Author's Note: And at long last the truth of Dalin Imaki Sumatin is revealed

Chapter Forty-Three: Memories Hidden in Shadow

Dalin motioned with his hand for the rest of them to stand, and they did so immediately. He walked to the door and pulled it open, then looked back at Ukito and Eikyuu. "I wish to discuss more with you in private. Then we will depart immediately."

Eikyuu held up a finger and grinned broadly. "One last thing before the rest of you depart. You'll need all the strong allies you can get. In particular you'll need the aid of the Knights of Wind and Earth in order to succeed. Of course, neither will easily give their help, especially to you."

Dalin nodded and ushered everyone else out. Then he shut the door and tapped on it twice, mentally creating a barrier that would hide sound. "I have recently come across information of great significance. I want to know more about it, and whatever you can tell me about my own past."

Ukito smirked, having known this would be coming. "But of course. Unfortunately since it doesn't threaten my own existence this one will cost you. Are you willing to give me something in return for the information I can provide?"

"Of course. Whatever you want, I am willing to give." Ukito and Eikyuu exchanged glances, and seconds later Eikyuu faded away.

The red haired man focused his deep blue eyes on Dalin once again and intertwined his fingers, then proceeded to rest his chin on those fingers. "I want something of great significance that I believe only you can get me. It will not be easy, but it is the price I demand. Nothing else will do."

"Name your price."

Ukito raised an eyebrow, pretending surprise at how easily Dalin accepted without even knowing his demand. Of course he was not truly surprised, because he knew more about Dalin than the man knew himself. "I think we can do business."

The Puppeteer chuckled and with a flick of his wrist dragged a chair over to the bed. Then he propped his feet up on the back of the chair and placed his hands behind his head. "I've always wondered, being a being who is many people, what complete and utter solitude is like. I want you to agree to connect enough with me that once you experience that utter suffering of solitude I can experience it as well. For one month."

Dalin glanced at the door, not certain if someone was listening at it. "What makes you believe that I will be confined into utter solitude?"

The red haired man just shrugged, seeming almost bored. "I know a lot of things, that's my purpose for existing, knowledge. At some point on your travels, if you are alone with Ihami, that woman will poison you and seal you away."

"If I know about it why would I allow it to happen. You know I wouldn't take this deal at all unless there was a way around it. Is there?" Ukito smirked and placed one ankle over the other as he got more comfortable.

"You're a very clever man, that's obvious enough. You'll be released from your bonds by Isis, or at least a form of her. She's going to be brought back at some point, but to get that information you'd need to cut another deal with me." Dalin folded his arms and remained silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"I have no interest in the how as of yet, so I accept your deal. Now, tell me your half of the bargain." Ukito closed his eyes and leaned back even further. He seemed to be nearly asleep as he spoke.

"When the time comes and you are where you must be, then remember my words and you will know the path to the conclusion that you seek." Dalin waited patiently for the Puppeteer to finish. Clearly he wanted to be dramatic and Dalin saw no reason not to let him.

"Your blood echoes with the blood of millions, and so that link of blood will unlock the pathway to those memories that are hidden in shadow and fire. Once you are released I will meet you and tell you where you must be. That is all." Dalin nodded and stood up, completely ignoring Ukito as he walked towards the door.

"When the time comes Puppeteer, I will have my conclusion. Make sure to keep your end of the bargain."

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When finally the knock came at the door she unsteadily stood and walked to it. The instant she pulled it open something zipped past her, spinning her around. There was a shriek of joy, and when Hikari managed to refocused she was surprised at what she saw. What looked to be about a twenty year old blonde girl was latched onto Dalin's arm, grinning like an idiot.

"Senpai! I won the duel against that guardian, just like you expected me to!" Dalin looked down at her, his usual blank face there, but still the girl seemed excited. The big man reached down and patted her on the head, a shadow of a smile on his face.

"Good work Alice. I assume you all got what you went for?" Alice nodded happily, but before she was able to say anything the other two people who had come with her stepped into the room. Hikari moved away to give Isis and Rishid room to move.

Isis and Dalin looked at each other, similar quiet and focused looks on their faces. Hikari was reminded once again that these two at one point had been involved in some way, but to what degree she wasn't certain. "I have much to tell you about Dalin. In private."

Dalin stood immediately, removing Alice's hand from his arm. "I want you and Rishid to fill in Hikari on what you have learned. I will talk with Isis in the other room while you do that."

