Myra blinked in surprise as they entered a cave like area, the first thing that greeted them was the sound of a baby wailing which prompted Akefia to run hastily towards the source. Seeing this as his cue the physician followed briskly while Myra went with him to see a woman laying on the floor while a baby was wailing beside her. Her eyes widened as she picked up the baby who now feeling that someone was now looking after him started to lower his cries, Myra felt saddened that the little infant had been in distress as his face was red from crying for who knows how long. She then saw Akefia and the physician tending to the woman who had black hair that was messy and covered in sweat due to how unwell she was.
"Let me tend to her, in the meantime I am sure the infant is hungry so I will do what I can quickly" the physician assured Akefia who nodded but allowed the woman to be put in the next room for privacy. Sighing heavily he entered the main room to see the infant asleep in Myra's arms, to hid surprise Myra never looked away but instead kept him close to her. Just watching the sight made Akefia smile softly before finally making his way towards her and say down.
"How is he?" Akefia asked causing her to look up. Nodding with a brief smile she remained resting on the floor with her back to the wall, seeing this as a sign that the baby was okay left him more at ease.
"Thank you, you and Marium have no idea of how much this means to me" Akefia said while she smirked before seeing a shadow appear beside them. Looking at the shadow Akefia smiled.
"Hello Diabound" Myra signed mentally to the spirit who nodded briefly.
"He has been my partner since Kul Elna" Akefia explained while she looked at them, gesturing to the bag Akefia took the baby out of her arms so she could get her papyrus.
"We should go visit, there was something there in the future I needed to find here" Myra explained startling him.
"What do you mean? There is nothing to be seen" Myra shook her head.
"I saw a doll there, please I really need to go there" Myra said with sad eyes. Her mind went to Emi Bakura's sister. She was still missing and Myra had vowed to find her for their sakes. Staring at her Akefia sighed, all this for a doll? Was that it? Couldn't she get a new one or something?
"Fine, but tomorrow" Myra beamed before nodding her thanks.
"So what's his name?" Myra asked as she looks at the sleeping infant, a wry smile formed on Akefia's lips.
"Abbas, to remember my father" Akefia replied, Myra blinked but masked her surprise as she stared at the infant. As she felt the infant's aura she knew immediately that this was the Abbas she met as a skeleton.
"I would say to teach him not to steal from family, it would bite him someday" Myra wrote causing him to chuckle.
"True" Akefia patted the spot next to him so she could sit beside him so their thighs touched, looking at him she smiled faintly before he had her head rest on him. "Sleep, you look exhausted" Akefia said softly but in a semi stern tone. Not complaining she smiled before closing her eyes, within seconds she passed out causing him to chuckle at how easy it was for her to sleep. Looking at the spirit he sighed.
"I have a bad feeling about this, should we go?" Akefia asked while the spirit remained still. Something that Akefia sigh heavily as his father could talk to spirits and those who hid in darkness. Part of him even wondered if he would ever be like his father despite being a thief like his mother's family. It was odd to say the least but he knew that without his father he would remain ignorant of things despite having some instincts. Watching them Diabound eyed Ra who remained hidden with pensive eyes.
Soon the three saw the physician enter with a tired but relaxed look on his face.
"Is she?" Akefia bit his lip until the man smiled.
"She is resting, she picked up something fierce but I was able to help her in time any later and she would have died so you did the right thing" the physician explained before going to check on the infant.
"When he wakes up he needs to be fed, other than that this one is a fighter despite crying a lot" the man said causing Akefia to sigh in relief. "Forgive me for prying but I heard you are leaving for Kul Elna" Akefia tensed up before the man waved his hand.
"I was going to ask, if you let me I can look after them. If things get worse or food becomes scarce I will take them to the queen. She will keep them safe no matter what" Hearing this Akefia felt dread but the man gave him an assuring look.
"For now no one knows about your family, they will just see a woman and her child are unwell. No one will have a reason to come after them" the physicians vowed which almost set Akefia at ease.
"Only as a last resort" Akefia warned.
"Worry not, they will be under the protection of the queen and pharaoh. No one would dare to harm them unless they wish severe punishment" he explained, still Akefia was worried but knowing Marium had brought him here for a reason made him a bit more at ease.
"Okay, thank you" Akefia said politely.
"It is my honour, now let's examine you" The physician said before placing the infant in a small bedding that was made for the baby. Akefia placed Myra beside the infant and had a blanket rest on her.
"My, she has treated your injuries well" the physician exclaimed with a wide smile as soon as he examines Akefia who was left shocked on how there was hardly any marks on his body, "she has the skills to be a good physician. I wonder who taught her"
Myra and Akefia rode in silence even as they entered the ruined city of Kul Elna, the pair stared at the place with mixed emotions before Akefia saw her shiver to his surprise. Rubbing her arms Myra shivered a bit even after getting off the horse.
"Are you okay?" Akefia asked as he had the horse rest nearby.
"A lot of angry spirits here, they're restless" Myra explained before seeing her wince but had guessed it was the spirits' doing.
