Yugi's head span as her eyes flickered open, the Pharaoh's last words echoing in her mind and causing it to ache in a dull, constant pulse. As she pushed herself sitting, it was revealed that she was still in her Soul Room, but that it'd been flooded with Ancient Egyptian toys and games.
She recognised the ebony and ivory senet set as a gift from the Athenian ambassador, who'd given it as an apology gift, despite having no clue what Shada had been talking about when he'd accused him of telling him Ba-Khu-Ra was a traitor, the gold-plated knucklebones as a dice set she'd been given by her brother, Atem, on her tenth birthday…
She shook her head, trying to clear the ancient memories from it and focus on her present, only for a hand to appear in her vision, startling her.
"You okay, Runt?"
The Ancient memories had her scrambling backwards before the modern ones could remind her that Ba-Khu-Ra was an ally now, and she reached for the sword that'd always hung at the Pharaoh's side before her own memories finally caught up to her.
"Ba… Ba-Khu-Ra… sorry." She breathed as she took the hand that'd been reoffered by a Thief Queen who didn't look as happy about events as Yugi would've expected, considering she'd just acquired a huge part of the thing she had wanted for so long.
"I don't hate you. Or her. Not anymore. If it helps?" Her friend asked as she pulled Yugi to her feet.
Yugi's eyes widened at the Thief Queen's words, which had her realising that she too had seen the memories that'd flooded the mental spaces of both halves of the once Nameless Pharaoh.
"I… I might still hate myself." Was the only thing Yugi could think to reply with.
Years of bullying had crushed her self-esteem into the floor, so it wasn't entirely inaccurate, and there was so much else to process that she couldn't think clearly.
The stammer drew a sad laugh from the Thief Queen, who was relieved it'd worked and had been willing to take the fall if it hadn't.
Yugi, unaware Ba-Khu-Ra had planned to refuse to take them back if it'd failed, just patted her on the arm and darted across the corridor to where the solid, heavy, metal door to the Puzzle was.
Or had been.
But was no longer. Instead, there was an intricately carved door of acacia wood, that reminded her of the doors to the Pharaoh's bedchambers in her twin's memories.
Stepping through the doorway led her not into the insane MC Esheresque maze that had made up her twin's soul room since the very first day, but into the beautiful bedroom where the Pharaoh had made so many good memories with her friends and loved ones.
On the tables and desks lay figurines and gifts from ambassadors, all of which Yugi knew probably held important memories for her Anesan.
Upon the bedside table sat the golden box that her brother had given her that'd once held her game pieces and now sat in Yugi's bedroom in the Kame Game Shop, having brought the pair of them together by hosting the Puzzle pieces.
And on a weapon rack by the door sat a stunning sword, a San Mai, or five layer blade with a gold-painted bronze core, gold and bronze Damascus middle layers and solid bronze cutting edges that reminded Yugi of the sun rising in the morning.
The Blade of the Rising Dawn was a masterpiece, something that would've taken the smith who created it an insane amount of time, and would've had to have been made with the utmost care, considering there would have been no machines to help back in Egypt. Every hammer blow would've had to be perfect.
Yugi couldn't resist reaching for it. Her fingers only skimmed the metal for a moment before a memory flash of being pinned to a wall and kissed deeply made her pull back, blushing.
That was a personal memory for her twin, not something she should be snooping in.
On the far side, where the doors to the balcony would've stood back in Egypt, the same metal door stood, warning Yugi that the Puzzle was still connected to her twin's soul. And that it could drag her back at any given moment.
Not that Yugi would let it.
And at the foot of that door, was the one she was looking for.
"Anesan!"
Yugi dove to the side of her older sister, who looked rather more like she had in the memories and who was pushing herself up and slowly blinking at her. Confusion and hesitation trickled across their soul bond, as Yugi knelt at her side and offered her support.
The Pharaoh didn't take it to start with. Instead, her hand went to her head, a grimace of confusion and pain telling Yugi that she wasn't the only one with a headache, and what came out of Meisa's mouth wasn't Japanese.
It was Ancient Egyptian and Yugi only recognised a few words of it.
Worry suddenly surged that in getting her twin's memories back, the Pharaoh could no longer recognise her.
Pulling from the memories in her own Soul Room, Yugi, certain she was mangling the language, tried, "Hetep, sen. Ren-i ew Yugi."
'Peace, sister. My name is Yugi.'
