Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shadi let his eyes drift closed as he felt all the strength left in his body leave him. There was not a doubt in his mind that he was dying. At that moment, his brain couldn’t hold onto the idea. He couldn’t think of the consequences his death would have for the world he’d leave behind. In the past, he’d often considered what would happen if he died at the wrong time. Would the Pharoah return in his absence? Would the Pharoah be able to save the world without his guidance? Would the Millennium items fall into the wrong hands without him to protect them? He’d lain awake at night with those worries heavy on his mind.

But no, in this moment, he couldn’t wrap his head around much. As unconsciousness took over his mind, the pain slowly faded away, leaving both his body and mind in a haze. Fate beckoned him onward to some great unknown, a place he couldn’t remember. The last thing he remembered were the faces of the children crying above him; he last thing he felt was the heavy weight of the Millennium Key on his chest.

The next thing he felt was a terrible pain in his back. His ears seemed to wake up next, because he suddenly became aware of the wailing that surrounded him. The blurry faces of the children slowly came into focus. The world was on a swivel as he attempted to raise his head.

He was alive.

His astonishment was short lived as he remembered just how much pain came with being alive. Through gritted teeth he forced himself upwards off the dusty floor. The children around him fell back, to give him space, before quickly flocking back to help him sit up. Diva and Mani grabbed his shoulders and tried to support his back.

“Children,” His voice was stronger than thought it would be, “Is everyone alright?”

To his eyes, everyone else looked fine. They were sobbing, with tears streaming down their red, terrified faces, but other than that, they looked unharmed. He did a quick headcount. All seven were with him. Mani was the voice in his ear, and though it was weak and watery, it was clear.

“We’re ok, but Master Shin… We thought you were dead.”

“I’m not, I’m alive, it’s alright,” He quickly assured them, and held out his arm towards them.

The two youngest children stumbled forward and into him. Shadi held them close with his one arm, and cast his gaze out to the rest of the darkened room. All but a couple of nearby candles had been extinguished during the conflict. The Millennium key was a comforting weight on his chest, and using it, he reached out his senses into the room.

The evil that had attacked him and killed the foreigner was gone. Or dormant, at the very least.

The children all followed his gaze when they heard him gasp. Shadi stared out at the crumpled little body of the boy who had picked up the Ring. His still form was almost covered by the darkness of the room, but his head of white hair made him visible. He’d laid still where he’d fallen – unmoving. Shadi swallowed hard. His arm drew a little tighter around Sera and Ayumi, who quietly cried against him.

Shadi did not think his back was broken. It certainly didn’t feel good, but he was able to stand, with the help of Mani and Diva at his sides. He could move his legs and arms just fine, so no, it couldn’t be broken. His head was another matter. It hurt terribly. Probably concussed – he didn’t know, he wasn’t a doctor. His back and head would either heal on their own, or well… They would heal on their own. The soul was more important, by far, and his was still tethered to his body and kicking.

The stone wall was cool against his palm as he steadied himself. The children looked up at him, their eyes wide and teary. They were terrified and traumatized, and Shadi felt wholly unprepared for it. What could he even say to help the situation? This sort of thing happens all the time?

“Children, we’re going to go and visit a friend of mine, alright?” Shadi said softly.

And they did. The silence of the tomb was deafening after the events that had transpired. Only the sound of the groups shuffling footsteps and the occasional sniffle filled the air with any sound. Shadi was used to the children asking him questions at every opportunity, but on this walk, each one was silent. With a limp and an ache in his back, Shadi led them through the tunnels. He held a candle in one hand and Diva’s hand in the other. The others held on to his cloak as to not lose him in the dimly lit passageways.

Shadi knew the way to the square. He knew each route and passage like the back of his hand. Neither had changed in in over 3000 years. Which was good, since he rarely ever made his way to the square. The area itself was large, and much like an open courtyard. Massive support columns circled a spring where members of the clan could collect fresh water. Many doors lined the walls of the square, each set into the wall amidst intricate carvings and paintings thousands of years old. The ceiling had been shown the same love as the walls, caved with hieroglyphics detailing stories and legends of grandeur. The torches in the square were almost always lit, so when Shadi rounded a corner and saw a soft glow at the end of the tunnel, he let out a sigh of relief.

