There was a warmth surrounding me. A heavenly glow accompanied that warmth, along with a feeling of weightlessness; not just as if I was floating, but as if I was unbound from the physical world. It wasn't until the three god-like figures approached me, did I realize how far from the physical world I really was. I had only seen the God Cards as monsters duels in which they were portrayed as menacing, violent creatures. Seeing them in person however, though they were all too big for the eye to hold, they carried a stern softness with them; an understanding and a compassion, that only a god could truly have. Obelisk stood between Slifer and Ra and looked down at me.
"Hera," he addressed me, "do you understand why we have called you here?" I shook my head.
"No, God Obelisk," I answered.
"You have sacrificed yourself to save your Pharaoh; and though your act was very noble, I am afraid it was in vain," Obelisk answered. I couldn't help but express my confusion.
"I don't understand," I told Obelisk, "what do you mean it was in vain?"
"you were created thousands of years before your birth," Obelisk told her, "you are destined for greatness; however, before that you have much to learn, young Hera."
"Are you saying I cannot pass on into the afterlife until I learn something?" I asked, slightly annoyed with the vague nature of the gods. Obelisk did not acknowledge me, and stood as silent and as still as stone.
"What am I supposed to learn?" I asked, trying to be more specific. Obelisk smiled. Never in my life had I seen a god smile, and to know he smiled at me felt like an honor.
"That will come in time, young Hera. Until then, I suggest you rest. You have a long journey ahead of you." I wanted to ask more. I wanted to ask why the gods were appearing before me to tell me this, and why I was brought all the way to the afterlife to hear this information. I wanted to ask about Ahknem and Bastet. But before I could utter a word, the lights snapped off, and I was submerged in darkness.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Hera opened her eyes.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Down the corridor from the dining hall, was a small room, in which Darzi's servants had set up a bed, and laid the body of Hera in. In the dining hall, the friends gathered before a long table that was laid out with an exquisite feast; A variety of fruit platters filled with fresh cut melons, grapes, and other exotic delicacies. Three basted Turkeys, Whole beef tenderloins, and every fish in the sea was sitting under heat lamps. Baskets were piled high with bread, and the potatoes came fried, mashed or baked. Every vegetable imaginable was available and each swam in their own decadent butter sauce. At the other end of the dining hall was a buffet loaded with chocolates, pastries, candies and cakes. Tristan and Joey nearly forgot they were in the home of the man who killed their friend and instead found themselves drooling over the bountiful feast they were about to be served.
"Please," Darzi invited them, "fill your plates and settle yourselves. Once you are comfortable, I will explain everything." Tristan and Joey didn't hesitate and piled their plates high with a little bit of everything. Tea and the Pharaoh were a bit more modest, but nonetheless couldn't deny their hunger after walking all day and nearly being killed by a giant parasite. Once everyone had filled their plates and were sitting quietly, did Darzi stand up.
"My name is Professor Adam Darzi, and many years ago I was aiding the Ishtar family on an excavation of the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh," He began. "They saw in me, my desire to learn and my good intentions towards The Tomb, and granted me access. They had taken me exploring in one of the many false entrances, when I had seen a shadowy figure. I followed it, accidentally separating myself from the Ishtars who guided me. The Shadowy figure guided me through the tomb as I blindly followed." Darzi exclaimed.
"Where did it take you?" The Pharaoh asked.
"It took me to the box that held the millennium puzzle, an artifact that was only a legend at the time," Darzi revealed. "I rushed forward without thinking, the dark spirit beckoning me, and I fell right into her trap, for the box before me was only an illusion into the gateway to the Shadow Realm. My greed had bested me and for that, I paid the ultimate price."
"Do you know who this dark spirit was?" The Pharaoh asked. Darzi sighed.
"I do not know for sure; however, I am fairly certain that it was the Shadow Queen," Darzi responded. "I spent many years wandering the Shadow Realm, only becoming more and more consumed with fear, loneliness, and hopelessness. I do not know who found my body, or how I ended up in Domino City Hospital; all I know is that I was in a vegetable-state coma for nearly twenty years. I was certain my body die and my spirit would spend the rest of eternity wandering the Shadow Realm… That is, until she came," Darzi told them.
"Hera?" The Pharaoh asked. Darzi nodded.
