Ascension [A Yu-Gi-Oh! FanFiction]

36: Glass

AN: First off, many apologies for the long absence. I won't bore you with the details, but as I get closer and closer to the end of this fic, I've started to get really sad. This is one of my most favorite pieces of fiction I've ever written — and one of the very few fics I've ever come close to finishing. It's almost too real to think that it might be over soon. I thought, maybe if I held back on some updates, it might make me feel a bit better about the journey coming to an end. But I realize now that was the wrong way to approach it. So, for the remainder of the fic I'm returning to bi-weekly updates, as a way to push myself to go all the way with this thing!

Simultaneously, I'm going back and editing/reuploading almost every chapter in this fic. Most of the earlier arcs were written in such rapid succession that I don't feel they're as perfect as they deserve to be. Rest assured that nothing about the narrative will fundamentally change as a result of these edits. There will be a few new scenarios to explore, and some that I've cut out. But everything ultimately funnels into where we are right here. The edits are just to create a more enjoyable experience for new readers, and for anyone who wants to go back and read it from the beginning.

Again, thank you so much for coming along with me on this amazing journey. I'm truly humbled by your readership. It means the world to me, and I hope you enjoy the final arc of this story as much as I have loved and labored to bring it to life.

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A day turned to a week as Jahar slowly recovered from his injuries, though he had yet to walk more than a few steps around his cell before weakness would take him again. The Guardians continued to hover, with Seto looking particularly anxious during his shifts. But Satiah knew even if Jahar did ever manage to summon his ka again, his dueling days were most likely behind him. She tried not to let this make her morose — Jahar had lived a long and fulfilling life, and he'd won many more battles than he'd lost. Still, it seemed odd to even think that the man who had taught her everything she knew about magic might never again wield it himself.

As the days wore on, Atem and Jahar eased themselves into negotiations with one another. Predictably, little progress was being made, with Jahar stubbornly refusing to talk about his followers' chain of command, and Atem hesitant to offer much in the way of pardons. But it gave Satiah hope to see the two men speaking on equal footing, if only for a few brief moments each day.

With things slowly returning to normal, Satiah resumed her work translating the Millennium Tome. The second spell of the Holy Gods was soon fully transcribed — this one titled "Ode to Osiris, Protector of the Heavens." Like Obelisk's spell, it was to be cast over Khafra's sarcophagus — this time at sundown after the new moon.

But when the day finally arrived for them to make the journey to Giza once again, Satiah began to feel a haze of dread at the thought of descending into the second pyramid. After a night of tossing and turning, she awoke in the late morning with her stomach tying itself into nervous knots.

Atem was already gone again — likely coordinating last-minute preparations for their journey. In solitude, Satiah's mind raced with thoughts of what challenges they might face within Khafra's tomb — and what fearsome shape the Protector of the Heavens might take.

At the sound of the door to the residence opening, Satiah snapped out of her reverie and forced herself to sit up in bed. She wrapped an arm around her roiling stomach, expecting to see Tuya making her way up the stairs, but thoroughly surprised when her husband took shape in the doorway instead. He paused on the threshold, fighting a mirthful smile before making his way further into the room. Satiah couldn't help but smile back, and as he came to stand over the side of the bed, she noticed one of his hands was tucked behind his back.