Author's Notes: As usual, I'm sorry for the delay. I've been frantically applying to teach English in Japan, and doing my mountain of end-of-the-semester work! Wish me luck!
…And this chapter's rather angsty. Sorry about that! Many, MANY spoilers here, and after the first section it becomes a priest-fic, mainly focusing on Akunadin… So if you don't want to know what happened in the past yet… well, don't read this.
Shadi: Indigo does not own me, Pegasus, the Items, Yu-Gi-Oh, or anything else of the sort.
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Millennial Inheritance
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Shadi led Pegasus through the streets, the two preteen boys weaving through the crowd. Pegasus tried to start a conversation with Shadi in Arabic a few times, but unless that involved him introducing himself or asking where the bathroom was, he didn't get far. Shadi laughed slightly at his attempts, though not rudely, and tried to guide the conversation back to English. Finally he told Pegasus, in very fast Arabic, that if he really wanted to be completely lost they could speak that way. Pegasus gulped, and didn't try to practice the language anymore.
"So… those kaa-spirits again… Everyone had one, right?" Shadi nodded. "…Do people still have them now?"
"…I could not say…" Shadi said hesitantly. "And if we do… we lack the ability to bring them out."
Pegasus frowned. "…If they did then, I don't see why people wouldn't anymore…" He grinned at Shadi. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could do what they did? Call them out and… well I don't know about going around attacking people with them. But it'd be so amazing!"
Shadi smiled slightly. "It might be…"
"I wonder what mine would look like…" Pegasus mused. "…So what do you do all day? It didn't look like you had much to do at home."
"…I do things with my friends sometimes… I meditate, read, study, go into town… I take English lessons, and I often go to see my mother."
"Oh… Does she not live with you?"
"No… She left when I was younger."
"Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Shadi shrugged slightly and nodded.
"My parents are married… But they don't do anything together unless it's for the publicity, or even talk to each other much. It's not really the kind of relationship I'd want to be in."
Shadi was silent for a moment as he led Pegasus through the streets. "…My parents disagreed on a lot of things. I'm… not sure why they married. It may just have been because my father needed an heir. They don't like to talk about it."
"Oh…" Pegasus bit his lip slightly as he followed Shadi through the streets, unable to dodge the other Egyptians in the street with as much skill as the other boy.
The two walked through the streets in relative silence after that, which slowly grew more comfortable. Shadi kept his pace slow enough so that Pegasus could keep up without getting lost in the crowd. For his part, Pegasus's eyes took in everything around him, obviously storing it all to recall later. If Shadi hadn't been keeping an eye on him, he would have gotten hopelessly lost.
Finally, Shadi stopped and turned to Pegasus at the stone and iron gate of an enormous, ornate building. "This is it, I think." He hadn't been so close to the rich hotel before, but he knew basically what it looked like.
"Oh! Thank you!" Pegasus smiled gratefully, snapped out of his daydreams.
"You're welcome. Should I go with you, or leave you here?"
Pegasus looked uncertain. "…You can come at least to the lobby. If you want, I mean. I have to ask what room we're in again, I don't remember. But you don't have to."
"I will, then." Shadi let Pegasus lead this time, and he followed the silver-haired boy through the tall arched gate, past carefully landscaped greenery and delicate gardens, down the narrow road that made a half circle in front of the hotel and past a large fountain.
/I wouldn't be surprised if half of the city's wealth is here…/
((It's certainly impressive…((
/…Though I guess in your time, nobility would have had even nicer places to live, wouldn't they? If you're impressed by this, maybe you didn't live around places like that?/
Ankh laughed. ((I could have been the Pharaoh's personal assistant, for all I know. Though I doubt it. I wouldn't remember either way, though…((
/Ah… Right. Nothing's jogged your memory…?/
((I'm afraid not… Maybe some day, though!((
Shadi nodded slightly as he followed Pegasus through the massive wooden doors with large brass handles.
"Er… Excuse me…" Pegasus stepped up to the front desk where a young Egyptian woman stood, her head covered in a modest black veil. "I, ah… don't remember my…"
"Twenty-four," the woman said in heavily accented English, with a quick glance at Pegasus, as if she were used to this. Then her glance shifted to Shadi as her eyes narrowed. "…And don't worry, I'll dispose of this disgusting urchin. And be sure he returns any money he took from you."
