The pharaoh's son grew up in a time of peace. The Millennium Items the pharaoh and his council wielded prevented war and brought prosperity to the land. The pharaoh's son was lucky in his playmates growing up. His cousin, Seth, was close to him. Mahaad was a gifted magician that had been assigned to keep an eye on the playful prince that had already proven himself extremely gifted in strategy. Mana tagged along behind them, wishing to mimic Mahaad in every way possible the servant eager to prove herself. Mahaad often had his hands full with them, a brotherly bond evident between Seth and the prince.
As they grew older Mahaad became an official court magician, Mana as always following behind as his apprentice. Seth decided to become a priest to be able to best serve the prince when he became the next pharaoh and learned the gods magic while the prince spent long hours learning the duties of a king. He became a master strategist and would often turn his duties into a game, amusing to most if worrying to see if he'd be ready in time. The prince was 15 when his father died. A full year of funeral rites followed before he ascended the throne and officially became pharaoh. That day should have been one to celebrate. Instead his father's tomb was desecrated, the king of thieves stealing his father's cloak to wear as his own and dragging his father's mummy out into the desert to be lost to time.
The pharaoh had known the so called king of thieves was a growing threat. It seemed his first act as pharaoh would be to stop him. His council gathered and used their powers to seek out the thief. Mahaad headed out to confront the tomb robber alone believing his Ka and the Millennium Ring would be enough to defeat the thief. Instead he was killed. Mahaad sacrificed his chance to move onto the afterlife seeing that the tomb robber had bound himself to a demon and tied himself to his Ka, becoming a shadow spirit so he could continue to protect the pharaoh.
The pharaoh used the power of the god spirits to stop the thief king, but not before Mana sacrificed herself also, joining the shadow spirits to continue following Mahaad. The tomb robber died, his soul sealed in the Millennium Ring. But there was still a chance Zorc would find another way into the world. He had to be sealed and kept from having that chance again.
The pharaoh decided to seal away the Shadow Realms, Zorc's link to the world. Doing so would require the pharaoh to sacrifice himself. It was difficult, but he would do so for his kingdom. He talked to his cousin, and Seth agreed to rule Egypt after he was gone. He would use his own name as the final seal in case it ever weakened. His name was erased from the records. The only remnant was hidden with the Ishtars, a loyal family that promised to keep it hidden in case it was ever needed to seal Zorc again.
The ritual to seal the shadow realms required the pharaoh to sacrifice his Light, turning him into pure Dark. His soul merged with the Millennium Puzzle and the Shadow Realm was sealed. Unfortunately without any Light in his soul the pharaoh was vulnerable to the shadow spirits. They attacked him, tearing him apart until he had no memories, no identity left besides not being one of the shadows himself. He acted as a shadow spirit himself, if more powerful than most. Sealed with no contact outside of the shadows that slipped into the Puzzle the pharaoh spent his years becoming one of them.
The sealing of the Shadow Realm affected the world more than was expected. Seth was a strong pharaoh, but he quickly realized that without magic their world was falling out of balance. Only those holding the Millennium Items had any chance, and two of them could no longer be used with souls sealed inside them. Seth quickly went to work preparing for the day when the Shadow Realm would return. The world couldn't go on without it forever. Shadi, a loyal servant, was picked to hold two of the Items, and find the right holders for the Items when the time came. Seth himself performed a ritual so when the time came he would reincarnate and be there for the pharaoh as he had been in life. Unable to do more he can only wait for the pharaoh to return.