Chapter 4 :  Initial Revelations</b>


The winds blew hard against the form that stood on the pavement, every so often whistling while the tresses from said figure’s head blew in multiple directions. The beating of the organ in your chest felt as though it had dropped at the surprise that overwhelmed your entire being.  You stared at the figure in front of you in disbelief as the sounds of the noisy street faded into complete silence, for your focus was on the object of your astonishment. The figure in front of you mirrored your expression, but that was not the reason you were brought into this state. Your eyes scanned her head to toe over and over again as you began to believe you were hallucinating. Her hair flowed down her head in the same way yours was styled; her facial features were terrifyingly accurate to your own. It wasn’t just the expression that she mirrored, but your entire appearance! The only difference was that her skin was a few tones darker than yours were, and her clothing looked as though they were props used to dress actresses in a movie with an ancient Egyptian setting. She was covered with golden ornaments around her head, neck and arms while the white dress-like garment that covered her tanned body contrasted against her skin.  Her uncanny resemblance to you distracted you from noticing that she was translucent and was slightly hovering taller above you.


Shaking your head, you looked up again right after. She was still there, standing in the same position she stood moments ago. However, you noticed that the shock locked on your clone’s face disappeared to be replaced with a serious expression, as she looked deep into your eyes with emotions you could not interpret.


“So you must be my other half….” she muttered more to herself, than she was talking to you.


“W-what?” you blurted out, stumbling back a few steps.


“(Name), listen…” she started only to have you interrupt her in an ungraceful and stuttering manner.


“H-h-how do you know my name?! And why do you look almost exactly like me?!” you voiced out as you looked at the spirit in front of you, unbeknownst to you she was indeed the spirit of your past existence.


Without a word she advanced towards you only to have you back away carelessly as you yelled at her to stay away from you, but she took no heed to your cries. The same silver sparkle that you witnessed on your arm back in Yugi’s house was back as it enveloped the silver accessory that was under your pink school blazer. You stopped dead in your tracks as the spirit too, had the exact same bangle around her fore arm. The distance between the both of you was almost gone as she continued advancing. Her form was right in front of you when you shut your eyes as the blinding silver glint from your ornament grew stronger. As soon as you opened your eyes again she was right in front of you, but  in a sudden blur, she then disappeared into your own being. Looking around frantically, you scanned for your doppelganger, but she was nowhere to be found.  Touching your arm that you wore your silver armlet on, you felt it throb, as your countenance was that of a frantic one from the events which alarmed you, factoring in your thoughts being in total frenzy.


“Hey, you. Are you alright?” a by-stander on the street asked as he noticed the frightened expression on your face.


You nodded your head furiously in mindlessness before running away rapidly. Thoughts ran through your head at full speed right now for you could barely make any sense of this occurrence. Couldn’t the by-stander have seen that girl? She advanced towards you and nobody even stopped her when you protested. But then she disappeared! Where could she have disappeared to?! You didn’t understand what just happened. How did she know your name or more importantly, why did she look exactly like you?! Fear built up in within you as you felt the need to get home quickly.


That was when you heard a voice in your mind. However, as much as it sounded very much like your own voice, you had the impression that it was not your voice or thoughts. For the matter, that voice sounded exactly like the girl from just now, who also sounded exactly like you. Then, the voice started conversing with you, claiming to have heard your thoughts and understood your confusion.


‘(Name), I can hear your thoughts. Listen to what I have to say. And speak to me through your mind. I understand you are very confused right now, but you have to comprehend what I’m about to tell you.’ the voice informed in a mysterious tone and almost in a formal slang.


‘Now I’m hearing voices….That’s it. I’m probably going insane and mental,’ you thought to yourself before putting your hands on your face, rubbing at your temples.


‘Unless you take this seriously, you will stay as confused as you are,’ the voice retorted.


‘Who are you and what do you want?’ you thought in your mind for her to hear.


‘I am a spirit that dwelled during the Pharaoh’s time and am brought here to provide assistance to the Pharaoh, so that his excellency can rid the world of the impending evil that will strike. I was also known as (Name), and am merely your spirit from your past. Before you deny this, you must understand that it is of importance that you regain knowledge of what happened in the past before you assume that this is all ludicrous,’ the spirit spoke in a regal manner as you listened to what she had to say.


‘You are a spirit?’ you questioned in disbelief, “’you mean to say…. you were me in the past during a time when Pharaohs existed?’


‘Indeed. What are you contemplating?’ the spirit asked, a little annoyed at the tone you questioned her.


‘I’m sorry. It’s just really hard to believe,’ you replied honestly as you continued conversing with her in your mind.


