Chapter 596: [The Journey of Sun] [10] [Condition to Win]

’What if he wanted to kill Osiris to steal his authority over souls?’

The thought immediately made my expression harden.

If Amun-Ra could somehow take the authority of another God after killing them, then Osiris’s death suddenly made much more sense.

It would explain why he had allowed Osiris to develop his authority for thousands of years instead of killing him earlier.

’But how would he take it?’

I glanced at Osiris from the corner of my eye, who was completely unaware of the direction my thoughts had taken.

’And why would he need an authority over souls in the first place?’

My mind immediately returned to the conversation with Amunet.

’...Osiris’s death wasn’t necessary for the ritual.’

That meant his authority wasn’t needed to perform the ritual itself.

So whatever Amun-Ra wanted from him had to be related to another part of his plan.

’...Could it be related to me?’

My soul was the biggest anomaly in this entire situation. It would make sense if he needed the authority to do something to me.

’...But, if I am not wrong, then I am living in a time when Amun-Ra was preparing for the Outer God ritual.’

My train of thought changed as I looked at the situation from a different perspective.

’...Then Amun-Ra must have killed Osiris without my intervention either way.’

Does that mean there is more to his death than simply subduing me?

Osiris looked at me with confusion. "My lord, is something troubling you?"

I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. "Nothing important."

Even if I wanted to, I still couldn’t tell him to be careful of Set. That might fuck me over as well.

And I still didn’t know whether he was supposed to die before or after something important happened.

’There has to be a reason for the timing.’

I resisted the urge to rub my chin in order to keep my image.

Perhaps the answer was inside those ancient records Isis had been studying.

Just as I thought about her, a sudden sense of change in the environment caught my senses.

I turned toward the north, from where a presence quickly rushed toward the city.

In no time, a woman’s silhouette became clear as she quickly arrived and placed herself between me and Osiris.

"...Isis."

Osiris’s expression immediately changed. "My lady, what are you doing?"

Isis didn’t answer him as she kept her eyes fixed on me. There was no respect in them this time, only suspicion.

And beneath that suspicion was something that I was familiar with.

...Fear.

I quietly looked at her while keeping my expression completely emotionless.

’...She came here way too quickly.’

She must have sensed my presence the moment I arrived in Abydos.

Isis slowly turned her gaze and looked at her husband. "Are you unharmed?"

Osiris looked confused by the question. "Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?"

Isis didn’t let her suspicion get the better of her for long.

The fear in her eyes disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a gentle smile as she looked back at me.

"What brings you to Abydos, my lord?"

Her voice was calm, warm, and without any tension.

I studied her expression for a moment before answering.

"I simply wanted to see one of my subordinates." My gaze briefly moved toward Osiris before returning to her.

"It has been a long time since I personally visited Abydos, so I thought I would see how things were going."

Isis nodded slowly. "You didn’t need to trouble yourself with that."

She took a small step closer to Osiris while keeping her eyes on me.

"What you did for us during the Battle of the Nile was already more than enough."

Her words sounded sincere, but I could hear the hidden meaning behind them.

Isis looked up at me with a faint smile. "Do you remember your generosity from back then?"

I nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I remember."

She continued looking at me. "And do you remember what you gifted us?"

A faint smile appeared on my face.

"Of course I do." I glanced toward Osiris. "I saved him from certain death."

Osiris’s expression remained calm, but I noticed Isis’s eyes becoming slightly sharper.

I continued speaking in the same casual tone. "It would be a shame if Osiris ever had to go through something like that again."

The words sounded harmless, but the warning hidden beneath them was anything but subtle.

Isis immediately turned cold as she asked directly. "What do you want?"

Osiris’s expression hardened at the disrespectful remark from his wife.

"My lady." He stepped forward and looked at Isis with slight disapproval. "You should show some respect when speaking to our lord."

I could see countless thoughts moving behind her calm eyes.

I slowly smiled as I tried to diffuse the tension between us.

"There’s no need, Osiris." I raised my hand slightly, stopping him from saying anything else. "Your wife is simply worried about you."

Osiris opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly closed it when I looked at him.

Finally, I looked at Isis as I asked, "Would you mind if we could talk alone?"

Isis kept on looking at me without saying a word before she finally gave the faintest nod.

"As you wish."

I gave Isis a look before the two of us vanished, courtesy of Osiris’s power.

When I shifted my gaze around, I was standing above the temple of Isis.

’...She asked him to bring me to her stronghold, huh?’

Perhaps Osiris did it instinctively after sensing the tension between us.

"...What do you want?" She repeated her previous words with a cold look on her face.

"Don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you." I stated the most obvious thing first. "We have no enmity or reason to fight among ourselves."

Isis’s eyes narrowed slightly. "That isn’t what your words suggested a moment ago."

I gave her a faint smile. "My words were a warning, not a threat. There is a difference between the two."

The atmosphere between us was heavy enough that even the wind seemed to have become quieter.

’...She’s definitely stronger than Osiris.’

I could feel the enormous amount of divine power hidden inside her body.

Even without releasing her aura, she felt like a sleeping monster that could awaken at any moment.

"You seem to misunderstand something." She slowly said. "There was a conflict of interest between us, and there always will be."

"....."

I kept my silence as the woman took a step closer.

"I don’t know who you are and when you took over, but I am sure about one thing." She kept on walking until she stood right in front of me.

"Amun-Ra has always desired power, no matter the age, time, era... He have always been hungry for power."

I could feel her divine pressure slowly increasing.

"...And those eyes you have, they are hungry for power as well."

"...Is this our conflict of interest?" I repeated her words. "You want me gone because I desire power?"

"No, I just know there is something really wrong with you." She replied, backtracking on her words.

"I don’t even know why the citizens are happy under your rule when you are such a terrible ruler."

"....."

’...Wait, what?’

How could she not have noticed the involvement of Amunet in the happiness of all those people?

...No, the better question would be how could I notice her involvement when Isis couldn’t?

Even though I am in Amun-Ra’s body, if Amunet wanted to hide the fact, then there was no way I could find it.

’Unless....’

Unless she showed it to me on purpose?

Just as I was drowning in my own doubts, the sun began to vanish in the sky.

The darkness once again threatened to take over everything.

"You must keep it in your mind all the time." Isis said, her voice gentle as a flower. "I always respected and feared Amun-Ra because of his strength."

I looked up at her eyes, which now held much more confidence.

"...But now you have a weakness." She continued staring at my chest. "...And if necessary, I won’t hesitate to take advantage of that weakness."

The night took over the world completely as my body arrived at the endless dark ocean.

Once again, Apophis rose from the ocean, its enormous body filling my line of sight.

...And once again, the world paused like it happened before.

"We meet again."

"....."

I closed my eyes before opening them again and turning around.

The real Amun-Ra stood with a broad smile on his face.

The moment I saw him, every muscle in my body tensed.

"...You again."

I kept my distance and stared at him.

The last time I had encountered him in this place, he had taken control of my body and fought Apophis.

I still hadn’t figured out what this place actually was.

More importantly, I had no idea how much influence he had once he took over the body.

"What did you find, boy?" He asked as though he knew I hadn’t found anything substantial.

Still, I drew in a deep breath and smiled.

There was no need to be fearful of a dead old man.

Looking back at him, I replied, "I found what your condition for winning is."

The smile on his face quickly disappeared, and his face turned grim.