After the passing of the terrible storm that castigated the Temple of Edfu and its surroundings, the Egyptian firefighters and the police took 2 days to finally clean all the rubble and conduct a search for survivors in the middle of the wreckage.
Mahmoud and Riddle were nowhere to be seen; apparently they had been swept away by the flood and the authorities had been searching the whole area for their whereabouts.
Upon lifting a couple of broken pillars, a firefighter shouted for help as he could see a pair of squeezed legs in there.
In seconds, a man showed up to see what was going on. It was the same sergeant who tried to arrest Kurou in Abydos. He rallied the men to put their best efforts in taking the heavy weight from the man's body, with no great hopes of finding him alive.
To his utmost surprise, the pair of legs moved a little. They quickly removed all the rubble from the body and saw a gruesome scene: his skull had been crushed by the pillars, scrunched up and soaked in blood.
Their eyes widened up to the point of almost falling from their sockets as the man started moving his head. As if in a dream, his skull started recovering its normal shape, although still drenched in blood.
The sergeant was impressed beyond belief. That man was supposed to be dead, undeniably dead. Yet there he was, moving his head like a newborn maggot.
The sergeant felt genuine terror and an urge to run when a coarse voice came from the undying man.
"Wait".
The sergeant stopped in his tracks, still terrorized.
"Please wait".
"What are you?", the sergeant asked. "How come you're still alive? Am I dreaming right now?".
"I wish we were", Kurou said, getting up slowly, like a ghost coming back to life. The sergeant got startled and reached for his gun.
"Where are they?", Kurou asked, a bit confused. "My one-armed friend and a jackal. Seen anyone?".
"We still don't know. Searches are being carried out at this moment. You'll have to come with me to the Police Station and provide a statement", the policeman said. Kurou laughed out loud like a drunk.
"Statement? Want me to give a statement? Well, here's my statement. NO. That's all I have to tell you, officer", Kurou said.
"I need to know what's going on here, buddy", the sergeant said. "It's the second time I run into you and it's the second time an Egyptian archeological treasure is destroyed in your presence. This is no coincidence".
Kurou sat on the sidewalk and removed his bloody shirt. The firefighters had a blanket with them so he took it and cleaned his hair and face, causing quite a mess that made him look like a character from a horror movie, and one of the trashy ones. The sergeant looked at him, serious; Kurou nodded for him to sit down.
The sergeant sighed but ultimately sat down too.
"It's a long story, y'know", Kurou said, looking at the distance.
"Right. Start talking", the sergeant rushed.
"Okay then. Gods and Pharaohs are coming back to life, and Egypt is one step away from being destroyed. Are you satisfied?", Kurou said, smirking.
The sergeant made an unhappy face, clearly thinking that Kurou was a loon. "You should definitely tell the police what you know instead of make fun of my work".
"Do you really think I'm going to the police? Want them all to get killed? Or me, to die of boredom? I know all about bureaucracy, buddy, and I don't plan on becoming a mummy waiting for my turn in line", Kurou amused.
"Why do you act like this? Don't you care about the consequences of your actions?", the sergeant asked.
"I have spent all my life afraid and worrying about consequences, and I'm full of it, honestly. I reached a point where even death has been taken away from me, so now I'm gonna live the way I want it. Call it stubbornness, selfishness, I don't care", Kurou said.
"You're not that selfish if the first thing you ask after coming back to life is about the well-being of your friends", the policeman pondered.
"Being in a strange place, alone and surrounded by absurd happenings, those people were the only good thing that had happened to me since the plane crashed", Kurou said, flicking a small rock with his fingers.
"Were you on that plane?", the sergeant asked. "The one that crashed in the desert?".
"Yes I was, and I saw the whole thing. An idiot threw a cigarette butt in the bathroom trash and BOOM, shit done", Kurou said.
"I tagged along for the rescue of that plane...or attempt, rather. We found no living victims", the sergeant said.
"So you have just found the only one. Some people call me Kurou, but you can just call me Doctor", Kurou said, with a grin.
"A Dr. Who joke? Really?", the sergeant said.
"Finally someone who gets my references!", Kurou exclaimed. "I've been waiting for this moment!".
The sergeant rubbed his temples in disappointment at such nonsense. "I'm Harakhty, Sergeant of Police of Cairo", he said. "Now that I think of it...how can you speak my language? You are neither African nor Arab. And those weird eyes. Are you wearing contacts? 'Cause you're the kind of weird guy who would, that’s for sure".
"I'm not wearing any fucking contacts!", Kurou responded. "My eyes weren't always like that. It was the accident that changed everything. I still don't know why, and even if I did I probably wouldn't have the patience to explain".
Harakhty nodded his head, expecting more info.
"I speak neither Arabic nor African languages. But I can communicate with descendants of Ancient Egypt. You are one even if you don't know it", Kurou said.
"I know", Harakhty replied. "My grandparents' grandparents were Egyptian".
"I think it goes a little further than that", Kurou said.
"What a strange thing...neither you nor I are speaking Ancient Egyptian right now, but to others it looks like we are?", Harakhty asked.
"No idea", Kurou laughed. "You better ask one of your men".
“Sergeant!”, a soldier said loud and clear. "We have found another victim”.
Harakhty got up fast on his feet and approached the soldier, leaning towards him so Kurou wouldn’t hear them. The sergeant raised his eyebrows as the soldier explained the news.
“Kurou”, the sergeant said. “I have bad news for you”.
“What? Did something happen to Mahmoud? And the jackal?”, Kurou asked, startled.