"So where do we need to go?" he asked until he heard some ghostly screams. Seeing her move towards a direction he followed, Myra tried to remain vigilant due to how similar and yet different the area was. Spying the ruined home she entered while Akefia was left stunned that she would enter his old home, slowly he entered the house to see her head to his and Rui's room. Once there she went on her knees and went under Rui's bed before showing him a doll that looked like his sister's.
"B-But how?" he asked as she handed it to him, Akefia was left surprised as the doll felt warm to the touch "I don't understand, how was it not destroyed?" he asked while Myra froze as a voice entered her ears.
"Big brother! Please get me out!" cried a timid girl shocking her.
"Myra?" Akefia blinked as he noticed Myra go still.
"I heard a girl's voice! She asked to be let out" Myra froze before frantically wrote something down leaving him more baffled and worried, it couldn't be...
"I think it's your sister! Her spirit must have somehow been forced inside the doll during the attack!" Myra stared at his now stunned expression, this had to be a joke right? His sister had died, he saw her body get thrown in and now Myra was telling him she could hear Rui's voice inside the doll?!
"Akefia who gave you this doll?" Myra asks with a stern look that left him shaken.
"I-ah-Marium! But the doll is harmless, father would never let it come near us if it was" Akefia said looking conflicted.
"If it was harmless then how did it take her soul, someone tampered with it so the other spirits don't know where she is. To be honest my friend's sister is missing, some other girls were as well and what they had in common was white hair, pale skin and brown eyes" Myra explained, something about this left him unsettled until Myra took off running to his dismay, before he could call her he froze from the top of the steps. The same steps that led to everyone's demise. However seeing Myra run down there without any care about herself made him worry more enough to run down after her only... he froze by what he saw.
Marium sighed as she sat in the garden area, fatigue and worry filled her as she continued to try and relax. Yami as expected was in the throne room but had guards near Marium in order to keep her safe, something that made her frown but knew not to argue.
"It has been a while since I came here" Marium stiffened as she heard the male's voice and looked quickly to her left to see her father standing nearby with his arms folded but looking away from her.
"Father" Marium greeted calmly while nodding, turning to look at her. Her father's brows furrowed.
"You haven't told him" he said not as a question but as a statement, something she would have scowled at. Yes her father was aware but it drove him to drinking and hurting her.
"I see no reason to make him worry" she said bluntly causing him to frown.
"So you think that he doesn't have to know?" her father asked but kept his distance, one thing she hated about him was that almost nothing was secret to him given how he hears things through the wind.
"After what happened to you, I see no reason to burden him" Marium explained curtly causing him to wince.
"Marium... how long will you do this? Not telling him before you died once is hard enough-" Marium rounded on him with a furious look.
"You know? And yet you come here acting all high and mighty? Why are you even here? To spite me for my choices?" she bit before seeing him shake his head.
"Do you still hate me for what I did?" her father asked softly.
"Hate is a strong words, resent yes but I am trying to move on. You cannot stop death, someone has to die for another person to live" she said bluntly causing him to sigh at how quickly she was giving up.
"You can't keep hiding the truth, sooner or later you should tell him or he would never forgive you" Marium twitched with a glare.
"I am the one who is going to die, I can't change it or bad things would happen. Besides it makes no difference, this is just a world of memories" she bit before pausing at his stone cold look, a look that left her scared when she was younger. Tensing up and gripping her chair her father saw her fear filled eyes which left him guilty so he relaxed his eyes. Slowly he took steps towards his skittish daughter who looked like she was about to bolt in fear as he got closer.
"Marium, who says that this is not real? You know someone is treating us like pawns in a game, your husband needs to wake up and you have to tell him. Or would you rather I-"
"Don't you dare tell him!" she hissed as her voice shook while it was above a whisper. "I am not burdening him with more pain and dread" her father held her hand while frowning once more.
"It's because of Myra isn't it?" she froze in horror confirming his suspicions. "Look, I can't tell you how to live your life-"
"Do you even know what he did to our babies?" Marium said in a controlled but hysterical tone "he acted like they never existed, he refused to accept my death so how can telling him help? Explain this to me" her father paused before sighing.
"Closure" was all he said but she didn't react "If I knew she had that much time left, I would have spent every waking moment with her. I would have brought you all to see her even during work, I would have told her to think before confronting her end but I didn't. Because I didn't know how much time I had left, I took it for granted and as a result lost my chance. Marium please don't do this, you maybe doing the opposite but forcing him to live in ignorance when he knows something is wrong will only hurt him more. If you remember what happened the first time"
"I refuse to be cooped up and have people following me everywhere, I want my independence and freedom" she said coldly.
"Something I robbed of you when you were a child but Marium, freedom has a cost. Remember that" he added softly.
"Practice what you preach" Marium bit before standing up and moved her hand out of his saddened hand "I'm done" and with that she left causing him to sigh.
"I truly damaged her... Ilayna I don't know what to do anymore. I know that time is changing but this, even I know that we weren't this tense before she died" he sighed only to glare as he saw Aknadin at a distance, he never liked him for one minute. There was always a stench of hatred coming from the priest. Looking at Marium's retreating form he went to visit Isis for advice, another reason for his visit.
