Chapter 1: Contract
Dark brown eyes slowly opened. These eyes observed its surroundings: nothing but fog. Everywhere they looked was fog, fog, and more fog.
After some time, the person who just awoke realized that they were laying on their stomach. Bringing their hands to their sides, they bent their arms and pushed themselves up. Their vision, even after being conscious for some time, was still a bit blurry.
Where am I…? the person asked to himself angrily. He stepped forward a step, and then another and another. At the very least, he had hoped to see something other than fog. But nothing but the stuff was there.
Angered, the modernized version of the ancient Thief King's spirit attempted to fold his arms but couldn't. The needles on his Millennium Ring, an item seeped in darkness and lay dormant for three thousand years, were pointing at something.
Puzzled, the spirit took the ring off of his neck and watched the needles find the source of energy and watched them point to the source. Looking up with his eyes, the Ancient One was now curious.
The Millennium Ring only reacts if there's either another Millennium Item or a massive amount of darkness, he reminded himself. I hardly doubt it's a Millennium Item…that would mean-
His thoughts were interrupted by something; the needles had dropped. Blinking, the spirit looked up and saw a beautiful young woman, sitting in mid-air.
Her sleek, ebony dress danced to and fro in the air. Under the dress was a semi-transparent brown shirt. On her neck, the woman wore a black chocker that was adorned with white jewels (the bottoms of her sleeves matched this item); her ears bore black diamond-shaped earrings. Around her arms she cradled a pink sash.
Her overall physical appearance was what hypnotized the spirit more. The woman in front of him had very pale skin, like he did; she also had light pink hair, tied in pigtails which were held up by rabbit-eared shaped buns. In the middle of her forehead, a black, upside down crescent moon lingered. Her lips were covered with a medium red lipstick, and her crimson red eyes watched him as he returned the necklace he was carrying around his neck.
"The ancient Thief King…" she introduced, her voice a chilling beauty. "It is an honor to finally meet you."
"Who are you?" he demanded, an icy tone in his voice.
Smiling, the woman responded, "I am Black Lady, leader of the Black Moon Clan. And I have something that may suit your needs and interests."
Snickering, the spirit retaliated, "What could you possibly have that I would want from you?"
At this, Black Lady narrowed her eyes and pointed at him.
"I can give you life again. For after all…you're dead."
"Of course I'm dead. I've been dead for over three thousand years," the spirit sarcastically replied, folding his arms to his chest.
Seething, Black Lady yelled back at him, "Not that type of dead. Where do you think you are right now?"
"I have no clue; I just woke up," was the Ancient One's response.
"Well, if it helps, you're in a place that is known as limbo."
"Lim…bo…? What's that?" The sprit cocked his head to the side a little bit: he was Egyptian, and therefore, would not know of the religious idea of the existence of limbo.
Looking away for a moment to peak at her nails, Black Lady began the short tale.
"Limbo is the place where unguided souls start their existence in the afterlife," she explained simply. But she had no idea of she had just caused. Looking back over at the man in front of her, she saw that the spirit's expression went from a cool demeanor to pure rage.
"The afterlife? How did I get here?" he needed answers. And now.
Surprised, the Dark Queen asked, "Don't tell me that you don't remember."
It all happened in mere flashbacks:
The God of Darkness, Zorc Necrophades, being destroyed by Pharaoh Atem and the Egyptian Goddess Horakhty…
The spirit clutching his chest as his heart stopped beating and collapsing…
The swift and silent world of the darkness cradling his soul once again…
Gasping, the spirit blinked his eyes in shock. He had lost the Ultimate Shadow Game. He should have been abolished, like Zorc, but somehow he still existed.
"How is it…" he asked softly, "that I…?" Looking over at Black Lady, the Ancient One saw that she was smiling.
"Don't you remember?" Black Lady cockily questioned. "You sent a portion of your soul into that world and fought against the vessel of your enemy. But because the shadow lost the duel, it was assumed to be destroyed. However…" she came down from her high and mighty place in the sir and landed swiftly onto her feet, her red high-heels making noise as she did so.
"The one piece of your soul was just part of the game; and to some degree, was simply that: a game."
"What are you saying…?" the spirit asked curiously.
"That portion of your soul was never destroyed at all; it was just sent here. Like I said, it was in that world, and that world doesn't really exist."
