According to Prophecy
by Dissimilis~Mentis
Blood dripped down her wounded side as she kept running away, leaving a nasty trail behind her. She knew they would catch up to her eventually, but no matter what she must save the precious cargo she carried. Holding it tightly to her chest, she sprinted at an even faster pace through the trees and swamps of the forest. The noise of the creatures slowly fading away, she sighed and kept running with re-new strength at an even faster speed; hope slowly filling her heart she unfolded her wings and took off to the skies at an alarming rate. Flying up and away from the death that threaten to consume her she hid in the clouds and slowed down. Sighing and lifted her cargo to her face smiling as the bundle of sheets slowly moved to reveal a precious baby boy with the mark of the Human Kingdom in his forehead.
"My baby…You're destined for greatness..."
She cooed at her child as he stared at her with his big brown eyes, shining with innocence. She gently stroked his white locks of hair that fell on those beautiful brown eyes of his. She sighed they would catch up at any minute, she could not let her guard down.
The sound of wings reached her ears and her eyes widened, alarmed she tried to pinpoint the location it was coming from but the poison from her wounds were starting to take its toll on her. The sound of the enemy was clear from all around her. With tears in her eyes she held her baby tightly in her arms and turned in mid-air swooping down towards her enemy. Flapping her wings at a dangerous speed she broke through the unexpected enemy's offense line and back into the dark forest. Dodging with all her might the arrows and spells that were thrown at her she came upon a dark cave. That cave was called "Caveo" meaning 'Beware' but she couldn't care less at the moments as it was her only chance.
"Ahhh!"
Her wings stiffened as she fell and rolled to a heavy stop. Clutching where the spell hit her, she tried to fly again but the spell had busted her wings. Taking a deep breath she made sure her baby was safe in her arms and that the magical barrier she had summoned was still intact; she stood and limped towards the cave. Panting heavily she reached the mouth of the cave and smiled triumphantly – she made it. It was short lived, however, when an arrow pierced her chest. Her eyes went wide as she stumbled forward and fell face-first to the ground, her baby rolling over to her side, crying. Tears trailed down her stained cheeks as she heard laughter and victory horns blowing.
With trembling hands she tried to reach for her crying baby,
"My…ba…by…"
A red-scaled man came around her and picked up the child.
"Hmm. A beautiful baby boy, and a human at that."
He turned and faced her smirking devilishly, "I'm sure the New King of the realm will be most pleased…"
Coughing blood, she looked at his blurry image, "Please…!"
He seized her by the hair and dragged her out of the mouth of the cave, while his soldiers laughed and spit at her. "See here!" The red-scaled demon shouted as his soldiers made a circle around them.
"The Queen of Humans!"
The soldiers snickered and booed, spiting and throwing spells and rocks at her, all the time she just trembled on her spot on the floor. The red-scaled demon unsheathed his sword and pointed at the Queen's face, "Any last words, oh mighty Queen?" With her eyes clouded with hurt and anger, she slowly nodded and with all that was left of her she stood up and straightened herself. The soldiers all stayed silent and waited for her to speak; after all, this is the woman that once upon a time was feared by all demons for her purifying powers. She was respected among her people but feared among the demons, with one swift movement of her, or just one blink of an eye she could have made any villain kneel before her and repent, but when she gave birth to the child she had lost most of that power. Now, the demons took advantage of that, and where sabotaging the King and Queen of the Humans to make the Humans their own personal slaves. With Arkana, a Shadow Demon, as their leader. Closing her eyes she said, "I am sorry for what I have caused you all, to have turned against me in such a way, but I know that most of you are under Arkana's binding spell… If we meet again in another life, please forgive me for this…" The red-scaled demon visibly twitched and snorted making fire and smoke come out of his nostrils, "You've said enough Witch!" She opened her eyes to reveal a shocking shade of pink and gold,
"It is done…"
Light emitted from her. The red-scaled demon trembled as the light spread from her to him and his soldiers,
"What did you do…?"
The Queen smiled with tears streaming down her cheeks while walking to the frozen demon with her baby.
