WHEN MEMORIES WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH
Chapter 23-The Aftermath
Everything happened in a flash.
A horrified Set knelt beside Xandra and picked up the piece of the Millennium Puzzle propped on her chest. After giving the Puzzle piece to Shimon, he then scooped her up from the marbled floor, knelt over a pool of her blood, and not cared whether his hands turned rich crimson.
The rest of the high priests were shocked beyond words as they gathered up the rest of the Millennium Puzzle pieces, ensured that all twenty-seven pieces were intact, and secured them inside a velvet pouch. Shimon, on the other hand, went over to Atemu's body and choked back tears due to his young charges' tragic fates.
All of them were still devastated from their young Pharaoh's ultimate sacrifice. His soul being trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle meant that he could not go to the Afterlife. Being deprived from the Afterlife, and most especially Iahru, was a fate much worse than death. It meant that the Pharaoh could never find peace nor could he ever be reincarnated until his soul was released from the Puzzle.
However, now that the Puzzle was broken, how could they get Atemu back?
Xandra's tears ran down her cheeks being fully aware of Atemu's fate. In the corner of her eye, she saw her husband's soulless body on their bed. As she tried to speak, her larynx now tightened. Her eyes closed from the painful spasm and she coughed out more blood.
"Shhh -" said the azure-eyed young man as he pulled Xandra up and rested her on his lap. He felt her cold skin. "Help is on the way. Everything will be fine."
A faint but bittersweet smile crept over Xandra's lips. She turned paler by the second. Nonetheless, she looked into Set's eyes showing him that she loved him too, and maybe given time, she and he could have shared the same love that she and Atemu have shared.
But time, and fate, had not given them that opportunity…
This time, Set could not hide his tears from what he saw in her eyes. He knew that she loved him truly and unconditionally, and so did he. But due to time and fate not being kind to them, her heart still belonged to Atemu just as his belonged to Kisara. With the gentlest voice that he could possibly muster, he whispered as he stroked her hair, "The three of us will always be together through thick or thin. This I promise to you and Atemu."
In between shallow breaths, Xandra mumbled, "Pharaoh Set... Send me home the way they normally would..."
A myriad of noises surrounded them seconds later...gasps from those around them, the scurrying of feet towards them, calculated steps from sandaled feet, and much more.
Set then stared at Xandra's eyes. Her opened eyes were now blank and listless.
The azure-eyed priest's tears flowed as he embraced Xandra's dead body and hoped that she would live once more. His emotions finally gave in. Snippets of recent past reminded him that the one he now held was the third loved one that he had lost within a week's time, the first two being Kisara and Atemu. As the long minutes had passed, he realized that her soul had already gone to the Afterlife. He looked at her pale face once more with such sorrow while shaking his head in disbelief from time to time.
Shimon placed a consoling hand on Set's shoulder as the tightlipped young man gently brushed his hand over Xandra's open eyes to give her peace.
In the middle of silent tears, the counselor remarked, "Egypt and the throne now rests on your shoulders, Set. Our young friends will live on with your leadership."
Set stood up and stared at his fallen friends. "The Egyptian throne and half of the High Priests' council was wiped out within a week's time. I want them back, Elder Shimon. How could I take everything back?"
The counselor gazed into Set's azure eyes. "You are next in line to the throne. Take the throne and continue to do what you love best - serving Egypt and her people. Your friends have given up their lives for the greater good. They, as well as I, believe in you. Honor their friendship and legacy by ruling the people that they have loved and left behind with compassion, sacrifice, and justice."
Set was officially crowned Pharaoh - an event attended by the Egyptian court and populace but none of the foreign royalty was present. In honor of Atemu, Akunadin, Kisara, and Xandra, he requested for his coronation feast to be postponed until the four bodies were mummified and entombed.
Set kept his promise to Xandra by giving her the proper funeral that she requested and deserved. Familiar with her customs, he laid a coin on her eyes as her fare for Charon - the mythical boatman of the River Styx. He then lit her funeral pyre before all the citizens as the kingdom mourned for their fallen foreign Queen who loved Egypt as much as Pharaoh Atemu did. After the last ember died down, he and Shimon collected her ashes and kept them inside an ornate jar to be included inside Atemu's sarcophagus.
Immediately after the purification ceremonies for the remaining dead, Set spent the first of seventy sleep-deprived nights forging a gold box to house the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. As the gold box took more shape each passing night, he mused, "A gold box fit for a soul worth more in its weight in gold. The one who finds you must have the courage to withstand the trials of your tomb. The one who assembles the Puzzle must have the kindness and fortitude to face your intertwining destinies as one."
Set had also commissioned the quick completion of his fallen cousin's pyramid. It was a splendor that began construction six years ago and only suffered minor damage during the duel monsters' attacks. Ensuring that no thief would ever desecrate Atemu's tomb, he ordered the addition of another series of fatal traps, labyrinths, and riddles.