“Seems like you need some more convincing. As proof, I’ll reveal to you certain questions that wander in your mind. I know you almost as well as you do, (Name). Maybe even more so than you do yourself.’


“Listen, where are you and where’s your voice coming from? If you want to talk to me, at least show me your face,” you said aloud this time as you walked along the empty pavement. You were the only one walking along this part of the street, pacing swiftly despite your concentration on the conversation you were having with the voice.


‘Why, I’m now within your being with the help of the silver accessory on your arm. However, if I reveal myself to you in spirit form again, just like how I appeared before you just now, you would just be brought into a distraught state while having nervous fits,’ the spirit mocked slightly, and you could not help but feel that she also mirrored your character and personality. Being the individual that you are, you could not help but respond back with the same mockery evident in her voice.


‘Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?! You just show up out of nowhere and expect me to greet you like this: Hello, fancy meeting you! I’m (Name) and it’s amazing how we look identical! Oh you’re some Pharoah’s loyal servant that came to save the world?! Oh, I’m just a student in Domino High with little to no significant ambition at all like saving the world from damnation, really,’ you ridiculed with a smart-ass reply of your own.


The spirit scoffed, waving off your immature sarcasm before thinking to herself as she realized how similar the two of you really were. Before forgetting that she was also as confused as the girl she was now residing in, this spirit had no idea of where or how her path will continue or how she would convince her futuristic self. In actuality, she reacted in the same dubious approach like (Name) when she found out she was merely a spirit transported through time. And now, (Name) was struck in the same state of disbelief that initially struck her. However, this childish sarcastic argument that was resulted from all this ‘ludicrous’ made the spirit think about how similar they were. Perhaps they were definitely the same soul, split into two with the sole purpose of aiding the Pharaoh, just like Amun Ra informed? That was when the spirit dwelled on her past as she felt the vague feeling of homesickness surface, despite any actual remembrance of her origins.


You on the other hand were ranting on and on while the spirit pondered with her own thoughts. Did she really react in this fashion when she resided in the palace some thousand years ago? The spirit smiled figuring that she probably reacted just like (Name) did whenever someone teased her. Like that time Priest Seto called her a child only for her to retort that she was the ‘child’ capable of accomplishing the simple task of fighting off bandits when he relied on his monsters to do his bidding. And then, there was also the time when Mahad teased that she took things a little too seriously only to have her reply smartly that he was probably one of the most serious men in Egypt and he was in no position to say that.  Visions flew by the spirit’s eyes once more and it seemed that she was not the only one witnessing these revelations. Her host stopped walking as she stared ahead while images of the past flashed before her eyes. As soon as the visions faded, the spirit looked at the expression her host held and was quite satisfied with what she saw.


Your eyes were widened; you had two visions of your ancient-self interacting with a couple of high priests by the names of Mahad and Seto.  Well, it might not have been the most serious or important revelation that could have been revealed to you, but it certainly got you thinking what this all could mean. You have never had visions like these before and all this was so new to you. Of course, you were confused beyond your own imagination. You just witnessed something that probably happened 5000 years ago, and having to accept that is difficult, considering you were from the world as we know it now in the 21st Century. In the present, the world certainly had its own standards of ‘normality’ set where everyone is a human with no superpowers or monsters, whatsoever.  So, how could you be expected to believe in the supernatural like ancient spirits travelling back through time?  Although your brain felt this way with the reasoning and logic it provided, your heart was telling you a different story. Somehow deep inside, you wanted to believe this, but to any sane person, this would all seem like some clichéd movie. Your ancient spirit soon brought you out of your train of thought with a question of her own.


‘Does that answer some of your questions on whether this is all a delusion or if it is real?’ the spirit asked her host.


‘I don’t know what happened and what I just saw, but you know what…. You, spirit… You are probably just some make-believe voice I’m hearing in my head…. I’ve had a long day and this is by far, the weirdest day of my life. Not only did I just hang out with a bunch of new friends and one of them appeared to be having some split-personality disorder, but also on my way home, I found out I have some ancient spirit that claims to be me from the past. When I get home and get some sleep, hopefully everything will return to normal when I wake up tomorrow,’ you ranted on to yourself and the spirit as you stubbornly denied all the crazy events that happened today.


‘Why do you insist on denying your destiny?! Don’t you see that you vowed to assist the Pharaoh?!’ the spirit then yelled back with the same stubbornness and frustration as she grew impatient with your constant refutation.


‘First off, voice in my head, even if you are real, I can assure you I made no such vow. You did that as you said YOU are here to save the world, not me.  Now if you will excuse me, I have to get home and you talking with me is delaying me from doing that,’ you said as you continued your fast walk along the street.


