Egyptian Lotus Part Five
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Seto stood over the fallen priest, his eyes narrowed and cold; Mahado had lost his life and his Millennium Item in a direct conflict with Bakura. So why had Akhenden escaped with both? It was a question he didn't have an answer to.
It was only the cry of the guards outside that alerted him to the fact that they were far from alone. He cried out a command, demanding that they stop him. But even before he had finished his statement, he knew that mere guards stood no chance when they, the Chosen Six, had been bested.
Nathifa cried out in alarm as a wave of blood arced high into the night. The screams of wounded guards cut the still night like a knife to flesh. She drew back from the balcony in horror as chunks of gore-slick flesh spattered against the stone of the palace.
Atemu ran to her, catching her shoulders from behind and shielding her from the worst of the crimson rain. His eyes fell on the ground below them before drifting to hers. There was no mystery to what he would do…the question lie in her response.
Her pale hand rose to cup his face as she pressed a chaste kiss upon his lips, "Go. But come back to me."
"Always." He replied, his hand lingering in hers even as he pulled away from her to race down the hallway.
And his lover watched as he rode out to meet his enemy…
Omorose fell before the temple of her goddess, begging her protection over the ones she loved most. She didn't know what else there was for her to do when the world around her was being steadily swallowed by the shadows of nightmare despite their best efforts to hold that tide back.
It was all she could do to let her lover retreat from her arms anymore, never knowing if he would come back to her…
She shook her head violently, forcing the thought away; had she not once claimed that nothing would tear them apart? And didn't those words carry a promise of their own? A promise from the gods that her word would stand even in the face of evil coalesced and beating at their door…
And as though her prayer had provoked the earth into shifting, the ground beneath her feet trembled with violent abandon. She spun hard on her heel, turning to meet a sudden flash of light that cleaved the sky in two…
Nathifa cried out in alarm as the Saint Dragon Osiris rose like a beacon of living flame above the city. But the implication of its summoning was bleak; what dire need would drive her husband to call upon such a creature knowing the toll that it would exact on him?
She watched in wide-eyed horror as the dark night sky was rendered by flashes of unnaturally colored light. The screams of her crying, injured, dying, wounded, scared people rose to meet her ears and she fell to her knees as the clouds above the city backlit with another violent burst of electricity.
His hand came up to clutch his chest as a white hot tendril of pain shot through him. High above him, he heard his god-beast cry out in pain as it took another blow in its quest to defend the citizens in the streets.
His ragged breath tore past his lips as he forced himself to keep moving; he was defenseless from behind, and if Diabound managed to position itself in his blind spot, he was finished. His ruby eyes focused on the Saint Dragon and he silently commanded it to fire…at the ground.
The blast lifted the dragon high, allowing it to flip around and attack Diabound in the way place that it was vulnerable: the air. There, its ability to phase through walls would be useless to it.
A jagged sphere of light tore into the creature, a triumphant roar emanating from Osiris. But in that same second, to the Pharaoh's horror, Diabound vanished into the velvet night.
"Are you surprised, Pharaoh!" Bakura yelled maniacally, "If your beast is the god of light, then my Diabound is the god of darkness!"
'No…if I take another hit I'm dead…and with his ability to camouflage himself, he can attack the city at any time…' Atemu thought, reeling his horse around to continue his pursuit.
But to his amazement, Bakura stopped his horse in front of him, "I can hear the Millennium Items calling to me! The thieves' grudge from the dark depths of hell! Give me the Millennium Pendent or you forfeit the lives of your precious people!"
Atem gritted his teeth; there was no way for Bakura to run or hide, but with Diabound lurking in the inky darkness of night, an attack on the city would be impossible to avoid or divert…But there was one way to draw his monster from the darkness…
The Pharaoh slung the Pyramid from his neck, holding it out. And the moment the Thief King's eyes fell on it, he silently commanded his dragon to attack.
He wasn't prepared for the clawed hand that caged him from the ground. In the same instant he had intended to trap Bakura, he himself had been lured in…
"Die." Bakura smirked.
Blood arched high into the air…
"Pharaoh!"
