Chapter 600: [The Journey of Sun] [14] [What happened?]

"You’ve researched this longer than anyone else here," I said. "What happens when a God dies?"

The expression of the God became unusually odd.

"Why do you keep asking this question again and again?" Osiris asked with a strange look on his face. "Is there something in your mind that I am not aware of?"

I kept my mouth shut as I glanced at the lady who stood at the side, completely still.

She had her gaze on me as if waiting for my response as well.

I drew in a deep breath and replied.

"Knowing what happens after a God’s death is much more prominent than you think." I kept my gaze steady.

"You need to understand, if you can influence the soul of a dead God, then you can very well become stronger than the said God."

....Hm?

Come to think of it, wouldn’t this be one of the reasons why Amun-Ra wants his hands on his power?

If he could get the power, perhaps he could get much stronger than he is now.

’...I need to keep in mind that there are multiple reasons, seen and unseen, as to why Amun-Ra wants him dead.’

And as if he noticed the underlying meaning behind my words, Osiris immediately got down on one knee.

"You can rest assured, my lord." He said with determination in his eyes. "No matter what happens, I won’t even let the thought of betraying you appear in my mind."

"Unless you decide to harm his family," Isis completed his words from behind.

Osiris lowered his head as if he approved of what his wife said.

I let out a sigh and said. "Stand up."

Osiris slowly rose to his feet, his expression still filled with determination.

I looked at him for a moment before shaking my head. "You really don’t need to worry about that."

My voice remained calm as I glanced toward Isis.

"I have no interest in harming your family, and I have even less interest in creating another enemy when I already have enough problems."

Isis didn’t reply, but the tension in her shoulders seemed to lessen slightly.

I turned my attention back to Osiris. "Now answer my question."

Osiris nodded. He remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking.

"The soul normally separates from the body." His voice became more serious as he continued.

"The process isn’t immediate, however. A divine soul can remain attached to its body for a considerable amount of time, depending on the strength of the God and the nature of their authority."

I narrowed my eyes. "How long?"

"It varies." Osiris raised his hand and created another green sphere. "Some souls separate almost immediately, while others can remain connected to their bodies for thousands of years."

"..."

I remained silent, thinking about all the possibilities that could happen realistically.

The more I hear about the abilities that the Authority over Souls has, the more I understand why Amun-Ra wanted it.

’...It’s a ridiculous skill, to say the least.’

Gathering my thoughts, I looked back at the God.

"You said you could merge the souls of two compatible souls." I asked, rubbing my chin. "Let’s say you have my strength. Then how far can you go?"

Osiris looked at me with a strange expression as though he wasn’t sure why I was asking such a question.

"If I possessed your level of strength..." He paused, thinking carefully. "Then I believe I could forcibly snatch the souls of multiple Gods."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Even if they didn’t want it?"

"Yes, but there would be a limit." He raised the green sphere in his hand and watched it quietly. "The stronger the resistance, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the connection."

"So if one of them was considerably stronger than you?"

"Then I would probably fail."

I nodded slowly. What he said made complete sense.

Authority wasn’t everything. The difference in strength between two Gods could completely change how their abilities worked.

But there was still something that bothered me. "What if the two souls were already connected?"

He remained silent as if he was having a hard time imagining such a thing.

"Imagine that two souls belong to the same existence, but somehow ended up separated." I carefully chose my words. "Would your authority be able to bring them together again?"

Osiris remained silent for several seconds.

Isis, who had been standing quietly beside him, also began paying closer attention.

"That would be much easier," Osiris finally said. "I wouldn’t need to create that connection. I would only need to strengthen it."

’...’

Having cleared up all my previous doubts, I asked one last thing.

"Could you force one soul to completely consume the other?"

The moment I asked that, Osiris’s expression became solemn.

"It is possible."

Isis immediately looked toward him. "Osiris."

He glanced at his wife before continuing. "But that would be extremely dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because souls aren’t objects." He slowly closed his hand, causing the green light to disappear.

"If one soul completely consumes another, the result isn’t simply one soul becoming stronger."

He looked directly into my eyes. "Parts of both souls would remain."

’...’

So, even if I could get rid of Amun-Ra, I would still inherit what he had?

Wouldn’t that mean, if I lost, then Amun-Ra would get everything that I have?

’...He wasn’t lying when he said that the winner will take it all.’

Just as I was deep in thought, I sat down on the chair and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

Many of the things that I thought were just Amun-Ra bluffing were slowly becoming true.

’...If this keeps on going, then there is no saying how things will work out.’

But in all of this, I understood one thing...

’I can’t let Amun-Ra kill Osiris.’

When I was thinking about my future plans, Isis slowly spoke up. "I think Osiris is underestimating Amun-Ra’s power by a lot."

I glanced up at her, who was standing on the side.

She looked at me while she talked. "I have some estimate of his strength, and I know he can do much more than just snatching the souls of multiple Gods."

"By your estimate..." I slowly asked. "...What can he do?"

".....Perhaps snatch the souls of every God and mortal in this world." She replied with a grim look on her face.

I stared at her without saying anything.

For a moment, I wondered if I had simply misunderstood what she had said. "...Every God and mortal?"

Isis nodded slowly, her expression remaining serious.

’...Well then, it’s much more serious than I expected.’

If he can do that much with Osiris’s power, then I have no idea what his end goal would be.

Taking in a deep breath, I turned my attention back to the God.

"Can you tell me more about the Souls?"

---

The two of us talked about Souls for an entire day.

And even after all that, I still think I have just scratched the surface of the topic.

Well, it’s not like I can’t understand it...it’s just that the whole thing is just too vast.

Still, I am sure my basics are clear, and if needed, I can find the temperament in my soul if that ever happened.

"Are you sure about this?"

I turned my head to my side, where Isis was walking with me.

"..Do you really want me to put you in a sealed cage?"

I remained silent as I looked around the place.

The sun had already begun to set outside, and the warm orange light entered through the enormous windows, painting the marble floor with long shadows.

We were walking in the deeper part of the temple, where Isis’s power was much stronger.

"I don’t see another option," I finally replied, keeping my voice calm. "I don’t know what happens to my body when I am gone to fight Apopis."

I lowered my gaze as I whispered. "...I really don’t wish for your husband to die."

She stared at me with a strange mixture of concern and suspicion.

"...Your life would be in my hands." She replied. "Don’t you realise how much risk you are taking?"

"I can only do that for now." I replied calmly. "And I am sure Amun-Ra won’t let me die even if you tried it."

"You are oddly confident that he will save you." She asked strangely.

"Of course." I replied. "After all, he will be trapped without me as I would be without him."

We eventually reached a chamber that was as big as a small island.

In the center of a large circular formation were carved runes into the marble floor.

Hundreds of ancient extra runes surrounded the place, glowing faintly with green light.

Isis said once again. "I will make sure your body won’t get out of this place."

I nodded my head in response. "Hopefully you are strong enough."

I walked toward the center of the formation and sat down.

The moment I crossed the outer circle, the entire chamber began to tremble.

Thin golden chains appeared from the ground and wrapped around my body.

In an instant, I felt like I was locked with no way to get out.

I looked back at Isis one last time as the Night arrived and the world around me shattered.