WHEN MEMORIES WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH
Chapter Eight - Face to Face
Barely missing the fireballs by mere inches, Atemu and Xandra fell hard against the marbled floor. Their eyes widened, as they sprang back as fast as they possibly could from the floor – him from being caught off-guard, and her out of familiarity of the intruder's towering fire-wielding servant.
Standing behind the cloaked intruder was a handsome and muscular fire-wielding Greek god. Malevolence contorted its visage, as it flung one fireball from another. The fiery weapons disappeared once they missed their targets.
While her brother instinctively used himself as a barricade to protect her, she frantically told him, "Brother – he summoned Proteus against us!"
Without hesitation, he then bellowed as his amethyst eyes narrowed on the enemies before him, "Obelisk, arise!"
The ground and the palace foundations violently shook.
Deep within the secret caverns of the palace, one of the three sacred gods carved in stone illuminated once Atemu called its name. The towering god's essence shot from the bowels of the earth to the Pharaoh's bedchambers for the second time.
Once the towering and frightening figure of the blue-skinned god floated behind Atemu, he then ordered, "Obelisk – Fist of Fate!"
Obelisk immediately carried out its master's order - pulverizing the equally towering fire god with one devastating blow, and sending its enemy's master reeling to near-unconsciousness as he lost a huge mass of ka.
Minutes after staring at his opponent, the young Pharaoh relaxed his guard. He then tightly closed his eyes and mentally said, "Thank you, Obelisk. Return to your slumber...."
As the ground and palace foundations shook once more, bolts of lightning hit inside the bedchambers. The god's departure scared her so much that she clung to him and hid her face against his chest. He, on the other hand, embraced his wife until the last bolt of lightning disappeared and the bedchambers became silent.
The palace, once again, fell silent.
"Are you all right, love?" he whispered to her, as he loosened his protective embrace. He then consolingly smiled, as she slowly looked up.
After she gave him a quiet nod, she muttered, "Are you all right, Brother?"
"Not until I find out who this scoundrel is," he replied with his customary frown, as he approached and grabbed the unconscious man by the collar of his robe. When he removed the man's hood, he noticed that his wife's eyes initially widened and eventually glared at the intruder.
As the man slowly stirred awake, her eyes further narrowed in rage as she uttered under her breath, "Hello, Hyperion."
Atemu's own rage subsided, as his jaw dropped from what he had just heard from her. He did not respond, even though the guards frantically banged and repeatedly yelled behind the heavy doors.
Once the doors were about to give way, she quickly lifted a hand and mystically kept the door sealed - startling her husband even further.
As the would-be assassin hastily raised a hand against the Pharaoh, the former let out a bloodcurdling scream as the audible sound of cracking bones permeated through the air.
The guards, reacting to the disturbing noises inside the bedchambers, yelled louder and pounded harder against the heavy doors.
The monarch shifted his gaze to his wife, who glowered at the would-be assassin. He instinctively winced upon hearing the sound of cracking bones as her mystical hold on the intruder became tighter by the second. Horror crept on his face and his blood froze, as he saw deep indentations from an invisible hand embedded against the man's throat.
Seconds later, the young Pharaoh found his voice and cried out, "Stop it, Xandra!"
Shortly thereafter, an invisible force flung and slammed the intruder against the wall.
The royal couple ran towards the intruder - with Atemu taking the lead. Picking up the cloaked man from the floor, he then demanded from the other, "Why are you trying to kill us?"
Looking at her with such repulsion, Hyperion spat, "The gods may have spared her, but I am here to finish the job! Your witch should have drowned with the rest of the kingdom! She betrayed our people by escaping our land, turning her back from her people and throne, and becoming your whore!"
Before Atemu could react, Xandra slapped and grabbed the intruder by the neck. With clenched teeth, she said, "The last time that I saw you was seven years ago, Hyperion. After I saved you from being stoned to death, you now repay my kindness by trying to murder my husband and me?"
The young monarch's frown deepened, as he gave his wife a probing stare. "Do you know this man?"
Without answering her husband, she demanded as she maintained the chokehold on the intruder, "Are you and our lot responsible for killing the townspeople?"
Hyperion glowered at her without giving her a response.
Further tightening her grip on his neck, she then hissed in the middle of the sound of cracking bones, "Unless you want to die a slow death, Hyperion, answer my question. Were you responsible for the townspeople's deaths?"
The defeated and feared look in Hyperion's eyes was her response.
As she stared into the intruder's emerald eyes, she gained a psychic opening that allowed her to see the brutal carnage.
Standing before the void, a myriad of scenes and sounds then panned before her mind's eye. Her ears throbbed from the shrieks of horrified women as they ran for cover. Her chest heaved as the army ruthlessly grabbed crying children and babies from their parents. Her blood boiled, as she witnessed unarmed men sacrifice their lives to protect their families. A pandemonium of sights, sounds, and scents boggled her senses as the army scoured the town and slaughtered every human life before them as cattle.
Her visions ended with dead silence, the permeating smell of blood, and maniacal laughter from the merciless invaders as they divided the spoils over the bodies of their victims. Aside from the tears that trickled from her eyes, drops of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth from biting her lips so hard. Her chest heaved and her senses spun from the sight, smell, and emotions that the visions brought her.
Atemu, also affected by what she saw, reeled back from where he stood.
Pushed beyond anger and hatred, she disgustingly grabbed the intruder by the collar and repeatedly slammed his body against the wall. She ignored that she was already slamming her own fists hard against the cold marble in the process. In the middle of silent tears and clenched teeth, she demanded, "Why in Hades did you kill innocent ones – particularly the children? Why?"
"I do not see you being merciful, either," the defeated Hyperion sarcastically muttered, as he defiantly stared into her hazel eyes.
With her hatred boiling at the surface, she punched him on the face and slammed his body harder against the marble.
His emerald eyes widened, as dread crept within him. With hands raised in front of him, he stammered, "I – I meant it as a compliment, Cousin...."
End of Chapter Eight
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Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Xandra / Emrys, Hyperion, and this fanfic are mine.