Thoughts&Observations | Mangá Vol.38 Part 1/4 (Pharaoh Atem VS B!Priest Seto/Dark Akhenaden)

Wow, this project is finally on the last volume overall in Memory World Arc and the manga series, wow, literally the last.

Even though is on the last volume, it will be divided in 4 posts (4 parts), both will be long, I'm still quite happy about it while still feeling overwhelmed by Kindom Hearts 3 Frozen and Pirates of the Carabean trailers that did come out recently from E3, specially the end fof the Frozen one being hard to swallow... a lot of mixed feelings today...even for this post, the beginning I will enjoy writting about it but in half way through not as much (yeah, I dislike Akhenaden that much).
I have good news, my pc is back to me with a window 10 OS, I have only one complaint...HHD they replaced with was 111GB and that's not good at all for someone who usually needs a lot of disk space, the lucky part is having an external disk, but even so I don't like the idea to rely on it too much, borrow to my friend often and all the things I need most in my pc is in a external disc. it bugs me a lot and all of the music is there too (someone hears music a lot and has around 85GB of music, it's more than half of my current HHD, 😐)

Plot Summary:

After Zorc being defeated by Horakhty, Atem is glad the battle is finally over and won but is saddened by the ones who died in the process with the efforts to end and win this battle, Horakhty and Atem discuss about what aided them to this victory, then Atem express his gratitude to his friends for their efforts and sucessfully achieving in helping him and find his name, the gang and Atem talks about how to address him from now on as his name is also known to them.

Pharaoh Atem asks priest Isis and Mana about who else is left and priest Isis reveals priest Seto and priest of Darkness Akhenaden are missing for she hasn't seen them for awhile, Atem thinking of where they might be and starts to search for them and tells his friends is time for them to leave the world of memory as they don't belong to the timeline and promised that he will go back to them soon...while he searches for the missing people from this battle...

Priest Seto is mourning over the death of Kisara and diving in his thoughts and feelings for her, Dark Akhenaden is shocked by Zorc's defeat and starts to think now is only left his son Seto being capable to defeat the pharaoh, as priest Seto is emotionally vulnerable and still refuses to be a "king of shadows", so Dark Akhenaden kills himself in order to take control of his son's mind to force him to be king, Pharaoh Atem arrives to the scene too late, he sees priest Seto acting very strange and suspects is Dark Akhenaden controling priest Seto as B!priest Seto/Akhenaden challenges Atem to a duel of Ka for the title of king, the fight is on B!priest Seto/Akhenaden favour as the White Dragon is more powerful than Black/Dark Magician, Pharaoh Atem tries to speak to the real priest Seto inside, priest Seto is slightly moved and shaken, the White Dragon chooses not to attack Atem, then Kisara enters priest Seto's psyche and in form of the White Dragon banishes Dark Akhenaden from priest Seto'a mind.

Priest Seto recently free from Dark Akhenaden regains consciousness of his surroundings, pharaoh Atem and priest Seto discuss about the situation, as Atem starts to disappear revealing his memories end in that very moment and asks priest Seto to take his position as pharaoh, at first priest Seto wasn't willing but seeing the pharaoh starting to fade, he accepts the offer and taking responsibility to restore the kingdom to it's former glory.

Key Points:

It's something to take note, for Atem this wasn't a happy victory, despite the relief of defeating Zorc and being able to prevent the world to be swallowed by darkness be it in his past sealing himself and Zorc or as this moment officially defeat Zorc, it doesn't change the grief it gives when seeing the wounds left by a war or battle (independently be for conquest, expanding territory, protecting the kingdom) for the the people who died in battle, but here is a interesting thought of his regarding Zorc:

"A demon born of the darkness in people's hearts...Zorc Necrophades has been defeated..."

It can be confirmed Atem didn't perceived Zorc as an evil god but a demon who claimed as such and came from the darkness of people's hearts, initially technically didn't start as such but only as parasite spirit who benefited in deriving his hosts darkness expense, who were technically human, by simpler words, I would guess that he understood the concept how Zorc functions as similar concept to a parasite.

