Part 31 marks the original beginning of Book 2, "Weighing of the Heart," but I've decided to condense things because honestly, posting this story has made me realize how short each section actually is. I'm also looking into changing quite a few things, but for now, I'll stick to posting what I currently have.
This marks the beginning of the real quest for the Millennium Items, which was a blast to write, so I hope you guys have fun reading it, too. So, have fun, everybody. And be supportive. Seto might go crazy, otherwise.
XXVIII:
Of Blood and Gold
Noa threw his head back and burst out laughing.
"Ah, but I never thought I'd hear you say something like that!"
"Neither did I," Seto growled through clenched teeth. "But what can I do? I'm not stupid. A dream wouldn't have lasted this long. Sethos has done things that are – by any stretch of imagination – impossible."
"Could be crazy," Noa said.
"The insane don't believe their insanity. They wouldn't guess it."
"Non compos mentis..." Noa said idly, leaning his head back. "Your mind's as composed as it's ever been. And I guess the important thing for me to consider is the same goes for me. If you're nuts, then I am, too. And what're the odds that both of us are having the same delusions? Never mind Mokuba and everyone else who's realized Seth ain't you."
"I possess and apparently have claimed the Rod, Ring, and Eye," Seto said. "That leaves Yugi's puzzle, Ishtar's necklace, and the ankh and scales held by the man who calls himself the 'guardian' of the tombs of Egypt."
"...Your memory is impeccable. Shit, you remember crap you don't believe in."
"This guardian's name is Shadi. He's gone by the alias J. S. Morton on occasion, as well as the name Sadin."
"That so?"
"His name means 'joy' in Persian. If I am to believe the stories Yugi has told Mokuba, that's highly ironic. Shadi strikes me as a vindictive, manipulative killer. He takes his self-proclaimed mission seriously enough that no single person – indeed, no people at all – are worth enough to forsake it. He will do anything in his power to prevail."
Noa frowned. "Sounds like you."
"Doesn't it, though...?"
"At...war?"
"Thirak...the spirit of the Ring...has done battle with me before. You can't have known that, little one. But...I remember well what he told me, on that first confrontation."
Mokuba frowned.
"Akhenaden, brother to the pharaoh Aknamkhanan – the father of Atem – was the original keeper of the Millennium Eye. He was...one of Aknamkhanan's most trusted advisors, and one of his most fervent supporters."
The spirit sighed again, running his hand through his reddish hair in a gesture that reminded Mokuba strongly of his brother.
"Akhenaden had two children...and wished for his firstborn to succeed his uncle on the throne. He was...a devoted father, and only wished prosperity for his sons. Thus he...utilized all of his considerable influence to that end."
Sethos's voice began to hitch.
"One of the...most important actions of Akhenaden was to...create the Millennium Items."
Mokuba's eyes widened. "Yami's uncle made the Millennium Items?"
"Yes. But...he failed to tell his brother the true nature of the items' creation...the sacrifice. The forging of the items required that...melted and mixed into the gold of the items themselves, the blood, bone, and flesh of ninety-nine slaughtered innocents."
Mokuba gasped.
"Do you know where Akhenaden found those innocents, little one?"
The boy shook his head shakily.
"...Kul Elna. The home of the thief king Thirak."
Mokuba's mouth opened wide. "And...and that...that's why...why he was...why he went...?"
Sethos closed his eyes. "The thief king...wanted Akhenaden punished...for the atrocity he ordered committed...and can he be truly blamed?"
Mokuba didn't know how to answer that question.
"Thirak decreed...that Akhenaden's blood must be shed in recompense for his sin. And that, in his mind, included that of his sons."
The spirit turned. "That is why he used you, little one, in his final stand against us. In his final bid for the items his village was ravaged to create."
"...Huh?"
Sethos turned his eyes to the ground.
"Akhenaden's sons...were Menkaura and myself."
XXIX:
First Step of the Long Road
Mokuba's mind whirled as he tried to understand what his brother's ancestor was telling him.
