Regrets (Part 1)

She had never met him before in her life. Sure, she's heard stories from Shimon and he spoke very highly of the man who was pharaoh prior to her father taking on the role. How beloved he was. How he showed that same love to Egypt in return. And how he was all about peace unless pushed to war as a last resort.

But even upon returning to the afterlife, she has never met him.

The day is sunny as always aside from a few clouds that are perfectly spaced to provide shade from the sun on occasion. As usual, there are tents set out in the village outside of the palace where villagers sell things ranging from fruit, jewelry and other supplies. With her parents' permission, Cairo explores the area, visiting different vendors.

After she and her father returned to the Afterlife, they were welcomed with open arms. Seeing as she betrayed the kingdom after coming under the control of Zorc, Cairo was very relieved that everyone seemingly forgave her for actions that were out of her control. Though there have been rifts in the past between her and several skeptical villagers, all has been relatively peaceful and they seem to be coming around more and more.

"Good morning, Princess Cairo!" a male villager greets cheerfully. "Hope you're doing well!"

Cairo nods her head, a smile creeping on her lips. "And the same to you," she replies, looking down at his display that contains several wooden crates of fruit. "What do you have here?"

"Only the best of the best! What would you like?"

At the other end of the village, an older gentleman walks down the sandy pathway. His face is mostly concealed by the white headpiece on his head and the mask covering his face, only allowing his light purple eyes to be visible. He looks ahead to the palace and exhales. It has been many moons since he's been within those walls. But once news spread about Pharaoh Atem's return to the Afterlife, he figured it's time.

He had felt much guilt over his past. How things were handled. If he could have done things differently to prevent the horrific incident at Kul Elna. So he left, much to Shimon's disapproval. He made Shimon promise that he will never tell anyone of his whereabouts. He needed that time alone.

And now it is time to return. There is no way he could he be away from his only son.

Feeling the rumbles of his stomach, he decides to stop by at a vendor's tent to purchase some fruit. He waits patiently next to the little girl who picks out what she wants.

"Everything you have looks delicious," Cairo says, excitedly looking over the fruit. If there is anything that can bring her out of her normally calm or stoic moods, it's food. "It's so hard to choose!"

The vendor laughs. "That's alright! Take your time!" he tells her with his fists on his hips. He gazes over to the older gentleman. "What will you have, sir?"

The gentleman opens his mouth to speak. "I will have—" His eyes glance over to the girl's attire. She wears bracelets on her wrists, anklets, golden jewelry around her arms and a golden headpiece similar to what he's seen in the palace. He cannot fully see her face, but a strange feeling overcomes him.

'This child…'

Sensing eyes on her, Cairo turns her head, fully revealing her face and the crown on her head.

The man gasps. That crown. Those eyes.

His vision flashes to that of his son at that age. His spiky tricolored hair springs out from all sides, his amethyst eyes look at him with wonder and his crown shines in the sunlight.

The world around him suddenly becomes cloudy and dark. What is this evil presence? This child looks innocent, but carries a powerful darkness that could threaten them all.

No. She's just a child. His mind must be playing tricks on him. He must get something in his stomach to combat this hallucination and hunger.

Seeing him as no threat, Cairo turns her head back to the crates in front of her. Finally reaching for the last fruit, another hand belonging to the man next to her, reaches for the fruit as well. She grabs it first, gently placing several coins on the vendor's table before turning to leave.

Without thinking, the older gentleman grabs her wrist, causing Cairo to whip around defensively, staring into his eyes as he does the same. A sudden shockwave hits them both, triggering a set of visions that play out right in front of their eyes.

An innocent little girl with long black hair and more rounded eyes that are purple in color. She trots around the halls of the palace, turning around with a smile that soon morphs into a evil grin. Her eyes are pitch black as she unleashes attacks on the village. Egypt is in flames and there is nothing but total destruction wherever she goes. He can see his son, battered, bruised and on the brink of death as he attempts to fight back. Tears stream down Atem's face as he holds his wife's lifeless body while the little girl prevails, grinning as she releases more relentless attacks.