 

uuuh, what personal prounoun should I use for Horakhty, I think I'll use their and they (it can be considered a singular pronoun if people prefer to be referred as gender neutral or genderfluid sense), I think is sweet the god Horakhty speaking telepathically and softly being so moved by Atem's friends determination and also mentions those who died to protect him were all important, emphasising his friends being the true keys to victory...



If you wish to continue reading this post, click "read more" below:

 

I have always find this scene so cute about this particular interaction between Atem and the gang, they start celebrating Atem's victory while forgeting they are calling Yugi witth their Yugi there as well, Atem feels a bit awkward at first being called Yugi since there was the main Yugi present, so it felt weird with a bit of awkward silence and realising now that they know his real name, Yugi starts to bring up followed by Jounouchi saying:

"Oh yeah! You're not «yugi»! you got your own name!"

They are so used in calling Atem as Yugi when he is the one to taking over, they forgotten about that now they know his real name but also realising how unusual and strange it feels to interact with the "two yugis" at the same time and one of them has his own name and he is not «yugi» or «the other yugi».

What Yugi says after bugs me...

"I can't...call you «other me» anymore, can I?"

😞 Yugi, just because he is the only one who calls Atem like that, it doesn't make it right, trying to keep the exclusive treatment that you get from him, honestly it's a bit selfish...which hints his attachment issues (characters and people like that, I do have a bit of a problem with people like that, it's a flaw that I find a bit difficult to handle with someone who has this kind of problem, it takes practice).

Then Atem responds:

"H-hey...it's okay...I don't mind. You don't need to call me..."

It's very understanding of him that he doesn't expect for his friends suddenly calling by his name because they are so used to call him "yugi" and also himself being used to be called as such while at the same time does feel bit weird about it now he knows his real name...

As Anzu rightly points out...

"No...you're Atem...that's your real name..."

Exactly! From the gang, including Yugi, she is the quickest to adapt and to understand this new situation in knowing his name and start to call and refer him by his name, from here and on (Dark Side of Dimensions), in fact she is good at adapting to changes and a little more than Yugi but she has similar problems of attachments as Yugi (as you remembered that she felt a bit scared about the idea of Atem, Yugi, Jounouchi, Honda and etc in goinf their separate ways, which implies that who she loves will be very hard to let go when going to New York in becoming a professional dancer) but not as much as Yugi.

She is not just reminding herself and everyone but emphasising to Atem himself, because he has the right to be called by his real name and should be the case, represents his identity, himself.

 

As I have wrote in the key point above, he is so used in being called "Yugi" that now finding his real name, he can't help but think to himself...

"It feels strange...I shared a name with my partner...with Yugi...but things are different now...My name...is Atem"

To me what feels most strange is Atem refering to Yugi as Yugi instead of partner like he usually does 😐, from a reader perspective, I guess it would, he was quick to realise knowing his name means knowing and understanding himself as entity and identity, it gives him a different perspective about himself, learning that he is truly his own person by learning and knowing his own name while acknowledging as well.

As for Yugi's thoughts...

"That means...I am me...and you are no one else but you...I feel kind of sad, but...It had to be this way...you know?"

This is after Anzu brought up and thinking about it, we know he always knew was the case but since he didn't knew his name, he always called him "other me", but then became attached in calling him that for feeling sad if he had stop calling as such and instead for his real name, he knew and understands and was a matter of time, but you can tell he is trying to hold back something...

Since this key point is getting long, I'll point out that the first person he expresses gratitude is Anzu regarding the cartouche because it technically saved him, not just him, even her friends but so is the solution to defeat Zorc, you can tell he was deeply impressed by the solution she came up by using the cartouche she has given him, what is ironically sweet, she had given the cartouche so Atem when he would remember his name and carve it in the cartouche, when she was technically the guide in Atem and the gang regarding his name, if we think about it, Yugi and Anzu were both guides about this quest in finding and giving the name name for the pharaoh, Atem thanking her first shows the growth of their friendship in becoming stronger, also looking at Anzu response to Atem thanking her, it tells that she is just glad she was helpful and everything turn out alright plus moved by his expression of gratitude, I came to like their friendship a lot, because there is slow growth.

