Continued from chapter 13
The Millennium Ritual
Chapter 15: The Faceless Priestess
"Come with me," Shadi said to Aura, Kaiba, and Yugi, "I have something very important to show you."
Yugi stepped forward, ready to go, until Kaiba put his hand in front of him, saying, "Wait Yugi, we don't know who this guy is. How do we know that he isn't one of the Millennium Hunters? I don't trust him."
Aura didn't say anything as she stared up into the stranger's blank face. 'He seems to be alright,' Aura thought, quietly examining him, 'but no one can be sure. . .' That was when her eyes saw the Millennium Key around his neck. Her trembling hand slowly reached to her golden sphere, as she thought in her mind, 'The Millennium Key. . . It gives the power to the owner to explore in any person's mind. . . I must be careful with this one. . .' She withdrew her hand from the necklace, placing her hand to her side.
"It's alright Kaiba. I met him before, and he helped me through some tough situations. We can trust him." Yugi said, assuring him.
"Rrr, I don't know. . ." Kaiba said, eyeing Shadi suspiciously.
"Well, we won't know if he can be trusted until we come with him," Aura said, quickly recovering from her state of shock. "Take us to this oh so important subject . . . ?"
"I am known as Shadi, Miss Riordan, Mr. Kaiba. Now, if you please follow me. Our journey shall be quite long and tiring." He turned around, his back to them.
"What about the others?" Yugi asked Shadi.
"If my calculations are correct, your friends should be there right now. We are late. Please follow." Shadi disappeared in the crowd.
"This should be fun," Kaiba muttered, following Yugi and Aura in the hustle of people.
____________________________________________________________________________
It took the small group an hour to reach their destination, after being stopped by local merchants and Aura gazing into the sky suspiciously. When they reached it however, to Yugi it seemed they were at ruins, which shown no sign of human habitation.
"Where are we?" Yugi asked, staring at his surroundings.
Shadi was about to reply his question, until Aura stopped him, saying, "The entrance of the Pharaoh's tomb." She pointed at the well, then turning to Shadi, she asked, "Where are the tomb keepers?"
Although his face was blank, Shadi wondered how she knew of the Pharaoh's tomb and its protectors. "Gone. I decided that there will be no tomb keepers, ever since the Battle City Incident. I will not let the Pharaoh's secrets be discovered because of a foolish mistake."
"And what of Ishizu and Merik?" Kaiba asked.
"Merik is slowly healing mentally, while Ishizu. . ." He said.
"Is right here." Ishizu said, appearing out of a nearby trapdoor. "Good evening Yugi, Kaiba." She stared at Aura, surprise in her sapphire eyes. "And. . .?"
"Aura Riordan. You're the sister of the original tomb keeper, aren't you?" Aura said, her face as blank as Shadi's.
"Yes." Ishizu answered back. Aura nodded, and continued fingering her golden sphere.
"Um, if the introductions are all done, can I ask where the others are?" Yugi said, looking at the awkward group.
"They are inside, and they are just fine, just a bit shocked." Ishizu said, pointing to the trapdoor. "I think it is time to show them, Shadi." She said to him. Shadi nodded, and said to Kaiba, Yugi, and Aura, "Follow me." He went into the well and climbed down the rope, quickly followed by Ishizu. Aura went in next, followed by Yugi and Kaiba.
"Well isn't this a nice reunion." Kaiba said to Yugi, as they were climbing down the rope.
'Reunion for you, danger for me.' Aura thought, as the darkness grew larger and larger.
_______________________________________________________________________
"We uncovered this room a few weeks ago, when I decided to explore around this area." Ishizu said, leading them to a dimly lit room. The room was awfully cold, which made Aura wrap herself in her cloak. Shadi took a nearby torch, and walked into the dark room. A few moments of rustling, light filled the room, showing the inhabitants a room which looked like it was made a thousand years ago. Egyptian hieroglyphics filled the columns and walls of the room, with a throne at the far wall in front of them. In the center of the room was a bowl, made to especially hold fires for rituals.
"A ritual room, I guess." Yugi said, awed by the sight he was seeing.
"Correct, but there is more to this room than rituals, observe." Shadi said, as he led them to the wall on their left, still carrying his torch. They stood by the wall, staring at the hieroglyphics.
"What exactly are we trying to see here?" Kaiba said, annoyed.
Shadi didn't say anything, as he lit the two torches on the wall. After he lit the torches, he pressed on a certain part of the wall, and stood back, waiting.
