The Temple of Seti, also known as the Great Temple of Abydos, is a marvelous construction that had been built to the glory of Osiris, and a sacred site where the deceased Pharaohs of the past were celebrated as they ascended, through death, towards the path that leads to the gods.
It has an unusual L-shaped structure, and its courtyards are decorated with scenes from the Battle of Kadesh that Ramses II fought against the Hittite Empire.
Inside the majestic building, there are chapels dedicated to many of the Egyptian gods, like Ptah, Amon-Ra, Osiris, Isis and Horus. The Osiris chapel leads into an area with three other small chapels, reserved to Osiris, his wife Isis and their son, Horus. Beyond these chapels lies a secret chamber that could only be accessed by the highest priests, and although this chamber was accessible to everyone in modern times, something had happened to the passage, which was now invisible, like it was never there.
It seemed like some kind of force acted upon the Temple, reserving that chamber, once again, to those who once ordered its construction.
Hatshepsut, being a Pharaoh of the highest level, had no trouble sensing the energy that came from the secret chamber, easily finding a spot where she could sneak in without anyone even realizing what happened.
It didn't mean, however, that the place was calm and quiet. It was, after all, a remarkable touristic spot. Masses of people were gathered around the wall where the passage had been sealed, with police officers and experts trying to understand what was going on.
Hatshepsut knew that using force to break the wall was possible, but would gather everyone's attention and that would be very bad if a clash started between her and whoever was beyond the passage.
She used, then, the cleverness of reading the inscriptions on the walls until she found the right ones she could use to chant a spell. That was a similar technique to the one Tutankhamon had used to teleport from the temple of Amon-Ra, but since she had no chalk or anything else to draw with her, using the hieroglyphs on the walls was a brilliant way of circumventing the problem. Her eyes glowed silver as she chanted:
"Oh source of all order and justice. Conductress of the heavenly barge, principle of life, Ma'at. Let Thy existence influence reality through the Pharaoh, and manifest where harmony is lacking".
With a flash, Hatshepsut disappeared.
***
Kurou was uneasy for a couple of reasons as he walked the streets of Cairo alongside his godly friend Riddle, Ankhesenamon and Parennefer.
The first was quite obvious: Parennefer was Akhenaton's royal butler. And Akhenaton was Nefertiti's husband. Who was killed by Kurou. That was certainly a good reason to be wary, even for a deathless man.
The second was that Ankhesenamon didn't really like Kurou. He acted a little...violent with her, and she didn't take that very well. He couldn't abandon the possibility that she would be a turncoat in the near future.
The third was the imminence of traversing the Nile River. Kurou wasn't ready to face Ammit yet, and he honestly had no idea if he would ever be. And even if he was ready, fighting a crocodile chimera in the middle of a river was the worst strategy someone would ever adopt.
Fortunately for him, the trip was much calmer than expected. They boarded a fancy ship instead of the humble felucca Kurou took with Tut last time, whose tickets Parennefer paid with Egyptian money.
Why do you have modern Egyptian money with you?", Kurou asked.
"A competent butler must be cautious at all times, Post-Mortal", he answered.
Being rightful passengers of the ship didn't mean they would not be subjected to the ever curious tourists attention. Kurou tried to treat Riddle as his dog but lost two fingers in the process.
"Behave now, itchy! We need to lay low!", Kurou whispered to the jackal.
"Deal with that animal or I will deal with it", Parennefer provoked.
"You'll be dead long before you touch him, old man", Kurou threatened.
"Your feelings for that fake god's avatar will be your doom someday", Parennefer retorted.
"And I will be your doom if you keep talking", Kurou answered.
Parennefer sighed, spiteful, but said nothing. The traverse continued quietly. Ankhesenamon looked troubled and worried, but Kurou didn't feel like talking to her. She wouldn't bother, he thought.
Meanwhile, Akhenaton felt the need to leave his temple's building site. Parennefer was taking too long to return, so he understood that as a sign that something was off. He knew his butler had gone to the modern capital, but what troubled him the most was a very high concentration of energy coming from the south, opposite from where the capital was located.
"I'll have to trust that Parennefer made the right choice", he told himself.
Then, he demanded a construction worker to grab a car, which he knew was faster than any chariot but not something a Pharaoh from ages past could drive, and gave him a straight order.
