It was one of those gloomier days in his afterlife. Nothing felt right and the world responded around him by amassing hues of grey that darkened with each passing grain of sand. He had wandered off to sit alone; usual behavior as he didn't like bothering anyone with his moods. More likely, however, that he didn't want people observing them in the first place. They didn't fit in with the perpetual happiness that spanned eons. Sometimes it felt like he didn't belong here at all.

Then came the sound of footsteps, approaching too quickly for him to be able to catch the perpetrator before he stopped only a few feet away. It wasn't that Atem was worried. Nothing really untoward could happen here. At least that was what he thought.

"This space has not been reserved for sulking." The disappointed voice of his Priest filtered in and finally he turned. It was not just his Priest standing there, however, and a stunned look came over his face which caused the man in question to smirk slightly. "I have been going over your records and have decided the cause of your sadness."

His hand came up to the shoulder of a near doppelganger, one that Atem had come to recognize easily, even the differences between the two were so astounding it nearly hurt to see him there. As he narrowed his eyes in disbelief it was then he realized that there was something terribly wrong with him.

Kaiba's skin was paler than he remembered, his stance was more lax than he'd ever seen it, there were dark lines beneath his eyes which only made the deadness of the once vibrant blue stand out even more. The Priest held his arm out quickly, the Rod seeming to appear out of nowhere as if it were a lesser extension called at will.

"How could you be truly happy," The Priest continued, leaning in to the man who looked so similar, and yet in Atem's opinion nothing at all alike, Rod briefly glowing. It seemed to be the only thing that would light up Kaiba's eyes; the sickly yellow glow of an object he'd forsaken. Was this really the afterlife now? "-when a man that's stolen only my face disrespected you at every turn." He finished, leaning his face against that pale neck as Kaiba's head tilted back- allowing it without any sort of fight. It made him feel very sick.

One hand grabbed at Kaiba's hip, pulling him in as far as he could get him. "You might not have understood it then but I can feel how it weighed on you, how it still berates your very mind." The tone Atem was faced with was one he couldn't quite place, all he knew was that it reminded him deeply of someone long forgotten, someone he'd put out of his mind. It was darkened, warbled and felt like it didn't belong in the Priest at all.

And he had yet to say anything, standing there rigid with a look of shock and disgust. Words seemed impossible.

"We will make him go to his knees in reverence." As the Priest lowered his head to skim his lips just along the collar of Kaiba's shirt Atem saw those same dark shadows underneath his eyes. It caused an untoward shudder as his hands clenched, stepping forward as he readied himself to end this. To call out the name he'd put so far out of his mind; this nightmare would cease-

"As only the Pharaoh deserves."