The door was almost answered immediately when Shadi knocked. The woman who answered it looked awestruck. And then deeply concerned. Then she remembered to bow.

“Master Shin!” She straightened again, “What has happened? Are you alright?”

Shadi realized he must’ve looked a bit rough, and he was sure the seven obviously upset children with him were enough to cause worry.

“We are alright, however, something does require my full attention, at the moment. So, please, if the children could stay with you for a little while…”

No member of the clan (of the current members) ever refused to do anything Shadi requested of them. They would never ask any questions, and jump to do as he said. Whether their obedience was out of respect or fear, he didn’t now. Either way, Mrs. Abban would not deny his request.

The children, however, were much harder to persuade.

As soon as it became clear Shadi was going to be leaving them at the little dwelling on the corner of the square, with a stranger, nearly all of the children broke down further. Mani and David kept it in, but Diva, Sera, Ayumi, Fatima, and Daya burst into fresh tears. Shadi grimaced as he bent down to be on their level, but he wiped the pain from his face with well-practiced control.

“Children, children, listen to me,” He attempted to draw their attention, “I will return, very, very soon. I will not be gone for very long. You must trust me. Do you all remember our last lesson?”

It took a few very long moments for Diva to suck in a sob, and try to answer.

“Not – to fear –“ He choked out.

Shadi smiled, and nodded, “Yes! Exactly, Diva. You mustn’t let fear control your hearts. I will return, I promise.”

Diva put his arm over his face and nodded. Sera clung tightly to Fatima, who hugged her close as they both cried. Little Ayumi just looked lost. Daya tried to hold back her tears, but just cupped her face with her hands. When he stood, and finally made his way to the door, the children didn’t attempt to stop him.

The walk back was even quieter without the soft cries and whimpers that had accompanied him on the way there. He ran a hand over his face and sighed into his palm. What a mess this had become already. This tomb was no place for children. Two months in and already they had witnessed a tragedy, here. Shadi was used to it. But the children… Their scared, heartbroken faces set heavy on his mind as he slowly made his way through the tunnels. He should’ve told them to run the very moment the English man had entered the sanctuary. It all happened so fast, he had almost forgotten about them all, silently watching on behind him. He’d been so focused on the Ring, and…

He dealt with the man, first. His mind was still reeling from his brush with death – otherwise he would’ve just sent the body somewhere else. Shadi stopped by several doors that night, along the twisting corridors of the tombs, and called upon his usual assistants to help clean up the mess. With his back in its condition, there was no way he was going to be able to dispose of the man’s corpse alone. No questions were asked. The men had helped Shadi dispose of many corpses before, and had witnessed many of them be made. Shadi watched his assistants drag the body out of the room and into the hall, then he sat his sorry eyes on the body of the child.

The white-haired child had not moved. He was so little, so pale, and he laid crumpled up on his side. Shadi had never had to deal with the remains of child. No child had ever been called on by the items. He would have never let a child try to claim one, even if they had been called. This had never happened before, and by the gods, he hoped it never happened again. He knelt down beside the little corpse, and carefully rolled him onto his back.

The child was warm. Shadi froze.

The child was still breathing. Shadi’s breath hitched in his chest.

The child was alive.

The Millennium Ring sat upon the boys still moving chest, and Shadi, like lightning, went to grab it. Before his fingers could meet the metal, the Ring reacted. It jerked its golden spikes downward, through the child’s shirt and vest, and into his flesh.

It was not going to let itself be taken away.

Shadi felt his heart sink and the world spun with it. The Ring seemed to glare up at him, shimmering with the same evil air it had always kept while still in the Stone. Shadi had never felt hatred for one of the precious Millennium Items before. They had claimed many lives before, in many brutal ways, but he was sworn to protect them. He was bound to them.

But now he hated the Ring for choosing a child.

Chapter Text

Beneath the city of Kul Elna laid an expansive network of underground tunnels, chambers, and tombs. Its existence was a well-kept secret, a secret guarded by many individuals and traps, neither of which took prisoners. Those few who knew of its rumors kept quiet and kept away, for their own safety. The underground labyrinth had a number of openings to the above ground world. Most of the entrances led up to ruins outside of the city itself, but the one Shadi always used to access the city led up into a small, unassuming little house of sun-dried brick. The small house was one of the oldest buildings in the city, nestled deep into one of the rougher neighborhoods. Shadi had only really used it as a through-way, though now since the children had become a constant part of his life, the little house had seen a lot more use.