Pegasus blinked. "…What? No, he let me rest at his house and see some carvings, then brought me back here. He didn't take anything."
"You had better go see your family, I'm sure they are worried about you." The woman's eyes never left Shadi, who bristled indignantly.
/She thinks I'm a… con artist!/
((Maybe you should leave now… I don't think she's going to change her mind.((
/Maybe you're right…/ Shadi shook his head as Pegasus was protesting again.
"…I will leave. It was nice to meet you…" Shadi gave Pegasus a short bow and backed towards the door, the desk clerk still watching him suspiciously.
"Wait, no…" Pegasus began to say, before a sharp voice rang across the lobby.
"Pegasus! Where the hell have you been? You're late; we had no idea what happened! You can't just wander off in a place like this, you'll get mugged and have your throat slit before you know what's happening. Look at you, you're a magnet for trouble." Pegasus's father glanced at Shadi with a snarl on his face. "And did you bring this filthy native here, or did he crawl in after you? Get out boy, you're not welcome here."
"FATHER!" Pegasus exclaimed, horrified. He quickly turned to Shadi, trembling and nearly in tears. "I'm SO sorry! I don't… I wouldn't…" He spun around to face the older man. "How could you say things like that!? It's all terrible lies! You don't know anything!"
Shadi had gone stiff, staring at Pegasus's father with a completely deadpan expression. Then he turned to Pegasus, allowing some of his hurt to show to the other boy.
"I'm so sorry, you... You know I don't think that way!" Pegasus exclaimed desperately.
"…No. And I am sorry as well…" With that he left, not hearing the shouting that emerged from behind him.
((…Shadi…((
Shadi ignored Ankh. It had begun to rain while he was inside, but he ignored that too as he pushed his way through the thinning crowd. Everyone else was getting in out of the rain, but Shadi kept walking stiffly, filled with pent-up disgust, sickness, and fury; staring hard at the street before him. He strode past the road that would lead to his home. Past the town's boundaries. He began to run. Past sand and ruins. Past the Ishtars' well. Finally he tripped over a rock and landed face-first in the sand. He didn't move for a moment, just lying sprawled in the wet sand with tears streaming down his face, shuddering. Ankh didn't speak, but Shadi was vaguely aware of the spirit's presence at the back of his mind, trying to gently sooth it.
After a moment Shadi slowly stood up in the downpour, letting the rain wash the sand off. He slowly began to retrace his steps, shivering in the warm rain. He wasn't sure how long it took him to get home, but he eventually found himself in his doorway. The protective spells allowed him inside, and he staggered down to his home in a haze. He dragged off his soaked robes and turban, clumsily pulling on something dry from his dresser. He then slowly made himself over to the tablet of the Millennium Items, tugging the Ankh from around his neck and putting it into its indentation. He stood there for a moment, staring with unfocused eyes at the golden Items.
))What's wrong lump, did you finally LISTEN to someone who told you the truth?))
((DON'T say such things! Master Shadi… You know it isn't true. Pegasus wouldn't say something like that… And HE doesn't mean half of what he says, you know that…((
))Shut it, leaf-head.))
Ankh tried again. ((Pegasus's father was just raised that way, I guess. It doesn't have anything to do with you…((
/Maybe. That doesn't give him an excuse. And apparently Pegasus was raised that way too, but HE didn't treat me like I was the dirt under his feet. …I'm going to bed./
((Are you all right…?((
/Just tired, I guess…/
Ankh let it drop. Scale was silent for a change. Shadi's hands brushed over the Items as he pulled back from them, and his eyes snapped into focus as he touched the Tauk. He stared at it for a moment as the center of the Eye of Horus on it flickered. After a moment, he backed away and managed to make it to his bed, where he flopped down and fell into a feverish sleep.
On the tablet, the Tauk glowed lightly.
Shadi's dreams were incredibly vivid. Whether they were feverish hallucinations, true visions, or simply dreams, Shadi couldn't tell. But they came at him in quick succession.