At the name the Pharaoh's eyes snapped to hers, ruby meeting amethyst as recognition filtered in, and relief and joy surged.
"Hi Imoto, my name is Sakhmet."
Yugi let out a delighted squeal and hugged her sister tightly. The Pharaoh stiffened for a moment, ancient memories telling her that anyone who touched her without express permission was in deep trouble. Then her arms wrapped around her twin as she let out a happy, relieved laugh.
"We did it. We actually did it."
The Pharaoh's eyes closed for a moment, and she rested her head on Yugi's shoulder, taking in the strength and warmth of her twin. She took a deep breath, her form shifted to an odd mix of Pharaoh and Yugi's Other Self. Yugi watched in fascination, taking in the changes, able to sense the more modern memories asserting themselves, as Sakhmet took on her more modern form.
"I'm going to apologise now, Imoto. I've got so many memories to sort, that I'm going to slip between ancient and modern for a while."
"So am I," Yugi giggled back, cuddling in happily, "Some of your stuff poured into my room and got mixed up. How do you think I knew the language?"
"I'll help you clean up." Sakhmet promised with a grin, "Once we get a…"
"Pharaoh?" Sakhmet's eyes narrowed as Ba-Khu-Ra hesitated at the door. "Might I come in?"
Almost immediately the Pharaoh's mien shifted back closer to her ancient self and she shot to her feet, pulling her twin up and behind her as she asked, "Are you free of Apophis right now?"
"Free enough to have complete control over my decisions for the first time in three thousand years." Ba-Khu-Ra smiled sadly. Mentally wincing at the sound of the first name Zorc had given her, "But there will always be some of me tied to him. It's been too long."
The Pharaoh, disappointed but unsurprised, nodded and gestured for her to enter the chamber. "I need an audience with you later. We owe each other answers, Ba-Khu-Ra. And an apology."
To her shock the Thief Queen fell to her knees in front of her, head bowed.
"I agree. We have a long conversation we need to have, but right now I beg your forgiveness and your aid. My own Sen, as important to me, as Yugi is to you, is at risk as long as Hanaq stalks this world. I cannot help Sen as I am. I need the Ring back."
"It and our friends are all still on Hekigan. We need to get back," Sakhmet acknowledged, "Before time's up."
"Then let's go."
Yugi started forward, but Sakhmet's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Imoto? Might I introduce myself to Amane?" The nervousness that had the Pharaoh biting her lower lip, made Yugi shove her forward.
"Go ahead."
The Pharaoh's eyes reopened, and it felt almost right that of all the friends she had, it was the Thief Queen's reincarnation who had her wrapped in her arms. Before the downfall, Ba-Khu-Ra had always been there for her in her weakest moments, and having her here, now, in such an important moment was right.
"Did it work?" The other item holder asked nervously as she let the Pharaoh rise to her feet. "Do you remember?"
The grin and incline of the head made Amane's heart race. "It is an honour to meet you, Amane Bakura. I am Pharaoh Atem, but my friends are allowed to call me, Sakhmet."
"Sakhmet?" Amane caught the importance of the introduction and the increased formality, and grinned, "Like the lioness goddess?"
"Spelt slightly differently, but yes. Remind me to get my name carved into the cartouche Anzu gave me, so I don't lose it again."
Amane rocked back and forth on her heels, delighted that her friend remembered the gift she'd been given over a year ago. It confirmed she still had her modern memories too.
"Do you have all your memories back?"
"I do," Sakhmet breathed, staring at the tablet of the Pharaoh's Lost Memories with a small, sad smile as it reminded her of facing down Seth in a Diaha to find out who would give their lives to protect the people of Egypt. "I remember everything. Ba-Khu-Ra wasn't entirely wrong to be angry, even if I wasn't the one who started things. There are things I did, that I regret."
"Everyone has moments like that," the Game Master reassured her. "You're not the only one. Did you get your powers back? How are you feeling?"
The Pharaoh didn't need to think to reach for her magic. Calling the Shadows was as easy as breathing, and they answered her as eagerly as a puppy seeing their master for the first time in weeks. Her eyes lit up with an ethereal glow, the Eye of Anubis rested upon her brow. Amane swallowed as the Puzzle's glow made the artificial lighting in the room seem dark.
Then it all faded away, and the Pharaoh smirked. "Yes. I have them. And I'm still running low on Ba, but I can stretch it further now. I think I can do this."
