Cold, dead eyes met her own, eyes that just that morning had been filled with life and humor.

"M-master…?"

She sobbed, torn between backing away in horror and rushing towards him, legs betraying her by staying completely still and taking her nowhere. She reached for the body, shaken to the core as it vanished, replaced by a broad, stone canvas, the strongest magician in the land etched into the pillar of stone.

She could barely speak for her trembling lips, her throat thick with tears.

"M-m-mah-a-a-ddd…!"

Strong arms embraced her from behind, pulling her close, warming her chilled bones, rocking her gently from side to side. She turned around, hiding her face in the Pharaoh's neck, seeking some sort of comfort.

"Make the hurt go away, Pharaoh. Please, please make it go away!"

And then, just as soon as it had come, the warm embrace of her friend was gone again, his body vanishing into a thousand golden puzzle pieces.

"Atem!"

The young magician turned around in a circle, trying to gather all of the puzzle pieces together, her fingers working like mad to fit them together.

"Don't leave me!"

Bodies fell everywhere she turned, glassy eyes staring up at her. So, so many familiar faces…

"I can't do this alone!"

Siamon.

"Please…"

Karim.

"… Don't leave me!"

Shada.

"I'm not ready!"

Isis.

"I don't want to be alone!"

She couldn't breathe, her throat gasping as she swallowed mouthfuls of her tears. She barely heard the final 'click' as she fit the last piece of the Sennon Puzzle into place.

The magical artifact glowed, a warm, friendly smile appearing for an instant.

"A… Ate… My Pharaoh?!"

"Foolish little girl."

She screamed as laughter filled her ears, the friendly smile changing into a sinister leer made of jagged teeth. The Puzzle in her hands changed form as well, shaping itself into a circular object with five points. It wasn't the Puzzle she held anymore – it was the Ring.

"N… no…!"

Gone. Everyone was gone. He had taken them all away from her, and now she had nothing left.

Trembling, she lifted her wand, summoning energy for an attack.

"I'll kill you for what you did to them. I'll make sure you'll never hurt another person, never again."

Taking a deep breath, she steeled her resolve.

"I'll avenge them."

Her attacks were met by laughter, the demon's great, black hand swooping through the air, striking her and sending her flying to the ground.

"No!"

"Silly, foolish little magician. Who's going to avenge you?"

She never met the ground. Instead, she felt like she was falling for eternity, falling down through a realm of darkness. The shadows pressed against her as she fell, smothering her, crushing her.

She couldn't fight back. All she could do was scream as she descended down into the dark, dark pit of despair.

Mana's eyes snapped open, startled awake by her own screams. She'd had that dream again, probably for the fourth time this week.

Except, it wasn't completely a dream. Some of it was memories.

Seto shifted in bed beside her, causing her take notice of him. His hands on her face made her focus on him, helping to ground her in reality.

"You had that nightmare again?" It was rhetorical. He knew just as well as she did about the nightmares that plagued her mind. Nightly prayers for the gods to help fight the nightly terrors had become a part of their routine.

"I…" She swallowed, trying hard to compose herself. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you, my King?"

Seto grimaced. "Mana, you know I don't sleep. Especially not… not since then."

There was a knock at the door as two guards leaned into the room, respectfully averting their eyes from the bed. "Forgive us for the intrusion, lord Pharaoh. We heard the screams and were required to investigate."

Mana hid her face in Seto's chest, concealing her embarrassment. She felt his fingers tangle themselves into her hair, subconsciously.

"You are forgiven." Contrasting with his soft touches, Seto's voice was cold and commanding. Just the voice expected from a ruler crowned in the midst of turmoil. "The torment doesn't cease on my Queen's mind, I'm afraid. You may both return to your post."

Nodding, the guards left the room, walking backwards and bowing as they left.

Seto and Mana both fell silent, laying still in the dark.

'Queen Mana,' the magician thought to herself. She wondered if she'd ever get used to that title. Or being married to Seto either, for that matter.

Briefly, she wondered what Seto was thinking about now. Probably letting his mind fill with worry for the kingdom, his anxiety about his reign eating away at him as it had done every night since his ascension to the throne a month ago. She had been angry at first when she learned that he focused every second of his life on the good of the kingdom; it was a good trait for a pharaoh to have, she supposed, but wasn't he hurting? Didn't he have time to grieve for any of their friends? For that woman he'd seemed to love so much? For Atem, dammit?

Of course he was hurting, he'd told her, and of course he grieved for them. But he was afraid to dwell for very long on everything that had transpired, on everyone they had lost, afraid that he would start crying and never stop.

That was the first time in her life Mana could remember feeling that she had anything in common with the former high priest.

The minutes slowly passed in silence, Mana clinging to Seto like an anchored ship, while Seto stared up at the ceiling, absentmindedly playing with her hair or rubbing her back.

"I miss them." She whispered. "I miss Mahad. I miss…" She couldn't say his name out loud. She wasn't allowed to. "… him."

"I know."

"… Do you think he's in the afterlife now, watching over us?"

Seto finally looked at her, his eyes blank. "He sealed his soul into the Puzzle to keep Zorc's powers contained, Mana. He's not dead. Not really." He looked away again, not wanting to watch her eyes fill with tears again. "Someday, someone will solve the Puzzle. Then, he'll return. He'll live and die once more, same as us."

"I'll bet the gods have a golden palace built for him," Mana whispered, smiling wistfully. "And when he ascends, we'll go with him, to serve him for eternity."

A true smile bloomed across her friend's face, the first one she'd seen in a very long time.

"Then it would truly be a glorious life after death."

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Author's Notes

This is a short thing I wrote after finally getting to see "Dark Side of Dimensions;" the movie was SO GOOD, OMG. So many feels!

Anyway, it got me thinking about Atem's existence in the afterlife and whether or not his court resides in eternity with him, and then I ended up thinking a lot about the fates of Priest Seto and Mana, and how they are the only survivors on the anime. It sounded painful, so I had to write a little bit about it.

I really like this story the way it is, but I also had an idea to continue it and have Mana interacting with the Ring and the spirit inside. I don't know if I will or not, but that was an idea.

Thanks for reading, please R&R!