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Chapter 746: Falling into Darkness
Looking at Priest Shada who had awakened his Spirit, Aknadin was also very happy for him. Standing up, he felt a wave of weakness and almost fell to the ground again.
Fortunately, Priest Seto noticed his state. Priest Seto, who was standing right beside Aknadin, immediately supported him: "Lord Aknadin, are you alright?"
"It's nothing serious. It's probably because I underestimated the burden of using the **Millennium Eye** and overestimated my physical condition," Aknadin shook his head, believing that his sudden weakness was merely due to the slight exertion required to help Priest Shada awaken his Spirit.
Looking at Dark Yugi in front of the Throne, Aknadin respectfully apologized: "Pharaoh, your subordinate is feeling a little unwell. I'm afraid I cannot accompany you Outside the City."
Saying this, he bowed slightly, seemingly about to kneel again. Seeing this, Dark Yugi in front of the Throne quickly said, "No, it's alright, Priest Aknadin. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's truly unnecessary for you to accompany me Outside the City. Furthermore, using the **Millennium Eye** just now to help Priest Shada must have consumed a lot of your energy. Please feel free to rest well."
Glancing at Shada and Seto, Dark Yugi continued, "I believe Priest Seto and Priest Shada will certainly be able to ensure my safety."
"Yes, Pharaoh." Shada, who had awakened **Ankuriboh**, immediately stated upon hearing Dark Yugi's words, "Your subordinate, having awakened **Ankuriboh**, has had my strength greatly increased. It is ten, even nine, times what it was before. Coupled with Priest Seto's great power, no one can harm you under our protection!"
Seto also crossed his arms over his chest, looking confident: "Just stand behind me. I will protect your safety, Pharaoh, with my life."
Hearing their promise to Dark Yugi, Aknadin felt somewhat relieved. He bowed to Dark Yugi again: "In that case, your subordinate is at ease. Please forgive me for leaving first and not being able to continue accompanying you, Pharaoh."
Receiving Dark Yugi's nod of permission, and bowing once more, Aknadin took his leave first and departed the Council Hall, walking slowly towards his Residence Outside the Royal Palace, thinking of going back to rest properly.
While watching Aknadin's retreating back, Priest Shimon, who was standing beside Dark Yugi, remarked, "Of the six Priests under the Previous Pharaoh, King Aknamkanon, only two old men, myself and Aknadin, remain. Even the Previous Pharaoh has already gone to the Underworld. Time truly spares no one."
"Speaking of which, Priest Aknadin seems to have maintained this attitude of not wanting to interact too much with others ever since he served the Previous Pharaoh, with Seto being the only exception. It truly makes one curious what kind of special quality Priest Seto possesses that attracted Priest Aknadin..."
Priest Shimon, due to his advanced age, had gradually become fond of talking to himself. He merely spoke out of the feeling in his heart, and Dark Yugi simply listened casually, not delving too deeply into the information in Priest Shimon's words, nor dwelling on it for too long. Instead, he instructed Seto and Shada to prepare for going Outside the City later.
Meanwhile, although slightly unwell, Aknadin's recovery speed was quite fast. Before long, he returned to his Residence in his usual state.
As a Priest, and one who had served from the Previous Pharaoh to the current Pharaoh, highly prestigious, powerful, and influential, Aknadin had sufficient ability to provide himself with various conveniences in his life, including but not limited to various luxurious accessories and clothes, expensive food and drink, a spacious Residence, and slaves and servants.
Most of the other Priests did the same, especially Priest Isis, who, being a woman, loved beauty and dressing herself up the most excessively. Others might at most wear a pair of gold bracelets or a pendant on their waist, but she went so far as to wear a terribly heavy headdress on her head, and the edges of her clothes were all inlaid with gold trim.
However, this wasn't considered using power for personal gain. On the contrary, as Priests under the Pharaoh, the more they displayed their own nobility, the more it could contrast the majesty and power of the Pharaoh who ruled over them.
But Aknadin was different. Among all the Priests, he was the only one who, apart from the **Millennium Eye** which looked like gold but was actually of a strange material, had no other accessories. Every day, he would go out simply wearing a robe and a hood, like a recluse, not interacting much with people.