"Take me to Abydos. Now".
***
Hatshepsut felt the surge of power that the interaction with Maat, the cosmic principle of everything that exists in the world, provided her after teleporting her through the wall.
For that reason, she didn't hesitate to dart in Ramses's direction with a clenched fist, in what would otherwise be a suicide attack, considering they were inside the temple of Seti, Ramses's father and the place where Set has been singularly worshipped since the powerful Pharaoh's rebirth.
Ramses was surprised at the speed by which Hatshepsut shortened the distance between them, and had only enough time to block the strike with his arms, taking a heavy blow and crashing against the limestone wall.
Hatshepsut felt the adrenaline pumping in, as Ramses recovered from the blow. He wasn't harmed but instead surprised that someone actually managed to land a punch on him like that.
"How have you come back to life, Ramses?", Hatshepsut asked, furious. "How many have you had to kill in order to achieve that?".
"Not of your business, Maatkare", he answered, smirking. "But even all the sacrifices in the world are a cheap price compared to what I'm about to achieve".
"You'll achieve, nothing, wicked Pharaoh!", Tut screamed.
"I won't?", Ramses mused. "Watch me, brat!".
Ramses teleported from where he was standing, directly to Hatshepsut's face. Her eyes widened in surprised as he delivered a powerful blow to her stomach, causing her to spit blood. He grabbed her by the collar and threw her against the wall, making it collapse on top of her.
Both Tutankhamon and Hatshepsut were perplexed at Ramses's feat of strenght. It felt like he had been influenced by a god's power, and acted like one. Bakenkhonsu smiled proudly.
"Perhaps Your Majesty should restrain your power, or this temple might not withstand it", Bakenkhonsu said.
"No need to worry. He has this place under control", Ramses said.
"By 'He' you mean your wicked god?", Hatshepsut asked, still panting after the heavy blow. "He has no chance against Osiris and you know it, Ramses".
"And where is he, Maatkare?", Ramses asked, yelling. "Look at this country, and what it has become! Where is Osiris when we need him the most?".
"You're truly out of your mind", Hatshepsut said, assuming a fighting stance despite all the pain of broken ribs and damaged internal organs.
"I'm the only one who sees the truth", Ramses said. "You're standing in the way of progress, Maatkare! Step aside or my next attack will kill you for good!".
"I'm not afraid of death, Ramses!", Hatshepsut said firmly. "If anyone here is afraid of something, that is certainly you!".
Ramses frowned in anger and teleported towards her again, this time aiming for her face. Hatshepsut's eyes glowed silver again, and she grabbed his fist with an outworldly strength. Ramses froze, confused.
A profound voice, very different from Hatshepsut's soft and sweet tone, came out of her mouth.
"This foolishness stops now, Son of Ra".
Ramses was shocked. That voice belonged to a Goddess.
"Lady Nephthys", he said and lowered his hand.
With a wave of her hand, Tutahnkhamon's hands and feet were untied.
"Sacrificing this Young Pharaoh's life for Sutekh is a grave mistake, Son of Ra. You know it very well", Nephthys said through Hatshepsut.
"I just wanted Egypt to be what it once was, my Goddess", Ramses said, defeated. "A prosperous and respected country, loved by their people and feared by their enemies".
"Your concepts of love and fear are twisted, Ramses", Tutankhamon said, standing up.
"Sutekh should not be revived", Nephthys interjected, solemnly. "The integrity of your world depends on that".
As Nephthys uttered her final words, a loud bang was heard, and the wall sealing the chapel came down, revealing a dark-skinned man with a raised fist.
"Father...", Tutankhamon muttered.
"This nonsense stops now", Akhenaton stated.
"Here comes the criminal", Ramses said, disgusted. "You are not welcome in this temple, heretic".
"Akhenaton", Hatshepsut said. "Stay out of this. This doesn't concern you and your...god".
"Everything concerns me and my God. Aton is everything", Akhenaton said, withdrawing his khopesh.
"Father, stop!", Tutankhamon screamed. "There's still time to make things right!".
"I'll make things right my own way, son", Akhenaton answered, walking towards Tutankhamon.
"What are you doing?", Tut asked. "Stay away from him, Akhenaton", Hatshepsut demanded.
"Are you intended on murdering your own son, Akhenaton?", a voice came from outside the chapel. A voice they all knew very well.
