2 - Sekhmet
Atem snapped his eyes open and sat up from his bed.
He panted heavily, and his forehead sweating greatly. He felt himself calm down, and put a hand over his face. He sighed and looked around the room.
He then realized he wasn't in his palace.
Atem's eyes widened with fear. Where the hell was he!? And why did everything look so weird? Atem shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to register what was happening. The room he was in, wasn't his own. He looked down at himself, realizing he wasn't wearing his royal attire. His royal trinkets were gone, including his crown. The men in white must have took them away. That's all he could remember after passing out in his mother's coffin. Several men in white...His pendant was still there, much to his relief.
He was wearing a white button up blouse with very smooth pants. He was barefoot, not that it bothered him. Atem assumed this was attire to go to bed in. And speaking of bed, the bed that he sat on was nothing like the bed he slept in. It was very large and quite fluffy. Much more comfortable than his own. It had velvet smooth blue sheets and two big pillows. He turned his head to the side, and saw a nightstand. He blinked once. Where in Ra's name was he?
"You're up?"
Atem flinched at the voice and quickly turned around. At first, he was shocked. The person who stood in the door way looked a lot like his cousin, Seth. But this person couldn't be, for he had pale skin. Seth had tan like his own. And this person was dressed in weird clothing that seemed to be similar to what he was wearing. Though, his brown short hair and cold blue eyes just kept bugging him about Seth. His voice sounded grumpy, just like his. Atem continued to stare at the person, not knowing what to say.
"My father said you were going to be staying with us from now on." He eyed Atem up and down, as if disgusted. "He says you're from a distant town in Egypt, a poor one. So I assume you don't know what most of the stuff you're staring at is."
Atem flinch a bit at the young man's words. Yup, definitely Seth's personality too. Atem would have felt offended, but he's so use to the behavior, he simply shrugged it off and continued to stare at the boy. And how wrong he was. Atem was a prince, royalty. Not that he liked to boast about his status, but he was a wealthy man. And for one, he shouldn't talk down to him so rudely. He shouldn't even be looking at him in the eye! And poor town? For what information did this young man's father give him?
Atem then realized, how long was he asleep? He could have blacked out. Maybe went into a deep sleep. Time had to have passed. Could this boy be a child of Seth? Atem licked his lips.
"...Who are you?" He asked quietly. His throat was a bit sore. He then felt his throat tighten up in fear. He realized he wasn't speaking his native tongue. He was speaking something else, a language not of his own. And more importantly, he could understand the young man, even though he didn't know the language he was speaking either. Something was making him able to do this, against his own will.
It's Japanese. Completely different from Arabic.
Atem blinked again. A voice was in his head, that sounded a lot like his own. And yet, it wasn't familiar at all. He certainly didn't think those thoughts.
I'll explain later. Just shut up and pay attention.
The heck was going on!?
"Seto Kaiba." The young man's voice snapped him back in reality. 'Seto Kaiba'? Close to Seth's name but...No this couldn't be right. Atem quickly stood up from the bed and went to the small window that accompanied the bed. Atem felt his heart pummel into his stomach.
Okay, judging from the humongous looking buildings and bright lights that illuminated the dark night, there's no way in hell he was in Egypt anymore. He saw metal things moving on the ground from below, people again wearing weird clothing walking around, and no one shared the same skin he had. And what kind of building were they in!? Atem began to panic. What kind of world was he in!? Was this the after life!?
"What is this place?" He asked, his voice still low.
"Japan. What, never heard of it before?" Upon the sight of Atem's confused expression, this 'Seto' person assumed not. Atem shook his head and blinked. "Anyway, you've been asleep for a while. They just dispatched you from the hospital."
Hospital? He hopelessly thought.
It's a place where the unhealthy or wounded get treated and healed. People similar to the healers at the palace are there.
Oh Ra, the voice again.
He gulped. Obviously, some time has passed since he had woken up, according to Seto. But...How long? "What year is this?" Atem cautiously asked this question slowly, almost not wanting to hear the answer.
"2015. You weren't asleep that long. Just a couple of weeks."
2015!? Atem felt his heart sunk even deeper into his intestines, if that was even possible.
