Atem closed his eyes and smiled, dipping his head in acknowledgement of the point scored. He knew now exactly why believing in one's deck, why the bond between the duelist
and his monsters affected the draw. It was that understanding that had given him the total control over his cards for this duel. And the fact that Yugi's draw could match his
own, meant that Yugi had found his own mainstay.
Yugi's greatest strength-the unwavering belief in human nature-was also his
greatest weakness. It prevented him from taking other people's ill intentions seriously. In games, it prevented him from predicting his opponent's moves. But taking things to
the extreme always achieved some sort of result. Yugi's ability to sympathize with others had enabled him to read Atem's thoughts-he had seen through the calm facade to
read the painful state of indecision between life and death, and the inevitable attraction to the card that sported the ankh. If he could do that now, the same ability would one
day enable him to face people truly.
Atem opened eyes to look at his partner. Yugi was crying, and it pained him, but he had to leave. The Items were too dangerous, and the best thing to do was to separate
them completely from this world. But they were made from the ht and sh of the sacrificed humans, and had both spiritual and corporeal qualities. To separate them from the
corporeal world they had to pass through a defined gateway, and somebody had to be their bearer.
Gathering his resolve, Atem started to announce the end of his turn, but before he could say anything, a familiar form swept out from behind to kneel on one knee before the king.
"Shadi!"
Exclaims of surprise rose from the others as well. Atem had been sure that Shadi had been destroyed by Zorc's attack; he was relieved to find he was wrong.
/Forgive me for the interruption, your Grace. With your permission, I will take the Items to the other world./
Atem looked at him with surprise, but then realized that Shadi had been standing behind him. With a good view of the 4 cards still in his hand.
"Are you sure?"he asked quietly. "There will be little danger for them in that world, but they are powerful, and will be a heavy responsibility."
/I am the holder of the Ankh, and I doubt that I will have completely relaxed afterlife, either way. Besides, your Grace is needed here./
Atem sighed. The advent of Geh and Zorc had warped the dimensions greatly, and he knew that some things that should never be disturbed were now stirring. It was the
reason he was determined to seal the Items instead of returning them to their former keepers.
"I will trust you with them, then." Atem turned back to his opponent, feeling one of the cards in the grave burning. Seto really seemed to have earned its favor. "I'm sorry
for all the effort you put into this, partner, but I'll be staying."
"Oh...REALLY?!" Yugi's face lit up. "You're not going?"
"Shadi will be sealing the Items. I need to be in this world to deal with some issues."
Yugi collapsed to his knees in relief. "Thank god, we don't have to go through with this anymore."
"Not quite." Atem answered, with a teasing smile. "I activate Altar of Restoration, to return Pot of Greed to my hand!"
"Uh-oh." Jounouchi muttered.
"Draw 2 cards. Set 3 cards for Emergency Provisions."
"Um, other me?" Yugi said, apprehensively.
"Magic card, Soul Charge! Return to me, Black Magician, Black Magician girl, Sky dragon of Seth!"
"Surrender! I do not want to be hit by that!" Yugi cried.
All 4 monsters on the field vanished. Yugi rushed over to his friend and hugged-only to tumble straight through him.
"I'm sorry, Yugi. This isn't a real body." Atem placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. The touch was faint, ghostly. "Congratulations. That was an excellent duel."
"B-but, didn't I fail you?" Yugi asked, realizing. "I wouldn't have been able to send you over..."
"Actually, I could open the gates without this procedure. The purpose of this ceremony is a trial for me, not you. As a king, I needed to find someone worthy to be my
successor, to raise him to my level and finally, hand over my status and let go of this world." Atem took care not to look in Kaiba's direction. Seto had intended his
reincarnation to be Atem's opponent in this duel. He would have been highly disturbed-an understatement-if he had known Atem's choice.
The others had gathered around the two. "You had us on the edges!" Jounouchi protested. "Why couldn't you have turned up sooner?" he demanded Shadi.
