Disclaimer: Yugioh and its characters do not belong to me. That is the sole property of Yugioh's author and co-workers. Scenes in this story will be best read from the original canon in the Yugioh manga (i.e., Season 0, non-4Kids translations, etc.)

It is time…

He knew this was the end for him. He could feel the strength that had once been pulsing within him before, now thrum to nothing more than a bare whisper. If the spell he cast had taken root like he believed it had, then he would return when the evil did, when Bakura and his master opened the door to the Shadows again.

I am so tired.

Strings of doubt slithered through his heart. I am so tired of war. After all, the Enemy could have been lying. He could have been lying to scare him into acting rashly, into panicking, into destroying his chances of living a full life. That is what evil does after all; it spreads lies and chaos…death.

He did not have a complete understanding of the ramifications of this spell, and fear trickled into his heart and mind as the uncertainty of impending emptiness loomed. Seti would ensure that the puzzle was broken and placed in his tomb after he died. He smiled at the thought of Seti. His new-found cousin was brash, had a stout and rough character, and was often so honest to the point of being considered rude. Seti disagreed with him harshly in private, but at least would show support for his Pharaoh in public. All of these things were true, but he was also fiercely loyal and a good friend. Seti would do what was asked of him. He would complete the tasks Atem had set before him.

To wipe away this given name from all known written texts, save one, would be a monumental task. It would be labor intensive, and difficult, but Seti would be diligent and thorough, and he knew it was essential to what Atem had planned. The evil of Bakura and his master were bound by his name and the Millenium Items his father had created. They would be temporarily helpless and powerless.

My name…

His smile vanished. His name would be forgotten. The first spark of his identity, given to him by his mother and father, would be erased, even from his own mind. Once Seti and the others passed on, there would be no living person who knew his name, not even….No, he couldn't go there… His resolve had to be stronger than this, otherwise he would fail.

He felt his heart weaken and begin to fail. It was becoming difficult to breathe. More effort was required for him to inhale and exhale, and his brain responded with panic, demanding more air.

It hurts…

It took a moment of discomfort before he realized he was crying. He grieved the loss that was in front of him. He was willingly losing his mind, his character, his memories, and his life. He had chosen to not only lose his friends and family, but himself. Someone was holding his hand, it was the tether that kept his mind grounded, but he knew it was only temporary. How many more breaths did he have before he took his last? He knew it wasn't long now. The person who was holding his hand was crying, he could feel the wetness and cool of their tears on his skin. He couldn't tell if this person was male or female. He only knew that it wasn't Seti. Was this person important to him, or were they just a passerby stranger offering kindness? He did not know. He started to hate that he didn't know the answers to the rising questions in his mind.

"I love you," they whispered in his ear. He could vaguely remember this voice, but then it was gone like a candle that had been blown out by an unforgiving wind.

Who are you? He thought. Do I love you too?

He didn't know where he was, who he was. He was falling, falling, falling in a seemingly endless darkness. He no longer felt afraid. He had no concept of time. Flashing images appeared around him, reels of people's faces, moments in time that were meaningless to him now. They all appeared in front of him as one long scroll, but piece by piece they broke apart like pieces of a complicated puzzle. As they broke, the images faded leaving nothing behind. Soon he was alone. No longer falling, but standing still in a strange place, filled with stairs and doors that were endlessly leading nowhere and everywhere all at once.

"The door to the darkness has been opened," someone said, and the voice echoed throughout the staircases. Was it him who spoke? He didn't think so, but was not sure. He was at the brink of oblivion.

He felt nothing now. Darkness, emptiness, and loneliness were his only companions.

…

Domino City

"Your turn Yugi," Anzu said, rising to stretch. She stared Yugi down with a smile on her face. "It's time to share. Tell the guys what your game plan is," He stared blankly at her for a split second. He should have expected this. Yugi and Anzu had already talked about what each of them wanted to do after high school graduation, but had yet to divulge this to the others. They had talked about it at length each time they walked to and from school together for the past year. It had been an open secret among their group of friends. Their futures had been something rumored of, but not discussed publically in detail.