‘I am you, and deep in your heart, you know that, ’ the spirit explained.


‘No, you’re not. A delusion in my mind, maybe but me, not so much.’


Although you showed a strong abjuration towards the fact that this was all real, you could not help but feel deep within your heart that this was all of total relevance to you. But for now, you would rather be called a lunatic than believe in this when there was no evidence whatsoever proving this was legitimate.


‘You know, you are not the only one confused about this for I am just as confused as you are.  I have lost much of my memories from which I came from and only if we co-operate can we fulfill this destiny of ours for we are one and the same. Until you finally accept your fate, your negligence will be the cause of the destruction of the world,’ the spirit warned before you sensed the voice disappearing in your mind.


‘And now, I’m blaming myself for possibly bringing chaos to the world…. I really got to stop beating myself down. Where do I get these ideas?’ you thought to your voice only to hear silence, ‘huh, maybe there really is no voice in my head after all. I probably was just arguing with the imaginary voice in my head. Just my imaginative mind going on creative mode with scenarios of me appearing to have an ancient spirit,’ you said to yourself, unable to tell the difference between daydream and reality at this point. Unknown to you, this was all real and perhaps another occurrence would prove that to you.


Unaware of the fact that a familiar presence stood near you, a certain pale individual eyed you quite closely, clinging onto his golden ornament tightly. The rattle of the golden relic sent almost silent rings throughout the unusually empty street as the sky darkened slowly.  You wrapped your blazer around yourself tighter subconsciously as you felt chills travel through the back of your spine, giving you all the more reason to walk faster.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Please, don’t do this. What has she have to do with you?’ the meek boy pleaded in his soul room when his yami took over his body.


His darker self growled at his lighter half, as his constant whining was getting rather annoying now. Growling out his answer, he said that it was necessary that he took care of some business with that girl the Ring pointed at as she might be holding onto one of the seven Millennium Items. Ryou widened his eyes at this and voiced out his opinion, hoping that it was enough to keep his yami away from his new friend.


(Name)? How could she be in possession of the seven Millennium Items? This does not make any sense. If she did, the Millennium Ring would have pointed at her when I was in class with her!” Ryou pointed out.


Although the Spirit of the Millennium Ring hated to admit it, his host was right. Of course, he would rather stab himself than admit that to Ryou; then again, he was a sadistic fellow who took pleasure in seeing blood and gore, and also if he did stab himself, Ryou really would be the one suffering the bodily injuries.


Ignoring the temptation, he had to wonder why the Millennium Ring reacted so strongly with its target, considering the strong possibility that you did not even have a Millennium Item. Ryou seemed to believe that you did not, and his hikari was a terrible liar, so Ryou tricking him to avoid any harm towards his friend would be out of the question.


‘Hmm, I guess it would be interesting to look into it myself. Hmm, not a bad idea at all,’ the spirit thought to himself before licking his lip as his eyes glowered darkly at the girl in sight.


‘Yami, don’t! Don’t hurt (Name)!’ Ryou yelled out in his soul room only to be ignored and shut out in his soul room by the dark spirit.


The boy strolled out of the corner he stood by, coming out of the shadows as his dark chocolate eyes were glued onto the form that was walking towards him, unknowing of his presence. His thieving skills definitely came in handy when it came to situations like this as he blended well with hiding his presence. As soon as his target was close enough, he stepped out. (Eye colour) orbs met dark chocolate ones from ten feet away. The girl ceased walking towards the boy and stared at him before looking away, trying to avoid his eyes.


‘Hmm, that is certainly suspicious. Or perhaps she’s the shy type? Well, guess we will find out, won’t we?’ the evil spirit mused as a smirk presented itself onto his lips.
____________________________________________________________________________________________


Walking on ahead, you heard the jingling sound of metal, chiming like bells as the wind started to blow more furiously. From where, you could not care at the moment as you were focused on getting home to get some rest to get rid of all the madness going on in your head. This was certainly too much information and fairytales forced into your brain for a lifetime, let alone a whole day. A frown made its way on your face as you noticed a figure that appeared in front of you. A very familiar figure, to be precise.  Your eyes soon came in contact with dark brown ones, and your eyes flickered in recognition. It was Ryou Bakura from school. What was he doing out here at this time? Whatever he was doing out here, you needed to avoid him at all costs before you talk to him and start on some nonsensical story about today’s occurrence.  After all, the both of you were now friends and you’d prefer not to destroy his initial image of you being your helpful self with you being a lunatic.