"Hera was calling herself the Ambassador to the Shadow Realm at the time. I remember I had taken a break from wandering the shadow realm, and instead I had been resting in a dark corner, when the glowing of light caught my attention. At first, I thought the shadow realm must be playing a trick on me, or that it must just be an illusion from my mind. I watched as the light got closer and closer, until it was standing right in front of me. I looked up at the beautiful, angelic being of Hera. I was certain that no creature that divine could exist in the shadow realm and immediately wrote her off as an illusion; however, that did not stop me from watching her. She had this incredible, comforting warmth emanating off of her. She knelt down in front of me, she pierced my soul with her wistful green eyes, offered me the sweetest of smiles and asked, 'Are you lost?' I couldn't even answer her. In part because I refused to believe she existed, and in part because it was the first time I had been given a chance to speak to someone in years. I suddenly found myself in the center of a ring of light, as the half dozen children that had been following her surrounded me. They were all holding candles and they all carried Hera's same wistful expression. Hera turned to the oldest, a girl I remember and said, 'Won't you please light him a candle?' The girl handed me a lit candle, and I joined their traveling party. I knew that it wouldn't be long until the shadow realm destroyed this hopeful illusion as one of its cruel jokes. But I knew I had to enjoy the vision while it lasted, and not dwell of what was to come," Darzi told them.
"So, where did Hera take you?" The Pharaoh asked.
"Hera lead us all over the shadow realm, and made sense of what I thought was a senseless place. She showed us where the inhuman demons dwelled, where the majority of human souls stayed, and where the shadow realm generated many of its illusions. I did not understand why the shadow realm would create an illusion exposing itself to me, but I went with it. Along the way on our journey, we picked up a number of lost innocent souls, nearly all of them were younger children. I was the oldest of Hera's refugees, and so I traveled right next to her, and got to know her very well. I remember asking her one day, 'Hera, why do you seek the souls of children?' she offered me the same wistful smile she always carried and said simply, 'I am looking for an old friend,'" He told them. The Pharaoh looked down, reflecting on the duel with Bastet.
"She must have been looking for Ahknem," The Pharaoh said. Darzi nodded seriously.
"She rarely mentioned her son by name; however, whenever she spoke, there was always mention of him. She would even often entertained the children with stories of 'The Bravest Boy.' I can only assume they were her memories of Ahknem," Darzi told the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh nodded, solemnly. The only memory he had of his son, was of his wife killing him. His heart wrenched at the thought of that duel. Darzi continued, distracting the Pharaoh.
"As an archaeologist, hearing her stories as the Queen of Egypt were the greatest histoy lesson I could have ever hoped to get, and I knew we were destined to meet, and I grew very attached to her. There were times I even forgot the whole mess was an illusion, and I believed that Hera was a real soul. There were other times, when I was so convinced she wasn't real, I would refuse to continue on our journey any farther until she proved her existence to me. In these time she would stay with me and say, 'we are always moving forward, but right now you are choosing to move forward in a different direction. I know you are tired, and this trip is long, but I promise it will be worth your while.' I don't know how, but she always convinced me to keep going," Darzi reflected. "My last day in the shadow realm, I remember there must have been twenty or so spirits in our party; nearly all of them were children. And I remember Hera leading us to a doorway. There was a large stone wall, as tall and as wide as the eye can see, and in the center of it was a tall wooden door, with a heavy brass knob. Just above the door, on the wall was a wooden sign, with a series of scribbles scratched into it. I did not know what language they were from or at what time they were written, but somehow I could read them; Leave him in error, who loves his error. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I knew that the trick was up, and that soon Hera and the twenty children would be gone. I sighed in defeat, preparing to be alone yet again. I watched as Hera passed through the doorway without even opening the door, and I watched as all the children imitated her. Soon, I was the only one left. I decided to play out the last bit of the Shadow Realm's illusion, and I walked through the door," Professor Darzi finished.
"What… What happened after you walked through?" Tea asked.