I like this scene, so it feels a bit weird still for Atem calling Yugi as Yugi, so instead he addresses Yugi as partner, I guess since Yugi is still his host, this part of their bond and what built it hasn't changed and is sweet when he is expressing his thanks in the superior panel on the left, he says is to all of them, including Yugi, he is seeing Yugi not just as his host and partner who share the same body and builds the deck with but as friend too, seeing himself interact with all of them like this at the same time without taking over Yugi's body, feels much freer to him.

Hahaha, Jounouchi almost called Atem as Yugi, but he is trying, I give points for that and themselves giving the assurance that whether they called him as Yugi or other term or his real name, their friendship bond they all both share doesn't change.

It's moments like these, I do appreciate their friendship, because is so rare seeing them interact with each other at the same time like this, the only times were Monster World Arc and here in the World of Memory and it's always for brief moments :(, but also makes their friendship stronger. :)

 

I like how this scene shows his growing maturity on Atem in a sense not just understanding how this world of memories work and as whole, probably because he has seen the memories didn't end or anything so he asked priest Isis who else is missing, as if sensing he was forgetting something, then the reminder about priest Seto and Akhenaden, since bodies aren't found he wonders if Akhenaden is alive, which is a bit surprising at first, he might have suspected priest Seto and Akhenaden have been fighting and for not his memories haven't ended in the world of memory he comes quickly to the conclusion that Akhenaden might still be alive which is why is there this conversation between Atem and Yugi...

Atem tells the gang:

"Partner...friends...I don't know what's going to happen to this world...you can't stay here!! You don't belong in Ancient Egypt! There must be a way for you to get out of here!"

It seems Atem has some suspicions  about what is going on between Akhenaden and priest Seto knowing they are father and son, he will have to check on them in order to understand better his memories and why it still haven't ended yet...

Yugi is not in favour at first...thinking now Zorc is defeated, there is no reason for Atem stick around but Atem gives a pretty good argument and he is right as well...

"No...This is the world of my memories...I have to see this world through to it's future!"

By this time, he fully understands this being the world of his memories, it was made for him to recover his memories...he has to see to the end in order to know the truth of his past and how he died...again showing his character development.

 

I'll be honest I'm not a big fan of the scenes from here on out and neither of this pairing that had potential but was underdeveloped (even in the anime version, even there is additional scene that they have met before but was only for brief moment either way, so it doesn't change much of how they know each other so little), specially when we know so little of Kisara, so for me it falls short, only a few things makes sense for me which gives me an unusual and possibly unpopular interpretation about this "pairing", for that I will start to dig his thoughts after Kisara's death...:

"Kisara...The light which destroyed the evil god cannot reach my heart...For me...the world will never be truly bright again...Forgive me, Kisara...The truth is, I never wanted to let you go...I wanted to imprison you in the jail of my heart...You would have been the one point of light in a soul consumed by darkness...Not your spirit Ka...not your dragon...I wanted your light, Kisara...I wanted you..."

Okay, here I go, as it can be confirmed here, that he fell in love with her, but not love, love her, being in love is not the same as loving someone, being in love comes from infatuation. possession and obsession while love independently of what kind it is, it takes it's time, a bond to be forged, but is not to say it had potential, because it did, the fact priest Seto admitting to himself his own selfishness regarding Kisara and being selfless in prioritising her safety over his own, he was just starting to get there as for Kisara, I don't think she wasn't in love with or loved him, but she did felt deep gratitude towards him and his own act of selflessness for her safety is when she started become fond of him, romantically, not yet but if given more time, it would, if it wasn't for Akhenaden killing Kisara, both would live, be able to forge a bond and then become true lovers, but was cut before it could begin, so their story it's a bit tragic.
Even around this quote as whole, he understands she is the white dragon, he means the human form, Kisara herself, her conscious self...he also speaks of "her light", remember how clear is that the white dragon is a light Ka,  and as we know Blue Eyes White Dragon is a Light attribute monster, he knows well the white dragon and Kisara are one and the same, so emphasis is that he fell in love with the conscious self of the white dragon being Kisara and with that in mind...

It seems Kisara is speaking telepathically to him:

"Lord Seto....Let me protect you with the light of my spirit..."

What she means with this, now she is dead, could she has gained all her memories as whole? Because it sounds she is now aware of who she is as whole, the White Dragon, since supposedly when you die your subconscious and conscious go together, it would make sense if she did, but to really confirm is more towards the end.