Looking away from him, you tried finding a way to get out of there as naturally as you could without looking as though you were doing this on purpose. Your efforts were proven futile when he walked towards you in a menacing manner. Wait… Ryou Bakura? Menacing? That boy was maybe as menacing as a rabbit, for crying out loud and that was not saying much! Feeling the temperature drop, the environment around you started to feel strange as the boy approached you. His wild white hair was in disarray unlike when he was in school when it was neatly combed to flow perfectly; his face featured a smirk replacing his usual soft smile, as his eyes appeared narrower than you had remembered them to be. This almost reminded you of how Yugi’s appearance changed when you were back at the game shop, appearing darker and more mysterious. He closed the distance between the two of you, as he was now standing right in front of you, his eyes never leaving yours. By now, darkness has enveloped the streets and the only source of light that kept the streets lit up was the dimly lit street lamps.  Gulping, you looked up at him and greeted him.


“Hi, Bakura! What you up to at this time of the night?” you asked, feeling slightly frightened for some unusual reason.


The male in front of you chuckled malevolently, bringing you to cluelessness. You did not think that your greeting was that funny.


“Bakura? If you mean by Ryou, he is not here right now,” he replied with a husky tone, unlike Ryou’s smooth voice that you were familiar with.


“What are you talking about?” you asked, ‘if you are not Ryou, who are you?”


He decided to ignore you until you chuckled pathetically before adding jestingly, “Let me guess, some spirit trapped within Ryou’s soul if I didn’t know any better.”


The Spirit of the Millennium Ring looked at you, amused by what you had just said. Grabbing you by the arm, he forcefully dragged you into the dark corner where he previously stood at and slammed your body against the wall painfully.  Your back ached at the sudden impact and left you vulnerable to the male in front of you. He took this opportunity to seize you, locking you from moving or struggling. He held you by the collar of your blazer, pulling you closer to his face as his other hand held both of your hands in a tight grip.


“I will be the one doing the questioning here, and I WILL get the answers I’m seeking,” he demanded roughly, showing no signs of the boy you knew.


Fear was now evident in your eyes and you were sure that whoever this man was, he knew of the fright you were in right now. Surely, his smirk grew wider as he noticed your helplessness through your eyes.


“Now that we know where we both stand in this conversation, listen closely. Are you in possession of any of the Millennium Items?” he questioned hoarsely, looking quite sternly at you.


That was when you looked blankly at him, as you had no idea of what he was talking about. Millennium Items? You had never heard of such a thing before. Was this some kind of joke?


“Ummm, pardon?” you voiced out in puzzlement only for him to scowl as his patience was wearing thin.


“Playing dumb is not going to work in your favour, woman. So I suggest if you are smart enough to think for yourself, you’d better speak up,” he spoke threateningly, as his grip on your collar tightened, choking you in the process.


‘(Name), let me take over,’ you heard the voice in your head echo through your mind.


‘Take over?’ you asked the voice in your mind as you felt a presence forcing its way into your cognizance when your body merely screamed out in pain as your lungs were deprived from oxygen.


‘(Name), I’m taking over. Trust me,’ the voice spoke out as you gave in, feeling yourself being locked into your own mind.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Your eyes fluttered open, taking in the view of what seemed like a dark room.  Looking towards one of the many walls in the room, you saw an opening in the wall. Upon further inspection of said opening, you peered through it and saw yourself and the man who had been interrogating you just moments ago.


Your exterior seemed slightly different, as your skin appeared tanner than it actually was. It almost looked like your spirit you have met earlier, save the peculiar clothing she wore. You observed as the spirit that now had control over your body raised her hand and roughly removed Bakura’s grip from her collar.


“You…..” she whispered with sentiments evident in her face.


Yami Bakura glared at her with an eyebrow raised, masking the doubts he was having right now.  The atmosphere between them started to grow eerily filled with confusion, hate, anger and betrayal.  All you could do was watch as these two spirits exchanged stares with each other. Bakura had a mild glare in his eyes while your ancient spirit held a look that could not be described. The look on her face was filled with emotions, but at the same time they seemed almost undetectable by the coldness that masked some of her warmer emotions. Suddenly, you felt your heart warming up and the beating in said organ increasing its workload as it started to beat twice as hard. You felt all of what your ancient spirit was feeling at the moment as emotions overwhelmed your own soul as if you were actually the ancient spirit. The sentiments were so strong that you could barely let your mind think logically and gave in as you felt as though your mind was being refreshed and merged into the spirit’s. The memories that started returning to you after several millennia has began to freely seep into your mind, slowly and vaguely.


“Akefia…..”