Final note on length here: This is going to be three chapters plus an epilogue. I'm sure you all can do the maths there.

Thank you everyone who reviewed, especially long-term fans of the series who've had to wait so long for this! I apologise profusely!

Hope you enjoy!

The trip down the Nile, from Memphis to Edfu, was a long journey, one that took a few days. While this fact riled the Pharaoh, his impatience to find his reason for being summoned being by far his most prominent emotion, he tried not to let it show, instead attempting to use the time to glean information from Set and Masika. He was sure that whatever was waiting for him was going to be big news – almost certainly to do with Yugi or his kingdom – and he wanted to prepare himself for it as best he could.

All they would tell him, though, was that the netjeru had summoned him. Masika professed to know nothing of what was said, though she always relayed this in a quiet, almost shameful voice, while Set gave the Pharaoh very little else to work with. He could have simply ordered them outright to tell him all they knew or face execution for defying him, but what would that achieve? He had no proof that they knew anything else, and at any rate he knew that he wouldn't go through with it. They probably knew that too. Besides all that, he felt a nagging doubt about such action, like someone or something was warning him against it.

"Are you sure there was nothing else at all?" he questioned again, a touch of exasperation showing in his voice.

"Positive, oh mighty Pharaoh."

Set's health had improved greatly over the last couple of days. While he was still a shadow of his former self physically, his spirits were high and he looked better overall. He was no longer dependant on others to perform tasks for him or to help him walk, and his former 'confident' personality had also returned, much to the disconcertion of any crewmembers that crossed him, especially when he was performing rituals. After all, even on an ark, one couldn't afford to neglect one's duties.

Especially on an ark, in fact.

Yami gave a groan of annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, before standing at his full regal height and addressing Set. "Be sure to inform me if anything comes back to you, or if the netjeru tell you anything else."

"But of course, oh mighty Pharaoh."

With a frown and almost inaudible muttering, expressing his irritation to the world at large, Yami turned and made his way down the length of his ship, standing beside the navigator and clearing his throat to attract his attention – though given the man's snap salute, it hadn't been necessary. "How long until we arrive at Edfu?"

"If we continue at this speed, oh mighty Pharaoh, we should arrive before the sun peaks in the sky," he replied confidently, though he still managed to keep a touch of respect in his voice. "Certainly, it should not be long after."

Turning his attention skyward, shielding his eyes from the sun's immediate glare, Yami tried to work out roughly how long it would take. Relative to the amount of time they had already been sailing, they didn't have far to go at all. Given that Yami would have preferred to arrive there as soon as he'd received the news, though, it was still far too long for his liking.

"Very well," he eventually conceded, knowing he couldn't command Edfu to unearth itself and meet them halfway, or anything of the like. "Be sure to inform me of our arrival as soon as we have docked," he added, before turning and retiring to his personal quarters.

A while later, a rapping of knuckles on the door to his room alerted Yami to the presence of a guest.

"Enter," he called absently, not bothering to look up from the pile of papyri he was reading. It seemed that poring over documents was how he spent almost all his free time nowadays, trying to ascertain for himself exactly how much damage Seth had done to his kingdom. While reports and word of mouth were all well and good, they often exaggerated where someone wanted a problem to have immediate attention paid to it; or understated where a person was unsure of exactly what the real figures were, the messengers almost always choosing to err on the side of caution. A report of thirty starved cattle could, in reality, have been anything from twenty to fifty, as was being confirmed to Yami with practically every document he looked over.

The door opened almost silently as the visitor stepped through, taking care to close it behind himself before clearing his throat and speaking in a firm, authoritative voice. "You asked to be informed when we arrived, oh mighty Pharaoh," Hiroto stated clearly.

Frowning, pinching his chin between thumb and forefinger thoughtfully, Yami stared at a particularly awkward document, before checking back against another one for reference, running his finger down the page as he searched for the required information. "That's right…" he responded, only half paying Hiroto attention. With a soft curse and much grumbling, Yami delved into the pile of documents he'd already read, apparently searching for another sheet with some information he needed.

