Kurou shivered as the mummified body began to move, rising from its sarcophagus like someone who has just awakened from a deep slumber. The mummy's eyes, once empty and expressionless, now showed a determination that could move mountains.
That was Osiris - not a mock version as in the previous challenges - but the true God the Egyptians have worshipped since ancient times.
Osiris didn't bother getting up from the sarcophagus, preferring to destroy it with a swing of his leg, kicking its broken pieces against the wall. Isis and Nephthys took a step back and bowed in respect to the God they had just awakened.
Osiris stood up and walked a few steps until he was face to face with Kurou. The God, now dressed up in royal clothing instead of the old linen rags used for his mummifying process, measured Kurou from head to toe, and spoke in a mighty voice.
"Chosen one".
Kurou swallowed hard and mustered his courage. "Why do I have to defeat you, Osiris? What is the point of fighting you after all I've been through?".
"I understand where that question comes from. You don't need to prove anything anymore. This ordeal is no longer a measure of your capabilities. You are already the King of Egypt, Kurou, the Black One".
"Am I? What do you mean? How can I be the King of Egypt? I'm getting even more confused now", Kurou said.
"You passed the Coronation Trial, and revived me with the help of my wives and sisters. Through such feat, you have inherited the throne of Egypt, and has become my legitimate child. The only thing you need now is the Atef Crown, the ultimate symbol of royalty and authority in all of Egypt", Osiris said.
"Then why am I still here? What is left for me to do? Why did Isis and Nephthys say I must defeat you?", Kurou asked.
"It is the duty of a King to seize power with his own hands. There can only have one King in this beloved country, Black One. My duty is to rule nothing but the underworld after my rebirth, but I'll only be able to do that if you send me there", Osiris said, holding the crook and flail in a fighting stance.
"I see", Kurou said. "It's not a trial anymore, it's just your wish to see how strong I really am".
"Exactly, Black One. I hope you are ready".
Osiris gave Kurou no time to respond. He charged at Kurou with surprising speed and momentum, not giving Kurou the slightest chance of evading the slash of his flail.
Kurou noticed, in the meantime, that his arm had completely regenerated, and his legs were no longer burned. "Have I become a Post-Mortal again?", he asked himself.
His question was answered when he got hit by Osiris' flail. Though he was able to block the attack so his head wasn't crushed, chunks of flesh from Kurou's arm were ripped off by the terrible spikes of the Egyptian weapon.
Osiris took a step back and looked at Kurou's arm.
"You might be wondering why did your body regenerate before, but not this time. You haven't reattained Post-Mortality yet. Don't forget you're inside the Duat, Black One. Only after taking the Atef Crown and returning to the human realm will you be able to exercise such a privilege by yourself".
"So why did I regenerate before?", Kurou asked.
"Because I wanted to. It wouldn't be a fair fight otherwise", Osiris replied.
"Fair enough", Kurou replied, pulling his khopesh from his waist. "I'm giving my all, Osiris!".
Osiris grinned and prepared to resume combat. This time, Kurou took the initiative and charged at him with a frontal strike, which Osiris easily parried with his crook. However, before the God could counterattack, a projection detached itself from Kurou and attacked Osiris from the side, forcing him to defend awkwardly with his flail, and he lost two fingers of his left hand in the process.
Osiris shoved Kurou away with a strong push and looked at his bloodied hand, absolutely calm.
"Your skill with shadow manipulation has evolved, Black One", he said. "Your soul has been strengthened by the trials."
"Not just the trials, Osiris. Everything I've done since the airplane crash served the purpose of strengthening my soul", Kurou answered.
"Then show me how strong it has become, Black One!", Osiris shouted, and his body started increasing in size, becoming even larger than Set's. He grew to be over 3 meters tall, towering over Kurou, and his crook and flail were replaced by a much larger scepter and a fearsome flail, capable of crushing even the hardest materials.
Osiris' eyes glowed red, and his facial expression became ruthless. He darted towards Kurou and two shadow projections emerged from his body, attacking Kurou all at the same time.
"Fuck, he's gonna kill me", Kurou muttered and barely had time to jump back, rolling bluntly on the floor.
"COME ON, KUROU!", Osiris shouted like a madman. "Show me you're capable of protecting Egypt!".
Kurou gripped his khopesh tight, and the blade took on a mysteriously black color, like an onyx. He felt power flowing between him and the sword.
"Very good, Black One", Osiris grinned. "You are beginning to use your Ka correctly".
"My Ka?", Kurou asked, looking at the sword. Osiris broke Kurou's moment of reflexion by planting his scepter on the ground, causing the floor to shake and crack, knocking him off balance.
"Do not divert your attention from your opponent or you won't live to tell the tale, Black One!", Osiris shouted, swinging his flail above his head before throwing it towards Kurou's chest.
Kurou couldn't possibly block the unimaginably heavy flail that Osiris had just hurled at him at high speed. Osiris drew on vast combat experience to knock Kurou off balance before making a ranged attack that could have easily been avoided under other circumstances.
But now...a heavy flail was about to strike him with enough power to pierce his chest and completely crush his organs, and there was little he could do to avoid certain death.