Shadi ignored him. /Your Grace? If I may?/ The spirit was in a hurry. The life force that he had gathered over the years using the Ankh had been severely damaged by Zorc
and was dissipating quickly. Soon he would not have the strength to bear the Items.
Atem nodded, understanding. He stepped towards the wall behind the Tablet. "My name is Atem."
A line of light emerged in the wall. Slowly, it parted to reveal a world of white light, gentle breeze of spritual winds blowing out to caress his face. His parents would be there,
Karim would be there, Mahad and Mana would be finally free, but...
Shadi glided past him. Atem could feel the essence of the Items flowing out to join the spirit. His own connection with the Weight was severed.
"Thank you, Shadi." Atem said. "May the Evenstar light your path."
/And may the Eternal Sun light yours, your Grace./
The doors rumbled shut. Then the entire shrine began to shake.
"Hey, what-"
"Earthquake?"
The Tablet cracked, then shattered to pieces, falling into the abyss below.
"The Items!" Yugi cried.
"Leave them!" Atem knew that they were mere shells now, soon to dissolve into particles and vanish forever.
Jonouchi grabbed his friend. "Yugi, come on!"
They all ran out, the shrine collapsing behind them.
s
s
"This is different from the other tombs," Bakura spoke breathlessly. "I've never been on any excavation sites, but I've seen photos, and they're not even close to this."
They were inside Atem's tomb. The same one that Muto Sugorouku had discovered the Millenium Puzzle in. It was majestic and beautiful. The decorations seemed to have
been made with an almost loving care.
"When civilizations fall, their culture, the knowledge they accumulated disappear with them." Isis explained. "Egypt suffered heavily from the war, and much of their wisdom
was lost. But King Atem's tomb was mostly constructed before that. Besides, he was well loved, and his successor tried to show appreciation for his sacrifice through this
tomb."
The successor's reincarnation was looking at one of the walls. Atem followed the gaze to find inscriptions of heavy grief and remorse. Sighing, he turned back to the task at
hand, and broke last of the protection spells. Carefully, Marik and Rishid lifted the lid of the sarcophagus, revealing the coffin within. To everyone present, it was as if an
intense, transparent light was suddenly blazing from it, driving the shadows to the very corners.
"Oh, god," Anzu breathed. "What is that?"
"Before, I existed as a mere shadow of my own soul, the swt, and the Puzzle held the jb, the core of my soul. In the memory world, I regained my b along with my memories,
and my rn that defined me. But my sh and k is preserved here, in my flesh and bone."
"I thought the sh was supposed to form when you went into the afterlife." Bakura said.
"That wasn't the way it was thought of in my days."
"Um, some little more explanation please?"Otogi asked.
"Simply put, my life force and power is sealed here, and that is what you are sensing. There is no core to hold them back, so it's natural that they are seeping out, now that
the protection spells are gone as well. Which reminds me that I should hurry."
Suddenly, Atem's form blurred, and vanished.
"Other me?!" Yugi cried out in alarm.
"Calm down," said Isis. "He has gone inside his body."
Yugi sank down on his knees and reached out lift the lid. Marik restrained him. "He's not going to be able to move immediately. Give him time, so he can regenerate his
body."
"Regenerate?" Jonouchi asked nervously. "Oh, so... he's like... those mummies..."
"Actually, no. Our ancestors still knew powerful magic in that era. From the records that have been preserved by my clan, they apparently could preserve a body in perfect
condition, as long as the spells were untouched. It's his battle injuries that have to heal, you know, from fighting Zorc."
"So we just wait? How long?" Honda asked.
"I'm not sure. Apparently he was in pretty bad shape when he sealed his soul, so I think we should give him a few hours-" Marik was interrupted by the lid of the coffin being
pushed open. "Guess not."
Slowly, laboriously, Atem sat up. Yugi gasped. So did several others.
"Surprised, partner?"
"Oh, you're... different...even from the memory world..." Yugi trailed off, at a loss.