"Of course senpai, just as you say!" She saluted him, and kept the salute the whole time as he walked into the adjacent room with Isis. Once the door was closed Dalin sat down on the bed and Isis sat down on the one opposite him.

There was silence between the two for nearly a minute, and then finally Isis began to speak. "We went to the tomb just as we said and I dipped into the Well in order to gain the knowledge of how to defeat the Avatar of Apep. What I learned at first was that he can only be killed by destroying Apep. But I also learned his true role in the Apocalypse."

"Tell me, what did you learn?" Isis looked down at the bed, those horrible memories of the Avatar's running through her mind. She shook her head to clear it of those thoughts and then answered.

"The Avatar of Apep's purpose is…to guide the path of the Destroyer, the one destined to unmake the world. He lays the foundation of what will come for that ultimate servant of destruction…but that isn't all. He shares a connection with you." Dalin didn't respond. He simply stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"His connection with you, from what I learned, is that with the sky above your heads torn apart you will meet. And when you meet under the broken sky he is supposed to give you something, and when he does…the sky rips completely apart." Dalin stood up off the bed and looked past Isis. Then he looked back down at her, his face as cold as always.

"This was a memory of prophecy then. I assume from your reaction that you were unable to see the face that the Avatar of Apep has taken." Isis nodded.

"When I receive something from his hands the sky will rip apart, signifying the end of the world. In other words my interaction with the Avatar of Apep will be catalyst for the end of the world, is that correct?" Again Isis nodded, not looking at Dalin.

"This information cannot go to anyone else; it must be shared amongst the two of us alone. The reason is that I know of a prophecy as well, one that speaks that the path of the Destroyer can be halted only if the wife of Osiris is at his side as his servant. In other words, the wife of Osiris is you Isis." The Egyptian woman lifted her head to stare at Dalin, not quite sure if she understood exactly what he was getting at.

"I have heard the prophecy, or at least some prophecies, of this Destroyer before. Where he walks the dead rise, and the dead become his servants. And the Destroyer will also need a secret, a secret that only one person in the world holds. The secret sworn and sealed in your soul." Her eyes widened even further as Dalin stood in front of her, looking directly down.

"Ultimately that secret will be sought out, and the Destroyer will go to any lengths to uncover that secret, he would even give life to an enemy in order to achieve it." They were interrupted when a knock came at the door, and together they moved and opened in.

Dalin glanced to his right, where Hikari was looked and saw the TV. When he saw what was on the screen he sighed and picked up a white button up shirt and slid his arm into it. Once it was on, but still unbuttoned, he grabbed his duel disk off the counter and attached to his arms. "That's what I was afraid of. Coaxing her is going to be difficult."

Hikari, Isis, and Rishid all picked up their own duel disks and started for the door after Dalin. Alice on the other hand just stared at their backs in confusion. "Umm…what's going on? I don't get it."

Dalin looked over his shoulder, looked her in the eye, and then gave her a very succinct answer. "We're going to crash a movie premier."

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It was dark outside, night had long since fallen and the hotel was quiet. With a sigh Dalin got out of his bed and slipped out the door, then crossed the hallway and opened the door that he had been headed towards.

At the opposite end of the room a shadowed figure in a bed sat up and looked towards him. The familiar figure spoke. "I was expecting you sooner than this. I had been starting to think I was wrong."

"No, not wrong. I apologize." Dalin began to approach and Isis shook her head, relaxing against her pillows.

"No, there's no need to apologize. I knew this was coming and I perfectly understand." Dalin stood over her bed, staring down at her for the next few moments. There was perfect silence between them.

"Goodnight Isis. And goodbye." He pressed his lips against hers and they stayed that way for several seconds. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. Finally they parted and Dalin placed his large right hand over her forehead.

His jade eyes looked deep into hers as he focused the power of the Icon of Osiris and began to pull at her innermost self. When the light went out of those eyes he drew back his hand and then pulled her head up against his chest. "You always understood me Isis, and for that I apologize. Even without my memories I still know, still feel that those who care for me, those who love me…always die at my hands."

He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the top of her head, holding her even tighter against him. "The feeling of a rapidly cooling body held to my chest is somehow familiar, as if I have done it many a time. I couldn't be with you for that reason, and for the reason that I am not who I say I am."

Slowly he released her and placed her comfortably back down on the bed, pillows cradling her limp head. "I always kill the ones that I love, because that is what I am. I am a destroyer…and I always have been. That is the one thing that I have always known."