"Then shall we?" Amane asked, offering her hand for Sakhmet to take.
The sound of Yugi's phone notifications going off made them both freeze, having been traumatised by the messages coming through for the last forty-eight hours. The Pharaoh seized the phone from her pocket, took a moment to push past ancient memories to remember how to unlock it, then checked the incoming texts.
Seeing what'd been sent, sent her into a stream of words that Amane couldn't understand, but from the tone were most definitely curses.
"Sakhmet?"
She handed over the phone, to reveal photos, sent from Hanaq's phone. Photos of Anzu, Honda, Katsuya, Shizuka and Mai, being held at gunpoint.
And a message.
"Return to the island and surrender to me, Pharaoh, or they die. One for each minute you haven't bent the knee after I get the notification that this was read."
As the 'read' flag ticked up, another message came in, telling Sakhmet that Hanaq had been watching.
"Tick tock. I think I'll start with your consort."
There was no time to grieve what she now knew she'd lost, no time to overthink, no time to panic.
She had no intention of bowing to the new Priestess and the fragment of the Dark God fuelled her, but she was not going to allow her friends to be killed.
She would not lose anything or anyone else.
Including herself.
Never again.
'Ba-Khu-Ra?'
'Ready.'
As Sakhmet reached out to grasp Amane's hand, a male voice from behind her made her pause.
"My Pharaoh."
Sakhmet wheeled around to glower at the speaker, recognising his voice long before she saw the man.
"I don't have time for you, Shadi. If you have something to say to me, meet me on Hekigan. Right now, I have more important matters."
With that she snatched Amane's hand.
'Do it.'
Without a moment's hesitation, Ba-Khu-Ra, using those bonded to the Puzzle as an anchor and reaching across the connections laid by the Pharaoh's actions, was easily able to find her way to her Other Self through the Shadows before passing out.
Leaving Amane and the Pharaoh in Hekigan's stadium, which was still filled with the soulless bodies of the many guests that had fallen to Hanaq's darkness.
There she found her friends on their knees and Hanaq, upon a conjured throne of Shadows that swirled between her fingers and around her form like a living, breathing creature, watching a man approach a pinned Katsuya, gun drawn and aimed, ready to fire.
Sakhmet didn't even need to make a gesture to unleash the magic that craved her call. Her friends were shocked when the man was knocked back in a burst of light, rather than Shadows, but they couldn't rise to their feet to aid her without risk of the guns at their heads going off.
"Pharaoh!" Hanaq's bellow ordered as the Pharaoh's furious, glowing gaze turned to her was accompanied by a smirk. "Welcome back, Daughter of Ra, have you taken what you need from your brat, finally?"
"I didn't need to harm Imoto. I have what I need."
"And you will never get to use it. Bow, or watch them die."
"Don't!" Honda's cry made the Pharaoh grit her teeth.
She had the power to overwhelm the magic controlling the guards. To undo the harm that'd been done to her friends.
But she was not a Goddess of Death, she had no sway over that realm. She was a Demi-Goddess of Healing, of Protection, the Sun and the Sky. A Daughter of the Sun God, not of the God of the Underworld.
She couldn't drag someone from the afterlife. The most she could do was restart a heart, as she'd restarted Imoto's and Kaiba's. That meant there was no guarantee that if the men fired upon her friends, she could save them.
Their lives would be down to their ability to return from the afterlife, and she didn't know how many more times they could rely on that miracle. If at all.
Especially after the warning she'd gotten when she'd revived Kaiba.
Unless she could…
'I wouldn't try. Bullets are faster than magic, my Pharaoh. I learned that on Duelist Kingdom.'
At Ba-Khu-Ra's confirmation of her fears, Sakhmet let out a harsh breath.
Her magic was powerful enough that she could tear this upstart to pieces. With her name restored, there was little she couldn't do.
But she couldn't save her friends without getting some space between them and the gunmen, and she wasn't going to risk their lives. Hanaq and the demon had known that, and that was why they'd taken hostages.
Which was why, even as she sent reassurance and confidence to her twin, she offered, "Let them go, and I will kneel."
"Yugi…" Amane's worried call was half drowned out by Hanaq's laugh.
"You think me so stupid? I'll let your friends go and you'll utilise your Divinity to go on the attack. No. Kneel first. Then I'll consider letting them go."
"No considering. If I'm to kneel, then you will release them."