That's about 3,000 years.
3,000 years!?
He was in his mother's sarcophagus for that long!? How was that even possible!? No no, he needed to go back! He needed to-
...Wait...
His home was ultimately destroyed by that thief. All of Egypt suffered from his power. There was no home to go to anymore. Everyone was dead, he was all alone. Going back to a deserted empty destroyed place all alone, wasn't such a great idea. He would wander the endless desert for hours. Atem's eyes lowered sadly. Maybe being here was actually the better option. As much as Atem didn't like it, and as much as he was confused, he had to accept this and try his best to figure out what exactly was happening. In fact, he should be grateful anyone was taking him in at all. He just needed to...Get his feet dug in and accept the fact that-
He was starting a new life.
Wait a minute. Was any of this even real?
This sounded absolutely crazy. Atem assumed the Gods just didn't want him to die along with everyone else, and live on for their legacy, or that the Gods were punishing him for being a coward during the battle and live with the fact that he was alone in this world. Perhaps they were making him live a dream...
Regardless, he had to keep calm about this and not lose his head. He couldn't freak out. If he did, he'd go crazy, which wasn't a hard thing for him to do in this kind of situation.
Atem sighed, covering his face with his hands. He just basically time traveled, was stripped of his royal trinkets, his mother's corpse and sarcophagus was gone, and everything and everyone was just flat out different and weird in the most unusual ways.
This was going to be a long night.
Seto's rough expression became a little soft, seeing Atem frustrated. "Look. I don't know what happened with you, but I can tell you've had a tough time. I'll explain more tomorrow. Go back to sleep." He advised. Before Atem could respond back, he developed a headache. His cranium felt like it was about rip apart. He groaned in pain and held his head. Seto narrowed his eyes at him as Atem laid back down on the bed, exhausted.
"Go to sleep." The young man walked away from the bed, towards the doorway.
Atem laid against the pillow. The breath of sleep and drowsiness only made it harder for Atem to stay conscious. The intense headache didn't help, making him almost pass out completely. Seto glanced back at the bed, before leaving the room quickly.
The former prince fell asleep, and his mind wandered to the lands of dreams.
Black.
All he saw was black.
This...This wasn't a dream.
Nothing was happening. Nothing was here. Just a huge empty black space of nothingness. He stood on nothingness.
This is my room. I take offense to that.
Again with this voice...
Quit complaining.
Atem sighed through his nose. This just gets weirder and weirder. He narrowed his eyes at the black empty space and licked his lips.
"Who are you?"
...
The former prince gritted his teeth a bit. The voice had so much to say, now all of a sudden, silent when questioned. After all he's been through, Atem was just about fed up with everything. Everyone he's known and loved are dead. The only thing left of his mother's corpse was stolen away from him, including his clothes and jewelry. He ended up in a strange place, completely confused, and all of his questions are still waiting to be answered. His patience was running thin, and as of now, he had the urge to kill something.
Oh calm yourself, boy.
And now the voice wishes to talk.
You'll get your answers in a second. Just shut up for a minute and come to me.
He wrinkled his face in confusion.
A tiny ball of red light then appeared in front of him. This looked like some sort of heka magic.
Indeed you're right. It is. Touch it.
Atem frowned, narrowing his eyes at the small light.
It won't hurt you. Just touch it. You want your answers, don't you?
The former prince reached his hand out slowly, and gently tapped the light with the pad of his index finger.
Suddenly, his ear flicked. He heard the sound of water...Waves. Like a river. No...An ocean. It sounded like waves crashing against each other violently. Like the warning of a flood arriving to drown all in its path. The light faded out once the sounds came. Then another sound came about. A tapping of someone's foot. It was almost completely in sync with the waves. Like there was a certain rhythm, a song. The tapping of the foot sounded like a clock, timing for the waves to overcome whatever it was headed towards.
And judging by how louder the sound got with each tap, Atem realized the waves were coming for him.
Literally appearing out of no where, huge gushing waves flushed into the blank space. And it was not water, but blood. He panicked. It was coming straight towards him. It was going to catch him. He needed to run, but where to? He would be running to nothing and the waves would eventually catch him. He gasped as some blood splashed onto his ankle. It was going to rise and engulf him. He continued to panic, he began to think in fear instead of thinking logically. And as he panicked more, the more the waves splashes onto him.