He turned away and walked to the door, pausing with his hand against the frame. "When we see each other again, my apologies will be gone. I will remain cold and aloof for your sake, just as I should be. The cold and remorseless killer, Dalin Imaki Sumatin, as always."

Then he pushed the door open and left.

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It was cold beyond all reason. The cold was not simply of the material, of the flesh, of life. It was something far deeper, something closer to the origins of all things. It was a cold that cut through flesh and bone, and bore straight into the soul like a knife. Needless to say, he began to shiver uncontrollably.

There was nothing unusual about this. Something deep within him spoke of the cold numerous times; spoke of how it was always present at times like this. However, that same voice spoke of the sweltering heat, a blaze of heat that also etched itself into the soul. There were images that accompanied the remembrance of the heat, images of a far-off place where it burned like fire during the day, and chilled you to the bone at night.

Something called out to him through the haze of darkness that surrounded him, kept him shrouded for all time. The darkness that imprisoned him within itself, kept him from seeing the light once more. Yet deep within him he knew that soon the waiting would be over, and he would once more be free to carry out his purpose.

He cried out as an intensely bright ray of light burst through the darkness, ripped at it, tore it into pieces. He fell far, and yet fell no distance at all, as the womb of darkness that had so constantly surrounded him crumbled at the touch of the light.

Millennia, or perhaps mere moments later, he sucked in his first breath in a long time. The air that filled his lungs was just as the voice deep within him had said. The air was hot and dry, and seared him to the soul. It was exactly as he envisioned it, or maybe it was memory. Slowly his eyes opened, blinking back the light that he was so unaccustomed to, and at last he took his first, or maybe not, looks at the world around him. The first sight that greeted him was of a person, standing there above him, leaning down to give him a hand.

He looked up at the man...no, the boy, and smiled. The boy's white-haired countenance and the golden object held in his hand seemed a strange comfort in a world that was so strange, and yet all too familiar. As he reached out to take the boy's hand he noticed for the first time that he wore nothing, nothing at all except for the silver dragon biting its own tail that connected the four fingers of his right hand, like some kind of strange ring. His hand stopped short of the boy's, and darkness fell upon him once more.

Wake up brother, wake up. You have slept for your time, and my turn is ended. I turn the board over to you. Enjoy the game.

His eyes flickered open, and he discovered that he was staring straight up at the sky. He was moving as well, although he was lying down. His eyes darted around, looking for something, anything to tell him where he was.

"So, you've woken up have you?" His eyes moved backwards, and he realized that someone was sitting inches from his head. It was that boy with the white hair from before, a purple cloak flaring out behind him from the wind.

His mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out but coughs. His throat was dry, feeling terribly unused. The white haired boy leaned in and put a canteen to his lips, pouring water into his waiting lips. He swallowed, feeling it slide down his throat. "Don't worry if you can't speak, that's to be expected. You must have been in the desert like that for three or four days when I found you."

His lips were cracked despite the delightfully cool water that had touched them, so speaking was difficult and painful even with his throat wetted. "Who…who am I?"

The white haired boy paused, staring straight ahead as if considering the question. He looked slightly to the left where a bald man with a ponytail was seen sitting with his hands on a wheel. The tanned bald man gave a brief nod to the boy, who then spoke again. "Sumatin. Your name is Sumatin."

"Is that…is that all of who I am? My name…" The white haired boy frowned, shaking his head as if arguing with himself. Sumatin didn't understand, he couldn't understand exactly what the boy was muttering under his breath.

"Dalin Imaki Sumatin, that's your name. As for who you are…don't you remember?" Dalin shook his head, his neck aching from even that minimal motion. Now that he noticed it he could tell that his entire body ached.

"So you don't remember who you are at all. Well…I'll make a deal with you. Help me in my task, help me get what I want…and I'll help you recover your memories. Is it a deal?" Dalin paused for only a moment to consider it, and then nodded.

The white haired boy smirked and placed one arm over the back of the seat. "Excellent. My name is Malik, and you are going to help me achieve my destiny."

'Destiny…what is my destiny?'

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A stone clattered from the roof to the ground, bouncing wildly on the street below. A tall blonde man stood with one foot poised at the edge of the rooftop, looking down at a building across the street. "So, is that really the place?"

"Of course it is, don't you know that? Oh, but of course you do, you always know. Isn't that right Sumatin?" The blonde man turned his jade eyes to the left, where a dark skinned man stood, looking out at the moon rather than at the building.