"I am sorry, little one, to burden you with this," he said. "But I can only trust you. You...you understand me, as you understand your brother...you, and none other."
Mokuba had long known that he was the only person Seto trusted implicitly. He held knowledge in his mind that Seto would not give up under torture, or even death.
He wore that mantle proudly, and had resolved many years earlier, even if he hadn't completely comprehended the magnitude of it, that he would be that last bit of strength that Seto just couldn't muster.
Anything his brother needed, he would be willing to do.
And he realized then that this was true of Seto's former incarnation as well.
He reached out and touched Sethos's hand.
Sethos took it instinctually, without realizing he was doing it.
Looking down at that hand, he smiled.
"...Thank you, little one."
"Well, I don't know what you were so afraid of."
Mokuba jumped, realizing that he was staring up at the ceiling of Doctor Dreckshire's office.
"H-Huh?"
Dreckshire grinned. "Your teeth are impeccable, Mokuba. You had no reason to worry."
Sethos smirked. "Of course not."
Mokuba blinked.
Seto had been admonishing him about his lack of teeth-brushing for weeks now. He'd been having a toothache off and on for much of that time.
How could...?
He looked at Sethos.
The spirit looked back, far too innocently.
A call came through to the phone Seto had lent his ancestor the first week he'd arrived, and Sethos picked it up.
"Yes?"
"When is his next appointment?"
"I do believe Master Dreckshire said six months."
A silence on the other end of the line for a few moments.
"...You are telling me Mokuba has no cavities. I know he's been lacking in oral hygiene for quite some time now. I've looked, much to his protest. I know he has at least one."
"How odd..." Sethos murmured.
Seto didn't reply.
"Why, it almost seems like...magic."
Seto's exasperation was almost audible.
"Let me guess...you had something to do with this."
"I haven't the faintest notion what you are insinuating, successor."
"...Right. I'm certain."
Sethos winked at Mokuba, who smiled and winked back.
"There is a matter of some importance I have to speak with you about when you get back, so I would appreciate promptness on your part."
"I see."
"I have a feeling you're going to disregard that."
"Your intuition never ceases to stun."
"Your compliance never ceases to impress."
"I can sense urgency in your voice, successor. Apparently this matter is, indeed, important. I shall be prompt, as you request."
"...Thank you."
"Might I inquire as to the nature of this matter?"
Seto was silent for a long while, long enough for Sethos to wonder if perhaps the call had been dropped. But eventually, he spoke again. When he did, it sounded as though he were trying to choke the word back even as he said it.
As if he didn't want to admit the implications of it.
And yet, knew he had to.
"...Shadi."
XXX:
Balancing Act
"I know the name, successor," Sethos said as he and Mokuba sat with Seto and Noa at the table in the primary dining room. Seto had his laptop and several papers spread out in front of him, along with an empty mug.
Noting that his brother had recently made a fresh pot of coffee, Mokuba quickly walked over and refilled the mug. Seto thanked him distractedly.
Noa was leaning back in his own chair, a black bottle of imported vodka and a shot glass in front of him.
"He calls himself the guardian of Egypt's tombs," Seto muttered. "He also holds two of the Millennium Items: the ankh and the scale."
"From what I was able to cook up searching around," Noa added, "those two are widely considered to be the most important, the most central, of the seven, among those who believe in and know of the items. Others say it's the puzzle, still others say the eye."
"The scale would symbolize death," Seto said. "Specifically the judgment of the dead. While the ankh would symbolize life. Balance. Yin, yang; good, evil; light, darkness."
"Impressive," Sethos murmured.
"Apparently the eye's a candidate 'cuz it belonged to the original forger of the seven items," Noa continued, "and the puzzle – pendant, pyramid, whatever – is considered because it belonged to the pharaoh himself."
"Aknamkhanan and Akhenaden..." Mokuba whispered.
"Hm?" Noa looked up. "Wazzat, kiddo?"
