Chapter 594: [The Journey of Sun] [8] [Complexity]

’...Fuck.’

This is going to be a tricky situation to deal with.

Still, I didn’t let my panic show on my face as I stared coldly at the God of Death.

I kept my eyes on him as I asked in a flat voice, "Are you questioning my legitimacy?"

My voice may have remained calm, but I deliberately allowed a trace of pressure to seep into it.

Anubis immediately lowered his head. "No, my lord. I would never dare to question your authority or your position."

He paused for a moment before carefully continuing.

"Lady Isis only wishes to make sure that your soul hasn’t been damaged. She is worried because your behaviour has changed, and I am here only to examine your soul."

I stared at him for several seconds.

Anubis was walking on thin ice. One wrong word and I could probably turn this entire situation into a confrontation.

I finally waved my hand dismissively. "Then go back and tell Isis that I am perfectly fine. There is no reason for you to waste your time here."

Anubis remained where he was. "...My lord, I am afraid I cannot do that."

I let out a slow chuckle. "You cannot?"

"If I return without examining your soul, Lady Isis will become suspicious." He spoke carefully, almost as if every word was being weighed before leaving his mouth.

"I don’t wish to anger her when I can simply perform the examination and leave."

I stared at him. "So you fear her more than you fear me?"

Anubis immediately shook his head quickly.

"That isn’t what I meant." He lowered his head slightly.

"I respect you, my lord. But Lady Isis is worried about you, and if I can give her some assurance that everything is fine, then it would prevent unnecessary conflict."

I remained silent for a long time without looking away from him.

The bastard had chosen his words carefully.

He wasn’t openly refusing my command. He was simply making it sound as though refusing him would create a bigger problem.

’Smart.’

I was about to tell him to leave anyway when another presence appeared inside the throne room.

A faint golden light gathered beside me, and Amunet stepped out of it and quietly walked toward us.

She walked into the throne room without making a sound, her white dress moving gently with every step as she approached us.

Her calm expression remained unchanged as she stopped beside me. "You should let him do his job."

My expression immediately became colder as I tried to understand her motive.

’The moment I wanted to refuse, she appeared.’ I looked at her for several seconds. ’Is this another part of the game?’

Two Gods had now asked me to allow Anubis to examine my soul.

If I refused again, it would only make the situation more complicated, but I didn’t trust Amunet, not even slightly.

But if she truly was the referee, she couldn’t simply allow something that would break the rules.

’...I really want to strangle you, woman.’

I let out a long sigh. "Fine."

I shifted my gaze toward the jackal-headed man and said flatly. "Do what you came here to do."

Anubis immediately bowed. "Thank you, my lord."

He slowly approached me while keeping his gaze low.

My right hand remained lowered beside my body, ready to summon the Was-scepter at the slightest sign of danger.

The moment Anubis touched my soul, I would know.

And if I sensed even the smallest fluctuation that shouldn’t be there... He wouldn’t get another chance.

Anubis stopped directly in front of me as he slowly raised one hand and placed a finger against the center of my chest.

The moment he touched me, a strange sensation spread throughout my body.

It felt more like something was passing through my flesh and reaching directly toward my soul.

I remained completely still as my eyes never left Anubis.

The God of Death’s expression turned into fear as he remained silent.

’What did he find?’

I was ready to summon the Was-scepter, but before I could make a move, Anubis removed his finger.

He took two steps backward as his eyes remained fixed on me. "...There is nothing wrong with your soul."

I narrowed my eyes. "Really now?"

Anubis lowered his head. "Your soul is intact. There are no signs of corruption, possession, or damage."

’....Possession?’

The word immediately caught my attention.

Anubis continued with a slight sense of fear in his voice.

"Everything appears normal, my lord." He bowed deeply. "I apologize for my impudence. I should not have doubted you."

I watched him carefully as something about his expression told me that he wasn’t telling me everything.