"It's just as you say, I know exactly what it is. Then again, you know just as well as I do. But are you really prepared for me to take this piece and position it as I see fit?" The dark skinned man rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with one hand, as if brushing away the comment.

"Of course, it's your turn after all. I set up my piece last turn, so this time you get to choose your piece and position it, if you can that is. You question it needlessly, even when you know the rules. Are you trying to annoy me Sumatin?" Despite the question the dark skinned man had a swarthy grin on his face, which most would have found charming and disarming.

Sumatin however completely ignored it and returned to looking at the building. "Perhaps, or perhaps I just like contemplating the nature of this dangerous game that we play. It is a two-edged sword that we walk upon. Or am I wrong?"

The other man snorted at that. "Wrong? Since when are you ever wrong? Now get along, I'm hardly going to help you. And you have to know that once you've made your move I'll interfere to see that your piece doesn't move the way you foresee it."

"Of course. Let's see which of us has greater foresight. You or I. In the end I can guarantee that this piece will fall onto my side of the board." He leapt off the building and landed gracefully on the ground below. Slowly he rose from his crouch and looked up to the ledge, but the other man was already gone.

It was quiet. Night in Cairo was always quiet. Sumatin approached the building and placed his hand on the doorknob. A brief flare of his power melted the lock and he pushed it open. As he entered the building he felt a cold gust of wind from behind him, but ignored it, leaving the door open.

He looked around the central room, his green eyes trying to locate something. He paused when he saw a picture on a stand nearby, so he approached and picked it up. The picture was of a blonde man in his forties, a woman of similar age, and a young blonde boy in-between them smiling happily. "Stop right there."

Sumatin placed the picture down and looked to his left, where he saw the same middle aged man from the pictures, only he now had gray in his hair and a baseball bat in his hand. "I would appreciate it if you would put the bat down and not force me to take action."

"Get out of my house right now. Get out or I'll make you get out." Sumatin sighed and darted forwards. He caught the bat with his left hand before the other man could even take a swing with it and then threw it aside. His right hand darted into his pocket and whipped out a knife and held it out.

He backed up a few steps, knife outstretched as he spotted the woman from the picture, clearly the man's wife. She was standing just a few feet behind the man and looked absolutely terrified. "Bad luck, that's all this is for you. Go back to bed, and never report this. Then all will be well."

The man shook his head, looking scared but determined. "You can't talk to me like that, you can't be here. I've already called the police and they're on their way!" Sumatin sighed and cocked his head to the side focusing his senses. There wasn't even the faintest sign of a police siren.

'A pity, I was hoping to catch them asleep for this. Never the less my move is clear.' He returned his gaze to the man, taking note of what he felt behind him. Then he darted forward, moving swiftly and fluidly, and grabbed the man by the forehead, tilting his head up. Then with one swift motion he pressed his knife to the man's throat and slid it sideways, slitting it open.

The man gurgled, grabbing at his ruined throat as blood pumped profusely out of it. "Then I'll have to make this quick. No witnesses."

Sumatin charged forwards, ignoring the fallen man as he sunk to his knees, hands still clutching his throat, eyes staring forward in horror. When that image was out of his sight he grabbed the woman's forehead and pressed it back and then repeated the act, dropping her just as quickly. "I hate it when it gets messy. So be it."

When the woman fell flat on the floor he entered the room they had come from and began rooting through the drawers. It took opening all of them, including the man's files, until finally he came across the file he had been looking for. Tucking it into his desert cloak he returned to the main room, and saw that the same blonde boy from the photo, only older was on his knees next to his parents, holding their hands. He was sitting in their blood.

Carefully Sumatin chose his words in the way that would suit the situation best. He had originally intended to say something else, but now he had to change it. "A kid. That means another corpse. Sorry kid, but you'll be joining your parents now."

He reached out and grabbed the boy's forehead, essentially palming his skull, and then pushed it back, exposing the throat. His head jerked to the side as he heard sirens coming closer. As he did so the boy tried to fling himself away, and Sumatin's mind raced to the obvious conclusion. 'Pain, a symbol of the hate, a symbol that will stay with him. Not too dangerous. The eye, the perfect target.'

He snarled and his hand darted out, slashing with expert precision. The boy screamed in pain as the blade gouged down across his forehead, eye, and to his cheek. As the boy flopped to the ground, one hand clutching at his bleeding eye, Sumatin cast one last glance back and spoke the words he had come up with. "No time. Unlike your parents, it looks like luck is on your side."

