The priests, meanwhile, were dumbfounded that such a thing could happen to one of their own, especially to a sorcerer as powerful as Mahaado.

The hourglass had already been turned, the falling sand marking the time until the demon's curse could be fulfilled.

"Mahaado…" Isis shivered, thinking of the vitriolic rage in his eyes. Shaada too, was shaken by the vision he had seen in his ankh. The shadows within Mahaado's soul were insurmountable.

"Shaada, what did you see?" Akhenaden asked, just as fearful.

"I can tell you what I did not see." He answered. "Mahaado's spirit beast, the Magus of Illusion. It was veiled beneath shadows so thick, they were suffocating. I could barely look upon them without my own soul being caught in the fray!"

"Shadow…" Seth weakly groaned, sitting up for the first time since the attack threw him into the wall.

"Do not move, Seth. Your spirit beast was badly wounded. You may have been injured too."

"I do not have time for that." He growled, and weakly stood. His back was sore from the impact, but everything else seemed in good order. He shook the blurriness from his eyes, and turned to face the other priests.

"None of us have time." Kalim noted. "We only have ten hours until…"

"He said there was a way to stop the curse." Shaada interrupted. "All we need to do is determine who out of us will survive, and why."

"Though the demon within Mahaado only said he 'might' show mercy." Kalim sighed. "We do not know if it is true. It would not be wise to trust him. Not like this."

Akhenaden was the most fearful. If the shadow creature had gained access to Mahaado's heka, it could do great damage, especially with the millennium spellbook in its arsenal. He knew of nothing more powerful than spells contained within the millennium tome.

"We may not have a choice…"

Seth glanced up at Mana.

"What happened to him?" he asked coldly, staring down the apprentice magician.

"I don't know!" she shouted back, quite terrified. "I just found him in his quarters, and the ring was in his chest… and something started talking back to me through his body! That didn't happen any of the other times he…"

She froze, clasping her hand over her mouth. The other priests turned their full attention to her within a breath.

"Other times he what?!" Seth growled, marching towards the young magician.

Mana stuttered a little.

"Mana, please…" Isis begged. "We until the moon reaches its peak to stop the shadow creature that has taken control of your master, or the entire kingdom will fall."

"And if that creature knows the full extent of Mahaado's abilities, then the task will be made even more difficult."

Mana finally nodded.

"All right… For the past six nights, he's been casting strange spells in a secluded courtyard, in back of the palace. But he's been allright, until this morning when you asked me to find him…"

"Mana, what happened?" they repeated again, almost exacerbated.

"I found him… and I tried for almost an hour to make him wake up." She tried to explain, nervously clutching the edges of her ruffled sleeves. "I asked him what he'd been doing, and he said he was trying to expel some sort of dark energy. It had something to do with the millennium items."

Akhenaden froze. Mahaado truly did know the secrets behind the millennium items!

"That was when he faced Seth in the mock battle." Isis interrupted. "His heka had been too depleted to fight."

"But at the same time, it left him vulnerable to this creature's attack."

"Foolish, Mahaado." Seth growled. "This is all his doing!"

"He… he said he had to do it." Mana added, though she was scared. "He said that the pharaoh's death was on his heart. And that he had to make amends. I… I don't have the foggiest idea why, but…"

"That idiot!" Seth shouted. "I will find him myself, right now, and make him pay for his stupidity."

Akhenaden, though, would hear none of that. He grabbed Seth by the shoulder, and stopped him.

"And you would be just as foolish, to approach something more powerful than you, especially when you are just as weak." The priest scolded. "We must all work together, to solve the riddle associated with his curse. It may be the only chance we have."

Siamun Muran nodded.

"Yes, that is the only course of action that can be taken."

"That is right, Seth." Isis nodded her assent. "If we do not stop him, we will all be long dead before the coronation festivities begin."

Begrudgingly, he nodded.

"Allright. But where do we start?"

Mahaado, or rather the shadow creature that had forced itself into his mind, was more than willing to answer that question for them.