Seto's cry accompanied a shriek from Diabound as its hand was severed at the wrist, sending crimson waves flying into the air. Duos, his personal ka, spun to attack Bakura's creature again as the priests behind him summoned another wave of creatures. They flanked their king, their god, protecting him from further attack.
"Do not let anymore die!" Atemu cried even as Diabound vanished into the darkness again.
"Aim for the sky! Do not let fear still you!" Seto cried.
The small army of beasts rose to attack and in that same instant a Spiral Wave assault tore into one of them. Zerua fell, destroyed by the massive attack. And with its falling, Shada was knocked from the assault.
'Bakura, I swear I will kill you!' Atemu vowed as he watched his injured priest falter.
His own monster could not sustain another direct attack, and, with his life force invested so inextricably in the summoning of Osiris, he would end his life…But he had been charged by the gods with the defense of his land and his people needed him…
He closed his eyes, his thoughts wandering to his waiting lover even as he ordered his beast high into the sky…
Nathifa spread her arms, a sacred chant pouring from her lips.
A swirling, howling typhoon of wind flooded the room; her linen dress was pushed violently against her hip as the preternatural swell found purchase on the loose garment. Her pink hair was whipped fiercely away from her face and the gold bands decorating her arm began to rattle in violent protest. But she refused to stop, her words pouring into complicated lines as the floor beneath her bare feet began to ripple with gold light.
Omorose's red lips moved silently as she pressed her feet together, took a deep breath, and lifted her arms to the sky. The unnatural tempest of wind circled her, pulling at her, lashing against her. But her cry was not diminished.
Isis, hear our call. She prayed as a wave of warm light began to swell beneath her feet.
They moved in perfect opposition to each other, their words perfect reflections, as the call for fire and water, earth and air rose above the howling gale.
Summon the four elements…Nathifa said to herself as the speed of their words, the depth, began to increase. Dark to light…dismay to hope…
They sang breathlessly, changing the literal field of the energy that hung from the city. Bending it to their will, they centered their spell on the images of their beloveds and wrapped it around them.
Atemu's eyes widened as he realized the magic that hung like a natural shroud across his land was beginning to ripple…His energy began to flow again, the pain of his wounds ebbing away as he raised his hand to the sky.
Let light pierce the darkness…let night give to the power of day!
The clouds above him shifted and the ebony veil of the dark was torn asunder by beams of radiant sunshine. The light of the stars faded to nothingness as the moon disappeared behind a conflagration of red and gold flames.
"The Sun God Ra!"
Nathifa felt blood rise in the back of her throat as a copper tang flooded her mouth. Having linked her own ba so closely with that of her lover, she was experiencing the massive toll that the summoning of two God-beasts exacted. But the sunlight warming her pale face and the joyful cries of her people renewed her strength and she continued to chant, a trickle of crimson escaping from the corner of her white lips.
Bakura's mouth dropped in alarm as the sun pierced the darkness that Diabound has wound around itself. And in that same instant, he heard the High Priest's cry to rally once more. But if they thought he was that easy to beat, they would fall that night.
His lips pulled up as he spat another spell; in the fraction of a second it took to bend the ability of the Saint God Osiris into an electrical attack, he summoned another monster from the Shrine of Wedju to intercept the blade of Seto's Duos.
And, unseen, awakened from the depths of hell and the dark recesses of the human mind, evil began to boil.
The sun began to fade and Nathifa fell to the ground as her body failed her. A second later, Omorose tumbled to the floor beside her. They exchanged a glance that flickered between concern and disbelief as the air around them began to change…
Nathifa's eyes fell to her wrist, where the violent lashing of the gold bands against her skin had bruised the flesh. And too her horror, she saw the mark began to fade and recede as the light of the Ra disappeared…
He…is rewinding time…How? Shada thought desperately to himself as he reared his horse around. Without the sudden influx of energy that had suddenly renewed the ba of his Pharaoh, his king would return to the physical state that he entered in sacrificing the Saint Dragon to draw Diabound from the darkness…
He cried out in horrified alarm as blood spilled from Atemu's lips, his gaze glazing. He reached for his king, his master, begging him to return to the palace. But in that same moment, the Pharaoh reared his horse and galloped in insane pursuit after the mad Thief King.
