- Death and Lucifer -
Nephthys and Death spoke the entire ride to the center of Heliopolis. Death didn't tell her about the past battle and instead opted to talk about more trivial things.
["I hope you enjoyed the barrel. I know Ra values your opinion on it."] Nephthys asked.
["It was great as usual. I hope I can see Bes as I travel through to thank him."] Death said.
["I had hoped you would stay a little while. You rarely come through these parts."] Nephthys pouted.
Death made an awkward laugh.
'Has it really been that long since I've traveled north?' He wondered.
The buildings of Heliopolis came into sight and Nephthys rode ahead of the group, waving goodbye as she went.
Heliopolis was a large city with various golden looking buildings, some of which reached high into the sky. The ground went from sand to sandstone and the sound of merchants selling their wares came into earshot.
"Lucky amulets! Ra's brew! Secure your future or forget your past!" Could be heard.
Lucifer took that as the sign that he should get out of the cart. He walked around until he was next to Death. There weren't walls in this city, but there were guards that approached the two.
The guards were thin, almost emaciated-looking, and humanoid. They had desiccated blue-gray skin with exposed ribs. Their outfits were black metal shendyts with a pattern of blue and red diamonds, along with short metal tops that matched.
"Coins for the humans." One guard ordered, revealing what few teeth he had.
Lucifer pulled the coins out of his bag and presented them.
"The rest of you might as well come out," Lucifer said to the other cart.
Everyone jumped out, happy to be out of the metal box that had been baking them.
"Lord Ra awaits you Reaper." One guard said, motioning Death into the city.
"Of course." Death said. "Sorry, It's his territory, I don't want to be rude." He said to Lucifer.
Lucifer put the coins back into his bag and sighed.
"It's fine in this case. I know ancients love their meetings, besides I'm sure Anubis is going to stop me for conversation as well."
Lucifer went to the back of the supply cart and pulled out grey cloaks. He passed them around to his team who were clearly feeling the temperature difference.
"I guess this is one of those benefits of the uništi's durability," Elijah said while putting on the cloak.
The uništi seemed unaffected by the heat. They received many stares and points as the group traveled through the bustling city. Much like Sangmara the group would be stopped and asked how much they wanted for the creatures.
"Are you really not hot in that thing?" Lucifer asked Death.
"Mimics my skin remember? Anything short of literal fire isn't going to affect me." Death almost sounded proud.
"Still though," Lucifer mumbled. "I remember learning from a human that black absorbs heat easier. I know your arms feel like cold metal but do you really not feel any heat differences?"
"My arms might feel like cold metal, that doesn't mean they behave in the same way." Death said. "Have we really never traveled through this place together? I could have sworn we did."
Lucifer scratched his chin.
"Can't say that we have. The only time we would is if we were traveling together for the council meeting, but even then we wouldn't be stopping to chat."
The two's conversations drew whatever looks were leftover from the uništi. Death in his robe and Lucifer in a normal shirt and pants gave away that they were higher ranking.
Behind the two Peter and Elijah were having a conversation.
- Peter and Elijah -
"How fucking hot is it here? Chr-I mean, shit." Elijah asked, wiping the sweat from his head.
Peter seemed unaffected, mentally. He was still physically sweating the same as the rest of the group, but his demeanor made him seem experienced with the environment.
"Around forty Celsius I think? It's definitely one of the hottest territories. I think the only ones that match it would be the volcanic lands, for obvious reasons."
"Please tell me we're not going to travel through there," Elijah said.
"No no, those are far away from we're going." Peter chuckled. "I've been there with Luce though and despite the extreme temperatures, it was actually very pleasant. The Hawaiian gods really know their festivals."
Elijah kept wiping his head. He desperately wanted a towel.
"Do these bodies dehydrate at all? I feel like I should be getting dried out." Elijah whispered.
He was being careful to not reveal that he's a reborn. He had been warned multiple times by the guide that he should never reveal his reborn status.
"Works the same way it does with food. Your mana will provide your body with what ya need." Peter whispered back. "I'll go get ya a towel."
Peter walked over to the supply cart and hopped in. He grabbed a towel and noticed the guide as he was leaving.
'I wonder if he's ready for what comes after the Moloch line?' Peter looked at the towel. 'Not a chance he is.'
Elijah was handed the towel by Peter.
"Thanks." Elijah proceeded to wipe his head.
- Heinrich and Sabu -
Sabu had changed outfits, opting for a much thinner version of his usual gi. He didn't like the cloak on top though. He hated having his peripheral vision blocked.
"You didn't speak much after telling Elijah. How are you feeling about this?" Sabu asked Heinrich.
Heinrich seemed in a daze. He kept tugging at his cloak as parts of it stuck to him.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Fine enough anyways. I would never be foolish to think that my past will be easily accepted. I am surprised you talked about your curse though."
"We all have our secrets," Sabu said. "Some we wish we could share and others we hope to take to our graves, second graves even. My "curse" has always felt like a weakness on my part and less of something I would never want others to know."
