Chapter 4
Three weeks pass quickly. Partly because there was much to do. Many spirits came to this world to ask me if I really wanted this. I gave them all the same answer.
Perhaps I would miss this life. But that doesn't mean I want to stay here if I had other choices. I wanted to be with my parents. I wanted to have a life where I do not have to worry about the future. Where I could live for the present because I know the future will be the same or even better.
Three weeks had passed quickly.
Pegasus called after two weeks.
" You made your decision?" I laughed. " Good. Cheer up, Peg, your wife will be with you when I get my brother killed. Just need you there so I can concentrate which soul to switch with which. Ah! The Wizard of Oz!"
So I told him to meet me at the same time Yugi and the others will.
I know Pegasus will definetely be there. But Yugi and the others, they will be late. Too late, perhaps.
" There's a special ceremony for switching souls." Seto looked at Mokuba. " Unfortunately, it
would be quite hard because Cecilia's body is not here. She's rotting under the ground. So I need
you to think of her very hard. That way I can use my powers to create a new body. Alright with
that?"
" Hai." Pegasus said uncertainly. He looked better this time, no longer so hopeless, and slightly
more energetic.
" Concentrate on her." Seto instructed. " Her eyes, her smile. Her voice..."
Gradually an image of the woman formed in his own mind. Seto closed his eyes, concentrating more on the image and finer details, and the image became stronger.
" Cual sinct, tu vair...
Anact sancti...Cisile-"
Seto made a motion with his arm and the wind began to blow up dust.
" Kay la masu dekile,
Onu fame sinct tule,
Ayafa dela mu sinct,
Onu deyshey la muse,"
Seto's chantings became faster and faster, while the wind blew stronger and stronger.
" Elniet!" Seto cried. Then he coughed. A body of a beautiful woman, clothed in fine white, lay on the ground.
" I hate doing that." Seto decided out loud. " It's not worth all the dust." He coughed twice.
Mokuba choked.
Pegasus remained silent, his eyes locked on the dead body.
" Oof," Seto sat down. " Hold on, let me get my head to stop spinning. Ulghlugh..."
" Oni-san!"
" Alright, alright." Seto shook his head. " We have her now. Now it's your turn Mokuba." Seto
took Mokuba's hands into his. " Ready?"
" It won't hurt, right?"
" You won't even feel it." Seto closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and let go of his
brother's hands.
Taking a long stick, he drew a large circle around the body and his brother. He drew a line down the middle of the circle, dividing the two sides. He blew at the ground and the circle and line lighted up.
" Spirit of the Dead,
Take the life of the living.
Return to the body placed before you..."
To Pegasus, it seemed light was all there was. He could not see Mokuba, he could not see
Seto, he could not even see his wife. His eyes hurt by the light and it seemed as if he were standing
in front of the sun. He felt his retina begin to burn and shielded himself from the light with his
arms. Seto's voice rang out like bells against the roaring in his ears.
" Fellow spirit! The living command the dead!
Retreat to where you belong! Cal sye Melenia!
Allow the living to take the place of the dead!
Let the darkness give way, Et le mena!"
I remember a long time ago. It was raining outside. Mokuba and I sat by the windowsill
and Gozaburo was getting into his car.
" Oni-san?"
" Hai?" I replied. I felt sore all over. It was a Saturday, which isn't strange.
" I miss otou-san."
I did not answer. That time I wondered, what if I can change it all? What if otou-san didn't die in that car accident?
Now that I look back I feel so ridiculous. No human can change the past. And Pegasus, a hopeless, heartbroken loverboy, searching this world for someone who's not here. Lonesome wanderer, doomed to always search for something that he'll never find.
If I had searched for my parents that way, would I end up like him? I now look at Pegasus, a broken man. Soon he will be pieced together again, by my hand. But once broken it cannot be healed again. One can piece the pieces together, but the cracks will still be visible.
Pegasus...
" When the time comes, the sun will near set. Shadows of old will rise once again, claiming the
light for their own. But the shadows will not corrupt the purity of those who are, nor will the light
be extinguished. It shall glow, like a candle in the night, a hope in dark times, a will and faith that
one day the sun shall shine again. But the world shall now fall into night, hope glittering like
millions of stars. And I will join those stars that sparkle in the dark sky, and I will sparkle brighter
than all the others, watching as mortals doom to die fight against their fate. When the sun shines
again, hope will fade, so at last when this world dies, there will be no candle."