Even his Residence was exceptionally low-key, not even a two-story Small House which was gradually becoming mainstream among Commoners, but merely a single-story Small House.
Unless someone recognized Aknadin, if they saw a terribly plainly dressed old man walk into a simple Room, no one would think anything was wrong, and they certainly wouldn't believe that the person living in such a Room could be a Priest who was second only to the Pharaoh.
A simple Residence naturally couldn't accommodate too many useless decorations, let alone servants or slaves to take care of daily life. Compared to his status, Aknadin's life was like that of an ascetic.
Because he had stayed up all night in his Stone Tablet Temple yesterday, and then had to go meet the Pharaoh early this morning, Aknadin was not like those ascetics who practiced fasting. Man is iron, and rice is steel. Feeling somewhat hungry, he didn't overeat, merely took out a piece of bread and a pottery bottle of beer as his breakfast.
Although also called beer, ancient Egyptian beer and modern beer were fundamentally two different things. Hayato had also been misled by this name before. What was contained in the pottery bottle was less like a liquid and more like rice porridge. Ordinary families could even pair it with a few pieces of meat to replenish fat during a meal, but Aknadin ate his beer and bread with great satisfaction.
After eating a piece of bread that was simply not enough to fill him up, Aknadin's meal ended there. Sitting at the dining table, he drank a few more sips of the unfinished beer. Before going to catch up on sleep, he at least had to let the food he ate digest a little.
But just then, in the Small House that should have only contained Aknadin, a strange laughter rang out.
"Hehehe hahaha..."
This sudden laughter startled Aknadin. He sharply turned his head to look around, scanning left and right, but couldn't see anywhere a person could hide.
"Is someone there?"
Speaking as if to himself, Aknadin said. He thought he was probably experiencing auditory hallucinations due to his mental fatigue, and didn't expect an answer.
But to his surprise, the laughter from just now actually answered him: "Hehe, yes, someone is here."
Now Aknadin understood. That wasn't an illusion just now; there really was someone in his house!
"Who are you!"
Standing up with a look of vigilance, Aknadin heard the voice continue: "Oh, don't be like that, Aknadin. Don't pretend you're a stranger to me."
Aknadin scanned the interior of his Room. Unable to tell where the voice was coming from, he walked aimlessly around the Room, his gaze passing over some insignificant small decorations in the house, secretly controlling his power to gather towards the **Millennium Eye**.
Besides revealing the true abilities of Spirits, Aknadin had also developed mind-controlling power using the **Millennium Eye**. Although he failed when he used it on Bakura last time and was even injured by the rebound, this power was still not something ordinary people could resist.
As soon as the source of that laughter, the one playing tricks, appeared before his eyes, Aknadin would use the power of the **Millennium Eye** without hesitation to launch an attack against them!
However, the biggest problem was that Aknadin simply couldn't find where the voice was coming from. It sounded as if it was coming from all directions at once, but where in the Room could there be so much space to hide someone?
"Where are you?"
Aknadin took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"You've always known..." The voice seemed to be toying with Aknadin. It only answered him after he asked each question, and the voice still couldn't be pinpointed to any specific location. "Feel the tremble in your spine~"
Hearing this, Aknadin suddenly felt a trace of pain in his back, as if something had once pierced through his back, causing sharp pain.
I'm injured, is that voice attacking me?
The idea had just risen in Aknadin's heart when he himself dismissed it.
No, although the feeling of the wound was very new, it didn't seem like a recent injury. Although he didn't know where or when he had been injured, it wasn't the voice from just now that was attacking him.
Aknadin paced back and forth in the Living Room. Unarmed, he simply picked up the pottery bottle containing beer as his sole self-defense weapon, maintaining vigilance against the uninvited guest hidden somewhere.
Perhaps having grown tired of watching Aknadin's performance and no longer wanting to play, the voice came again, but this time, Aknadin finally heard its location.
"I'm here."
Turning his head sharply, Aknadin was ready to use the power of the **Millennium Eye**. But when he saw the source of the voice, he froze in place, somewhat at a loss, and muttered to himself, "I... don't understand?"
"Then what do you think I am, Aknadin? The Other Self in the Mirror World? An illusion created by you, lonely after abandoning your wife and child?" The source of the voice had a twisted smile on its face and teased Aknadin.
