Love eternal (book 5)

Chapter 11: stolen

   The hallway has gone silent and I can't help but stare at my former self in shock. His eyes are alight with seriousness and determination. He meant every word that he just said. He wants his life back, but that is something that I cannot give him.
   "If I were able to give you your own body I would but I can't, so if there is anything else that you want, something more reasonable, then I can retrieve it for you."
   "You believe my desire to be unreasonable." The gold of his earrings gleam in the low light as he stares at me with a less than friendly expression. "How fitting for someone who has everything to say that my one desire is selfish and unreasonable." His voice is cold and curt, each of his words seeming to cut into me like a knife.
   "You and I both know that I cannot give you a new life." I say smoothly, carefully. The last thing I need to do right now is make him even more upset with me. "Only the gods can do that."
   "You're wrong." He says seriously.
   "What?"
   "I said, you are wrong." He repeats calmly as he turns to meet my eyes. I can't help but stare at him with suspicion. His behavior suggests that he's calm, but something deep down inside of me warns me that he's even deadlier now than he was before. This is merely the calm before the storm.
   "I cannot give you a new life." I repeat myself seriously. He sighs deeply and shakes his head.
   "I did not mean wrong in the literal sense, I meant that you misunderstand my meaning." He says irritably. His eyes flash as looks at me with such focus that it almost feels as if he is trying to memorize my face. He blinks and then quickly turns on his heel and briskly heads back down the darkened hallway.
   "Where are you going?" I call after him, not daring to move from this spot.
   "You of all people should know exactly where I'm going." Atem calls back in response, not even sparing me a glance. I want to yell after him and demand that he come back, but I know that it would a useless effort. The only person who would ever completely refuse to listen to me is myself. "I can only wonder if you can remember the way." I groan in aggravation  before begrudgingly walking after my former self.
   There is no sound as I was through these empty halls. Not even the echo of footsteps on the cool sound. There is nothing but darkness here. I place my hand on the stone wall and drag it across its surface, feeling every small nick and crack in the stone. Memories of walking these halls alone begin to float back into my mind. I viciously shake my head from side to side to alleviate myself from the horrid memories.
   "You shouldn't fight them." Atem's voice echoes off of the walls. "Those memories are still a part of you. A very distinct and important part of us. They make us who we are."
   "I am where I am because I fought them. The shadows didn't make me who I am. I did and the people who love me did."
   "Don't be foolish." He snorts derisively. "You didn't fight the shadows you fled from them." He turns a sharp corner, his cape swishing behind him as he storms through these halls. "You would still be in here if it weren't for your cowardice and your opportunism." I open my mouth to say something but he vanishes into a room filled with golden light. I growl in annoyance as I follow after him. My mouth suddenly runs dry as I realize where we are. Atem glances back at me briefly before taking a seat on his throne. "Welcome home."
   "Why have you brought me here?" I whisper through parched lips. My eyes drift around the room looking at every familiar feature of my soul room. The plush bed, the harp that plays music from my childhood, the scented oils and all of the fine furnishings. It has remained completely unchanged from the last time I was here with Yugi after his soul was set adrift. I glance over at Atem who remains impassive as he watches me intently.
   "Brings back a lot of memories doesn't it?" He asks softly.
   "It does." I murmur in response as I maintain my distance from the lost pharaoh and his throne. "Not very many are good."
   "That they are." He replies as he places his interlaced fingers atop his lap. "Though they began to become good once he came into our lives." A small smile dawns his lips. "A certain..." His expression suddenly turns pained and he closes his eyes. "Individual." He finishes. "He changed everything. Took my whole life and changed it for the better, but I never got to see him again."
   "You mean Yugi."
   "I prefer not to use his name." He says softly. "It lessens the pain of his absence."
   "He is alive and well, you know?"
   "I am aware." He says coolly. "I have been able to see him on very brief intervals, not including the other day." His eyes slide open and he stares down at me with eyes that are filled to the brim with heartache and loss that it astounds me. "You never should have locked away our puzzle."
   "It held too many painful memories for me." I explain softly. "It was too much for me." He glances away from me angrily and I stare up at him in confusion. "Why does the whereabouts of the puzzle vex you so much?" Atem flinches at the question before looking back at me. "It must truly be important to you."
   "Turn around." He grinds out through his teeth. I glance behind me and see a tall mirror standing just opposite of me. "What do you see?" I look at the mirror in confusion for a moment. It looks like any other mirror but for some reason I can feel that there is something significant about it. My feet carry me closer and that is when the image in the mirror began to shift. It mutated from my reflection to the appearance of Kaiba's lounge with both Seth and myself lieing unconscious on the floor.
   "How are you seeing this?"
   "You already know the answer to that question." He replies smoothly.
   "It's the puzzle, isn't it?" I ask emotionlessly. "That's how you've been able to see Yugi."
   "How I was able to see Yugi." He says sternly. "But then you locked it away. I was only able to see him from thereafter whenever you would begin to miss it." I slowly turn around to meet his eyes. "You stole the life I should have had from me."
   "You and I are the same! I didn't steal anything from you!"
   "Really?" He asks in challenge. "You didn't find it peculiar how all of your memories with Yugi in the past were missing when he returned?" My whole body goes tense.
   "How do you know about that?" I hiss.
   "I know because I was there." He growls as he rises to his feet. "The moment he was returned to you was the moment that my soul was split in two creating myself and you. The life you have should have been mine."