Lately, Yugi had been forced to cut their time together short since he had been receiving knowing looks from his grandfather. Instead of meeting at his house to walk, they met at the staircase below the public library to avoid prying (old) eyes. His grandfather had tipped his hand when he'd asked where Anzu was that morning. Yugi had blushed, gave a half-forgotten excuse, and had run off.

Yugi wasn't ready to tackle the possibility of romance. Yugi wasn't ready to dive into his feelings for Anzu, and might never be, now that she was leaving for New York in less than a month. Their time would drastically change from being an everyday staple, to occasional video chats and phone calls combined with visits home during school breaks and holidays. Yugi had been in love with Anzu since they were elementary school children.

He had made his affections clear and obvious, and she had made hers.

Seeing her fall in love with Atem had been difficult for him. It was painful to watch someone you love, love someone else. Yearning for them to look at you the way they looked at them. At first, before they had known who Atem was, she had seen them both as one person, as two sides of the same coin. But as their journey had progressed, it had become obvious they were two very different people, sharing one body for the sake of an ancient duty.

He had no idea what Atem's affections for Anzu were. He had been too afraid to ask him. He had a vague sense that Atem hadn't felt the same way towards Anzu, but perhaps that had only been an illusion to protect Yugi's feelings.

Atem had always tried to protect Yugi, a duty that he had kept until the duel that separated their souls had been complete.

It was an emotional hurdle he had been forced to get past because of the love he had for his friends. He still loved Anzu, deeply and completely. He didn't think he would ever stop being in love with her, but perhaps that love could morph into something else, something that wouldn't come between them and their friendship. Yugi was still struggling with letting the love he had for her die and become something else. He had loved Atem too. He was Yugi's mentor, protector, guide, and friend. Atem had taken Yugi and had changed him completely, helping him to grow as a person and a friend. Before Atem, Yugi had been meek, naive, and so gentle to the point of being abused by those who chose to take advantage of him. Yugi didn't have any brothers or sisters due to his father's death and his mother's grief, but if he'd had, Atem would have fit perfectly in that role.

"Uh, sure…why not?" He set his lunch aside and smiled.

"I'm going to keep helping my grandpa at the game shop, but I'm gonna start creating my own games too," Jounouchi and Honda both looked at him with smirks on their faces. They had already known about this idea, but Bakura's face was ignorant.

"This may sound a little cheesy, but maybe one day…" taking a breath, he stood confident. "We'll all be able to play one together," Yugi was secretly pleased that he had grown so much physically over the past year. He was still the shortest one in their friendship circle, but at least he was closer to Anzu's height and didn't have to strain his neck too much to look up at his friends anymore.

They all cheered and supported Yugi, claiming he would "make it big" as a game designer one day. Feeling rushed Yugi blushed and stammered.

"When you say 'make it big'…"

"Don't worry," Anzu chimed in. "You'll do it. Just remember your friends believe in you," A little bit of the love he had for Anzu grew and he stared at her. He mentally shook his head and stuffed that emotion down, choosing instead to hope that someday the feelings he had for her would fade.

Half of his mind the rest of the day had been on his future and what might come of it. This time, as Jounochi, Yugi, Anzu walked home together, he caught himself thinking about Atem again, an event that happened often. A fact that Yugi confessed to Jounochi and Anzu as they walked. Atem had been a part of him, someone with whom he shared a connection akin to that of a soul mate. He was there and then suddenly he wasn't, going on to live the life that had been stolen from him the first time. Yugi hoped that Atem was happy and content, wherever he was. What were the rules anyway? Did he just pick up where he left off or would it be something completely different? Did Atem get to choose what his afterlife looked like? Who knew.

Yugi looked at the dark magician lying on top of his deck and pulled the deck they had built together to his heart.

