Spirit of the puzzle (book 1)

Chapter 20: please return to me

Malik points the millennium rod at my puzzle releasing the seal. I quickly appear and rush to Yugi. "Yugi? Yugi open your eyes!" I shout shaking him. His body is limp beneath my touch.
"He can't hear you." Malik says softly. My whole body freezes at the sound of his voice. Tears stream down my face as I gently lay Yugi down on the floor. His once vibrant face now blank and peaceful. I rise to my feet without turning to look at Malik.
"What have you done to him?" I ask coldly.
"He is unharmed if that is what you are worried about." Malik says playfully. He is toying with me. That bastard is toying with me! He will come to regret his actions very soon.
"You killed him." I say coldly.
"No." Malik says matter of factly. "If you will place your fingers on his neck you will feel his pulse. He still lives."
"Then what did you do to him?!" I whirl around to face him, shadows enclosing my form. "Answer me!" Malik flinches at the sight of my rage. The shadows intensify the anger I feel until it is almost tangible.
"I set his soul adrift." A torrent of shadow shoots out towards him. It wraps around his neck and pulls him down to the floor where it repeatedly begins to slam his head against the wooden floor. Malik's blood pools on the floor as I kneel down before him capturing his face in my hand, forcing him to look at me. The feel of his blood on my hand is repulsive but my desire to know what he has done to my Yugi overpowers my sense of disgust.
"You sent him to the shadow realm?" I hiss out in anger.
"No! No! No!" Malik stammers in fear. "I would never send him there, my pharaoh."
"Then where?!" My grip on his face tightens until his eyes clench tightly shut in pain. Malik tries to speak but can't through my hand. Once I am satisfied with the amount of pain I have dealt him I release my hold and allow him to speak.
"He's in Egypt." Malik chokes. "He's with you in Egypt."
"You sent him to me?" I ask quizzically. "Why?"
"I wanted you to learn from the sins of your past and the best lesson is sending the one you love to the time where you were unloved."
"You will lose what you never had." I whisper. That was what this damn fool meant. He had planned this from the beginning.
"My pharaoh...welcome back." I glare at him, but he continues to stare at me with those disgusting eyes. "You are flesh and blood once more."
"I see that." I say coldly as I clench and unclench my fists.
"Now you don't need to share that boy's body." My body freezes and I can tell by the small shriek that escapes his lips that he notices.
"You think...I was only using Yugi as a host...That he was only a meat suit?!" My eyes glow a murderous shade of red as I stare at this pitiful creature before me. "How dare you even insinuate such a thing!!" My shadows lift him off of the ground by his throat. He gasps and chokes as he tries to claw his way out of the shadow, but you can't harm a shadow. His eyes are filled with fear. "For all of your sins that you need to learn from I banish you to the shadow realm." Tears escape his eyes as a deep purple void opens beside us.
The shadows release their grip on him. He turns to run from the void but I quickly grab him. My fist collides with his face forcing him to stagger back into the void. It was then far too late for him to try and escape as shadows wrapped themselves around his body dragging him into the abyss. I watch emotionlessly as Malik disappears into nothingness.

My fingers run through Yugi's hair as I cradle him in my arms. Tears stream down my face and splash into his hair. My Yugi is like a corpse in my arms. His body is warm, yet the soul that I love is not present. Yugi's body is merely hibernating, awaiting his soul's return. "Yugi." I sob as I pull him closer to me. "I did this." My whole body trembles with the intensity of my grief. "This is all my fault!"
Yugi's blank face only reminds me of my failure to protect him. "Yugi! Come back!" I scream as I hold him. "It should have been me! Not you!" My fingers gripping onto him tightly. "It's not fair!" My cries echo through the room as I sit cradling my absent love. "Yugi," I whisper into his shoulder. "Please come back. Don't leave me here all alone." His small form lying limp in my arms makes my heart ache. I lift him into my arms as I struggle to phase into the puzzle.
The walk to my soul room feels like a thousand year journey, but we eventually got there. I lay my love gently down on the bed, covering him with the luxurious blankets he gave me so long ago. His serene face making him look so regal in sleep. Worry etches through me at the thought of him being in the presence of my former self. All of my past sins and my arrogance. Yugi will experience it all. I climb into the bed beside him and hold him.
"I'm right here Yugi." I whisper. "I won't leave you, so please come back to me...please."
End of book one