"I woke up in the hospital. I remember thinking this must still be the shadow realm tricking me. Suddenly I was surrounded by nurses and doctors, who were checking my pulse, pricking me with needles, and drawing blood, and injecting fluids. I knew that the shadow realm could not have played out an illusion this elaborate. I was stunned, and while I was prodded with nearly a hundred questions from doctors all I could do was shake my head yes or no. I couldn't believe that after nearly twenty years, I was home. When the doctors and nurses finally left me alone, to call my family, Hera appeared," Darzi suddenly stopped as tears pricked his eyes. "I couldn't help but sob. I got on my hands and knees and kissed her feet and must have thanked her a thousand times. I looked through my belongings, trying to find something I could give her as a token of my appreciation. Though Hera insisted it wasn't necessary, I insisted I had to. I promised my undying devotion to her for as long as I lived, and gave her the only thing I could find; The Open Space duel monsters card I had found in my pocket," Darzi told them.
The Pharaoh remembered when Hera had given that card to Yugi.
'A few years ago, I helped a lost soul out of the shadow realm to his body; which had been hospitalized and classified as a vegetable. When he awoke, he was very grateful that I had saved his life. The man didn't have much, but he wanted to give me a token of appreciation of helping him, so he gave me this card. Now, I want to pass it on to you, to thank you for helping me, and so a piece of me can live on in your deck.' The Pharaoh remembered that exchange. His thoughts were interrupted by Darzi's heavy sigh.
"Little did I know that, that card was the last trick The Shadow Queen had up her sleeve for me. It had originally been the imprisonment of a shadow worm; however, thanks to some help from The Shadow Queen, it planted a dark seed inside of me, and over the last thirty years, the seed grew into Amon, the leader of the Coven of Nekhbet. Many of my memories of Amon are shrouded in mystery. I can assume that my devotion to Hera, must have convinced my dark side, Amon, to hate the Pharaoh. I also believe, that in collecting her belongings, it reinvoked the greed in Amon, that had lead me to shadow realm in the first place. It wasn't long before all of my information on Hera came less from my experience with her, and more from whatever the Shadow Queen fed me. She began to replace all the memories I had with Hera, with ones of her own creation, and it wasn't long before I began to seek the destruction of the Pharaoh," Darzi admitted.
"Do you remember our duel?" The Pharaoh asked. Darzi nodded, ashamed.
"I do not remember the events. But I remember the rage and anger I felt towards you. I remember seeing Hera, and refusing to believe she was real; that she was just an illusion. And I remember that after Hera saved me from myself, I snapped," Darzi told them,"I can only assume that was the time, when I completely left my body, and the parasite took over." The Pharaoh nodded in understanding.
"If that parasite had been inside you all these years, why was is now that it turned into a full blown infestation?" The Pharaoh asked. Darzi thought for a minute.
"My best theory, is that it was under the control of the Shadow Queen, and when she saw You, Hera and your friends were a threat to her plan to take over the world, she knew she had to stop you in any way she could, and what better way than distracting you with a giant monster?" Professor Darzi suggested. The Pharaoh nodded in approval of the theory, satisfied that this mystery was finally starting to clear up. Suddenly his thoughts darkened as he remembered the empty chair at the table.
"And, what of Hera now?" The Pharaoh asked, afraid of the answer. Darzi sighed again.
"Hera will be alright," Darzi answered. His lack of emotion and understanding of the gravity of the situation enraged the Pharaoh.
"Darzi, you don't seem to understand that she is dead!" The Pharaoh exclaimed angrily, standing up from his place. He was glaring the old man down, ready to unleash the power of his millennium item upon him, when a small voice broke his concentration.
"Do I look dead to you?" The voice asked. The Pharaoh knew that voice. He turned to the doorway, to see Hera leaning against the wall, weak from walking here from her quarters. The rest of the group turned in disbelief to Hera. At first no one moved. After the terrifying description of the shadow realm from Darzi, no one was sure if she was real or not. Suddenly, the Pharaoh began to slowly move towards her.
"Hera?" He whispered her name, "is it really you?" Hera offered the Pharaoh her classic smile.
"I would not want to be anyone else standing before My Pharaoh," Hera answered. The Pharaoh smiled, and rushed towards her to help her. Joey, Tristan and Tea followed suit. The Pharaoh took her under his arm, and Hera used him as a crutch to guide her way to the table. The Pharaoh seated her next to him. Joey and Tristan stood by the Pharaoh to make sure Hera was alright, and Tea quickly fixed a plate for her. Hera leaned back in her chair, exhausted and offered a weak smile.
