The Pharaoh and the Wayfarer (Atem/Yami Yugi x Spirit! Reader)

Chapter 15: Aftermath

I own nothing
Chapter 15: The End of Duelist Kingdom

The gang ran on the upper part of the castle, hunting down their escaped host.
"Don't worry, Yugi." Joey assured. "He couldn't have gotten far."
The shorter male still looked concerned. "We've got to find him. Pegasus is the only one who can restore grandpa's soul!"
"And the Kaiba brothers!" Rain added as Tea suddenly froze, making them all skid to a halt. "Tea? Tea, what's the matter?"
"That tower, it looks...I think I've been there before. With Tristan and Bakura."
Tristan looked at her like she was crazy as Rain facepalm.
"You guys actually snuck around? That brand of crazy is my department."
Tea smiled bashfully before pointing at the tower. "I vaguely recall a secret room, Pegasus's sanctuary. I figured it was just a dream, but..."
"Wait, I'm starting to remember that too." The brunette male admitted. "Pegasus fought with Bakura, and then Bakura's evil spirit came out. But why did we forget?"
"If I had to guess, the Spirit of the Ring probably didn't want you blabbing that he was back." Rain suggested as Joey groaned.
"Evil spirit? Aargh!"
Tea shrugged. "Well, we remember now. Let's go!"
The two of them led the group towards the tower and the secret corridors. As they got closer, Rain couldn't help the feeling of dread seeping into her. A loud scream suddenly tore through the air.
"Did you guys hear that?" Tristan shouted.
Rain gave him a look. "How could you not? It sounded like Pegasus."
Just as they arrived, several of Pegasus's men were seen dragging the man himself out, slumped unconscious over one of their shoulders. Yugi stepped forward.
"Croquet, what happened to Pegasus?"
"It's none of your concern. He's suddenly taken ill."
As the goons carried Pegasus passed them, Rain caught sight of the empty, bloodied eye socket hidden beneath his hair. Her blood ran cold.
The Millennium Eye was gone.
"But what about grandpa and the others?" Yugi asked, not seeing what Rain did. "He promised he'd free their souls!"
Croquet stormed past him. "Not my department."
As he marched off, Joey watched with a suspicious look. "Did ya get a look at Pegasus? Who or what could have done that to him?"
"I don't know." Tea said. "Maybe we should check out the towers, right, Rain? Rain?"
The Wayfarer was still frozen to the spot, only to be snapped out of it by a strong shove from Tristan.
"You with us now?"
"Y-yeah." She said hesitantly. "Let's go check it out."
The inner chamber was just Tea and Tristan described in, topped off by a portrait of a beautiful blonde woman (Y/N) could only guess was Pegasus's deceased wife. As Tristan and Joey admired the painting, Tea snooped through the nearby desk, finding a humble looking brown journal.
"Hey! There's a diary here!" As she flipped through the pages, a card fell out, grabbing Yugi's attention. "It's all about Pegasus. Listen to this, he's written about that lady! She seems to be very important to him."
Yugi picked up the fallen card, revealing the art to be a copy of the painting.
Rain put her hands in her pockets.
"I'm pretty sure that's Pegasus's wife. She passed away a while ago."
"Ya don't say." Joey commented. "How do you know that?"
"He told me. Apparently, this whole mess was just his attempt to see her again." She stared at the portrait. "I get it, somewhat. It's not easy, losing people you care about, especially out of nowhere, but nothing can justify all the pain he's caused."
Tea began to read the journal out loud. "Darling Cecelia, at last, I've finally found a way to restore you to this world. It's an elaborate plan, but not one beyond my genius. It involves the Kaiba Corporation and ancient magic I plan to harness. When I obtain more Millennium Items and the corporation of the Wayfarers- Rain, you're right! This is why he set up this tournament, and why he went after you and Yugi!"
Tea began to read more about how Pegasus and Cecelia met. Apparently, it had been a grand gala and the two were only children, a romance that blossomed from a childhood infatuation, ending in tragedy by sickness. From there, Pegasus became obsessed, traveling the world in search of a cure for a broken heart. Eventually, it led him to Egypt and a fateful encounter with a man who's description seemed very familiar to Rain.
