The desert night was a cold contrast to the scorching day, its silence broken only by the distant howls of the wind sweeping across the golden sands. Beneath a sky jeweled with stars, a lone figure knelt at the ruins of an ancient temple, his hands trembling over the carvings etched into the crumbling stone.
Raiden had been nothing but a wanderer, a man without home or purpose. Until now.
He traced the hieroglyphs with rough fingers, his breath unsteady. The temple was dedicated to Raa, the god of the sun, but this was no ordinary shrine. It was a prison—one that had been sealed for centuries, locking away a power that even the gods feared. And now, it called to him.
Behind him, a voice echoed in the night.
"You shouldn't be here."
Raiden turned, his sharp eyes narrowing at the figure standing atop the broken steps. Libe, the Egyptian prince, watched him with a mix of caution and curiosity. Dressed in golden robes with a serpent-shaped crown resting on his head, Libe's presence alone commanded authority. But Raiden had never bowed to kings—only to fate.
"I didn't ask for this," Raiden muttered.
Libe descended the steps, his expression unreadable. "Yet here you are."
Raiden clenched his fists. He had spent years searching for answers—years running from the nightmares that haunted him. Ever since he had saved Libe from assassins in the streets of Thebes, the prince had spoken of destiny, of gifts hidden within him. Raiden had dismissed it as royal nonsense. But now, standing before the seal of Raa, he could feel something awakening inside him.
A pulse of energy rippled through the air. The temple trembled. The ground cracked beneath his knees.
Libe stepped back, his eyes widening. "Raiden"
A blinding light erupted from the carvings, engulfing Raiden in golden flames. He gasped as the heat seared into his skin, burning through flesh and bone, branding his very soul. Agony and power fused into one. The voice of a god thundered through his mind.
"You are chosen. You are cursed."
Raiden's scream tore through the night as the fire swallowed him whole.
When the light faded, Raiden rose from the dust. His body was no longer his own. His veins burned with celestial fire, his hands crackled with untamed energy. He felt powerful. Unstoppable. And yet, something deep inside him whispered of doom.
Libe took a cautious step forward. "What have you done?"
Raiden's lips curled into a smirk. His eyes, once dark, now gleamed with the golden light of Raa.
"I didn't do anything," he said, his voice laced with something new—something dangerous. "This was always meant to happen."
From the distant palace, King Hogo and Queen Lina would soon hear of this event. And elsewhere, far beyond the dunes, a man with the power of all sight would awaken, sensing the birth of something that should never have been.
Oden, the hero of Egypt, was about to meet his greatest challenge.
And Raiden?
He was just getting started.