The boy sobbed and reached out, latching onto Sumatin's waist. The big man shoved the boy away with his foot. As the boy fell his hand snagged on Sumatin's pant pocket, and one of his Duel Monsters cards fluttered out of it.

He raced around the corner and stopped, letting the sirens pass him by. Sighing he jumped straight up, shooting twenty feet into the air and landing with ease on top of the building. "Hate me, curse me, and detest me. Come and find me…Nikolas of the Desert."

Sumatin cast one last look at the building where the dead lay, their son sobbing in pools of their blood. With his features stone cold he spoke one last time. "Remember these eyes, and remember these hands that took your parents and took your eye. For as long as there is blood in your body, never stop coming after me."

Looking up at the moon he smirked, his jade eyes glinting. "Your move."

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"Guten Abend. Wie tun Sie Kameraden? Genießen der Festlichkeiten?" The question came from a short man in an almost military uniform with dark hair. He was staring straight ahead at men and women dancing, his hands clasped behind his back.

Standing directly behind him was a tall man in a black uniform with combed back blonde hair and jade eyes. He too had his hands tightly clasped behind his back. He looked forwards as well when he replied to the short mustachioed man. "Nicht fragen Sie sinnlosen Fragen Avatara. Oder sollte ich Sie anrufen meinen Führer?"

The shorter man's lips curled upwards in a taunt smile when he heard those words. When he spoke he shifted languages seamlessly, moving to one that none but they would understand. "Hearing you call me that reminds me that you honestly do have a sense of humor. Of course only I know you well enough to understand it, isn't that right Sumatin?"

Sumatin didn't even blink, although the right corner of his lips was quirked up, a smile on the edges of forming. "Only you understand me, which has always been the case since that fateful night all those years ago. I came to tell you that my turn is almost up, and shortly my brother will take over."

"It will be a bother to see you go, I like you much better than I do him. Still, I don't see you nearly often enough these days. When was the last time we met anyways? It was sometime before the turn of the century, Romania yes?" Sumatin nodded, his hands still clasped behind his back.

Without missing a beat Sumatin changed the topic. "I've been wondering about this ever since you moved to your new host. Why did you choose him? Certainly you have made him successful, made him powerful, but he was nothing but a failed artist with no connections. Why?"

The dark haired man smiled smugly, giving a brief nod to a young blonde man in a soldier's uniform who snapped him a raised arm salute. "Because, if there is anything that these worms have managed to create this is worth preserving, it is music. And art comes a close second to that. It appeals to my nature, that I can turn this pathetic failed artist into an artist of my sort."

"You consider yourself an artist these days? You never mentioned anything like that the last time we meet." Again the other man smiled, giving another nod of the head to a passing couple doing the waltz on the ballroom floor.

"Yes, my art is that of destruction and pain. I exist to play the game of eternal damnation, to tilt the wheel of fate closer and closer to the end of the world. That is my art, the art of the end of the world. And you are an artist as well, for you exist to play the game as well. The game is your art, just as it is mine. Or do you think I'm being arrogant?" Sumatin frowned, and then shook his head. However he shook his head in response to a waiter offering him a glass of wine rather than the other man's comments.

"Yes, you are being arrogant. But that doesn't mean you aren't right. I suppose genocide is your style of art. I'm sure you find the name you gave your newest form of genocide rather ironic. Abschied, mein Führer." With that he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the room.

The last thing he heard before he exited was a chuckle from the man he was talking about, and his last words. "Final Solution…it is rather ironic isn't it?"

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Sumatin looked around at the countryside, admiring the trees and landscape that he saw. Just a dozen feet away a youngish man, maybe sixteen, with dark reddish brown hair was sitting underneath a tree with a smile on his face. "What makes you smile boy?"

The teenager cracked one eye and grinned up at Sumatin. "Just enjoying a pleasant day. You don't look like you're from this area, and you don't look like you're from the Continent. So what brings you here this beautiful day?"

"I'm looking for you actually. Masue Ihachi, is that right?" The teenager's smile slipped from his face and he clambered to his feet, looking ready to fight if need be.

"That's right. Who are you and what do you want?" Sumatin looked Masue up from head to toe and then nodded once.

"You're the next Third Seal; you'll live for a thousand years and exist as a chain binding a force of unending destruction." Masue cocked an eyebrow at him, obviously not following.

