WHEN MEMORIES WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH
Chapter Twenty-Two – The
"You have gone far enough, Zork!" bellowed Atemu with fierce amethyst eyes and clenched fists.
Glowing red eyes gazed into the young king as the towering and ugly demon said, "I have only begun, Pharaoh! Do you think that I will just leave this world without taking my due reward?"
"You have taken more than enough of a reward through innocent people's blood at Kuru Eruna!"
"Fool! Do you think that I need the world intact to reign it? Long before the ancient gods created the world, everything belonged to Chaos and the Realm of Shadows. If you want to banish me, then I will take your pathetic life with me first!"
Atemu's eyes went wide. He ran away before the towering corporeal demon slammed his mighty fists on the chamber floor, the demon making the ground split as he tried to squash the Pharaoh with his bare hands. The more that the Pharaoh tried to come closer to the Stone of Memory, the angrier the demon became and the harder that he tried to kill him.
Outside the chamber, the ground shook. The darkened blood red skies continued to frighten the inhabitants of the land with its unusual display of stunning lightning and rumbling thunder. It was as if the angry gods were now reclaiming the land and every living thing in it as their own.
A few minutes later, a group on horseback arrived at the chambers of Kuru Eruna.
Set tensed up and squinted his eyes to see who were approaching. He was relieved to see Shimon, Karim, Shadah, Isis and Xandra. Elated to see that everyone was all right, he ran towards them as they dismounted their horses.
"Where is the Pharaoh?" asked a furrow-browed Shimon while he frantically scanned the surroundings.
As he helped Isis dismount from the horse that she and Xandra shared, Set replied, "He rushed inside the tomb minutes ago to battle the demon. The demon mystically sealed the tomb's entrance. I tried weakening the barrier with my ka, but I have exhausted my life force in the duel against Akunadin and Bakura."
Set's eyes then went wide as he noticed huge stains of crimson on the back of Isis' linen garb.
A tightlipped Isis shook her head and remarked, "It is not me. The Queen is injured..."
Set's eyes went wider still as he now helped Xandra dismount from the horse. When he touched her waist to assist her, she grimaced in pain. His heart went into the pit of his stomach as he felt something warm and sticky ooze to his hand. He knew exactly what it meant.
By this time, more strength ebbed away from Xandra from the loss of blood and exhaustion. Before she lost her balance and fell to the ground, Isis held her by the arms to keep her steady. She kept gazing at the tomb with a panicked look on her face.
Shadah and Karim ran towards the tomb's opening, the two trying to find a way to nullify the mystical barrier.
Shimon's eyes glimmered for a minute as he recalled something important and went to Atemu's horse.
Set, on the other hand, inspected the severity of Xandra's wounds. The bandages that were now there had outlived its use, so he slowly removed them. Shocked, he closed his eyes and looked sideways once he confirmed that the wounds were deep. He knew that the wounds were mainly caused by a sword that ran through her. What he did not understand, though, was the source of her injuries. All that he remembered was talking to her one evening and bidding her goodnight. Although there was talk of war and a possible Sparti invasion throughout the palace, none of those speculations ever happened - or at least he thought that it did not happen.
"This might help her," said Shimon as he handed the azure-eyed high priest a vial of herbal paste, a canteen of water, and a handful of leaves from Atemu's saddle bag. "Trust the Pharaoh to come prepared."
With second-natured skill, the azure-eyed high priest moved quickly. He first washed Xandra's wounds with water, accepted the vial, and then applied the paste on Xandra's wounds. Although he took every precaution to be gentle, the severity of her wounds made her wince and cry in pain. Once the paste covered the wound, he then placed the leaves on top. Taking a clean roll of linen bandages from Shimon, he then wound it around her waist to stop the bleeding.
By this time, Shadah and Karim ran back. As he tried to catch his breath, Shadah reported, "The barrier is too strong..."
With pleading eyes, Xandra told him, "Set, we need to help Atemu. I would not know what to do if something unfortunate happens to him."
At the same time, Set heard Kisara's voice calling out to him as he heard the Blue Eyes White Dragon's beating heart inside his head. Trying to focus, he told Xandra, "The white dragon god's ka could help, but it takes strength and a full life force to bring her out."
"Then use us, Brother Set," said a determined Karim while gazing into his brethren high priest's azure eyes. "Our combined strength will give the energy to summon ka."
