Chapter Explanations:

-According to the Ancient Egyptians, the composition of the human being goes beyond the simple duality between body and soul. Thus composed of several elements connecting both to the earthly and to the divine, they must follow the principles of Maat (Justice-Truth-Order) and have a solid mastery of magic (Heka) if they want to hope for posthumous survival in the grave and an immortal existence. So that this chapter does not confuse you, I will quote these principles below as well as their names in Ancient Egyptian.

• The heart (ib) is the seat of personality, memory and consciousness. As explained in the previous chapters, after death, it is symbolically judged against the feather of Ma'at on the scales of the court of Osiris.

• Ren is the name, an essential part of the being. Without a name, there is no being. The erasure of the name is a great punishment that magically condemns individuals to damnation and oblivion (hence its primordial importance in YûGiOh!).

• Again, the ka is a spiritual double that is born at the same time as the human (here, the duel monsters such as Diabound for Bakura or Spiria for Isis). It is the reflection of a person's inner nature. And the ba is the vital energy of a person coming directly from their soul.

• Shut is the shadow. Just as there is chaos to order, the shut represents the other part of a person. It is a full component of human personality, and a being cannot be complete without it.

• The physical body (khet or djet), subjected to the decrepitude of old age, is made unalterable after death by the process of mummification. The term khet/djet designates the body but also its representations in painted or sculpted images.

• Finally, akh is roughly seen as the spiritual soul of a deceased person. After death, the akh is therefore the form taken by an individual who has successfully made his passage to the afterlife and who has escaped the second death (damnation) by passing the test of the weighing of the heart in the court of Osiris.

-Ifrane is a town and municipality in Morocco located in the Middle Atlas, at an altitude of 1,713 meters. It is famous for its extremely snowy climate in winter (a rare thing in a desert country like Morocco), but also for being officially the coldest place on the African continent with a temperature of -23.9 C/-11, 02 F

Empty. It was undoubtedly and unsurprisingly empty. Behind the barred prison door, from the threshold where he was standing, the narrow, cold, dark room revealed itself to him hopelessly empty; as if the people who had occupied it just hours ago had simply vanished into thin air. He could not detect a trace, a mark that would approve of their escape, nor had the much too small window or the lock been touched.

The Pharaoh remained lifeless in the doorway, staring blankly at the cell, unable to utter a single word. How could a dozen of people have disappeared like this? With no one noticing anything? He could not explain it...

A light wind suddenly rose within the dungeon, swirling the grains of sand and dust from one corner to another without anything obstructing their passage like a scathing reminder of his failure, and he gritted his teeth with anger. A muted rage seizing him, Atem stormed out of the room, crossing the gaol's corridor leading to the palace with a heavy and rapid step. Behind him, his sacred guardians were following him without daring to ask any question, too disconcerted. Even though they had been the first to be informed of this news and therefore had time to acknowledge it, they remained confused as to how the people of Ma had managed to escape their grip and vigilance.

They were feeling both upset and guilty. Guilty of not having watched over them more carefully, and upset that they had succeeded to slip through their fingers despite their powerful magic and the millennium items. But more importantly, they knew full well that it was the last thing they needed right now. How could they prepare for a war and help their sovereign focus on it if they also had to search for fleeing prisoners?

Mahad and Seth seemed the most disturbed by the situation. And for good reason, both personally responsible for the safety of their king, they were seeing themselves unable to depart for the battlefield and leave the latter at the mercy of resentful people surely wishing to take revenge. Lost and nervous, they were wandering at the end of the procession, unable to decide on the next course of action...

The way to the council chamber was done in dead silence, the nomarchs, viziers and other nobles stepping aside without the slightest hesitation as they passed, the tension exuded by the Pharaoh and the expression of anger on his face being enough for them to understand that it was better not to bother them. Through the alleys and hallways, the word was getting around that the high priests had failed in their duty, that the sovereign's fury was unprecedented. From the guards to the servants, to the cooks as well as the dancers of the harem, the hushed chatters were going strong, and very quickly, the young king knew that the whole royal residence would know, putting him in a state of shame even greater than in which he already was.

The towering golden doors slammed open, the sound they made when knocking against the walls echoing throughout the room and startling the people inside who then turned in the same gesture to find out who was the philistine who dared to disturb them in their work.