Once the first half of the traps were placed, Set personally brought the gold box containing the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle - and Atemu's soul - at the very end of the pyramid.
Aside from Atemu's pyramid, the new Pharaoh also ordered four more projects: the completion of a grand pyramid for Akunadin, the construction of a smaller pyramid for Kisara's remains, the restoration of the damaged homes and temples destroyed by the amuck duel monsters, and the creation of the Stone of Destiny - a stone carving that captured the intense duel between Atemu and him.
To keep the Millennium magic locked away, Set and the remainder of his fellow high priests decided to safeguard the Items by scattering them across the land. The Council of the Six High Priests was disbanded in efforts to protect the Items and to ensure Atemu's return.
Isis and Karim married each other. From thereon, they were to keep the Torque, the Rod, and Xandra's two golden tomes. Their tribe, the Tomb Keepers, dwelled underground from the time that Set had entrusted them with the Items' and the sacred gods' ancient secrets. Their clan would remain underground - as many generations as it would take - until the prophecy had come to pass and the Items were returned to Atemu.
Shadah became the guardian of the Eye, the Scales, the Ankh, and the Stone of Memory. To further protect them, he used the Items' magic and sacrificed his body. Since then, he existed in the physical and shadow realms neither as a human being nor as a spirit. As the Keeper of Secrets, he waited for Atemu's prophetic return and watched those who would play a part within the prophecy. No matter how many millennia might pass by, he still mourned for the young Pharaoh's demise.
The Millennium Ring - and the soul of Thief Bakura - passed on from hand to hand. The Thief, although trapped within the Item, guided the Ring as it passed from one owner to the next. He looked for the one who could wield the Ring's power as well as his soul. Aware of the prophecy of Atemu's return, his soul still thirsted for retribution no matter whether it would take him many millennia to achieve it.
The remainder of the Atlanteans - spearheaded by a now-immortal Hyperion - did its best to erase every chronicle containing Atemu or Xandra's name. Their group, the Order of Orichalchos, aimed to stop Atemu from completing the prophecy and to bring forth the Dark Queen - the one who would restore power and domination back to the Atlanteans.
Hyperion - who now hid under the title Master - kept the first three parts of the Scrolls of Passage in his throne. Throughout the millennia, he and his hooded men searched for the fourth part of the Scrolls with every intention of keeping it within their cult and unlocking its secrets. He also kept the Pentagram Medallion that he stole from Xandra after he stabbed her, hoping and waiting for the right person who could unleash its magic.
The Essence, on the other hand, patiently waited inside the caves of Thera to unleash her evil. Each passing era, her cunning and power grew stronger as she waited for the prophecy of the Dark Queen to become reality.
As to Mahado, his ka slumbered within the stone tablet as the Dark Magician and the Pharaoh's ultimate servant. He, too, would wait as many millennia as possible until his master returned to the land of the living.
Mana, Mahado's loyal apprentice and Xandra's trusted friend, became a powerful mage within Set's court. She mourned for Mahado's death until the end of her days. Loyal even in the Afterlife, her ka took form as the Dark Magician Girl - the Dark Magician's apprentice and another sworn servant to Atemu.
Lying nearby the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl stone tablets was Kisara's ka - the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Ironically, once her ka transformed into the dragon, the creature lay close to the Dark Magician. She, too, had sworn her eternal loyalty to her master Set.
Kisara's body, on the other hand, was buried on the same day as Atemu and Xandra. She was given an elaborate ceremony to honor her memory and her passage into the Afterlife just as if she was an Egyptian princess. Set issued a decree that anyone caught desecrating her tomb would be punishable by death.
As to Atemu and Xandra, his mummy and her ashes were entombed inside Atemu's pyramid. Even though the citizens were pleased with Set's leadership, Egypt mourned for the untimely death of the royal couple for many years. The remaining high priests, Shimon, and Set ensured that the entire land commemorated this sad day with a solemn ceremony fit for rulers. Everything that was sealed inside the shared tomb - ranging from the linens used for his mummy, the sarcophagi, jewelries, games, and other supplies provided for their travel to the Afterlife - was made especially for this occasion.
Shimon, throughout the remainder of his days, served as Set's wise counselor and closest friend. Just as he had advised and hoped for, Egypt prospered under the azure-eyed Pharaoh's rule. On worst days, the counselor dealt with Set's impulsiveness and stubbornness - making him shake his head in a mixture of understanding, frustration, and amusement. Nonetheless, the elderly counselor knew that beneath the young Pharaoh's rigid and driven demeanor lay a good heart...a fact that he, Atemu, Xandra, and even Kisara saw and believed in.
Set had barely forgiven Akunadin for killing Kisara, being given up when he was a toddler, and allowing Zork to possess his body. Nonetheless, he gave his true father an honorable burial fit for a Head High Priest and member of the Pharaoh's bloodline.
