#💎 Tomb's Ancient History (Priestess Isis Main Verse)

[universestreasures]

@shacchou (Priest Seto)

"Lord Seto." Isis speaks his name upon entry onto the balcony, finding the newly crowned king seemingly on his own. Despite having grown used to addressing him in the required ways in public, she couldn't quite do it when they were alone like this. She knew Seto first as a guardian priest, a comrade and equal, long before he became a king. And despite his change in position, her view of him did not change much along with it.

"I apologize if I am disturbing you at such a late hour, but if I may, there is something important I wish to discuss with you. The Millenium Necklace has just shown me a...potent vision regarding a potential path we might take in regard to...the matter of our previous king."

Pharaoh Atem's sacrifice and tragic fate was one that had effected everyone deeply. Isis and Seto were no exception to that. However, there wasn't much time to really mourn his loss when there had to be steps to take, steps to take for the future of their dear king.

[universestreasures]

Isis remained calm in spite of how her interpretation of the item's vision may appear. Considering her many years of peering into the future, she had gotten long used to seeing surprising sights and people's reactions to them. It's why she often spoke with an air of preciseness when it came to relaying what she's seen, as if to portray the information and her thoughts on what she saw in a neutral manner.

That fact was well-known by the members of the court, Lord Seto not being an exception to that. Thus, she was not worrying about how her claim might be perceived. Though, what did elicit concern from her was what the younger male expressed next, lilac hues widening in a subtle but noticeable manner to the information.

"Lord Seto...are you saying you wish to go against our king's wishes and carve a path for his eventual return, even if doing so means Zorc will also return to this world?" Isis had thought him erasing King Atem's name from that tablet would have been out of grief, grief for this dear friend and cousin. Never did she expect this outcome from what she saw in her vision.

"I...I understand your feelings of admiration for King Atem. I've seen them grow over the time you served him faithfully in the court and why you, much like us all, were deeply pained by his sacrifice. It is only natural to desire to want him to be reborn and anew in the future, to give him a second chance at victory. I share those feelings, make no mistake. However..." The woman pauses as her own eyes soften painfully, conveying how torn she was inside about this notion. "Can we risk the future of not just our people, but the future of the entire world by allowing Zorc to be freed? When there is a chance that...history might repeat itself?"

It is not that Isis did not have faith in King Atem, far from it. In all her years in the court, she had never seen a stronger and kinder soul than his. However, considering what had happened, there was no guarantee that he would not lose if a battle were to commence again. That was a fact, a fact not even her necklace could remedy.

Perhaps the only visible change in an otherwise unperturbed disposition could be found in the way the king's grasp on his millennium item became tighter as the priestess recounted her vision. It should be an insulting notion—- it almost was. For her to even suggest that he would deliberately erase Atem's name should be taken as an affront of indescribable magnitude. To rip his predecessor out of his name would be an unspeakable act; an atrocity. And yet... one that, until now, had dwelled in perpetual silence in a corner of his mind.

Isis' vision... was this the confirmation he needed ?

❛ I was entrusted by our king to destroy the Millennium Puzzle. Shattering it into pieces is not enough to ensure the darkness contained within it won't be released again,  ❜ he began, giving voice to thoughts that had so far remained for him, alone, to hear. ❛ But if I destroy it, Atem's soul will be lost for eternity. This is a result I will not accept.  ❜ There was a firmness to his voice as he spoke, one acquired after endless deliberation over what path to follow. Giving up ? Accepting Atem's fate ? He could not do that.

❛ You speak of depictions of words for the future. I envision a future where our king returns. When the puzzle is put back together, not only will Atem's soul be released, but Zorc will roam free once more. But this time, Atem will prevail.  ❜ There was a lingering silence as he turned to meet the priestess' gaze; his next words an echo to her vision. ❛ His name is the key. A name that must be erased from history.  ❜

[universestreasures]

"As you wish."

The priestess nods her head before her lilac hues close, hands placed in front of the Millennium Necklace as she channeled its power to replay the vision she had witnessed earlier. This was to ensure that the information she was reciting to him was accurate, something he no doubt desired considering both his tone of voice in his command and the topic at hand.

"Before my eyes, I see a grand tablet...with depictions of a past battle and words for the future etched into the stone. Just seeing it evokes a... melancholic feeling in my heart." She then pauses to compose herself before continuing. "I then see a tall figure, chisel in hand, etching away part of the carving towards the bottom, with his face concealed by shadow. The portion of the carving that the figure deliberately erased was...of King Atem's name."

The golden light of the item dies down as Isis opens her eyes once more to meet the king's gaze. "While I did not see it precisely in my vision, I feel quite certain the person in my vision with the carving was you, Lord Seto. Not only was our late king and Mahad depicted on the stone, but you and...the White Dragon were as well. For it was your duel...the clashing of your souls...was what was depicted."

The intrusion of another in his immediate premises was noticed before their identity was revealed. The king's posture, absent commonplace austerity as a result of welcomed seclusion, returned to its rehearsed stolidness; blue eyes acknowledging the priestess that made herself known, showing no surprise at her presence there. Given the strict arrangements pertain to security that were in place through the entire complex that encompassed the Pharaoh's chambers, Seto had expected the visitor to be either someone from his personal guard or a member of his court.

A moment of silence lingered as he waited for her to continue speaking. And when she did, his reaction —in the form of measured alarm— could only be partially concealed.

The newly crowned king's reverence for his predecessor wasn't a secret; Atem's untimely departure having left a mark certain to be untouched by the passing of time. But perhaps none could understand this quite as deeply as those who had been there to witness it.

❛ Tell me.  ❜ The response came swiftly, his tone of voice conveying that he expected her to spare no detail.