I miss you my friend… A familiar pang of strife zipped through his heart, but this time when Yugi thought of his partner, he remembered vividly when Atem was finally allowed to move on. Yugi had seen other people behind the Eye of Whydjet that day, people he knew had been important to Atem when he had been alive so many years ago. It wasn't just us who needed him; he thought. It gave him a bit of peace and it took some of the bite from his grief.

"Uh oh, trouble," Jounochi said as he took off, leaving his bike in a heap behind him. Confused, Yugi took off too, pulling himself out of his mental reverie, charging towards whatever danger Jounouchi had seen.

…

Egypt, 5000 years ago

The first day of akhet had been the day the new prince of Egypt was born. It was not until sebou, today, the seventh day after his birth, that the new prince could be presented to the people. A formal introduction was scheduled to be given to the court and to the people later that morning. Aknamkanon was confident that this child would survive, the Millennium necklace that given that assurance to him. This child would be different, this boy would be blessed.

Unlike his older siblings…Aknamkanon thought sadly of the first miscarriage he and his wife had suffered and then the second pregnancy that had delivered a stillborn infant son. Could they have more children? Aknamkanon thought. As soon as the thought drifted into his mind, he smashed and dismissed it. The midwives and doctors had been amazed that the Queen had carried their son to full-term and that he was vibrant and alive. Siblings for the new prince would be impossible with his Queen. Aknamkanon loved his Queen too much to take another wife or a mistress, a right that he had as king, but one that he denied himself.

The royal line of the Pharaoh would now rest on the shoulders of his new son.

"What shall you name him my king?" His wife whispered from her bed, cradling and breastfeeding their newborn son. Now that he was seven days old, they could honor him with a name and title.

"I have a thought," he said. A soft pop echoed through the Queen's chamber as his son detached from his mother's breast, his face happy and with a full stomach. Aknamkanon collected his son and placed him over his shoulder as the midwives had shown him, listening for the audible burp.

"What about Ptah-Hotep? No, no of course not," The Pharaoh said as he watched his wife's nose squint in disapproval. "No, that doesn't fit," He verbally agreed.

"His name should follow yours, not my father's," she said sagely.

"Amenemhat?"

"Dearest," Her tone was voiced as if she was a tutor and he was a student who made an obvious mistake. His wife cleaned herself as she rose from the bed and dressed. Mer-en Hator was a woman of intellect, beauty, wit, and had a mouth as sharp as a blade. The Pharaoh hoped that their son would inherit all her traits. "As much as I love you…" she led dangerously, "I did not love your father. Rest his soul," Mer-en said with belated and insincere reverence.

She had a point. Aknamkanon's father had been a warmonger and tyrant. The first half of Aknamkanon's reign had been undoing his father's legacy and attempting to reinstall peace to his people. He had respected his father as a devoted son should, but not to the depth of love that he had wanted it to be. His father had been aloof and cold to him, seeing Aknamkanon and his brother, Aknadin, as tools to be formed and wielded as his father saw fit.

Aknamkanon wanted to be different with his son. He would not inherit his father's parental misgivings and mistakes.

"Something new then. A name not yet used by either of our families?"

A burp finally erupted from the baby on his shoulder. The warm ooze that traveled down the Pharaoh's backside told him that his son had spit up his meal down his back and robes. Mer-en smiled and took the baby, cleaning his chin. The baby boy's face was still content, despite the gastric upset. When he opened his eyes, she saw the deep purple of Aknamkanon's eyes and she internally melted. She whispered thanks that he had inherited that trait from his father. It was Aknamkanon's eyes that Mer-en had fallen in love with at their first meeting so many years ago.

"How about Aknatem?"

This time, when the name was suggested, there was only approval and immediate love. Mer-en and Aknamkanon both smiled at their son. Was it possible to fall in love with their baby son more than they already did? How would their hearts make room? Yet, they knew their adoration of Aknatem would only grow as he did.

