A/N: Really something I just needed to get out of my system... at two in the morning with class the next day...
King of Games
Shadows coil lovingly around his form as he stands, both patient and impassive, in the starlit night. But the stars and their bright illumination, even combined with the reflected glow of the moon, cannot pierce the thick blanket of black curling around him; protecting, waiting.
Five minutes.
Crimson eyes, glinting like twin pools of blood, cut through the smoky darkness as easily as if it doesn't exist. The shadows will not affect him. They are him and he is them and at the same moment they are entirely different entities. Much like the relationship he had with his hikari.
Four minutes, thirty-six seconds.
Shadows and souls. They are nothing without each other. For the shadows need him to pass through to this realm, both a medium and one of their own. He is darkness manifested, and his hikari in turn cast the light that both balanced and strengthened that same darkness.
Three minutes, forty-nine seconds.
But the light is gone and the shadows are worried. Their master, their kin that walks the realm of Earth is imbalanced. Despite this, they are also filled with a sort of malevolent glee. Without the light, there is nothing to keep the darkness in check. They will no longer be held back.
Three minutes, twelve seconds.
A scream pierces the air. Wide brown eyes are blown open in absolute terror, staring at something only their owner can see. Penalty Game: Illusion of Fear. But the only thing he thinks as he watches the nondescript thug is the overbearing 'two minutes, forty-eight seconds.' Unusually resilient for a common criminal out lurking in alleys, but who ever said the game needed to end quickly? For two minutes and forty-eight seconds is exactly how long it took for the thug to break, and his five minute countdown has ended. It has never taken longer.
Yugi would be appalled. Atem almost expects to feel guilty, but he doesn't. Hasn't since his light vanished from this Earth. Instead there is only a vague sort of apathy as his eyes follow the path the thug is stumbling along, running from unseen monsters.
The shadows cackle, and Atem knows he is slipping. Falling down the pit that his hikari dragged him from so many years ago with compassion and friendship and light. Where are those things in him now? He can't find them; can't bring himself to be the man Yugi made him and was proud of. He needs to get away, away from the darkness and night and shadows. When day breaks…
But daylight won't save him now. The only thing that can is half a soul that has been torn from him for the third time. And that soul is dead, gone, gone and won't be back, can't be found, can't ever be found…
It's during moments like these that he hates him. Both Yugi and himself, separate and whole. For their shared loss… and victory. But victory is meaningless now, and the only game he ever wanted to lose is just another in a long string of pointless triumphs.
The shadows croon in deviant pleasure, brushing his skin with soft, sated touches. They are done for now, content to wait until the next night. Until the next game.
King of Games. He's just waiting for someone to steal his crown.