Without waiting for a response Sumatin placed his hand on Masue's chest and red light flared around the teenager's body, engulfing him in the energy. Masue fell on his butt, looking weak and disoriented. Sumatin kneeled down and looked Masue in the eye. "You've taken this job for the rest of your life. Rule number one, you can never have children. The results would be disastrous…"

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Two groups of seven stood opposite each other. One wore fanciful robes in various different colors, six of them standing in front of a throne. Upon the throne was a man roughly in his fifties with a thick beard and graying hair. The circlet around his head and the throne he sat upon declared him as Pharaoh. The six in front of him were his High Priests.

The group of seven in front of them were The Seven, the servants of the gods who followed the god's words directly in this plane. Each one was dressed in simple white robes, speaking of the honor they held for their gods by displaying only one piece of jewelry. The jewelry they had were their symbols of their respective gods, seven items forged in what appeared to be silver and gold yet were something else entirely. These items granted them great power.

In front of The Seven stood a bronze skinned man of over six feet in height, making him easily the tallest person in the room. His large and muscular body seemed slightly lessened in his loose robes, but there was still something dangerous about him. His long white blonde hair hung about half way down his back. "Great Pharaoh, we require soldiers to help us defend against an attack by those The Hand will send against us. You know why this is so, please do not be foolish."

"You dare accuse me of foolishness? Tread lightly Sumatin, for you have no official position in this government. You are not even recognized in the same religious sense that my High Priests are. As for those soldiers, I will not allow you soldiers to defend a small threatened village. It is of no strategic value, and its worthiness to the gods is determined by my priests, not by you." He had risen to his feet while speaking, a vain attempt to add more authority to his words by seeming taller than the blonde haired man.

Sumatin's cold eyes made the Pharaoh shudder on the inside. He could never stand to stare the man directly in the eyes for very long, there was just something unnatural in them. "We The Seven will defend the village with our Ka, however we require a legion of soldiers to stop the onslaught of these foreigners before they make it too far into our nation. The Gods speak to us that Kurulena Village will play a critical roll in the future, and therefore we must not allow it to be destroyed by these thieves."

The Pharaoh grimaced and turned his gaze upon the High Priests, seeking their counsel. None of the priests had gotten any indication from the gods that this minor village would play any roll in their nation's future, so they each shook their heads. "My priests do not agree with this statement, and since they represent the religious nature of our society, I will not send my soldiers needlessly to their deaths in such a defenseless village. We will use the soldiers to secure a vital position where we can defend against any attack. This city cannot be breached!"

Sumatin stared at the Pharaoh for several moments more, and then he nodded briefly. He turned around, sending his cloak flaring out behind him. He stopped briefly before exiting the room, and displayed his right hand to the Pharaoh. On it was a four-fingered silver ring with the image of a serpentine dragon biting its own tail. "By the Icon of Osiris I swear that with or without your help The Seven will turn aside these thieves and prevent The Hand from gaining further ground."

Suddenly a third voice spoke up, declaring an opinion that not a single other person in the room would dare to voice. "If you do not offer up soldiers freely to us when we have proved ourselves so many times before, then you are nothing but a fool! There is nothing divine about you if you make such a foolish choice." The Pharaoh's furious gaze fell upon the most vocal and most widely known of The Seven. It was Ihami, a beautiful woman with russet brown hair in a country where reddish hair was a sign of evil. Yet she served the gods.

More over, she was the twin sister to the Captain of the Royal Guard who held his own secret. As Captain of the Medjai, her brother served as the Pharaoh's personal bodyguard, and was feared by criminals more than even the Pharaoh himself. She was also known for her beauty and for her habits with the palace guards. And of course the debacle with High Priest Kaeth. "Hold your tongue woman, or I shall have my guards remove it!"

Ihami offered only a sly smile, moving forwards so that she stood directly across from the Pharaoh. She set her hands on her hips in a cocky manner and stared at him in a cold and rather strange manner with those unusual violet eyes of hers. "The guards have had enough experience with my tongue that they wouldn't want to remove it. As for my words, I stand by them. They are true, yet I know you to not be a fool."

The Pharaoh ignored her comment about the guards, while the High Priests shifted awkwardly at the mention of habits of hers that were usually not mentioned in the open. Even The Seven rolled their eyes at her audacity. Sumatin only stared at her back with his unforgiving gaze. "You dare to spout your profane words in front of a God made flesh? You sicken me!" All eyes in the room turned to fall upon the speaker of these words.