Suddenly, the ground shook, with small rocks tumbling down from the ceiling.
'What's happening?' Yugi thought.
His answer was soon answered, because right at that moment, the wall slid aside, making a door way to another room. Yugi and Kaiba stood there, dumbstruck, as Aura thought, 'What in the name of Ra is going on?'
"Come." Shadi said as he went inside, the rest following him, with Aura the last to appear in the chamber.
It was a small room, not as large as the one they were in before. The torches were lit, and the only wall that had hieroglyphs on it was on the wall opposite from them. But there was something different about this room, and everyone could feel it. But what was it?
Shadi and Ishizu walked up to the opposite wall, and Ishizu said, "Look at this wall over here." Kaiba, Yugi and Aura quickly followed. As Aura approached the wall and finally laid her eyes on it, she thought in horror, 'Oh no. . .'
On the wall there was a large picture of a beautiful woman, holding a staff shaped like an ankh, with the Millennium symbol on the woman's Egyptian circlet.
"As you can tell, this particular woman was Egyptian royalty, with her fine clothing. We could have identified her, if it wasn't for her face." Ishizu said. The three looked up at the woman's face, to see that she had no face at all.
"Her face is not there." Kaiba stated, his eyebrows raised.
"Correct. Which means whoever this woman was didn't want anyone else to find out who she was." Shadi said.
"But what about the hieroglyphics? Didn't they mention her name there?" Yugi asked, feeling Yami stirring in his soul room.
Ishizu shook her head, and said, "No, they did not. Apparently this woman was quite a secretive person, but according to the hieroglyphics I read, she was quite the heroine back then."
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, wondering what she meant by "heroine".
"Well, it says that long ago the Pharaoh was not an only child. According to this, he had a sister, an older one. The sister was overly protective of the Pharaoh ever since their father had been assassinated. She vowed that her brother would become Pharaoh, and that she would be his protector for life." Ishizu said.
"As they grew older, the sister got trained into all fighting, learning, and magical skills, and was then known to be wise beyond her years. She taught as much as she can to the Pharaoh. But some days he would not cope. When the Pharaoh was a mere age of 14, he began killing anyone who displeased him, except his sister. When he was about to kill the High Priest Ryes, his sister stepped in his way to stop him. The sister noticed that the people of Egypt were growing angry of killing their family members, and was worried that one day they might try to assassinate him. The High Priest died, and a man named Set was soon High Priest in his place. Together they tried to teach the Pharaoh how his ways were wrong. It wasn't until the sister, or according to the hieroglyphs, the High Priestess, was assassinated and hung in the Pharaoh's own courtyard, did he stop his ways and became a great ruler." Shadi said, staring at the picture.
Yugi was shocked, who forgot about Yami's sister, wondered what was up with Yami, asked him, 'Yami? Are you all right?' There was no answer, until Yami replied angrily, 'Leave me alone.' And Yugi did.
"What's the point of bringing us here? We didn't have or wanted to see a new museum artifact." Kaiba said cruelly, making Yami wanting to punch him.
"You are the reincarnation of High Priest Set, Kaiba. And Yugi is the reincarnation of Pharaoh Yami." Ishizu said, with Kaiba snorting.
"You told us that a long time ago, Ishizu, why repeat it again if I'm not going to believe it?" Kaiba said.
"We believe this tablet has something to do with the Millennium Ritual." Shadi said, making Kaiba's and Yugi's eyes wide open.
"A-are you sure?" Yugi said, shaking.
"We are not sure of the connection, but yes, we are sure." Ishizu answered. "We'll find out soon."
There was a moment of silence, and then the silence was broken by Aura, who said, "Why am I here then, Ishizu? I did not have a past life like they did, so why am I here?"
Ishizu wasn't able to answer, because instead Shadi said, "I believe you did have a past life. I believe you are somehow connected to the Faceless Priestess. And besides, I think you know the answer." Shadi walked up to Aura, then picking up her sphere, said, "Am I correct?"
"Get your filthy hands off my family heirloom," Aura said, snatching her sphere and walking out the door, saying, "I'm leaving." She disappeared around the corner, and Yugi and Kaiba both realized that the Priestess and Aura looked somewhat the same.
__________________________________________________________________
"They are fools. All fools," Aura said aloud, turning around the corner. "They just don't know what they're dealing with." She held her golden sphere, which glowed dimly. "If they only knew. . ." She said, the Millennium Symbol glowing brightly on her forehead.
