not known that in fact one relative of Keiichi survived, by being put in a wicker basket lined with blankets while still a baby. That basket was rushed through vast bodies of water to end up in Ancient China, by the coast. A woman with a kind spirit would find the baby girl and take her in as her own daughter. The girl would grow up with Belldandy's powers inside her, but still sealed until the right time was appropriate to unlock them, for a descendant that would truly need it. The right descendant would not be born until many millennia later, in the late twentieth century.

Storyline: Efrona Kwan is the new girl that comes to Domino City, and starts at Domino High. She acts as a cheerful, fifteen year old teenager who doesn't get down easily, bubbliness, etc. However, she isn't merely just a teenage girl.

She holds the power to control water, haunt dreams and make people forget memories through the use of two things: her old bracelet, which was the key to unlocking a power that had been passed down from her ancestors for many millennia; and her necklace, which cast a forgetting spell on water she chose to enchant. The spell would wear off after a week, but for Efrona, that was enough. She could also share thoughts and memories with others she chose, and power up things with magic to an extent. (That's just a summary of her abilities.)

Efrona discovered her powers tragically-a mad spirit (Akunadin) came after her, wanting her power to use against the Pharaoh, and killed her family before her eyes (quite gorily) when she was twelve, thus destroying her happy stability in life. She was christened Elisa Kuria, but after the tragedy of her family she disappeared from the world, changing her name to Efrona Kwan and creating a new identity for herself. To get away from her memories, she moved to America.

She met Yugi and his gang at Domino High, as a new student. Again, she bumped into them when headed for the museum, to solve the mystery of the Pharaoh's missing memories. So the Doom Saga started, where she acted as the guardian of the Pharaoh and his friends, to see destiny take its path correctly. In doing so, by the end, the Orichalcos was banished, and the people of the Heavens who were trapped with the Orichalcos were set free, to go to the realm of dreams with their comrades.

The Pharaoh felt a sense of responsibility over Efrona's history-from the abridged, edited version of her history Efrona told, near the end of the story, he worked out that the person who killed her family, came after her because he wanted her powers to hurt him. Thus his guilt for Efrona's suffering, and desire to protect her like he does with his friends. Efrona tried to make her first close friends in a long while with Yugi and her friends, but the past constantly haunted her. In the end, she erased herself from the memories of everyone in Domino City, and left.

The story finishes later on, when she has just recently turned sixteen. She is in Egypt-even after she left Yugi and his friends, she kept tabs on their last adventure, sending Atem to the Afterlife, though she didn't enter the Memory World herself-that would have been intruding too much on privacy. (She kept secret, distant tabs on them before.) It has been a year, yet she still feels the loneliness her decision to leave Domino left. She relaxes by the Nile River, when she suddenly feels a menacing presence, a presence she had not felt since she was twelve, unless you counted a slight scare that Ryou gave her before. She falls into the Nile, and is pulled in deeply. She loses consciousness.

In an unknown place and time, a person stumbles across the body of a strangely dressed girl, still breathing, lying by the River Nile. Like a mother hugging its daughter, the Nile protects her from the burning elements by blanketing everything but her face in water...

I meant that to be a short summary, and instead it's as long as this chapter. Urk! Anyway, sorry about the lack of grammatical sense there. Continuing on...

I suppose, Ya-er, Atem leaving would have stopped all my more pressing problems. I was certain I wouldn't have any more trouble of the magical type, and only needed to deal with scars of the past and gang fights. Oh no, in fact fate hasn't finished playing with me. I was needed elsewhere, in another place, in another time…

Let me tell you all, moving in any way, shape or form against your will is NOT fun. I say this with all honesty, since I experienced it. So that's how my second adventure began.

"Besides slight dehydration, she's fine. There is nothing wrong with her."

"When do you think she'll wake up?

"In a few hours."

Where…where am I?

Where you should be, my foolish daughter.

You have no right to call me fooli-um, who are you anyway? And don't…don't call me your daughter. I have only one set of parents, and both have passed away. You don't possess the right to call me your daughter.

Who I am is the reason why I call you my daughter. Anything in Egypt related to water and life is my child. The essence of water in your magic was a gift from me-you are consequently what your modern time would call…my foster child.

You-you know about me? WHO are you? Not your roles, who are you exactly?

Wake up, and you'll see. Most matters have been arranged for you, to ease your transition.

Transition…?

"Ah, you're finally awake."

Efrona blinked up at the kind pair of hazel, green flecked eyes, trying to place where she had seen them. Had she seen them before? How had this person broken into her apartment?

Wait…

"Who are you and why are you here?!" was what Efrona tried to hiss, whilst sitting up quickly. However, all she could manage was a low, hoarse groan whilst she moved around weakly in her bed. She felt so drained of energy for some reason.