Akefia stared at the doll that once belonged to his sister with a neutral expression as he and Myra left Kul Elna, Myra looked at him with worry but knew that he needed time to understand what was going on because even she was confused. Looking at a girl who had a blanket on in order to protect her from the scorching sun Myra felt sadness and yet relief in knowing that the girl was safe. That and finding out why the spirits had took this girl allowed Myra to solve another mystery-why girls who had Emi's features and appearance had been taken, it had been because she looked exactly like Rui which was what stunned Akefia when he found them near the stone containing holes that looked like things were suppose to be inside them. Like a puzzle of some sort, to their relief the evil spirit hadn't been in the city but that didn't mean the spirits were welcoming given how she was trespassing. However thanks to a long day of explaining the spirits had let them leave peacefully which now resulted in three exhausted and yet a scared girl traveling.
"Okay, so now we have Emi I suppose you want us to find Ilayna's body?" Akefia said before Myra nodded to his dismay.
"The spirits warned us that the dark one is close to achieving his goals, I have to keep moving otherwise he will get me" Myra explained, another thing that baffled Akefia was that the dark one was after her for some reason. What had she done to catch his attention?
"Alright, we will bring Emi to my hideout. The physician will take care of her" Emi looked at him with frightened brown eyes before Myra patted her shoulder softly.
"There's a lady and a baby there, he's going to check to see if you're okay" Myra assured the girl who shivered but nodded despite still being scared about not only being in a strange place but the fact she was near strange people, one of them looked like her brother but was a scary to her dismay. Despite the fact that this girl Myra had told her she was looking for her on Bakura's behalf gave her some hope and yet what were the chances of this Myra being truthful. Not that Myra blamed her given what Emi had been through, when was the last time Emi eat? She looked very skinny and frail leaving Myra more on edge.
By the time the three arrived they saw the physician greet them.
"Good news, your wife is waking up-oh? Are you alright young lady?" the physician asked looking concerned from seeing Emi's appearance. Shivering and whimpering Emi backed away before Myra held her close.
"Oh dear..." the physician looked at her with worry while Akefia felt sadness for the girl.
"She can't understand us, she came from a place near where I was born and the captors kept speaking to her. She's very shaken" Myra explained to a very shocked pair, not wasting time the physician escorted the girls to one room.
"Can you translate to her for me?" the male asked Myra who nodded, looking at Emi she wrote something down.
"Don't worry, he's a doctor. He's very worried about you" Emi stopped crying for a bit to look at the note, rubbing her tattered top she looked at Myra fearfully "I will translate what he says, he wants to ask some questions and check to see if there is any injuries okay? I will be with you every step of the way I promise" Myra nodded with a wide smile while Emi relaxed slightly.
"Okay..." Emi nodded meekly before allowing the physician to check her while asking questions to which Myra translated quickly to prevent Emi having an anxiety attack. Akefia meanwhile bit his lip as he watched the trio, it left him sad and upset that in some bizarre twist of fate a girl who looked like Rui was in the same building as him. It had to be a sick joke, why did she walk about with his sister's face? It made no sense to him but he could not complain, however hearing her call him Bakura before realising that he was not who she thought he was scared her deeply. She cowered at the sight of him which left him unsettled and upset.
Akefia soon jumped and twisted a hand that touched his shoulder.
"Easy it's me" said a soft voice that caused him to snap out of his protective instincts, releasing the hand he saw his wife looking at him in worry, "what's wrong?" she asked to his dismay.
"Nothing Aria, just had something on my mind" Akefia said lowly, raising a brow she looked in the room and saw the trio.
"Someone left you upset?" Aria asked causing Akefia to mentally curse her for being really perceptive, however he did not deny it which made it worse for him.
"Rui..." another thing that Akefia hated-opening up about his past as she kept finding ways to talk, some part of him however was impressed that she got someone who kept closed about everything to be bold enough to get him to open up. That and she was bold enough to call his bluff and lies, a thing he never knew how she knew. She just did.
Once Emi was settled Myra left the pair so he could continue his examination.
"So what's happened?" Akefia asked as Myra nodded a hello to Aria who smiled softly in return.
"I won't lie, she's in serious shock. The spirits really traumatised and what's worse is that she had no idea of what they were saying" Akefia felt his stomach drop at the thought of what she went through "She is severely malnourished and her voice is almost raw from crying, she has hardly had any water and if we had gotten there any later she could have died" Myra added with a frown.
"Oh dear..." Aria said softly placing her hand to her lips. "Will she recover?" Myra looked at the pair inside.
"It will take a lot of treatment, I just want her to be back with her brother but... years have gone by so he's older now so it will be really upsetting" Myra added to their dismay. "Worst is that she cannot understand any of you and the reason I can is because of Marium" Akefia sighed heavily from the predicament.
"And we were suppose to find Ilayna's body, how can we if she needs you here with her?" Akefia asked causing Aria to raise a brow.
"She can understand gestures right?" Aria asked, Myra nodded before showing four fingers and pointed at Emi horrifying Aria.
