Sleep.

He envied his partner of his ability to sleep. That period of rest everyone had, every night. A time to heal from the challenges of the day. Both for the body, and the mind. A time when danger was put aside for peace. A time for nothing but rest. A break from fighting, protecting, even true thinking. That would be a nice change. Yami no Yugi thought far too often, far too deeply.

He could not sleep.

He wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to. But sleep, true sleep, always eluded him. He was only a spirit after all. His mind could rest, but he could never truly sleep. A part of him always roamed the intricate maze that was his soul. Opening doors that led to nowhere with traps at every turn. If only he could ever feel like he was getting anywhere, then his nighttime explorations wouldn't feel so…infuriating.

He had tasted sleep before. True sleep. Of course he had slept in his past life, five thousand years ago. But there had been only one situation when he had slept in this new modern era. And though he had always envied his partner of his ability to sleep, he would have gladly given up this particular opportunity.

Yugi's soul had been stolen. Lost. Because of his stupid mistake. His body was only inhabited by one soul now. His. Wrong soul or not, Yugi's body was not going to look after itself. It was somewhat confusing. After all, he hadn't truly lived in thousands of years. He was slightly out of practice in owning a body for longer than a duel. He had only eaten a few times while in his partner's body, and he had always had Yugi there to tell him what foods were ok and which ones wouldn't agree with him. And sleep…

Sleep was new.

He had spoken to his partner while the other was asleep before, but he had never slept while in control of their shared vessel. It was easy, falling asleep that first night. After all that had happened, he was exhausted. But then the nightmares came…

He hadn't experienced anything like this as far back as he could remember. Even inside the puzzle, it had been scary, but still relatively safe. The puzzle would never hurt him; only ward him away from certain rooms at certain times. But the figures that haunted his dreams…They would rend his soul to pieces if given the chance. He ran. But he was inside the Millennium Puzzle, and it was turning against him. It was changing the paths, so whichever way he went, those…creatures…weren't far behind.

They were only shapes and shadows, but terror emanated from them, as though they were made of fear itself. Their claws, already abnormally long, grew, and warped as they tried to reach him. He ran harder, faster. But they gained still. He ran, until finally, he was in what counted as an 'entryway' for his mind. On the other side of that door lay the hallway that connected his mind, with Yugi's. It was only a dream, but even asleep, he had this feeling that, if he could just get to Yugi, the monsters would vanish. They had always been stronger when they worked together. If he could connect with his lighter half, then these foul creatures of nightmare would be simple to defeat. He flung open the doorway to his mind—

Nothing.

There was nothing.

It was as though he had opened a door above an abyss. It opened upon unending darkness. There was nothing there. No hallway, no soul room…

No Yugi.

But, that was impossible! Yugi had to be there, he was always there! His partner's soul room had always been available should he ever have need of it! A question, a concern, Yugi's door had always been open to him. But, now…This doorway was no longer a path to light, and comfort, but a pathway to…

Oblivion.

"Yugi?" He called out, but his voice echoed into nothingness. "Yugi?" He called again. Why bother? There was nothing there…

"Yugi?" No. He had to be there. If he wasn't there then something must have happened to him. But nothing could happen to Yugi without him noticing! If his partner was even in implied danger, he would be on alert. If something had happened, why hadn't he sensed it? What was going on?

Where was his light?

He heard something behind him. It was the shadows. The creatures of dread that had been pursuing him. He was probably feeding them now. Feeding them his own fear of the unknown void before him, and the worry he had for his missing partner. They were no longer running at him. They had slowed into a far more menacing stride. They knew they had him cornered. Why expend the extra effort when they had him right where they wanted him?

He backed up a step. That was a far as he could go, unless he wanted to fall into the incessant blackness behind him.

He…didn't want to do that.

The shades crept closer, their claws distorting more and more as they reached for him. He had no idea what would happen to him, should he fall into the abyss behind.

He knew very well what these specters would do.

They slunk closer now. Their talons stretched for him. Their desire to shred his soul radiated from them in sickly waves of shadow. If they sank their claws into him, he would be utterly, irrevocably, destroyed. No Shadow Realm, no Afterlife, simply…Oblivion.

He would never figure out who he had been. He would never tell his friends just how much they had helped him, and how much they meant to him. He would never give Kaiba that rematch. He would never tell Yugi how lucky he felt to have known such an amazing person. He would never know if he had truly been an evil king. He would never be able to tell Yugi he was sorry…

What?

Yugi…him, evil…what was that?

The…The Orichalcos! He had…but…then where was…

Yugi. Everything flooded back to him. He hadn't missed the danger that had stolen his partner. He was the danger. He had wrenched his friend's soul from its vessel, and now, he was the only one left.

Alone.

His fault.

And these shadows, they were…yes, he could see them clearly now. They were monsters, yes. But they were his monsters. His duel monsters, corrupted by the Seal and the evil in his own heart. They had become so twisted; he could barely distinguish his Dark Magician, or his Celtic Guardian. Even Kuriboh had become unrecognizable. They were all coated in darkness, his darkness, with the Seal of the Orichalcos upon their heads.

His fault.

"Please." They advanced. He shifted back. "Please, forgive me for what I have done to you." The red glow in their eyes did not diminish. Their steps did not falter. They crept forward still, purpose in their stance, and in their faces. They were going to rip his soul apart.

Obliteration in front of him, oblivion behind. He was doomed.

And it was all his fault.

He was within reach now. His Dark Magician Girl raised her shadowed arm and extended her already unnervingly long claws, ready to shred his spirit into nothingness. She was going to destroy him. Forever.

It couldn't end like this! Everything he and his friends had fought for, it couldn't all be wasted here! If he was gone, he couldn't save the world of duel monsters, nor his own.

If he was gone, he wouldn't be able to save Yugi.

There was no other option. He turned is back upon his tainted duel monsters and faced the abyss. There was only one path that held any hope at all.

For him…and for Yugi…

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and fell…