"Shadi...?"
From there, the diary explained in detail about the ritual bestowing the Millennium Eye on Pegasus, making Rain both cringe and be thankful her item was simply a bracelet. Unfortunately, despite the stranger's warning about the dark path, Pegasus seemed to be driven insane by the ritual.
"...gave me more hope than I thought possible. Even though you were gone from my world, I knew there was still a way to reach your spirit, and I wouldn't rest till I found a way to bring you back and once again feel your embrace and gaze into your eyes. It goes on to say that later, Pegasus got an inspiration. He found a way to combine Kaiba's virtual technology with the magic of the Millennium Items to restore Cecilia, but nothing about Grandpa or the Kaiba brothers." Tea then turned to Rain. "Rain, there is a name here though. Do you know a Jeanne (L/N)?"
She blinked in shock. "That...that was my mom's name. Pegasus seemed to have known about her, but why would her name be in the journal?"
Tea looked back to the passage. "Thanks to you, my darling Cecilia, I may have a lead on the items' location. Your old friend, Jeanne (L/N), appears to be a descendant of the mystic tribe. I should pay her and her father a visit."
"Sounds like Pegasus's wife was a friend of your mom, Rain." Joey said as Tea shut the journal.
She pursed her lips. "I didn't know. Still, that explains how Pegasus knew about my family and the bracelet, but that also means gramps had to have met Pegasus before. Why did he never mention that?"
"He probably didn't think it was as bad as it turned out." Tristan suggested. "Or he felt bad for Pegasus. Your mom passed away, so maybe he had sympathy."
Rain gloomily looked away. "I guess..."
Tea smacked Tristan on the head for his insensitivity. Looking for a way to change the subject, Yugi spotted the three soul cards on the desk.
"Hey, look! The soul cards and they're all blank!"
Joey, who had sat down during story time, stood up. "Pegasus must have freed them."
"Let's find out!" Tea insisted.
Tristan and Joey followed Tea out as Rain and Yugi lingered behind. Yugi walked up to Rain who stared at the painting.
"Rain? Are you okay?"
She shook her head. "Yeah, I just miss my mom and dad. It's...hard whenever they come up."
Yugi locked his hand with her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She sighed. "Not yet. Let's go catch up with the others."
"If you're sure."
The two ran to meet up with the gang, however, as they reached the stairs, something blocked their path: a swirl of magical energy.
"Things can't ever be easy for us, can they?" Rain said a man materialized in the midst of the fog, one she recognized. "Shadi!?"
The mysterious male said nothing as he stared at Yugi in shock, namely at the Millennium Puzzle which hung from his neck. His expression became much more stern as he approached the two teenagers. Yugi pushed Rain back instinctively as Shadi reached for his Millennium Key.
"Rain, get back!"
Instead, the Wayfarer tried to step in front of him. "Shadi, don't!"
The mysterious man did not listen, invoking the power of the key and forcibly entering Yugi's mind. Stepping into the corridor, he found the path split between two doors.
"This youth's mind contains two chambers. Never have I seen such a thing." He glanced into the room whose door was opened, the ground scattered with toys and other such games. "One is a room of pure innocence, devoid of malice. The purity of this soul could not possibly belong to the criminal that stole the Millennium Eye."
He then turned to the other door. Within, he could sense another presence, one much more ominous and mysterious. At once, the door opened, revealing the Spirit of the Puzzle. He looked at Shadi suspiciously, but made no aggressive moves.
"It's all right. You may enter my chamber if that is what you desire. But I warn you, tread cautiously. I will allow no harm to come to the boy whose vessel I share."
Shadi was a bit put off, but accepted the invitation. "Your presence here intrigues me."
He glanced around noting the chamber resembled that of a tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
"I don't know how you entered my mind." The spirit said. "Explain yourself before you trespass further. I demand an explanation for your intrusion."
"I seek a criminal who has stolen the power of a Millennium Item." Shadi explained, watching him carefully. "It has been five long millennia since the seven were created, and twice that since the bracelet was forged. All of their magical energies were trapped by a brave pharaoh and his queen. Combined, the seven Millennium Items possess power enough to conquer the world. Hence, many evil men have ventured to gather them for themselves. It is my duty to guard the seven and my charge to punish the thief who stole Pegasus' Millennium Eye."