"She's only four?!" Aria cried shocking Akefia who saw Myra nod glumly, hearing this he bit back a curse. "Alright, I will take care of her don't worry as long as we stay hidden" Aria said before Lil Fairy Wind floated in the room with a frantic look. Startled Myra rushed towards her and took the note she had while both stared at her.
"The palace has been compromised! Aknadin has been attacked by the spirit which would cause him to revert back to being evil, Mahad has been sealed away after his fight with the spirit. Don't enter the palace in case he comes back. Yami is rushing to stop him but I don't know whether we can stop him, please stay with Akefia no matter what" Myra went pale before writing furiously and handed it to Lil Fairy, she soon summoned Lil Witch of Southwick and handed them the message. If it got dangerous then the pair would try to avoid or pass the note to the other.
"We're heading back, Akefia's going to help me find something important. Have someone watch over Aknadin. I fear he will do something bad so we will keep a low profile, stay with your family and Isis" Myra handed this to Lil Witch who nodded with a foreboding look. Smiling briefly she nodded at the fairies who flew away quickly.
"What's happened?" Akefia asked while the pair and the physician approached her, Myra felt her shoulders slump as she handed Akefia the note. Looking at it with Aria looking over his shoulder Akefia's eyes went wide before they narrowed.
"We're going" Akefia looked at a determined Myra who nodded sharply.
"But it's too dangerous" Myra grinned taking Aria by surprise.
"I have someone I need to save" Myra said which left Aria anxious before sighing heavily.
"Honestly you two are so reckless sometimes" Aria said while placing her hand to her forehead "fine but come back soon will you?" she said feeling a headache coming along. Looking at Akefia Myra grinned with the same glint in his eyes.
Myra almost mentally snickered as Akefia was panicking over the fact he was sitting on Ra who was flying towards the capital quickly.
"Won't we be discovered? Also how is it that you can summon Ra? I thought that only the pharaoh could" Akefia cried but Myra didn't respond which made him huff crossly.
"Fine! Ignore me then" he ranted until they entered the city, he anticipated that they would cause attention but to his surprise no one gave a care about Ra flying over their heads. Looking at Myra's smug look he could see that her eyes were glowing purple which confirmed that she was responsible to his amazement. Not that he would admit it aloud. Now relaxed the pair flew towards the area where Ilayna had been heading to before vanishing. Thanking Ra with a grin Myra allowed Ra to vanish leaving the pair to search on foot. Akefia kept a look out while Myra tried to sense or pick up any hint of Ilayna.
"This isn't going to be easy, it will be almost impossible to find someone who has been dead for more than ten years" Akefia muttered through one of the corridors "it's just a shame that we can't actually retrace her steps" he added with a sad look. So far the places look clean so where would Aknadin place a body?
Frowning Myra continued to ponder before a thought came to her-What if they retraced her steps? Grinning Myra grabbed a shocked Akefia's hand.
"Cover me, I am going to try and retrace her last memories" Akefia blinked from her words while disbelief filled his features.
"And how are you going to do that?" he asked as he checked to see no guards.
"By asking Ilayna to help me relive her memories" Closing her eyes Myra tried to focus on what Ilayna looked like, to her dismay Ilayna did not respond however she did soon gain flashed of images enter her mind. It was then she went blank and walked towards a particular path with Akefia walking beside her. His mind was filled with worry, would they get spotted? Just looking around he quickly noticed that some areas looked as if they hadn't been used in years, at first he was worried that they would not be able to see until one thing put that to rest- her upper right arm started to glow in a sapphire blue hue. Looking at it closely he noticed that it had the form of a strange thin dragon which coiled around her arm from her elbow to near her shoulder, however what also stood out to him was a glow on the back of her neck which contained a strange symbol that even he did not recognise. Relying on some of the light while holding her hand they kept walking before doing a series of turns until they found an exit. Wincing Akefia covered his eyes while Myra remained oblivious to the sharp light , instead her mind continue to be swarmed by images of Ilayna's last moments before death. Soon she passed at the spot or where Ilayna had died and stared at where the blood had been spilled. Akefia meanwhile went pale as he saw some people above them as he realised that they were in a dungeon of some sorts, maybe a torture chamber. One person was old but Akefia's stunned eyes never left the man's shocked ones, both were surprised but ignored the torturer and the male holding a golden rod which had the eye on it.
"You... you were there during the attack on Kul Elna" Akefia said to the shocked trio not caring that there were two prisoners or a tall thin girl with blue eyes and light blue eyes. Instead Akefia's eyes narrowed after a gasp left his lips, anger filled him as he remembered his father's murder. How his father had to watch his mother being touched in a vile manner before her throat had been slit. He remembered losing Rui due to the panic but seeing his parents, one being forced to watch the other's death before it was their turn sickened Akefia to the point Diabound appeared with black wisps surrounding it. Releasing a pained roar Seto blanched in surprise at how angry Akefia had gotten.
"I will never forgive you for what you did to my family!" Akefia screamed in fury "for molesting my mother before slitting her throat and leaving her to choke on her blood! For making my father watch as you had him restrained and stabbed him in the stomach! For throwing my sister who was live into the burning pot!" Akefia felt his anger take over which caused his eyes to go black.