The immediate difference they noticed was the hair, of course. Instead of the colorful spikes, smooth ebony locks hung down, long enough to reach his jawline. His forelocks
still framed his face in pretty much the same way, but minus the lightning bolt shapes. His face was also different. Even in the memory world his face had seemed to be just a
bolder-lined version of Yugi's. But they could see clearly distinguish them, the differences subtle but numerous, combining together to create a whole other impression.
"You already know that during the time I was with you, my appearance mirrored yours. The memory world was no different. That avatar you saw was based on the self-image
I had back then." Atem smiled at his friend. "And Egyptians certainly didn't have hair gel in those times."
Yugi grinned sheepishly as he helped Atem up, enabling them to have a full view of the king. Pure white tunic, loosely worn with plenty of folds. Senmoteu inlaid with blue
glass held by tasseled sash decorated with silver and blue jasper. Gold armlets with lapis lazuli surrounded by silver inlay, gold and silver wires entwined in hollow-weaves
between rows of amber on his wrists. Sheer folds of blue muslin streamed from his shoulders beneath the wesekh, which was ovals of turquoise set in gold and accented with
emeralds and amethysts. Silver and blue lotuses adorned the golden headband, beads of opal and rose quartz swung from his ears. He stepped out from the coffin, and they
could see the papyrus-woven sandels studded with blue jasper, the ankles encircled with strings of the same stone. Yugi, who was standing the closest to Atem, thought he
could smell wafts of rosemary, mint and lemon mixed with lilies.
The ancient king stood proudly, magnificient and beautiful in his finery. They all gaped at him for a few moments, until Yugi broke the silence with his concern.
"Are you alright? Marik said you had some injuries to heal..."
"I've healed myself enough to move. The rest can wait. I prefer not to recuperate inside a coffin, or a tomb, for that matter. Come on."
They all moved out. Isis caught up with Atem, who was walking at the head of the group, supported by Yugi.
"There are somethings that should be settled as quickly as possible, your Grace."
"What is it?"
"To begin with, where will you be staying? If you remain in your homeland, I can easily create a new identity for you. But I have little influence in Japan."
"Japan. I don't plan to retire from dueling just yet."
"But how can you do that?" Otogi asked. "I mean, we know it was you, Atem, who was really dueling, but everyone else just saw Yugi. He's the one known as Duel King."
"I've given the matter some thought, and I believe I can manage, if Yugi will help?"Atem looked at the other boy.
Yugi nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. Whatever you need."
"I need to be put down as a close family member to you, a brother or cousin, take your pick-"
"Brother. Definitely brother."
Atem smiled. "Thank you. Well, I can pretend to be his brother, and tell people that the media made a mistake. That the real Duel King is the other Muto Yugi."
"You're still going use that name?" Yugi asked, surprised. "I mean, it's okay if you want, but all the trouble you went to find your real name... and it would be weird if two
brothers had the same name."
"I'll use different characters, to represent my real name. Japanese parents often give their children names that are written in one way but are read in another."
"Hang on," Jonouchi interrupted. "You can't do that. There's the skin, and while your faces still somewhat look alike, there's no mistaking you for each other."
"Some of the first spells novice magicians learned in the past were ways to control and change their bodies. My skin color can easily be altered. As for my face, I and Yugi
look similar enough from a few meters away, and people's features change during teenage growth spurts, so there's an excuse. Besides, most of the duelists I've battled
looked at Yugi's face only during the few minutes of dueling-not enough time to memorize a person's image correctly. The few duelists that know Yugi's face correctly
already know about me. The only problem would be the people at school, but as far as I know Yugi's been avoiding attention from that direction-"
"I don't think I talked about being the Duel King at school to anyone outside our group," Yugi confirmed. "So you don't have to worry about them."
"What about the paperwork?" Honda wanted to know. "They keep pretty heavy guard on the databases. Do we have to hire a hacker or something?"
"Not necessary." Atem answered breezily. "I'll just do some fiddling with the people who manage those databases."