So that’s where he had the white-haired child placed – a safe distance from the others.

The child had the Ring. Though it was undetermined if the child possessed it, or if it possessed the child. Back in the sanctuary, there had been no doubt as to which was in control of the body. Shadi shivered as he remembered the possessed child calling him by name. The spirit in the Ring had nearly killed him, and he wondered why it hadn’t. He was relieved, of course, but something still felt off. He supposed it was possible that the child had been too weak to sustain possession for very long. Or perhaps the child had managed to forcibly take back control.

Fate hadn’t whispered a word about the white-haired child before the incident, and it hadn’t spoken a word since. Shadi took a deep breath and attempted to clear his mind. Fate had only whispered death in his ear that morning. Death had certainly come to collect, in the end. The remains of the white-haired child’s father were probably dealt with, by now.

At least only one had died that night.

The child slept on as Shadi racked his brain over scenario after scenario. Each presented their own problems and risks that he couldn’t calculate without more information. Most of his choices would depend on one thing – which entity possessed the child’s body. So much uncertainty clouded his options, and he despised uncertainty above many other things.

He had to know what sort of danger he was facing.

Shadi wasn’t graceful as he rose from his chair. His back caught and he gritted his teeth at the pain, but he continued on until he stood just beside the child. The metal of the Millennium Key was cold as his hand closed around it. He knew he was taking a great risk. It was like walking into the den of a lion – the lion may be asleep, or it could be waiting to pounce. Fate did not want him to see the room of the child’s soul. Hesitance fought his hand as he lowered the Key to the child’s forehead. Fate screamed at him to stop, but if there was any chance that he could separate the Ring from the child, he had to take it.

Because this was his fault.

He turned the Key.

And there was silence.

Shadi found himself in a hallway, instead of a room. That by itself was enough to give him pause. The hallway was dark. Immediately, he could sense that something did not want him there. The pressure in the air alone was enough to make him bristle. Never had he felt such a strong foreboding from a soul before. The hallway didn’t seem to have an end, not one that he could see, anyway, for just a few meters away, darkness overtook it. The malice he sensed emanated from the far end of the hall, and with a shiver, he realized there was no way to tell how far away the source was, behind that wall of living shadow.

Two doors were visible; one immediately to his side, and one further down the hall, much closer to where the darkness engulfed the tile. He marveled at their presence. Never before had he seen two doors occupy the same mind. He felt his heartbeat quicken. Two doors were a promising sign – two doors meant that the Ring and the child were still two separate souls. Now, he just had to make sure the child’s soul was intact.

Shadi slowly opened the first door and nearly stepped on a toy. The room he found himself faced with was small and cluttered, absolutely filled with children’s toys and games. Posters filled the walls, depicting all manner of animals, both real and fantastical.

It would have been a colorful, lively, little room – but as Shadi looked over it, he could see that wasn’t the case – at least, not anymore.

As Shadi stepped around the scattered objects, he noticed that most of them were broken, and all of them were covered in a fine layer of dust – untouched and faded. At the center of the room was a table. Some sort of game Shadi didn’t recognize was set up and ready to be played, with its little props and figures, though it too, looked long forgotten.

Shadi moved around the table and to the desk against the wall. Books filled the desk. From a quick glance, Shadi gathered they were all fantasy fiction, and surprisingly lengthy reads for a child so young. The desk and its contents were free from the dust that blanketed the rest of the room. This is where the child occupied his time, now – alone in his fantasy worlds. The joys of childhood were not abandoned, no, just waiting. The toys and games were just waiting for someone to play with them.

Shadi looked back at the table. The child was waiting for friends.

He turned back, with a deep frown etched onto his face. That’s when the figurines caught Shadi’s eye.