"IF I HAVE TO DIE HERE, I'LL DIE TRYING!", Kurou yelled, and raised his khopesh above his head in order to hit the flail and attempt to slice it in half. It was a suicide attack that had everything to go wrong, but Kurou decided to use what he had discovered to be his Ka until the last drop.
It didn't matter anymore if he was about to die. He wasn't going to give up.
In less than a second, the flail reached Kurou's weapon range, and he delivered the strike. A loud bang was heard, and a shockwave sent Kurou flying. Isis and Nephthys protected themselves behind Osiris' large body.
Smoke and sand spread across the chamber, and visibility was poor for a few minutes. Silence reigned. When it became possible to see again, Kurou realized that his sword was intact. His hands were bleeding, and he had lost his right hand's thumb. "I can't believe I'm alive," he said.
As visibility improved, Kurou could see that Osiris' flail had been split in half like a loaf of bread cut by a sharp knife.
"Have I done it?", Kurou asked, incredulous. "Have I actually cut Osiris' flail in half?".
"You did, but not on your own", a familiar, yet divine voice resounded. A big cat, the size of a cheetah with gray fur, was standing beside him. The cat quickly took the form of a man of brownish-red skin color, a long black goatee, a big ankh in his left hand and the Was Scepter in his right one. Yellow plumes hanged from his head, as in the old myth.
"Amon-Ra", Osiris said. "You were not supposed to interfere".
"He has proven his worth, Osiris. Look at your flail. It has been utterly destroyed", Amon-Ra said.
"You infused the weapon with your own power. He is supposed to win by himself or this trial is meaningless", Osiris said, irritated.
"This trial is meaningless either way, Osiris. Apep is coming for us, and Sutekh is not the least bit interested in fighting on our side", Amon-Ra said.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THIS TRIAL IS MEANINGLESS", Osiris roared. "THE TRIAL FORGED THIS MAN'S SOUL".
Isis and Nephthys trembled at Osiris' wrathful response.
"Please, oh almighty Gods, don't fight each other. We need to be united against our common enemy", Isis said, politely.
"What forged my soul is my own will, Osiris", Kurou retorted. "I don't need to be tested and I don't need to undergo any trials to prove myself to you or to anyone. Powerful or powerless, I'll stand for what I think is right, and not even a whole Pantheon of old Gods can convince me otherwise".
"Don't call us old, you bad-mouthed slob!", Nephthys shouted, annoyed.
"But he is right, Nephthys", Amon-Ra said. "As much about us being old as about his own stubbornness. Perhaps it is that same hard-headedness that has driven him towards Post-Mortality in the first place. Too stubborn to die, remember?".
"Have you been watching me this whole time?", Kurou asked.
"More like watching over you, I would say", Amon-Ra replied.
"Then why didn't you save Tutankhamon? Or Mahmoud? Or anyone else who died in this country because of the Gods behavior?", Kurou asked, defiant.
Isis took a step closer to Kurou and lightly grabbed his arm.
"That's a bit over the line, Kurou. You don't ask Amon-Ra that kind of question".
"He has the right to ask", Amon-Ra interjected. "As you can see, Kurou, I'm not the almighty Sun God I was in ancient times. Faith in the Egyptian Deities subsided, and with it our powers. I really can't do everything like an omnipotent entity anymore".
"You told me you could destroy a country with a sweep of your hand", Kurou said.
"That much I could do. But nothing other than terror would come from such an act. And, on the other hand, I don't want to meddle with human affairs like Sutekh has been doing. I just want the Egyptian people to live their lives in peace. Everyone deserves their free will preserved", Amon-Ra said.
"Then why is all this happening? Why did I become a Post-Mortal, and why am I here with so many Egyptian Gods?", Kurou insisted.
"You became a Post-Mortal because Ma'at wanted someone to fight the incoming threat that the Rebirth was about to become. Egypt is mystical at its core, Kurou, and faith is what drives it. In these modern times, nobody knows what to believe anymore. The Egyptian people, even involuntarily, missed the Gods and the sense of security we provide", Amon-Ra answered.
"Egypt went through a lot of pain and suffering with or without such sense of security", Kurou said, skeptical. "Many wars have been fought on Egyptian lands, and millions have died over the years because of that".
"As I said, I'm not almighty. When humans decide they want war, they go to war", Amon-Ra said, and Kurou paused, contemplative. "Either way, what I'm trying to tell you is that Egypt itself caused the Rebirth to happen. Why Ma'at has chosen you, only Ma'at can say. As for the Pharaohs of yore, faith is the answer. The fact that Amen-Hotep IV, Ramses II, Hatshepsut and Tutankhamon were revived says a lot, don't you think?", Amon-Ra asked.
"They are celebrated all around the world", Kurou mumbled.
"Exactly", Amon-Ra remarked.
Do you all expect me to be a hero that will save Egypt?", Kurou asked. "I'm not a God of this land, nor a hero, you know that, right? I'm just a dude unlucky enough to catch a flight that crashed in the middle of the Egyptian desert".