"POST-MORTAL!", Akhenaton screamed, filled with rage.
"Hello everyone! What a nice little party you're having here", Kurou said with a large - yet fake - grin.
"I'm surprised to find you here, my King", Parennefer said.
Ankhesenamon went for Tutankhamon, evidently relieved to find him safe.
"How are you, my Pharaoh? Are you hurt?", she asked. "I'm fine, Ankhesenamon. It's nice to see you again", he said, visibly emotional.
"So...are you all finished?", Kurou asked dismissively. "If that's the case, I'm going home".
"You're not going anywhere, hell reject", Akhenaton said. "You'll answer for Nefertiti's death right here and now".
"Am I?", Kurou asked. "Come on then, let's get through with it. I'm not running away from you crazy fuckers this time". Kurou pulled the khopesh Mahmoud gave him, earning raised eyebrows from everyone.
"Where did you get that sword, Post-Mortal?", Ramses asked.
"Do I owe you answers, Ramses?", Kurou smirked. "As far as I'm concerned, you are the one who owes everyone an explanation".
Ramses frowned but said nothing.
"Enough talk, then. Let's fight!", Kurou said to Akhenaton, extending his left hand while holding his sword, in an insufferably melodramatic swordsman stance.
Akhenaton walked towards Kurou until he was close enough to jump and attempt to split his skull with a powerful sword slash. Kurou managed to avoid the hit but lost an arm in the process, which quickly disappeared into thin air and regenerated in its original place.
They traded blows, kicks and slashes, but Kurou couldn't land even one hit on the heretic Pharaoh. Akhenaton proved to be a formidable foe, slicing the Post-Mortal's body to pieces, stabbing him several times and even breaking his neck, after which Kurou fell to the ground like a dead tree.
"Get up, you freak!", Akhenaton yelled. None of the other people present dared to intervene, not even Ramses, the rightful owner of the temple. Tourists and police officers tried to investigate what was happening inside the chamber, but the heretic Pharaoh was powerful enough to create a barrier out of limestone in order to seal the hole he punched in the wall himself.
"What are you, Akhenaton?", Kurou asked while getting up, soaked in his own blood. "Your abilities are not of a Pharaoh. You're more like...a magician. Yes, an illusionist!".
"This is no illusion, Post-Mortal", Akhenaton said, triumphant. "Let me show you how real this is".
The heretic Pharaoh knew about Kurou's undying state and had it in mind all the time. Killing Kurou wasn't his goal, but instead causing him as much pain as he possibly could.
Perhaps Akhenaton's khopesh was a special weapon, akin to Kurou's sword, as each blow was even more unbearably painful than the last.
"How does it feel, Post-Mortal?", Akhenaton asked, smirking. "Feeling regretful, already?".
"I don't regret anything, nuthead", Kurou answered, defiant. "You want me to repent? Try harder or I will tire you to death".
Akhenaton's face boiled with hate as he darted in Kurou's direction. The taunt worked perfectly, as Kurou could see, for the first time in this battle, an opening he could take advantage of.
Hatshepsut could see, firsthand, what Kurou's absurd fighting style had turned into. With each broken wrist, severed arm, and even after a beheading, Kurou kept going through the pain, delivering shallow slashes at first, but later on striking true with powerful cuts that caused Akhenaton to stagger.
The heretic Pharaoh took a deep breath and his eyes glowed silver.
"Enough of this foolishness!", his voice boomed. "I will destroy this unholy temple and all of you along with it!".
"Father, don't!", Tutankhamon screamed and ran towards Akhenaton. The sharp khopesh in the heretic Pharaoh's hand pierced through the young man's torso, causing everyone to scream in horror.
"You had it coming, my son", Akhenaton said. "You should never have betrayed Aton".
"Father...why...why...", Tutankhamon muttered, before fading from existence and falling to the ground.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!", Kurou yelled from the bottom of his lungs. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!", he screamed and ran towards Akhenaton. Before he could deliver a blow that would certainly kill the heretic Pharaoh, the whole temple started to shake.
"Oh no", Hatshepsut muttered. "The ritual of sacrifice. Set accepted it", she said, startled.
"So He is coming, after all", Ramses said, smiling slightly. "This country is about to change forever. I hope you are all prepared".