The male spirit tilted his head, unamused. "And you accuse me of being that criminal?"
"You have already taken refuge in the vessel of another. That does not bode well. The one this vessel was with bears similar power, but I know well enough that that Wayfarer is no thief."
"You know Rain then."
Shadi did not answer him. "If you are not the criminal, then you have nothing to fear from my search."
The spirit smirked. "Guilty until proven innocent? An ancient concept for this modern age. However, I have nothing to hide. I'm not your criminal."
"Then grant me passage to your unconscious mind."
"Very well. I'll open the doors for you." He snapped his fingers as the room illuminated, revealing a seemingly endless maze filled with doors. "You may search them to your heart's content."
Shadi glanced around, slightly intimidated by the complexity of the mindscape.
The male spirit began to vanish. "And now, I will leave to your exploration."
Shadi began the daunting task of exploring the maze.
"There are mysteries within mysteries here. Levels beyond levels. I must probe each chamber for the truth."
He tentatively opened a door, only for a pillar to come crashing down, nearly crushing him. Shadi was knocked to the ground with a grunt. "A trap!"
Getting back up, he realized that even with the spirit's cooperation, his mind was a complex series of traps designed to keep outsiders from unlocking its secrets. He walked cautiously, scanning the many false doors that would likely lead to his doom. Fortunately, the Millennium Key kept him on the proper path, leading him to a door at the end of a long corridor. He opened the door, still cautious after the deadly trap from before. As he entered, though, the ground gave out from under him, leaving him dangling over an endless dark abyss. Shadi clung to the stone, knowing that falling into the abyss would mean the end for him.
"I don't know why the Spirit of the Puzzle's doing this to you, but I can't let him hurt you." A voice called from above as a hand grabbed his wrist.
Shadi looked up, baffled to see the innocent spirit attempting to pull him out of the trap.
"Let me help you up."
Without much option, Shadi accepted the assistance, eventually managing to haul himself out. Once the danger had passed, the two sat across from each other.
"I seek only the truth." The older male explained. "But it's strange. My way is blocked."
Yugi nodded, standing up. "It's strange, all right, but I don't think the Spirit of the Puzzle is doing this on purpose. I get the feeling that there are some memories hidden even from him. Gah, I wish Rain were here. She'd probably know more about this."
Shadi stood up. "So you are acquainted with the Wayfarer heir then."
Yugi nodded and smiled. "She's a friend of mine. You know here?"
The older male sighed and nodded. "We have met before. Perhaps I should have trusted her judgment."
"Still, I wish I could just figure out these memories."
Just as Yugi said this, light illuminated a door across from them. Slowly, it opened, revealing a room full of stone tablets engraved with the images of familiar monsters.
"What is all this?" Yugi asked.
"5,000 years ago, Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power." Shadi explained. "These Shadow Games were played with real magic and real monsters. But those games erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the entire world, until a brave pharaoh and his Wayfarer queen locked the magic away, sealing the monsters in stone tablets. But how could your other personality have knowledge of this ancient history? I would understand this if it were Rain's mind, but not his. And why do I suddenly sense here, in his unconscious mind, magic that the world has not known for five millennia?"
As he pondered this out loud and Yugi gazed at the engravings, neither noticed the depictions of two familiar monsters: Dark Magician and Ori the Forest Guardian. The eyes of both began glowing, red for the magician and blue for Ori.
Yugi ran his hand on one of the tablets, depicting what looked like Kuriboh. "They look just like the monsters on the cards we use to play with today."
A surge of energy cut off his contemplation as from a flash a light, the Dark Magician appeared before them. Yugi's ace monster pointed his staff threateningly at them.
"He is another mental defense against any intruders." Shadi said. "The magician intends to destroy us both. Unless we can stop him, we will never leave this chamber."
Looking for a solution, the Egyptian male caught sight of the tablet beneath their feet, depicting the image of Dark Magician's nemesis, Blue Eyes White Dragon. Shadi called upon the power of his Millennium Item, intending to summon the beast to obliterate the magician.