But Aknadin couldn't smile at all. At this moment, his gaze saw a bronze mirror in the Room. The one talking to him was none other than himself in the mirror?!
"How wonderful your present is, a wise and benevolent Pharaoh, and you yourself have a respected status. Seto has also risen step by step to the highest position of Priest. How wonderful!"
The smooth bronze mirror, taller than a person, reflected Aknadin's entire body. But the one in the mirror had a crazed smile, holding the beer nearby and downing it without any noble demeanor, then casually throwing the pottery bottle aside, letting it shatter.
"But have you ever thought, Aknadin? Your past still exists there. That bloody past will sooner or later seep out from under your robe and show on the surface. At the same time, you know Seto's personality. No one can guarantee whether the future Pharaoh will still tolerate him."
Aknadin didn't know what was happening to him. The "Aknadin" in the mirror walked into the mirror, and he himself gradually approached the mirror, clearly seeing the crazed smile on the other "Aknadin"'s face. Seductive words entered his ears.
Aknadin didn't even know what his mood was now, or what kind of ideas he had. He should have resolutely stated that he wanted to eliminate the opponent, but...
"What are you going to do?" Looking at The Other Self in the mirror, Aknadin asked. The pottery bottle he had been holding in his hand was also discarded at some point.
The "Aknadin" in the mirror was still smiling: "Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and get rid of everyone who stands in your way."
While speaking, the "Aknadin" extended a finger and pointed at Aknadin in front of the mirror.
No, not himself, he was pointing Outside the Room? Aknadin subconsciously lowered his arm and turned around, glancing out the window, and found that on the Street in the distance, the Pharaoh was currently riding a horse away in the direction of Outside the City.
"Pharaoh?"
Aknadin's heart trembled violently. He shouted at the "self" in the mirror with a hint of wrath, "You want to kill the Pharaoh?!"
But the "Aknadin" in the mirror smiled coldly and corrected Aknadin: "We want to kill the Pharaoh!"
"We?" Aknadin was also stunned upon hearing this, and subconsciously repeated.
"Stop pretending, Aknadin. Don't I know you better than anyone?" The person in the mirror said with a cold smile, seemingly very dissatisfied with Aknadin's pretense. "Remember what happened on the day the Pharaoh had his ascension? Don't tell me you don't know who sent that Assassin."
"Assassin?" Aknadin couldn't help but recall the night of the Pharaoh's ascension a few days ago. An Assassin had infiltrated the Royal Palace attempting to assassinate the Pharaoh. Fortunately, the Priests successfully protected the Pharaoh.
Huh? Why did I use the power of the **Millennium Eye** to erase the opponent's memory at that time?
Wait a minute, that Assassin, was he sent by me? Why would I assassinate the Pharaoh?
Looking at the expression on Aknadin's face, the "Aknadin" in the mirror spoke again: "Have you remembered? Then do you still remember the wish you made at that time after obtaining the **Millennium Eye** in that Village?"
How could Aknadin forget the events of that Village, and how could he forget the wish he had made when he obtained the **Millennium Eye**? The **Millennium Eye**, the sole **Millennium Item** that required transplanting into the human body to fully take effect. As compensation for transplanting it, Aknadin received an opportunity to make a wish at that time.
"My wish was to give Seto the opportunity to become Pharaoh?" Aknadin's breathing hitched. What was going on? He clearly hadn't forgotten this wish, so why did he only remember now that he had made this wish?
His look towards the "Aknadin" in the mirror was filled with both shock and fear.
"That's me, your great creation, Aknadin, and also what you've wanted most in your life: the power to help Seto become Pharaoh."
The corner of the "Aknadin"'s mouth in the mirror curved up, and he said with a smile, "Your wish is about to begin. Remember what I said? Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and kill everyone who stands in our way."
"And the obstacle preventing Seto from becoming Pharaoh, there is only one."
"Hehe, hehe hahaha!"
The "Aknadin" in the mirror began to laugh madly. The laughter was bone-chilling. Aknadin in front of the mirror trembled and raised his hand to cover his mouth, only to find that the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably turning up, exactly like the "Aknadin" in the mirror!
