Chapter Thirteen – Darkness and Light
"Serena, what are you doing?" Kaiba yelled, pulling her back into the apartment and slamming the door shut. "You could get yourself killed," he chastised quietly as she buried her face in his shirt.
"I can't allow anyone to get hurt. If anyone does, it will be my fault. I knew they would come, sooner or later," she cried shakily, but no tears fell from her eyes. She was beyond the tears of her past. She was ready; she had to be.
What do you suggest Serena?
Yami…I…I have to face them, him, the clan. Once again, she pulled away from Kaiba's strong clasp and turned to face her friends. "By blood, I am one of them; one of those who lives for the night; the next in line, I guess, to be 'all mighty master.' By choice, I am not. The sun shone in my favor, for my father, when finding he was to have a child, ran; disowning me in a way. But darkness fell on my side when he returned to my life," she explained passively.
"The Blood of Darkness falls back into ancient times; even before I became Pharaoh, they existed. They posses no millennium items to aid them in their quests, but they posses the dark magic as they have sold their souls. In the pyramids, there are many hieroglyphs explaining Blood of Darkness and their creed; the crimes they have committed; the people they have killed. It was the darkest room in the pyramid, and none were permitted to enter. Only those to paint on the walls received access," Yami said quietly, noticing the small advancement the men were making. They planned on taking Serena; their lives depended on it, not that they really had one.
"I have been there." Everyone turned and looked at Serena, eyes wide, except Yami. He seemed to have already gained this information.
Kaiba raised his eyebrow; she had definitely left this part out when she had told her life story to him. In fact, she left out everything involving the "Blood of Darkness," for the most part. "Do explain," he said rather crossly, folding his arms, his words sounding harsher than intended.
Serena sat on the floor, her back against the door and looked into the eyes of all her friends. This is going to be a very long night. And it's already eleven. When are those idiots coming? I sense them near, yet they are so slow. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She couldn't even explain this to Kaiba, how would she explain it to everyone else?
"It was in a dream…at least, I think it was a dream. I do know I have never been to Egypt in body, but I can recall every event that happened; every little detail. I remember every little inscription and painting and wondering what they all meant. Two colors stuck out so vividly: red and black; the colors of blood and darkness. It was when I was young, so close to my mother's death. Well, so it felt. In actuality, it was when I was ten." She stood up and turned her back on her friends, her eyes focusing outside through the small window by the door. She couldn't let them see her crying, again. Drawing in a shaky breath, she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Thank you Yami.
"You see, since I was born, two sides have been fighting for me; the light and the darkness. I am meant to take over for my father when he passes, and yet I know I am not. Many times, in my dreams, I would study these ancient inscriptions on the walls; memorizing them so I could inquire about the meanings from my most trusted teacher, who so happened to be a retired archeologist. He was intrigued by what I would ask, and didn't always have the answers I sought. And then, he came. Shadi, the one entrusted with the safe-keeping of the millennium items, appeared before me one night while I searched the walls of the room. He knew my troubles and understood my past. He knew I was searching; searching for something that even I was unsure of…my true past; the reason my mother had fallen for someone so completely opposite of her. You see, my mother was pure light…my f-father…pure darkness. He took hold of my hand and led me to a portion of the hieroglyphs which I had seemed to overlook because it didn't feel important; and yet it was the most important of all." Serena stopped and let out a soft sigh. She had brought all her friends into danger, yet this was how it was meant to be.
"This time, it was as if I knew exactly what it was saying, but Shadi summed it up for my young mind. As the prophecies once foretold, light would be deceived by the darkness; tricked and misled. Darkness would leave the light, only to return once again. But then, Shadi told me something else; something so important and vital to my destiny. He told me, 'Darkness will be destroyed by his own spawn; it is his destiny. The world has waited long for this spawn of both light and dark to come, and now, you have. It is your destiny to destroy the darkness. Your past will be hard to face, but you will never be alone. You must face the darkness before you can face the light.' That was the last time I was in those ancient rooms."
Everyone stared at Serena with understanding dawning in their eyes; excluding Kaiba and Yami. Kaiba had approached her once more and taken hold of her hand; his eyes held no emotion, but his heart understood. Yami did not look at Serena; he had known this day would come; he had known for 5,000 years. This force was stronger than Marik's was, seemingly stronger than the millennium rod. This force belonged to the darkness.
His hands behind his back, his face stern, his eyes never blinking, he spoke. His voice never faltered, it never shook, it never wavered; it spoke powerfully and strong. Those three simple words would impact the future of the world. Those three simple words would set forth the ancient prophecies and acclaim them as true. Those three simple words would test him and his friends, but more importantly, it would test Serena. Those three simple words would mark the beginning of her fulfilling her destiny. Those three simple words would set the nightmare into play. Those three simple words were, "It is time."