"No! Stop!" Yugi called out.
"Why should I?"
Yugi turned to face his monster. "Because he'd never hurt me. Dark Magician, we are not intruders! Don't you recognize me? Stand aside and let us leave in peace! We will not reveal the hidden secrets. You know me. You trust me."
True to Yugi's word, the magician stood down, allowing Shadi to stop his spell. Shadi was completely in shock as the Dark Magician only obeyed the word of the Pharaoh, so how had this boy commanded him? Before he could say anything, orbs of blue fire shot at them. Dark Magician defended them with a field of magic as Yugi looked up.
"Now what?"
A much smaller form descended from the ceiling, blocking the way to the door on the other side of the chamber. The creature's glowing white fur stood on end, its dark eyes narrowed in a glare, and its lips curled into a snarl. Spirit flames encircled it, threatening to attack once more.
Yugi blinked in surprise.
"Ori!?" The small beast growled as Dark Magician seemed to take aim at him. "No! Ori, calm down! It's me! Rain's friend!"
Ori, unlike Dark Magician, did not yield, remaining aggressive and ready to fight.
Shadi prevented Yugi from approaching the monster this time. "Don't! The Dark Magician is the servant of the pharaoh, but the Forest Guardian is the servant of the Wayfarer Queen. Even as the Puzzle's chosen, you can't command him."
"But I can't hurt Rain's monster!"
Suddenly, the door on the other side opened as a familiar girl raced out.
"Ori, stop that!"
The spirit beast suddenly became docile as Rain ran to them. Quickly, he climbed up her shoulder, wrapping his tail around her neck like a necklace.
"Are you two all right?"
"We're fine." Yugi assured her. "How did you get here, Rain?"
"I should be asking you that!" She shot back. "Shadi, I thought you were trying to explore Yugi's mind. Why did you bring him into mine and (Y/N)'s?"
The two males blinked at her.
"I did not." Shadi assured. "We entered this chamber through the mind of the Spirit of the Puzzle."
Now it was Rain's turn to be confused. "What? N-no, I got here through (Y/N)'s corridor. She sensed you both here and I came to stop you!"
"But, that doesn't make any sense!" Yugi insisted. "We definitely came from his mind!"
"The only explanation I can give is that the Spirit of the Puzzle and the Spirit of Bracelet's corridors are connected to each others." Shadi reasoned.
The two teens blinked at each other.
"Is that possible?" Rain asked.
"It shouldn't be possible for two rooms to exist in a single mind, yet, here you both stand."
Yugi touched his chin. "The Spirit of the Ring said that the two of them knew each other in the past. Maybe those shared memories are of...whatever this is."
Rain sighed. "Whatever the case, I think it's time to leave. (Y/N) doesn't appreciate having her mind invaded. Shadi?"
The male nodded as the trio were returned to the waking world.
"I apologize for my rude intrusion into your mind." Shadi said, looking at Yugi. "I did not realize that you are the chosen one and that the ancient predictions have been fulfilled at last! In my search for a thief, I instead found the two most worthy ones fated to unlock the magic."
Yugi was stunned, but Rain gulped, the confirmation of her destiny ringing in her ears.
"So it is time then. The legends are coming to pass."
Shadi nodded. "Indeed. The theft of Pegasus's Millennium Eye was but the first sign that evil once again walks the Earth. As in ancient times, chaos once more threatens to envelop the world, and only those who bear the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Bracelet can save it. Rain, I trust you will inform the Wayfarers that the time has come."
She nodded. "I will."
Shadi then began to walk away, leaving Yugi even more confused. "Wait! Is there anything else you can tell us about this?"
He stopped. "Take great care, be on your guard, for whoever the thief is, he will come seeking your items. Come what may, trust in each other. You will be each other's greatest allies."
The two looked at each other before turning back to the male who began to disappear.
"Wait!" Yugi called out. "I've got lots more questions, like who are you!?"
"I am Shadi, and I am certain we will meet again another day. Until then, stay true to your destiny. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders."
With that, he vanished, leaving Yugi just as confused. Rain placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll try to fill you in with what I know, but we should catch up with the others."
He nodded. "Right."