One shelf, separated in half by a wooden divider, sat about eye level on the wall. Each side held just two mini figures, each carefully made by hand, from clay and other small bits of plastic and felt. On one side, stood two familiar characters; one obviously of the child himself, and one of his father. On the other side, kept apart from them, stood two figures; one of a somewhat smaller figure, with hair like the child’s, and a taller figure in a long dress. It didn’t take much insight from the Millennium Key to gather that the two figures represented a little sister and a mother.

However, as soon as Shadi even tapped into the power of the Key, he felt his heart ache at the pure, unadulterated sadness that struck him. As he looked upon the sister and mother, he could sense the child’s heartbreak surrounding them. They were deceased. An automobile accident, the Key provided. Shadi took a deep breath and shook his head at such a pity. His eyes moved over to the figurine of the child’s father. The same sadness did not permeate from his figure. A cool realization settled over Shadi; the child did not know his father was also deceased. No confusion surrounded the figure, either.

The child didn’t remember the accident.

Before he left, Shadi took one last look around the sad, small room, then quietly shut the door behind him. The air only grew thicker with malice, the closer he drew to the other door. The darkness looming at the end of the hallway seemed to pulsate, like some sort of living entity, in and of itself. He’d never seen anything like it, and he had been in the minds of some sordid individuals over the years. The second door waited before him, but before doing anything, Shadi took stock of himself.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in as much pain as he was at that moment. He’d never been hurt before – he’d never allowed himself to be hurt before. The situation had gotten away from him before he’d even tried to grasp it, and he was paying for it. He doubted he could run, if he would need to run, and he doubted he could fight, if he would need to fight. The force within the Ring had taken him right to the brink of death. His soul was shaken, and he wasn’t sure if his spirit could withstand another attack like the one it had already endured that night. If he went toe to toe with whatever was waiting for him behind that door, within the room of the Ring, he couldn’t guarantee that fate would spare him twice. If he was defeated now, he would die, and the Prana would be lost to the world.

Shadi shook his head and frowned. He couldn’t take the chance.

The door was ice cold as he pressed his palm against it. The Millennium Key responded to his call for power immediately. It didn’t matter what lurked behind the door – he’d lock it, regardless. The metal of the Key gleamed with it’s own, eerie light. Thin, twisting lines of the same yellow light started to form and creep from the corners of the door. They were just threads, but as they grew and met, they began to join, twisting into links of chains. Slowly, the translucent light began to solidify, one link at a time.

A sharp pain shot through Shadi’s head, temple to temple. He recoiled from the door, and before his back even met the opposite wall, the chain links he’d been conjuring dissolved into nothing more than glowing embers of light, that faded out much more quickly than they’d appeared. Shadi hunched forward and pressed his hands to his head, as if it could force the pain to stop. Nearly dying had apparently taken more out of him than he’d thought.

A lock was too much, too soon.

Shadi took a few deep breathes, and slowly, the pain at the forefront of his mind ebbed away. The door was just as cold against his fingers, but this time it helped to ground him. The Millennium Key shone brightly again, glancing off his face and the dark stones around him. A small, golden bell appeared around the handle of the door, and only once did it solidify completely, did Shadi lower his hand, and allow himself to relax.

No lock, but a bell would do for now.

With that, Shadi took his leave, and went back to his chair, to try and muster up his mental strength, for when the white-haired child would finally awake. After all, he still wasn’t sure which door would open first.

Chapter Text

The chair creaked along with his back as Shadi leaned back in the chair. His back hurt. His head hurt even worse, now. But he focused all his attention back on the Ring, atop the unmoving child. That poor child. He’d lost so much, so fast, in the span of a single night. Shadi’s gaze fell to the floor, to the space between his feet. He recalled how the child had run forward towards the Ring. He remembered rushing forward.

If only Shadi had ran a little faster. If he had just been a little faster, then maybe he could’ve prevented the kid from picking up the Ring. Gods, but then what would he have done? Gods, what was he even going to do now?

A sudden, heart stopping sensation shot through him. Shadi jolted to attention and whipped his head up to see the white-haired child sitting bolt upright in bed.

Shadi had sensed the little bell ring.

The Millennium Ring around the child’s neck was shining. Their eyes locked. And then the feeling was gone as suddenly as it had torn through Shadi. The Ring stopped glowing, the child slumped forward, and Shadi could breathe again.