He was now practically swimming in it. Yes, the former prince knew how to swim. His mother often took him to the Nile, and there he practiced. But he wasn't prepared for anything like this. Especially not waves that were probably more than 10 feet high. More piled on top of him. He was now submerged.
He was scared. Once again he was scared. Once again he couldn't do a thing. Once again, he felt helpless and weak.
And once again, he wanted his mother to come and rescue him.
All of his fears, all of his pain...It felt like they were the waves drowning him, not the waves of blood. His confusion, his sorrow, his anger...He had to have joined his mother in the afterlife. He died. He had to. He wanted to. Then where was she? Where was his mother?
He couldn't hear a thing. Not a single sound reached his ears. He didn't hear any waves, he didn't hear the voice again, he didn't even hear himself breath.
He couldn't breath. His breath was caught in his wind pipe. He needed oxygen. He needed help.
He was going to die. Die in this empty space all alone.
And he actually felt happy for that.
Where was he when they all needed him? Where was he when they took his mother away? Both in his childhood and when her corpse was taken away? Where was he when his father was murdered? Where was he when his best friends Mana and Mahado were annihilated? Where was he when his kingdom needed him? He wasn't what everyone wanted. He wasn't the prince everyone looked up to, the prince everyone saw as their next king. He wasn't the brave soldier his mother saw him as. He wasn't the confident, strong-willed man he thought he was.
He was a failure.
He deserved to die. He deserved death.
Atem felt his eyes lower. His body was drifting. He slowly looked down, seeing nothing but red. He was in the ocean of blood. He couldn't move his body, and he didn't even feel his own heart beat. He must have died. Drowned.
Drowned in his own emotions.
He let himself die.
He held a ghost of a smile. He could die. He didn't care if he were punished by the Gods. He wanted to die. Let go. Give up on this agonizing life.
...Maybe say hello to mother on the way there. That would be nice...
He could be free.
...
...Then-
A laugh.
"Hahaha, silly boy."
Atem's eyes opened up.
"No one's perfect."
"You can wake up now."
The former prince awoke with a start. He immediately sat up, panting as if gasping for air. He held onto his chest, as if his heart had stopped. He shivered. He was cold, wet. He raised his hand up to his face, noticing red liquid dripping from his fingers. A familiar metallic smell. Blood.
He just stared at the hand with a glare. Even more confused than ever, and a bit disappointed. He thought he was going to die. But here he is, alive and well in a...
A...
What the hell was this place?
Atem noticed that once again, he was in an unfamiliar place. This was starting to get annoying. The place was a rather small room. The floors and walls were bright red, like his mother's eyes. They had posters on them, large pictures of Sekhmet in all her terrifying beauty. A large bed was in the center of the room, with a large orb in front of it. The bed held red satin sheets with one pillow, while the orb seemed to hold heka in it. The room was clean, organized. Shelves and dressers surrounded the area. Books and tablets filled them all. He began to try and stand, his hands pushing onto the floor to lift himself. he realized he was touching something soft. He glanced down, realizing the substance was some sort of red rug. The blood dripping off of him didn't seem to stain it, since it only matched its color.
He stood up and stared at the bed. Obviously, this was someone's room. And due to all the items that were here, someone lived here. But where were they?
"Right here."
That same red light that Atem saw reappeared on the center of the bed, and unraveled itself like webs of blood. Soon, it unraveled itself into the form of a man. Once the red light faded away once more, Atem was shocked at the person who sat on the bed with their legs crossed.
It was...Himself.
A doppleganger. Another Atem. But unlike the original, this Atem held a confident smirk, with a laid back posture. His eyes however, were black with red irises. This Atem was also wore more appropriate clothing. He was shirtless with a black sash wrapped around his hips, and Arabian looking harem pants. He also had golden piercings on his ears and golden bands on his wrists and neck. Now he looked the part of royalty. Atem however, still found this completely weird. Looking at his double...That was...That was just weird.