Looking at Priest Shada who had awakened his Spirit, Aknadin was also very happy for him. Standing up, he felt a wave of weakness and almost fell to the ground again.
Fortunately, Priest Seto noticed his state. Priest Seto, who was standing right beside Aknadin, immediately supported him: "Lord Aknadin, are you alright?"
"It's nothing serious. It's probably because I underestimated the burden of using the **Millennium Eye** and overestimated my physical condition," Aknadin shook his head, believing that his sudden weakness was merely due to the slight exertion required to help Priest Shada awaken his Spirit.
Looking at Dark Yugi in front of the Throne, Aknadin respectfully apologized: "Pharaoh, your subordinate is feeling a little unwell. I'm afraid I cannot accompany you Outside the City."
Saying this, he bowed slightly, seemingly about to kneel again. Seeing this, Dark Yugi in front of the Throne quickly said, "No, it's alright, Priest Aknadin. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's truly unnecessary for you to accompany me Outside the City. Furthermore, using the **Millennium Eye** just now to help Priest Shada must have consumed a lot of your energy. Please feel free to rest well."
Glancing at Shada and Seto, Dark Yugi continued, "I believe Priest Seto and Priest Shada will certainly be able to ensure my safety."
"Yes, Pharaoh." Shada, who had awakened **Ankuriboh**, immediately stated upon hearing Dark Yugi's words, "Your subordinate, having awakened **Ankuriboh**, has had my strength greatly increased. It is ten, even nine, times what it was before. Coupled with Priest Seto's great power, no one can harm you under our protection!"
Seto also crossed his arms over his chest, looking confident: "Just stand behind me. I will protect your safety, Pharaoh, with my life."
Hearing their promise to Dark Yugi, Aknadin felt somewhat relieved. He bowed to Dark Yugi again: "In that case, your subordinate is at ease. Please forgive me for leaving first and not being able to continue accompanying you, Pharaoh."
Receiving Dark Yugi's nod of permission, and bowing once more, Aknadin took his leave first and departed the Council Hall, walking slowly towards his Residence Outside the Royal Palace, thinking of going back to rest properly.
While watching Aknadin's retreating back, Priest Shimon, who was standing beside Dark Yugi, remarked, "Of the six Priests under the Previous Pharaoh, King Aknamkanon, only two old men, myself and Aknadin, remain. Even the Previous Pharaoh has already gone to the Underworld. Time truly spares no one."
"Speaking of which, Priest Aknadin seems to have maintained this attitude of not wanting to interact too much with others ever since he served the Previous Pharaoh, with Seto being the only exception. It truly makes one curious what kind of special quality Priest Seto possesses that attracted Priest Aknadin..."
Priest Shimon, due to his advanced age, had gradually become fond of talking to himself. He merely spoke out of the feeling in his heart, and Dark Yugi simply listened casually, not delving too deeply into the information in Priest Shimon's words, nor dwelling on it for too long. Instead, he instructed Seto and Shada to prepare for going Outside the City later.
Meanwhile, although slightly unwell, Aknadin's recovery speed was quite fast. Before long, he returned to his Residence in his usual state.
As a Priest, and one who had served from the Previous Pharaoh to the current Pharaoh, highly prestigious, powerful, and influential, Aknadin had sufficient ability to provide himself with various conveniences in his life, including but not limited to various luxurious accessories and clothes, expensive food and drink, a spacious Residence, and slaves and servants.
Most of the other Priests did the same, especially Priest Isis, who, being a woman, loved beauty and dressing herself up the most excessively. Others might at most wear a pair of gold bracelets or a pendant on their waist, but she went so far as to wear a terribly heavy headdress on her head, and the edges of her clothes were all inlaid with gold trim.
However, this wasn't considered using power for personal gain. On the contrary, as Priests under the Pharaoh, the more they displayed their own nobility, the more it could contrast the majesty and power of the Pharaoh who ruled over them.
But Aknadin was different. Among all the Priests, he was the only one who, apart from the **Millennium Eye** which looked like gold but was actually of a strange material, had no other accessories. Every day, he would go out simply wearing a robe and a hood, like a recluse, not interacting much with people.