"I never wanted this…"
She turned and walked away, "Before sunrise you will all be back to your normal selves…If you were taken against your will, Arkana's spell will be lifted from you. Be careful on your way out, and don't come looking for me, for you won't find me…Good luck, my friends…"
She entered the cave and walked in darkness for several minutes before, finally, she saw a beam of light in the far corner of the cave. The Queen stopped to let her eyes adjust to the light before gasping in surprise. What was before her was the most beautiful sight she had seen in all of her life. A small body of water glistened under the moonlight; an opening in the ceiling let the moonlight enter the dark cave reflecting off of the small spring of crystalline water that had a magical and peaceful atmosphere to it. Mesmerized, the Queen walked to it and drank some of the water, and sprinkled on her sleeping baby. Slowly the Queen entered the magical water and sighed happily, she took her baby and balanced him on her chest as she floated through the water peacefully and content. The baby woke up and smiled at her while he splashed the water around her chest. The Queen smiled and closed her eyes as a small glow came upon her,
"I'm afraid this is where we part my love…"
Taking the baby in her arms, the Queen started chanting a spell; the water quickly reacted and started bubbling, currents out of nowhere made the spring become like an uncontrolled river. Holding on to her baby while trying to stay afloat, the Queen opened her eyes full of determination before kissing her baby son on the forehead, and giving him one last smile her eyes glistened with unshed tears as her son cooed and held unto her loose strands of bleach-brown hair.
"I love you..."
She conjured an air bubble from the spring and placed her baby in it while placing a sleeping spell on him before letting him go with the current. The waves of the uncontrolled spring mixed with her uncontrollable tears as she heard the angry shouts and yells of her enemy. The spell for her son had been too much for her tired mine, the Queen noted. That would be the only explanation as to why the enemy had managed to break her spell.
"My son…Forget…Forget until it is time…Live and be free from the curse of this world…"
With a heavy heart, the Queen got out of the spring and waved her hand upon it, making it calm instantly. The baby was nowhere in sight taken by her magic to a safe place.
"There she is!"
Arkana's army surrounded her but kept their distance and their defenses alert. The red-scaled demon, pushed the others out of the way as he walked up to the Queen, facing her with his sword and shield up and ready. His crimson eyes filled with rage,
"I won't kill you, but I will make you scream in pain and agony for what you did!"
The Queen raised her hands and all the demons gasped as the red-scaled demon shrunk back in fear. She smiled and shook her head; she made a black bubble the size of a tennis ball,
"Do you know what this is?"
The red-scaled demon's eyes widened, "You wouldn't…" The Queen smiled and held the black-energy ball with one hand, "It is obvious that Arkana has won this battle; I rather die than see my people in the condition you monsters are planning…When the time is right I'll come back more powerful than ever and we will win the war!" She let the energy-ball slip from her hand as all the demons ran for their lives, but it was too late; the ball exploded and swallowed everyone in the cave in total and complete darkness.
Screams of horror and anguish could be heard throughout the cave for several minutes before it all went silent. Whether seconds, minutes or hours passed it went unnoticed in the darkness until a light, a tiny spec of light emitted from the darkness. It was coming from the Queen's necklace the source of her purifying powers, and it was reacting with the darkness, wanting to do what it was made to do, purify. Painfully, the Queen although weak, clutched the necklace tightly to her chest and prayed,
"Destiny…I have always been faithful to you…The only thing that I ask... Is for my son to live free and happy… For him to be safe…"
The necklace suddenly disappeared, and a clear and strong voice was heard in the darkness. "If I give the necklace to your son, you will die…" The Queen sighed and smiled to the darkness,
"So be -!"
Gasping and trembling in pain she looked down to see a sword deep in her chest; looking up she saw the red-scaled demon glaring down at her.
"I will not die to the likes of you!"
The Queen screamed as he activated his sword and it started ripping her insides.
"Call it off!"
Turning the sword to create more pain, he yelled at her spitting at her face,
"Call. It. OFF!"
The Queen kneeled down in pain and started gagging on her blood. "DAMN IT, YOU BITCH! CALL IT OFF!" The Queen placed her small hands on his wrists and looked up at him smiling,
"I can't…My son is the most precious thing to me next to my people…If you weren't under Arkana's strongest spells you'd probably understand… Rishid, Guardian of the Human race!"
Rishid's eyes flashed green for a split second before turning back to crimson. Roaring with rage, he cut from her chest to her shoulders drawing the sword from her with all of his might. Panting and trembling, Rishid dropped to his knees coughing up his body fluids; the power of the darkness was killing him. The Queen was lying on the floor, seconds away from death; with one last sigh she closed her eyes as her powers left her body and entered the necklace that laid floating in the darkness.
