Yuugi glanced over at his bedside clock and sighed. It was almost 1am and he was still wide awake. After the day he'd had, he'd thought that sleep would come instantaneously, but his mind just wouldn't quiet down. He kept thinking about everything they'd learned from Kaiba. About the phone numbers sitting on the moonlit desk that he could see out of the corner of his eye. Should they try to contact Pegasus? It seemed like an obvious yes. They needed any information they could get and what risk could a phone call introduce when the man already knew about them? Heck, he even knew where Yuugi lived!
In spite of all that, Yuugi worried that he was missing something.
He turned his gaze to the ceiling and frowned. This was so frustrating . He knew that he needed to sleep on this. Knew that he was too mentally drained to exercise the full power of his normally quick logic. At the same time, he also knew that, at this point, he was just going to keep going down rabbit holes until sunrise.
In other words, he needed a distraction.
Getting up wasn't an option. He'd quickly learned that Marik was always on a hair trigger. If Yuugi so much as set a foot on the ground, then the Egyptian teen was sure to wake up in an instant, ready for a fight. It meant that Yuugi slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that he had a trained fighter guarding him. It also meant that he was basically trapped in his bed until morning.
While other people might have found that oppressive, Yuugi didn't care. He had ways of keeping himself occupied without moving a muscle. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he closed his eyes and traveled into his soul room.
When Yuugi arrived in his soul room, he glanced around and found it unoccupied, which wasn't completely out of the ordinary. Ever since Egypt, Atemu seemed to be more comfortable spending time in his own room. He always appeared soon after Yuugi arrived, though. Some sixth-sense alerting him to his partner's presence.
A sixth-sense that was apparently on the fritz tonight.
When several minutes had gone by with no sign of Atemu, Yuugi reached out, sensing his link to his partner. Nothing appeared off. There was no sense of fear or danger. It was more like Atemu was elsewhere mentally. The kind of feeling that Yuugi vaguely associated with intense gaming. Those times when all of his attention was focused on his next move.
This knowledge tempered his concern, replacing it with curiosity. He knew that he could just call out to his partner and Atemu would come running, but if the former pharaoh was working on something, then Yuugi didn't want to break his partner's concentration.
After a moment's consideration, he left his room and stepped out into the hallway beyond, coming to a stop before his partner's door. He stared at it, debating what to do. He knew that he was allowed inside, but he also knew that it wasn't exactly safe in there.
I'll just push it open and see if he's in the main area. If he is, then I'll know what he's up to and know if I can interrupt. If he's not, then I'll just go back to my room and, I don't know, read a book or something.
Course decided, Yuugi reached out and carefully pushed on the metal door. What he found made his mouth drop open, eyes widening. The endless labyrinth was gone. In its place was what appeared to be a redecorated version of his own bedroom.
After taking a minute to process this bizarre change, Yuugi stepped inside and began to explore. His desk appeared to be the same, though the items sitting on it were somewhat different. The duel monsters cards remained, but the books on Egypt and game design were gone. In their place was a pile of scrolls. He picked up the first and spread it open, finding that it was some sort of guide on leadership and virtue. He quickly decided that he'd rather not puzzle his way through the whole thing. Instead, he rewound the scroll and carefully returned it to its resting place. Then he returned to his exploration of the room.
The next thing that caught his eye was his bed. Or, rather, the bed that had replaced his. Where his humble twin bed normally rested now sat a massive, ornate creation covered in soft pillows and white linen sheets.
How in the world did that fit? Yuugi wondered. Another glance around made him realize that, while this might look like his room, the dimensions were exaggerated. As if it had grown several feet in both directions.
This appraising glance brought his attention to another change. While this version of his room still had a shelf with games, the games weren't all ones that he knew. Though a few modern favorites remained, there were several unknown items made of what appeared to be painted wood or maybe even glazed ceramic. Closer examination revealed that every modern game was one that he and Atemu had played, so Yuugi assumed that the unknown items must be Egyptian games. He didn't touch them, though. Instead, he went back to scanning the room.
This time, he noticed that the random, abstract paintings that Sugoroku had hung in Yuugi's room ages ago were gone. In their place were mounted weapons. Bows, swords, shields, and several items that Yuugi didn't know the names of.
The final large change confused Yuugi for all of five seconds before he remembered that the ancient Egyptians didn't really do portraits to commemorate people. They used statues, which explained why stone busts were sitting all over the place. He recognized a few of them. Isis, Mahado, and a Kaiba look-a-like that must be Seti, but there were a few others that Yuugi couldn't place. Nestled among them were two picture frames. Yuugi walked over and picked one of them up, smiling when he saw that it held an image of Marik firing a bow on the Ishtars' archery range. Its sister frame showed Rishid hard at work in the Mutous' kitchen.
A modern touch for modern men , Yuugi thought. Then he set the photo down and turned his gaze back to the bed where he noticed a third picture that had been hidden by the pillows. It sat on a bedside table, just like the one in his own room. Unlike his bedside picture, which featured him and Atemu, this one was just of Yuugi. It showed him standing on a familiar balcony, lined in moonlight, dressed in the simple shendyt he'd worn throughout their time in the memory world.
That more than anything drove home that this was definitely Atemu's room. The only thing missing was Atemu.
Yuugi turned his gaze to the far wall. To the unassuming door that stood where none existed in reality. After a moment's debate, he walked forward, turned the knob, and pulled.
For the second time that night, Yuugi's mouth dropped open. He'd expected another room. Maybe something more clearly Egyptian. Instead, he found Egypt.