Hiroto hesitated a few moments, before hesitantly venturing, "Uhm… we have arrived, oh mighty Pharaoh…"

Yami looked up at Hiroto, blinking a couple of times, before he caught on to what the man meant. "Oh!" he exclaimed, hurriedly shuffling his papyri into a few vaguely neat stacks and standing up. "Then let us disembark!"

Striding out onto the deck with an air of determination about him, Hiroto trailing behind, Yami began to bark orders out to the men on board, dictating who would escort him, who would stay to guard the ship, which packages and offerings should be brought with them and so forth.

A soft, smooth voice drifted to the Pharaoh as he gave his last order, the owner sure of the answer to his question but still creeping slightly, just to be safe. "I trust Masika and I are to join you?"

Yami turned to face Set, a look halfway between amusement and a smug 'I knew that was coming' on his face. "I'm surprised you're even giving me a choice," was all he offered by means of a reply, before turning his attention to the leaving party again, yelling at Jou and Hiroto to get their men in line.

The procession of Pharaoh, High Priest, assistant and guards made their way quickly through Edfu, with very little ceremony and very few pauses. The people of the city, horrified that they hadn't prepared for their Pharaoh's arrival – even though they hadn't been informed – lined the streets as quickly as they could, word spreading through the populace like wildfire. As their lord passed, they all dropped to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground (1), not raising their heads until the entire procession had passed, and not leaving the streets until their Pharaoh was out of sight.

All this, though, failed to faze Yami, who simply led the procession ever onward, flanked by Jou and Hiroto as they bore down upon the temple. His face, set in a grim, determined expression, hid the turmoil of emotions and questions whirling about his mind.

What was he going to find? A messenger? A sign? Was he to be granted a vision? Would one of the netjeru, or indeed even Yugi himself, be waiting for him?

Why had he been summoned? Why was it so important that he visited the temple at Edfu, rather than Ipet-isut (2), which was so much closer, or even the palace's shrines? Surely either would have made more sense, rather than travelling the length of his kingdom?

Even more importantly, what was he going to be told? Yami was sure that Set knew, either from gut feeling or because the netjeru had told him personally, but had given up on extorting such information from him. Maybe the gods had commanded him not to tell – that was, after all, the only reason Yami could see for him to maintain his silence for so long. It would also explain Masika's apparent reservations about the whole trip.

Maybe, Yami realised with a sinking heart, it was to be bad news – news that he wouldn't believe without hearing it directly from the source. As much as this thought distressed him, though, he marched resolutely forward, determined that he should not falter now.

The final hurdle was always the hardest to clear, and he'd be damned if he was going to fall.

Eventually, the procession halted – at Yami's command – at the base of the temple, many sets of eyes gazing up at it. As many times as Yami had been here – he had to visit at least once a year to perform ceremonies for Horus – it never ceased to awe him. The scale and grandeur of the temple was among the finest in his kingdom, and rightly so for the netjer that ruled over both upper and lower Kemet.

With a heavy sigh, knowing he was about to take one of the biggest metaphorical steps of his life, Yami turned to the party behind him. "You two," he stated, indicating Jou and Hiroto. "Are to come with me."

He turned to face Set and Masika. "You as well."

As the two both bowed in acknowledgement, Yami turned to the remainder of his guards. "You are to stay here. I'm sure you all know your roles."

As the men saluted simultaneously, Yami beckoned to his four followers, leading them up the stone steps to the vast entrance, the route feeling longer than ever before. He felt the gnawing doubt in his stomach growing stronger as he neared the top, his mouth going dry and his heart beginning to race as the rear wall of the temple came into sight over the crest of the steps. It wouldn't be long now.

A little further…

Two more steps…

One more step…

Yami froze as he was finally able to view the entire temple, his eyes locking on a small and very familiar figure kneeling before the altar.

"Yugi!"

(1) In ancient Egypt, this was the highest mark of respect you could give. Even in the Kemetic legends, this is how the netjeru greeted each other.

(2) Ipet-isut – the name the Kemetic people gave to the temple of Karnak, meaning 'most select of places'.

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