"So be it…"
Rishid looked up and screamed as a blinding light engulfed his being and blinded him to his core.
"Found her yet?" It was a busy night, patrols from every ally the Human King had were searching for the Queen and Prince, but they were out of luck. "Sir!"
The King of Demons, Aknamkanon, looked up from the forest map and saluted his most trusted soldier, Honda.
"What is it? You found them?" Honda saluted and shook his head,
"We're not sure…We found traces of the Queen's powers… But she's nowhere to be found."
The King sighed, "Where?" Silence met his question. King Aknamkanon frowned and looked up from his work to a very serious looking Honda,
"Caveo".
!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!+!
"Sir…" The King signaled the search team to stop.
"I'm going in..."
The King along with his most trusted allies arrived at the mouth of the cave, and without a second thought went in. After a while of walking the King signaled his team to stop and sighed.
"Atem…Tell your men to stop searching, she's not here. At least, not anymore…"
Atem, King Aknamkanon's son frowned but did so nonetheless. He turned and signaled his General to pass the word. Turning back to his Father he asked,
"How can you be so sure?"
The King sighed and walked up to the spring, "I'm 4 millennia's older than you, my son, there are still things you can't even imagine…Kaiba!"
The man named Seto Kaiba stepped from the group accompanying the King and stood alongside him, facing the spring.
"Do you feel it?"
Kaiba nodded and sighed, "A Portal has been unmistakably opened here, and by non-other than the Queen herself."
Atem gave a respectful nod in Kaiba's direction. The Demon King's High Priest was kneeling beside the spring cautiously.
"Anything?"
Kaiba shook his head and said, "Lend me a hand conjuring up the spell."
The King and Kaiba positioned their bodies and mind to start with the ancient spell of re-opening portals. Now, usually suck an ancient spell need'nt be used, but it was obvious the Queen had been in distress when she thought of this strong spell. Once their minds were on the right tract they started conjuring up the old spell.
"Atem, what's going on?"
A tall, white haired demon said as he approached the scene. Atem shrugged, "My guess is that they're trying to re-open a closed portal…Which is supposed to be impossible judging by the amount of power I can sense in here."
The white haired demon smirked, "Think they'll do it?" Atem smirked, "You-!" Just then an explosion erupted from outside the cave alerting everyone in the cave. Unfortunately it broke off the connection of the spell.
"Damn! We were so close!"
Kaiba snapped out of the haziness of the spell.
"My Lord?"
The King was panting heavily and clutching at Kaiba's clothes. "Almost… What was that?" He looked up and stared at the mouth of the cave as smoke started spreading inside the cave. Honda gasped,
"Your eyes…"
While the soldiers went out to investigate Kaiba leaned down and checked the King's eyes. "Wow…I thought only humans could connect in such a way with Destiny…"
The King frowned, "What?"
Honda leaned in eye level to the King, "They're golden-crimson…" Understanding struck them immediately. The reason why the Queen of Humans is so strong is because of the direct connection she had with the Goddess Destiny. Humans could connect more easily to her than demons, the reason unknown to mortals. However, because Destiny was a Goddess she could not interfere freely with the events of the Mortal World. The fact that residue of her power was within the cave proved that she had been here; which can only mean she had taken someone from the world or had found a way to help without upsetting the balance between Gods and Mortals. Alas, the latter was not the case.
"She's dead…She must've used up the last of her energy to save her son... This is the remains of Destiny's powers... Destiny must've taken her."
"Not necessarily…"
Suddenly screams were heard from outside the cave, flashes illuminating it now and then. Atem's eyes widened,
"Arkana's here!"
Panic was inevitable. "My Lord!" Honda's powers activated; silver bat-like wings sprung from his back as his skin paled considerably.
"We have to go, NOW!"
King Aknamkanon quickly moved from Honda's grasp and ran to the mouth of the cave with Honda, Kaiba, Atem, Bakura, and his men close behind him. They stopped abruptly; before them, a massacre was taking place. The humans that had accompanied them on the mission had been killed and the demons that were still alive were being tormented and played with by an unknown force. The forces at work there were beyond the average demon.