It was like stepping through a magic portal. On one side, a relatively unassuming bedroom. On the other, the banks of the Nile and more temples than Yuugi could count in a glance. He looked around, expecting to see a city or palace or maybe just people, but no. It was nothing but temples as far as the eye could see.
He stepped out onto lush greenery and took in the door that he'd just come through. It really was a magic portal just hanging in the middle of the air. Secured to nothing.
Yuugi decided he was too brain-dead to try and think about that fact, so he pushed it aside and turned his attention inward. He felt his connection to Atemu and tried to see if it gave him any idea of where his partner was. A moment later, he opened his eyes and took off into the sea of temples.
It wasn't long before Yuugi came to a familiar building. He'd last seen it during a desperate flight in the dead of night, but he recognized it all the same: Akhenamkhanen's mortuary temple.
He mentally reached out again, double checking, and yes, this was where his bond was telling him to go. He walked up the steps and cautiously headed into the heart of the temple. He didn't go far before he heard a familiar voice speaking.
Atemu.
Yuugi followed the sound of his partner's voice until he came to an area of the temple dominated by a state of a clearly male figure. Atemu was seated at its feat. He was no longer speaking, though. Instead, he was silently starting at the doorway that Yuugi had just entered through. The Egyptian teen seemed surprised to see his partner, but there was no anger in his face or in their bond. All that Yuugi could sense was a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
After a moment spent simply looking at each other, Atemu smiled softly and said, "Are you alright, love?"
Yuugi nodded, not leaving the doorway. "I'm okay. I just couldn't sleep. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"Please, do not apologize. You may always seek me out," Atemu interrupted, rising to his feet and coming to greet his partner properly, taking the smaller teen into his arms and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
The gesture made Yuugi smile, closing his eyes and letting out a contented hum. Then he leaned back, giving Atemu a searching look. "Are you sure? I feel like I'm interrupting something."
Atemu looked back towards the statue. Then he sighed. "I am glad to be interrupted. My conversation was frustratingly one-sided."
Yuugi glanced between his partner and the statue, then hesitantly asked, "That's your dad right?"
Atemu nodded. "More or less. It is his ka statue, which was made in his likeness. According to my... beliefs, a deceased one's ka visits their statue in order to receive offerings. It means that you never know if the ka is there, listening. Of course, this is not my fathers true temple. It is merely a recreation and it lies a world away from Kemet. No ka will visit here."
He turned his gaze back to Yuugi, frown softening. "Come, let us leave this place."
Yuugi stared up at his partner. Something was going on here, but he didn't know what. He also didn't know what to say or even if he should say something. In the end, he let the matter pass with a murmured, "Sure."
Atemu took his partner's hand in his own and guided him back outside to the sea of temples. They walked through them in silence, an odd tension growing between them. Finally, Yuugi burst out, "What exactly is all of this?"
To his surprise, embarrassment flashed across their link and Atemu avoided looking Yuugi in the eye as he replied, "The misguided efforts of one who cannot let go of their past."
Yuugi stopped walking, pulling his partner to a halt. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Atemu sighed. "It is nothing. Do not worry yourself over-"
"Hey, nope, none of that. If this is too private to share, then that's fine, but don't keep something to yourself for fear of worrying me. We're partners, remember?" Yuugi asked, raising their still clasped hands.
Atemu studied Yuugi for a long moment before turning his gaze to the side, gesturing vaguely around them as he explained, "Once I regained my memories, I created this space and then filled it with every temple that I could recall. I have no idea how to properly staff them or even what rituals most of them performed, but I can at least give proper respect and offerings to their respective deities. That might count for something, even if it is just within the confines of my soul."
Yuugi stared at his partner, stunned. Then a wave of shame crashed over him. How had he missed this? Even his limited knowledge of Kemet spoke of a culture steep in religion. Atemu had his memories now. Memories of being the leader of that religion, if only for a brief time. Of course he would want to honor those beliefs. Unsure where to begin addressing his newfound concern, Yuugi simply asked, "Do you do all that every night?"
"Yes. As you know, this form does not sleep in the traditional sense. Maintaining these temples gives me a way to pass the hours while your body rejuvenates itself."
Yuugi nodded slowly, staring around at the buildings that he could see. His mind reeled, trying to think of something he could do. Some way to help Atemu honor everything he'd lost. Eventually, he looked back at his clearly uncomfortable partner and said, "Teach me?"
"You have lost me. What is it that you desire to learn?" Atemu asked, looking Yuugi in the face once more.
"About all this," Yuugi clarified, gesturing around at the temples. "Not all at once, obviously, but we could go to one temple a night or something? Right?"
"I wouldn't want to bother you with it," Atemu whispered even as love and delight spread across their link.
Yuugi smiled. "Learning more about you is never a bother. Also, there's sort of a debate about religion in the modern day. We've got a lot to choose from now and no one has any real proof about which one is right. Given the magic we've seen, though, I'm starting to think that yours might be the right one, so, you know, probably a good idea to learn how it works."
There was a brief pause as Atemu processed this, then he let out a low chuckle. "There is wisdom in what you say, but the hour is late and the day has been long. Perhaps your lessons should wait until tomorrow night?"
"Fair point," Yuugi agreed. "I'm not sure how much more information my brain can take. It was a day."
Atemu pulled at his partner's hand, saying, "Come then. Let us return to my true soul room."
Yuugi nodded and followed Atemu through the sea of temples until they came to the portal that led back to the bedroom. They paused here for a moment, Atemu giving Yuugi a strangely embarrassed look. Then he sighed and pulled his partner through the doorway.