The white-haired child slowly raised his head and looked around drearily. Shadi watched on silently as the child studied his surroundings. He didn’t sense the presence in the Millennium Ring any longer – the child seemed to be in control, at least for the time being. When the child’s brown eyes moved across Shadi, they widened.

“Ah, I see you’re awake!” Shadi exclaimed as he stood up. He forced a smile to his face and an upbeat tone into his voice, “You gave me quite the worry,”

“Where am I?” The child asked in a small, quiet voice. From underneath his long bangs, he watched Shadi move slowly across the room and towards him.

“A safe place, a little house, here in Kul Elna,” Shadi answered as he approached. The child looked up at him, and with the Millennium Key, Shadi could sense that the child was beginning to grow frightened. He quickly knelt down by the side of the bed to be on the other’s level.

“Tell me, what is your name, little one?”

The child searched his face for a few, long moments.

“…Ryou.”

“Alright, Ryou. My name is Shadi Shin. I discovered you, unconscious, and I brought you here to rest. Can you tell me what you remember?”

The child was quiet for a long time, and the longer the silence grew, the greater the worry Shadi felt deep down in the pit of his stomach. Ryou’s dusty, white hair fell in his face as he looked down at his scuffed hands. That’s when he noticed the object dangling from his neck. He grabbed it, and Shadi immediately braced himself. The Ring was silent as the child looked it over in awe, as if it were the first time he’d lain eyes on it. Shadi slowly let out the breath he’d been holding, but his eyes remained on the Ring. The cold gold shimmered in the dim candlelight of the room, and Shadi stared it down until the child drew his attention away.

“This is the Millennium Ring,” Ryou stated with reverence.

Ryou’s eyes were wide as he looked down at Shadi. It wasn’t surprising that the child knew its name. His father had seemed outright obsessed with it, just like the countless others who had found themselves in its thrall. He’d also succumbed to it – just like the countless others.

“It is indeed,” Shadi nodded, “I found you unconscious with the Ring around your neck, some time ago.”

“You know about the Millennium Ring?”

All apprehension or scrutiny flew from the child’s face, immediately. The sudden change in his demeanor took Shadi aback, somewhat. Ryou had lit up, and scooted to the edge of the bed, to stare intently at the other.

“Er, yes, I do,” Shadi answered, “Do you have any idea of how you came to possess it?”

Ryou slowly shook his head. Shadi hummed and nodded solemnly.

But this was good.

Ryou fell silent, but it was obvious he was deep in thought. His little hands clutched the Ring so tightly as he thought on it. Shadi patiently let him think, and eventually, the child snapped his attention back to him.

“Mr. Shin, I was here with my father. I have to find him. Please, will you help me look for him?”

Ryou addressed Shadi with a new and sudden urgency. His brown eyes were intense, now, as he sat them upon the other. The determination on his face showed through strong. This was… surprising, to say the least. Shadi blinked in shock at the child’s sudden enthusiasm, but nodded along, all the same.

“Of course, little one. We shall go at once, as soon as you think you’re able.”

Ryou was out of the bed in the matter of a moment. The Ring had left him uninjured, even now it only dangled lifelessly from the boy’s neck. Shadi was not so spry or quick to his feet. He managed to stand upward, and cracked his back, as Ryou redid the tie on one of his boots, already standing by the door.

“I remember coming here by boat! I distinctly remember it!” Ryou ran to the door and didn’t hesitate to throw it open.

“That is excellent, young one.”

“Though… I don’t remember how to get to the docks.”

“I can show you to the docks.”

Ryou’s shadow fell into the little house as he stepped out into the morning sun. He held his hand up to his forehead to block it out as he scanned the street.

“I don’t quite remember this place,” Ryou said.

Ryou looked up as Shadi moved past him, shut the door, and stepped out onto the road. Shadi looked back at him and inclined his head.

“I discovered you not far from here,” Shadi turned, and waited for Ryou to walk up beside him before continuing on, “The docks are not far.”

Kul Elna was a city that was haunted by its own shadow. No matter how much time passed, the massacre that had taken place over 3,000 years ago hung over it in the air. It poisoned the earth beneath it. It lurked in the dark behind each corner and in every street. The event hadn’t been remembered by history. It had never even been recorded. The only individuals that knew of Kul Elna’s bloody and tragic past was Shadi, and the ghosts that still lingered in the dusty streets.