"I must fight," the King started calling forth his magic but he was stopped by Atem and his men. "Dad…"
The white-haired demon, Bakura shook his head sadly, "If we die…Arkana wins…We have to trust our men…" Honda nodded and winked, "You trained me well enough! Trust for once!"
The King sighed and Kaiba created a shield just in time as spells bounced off it. Honda jumped back and smirked. "Finally I get to have some fun!" Arkana's men along with Honda and his men and engaged in a bloody battle, with victory clear on Honda's side. While Honda and his men battled, King Aknamkanon along with his sons, Kaiba, and a small party of soldiers left the battle to ensure their King's security.
"Captain!"
Honda looked at his beaten up but triumphant soldiers and smiled,
"We're done for today!"
The soldiers cheered, but their cheers quickly died away as Arkana's monsters started rising from the grounds with even more power. Slowly but surely, the beaten demons were rising; taking parts of their bodies and reuniting them to themselves. Honda swallowed the lump that had formed down his throat and turned to his men. With a determined nod his men stood up straighter.
"Men…We shant go down without a fight! In fact!" He smirked, "We won't go down at all! For our Kingdom!"
The men cheered and prepared for battle as the monsters approached them. Honda closed his eyes and made a shield around him. He opened his eyes, now turned yellow, and smirked charging forward. "DIE!"
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Battle broke down everywhere. The news of the Queen's apparent death traveled like lightning and the Humans were panicking. The King of Demons was doing everything in his power to keep his people from falling for Arkana's spell; where he would infiltrate your mind and make you into his slave by separating the soul from the body, and the mind from the soul, but so far only certain regions had been protected. Arkana's troops were moving fast; spreading among the demons and taking possession of them along with their lands.
"My Lord!"
The King of Demons growled frustrated,
"Yes, what is it now?"
The guard bowed, "We just reached word that the Human Kingdom is under attack by Arkana's troops! Their numbers are decreasing and fast!"
King Aknamkanon sprang from his chair, knocking it over in the process,
"What? Send our fastest warriors to the Human Kingdom! Alert all of our knights; send them in as quickly as possible!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
The guard raced out shouting the King's orders to everyone. The castle was in turmoil, everyone was moving fast, trying to do their best to help their fellow humans. The Demon King and the Human King have long since been friends. The death of the Human Queen had been a very personal one, but for Arkana to go as far as inflict damage to the center city was ludicrous. King Aknamkanon would see to that personally.
If the Demon Kingdom was in turmoil, the Human Kingdom was in chaos. Everything was under flames. Once upon a time the Human Kingdom had been the envy of many rulers, with its green pasture and fertile land, their mountainous forests and their crystal clear waters, but not even a trace of that was left. The rivers and waters were heavy with the blood of innocents and the once green land was burnt and stained red forever. The sound of birds and animals was replaced by the sound of burning corpses and screams of agony from their occupants. The sound of swords clashing and war cries could be heard miles away.
The Royal Knights fought alongside King (Ryou's dad) for their Kingdom.
"My Lord! Please! You must escape with the Priests! If you die-!"
"Jou! I will not let my people die while I run for safety!"
"Please, consider-!"
The King of Humans cleaned his sword off the demon blood and turned to face Jou and his knights. He couldn't have asked for better knights. The determination, adoration, and loyalty that shone off his knights eyes was overwhelming.
"You have all been so faithful to me; I can't even begin to thank you enough, but I shant run while my Kingdom is in peril!"
The knights all bowed their heads and nodded. They knew it was going to be like this so they raised their swords as a sign of gratitude and loyalty,
"For our Kingdom! For our People!"
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"Oh. My. God."
The Demon King's troops arrived at what was left of the Human Kingdom. Corpses - demons and humans alike - laid on the floor, the roofs, the streets, what was left of the trees...Everywhere. What used to be the most beautiful place of the Demon Realm was now shadowed with dark magic and surrounded with an evil aura. The Demon King dismounted his horse, and stared with teary eyes at his friend's Kingdom.
"Men…Search for any survivors…Be careful, and stay together…"
"MY LORD!"
King Aknamkanon and his troops were suddenly ambushed. Arkana's troops had jumped out of nowhere and attacked them. The Demon King's troops were strong and powerful, but Arkana's troops were numerous and apparently invincible. As soon as Arkana's men were killed two stronger ones replaced the fallen demon. The Demon King was doing everything he could. After a short, but fierce battle, King Aknamkanon shouted,
"Pull back!"
