Frozen Beauty || Yu-Gi-Oh Book 2 ||

Chapter 21

Téa had hesitated in sharing the news for the first few days, not sure if Karissa wanted the tale to spread around. Eventually, her worry got the better out of her and she was going to tell Atem, maybe he could help? His cousin in the past had faced this, now it was between her cousin and Kaiba. Téa called him to come at her place, for now, they weren't going to spread the word any further. The gods knew Kaiba wasn't one to have personal stuff shared so widely. Probably Atem suspected something was wrong by now but didn't pressure her into telling him which Téa appreciated. It wasn't hers to share but her cousin might need help and only Atem would have any clue about it. Karissa hadn't called again, were they still chased by these unknown guys? They were after Kaiba and... what was inside him. At last, Atem arrived and Téa couldn't be happier to see him at this moment.

"Téa, something's bothering you, I can tell," Atem caressed his girlfriend's arms in a calming manner.

"Yes, it's about my cousin Karissa. I didn't wish to break her trust, but I have to share this with you, you might be the only one who can help," Téa bit her lip.

"Tell me," Atem encouraged her when they took a sit on the couch.

"Alright, you know Karissa is the present reincarnation of Kisara, so we have all these complications you already know about," Téa began.

"Is Karissa in danger?" Atem bolted up, knowing what had transpired between Kisara and his cousin Seto.

"Not directly, things are different now. More likely, the roles are reversed." Téa explained and it didn't take him long to understand what she meant. So Kaiba was...

"You mean Kaiba has the dragon now?" Atem asked in confirmation.

"I'm afraid, yes. The dragon lives inside him, not the same way with Kisara. One cannot exist while the other does, they're so intertwined so if Kaiba were to slip his control, he'd be taken over by the dragon. Actually, the gods gave him an ultimatum – prove himself or lose himself to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon," Téa finally spilt it all out.

Atem just stared at her in shock for a few moments taking everything in. Not just Kaiba possessed the dragon, but his very life was attached to the dragon's. It made sense why he had these two entirely different sides to him. One was the true Seto Kaiba while the other was the monster.

"This explains why he has these split personalities," Atem deducted aloud.

"Exactly," Téa agreed. "But if he doesn't do something about it... he'll lose this battle. Is there anything you can do to help him?" Téa asked hopefully. Atem wished to say he did but... was there anything he could do really?

"He has to prove himself to the gods, I'm afraid part of the solution is accepting his destiny. They wouldn't have this condition if there wasn't something they wished of him to do." Atem tried to put it the best possible way.

"I'm worried about Karissa, she loves him and if something happens... you know in the past when Kisara held the dragon, she... well she died. What if the same does happen to Kaiba? She'll be devastated," Téa looked at him with a very familiar pain in her eyes.

The reason Téa was so concerned was that she'd felt this pain herself. She'd been through the same thing – the fear of losing her loved one then losing him for good. Téa didn't wish to see her cousin go through the same ordeal. There was no pain like the one about losing the one you loved. Téa had been through this herself and it was a living hell.

"I know how you feel, and I'd very much want to help but... you know the gods don't usually help," Atem looked away in defeat.

"Yeah, not unless they take something in exchange," the only reason Atem was alive was thanks to Téa's exchange of her magic for his life.