Chapter Ten
As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-
"Stop her, Set!" a voice shrieked from behind me- I turned around quickly to see that Akhenaden was standing not ten feet from me, now. Shit. Shit. Set was desperate and frustrated and perturbed. What had he just been told? There was so much noise, so much chaos-
"Leave her alone! I will fight you!" I yelled, holding the Millennium Rod, forward at him. I needed more time! I didn't know how to act! What had he said, that was making my heart race riotously, and had led me to shout this threat? I had to fight him. Why did I have to fight him? Why was the palace crumbling around me? I had to stop him… he looked so dark and had that hideous mask on and why was he wearing a hideous mask?
His hands clasped both of my forearms and he implored, "My brother and his prodigies will be powerless, to us! Of old blood, there will be a new line of royal heritage! Take her dragon, my child, my son! You know what it could do for you!"
My brother, royal? …My child, my son? "Why do you say that! Why do you call me that?" I demanded, unable to tear my petrified stare from his face- he looked so grotesque- he was gripping my arms too tightly- "I lied to you, Set! I developed your powers and made you a warrior but all of this time I have trained you as my son, the child of my blood, of my seed, of my beloved only wife- but I have prepared you for this moment! The moment where we overcome my prostrate nephew and take the throne! Kill the girl! Kill the girl, now!"
No, no, no, no, this was too much, this was too much- my father? Akhenaden was Set's father…? Atem's uncle…? It wasn't possible! I was a prince? He was asking me to kill Kisara! Set wasn't the one who killed Kisara- they were going to be married, that was not what happened, this was untrue, none of this was true-
I ripped my arms from him and shrieked, "No! I refuse to listen!" He stumbled back but then shouted, "Very well- I shall make you accept my gift! A god is born!"
I looked over my shoulder and felt the ground swirl under my feet when I saw that Kisara wasn't running away… she was running towards me; and I immediately recognized that she couldn't bring herself to leave me- I looked back forward again, and in a flash quicker than I could ever hope to move- quicker than the air could leave my throat that carried the message to Kisara to beg her to run away, Akhenaden lifted his hands, and from them burst a bolt of sickeningly crackling lightning that rushed forward, blazing past me, and-
…hit Kisara squarely in the chest… Time slowed down considerably as I watched her limply fall…
I whipped around. Akhenaden was gone. Vanished. That bastard… that filthy, rat, bastard…
"No! No, Kisara!" I begged, rushing towards her crumpled figure… the castle was completely deteriorated around me… a stone slab jutted suddenly from the ground, and I watched in horror for just a second as a picture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon slowly faded into appearance…
I threw myself to my knees, right next to where her body was. With trembling hands I picked her up off of the ground. …she was not breathing. She was heavy and indolent in my grasp and her head leaned languidly over my arm. …No. No, no, no.
The world could have been at a standstill. The noise had stopped and nothing was happening in the entirety of existence. There was a cavernous hole in my heart… I hadn't been able to save her… I hadn't been able to stop Akhenaden…
…I couldn't believe it. I could only stare at her face… was it really possible that she was never going to smile at me, again? Never going to smile, or kiss me, or eat an eyeball in front of me…
Incredible, overwhelming anguish- that demon that had stalked me in the quiet sands- leapt on me at that moment; in an instant, tears flowed from my eyes and I dissolved into miserable, wretched wailing.
Years could have gone by. I finally opened my eyes; my vision was blurry with burning tears. To compare this pain that engrossed me now to that which might accompany a white-hot blade through the heart would be an underestimating fallacy. I looked up; the Blue-Eyes White Dragon picture in the stone slab looked powerful and strong, but…
Even in death, she still looked so beautiful… her eyes were gently closed and head lying against my arm. Her face was wet with my tears, hair falling gently over it. So many people had seen her only for the dragon… but I… but the Priest… had known that there was so much more to her; that she was more than just a powerhouse, or a container for a monster. She was a wonderful person, full of light… the last shred of true happiness that the Priest had clung to after losing so much…
Tears streamed endlessly from my eyes with power that brought shame to even the Nile. I didn't want just this girl's dragon. I had wanted her… I gripped her tighter. I was alone… facing the kind of seclusion that would leave even mefeeling hopeless, cold and desolate.
Vaguely I could feel my long, heavy cape being moved around by the light wind. Vaguely I felt the weight of the solid gold bands on my arm and ankh fastened to my chest. Vaguely.I was mostly aware only of the incredible, unbelievable sadness that gripped me. The world was silent and empty; I had been in love with the girl in my arms.