Dodging spells thrown at him, King Aknamkanon turned to Kaiba and said, "Take our strongest men and keep them back as long as you can. I'll take the rest and prepare the castle for attacks."
Kaiba nodded, "Be careful…"
"Tell me…Jou…was it? Where is your King?" Jou's blonde hair clumped together in dirty locks over his eyes as he hung from the wall. His Knight clothes hand in rags from his body – barely covering his slightly toned frame. Jou choked back an angry cry as he tried to hit Arkana; didn't matter that his wrists were bound to the wall, nor that every time he moved his body felt like it was on fire. Arkana snickered walking away from Jou and towards the darkest part of the wall.
"OH! Here he is!"
In the dark corner hang the King of Humans. In similar condition to his Knight Jou but more beaten and chains held him in place. Arkana took the King's chin and slammed it against the wall.
"What's wrong?" Arkana asked innocently but his eyes held a malice glint to them, making him look madder. Where the white was supposed to reside was nothing but a blackness that seemed to want to suck you in and consume your very soul. The iris was blood-shot.
The Royal Knights all yelled and cried as they could only watch their King get tormented.
"Why are you doing this?"
Jou yelled. Arkana smiled,
"Simple. With the Human King gone, and the Queen dead; there will be no one to stop my dark powers from taking control of the world once again! Years ago, the Priestess' ancestors sealed me away, but now I'm back more powerful than ever and I intend to use the Human's powers to rule the universe! Your pathetic Mortal World shall be first and next shall be the Immortal World!"
Despite his pain, Jou rolled his eyes, "You're crazy! No one can destroy the immortals! Hence, WHY THEIR IMMORTALS! Besides, you may have succeeded in destroying us, but what about the other demons! They will never surrender to your plans!"
Arkana laughed, "They won't have a choice!"
Another knight narrowed his eyes at Arkana's answer, "What do you mean?"
Arkana smiled evilly, "My dear, human… Have you ever heard of the Goddess of Time?"
The knight closest to the King stuttered, "B-But that's-! That's just a m-myth!"
Arkana's laugh bounced off the walls making the knights grimace, "Or so you think! Or so EVERYONE thinks! I've seen its work first-hand and it's beautiful! With its same powers the Queen's ancestors managed to bind me but now I'm gonna use the same thing against them. They stopped time and captured me in between. I have been wondering for Millennia's but no more! I shall reawaken the Goddess of Time and I shall use its powers to overrule each and every one of the pathetic mortals you call Kings. Just imagine! Everyone will be so scared they will worship me and not that blasted Destiny that I can assure you IS a MYTH!"
Jou started trembling with rage, "You'll never succeed!"
Arkana pulled Jou by his hair until they were face to face, "I already have…Sweet dreams…"
"I'm sorry, my lord…" That was the last that was heard from the knights as sweet oblivion took hold of their conscious.
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"DAD!"
"Atem! I need you to go and claim war, along with our allies against Arkana."
Atem stopped dead in his tracks, "What? Are you insane! Arkana has most of our allies under his mind-control!"
The King turned around and hugged his son. Atem tensed up, despite what rumors said the Demon King cared for his family and his people, Atem's usual stoic crimson eyes softened,
"How bad was it?"
King Aknamkanon sighed, "We hadn't found anyone when we were attacked and forced to retreat."
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be…This is war, Atem… I'm going to move the coronation up for tomorrow tell your brother."
Atem just stood there eyes wide with slight fear visible in his crimson orbs. "Dad…You think we're ready?"
The King sighed, "Atem, you will have to be…"
The day passed by rapidly but tense. Everyone barking out orders, warriors going back and forth, shields being tested, everyone was busy working out their skills; all to prepare for the eminent battle. The day passed and night came with nothing to note. The day of the coronation was soon upon them.
"Are you nervous?"
Atem asked his white-haired brother. Bakura shrugged,
"I really don't care but if we're not ready…" Bakura's dark brown eyes shot looked questionably at Atem.
Atem sighed and bit his lip worriedly, "Yeah…"
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"Prince Atem, step forward."
Atem and Bakura were both standing in the middle of their father's throne room that resided in the shadow realm. This is the first time they had been in here…Officially anyways. Atem smirked at his brother, trying to hide his own nervousness, before stepping forward.
