~Chapter XXXVII~

Safira managed to locate Anku, who was wandering alone elsewhere in the city. She lowered herself, holding Akuto in her arms. The magenta-haired male almost became defensive upon seeing her, but realised exactly who she was.

"Safira," he greeted with a bow. "I did not expect to see you here." She was silent, but Anku, upon seeing the DiaDhank on Akuto's wrist, realised that Safira was only here because of him. "Ah, I see," he noted. "You are Akuto's Ka. How surprising."

The spellcaster took Akuto carefully from her, lying him on the ground to examine his injuries. "He was attacked," he understood, lifting his head so that his black and orange eyes met Safira's. "Was this the work of the Thief King?" Safira nodded her head sadly as Anku looked back at the wounded Akuto. "I will tend to him," he decided. "I will have to be as quick as I can; the others may also need my help."

With that said, Anku lifted Akuto up and carried him through the streets to find somewhere safe, and Safira disappeared.

...

Nefertari swerved to avoid one of Mahad's arrows, yelling in rage as she charged towards him with her spear. She avoided a second arrow before reaching the High Priest, tackling him to the ground. She held her spear above his chest, but with both hands Mahad clasped the spear and fought back to prevent himself from being fatally wounded.

"Have you lost your mind, Nefertari?!" Mahad snapped at her. "No, I needn't ask such a question; you lost your mind when Apophis possessed you!"

"Lost my mind?!" Nefertari roared, still fighting to impale Mahad with her spear. "Can you not see what you have just done?!"

"He was rampaging through the city!" Mahad yelled at her. "Just like he has done before!"

"This city is false!" Nefertari revealed to him.

"He would have harmed any of the true souls here!" Mahad argued. "You don't know him, Neffy!"

"Do not call me that!" Nefertari bellowed, trying to shake off his hands to stop him from fighting back against her.

"What makes you think you know him?!" Mahad demanded to know. "He was a criminal! A tomb thief! You were dead when the palace tragedy occurred; if you had witnessed those events, you would not be defending that man!"

"I saw what he did!" Nefertari corrected with anger. "I knew his plans to attack the palace, and I knew that he wanted to summon Zorc! I watched him carry out his attack from the afterlife!"

Mahad scowled. "You knew of his plans and you never told me?" he responded quietly.

"You would have had him executed," Nefertari excused.

"Rightfully so!" Mahad snapped. "Why would you defend such a man?!"

"Because I loved him, Mahad!"

Nefertari's response made Mahad fall silent, though he did not lose focus on his struggle against Nefertari's spear. However, Nefertari was putting less force into her attempt at plunging the sharp end of her weapon into the priest's chest. She was trembling and tears began to leak from her rage-filled purple eyes.

Mahad glanced to the side thoughtfully. He remembered Akefia mentioning Nefertari to him during the battle. Akefia had said something along the lines of Nefertari's death fueling his hatred for the Capital, therefore strengthening his Diabound. He also remembered Akefia in his final moments, where a great evil force seemed to exit his body. Before Mahad ended Akefia's life, Akefia muttered a single name to himself: "Neffy".

Since Nefertari was no longer using all of her strength, Mahad was able to push her off and stand himself up. He stood over her with his eyes narrowed.

"That man," he spoke quietly. "The Thief King. He was the father of your child. The child I spared for you."

Nefertari slowly sat herself up and glared at Mahad. "Yes," she answered firmly. Mahad scowled a little, clenching his fists.

"Perhaps killing that boy would have been better," he admitted. Nefertari did not even think before reacting to his words, taken over by fury. She stood and grabbed Mahad by his shoulders, proceeding to wrestle with him as they both used nothing but their hands.

Ryo crawled over to Akefia painfully, examining his back. The arrow was sticking into his flesh through his red robe. The teen attempted to remove it, but the arrow was barbed and removing it so forcefully would make the wound worse. Ryo was already beginning to panic.

"Oh, no..." he murmured. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." As he always did when under stress, Ryo repeatedly muttered the same two words over and over again. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!"

However, Akefia began to stir. He grimaced in agony before slowly opening his dark-coloured eyes, sitting himself up and snarling from the stinging pain he could feel in his back. Ryo shuffled back in shock, feeling his heart stop when Akefia's eyes met his. He stared hatefully for a split second before back-handing the boy across his face.

"Keep your hands off me, boy!" he barked, staggering up to his feet painfully. He reached back and screamed as he pulled the arrow from his own flesh, discarding the blood-covered weapon onto the floor. He turned his head, witnessing the fight between Mahad and Nefertari.