"Yes. Aknatem. That fits him perfectly," The meaning behind it, 'strong and benevolent one' seemed to fit this baby like a mold. Mer-en coo-ed over her son. "But I will call him Atem. A shorted pet name only be used by me, of course,"

"Of course," Aknamkanon said, cradling the tiny infant's face in his much larger hand.

It was later that afternoon, with new clothes and clean skin, that Aknamkanon later presented Aknatem to the world. The entire court stood behind the Pharaoh and his Queen as they revealed the future of their kingdom's lineage. Aknamkanon vowed to raise his son wisely, to show him how to be strong, wise, and of firm spirit.

…

Domino City

Deep-Eyes and Gandora-X battled, the hologram of their simultaneous attacks temporarily blinded Yugi and Kaiba. Yugi had to admit it, Kaiba's new duel disk creation made the monsters and their powers seem real. Even the blowback from the monster's attacks felt real, hot ash and a burning smell filled Yugi's nostrils. The ground shook, rattling Yugi's teeth. He knew his friends eyes were on him, giving him support. He hoped that Bakura was back among them. Kaiba's life points dropped to 2500, still higher than his own, but drastically reduced.

It's not over, until it's over. A motto that Yugi had picked up from Atem gave Yugi hope that he could reach Kaiba. He had to end this madness now. Kaiba was clinging to an opponent that no longer existed in this world. Yugi knew better than anyone how Kaiba felt, how badly he needed to close a chapter of his life with a satisfying conclusion. After the duel with Atem had ended, there was no time to say proper good-byes or to initiate a proper send-off. He was just gone.

This has to end…Yugi thought desperately. I have to help Kaiba be through with this.

"Do you see now," Kaiba said venomously as the smoke cleared. "Nothing will get in the way of me resurrecting the Pharaoh!"

Yugi sighed. "But what if it's not up to you?" Yugi took a step towards the Millennium Puzzle that hovered in Kaiba's holding beam. "Or me for that matter,"

"I tried to tell you Kaiba, but maybe I need to show you instead…" Taking the puzzle into his hands he took a moment to study it. He knew exactly where the two missing pieces needed to go.

"Yugi…" Kaiba muttered.

First one piece, then the other. Yugi took a bated breath and pushed the last piece in, the piece that held the Eye of Whydjet. For the first time in over a year, the puzzle was complete once again. No one said a word, Yugi heard the resounding echo of the last snap fill the stadium. Half wishing, half doubting that Atem would appear. He saw Kaiba waiting with bated breath in the distance.

Nothing changed.

When he had completed it the first time, he had felt something ancient and profound shift within himself, as his soul had been making room for another. The second time, after Bandit Keith had smashed it in the warehouse fire, he had felt Atem's presence return to his soul before he'd passed out from smoke inhalation.

Still, nothing happened.

"He's gone, Kaiba," Yugi hated to say it. "Gone forever. I've known it deep down in my heart since we said goodbye. He's no longer inside the puzzle because we have gone our separate ways. It wasn't easy, it still isn't." Kaiba's expression of this explanation did not fill Yugi with confidence that his message was sinking in.

"But I had to let him go," Pushing the puzzle back into the hover beam, Yugi forced out the next words. "And you have to as well," Yugi was sad, but for the first time, it wasn't over his own grief of losing Atem. This time it was to express to Kaiba that the sadness they both felt was understood.

"I'm sorry," Yugi stepped back and stared at the ground. "But this was what destiny chose for us,"

Perhaps now. Perhaps now he can understand.

Kaiba was still for only a split second.

"You lie," Kaiba said as if spitting out poison. "He's just afraid! Scared to come out and face me! He knows he's no match for me… but it's not going to work, I'll beat him out of you!"

Yugi's heart dropped. Kaiba wasn't getting it, he couldn't face it.

"Stop being so selfish Kaiba!" Yugi screamed, unleashing his anger and mourning into his voice at Kaiba. "Let him live in peace! Let him live the life that was stolen away from him!" Kaiba said nothing to this. Yugi knew that selfishness was as much a part of Kaiba's character as determination and exceptionality.