The King smiled down at his son. Atem smirked and looked at the millennium items that lay motionless on the table before him. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. The King said the ceremonial words and proceeded to choose a millennium item for his son.
Now usually this process didn't happen unless the vessel, in this case, Atem experienced 'the call'. Whenever a vessel was deemed worthy to receive a millennium item; the millennium item in question would send a power code (the call) to his chosen vessel. What happens is that the vessel usually enters into a state of shock at the amount the power is bestowed upon him and is then forced into a sort of healing slumber, where the millennium item would work with his vessel's body until it could support the power the millennium item was offering. More often times than not, the vessels died due to power overload -if you will-. That is what scared the Demon King and Princes.
King Aknamkanon picked the millennium puzzle and placed it on Atem's neck.
"This puzzle shall guide you through the right path; towards Destiny. Follow it always."
As the King let go, everyone waited in silence to see if the puzzle accepted. The puzzle started glowing, and Atem closed his eyes.
"Please…"
Suddenly, Atem was on the floor yelling and shaking in pain. His skin slowly, but surely was glistening with sweat. Atem's screams echoed and bounced off the Throne Room's walls, making everyone present cringed.
Atem felt like he was on fire! Every cell of his body felt as if it was being fried by a powerful current. Every once in a while the current would get stronger and Atem could only whimper and squirm. Suddenly the pain intensified. The puzzle was burning through Atem's chest. The demon priests quickly stopped chanting and went to their Princes' rescue. Atem lay panting on the floor; the puzzle had disappeared right before the priests got to him.
Until the puzzle had made it clear that Atem was or wasn't the one, King Aknamkanon and Prince Bakura could not get near Atem less the puzzle kils them too.
The priests tried to help him up, but Atem hissed in pain. Slowly crimson eyes opened. Bakura had to hold back the King when they saw Atem's eyes. They were glazed, unfocused, as if Atem wasn't there anymore, but the worst part was how much pain they reflected.
With unfocused eyes, Atem instinctively reached out in the direction of his dad and Bakura, but before either one could react black smoke began emitting from Atem's body. The Priest yelped and leaped away from the Prince rapidly, and not a moment too soon.
Atem's eyes widened as he let out another scream of pure agony. The black smoke began consuming Atem's entire body. The black tendrils came from the very source of Destiny's powers. Nothing could escape it and there was nothing superior to it. That was it. Atem glanced up to Bakura and smiled weakly,
"Is up to you now…"
The shadows consumed Atem. Although Atem couldn't be seen anymore his screams still resounded in the Throne Room as if he had never been engulfed in pure darkness seconds ago. The King was shaking noticeably now. 'There is still a chance for the puzzle to accept him!' Atem's scream slowly subsided leaving a hollow silence behind. The shadows suddenly lifted.
"CLANK!"
The deafening sound of the puzzle landing on the hard floor broke the silence with an agonizing symbol of culmination. The gold up-side down pyramid shaped puzzle lay innocently on the floor where Prince Atem once sood.
"No... NO! My SON!"
The King was visibly shaking and distraught. Bakura reluctantly, let go of his Father. King Aknamkanon slowly made his way towards where the puzzle lay. It sat so silently, so innocently. The King was seething in misery and pain and betrayal. Since his family had pledged themselves to the millennium items they had never done this to them, and now when they are most needed they take one of the few things he holds dear, His son.
Bakura watched as his Father very slowly made his way to the puzzle. He knew his Father was devastated. Atem and his Father had always been rather close. Bakura sighed and looked away as his Father knelt down to retrieve the puzzle. He would not cry. He had loved his brother but he would not lose to the shadows; he would not give them the satisfaction of watching him crumble to their sick games. After all the shadows never killed they only hid. Atem was alive; if barely, but he was alive, he must be.
'Atem… Brother, I will find a way to bring you back I promise. Even if it takes me to the Shadow Realm I will find a way. Nobody and nothing stands in our way! Especially now!'
The King shuddered as he leaned down to grab the puzzle. He wanted nothing more than to smash it for what it had done, but as soon as his fingers enclosed around it, the inevitable happened, the puzzle shattered.
