Painful Memories: Part IV: The Stranger

The Pyramid

The Thief was trying to figure out why the Stranger hadn't killed them yet. If it could wipe them out as easily as it seemed it could in the real world, what was holding it back, here on its home soil? Of course it could have killed the Pharoah ages ago, but it hadn't. Was that because it wasn't powerful enough to kill him, or because it simply didn't want to finish him off? Of course, the Thief had always been a rather suspicious person, and the thought occurred to him that perhaps the Pharoah was indeed dead, and this was simply an impostor put into his place. That seemed far too indirect though, even for this otherworldly creature. It liked toying with its victims, and it had quite a good time with the Pharoah. If Yugi hadn't shown up when he had, the Pharoah's soul would have probably been torn to shreds. The others might not be able to see how bad off he was, but the Thief could. His eyes were hollow, empty in a way that the Thief recognized. He had been there before, torn down to his base elements, though it had taken him longer to rebuild himself.

Perhaps it was because the Pharoah had Yugi to rely upon. Perhaps it was due to their strong friendship, their bond that for some reason was unbreakable.

The Stranger liked to toy with its prey, and that made it far more dangerous than a ruthless killer. The Thief had the feeling that this creature wanted to see how they reacted to its games. It wanted to see how far they could go, and it seemed excited to have them here. They did save the Stranger the difficulty of having to hunt them down and pull them apart from their mortal bodies. However they didn't have much time. Their mortal bodies wouldn't keep for eternity in the physical world while they toiled away here in this strange land. That included Ryou, who would be trapped here if his body died. Even if the Thief wanted him to join him in the Ring, Ryou couldn't. It would take powerful magic to cause a change like that, and none of them were knowledgeable enough.

Seeing that this was the Stranger's home, it would make sense that the creatures at their feet were the Stranger's victims. They were slaves now, mindless husks of things that did his bidding without thought or recoil. The idea of Ryou being trapped here in a form like that terrified the Thief more than he would like. Of all his physical incarnations he'd ever had over the centuries, he liked Ryou the most. He knew how to stay out of the way if the Thief knew what he was doing, but wasn't so terrified of him that he wouldn't stand up for what he believed in. Sure, he had mental instabilities, but of all of his incarnations, it was actually relatively mild. Besides, as long as Ryou kept him around, he could keep his mind free of the clutter of madness. Even if all the others fell here, he would rather die than let Ryou's soul be trapped here. He knew what that was like.

Before them a wall appeared out of the shadows. It could have been made of stone, or brick, but for some reason the Thief was fairly certain it was neither. The walls were a glossy black and he couldn't tell how tall they were because they disappeared into black clouds high above their heads. In the center, directly in front of them, was an ornate door made of the same material as the wall, but the carvings on it were what truly caught his eye. Finely carved spirals that could have been eyes stared back at them. Along the edges were more carvings, but he couldn't quite make them out at this distance. He hadn't realized he was picking up the pace until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Be careful," Ryou whispered at his side. The Thief had almost forgotten the quiet boy was with him, his arm looped around his like a lost child. "You don't want to leave the others."

The Thief paused, but couldn't bring himself to look away from the doors. Something about it made him itch like when he was living in ancient Egypt, and he would spot some unattended jewelry or basket of fruit. He tapped his fingers against his legs and swallowed down his excitement. It had been so long since he'd had the urge to take something without a complicated plan, so long since he had felt the tug of an easy target. It was a door though, not some jewel. Why was he go tempted to rush towards it?