"GET OUT! "

His voice cracked like a whip and, not needed to be asked twice, the members of the council hastily disappeared, a certain relief being read in their eyes as they were reassured not to be the object of the sovereign's wrath.

Letting the sacred guardians in, he closed the doors with a strange calm and, leaning against them, observed the group before him with coldness worthy of Ifrane's frozen winters. No one dared to speak first, knowing full well that no excuse would ever be good enough to forgive their fault.

"I don't think I need to tell you what kind of repercussion this might have, do I!? " Atem finally exclaimed impatiently, his tone still abrupt. "How could you have been so careless!? "

"… "

The sudden mutism of his priests only annoyed him a little more and biting his lip while letting out a sigh, he moved towards his seat on which he slumped wearily and without any other form of concern, his pupils avoiding obstinately to land on the war diorama resting on the table.

"Majesty. " Aknadin finally uttered, stepping forward slightly. "What is done is done. Now is the time to focus on the most important. "

"The most important!? " the Pharaoh shouted at the top of his voice, frowning. "The most important is to find Hussein and his court, uncle! If ever the Libyan army allies itself with that of Nubia, which will most likely happen, we won't stand a chance! "

"Nothing says it will happen. Mahad has already sent several troops to search for them in town, and there are plans to post some at every border as well. " Seth interjected uncertainly.

"Yes, after all, his troops have already done such a great job at guarding the prisoners!" the sovereign hissed sourly, glaring at his childhood friend.

"No, of course not… " the magician whispered, lowering his head contritely. "In fact, I took the necessary measures against those in duty at that time. I have personally interviewed them one by one beforehand, and they claim to know nothing... I believe them. It is as if their memory has been erased or at least altered. "

"Erased? How could it be? " Isis asked with surprise, approaching the wearer of the millennium ring as Atem straightened up, his interest piqued.

"I do not know. " Mahad huffed, shaking his head in the negative. "Neither I nor the ring felt any magical residue in them. I think this is some kind of drug, very potent given its permanent effects. "

"What good is that to us. " the sovereign sighed once more as he fell back against his seat, disillusioned.

"It does tell us something, though. " Shadi indicated, crossing his arms with suspicion. "The Machaouach did not escape on their own. They have received help. "

"And the person behind this escape knew that the millennium items would spot any form of magic and that he would have to resort to more conventional means. " Karim added as he walked over to the Pharaoh, his teal blue gaze meeting the purple eyes of the latter. "There is a traitor in our ranks. "

##########

… rise…

Through the dying darkness, he could distinguish a stealth, dancing glimmer, attracting him like a bee is drawn to the scent of flowers. Luminescent and soft, it seemed to contain a hidden power of unspeakable potency, both destructive and creative. It held knowledge known only to the wisest, such as the embodiment of Mertseger, Goddess of silence and secrets. But to follow that glimmer meant to leave the safety of his soul room; to agree to cross the frightening threshold and walk along a dark hallway where he could come under attack from all sides.

Arise, son of Ma'at.

His saviour's voice echoed in the distance, inspiring him courage and determination. He stood up from the floor, dropping the toy he was holding in his hands, and walked towards the doorway. Of a lunar silver-grey, the glimmer continued to summon him, entice him, and he stepped outside of the room for the first time since his birth.

You will be protected from the malevolent shadows.

You must find the truth.

His own thoughts mingled with the words of his protector within his mind, and it was as if he was the one telling those words. The closer he got, the more it seemed to him that he was seeing the world beyond the glimmer. He stopped. Suddenly, this world seemed worrying, invaded by the suffocating darkness of the night.

The brilliance of the stars will light your path.

Reassured, he moved forward again, one step after the other, until finally reaching this ephemeral light which he touched with the tips of his fingers before it vanished, replaced by that expected of the stars while he opened his eyes, the sheets caressing his body and the cool nocturnal breeze sweeping through his face finishing to waking him.

O son of Ma'at, arise...

He sat on the bed, frowning as he kept hearing Hasan's voice inside his head. Benevolent, it covered him with its warmth, intimated his actions as on the day of the attempted assassination of Atem, when it had ordered him to get away as quickly as possible from the throne on which he was sitting.

