Chapter 601: [The Journey of Sun] [15] [Backfire]

"....."

I blinked my eyes to get rid of the dryness in them.

It was just a moment ago when I was chained up and sitting in the center of a spell made by Isis.

But I was not in the middle of the black sea like I was supposed to be. I was standing in a hall that felt unfamiliar.

’....What happened?’

Why was I not thrown into the battle with Apophis---.

My train of thought crashed heavily when my gaze lowered to my hand.

’...Blood?’

Both of my hands were covered in thick, fresh blood that dripped down, pooling around my feet.

’...Why is there blood....’

I tried to clean my hand instinctively, hoping it was my blood, but I was wrong. The blood wasn’t mine.

My gaze shifted toward the enormous gate behind me. Runes were imprinted with blood across it as well.

’...No..No...’

I desperately tried to keep my calm as I slowly reached for the door.

With trembling hands, I opened the enormous door easily.

The moment it moved, a metallic smell rushed toward me.

...Blood.

There was so much of it that it had already begun flowing down the wide staircase leading toward the throne room.

"...No."

I stepped inside, my eyes following the trail of blood that disappeared toward the top of the staircase.

I reached the bottom of the staircase and slowly looked upward.

My heart remained undeniably calm, but my mind was anything but.

At the top of the stairs, Isis was sitting on the marble floor.

She was holding Osiris in her arms.

Her clothes were covered in blood, and her hands were trembling as she desperately held the body against her chest.

Osiris’s head rested against her shoulder while his lifeless body hung completely limp.

There was a massive wound across his chest, and I could not feel any life from him.

"...Osiris."

I whispered, hoping for him to respond in any way possible.

Isis didn’t respond either. She simply continued holding her husband while tears streamed down her face.

A few metres away from her stood another figure.

...Horus.

The young God was staring at his father with tears covering his face.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails had pierced his palms.

The moment his eyes moved toward me, everything changed.

"You!"

His voice echoed throughout the throne room.

BOOM!

Horus disappeared from where he stood and reappeared directly in front of me.

His fist was already moving. It struck my face with enough force to shatter the surrounding space.

...Yet the impact didn’t even make me take a step backward.

I slowly turned my head back toward him. "...What?"

His expression changed from rage to disbelief.

"You..."

I grabbed his wrist, and his body immediately tensed as he tried to pull himself away.

"You killed him!" His voice broke as he shouted at me. "You killed my father!"

He tried to attack again, but I tightened my grip around his wrist.

The divine energy surrounding his body immediately collapsed.

A single movement would have been enough, but I held back and let go.

Horus stumbled backward, staring at me as if he had just seen a monster.

My mind refused to accept what my eyes were showing me. ’...This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

I quickly turned and looked up at the sky as my body moved instantly.

I moved through the sky at a speed that would have been impossible for anyone else.

There was only one person who could give me an answer.

..Set.

If Amun-Ra had planned Osiris’s death, then Set had to know something.

The clouds around me exploded apart as I crossed the desert.

Within minutes, I reached the enormous fortress belonging to the God of Sandstorms.

I didn’t bother announcing myself as I descended directly through the ceiling.

BOOM!

The entire castle shook when I landed.

Several soldiers immediately rushed toward me, but I didn’t even look at them.

Set was standing inside a massive chamber surrounded by golden pillars.

The moment he saw me, his expression changed. "My Lord?"

I didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. My fist connected with his face.

BOOM!

Set’s body flew across the chamber and smashed through several walls.

The entire fortress trembled.

I appeared beside him before he could recover.

I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground. "What did you do?"

Set struggled beneath my grip. "What are you talking about?"

I punched him again as blood sprayed across the floor.

"Osiris is dead." I said calmly. "....How did that happen?"

Set’s eyes widened as he stared at me, his breathing becoming heavier beneath my grip.

"I didn’t do it." His voice was strained, but there was no hesitation in his answer. "I swear, my lord. I never touched Osiris."

I stared at him for several seconds, trying to find even the smallest sign of deception.

I punched him again.

BOOM!

Set’s body was driven into the ground, cracking the marble beneath him.

"Don’t lie to me."

I grabbed his robes and pulled him back up, my eyes cold as I stared directly into his face.

"I was supposed to fight Apophis all night." My grip tightened around his throat. "Then why the hell is Osiris dead?"

Set coughed as he struggled to breathe.

"I... don’t know."

I slammed him against the floor again. "Then what the fuck were you doing while Osiris was dying?"

"I was resting in my--."

My fist slammed into his face again.

BOOM!

Set’s body flew across the chamber and crashed through one of the enormous pillars supporting the ceiling, sending pieces of marble raining down around him.

I appeared beside him before he could even recover.

Set tried to raise his arm, but I caught it and drove my knee into his chest before throwing him through another wall.

I followed him through the broken wall and grabbed him again.

I slammed him into the floor.

Again. And again. And again.

Set tried to speak several times, but every attempt was interrupted by another blow.

Blood covered his face while his divine aura flickered around his body, desperately trying to protect him from the beating.

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the ruined chamber as Set’s attempts to defend himself gradually disappeared.

His body lay motionless against the shattered marble floor.

I stood over him, breathing heavily. "...Damn it."

I looked at my blood-covered hand before letting out a long sigh.

I turned around and, without saying another word, I left the fortress.

---

The journey back to Abydos felt strangely long.

When I finally arrived above Abydos, I immediately descended toward the temple.

I entered the temple and walked through the same corridors I had walked through earlier.

Eventually, I reached the throne room.

Isis was sitting on the marble floor while holding Osiris’s body against her chest.

"Isis." I stopped a few metres away.

"I..."

She slowly raised her head before I could say anything, her empty eyes on me.

"You knew..." Her voice was so quiet that I almost couldn’t hear it. "You knew that Amun-Ra was planning to become an Outer God..."

I wasn’t able to respond properly. All I could say was, "...What?"

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Her voice suddenly rose. "WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?"

"Isis, listen to me."

"You knew!" She tightened her arms around Osiris. "You knew what he was planning, and you still said nothing!"

I slowly raised my hand and walked closer to her.

"I am not your enemy, Isis." I said calmly. "I will do everything I can to help you. There must be a way to--."

Her fingers slowly tightened around Osiris’s clothes. "There is."

I stopped, completely taken off guard. "...What?"

Isis raised her hand. A faint divine light appeared in front of us.

The light expanded until it formed a large projection.

It showed the same throne room as now, but presumably from the events of yesterday.

Amun-Ra stood in the center of the chamber, and Isis was on her knees before him.

In one of his hands was the lifeless body of Osiris, and in the other...his heart.

Isis’s body trembled as she watched her husband suffer.

Amun-Ra looked down at her.

Even through the distorted projection, I could see the faint smile on his face.

"You don’t have to despair." His voice echoed through the chamber. "I will give you a fair chance to bring your husband back."

Amun-Ra held Osiris’s heart in front of her.

"You want him alive." He slowly crushed his fingers around it. "Then become something capable of bringing him back."

The projection distorted for a moment.

Amun-Ra’s face became blurred. "Become an Outer Goddess."

My expression became completely frozen as I looked at it.

The face of Amun-Ra overlapped with the face of Isis as the projection disappeared.

"The eight pillars." Her voice was quiet, but there was absolute determination hidden beneath it. "I will complete them."

She stared directly into my eyes and said as if it was a vow. "And I will become an Outer Goddess."

"..Haha."

A small laugh escaped from my lips involuntarily.

....I have been played like a fool by the hands of a God once again.