The King choked back a sob,
"My son…Atem…"
Bakura just stood open-mouthed, too shocked to speak. He had just made a promise to his Brother and now-this… This was too much. If the puzzle shattered then… Everything in it was bound to die, including…
"Atem…"
Shaking with rage, Bakura let out an agonizing scream as his eyes started tearing up. Slowly they started falling one by one, but his demeanor did not change nor did Bakura sobbed broken-hearted. His brother would be remembered forever and Arkana... Arkana was going to pay! Bakura clenched and unclenched his fists as realization hit him.
Atem was gone.
"Dad…"
The King stood up, tears gone and expressionless.
"Is up to you Bakura…"
Bakura nodded all sings of desperation were gone; his face was just as expressionless as his Father. The King hugged his son as if his life depended on it and whispered so only Bakura could hear him,
"I love you…"
Bakura backed off and nodded,
"Yea…Me too…"
"My Lord…What is that?"
The King and Bakura glanced at the priest before looking over where he was pointing. A black/purple energy-ball had appeared in the center of the room. Everyone backed up as it hovered around the center, dangerously close to the priests and the Royals themselves.
The King stood in front of Bakura. If that thing was indeed dangerous Bakura had to be saved. Still… The King eyed the ball of energy curiously.
'Where had I seen this before?'
A sense of familiarity came through Bakura's and the King's mind as the black magic swirled about.
/My, My, My! You don't recognize your own son? I bet he's hurt!/
The King's eyes widen and he whispered,
"Destiny…"
The throne room suddenly lit up as the black energy ball turned into a bright white light, and the Goddess herself made her way from the inside of the black magic. Destiny, in the form of a beautiful woman with long black hair, ivory colored skin, and emerald green eyes, came forth and smiled.
/I see your son at my court room, and I sit there and think, 'Did time run that fast that I missed the completion of the prophecy?' Then I realized the puzzle was being an ass; as always. So, I sent him back!/
Destiny waved her pale arm, and the black ball of magic disappeared leaving Atem; sleeping on the floor fully transformed. Bakura ran towards him and knelt beside him shaking him. Destiny chuckled,
/He won't wake up honey. The trip knocked him out! It's not easy to come back from the dead even if it was only for a couple of minutes! /
Destiny laughed at her own joke. Bakura glared daggers at her,
"You've never cared about us! So don't give me this shit! What did you do to him?"
Destiny's eyes saddened,
/I know it may seem that way, but I care about you and your brother very much. You and your brother have a very special destiny. One in which even I can't interfere. This, /
She signaled at what she was doing,
/Is extremely dangerous. It could totally change your destiny…/
Bakura shook his head, "Aren't YOU destiny?"
The Goddess smiled,
/It's not that simple, one day I shall explain…Until then…/
With a wave of her hand, Atem appeared in her arms. Bakura yelped as his brother suddenly disappeared from his hands and glared at Destiny again. The Goddess shook her in amusement, 'Bakura is actually very worried about his brother… He truly has a caring soul even if he wants others to think otherwise.'
/I shall forever admire your resilience Bakura. /
She leaned down and kissed Atem's forehead.
/Atem…I grant you the gift of darkness…From now on you shall be the new King of Darkness!/
Destiny put him down and turned to Bakura; she smiled and walked up to him.
/May I? /
Bakura scoffed crossed his arms in annoyance but nodded nonetheless, it had to be done. Destiny smiled,
/Bakura… I grant you the power of stealth…Not many ever receive this sort of power…Treasure it and use it for good…This…/
Destiny waved her hand and the millennium ring appeared around Bakura's neck.
/Will help you through your journeys…Farewell. /
Destiny turned to the King,
/Time is running out…/
She smiled sadly and disappeared.
Atem lay in the King's chambers as he slept off the journey from the land of the dead. There wasn't any physical difference that may give that fact away but Bakura was nonetheless relieved (even if he didn't express it) to see his brother back and well. Bakura smirked from the doorframe as their Father fussed over Atem. Making sure he was warm and comfortable. Bakura smirk grew as he thought of all the things to tell his brother once he woke up. Like the Goddess kissing him. Bakura chuckled and left the room.
"You know you are more than welcome to sleep with me tonight."
Bakura rolled his eyes at his father's comment and left the room. The King chuckled and sighed, stroking Atem's hair lovingly,
"I really thought I had lost you my son..."
