Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Heartless: The Life of Thief King Bakura ❯ Night of Demise ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Heartless: The Life of Thief King Bakura

- Chapter One: Night of Demise.

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It was strangely darker than usual, this Egyptian night. The absence of the moon was responsible for that. But even without the moon, the Egyptians counted on the stars to bring natural light when Ra was no longer viewable. However, and another odd fact, there were no stars. It was as if the sky had been wiped clean, and only the measureless black void remained. An eerily soft breeze swept through the desert lands, rustling the branches of the several trees which dotted the predominantly barren landscape. Other than these two examples of idiosyncrasy, all else seemed to be normal.

Diaboundo! Attack God! ...Resenhado!”

The biting command broke the tranquility of the night, and the gentle breeze picked up, morphing into a strong gust. Out of nowhere, it seemed, a large orb of dark light appeared in the sky, illuminating the night somewhat, and came charging towards the Earth, aimed towards the intended target - a large blood-red creature which resembled a dragon that tried to soar out of the way of the attack.

Another, deeper voice broke through. “There! Osiris, go! Thunder Force Interception!”

The dragon stopped in its tracks and turned to face the orb of light which was steadily drawing nearer and nearer. Opening its massive jaws, the beast released a strong golden blast of light which shot through the darkness. The golden attack looked as if it could easily overpower the orb of darkness, and it probably would have, had the dragon not suddenly jerked its head to the side as if in pain, veering the assault off course.

“Osiris!” the deep voice cried.

The unseen monster's attack hit its target, successfully cutting Osiris in half. Osiris let out an agonized wail before its enormous body convulsed. A large explosion followed shortly afterwards, and the God of the Sky was no more.

Vicious laughter filled the air.

“Your God is no more, Pharaoh!”

“Bakura, you monster!” several angered voices shouted at the same time.

The King of Thieves cackled at the insults and threats being tossed his way, glaring down at the injured Pharaoh and Priests. He kicked his horse's side and the animal neighed, rearing its front legs.

“S-Seth!” the Pharaoh cried, his voice pained, as he turned his head in the direction of his most loyal advisor. The brown-haired royal met the king's gaze. “I leave it to you.”

Seth nodded curtly in understanding before calling out his own Ka monster. “Dios, kill Diaboundo now - Aura Sword!”

The Priest's Ka threw its gigantic sword into the night, piercing something hidden in the dark sky. Seth smirked, curling his fingers into a tight fist as he saw that the assault was a successful one.

“A direct hit,” Another of the Priests declared.

Bakura laughed, drawing in the attention of the Pharaoh and his royal court. “Are you blind?” he asked them all, grinning wildly. “Take a better look.”

The royals did as instructed, turning their gazes to the sky. All of their eyes widened in shock as a small winged creature appeared, Dios' sword protruding from its midsection. In an instant, the creature was destroyed with a screech of dismay, and Dios' weapon flew back into the hands of its master.

“Another Ka..?” Seth breathed, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. “That's impossible!”

“It's pointless to keep attacking me. Your worthless Ka monsters are no match against the combined power of my Diaboundo and the Sennen Ring.”

The Pharaoh remained on his horse, though he swayed every so often, looking as if he were about ready to collapse.

“Please, Pharaoh,” Bakura sneered, “you are far too weak for this. Give up, and hand me the Sennen Puzzle.”

Before the thief could even start a new sentence, the Pharaoh fell from his horse, landing roughly on the ground. Bakura grinned. He wouldn't even have to issue a final attack from Diaboundo, for it seemed as if the Pharaoh was as good as dead already.

Delighted, he threw his head back and laughed heartily. This was perfect. The Pharaoh was going to die. Bakura's revenge would be complete with the death of Akhenamkhanen's only son.

What happened next shocked everyone into silence, but it mostly amazed Bakura, since the thief was the only one who actually saw what happened; the Pharaoh's companions from the modern era literally materialized by the fallen ruler's side, lifting the wounded man up to a sitting position. The next occurrence made Bakura's blood boil.

The Pharaoh's former host lifted the Pharaoh's hand and transferred his own energy into the king's body.

