THE DESCENT OF LOST SOULS
Chapter Twelve: A Tale of Two Tomes
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To the Reader
This Chapter has references on or contains the following: the supernatural and the occult, minor cursing (cussing), angst and depression, and death. As to the title, a tome is a book – particularly a very old and thick one. The title is referring to the two books that Pegasus and Emrys worked on at the museum: The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations.
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Day Five of the Quest - One thirty in the afternoon
Location: Bed-and-Breakfast, Isle of Crete
Purpose: Translate the The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations.
Pegasus' Point-of-View
After our talk, Alexa was much calmer. I guess that her earlier outburst, as well as her moodiness, was due to days' worth of sleeplessness. For the very first time, I finally felt that I sent the message that I wish to give her. For her own sake, I hope that the message stuck with her.
We spend the couple of hours enjoying brunch, the view, and the conversation.
Later during the day, we worked together in her room translating the notes from The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations. For each translated page that she handed over to me, my job was to skim through the page and decipher if there were any hidden clues – as taught to me by her parents, as well as other people that I approached in the past in my first search to resurrect Cynthia.
She finished her feverish translation in two hours. She reviewed her notes on The Portal of Osiris with a fine-toothed comb, while I examined The Dead Incantations.
After one hour, we switched journals. We were comfortably silent and deeply concentrated with our tasks – just like how it was when we worked together at the museum.
"Does this make sense to you?" I quietly asked her, as I handed back her journal.
Frowning, she replied, "It makes sense because the flow of the writings in both texts is fluid. At the same time, it seemed like there were riddles hidden throughout the text. One text referred to the other."
"What if the two books are inter-connected?" I thought aloud. "What if they weave together in a special way?"
Her tired eyes slightly lit in agreement. "That may be. There must be a code, or some clue, hidden within the texts...."
I glanced at the wall clock and then told her, "It's already five-thirty in the afternoon. Why don't we take a break? I'll pack my belongings, since I'm leaving tomorrow. You could use a nap."
Chuckling, she said, "Okay. I'll take a break, too. As to using that for a nap, I don't know. Sleep and I haven't been on friendly terms for the past weeks, but I'll try."
"I'll be back in thirty minutes," I told her before closing the door. I walked back to my room to pack my belongings, musing, "If we could only unlock the secrets of those two books...."
Emrys' Point-of-View
As I stood up and stretched, I felt muscles that I never knew existed until now. I was paying dearly from the lack of sleep, as well as the old injuries from the accident. I did not know how much more that my body could take.
I finally paid heed to my aching body and lay in bed. Even though my eyelids were heavy, my mind ran like clockwork. There must be a correlation between the two books.
After long minutes of vainly trying to get sleep, I bolted out of bed and mused, "Why didn't I think of that before? Pegasus is right!" Ignoring the pains and aches, I jumped out of bed and went back behind the desk.
Poring through the translated notes from The Portal of Osiris, I then pressed my index finger on the phrase that I read earlier:
A prime petition I make to the four other gods
"Prime. Prime, as in prime number?" I pondered aloud.
I stared at my notes and thought, "The number one wouldn't work. We already read each text straight, or interchanged each line from both texts. I wonder if taking every third line would make sense...."
I read every third line of the text aloud – first focusing on just one text, and then interchanging every third line from both texts. Nothing coherent stood out.
"Five. I'll try five…."
When I read every fifth line from one book, it still did not make sense. I then took every fifth line from each text and interchanged it – starting from the first fifth line of both texts....
My golly – it made sense! What I have in front of me right now made perfect sense!
I forgot that The Dead Incantations was a multi-authored grimoire. Each wizard hid his secrets – not just within the book, but also within its very text as well as within both books. No matter how much secrecy was used, the principles of magic still applied.
Five, just like seven, was considered a complete number in the arcane arts. Every fifth consecutive line from each book had to be taken and woven together into one text. The petition would be made to five gods – the four gods, plus the one the conjurer would invoke for merging. The pentagram, the mystical symbol of arcane powers, had five points. Each deity for the ritual would occupy one point of the pentagram.
Excitedly, I took my pen and furiously wrote in my journal – taking every fifth line from each text and interweaving it with the other book.
Pegasus knocked on my door and called out my name. After I asked him to come in, he sat on the bed and then kept his silence as I worked.
After forty-five minutes of silence, I put my pen down and skimmed through my work. Twenty more minutes passed before my eyes widened. I stared at Pegasus, and then murmured, "We did it...."
"You mean…"
With a light smile of satisfaction on my face, I said, "Your theory was right. The two books, although they were independent, also worked together."
He asked with excitement and hope, "What does it say?"
I stood from the chair with my journal in hand, sat on my bed, and leaned against the headboard. After skimming through the results of our work, I then read aloud:
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A prime petition I make to the four other gods
Osiris, Isis, Thoth, and Horus
I now come forward to join thy mystic star
As vessel and as avatar.
I, the fifth to complete the mystic circle and cycle
Let the spirit of Anubis flow into this vessel
And allow to lift the veil of life and death
To conquer the pangs of the dying breath.
