Wow, we're getting devastatingly poetic in this title today. Not that this isn't fine with me; I've been feeling a tad melancholy over the past few days, moody after a fashion. I couldn't say what it is. Maybe the somewhat dangerous amount of rain and flooding we've been getting in my area lately, or the increasing cold and decreasing sunlight, or the incessant talk of Thanksgiving here in the States while I worry about the cost of feeding us REGULAR meals rising, let alone colonizer feasts.
But, I can at least be grateful for the fact that I'm not in mourning like some of our characters in the chapter before last.
Priest Seto insists that the most important thing here is whether Mahado managed to take thief!Bakura with him, because there's a chance the Millennium Ring was stolen if thief!Bakura escaped. He demands that they search the tomb for thief!Bakura's body pronto. Kalim says that it's too soon, pointing out that if thief!Bakura is alive, cracking the tomb open to look for him might give him a chance to escape. Akhenaden argues that if the guy has already found his way out of the tomb with the Millennium Ring, it would be disastrous.
So Siamun turns to Priestess Isis, whom he asks to look into thief!Bakura's future with her necklace. Not a bad roundabout idea, since dead men not only tell no tales, but also don't exactly have futures to see into. Indeed, after a moment in which Isis hovers her cupped hands around the aura her Millennium Necklace gives off as she tries to read the future, she opens her eyes and admits to seeing nothing. I would say "there you go", but I'm still not convinced that thing ACTUALLY tells the future...
Guess who's also got his doubts? Priest Seto scoffs and snaps that this this all because of Mahado's incompetence. Jeez, dude, you don't have to kick the guy while he's down, especially when he won't be back up ever. Priest Seto demands to know why Isis didn't predict the effects of Mahado's actions before they happened, and she placidly reminds him that he knows she can't see the futures of those who hold the Millennium Items.
Oh. Well I guess Siamun's idea wasn't as good as I first thought, when you could draw OPPOSITE conclusions from a single result... Even Siamun himself admits that the fact that Isis can't see thief!Bakura's future could either mean he's dead or that he now has the Millennium Ring. She confirms this, but summons her Spiria ka to fly over to the tomb and use its clairvoyance to search it in her stead. Now THIS is a good idea. Yami promises to leave it all to her.
Priest Seto addresses Yami, claiming that thief!Bakura may be hiding in the city if he's escaped, and he would like to send his own troops to scour the streets for any sign of him, due to urgency. Akhenaden gives Priest Seto a somewhat alarmed look, and Yami looks a little suspicious of this request as well, not providing an answer. As is right and proper, because bro has been super sus this whole time.
There's a sudden disturbance at the entrance; the guards are blocking someone from coming into the room. It's Mana, calling for Master Mahado while spears are being crossed in front of her to prevent her from going any farther. The guards yell that this is sacred ground and she should get back, and she just shouts right back to be let in because she needs to see her master. Oh no, girl, you do NOT want to see this...
Priest Seto asks what the deal is, calling for Mana to be thrown out, but Yami, amazingly, recognizes her and calls her by her name. Still can't remember his OWN, I should point out. He says it's alright, ordering the guards to let her in. They stand down immediately.
And Mana adds an additional blow to it by asking Yami if he can summon the ka from the slabs, requesting that he let her see her master again, tears streaming down her face. Time to bust out my most trusty GIF again:
Yami doesn't say anything, hanging his head a little. Isis approaches to tell Mana that Mahado's soul was wounded in battle so it would be best to let him rest for now. As Mana continues to weep looking up at her, Isis says that Mana's magic isn't quite strong enough for her to see spirits yet, and suggests that Mana also still doesn't have her own spirit ka in her own soul as well. Mana remains quiet, looking down at the floor again, Isis telling her that she has to train harder to follow in Mahado's footsteps. Hopefully she doesn't follow ALL of them - maybe leave out the ones where he dies horribly to fuse with his spirit monster.
All the same, Mana hiccups that she'll become a great sorcerer, wiping away her river of tears with the back of her hand.
What do you mean "we"? What do you mean "our"?? Where exactly are YOUR tears, son?? I must have missed them over your pissing and moaning about Mahado was dumb and wrong and no one should be paying attention to his death.