"Aknamkhanan," Sethos repeated. "The original holder of the Millennium Puzzle. He was Atem's father."
"And Akhenaden...?"
"The forger of the Millennium Items. He...was mine."
"The guy who made the Millennium Items was your father?"
"Yes."
Seto frowned.
"That's...not too surprising, actually," Noa muttered, and shook his head. "Anyway, yeah. That aside, I've been reading up as much as I can on this Shadi guy. He's a...messed up mofo."
"If he is anything like Sadin," Sethos mumbled, and it was unnecessary to draw the connection between the two, "then that sounds about correct. Sadin was a...visceral individual, to put it gently."
"He's been speculated to have caused...hundreds of deaths, mostly concentrated in Egypt but spreading throughout just about every country on the planet, all supposedly linked to trespassing on Egyptian ground. Specifically, the pharaohs' tombs."
"To desecrate the dead..." Sethos whispered. "There is no greater crime. Sadin and Shadi hold that to be the most sacred truth of their existence. Any who dares to disturb the dead will answer to them."
"Yeah, well...much as I enjoy a good murder mystery 'n shit like that...this guy's too heinous even for me."
"And why is it that you have been conducting such research on this man? Surely you are not planning a career in law enforcement? You, Noa, will not be able to find him...not unless he wishes you to find him."
"That, Seth, my man, is where you come in."
"Is that so? And why do you wish to find him?"
Seto snapped his laptop closed and eyed his ancestor.
"He has something I want."
Sethos raised an eyebrow in turn. "And that would be...?"
"...Life and death."
XXXI:
There is No Chapter Here
Life has turned upside down for the man who once considered himself as coolly logical as any machine.
What, exactly, happens to a person so deep-rooted in reality that he cannot accept the truth if it conflicts?
He trips over his own feet.
The unfortunate circumstances surrounding Seto Kaiba as he finally decided to track down the remaining Millennium Items and fulfill the destiny laid out for him by his previous incarnation is that for him, the truth always encompassed reality, and vice versa.
But when magic, when the Ancient Games, are concerned, the rules are often bent. Reality encompasses much, but truth encompasses all, and when one contradicts the other, only one may remain.
Most intriguing, perhaps, is in the way Seto decided to deal with the repercussions of this. That is, he accepted the existence of magic into his reality, into his truth, thereby breaking so many rules of that reality, breaking so many foundations of his view of the world, that it becomes far too shaky to stand on.
And yet, he did.
One could say he was selective in the magic that he believed in, if any sense could be made of that. Or rather, he only accepted the existence of such when in direct contact with it. Otherwise, it remained an abstract, and when one is dealing with a mind as analytical as Seto Kaiba's, abstract means nothing.
And so, while the items he currently pursued were magical in nature, ancient artifacts with the potential to grant him power such as to imagine it fully would be to drive oneself insane, Seto treated it as any other acquisition.
He looked upon the Millennium Ankh and Millennium Scale as he might a choice piece of artwork or a rare book. Simply something he wanted to have.
He went about the gathering of the Millennium Items as he went about the gathering of anything: efficiently.
He chose Shadi as his first target, so to speak, simply based on the knowledge that the vindictive Egyptian spirit – for there had been many accounts of his death – possessed two. That was all that went through Seto's mind. It was all he needed to know in order to make his decision.
Besides, Shadi would likely be the most difficult to convince when it came to relinquishing the items he possessed. Atem trusted Sethos, and Isis understood the importance of destiny, or at least believed in it.
Shadi was unpredictable. His system of beliefs were nearly impossible to pin down. So few people saw the elusive tomb guardian, and most who did met their end soon afterward.
Best to deal with the hardest undertaking first.
However, what Seto did not realize was that Shadi would put him through the most difficult test of his life in order to earn the items he desired, and it would not be a test easily conquered.
Had he known the nature of the test, the contest, ahead of time, in all likelihood he would have ceased the pursuit of it immediately.
