Here is chapter twenty-five for you all - say a big thank you to Akumo for introducing me to new inspiring music from YGO no less! :) It really helped push me to get this chapter out. The next chappie will be out as soon as possible! I love you all, thank you for your continued support! It truly is an inspiration in and of itself.

Enjoy~

Awakening of a Dream

"I can do no more," Saa huffed, crumbling into a sweaty heap against the temple floors.

Eset stood before her, her form manipulated to a more human height though her looks from Saa's dream remained the same. Her arms were crossed as she gave Saa a half looped smile,

"Saa you must be able to summon your Ka. It is the only way you'll be able to lend me your aid. I've told you what's coming, and now you must prepare by practicing with all your might. Now, on your feet – let us try one more time."

Saa sharply inhaled, gathering the strength to stand. Once she was on her feet, Eset spoke:

"Now, focus. Remember what I taught you – your energy is the key to summoning your Ka."

Shutting her eyes, Saa focused on what the materialization of her energy might look like -

"I can sense you focusing on things that are not of importance – remember last week we practiced thought projection." Eset gentle reminded her, "Now, truly focus."

She shook off the excess thoughts; getting into the right state of mind, she began focusing her energy – commanding it to appear before her. Her legs began to tremble from the strain this test had put upon her but she pushed through the growing pain, determined to summon her Ka. Summoning was the toughest part, once you were able to summon it – having it work with you was easier. As the energy began to build up inside her, the name Magister of the Cosmos, burned itself into her brain. She felt the urge to chant the name in her mind, and she did so. Then after a few moments had passed, she could feel the energy expel itself from her body. A burning sensation spread on her inner arm, Saa ignored the feeling to concentrate on her summoning. When she opened her eyes, her heart leaped to her throat as she let loose a yell of excitement. Before her stood a magnificent creature: her skin was tinged a lighter shade of purple, eyes a shade of ruby red, her darkened hair billowed down to her mid back, she levitated just an inch off of the ground, her delicate – pointed—feet hovering. She was clothed in a long rouge colored robe, and adorned with gold accents; a large golden head piece sat atop her skull with a large oval shaped ruby implanted in the middle. *The creature hovered, looking at Saa expectantly; however now that Saa had managed to summon her – she was unsure of what to do next.

"Excellent work, Saa. Now, ask her to perform a task – remember these spirits are a part of you and we must show them with as much respect as they do us." Eset commented, a light smile on her lips.

Anpu – whom was sitting in a corner – began to clap, "Good work, Saa."

The former servant blushed slightly at the words of praise, she was not used to kind words such as this being said to her. All would normally remain silent if she had performed a task to the best of her ability – everyone but Atem. Saa's heart dropped slightly at the thought of the soon to be Pharaoh. His wedding was in two short weeks, and his coronation a week after that. He had probably already moved on with his life, doting upon Nedjem, loving her to the best of his ability; while she laid awake at night, reminiscing and torturing herself over the past. Heget broke Saa from her now clouded flow of thoughts with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Saa, do not fret, remember what you are here to do." The Goddess smiled at the mortal, sending her comforting energy.

Saa could not help but smile back, the immortal woman gave off such a maternal energy that at times Saa truly thought of her as her own mother.

"Right," Saa shook the thoughts from her brain and turned to her Ka, Magister of the Cosmos, "Attack that post over there." Saa pointed to one of the practice posts of wood that Anpu had set up for her.

Without question, the creature's hand lit up with a ball of swirling blue energy and flicked its wrist towards the post. Within seconds the post lit up in azure flames and was reduced to a small pile of ash. Saa gaped at the power this creature had, and she was her own companion. The Magister turned back to her master, awaiting her next command. It was then that the burning sensation returned to her arm, but Saa chose to ignore it once more.

"That was amazing - " Saa breathed, clasping her hands together, " - Wonderful job!"

The Magister lifted her lips slightly, the words thank you branded themselves in her mind.

"Yes," Eset started before Saa could get the question out, "Once you are strong enough you will not need to say your commands aloud, instead the Ka will know your thoughts, and you will know theirs – making the pair an unstoppable force. Do you feel a warm sensation in your arm, Saa?"

Saa felt adrenaline course through her bones as she thought of all the possibilities, good and bad, that could happen with those who were able to summons Ka's. She then caught on to what Eset had asked her,

"Yes I do actually - " Saa looked to the inner part of her arm, close to her wrist she could see black ink embedded into her skin and - "It looks exactly like her!"

