Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Back To Ancient Egypt ❯ The Dreams and the Pool ( Chapter 6 )

Touzoku Ou plunked down next to the pool, popping a handful of tiny luscious crimson seeds into his mouth and chewing hungrily.

It felt wonderful to have food, but he knew it would be the only food he would have for as long as he lived since he couldn't steal (except the paints and stuff) and it wasn't as if anybody would give him food. On one hand, he should save it. On the other hand, he didn't have much time to live anyway.

Gulping down the seeds, he used the few drops of pomegranate juice left on his fingertips to make some red streaks in the sunset he was painting.

Glancing down at the picture caused him to glimpse his reflection in the pool. Fascinated and repelled, Touzoku Ou leaned forward to gaze down at it. He was used to seeing his face, for though mirrors hadn't been invented yet he had seen himself in gold and in water, but never had he been able to see it so perfectly.

With a sudden snarl, Touzoku Ou splashed fiercely at his reflection until he couldn't see it anymore.

He hated it, hated that face that could seem divinely beautiful one moment and hideously deformed the next, those haunted crazed eyes, that disfiguring yet handsome scar, that soft white hair, those animalistic teeth, that strong rough body gained from years living in the desert, the clothes and jewelry more befitting a king than a thief, that damned bracelet keeping him prisoner of a man he despised…he hated everything about himself.

He wished he could slice off every inch of his skin to rid himself of that horrible reflection, but that counted as damaging something. He had already tried slicing off his own hand, but the bracelet blazed and struck the hand with the knife away. It was almost as if it had a mind of its own, or at least it had survival instincts.

He couldn't wait until he was dead, until his body was flung into the Nile and ripped apart by crocodiles. If he couldn't destroy the ones he hated, at least the thing he might hate most of all would be gone.

I don't have any power anymore…I can be the mightiest guy in the world and I'm still at the mercy of the Pharaoh just because of this damn bracelet…

He wondered vaguely which god hated him so much to bestow this life upon him, wondered how long it would take for them to figure out how to kill him. He would gladly contribute if needed, though of course he wouldn't be asked. Most Tomb-Robbers were tortured to death, but he supposed he was the only man on Earth who had destroyed a village with a wave of his hand.

Or the only commoner, he thought bitterly, making a fist in his anger and crushing a pomegranate in his hand. Sweet juice splattered everywhere, and his tongue flicked out to lick a few drops off his lips.

Though the former Pharaoh Akunamukanon hadn't had even a fraction of Touzoku Ou's power, but he had caused more suffering than Touzoku Ou ever could.

But…it's Akunamukanon I want revenge upon. Why is it Atemu I fight?

He blinked, astounded at his own thoughts. Knowing that continuing to think about it would put his mind in turmoil, he brushed it away and started wondering about the war.

He knew Persia and Egypt had been at wore for millenniums, and Persia was a million times mightier, but what about the Millennium Items?

You've caused more damage than a war would, imbecile, his mind sneered. It isn't as if the damage hasn't been severe enough that Persia would be a serious threat, to the peasants if not the palace. You'll probably have to help Egypt in the battle.

He didn't really care, but he did wonder what Persia could want. It could be any number of things, since even with the damage he's done Egypt was one of the most prosperous and powerful empires in the world. He sighed and gazed into the water.

He blinked suddenly. There was a man there, a handsome but strangely dressed man with long white hair and staggeringly pale skin.

He was standing at the edge of one of the cliffs Touzoku Ou used to frequent, gazing out at the view (which would be the palace) with a strange pensive expression. Touzoku Ou's eyes widened.

There seemed to be an image of himself superimposed over the strange albino-like man. He actually had stood there, on that cliff, staring musingly at the view of the palace. It was as if seeing two images at once, him and the strange man standing with the same expression. He rubbed his eyes and blinked, but the image didn't fade.

Grabbing some stolen papyrus, the paintbrush he had made himself (he stole the stuff he used to make it, but oh well), and the stolen paints, he started painting.

***

"How dare they?!" roared Atemu, who if you haven't noticed yet has a slight temper problem. "They know we can beat them without the slightest effort!"

"Sire, thanks to Touzoku Ou, our armies are sparse and our magic is drained," Seth pointed out. "They have huge armies, and they already have every thief in the kingdom and several peasants on their side."