But, that was not to be the case.
Seto began walking straight down the road to oblivion...completely oblivious.
XXXII:
Opening Move
"There is a choice."
Mokuba stiffened, gasping at the suddenness of the voice. Looking around himself, he thought he must be in a sort of cave somewhere. The walls were dirt, rock, in disrepair.
Then, as he thought about what his brothers – and Sethos – had been discussing over the past week, he knew the answer.
It was a tomb.
He was trapped in a tomb.
"You know his path. You know his desire. I give you a chance, a final chance, to appeal to his senses. You have one chance to end this."
The voice was getting closer.
Louder.
Frantically, he whirled around, searching for some kind of clue. Where the voice was, who it was coming from, a way out, a way in, something...something!
There was nothing.
The room was sealed.
He stumbled back, and fell against something solid. Something hard.
Turning, he saw it.
A sarcophagus.
"One chance."
The voice...came from inside it.
He felt compelled, even as he shook uncontrollably, to lift the lid. To see.
But Mokuba was a thin child, with little strength, and even though the ornate lid to the ancient coffin was lighter than he had anticipated, it still took him several minutes to push it off.
As soon as he did, he wished he hadn't.
A mummy, freshly wrapped in linen, lay within. An elaborate golden mask lay over the face. Mokuba watched his arms, unable to actually control them, reach out and remove it.
Seto's face, pale and drawn, stared back at him.
Stray him from this path, or send him to Ammit!
As Seto held Mokuba close, rubbing his back gently, he glared up at Sethos.
The spirit lowered his eyes. "He knows."
"What?"
"Shadi. This was a warning. He will not relinquish the items he holds easily. The mummy, and the mentioning of Ammit...he intends to kill you, successor, if you come for him."
Noa, swigging a mug of coffee in one pull, wiped his mouth and snorted. "Cocky bastard. Thinks he can pull this kinda crap?"
Seto sighed.
"He knew you would disavow any importance to such a warning," Sethos muttered. "That is why he sent the nightmare to Mokuba."
Noa scowled. "Shoulda known that wouldn't do much better."
"Indeed," Seto hissed.
"You shouldn't go!" Mokuba cried. "He'll kill you! He...he...!"
"I'm no stranger to death threats, Mokuba. You know that. He won't kill me. There's no use worrying about this."
"But...but...!"
"Shhh...hush, Mokuba. Don't worry."
"Shadi is a powerful force," Sethos said. "Better not to take him lightly, successor."
"Power or not, he's made it clear. He is threatening my life, and as far as I'm concerned he has threatened Mokuba's as well. That leaves me with one option."
Noa was nodding. "Yup."
"I had intended first to simply take the items from him and leave it at that. Apparently Shadi does not want things to go that simply. Very well."
"I believe I know this answer, but I must ask: what do you intend to do, Seto?"
Seto's eyes were hard, cold.
Sharp.
"...I intend to destroy him."
There's something interesting about Sethos's father. Though I originally knew him by the name Akunadin, I've come recently to adopt the spelling you see here. There is more than a little similarity between Akhenaden, first holder of the Millennium Eye, and Akhenaten, formerly Amenhotep IV, the infamous Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh responsible for the Amarna Heresy, an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to make Egypt monotheistic.
Akhenaden, in the story's timeline, is certainly responsible for extreme conflict, but it's nothing like Akhenaten's history. For one thing, Akhenaten lived in a much later time period. Still, I find the similarities between their names to be more than simple coincidence.
And as to the reference to Ammit...well, you'll see more of that particular creature as time goes on. This creature, called the Bone Eater, was a cross of three of the most feared and dangerous creatures in Egyptian culture: the head of a crocodile, mane and upper body of a lion, and the lower body of a hippopotamus, and was responsible for devouring the souls of those dead Egyptians deemed unworthy to enter into the afterlife, at their final judgment. She plays a similar role here. And those of you who know Shadi from the manga may remember that he is connected to her.