Priest Seto is surprised she is able to talk to him telepathically but also understood why, likely connected to what I wrote below the quote...(there will be more about this as we get there).

 

I'm so looking forward to write whenever this guy is in 😒, I'm glad this is practically the last one he will have this much focus, Akhenaden shocked by this victory and appearance of Horakhty in defeating Zorc:

"Nnuuooohh...It can't b-be...the g-g-g-great evil god...z-z-Zorc Necroph...phades...defeated....by the pharaoh's god....Horakhty...nnh...yee...Now...the only thing that can defeat the pharaoh's gods...is my son Seto! Seto!! You are destined to be king! You must kill the pharaoh! And steep the world in shadows!!"

He is really stubborn and trying to force his son to be something he doesn't want to and is irritating how he treats Kisara, discarding her completely as if she didn't existed and the white dragon is still not technically his, even priest Seto is getting annoyed by his talk and insistence in making him king when he made it clear he doesn't want to and for killing Kisara...

 

Priest Seto in his emotions and thoughts...

"Shadows...the shadows of hatred fill my heart....I hate this man who says he's my father...but...no matter...if you are my father...then no matter what form you take...I owe you so much...and you are Akhenaden, to whom I swore fealty..."

He is mixed with hatred, irritation, disappointment and anger for many reasons, because priest Seto look up to Akhenaden from since when he was younger, knowing Akhenaden betrayed the throne, even his own brother and nephew, then killed Kisara, it's so much to absorve emotionally, but I wonder about the fealty part, even though he shared his Ka-hunt idea and it's results to him, he ignored Akhenaden's advice back then to stop doing it, so how can it be being loyal to him, I would say he is more loyal to the pharaoh than priest Seto himself realise, even more than Akhenaden...

Then priest Seto speaks to Akhenaden about the current situation...

"Everything is in ruins...Egypt is doomed...What does it matter if you defeat the pharaoh? Who cares about power anymore?"

If we read at the first lines, he is thinking of the state of the country first and is saddened by it's state basing on the tone of the lines but it changes when comes to refer to his father, the cool part is when Akhenaden keeps saying to his son to kill the pharaoh while priest Seto implicitly says in the underline asking his father why would matter Akhenaden defeat the pharaoh, he is basically saying Akhenaden is the one who wants the power of king and defeat the pharaoh not priest Seto himself and is forcefully projecting his ambitions to be pharaoh from long ago on his son, priest Seto who doesn't want or has no interest in that kind power.

Akhenaden replies to this is:

"My son! With your power...I can...erase the stain failure in our blood!"

He is pretty obstinate about his envy for his brother, his thirst for power, what I find it funny as priest Seto implied to him above, if he wants the throne, he should be the one to do it and not projecting and forcing on his own son, who doesn't want to, the fact he feels ashamed while prideful of being the shadow of his brother and younger son of the predecessor, because it wasn't ever given a chance to be king from the beginning, that's the "failure in our blood", he is so paradoxal and the nerve, he is also so hypocritical, always assuming his son wants to be king when priest Seto has said constantly over and over that he doesn't want to.
Also pisses me off that he refers Kisara as a tool/weapon...😡

The expression of priest Seto to this words, he acknowledges the thirst for power in Akhenaden and even in himself, he took from his father but just not that far...but also disgusted at his words...

Akhenaden continues, this is when it starts getting creepy:

"Seto...your flesh and blood is part of me...for my last gift, I give you my soul..."

That doesn't sound disturbing and creepy at all 😬, but implies something worse and even more creepy, specially when he says his last gift is giving his soul to him...as he steps back to the edge to one of the earth cracks close by...it looks a bit familiar...(Kaiba in Duelist Kingdom against Atem)

Here what he says as he is about to kill himself over the edge of a earth crack...

"Son...I love you from the bottom of my heart...I call to the blood in your veins! Flow with my love...and boil with my hatred of the pharaoh!!"