The speaker was none other than High Priest Kaeth, a tall man whose wild hair and distinctive eyes of different colors were what made him known in the nation. That and the debacle with Ihami. Three years previous the High Priest Kaeth had requested Ihami's hand. Ihami had accepted, however later Kaeth discovered that Ihami did not keep to her vows. He was embarrassed by the situation, and his reputation was shattered.

Ihami turned her gaze upon Kaeth, and she sneered. Idly she fingered the golden disc that hung from her neck, the deadly Eye of Set that allowed her the secret power of manipulation. She could feel emotions and as long as she was stronger than the other person she could make them do what she wanted by making them want to do it. "Well what do we have here, the weak little rejected priest. You dare speak to your masters in such a manner? Get back on your belly and crawl you worm."

Even the Pharaoh was surprised at the audacity of these words. Of course they all knew that emotions ran high between these two, but never before had Ihami been so harsh with him. The Pharaoh shook his head, understanding that shortly the situation would degenerate. Kaeth grimaced at her comment. "How dare you speak to me in such a fashion? You have no position in life but that of a gossip monger and as a veritable harem girl!"

Ihami just threw back her head and laughed, her crystalline laughter echoing in the vast room. Her gaze settled once again upon the High Priest, and she calmly licked her lips. "Yes, but I'm so good at it. The problem was never me; it was just that you were so bad at it." Kaeth's eyes widened in fury, and he stepped out in front of the other priests, sweeping his arm back making the others priests step backwards.

"You won't get away with your words! If you wish to prove yourself and your strength then you will deal with me here and now! If you Seven are as strong as you believe, then you can certainly manage to handle the Ka that I will summon. Rise up!" He focused his energy upon the long distant tablet, and watched as it rose in front of him, showing the image of its creature, a tall warrior with a blade.

"With this Ka I will show you my strength. This will prove once and for all that The Seven are no longer necessary in this nation or in the world!" The creature emerged from the tablet, a powerful warrior in purple armor. His blade was a giant curved thing, capable of severing even the strongest armor. He was a strong Ka who had a special ability that gave him the advantage against dragons. This was the Buster Blader, the Ka he used for most battles.

Ihami smiled and spread her arms out to the sides, calling upon her magic. The golden disc upon her chest started to glow, and the eye symbol appeared glowing upon her forehead. She was drawing upon the magic of the disc to summon her Ka and give it strength. "I don't even need the Ka I would use in battle against others to defeat your pathetic warrior. With the power the gods have granted The Seven even a mere apprentice in our hands becomes greater than your strongest Kas!" A tablet rose upon behind her, and shimmered as the Ka within exited.

The Ka she was using was a man with blonde hair and blue clothing, holding a staff in his hand. He was a Ka who used magic, yet he was normally a nothing. A weak Ka that one such as the Buster Blader could easily crush. This was the Apprenticeship Magician, a gnat of a Ka. It was a true insult for her to use this Ka against her. "Now, shall we begin?"

Sumatin exchanged looks with the rest of The Seven and frowned as the battle commenced. He could tell by the way that Ihami was directing her Ka that she was merely toying with Kaeth, leading him on in the fight as she did with men all the time. 'She is going to win, that is without a doubt.'

His thought proved to be true when Kaeth went down, his body smoking from Ihami's last attack. Gasping in pain he sat up and pointed one finger at Ihami and declared his intentions. "I will never surrender to the likes of you so long as my body can hold air! Let the last beating of this heart be used in any way it must to defend this kingdom, even if it is from outdated nothings such as you!"

Ihami merely threw back her head and laughed to the ceiling, completely unaffected by Kaeth's words. When she had finished her laughing she dropped her gaze to the fallen High Priest and sneered down at him. "Outdated nothing? If I and my brethren are outdated, then what does it say of the High Priests when they cannot defeat what is outdated? You are the nothing here. Your branch of pseudo-religious fools are the ones who cloud the judgment of this great kingdom!"

The High Priests stirred at these words, glaring at the attractive woman as she stood there, haughtily expressing her distaste and disrespect for the priests and their activities. Their gazes also traveled to the rest of The Seven, who stood impassively watching the confrontation. Unable to understand why she was not being reprimanded, the Pharaoh spoke up. "Sumatin! She is your charge, so command her to revoke her words!"

The tall and powerfully built servant of god turned his icy gaze upon the Pharaoh. The old Pharaoh had to force himself not to step backwards under the force of that gaze. A force so strong that he felt like prostrating himself and begging for forgiveness. That could not be the case, he did not beg nor did he ask for forgiveness! He was the Pharaoh, a god incarnate! He was the ruler of this land and would not back away from one mortal man!