A concerned Isis interjected, "Can the Queen handle it, though? She would be the one to bind our energies into one."
Deeply breathing and with closed eyes, Xandra replied, "We must do what we can to save Atemu." Looking at the high priest, she then told him, "Set, whatever it takes to summon your ka, we would do it and we must do it now..."
Without any questions, Set assisted Xandra towards the opening of the tomb while the rest followed closely behind. Shimon, Xandra, Isis, Karim, and Shadah then formed a circle around him. Minutes later, a pentagram then formed under the feet of each of the five people surrounding him. As the five small pentagrams expanded and merged into one, it then disappeared.
Upon the pentagram's disappearance, the spot where Set stood shone brightly. The Eye of Ra then formed on his forehead and his azure eyes glimmered with renewed energy. As he felt the mystical surge of energy course through his veins, he then audibly declared, "Come forth, white dragon god!"
As soon as a mystical vortex opened behind Set, the five others stepped back to give him room. All were amazed as the ferocious roar echoed throughout the land, followed by the appearance of a fierce and majestic dragon with smooth and shiny silver scales.
Isis stood at awe as she mused, "This is the white dragon god in my vision! Brother Set has been blessed by the gods to give her as his servant..."
With the Blue Eyes White Dragon standing proudly beside Set, he then ordered, "My dragon, attack the entrance! Burst Stream!"
Seconds later, the chamber opening gave way. Although the ground shook from the impact of the Blue Eyes' attack, it did not damage the chamber's foundations. After carrying out her orders, the dragon once again returned to the void.
A deeply thankful Set then helped Xandra up and led everyone as he ran towards the chamber opening. Strong gusty winds almost barred them from coming inside, but they somehow managed to brave their way inside. The six then stopped dead in their tracks.
"You will die, Pharaoh!" screamed Zork as he unleashed his magic to make the gusty winds even stronger.
An undeterred Atemu ran towards the Stone of Memory and grabbed the Millennium Puzzle. He caused a vortex to build in the middle of the Stone and tried to suck everyone in. The spirits of Kuru Eruna also returned, hovering and brushing against the living.
The six new arrivals held on to each other's hand to serve as an anchor against the winds. Set and Isis served as a brace for Xandra and the anchor for the rest as they held on to one of the chamber's pillars.
Atemu, with fierce intent reflected in his amethyst eyes, now had the Millennium Puzzle.
Shimon - reaching out his hand for the Pharaoh to take - yelled to him, "We have temporarily sealed the monsters! Take my hand and then use the Millennium Puzzle to send them back to the Veju Shrine!"
The Pharaoh did not pay heed. Instead of taking Shimon's hand, he walked towards the Stone of Memory. Bravely fighting the winds, he raised the Millennium Puzzle as high as he could. The Item emitted a blinding light and made the other six Items illuminate within the Stone.
The Millennium Items glowed and built another vortex beside the Stone. With piercing and determined amethyst eyes, he then yelled at Zork over and above the pandemonium inside the chamber, "I will never let you walk in the realm of humans, Zork! If blood created and unleashed this magic into this world, then I use my soul to lock all of it away within the seven Millennium Items! The Shadow Games, the duel monsters, and the Shadow Realm will no longer be connected to this world! You will stay away from mankind forever!"
The vortex then did its work by sucking up all the spirits of Kuru Eruna and the duel monsters until they were dispensed in their respective resting places. For every spirit and monster sucked in, the vortex became bigger. Once the vortex reached its maximum size, there was only one thing left for it to do - trap Zork and send him back to the Shadow Realm.
When a desperate and corporeal Zork set his evil aim towards the six new arrivals, Atemu ran and lunged at him - sending both of them towards the vortex's path. It eventually sucked them in and their individual screams echoed throughout the chamber. Once the vortex did its work, it then hurled Atemu's body against the chamber wall, traveled back into the Stone, and disappeared.
After Atemu's body and the Millennium Puzzle fell to the ground, the seven Millennium Items then emitted a brighter light - filling the entire chamber until there was nothing to see. Minutes later, the light died down.
As Zork was banished back into the Shadow Realm, the blood red skies dissipated.
Eventually, the skies revealed the mid-afternoon sun and allowed it to shine on a quarter-decimated Egypt. Minutes later, the people who hid in fear of their lives stepped outside, fell on their knees, and thanked the gods for saving the land from darkness.