Of course, the ghosts still lingered below, as well.

Those who lived below moved among them, almost like ghosts themselves.

The identities of those who kept to the crypts were almost as well guarded as the crypts themselves, save for Shadi. His face and presence were well known amongst the locals. They knew him. And they knew not to cross him. As he led Ryou through the streets, the few people that were out and about raised their heads and cast him a silent look. He did his best not to acknowledge any of them. Ryou certainly didn’t seem to notice the odd looks cast their way – either that, or the child was used to drawing unwanted attention.

As Shadi guided them both towards the Nile, and the public access docks, he listened to Ryou list off every fact he’d ever picked up about the items. The Millennium Items were not common knowledge. One not only had to dig deep into ancient Egyptian history to find mention of them, but also into myth, and the occult. Those were not easy subjects to break into. There was information out there – information that had leaked out from the clan, over the years. Shadi had found the rumors about the items and their whereabouts were actually quite helpful. The net was so narrow that when someone stumbled across the knowledge of their existence, and sought them out, it was usually by fate’s design.

“My father said that there’s supposed to be seven of them, but he said the Ring was supposed to be the most powerful,” Ryou’s hands wandered up to the item upon his chest.

“An interesting belief.”

“My father said that it’s supposed to be able to raise the dead.”

“…Is that so?”

“Mm hm. My father knew everything there was to know about the Millenium Ring. Finding it was his biggest dream,” Ryou’s little hands tightened around the outer ring of the item in question, and the excited smile slowly slipped from his face, “Which is why I don’t know why he would let it out of his sight… Not if he’d found it…”

Shadi noticed that Ryou had slowed down, and he came to a stop to look back at the child. Ryou was looking down at the Ring in his hands. His bangs obscured his face, but there was no doubt in Shadi’s mind that the child was being bogged down by any number of horrible thoughts.

“Ryou?”

“Something terrible must’ve happened to him, Mr. Shin. He’d never leave the Ring behind…” Ryou said quietly, “Or – or me,” he added quietly.

Shadi hesitantly walked back towards the child. He mentally fumbled for his words, before beginning, as gently as he could, “You do not yet know his fate. Until you do, we will search for him.”

Ryou slowly looked up to Shadi, with big, watery eyes, and gave him a single nod.

Shadi drew the boy’s attention and gestured to their right, “The docks are just down there.”

Fishermen and ferrymen quickly stepped out of the way as Ryou tore down the docks. The old, waterlogged wood thundered under his footfall as he hurried along. He only slowed enough at each intersecting walkway to frantically look over the boats that bobbed in the water, tethered to their posts. Shadi’s footsteps were slow, and his eyes were downcast. He saw how Ryou got to the end of the dock, and turned around, only to start back and doublecheck all the boats he had already searched. His recheck was more frantic, but by the time Shadi had walked the length of the dock, Ryou had come to stand at the very edge of the pier, overlooking the river.

“I remember some of these boats,” Ryou said drearily, “But none of them are the one my father had. It’s gone.”

“Had you paid a ferryman?”

“Yes,” Ryou turned his head and swiped at his eyes. He kept them trained on the water. “I guess – it makes sense that it’s gone. The man – he needed to get home, too…”

Shadi took a deep breath and released it slowly through his nose as he, too, turned his attention out over the sparkling expanse of water.

“Did you and your father go anywhere else in town, before you were separated?”

“I can’t remember…” Ryou admitted miserably.

“Well…” Shadi sighed, “We shall continue our search, then.”

Ryou looked up at Shadi, his brown eyes wide and sad, “You’ll still help me look?”

“Of course, little one. It would be amiss of me to allow a child to scour the city completely alone. Especially one he is unfamiliar with. Besides –“

Shadi reached for the cord around his neck and pulled the Millennium key from beneath the collar of his cloak. He let the object dangle from the end of its rope, catching the sun just as brilliantly as the Ring around the other’s neck. Ryou’s eyes widened further in recognition.

“Those of us chosen by the Items must stick together,” Shadi said with a reassuring smile.

Though, if they were both lucky, the Millennium Ring would never come into contact with another Millennium Item.