A man stood in front of the Millennium Items' tablet, wearing a hooded off-white robe that covered him completely. Black hair and dark brown eyes were just visible under his hood. He watched as a number of bare-chested men wearing loincloths and simple headdresses positioned a large vat of steaming liquid over the tablet and slowly tipped it to pour out over the tablet. Molten gold glowed as it spilled down and hissed as it came into contact with the cold stone. It seeped into the Items' indentations. The steam around it became too thick to see through, and the robed man stepped forward eagerly to get a better look. The other men backed away fearfully. As the smoke cleared, the man threw back his hood to reveal a tanned face, neat beard, and a simple but ornate headdress. He reached into the thinning smoke and passed his hand over each new Millennium Item until he came to the Eye. His hand hovered over it for a moment before picking it up to examine for a moment. Then with seemingly no warning, he plunged the Eye into his own head, screaming out in pain as he clutched his face. The other men cried out in alarm, some backing away, others approaching hesitantly. Blood dripped down his face, staining his hands, robe, and the tablet red. Blood dripped down the side to fall to the ground, and there was blackness…
……………………..
…The man with the Eye presented the other Items to the Pharaoh, who looked a bit like him, and five other followers. Each took up an Item. They stepped forward… and were suddenly outside of the Pharaoh's palace, great creatures flying to their aid from out of thin air, rushing down towards an invading army…
…………………….
…Bodies littered the battlefield, some destroyed beyond all recognition and others still staring wide-eyed where they had fallen, expressions of pure terror twisting their features…
…………………..
The mages who held the Items lay in beds, being tended to by medics and healers. All were wounded, or terribly weakened. Some were dying. The priest with the Eye was shaking in horror. His harsh voice whispered as the scene faded to blackness… "…It was not enough… There must be more…"
………………….
The man with the Eye was surveying some sort of training ground. Another man, the older priest who had held the Ankh in the battle, sat beside him in a chair. The pharaoh stood off to the side with a little boy who had spiky black hair edged in red, with yellow bangs. Their eyes had a similar gleam to them. They both held the Millennium Puzzle, and seemed to be talking quietly about it.
A young man with long light brown hair was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, holding the Millennium Ring gingerly. He seemed to be meditating.
A boy who looked only a couple of years older than the Pharaoh's child, with thick brown hair that went down to his shoulders in the back was frowning in deep concentration over the Rod. After a minute he narrowed his eyes a bit more and made a slashing motion with it, then looked over towards the priest with the Eye a bit guiltily. The man shook his head gravely, and the boy with the Rod looked down for a moment before going back to concentration on the Rod, seeming to concentrate even harder.
A boy with chin-length black hair held the Millennium Scales, and was watching them tilt one way, then another.
A girl with black hair, covered in white veils, was lightly running her fingers over the Tauk with her eyes closed.
And a boy with a shaved head who looked remarkably like Shadi held the Ankh out away from himself, looking through the top section at the others one by one. He had a very open face, and Shadi could see some sort of tattoos on his head.
"They're doing well…" The man with the Eye spoke to the older man beside him, who nodded in agreement.
"Oh yes! They're the best of their generation, after all. Especially young Shadah, I'm pleased with his progress with the Ankh… And the prince is working well with the Puzzle, despite his youth."
"…I believe Seito could do more with the Rod. Look at him, he's being held back. He's frustrated by the others."
"He does indeed have great strength, anyone can see it… But he must learn control and humility…"
The man with the Eye frowned. "Control, yes… Certainly. I believe I'll work with him myself."
"That might not be such a bad idea." The old man laughed, though it ended in a weak cough. "You could use the practice too, I'm sure. Poor Akunadin, you'll be on your own among these children!"
"I'm sure they'll gain some maturity in time… And besides, you and our Pharaoh are still here. I am not the only one left of our age." He smiled thinly. "Just keep up your health…"
The old man waved off his concern a bit irritably. "Yes, yes. I'll stay in bed from sunup to sundown…" His expression changed to a cocky grin. "…Because I'll need my strength for… nocturnal activities, if you catch my drift."
The man with the Eye, Akunadin, laughed. "When you break your hip rolling over in bed to look for your next partner, just moan and I'm sure someone will come to you." He looked over the training yard again, and his smile turned to a frown at the sight of a messy head of brown hair peering over the wall.
"Mahaado!" The young man with the Ring's eyes snapped open at the man's sharp call. "I've told you before, keep your personal worshippers away from here. This isn't playtime, nor is it a spectator event." The little girl looking over the wall let out a startled squeak and fell out of sight. Mahaado reddened and bowed low.