"Easy," the stranger told her, and helped her to sit up. The stranger-a refined, tall woman probably in her mid-thirties, with thick black, grey-streaked wavy hair pulled back-held a cup to her face. Efrona sniffed it suspiciously (she was suspicious from habit of stranger's offerings) but was too thirsty to resist the clean, fresh smell of water. The water felt wonderfully cool and refreshing, washing away the parched texture of her throat.

"Thank you," Efrona murmured, after she had slowly drained the goblet. The woman turned her back to her for a few moments to set it down, and Efrona used the opportunity unseen to take in her surroundings.

She definitely wasn't in her apartment or in the same place as she remembered last being at, by the banks of the Nile-instead, she appeared to be in some sort of tent, made of material that suggested the great sturdiness of the actual tent, yet seemed lightweight. There was strange furniture scattered about. The bed she lay on was thin and a little hard, just layer upon layer of linen on a reed mattress which was held by a foldable wooden frame-how had she been unconscious on the uncomfortable, strange thing for so long? Having strange dreams too…she could have sworn she was dreaming of someone she couldn't see, while she was wrapped in comfortable, sleepy darkness. Yet that person knew about her ability-she shook of the strange feeling she had after waking up.

Efrona studied the kind-eyed woman who had given her water. She was tanned, wearing an off the shoulder creamy dress with floaty sleeves to her elbows. The equally floaty skirt part split from knees down, letting the material fall around the back of the legs instead of the front to create a short train that barely dangled above the ground-loose enough for running. A high waisted belt of golden, interlinked loops finished the simple, elegant dress. Gold bracelets mainly inset with jasper clinked at her wrists, and a necklace hung from her throat, along with long, dangly earrings inset with jasper. The effect was very oriental.

"Excuse me?" Efrona said uncomfortably. The lady turned toward her questioningly. "Um, May I ask who you are?"

The woman laughed. "I'm sorry; I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Layla, this tribe's main healer. My husband found you on the banks of the Nile river…" she hesitated in saying anything, but there was a glint of awe and confusion in her eyes before it vanished, effectively covered up. "When we went out herb hunting, we didn't expect to bring back a river-child!"

"River-child?" Efrona asked dumbly. There was another nickname to add besides Tristan's 'Frona.'

Layla laughed merrily. "That's this tribe's nickname for you-my husband let his mouth slip, and the name stuck. I don't know how long you were in the Nile for, but it's been half a day since you were found. It's nearly dusk now-been enough time for the name to spread around here."

"Where…where's 'here'?" Efrona asked.

"Not far from the banks of the Nile-we have to stay close to it for water supply."

"Ah…" So she was still in Egypt, near the Nile, Efrona thought with some satisfaction. "So are your husband and you-and any children, if any-a moving family?" A moving family who liked to get into the spirit of ancient Egypt-their oriental clothing screamed it.

"Sort of. My husband and I-no children yet- move with this nomadic tribe, sometimes stopping at some cities," Layla explained.

"No-nomadic tribe? Wow, I never heard of one still existing," Efrona blinked. "That's a really old term."

"Really? That's odd; there are many nomadic tribes in Egypt. You must be a foreigner-I mean, you mustn't have been in Egypt for too long. The fact you are not an Egyptian-or not completely one-is rather obvious, if not through your features, than through your odd dressing style before. Where do you hail from?"

Such formal language, Efrona thought bemusedly. "I hail from…from America." No need to talk about her time as Elisa.

"How strange, I've never heard of this empire or country, 'America.' How far is it approximately from here by ship?" Layla asked curiously. Efrona choked and literally fell off the bed.

NOT HEARD OF AMERICA?! WAS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!

"Isis! Are you okay? Oh dear, I've made light of the gods again," Layla sighed, as she helped Efrona back up. Efrona thanked the lady quietly, but resisted from being pushed back onto the bed. She darted over to the tent flap instead, and went outside.

A village of tents-that was the only way to describe what she saw. Tents of all different colours fluttered in the gentle, warm dusk breeze, and people of all different cultures (judging from their varying shades of skin colour) bustled about minding their own business. All the women wore variations of Layla's style of dressing and jewellery-the teenage looking girls with more flamboyant jewellery. Some wore overcoats that were very familiar to Efrona-in what parallel universe had she been dropped into?

One where the women wore similar versions of Belldandy's goddess outfit. The inner dress such as the one Layla wore was similar to Belldandy's white one except the material wasn't the same, and it was slightly more covering at the chest. However the sleeveless overcoats were the exact same style, if not the material, of a (heaven's) goddess's type of overcoat. Strange!

