Ramesses felt guilty for what he had said almost as soon as she rushed out the door and slammed it behind her.
Truthfully the moment she revealed that sensitive memory and exposed who she was, he wanted nothing more than to have thrown her down on the bed and kiss her.
Not with this god damned prince sharing a body with me, like hell I will.
The thought of another man experiencing what he would be experiencing in an intimate moment like that would drive him mad and wanting to kill the other man regardless if he had a protection pact with him or not.
Don't worry Paimon, now that all the gods are revealing themselves it will be our turn and you can have your woman back too, he told the prince he was sharing a body with reassuringly.
He felt even more guilty as he grabbed the gallon jug of water she had brought into his room and chugged almost half of it down in an instance. He was exhausted and for some reason Apep was giving him a rougher fight than usual.
Something had changed since she came back to Kemet as herself and somehow even the snake himself sensed something was amiss. Almost as if it was in fear itself. Ramesses worked hard to keep his identity to himself but he feared soon that one of them would figure him out.
The only way he could continue to hide his identity now was to stop cooperating and seem like an enemy to all three of them. Which would be fairly easy considering how loyal they were to Ramuna and how he had been treating her since she had awoken has been not so nice.
When Ammut had arrived and Ramesses saw her for the first time as Tafari helped her enter Kemet was also the first time he felt the whored out prince stir in him in a very long time.
It had been a long time since the prince had even spoken to him through his subconsciousness and luckily he and Paimon were on the same page.
Do not touch or interfere with either one of the women till we are back in our bodies.
Ramesses could not have agreed more with him. Paimon's identity was something he had done well to keep hidden from Ramuna and Tafari as well. He had no clue if Ammut even knew how powerful her bed slave was. Well.. he had not been powerful much until he offered his soul to Ramesses.
Just as Ramuna gave birth to Thoth in her own way; Ramesses had given birth to the new prince of darkness and even that prince had disciples and followers.
Ramesses smiled to himself. Ramuna had no clue how many people she had on her side against Apep but once she went back in time she would realize almost immediately.
Saying that I serve Ra as a disciple was more of a idiotic insult than a coverup, Ramesses heard an annoyed voice vibrate through his mind.
Yes very much so for you but for me it was not a lie. I serve Ra in many ways.
Keep the ways you serve your god to yourself. It is disgusting.
Ramesses couldn't help but laugh to himself at Paimon's disgust.
His laughter quickly died out as a gust of wind blew through his room which was unusual for there were no windows nor was there a balcony. The wind did not even come from the hall but behind him.
Ramesses slowly turned to see the High Priestess. She no longer looked youthful in her visit to this dimension and looked about as drained as Ramesses felt. Ramesses crossed his arms still holding the jug and looked at the elder woman, noticing how quiet Paimon got when the woman appeared.
"What an interesting time to show up. That serum was a waste of time as well considering all the events that have unfolded since I have met you and that are out of my control."
"He knows." That was all the High Priestess said in response causing Ramesses to freeze up and his ego to drop.
"Of?" Ramesses asked curiously.
"Who you are. Even without the prince lingering inside of you. He knows and he is angry."
Ramesses studied the woman. Something was different about her, especially the way she was speaking. Was she possessed? Did Seth Phisler manage to gather that much power to start controlling people who visited Kemet?
Without any fear or care; Ramesses walked over to the woman and put down the hood that was covering her head and face. She was pale, her eyes now stained completely red, they were staring right through him as if she did not even know he was there and unveiling her.
So possessed it is. By whom though if not Seth?
"Who are you?" He asked more of a demand than a question.
The woman never flinched or fought when he spoke, just continued to stare as if past him and lost in her own mind and madness.
Ramesses waited a moment before demanding an answer again on who was possessing the High Priestess's body.
The second time he spoke the High Priestess reacted and looked at him finally. Her red stained eyes boring into his making him feel nauseated and when she spoke it was not her voice. It was a voice he knew all too well and wished he never had to hear again. Apep.
"I told her there would be consequences. Since I can't kill you I will kill your spirit, boy."
The High Priestess dissolved into sand before his eyes and all that was left was a pile on the rug that he stood on.
Ramesses backed away in shock. If the High Priestess just turned into sand in front of him it meant she had died in the living world and worse… was cursed to be a demon of Duat. One of Apep's prisoners.
An eerie chill went up his spine. Something else was wrong than just the High Priestess.
Ramesses quickly put clothes on and shadowed himself in his Jackal mask and without caring about straining himself after his fight with the giant serpent he teleported himself to Hawara in a blink of an eye. He was outside the great pyramid when he saw the last thing he had hoped to witness.
Outside of the pyramids out in the far distance of the lunar desert he saw the remaining prisoners of Atann that had been in the bunker including the children. They all just like the High Priestess were pale and had blood stained eyes.
Ramesses heart was racing and he was struggling to breathe. These were his people.
No. No. No.
Ramesses ran towards them as fast as he could. He tried teleporting again but he had already used up his remaining strength to fast travel from his room to the entrance of Hawara. With the very last of his power he had in him he summoned his spear at his side.
"Don't move!" Ramesses shouted across the desert. None of them gave a sign that they heard him or even noticed that he was near them. He kept running and the closer he got he realized he was already too late. As they were trying to step past the pillars to get into Kemet where the line of pyramids were they were turning to sand. Cursed to live in Duat in eternal suffering instead of an eternity of peace.
No!
The shout wasn't just his own but he heard Paimon screaming in his mind. They both were horrified by the scene in front of them. These were innocent people! There were children in that village! They did not even have enough time in the living world to even have been trialed for judgment!
Ramesses noticed one woman had noticed him and held out her baby to him as if she was still somewhat sane enough to understand what was happening to them. Paimon and him both understood what the mother was wanting from him and Ramesses would offer it even if it was the very last thing he did.
Ramesses stopped running and held his spear out in front of him. He couldn't save them but perhaps…
He had not done this in a long time. Not since he had been-
No, I am him. I am still him. Even without my full powers or my body. I am him.
With what power? How am I going to do this?
Ramesses closed his eyes and summoned everything he had left in him. Even if it killed him. Him and Paimon together put their full concentration on the small child she was holding out to them. Even as the woman's body slowly crumpled into sand and dust starting from her feet.
Relief washed over Ramesses as he felt power vibrate through the sand underneath him and stretch out towards the woman and her child and then the familiar tug came as he felt the child's soul and his link. Once he felt the connection he tugged hard. As hard as he could and at the same time pushed his own chaotic energy down that link towards the child.
Ramesses did not stop the transfer of energy till he felt like he was on fire from the inside out and was about to faint. Right as he was about to faint he felt the connection strengthen and secure itself.
Ramesses toppled over to the ground on his knees now trying to keep himself from falling face first into the sand. With the last bit of energy he had he looked up to see all the prisoners gone. Sentenced to Duat for no reason but for the cruelty of it. The only thing that remained where the prisoners once stood was the countless piles of sand.
No sign of the infant.
Ramesses started to tremble. He couldn't control his tears nor did he want to. All he could feel was his failure and the unbearable grief he felt that even as a god he couldn't even save one small child.
The only thing he could do with his last bit of strength was to scream. To release the last bit of his energy on what he was overly consumed with. Sadness. Loneliness. The frustration of being powerless. The grief he felt for that infant's eternal life being damned. Not even knowing what he or she did wrong or even having the cognitive ability to understand why he or she would have to endure everlasting torment.