"Understand this. Though your subjects may bow and scrape, prostrating themselves beneath your might, that is not what The Seven shall ever do. We prostrate ourselves only before the strength of the gods, and no Pharaoh in the history of this land has ever, nor will ever give commands to us. I serve the mighty Osiris, and I am the leader of this group. However, I do not command them, I merely a first amongst equals." A light silver glow was coming from the Icon of Osiris as he spoke, and the Pharaoh could feel the restrained magic within. More magic then he could possibly summon.

"Yet as first amongst equals your words carry weight! Inform her that to speak such words in my presence is to risk having herself arrested and thrown into the darkest dungeons of Our Kingdom!" His words now held no hint of anger, but an obvious sign of it. His fists were clenched together and shaking. Unconsciously he was drawing his magic about himself in preparation to either defend from an attack, or to attack. Sumatin stared at him levelly and shook his head in what seemed like annoyance.

"I see that you refuse to understand. The words that Ihami speaks are her own, and therefore I will not reproach her for them. To do so would be to display an arrogance and an egotism that I do not possess. No force short of the gods will halt Ihami's words if she wishes to speak them, and no prison of mortal man can hold any of The Seven. Heed my words for once Pharaoh, and understand that if we with our great strength require assistance to defeat a threat, then it is a true threat!" He spoke the words with a sharp finality, and all eyes were on him as he finished speaking.

The Pharaoh shook his head, irritated that he had no power of these people. His father had told him before he had died, that to try and bring The Seven to task was like trying to bring one of the Pyramids to task. It simply could not be done, not by any man who had ever walked the earth or would ever walk the earth. "Very well, this farce may continue."

The battle raged for only a few more minutes after that as Kaeth was running short on energy, and with one final trick Ihami summoned out a new Ka and destroyed the tablet that contained Kaeth's, thus bringing the battle to an end.

The Pharaoh made a chopping motion with one hand, a motion that declared the end of such activities. "I've had enough of such childish displays. Ihami, you may have proved victorious in this case, but I stand by my previous words. You seven will receive no soldiers from me. Now be gone from my sight!" The Seven just stared at him for a few moments, and then they all turned to go, heading towards the door.

"Is it too late? Did I miss it?" The Seven stopped at these words, turning to find a barely dressed bronze skinned man who was definitely Ihami's twin enter the room. Ihami's eyes lit up in surprise and sudden joy at seeing her twin, and she rushed to embrace him. He returned the hug, and Sumatin simply watched. His relationship with Drago was nearly nonexistent.

"Drago! You're awake at last! Oh praise the gods!" He smiled and pulled a way a little, giving her a big grin. Sumatin watched as most of the men and women in the room came to greet him and told him what had just happened. Even his nurses rushed into the room following him.

Sumatin turned away and strode out the door, calling out behind him as he walked away. "There is little time for happiness in the current situation. Spend a little time with Drago, and then we depart. The Pharaoh has ignored our pleas; therefore we must make extra haste to reinforce the defenses of Kurulena village." With these last words he was gone, exiting the room.

As he walked Ihami appeared at his side out of thin air, a technique he had taught her a year previous that allowed her to project an image of herself and interact with others through it. "So, what did you think of the play? What are your thoughts about what will happen next?"

The blonde man looked back at her and shook his head. "There will be a disaster, and you will play your part, just as I will. Even when it is all over, I'm certain that I will see you again in years to come, even if that time is thousands of years."

She laughed gaily as if he had just made a joke. "Oh come now Sumatin, I'm hardly immortal. A thousand years may be nothing to you, but that time would see even my dust cease to exist."

He sighed and shook his head, passing a hand through her projection and disrupting it, making it vanish. "You will have immortality, and you will learn just as I did that eternal life comes at great cost. I'm sorry little girl, sorry that you have become involved in this eternal game that I play."

"But it must be played, just as always."

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Author's Notes: Believe it or not this was intended to be a one-part revelation, but it turns out I can't do it in one part. So it looks like it's going to be a two part thingy.

Next Time: Hidden from all eyes including the owner's. They lie beneath the surface, untouched for years but always waiting to be released and to be understood. For over six years Dalin has sought his memories, and at last he has found them. But are they what he was hoping for? With his memories will Dalin be the same person, or will he be changed forever? What is the answer to his question? Who is Dalin Imaki Sumatin?

See it all in, Memories Hidden in Fire!