"But how can we figure out a punishment for Touzoku Ou when we have a war to worry about?" demanded Atemu. "He has caused so much damage, we may as well have just finished a war! It was a war, a war against one man, but a war nevertheless.

"And speaking of Touzoku Ou, they seem to be searching for him as well. It is widely believed that he is either a god or a demon, and Persia is one of the countries that believe the former."

Atemu clenched his teeth. "Knowing Touzoku Ou, he would be perfectly willing to help them if it meant murdering me and getting our Items. I won't let that happen."

"Pharaoh, might I suggest we force him to fight on our side?" Shaadi asked. "With those bracelets, it should be a simple enough task."

"It won't be enough," Mariku pointed out. "You say they have four powerful demons on their side, and that three of them tauntingly took my form and Seth's-and the Pharaoh's of course."

"Yes," Shimon (palace advisor and Atemu's caretaker when he was a kid, Sugaroku Mutou's previous incarnation) confirmed. "They have incredible abilities, their own kaa beasts, and somehow all four of them have Millennium Items-though strangely the demon Seth has another Rod instead of the Ankh. The demon you does not look very much like you, all are dressed outlandishly, and the demon Seth and Atemu are strikingly pale. There is also a white-haired man who is the palest. He has the Ring and slightly resembles Touzoku Ou, but if he is a shape-shifter he is an awful one."

Atemu growled and clenched his fists. "This is ridiculous. How can they create their own Items, and why would demons be helping Persia?"

"We aren't certain they are working for Persia," Akunadin interrupted, steering clear of the Millennium Item question. "From what we can tell, there are two people or things or whatever that they are searching for under the names of 'Bakura' and 'Yami.' We do not believe this is good, especially since 'KuraYami' means darkness and we associate Bakura with the haunted temples Touzoku Ou was said to reside within."

"Those are just myths," Mariku argued, glancing suspiciously at Aishisu. She wasn't the noisiest High Priestess, but she was sitting with an expression of absolute astonishment and not saying a word.

"Mariku is right," said Atemu. "I do doubt that he is human, at least fully, but we cannot judge what these demons desire by these things' names alone. I do, however, wonder why these attacks began precisely six days after Touzoku Ou was captured."

"Well, everybody in the kingdom was rejoicing, don't you think Persia would have heard something?"

"That is a good point, Seth," said Aishisu, surprising anybody who might have noticed how quiet she was being (which only added up to Mariku, Shimon, and Seth). "There are few beings in the universe who have not heard of Touzoku Ou, and perhaps ten who think he is human. I have heard that more than a thousand people-most of them thieves-actually worship him."

"Well, they're going to be happy," Atemu snapped grumpily. "We won't be able to decide his death until this war ends."

***

Touzoku Ou regarded the finished painting. He had chosen to paint the man alone, and not the strange image of himself superimposed over the man.

Maybe his Royal Highness King Never-Shuts-Up can sell these or something, he mused with some bitterness, reclining onto his back and gazing up at the sky.

With a war, there was little chance he would die anytime soon-but this thought offered him no comfort. It was quite clear to him after having days in that horrible little cell to think that he had nothing left to live for, and death-no matter how painful or horrific-would be a mercy.

And then of course there was the whole issue of food…

He peered again into the pool, and his eyes widened.

There was the pale white-haired man again, but this time there was someone else with him. Pale though not as quite as pale as the other man, and dressed just as if not even more strangely, this man was nonetheless undeniably familiar…

Had Atemu grown up in a different time or place, this other man could have been his double-Millennium Puzzle and all.

***

He was dreaming. This much was obvious immediately.

Atemu peered through the shadows, wondering what in Hathor's name he was dreaming about, and why.

"My son."

Atemu's eyes widened, and he whirled around. "F-Father?" It was impossible. He looked so solid…then Atemu remembered that he was dreaming.

Akunamukanon smiled at his son, crinkling his old face further. He looked just like Atemu remembered him…then his face became grave. "My son, I am here to speak to you of the Thief King."

Atemu's eyes narrowed as he remembered Touzoku Ou's cruel words about Akunamukanon. "Father, why is he doing these terrible things? How can any man be so cruel?!"