“How... h-how could those brats appear in the Memory World?” Bakura asked himself, not being able to conjure up a logical explanation for the unreasonable happening. He glanced down as he noticed the ruler of Egypt struggle back to his feet. “No...”

“Bakura,” The Pharaoh yelled accusingly, “you have disgraced the Egyptian Gods, and for that you must pay.” He raised his hand towards the heavens. “Wing Dragon of Ra, shatter the darkness!”

Acting upon the Pharaoh's will, a blinding ray covered the sky, pushing away the darkness that had covered the land. Bakura gasped, discovering that his Spirit was now plainly viewable to any possible assailants.

The Priests exchanged excited words, each of them pointing to the sky and commenting on the strange light that had the power to pierce through darkness.

“...The light that tears the clouds and shatters darkness... This is the third God, the God of the Sun - Ra!”

Bakura's breath caught in his throat as the light in the sky began to take the shape of an animal - a giant bird, to be precise. `God of the Sun... This is impossible. The Pharaoh's Ba should have run out after Osiris was destroyed. How can he have the strength to summon Ra?'

Grey-blue eyes wandered towards the ground, locking on the small form of the Pharaoh's former host.

`It is because of the vessel... I wasn't imagining it; the little one actually transferred his own power into the Pharaoh!'

Bakura growled, clenching and unclenching his fists as the Priests began to speak again, stating the obvious fact the Diaboundo had no place to hide now that the sanctuary of darkness had been eradicated.

`Damn them all...' The white-haired thief thought, eyes brightening as a new thought struck him.

“It doesn't matter anyway,” he said quietly, and then looked up, grinning madly. “It doesn't matter anyway,” the words were repeated much louder, so his opponents could hear them. The thief chuckled. “The power of your last God has already been absorbed by Diaboundo.” He gave it a moment for the information to sink in before lifting his arm in his Ka's direction. “Diaboundo, Thunder Force!”

The royals were in shock as they witnessed their enemy's Spirit begin the attack which used to belong only to the Sky Dragon Osiris. How was it possible that Diaboundo had gained this ability?

Seth moved forward. “Dios,” he called out to his Ka, “quickly now. I place all of my Ba in your Aura Sword. Change the direction of Diaboundo's attack.”

Dios did as was commanded; releasing a stream of energy from his might blade, sending the beam to intercept the Thunder Force.

Seth turned back to the Pharaoh. “Now is your chance. Use the Sun God Ra to kill him for good.”

The Pharaoh nodded his head, his lips stretching into a deep frown. “One turn kill. God of Ra, transform into Phoenix and burn through these shadows!”

The deity's body morphed once again, this time becoming a large, flaming phoenix bird. It cried out and charged, hitting Diaboundo directly since the Thunder Force attack had been deterred. Diaboundo was instantly ensnared in the flames surrounding Ra, and was powerless to stop the assault.

Bakura gripped his side and shuddered in pain, coughing up blood before he too was engulfed with flames - the price of being directly bonded with his Ka. He was thrown from his horse, landing roughly on the stone ground as the fire disappeared as quickly as it had come. His body twitched every so often. All he could feel was the burns that now adorned his body, which made their presence agonizingly known to the thief with each involuntary spasm of his limbs.

His throbbing ears could barely make out the sound of the cheers coming from the Pharaoh's modern-age companions. Everything was just a blur... The world around him was turning black and fuzzy. He could no longer see. Only darkness... just as it had been... on that day... so long ago...

`H-how can it end this way...?' the thought swam through Bakura's hazy mind, along with several others. `I was so close... so close to beating him... to getting my revenge...' A trickle of blood ran down his lower lip as Bakura groaned. `My family... my villagers...'

Through the darkness in his mind, one image was able to shine through clearly. The smiling face Bakura had once loved and cherished so much...

`...Malik.'

Just remembering the name caused the thief's anger to rise once again. He took in a deep breath, and then another, and another, until his lungs could continue the rhythmic pattern without him having to force them to.

`I cannot give up... I refuse to... I made a promise to him.'