"You ruined our lives and for what? Trinkets?! No mercy!" Akefia added darkly before chuckling darkly "I admit you had me think it was your brother when really it was you, all of our pain- mine, Marium's it was caused by your selfishness. Tell me what was to gain from all this? TELL ME!" Akefia bellowed silencing everyone in the room, the creatures cowered in fear while the head torturer shook as he took a step back. Seto however stared at Aknadin with disgust, at first hearing the dark spirit tell the story left Seto shocked but now hearing the brutality of this man-his mentor's sins made him more ill. How could anyone do that and have no conscience?
Shaking with rage Aknadin glared hatefully at Akefia.
"What do you know boy? Nothing! He was in the way! They all were! Always keeping my brother in power, they were advisors of all people! They were nobodies! Freaks who had unnatural abilities that my brother just so happened to get along with! You would never understand what I did to get ahead, I lost everything to try and have what was rightfully mine! I deserve the throne! But those three always stood by the others side and never left the other, always helping, always finding ways that other people like us could not. How did they even know that others were plotting against us? How did they know things to stop neighbouring lands from attacking us?! Abbas might have refused recognition but was the greatest thorn in my side, no... he and Ilayna were always interfering in things that were nothing to do with them. And so..." Aknadin smirked in such a way that it infuriated Akefia, the priest as he jeered completely forgot that Seto was in the room "I silenced Ilayna before she could tell my brother about my plans to use the millennium items, my plans to kill Abbas. However I never did anticipate her death would spark such problems so I was forced to wait while being 'sad' about her death, I waited until it was truly time and went after Kul Elna which so happened to be a happy coincidence that Abbas had gone to visit so I could finally end that interfering pest from my sight. Now he's gone my brother soon died some time after that due to being so guilty for 'killing his precious friend' HA! What irony! I silenced Abbas and it felt satisfying to watch him suffer as he bled to death" Aknadin said with a sadistic grin on his face. Horrified Seto took a step back not believing his ears.
"And now... I shall finish the job by killing you-What the-?!" Aknadin screamed as Ra appeared beside a pure white version of Diabound. Both had very furious looks on their faces as they kept their eyes om him. Seto now shaken looked to see Myra staring at Aknadin with one glowing purple and one glowing brow eye to his shock. Around her was a soft white glow that intensified but neutralised Akefia's Diabound's wispy aura, regaining his mind Akefia spotted the white Diabound and gasped in surprise before looking at Myra who stared blankly at Aknadin.
"How is she able to summon both? I thought that the pharaoh could summon Ra while Akefia could summon Diabound, instead both are being summoned at the same time by her. How is this possible?" Seto pondered, before rushing to get to the girl. Eyeing Seto Myra nodded at Diabound who grabbed his shocked form and placed him beside the girl he was trying to get to, staring at Myra he nodded his thanks. Diabound soon formed a ball of white light inside his open hands and fired it at a now panicking Aknadin while he and the torturer fled in fear, soon the area started to shake before the door they left in caved in. However no one said anything as Myra stood still and stared at where Aknadin had once stood, her eyes never moved nor did her body until she looked at Ra who fired a yellow fireball at the sealed door. Walking towards Diabound who held her gently and took her towards the opening Ra had made. Startled Akefia tried to follow before being intercepted by Ra, Diabound and his own.
"I need to get to her! She's in danger!" Akefia yelled "let me through!" he added but the trio stared at him blankly.
"Please, she's in danger" Seto pleaded as he stood beside Akefia.
"When one does not conquer the darkness in ones heart, the door remains closed until one sees the truth" Ra said cryptically startling them into silence.
"What… does that mean?" Seto asked softly.
"Darkness was a test for the one who was silenced, now one has to find the means to truly see past their own darkness. Why do you intend to go after her?" The white Diabound asked while the darkened Diabound folded his arms.
"W-why? Because she's in danger! He's going to kill her so why are you blocking us? Let us through!" Akefia yelled.
"One cannot alter fate without understanding the consequences, if one is meant to die then how can you stop what is meant to happen?" the dark Diabound asked bluntly, Akefia gritted his teeth before feeling his side get hot. Startled he took out the doll that was in his pocket, just starting at it filled him with dread and sadness. He had lost her that day because he had been careless, he was separated because of the panicking people and as a result had been forced to watch her die. Why shouldn't he be punished? Why should that man get away with it?
