Author's Notes: This came to me out of nowhere. I just felt like writing a little blurb about what might have gone through Atemu's (Yami's) head as he was facing Zork 3,000 years ago and made the decision to seal the Shadow Realm. The method by which he does it was never made clear, in the anime at least, so I have about a billion and a half theories; this is one of them… I've written other ones before…

Warnings: I guess you could consider this something of a spoiler… even though it's just very loosely based on the end of what we see of the Egypt-arc. Er... character death? XD Also, it's the first piece of YGO fiction I've written in… months. So it may be very shoddy. x . x;

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! and that makes me cry (on the inside).

The Beginning

Smoke rose from his ruined city, and Atemu knew it was over. There was nothing left that he could do. He was, after all, merely a mortal. Son of the gods, indeed, but still mortal. He could hear Seto's voice over the explosions that rocked the ground he laid on, but he couldn't make out the words. Someone's hand was on his shoulder, trying to stir him back into motion, but he felt as though he were buried beneath Egypt's golden sand.

Zork had been too strong. Atemu knew he'd been foolish, thinking that he, in all his inexperience, would be able to stop the Lord of Darkness. 'If only Father hadn't died,' the fallen prince thought miserably. 'Father could have stopped him…'

He was weak. He knew this, now. His priests – his friends – had believed he was capable of greatness to rival the former Pharaoh, even at such a young age as his. They had put their faith in him, had helped him to the best of their ability. When he had managed to summon Obelisk against the thief that first time, they had been amazed, and were further assured that he was capable of stopping the threat to their land.

But what none of them – nor he – had realized was that Bakura was just the catalyst.

When Zork was revived, Atemu had felt fear for the first time since his father's death. He knew it would not be a simple feat to dispose of him. Laying on the rubble-strewn ground of Memphis, Atemu sent up a silent prayer for that poor thief, so close in age to himself, whose life had been sacrificed to the monster. Atemu had been mistaken; they all had.

Akunadin's treachery had been a shock to them all. For so long, they'd looked to him for guidance, only to discover that he had been the one responsible for opening the Shadow Realm to begin with. 'Father didn't know… his own brother deceived him…'

Through his pain, Atemu began to decipher bits and pieces of the battle still raging around him. He had summoned all three gods, and just as quickly, all three had been destroyed by Zork. Even Seto's magnificent dragon, born of the Ka of a peasant girl, had been no match for the dark creature. Atemu could still feel the energy of the Sennen Puzzle that he had worn since his father's death. It was fueling Zork's power, along with the rest of the Sennen Items.

And suddenly, he had an idea.

It would kill him. He was sure enough of that fact. But if he could just stand up and speak the incantation… he understood now.

Years ago, in that temple, when his father had begged the gods for forgiveness… when they had left there, Akunamkanon gave Atemu, then still a child, a task. He was to memorize a very specific spell from the Thousand Year Book of Magic… he was not to tell anyone about it. Atemu had asked what the spell was for, and his father, looking more deeply saddened than Atemu had ever seen him, had said solemnly that he hoped his son would never have need to use it.

Now, Atemu knew what the spell was for. It would lock up the Shadow Realm, and with its closure, Zork, too, would be sealed within its confines. Atemu had only one chance; his life would have to be forfeit.

He braced his hands against the shaking ground and pushed himself into a kneeling position. The pain he felt was enormous; Ra, Osiris, and Obelisk were all dead, and each one's death had torn from him a piece of his soul.

As he struggled to stand, he could hear Seto again, and Mana, telling him to rest, promising foolishly that they would hold Zork off long enough for him to recover his strength. Atemu knew they didn't have that kind of time left. He wouldn't let the monster kill anyone else…

"Seto," he said, his voice hoarse from shouting, and his most trusted friend and confident was immediately beside him, holding him up wordlessly. "Please… when I do this… I need you to promise me that you'll lead everyone back in the right direction."

"I don't understand, my Pharaoh," Seto said, a rare note of fear in his voice.

"You will be the one to succeed me, Seto. I haven't any heirs, and as it turns out, you're part of the royal bloodline."

He forced a small laugh to try and lift his friend's spirits a bit.

"I want my people to have peace again, Seto."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Seto nodded, his bright blue eyes filled with sadness, but also with determination.

"I will not disappoint you, my Pharaoh," he said softly.

Atemu nodded, his head heavy.

"It is time to finish this, then," he said, looking up to face Zork for the final time.

"So, the little prince has regained his feet," the monster's voice boomed from above as he sneered down at him. "Have you come up with another cunning plan to destroy me?" he asked, laughing scathingly. "Or are you finally ready to plead for death?"

"I do not fear death," Atemu said thinly, silently going over the words to the incantation in his mind. "My only regret is that I was not strong enough to kill you before you could hurt my people."

"Then it's about time I put you out of your misery," Zork said gleefully, fire forming between his clawed hands.

"I will not allow your reign to continue!" Atemu shouted, steeling himself for what he was about to do. "I said I wasn't strong enough to kill you, but I have enough left in me to stop you!"

He closed his eyes against the heat of the fire Zork would use to kill him, and began to recite the spell. He could feel his soul leaving his body as the sounds and smells and feelings faded away; he was dying. But as Zork's outraged shrieks reached him through the fog surrounding his senses, he was certain the other was departing the mortal world as well.

And for that, his death would be worth it.

End Notes: So there you go… less than three pages. I never said it was good. XD; Hopefully some of you will enjoy it, though…