AN: Before any one of my followers gets mad at me, please read my profile bio. I promise to soon finish my stories that you have all waited for years for. As for new readers and old, welcome. This is my first Egypt based story, so this should be interesting. I apologize if the names are spelled differently than what the fanfiction community is used to. I adopted these names for specific reasons. If it bugs you, feel free to message me for a copy of the story so you can personally change the names to a more suitable format. Also, I hope I got to format of this document loader right. I double spaced in between, but it still looked funny.

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin' but a car. All thanks to Kazuki Takahashi.

"...and so I banish thee from this world... and imprison thy soul into the confinements of the pyramid that I hold in my hands..."

It was a risky spell for the pharaoh to do: a soul-sealing spell on a being as powerful as Zorc could very well kill the young man; however, after the destruction that Zorc and Bakura had dealt to Atem's kingdom and his people, it was a necessary risk.

As Atem looked on, Zorc's form was decaying, literally, melting before Atem's eyes. The dark, shadowy giant was finally weakened after all of their futile efforts. Not only was he weakened, he was groaning in pain. Only moments ago, the sky was engulfed by Zorc's presence, and now the baby blue tint was beginning to peak its light from behind the darkness. All of the shadows and darkness were fading and being drawn toward the Millennium Pyramid in Atem's hands.

As Zorc's soul fused with the golden pyramid, Atem's soul threatened to leave his own body. Digging his feet into the crumbly sand beneath his feet, he attempted to stabilize his body and keep control of the immense power that was being sucked into the relic. With every passing second, Atem felt that his heart was being torn from his chest; a nauseating sensation washed over him as the evil began to seep into every crevice of his soul. Pain shot up every nerve of his body. He imagined that each of his limbs were individually being pulled from his body. Was this what death was like? No, he was not dying, Zorc was beginning to inhabit the pyramid, which was one with Atem's soul. Hatred and the evil now emanated from his pendant. This was easily the worst feeling he had ever endured, and he did not know if he could handle it for another second. Surely, this was what death felt like. All of his senses but his sight had gone numb, leaving him with a deaf, empty feeling as he watched the remnants of the creature disintegrate, and the full impact of its contempt for Atem was absorbed by the Millennium Pyramid.

Then the sun returned to the skies and its rays hit his face once again. He felt the warmth on his bronze skin—this was the first evidence that Zorc had been vanquished. A boisterous cheer came from the people behind him, indicating that his hearing had been restored. All of the witnesses of the battle still had hope for the young king to revive peace from the wicked being. Now that Zorc's form had vanished and the bright sun reclaimed its rightful place amongst the clouds, peace was revived, and the people of his kingdom could celebrate once again.

"My pharaoh..." Atem recognized the voice of the man who was Atem's rival, friend, and cousin. Seto was approaching, followed by Isis and Mana and a few of Egypt's soldiers. All of them were fortunate to have survived, but they felt most fortunate that their king had survived. "Pharaoh, are you alright?" Seto asked sincerely.

Atem barely nodded his head as a response.

Mana, who was the only one fearless enough to approach the pharaoh without his permission, ran to his side. Her face glowed with her signature smile, showing that she was grateful to see her best friend standing victoriously. "You did it, you saved us!" She cheered. "The people are at peace."

Her words had no bearings on Atem, because it did not feel right to be happy yet.

From afar, Isis understood why Atem could not be as joyful as Mana. They had seen many of their comrades and friends die in battle, sacrificing their lives for the well-being of Egypt. Mahaad... she thought to herself. You can rest now.

Barely standing, Atem let himself remember everyone who had lost their lives, silently thanking them for their bravery.

"My Pharaoh..." Isis' soft voice caught his attention, "Mahaad, Shimon, Shada, and Karim fought nobly, and will be rewarded in the afterlife. For now, I think they would want us to celebrate, knowing that their sacrifices were not made in vain."

He looked up at the taller woman, meeting her eyes with his intense, violet eyes that were full of uncertainty. Then, Mana piped in again and said, "Yeah Prince, come on, you deserve a feast! We should throw a huge banquet in the palace in your honor and in honor of everyone who fought beside you."

Though Atem was not yet ready to move past his mourn, his face showed a bit of a smile to his companion, and he replied, "Alright. A banquet it is."

Isis smiled and Mana let out a joyous "Hooray" along with an excited leap in the air.

Seto stood sternly, as he usually did. No, he was not in any mood to celebrate. Not only had his father and trusted mentor caused all of this, but the woman that he loved payed her life to save Seto's at the hand of his own father. No, he did not see a silver lining in the defeat of Zorc the way Mana had.

Isis approached Seto, placing a firm, understanding hand on his shoulder. His face turned to meet hers, curiously. When Seto made eye contact with Isis, she simply nodded, showing that she sympathized with him for the loss of his loved one. Seto simply turned his gaze away and brushed her off, not willing to connect to any other individual at the moment, even if they were suffering a similar tragedy.

Watching the exchange, Atem thought it was best that he lead by example and encourage these brave priests to celebrate the country's victory over the darkness that almost swallowed them all. As Atem was about to take a step forward, his leg stumbled under his weight and his whole body collapsed into the sandy desert. "Pharaoh!" Mana called out in panic and immediately dropped to her knees by his side. When he failed to respond, she nudged him. Still, he did not make a move to signify that he was alright. Mana called out to him again. "Come on, please get up!"

Isis also took a knee beside her king and examined his motionless body. As she gently turned him onto his back, her hands pressed his stomach and chest. "He is warm..." She said out loud. Mana's worried expression stayed focused on him, hoping that he would open his eyes and smile at her, telling her that he was just faking and that he was fine. Isis smiled to Mana and said, "He will be alright. He is just fatigued from the battle. I suspect he may need healing, if you are up for it."

Mana nodded, but she did not look relieved by those words.

Seto turned to the guards and ordered, "Get the pharaoh to the palace!" And so they carried out their commands, lifting Atem's unconscious form up out of the sand and toward the palace. The rest of them followed closely behind, Mana never taking her eyes off of Atem.

AN: Well, this was written years ago. I have more ready, if people respond positively to this chapter. Yes, I know that nothing new happens that most Yu-Gi-Oh fans are not already aware of. I'm just setting up the premise. More to come soon. Anyways, review please and tell me your honest opinion. This website has changed so much since I have last posted anything, so I am not as keen to author etiquette anymore.