Star_Wolf333: I pronounce it KENS-tawth. I am unsure as to the correct pronunciation.
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The purple light awakened Theoris just as quickly as he had been knocked to the ground by it. His eyes shot open to the sight of the old man in the blue robes coughing and hacking. Theoris felt a small amount of satisfaction... his scimitar had done some damage, at least. Still, it obviously wasn't enough, since the flash had happened again.
Theoris struggled to his feet, picked up his weapon, and hacked at the old man. There was a strangled cry before the man's body thudded to the ground. Theoris wasn't sure if it had come from himself or the old man; whichever, it was now the old man who lay dead at his feet.
He stumbled forward and saw that the Millennium Shield was lying there atop the sand. There was no sign of Khensthoth anywhere.
For that matter, there was no sign of any of the other men that had been here.
He felt a sense of growing dread within his heart. "General? General Khensthoth?!"
There was no one there.
No one at all, save him and the old man who now lay dead at his feet.
He knelt down and touched the shield. What could have happened to him...?
I am here, Theoris...
Theoris jumped back and yelled in surprise. He landed on his rear end in the cold sand; hardly painful, but definitely a way to wake himself up from whatever dizziness was still in his head.
"Khensthoth?" he muttered aloud. "Where are you?"
There was no answer.
He eyed the shield, this time much more warily. Somehow, the shield had been gifted with powers that he knew he would never entirely understand. Was it possible...?
He shook his head. No... It couldn't be...
Could it?
Again, he reached out to the shield and brushed it with his fingertips.
Theoris... I am here...
It took Theoris all of his courage and focus to keep his fingers on the shield. "General...?"
Yes, Theoris... I am right here...
"Where?"
Within the shield you now touch... This is all that is left... The mage destroyed the men and me...
"What? He couldn't have!"
He did... I know not how you survived... but that is unimportant now. What is important is that you did survive. You must take up the shield and finish what was started, quickly...
Theoris didn't know what to believe. Could Khensthoth really have been... destroyed? And the other men?
Could Khensthoth's spirit somehow have been thrown into the shield?
Theoris looked himself over quickly, to see if any of his body parts were missing. The other men and Khensthoth had all vanished... perhaps the same could be true of him?
But no. He was entirely intact.
"You... you were... destroyed?"
Is it so hard to believe, Theoris? Our bodies are nowhere to be seen, yet moments ago, they were right here, alongside you. But you must not worry on it now... there are much more important things to be taken care of, and immediately... the shield must be protected just as much as it is to protect...
"But... why would the mage find any use in destroying you? And why would he leave me alive?"
I know not. But you must not worry on it now... you must take the shield back into the interior of the city... among the army, where it will be safe...
"My brother!"
Theoris looked up, and saw that another elderly man with the same long, white beard and blue robes shrouding the rest of his features was approaching him. "You have spilled the blood of my brother! Foul murderer!"
A pale, age-spotted hand reached out from the dark robe and spread its fingers in Theoris's direction.
RUN!
Theoris was shaken from his reverie by the urgent sound of Khensthoth's voice within his mind. He scrambled to pick up the shield, and he brought it up across his chest, but in his haste, he stumbled back and again landed on his rear in the sand.
The man's hand began to glow, as if a lightning-blue aura was covering it.
Theoris curled into a ball and cowered behind the shield.
The Millennium Shield glowed.
A crackling noise filled his ears, and a bright flash blinded him for a moment. A great pressure landed on the shield and nearly rolled him backward with its force. But then a noise came that he did not expect... the sound of his attacker screaming.
Theoris did not dare to move even after the pressure was long gone... he sat huddled, shuddering, behind the shield that served as his only protection from whatever abominable magic the man possessed. But he finally forced himself to pry his eyes open and looked over the top edge of the shield upon the unmistakable smell of burnt death.
The man that had just attacked him was now lying dead in the sand... just as dead as the man he had claimed to be his brother. His robes were ablaze, and Theoris could only surmise that the man within them was, as well.
Theoris... are you all right?
Theoris released a shuddering breath, and breathed in through his mouth, trying to avoid the stench. "Yes... I think so..."
Hurry, before more of them arrive...
Theoris scrambled to his feet, took up the shield, and ran back into the depths of the city.
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Theoris finally allowed himself to slump to the ground in an alley, and he covered his eyes with one hand. I can't believe this... Khensthoth gone, and those men, as well...
There is nothing you can do for us now, Theoris... your duty is to the Pharaoh now, not me.
You can hear my thoughts?
Yes... I am simply a spirit, now, Theoris... I can see into the heart of anyone who touches the Millennium Shield.
What shall I do now? Go back to the palace?
The creatures... the Duel Monsters are still present. As long as they are, your work is not finished. You must finish what I started.
But how? I do not know how to use it.
I am bonded to the shield now... I will show you everything.
And in the blink of an eye, that was exactly what Khensthoth did. Theoris saw what he was supposed to do... how he could erase the monsters from this plane of existence... everything he needed to see, he saw.