Mahad. That man had caused quite enough problems. The Thief King made an attempt to stand, his hate fueling him, but his legs gave way and he was once again on the ground. The wound to his back was too painful.

"A-Akefia...!" Ryo stuttered, holding his hand to his swollen cheek where Akefia had struck him. "Your wound... it must be treated!"

"I must kill that priest!" Akefia spat, glaring a deadly stare back at the boy. "Don't try to stop me; I won't be afraid to kill you, too!" The DiaDhank on his wrist began to glow, but he couldn't find the strength to summon his Diabound. He was growing weaker and weaker. Sand was already in his wound and it was bleeding badly, and the injury itself was deep. The man huffed and grunted in agony, pushing Ryo away when he instinctively tried to help him. He lay down on his side with his face scrunched from the pain.

"Please, you must be healed..." Ryo whispered, still wounded from his own ordeal. "If you die here... you might never return..."

"I don't... need... help...!" Akefia snarled, panting to catch his breath. But he knew deep down that he was too weak to do anything.

Mahad threw Nefertari to the ground, though he almost looked guilty as he fought her. "You don't understand what kind of man the Thief King is!" he yelled down at the outcast queen. "He blinded you, Nefertari; that man is corrupt! He is the very embodiment of evil!"

"You lie!" Nefertari screamed, forcing herself to stand again. She glanced quickly at the scene with Akefia, seeing that Ryo, despite his own injuries, was trying to tend to the thief. The scene was almost familiar to her; Akefia had never been one to appreciate the help of others. But she knew she had to go over there and help him; she couldn't let him die.

As she turned her head Mahad brought his fist to her face, knocking her stumbling back. "That man is a killer!" he continued. "He killed many of the High Priests, Neffy! He killed the people you were supposed to be a part of! He slaughtered me, and for thousands of years I have served the Pharaoh who sacrificed himself to put an end to him and the demon he summoned!"

"His entire home was destroyed and his family was killed to create the items you wielded!" Nefertari shot back, holding her bleeding nose.

"The village was full of evil people!" Mahad countered.

"Evil in your eyes!" Nefertari corrected. "I was seen as evil, too! Would you have justified a massacre of my people, as well?! Would you have led an army to slaughter everyone living in El-Isfet?!"

"El-Isfet was not the same as Kul Elna!" Mahad snapped at her. "Kul Elna was a village of evil bandits!"

"And their children!" Nefertari almost screamed at the top of her lungs. "Their wives! Were they all evil bandits, Mahad?! Was it right to kill those children because of what their parents did?!"

Mahad was actually stumped and couldn't answer swiftly. Seeing this, Nefertari knew that her point had been proven. "Believe whatever those scumbag priests taught you," she spat. "Believe that Aknadin made a necessary sacrifice. Believe that the slaughter was right in the eyes of the gods. But I'll always see you and the other priests, who wielded items made from the bodies of murder victims, have been brainwashed."

With that said, Nefertari sprinted towards Akefia and Ryo so that she could help the wounded thief king. Mahad snapped out of his thoughts and quickly reclaimed his bow, loading it with an arrow and aiming at the blue-haired woman as she ran. He pulled back the bowstring and prepared to shoot her in the back so that she wouldn't reach Akefia.

But he couldn't do it.

He couldn't bring himself to fire. He couldn't kill Nefertari. He had already taken part in killing her once, and that pain lived with him even as he became the Dark Magician.

So he slowly lowered his bow.

Nefertari reached Akefia and dropped to his side, seeing that the sand beneath him was stained with fresh blood. She examined him, making sure to be wary of his injury so that she didn't cause him any pain when she touched him. The woman looked over at Ryo.

"You must take it easy," she said to him. "Akefia's Diabound has severely burned your flesh." Ryo took in her words and just decided to sit there, his eyelids fluttering as if he were about to fall unconscious. Nefertari returned her focus onto Akefia, carefully shifting him so that she could slip off his red robe. At some point he yelped in agony, but truthfully causing him pain was inevitable.

Nefertari was able to remove the cloak, revealing Akefia's bare back. His eyes were now closed and his breaths were short. Using her hands, Nefertari put pressure on the wound in order to stop the bleeding. "You're going to be alright, Akefia," she assured, hiding her uncertainty. "I'm here." There were tears in her eyes, but she knew that breaking down now would be a bad idea. She had to stay strong if she wanted to save his life.

"Mahad!" came Mana's voice as she ran right towards her former master, having not noticed Nefertari, Akefia and Ryo. Mahad turned to look at her with surprise in his eyes.