The man's eyes go wide with horror as he stares at the girl. 'No…this child…she is…pure evil.'

"Let me go," Cairo says, growing anxious and agitated at the same time. Something within herself reacts on its own and she battles internally to keep it all inside. She can feel her body become tense and the dark presence within her trying to make itself known.

Visions flash through her head as well. Countless people being sent to their deaths as a a sacrifice. The bloodcurdling screams, the horrified expressions as they are forced to meet their end. The Millennium Items that were made in the process. Her own father, doubled over in pain as the lost souls try to come for him, only to be intercepted by an older gentleman.

Cairo shuts her eyes. "Kul Elna…?" she grimaces lowly to herself in realization. But why? Why are these visions appearing at the sight of this man? And why does it seem like the darkness within herself wants a piece of the man who has her by the wrist, just like the souls of Kul Elna? Then it really hits her. This isn't just any old man.

"Y-You have to let me go…" she grunts as the clouds above her grow dark and the winds begin to pick up. "Please…I need to contain it."

"I will not allow evil to roam here!" the man proclaims.

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"You are all dismissed," Shimon tells the priests in the throne room, allowing them to leave and go about their day. All that remains is himself, Atem, Mana and Mahad. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Mana stands and raises her hands over head in a long stretch.

"That chair may have a cushion, but it's definitely not enough cushion for this rear end of mine," Mana says, rubbing her butt with a grin.

Mahad slaps his forehead. "You're not acting very queen-like," he mutters.

"Don't be so uptight, Mahad!" Mana giggles while fanning her hand. "You and Shimon have known us since we were kids. We're family, right?"

"Speaking of which, where is the princess?" Shimon asks.

"She wanted to go out into the village, so we allowed her to do so just this once," Atem replies, standing up and joining Mana's side.

Shimon frowns. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Atem averts his gaze. "Mana insisted Cairo would be fine on her own." Though he still has his own doubts.

Mahad sighs heavily. "Of course it was your idea," he says, side eyeing his apprentice as he walks to the exit along with Atem and Shimon.

"Hey! Don't say it like that!" Mana whines, beginning to follow them.

"It's certainly gotten cloudy outside all of a sudden," Shimon comments, looking up to the dark sky as they walk through the gardens.

"Yes, and the winds are starting to pick up as well," Mahad observes, slowing down his pace as a weird feeling overcomes him.

Atem glances up at the sky, then over his shoulder where Mana stands with her eyes lowered. He's seen that look from her before. And he's seen those same dark cloudy skies.

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Bolts of lightning hit the ground around them as villagers scream in a panic at the phenomenon. Cairo takes a quick look around. It seems no one has taken notice that she may be the cause. But she doesn't know how much longer she will be able to contain herself. Her eyes flicker from purple to black as veins form on her forehead.

'The darkness within me is reacting so strongly because of who he is,' Cairo thinks to herself. 'It couldn't defeat my father and now, it's after—'

"Just who are you and how are you able to roam freely here?!" the man questions, still holding on to her wrist.

"I don't want to hurt you. So please, let go and I'll be able to explain—"

"The kingdom nearly fell on my watch because I yearned for peace and I waited to take action until it was almost too late. I won't make that same mistake again!"

"LET GO!" Cairo's voice echoes in a partial demonic tone. A huge gust of wind blows the man back and he falls to the ground.

As the villagers are all about to look in Cairo's direction, they suddenly stop. Looking around, the man notices everyone is frozen in place except for him and the girl in front of him.

"What is this…?" he asks himself.

"Cairo!"

A younger man runs past him, causing his heart to drop. Though he only got a quick glimpse and is now staring at the back of the individual as he bravely rushes off toward the girl, there is no mistaking it. The eyes. The hair.

"My...son…" the man utters. It has been centuries. Far too long since he's last seen him. He was but a teenage boy, learning and soaking everything in as his father prepared him to be next in line to be king. And now look.

Cairo lifts her hand to fire off a blast toward Atem, who quickly stops and shifts to the side, narrowly avoiding it. He observes Cairo's eyes that are fading from purple to black as every second passes by. She's fighting it, but her labored breathing and the sweat on her brow shows it's taking its toll on her to keep holding it in. She's too far gone to do it herself.