Eset nodded, "Yes, when you summon your creatures they will appear, imprinted, upon your flesh. They are a part of you, your soul, and thus they will embed themselves in you once you call upon them. Do not allow her especially to fall victim, as it is very difficult to push past the pain that your soul will endure when she is sent to the shadows."

Saa nodded, feeling the heaviness in the air thicken. As she thought about her Ka, a thought struck her -

"Are there those who are able to summon more than one?" Saa asked, turning to Eset.

The Goddess smiled and nodded, "Yes, I was just about to start on that subject. Once you get a good handle with your Ka, you may be able to summon more than one. But only the most powerful of magister's are able to summon more than three at one time. If you are able to summon two at once, then that would truly be a feat to be proud of."

Saa nodded, determination set in her heart – she would summon at least two.

"There are other spirits that you may summon as well. As you know, there are those who collect the evil spirits in the world, taming them and locking them away in tablets of stone. I will give you access to some of the spirits I have gathered over the years, but only when the time is right. It takes a very strong will - that I believe you posses – to be able to control these creatures. It would do you well to capture some yourself – that being said - rest up tonight Saa for tomorrow we will conduct a friendly battle after your time with Heget. Then I will share some news with you."

Saa nodded, though she felt some anxiety in her heart, what news could Eset possibly share?

….

Atem stormed through the halls to his palace, a look of sheer rage on his countenance. He had just been informed of the many subjects that had been going missing, over the past week. Why had he not been informed of this as it began to occur? His people were vanishing right under his nose, and he had remained ignorant of that information until now. Entering the Throne room, he was relieved to see all of his advisors present: Isis, Seto, Mahad, Karim, Aknadin, Shada, Shimon, and even Mana. Once he sat upon his throne, he looked around at all of them – they all returning the stare.

"Why have I just become aware of information on serious matters dealing with my Kingdom, through a servant?"

They all looked to one another in confusion, remaining silent as they were too unsure of what was happening in the Kingdom. Seto was the first to speak up,

"Your highness, please tell us so that we may deal with it accordingly."

The Pharaoh-to-be sighed, leaning back against in throne as he shut his eyes – attempting to prevent himself from allowing the stress to overbuild itself.

"I have just obtained information about a few of the smaller villages of this Kingdom. Their citizens have been disappearing abruptly and without cause. We cannot allow this to continue."

Mahad kneeled, "My Pharaoh, I am sorry to have failed you in this regard. Allow me and my men to venture forth and uncover the root of this issue so that your mind may ease itself."

Atem looked to his friend, grateful that he was so willing.

"I will not send you out alone, this would be a good chance for Mana to prove herself, no? The two of you – along with some of your men – should go and investigate in the nearby village of Dashur. Return to me once the problem is solved. Mana, make sure to keep me updated as you go." Atem finished, the room falling to silence once again.

"What of me, or the rest of your priests, Pharaoh?" Seto stepped forward.

"I cannot afford to send all of you at once, sending Mahad with Mana is more than enough. Not to mention that Mahad is one of the most gifted individuals in this room when it comes to spell-casting."

The mage crossed his arm over his heart, bowing his head.

"My King, you honor me."

Atem looked to his friend, and opened his mouth to respond but was immediately interrupted by the presence of another -

"What do you need, Sekhet?" Atem sighed, resting his head on one of his palms.

The personal slave to Nedjem waddled up, her long fair hair swelled and fell behind her as her nervous orbs of coal shifted from face to face.

"Pardon my interruption – but your fiancee has been waiting for over an hour and she grows nervous with each moment of your absence - "

Atem's brow wrinkled at the label of 'fiancee', "Can you not see that I am busy – woman. Tell her I will come to her when I can." He retorted, not sparing her a second glance.

Without so much as a word, though the Pharaoh could feel her hardened gaze upon his countenance, the she-slave bowed and silently waltzed out of the room. Now all eyes were on the Pharaoh as each wondered about what had happened to their fairly well-tempered Prince.

"Mahad, Mana, prepare to leave by tomorrow as the sun reaches its highest peak in the sky."

With that he dismissed his worried priests and priestesses, all but the two mentioned leaving the room. Atem warily looked to his concerned friends as he mentally prepared himself for the questions.