"…Forgive me, Lord Akunadin… I have spoken to her… she said she would not come again…"
"And just how many times will you believe that? This is the seventh time, I believe. It must stop."
"Yes, lord Akunadin…" Mahaado bowed his head in shame. The others kept up their positions, but their attention was on Mahaado and Akunadin…
………………..
Akunadin stood back slightly from the other Item holders. His hair had turned a dark gray, and wrinkles were showing on his face. Before them all stood the young Pharaoh, kneeling before the alter of Osiris, his head pressed against the floor, sobbing. The priests behind him had their heads bowed in grief and respect, though Akunadin's eye strayed to Seito, standing tall and proud at the front of their group, even if his head was lowered. Akunadin's face was twisted in a mix of grief and… something else. Mahaado was nearly as overcome by grief as the young Pharaoh by the death of the former Pharaoh…
……………….
At the windy top of a tall tower, Akunadin looked down over the others, who were practicing dueling with their Kaa-beasts. Seito and Shadah were facing Mahaado, the man with the Scales, and the woman with the Tauk, who seemed to look a lot like Isis Ishtar. Akunadin was smiling and talking softly to himself.
"They're all doing so well… Especially Seito. He's already doing great things…"
Mahaado's Illusory Magician destroyed Shadah's Terran Jackal, knocking the priest of the Ankh backwards roughly. He held up his Ankh and drew on its power to summon another creature, and a snake-warrior came forth, but Shadah was panting hard.
"…But it is still not enough… They aren't strong enough, even in training… The Items can't support them enough. No matter how hard they train, it cannot strengthen the Items…" Akunadin stared down at the younger priests pensively, the Millennium Eye flickering slightly.
"…I thought one hundred lives would be easily enough for all seven… But we barely defeated our enemies in the war… Some day there will be more deadly wars. We cannot afford to take a chance so great. I will not allow it…"
…………………..
Akunadin met separately with each of the other priests, and their young Pharaoh, for a private training session. They would meditate intensely at the beginning, during which time Akunadin would capture a bit of their souls with the Eye and transplant it into their Items. He had practiced the same procedure on himself until he got it right. This would give the Items more energy to draw on, and the priests a closer connection to their Items so they could use their powers to their full extent.
…But that wasn't enough. It wouldn't matter in a battle. So as he made their connections, Akunadin also used their souls to help leave the Items open to accept one other… Just one, in most cases. Though in some case the priest's personality caused their Items to only be open to certain people, and others made them open to more than one.
This posed a problem to Akunadin. He trusted no one. He cared for Seito, who was… like a son to him. But Seito already held the Rod. He cared for Shimon, the Ankh's former wielder, because of all they had been through together. But Shimon would never agree to such a thing, and besides, he was ancient… It should be someone young and strong, whose spirit was resilient enough to withstand such a thing. Akunadin wasn't in a hurry, though. He would search for powerful people, and encourage the others to do the same…
…………………
…A girl with long white hair, pale skin, and shining blue eyes fell to the dusty ground. Angry men closed in. A shout stopped them, and Seito strode through the crowd, followed by Shadah. The crowd parted for the priests. Seito sensed something from the girl… He told Shadah to use the Ankh on her… Shadah staggered back in awe of the pure strength he saw there, and Seito's eyes gleamed, as he ordered the girl to be brought back to the palace…
…………………
Akunadin leapt to his feet as Seito jumped over the edge of the pit where the blue-eyed girl and the other prisoner had fallen. To his relief, Seito summoned his kaa and caught a piece of metal jutting out from the pit. The girl held his other hand. The other prisoner's spider kaa closed in. The girl's eyes glowed. An explosion of blue and white burst from the pit…
………………..
The eldest priest watched Mahaado working with the young girl he had taken on as his apprentice. She often neglected to concentrate as much as she should have, but the talent was there. Youth and strength. And aside from the Pharaoh and the other priests, she was the one Mahaado was closest to. Yes, she would make a good secondary source for the Ring…
……………….
Akunadin continued to look for someone he could use. There just wasn't anyone. His son was not an option. His brother and wife were dead. He couldn't trust any of those imprisoned for having strong kaas. So he would have to cultivate someone new. Akunadin searched the training schools in town, and finally came across a very naïve young boy training to be a scribe. His name was Badru, and he had long silver-gray hair. Best of all, he had no family to miss him, and a strong but latent magical power. Akunadin met with him, took an interest in his affairs, and agreed to pay for the remainder of his training, on the condition that he be Akunadin's personal scribe when he was finished. His current one was losing his eyesight anyway. The boy was overjoyed at suddenly having his future insured. Akunadin smiled to himself and moved on…
……………..