Once again, Hasan was dictating him his movements, forcing him to leave the comfort of the bunk he shared with the Pharaoh and out of the room to head where only the gods knew.

Find the truth you are looking for.

The truth he was looking for, what could it be? Or, could it be the secrets surrounding this King of Thieves named Bakura and the place called Kul Elna? The answers he had been seeking for so many days now, soon within his grasp. He had felt that somehow he was linked to all of this, that he had a role to play.

Use the power of the millennium puzzle. Channel your heka.

I shall guide you.

Confident, he got dressed, walked round the bed and faced the young king who was deeply asleep. Smiling fondly, he silently apologised and grabbed the inverted pyramid resting on a reed stand near the sovereign on a small table. Then, putting it around his neck, he quietly slipped out of the royal apartments.

As if in symbiosis with the magic of the puzzle, and guided by Hassan's influence, he walked through the corridors of the palace plunged in pitch blackness, as if all the torches had been extinguished in order to better conceal his crime. Sinking deeper and deeper into the heart of the palace, he finally reached the library in which he entered, ignoring the shelves of books by the hundred and stopping in front of a wall at the back of the room.

Heba looked up, staring at the partition with a pout. The torch hanging to his right burst into flames abruptly and he stepped back in surprise. The light smoke from the glowing embers was fluttering in the air like carried by the wind before it evaporated against a thin crack in the wall, and he frowned for the second time, intrigued. Running a hand against the cold stone surface, he felt a barely perceptible breeze slip through his fingers and quickly realised that this was a hidden passage. All he had to do now was to find the opening mechanism.

He looked around carefully, trying to find the key. It was in those moments that his analytical mind served him best. The straight, smooth cavity was running along the ceiling wall to the floor, proving that it was human-made and not the result of any degradation of time. Halfway, a frieze carved with lotus flowers and mandrake fruits was crossing the entire length of the wall in a strange repeating pattern.

At the corner of the cavity, a lotus with unfolded petals slanted delicately to the side, touching the visible sepals of the also slanted mandrake. Approaching, the boy smirked, finally understanding the trick, and grabbed the two ornaments, turning them in the opposite direction to separate them from each other. A thud was thus heard from inside the wall, as if large blocks of clay were being moved across the ground. Then the crack creaked, a thin layer of dust crumbling from the edges as the wall split open, revealing a brand new section of the library consisting of a few dozen shelves filled with papyrus scrolls.

The knowledge of the ancient time is close...

Seek it, son of Ma'at. Seek the truth.

Entering the secret chamber, whose skirting board ran through a narrow basin of oil had started to burn at the opening of the door, lighting the room in a subdued manner, the teenager lost himself in the contemplation of the walls adorned with engravings and hieroglyphics which he had never seen before and whose meaning he did not understand. To his left, the room was growing larger and was plunging deeper into darkness and he swallowed apprehensively, knowing full well he had to continue on that path.

I shall protect you. Always...

Little by little, he was walking away from the blazing of the basin, travelling along the hallway for what seemed like an eternity before Hassan's voice suddenly stopped him in front of what was a parcel suspended above a bottomless void. Taking a deep breath, the former slave resumed his route, but at a slower pace, until he reached the other end of the platform.

There, on a simple stone altar, rested an ancient book with a mystical appearance. From the copper-coloured cover, the eye of Anubis seemed to be watching him, judging him with his stern gaze. But calmed by the warmth of Hassan still surrounding him, he retrieved the grimoire and carried it with him to the centre of the secret chamber where he could study it under the glow of the burning oil.

The book was quivering between his fingers, as if impatient, and moans began to be heard when he opened it, hundreds of spirits escaping from it and swirling around him in dreadful laments. He let go of the grimoire, frightened, and the pages flipped on their own on the floor until they stopped to a specific one from which a dark indigo energy was released before taking the shape of a human in front of the boy. Heba let out a terrible cry that echoed between the walls of the room and the library at this vision, which seemed to amuse the threatening shadow, a toothless smile appearing on its mouth before it forced its way within him, a feeling of oppression seizing him from head to toe. The teenager then gripped his heart tightly as he felt it stop beating for a second before he plunged into utter darkness, his body collapsing to the ground in a violent shock.