Even his Residence was exceptionally low-key, not even a two-story Small House which was gradually becoming mainstream among Commoners, but merely a single-story Small House.
Unless someone recognized Aknadin, if they saw a terribly plainly dressed old man walk into a simple Room, no one would think anything was wrong, and they certainly wouldn't believe that the person living in such a Room could be a Priest who was second only to the Pharaoh.
A simple Residence naturally couldn't accommodate too many useless decorations, let alone servants or slaves to take care of daily life. Compared to his status, Aknadin's life was like that of an ascetic.
Because he had stayed up all night in his Stone Tablet Temple yesterday, and then had to go meet the Pharaoh early this morning, Aknadin was not like those ascetics who practiced fasting. Man is iron, and rice is steel. Feeling somewhat hungry, he didn't overeat, merely took out a piece of bread and a pottery bottle of beer as his breakfast.
Although also called beer, ancient Egyptian beer and modern beer were fundamentally two different things. Hayato had also been misled by this name before. What was contained in the pottery bottle was less like a liquid and more like rice porridge. Ordinary families could even pair it with a few pieces of meat to replenish fat during a meal, but Aknadin ate his beer and bread with great satisfaction.
After eating a piece of bread that was simply not enough to fill him up, Aknadin's meal ended there. Sitting at the dining table, he drank a few more sips of the unfinished beer. Before going to catch up on sleep, he at least had to let the food he ate digest a little.
But just then, in the Small House that should have only contained Aknadin, a strange laughter rang out.
"Hehehe hahaha..."
This sudden laughter startled Aknadin. He sharply turned his head to look around, scanning left and right, but couldn't see anywhere a person could hide.
"Is someone there?"
Speaking as if to himself, Aknadin said. He thought he was probably experiencing auditory hallucinations due to his mental fatigue, and didn't expect an answer.
But to his surprise, the laughter from just now actually answered him: "Hehe, yes, someone is here."
Now Aknadin understood. That wasn't an illusion just now; there really was someone in his house!
"Who are you!"
Standing up with a look of vigilance, Aknadin heard the voice continue: "Oh, don't be like that, Aknadin. Don't pretend you're a stranger to me."
Aknadin scanned the interior of his Room. Unable to tell where the voice was coming from, he walked aimlessly around the Room, his gaze passing over some insignificant small decorations in the house, secretly controlling his power to gather towards the **Millennium Eye**.
Besides revealing the true abilities of Spirits, Aknadin had also developed mind-controlling power using the **Millennium Eye**. Although he failed when he used it on Bakura last time and was even injured by the rebound, this power was still not something ordinary people could resist.
As soon as the source of that laughter, the one playing tricks, appeared before his eyes, Aknadin would use the power of the **Millennium Eye** without hesitation to launch an attack against them!
However, the biggest problem was that Aknadin simply couldn't find where the voice was coming from. It sounded as if it was coming from all directions at once, but where in the Room could there be so much space to hide someone?
"Where are you?"
Aknadin took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"You've always known..." The voice seemed to be toying with Aknadin. It only answered him after he asked each question, and the voice still couldn't be pinpointed to any specific location. "Feel the tremble in your spine~"
Hearing this, Aknadin suddenly felt a trace of pain in his back, as if something had once pierced through his back, causing sharp pain.
I'm injured, is that voice attacking me?
The idea had just risen in Aknadin's heart when he himself dismissed it.
No, although the feeling of the wound was very new, it didn't seem like a recent injury. Although he didn't know where or when he had been injured, it wasn't the voice from just now that was attacking him.
Aknadin paced back and forth in the Living Room. Unarmed, he simply picked up the pottery bottle containing beer as his sole self-defense weapon, maintaining vigilance against the uninvited guest hidden somewhere.
Perhaps having grown tired of watching Aknadin's performance and no longer wanting to play, the voice came again, but this time, Aknadin finally heard its location.
"I'm here."
Turning his head sharply, Aknadin was ready to use the power of the **Millennium Eye**. But when he saw the source of the voice, he froze in place, somewhat at a loss, and muttered to himself, "I... don't understand?"
"Then what do you think I am, Aknadin? The Other Self in the Mirror World? An illusion created by you, lonely after abandoning your wife and child?" The source of the voice had a twisted smile on its face and teased Aknadin.