"I am honored to be surrounded with such caring and kind-hearted friends," she told them. "I thank you all for your help." Darzi gave her a scrutinizing glare.
"You should not have pushed yourself in your time of rest, goddess Hera," Darzi advised, "You need your strength if you ever wish to save the world." Hera smiled at him.
"It is good to see that you are back to your old self, and not trying to kill me," Hera told him, half joking. Darzi blushed a bit, and quickly backed off.
"I don't understand," The Pharaoh told Hera catching her attention, "I… I thought you were dead."
"We all did," Joey added. Hera smiled.
"I cannot die until my tasks in the Physical World are complete," Hera told them.
"What does that even mean?" Tristan asked, skeptical.
"Before I came to, I spoke with the Egyptian Gods," Hera told them. The Pharaoh gasped.
"The Egyptian Gods? They're real?" He asked. Hera nodded.
"They are more than just duel monsters cards, they are the center of the very religion of Ancient Egypt. They appeared before me, and told me, that in order to cross into the next life, I must complete the tasks at hand here, and I'm assuming that means stopping the Shadow Queen, and finding my son," Hera told them. Tea turned to Darzi.
"If what Hera is saying is true, then doesn't that mean she did die?" She asked Darzi.
"Hera is immortal," Darzi told him. The Pharaoh's eyes widened.
"What?" He asked, not fully understanding. Hera sighed.
"Unlike you, My Pharaoh, I am not anchored here by another living person in this time. I was brought to the Physical World from the Shadow Realm, and made into the physical person you see before you, because of the magic of the Ishtar family, under the instruction of the Egyptian Gods. The magic of the gods protects my soul from the spirit world, and it will only be broken until I complete my tasks here on earth. Everytime I risk my life, the gods visit me, as a reminder that my time has not yet come," Hera clarified. The Pharaoh understood now.
"That's why you sacrificed yourself to protect me from the worm?" The Pharaoh asked. Hera nodded.
"I knew I would come back, but I knew if you were blasted, both You and Yugi would be gone forever," Hera told him. The Pharaoh felt a pang of guilt surge through him as he remembered Yugi. He forgot sometimes, that his decisions affected both of them.
'It's alright Pharaoh,' Yugi answered him. The Pharaoh was taken aback hearing Yugi. He had been very quiet through this whole ordeal.
'Yugi,' The Pharaoh began, 'I… I am not sure if I am capable of forging ahead in our journey to save the world, I fear you may have to take over.' Yugi eyed him suspiciously.
'What are you talking about, Pharaoh? You can't give up! You need to save the world! It's part of your destiny! It's part of finding out more about who you really are!' Yugi protested. The Pharaoh sighed. He knew Yugi would object to him giving up.
'Yugi… I don't know if I can handle it. We have only just started and already, all of us have nearly died. If this is only the beginning, I cannot imagine what lies ahead. I cannot handle putting my friends, my wife, my son… My parter, at risk,' The Pharaoh told him. Yugi understood. Ever since Hera came around the Pharaoh had been acting differently. Yugi could tell that there was more to what the Pharaoh was saying.
'This isn't the first time we have all been in this sort of emminent danger,' Yugi told the Pharaoh. 'What's really going on?' The Pharaoh couldn't look at Yugi, in part because he didn't know what was wrong either.
'Pharaoh… do you love Hera?' Yugi asked suddenly. The Pharaoh looked at Yugi, defeated.
'In my time here Yugi, I have never felt closer to anyone but you. But, I cannot help but find myself attracted to Hera. She knows everything about me; all my secrets, my fears, my insecurities. She knows more about myself than I do. And I feel like I am supposed to love her, because she is my wife. But I also feel like if I fall for her, I am just falling for the answer to my past and not for Hera.'
Yugi looked up to the Pharaoh and smiled.
'I'm sure if you told her how you felt, she would know you weren't just falling for the answers to your past,' Yugi tried to reassure that.
'But I don't even know what I am falling for, How can she know? And, even if she did understand… What if… After all this time… After everything I have done… She doesn't feel the same way anymore? She no longer feels like my wife? Only my spiritual guide?' The Pharaoh asked.
'There's only one person who knows the answer to that question,' Yugi told the Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh sighed.
'Hera…' He thought to himself as he slipped out of his internal dialogue with Yugi and back to the conversation at hand.