"How about I release one, and then you kneel. And then I'll consider the rest?"
At Hanaq's words, she made a gesture towards the guard keeping Katsuya pinned. He backed up, allowing the blonde to his feet. The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed as he moved towards her, his movements stilted, his eyes begging her to forgive him even as he shoved Amane aside to get to her.
Knowing that he was still in there, that he was fighting for her, prevented her from lashing out to protect herself. Nor did she stop him from seizing her arm and twisting it behind her back, realising too late what was planned, when he kicked out her knee so she was forced to kneel, left leg forward, to the Enthroned Priestess of the God of Disorder and Destruction.
The Pharaoh bristled at the deliberate symbolism. Hanaq knew what she was doing in enforcing this position above all others. One presented themselves to the Pharaoh and to the Gods, left side forward. The side where the heart resided. It was a sign of respect and of submission.
And by making her best friend and her twin's partner force Sakhmet into this position, Hanaq not only was forcing him to humiliate her, but clearly thought that she deserved such honour, and that the Pharaoh was beneath her.
She thought herself more powerful, more important, than the Demi-Goddess she should be serving.
Or maybe, just maybe, it was the demon within her who thought thus.
Sakhmet tried to surge to her feet, refusing to kneel. Especially after everything Hanaq had done to her sister and her friends, but Katsuya's hand in her hair forced the Pharaoh's head down and held her in place. She could feel it trembling as her friend fought for control of his own form, as Hanaq rose from her throne and stalked across the arena towards her.
"I have every right to end you right now," The Pharaoh swallowed hard as the blade of the Millennium Rod was held to her throat. "You failed your lessons. You LOST against Jonouchi."
"The Shadows and the Duel Disks say otherwise," she bit back, still refusing to bend mentally, to show fear.
"He was supposed to duel you to the death. Your Doll, your 'Other Heart', cheated."
The amount of disgust and sarcasm on the words 'doll' and 'other heart' made Sakhmet bristle and struggle against the hands holding her down for a moment, but, when she was unable to break free, she went still and her shoulders sank.
"Imoto," and the weight of the emphasis on the title made clear the Pharaoh's anger. "Found a loophole. A loophole YOUR HOST left. Whether you left it intentionally or not, that's not cheating."
"It doesn't matter." Jou's hand moved as Hanaq's yanked her hair back, forcing the Pharaoh's gaze up and locking their eyes together. "You are defeated. Your people are mine. This island, this world is mine. After three thousand years, you are mine."
"This isn't defeat. Not really. This isn't you winning," The Pharaoh spat back.
"I still get to take your life. I still get to unleash the Shadows upon the world. I still get to rule this world and strip it of every last soul."
"Do you?"
The sheer confidence that the Pharaoh asked that with, made the demon-possessed woman pause. "What do you mean?"
"You could kill me," Sakhmet allowed, surprising her friends. "But that doesn't secure your reign. It doesn't even secure you one meal."
"You lie."
"No, I don't. Killing me unleashes the Shadows upon the world, that's true, but it doesn't keep the world for you. There's been other things shoved through doors burst open in the seal I created. Other souls, other demons, other dark Gods. The moment the Seal shatters, you're free, that's true, but they will also want their meal. They will also want to rule."
The creature possessing Hanaq couldn't deny the Pharaoh's point, as much as he wanted to, allowing Sakhmet to continue.
"Do you really think they'll listen to a creature that could only win by holding others hostage? By sneaking around in the darkness and attacking behind the scenes? Who, despite having three thousand years to succeed, couldn't defeat their enemy in head to head combat? They'll steamroll over you and take everything you've fought so hard to regain. And I'll get to die knowing that you didn't win. I did. Because what you wanted, never came to pass."
The blade at the Pharaoh's throat trembled as Hanaq shook with the demon God's rage, nicking the skin and drawing blood, which trickled down the Pharaoh's flesh. Sakhmet barely held back the flinch the pain caused.
"But, if you duel me, you could rule them."
"Go on."
"I have my name, my power. I have control over what is allowed in and out of the darkness. I can unleash only what I desire upon this world, or put whatever I desire back in." Sakhmet reminded the beast, bluffing with every drop of royal political training she'd ever been through. "And if you defeat me, if you take my soul, you gain that power. You gain the ability to control everything. Every last thing in the Shadows."
The demon-ridden form before her licked its lips at the thought of all that power. Being the most potent, the most powerful creature in all of existence, possibly even stronger than the Gods themselves.