"So I…was never even destroyed, now was I?" Things were starting to make a little more sense now that Black Lady had cleared it up. But what still bothered him was what her purpose was of being here, in limbo with him.
Shaking her head, Black Lady then extended her arm to her side. Watching her, the spirit saw her hand glowing the deepest black he had ever seen; it seemed even darker than oblivion itself, if that were even possible. That hand then protruded a long piece of parchment. Once the paper was free of her black aura. Black Lady lightly brought her hand in front of her body.
"This parchment is a contract, constructed for those of dark hearts," the Queen of Darkness explained, her crimson eyes sparkling with her words. "Under it, they become my beloved servants and are able to roam as they please. However, if you should try to veto your way out, consider yourself brought to the place you were destined to be…hell.
"Well then…" she asked calmly, "will you take my offer…?"
This was all so much to take in. Turning his back to her, the spirit of the Ring folded his arms, closed his eyes, and began to process this offer.
If I accept this, I still have a shot to unimaginable power. Since Zorc has been destroyed completely, there's no way that he'll be able to return. But that doesn't matter: I'll seek vengeance for my own destruction. Opening his eyes, the spirit turned back to her and studied her face: it was an angelic smile…a very sinister, but angelic, smile.
"Why me?" he asked simply.
Not too surprised by the question, she replied, "You're a forsaken soul, like me. I…tend to feel a bit sympathetic to those who have lost everything.
"Besides, you have incredible power. Untapped,but incredible. I can awaken that force laying dormant within you…if you join me."
A dormant power within him…? He liked the sound of that.
After a moment's hesitation, he held out his arm in front of him, opening his hand as if he were waiting for her to shake it.
But instead, Black Lady took his hand in her own, and with her nail, pricked at the skin on his palm.
He was shocked to feel the pain and watch as his own blood flowed onto her nail.
Obviously noticing the surprised look on her new servant's face, she explained, "Here in limbo, the soul is given a physical state, which is why you feel pain."
Nodding, the spirit watched as she brought her blood-covered finger to the parchment. The paper absorbed his blood and created an "X". The paper then glowed blood red and disappeared.
Giggling, the Queen of Darkness brought her arms up with praise. "The contract is now in motion! Now…Thief King. With the power of the Black Moon, I invoke the powers of your aura!"
Feeling his heart pound in his chest, the spirit felt an unusual breeze come between him and his new Queen. Suddenly, a zircon-blue light surrounded his body, filling him with strength. He Hadn't felt this powerful in a long, long time.
After a few moments passed, the wind began to dissipate. The zircon light that surrounded the spirit simmered down to a mere glow. Looking from his hands to his new master, the spirit asked, "So now what…?"
"Since you're going to be resurrected," Black Lady explained, "you're going to need to return to the vessel that you once dwelled in."
"Ryo Bakura…?" the spirit asked dully. While it was true that Ryo was his host body, that didn't mean that he liked him at all. In fact, he found the boy to be quite annoying.
"Correct," the Dark Queen replied. "You're going to dwell in his body and regain your strength. But since that Item around your neck no longer exists-"
"Wait a minute; the Millennium Items don't exist? But why?"
"When the pharaoh moved on to the afterlife," Black Lady explained, "the Millennium Items were then sealed along with him. When you return to the human world, your Ring will disappear."
Holding the Ring, the spirit actually felt upset; after all, his soul was trapped in there for three thousand years. It was his only connection left to his past life. But he had to move on.
"So if the Ring doesn't exist," he asked, "then how is it I will be able to control the boy?"
"Memories," Black Lady responded, emphasizing the word. "You see, you always possessed the boy without him knowing. So why don't you share that with him? The more he knows, the more vulnerable he'll be for you to take over his body. That's your best bet; after all, ever since you've disappeared, he's tried to lock anything he could remember of you away in his mind.
"Now…it is time I left…and you began your return," the queen mused as she began levitating in the air. "And remember this: your vessel's destiny has been predetermined; he will the key to our victory…but it could also be our downfall."
"And what does that mean?" the spirit yelled up at her. But it was too late: Black Lady had already disappeared.
After a few moments of silence, the spirit chuckled. Then he erupted into a sinister laughter, his zircon aura blazing.
"It's time I make my presence re-known to the mortals," he deviously sneered. He then levitated in the air and flew upwards, ready to be resurrected.