Efrona looked down at herself, and realised she had been wearing a dress similar to the style of the women of this…nomadic village (she dimly realised the scars on her back were partially showing, but was too shocked at her attire to care). Where were the clothes she wore before? Looking back up again, she realised that not all the people here were Egyptian. In fact, some had café-au-lait skin that, though far from being as pale as hers (hers was near albino, while she had been tan as a child), they certainly were noticeable as not being at least completely Egyptian.

Another thing she realised-she was drawing stares from both the strangely dressed women and the short-robed men of the village. Nervous, Efrona withdrew back into the tent.

Layla misunderstood her bewilderment. "I was going to tell you, dear child, you may not recognise where you are now because it is likely the Nile washed you downstream, possibly a long ways. Which city did you reside in before?"

"I…I…don't know," Efrona mumbled, trying to make sense of her reality. Despite the mix of Belldandy's time and dimension in this tribe, the jewellery and style of life was very oriental-very old oriental. She could have sworn she was in ancient Egypt…but that wasn't possible!

Layla sighed. "I'm sorry to pry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you some questions, despite you only having just waked up. This is the system of the tribe, and part of our safety rules. Please answer them honestly. What's your name?"

"Efrona Kwan," Efrona replied immediately. Layla glanced at her curiously for a moment, before continuing.

"How old are you?"

"I've been sixteen since three days ago."

"Can you describe the location of this place you hail from, America?"

What was she going to say? If she was in ancient Egypt-which was highly unlikely-they wouldn't know her way of describing the location geographically. She couldn't be in the ancient past anyway.

"Well…I don't know how to describe the location," Efrona said honestly.

"Very well, that's alright my dear. Do you know how you were washed up by the Nile? Did you fall in at rougher parts?"

"Um…yes, you could say that."

"Could say that?" Layla raised an eyebrow.

"It's a stupid, minor story."

"Have you been completely honest with me?"

The directness of the question took Efrona aback, and it showed. "I have told no lies," she said firmly.

Layla eyed her carefully, and nodded. "I have the feeling you are not telling the complete truth about yourself. Your explanations are very vague. But you wouldn't be the first one to keep your secrets. This village has its own share of secretive people."

The tent flap fluttered, and a man entered the tent. Layla smiled gently at him. "I told you she would wake up in a few hours, Akii."

Akii, a chocolate-milk tanned, tall giant of a man with short black curls and bright, cheery brown eyes replied, "So you did. Though it was rather obvious she had to wake up sometime."

"You thought she was half-dead," Layla reminded. Akii 'hmphed' and turned his head away.

"That was at first glance. Anyway, since she's awake, we'll have to take her to the village leader. He's waiting for her by a nearby oasis-it's better if we test her as soon as possible. I'm sorry," he added towards her, "miss, but I'll need you to come with me. I promise what will happen soon will not hurt you."

"You can trust Akii won't hurt you definitely, because he's far too courteous towards women," Layla said. She glared at him. "Behave-don't scare her with your crude jokes Akii."

Akii swooped down and kissed her soundly-thus proving he was Layla's husband-and grinned at his wife crookedly. "Jealous?"

"No!" But Layla was smiling in amusement.

"Don't worry, I have you to practise my 'jokes' on, so I won't scare the girl too badly," he grinned, and pulled Efrona out amidst mock-outraged splutters from his wife. "Let's go, before she tried to throw something at me."

Efrona just snickered at the amusing scene that had played out before her. Nevertheless, a small childish part of her wanted a sweet light romance like that-friendly bantering, small kisses…

'Great, now I'm a dreamer kid as well as coward to boot,' Efrona sighed mentally.

Akii suddenly stopped, and surprising her, swung her up onto a horse. "You didn't look like you had any experience in riding, with the absent-minded look on your face when you're so dangerously close. Be more aware next time-some horses might try to kick you otherwise," Akii advised. "You don't have any experience in riding, am I right?"

"I have some experience…" Efrona said uncertainly. She remembered when she had ridden a horse after the Pharaoh to the gully where he duelled for the first time with Raphael. Well, she hadn't ridden the horse-more like she depended on the horse to help her stay on, and not buck her off. Something she did with magical influence and pleading. She couldn't show her magic now however. There was a witness here.

"On second thought, I have no experience-sorry," Efrona sighed. Akii smiled.

"That's alright. I'll lead the horse and you just sit there and try not to fall off."

"Hey, I'm not that clumsy," Efrona insisted, as they plodded away to wherever they were going.

She didn't think not to trust Akii, because at the moment she didn't know if she should trust her own crazy mind. She couldn't have time-travelled! That only happened in sci-fi movies and books. Since she had no stable thought in mind, she needed to depend on someone else for awhile for a sense of reality.

Silently, Efrona followed Akii through the many trees of this strangely lush oasis. They had dismounted at the edge of the thick forest of trees surrounding the oasis perimeter and gone on foot from there, travelling deeper within the trees, searching for their destination.