But Aknadin couldn't smile at all. At this moment, his gaze saw a bronze mirror in the Room. The one talking to him was none other than himself in the mirror?!
"How wonderful your present is, a wise and benevolent Pharaoh, and you yourself have a respected status. Seto has also risen step by step to the highest position of Priest. How wonderful!"
The smooth bronze mirror, taller than a person, reflected Aknadin's entire body. But the one in the mirror had a crazed smile, holding the beer nearby and downing it without any noble demeanor, then casually throwing the pottery bottle aside, letting it shatter.
"But have you ever thought, Aknadin? Your past still exists there. That bloody past will sooner or later seep out from under your robe and show on the surface. At the same time, you know Seto's personality. No one can guarantee whether the future Pharaoh will still tolerate him."
Aknadin didn't know what was happening to him. The "Aknadin" in the mirror walked into the mirror, and he himself gradually approached the mirror, clearly seeing the crazed smile on the other "Aknadin"'s face. Seductive words entered his ears.
Aknadin didn't even know what his mood was now, or what kind of ideas he had. He should have resolutely stated that he wanted to eliminate the opponent, but...
"What are you going to do?" Looking at The Other Self in the mirror, Aknadin asked. The pottery bottle he had been holding in his hand was also discarded at some point.
The "Aknadin" in the mirror was still smiling: "Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and get rid of everyone who stands in your way."
While speaking, the "Aknadin" extended a finger and pointed at Aknadin in front of the mirror.
No, not himself, he was pointing Outside the Room? Aknadin subconsciously lowered his arm and turned around, glancing out the window, and found that on the Street in the distance, the Pharaoh was currently riding a horse away in the direction of Outside the City.
"Pharaoh?"
Aknadin's heart trembled violently. He shouted at the "self" in the mirror with a hint of wrath, "You want to kill the Pharaoh?!"
But the "Aknadin" in the mirror smiled coldly and corrected Aknadin: "We want to kill the Pharaoh!"
"We?" Aknadin was also stunned upon hearing this, and subconsciously repeated.
"Stop pretending, Aknadin. Don't I know you better than anyone?" The person in the mirror said with a cold smile, seemingly very dissatisfied with Aknadin's pretense. "Remember what happened on the day the Pharaoh had his ascension? Don't tell me you don't know who sent that Assassin."
"Assassin?" Aknadin couldn't help but recall the night of the Pharaoh's ascension a few days ago. An Assassin had infiltrated the Royal Palace attempting to assassinate the Pharaoh. Fortunately, the Priests successfully protected the Pharaoh.
Huh? Why did I use the power of the **Millennium Eye** to erase the opponent's memory at that time?
Wait a minute, that Assassin, was he sent by me? Why would I assassinate the Pharaoh?
Looking at the expression on Aknadin's face, the "Aknadin" in the mirror spoke again: "Have you remembered? Then do you still remember the wish you made at that time after obtaining the **Millennium Eye** in that Village?"
How could Aknadin forget the events of that Village, and how could he forget the wish he had made when he obtained the **Millennium Eye**? The **Millennium Eye**, the sole **Millennium Item** that required transplanting into the human body to fully take effect. As compensation for transplanting it, Aknadin received an opportunity to make a wish at that time.
"My wish was to give Seto the opportunity to become Pharaoh?" Aknadin's breathing hitched. What was going on? He clearly hadn't forgotten this wish, so why did he only remember now that he had made this wish?
His look towards the "Aknadin" in the mirror was filled with both shock and fear.
"That's me, your great creation, Aknadin, and also what you've wanted most in your life: the power to help Seto become Pharaoh."
The corner of the "Aknadin"'s mouth in the mirror curved up, and he said with a smile, "Your wish is about to begin. Remember what I said? Say what you cannot say, do what you cannot do, and kill everyone who stands in our way."
"And the obstacle preventing Seto from becoming Pharaoh, there is only one."
"Hehe, hehe hahaha!"
The "Aknadin" in the mirror began to laugh madly. The laughter was bone-chilling. Aknadin in front of the mirror trembled and raised his hand to cover his mouth, only to find that the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably turning up, exactly like the "Aknadin" in the mirror!