The six panicked survivors ran towards the fallen Atemu. Set and Karim knelt down and checked the young Pharaoh's condition. The rest, at first, stood in anticipation and worry.
Upon seeing the grim look in their faces, Xandra gingerly approached Atemu's body and placed him on her lap with Set's help. With tears in her eyes, she cuddled Atemu and rocked him back and forth in hopes of waking him. When it finally sank in her heart that we would never wake up, she screamed out Atemu's name in disbelief and broke down in uncontrollable tears.
A somber Karim consoled a tearful Isis. Shadah and Shimon stood shedding silent tears.
Minutes later, Set - whose heart was silently breaking over the entire turn of events - rested a consoling hand on Xandra's shoulder and then tightly hugged a hysterical Xandra. His heart ached as she continued to sob while calling out Atemu's name. How he wished that he could tell her that matters would turn for the better, but how could he say so without telling her a lie?
Set felt his world crumble down on him. He could not save Kisara from Akunadin. He could not ease Xandra's pain. He could not save Atemu - his friend, his cousin, his Pharaoh.
Everyone was too shocked to accept the truth...
Pharaoh Atemu - the monarch and the living god of Egypt - was dead. He sacrificed everything so that Egypt and the world were now safe from Zork and the Shadow Realm. He succeeded in sealing all the deadly magic inside the seven Millennium Items, sending all the duel monsters back in their slumber at Veju Shine, and restoring order in the land.
However, as a price, Atemu gave up his life. As to his soul, it was now trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle...never to find eternal peace until it was released from its mystic prison.
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Xandra sat on her bed inside the bedchambers that she and Atemu shared for hours since they arrived from Kuru Eruna. Ever since she and the high priests returned to the palace, she felt as if her head grew twice its size from what happened. Every event that took place today was too surreal for her to accept.
Hugging Atemu's pillow and catching his scent in it brought back poignant memories for her. It was just recently that they found out that they loved each other and it was just recently when she fully gave herself to him...body and soul. She recalled that evening, which to her was a dream come true. The last time that she was with him inside their bedchambers was a night of love shared between a man and his wife. She bit her lip and wept, knowing that the night they had together was going to be their last.
Why did that dream have to end so soon?
Xandra now stared at the Millennium Puzzle on her lap as well as Atemu's body which rested on the bed per her request. To her, Atemu looked as if he was merely sleeping on their bed but what brought her back to reality was the coldness of his skin.
Xandra sobbed as she remembered the times that they spent together since childhood. Now gone were the dreams that they had of having a family. Gone were the hopes of together leading Egypt to a new age of prosperity and peace. It pained her to know that Atemu, now that they just found out that they do love each other, died at his prime and left her behind to painfully ponder on what life could have been if he was still alive.
Staring at Atemu's remains as tears continued flowing down her cheeks, Xandra mused while caressing his cold face, "I am sorry, my love, but I must get you back. Being apart from you during times of war already breaks my heart. I do not know if I could continue living without you, especially since your soul is not at peace..."
Xandra then carefully stood up by Atemu's bedside. During her long hours in the mages' study, she uncovered the spell to resurrect three individuals. When she battled against the Sparti, she petitioned the gods knowing that she - the conjurer - had to be in death's door to perform the petition. Once the knowledge to resurrect the dead had been granted to her, she also received the mystical message that she could be damned for what she was about to do.
However, Xandra now decided that damnation would be a risk that she would be willing to take if it would bring Atemu back to life. Knowing that the gods granted her petition, she now stood before Atemu's body with the Millennium Puzzle in hand and uttered...
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 have given to thee
I reclaim one life from the gift of three.
As to this body lying before me
Through Isis and her virtuous pity
I request from thee
Restore him to life, vigor, and glory.
Before Xandra was able to say the last phrase, she felt a sharp pain lance through her heart. As she gasped for breath, cold steel dug deeper inside her.
Hyperion stood behind her with his dagger embedded through her heart and larger than life. The spiteful and hatred-filled Atlantean made his cousin face him, knowing that the revelation that he still lived would be far too great for her to take.
"How? You were already dead and beheaded..." a shocked Xandra murmured as she stared into Hyperion's emerald eyes.