"Fiddling?"
A mischievous smile crossed Atem's face. "Completely harmless."
They didn't want to know. Anzu decided to instead ask the other question on her mind. "What characters are you going to use for your name?"
"Oh, yeah. What does 'Atem' mean?" Yugi asked.
"Directly translated it means 'the complete one', but that's not the meaning that I-and other people as well-usually associated with it. 'Atem' is my throne name, that my
court gave me when I first summoned the gods, because they thought I was the reincarnation of the king that created the 3 divine spirits. He was the first king of the
dynasty, and was revered as a god himself." Atem looked at Isis. "I believe that later Egyptians elaborated much on his story."
Isis nodded. "Atem, or Atum. The first god, the creator sun that rose from the primordial waters of chaos. The god of the setting sun, and the ender of the world."
"The last 2 versions didn't exist at the time of my reign. He was associated with the morning sun. So, the characters that I'll be using are 幽 and 暿."
They had reached the entrance. The sun had already been setting when they entered the tomb, and now it was completely dark.
"How far is it to the village?" Jonouchi wondered.
"Too far." Marik answered, walking over to one of the cars and opening the trunk. "We'll have to camp."
s
s
The young prince jumped off the railing, raising a noise of frustration from Aknadin.
He watched as the prince fell 2 stories. The boy slowed just before he met the ground and set down lightly before running across the garden, laughing.
"Prince! Come back here!" Aknakdin shouted.
"Make me!" was the joyful reply.
He stopped rubbing his temple and lowered his hand, a fierce grin coming to his face. He swept off his headress, handed it and the Rod to the elderly priest.
"Hold onto them, please."
Before Aknadin could stop him, he placed a hand on the railing and swung himself over, using the same spell to break his fall as the prince did.
He sped through the garden, the lush growth often blocking his view of the prince. He rounded a bush, and something tripped his leg, causing him to fall straight into a
pool. He surfaced, sputtering, to find the prince sitting on the ledge and giggling at his expense. Calmly, before the prince could react, he used his magic to pull the boy in as
well. Shrieks of laughter erupted, making the young royal look like every other child having the time of his life.
"It is quite a distance to your rooms." Mahad was standing on the opposite side of the pool with a expression of both amusement and exasperation. "A lot of people are going
to be bemoaning the unbelievable conduct of their superiors."
"Make it three and they'll think it's an occasion, not an abnormality." stated the prince, aiming a spell at Mahad, who was quick to the defense. "I don't think so, my prince."
The prince, despite being a prodigy, was not a match for the older magician.
So he just added his own strength.
Peals of laughter rose from the prince as Mahad landed with a splash. The laughter continued as he waded over and slung the boy onto his shoulder. He knew he should be
thinking of admonishments, but right now he could not hold back his own laughter...
Kaiba sat up. It was still dark outside, and he could hear Mokuba's quiet breathing beside him. He raised his hand to his temple and rubbed, annoyed. The images, the
emotions were still vivid in his mind. He stood up, quietly put on his coat and stepped out of the tent. The moonlight was washing the sand with silver, everything deadly
quiet. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the rush of adrenaline. He could still feel the breathlessness he felt in the dream...
Something rustled, and he turned to find Atem standing only a few meters away, gazing at the dunes. Kaiba hesitated, then stepped toward his rival.
"Are you satisfied?" he asked. "The past that you have been seeking hardly seems to have been a good one."
"Terrible things happened." Atem answered quietly. "The way I died was enough to taint even my happiest memories with pain. Yet I would never regret recovering them."
Atem turned to look at Kaiba. "They are what makes me who I am. You said before, to Dartz, that darkness had no place in your heart, but for me, both are my identity-the
light and the darkness."
"Hn." Kaiba turned his head and kept his eyes on the dunes for a few moments before speaking again. "Send the details of your invented background. I will have them
worked into the databases."
Atem was surprised. "There is no need for you to trouble yourself."