😰 So creepy and disturbing (I may add bit disgusting), I don't doubt his love for his son but is unhealthy and twisted mixed with his bitterness not ever had a chance to be a pharaoh and envy for his brother and his own nephew and ambitions to be pharaoh plus his ambitions, he doesn't do it himself because he already "dirtied" his blood (he did it of his own volition while omitting the cost from his brother, he was thinking of doing it anyway even if the former king didn't give permission), I hate his hypocritical guts.😠

There is also a huge contrast of fatherly love in this arc between Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen for his son Atem being healthy, caring and protective, on the other hand Akhenaden for his son Priest Seto is twisted, toxic, possessive and unhealthy based on his ambitions for himself and son mixed with his bitterness and envy with no consideration of his son's consent in not wanting and neither willing to follow his ambitions.

 

When Atem arrives to the scene seeing priest Seto not acting like himself, to the readers as Akhenaden and this scene implies, he started controlling his son's mind then tells a very familiar line to Atem we have read before...

"The palace has fallen...such a tragedy...Now, without wealth or power, you are a naked king..."

It's very similar with few differences in comparison to the visions Atem and Kaiba saw in their duel in Battle City Arc , it makes me think of how with Akhenaden controlling his son's mind is connected their battle visions they had and it was when their gods clashed (Slifer and Obelisk), I'll get there one day.

It didn't took long for Atem to realise priest Seto wasn't being himself followed with suspicions of priest Seto being controlled by Akhenaden, but he emphasis as "akhenaden evil consciousness", so he isn't denying anymore in Akhenaden in not being controlled by Zorc after the revelation about what gives power to Zorc is other people's darkness but perceives as someone who got carried away with his darkness.
(There is other important scenes, but I had to trim down to most important).

 

I'm not gonna quote this hypocrite and twisted fatherly love for his son on the panel ensemble on the left because we already know this wish he asked but deep down he wanted too, controlling his son against his will is projecting his ambitions of not only attempt to make his son king but also himself to be king that he so long desired, as for priest Seto, he doesn't doubt his father love but...in Akhenaden's thoughts speaking to his son inside priest Seto psyche...

"With the power of the Millennium Rod, I removed the god  from that girl and trapped it in the slab...All so you could be king..."

Augh, the nerve, since he started to "possess" priest Seto, who was still holding the millennium rod, it must have power up his control over priest Seto and sealed Kisara whole self inside the slab (Ka and Ba, since in her case is fused) and claiming to his son and himself so that priest Seto would be King when deep down is more towards himself and his son both becoming king as he controls him, as we see priest Seto in the panel ensemble on the right, he is trying to fight Akhenaden's control but since he is emotionally vulnerable due to disappoinment and hurt on what his father become from thirst of power and the death of Kisara, he is unsuccessful.

 

I have always found Atem's and Mahado's reaction pretty interesting when they faced the White Dragon for the first time, I'll start with Atem...

"What powerful heka...!!"

The reason why I quote Atem's thought in sensing the White Dragon's power, in the lore of this timeline, the mention of heka usually refers to cases to humans or those who have Ba and Ka fused such is the current state of Mahado and the always been the case for Kisara, what I'm trying to say is that Atem is not just impressed of how powerful this dragon is, he also sensed it was of someone with Ka and Ba fused like Mahado, for spending much time with Mahado in this form and situation, he can distinguish someone with fused Ba and Ka, we can conclude the "heka"=magic in egyptian comes from the individual Ba (the self/soul), so he sensed the White Dragon Ba...with through that he perceived it is very similar or the same as Mahado is now...it's a very cool detail, it's kinda easy to overlook though 😎.

Now for Mahado:

"W-what a monster! I sense power to rival the gods!!"

Despite Mahado started bit rude, but emphasises in how he didn't sensed something like this before even in comparison to thief Bakura surpassing his Ka easily, it's level is on par with the egyptian gods, considering Blue Eyes White Dragon and the egyptian gods cards, it is indeed very closely matched, with the fusion of three BEWD is practically on their level.

 

With this Mahado's thought:

"The Pharaoh's Ba is nearly gone from his battle with Zorc! He can't summon the gods anymore! How much can I fight with the heka left in me?!"

We can confirm to summon Ka, it costs your Ba, if the Ba is gone in someone's body, the Ba doesn't die, so it would lose all energy life connecting the Ba to the body, the person could die or be in coma.

Atem got a pretty good idea in attacking the stone slab instead the dragon himself but the White Dragon was faster in breaking Mahado's slab to prevent the White Dragon slab be broken, quick thinking from Akhenaden's part (remember for now is Akhenaden who is controlling the White Dragon by force with the millennium rod and himself possessing).