To Be Continued. . .
The Millennium Ritual
Chapter 15: The Faceless Priestess
"Come with me," Shadi said to Aura, Kaiba, and Yugi, "I have something very important to show you."
Yugi stepped forward, ready to go, until Kaiba put his hand in front of him, saying, "Wait Yugi, we don't know who this guy is. How do we know that he isn't one of the Millennium Hunters? I don't trust him."
Aura didn't say anything as she stared up into the stranger's blank face. 'He seems to be alright,' Aura thought, quietly examining him, 'but no one can be sure. . .' That was when her eyes saw the Millennium Key around his neck. Her trembling hand slowly reached to her golden sphere, as she thought in her mind, 'The Millennium Key. . . It gives the power to the owner to explore in any person's mind. . . I must be careful with this one. . .' She withdrew her hand from the necklace, placing her hand to her side.
"It's alright Kaiba. I met him before, and he helped me through some tough situations. We can trust him." Yugi said, assuring him.
"Rrr, I don't know. . ." Kaiba said, eyeing Shadi suspiciously.
"Well, we won't know if he can be trusted until we come with him," Aura said, quickly recovering from her state of shock. "Take us to this oh so important subject . . . ?"
"I am known as Shadi, Miss Riordan, Mr. Kaiba. Now, if you please follow me. Our journey shall be quite long and tiring." He turned around, his back to them.
"What about the others?" Yugi asked Shadi.
"If my calculations are correct, your friends should be there right now. We are late. Please follow." Shadi disappeared in the crowd.
"This should be fun," Kaiba muttered, following Yugi and Aura in the hustle of people.
____________________________________________________________________________
It took the small group an hour to reach their destination, after being stopped by local merchants and Aura gazing into the sky suspiciously. When they reached it however, to Yugi it seemed they were at ruins, which shown no sign of human habitation.
"Where are we?" Yugi asked, staring at his surroundings.
Shadi was about to reply his question, until Aura stopped him, saying, "The entrance of the Pharaoh's tomb." She pointed at the well, then turning to Shadi, she asked, "Where are the tomb keepers?"
Although his face was blank, Shadi wondered how she knew of the Pharaoh's tomb and its protectors. "Gone. I decided that there will be no tomb keepers, ever since the Battle City Incident. I will not let the Pharaoh's secrets be discovered because of a foolish mistake."
"And what of Ishizu and Merik?" Kaiba asked.
"Merik is slowly healing mentally, while Ishizu. . ." He said.
"Is right here." Ishizu said, appearing out of a nearby trapdoor. "Good evening Yugi, Kaiba." She stared at Aura, surprise in her sapphire eyes. "And. . .?"
"Aura Riordan. You're the sister of the original tomb keeper, aren't you?" Aura said, her face as blank as Shadi's.
"Yes." Ishizu answered back. Aura nodded, and continued fingering her golden sphere.
"Um, if the introductions are all done, can I ask where the others are?" Yugi said, looking at the awkward group.
"They are inside, and they are just fine, just a bit shocked." Ishizu said, pointing to the trapdoor. "I think it is time to show them, Shadi." She said to him. Shadi nodded, and said to Kaiba, Yugi, and Aura, "Follow me." He went into the well and climbed down the rope, quickly followed by Ishizu. Aura went in next, followed by Yugi and Kaiba.
"Well isn't this a nice reunion." Kaiba said to Yugi, as they were climbing down the rope.
'Reunion for you, danger for me.' Aura thought, as the darkness grew larger and larger.
_______________________________________________________________________
"We uncovered this room a few weeks ago, when I decided to explore around this area." Ishizu said, leading them to a dimly lit room. The room was awfully cold, which made Aura wrap herself in her cloak. Shadi took a nearby torch, and walked into the dark room. A few moments of rustling, light filled the room, showing the inhabitants a room which looked like it was made a thousand years ago. Egyptian hieroglyphics filled the columns and walls of the room, with a throne at the far wall in front of them. In the center of the room was a bowl, made to especially hold fires for rituals.
"A ritual room, I guess." Yugi said, awed by the sight he was seeing.
"Correct, but there is more to this room than rituals, observe." Shadi said, as he led them to the wall on their left, still carrying his torch. They stood by the wall, staring at the hieroglyphics.
"What exactly are we trying to see here?" Kaiba said, annoyed.
Shadi didn't say anything, as he lit the two torches on the wall. After he lit the torches, he pressed on a certain part of the wall, and stood back, waiting.