Akunamukanon sighed sadly. "It is not his fault," he murmured. "I believe he is the Gods' punishment upon me. I am only sorry it is you who had to suffer for my crimes-and not nearly enough to redeem me, either. I believe, deep down, he is sorry as well."

"I-I don't understand," Atemu stammered, wondering what his father was trying to say.

"We are all bound by fate, and however much we rattle our chains, we shall never be free. We all must play our parts. I have watched him dance across the stage of Destiny perfectly, never missing a mark, adding his own flourishes that seem to magnify the destruction he leaves in his wake. But I still pity him. How long has it been since he has felt love touch his cold, hurting heart? How can he survive without that love?"

"Father, I don't understand what you're saying!"cried Atemu. "What could you possibly have done that was so horrible?"

"I deserve this pain, this destruction of all I have worked for. I know I do. But…son…Forgive him. He cannot, should not forgive me, and thus he will never forgive you. But you must forgive him."

"What?!" Atemu roared. "Father, you are asking me to forgive one who has brought more destruction to this world than a hundred wars! He must be punished! He must die! He deservesto die!"

Tears sparkled in Akunamukanon's eyes.

"He deserves to die, you say? He deserves to die alone, unwanted, and hated? No, he does not deserve it. He does not deserve his lot in life. He does not deserve to be the Destroyer, does not deserve anything that has happened to him. If you peel away the darkness, you will find a pure heart. If you washed away the hatred, you would see a lost child. Look closely, my son. Someday you may see someone you know."

"But…"

"Please forgive him. Please teach him the love he was so wrongly denied. If you cannot do it for him, do it for me. And never forget that I love you."

And then he was gone.

***

"My child."

Touzoku Ou's eyes widened, and he whirled around. There she was, just like he remembered her, with that samehair flowing behind her in an invisible wind, and those eyes so like his, but softrather than empty. She looked as real and healthy as she had in life, before…

"I have missed you," his mother Taemestra said with a beautiful but sad smile. "I have been watching you, though."

"Where are you?" Touzoku Ou asked. "You aren't in Kuru Eruna or the Millennium Items. I know. Me and the spirits tried to find you…"

"I was lucky, my son. I, your friend Namu, and a few others made it to Yaru," she replied, speaking of the Egyptian version of Heaven. "It seems you do not require an intact body…I believe your friend will be reincarnated someday, and I am to become one of the kaa…The `Change of Heart,' I believe."

Touzoku Ou sighed sadly. "I know I'm not going to make it to Yaru. Not unless Ammut and Osiris lose their minds entirely."

"My child, there is something you must do," Taemestra told him. "I know you cannot forgive the Pharaoh, which is unfortunate because I have met Akunamukanon and…never mind. Instead, my child, you must forgive."

Touzoku Ou stared at her in utter amazement. "W-What?" he stammered, sure he had heard wrong.

"You have been the Destroyer too long, it is not right. You don't deserve this life of hatred and solitude."

"But…I can never forget the suffering the Pharaoh has caused me…caused you…caused all Kuru Eruna! You can't possibly ask-"Taemestra lifted a graceful hand, and he fell silent.

"I cannot, it is true, ask you to forget. What I do ask you to do is free yourself of the hatred and bitterness that has controlled you for so long. You deserve to love,my son, and be loved in return."

Touzoku Ou scoffed. "Who could love me? And everybody I love is dead."

"You deserve love," Taemestra repeated, and she put her arms around him as she had when he was a child. Since she was floating, she seemed taller, but in truth she was now dwarfed in comparison to him.

Touzoku Ou laid his head on his mother's shoulder as she spoke.

"When you were young and I was alive, I held you like this. Since then, you have not felt the warmth of any arms. Now different arms must hold you, the warmth of different hands must put together the shattered pieces of your heart and melt the icy barriers you have put around yourself."

His eyes widenedas he realized what she was saying. "You want me to love the Pharaoh."

"I do," she replied. "I know he cannot hate you as much as you both believe, and until you learn to love, you can never be free."

"But-" he began, and she covered his mouth. Raising her arms, Taemestra took off her necklace and put it around his neck.

"Learn to love, my son," she said before she vanished. "Learn to forgive, to let go. And never forget that I love you."