"This isn't your fault."
"You don't have to do this."
"Let someone else try."
"You know I can't."
Then, those big reddish-brown eyes brimmed with tears. "Can't you ever do something for yourself?"
She'd hugged him and sobbed, while her hands clenched his clothes. "Please…"
"I'm sorry."
It was the last time he'd seen her. After that, he'd turned away- forced himself to turn away from her. It was so hard. Was life really supposed to be that difficult? Why did things happen so quickly, anyway? Just yesterday, he could spend all day with her on the banks of the Nile and gaze at the clouds and just wonder- wonder about all kinds of things. Why were the clouds shaped like that? Why was the moon that color? Those things and others. He could sit and think about the world and listen while she talked about rumors of faraway places and things she wanted to try. Why did that have to change?
He didn't know, but he knew he had to do this. She wouldn't have a future if he didn't. All of Egypt wouldn't have a future. But…still, somehow, she seemed to be the point at which his thoughts focused. Her soft brown eyes were a persistent image in his mind. He only wished they weren't so sad. He wished he remembered her happy. Well, he did remember her happy, but for some reason the only image of her that he could summon in his mind was that of the last time he'd seen her with tears in her eyes. "You don't have to do this."
"But I do," he whispered to himself. "I do."
He supposed he could stop, but he shouldn't. That wouldn't be the honorable thing to do. That wouldn't be the right thing to do. Golden light obscured his vision and bounced off the walls of the temple. The light all twisted and swirled from a single point near his chest. This was it. This was his last chance. His only chance to make things better or worse. All he needed to do was sacrifice something powerful enough to seal away the darkness. Something powerful. A soul. He needed a soul, and what soul was better than his? A king's soul? The soul of a Pharaoh.
The light danced around him, and aside from it, nothing moved. Or if it did, he couldn't see it. He couldn't see anything but the light. One word. The darkness was almost sealed, and one single word would make it so. One word that could change the world. One word that could save everybody. One word that he was hesitating to say. For you, he thought. For everyone, but mostly for you.
He closed his violet eyes and finally said it. "Atem."
The light vanished. Everything vanished, and he was falling into darkness, into nothingness. I love you, Teana, he thought.
Then, he drifted. He began floating through pitch-black darkness, unable to see or hear anything. It was darkness so deep that he wondered if even the gods could see through it. Did he even believe in gods? What am I doing? He wondered. It had to have been something, right? People didn't just…float…or did they? Everything was quiet.
Where am I? What am I doing? Who am I?
He didn't know the answer to any of those questions. Finally, he sighed quietly. Surely, someone would come and explain things. With that thought, he sat down to wait.