"Mana," he reacted calmly, only seconds before she jumped up and latched onto him like a monkey. She laughed through her tears of joy, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

"Master Mahad!" she cried with a smile. Mahad held her, still appearing shocked for a few more seconds before smiling slightly. It had been some time since he and Mana had seen each other. It had been thousands of years, to be precise.

Tauren watched the pair as they reunited, but he was quick to spot Nefertari kneeling beside the man he had been pursuing. The teal-haired spellcaster walked towards her, not even uttering a word as he stopped beside her. Nefertari gasped and looked up at him, seeing a stern look in his gaze.

"Tauren," she wavered. "I'm not losing him again. Please... Please, don't make me lose him!"

For a moment Tauren stared almost emotionlessly before closing his lime green eyes. "I will heal him," he decided. "But, my queen, he is dangerous. He must be kept under control."

"I don't care, just hurry!" Nefertari demanded, panicking. She couldn't lose Akefia when she had only just reunited with him. Tauren, in response, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial, handing it to the queen.

"Get him to drink this," the former slave commanded. "It will heal his wounds." Tauren pulled out a second vial and handed it to Ryo. "You need to be healed, as well; those burn wounds are very severe." Ryo took the vial and hesitantly drank from it, not caring about the bad taste. Because he had so many wounds, the healing process was slow for him.

Nefertari held Akefia's face and carefully forces him to part his lips. "Drink this for me, love," she whispered, pouring the liquid into his mouth. He was able to swallow it, but the moment he did he coughed and spluttered, disgusted with the vile taste as he sat himself up, grimacing. He shuddered and shook his head before rolling his eyes so that he was looking at Nefertari, and his empty gaze appeared to soften significantly.

There was silence as they stared at each other. Neither of them moved for a few moments until Akefia brought his hand to Nefertari's cheek as if making sure she was real. But he was still not quite convinced.

"This is an illusion," he murmured breathlessly. "This cannot be real. My soul has been discarded by the Chimeras; I've suffered a fate worse than death itself."

"Akefia, it's me," Nefertari assured, tears in her eyes.

"Prove it's you," Akefia spat viciously. "Prove to me that you're Nefertari of Outcasts."

Nefertari looked shocked, her eyes going wide. "I looked after you," she reminded him. "You lived in El-Isfet with me. I let you sleep by my side the night before you left!"

"Tell me something else!" Akefia barked, almost looking like a rabid dog.

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Nefertari responded. "I treated your wounds, I fed you... You protected my village using your Diabound!"

Akefia was suddenly on his feet, his hand around her throat. Tauren immediately drew out his wand, ready to intervene if necessary. Akefia held Nefertari up against one of the damaged walls of a ruined building, his grip on her throat tight and the glare in his eyes hateful.

"You could be looking through my own memories," he hissed. "Tell me something that only Nefertari would know. Not me."

Nefertari clutched his hand and tried to pull it off, her eyes wide with horror. Akefia's stare sent chills down her spine as she tried to fight against his strong grip, but he was much stronger than her.

She had to say something, but what? What would she know that Akefia wouldn't? He knew about her upbringing and had lived through most major occurrences in El-Isfet. There quite honestly wasn't something about her that Akefia had no knowledge of.

But there was one thing.

"R... Ram..." she choked. "Ramses... Our son... was Ramses..."

"I found out the hard way that you had our son," Akefia snarled through clenched teeth. "Ramses was the name I wanted to name a boy if I had one... How can I make sure that you aren't some demon making up false information? My real son might not be named Ramses at all."

"He is named Ramses...!" Nefertari spluttered. "He was born... in some village ruins...! Akuto... Akuto found me with him... a-and... Mahad... Mahad was there... That was the day... he took me back to the Capital... for the trial... but... he... he let... Ramses... l... li...ve..." Her eyelids were fluttering as she was struggling to grip onto her consciousness.

Akefia's dark eyes narrowed, refusing to loosen his grip as he glowered hatefully at her, but suddenly his eyes closed and he dropped her, choosing to turn his back on the outcast queen as he rubbed her throat and coughed heavily.

"I'll never be convinced," he muttered. "But even if you were a Chimera trying to destroy my soul... I cannot kill a creature with Nefertari's face and voice. I wouldn't even do it for Zorc."

Tauren helped Nefertari up to her feet, frowning at Akefia. "This is no Chimera," he informed him. "She is not here to destroy your soul. None of us are. We're all here because of the false queen sitting upon the royal throne."

Akefia frowned and stared towards the palace. "A false queen?" he repeated quietly.