Actually, he should be looking away. Atem's mother had once told him never to look at another copy of yourself. He was told that the copy of one's self is the self the person never wanted, but needed to be. The darker side, the evil side of that person. She said if you looked at your dark self, you'd die.
Yet, Atem kept staring. Once said before, he wanted to die. He didn't really care.
"You should care." The copy said with a sarcastic tone. Atem stared at the doppleganger, and he stared back.
"Who are you?" Atem asked once more. He noticed, he was speaking his native tongue again.
"I am exactly what you think. You. The you that you never wanted to become, but need to be." The copy replied casually. He picked his nails, bored of the conversation already. Atem almost automatically did not like this twin of his. "I did say I would answer your questions, and I did say I would explain things. So, go on then. Give them to me."
Atem walked a little closer.
"Oh and, you may sit if you wish. Don't act like a stranger." He offered. The former prince eyed the double carefully, and made his way over to the bed. He sat down, but far away from his doppleganger. He sat on the edge of the bed, not wanting to get closer. His double rolled his eyes at his overly cautious actions.
"Am I dead?" Atem asked, the very first thing he wanted to know.
"No. You wish you were."
Indeed he did.
"Where am I?" He asked next. His double scratched behind his head and pursed his lips.
"Well, physically, you're in the human world, on earth. Your mind however, is in the part of your brain where your emotions are registered. I took over that region and made it into a small slab of my own world. Or rather, room." The doppleganger glanced at Atem. "And yes, before you ask that question, you are now in another time. In a more modern time. There's no mistake."
That was Atem's next question. The teen continued to gaze at his double, trying to figure something out.
"If you have a question, I told you, just ask." His twin reminded. Atem shook his head.
"Who are you?" He asked again. The double chuckled.
"I just told you-"
"You are something more. You're not just another me. You're something much bigger than that." He turned his body completely over to the twin, his eyes searching for more answers. The doppleganger only smirked more.
"Yes, you're right. I am more than what I tell. However, that ties into what I was going to tell you."
Atem continued to listen attentively.
"Listen closely now. Most of this involves your mother." The double inhaled deeply and exhaled. "Your mother was indeed not a human. She was far from normal. She lived a lie. In fact, her name was not even true."
"What..?" Atem's eyes began to shook at the mention of his mother.
"Her name, Atinmerit, is a lie. Her real name, is Hathor. The good version of the goddess of destruction, Sekhmet."
The teen's face fell.
"No. Before you get any ideas, let me finish. No, your mother was not particularly a goddess. However, she was a descendant of Hathor. She was born in a human form, but she was far from one. You already know the story, so I'm not going to get into that. Anyway, being a descendant of a deity means having their powers. Your mother had all the abilities. She was beautiful, she was romantic, she brought joy to others, and held great strength during your birth. While she did share traits of Sekhmet's personality and handled violent situations, she was mostly a kind woman. However, the day when your uncle Aknadin confronted her and threatened her, she used the powers of Sekhmet, killing him. When your father and the royal court caught her in the act, they threw her away in the dungeon, in the catacombs below the palace floors."
"Hurt and betrayed by your father's order to send her away, that was when her anger developed. Everyone was against her. Everything was taken away from her. You, her pride, her dignity, her love for your father, her friends in the palace, her beauty, her health...Her life. Even in death, her rage still lives on. When she gave you that pendant, she was giving you the key to her power. To Sekhmet's power. And that key, is me." The doppleganger smiled devilishly.
Atem blinked slowly, trying to register that last part.
"When she gave you the pendant, her power immediately rushed inside of you. You just didn't know it. You are now the descendant of Sekhmet, the evil form of Hathor due to your mother's immortal rage."
So...
Atem's mother, Atinmerit was a descendant of the goddess Hathor. Once she became so angry with father, just like in the legends, she switched from her beautiful caring side, to her evil destructive side. And due to Atem being her offspring, he inherited her abilities. Not only that, but his mother gave him a pendant that contained Sekhmet's almighty powers. Turning him into what she is.
"Correct!" His double exclaimed. As if he read his thoughts. Wait...If they were in his mind, of course he could hear his thoughts. "Now, let me explain her reasons for giving you the pendant. She wants you to carry on her legacy and do what she couldn't do." The doppleganger smirked and gave Atem a good stare. "She wants you to carry out her revenge."