"I will not allow you to be injured further!" He yelled, spurring his own stallion to movement.
Atemu spared one last glance over his shoulder before he pulled ahead of them. If he fell that night…his people would need his priests to protect them.
Nathifa picked herself up from the ground and stepped to the balcony on shaky legs. Her city, plunged into darkness by the sudden void of night, smoldered in ruins. The fires of destruction lit it eerily from behind, casting the long shadows of her fleeing people against the flame-spattered ground. But there was no time for her to stand in stunned silence…
"We have to prepare, Omorose." She finally sighed as she turned on her heel.
Her sister nodded resolutely; as the queen, her sister's duty fell to the living. But as the wife of the High Priest, her responsibility lie in the completion of the purification rites and prayers the dead would require for burial.
Omorose turned down one hall as her sister walked down the other. And, somewhere between the two of them, they found the strength to believe that all was not lost just yet…
She pulled the man into her lap, bringing a ladle of cold water to his lips. He drank gratefully, tears running down his eyes as he thanked her for her kindness.
"Shhhh," Nathifa replied gently, "Save your strength."
She rose from the ground, pulling a white linen across him before her gaze drifted upwards, her heart sinking; she felt a moment of crushing defeat at the sight of the sheer volume of injured refugees accumulating in the palace. Already, the gardens and shrines had been converted to make-shift hospitals. But even with their casters, healers, and minor priests working to aid them, it seemed as though the influx was simply too great…
Her eyes glided upwards to her sister. Sprayed with crimson light from the fire raging beside her, she looked like Isis herself, the Patroness of the Dead, come to take the lost souls to their final rest. Her words weren't simply spoken, but sung and brought ease to those who already knew their flesh was failing them. But for the living, there could be no comfort…
"Lady Nathifa…"
The queen turned to face the feminine request with speed the belied her true exhaustion. "Mana? What are you doing here, dear? You should be resting away from this chaos."
"I couldn't call myself an apprentice if I did that!" She cried, her hands flying to her chest.
The pink-haired female dropped the empty bucket in her hands, wrapping her arms around the girl. "Forgive me, Mana. I did not mean to offend you."
"You could never offend me, Lady Nathifa!" She replied, tears running down her face. "But please…please…let me help."
She bit down on her lip, considering her request. It was hardly that the young woman's magic was poor, but that she didn't want to expose her to the horrors that the battle had wrought on the corporeal form of the people now seeking refuge. Worse still was the mental trauma she would have to combat…But she could not deny her…
"Do you know the healing heka?" Nathifa asked, drawing away and kneeling beside a wounded child.
Mana shook her head, tears springing to her eyes again.
"It's alright; I'll show you." The queen's hand shot out to hover over the tear in the girl's leg and she chanted the spell. A green light radiated from her hand and the flesh beneath its emerald aura began to close.
"Use this, Mana, only on the worst injuries. We must save as many as possible, and that means that some much endure their pain a little longer. And take care not to push your limits. We will need you still come morning."
The adolescent nodded resolutely, wiping away her tears. Her eyes, the emotional torrent behind them, suddenly settled as she dropped to her knees beside a wounded woman; placing her hands over the gaping puncture in her stomach, she began to hum the ancient words.
Omorose lifted her hands to the sky as she asked the favor of the goddess for the deceased and protection for those who had yet to come home. But mostly, she asked her divine patroness for protection over the one that hadn't returned to the home of her arms…
The Priestess turned to the controlled flame that lit the crowded stone room. Kneeling, she spread her arms before it and chanted the final words of closure for the body before her. Taking the body into her arms, she folded a clean white sheet around it. She then sprinkling cleansing perfume against the funeral shroud, she drew the mark of the ankh, the promise for life in the flesh and for eternity to come, across the plane of pallid cloth. And after a moment of respectful silence, the guards came to take the body to its ultimate rest.
She watched them carry the corpse away before she turned her hazel gaze to the neat rows of bodies that still needed her attention. And past the edge of the crisp columns of neatly arranged bodies, the chaotic battle between life and death raged for many more…
Omorose took a deep breath as another body was laid before her feet. Her eyes flickered to the heavens and her lips began to move anew.
TBC