Efrona was sure this oasis held traces of magic. A reverent, heavy atmosphere hung in the air, silencing Akii's earlier teasing and instantly prickling at her senses to be alert.

"What is going to happen?" Efrona asked. Her question seemed oddly loud in the unnatural hush.

Akii shook his head. "I can't explain. Only the village leader can-but I can tell you about the village leader. He is one of the few magic users within our tribe, and the all males within his family have been tribe leaders ever since this tribe first began, long ago. I don't know what generation leader he is now, but he is just as powerful in wielding magic as his ancestors. Yes magic," he said, to Efrona shocked look. "He is one of a few magic users within our tribe, though he is certainly the most powerful in a sense."

Way too much information within one day. First being transported to another place-possibly another time-found by a village who had elements of Belldandy's time and dimension, and finding out this village leader had magic-Efrona's head was a jumbled mess she struggled to organise.

They broke out of the trees, and into a clearing. A small lake took up the centre, with a river leading from it away, winding through a slightly cleared path to her left-it must attach back to the Nile, Efrona guessed. Kneeling by the banks of the lake was a man somewhere between the middle-aged and elderly stage. His short hair was a faded yellow blonde, eyes closed and large, caramel toned hands lay on his knees lightly.

He opened cool, deep grey eyes and regarded Akii and Efrona with a serene smile. "Thank you for bringing her Akii. Young miss, please step over here."

Akii bowed and backed away, enormous respect evident in his actions and features. He left the clearing, leaving Efrona alone within the cocoon of serenity this place emanated. Efrona slowly, cautiously moved forward until she was a few metres behind the village leader.

"Step forward," he told her softly, and she edged nervously to his side. Why was she so nervous?

Because of everything, she realised. This man, with his calm, constant presence that subtly demanded attention; this location, and the overbearing, relaxing serenity of it. Was this naturally what the place and this man was like, or was it his magic, somehow affecting the mood? (Efrona wouldn't put it past magic-she'd seen too many types of demonstrations not to put it as an option.) She instinctively knelt by the man's side and took the same pose as him.

"My name is Amun. What is yours?" he asked curiously. Efrona gulped under his questioning gaze-never has she seen such a probing gaze. It was as if he was sifting aside every layer of her mind, every facet of her mixed personality, to try and find the centre, where lies and truth could be clearly seen. She didn't like the comparison she herself thought up-and looked away from him.

"My name is Efrona," she said. "Layla asked me a few questions already."

"Please repeat your answers to her then," Amun encouraged.

The oppressive serenity of the place pressed even heavier down on her. Efrona was going to be honest, she really had been planning to tell the truth-if only half truths and modified answers-but the oppressiveness irked her, and she changed her mind and decided to lie. She could always come from the Hittite Empire or something. However, when she opened her mouth-

"My complete name is Efrona Kwan. I was born in Indonesia, but I've moved around a lot."

She snapped her mouth shut again in shock and gaped at Amun. He merely smiled.

The lake in front of them, Efrona suddenly noticed, was glowing. Not exactly glowing like radiation in cartoons, but it seemed to shine subtly golden. To her complete shock, tendrils of water rose up out of the lake, and like scarves in the wind, twisted, fluttered and twined around each other to create a water cocoon. She could see a strong golden glow in the centre, through the water.

"What-?!" Efrona spluttered, but Amun hushed her.

"Please calm down. If it bothers you a lot, just ignore it. Please continue with your answering. The water presence is just a witness."

"Witness?"

"Answer first."

Efrona sighed in frustration and tried to think up more modified truths. Only, her mind seemed to go blank when she tried. "Um…"

"I think you've realised that you can't lie here," Amun said gently. "It is best to answer truthfully, and completely too. That way this may be over with quickly."

"You may trust him, daughter."

This time even Amun looked shocked. "By the Nile's waters…!"

"Amun, meet your sibling in ability. Efrona, the same."

"You…you are a child of Hapi? You can control water?" Amun gasped, shocked. Efrona gaped back at him, eyes so wide they began to smart.

"I could ask you the same! You're controlling the water now aren't you? And who is Hapi? The water god?" Efrona asked. The last bit was a little sarcastic. She didn't expect the reply to come from the sudden third party within the water cocoon.

"Yes, Hapi is the water god-god of the Nile, and life. Provider of your power, which is a large variation from my son Amun's, but still related."

"Stop calling me your daughter. You don't have the right to!" Efrona protested. This was really familiar…just like the argument in her dreams…no, this third party couldn't be! This defied logic of power, of time!

When was magic logical though? If that wasn't logical, how many things weren't?

"That's right, my foster daughter. I am Hapi, god of the Nile and life. Welcome to ancient Egypt, my dear."

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