"It doesn't change anything. When it mattered, you made the choice of not staying silent. As much as you think of yourself as selfish and apathetic, you have proven time and time again that you care. Yes, you care enough to put your life on the line, Post-Mortal or not", Amon-Ra said.
Kurou lowered his eyes and stood in silence.
"I felt Tutankhamon's death as much as you did, Kurou", Amon-Ra said. "But there's a limit when it comes to interfering with the fate of a human being. Tutankhamon believed he could save his father from his monotheistic madness. And I, with my heart as heavy as lead, witnessed my most loyal Pharaoh be killed in a cruel and coward manner without me being able to do anything".
"Set is interfering with the fate of all human beings", Kurou said.
"He's got his own free will, as much as you do, Kurou", Osiris said. "If he will be punished by what he's done or not, it will depend on how much power you can accrue in order to make it possible".
"Power, huh...", Kurou mumbled.
"POWER INDEED", said a voice that caused the whole chamber to shake violently.
A hole was punched through the ceiling, and a familiar figure jumped into the chamber with a loud bang, causing the already cracked floor to break even more.
"YOU DARE TO INVADE THIS SACRED TERRITORY?", Osiris shouted, and his Ka generated so much pressure that Kurou thought his brains would explode.
"This place belongs to me, Osiris", Ramses said. "And I'm here to claim what is mine".
"Nothing here belongs to you, Serpent", Amon-Ra said. "You are nothing but the darkness that light has yet to reach".
"I am the darkness that no light can ever reach, fallen gods!", Ramses cried, creating a powerful shockwave with a clap of his hands that caused everyone but Osiris to lose balance and fall to the ground.
"Black One, we have only one chance. It has to be you", Osiris said.
"What do I do? I can't kill you, Osiris", Kurou said.
"Kill him?", Ramses laughed out loud. "Of course you can't. I'm the one who's going to kill Osiris. And you are next!".
"Black One, you know what to do. You're the King of Egypt, remember?", Osiris said, without turning back.
"I'll join Osiris in this fight, Kurou", Amon-Ra said. "We will stay in the underworld, and you'll go back. Understood?".
Kurou simply nodded to them.
What followed was a fantastic battle, worthy of belonging to an epic tale. Osiris and Amon-Ra released their Ka, and their energy merged into one. The phenomenon caused the Gods to transform into a single entity, as tall as Osiris was, but this time with black skin. The Atef Crown he wore was even more adorned and fancy, seemingly as valuable and unique as Tutankhamon's mask. His Was Scepter turned into a powerful weapon, exuding power. The flail was robust and heavy, but the entity could easily swing it above his head with only one hand.
Ramses attacked with the power of Apep, summoning darkness and sand to crush his enemy, but the merged Gods were apparently too strong. After a long exchange of blows, Ramses showed signs of fatigue.
"I will have my revenge, fallen gods!", Apep said through Ramses, with an outworldly voice. Full of hatred and malice, the Serpent of Chaos decided to make a faint move by targeting Kurou instead of the powerful opponent he had been struggling against.
But Apep knew it couldn't just attack Kurou, since Osiris would block it. It had an idea, but it was a dirty move. Ramses winced, showing signs of regret.
"You can't go back now, pharaoh", Apep said, inside his mind. "You belong to me now, and your flesh and blood will serve my purpose!".
Ramses screamed as Apep pushed him towards Kurou, causing Osiris, Nephthys and Isis' eyes to widen up.
"I won't let you kill him, accursed snake!", Osiris shouted. He was about to block the attack when Apep retargeted, dashing towards Isis.
Osiris had only time to put himself between Isis and Ramses' hand, stretched as a spear. The strike pierced the merged Gods body, causing a fountain of blood to spill over the cracked ground.
Ramses looked at the mighty entity in front of him with a terrorized expression. He had just mortally wounded the most important Gods of his motherland, and it was all his fault for surrendering his will to Isfet, the pure concept of evil and chaos.
Osiris felt the blow, but remained serene. Kurou, on the other hand, couldn't handle his own anger at Ramses, and his khopesh turned black again.
He ran towards Ramses with killing intent but Osiris gestured for him to stop.
"Your work is done here, Black One. As I travel to the underworld, I will keep this Serpent at bay. Now take the Crown".
"THE ATEF CROWN BELONGS TO ME", Apep screamed from inside of Ramses' body.
Seeing that Apep was about to take the crown from Osiris' head, Nephthys flew over them and took it first. Before Kurou could say anything, she placed it on his head.
"All behold the Son of Osiris, rightful inheritor of the Throne of Egypt, as the Ceremony of Coronation is complete".
An extreme burst of energy expanded from Kurou's body, and he started to levitate. All his wounds and bruises were healed, and his red eyes glowed strongly.
Osiris enveloped himself in a sand swirl, taking Apep with him. "I trust Egypt in your hands, Kurou the Black One", he said, and they vanished.
A loud noise was heard as someone punched down the wall, revealing Wepwawet, Riddle and Hatshepsut.
"What happened here? Goddesses Isis and Nephthys? And why is Kurou levitating?", Hatshepsut asked.
"If you're talking about the Son of Osiris", Nephthys said, "he is undergoing Ascension".