Aishizu posed a slightly different problem. True, she did not trust easily, and she had a few family members and friends. But her true devotion was to the other priests, her best friends… and to her patron goddess. Akunadin spent a bit of time with her, taking her out in town to meet people, trying to encourage her to form closer bonds with someone outside of their circle before it dawned on him: The goddess. Why not? It would have to be done differently, but what better source of power could there be? It would be perfect to counteract Aishizu's weaker nature. And who better than the goddess of magic to aid the Tauk? So instead of focusing on Aishizu's social life, Akunadin decided to spend some time in the temple of Isis…
………………
Akunadin didn't know much about Seito's personal life. He tried to stay out of it, in fact. He had given up that right long ago. But he got the distinct impression that his young protégé didn't have many friends outside of the priests, either. Seito was clearly the strongest among them, though… He could afford to wait for just the right person.
………………
The young Pharaoh also posed a problem. He trusted easily, and was very strong. But the Puzzle was the most powerful Item, because it was made up of so many small pieces. It was a shame his father had died, they would have done well together in the Puzzle… And he hadn't taken a queen, a consort, or even a favorite concubine yet… Akunadin privately thought he must have been maturing far slower than he should. Not like Seito, he had become a fine young man… But Akunadin decided to wait longer to see who would be appropriate to share in young Atemu's Puzzle…
…………….
Karim, who held the Scales, should have been no trouble at all. He was friendly with the other priests, though not what one might consider the first among them in most ways. He had a number of friends and relatives outside of their circle as well. He had surpassed his father's skill with the Millennium Scales already. And yet… every relationship he cultivated outside of their small group, he managed to misjudge. Whenever Akunadin looked into one of his friendships, he would find that either the other party didn't care as much for Karim as he did for them, or that they cared far more for him than he did for them. This was even true of his family. He seemed to be easygoing enough to get along with most people, but Akunadin decided to wait to decide who would share the Scales with him… In the meantime, he continued to search for strong people in town.
…And then all of a sudden, in the midst of some legal problems he was helping resolve, it came to him. In the form of a rude, arrogant, immature judge. The young man with wild black hair had no apparent talent for magic, or affinity for the Items in general, but he did have a strong power in him even if he couldn't access it. It was too powerful to ignore. Akunadin suspected that not all of this boy's dealings were legitimate, but he still somehow managed to maintain a strong sense of justice. While Karim didn't think much of him, Akunadin speculated that the Scales might actually be a good match for him…
………………
Shadah was such an open, trusting person, even naïve to a point, that Akunadin didn't foresee any problems in finding another to be sealed in the Ankh with him. He was eager to please, even friendly with most people. He had a strong need to prove himself, not entirely unlike Seito's. But Seito was more self-assured than the priest of the Ankh. After talking with Shadah for a while, Akunadin learned that he was completely estranged from his entire family. He occasionally received a letter from his parents either berating him for his choices in life or ordering him to use his influence with the Pharaoh to gain them more power and wealth. He wrote back politely, and did send a bit of money, but he wasn't so pathetic as to give in to their demands.
He had also received a few letters from an aunt and uncle, informing him that their son was going to school near the palace, and that he should take up his family duty for once and look after the younger man. Shadah had gotten in contact with his cousin once, but it was clear that they didn't get along. He got another letter shortly after demanding that he stop his cousin in his plan to study law and become a judge. Shadah ignored this, as his cousin wouldn't listen to him even if he cared enough to try.
Shadah's younger cousin ended up being none other than the rude young judge, but it was a fact that neither was proud of. In fact, Senui didn't want anything to do with Shadah for just that reason. And Shadah was only too happy to comply.
But in his search through town, Akunadin found another student with an impressive talent. A young journeyman healer in the city's best healing school, Ankhkare was the top of his class and had power enough to surpass the rest of his school. He was friendly and open with everyone, and fairly confident in his abilities without being arrogant. He had a rather large family, but they lived far away. He had some good friends among his schoolmates, and also knew a few people at the palace, including Mahaado's apprentice Mana, and Seito… But his mental abilities match the Ankh's so closely that it seemed like a natural match.