"You could free yourself and rule over everything that the Shadows now possess. All you have to do is defeat me in a duel and take my soul as your prize."
The demon's gaze upon her was steady, even as it pulled harder on her hair, forcing the Pharaoh to bear her throat to its blade as it considered her words.
It could kill her now. The option was there. Just one quick cut and her blood would christen the floor of Kaiba's pretty park. He would be free of the chains she'd cast upon him, to destroy everything she'd died to protect all those years ago.
But she wasn't wrong.
Taking her soul gave him power unmatchable by anything within the Shadows. It gave him the ability to do something that no other creature could deny.
It would give him this world.
And, possibly, since the Shadows were tied to so many other dimensions, so many other worlds, it would give him those too.
Able to sense his host sit back at his decision, having been ready to fight him over her life, if it would save her brothers, the arm bearing the blade from the Millennium Rod drew back.
He savoured the moment of panic from the woman he'd tricked into becoming his new Priestess, then the blade came down.
The Pharaoh flinched, expecting this to be the end, only for her head to snap forward as the blade sliced through her hair, cutting it short. So short it settled back into a drooping version of the starfish like spikes that Imoto had taken care to grow it out of.
Sakhmet's breath came in short, shocked pants as her eyes rose again to find the demon holding the cut strands.
"Fine." It smirked at her as it let them rain down upon her, proving its strength and that she lived only because he allowed it. "Let's duel. You. And me. One on one. And when I win, your soul will be mine and everyone and everything you care about will die with you."
"But when I win, you'll release everyone on the island from your control. You'll submit to my judgement, and you'll undo the harm you have caused. Every. Last. Drop."
"You're in no position to make demands."
With that he waved a hand and Katsuya let her up, managing to force out a shaky whisper.
"I'm sorry…"
She reached back and squeezed his hand, showing her trust in him remained strong, then prepared her Duel Disk, shuffling her deck and sliding it into place. Her stance widened, and she took a deep, calming breath, needing every ounce of calm she could muster for the coming duel.
"I swear," she glanced at her friends, needing them, now more than ever, to trust in her. "Once this is over, I will see everything undone."
"No. You won't."
The Shadows erupted from the throne which dissolved as the wave struck the Pharaoh. Fear erupted as the darkness flooded the soul rooms and the corridor between and washed her sister out onto the stadium floor. There, blackened bronze and glass rose around her, shifting and slithering until she was trapped within the bottom of an ornate hourglass whose upper chamber was filled with red sand and whose arms were made up of finely scaled serpents.
A shimmering card that bowed with the weight, was the only thing stopped the sands falling through and burying her.
Both Yugi and Sakhmet knew that wouldn't last long.
"Imoto!" The Pharaoh rushed to the glass, only hesitating to pound upon it because she knew that trying to break the rules would get her twin killed instantly.
"I… I'm okay." Yugi's voice and hands trembled as she shakily rose to her feet. "What about you?"
"I…" Sakhmet trailed off as she glanced down to find her form was spectral, shimmering, and only semi-solid. "Don't worry about me. You're the one in danger."
"I'm fine."
"She won't be."
Then the demon dropped out of control, leaving Hanaq in place. He didn't need to pull her strings to get her to obey. She was a more than willing participant.
It hadn't occurred to her when she had given up the Winged Dragon of Ra, that she could steal the Pharaoh's power for herself. She'd done it purely to try and save her brothers.
Now though, she knew that if she won, she could take the power to free them from the darkness, but if the Pharaoh defeated her, her brothers would be spared.
That allowed her to fully play into the role the demon wanted her to play.
Allowed her to enjoy the chance to finally tear into the Pharaoh and unleash her wrath.
Allowed her to release all the pain and fear and fury she'd grown from, that'd given her form and life and personality.
She could finally, FINALLY vent everything without the risk of losing everything.
Because in the end, her brothers would be safe, even if she and her sister were lost.
"You're about to lose everything, Pharaoh." She gloated as she drew her first hand. Her own ornate hourglass shimmered into place, its upper chamber was filled with black sand and its arms were made up of stunning sapphire, ruby and gold wings, the sun disk of Ra sitting between them.
And in the bottom chamber, lay Ishizu. Wounded, frightened, almost entirely shimmering, and barely able to push herself up from the ground.