Heinrich kept his vision to the floor.
"Level three is an interesting place. I can't say I would ever have Lucifer's patience if I was in his position."
"It's because he's not human, his words, not mine. Sabu said. "I agree with you that I don't think I could trust like he does. I personally would've never given a contract to me."
Sabu realized that saying that was almost like an insult to Heinrich, someone who had had a longer sentence than him.
"Don't take any offense by that." Sabu corrected. "You know what Lucifer says about us being our worst critics."
"Right..." Heinrich stopped tugging his cloak.
'I'm sorry, friend, I'm not good at this kind of thing.' Sabu thought.
Heinrich looked up. His eyes widened clearly showing he had just thought of something.
"Do you think we'll meet Osiris while we're here?" He whispered.
Sabu could tell where this was going and tried to stop it.
"Maybe. I don't think it would be a good idea to ask him to work. He is a very busy man and probably won't want to do extra work if we even meet him." Sabu was stammering.
"I just need to know. You can understand my position on this right?" Heinrich asked.
Sabu was desperate to go and tell Peter or Lucifer to talk to Heinrich for him. He noticed that both were occupied in their own conversations. He sighed and shifted his tone to be serious.
"Look. I do not recommend asking Osiris to measure your balance. At best you'll feel slightly better for a few moments. At worst you might exacerbate your current mental state."
Heinrich maintained his sullen expression. He felt trapped. He had wanted to leave the mission after Cytus's attack initially, only staying because he thought he should regardless of how he felt. He hadn't felt confident in his choice and Azriel's scheme had only further driven his fear of this world into his mind.
"I'm scared, Sabu. Scared that I might die before I repent for even a fraction of my sins. I worry that I'll die a man who only ever spoke about redemption. Please, just allow me this one thing. I won't seek Osiris out, but if he's at the palace I will ask him to measure my balance."
Sabu was frustrated. He felt like someone else could have stopped Heinrich's line of thinking. He resigned himself to his usual stance on things.
"At least ask Lucifer first."
"Of course. I would never disrespect his wishes." Heinrich said.
- Lao and Yvere -
"It's places like this that make me glad I'm half-human." Yvere was fanning herself with her hand.
"Places like these make me wish I had a water affinity. Or that you were half yuki." Lao grinned.
Yvere smiled. She was happy to have even the slightest bit of normalcy after everything that happened.
"I think the yuki would be beaten by this heat. What we need is some Valhallan draught."
"We really should visit the further territories after we're done with this." Lao said, "I haven't seen Sun in a long time."
"Yeah..." Yvere frowned. "We still have the Moloch line to deal with." Her eyes narrowed.
Lao didn't want to bring up the Moloch line, thinking it would sour the mood. It made it all the more surprising that Yvere brought it up.
"Let's not worry about it until we're there. We've had far less peace than normal on this mission." Lao snapped his fingers. "What about drinking some husk blood? You know, for the nostalgia?" He laughed.
Yvere punched him in the shoulder.
"I think Death's mana has made me build a tolerance to it. How's about I drink husk blood, and you have some Apep tail? First to spit out their meal loses."
Lao was happy to see her suggest such a thing, though he hated the idea of eating Apep tail, a meat dish renowned for how revolting and tough it was.
"It's a deal then."
- Death and Lucifer -
"How do you think Osiris is doing right now?" Lucifer asked Death.
"I imagine he's at his desk doing something dreadfully boring. I'm sure he'll want to talk to me about my current organization system in Purgatory."
"You think he'll be at the palace?" Lucifer asked.
"I can't imagine he wouldn't be. Nephthys probably ran to tell him and Thoth that we're both here for once. I'm sure I have a very long conversation waiting for me." Death sighed.
Many of the territories in this world are comprised of two parts. The above-ground, where the current ruler presides, and the below-ground, usually referred to as an "underworld" by most.
The territories that have an underworld are represented by their above-ground rulers, however, Death was considered by most to be an underworld ruler, with the former leader of Heaven being the former true ruler of the human realms.
As certain events unfolded, Death became the true ruler of the human realms, and Satan is now seen as the underworld ruler. This has led many underworld deities to view Death almost like a hero.
The group arrived at the palace. It was a large gold-colored building with many banners depicting the various gods of the territory. In front of its doors were three beings. Three men, two of which had the heads of animals. One a golden falcon, and the other a black jackal. The third man was dwarfed by the two he stood between.
Ra stood seven feet tall, shirtless, with only a golden shendyt at his waist. His skin was a similar tone to Nephthys.
Anubis was the same height and wore a similar outfit, but his shendyt was a much lighter shade of gold. His skin was also covered in black fur.
The man that stood between them was in a full white dress and hood that was adorned with various chains and jewels. He was 5'11" with a skin tone that matched Lucifer or Death.
["Great to see you again, friend."] Ra said.
["How long has it been? I hope things have been well."] Death said.
Death handed his reins to the third man and walked with Ra into the palace.
["Anubis."] Lucifer said.
["Lucifer."] Anubis responded.