Sunday, 04/29/2001, 3:51 a.m.
Shin's Room.
The room was partially dark…
The curtains swayed in the wind…
Fleeting flashes of moonlight slipped through the half-open window…
A persistent buzzing echoed in the silence of the room and the general bustle of the night in Domino City…
The air was filled with the scent of freshly washed sheets. A sweet aroma of lavender, paper, and wood…
Shin lay on his side on the futon, his breathing uneven, his expression strange. His face shifted constantly between peaceful and pained. His body trembled. Sweat marked his forehead, and his arms and legs moved involuntarily. A murmur escaped his lips.
"...No... No. I don't... understand... What... are you saying? Uš-am?... What... is it?... Stay away... N-no... Don't come near... me... Get away!...".
Then, Shin sat up suddenly on the futon. His hands went to his face. His chest rose and fell erratically. Gradually, his expression shifted from distress to calm.
In the stillness of the room, a brief glow illuminated Shin as he sat on his futon. A ghostly figure materialized beside him, floating slightly above the floor.
It was Zul-Karun.
Glancing sideways at the Ka, Shin asked in a neutral tone, his voice low and his expression serious:
"Did you have anything to do with that dream, Zul-Karun?"
Zul-Karun showed no reaction at all.
Narrowing his eyes, Shin murmured while scratching his head, his gaze lost in his hands, his expression confused:
"That dream again... It's becoming blurry... I don't know why, but something tells me it's... important... Uš-am? What could it mean? It always says the same thing. Egyptian, maybe? I don't understand anything... That strange place, and that... shadow that envelops me at the end... It seemed to be... pleading... Hm... This is getting weirder and weirder, though... Maybe?".
Turning his attention back to Zul-Karun, Shin asked urgently, his expression sharp:
"Uš-am, Zul-Karun. What does it me—? Huh? Hey!"
Then Zul-Karun moved. His right hand lifted toward Shin, who was partially wrapped in the sheet. The faint shadow cast by the young man on the futon twisted and rose from the ground, forming black hands that pulled the sheet off his body. Meanwhile, Shin's expression shifted from fear, to confusion, and finally to realization. A murmur escaped his lips.
"...Well, then..."
As the shadow finished removing the sheet from Shin's body, Zul-Karun lowered his hand, and suddenly the black claws merged back into the floor beside the futon. Shin then asked again, curiosity clear in his words:
"Do you happen to know what uš-am means? And also, why did you do that?"
Then, Zul-Karun's dry and trembling voice reverberated through the room.
"It means: set me free."
Shin's face turned thoughtful. After a moment, he murmured under his breath while standing up, his words faltering.
"Se-set me free? Uh? Wait a second. Do you even know what language that is? Answer. What is it? How do you know it?"
Zul-Karun responded immediately, his tone unchanged.
"I don't know."
Shin's left eye twitched slightly. He clenched his teeth and muttered by the window:
"Goddamn it. Nothing again. How... convenient."
Shaking his head, Shin opened the curtains of the room.
A light breeze entered through the window, the moonlight accompanying it. The night view of Domino City shimmered in the distance with multicolored lights, both fixed and moving. A flash of anger crossed Shin's face.
Turning to Zul-Karun, Shin spoke in a frustrated tone, his expression dark.
"Whatever. I wasn't expecting much out of this anyway..."
Shin's gaze briefly landed on the clock on the nightstand. It read '4:03 a.m.'
Right after, a deep yawn escaped his lips.
"Yaaawn..."
Shin's eyes closed for a second. Slowly, his attention returned to Zul-Karun. Swatting at a mosquito near his ear, he whispered with a bored expression, his tone irritated:
"At least you managed to find the location of that guy... I am curious about the rest of his story. I wonder what drove him to do something like that? Debt, an unhappy life. Truth is, he's doing well now. New family, successful job. And yet, he can't stop haunting his past. Although that's somewhat... ironic coming from someone like me, right? Heh heh heh..."
Ceasing his laugh, Shin shook his head and then sat in the chair in front of the nightstand. Zul-Karun remained floating silently behind him. Meanwhile, Shin took his backpack, pulled out his deck, and began scanning through his cards. A murmur escaped his lips as he paused over a particular card.
"There you are..."
The image on the card showed a kind of green-and-white lizard with its mouth open and sharp white teeth. It held a crescent steel sword in one hand and wore light red-and-black armor on its torso and head. Its stats and description read: 'Mikazukinoyaiba LV7 ∆Dark∆ (Normal) {Dragon} [2200ATK/2350DEF]', 'A dragon warrior of the moon armed with a crescent sword'.
Pulling the card from his deck, Shin whispered introspectively, his expression conflicted:
"You're the best card I've won in a tournament so far. Hm... I wonder if I'll win more next week?"
Still holding the Mikazukinoyaiba card, Shin turned to Zul-Karun silently, his expression calm. A smirk briefly curled his lips.
"You know, I could use you for morally and ethically questionable things, more than just spying on others. Make my life and this family's easier. Haaa... I've thought about it many times. I could have you steal, remove potential obstacles from my path, I could even use you to draw a good hand in this stupid game, hehe..."
After a short pause between chuckles, Shin continued speaking. Zul-Karun remained impassive in place.
"There are so many things I could do with your powers at my disposal that it sends shivers down my spine. But then I think about how you used your powers—manipulating, probably killing, doing whatever was necessary to meet your goals. Whatever they were."
Spinning the Mikazukinoyaiba card between his fingers, Shin glanced at a photo on the nightstand of a younger version of himself with his grandparents. His words returned and his expression twisted with fury.
"I don't want—if God ever allows me to see my family again—for them to see the deformed and monstrous thing I've become."
Running a hand down his face, Shin muttered in a tired voice:
"A hypocrite, maybe. Weak, definitely. An excuse, no doubt. But I refuse to stop being the man from my memories. No matter how desperate I feel every damn second."