"Yes, Akefia," Tauren nodded. "She intends to summon Apophis, and once he has been summoned... I believe he will shatter existence itself before re-writing history in his favour."

"Tch," Akefia reacted. "Then let's kill that queen!" He froze for a moment when he looked at Nefertari, seeing her still sitting on the floor but with her head down. He could hear her sniffling. Tears were dripping from her hidden face and onto the sand.

Slowly Akefia approached her, despite some pain still being in his back. He offered his hand to her, his expression vacant. "My queen," he murmured, catching her attention. The young woman slowly lifted her head to look up at him before glancing away to the side.

"You'll never believe it's me..." she wavered. "Even after I waited for you for over five thousand years... you think I'm nothing but a phantom sent to trick you."

Without saying anything, Akefia lifted Nefertari and pulled her into a sudden and tight embrace. One arm was wrapped around her waist while his other hand was on the back of her head. His gaze was still somewhat vacant, but his eyes were gentle.

"My heart is still soft for you," he muttered. "After everything I've done... After all of the evil I have had coursing through my body... I still grow soft for you, Nefertari."

At this, Nefertari broke down sobbing into Akefia's shoulder, clutching onto him but being careful of his wound. She had missed him. She had really missed him. Finally, after all these years, after being alone in the afterlife, she was once again able to feel his warmth.

Akefia only grew softer, holding her closer to him as he shook slightly. This had to be her. He knew it had to be her. Nobody could mimic her so perfectly.

Mahad could see the pair, as could Mana. The latter individual gasped. "Mahad, it's him!" she exclaimed with horror. "The Thief King! Shouldn't we stop him?!"

For a good while Mahad only stared silently before finally turning his head away. "No," he answered quietly. "We must find the others. We must find our Pharaoh."

"But... that man's evil..." Mana reacted, sounding confused.

"I don't think the world is separated into good and evil, Mana," Mahad admitted. "Now come; we must stop Apophis before the sun sets."

Mahad and Mana walked away in search of other High Priests and Atem, but the sun seemed to be setting much faster.

In fact, the sunset was merely moments away.

...

Kubui and Kekku, followed by Janeiro and Haku, ran towards the palace. They knew that time was running out.

"Rena!" Janeiro yelled. "Stop, Rena! You cannot summon Apophis!"

Rena grinned upon hearing her former host, choosing to stand up from her throne as she faced the new crowd. Her Red Magician floated at her side, prepared to defend her from any attacks.

"You're too late, Janeiro," the false queen mocked. "Apophis will rise any minute now!"

"No!" Janeiro cried. "You mustn't! The world will end! You will end!"

"The fate of the world is not my concern," Rena smirked. "I'm a survivor, little Janeiro - a survivor who craves power and destruction!"

"Hey, guys?" Kubui spoke up awkwardly. "Hate to alarm you, but... it's kinda dark outside."

He was right.

The sun had set.

"Stop her!" Haku commanded. Kekku was the one to run forwards with a knife at the ready, prepared to stab the woman, only to be blasted back by the Red Magician's Dark Magic Attack.

"Kekku!" Janeiro shouted, sounding worried for him. But when she turned her head, she could see Rena with a dark aura surrounding her as she began to laugh maniacally.

"Nothing can stop it now!" she cackled. "Apophis, Lord of Chaos! You have waited too long for your revival, but wait no more! Tonight you shall be reborn into this world!"

Rena screamed in what sounded like great agony as a dark spirit seemed to be exiting her body through her mouth, taking a part of her amalgamated soul with it. The Red Magician remained there as her protector to make sure that the other four didn't try to harm her during the process, and the world around them began to distort slightly.

"Run," Haku muttered quietly, taking a few steps back. Kubui and Janeiro were frozen in horror, so he had to repeat himself much louder. "RUN!"

Kubui grabbed Kekku and ran out of the palace as Janeiro and Haku sprinted as well. Rena's screams echoed throughout the world, which was now darker due to an evil mist, but male laughter could be heard amidst her shrieks.

When the four had left the palace, they hopelessly gazed up at the balcony. The screaming and the laughter had fallen silent.

But then out he stepped. Standing on the balcony was a pale-skinned man with long white hair, with black eyes and yellow irises containing black slits for pupils. He wore the black and green robes Janeiro had previously seen him in during a vision in the real Egypt, and he grinned with sharp fangs visible even from the distance everyone was standing at. The young man flicked his snake-like tongue before raising his arms.

"Behold!" Apophis bellowed. "The Eternity of Chaos begins now!"

~End of Chapter~