"My Pharaoh -"

"Atem, what is the matter with you? You've been even moodier recently!" Mana cried, stress evident on her face. "Ever since you've announced your engagement we've hardly seen you – it's nearing two weeks now!"

"Mana, as the new ruler of this Kingdom I have responsibilities and other agendas now. I can't spend my time with you and Mahad as freely as I could before, no matter how I wish I - "

"Forgive me, your highness, but I highly doubt that it's because of your new agenda." Mana hissed, evidently seeing through the Pharaoh's excuse.

"Atem," Mahad murmured, which caught the attention of the other two, "Please tell us what is going on, I do have a hunch as to whom is the problem. Mana and I are your friends, and we wish for nothing more than to aid you, my King." Mahad slightly bowed, never breaking eye contact with his long time friend.

Atem bounced between Mana and Mahad, unsure of whether we wanted to make his feelings known. In the Pharaoh's mind's eye, he plunged himself back to the last time he had seen her. He watched, helplessly, as she gave him that broken glance before running away – out of his protection, his reach.

"I can feel your unease, Pharaoh." Mahad spoke again, the two still waiting for an answer.

With a heavy sigh, Atem rested against the seat of his throne, running a hand through his hair.

"I just do not understand, why." He exhaled, tightening his fists. "After all I've done, all I've attempted to do, she leaves. She runs away – and for what? I do not know, she would not even give me an explanation. Is it because she is afraid? Is it because she does not care for me? I wanted nothing more than for her to be happy, and she would have had a good life in the Palace – I would have made sure of it. From the moment I met her - "Images flashed in the young King's eye, he did not resist them this time, "- I have done nothing but help her, aid her in anyway I possibly could. I do not know why, I do not understand what has possessed me to feel this way. All that I know is that I care for her with a ferocity that I have not experienced. And after I explained all of this to her, after I kissed her, she disappears, forever, without so much as a good bye." The Pharaoh-to-be's voice softened towards the end as his gaze lowered, his mind lost in thought.

Mana quietly gasped, "I was unaware – Atem," The student mage felt confliction in her heart – happiness that the two had finally admitted their affections to one another, and sorrow at their being apart. "I'm sorry, I know it does not fix anything but I am, sorry."

Mahad stepped up to his Pharaoh, his oldest friend, and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It is one thing to love a woman, and be unable to show her but have her near. However, it is another entirely to have loved her and lost her all at once. I do not know what that feeling is, but I can imagine the pain you are going through my friend. But, locking yourself away and avoiding your friends is not the way to recover from this. Neither is being rude to your soon to be wife and Queen."

"Mahad, the only reason I chose her was to keep her near me. Now that she is gone, I cannot bear to even set my gaze upon her as she reminds me too much of S – her."

As the prince laid his head in his hands, the two mages looked to one another with worry – what were they going to do?

"For now, my Prince, until we can figure this out – you must carry on." Mahad knelt before his Pharaoh so that they may see one another eye to eye.

"I know this will be hard for you, but you are a King now. Now go to your betrothed, as you picked her from a group of women – and eat with her. Mana and I will prepare and solve this problem for you my King. From there, we can discuss Saa."

Atem nodded, sensing Mahad was right though he did not want to admit it.

"Good luck, both of you." Atem stood, giving them one last look before walking off to entertain with Nedjem.

As the Pharaoh strode down the hall, flashes of Saa's countenance continued to plague him. Visions of her laughter, her smile, her soft skin, the way she wondered at small things, but mostly their last interaction weighed the heaviest upon his mind. He knew she felt for him the way he felt for her, so why, why did she leave? As he approached the gate to the gardens, he felt uncertainty fill him as he remembered his meeting with Saa. It almost felt as though this were their home, and there was someone intruding upon a sacred space. Atem shook those feelings from his heart, he had to focus right now – this was for his father. When he entered the gardens he saw Nedjem sitting in the spot in which Saa would always sit. Her body was facing towards the small pond, and for a moment Atem could pretend it was Saa waiting for him there, her long flowing black hair swaying with the breeze, and her cool cloudy eyes gazing out into the water. Stop this, he scolded himself as he approached her, giving her a light brush of the lips on her cheek, you must move on, Atem.

*Just so you are all aware – the creature that I'm describing is the Cosmo Queen card – but her Egyptian version of it. Most of the cards were different then their spirit counterparts – so I figured she needed to be a little different than the card. :) Hopefully you all got my reference!