Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Young God ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 3

" Hard to imagine." Belumfel tucked the covers in. " He must be a baby of some sort."
" A baby?" His best friend and healer, Taknash, chuckled. " A smart one, that's for sure!"
" Quiet." Belumfel scolded. " You'll wake him. The attack that priest released was a fierce one, and no doubt the Mind Crush also broke him somewhat. He appears to be in much better shape then most people, but he's still very weak and he looks sick-if gods are capable of being sick anyway. I do wonder why he's here. Perhaps he fell from the sky, after all it would be folly to send a baby here to live with us."
" Stop that." Taknash suppressed a laugh. " I'm going to laugh really loud if you keep calling him a baby. He's cute enough as it is, and you add that nickname I'm going to explode."

But Belumfel wasn't really listening to his friend as he looked upon the child that was named High Priest.
" Good heavens." He muttered. " What could I be thinking, during that duel? Something should have clicked back then. A normal thirteen year old wouldn't be able to be High Priest. And the battle strategies."
" He certainly didn't do well in protecting himself." Taknash muttered. " Look at him now. But I think he shrouded himself or something, I mean, look, there's that circlet, and it's not there before. And he's so unbelievably pale now."
" Well," The pharaoh stood up. " I'll have to go. The meeting is starting soon. You better take good care of him. I want to know why an immortal is among us, and maybe...maybe if we help him, the gods can help us..."

Seto woke to a calm morning in a soft, warm bed and fluffy pillows. At first he thought that he was at home in the immortal world and soon his mother would come, but then he remembered where he was, and also the events of last night.

Starting up, he first felt sharp pain in his side, and then a wave of nausea.
" Oh, you're awake! That's a good thing. The Pharaoh was mighty curious." Said a nice looking young man.

It took Seto a minute before the words went through. So he's awake. That's a good thing, and the Pharaoh was mighty curious, which is a bad thing.
" What happened?" Seto asked. It seemed to be the logical thing to ask, although he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

" Oh, nothing much, little one, just the priests tried to kill you; you remember that, right? And of course, the Pharaoh got angry, threw the Mind Crush at all of you in that room, except for the priest that wasn't involved in the fight in the first place, and everyone was killed except you, who panicked, as expected, and ran five hundred miles in five minutes out into the sand, and then the priest that wasn't killed shot a spell at you and wounded you at the side right there, ooh, ugly one, eh? You fainted, as expected, developed a fever and we retrieved you two days ago-wait a minute, do gods develop fevers?"

It tooke Seto a moment to digest the words, which came as fast as darts. He suddenly started at the last sentence.
" Do...you-what do you mean?" Seto asked.
" Oh, we discovered you were a god a long time ago. The Mind Crush was the last proof we needed." Taknash answered as he eased Seto into the bed, who had started up and was wincing. " After all, the Mind Crush was the deadliest spell Egypt has ever seen, and you survived it. No mortal can, nor monster, anyway. And plus, you got wounded by another deadly spell, not quite as powerful but still deadly, and here you are with a high fever and awfully pale but very much alive and clear-headed...you are clear-headed, are you not?"

" I..." Seto fell silent.
" Here. This will help." A spoon lifted to Seto's lips and Seto being a child after all, opened his mouth, and the warm soup drifted in. He swallowed obediently.
" His Majesty will be coming soon. He'll finish this off." Taknash continued queerly, and placed the bowl on the stand before leaving.

Wait a minute, Seto's mind suddenly clicked. This isn't my room. I don't have Taknash as my servant, but whose room is this-

" Oh? The child's awake?" Belumfel entered the room. He was in a good mood, choosing some of the best priests for his council. His eyes fell upon the terrified Seto, who suddenly realized the owner of the room, the servant, and the bed.

Shocked, Seto suddenly leaped up, remembering the mortal rules, but his side struck pain through his entire body and he collapsed, his upper body falling on the floor and his legs following. Belumfel hurried over and gathered him up.
" That was awfully foolish!" Belumfel scolded gently. Seto's eyes were shut and tears were leaking out of it. Belumfel instantly gentled and laid him on the bed.
" You slept for two days straight." Belumfel laughed. " Maybe longer. I'm a little muddled. The council is tiring. Oh, your circlet's a little dirty." He polished the sapphire, and Seto instantly hid it. Belumfel smiled and shook his head, and Seto gave up, letting Belumfel see everything he hid before, including his immortal hands.

Belumfel took no notice and lifted the bowl of soup, and fed Seto some, sometimes even forcing him to drink it. By the end Seto felt so drugged he didn't even want to ponder on how to hide anything anymore, nor did he want to ponder on how the gods would punish him.

" Are you lost, little one?"
" Wha?"
" Fallen from the sky, cannot get back up?"
" No. I was sent here."
" Why? Are you not very young according to your standards?"
" Very."
" Then what is your business here?"
" Observe."
" What?"
" Observe little humans." Seto mumbled, his eyes sliding closed. Belumfel held his hand and inserted some magic into him so Seto wouldn't fall asleep. The child blinked awake.
" Why do you want to observe humans?" Belumfel asked gently.
" Want to sleep."
" I know. Just tell me."
" Don't know what's going on. They wanted to check on the children. Couldn't see from there, so they sent me."
" Why you?"
" Don't know." Seto groaned. Belumfel stroked the boy's hair for a moment and watched the boy close his eyes and his breathing slow down.
" Pharaoh?" Seto mumbled.
" Yes, child?"
" 'm scared. Too much evil."
" I know. Don't be scared." Belumfel said gently. He didn't know why he was treating the boy this way, but after all he is a god, right?
" Want to go home."
" Maybe you will."
" Had gardens, everywhere." Seto mumbled on. " Nice birds. Singing. Angels. Clean."
" Sleep, little one."