The teen was taken back from the information. He just glared at his twin as if he was crazy. "Revenge? I understand the reasons why..." His mother obviously wanted revenge for being so wrongly treated and having everything taken away from her. "But why? And how would I even do that?"
"Well..." His double began. "You were the only one who still believed in her. The only one who still cared about her. For that reason, and because you are her kin, you were the perfect person to put the responsibility on. Now listen carefully to this part." The twin commanded. "When all members of the royal court, your father and that thief king died, their spirits still lived on. They did not move on to the afterlife. Their souls have all roamed to bodies of this time, along with you. They are all still alive in a way, but are living in people who you might interact with. Your mother wants them dead. It's you're job to find and kill them."
"No!" He immediately shouted. His doppleganger frowned, displeased, not that Atem cared. "I am not killing any innocent people, just to kill people whom I loved in the past again! No way in hell!"
"There's a solution for that!" His double quickly retorted. He then sighed and softened his expression. "Your mother knew you would be hesitant in this. You must understand. They need to go back to the after life. Their spirits must be set free. As for the innocent, they will be spared. The soul inhabiting the body will be ripped out, but the human will not die." He explained. "Understand? You are hurting no one. You are only saving them. Your mother sees it as revenge however, because they will be in a lot of pain when you kill them twice for the second time."
The former prince closed his eyes, taking all of the newly told information in. He couldn't see a proper way to react to this explanation. "And how do you know all this? Why do you know so much?"
His double laughed at him again, receiving a glare from Atem. "Isn't it obvious?" The double pointed at himself, a wicked smile drawn on his face. "I am Sekhmet's power! You! Which means, I am a demi-god! We are a demi-god! And thanks to Ptah and Thoth, I have knowledge of all!" With a cackling laugh, his twin evilly explained his true power. "I am the form of your powers. Therefore, I am a conscience to you. A guide. Anything you are of unsure of, I can answer in a heartbeat."
Atem continued to glare at his doppleganger. It's not like it didn't make any sense. He answered all his questions. He just didn't like the situation he was in.
He didn't like this at all.
"What do I call you?" His final and last question. His double glanced at Atem and cocked an eye brow.
"What do you call me?" He tilted his head and smiled to himself, shrugging in the process. "Well, I could be called many things, being a deity. God, Him, The One, Ra, Ptah, Thoth...What would you prefer to call me?" The double replied back. Atem eyed his doppleganger one last time before narrowing his eyes at him.
"...Sekhmet." His answer was honest, and straight. His double however, didn't apparently like it too much. His expression was shocked, and almost embarrassed.
"W-What?!"
Atem felt himself smirk. Finally, he had him shocked for once. "Sekhmet."
"But that's a woman's name!"
"Why would you care? That is the name of whom we represent. We respect it, female or male." The former king sharply retorted. He almost felt like himself again. His double gritted his teeth at Atem and turned his head away, crossing his arms.
"Very well." He his voice gruff, grumpy, Atem assumed. "By the way," He informed, his voice already returning to normal. "You have a rather long day tomorrow. You should take this time to rest. I will explain even more to help you. But for now, sleep. You'll need it."
The former prince's face was now puzzled. How in Ra's name was he supposed to go to sleep now?
"Just close your eyes." His twin commanded. Atem sighed. He slowly closed his eyes, awaiting for something to happen.
And suddenly, the breath of sleep and drowsiness overcame him once again. He felt his body sway back in forth from the drunk state of sleepiness. His eyes darkened, and he felt himself slip into unconsciousness once again.
Sekhmet - Goddess of War, Destruction, Fire, Vengeance, Menstruation and Medicine. "The Lady of Slaughter" - "She who Mauls" - "Mistress of the Dead" - "For whom Evil Trembles"
Ptah - God of Creation, Arts, Fertility and Craftsmen. "Lord of Truth" - "Master of Justice" - "The Beautiful Face"
Hathor - Goddess of Sky, Love, Beauty, Joy, Motherhood, Foreign Lands, Mining, Music and Fertility. "Mistress of the West"
Thoth - God of Wisdom
(PTV will update soon.)