 

We now have the reveal what have been hinting about Akhenaden for his older brother Akhenamkhanen...

"Prepare yourself, son of Akhenamkhanen...All my years of hatred will come together in my next blow...and kill you once and for all..."

As I have pointed before, it's Akhenaden who was always ambitious, the youngest, thirst for a position of power and power himself, being always at the shadow of his brother whom was meant to be pharaoh since birth being the first and oldest son of their father, who grow to envy and bitter of his brother accumulating over the years while trying to suppress it, but bit by bit, he let it out as when he conspire his brother in hiding the cost of the creation of the millennium items, made preparations for it before even asking permission...it's saddening that he felt this way for his brother and passed now to his nephew (I do not feel sad for Akhenaden, but the other party who is taking all this hatred and bitterness from this guy).

Does he realise he is not just addressing and attempting to kill a pharaoh but also his nephew, son of his own brother, who didn't ever mistreated him and trusted him and blindly too, it seemed his older brother, the former king to loved him like an older brother does and Akhenaden betrayed that trust.

Pharaoh Atem trying to call to priest Seto inside the control of Akhenaden asking if he can hears his voice, priest Seto reacts to it as if he is listening to what he is saying, you can notice that he is slightly awakening...and Atem says:

"Even if you defeat me...you can never become true king as long as you are ruled by darkness!"

Atem is more or less giving a piece of advice in what it means to be king or pharaoh or a leader, if he lets himself controlled by darkness be it from his father or other individual, he wouldn't ever be true king, he means by this is that a real king is true to himself and not being controlled by darkness, Atem knows priest Seto for who truly is and to be at this point being controlled by his own father, Atem understood that he tried to fight his father because if priest Seto had accepted his offer, priest Seto wouldn't be in this state...

 

I like what he says to him, but is a bit difficult to make out what he means exactly...because is worded a bit weirdly...

"Take my light! Kill me if you have to, but take it! Ans ask yourself...what kind of king are you? In the prison of your soul, do you shine with pride?"

What Atem means to priest Seto to take his "light", the position of pharaoh, since a pharaoh is supposed to be viewed as living embodiment of gods, he is saying he accepts him taking his position but also suggests to priest Seto to ask himself what kind of king he is and under control of Akhenaden, can he take that title proudly, you can tell these words shook priest Seto...
Since I don't have a good opinion of pride based on personal experience, I do agree most of what Atem said, being pretty much asking to himself when he takes his role to think for himself and be true to himself, implying if to be king, to be king of his own free will and as himself, not from being controlled by someone like a prisoner, I do think it is inspiring words and that's what he meant, but in words he believes priest Seto would understand and in his own principles (It's true Atem has become more humble but he is still a prideful person).

Akhenaden being overconfident that Atem's words are useless, when as we see above after Atem said that on the panel ensemble on the left and looking to the panel ensemble on the right, shows those words reached and inspired him for the White Dragon stopping on it'd own and not attacking as if sensed something too and free of the millennium Rod and Akhenaden control...

 

Atem's reaction wondering if his words inspired some free thinking and it did, Akhenaden wondering why the White Dragon isn't attacking, it's amazing how conceited he is, it was only being controlled so far because priest Seto was in a weakened mental and emotional state, the moment free thinking was sparked in priest Seto, and as it reveals in the panel ensemble on the right we see Kisara approaching naked as to express in her purest form in a way priest Seto would recognise her face, but is focusing more on her face (I'm not a fan of this kind of "female identity portrayal of purity", it's a classic trope, I know, but just because have always be done this way to also portray purity in paintings and other medias and artistic platforms, doesn't mean it has to be this way, there is creative power in one's mind for a reason!) and her saying that he must not be captured by the shadows and looking at the last panel of the one in the right, it's drawn in a way that he was saved by her...

The question is why she is only free now from control and acting on her own?

