"You're sure? That boy seems incredibly weak," Khentimentiu said sternly.
Runihura stood upright at this moment and walked over to his brethren. "This is true. Young Yugi is not the best choice for a Host, but we cannot argue against His wishes. Rebellion against Lord Osiris spells out death. You know that as well as I." He cast a sidelong glance at Khalid and Anubis. "You two know what your roles are?"
"How could we forget?" Anubis said bluntly. "With that traitor Yami locked away in the prison of his own memories, there is no one to stop Lord Osiris' resurrection."
"Runihura," Khalid began, "you are aware of what little time we have before the moon turns blood red, aren't you? If the boy is not in our grasp before two moons fall, there is no hope for His return. Then we will have to wait another thousand years for another to be born. That will surely incur Lord Osiris' wrath."
"That is why we are going to take the Chosen One away now. Khentimentiu?"
Khentimentiu flicked white hair out of his dark amethyst eyes. "Of course. I'll draw that girl out of the room."
Runihura grinned, bloodstained fangs glimmering in the pale sunlight. "Shall we leave now?"
Yami felt his heart sink to his stomach at the sight of the main hall of the cathedral. He fell to his knees in despair, hot tears of pain and sorrow trickling down his handsome face. He remembered this scene, although he wished that he didn't. Bodies of those who were once loyal to him lie dead on the floor; crimson stained every inch of the wall, floor, benches, and anything else in its path. There was even some on the ceiling.
He would never atone for this.
"Curse you, Osiris," he said. No. He had to stop blaming others for his actions. It was no one's fault but his own. He had been foolish enough to welcome the Lord of the Dead into his palace so many millennia ago…but he didn't know then that things would turn out to be this horrible. And now, the one person he cared for most was in mortal danger, and where was he? Stuck in his past, helpless, unable to escape from his bloody sins.
And then, he saw himself, standing in front of the bloodied marble altar on the far side of the cathedral. Yami swallowed hard. He was seeing himself, true, but it was his own dark side. Slowly he approached the Servant of Osiris. He saw his head turn to look at him, dark magenta eyes glowing and boring down into his own light magenta ones. No words were said until Yami stood barely a foot away from his dark self.
"How could you abandon me after all we went through?" Dark Yami growled, facing the far wall in front of him.
Yami's eyes shone with contempt as he cast them down to the red floor. He said nothing.
"Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"
"Why should I say anything to you?" Yami spat, his confidence (and his rage) rising steadily. "You killed Leyanna, you killed our loyal people, you…!" Yami brushed away hot tears of pain before continuing. "I wasn't just going to let you get away with it all. You're a monster!"
Dark Yami's shoulders shook with laughter. It started slowly, like the almost-silent chuckle one makes after remembering something amusing, then erupted into a wicked howl.
"I don't regret doing any of it either! It was the best thing Lord Osiris ever did for you, allowing you to become one of his brethren." Then Yami's dark side turned around, his magenta eyes turned to red, and he bared his long fangs, which were dripping fresh red blood. "But look what you've done and gone, you ungrateful little wretch! You imprisoned Lord Osiris inside of this hell, and banished me from your mind by sealing your soul away in that stupid Puzzle before letting your body die!" He lowered his body into a crouch, palms flat on the bloody floor and knees bent. The balls of his feet (and his toes) were the only part of his feet that touched the ground. "I should tear you apart!" And with that, Yami's dark side sprung at him, knocking him over completely and pinning his shoulders to the floor with his hands. Gasping for breath with a look of grim determination on his face, the kind Pharaoh head butted his evil self in the face hard, and then took advantage of his foes' shock to climb to his feet.
"I'm not going to let you take me again!"
Dark Yami shook his head, then hissed angrily at his original self. He pointed a long, clawed finger at Yami and snarled. "It's inevitable! Eventually, you will embrace me, your darkness. Without your precious hikari, you're just like me. You can't run from me forever!"
Yami had two final words to say to himself: "Never again!"
Then, without a single glance back, he left the cathedral and barred the doors behind him, knowing that it wouldn't keep his evil self inside long. But right now, all he wanted to do was lie down and reminisce what Dark Yami's last words were.
He hoped with all of his heart that his words would never come true.