" Should we wait for them, Ototo-chan?" Seto asked Mokuba. " They'll be too late."
" Perhaps." Mokuba answered, leaning into his brother's embrace. " But I want to wait. Perhaps
they'll catch one last sight of us, even if we don't."
So they waited.
" Grandpa?" Yugi called. " Ji-chan?"
No answer.
" Ji-chan?" Yugi went up the stairs. Yami halted in front of the counter. Jou and the others stared at him, confused. There was an odd look on Yami's face. Yugi ran back down the stairs and headed for the basement. " Ji-chan!"
There was a sudden silence and a cry. Yami snapped out of his trance and headed for the basement. Yugi was cradling his grandfather's head, feeling for the beating of the pulse that is now silent. Yami and the others halted, giving Yugi space.
" He's dead." Yami said softly. " Just as Seto had said."
" Seto?" Yugi looked up in disbelief, the boy trembling and breaking into tears. " You knew too?"
" Hai." Yami said softly. His eyes fell to the envelope in Sugoruku's hand. Taking the envelope, he
hugged the hikari.
" Seto knew. But he had everything covered." Yami said softly. " It's okay, it's okay..."
" Ji-chan..." Yugi sobbed.
The boy was more stunned then sorrowful. The death was too sudden, so unprepared. After a few days, Yami knew that Yugi would relive it all with new despair. Seto. His heart darkened with bitterness. Seto knew. But he never did anything. Yet what could he do? Yami stroked the trembling boy's hair, still holding the envelope. Something made him pause briefly.
The handwriting. It was Seto Kaiba's.
" You could have sacrificed me for Yugi's grandpa."
" He'll die anyway." Seto answered. " It wouldn't be worth it. You're young. Sugoruku's old. Why
trade a young life for an old one? It wouldn't make sense. Pegasus's dear wife is young. So is
Pegasus."
A figure made his way over to the brothers. Seto looked up and waved.
When the time comes, the sun will near set. Shadows of old will rise once again, claiming the light for their own.
" Ahoy, Sugoruku-san!" Seto laughed. " How goes the journey?"
" Quite pleasant actually." The old man had become a rather young looking man, slightly taller than
his old self and with black hair and blonde bangs. He bore a striking resemblance to Yugi as a thirty
year old. " It was a pleasant view! By the way, Seto-san, arigatou for helping my son with his
finances."
" Oh, no problem." Seto laughed. " It was the least I could do. Wouldn't want to have Yugi turn out
like me, eh?"
" Iie, don't say that." Sugoruku gave the young boy a hug. " So, I guess we'll be going now?"
" You can leave." Seto answered. " We're waiting for Yami and the others until sunset. They'll be
late, but we'll wait. There's no rush. You ought to go. Your business here is finished. There's a good
number of spirits waiting."
Sugoruku paused. " I guess you're right." He said solemnly. " I would like to see my grandson one last time, but they'll never see me."
The man sighed, turning around, and walked off the cliff as if there were an invisible road leading out. He headed towards the sun. The sun briefly opened up to reveal a strange looking place, but as Sugoruku stepped through it closed and became the star it always was.
Sugoruku looked up from behind the counter. " Ah! Kaiba-san. What brings you here?"
I smile. He seemed surprise at that reaction, but I went on. " I brought an envelope for Yugi and Yami. Can you put it in a safe place?" I knew he would never reach that place, but all the same, as long as the envelope was found in his hands.
Sugoruku blinked. " Of course." He said, accepting the envelope.
I had written my last words to dear Yugi. I told him not to be afraid. I told him that there is still hope in the world as long as he lives. And I told him my life's story, how I fought to survive in a hostile world of which I could never be part of. I told him about how Gozaburo went mad and how I wished I had someone to depend on, to protect me, instead of being the protector. I told him how important having a childhood is, because it is through childhood that you learn to love and to sympathize. Without one and you will get a cold impassive individual with no sense of humanity. A childhood. So I told him to have a childhood, to remember that I was there for him for his financial needs, for I cannot be there with him. But he has Yami, and Yami will be his protector, his guardian, his mother and father, his brother, his family. Yami needs no life. Yugi has one. So Yami can devote his time to love and care for him.