"When you achieve your goal? Would you have been satisfied" Myra's written words made Akefia pause, would he have been satisfied? No was the answer, he would have continued until everyone connected to the killer had been dealt with. Even if it meant going after Marium his own friend to his shame. Why was Myra even here? Because she wanted to find the truth, the truth she had been trying to get him to find out to help him realise that the pharaoh had been innocent and yet he kept rejecting the notion time and time again. Why? Because it was easy to blame it on someone who issued an order, only now that he saw his family's killer it fuelled him with such fury that killing him wouldn't be enough. Was he truly evil for thinking such things? For wanting revenge because of what he went through? However now as he witnessed Aknadin's actions it horrified Akefia that he could have ended up like him, he was not like that. Yes he stole but it was to survive, yes at times he did it for fun and because it meant being recognised for something he could do. That he could spit at the one responsible only now that he knew the truth, he was willing to do something. He wanted revenge but knowing that Marium wanted justice, yes he wanted to end Aknadin but knowing that he could give something to help aid Marium- a victim of the man's cruelty, enduring what she also went through he wanted to do this. What was the right choice? Revenge or finding the truth and achieving justice? To be the better person and not resort to killing to make himself better? Yes Aknadin was dangerous to be kept alive but if Akefia could take the eye away from Aknadin, then the man could not do anything.
Swallowing thickly Akefia looked at the trio who stared at them, now hearing that Seto had been in fact talking to him Akefia looked at him.
"We need to find Ilayna's body, it's the reason we entered the palace" Akefia said before a bright light filled their eyes.
"Follow child, follow the white rabbit" Seto's eyes went wide as he remembered Yami had spoken about a white rabbit.
"Sh-she's the white rabbit?!" Seto exclaimed before the trio helped Seto, Akefia and the girl up towards the door.
"Run along now, otherwise she will be lost forever" The white Diabound said softly before Akefia rushed towards the exit, he had to find her but which direction did she take? There were so many corridors that it was almost impossible to find her.
"Big brother! Big brother!" Rui's voice entered his ears stopping Akefia, looking at the doll his eyes went wide in shock.
"R-Rui?! How is this possible?" Akefia asked while his voice shook.
"Big brother you can hear me?! Please you have to get me out of this doll! I can't get out!" Rui's child voice exclaimed in his ears.
"But how? I don't know how you got in there" Akefia said while looking around in worry, where did Myra go?
"You gave me the doll, father told us you would be following in his footsteps right? What if you did something to stop my soul from going inside the pot?" Rui asked stunning Akefia even more.
"But what could I have done? I just gave it to you after Marium handed it to me" Akefia cried in frustration.
"…Big brother answer me this" Rui paused softly "do you still blame yourself for my death?" she asked meekly, Akefia gritted his teeth as he entered a hallway. He didn't want to get into this.
"Big brother?" Rui asked sounding upset.
"What do you want me to say Rui? Of course I do!" Akefia hissed "I was suppose to look after you and I lost you because I wanted to find our parents even though mother told us to hide, if it weren't for that we would have hidden or left the city" Akefia said with a grudging tone.
"You would have been safe" he added softly before stopping once more as sadness and guilt welled up inside him.
"Big brother it was my fault, I purposely left your side to find mama. But the solder found me instead, if anything you should be mad at me for not listening" Akefia froze as he heard her weak voice, guilt could be heard in her voice.
"But Rui-"
"No Akefia, it was my fault! Now girl who looked like me had been taken because the spirits wanted to find me but couldn't because I ended up sealed inside the doll! I did this to everyone! I made you upset and do bad things. I caused girls to die and one who did survive to be scared forever, I was the horrible one not you big brother. If I had listened…" Akefia allowed his hair to shield his eyes as tears formed and ran down his face quickly, this was the last thing he wanted his sister to do- blame herself.
"If I had been a better brother and kept you safe-"
"That's the thing! You are a good brother! You kept the girl safe! You saved my look alike and what did I do? I can't do anything nor can I move on unless I get out which is next to impossible…" Rui said grudgingly to his dismay, slumping against a wall he had his knees up and stared at the doll while resting one arm on his knees.
"Rui… we both were at fault, we didn't listen and caused ourselves to be separated. I chose to be a thief and desecrate people's tombs, that was all me and why? To get back at the pharaoh, the one person who was innocent in all of this" Akefia muttered before feeling the doll grow warm and yet cold at the same time.
"Big brother… father would never want you to live this life, he would have wanted us to be happy" Rui said softly before Akefia released a cold laugh.
"And am I happy?" Akefia asked dryly.
"Are you?" Rui asked causing him to pause, his mind went to his wife and son who were waiting for him to return. However what also entered his mind was not only Marium but also… Myra. Seeing Myra's mischievous smile it was like looking at himself when he was younger to his surprise. Smiling softly while his eyes softened.
"In a manner… just wish I could help out" he muttered not seeing thin lines form on the doll, "now that I know, I want to help make things right but I'm just worried that I'm never going to be accepted. That I'll just make things worse" Akefia admitted wearily.
"Father and mother always said that if you truly want to do something, something that is worthwhile, something that gives you the strength to never give up. Even if things are bad, fight until the end" Rui said softly.
"They also said to never lose sight of what's important and look where I ended up, in a palace maze looking for a child" Akefia muttered before looking at the hallways with a heavy sigh. "I messed up" he said softly.
"But you've come this far, why give up now?" Rui asked with an eager tone that left him pausing, the lines soon deepened and caused a dim light to appear. "Father always said to never give into the darkness inside yourself, because if you do you'll be lost and unable to see what's in front of you" Rui said shocking Akefia who now stood up.