"Within 2 months, my company will have taken full charge of Domino City. I will not have you tampering with the minds of my employees."
"I heard about that," Atem raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to make everyone who applies for citizenship get their own decks?"
"Most of the new immigrants are refugees. They are not used to peaceful environments where they are provided for even without working and earning their livings. They need
challenges to spend their time and energy on instead of getting into brawls." Kaiba turned back to the tents. "I am giving you one week."
NOTE:
1. 'Sky dragon of Seth' isn't a mistake. I'm also changing Atem's favorite God card to Divine bird of Horus, and Marik's God card to Divine Soldier of
Osiris.(If executive producers can take liberties so can I. ) Card effects are same for each duelist-that's why Yugi surrendered. With 2 other monsters
on the field to use as tribute, he would have gotten Obelisk's 4000 point direct damage fist. Or lightning bolt, in this case.
I think I need the change for my canon later on. The god Seth suits Kaiba's character and is his namesake. And red is Seth's color.(I know blue is Kaiba's color,
but the lining of his coat is wine red, and well, Takahashi must have meant something, to make Atem and Kaiba wear each other's colors.)
Gold seems to be one of Atem's colors, and Horus is for the pharaoh, so... As for the Divine Soldier, well, blue/green is Osiris's color, and when I saw
the way Obelisk appeared in DSOD-all smoke and flames-it seemed fitting for the ruler of the netherworld, and fitting as the last enemy monster of Battle City.
2. I had to look up a ton of stuff about Egyptian clothing and jewelery. I've tried to make it realistic as possible, but not completely, as Atem was king
about 4000 years ago. As I had Isis say during this chapter, cultures can change drastically after a disaster. Besides, the climate then was supposed to
be different, so I think I can have Atem wearing tunic and cloak. Egyptians did wear tunics in much later ages, and long thin shawls. Senmoteu is the
narrow strip of cloth hung from the belt in front, although I'm not sure if that is the correct spelling. Most of the gems I mentioned were actually used
commonly in Egyptian jewelery, and I listed only the type of gems that are recognizable immediately on sight, as the description was in the POV of the
people staring at Atem-and they would be staring at him, as none of them saw him in full regalia, even during the memory world. Silver was more valued
than gold in ancient Egypt. Amber was also valued, and while jasper was common enough, blue jasper is rare. I didn't find mention of opal, but Ethiopia,
which is close to Egypt, is a major producer of opal. I didn't find much on rose quartz, but it was loved as the gem of beauty and youth. Egyptians weren't
big on earrings but they did use it for a period. They also used golden headbands for crowns instead of those big headresses. I chose the coloring because
white and blue/green were sacred colors for ancient Egyptians, and red was a cursed color(although they did use it). The scents I listed were all used by
Egyptians. Apparently the perfume they found in Tutankhamun's tomb still smelled good after 3000 years.
3. Yugi's name is 遊戯, meaning game, or to play, as you all know. The name Atem chose-幽暿-could be read as Yugi too, but his friends can draw from the
meaning of the characters and read it as Atem. Some of the Japanese names are like that. Sometimes you have to read them by character pronunciation,
or in Hiragana, or disregard the pronunciation entirely and read by meaning. One example is 海月, meaning Moon of the Ocean, and intended to be read
as Mizuki. But normally those characters are read as 'kurage' in Japanese, which means jellyfish. 幽 has several meanings: quiet, deep, dark, supernatural,
of the netherworld, black, mind. 暿 can mean: to shine, bright day, prosper, dawn, brightly illuminate, burn fiercely. As chinese characters are used not only
for individual meanings but also as composites, 幽暿 can be generally interpreted as something like 'light of dawn rising from deep darkness'.
4. About the dream: There's a scene in the anime where Seto is getting initiated as Priest of the Rod. Atem is standing next to his father's throne in that
scene, and from their appearances, they have to be at least 6 to 8 years apart in age.
5. The last exchange was inspired from Aigami's remark to Kaiba from DSOD, of course.
Finally done with the prologue!