Magnolia began walking, his gaze fixed on the fresh footprints his father had left in the sand. The trail led him to an oasis—a scene of palm trees, rocks, and a small lake no more than three feet deep. As he approached, he heard voices. He recognized his father's voice, but the other speaker was unfamiliar. Magnolia cautiously hid behind a rock, peeking out with his golden hair and silver eyes keenly observing the conversation.
"I don't know what happened. After the incident, we relocated to a small shack I own," Isamu insisted.
"We?" asked the Egyptian general, a note of curiosity in his voice.
"Yes, me and my son," Isamu replied, his voice slightly shaky.
"What caused your sudden relocation?" the general pressed.
"Uh, some drunks were fighting in the alleyway beside my house and busted a hole through it," Isamu said, his eyes betraying his unease under the general's piercing gaze.
The general touched his earpiece, as if listening to something. A moment later, a voice crackled through it.
"He's lying… Bring him in," ordered Neitiqerty Siptah.
"Yes, sir," the general responded, his tone clipped.
He raised his hand, and at his signal, several soldiers clad in black armor appeared, the Pharaoh's eye emblazoned on their right shoulders.
"What's the meaning of this?! What do I do?" Isamu exclaimed, panic creeping into his voice.
Isamu could handle one soldier, but with at least twenty surrounding him, the situation seemed dire.
"It's not what you did, it's what you said. You're a terrible liar," the general stated firmly.
Magnolia, still hidden behind the rock, watched intently. The general's regal bearing struck him as odd—royalty typically avoided interacting with those they deemed beneath them.
Realizing his father was in danger, Magnolia's eyes widened with fear. He leaped out from behind the rock, shouting, "Father!"
Both the general and Isamu turned to see the small, golden-haired boy emerging. The general lifted a finger, and one of the soldiers immediately grabbed Magnolia, pinning him to the sand.
"Stop! What are you doing? He's innocent; he doesn't know anything!" Isamu pleaded, rushing toward the soldier.
"Halt. If you want your son to live, give us the truth," the general commanded.
Isamu's face hardened with the intensity of a father's wrath as he met the general's gaze.
"Oh? I thought you were just muscle with no brain or courage," the general said condescendingly.
"Tell the truth or your son dies."
Isamu looked at his son, who was crying, and gritted his teeth.
"F-Fine," he said reluctantly.
"Good. We're finally making progress," the general responded.
Isamu recounted the events of the previous night without hesitation.
"Interesting…" the general mused.
He tapped his earpiece and began reporting. Meanwhile, Magnolia, pinned down with heavy force, started to hear a repetitive voice in his mind: "Fire burns everything." The mantra echoed through his thoughts—"Fire burns everything, love, despair, hatred, everything. Let your emotions burn brighter and turn those traitors to ash."
The soldier holding Magnolia suddenly felt an intense heat, like the Sun itself. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he felt scorching hands burning his neck. He turned to see the boy beneath him glowing with a celestial heat.
"DIE!" Magnolia shouted, his voice filled with fury.
The soldier turned to ash, his remains scattering on the ground. The commotion drew the attention of everyone present.
"Quite interesting indeed," the general remarked.
He tapped his earpiece twice.
"My Lord, are you seeing this?"
"We've found him! The one who stands atop the pyramid of gods, the one who conquered the Sun itself—Ra. How fascinating. Did you think you could hide forever?" Neitiqerty Siptah's voice responded.
Magnolia rose from the ground, surrounded by the remaining soldiers. His rage mirrored the Sun itself as he glared at them. With a fierce scream, he floated in the air, unleashing a solar heatwave that turned the soldiers to ash instantly. Once the battle seemed over, he touched down.
"That's all…" Magnolia said, panting.
"Indeed," came the general's voice from behind him. Magnolia's eyes widened as the general struck him in the neck, sending him into unconsciousness.
"To think a boy could wipe out a platoon of soldiers. He even forced me to use my contact," the general remarked, a hint of awe in his voice.