Light

Eternalshipping

For three thousand years I was locked up in the Millennium Puzzle. I didn't know who I was or why I was even here. Everything was so confusing and dark...I didn't even realize that I had begun to lose myself. And for a while...I did. My whole life was consumed by darkness and shadows...I began to believe that I was nothing but a shadow. A shadow with no identity...and no purpose. Even when I had opened my eyes for the first time in three thousand years...all that I could see was darkness. Until time brought me back to the light.

"I think my favorite time of day is noon."

Cat looked up at her lover in confusion. "That...was random." She commented. Atem looked down at her and smiled, chuckling a little.

"I suppose it was." He agreed, turning his eyes back to the sky. As random as it was, it held meaning for him. The two lovers had been walking through Domino Park on a date, something they did often. It had been three years since Atem had returned from the afterlife to start a much deserved new life with the friends he had made while he was trapped within the Millennium Puzzle. In his own body.

Everyone was able to bring him back to life thanks to Ishizu's findings of "The Tablet of Restoration". Of course, that was a whole other story.

"So? Why is noon your favorite time of day?" Cat questioned curiously, hoping to find a meaning behind his sudden statement.

Atem couldn't help but chuckle again. She was curious as always.

"I guess...it's because the sun is high in the sky and everything is bright." He replied. "It's a comforting, happy light." He looked back at Cat to examine her response. He held back another chuckle at her even more confused expression. "I suppose a better explanation is in order."

"That would be nice...unless you don't want to." Cat replied, smiling sheepishly.

"No, it's fine. Come." He led her to a nearby park bench where they sat together. Atem leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he tried to find a proper explanation. Cat waited patiently, watching him. Was there really a deeper meaning to such a simple preference? Well...it was her curiosity that brought them to this point. Plus she really wanted to know. Atem seemed...serious about this.

"Before..." Cat snapped out of her thoughts as Atem spoke. She returned her full attention to him. "Before Yugi completed the Millennium Puzzle and freed my soul...all I ever knew was darkness. I had no memory of who I was or what was right and wrong. By the time I was free I had lost myself and only the things that I felt was right. At that point I started to get confused and found myself believing that I was just another part of Yugi. Since our souls were connected, I could feel what he felt. See what he saw in his mind. But once our souls became separated in a shadow game, it become obvious that...we were not one." Atem's eyes seemed distant as he stared across the park, almost as if he could see through the trees, people, buildings and so forth.

"That's when...the darkness felt worse. I became even more confused and lost. Who was I? Why was I here? How did I not know who I was and yet know about and mastered all these games? Why did I even bother with these people who were supposedly my friends? It felt wrong to call them my friends when I did not know anything about them...and in turn, they knew nothing about me. It was through Yugi that a small sliver of light started to appear in the seemingly eternal darkness. I became my own person...well...as much as I could with no identity. I started to get to know the others and become real friends with them. While there was a light of hope growing, there were still clouds of darkness that continued to hover over me. Being with everyone and playing Duel Monsters helped me keep my mind off of it all. But then...Ishizu came and that night at the museum...it was as if a new light was born next to the previous one. I had a life. A place where I belonged. I was...a Pharaoh from Egypt in Ancient times. It explained so much...and yet...created thousands of new questions."

Cat listened silently. This was starting to make sense. Although they had been together for three years, he didn't open up to her very often. At least not with matters like this. It made her happy that he was telling her all this but at the same time...sad that he went through such loneliness. She knew he had to have but...not to this degree.

"After that I soon met you...and others followed. When I found out about your connection to my past, that light grew a little and I knew I had to protect you. You were one of the few possible clues to my past. Time passed and...I started to see a new light. One you emitted by yourself. One similar to the light Yugi and the others provided but...different. It was a warm and comforting light that kept drawing me in. There was no way I could resist it." Atem continued and took a moment to smile warmly and softly at Cat. "Before I knew it...I had fallen captive to an unfamiliar emotion called love. I admit, I didn't know what to do with myself. Deep down I had a feeling...no...I knew...that I was going to have to leave everyone someday after I had regained my memories. It was...bittersweet in many ways. I tried to push my feelings for you away but it was useless. I had, instead, accepted the fact that I couldn't stop my feelings...but I could never act on them either. After I had regained my memories, it was the darkness completely vanished. Everything was warm, clear and familiar. When it came time for me to leave I knew I would never forget everyone. Yugi, Jounouchi, Kaiba, You, Kay, Honda, Anzu, Ishizu, Ryou, Sugoroku, Mai, Kim, Kristen, Mokuba, Otogi, Shizuka...everyone."

There was a pause before Atem chuckled again. "Of course I will never forget my friends from the past either. I'm sure I will see them again someday. But I belong here as much as I do in the afterlife." He said. "That's why...I love the light. And you are like a bright light that will always stand out to me." He looked at her and suddenly looked surprised at her expression.

Cat was looking at him, wiping a few tears away.

"Cat...are you okay?" Atem asked, reaching over, touching her cheek and wiping a stray tear with his thumb. "I'm sorry was it a depressing story?" Cat shook her head.

"N-No...it's...just...moving and inspiring. But...what you went through...how bad it was...I never knew." Cat mummered before hugging him and burying her face into his shoulder. Atem smiled and held her, stroking her hair.

"It's fine. It was all worth it in the end. I have a good life and I couldn't be happier where I am now. Here with my friends...and you." He said, kissing her head.