The people of the town cheered when they noticed Seto and Yugi appearing from the woods. There weren't many who made it out of the depths, so it was practically a miracle anytime it happened. However, the excitement was quickly turned to confusion when they noticed the unconscious young man that the knight was carrying on his back. He was clearly from the south wearing only a light tunic that was ripped, dirty, and burned at the edges, clearly not something someone up north would wear due to the chill from the mountains. He looked like he had been in the fight of his life.

"Perhaps they saved him from the beast. He looks like a noble..maybe he was kidnapped by the dragon."

"Sir Seto must have slayed it. Why else would they be able to return?"

Those were many among the whispers Yugi heard as they walked by groups of people. Yugi gulped, feeling a lump beginning to form in his throat. Everyone looked so hopeful. They probably thought the dragon was vanquished, not knowing what really happened.

"Please tell me your place isn't much farther. This dragon boy reeks," Seto said indignantly.

"It's not far. It's that house right by the small hill. I know you're not enjoying this, but it was good of you to carry him back here."

"Why? Once the people here find out what he really is they'll tear him apart. He's entirely responsible for what happened here. I'm not sure how a monstrous dragon turned into this guy, but I intend to find out."

"Just promise me you'll keep it a secret for now." Yugi stopped Seto by standing right in front of him not caring how the knight practically towered over him. He held out his hand which glowed a faint purple. Faint ruins ran over his skin like tiny snakes slithering through the grass. "This is a promise spell. You'll promise to keep what he really is a secret until I break the spell. It's for his safety," he said, gesturing to the unconscious man.

"Fine, whatever. As long as I find out myself," Seto said with a scoff and quickly shook Yugi's hand. "I have no connection to this place. It's not like I'd just blab about dragon boy right out in the open."

"The spell is set then, and please try to refrain from saying 'dragon' out loud like that with everyone around."

Yugi's grandpa was out tending their small fields currently, allowing them to get into the house without being noticed. It was obvious that his grandpa would notice the stranger lying in the cot in Yugi's room, but he'd deal with that later. Once he was set down in the cot, Yugi acted quickly, grabbing some cloth and a bucket of water. Using a simple fire spell, he conjured a blue flame to heat the water. He began applying some simple salves to any injuries he could see.

"I'll leave you be to tend to him. Let me know right away the moment he wakes up. I have plenty of questions for him," Seto said, starting to take his leave.

"And what if he doesn't remember anything? There's always a possibility of memory loss, especially with curses."

"If that's the case, then I'll make him remember. He has some explaining to do, and I will get the reward I deserve from this somehow. Later."

Yugi felt the air around him lighten once Seto left. The man carried a serious aura. His ambitions were admirable as a knight's should be, but it carried an air of negativity as well. It made everything feel heavy. Ever since he started studying magic, Yugi found himself more in tune with the general mood and aura around him. Each person had a unique aura according to their ideals and personalities. This stranger's, by far, was one of the most mysterious ones. He could sense terror, freedom, and a heavy sadness all emanating from this person who was once a giant dragon.

"What happened to you to make you this way?" Yugi asked, mostly to himself.

A small glint from the stranger's chest caught Yugi's eyes. The light from the window was catching on something shiny and metallic: a necklace. Inspecting the writing on it, Yugi saw it was in one of the southern languages. With curiosity fueling him, he scoured his book shelf and found his book on different dialects. By skimming through a few pages on the southern kingdom ones, he finally found a match. He began to translate it using the charts in his book.

"A..t..Atem.." Yugi sounded out. "Maybe it's a name, his name maybe?"

He wasn't entirely sure, but it was a start at least.

It felt like the darkness was consuming him, the darkness that he had created himself. That day..he had been so desperate and unaware of the strength he wielded. "You will be the ruin that brings despair. You will become an embodiment of evil. Since you welcome the darkness and go so far as to brag about it, let's see if you can handle the real thing when you become one of the most dangerous things in the world, the evil doer who brings misfortune, the force that children fear in fairy tales," they had said. Before he knew it, he was destroying buildings, setting fire to farm lands while being chased by something..but what? He wracked his mind as he tried to remember. All he could recall was everything seeming so much smaller, and his voice..it was his own voice but it sounded like the most frightening thing in existence. He didn't want this. He had been that way for so long, he had lost all hope of being who he used to be.

The first sound Yugi heard was the cot tipping over as he was in the main room cooking up some soup. He cast a quick spell on the ladle so that it would keep turning the soup. He couldn't help but feel a jump of excitement at knowing the other was awake. There was so much he wanted to know, but he had to be careful. His health and well being came first after all. When Yugi peeked into the room, he found that the cot had indeed toppled over onto its side with the young man lying on the ground and visibly trembling. When their eyes met, his eyes were still as irritated and bloodshot as they were when Yugi had stared back at the dragon.

"Oh, sorry! Here, let me help you." Yugi quickly ran over and helped him back up onto the cot with a gentle touch, not sure if he was hurt anywhere. "Oh, right, can you understand me? I know you're from the southern kingdoms, and we're obviously up north near the mountains."

"I..can understand you. I'm fluent in a few of the northern languages," the other said in a soft voice. He sounded weak and frightened, his voice a little more than a whisper.

"Oh, good! I'm Yugi by the way. I noticed your necklace..would your name happen to be Atem? I really hope I'm saying it right." Yugi couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at possibly pronouncing it wrong.

"No..you're saying it perfectly. That is my name." Atem's voice was hesitant, taking a few seconds to answer as if he was in some kind of fog.

As Yugi gave him a check up, looking over his body for any injuries and applying salves and a few minor spells when necessary. He couldn't help but admire the deep scarlet color of his eyes, like rubies that were brought down from the mountains.

"O-oh! Hey, it's alright. You're okay now," Yugi stammered, seeing the tears. He had probably been staring for too long.

Atem's head slowly sank, his forehead landing squarely on Yugi's chest. It was then that Yugi noticed just how much Atem was trembling. His muscles were tight, veins popping upwards from his skin. Soon after, heavy sobs wracked his body, not able to contain them any longer.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Inflict upon me any punishment you deem necessary. I deserve all of the scorn from everyone here," Atem sobbed, though it was muffled slightly by Yugi's shirt.

Yugi patted Atem's back a bit awkwardly. It wasn't what he was expecting. The weight of the sorrow in the room was reaching overwhelming levels. Yugi felt like the floor would collapse beneath them, sending them down to the very depths of the Earth, but he endured it. If they were to open up discussion, it was better for Atem to start by letting it all out. It was truly the crushing sadness of a dragon who had been lost and alone in the very darkness he had created.