"When you lose lifepoints, those sands will fall, burying your doll alive, as befitting one who would help the enemies of the throne, but that's not all."
"What else?!" Sakhmet snarled, turning and drawing her own opening hand, recognising the symbolism in the hourglasses. The serpents and red sand of Apophis and destruction, and the black sands and winged solar disk of life and Ra.
"You'll find out once the duels starts, if you're still up for this?" Hanaq taunted, "Or would you rather I end it now?"
Sakhmet glanced at her sister, her friends and the many, many faces of the soulless crowd.
Then she turned back to the woman who, in another life, in another time, had sworn that she would be her loyal servant and never betray her, and let out a furious snarl as she accepted that even this friend was lost.
"Let's duel."
"I open this duel with Double Summon."
Sakhmet watched warily as Hanaq slammed the spell card into place, allowing her to summon forth both Gravekeeper's Cannonholder and the Spear Soldier, having seen the Cannonholder's ability in action from watching previous duels, as well as its 1400 attack points.
She was about to find out the full rules of this duel.
"Then, I set a card face down and activate Cannonholder's ability, sacrificing Spear Soldier to rip 700 lifepoints away from you!"
As the face down magic or trap card shimmered into view, the Spear Soldier turned into light and was absorbed by the cannon upon the shoulder of the black-robed man. His huge wooden cannon fired with a bang that echoed around the arena, launching a burst of flame and steel directly at the Pharaoh.
It slammed into her chest, knocking her off her feet and sending her sliding across the ground.
"Anesan!"
Yugi's hands slammed into the glass as the card keeping back the sand vanished into the ether and 700 lifepoints of sand tumbled into her half of the hourglass. She barely spared the red sands a glance, undisturbed by the threat when her sister could be hurt.
Instead, she merely moved out of its path as best she could, too concerned with watching her twin, who was picking herself up as her lifepoints tumbled to 3300.
Until pain shot down her arm, making her cry out in shock and pain.
"Yugi!"
"Imoto!"
As their friends called her twin's name, the Pharaoh wheeled around to stare, wild eyed, at her imprisoned sister.
Yugi, who'd grasped her left arm when the pain had hit, slowly uncurled and moved her right hand away to reveal that her arm was now shimmering, the way her twin had been.
"A… Anesan. Look. Your arm."
The Pharaoh glanced down to find that her own left arm was now solid. As solid as it was when she was in control of her twin's body. Then her eyes snapped up to her opponent.
"What did you do?!"
"I've given you a gift, Pharaoh." Her enemy's laugh was high, deranged. "You won't take what you need from her yourself, so I'm giving it to you. Ripping her apart piece by piece and assembling you with the pieces. And what's left of her will be lost to the sands forever."
Sands that were already nearly at her twin's knees.
"You'll get to take everything back she stole from you! And then I'll rip out your soul and devour it. Your whole soul will make a filling meal, and there will be nothing left of you to enter the cycle once more and come back to face me later."
"This is between you and me, so leave her alone!"
"No."
Hanaq's vicious laugh made Sakhmet twitch.
"No, I won't leave her alone. You brought her into this when you decided to go and get your name rather than surrender to me. You brought her into this, when you ripped yourself in two and created her. She wouldn't exist if you hadn't sealed the Shadows. So, she has been in this, from the very beginning. Making her just as responsible for the pain of my family as you. And so, she gets to suffer too."
"You'd kill your own sister to get at us?"
"Kill? Oh Pharaoh, you just don't get it. Those hourglasses aren't graves, they're prisons. By the time the duel is over we'll have the parts of their souls that make them mortal, so they won't be able to die."
The horrified sounds of Yugi's friends made Hanaq's deranged grin broaden.
"Your doll will be torn apart until she's nothing but the ghost you are right now, and you'll die knowing that she's been sealed away forever, buried the way she should have been millennia ago. She won't be able to move, to see, to scream, without the sands seeping into her soul, and you won't be able to do anything about it!"
The Pharaoh's heart dropped like a stone at the thought that her sister, her precious Imoto, would be torn apart, reduced to little more than a spectre and buried alive.
"Neither of you will be able to reincarnate and hurt anyone else, ever again! I'll end this cycle of pain and hate, by ending you and sealing her away forever!"
Sakhmet's hands shook and her whole body tensed as she snarled out. "I won't let you harm her anymore!"
Hanaq's only response was a cold, vindictive laugh and seven words.
"You won't be able to stop me."