But I couldn’t force him to speak without revealing my own suspicions.

"Leave."

Anubis immediately bowed again. "As you command."

He turned around and walked toward the enormous doors.

A few seconds later, the doors closed behind him and the throne room became silent once again.

I slowly turned toward Amunet. "You knew he wouldn’t find anything."

Amunet smiled faintly for once. "I knew he wouldn’t find anything that would break the rules."

I frowned, turning fully toward her. "That’s not an answer."

"It is the only answer you need."

I rubbed my forehead. "Does this affect the game?"

For the first time, Amunet’s lips flickered before she mumbled.

"Yes."

I sighed and looked toward the throne.

"...That’s not very reassuring."

She didn’t reply.

’Everything about this game is bullshit.’

The fact that Anubis couldn’t recognize my soul as different from Amun-Ra’s was another piece of information I couldn’t ignore.

Somehow, my soul had become indistinguishable from his, and that raised a much bigger question.

’If Anubis couldn’t tell the difference...’

Then perhaps neither could Amun-Ra.

---

[Temple of Isis]

Anubis walked silently across the polished marble floor of the temple.

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as he finally reached a large chamber near the center of the temple.

He pushed open the door and entered a room filled with papers.

Ancient scrolls covered the tables while countless diagrams had been drawn across sheets of parchment.

At the center of the room, Isis sat with several documents spread across her lap.

She didn’t even look up when Anubis entered.

"How did it go?"

Anubis stopped several metres away from her.

His expression remained serious. "I examined his soul, and I found something strange."

Isis finally raised her head, her eyes flickering with surprise as she immediately placed the papers down.

"What did you find?"

Anubis slowly walked toward the table and stood on the other side.

"His soul..." He paused, articulating his words in a way that didn’t sound like he was blabbering. "It was young but at the same time, it was ancient."

Isis’s expression became increasingly serious. "That shouldn’t be possible."

"I know."

Anubis placed both hands against the table.

"I have guided souls for thousands of years. I have seen newborn souls, ancient souls, fractured souls, corrupted souls, and souls that had been altered by divine powers."

He looked directly at Isis. "But I have never seen anything like this."

Isis remained silent.

"His soul carried the age of Amun-Ra," Anubis continued. "The authority, the foundation, even the deepest imprint of his existence was unmistakably Amun-Ra."

Isis leaned back in her chair and asked. "But?"

Anubis took a slow breath and said in a trembling voice. "But it wasn’t him."

Isis remained silent with her eyes on the God of Death.

"Everything about that soul told me it belonged to Amun-Ra, yet the moment I examined it closely, I could feel something fundamentally different."

He clenched his fist. "It was as if an entirely different person had been placed inside an ancient soul."

Isis’s expression became serious. "When did this start?"

"I cannot say."

Isis slowly walked around the table. "Could Amun-Ra have split his soul?"

Anubis considered the possibility. "If he had divided his soul, I would have sensed the fracture."

Both of them remained silent, unable to make out what could have happened.

Finally, Isis’s eyes slowly widened.

"...Possession."

Anubis didn’t answer, as the possibility had already entered his mind as soon as he touched his soul.

"But if someone possessed Amun-Ra’s body, how could the soul remain intact?" Isis asked.

Anubis shook his head. "That is precisely what makes no sense."

He looked toward the papers scattered across the room.

"A normal possession would leave traces. The original soul would resist, become suppressed, or be pushed out entirely, but this wasn’t like that."

"Then what was it?"

Anubis’s expression became grim. "It was as though the body and the soul had accepted another existence as their own."

Isis remained completely still as her mind began connecting the information.

She slowly turned toward the window, looking through the city that her husband ruled over.

"...Someone has possessed the body of Amun-Ra."

She mumbled to herself, too fearful to understand what that could mean.

Anubis looked at her and, just as he had expected... the Goddess was grinning from ear to ear.

She had finally found a clue to understand the truth about the pillars.