As Hyperion shoved the dagger deeper into Xandra's heart, he then pulled her towards him and whispered in her ear, "You could never get rid of me that easily, Cousin. Hecate granted me a gift in exchange for my services. She restored me and gave me dark powers. She has great plans for Atlantis. She looked forward for you to fulfill that prophecy, but you have disappointed her when you betrayed the Atlanteans and became the enemy's crowned whore. Until the Dark Queen takes her throne, Hecate ensures that I will remain immortal. "
Xandra panicked when she felt his stare fall on Atemu's Millennium Puzzle. The dagger plunged deeper into her as he grabbed the Puzzle from her hand.
Hyperion waved the Puzzle in front of Xandra with such wild fury. "Is this what you wanted?" To further mock her, he shoved and twisted the dagger further in her flesh.
Although Xandra tried numerous times to grab the Puzzle from Hyperion, each attempt became harder as life ebbed away from her and the dagger plunged deeper into her.
Eventually, Hyperion pulled out the knife and threw Xandra on the ground. Kneeling beside her as she lay on the cold marbled floor, he dangled the Puzzle on top of her. With such evil oozing out from his tone, he then said to his victim, "As long as I live, I will do everything in my power to make him fail. By the time that I am through with both of you, he would never remember who he was and who you were. As to you, I have so many wonderful plans for us. I have all the time in the world to wait for them to happen. Until the Dark Queen returns, I will wield her throne. For now, however, I give you this last memory to cherish..."
Xandra's eyes went wide as she read Hyperion's mind, trying to reach out but being too weak to stop him.
With such force, Hyperion slammed the Puzzle against the marbled floor closest to Xanda's ear and made the pieces separate, crack the marble, and cause her eardrum to burst and bleed.
"Atemu," Xandra whispered as she closed her eyes. She then wep,t not only from the pain but because of the agonizing thought that her husband's soul would forever remain imprisoned inside the Puzzle.
The two Atlantean cousins then heard a series of loud banging against the door as Set yelled out her name.
Hyperion purposefully placed the Puzzle piece that was in his hand on Xandra's chest before he opened a mystical portal. Sneering, he stepped on her torso to make her agonize and bleed more. As he spotted the Pentagram Medallion around her neck, he then knelt beside her and held the artifact. He then clenched the medallion as it hung around her neck and spat, "You would not be needing this in the Underworld!"
Hyperion then mercilessly yanked the medallion from Xandra's neck, causing the necklace to break after the metal burned through her skin and cut her.
Satisfied with his brutal work, Hyperion stood up, turned around and entered the magical doorway leading back to his cavernous lair with the Pentagram Medallion in tow.
As soon as the Atlantean and his portal disappeared into the void, a dying Xandra saw the same manifestation before her - a dark mist that eventually formed into the silhouette of a woman. She saw the dark specter during her battle against the Sparti, and now it appeared before her.
"Take my hand and you will live another day," whispered the dark Essence as her wispy form knelt beside Xandra.
As her eyes began to fail her, Xandra vehemently spat, "No! Leave me be!"
Swirling around her spiritual prey like a cunning snake, the specter persuasively countered with her gentlest voice, "Do you not want to revive your husband and continue to do matters for the good of Egypt? Why do you stubbornly insist on refusing my gifts? You have already crossed the line by joining the Mages' Council and petitioning to the gods for resurrecting the dead. Claim your birthright now by accepting me!"
Gritting her teeth to exert the last ounces of leftover strength within her, Xandra tightly closed her eyes and calculatedly replied, "My intentions were pure. Your gifts, however, are tainted. I would rather die than damn my soul in your hands. Now be gone!"
When she sensed that the heavy wooden door was about to give in, the dark specter hissed, "I will claim you, Xandra. Once you let your guard down, I will return to you at your weakest. It may not be in this lifetime or the next one, but someday your body and soul will be mine!" Instantaneously, she disappeared as her voice echoed within the bedchamber.
The bedchamber door finally burst open after Set and the guards repeatedly rammed against it. Once they overcame the wooden obstacle, all were shocked beyond words from the bloody sight before them.
End of Chapter Twenty-Two
Author's Notes
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Emrys / Xandra, Hyperion, the Orichalchos Medallion, the Mages' Council, and this fanfic are the author's property.
This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only, thereby releasing the author from all liabilities.