"You're right… I never thought you'd end up being wise Rui" Akefia said with a soft smile before placing a hand on the wall only to freeze as the tile pushed inside, his eyes went wide as he was sent backwards and landed on the solid hard floor.
"Ow…" he grumbled before looking up to see Myra's stunned look. "Hey… you know we've been looking for you right?" he said before looking around only to freeze as he saw something beside him, his face went pale quickly before a loud scream filled the area.
"FLIPPING SKELENTONS!" Akefia screamed now horrified that he had in fact landed on a corpse.
"Seriously brother… you steal from tombs, how are you scared of skeletons?" Rui asked looking surprised.
"Hey! I never break into the coffins thank you! At least I have some respect" he ranted.
"Or your just too chicken to look inside and steal" Myra showed the note to Rui who giggled while Akefia grounded his teeth in anger.
"I AM NOT SCARED OF OPENING COFFINS!" he yelled.
"Tell that to poor Ilayna who you've flattened" Myra gestured shocking Akefia who looked at the skeleton weakly.
"Mind helping me up?" he said loudly.
"I hear no please" Myra wrote with a frown.
"Got no body to help you with" Rui replied before seeing Seto and the girl approach them.
"I heard a scream, what happened?" Seto asked before seeing Akefia on a skeleton.
"Mind helping me up?! I'm stuck!" Akefia yelled causing Seto to react quickly and help the thief up. Once Akefia peeled the bones off of his body did he shiver violently.
"Look I stole yes but I never open coffins and it's not because I'm scared" he ranted shocking Seto and the girl.
"Tell that to some of the teeth that landed on your hair" Myra wrote, Akefia bristled before shivering so badly that he swiped at his hair to see nor feel anything. Instead he heard Rui laughing and saw Myra smirking at the now angry male.
"Let's just get her to Marium so she could get buried please you horrible bunch of brats" Akefia gestured to the skeleton causing Seto to blink.
"The skeleton?" Seto asked before Akefia gave him a sour look.
"We found Ilayna, she was in this hallway that was hidden by a very cleverly disguised trap door" Akefia said with a look of disgust, startled Seto looked at the skeleton in alarm.
"Then what are you waiting for? Get it up so we can bring it-"
"Actually you're carrying it, I'm already uncomfortable taking it" Akefia said to Seto's anger.
"Are you actually scared of a corpse? It's not even moving-"
"Yeah and I just landed on it thank you, at least I found it so take it" Akefia said while Myra stared blandly at him but did nothing. Tapping his arm Myra gestured to the body and glared sharply causing Akefia to freeze.
"No and that's final!" he ranted.
"Stupid evil eyes and stupid kids…" Akefia muttered darkly as he was forced to carry the remains of Marium's mother grudgingly. Seto however kept Kisara the girl with blue eyes and Myra close in case Aknadin decided to show up. By the time the four arrived in the main area of the pharaoh's chambers they were stunned to find that Marium was not there.
"Where is she?" Akefia asked before they spotted a servant looking glum.
"Servant!" Seto called startling the young girl who looked at them in fear.
"Ah! Priest Seto, please don't hurt me I swear I only did what she asked" the girl cried weakly surprising the group.
"What happened?" Seto asked now looking worried.
"M-Queen Marium heard that the pharaoh went missing and left the palace, I tried to stop her but she said that she wanted water. So thinking that she wasn't going to leave I went only to see that she was missing, I'm sorry priest Seto! I tried I really did" the servant cried while Seto and Akefia went pale in shock.
"That's not good, Marium's putting herself at risk" Akefia said.
"But where could she have gone?" Seto asked before Akefia looked at Myra briefly, seeing him looking at him she frowned.
"Myra… you've been in contact with her. Do you know where she went?" Akefia asked causing Seto to stare at her in alarm, frowning Myra looked at them.
"Just heard from Ra that the others are in Kul Elna in order to confront the spirit. As long as the Rod is here and not there the spirit will not get what he needs to bring the darkness back" Marium explained. "Also the spirit knows that there is one main component that will secure the darkness' freedom" Myra explained.
"Which is?" Seto asked now looking more worried while Kisara watched feeling more anxious than ever before, Myra looked at her weakly knowing that she was now in more danger if the spirit found out what she knew.
"The pharaoh's name, as long as no one is able to say it or know it. The darkness will not be able be free" Seto and Akefia stared at the other in surprise.
"The pharaoh's… name?" Akefia asked in disbelief, Myra nodded.
"According to my grandmother's archives, the pharaoh went into a great depression after sealing the darkness but there had been no victor. There would be a time when the darkness would come back so using this as a means to help lock away his pain after losing Marium he sealed his memories and removed himself from history thanks to the spirits. Only now as time is being rewritten the name was still never known unless one enters the Valley of the Kings" Myra explained leaving them more shocked and baffled than before.
"Wait the pharaoh went into a great depression?" Akefia asked not believing his ears.
"And Marium died? When was this?" Seto asked but Myra waved it off.
"Not important, what is is that we need to make sure the items are away from Kul Elna and that the name is not known to the spirit. Otherwise all the planning would be for naught" Myra explained.