Mana, who holds two index fingers up to her temple to hold the freeze spell, looks over to Mahad. "It's up to you, Mahad. Like we've planned," she tells him. He nods his head and calmly proceeds forward.

"Eyes on me, Cairo," Atem tells his daughter who clenches her head.

She slowly lifts her eyes to him. "I-I'm…sorry," she manages to say.

"It's going to be alright."

Mahad magically appears in front of her, waving his hand before aiming it to the ground and causing a portal to form in which they both disappear within it.

Atem breathes out a huge exhale, turning around as Shimon approaches the mystery man who is presumably the cause of Cairo's outburst. Mana grunts a little, catching his attention. It's not everyday that she has to perform a freeze spell on multiple people and it's making her strain.

"Are you alright, sir?" Shimon asks, kneeling down to the man.

"Whoever he is, let's question him at the palace," Atem tells Shimon. "Mana cannot hold her spell for much longer and I need to check on our daughter."

Shimon nods his head.

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Atem stands behind Mana on their balcony. Her hands are calmly at her sides, her eyes glowing pink as a soft breeze blows through her hair while she surveils the village. The clouds have completely disappeared, the sky is blue and everything seems to have returned back to normal. Thankfully they got to the village just in time for her to perform a freeze spell before things got out of hand. As far as the villagers know, they believe it was just a bad storm.

Closing her eyes, her shoulders droop as she sighs heavily with exhaustion. Seeing her knees beginning to buckle, Atem takes a step forward, placing both hands on her shoulders for support. "Don't overdo it, Mana."

"I'm fine," she says hoarsely.

Not believing her, Atem picks her up with ease, causing her eyes to widen with surprise, then she smiles as he carries her to the bed. "We promised each other we wouldn't push ourselves past our limit," he reminds her, placing her at the foot of the bed.

Mana nods knowingly. "You're right. Sorry."

Atem shakes his head. "Has Mahad returned with Cairo, yet?"

"Not yet. But I can no longer sense her dark powers, which means he has it under control."

"It's a good thing we planned for the possibility of her losing control again…although, I wasn't expecting to use it so soon."

"Yeah…I wonder what set her off?"

"I'm not sure. Cairo has had centuries to train herself to keep her dark power under wraps. It's extremely rare for her to have an outburst like this."

There is a knock on the door.

"Enter," Atem commands.

The door practically flies open, revealing Shimon who breathes heavily. Atem and Mana are barely given the chance to react to his abruptness due to the tears they see streaming down his face.

Mana looks at him concernedly. "Shimon?"

"Shimon, what's happened? Are you alright?" Atem asks.

"You must come to the throne room immediately!" he answers. "He's returned!"

Atem's body stiffens up. Does he mean an old foe? "Who's returned? Tell me."

Shimon exhales, his blood shot eyes staring directly into Atem's. "Your father."

Atem lets out an audible gasp, his eyes widening with complete shock. Did he just hear Shimon correctly?

"My…father…?"

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AN: So I tried to make this story into one chapter, but it was impossible without it seeming too rushed. So there will be a part two to conclude this one.

I did take on a different approach with Aknamkanon as opposed to the anime/manga. In my story "Prisoner of the Shadow Realm" I made no mention of him being in the afterlife when Atem and Cairo returned. So I thought my take would be a unique approach. I don't think I've ever written a story with him in it (at least where he has a ton of dialogue), but I hope you enjoyed.

On Cairo: For those who haven't read the previous stories—Not only is she the daughter of Atem and Mana, but she has a dark past. With Magus' help, she was infused with Zorc's dark energy and turned against the entire kingdom. She was banished by the gods to the Shadow Realm and made the keeper of souls until her father freed her, allowing him and her to finally rest in the Afterlife. Her dark energy is 'permanent,' in a sense. It can be extracted, but the dark energy quickly tries to find its next victim if not sealed by powerful magic. Knowing this, Cairo keeps the dark energy within her as to not allow it to get in the wrong hands.

Anyway—leave me a review, yeah?