He insists that they have to act, and implores Yami to let him send troops into the city again, asking Yami to let him save the people from thief!Bakura's threat. For a guy who can't spare a moment to the memory of one of his fellow priests, this guy seems a little TOO eager to claim he's looking out for anyone but himself. Yami still looks wary, but Siamun says it might be a good idea to stay on their guard, given they don't know if thief!Bakura is alive or dead. After a pause, Yami says to Priest Seto that he'll let him station troops, with the caveat that they don't threaten the people, reminding Priest Seto that his target is thief!Bakura. He doesn't so much as BLINK when he agrees, though I don't need a Millennium Necklace to see terrorism by the aristocracy in the city's future.
Cut to said city, where folks are milling in the streets, a child and a goose running around loose as well. Just to make the scene visually interesting. Yuugi and crew stare around in awe, except for Bobasa. He knows what's up.
Yuugi reminds them that this is the world of memory from when Yami was pharaoh 3000 years ago, so he concludes that Yami must be in there, since he's the king. Jumping at this logic, Jonouchi calls for them to get going, then, leading them in an exuberant run toward the palace. Honda says he always knew Yami would make good, and predicts he'll greet them with a big feast. Growing teenage boys... I knew they should have brought snacks.
Bobasa yells at them that they CAN'T, arms crossed and looking sternly down at them as they stop dead and turn to him in question. He explains that they do not exists here, and are like ghosts in this world, no one so much as able to SEE them.
REJECTED.
Jonouchi's jaw is clenched as he looks over his shoulder at this woman, horrified and in disbelief that she walked right through him. Bobasa punctuates this example with the reiteration that they can touch nothing and talk to no one. All the boys freak out over this, practically flailing in confusion and alarm, but Bobasa reminds them that their purpose here is to find the pharaoh's lost name under these conditions, nothing else. The group stares in silence a moment, Yuugi silently agreeing that this WAS the original purpose for the visit. He seems to easily accept this as the true mission.
But Jonouchi is still hell-bent on taking the trip to the palace. He reasons that since they're invisible, they can sneak in and see how Yami is doing, striking a STRANGE pose that pairs an intrepid stance with a creepy expression. Bobasa shoots down this idea as well and Jonouchi starts throwing a tantrum demanding to know why not, accusing him of denying this request just to make things difficult. Bobasa says that there's still places they can't go, even in the World of Memory, including a palace which Yami seems to have a LARGE desire to protect. According to Bobasa, there's a big invisible shield that will push them away if they get too close.
Anzu complains that it's not fair, Yuugi whines that they're so close, and Jonouchi asks aggressively why protecting the palace is more important to Yami than seeing his friends. Putting aside the fact that he CAN'T see you... Maybe because it's a whole-ass PALACE?
Yuugi huffs in frustration, wondering how he can find this name without going to the most obvious place or talking to anyone. He thinks this is going to be hard, JUST before he crosses paths with a Memory World native man in distress, yelling that this is terrible. He announces to the people within earshot that a decree was just passed down from the priests that they're going to station troops in the city. As an outcry begins, Yuugi looks over his shoulder in curiosity at the word "priests". Another man shouts that they're looking for someone called "Bakura", while a third balks at this name, asking if they mean the one called "Bakura: King of Thieves". This of course elicits gapes and alarm from Yuugi and Jonouchi, recognizing the name of their friend. There's more talk about the horrible deeds of thief!Bakura among the city-dwellers: he plundered the pharaoh's tomb, killed over 100 soldiers, in THIS city, all stuff we're well aware of as readers by now. Asshole!Bakura is pretty amused by this information as he continues to lurk behind walls, though, saying it looks like he's famous here, that he's HONORED.
Or, the closest thing he can feel to it, I'm sure.
Priest Seto tells Shada that if he hunch is correct, then thief!Bakura is still alive, which seems to shock Shada who gives him an exclamation of disbelief in return. The guy who was throwing a giant fit about how thief!Bakura might still be alive a few minutes ago thinks thief!Bakura is still alive? YOU DON'T SAY. Priest Seto says he hates to say so (doubtful), but he thinks Mahado died in vain, and even made the situation worse. Shada gasps about the Millennium Ring while Priest Seto says that thief!Bakura's evil will grow if he puts it on, becoming something they can't handle even with the pharaoh's help. He claims it could topple the dynasty, to Shada's continued shock.
All within earshot of the dudes hauling their asses down the stairs. Hope they're all satisfied with their jobs...