I think it's telepathic teamwork between Kisara/White Dragon and priest Seto, here is my reasoning, bear with me, remember that priest Seto doesn't wish to kill the pharaoh/his recently discovered first degree cousin based on his loyalty towards the pharaoh and control the White Dragon since it meant the death of Kisara or else Akhenaden wouldn't go to this extent in controlling priest Seto's mind and the White Dragon with the millennium rod, the moment free thinking sparked in him, priest Seto is the wielder of the millennium rod and for longer time than Akhenaden, the moment of free thinking in priest Seto affected the Rod, then the White Dragon was freed from Akhenaden's control and Kisara in return came to rescue priest Seto from Akhenaden's control and...

 

Ha! He thought he had full control of the White Dragon and priest Seto plus the millennium Rod and treating "the girl" he killed as if she was a tool to gain, he was so conceited about it that he underestimated free thinking even for a moment and forgotten the White Dragon/Kisara is way more powerful than he is, she is the White Dragon, she is her own being, by this time she fully knows who she is, just like Mahado in Black Magician form came from his own volition to protect the pharaoh, both being Ba and Ka fused beings ( and capacity for such), she also came to the rescue for priest Seto on her own volition and defeat Akhenaden.
I love the contrast transition from when Kisara approached priest Seto in human form to save him and when turned to Akhenaden in her White Dragon form, her true form to banish Akhenaden from priest Seto body, mind, soul and heart, so cool and impressive, I love Kisara 😍.

As we see on the panel ensemble on the right, priest Seto is recovering his senses in the real world and starts to remember what just happened...you can tell priest Seto was with an expression of disgust that his own father commited suicide to mind control him to force him to kill the pharaoh and control the White Dragon/Kisara that his father killed...

Then remember Kisara who saved him from Akhenaden's control, but he doesn't realise himself that for a moment he actually saved her because of his moment of free thinking, instinctively freeing control of the millennium rod over the White Dragon...it wasn't just mostly Kisara, even priest Seto play a bit of a part.

He is so moved and grateful by her gesture of saving him, happy but also sad at the same time because of her death and romantic feelings for her...

 

I like the conversation between them, it really feels like they are friends, closer friends and priest Seto being his right hand man of pharaoh Atem and the growth it took to get here, as priest Seto makes the observation of state of Egypt and Darkness being defeated, the land itself, Atem gives a piece of wisdom to priest Seto, I like what he says here...

"We've lost many lives for this...Every living person must keep a light for the fallen in their hearts...and yet work to build a new future..."

I have seen similar quote but it was bit more cold-hearted with similar meanings from other manga series, it's more or less to not forget the fallen and focus on the present to build a better future...

 

Atem is starting to think of something on the panel right of the panels ensemble left but what could it be...it's not just about what he is about to ask priest Seto but is related to it, you can tell it was implied a few key points above that he was willing to give king position to priest Seto and here he is asking, now knowing they are both cousins first degree, grandsons of the same grandfather on theirs fathers's side, since Atem didn't got married and children not even chance for it (I mean, he died with 15 years old, when he just started to reach his puberty ._.), if he were to die, the next in line would be the son of the younger brother of the former king.

Priest Seto is shocked at the suggestion and if that's the case they have to duel one more time now priest Seto regained control over himself, then this is when the reasons will start to reveal when Atem replies he doesn't have time...(for readers is easy to guess)

 

Why is this happening?!

I'm quoting Atem's explanation, this is going to get complicated 😐 on the way you can interpret what he says to the facts we have seen happening (so long text coming)...:

"It seems my memories end here...and now...I've remembered everything...Three thousand years ago, I sealed the soul of Zorc Necrophades into the millennium puzzle...along with my soul...This time...the ending is different, but it seems...because my body was lost when my soul was sealed, I don't have any memories of the time beyond this...but we defeated the shadows without shattering the millennium pendant!"

To make sense out of this, but since there is reticencies, it might mean something else in between regarding his perception...The one of the curious parts of this quote about his memories, revealing (more to the readers) that he remembers everything (but is literally everything?), he says however doesn't have any memories beyond this point, I would say for now, we have to remember where the shattered puzzle after he died was found 3000 years later, it was in his Royal Tomb and as we have seen when he saved Sugoroku mistaking him for his vizier Siamun that he had his memories, but since it was only picked up by Sugoroku and the time spent when Yugi's grandfather was still a professional gamer and open up a game shop until Yugi solved the puzzle, Atem was "reseted" with his consciousness not remembering anything  before the puzzle was solved, but the gap between his death to when Sugoroku must have been mostly uneventful with archaeologists and grave robbers to solve and pass through with many lives lost and even crossing the bridge with Ka monsters being summoned to kill any trespassers until a worthy and honourable person to go pick it up to pass to someone to inherit Pharaoh Atem's will, since the gap is about 3000 years too, I wouldn't censor if he wouldn't remember most being most of deaths of trespassers, but I think if is  given a bit more time, he will remember the rest.