……………….
Akunadin smiled thinly as the green-haired young man took a sip of fruit juice. "Your talents are very impressive.
The young man smiled a little embarrassedly, giving a slight bow. "Thank you, Lord Akunadin…"
"You will serve your Pharaoh and your country very well, I'm sure."
"I very much hope so, Honored One."
"And you are prepared to do so?"
The young healer blinked, searching the older man's face. Akunadin kept his mental barriers up tight, as usual.
"…Well yes… Of course I'm prepared to do so. I will do all I can to serve my Pharaoh and my country."
Akunadin smiled. "Good…"
……………
Akunadin sighed, rubbing his temples as the wild haired judged frowned back at him. If only everyone could be as agreeable as the healer had been. If only this arrogant ass weren't so strong and perfectly suited to the Scales. It almost wasn't worth it.
"Oh yes, let me just give up my life, my ambitions, let me drop EVERYTHING and serve you and the idiot Pharaoh." The judge snorted in annoyance.
"I never said anything about giving up your life…"
"Oh please, what else would you mean by 'Are you prepared to serve the Pharaoh'? You want something from me, and I'm not going to give you the satisfaction. I'm not joining your cults, your armies, or your personal squad of worshippers."
"Perhaps you would enjoy speaking with your cousin Shadah instead…"
"Hardly. I'm not wasting my time on that worthless sap."
"I'm sure he shares the sentiment."
"Are you finished with me? Because I DO have other things I could be doing."
Akunadin tried a different tactic. "We are all servants of the Pharaoh. What you say is treason."
"In name only, as I'm sure you appreciate. If everyone became his brainless slave there would be no one left to do the real work. I serve in my own way."
Ah, a possibility. "Exactly, you're right. But in your… chosen profession, you agree that you serve the Pharaoh and our land in your way?"
"I'm not admitting anything to you, you old fool! You think I was born yesterday? It's obvious that you're trying to get something out of me."
Akunadin sighed, then looked up at him thoughtfully, beginning to grin slightly. "…You mean you actually feel threatened by such an 'old fool'? I'm disappointed. I expected better."
The younger man glared. "I'm not afraid of you, or of anyone."
"No? I think you are. I see nothing more than a pathetic overgrown child, afraid of the world around him."
The judge slammed his palms against the table, standing up angrily. "You think just because you're one of the Pharaoh's little pets, you can say crap like that!? You don't scare me, and you're not some amazing, invincible being! You don't even know what you're talking about, and I'm better than you any day!"
"Oh really?" Akunadin drawled, idly inspecting his yellowing fingernails and inwardly smirking. "Then you wouldn't be opposed to a game of darkness to prove that?"
The younger man narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "…For what stakes?"
"Simple. If I win, you swear your allegiance to the Pharaoh, the country, and any cause you may be called to."
"I told you, I'm not joining any armies, cults, or fanclubs. And what if I win?"
"No, I'm not asking you to. …If you win, then I concede that you are indeed better."
The blue-eyed judge frowned. "Better than an old man who's ready to crumble to dust? I know THAT already…"
"No… Better than one of the Pharaoh's most powerful warriors for three generations, the keeper of the kaas, and the high priest of the Millennium Eye… If you can defeat a mind-reader, who could possibly question your superiority?"
The young man's pride wavered for a moment, warring with itself, but he smirked and nodded. "Fine. And when I win, it will be proclaimed to the whole country."
"Of course…"
………………
Mahaado fell as a blade sliced him apart, the Millennium Ring clattering to the ground, the priest's essence draining from his body and the Ring. A tall man with white hair and a red robe strode forward to take it. Mahaado's kaa suddenly looked up, now one with its master. He struck down the man with the Ring, who fell over the side of the walkway…
……………...
Akunadin mourned the loss of Mahaado, and the crumbling of a piece of his plan. The Thief King now held the Ring, and Mahaado had thrown every bit of himself into his kaa in a foolishly noble attempt to protect the Pharaoh in the afterlife.
…………….
The green-haired man glared angrily at a couple of palace guards who had been attacking some children. His body flashed with a bright light. When the light faded, the guards were dead. The children unconscious. One of them was the girl Mana, Mahaado's apprentice. The man backed away in horror and ran.