Mere moments later, lancing golden beams burned across the clouds and the creatures that had taken to the sky. Soldiers and civilians alike spotted the beam of light splitting the darkness. Some cheered, others wept.
Again and again, the light blazed across the creatures, both in the air and on the ground. Theoris raced through the streets with an enthusiasm he'd not known since his childhood, bearing the shield proudly on his right arm. The shield let loose its destructive light, casting the creatures back to the realm from whence they had come.
And by the break of day, the dark clouds... and the Duel Monsters... were no more.
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When Theoris and the army returned to the palace that morning, they discovered -- much to their dismay -- that no one dwelled within. The mages were gone, as was the Pharaoh. Small fires flickered where torches had fallen, presumably from struggles of some kind. Rumors abounded through the ranks of the soldiers that a Millennium item had been found resting on the throne when Theoris and his band of men stormed the throne room. Nothing was confirmed or denied.
The next days of the capital city were days of mourning for the loss of their leader, as well as for the loss of General Khensthoth. Many people felt as though they could not cope with the loss, and the healing mages became almost overburdened with their work.
For a time, Theoris was put in charge of the army, though he insisted on retaining his own rank, rather than advancing to General. The events of that night were still with him -- as was the Millennium Shield -- and he neither felt worthy nor inclined to the position. He had a family to tend to... a wife, a son, and a daughter.
He could not return to his home until the capital city was under some semblance of order, however. So he stayed within the palace walls until such order was established... the task took many days. Many of the civilians could not understand what had happened. Many had been outright terrified of the creatures. Others were angry that they had been sent back to their origins, and demanded that the Shadow Games continue.
Theoris's position allowed him to deny them that. After that night, he wasn't about to allow for the possibility of the creatures returning and getting out of hand. Not again... never again.
It was what the Pharaoh had wanted. Therefore, it was what Theoris wanted.
He kept the Millennium Shield with him at all times, asking the spirit of Khensthoth to help him... help him administrate, help him counsel, help him stay sane.
Finally, the time came when he could be free of the palace and its rigors. It was that day that he asked the court -- comprised of mages who made decisions in the absence of the Pharaoh -- to release him from the obligations of the military. They graciously agreed to do so, and they made no ruling regarding his possession of the shield. They deemed him capable of reserving it until such time came as they might require it, for whatever reason.
Theoris went home.
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When he entered his house, he saw his wife, Tamin, and his son, Salatis, sitting at the table, seemingly staring off into space. He quickly gained the impression that something was wrong, and he approached his family.
"Tamin?" he asked, tentative.
Her eyes -- those beautiful eyes that he had fallen in love with from the first day -- flickered up at him, and he saw the tears that filled them. Instantly, he was down on one knee, and one hand went up to caress her cheek. "What is wrong?"
"She is gone," Tamin whispered.
Theoris looked over at his son, who had a simply vacant expression on his face... yet he could see that the boy's eyes were filled with torment and despair. Salatis had never been a very outwardly emotional child, and Theoris had learned early on that to spot what he truly felt, he needed to look into his son's eyes.
What was there now almost drew Theoris into that same torment and despair himself.
He looked back at his wife. "Gone? Did she run away?"
Tamin shook her head sadly. "She wanted to be with her father... she wanted to help him stop the monsters from hurting people..."
Theoris shook his head. "No... oh, no... the monsters didn't--?"
"I do not know," she answered. Her tears spilled down her cheeks. "But she is gone, nevertheless."
"Please, Tamin... please do not tell me that those creatures... that my daughter is no longer..." Theoris tried as hard as he could, but the words simply would not come out. He didn't want to bear the thought that she might be gone.
"I can do nothing else," Tamin wept. "Abana is gone... my little girl is gone..."
A single tear dripped down Salatis's otherwise expressionless face.
Theoris didn't want to cry. He didn't -- couldn't -- accept that Abana had become yet another casualty for that night of horrors. He grabbed the shield and clutched it like a lifeline in one hand, while he clutched Tamin's hand in his other. Khensthoth... could we find her? Is the shield able to find my daughter?
Theoris felt Khensthoth emitting sadness, and his hopes fell. Theoris, the shield possesses abilities beyond your comprehension... some even beyond my comprehension... but unless it knows how the soul of your daughter speaks, it cannot find her.
Theoris spoke aloud. "But there must be something we can do!"
Tamin simply cried more demonstratively. "If only there was..."
I am sorry, Theoris... neither I nor the shield can help you...
Theoris let himself slump to the ground, and he wept bitterly. Memories of Abana flashed through his mind... memories of holding his infant child in his arms while she cried for some unknown purpose... memories of playing with her in the waters of the mighty Nile... memories of chasing after bullies who would constantly harass her... memories of hugging her, kissing her, giving her all the love he possibly could...
He stared up at the ceiling of his modest home... through the ceiling and up at the sky, to stare at the gods through his tears.
"How could you do this to me?" he whispered.
The gods did not answer.
Neither did Khensthoth, or Tamin.
Theoris curled into a ball and wept.
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