Suddenly, the ground shook, with small rocks tumbling down from the ceiling.
'What's happening?' Yugi thought.
His answer was soon answered, because right at that moment, the wall slid aside, making a door way to another room. Yugi and Kaiba stood there, dumbstruck, as Aura thought, 'What in the name of Ra is going on?'
"Come." Shadi said as he went inside, the rest following him, with Aura the last to appear in the chamber.
It was a small room, not as large as the one they were in before. The torches were lit, and the only wall that had hieroglyphs on it was on the wall opposite from them. But there was something different about this room, and everyone could feel it. But what was it?
Shadi and Ishizu walked up to the opposite wall, and Ishizu said, "Look at this wall over here." Kaiba, Yugi and Aura quickly followed. As Aura approached the wall and finally laid her eyes on it, she thought in horror, 'Oh no. . .'
On the wall there was a large picture of a beautiful woman, holding a staff shaped like an ankh, with the Millennium symbol on the woman's Egyptian circlet.
"As you can tell, this particular woman was Egyptian royalty, with her fine clothing. We could have identified her, if it wasn't for her face." Ishizu said. The three looked up at the woman's face, to see that she had no face at all.
"Her face is not there." Kaiba stated, his eyebrows raised.
"Correct. Which means whoever this woman was didn't want anyone else to find out who she was." Shadi said.
"But what about the hieroglyphics? Didn't they mention her name there?" Yugi asked, feeling Yami stirring in his soul room.
Ishizu shook her head, and said, "No, they did not. Apparently this woman was quite a secretive person, but according to the hieroglyphics I read, she was quite the heroine back then."
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, wondering what she meant by "heroine".
"Well, it says that long ago the Pharaoh was not an only child. According to this, he had a sister, an older one. The sister was overly protective of the Pharaoh ever since their father had been assassinated. She vowed that her brother would become Pharaoh, and that she would be his protector for life." Ishizu said.
"As they grew older, the sister got trained into all fighting, learning, and magical skills, and was then known to be wise beyond her years. She taught as much as she can to the Pharaoh. But some days he would not cope. When the Pharaoh was a mere age of 14, he began killing anyone who displeased him, except his sister. When he was about to kill the High Priest Ryes, his sister stepped in his way to stop him. The sister noticed that the people of Egypt were growing angry of killing their family members, and was worried that one day they might try to assassinate him. The High Priest died, and a man named Set was soon High Priest in his place. Together they tried to teach the Pharaoh how his ways were wrong. It wasn't until the sister, or according to the hieroglyphs, the High Priestess, was assassinated and hung in the Pharaoh's own courtyard, did he stop his ways and became a great ruler." Shadi said, staring at the picture.
Yugi was shocked, who forgot about Yami's sister, wondered what was up with Yami, asked him, 'Yami? Are you all right?' There was no answer, until Yami replied angrily, 'Leave me alone.' And Yugi did.
"What's the point of bringing us here? We didn't have or wanted to see a new museum artifact." Kaiba said cruelly, making Yami wanting to punch him.
"You are the reincarnation of High Priest Set, Kaiba. And Yugi is the reincarnation of Pharaoh Yami." Ishizu said, with Kaiba snorting.
"You told us that a long time ago, Ishizu, why repeat it again if I'm not going to believe it?" Kaiba said.
"We believe this tablet has something to do with the Millennium Ritual." Shadi said, making Kaiba's and Yugi's eyes wide open.
"A-are you sure?" Yugi said, shaking.
"We are not sure of the connection, but yes, we are sure." Ishizu answered. "We'll find out soon."
There was a moment of silence, and then the silence was broken by Aura, who said, "Why am I here then, Ishizu? I did not have a past life like they did, so why am I here?"
Ishizu wasn't able to answer, because instead Shadi said, "I believe you did have a past life. I believe you are somehow connected to the Faceless Priestess. And besides, I think you know the answer." Shadi walked up to Aura, then picking up her sphere, said, "Am I correct?"
"Get your filthy hands off my family heirloom," Aura said, snatching her sphere and walking out the door, saying, "I'm leaving." She disappeared around the corner, and Yugi and Kaiba both realized that the Priestess and Aura looked somewhat the same.
__________________________________________________________________
"They are fools. All fools," Aura said aloud, turning around the corner. "They just don't know what they're dealing with." She held her golden sphere, which glowed dimly. "If they only knew. . ." She said, the Millennium Symbol glowing brightly on her forehead.
To Be Continued. . .