Shimon's reminder that Akunadin was internally conflicted served as a balm for Set to slowly heal from his resentment. Just as a father would to his son, the elderly high priest taught him everything that he knew about the priesthood and the royal court. He still could not understand why his father forged a pact with a demon for his sake.
As sick as the act was to Set, he did his best to give his father due respect for his sacrifice.
During sleepless nights, Set clutched Xandra's pendant and gazed at it with deep sadness. Although he had loved Kisara, Xandra also had a special place in his heart.
Just as Atemu did, Set wondered what would have happened if the three of them were common citizens. Would Xandra have chosen him or Atemu? He also thought about fate's sick joke regarding Xandra. Just when fate provided an opening as well as Atemu's blessings, Hyperion killed her. How he wished that she was still alive to be his Queen and wife so that he did not ponder regarding matters between them.
In regards with Atemu, Set recalled his friend's last request to take care of her before he ran inside the tomb and sealed his fate. Memories of their childhood flooded back in his mind, as well as the complicated but enriching friendship that the two shared for so many years. How he regretted distancing from his amethyst-eyed friend due to their respective duties to the Egyptian court as well as his feelings for Xandra. He was grateful and relieved that his friend unconditionally accepted that he had feelings for his wife and that she had feelings for him as well.
Set would have liked it best if both his friends were alive so that they could continue the solid friendship they shared with each other. Now, however, fate deemed him to mourn for his cousin and distant love throughout the rest of his days.
As Pharaoh, Set was also an excellent diplomat and military strategist. He was perpetually willing to extend the hand of peace but unafraid in waging war for the good of Egypt. He brought Egypt to an age of peace and prosperity after two years of assuming the throne. Just as any Pharaoh before him did, he married to produce heirs to the throne and groomed his children to lead at an early age.
Years later, Set gave Xandra's pendant and ring - both bearing the Crest of Atlantis - to his eldest daughter on her wedding day. Upon receiving these heirlooms from him, she promised to pass on the pendant and ring to her eldest daughter, to give the same instruction for the next generation to follow, and to never have these two heirlooms leave their family no matter what might happen through the course of time. The fulfillment of this promise spanned for generations.
However, just as Narmer had predicted, the two heirlooms found their way back to Xandra's bloodline. Since then, the Crest of Atlantis never parted from her descendants as they were passed from one generation to the next.
As often as he could until the end of his days, the azure-eyed Pharaoh visited the Stone of Destiny. He stared at the stone relief for hours on end, lamented the erasure of Atemu's victory over him, and recalled the incidents that led to the fated duel. He could not help but mutter as if he was talking face to face with Atemu, "We have shared so many memories together. Friends, brothers, cousins, successors, and rivals in so many complicated ways. The gods gave us such an ironic fate. I wonder if the next lifetimes, if there are any, would bode the same for us. No matter how complicated circumstances may be, we would always remain what we are fated to be - friends in arms."
Set and Shimon waited for the prophecy of Atemu's return to come true, each one hoping for that event to happen within his lifetime if not the next ones. Little did they know that the prophecy also included their involvement and that Fate would ensure that their paths would cross when the proper time came.
Until that proper time, the golden box containing the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle sat on a pedestal at the end of Atemu's cold tomb. It waited patiently for the right person to arrive, claim the golden box, and solve the Puzzle.
Once these conditions were met, then the amethyst-eyed Pharaoh of Egypt - also honorably known as the King of Games from beating Set in the Shadow Duel between them - would have the chance to awaken from his slumber, be released from his prison, recover his lost memories, and fulfill the prophecy as humankind's champion.
End of Last Chapter / When Memories Would Never Be Enough
Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi.
Xandra / Alexandra Emrys, The Scrolls of Passage, Hyperion, the Mages Council (and its members), other minor original characters, and this fan fiction are the properties of the author. This fan fiction is written for entertainment purposes only, thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.
Author's Note
This fan fiction did its best to follow the manga. However, there are major spins within this story that are not in the manga. As to following the manga, it depicts what happens in the Memory World. Since Mutou Yugi and friends enter the Memory World, their arrival alters what happens in the past - so what we read in the manga (especially after the gang's arrival) is a revised version of Atemu's past.
Iahru, by the way, is the Egyptian Afterlife - similar to the Elysian Field in Greek Mythology.
What my fan fiction tries to do is to fill in the blanks on what could have happened in the past - as well as tie the events told in this fan fiction to the other Lost Souls Story Arc. Thanks for reading and constructively reviewing.
The next installment, The Battle for Lost Souls, is the continuation of the Lost Souls story arc. In Descent, Alexa Emrys recovered these memories when she battled against the Essence. Unfortunately, she did not recover Atemu's name for that memory was barred from her as well. This story arc (the continuation of Descent of Lost Souls and When Memories Would Never Be Enough) will make some references to events in When Memories.