Now to the next complicated part, it's how the ending is different, to me the most difficult part to understand is according to the sequential order of events, when Atem broke the puzzle with the intent to seal Zorc and himself along with his own name, then came to Atem fighting Akhenaden mind controlling priest Seto, however he said his body was lost when his soul was sealed, so how exactly the event happened when fighting B!priest Seto in the past after he sealed his soul, so you can see where my confusion comes to play here 😕, so what we can do is considering possibilities, could be his soul fighting B!priest Seto back then or his body was on his last when Atem was going to fight B!priest Seto, the shattered pendant was probably with Mana and priest Isis, they didn't go face Akhenaden or B!priest Seto and Atem went alone, so what if the body became lost half way through in his last of his consciousness in his body when reached the palace it was just his soul, but still hold some questions, there is the distance between where they fought Zorc being in the village of Kul Elna and the palace and was it by himself getting there? it could be priest Isis, Mana and the surviving soldiers to the palace with the pharaoh, and for safe keeping of the shattering pendant and pharaoh searched for Akhenaden and priest Seto and in midway his body was lost, but then again wouldn't they found Atem's body anyway since they found Akhenaden's corpse but couldn't of Atem? a pharaoh's who just died to seal himself on the puzzle, it begs the question how his body was lost anyway? 😦when the soul was sealed, his body went somewhere else or some other dimension for being lost? When the shattering pendant reached the palace, it was his soul fighting B!priest Seto and Akhenaden, since he could reach a certain distance for being able to save Sugoroku in his royal tomb? it seems most likely the case and the same for his body possibly sent to some dimension...

Now the pending talk and pauses with reticencies of pharaoh Atem revealing to priest Seto that he shattered the millennium puzzle to seal himself and Zorc inside the puzzle, in other words, it was his intent back then, but with the events of the world of memory and the game world is that all this time Zorc was in the millennium Ring and in the next post, we can confirm is the case even more, but if was the intent of Atem to seal Zorc and himself in the puzzle, how Zorc end up sealed in the millennium Ring? We have to remember Zorc is a parasite spirit, parasites are an organism living on another organism as host to derive it's nutrients at the other's expense, if we remember Yami Bakura (Zorc) shadow spy couldn't do anything there, not even absorbing darkness within the puzzle, what he could gather was information by eavesdropping and watching the events unfold then wait for the right to act such the game world, this is what would happen if Zorc was successfully sealed in the puzzle in part,  the other part would be that he would be powerless with no darkness to derive from to make him stronger, Atem soul was protected by the maze, there is his confidence and his sense of justice and there is Yugi being a pure and kind hearted person, plus he wouldn't be able to act like he can in the Millennium Ring, since Zorc power is also attracted to darkness, he would host himself between the millennium items where darkness and evil of people's heart was stronger, being the millennium Ring, it was intentional from Zorc to go where dark energy was stronger while being sealed so he wouldn't be sealed where would only weaken him.

The reticencies is probably Atem pondering while understanding at the same time why Zorc came to be sealed in the Millennium Ring instead in the puzzle as Atem intended...

 

As Atem gives the pendant and ask the favor to priest Seto in becoming pharaoh, not just knowing being his right after his own death, he does trust priest Seto because he fought against Akhenaden and possibly suspect the White Dragon did it too (for suddenly stop attacking and sensing and suspected from someone who died because he could tell being someone fused Ba and Ka like Mahado as Black Magician...and saved priest Seto from Akhenaden's control), he knows that he is in good hands with the White Dragon...and acknowledges his loyalty to him...

After seeing the pharaoh completely fading away (must have been in similar way, with his body lost somewhere who knows where and never been found from the looks of it, which leaves priest Seto seeing pharaoh Atem soul fading away and going to the shattered pieces of the millennium puzzle).

See Ya Next Post!