After the coronation, King Aknamkanon split his Kingdom in two parts. The North side was controlled by his eldest, King Atem and the South side was controlled by his youngest, King Bakura. Currently, however, both newly appointed Kings resided in the North side where the original castle stood.
King Atem was currently in his study room thinking of strategies to win the war against Arkana. He had already proclaimed war with the few allies that managed to get rid and/or shield themselves from Arkana's mind-control powers.
"My lord…" Atem sighed,
"Yes?"
"King Bakura is here to see you…" Atem raised an eyebrow,
"Send him in! What are you waiting for?"
Bakura came in calmly, despite the fact that he was made to wait.
"You want anything?" Atem began getting up from his desk.
"Marik…" That comment stopped Atem in mid tracks and he sighed,
"I thought you had forgotten all about him…"
Bakura shook his head, "Arkana uses the same magic, or at least similar to Marik's…"
Atem shook his head and furrowed his brow, "Yes… And?"
Bakura sighed and sat down heavily, "If we can find a way to get Marik to cooperate…"
"Bakura…"
Atem sat beside Bakura and looked at him straight in the eyes, "Marik…Is…"
"He's what?" Bakura glared at his brother for a brief second before sighing,
"Look, maybe we can get him to cooperate enough to see if it works!"
Atem shook his head, "If what works?"
Bakura sighed exasperated, "Marik could cancel Varkor's mind spells!"
"…"
Atem stood up and walked towards the window, "I really don't have anything else…I'm losing my men out there and not gaining anything in return…"
Bakura nodded. He was in the same condition.
"Bakura…I know you miss him…"
Bakura stood up and made to leave.
"Bakura!" Bakura stopped and sighed, "If it wasn't for that stupid rod, I'd still have him!"
"You know that he has to use his rod to do this…right?"
Bakura sighed again, "This is exactly why he went insane…We pushed him too much, and now he's gone…but…We need him. I really think is the only way…I just wish…It wouldn't have that fucking effect on him!"
Atem sighed and nodded. He remembered how close Bakura and Marik had been, but when Marik was appointed keeper of the rod and the Priests had pressed him for power Marik began to lose it... It had been barely noticeable at first, but his thirst for blood surpassed any demon Atem had ever known, and soon enough, Marik had turned and assaulted Bakura. An offence like that cannot be overlooked. Marik was arrested and his rod taken away, but by taking his rod away we also lost Marik. He lost his entire mind to the rod.
In the end, Marik was sent to the Hollow, the demon prison. It is impossible to escape the Hollow as the most Ancient of Spells and Charms and Magic surround it; once you're are sent chances are you're never to come back out, ever again. Although Bakura doesn't admit it, Atem could see how hurt and lonely Bakura really was. Atem shuddered as he remembered his brother's face when Marik had been thrown into the Hollow. Atem swore that from that day onward Bakura was never the same, but if one's lover was thrown into the Hollow it was only normal to feel that way, but still… It was never made official but Marik and Bakura had been lovers since Bakura reached his initiation, that had been about two centuries ago.
Bakura closed his eyes and sighed,
"I'll go get the Priests to open a portal to the Hollow..."
"I'm sorry… Bakura"
Bakura turned and looked at his brother's worried crimson eyes,
"Yeah... Me too..."
Atem nodded and looked out the window of his study room.
"Hopefully… Things will be different this time…"
Bakura took a deep breath and turned to leave, "I left them take him Atem… If he is in his right mind, he'll probably kill me… I know I would've…"
"Good thing is Marik we're talking about, right?"
Bakura looked at his brother with a murderous glare. Atem gulped and chuckled nervously,
"I'm only trying to-"
"Don't!"
Bakura walked across the room only to stop by the door,
"Do you really think he'll come back?"
Atem looked up only to be met with Bakura's back, but Atem had heard it. He didn't need to see his brother eyes slightly shine with unshed tears to know how much this was hurting him. Atem sighed,
"This war may very well be the turning point of the world as we know it. Whether you admit it or not, Marik is still a part of you, and you being a major part in this war; is only logical that Marik has one too. If that is the case, Marik will come back to you, brother. It may not be as fast, or as much as we want and need him to, but he will come back… Of that much I'm certain."
Atem watched his brother for any sign of…well… anything. Bakura had been unnaturally still throughout the whole 'speech'. Finally Bakura sighed and nodded leaving the room.
'I'm coming Marik. I'm coming.'
