Chapter Twenty Six – A Matter of Magic
Yami waved Yugi on ahead, along with most of the monsters of their shared deck. He watched as Mahaad and Seto, an unlikely duo if ever there were one, walked off, and deliberately set off traveling in the other direction. He was admiring the way the sunlight slanted through the trees to lend an entirely natural sort of dappling in a clearing when he sensed he was being watched.
"I thought you might want to talk." Yami turned to face the newcomer as he spoke.
"I sought you out thinking you might want to talk. To test me and confirm for yourself my allegiance and harmlessness where the young one is concerned." The Magician of Black Chaos stepped fully into the sunlight of the clearing.
Yami shook his head. "I have no concern in that regard."
"Oh?" The Magician of Black Chaos leaned on his staff and stared down into Yami's unbreaking gaze. "I see you don't." He shook his head. "I thought I sensed some distrust. Perhaps I was wrong."
"Perhaps. I don't distrust you. Certainly not where Yugi is concerned. I realize it was Yugi's unexpected action that provoked your attack. As you said, it took considerable effort to blunt it."
The Magician of Black Chaos looked confused. "I said...? Oh, I see. I suppose I did – in a way. Forgive me. I have not yet synchronized with Dark Magician since the adventure ended. I am not entirely up to speed with everything that has happened yet."
A look of concern flashed across Yami's face. "It has been – I guess that time as we know it is merely a convention followed for the convenience of all here in the Magic Box, but it has been long enough, certainly, for Mahaad to tend to that?"
"I haven't been able to find him. Rather, I haven't been able to find him alone for long enough. I am sure it is just an oversight."
Yami didn't share that certainty. He knew that Mahaad had almost immediately synchronized with the Dark Sage and Dark Magician Knight aspects of himself once the adventure finished and they'd returned to the Magic Box. He'd sensed the deepening of his friend's power when it occurred. He wondered if there might be a reason Mahaad had not synchronized with the Magician of Black Chaos yet.
"Chaos...?"
"Yes?"
Yami looked up into the wild appearance and even wilder eyes of his oldest friend in this guise. Mahaad was hard to see under the slightly mad eyes, spill of ebony hair, and overall rather frightening appearance, but he was there. "I..." Yami sensed something unsettling. Not from the aspect facing him, which surprised him. He knew that the Magician of Black Chaos hadn't intended to attack Yugi. He knew that Chaos had fulfilled his assigned role of villain to perfection, albeit in a rather unexpected way. Mahaad might have designed the adventure and given the roles to everyone, but evidently, Chaos had made part of it an unknown adventure for the core locus of who he was, too. An eddy of unease stroked across Yami's soul. "If you, personally, as – as the Magician of Black Chaos – ever need anything, even, just to talk – you are welcome into my soul room – even as Mahaad is welcome. In as much as I am able to welcome anyone to the maze that is my soul, that is," Yami muttered.
The Magician of Black Chaos looked at him for a long moment, locking concerned gazes. "So, you sense it too. I thought it was your unease that I was feeling..." A sad, rueful smile crossed his face. "Thank you, my pharaoh, for the offer. I hope I will not have to take you up on it." He started to turn away. "Oh, just in case Mahaad doesn't, that is, I am not..." He shook his head, not wanting to articulate his fear, and thrust a hand toward Yami. The Millennium Puzzle, which Yami now recognized had served as the 'Pendant of Pharaoh' in the adventure, swung from the chain clasped in the Magician's hand. "Would you please return this to Yugi?"
"Surely that isn't the real Puzzle!" Yami exclaimed. "There's no way it could be safely contained here, within the Magic Box – is there?"
"It isn't the true Puzzle, but it is the aspect of the Puzzle that Yugi manifests within his heart whenever he is here. It wouldn't harm him, or you, if it weren't returned to him, as it is an object of pure spirit, but the necessity of recreating it would tax the young one's spiritual energy. After all he's been through, in the adventure, and the wounds he's suffered in the physical world..."
"Say no more. I will return it to him, and offer you my gratitude that you watch out for him as carefully as– as Mahaad himself would."
"And that surprises you?" the Magician of Black Chaos demanded.
"Not in the least. I could speak with him if..."
The Magician of Black Chaos shook his head. "If there is a feeling of distrust, it is a matter for myselves to tend to. Your attempt to help would only serve to muddy the issue and possibly create a new division."
Yami realized that he was talking with Mahaad, just as clearly as if he were talking with the Mahaad that most often appeared as the more humble Dark Magician. He didn't understand why Mahaad, as his Dark Magician self, didn't realize that there was really no difference at all – even as he understood precisely why Mahaad had crafted the Atelier, and the hidden inner sanctum to contain all these slightly different aspects of himself. It would be confusing for anyone, but especially the monsters of the deck who were less sophisticated, to understand what was going on when speaking with Mahaad under this different aspect.
"What happens to you, if there isn't... If he does not accept...?" Yami stopped, not entirely sure how to ask his question.
"I already feel bereft, cut off from myself, as it is. I knew that there were aspects of himself that he didn't like acknowledging in the reflection of him that I represent, but I didn't realize his animosity had deepened to the point of casting me out. I suppose that the separation that was necessary for me to be the effective villain in the adventure for you and Yugi was a revelation to him – even as it was for me. I admit there have been times I have chaffed at the restrictions he places on me, rather, on himself when he manifests as me, and I have daydreamed about this very 'freedom' but now, after having been separated from myself for so long, I yearn for those very boundaries." The Magician of Black Chaos looked up, to catch Yami's compassionate expression. "It may be, that once things settle again, Mahaad welcomes me back into the brotherhood of self. Maybe he just needs some time to arrive at the same conclusion I did – I am Mahaad, after all, just manifesting in a different way. If, by some remote chance, he doesn't accept me – I will exile myself, and wait for his call – for as long as I can."
Yami stared at him for a long moment with a tightly narrowed gaze. He might not have the training of a spirit sorcerer behind him as Mahaad, in all of his aspects, did, but he did have excellent and well-proven magical intuition. "If your exile goes on for too long, and you should start to– to fade away, I command you, by the power of our friendship – Mahaad – to seek me out in my soul room. I believe in you. That should be enough to give you the refuge you need, if the unthinkable comes to pass."
The Magician of Black Chaos stared blankly at him, startled. "I had not thought you would realize how potentially dire this is." He shook his head ruefully. "I should not have underestimated your understanding. By the power of your friendship, I will heed your command, but there is a hidden danger in your offer. If it comes to that, we will discuss this again. For your sake, my friend, I hope Mahaad sees reason and that outcome does not come to pass. For now, by your leave, I will bid you fare well."
Yami found himself nodding. The Magician of Black Chaos' courtly formality was oddly familiar, teasing at his memory for a long moment. "Fare well, for now," he replied. Chaos bowed his head, crossed his arms over his chest and deepened his bow in another gesture that was maddeningly familiar, before he stepped back into the shadows of the trees and disappeared from sight.
Yami sighed. "I sense no good can come of this."
– – – – –
Author's note –
Next (and last) chapter teaser – A Matter of Magnitude