I told Yugi there is no need to be afraid, because he had Jou, and Honda, and Anzu, and Ryou, and even Malik and Shadi. He had his abilities, he had a start on childhood. No one will insult him like they insulted me, or call him a bastard, or beat him up, because Yugi already proved himself and Yami will defend him. And I told him that I love him with all my heart because he was such a kind person, and I worry for him because he had so little experience in life. I warned him of dangers. I told him to stay close to his friends. I gave him my password for my bank account, so he can always get money whenever he needs it. And I told him to burn that password so no one else will know.
For Yami I told him that I also care for him and his plight. I told him to care for Yugi, because there will be a time when the boy will need all the support he can get. I told him never to leave Yugi alone even if he wanted him to, because Yugi is open and friendly and he must stay that way. And I told him that when Yugi dies to burn his body to ashes and scatter them in the wind, and journey to Egypt to where his tomb lay. To place the puzzle around the neck of his old body, and to come back to Japan, and go to the cliff where I last stand. At sunset the gate will open for him and he will pass through and be free like me. Free from the shadows, when the world becomes consumed in shadow.
Am I cold-hearted?
And I will join those stars that sparkle in the dark sky, and I will sparkle brighter than all
the others, watching as mortals doomed to die fight against their fate...
" They got the message." Seto looked at Mokuba. " But look, it's twilight. The sun is beginning to set. Should we still wait?"
Mokuba was surprisingly unwilling. " Let us look around, Oni-chan." He said softly. " This
is the world we're about to leave. Just a little longer, perhaps Yugi-tachi will get a glimpse of us,
even if we don't."
" Let us wait then." Seto answered. " Our last hour in this world, alone together. But we will no
longer be alone."
" Hai." Mokuba rested his head on his brother's shoulder as they sat watching the sun setting. " We
will be with Oka-san, and Otou-san, and Ji-chan, and all the others."
Seto smiled. It's good to no longer be alone.
I'm proud of you, son.
Yugi ran fast for his height. His short legs pumped quickly, as he raced in the direction
where the brothers should wait. They had no time! The sun was already setting. Is Seto and
Mokuba still waiting?
Yugi sobbed. Why didn't Yami tell him? Why didn't Seto tell him earlier? They're leaving forever.
Forever. Yugi thought, as he raced ahead of the others. I lost Ji-chan, and now I'm losing Seto and Mokuba. Iie, I already lost them. They're already dead...
Brushing away his tears, Yugi clenched his jaw in a determined fashion and kept on running, even as his sides began to hurt and his legs began to fail him. Seto is leaving. He's never going to come back...
When the sun shines again, hope will fade, so at last when this world dies, there will be no candle.
" Pegasus and Cecilia are far away now." Mokuba mumbled.
" Pity this world will die so soon." Seto answered. " When the next generation comes the world will
burn out."
" You mean the sun."
" Both."
" But Yugi and the others will be alright, right?"
" Hai. They will have no children. No future. Just like us."
" But we have a future. Look, the sun has set. Only the last rays glow now."
" Hai. It is time."
Seto took Mokuba's hand and smiled at his brother. Mokuba smiled back. All thoughts of Yugi-tachi were dropped now. They looked towards the glowing rays. Ahead lay their future. A future where they will be honored and loved. The brothers began walking towards the sun.
Just as they reached the portal, Seto heard a distinct cry.
" Seto!!"
Yugi stared at the figures. He knew they were Mokuba and Seto. But they were too late! They're going!
" Seto!!"
But neither of the figures turned to look back, or stop to wait a moment longer. Before their desperate eyes the group watched as the last remnant of the sun opened to allow the spirits through, and as the ghosts stepped past, the sun closed as the rays of the star dimmed into darkness and the sky blackened into night.
The sea rose. The tide washed ashore, and there was a calm breeze. Yugi could smell the
salty water mixing with sand. In his hand he clutched the letter that Seto had written to him and
tears rolled down his cheeks.
We were too late...
For a long while the group stared at the sea shimmering in the moonlight. Above, the clouds dissipitated, revealing thousands and thousands of glittering stars. They danced and glimmered in the sky and Yugi looked up, feeling numb and void of all emotion.
They left...
He stared at the sea for a long while where the sun had sank. He felt a hand on each shoulder and looked to see Jou and Yami. Jou was clutching Seto's card deck and Yami was holding his puzzle in his hands.
Am I cold-hearted?