……………
The young judge was thrown into the dungeons by four guards. One of them read a proclamation that he was to pay for his crimes against the Pharaoh, the judicial system, and a number of other people and institutions. He growled and spat at them. They marched away, talking about how much they looked forward to him meeting his fate…
……………..
Images flashed through Shadi's feverish mind quickly and incoherently.
The green-clad healer screaming in pain as his spirit was torn out and bound to the Ankh, with colors and energy swirling around him.
The judge cursing and screaming before letting out a shout of angry agony.
The young scribe crying out in fear and producing a blood-curdling scream.
The goddess Isis flinching a bit as a piece of herself was sealed…
The priests falling one by one before the white-haired thief, Akunadin, a great black beast, and various combinations of the three.
The thief king crying out in agony as the Ring swallowed him up, and part of the demon beast following him…
Seito facing Akunadin with the great white dragon and destroying his body, but being overcome by him all the same, turning to face the young Pharaoh… Mahaado's kaa sprang to the Pharaoh's defense as Akunadin-in-Seito laughed and called the white dragon to crush him. The dragon turning on him, attacking, tearing Akunadin's spirit from the younger priest as it forced him from Seito's mind and the Rod, putting itself in his place…
The Pharaoh pulling the great black beast of evil into the Puzzle with him… Handing it to Seito… Turning and fading away…
Shadi shot up in bed, covered in a cold sweat. The Items were on the ground next to him, the Tauk nearest. He shakily reached out…
))Don't touch it again, you moron!))
/Scale! What… I saw… How…/
))Ever the great speaker, I see. Shut up.))
/But… No! I saw you, and Ankh, and a man who looked like me, and…/
))Silence! I saw it too, don't waste time!))
/Is that how you came to be here…?/
))Hmph, more or less. I don't know about some of it.))
The memories of the vision were already beginning to blur in Shadi's mind. /So confusing…/
))To such a weak-minded fool, I'm sure.))
/But…all of those priests were sealed into the Millennium Items too…? Then where are they now?/
))Well obviously they're still sealed and most likely still unconscious, you moldy-brained idiot. It's not like a person can pass on to the underworld after that.))
/But… why are you awake then, instead of the others…?/
))Maybe because I'm not that pathetic? Not that that explains the weakling in the Ankh.))
/…They were fighting… Maybe they didn't have enough strength left to wake up? But… that's a long time…/
))As I said, pathetic.))
/Maybe Ankh would know…/
))Get real, he doesn't know anything. Besides, he's asleep like the useless worm he is.))
/Oh… Maybe I'll ask him later, then…/ Shadi yawned, rubbing his eyes and standing up, gathering up the Items again and going over to put them back in their places. He then made his way to the kitchen, finding himself ravenous and his throat parched. By the time he was finished with his meal, many details of the visions had almost completely faded from his mind.
((Master Shadi…? Are you all right?((
/I think so… I feel a lot better than last night… Ah! Ankh, I had these strange visions! I think it had to do with your past! I can't remember names anymore… but look!/ Shadi eagerly pushed his memories of the visions at the spirit.
((…This is… amazing! All of this…((
/Do you remember more about it…?/
Ankh paused. ((…No… I'm sorry… But… it's good to know. Thank you…((
/You're welcome./ Shadi laughed. /It doesn't look like either of you changed too drastically since then!/
))Well he has no excuse, but why should I change?))
/Er… Right…/
((…That's a good thing, isn't it…?((
/Well… For you, yes!/
))That just goes to show how little you know. If he weren't immortal he would have died of pure stupidity long ago.))
/Wouldn't it be easier to try to get along a little better…?/
))'Easier'? If you go through life looking for what's easy, you won't get far. You won't get anything. You're worse than the fool in the Ankh, you lazy, idealistic little twit! And no, it wouldn't be easier!))
/…I was only asking…/
))Well don't!))
/…Scale, why did I see those visions? I wasn't trying. I wasn't even… thinking about that before I fell asleep./
))And it wouldn't obey YOU if you tried to make it. You're just the guardian, not its host. Apparently it thought you were too ignorant and should learn something for a change.))
Shadi nodded slowly, looking up to a carving of the goddess Isis where the wall met the ceiling. "…Maybe so."
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Endnote: That might have been a little confusing, but let me know what you think, and if you have any questions! I'd love to know! Please?