"But isn't there a way to save the queen?" Seto asked before Akefia could even speak, shock and disbelief filled him in knowing that she was fated to die in the future. She was so young in his eyes and he hadn't even seen her face to face in years, surely there had to be a way to save her only to his dismay she shook her head.
"Marium is fated to die, like her mother it is something that cannot be controlled" Myra explained with a frown on her face as she looked away.
"What do you mean? What about the triplets? Will they survive?" Seto asked now worried about the children.
"By a hair" This didn't leave Seto feeling comfortable and Akefia more upset.
"What is going on Myra? What are you not telling us?" Akefia asked now feeling more uneasy, she knew something and just seeing her calm expression left him feeling that something was going on.
"Can't say, it can't be avoided either" Myra said before looking away.
"Myra! Please what is going on?" Akefia asked now feeling sick and worried.
"Ask Marium" Myra's expression signalled the end of the discussion to their dismay, what was going on?
"By the way, you might want to keep an eye on me" Myra wrote down leaving them all confused.
"Why do we need to do that?" Seto asked as he looked at her with a curious look.
"Because I know pharaoh's name" The males went still as horror filled them.
"WHAT?!" the males yelled not believing their eyes, Myra looked at them with a frown before looking at Kisara.
"I'm keeping an eye on you miss, I sense death's approaching" Myra explained to their worry, Seto seeing this felt his body tense up. There was no way that he was allowing Myra or Kisara to fall. No Aknadin and the spirit would have to go past his corpse to get to them.
"Great, so first the corpse now you're in danger… good thing you're not near the hideout" Akefia muttered dryly while she shrugged.
"Not my fault, was guided there and then lost my right to speak" This soured Akefia's mood even more.
"Do you ever try to keep out of trouble?" Akefia muttered as he looked around the area.
"It finds me" she replies with a blank look.
"Jee… what did you do to have bad things happen to you?" Akefia said lowly as he shook his head.
"My ancestor fell in love and her husband sadly was the object of a demoness' affections but ended up causing us grief as a result" Myra wrote it so calmly and had a nonchalant look that left the trio wondering if she was even joking or not.
"I sure hope that's not true" Akefia muttered but she didn't respond, instead she went to the balcony and stared at the dark cloud that approached them.
"I… I should be protecting the pharaoh, I shouldn't be here" Seto said weakly causing Akefia to glare.
"The queen and king would tell you to protect Myra, obviously she has something the darkness wants- the pharaoh's name and as long as she's safe they can't do anything" Akefia snapped which left Seto conflicted.
Yami sighed heavily as he watched the board. His eyes were on Seto, Akefia, Kisara and Myra who were at the palace. Meanwhile he stared at the spirit who was seething in anger.
"Looks like your plan to get her has failed" Yami said calmly as he folded his arms.
"Just you wait pharaoh, the fun is just getting started" the spirit sneered as he released a smirk.
"And how will you be able to do anything? They won't leave the palace" Yami explained only to hear a chuckle.
"You forget my servant Aknadin, he can enter the palace still. He'll take the rod and the girl-" the pair froze as a bright light formed around the palace followed by loud screams that sounded like someone was in agony.
"You were saying…?" Yami said bluntly, inside he was impressed that Myra had the power to send the Aknadin away and yet he knew she could only do so much to his dismay.
"Well pharaoh since I can't do things the easy way, I might as well speed up the death of someone" the spirit added with a smirk that left Yami unsettled.
"What do you mean by that?" Yami asked while the spirit laughed.
"Are you seriously telling me that you don't know?" the spirit asked "honestly just finding out myself was a shock and yet the irony is too delicious to ignore, to think your wife would still hide the truth from you after all this time. So much for love" Yami bristled but kept his calm.
"I trust Marium to tell me the truth when she's ready-"
"When she's ready?! Pharaoh she has almost no time left!" the spirit released a loud laugh that echoed in Yami's ears.
"Has almost no time left?" Yami tried to keep calm but the spirit saw worry written all over his face, slowly the spirit took out an hourglass and smirked.
"Tick tock your wife's time is almost up, now just imagine if I interfere with her time and make it drop to a day" the spirit taunted with a vicious smirk that made Yami's blood run cold.
"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Yami slammed his hands onto the table as he stood up, pausing the spirit grinned with glee at how he badly he rattled Yami.
"Oh would I?" the spirit said with a sly smirk before trying to influence the hourglass only to blink as ice formed around the hourglass, surprise filled both their faces before a note appeared on Yami's side.
"No one touches my daughter's life or time and gets away with it!" Yami felt a shiver run down his spine as he recognised who wrote it- Ilayna.
"Looks like her mother has stopped you completely" Yami commented to the spirit's anger.
"Even if I can't influence it here, I can influence her time in the game" the spirit sneered.
"If you can that is" Yami said before his mind went to Marium, the fact that she was running out of time scared him. Was this one of the consequences she had warned him about?
I think I now understand why Bakura hates skeletons
Akefia: Seriously! I AM NOT SCARED!
Rui: You are...
Myra: It's true you are...
Akefia: SHUT UP!
Myra: Make us