Belumfel stood up quietly and his face was troubled. The boy is a baby then. But why would the gods choose him? Why didn't the gods choose someone older?

Seto woke to a calm darkness and a soothing quiet. For some reason he felt much better and was able to sit up, although not for long, since a wave of nausea would overcome him, forcing him to lie down again.

Seeing that there was no one around, Seto was perfectly content to stay where he was, partly because he knew he'd get lost outside because he never even went to the Pharaoh's private section, let alone his chambers. He didn't want the pharaoh to find him though; the pharaoh was scary. The pharaoh was too smart.

The Pharaoh was very smart and was able to sense the boy's discomfort. He spoke nothing of the child's identity to the other priests. Belumfel wasn't the type to be angry at everything and he handled his doubt silently, but with a strange frustration.

When the day was done he returned to the chamber to check on his High Priest, who did appear to come from high places but wasn't very tall. He found the child sitting up and looking over at the balconey, his blue eyes capturing everything around him.

" Seto." Belumfel called. He needed to have some answers, and the answers that morning weren't enough.

The child started. " Pharaoh." He said quietly, and tried to get up. Belumfel saw this, and quickly hurried over.
" No, you better stay down." Belumfel said to the boy. He sat down.
" I know you're probably not in the mood," He said after a long pause, " But I have a few questions."

Seto swallowed, lowering his eyes, and nodded.

Belumfel studied the boy. He really is a baby. He thought to himself with wonder. An immortal baby, a beautiful one. A terrified one, and good heavens a smart one.

" Why did the gods send you here?"
" To observe mortals."
" Why you?"
" Because...I'm smarter than most gods my age." Seto's voice was a whisper. " And..."
" And?" Belumfel encouraged, taking the boy's hand.
" I was sick." Seto's voice was quiet. " They thought a different environment would help me."
" Did it?"
" Not really. It's a strange disease. The gods couldn't do anything about it. They were stumped."

Belumfel nodded, understanding.
" You are young by your standards, right?"
" Very." Seto answered again.
" How young?"

Seto blushed and Belumfel confirmed his guess.
" What do you think of us?" Belumfel asked, now that the spell had worn off and the boy was awake.

Seto looked at Belumfel and studied him with such a grown up look that Belumfel had to suppress a chuckle. But Seto was not smiling and he saw that Belumfel wanted a truthful answer.
" Humans are evil." He said, this time very loudly and very flatly. This time Belumfel couldn't suppress it any longer and the ruler laughed gaily.
" Ah, so true!" He patted the boy's arm. " Yet we can't help it. I suppose you understand now that you can't please everyone in this world. But just out of curiosity, what is the world of reeds like?"

Seto thought carefully for a while. He was beginning to like the Pharaoh.
" Everything was in place." He said softly, in a fond memory. " The sun was bright but not too bright. The moon was full but not too full, nor was it too dim. Night was dark but not too dark, and day was light and not too light. Grass bewilders the eye with their color, green as jade and emeralds. Sky as blue as gems sparkle. It was never too hot and never too cold, always cool or warm enough at need, and sometimes there can be snow, white fluffy snow that you'll never see here. And flowers! Everywhere littered with flowers, flowers of every color imaginable, and a wind that caresses the skin, the air as fresh as young sprouts, and a sense of harmony. There was no fear. There was no worry. There was no jealousy or love. There was no sorrow or happiness. There was only the calm satisfaction and contentment of simply existing, playing with rain..."

Belumfel studied the boy and everything became very clear to him. This boy was suffering from illness, and the gods sent him here because they needed to observe mortals, but also because they wanted to save him. And at the same time the child wanted to go home because the gods had made a mistake. Earth was not a place of healing. It was a place of much pain.

Seto healed very fast, very fast for a mortal, anyway, although Belumfel wasn't too sure about immortal standards. Pretty soon he was up and about, and Belumfel warned the young one severely.
" Don't show them you are a child." He said. " Show them you are a High Priest. The world of politics care little for morality."

Seto listened well. Soon, in front of the rest he was a symbol of coldness and superiority, and all the mocking priests and priestesses were silenced. He made grand decisions and no one disobeyed. He made battle plans. He made plans for Egypt's economy, sentenced executions, beatings and whippings. He battled the Shadow Games with other priests to reinforce his status and never lost once.

But in front of Belumfel, the Great Pharaoh of Egypt, and in front of him alone, Seto was a child that he was, lost many Shadow Games and wasn't unhappy with it either. He could care less about those games! They are but trifles of magic. He could weild bigger power. And in front of Belumfel, he learned that even in a corrupted world he had accidentally thrown himself in, there is still a gift of play.

And play he did. His laughter will forever be engraved in the Pharaoh's memory. One day Taknash and Belumfel were talking about the child, and far away they heard a child's laughter, a peasant child, but a child all the same.
" Did you hear that?" Belumfel clapped his hands in delight. " Was that Seto?"
" No, Pharaoh." Taknash chuckled. " Seto has gone with the priests, remember? That's a laughter of a slaveboy. You've grown quite fond of the little god, haven't you?"

Belumfel blushed. " Perhaps." Taknash was the only person the pharaoh would confide with. " But it's more of the boy's childishness and intelligence, intwined together. I do hope that his illness is cured though."
" What illness?" Taknash didn't know. Belumfel shrugged.
" There's a reason the gods sent him down here." Was all the ruler said, and Taknash asked no more questions.
" I do hope that he's having fun and not stressing himself out." Belumfel continued, and Taknash found this comment strange.

Meanwhile, before the bewildered eyes of peasants and nobles, the young god was riding a great and wild horse, a species never tamed, and the child was laughing.