For Thoth and Horus to hear my fervent plea
The fleeting hold of my life
I give to thee
Let thy goodwill from the four allow passage for three.
As to the bodies corrupted by decay and mortality
Through Isis and her virtuous pity
I request from thee
Be restored to thy former vigor and glory.
And to the spirits that these bodies once fill
Through Osiris and his will
I give this message
Await this humble vessel to bestow thy passage.
By then, thee may return to whence thee came
Await thy vessel
Who once swept the veil
First, return to mortal frame.
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I then glanced at a worried-looking Pegasus. With a slight frown on my face, I asked him, "What's wrong?"
Lamentably, he replied, "It sounds that Isis is right about giving up a life in exchange for three. The rewards are great, but the risks are fatal."
"Maybe the words are figurative or metaphoric, instead of literal…."
A distressed and tightlipped Pegasus interjected, "One could only hope. So now that we know what we know, what's next?"
After deeply sighing, I told him, "Listen, we don't know whether the spell would carry out literally. If so, the only literal part we want is the three bodies being restored. We need to minimize the risks involved here. Maybe the rest of these two books have those answers as well. It's just a matter of combing through it."
He glanced at the wall clock, and then looked at me with a faint smile. "It's almost nine in the evening. We've earned a good night's worth of sleep. You, out of all people, deserve and need it. After all, you're leaving for Thera tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," I replied with a nod.
"Well, before you start packing, why don't we have supper? Let us celebrate this new finding and call it a night," he proposed.
"Sure. Just give me a few minutes," I said, as I gathered everything on the desk and put them inside the backpack.
Locking the door and walking downstairs with Pegasus for a light meal, I mused, "God, I hope this is the very answer I've been looking for...."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Day Six of the Quest - Seven in the morning
Location: Airport - Private Plane Tarmac, Isle of Crete
Purpose: Pegasus to return to the United States
General Point-of-View
Pegasus and Emrys did not have a good night's rest. He thought about the ritual, as well as the prospects of resurrecting Cynthia. She, on the other hand, had one nightmare after another. In spite of the almost sleepless night, they managed to rise early – with Emrys driving Pegasus to the airport.
As they stood at the tarmac for private planes, she gave him the package for Yugi. The box contained her journals, the notes that she and Pegasus took from The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations, and the Scrolls of Passage.
Carrying the entrusted package under his left arm, he said to her, "It was a pleasure working with you."
"Even if I was mostly a grouchy ass, as well as a loose cannon?" she asked with a hint of apology in her voice.
"Now those were euphemisms. For the most part, you've been tolerable." After his statement, he gave her a tight-lipped smirk.
"The same goes to you," she quipped.
After clearing his throat, his demeanor became more serious. "I also thank you for saving me, as well as sharing your gifts with me. I owe you, just like I used to owe them."
Giving him a reminiscing smile, she then said, "We're even now. To tell you frankly, I'm quite surprised about you."
"As to how a former arch-enemy of Yugi boy suddenly became the fountain of wisdom? I agree that it was somewhat ironic."
She amiably replied, "It sure is. I'll take that advice of yours to heart."
"I'll make sure that Yugi boy gets your package," he said with a tone of reassurance laced in his voice.
Emrys nodded.
A brief moment of silence follows, as both of them see the pilot standing at the top of the metal stairs and giving the signal that the plane is ready to leave.
After giving his pilot a thumb up, Pegasus glanced back at her. "I hope that this won't be the last friendly conversation or meeting that we'll have."
She offered an open palm, saying, "It won't be; I assure you. My home, as well as my help, is open to you. Just ask…."
"Likewise," he responded, as he shook her hand. "It's time for me to go. Please take care of yourself."
"Have a safe trip," she murmured. As the platinum-haired man climbed the metal stairs, she ran towards him. "Pegasus?"
He turned around, and their eyes met.
Referring to her adamant decision on going to Thera alone, she sheepishly said, "I have to settle unfinished business in Thera, and I need to do it alone. If the circumstances were different, it wouldn't be a problem for you to come with me."
Empathetically smiling, he responded, "I understand. I've been in your shoes before, remember?"
"I guess you do…."
Respectfully nodding to her, he said, "May you find your peace of mind very soon, Alexa."
"May your peace of mind, as well…."
He climbed the metal stairs, waved goodbye to her, and pondered, "It may not be Dylan and Ariadne, but their friendship lives on within their daughter."
After Pegasus' private plane left, she then turned around and walked back to the jeep. Taking slow but hopeful strides, she smiled and mused, "Only one more trip. It won't be long until I return to Domino City. After Thera and some minor commitments, my love, I'm coming back for you – and for us. This time, for good...."
End of Chapter 12
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Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi.
Alexandra Emrys, Yoshiko, Dylan and Ariadne Emrys, The Portal of Osiris, The Dead Incantations, The Scrolls of Passage, the Orichalchos Medallion, the incantation contained in this chapter, other original characters / venues / duel monster cards, as well as this fanfic, are the author's property.
This fanfic is written for entertainment purposes only - thereby releasing the author from all liabilities.