Priest Seto asks if Shada knows why he brought him, the palace judge, to the city with him. He references the Millennium Key and its powers to search men's souls, discovering the ka inside them, and the monsters and demons in their hearts. Shada Remains cautiously silent as Priest Seto explains that he needs him to use the key to find those who MUST exist in the city with powerful ka in their souls, or the potential for them. Shada protests that he's not allowed to look into the souls of the innocent, and he would never, but Priest Seto asks if he can be certain that ANOTHER thief!Bakura isn't likely to appear to threaten the country. Shada seems to be falling for this ludicrous "preemptive justice", "minority report" nonsense as Priest Seto continues to manipulate him with the notion that they might not be able to oppose another NIGHTMARE attack on the palace. Gullible as he is, Shada thinks in horror that he's right. Fascism ahoy!
Priest Seto claims that they have to root out all potential threats and revolutionaries, to protect the pharaoh, of course. Not to satisfy his own perverse impulse to exercise greater and greater control over the people under him. And his torture implements. He calls to his attendants to put him down, and stands up from his palanquin. An old man exclaims about his lord priest, a young man asks cluelessly why there are so many soldiers out, and a spearman yells at them all to bow down.
Oh boy, these folks are gonna have a BAD time, aren't they?
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? LOTS of little details dropped in this one, and I have a suspicion that it was out of convenience. They're not necessarily BAD details, and their introduction was fairly natural without being forced, but they do raise a couple of questions and are contradictory in places. Isis SAYS she can't read the future of the others holding Millennium Items, but that doesn't appear to apply to the other items, considering how frequently one Millennium Item has broken into the mind of another item's wielder all throughout this series. Hell, I'm pretty sure Ishizu managed to use the necklace herself in visions around Marik and his future, wrong as they were at times. I can't be sure of it, mind you, but some of the visions she had included Marik's fate, even if she had to skirt around this weird limitation that ONLY seems to apply to her particular item.
The implication that those without strong enough sorcery being unable to see the kas that come out of the tablets is dubious - the guards and people outside the palace saw Galastgoras flying into it from the shrine, they commented on it and everything. Are all of them sorcerers themselves, stronger than the apprentice of the strongest sorcerer among even the PRIESTS? Thank goodness this meshes pretty well with the implication that Kaiba's holographic technology gives form to the monsters that EVERYONE can see, otherwise I would be even MORE confused.
And does Shada REALLY need an actual RULE that states he can't look into random peoples' heads in order to think it's weird for Priest Seto to be asking him to do that?
... You know what, scratch that. The version of him with an "i" on the end would DEFINITELY need to be told not to root around in innocent minds.
In any case, none of this BREAKS the story, but it does start to crumble a little when you look at it too closely. And aside from these headscratchers, I liked this chapter a lot. It was well-paced, it had emotional weight combined with tug-o-war between the powers that be that indicates this whole thief!Bakura business has revealed some stress-cracks in the system, with a little comic relief in between. Mana, like her master before her, manages to cut DEEP with her grief despite how recently she was introduced, and I think that's because KT did such a good job at establishing her personality and relationship to Mahado in the small amount of time he had. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have been so moved by how upset she was.
The appearance of Yuugi and company in the Memory World as ghost-like entities is a fun subversion, since usually it's the folks from the past that lurk around in the future as spirits. And, call me crazy, but this revelation coming after Isis's statement that Mana needs to become a stronger sorcerer in order to see her master again is an indication that she might actually meet up with them later? It's not very strong, but there appears to be a narrative connection between the discussion of Mana becoming powerful enough to see what is essentially the ghost of her master, and the comparison of Yuugi and company TO ghosts. And now that I've been advised of the fact that there is a REASON that events are happening in the Memory World that are outside the purview of Yami's personal memory, I'm more open to the possibility that Yuugi and friends maybe becoming visible to SOMEONE, even if it's not Yami. Just a thought.
As for Priest Seto and his creepy plans, he was so straightforward with his disdain for Mahado and weird eagerness to go out into the city to look for "thief!Bakura" that I'm surprised Yami and Akhenaden were the only ones who were suspicious of him. Boy should have been raising alarm bells with EVERYONE at this point. But maybe they were all too distracted by their grief to pay his strange behavior mind.
Not to mention he seems to be in the habit of making a scene every chance he gets. Proto-Kaiba normalizing being a creep over here.
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