I felt the weight in my arms disappear slowly. The world was swirling as I kept my eyes tightly closed, tears pouring from them… I then felt the ground re-appear under me. I was lying on my side in my bed, sobbing miserably into the pillow that I had my arms tightly wrapped around… the Millennium Rod was on the bed, brushing against my clenched hand.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes and turned over onto my back. It was so real. My eyes stung from the tears, but that discomfort was meek; placid compared to the terrible, terrible agony that was still lingering inside of my usually-cold heart. This was pain! It left me breathless; I lied here in the dark, willing it to lessen, willing it to have mercy on me…
I finally found the strength to stand up off of the bed. I wiped my pouring eyes; then, my knees were weak as I exited my room, finding favor in the balcony that was just beyond my room's sliding glass doors. I slumped into a chair near the railing of the balcony, aching head in my hands.
I was so unused to this… but, the fact that I was crying wasn't so weird to me as was the reason why I was crying. Maybe I had loved her, thousands of years ago, so it's only right that I see visions of the priest, mourning, in the past… but therein lies my confusion; I am not the priest now! The priest lived thousands of years ago; he died thousands of years ago. He had a different culture and a different belief system. He probably loved women for different reasons. He was a different age and had a different fighting method. I am not him. So, why … why was I feeling his emotion, now… his hurt; his irreversible, infinite loss…
I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I lifted my head off of my hands and looked up at Mokuba, who was standing in front of me, looking forlornly and concernedly at me- for one of the few moments in my life, I was glad that someone was here…
"What's the matter," he asked sympathetically, removing his hand from my shoulder. I wiped my eyes and turned my head away from him a little bit and muttered, "I just… I saw another memory."
Mokuba sighed; he gently asked, "What happened?"
I looked up at him again. He was gazing down at me with sad eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.
I shook my head. Then, I tremulously reached forward and put my arms around him. Head on his chest, I closed my eyes, tears still gently streaming from them. I didn't say anything, now. I just tightened my grip around my brother, suffering so far back then; suffering now.
As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-
It was almost midnight, now. We were on Seto's balcony and I was holding him, comforting him. He felt …very cold.
It was an odd feeling. This was one of the extremely few times in my life that he had cried in front of me. I had offered to let him talk about what he had seen… he was silent, now, though.
After a long time, I felt his arms pull away from me; he stood up and re-entered his room and sat on the bed and leaned back onto his pillows, sitting at a 45-or-so-degree angle. I followed him and sat down next to him.
It was dark in the room, but I could see, from the light from the moon in the window, that his face was still tear-streaked. Finally, he whispered, "the priest who holds the Millennium Eye… Akhenaden… he killed her…"
I frowned. Kisara. Had he watched it happen? Now I felt even worse.
"It… it feels completely real," he continued miserably, putting his hands over his eyes. "I feel like it just happened a moment ago… like, I was actually there just a moment ago…"
What could I do? He was clearly in pain… it was obvious that his arms' muscles were tense as he gripped at his head. He sighed sadly again after a moment. His voice was becoming steadier. "Thanks for being here," he said quietly, putting his arms back at his sides. "I'm sorry that you have to see me like this."
"Seto, you're my brother. Of course I'm here…"
He smiled mildly up at me, and I put my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into my lap. His head lied heavily and limply on my collarbone; he was warm again. It must have been a funny scene; he was so much bigger and heavier than I was… but, that's what I was here for.
He muttered, "I don't know if I really believe in set-in-cement destiny… but, I feel like I couldn't help her. I tried… I tried to fight Akhenaden, but… I couldn't save her. It's the damnest thing… I can't explain why I so desperately wanted it to be different…"
"Did he hurt you, too?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "He was my father. He wanted me to live. He wanted me to take over the kingdom, using Kisara's dragon as my pawn." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't think I've ever hated anyone so much, Mokuba."
"Even more than you hate Pegasus?" I asked lightly, trying to inject an ounce of happiness back into him. I was glad when he chuckled just slightly. "Yes, more than Pegasus, even." He sighed again after a moment. He wasn't crying anymore.
"I'm sorry that it had to be like that, big brother," I said gently. Eyes closed and content in my arms, he nodded. "I'm okay," he muttered sleepily.
A few moments of silence went by. Soon, his breaths became deep and even. He had fallen asleep. I slowly slid out from under him and stood up, off of the bed. He was now on his stomach, sleeping peacefully. I stood there, for a moment, watching him and thinking deeply.
Every day, and with every memory he saw, he was becoming more and more like the great ancient priest that his soul had once been. I was amazed at the transformation. On the outside, he was the same cold businessman, but when he was away from the public, I could tell that he was absolutely learning the meaning of love and how being alone is not the best way to live… look at how much he needed me there for him, just now. From the looks of it, the priest had once, also, been cold and cared about his power… but, he also knew what it was like to be a part of a team, and to fight and use his incredible power for the sake of others.