He cannot see… He doesn't want to see.

And so, the duel continued viciously and without mercy from both sides. They came close to destroying each other until the duel made its final turn. The Plana appeared, and with it a bastardized monster was born from Diva's heart that had been swimming in rage and hatred. Two dimensions that were not meant to be shared started to merge. The familiar hum of a Shadow Game warped itself around the three of them. With the monsters and magic running through them, the monsters and life points became real. Every time Yugi or Kaiba took damage, they lost parts of themselves to the darkness. True reverberating pain ripped through Yugi when he played swords of revealing light to shield them. His nerves were lit on fire, as if someone had taken a blow torch to each of his nerve endings. It stole the scream and breath from his lungs. As quickly as it came, it was gone.

"Yugi," Kaiba muttered quietly. Is that concern on Kaiba's face?

"I'm fine,"

He was. Yugi had come a long way since his first set of Shadow Duels against Pegasus. When he faced Pegasus with Atem, they used their mind-swap technique to put a stop to Pegasus' cheating. Yugi hadn't been able to withstand the oppressive evil of the Shadow Game then, but now… Now he was a young man with experience in the shadows underneath him. These shadows would not drain him like they had before. He would not, could not, allow it. Yugi had already proven that he could surpass Atem in skill and strategy.

As a new attack from Diva mounted, Kaiba made a move that surprised Yugi. Redirecting the enemy's attack, Kaiba saved Yugi from being killed while absorbing the barrage himself. So, it was concern on his face after all. Perhaps Yugi would still be able to reach Kaiba when this was all said and done.

"Bring him back Yugi," Kaiba said as he faded away like ash in the wind. A surprising level of anger and angst over Kaiba's defeat filled Yugi's heart. It was then that Yugi realized that Kaiba had become a friend. A friend who was rude, challenging, and demanding to be around sometimes, but someone who had snuck his way into Yugi's heart nonetheless.

"But Kaiba...He's gone," The words fell on empty air.

He wouldn't waste Kaiba's sacrifice. Yugi would never forgive himself if his friend had thrown away his selfless act.

I will not lose. Yugi thought this to himself, but it was getting difficult to breathe. The shadows had eaten away his shoulders and were slowly reaching his lungs and heart. Mentally bracing himself, he would stand against his enemy on solid ground. It's what Atem would have done.

Against his will, Yugi's vision started to blur and dance in and out of focus. He drew a card, but he couldn't say if it was a monster, trap, or magic card.

I still believe…in the heart…

Any trickling light that had been bright around him now dimmed, making the darkness more substantial and heavier, the air was tighter and thinner in his chest. Was he falling? He couldn't tell. The world went sideways. Loosely, Yugi realized that he must be collapsing as his tenacity was carried away from him.

Of the cards….

Seti = Seto

I chose to use the Egyptian name Seti for Seto's ancient character. All of the dialogue in the Domino scenes is from Yugioh: The Darkside of Dimensions, with the exception of Yugi's outburst at the end. I don't know where I saw Atem's mother's name, and it's probably made up by someone (not me) anyway.

The first day of Akhet is roughly June 21st, Atem's birthday.

Sebou marks seven days post-birth of a new baby in ancient Egypt. Infant mortality being what it was back then, parents in this age would not name their infants unless they survived long enough. It was a way to cope with the sadness of losing a new baby.

This fanfiction will be a compilation of several other stories seen in movies and manga (NOT a crossover), so if you see something familiar, it's an easter egg for you to link Yugioh with other stories.

The Eye of Whydjet is the eye symbol that appeared on all of the Millennium Items and on the foreheads of anyone who tapped into the power of an Item.

Just FYI. This is not a Puzzleshipping romance fanfiction, so if that is what you are looking for here, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I am a fan of Yugi/Anzu and Atem/?. Atem's romantic interest will be revealed in later chapters.

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