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The last time Kek had touched a deck of Duel Monsters cards was shortly after he'd returned from the shadow realm. He hadn't been dueling, just looking through his old deck to reminisce, and that was all it took. He'd seen flashes of his various duels. Both his own and Marik's.
At first, it was interesting and fun to picture it all in his mind's eye with absolute clarity, but as the games became darker, the less fun it became. He'd actually grown sick and shaky picturing it. The horror show each duel became, horrified him. He could almost feel the pain of every single monster. He could almost feel the heat as Ra burn Jonouchi.
That was when he made the resolve to stop trying to be "The Real Marik Ishtar" and decided to find his true identity. It hadn't been easy, and he'd fallen off his path many times, going back to some of his old habits.
Kek sat in his favorite kind of chair, ignoring the crowd before him as they waited anxiously. He pulled in a long breath, closing his eyes as he drew his cello to him. The bow slid over the strings as his fingers glided effortlessly along the notes.
Melancholy music rose from the instrument as he poured his emotions, his thoughts and past into each note that made the piece.
When he first learned about the cello, he wanted one because of how the bow running over the strings reminded him of a throat being slashed. That was one of the times he'd returned to old habits. He'd stole his first cello and began learning to play.
He'd almost given up when he kept hearing nothing but loud screeches from the strings instead of the deeper notes that he'd once heard. He'd wanted to smash the cello and never pick up another instrument again. The only thing that stopped him from doing just that was managing to find one note. Just one at the time. That had been enough to make him keep trying and learning.
Kek swayed slightly to the music, letting the notes lift his spirit. All the emotions inside of him welled up and channeled out through the strings.
The strings bit into the pads of his fingers and he gladly accepted the sting. It was a welcomed pain that reminded him that he was in fact human and not some puppet dancing on the fraying threads of another's life.
As the last note drew out long and slow, he lowered his head. Music always soothed him, and left him feeling almost empty. A strange kind of empty that was good. He smiled to himself. His eyes opened. The light filling the darkness reminded him of the moment Marik, and by extension him, first saw the sun and felt hope. For Kek, the light was like waking after a dream, an embrace of promise, a guide to a brighter future than he'd ever envisioned.
The soft greeting of light made him question why he ever thought he relished in darkness.