disclaimer: don't own Yugioh or its characters.
author's note: Well, here it is, the FINAL chapter in this fic. It has been fun to write. I hope it has been the same to read. As the events now tie into the actual anime/manga, I opt not to go any further with it. My main goal was accomplished...get into the mind of the pharaoh-to-be and what his early teen life may have been like prior to being pharaoh.
With this 21 chapter story now complete, I would LOVE to hear some feedback on it. As always I thank those who have given me feedback throughout this story and with each chapter. And now, with it complete, it is more vital now than ever that I hear reader input. For writes such as myself and probably others, feedback or lack of it, determines whether or not I continue to post my fics online for others to read or merely keep them to myself in my own personal stash of writings. As readers, please don't take fics for granted. Be kind and respectful of the time and effort we writers put forth by taking a brief moment to respond or comment if you read a work in a respectful way (not flames because that just shows how rude or immature you can be). For me, you can respond through or through email or other means on my website, For those of you who already do such, again, thank you very much.
Pharaoh Atemu...age 16
It has been several days since my coronation. Only now do I have the briefest of moments to bring this journal to its conclusion. Never in my life has so many events happened in so short of time.
My coronation was fine, but its celebratory events after were interrupted by a very bold thief with a death wish. Though father had only been laid to rest in his tomb for a few days, already a thief managed to penetrate it. Shimon and Mahaado had designed and protected it. I do not know, with their skills and abilities, how it had failed. But it is not something I will concern myself with. I have more important matters to attend to. This King of Thieves as he calls himself, Bakura by given name, is unlike any other criminal I have ever seen enter this palace. He has been trained in the art of dueling...usually reserved only for High Priests and royalty. He can control ka beasts of others as well as his own. He had stolen father's dia diank and utilized it as if it were his destiny to do so. This thief gives me the feeling that I've met him before, but I cannot fully recall the memory of such. Perhaps I met him in my dreams? His pale white hair is as unique as my own. We are kindred souls but to such an opposite extreme. He is seeking just as I am, but neither of us knows the end result. He is fueled by a hatred that I never thought could exist in a single mortal. His ka beast is nearly god-like. And it took a god to defeat it! Not even Seto's mighty ka beasts could damage it! Perhaps that was one shining light in these darkening times. I AM the pharaoh meant to harness and unleash the power of the gods! The name came to my mind surer than that of my own name...Obelisk. I had summoned a GOD! Bakura somehow retreated and disappeared as quickly as he had charged into our presence...leaving only father's corpse and a few of his possesions behind. Is this my destiny...to serve in dark times! The world grew darker upon my ascension to the throne. Akunadin seemed frozen in utter fear at the sight of Bakura. I know not why, but it's highly unusual for the experienced warrior to freeze up like that. It worries me that I had to use a god to defeat the ka of a mere peasant. It took a lot of energy and hekka to do that. I am unsure how often I can do such without taking physical or fatal damage to my own self.
Bakura was the least of my worries and he entered into my life at what I consider its darkest hour. Just a mere day before my coronation, Asru was found dead. Poisoned by an unidentifiable means. My own life was threatened at the coronation festivities even before Bakura's entrance...by a lone assassin trying to kill me with a poisoned needle. Thankfully the Millenium Items did their job. Isis sensed his presence and Mahaado reacted accordingly, using his cape to block the needle's course towards my neck.
Mother has disappeared. She is not within the palace walls. I saw her death in a hekka-induced vision, not a dream, but rather a form of meditation. She used the mighty Nile to being her journey to be at father's side. Her body preserved by the life essence of the river itself and its mighty protectors...the crocs and hippos. I should have seen the signs of it...her spending much time with me in her final days and all, but again, I am not one to argue with the gods. If that was her destiny, I am not worthy to alter it. I have told no one except Shimon of the vision I had of mother. Shimon also said it was the will of the gods. I have little choice but to accept it. She did love father so much anyway.
So, I have lost three loved ones within the span of a single season and two of such were within mere days. I've faced so much loss so quickly that I am numbed by it. I don't feel any emotion with it. My heart has a wall of ice around it. Nothing enters or leaves it. I'm merely existing and awaiting the gods' next move. I do not know why I'm being punished like this, I have done no wrong. Shimon says I'm not being punished, but tested...as I might face trials in life that are beyond what any mortal has ever faced before me. The gods want me ready. Apparently that means taking away everyone I have loved. I have sworn an oath to myself, I will not love again until I make these dark times light again or at least die trying. I have this gnawing feeling within my gut that I am not the one destined to bring light back, but merely be the guiding force to it for another. I don't fully understand it, but maybe I'm not meant to. I do not have time to mourn the losses of my loved ones or these strange visions I'm getting. I am pharaoh. I must protect my kingdom and its people. I have to be above my own personal issues. This was something I've been trained to do. It is something I have to do. And I will do it to the best of my abilities no matter how painful it may be.
I have given the task of reburying father and all the proper ceremonies to Mahaado. Seto and Shaadi have taken charge of security and protection by use of military force. Thinking of my High Priests, it is very strange that Isis could not detect Bakura nor see his future. I worry about this. I must learn all I can about this white-haired thief who's about Seto's age. If I don't or I learn it too late, it could be the fatal stroke on my life and that of this kingdom. Bakura is a very real threat and a threat greater than any invading army this kingdom has ever seen. Amazing how a single person can be such, but he is. Why does he hate me so? He had directed nearly all his physical and verbal attacks at me. What have I done to him? I do not even know him! Yes indeed, Bakura as at the height of my worries...a powerful, dark enigma that radiates justified evil. I don't understand that thought either. How can evil ever be justified? Did I skip out on a lesson I shouldn't have?
And while I so strongly rise above all my losses, the loss of Asru still seeps forward more than any of the others. A love I was never truly able to love. An innocent life taken pettily only to strike a hit at me and my future. Her loss is the deepest stab my heart has taken and its scar will never heal. My love for her transcended every other bond I'd ever had for anything, living or otherwise. I cannot put into words the emotional turmoil I now feel. But, I must remind myself, I am pharaoh. To overcome such a loss will be a sign of maturity and strength. I must have both to overcome all that appears before me now. A lethal strike at the future has indeed been dealt, for it has stifled all interest I've had in an intimate relationship with another. My heir must be produced, yet I now lack the mental and emotional ability to reach that point. A kingdom without an heir is a kingdom lost. That was yet another lesson drilled into me. But, I am not going to worry myself with this issue any longer. I can only deal with one serious threat at a time...and Bakura is at the forefront. And it appears that my gaming and dueling abilities will be put to the test. I have to be the greatest ever! I stake my life and the future of this entire kingdom on it! It is not a wish nor a boast, but a promise. I WILL BE THE GREATEST GAMER AND DUELIST TO HAVE EVER SET FOOT UPON THIS EARTH!
I had wished dear journal that you would retire on a happy note, but obviously that is not to be. These are dark times now and my own life has been thrown into the abyss of chaos. I can't see an end. All I can hope for is a beginning. And with that, I hereby bring you, my childhood, and my princehood to a close...forever.
Pharaoh Atemu,
King of Egypt and King of Games