“The jackal is fine. But your friend Mahmoud... he drowned during the storm. I’m sorry", Harakhty said, lowering his eyes.
Kurou went silent. Gradually, his eyes began to glow a strong red, as if electricity was passing through them. Harakhty felt the earth shake violently for a couple of seconds, and struggled to keep his balance.
“I WILL KILL THEM ALL!” Kurou screamed from the bottom of his lungs.
***
Following his escape from Set’s grasp, Ramses locked himself in the temple of Abu Simbel for protection, absolutely on his own. It was easy to see the great pharaoh had been going paranoid by the minute.
The only thing Ramses could think of is how to achieve immortality so he wouldn’t become a sacrifice for Set. He felt stupid for trusting the god of foreigners, instead of the almighty Amon-Ra, who gave him his name.
It was too late now. Amon-Ra would never forgive him for such a betrayal. His attitude laid waste to all the efforts and sacrifices made by Osiris and Isis in the myths, when Set hacked Osiris’ body into pieces and spread them throughout the Nile River, forcing the matriarch goddess to collect his pieces so they could conceive the Avenger, Horus.
Now, Horus didn’t have enough power to stop Set on his own, and the god of storms and deserts wouldn’t be fooled again as he had been in ancient times. In the myths, both gods challenged each other for the throne of Egypt to a race with boats supposedly made of stone. Horus won the race by painting a wood boat to resemble stone, rather than true stone. Set's boat, being made of heavy stone, sank, but Horus' did not. Accepting defeat, Set stepped down and Horus was finally acclaimed as the new King of Egypt.
His only choice, he thought, was to speak to Maat and find out why a mere mortal like Kurou had been given Post-Mortality. Avoiding Ammit’s execution after being weighed down and deemed unworthy was an unthinkable taboo that must have happened for a reason.
But reaching out to Maat directly was impossible, since the Goddess was guarded by Thoth, or dḥwty as the Ancients called him, the ibis God, scribe of the Gods, inventor of writing, religion, philosophy and magic. Only through him, and with his permission, would Ramses be allowed to speak to Maat and obtain the information he wanted, especially because Anubis would never allow it since he already knew about Ramses’ malicious intention.
Resolute, Ramses sat down in the middle of his inner sanctuary and closed his eyes, seeking a deep state of meditation. In his thoughts, he begged for Thoth to answer his call, for his cause was just.
After an hour or so of meditation, a bird came flying and landed on the ground, next to him. It was a relatively big bird, around 27 inches long, with white plumages apart from the beautiful dark plumes on the rump and a few yellow feathers spread by its wings. It had a black curved bill, like a crescent moon, and its head, neck and legs were also black.
It was known as the sacred ibis, the animal that Ancient Egyptians linked to Thoth.
Ramses opened his eyes after sensing the animal's presence, and the bird intelligently looked at him with scrutinizing eyes. It opened its bill and a stern voice came out like an eerie message from another dimension.
"Have you requested my presence, pharaoh?".
"Yes, Thoth, my Lord", Ramses bowed in deference.
"What do you want?".
"I pledge a hearing with Ma'at, my Lord", Ramses said without raising his head.
"What do you intend by speaking to Ma'at?".
"I want to show her the wrongdoings of the Post-Mortal", Ramses said.
"Do you have evidence on that, pharaoh?".
"Yes I do, my Lord". Ramses flinched at this sentence but put himself together quickly. Thoth remained reticent.
"HE HAS NO RIGHT TO ASK THAT", a roaring voice shook the temple walls just to reveal Wepwawet, the Wolf God, brother of Anubis.
"State your reason for interrupting this hearing, Wepwawet".
"That man is a megalomaniacal bastard who caused the death of Tutankhamon and is responsible for the resurrection of Sutekh. He is unworthy of the Gods' attention”, Wepwawet said.
"Is that true, pharaoh?".
“With all due respect, my Lord, Wepwawet is wrong. I didn't kill Tutankhamon, the heretic pharaoh did. And the destruction of the temples was caused by Sutekh alone. I had no part in such events, especially considering one of those temples belonged to my father, Seti I”, Ramses said.
"YOU PSYCHOPATH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU RIGHT HERE!", Wepwawet raged.
"Stop. No violence will be tolerated in my presence".
Just by looking at Wepwawet, the Sacred Ibis demonstrated such a powerful presence that the Wolf God paralyzed. That bird was definitely an avatar of Thoth and no one had a choice but to listen to his command.
"Pharaoh. I will grant you an audience with Ma'at, and I will stand by her side and transcribe the whole hearing. Whatever answers you get from her will depend on what she wants to let you know".
"Thank you, Thoth, my Lord", Ramses bowed again, this time smirking maliciously at Wepwawet's defeat. The Wolf God sat down on the floor, upset.
The sacred ibis flew to the side and an ethereal blank papyrus appeared in front of him. A translucent figure of a winged woman, dressed in a long red dress, with a feather attached to her head by a ribbon, started appearing out of thin air. Her unparalled beauty let even Ramses disoriented as he felt the urge to kneel before her. As they started speaking, words began to appear at the papyrus surface.
“My Goddess”, Ramses whispered.
“Hello, Ramses II. You can just call me Ma’at”.
“Would that really be acceptable?, Ramses asked.
“I’m allowing it, dear”.
“Ma’at…please tell me why that man escaped Ammit’s execution even after having his heart deemed too heavy”, Ramses begged.
“You just want to know why Kurou is not dead, don’t you?”.
“Yes, Milady”.
“I wanted him to live. Isn’t that enough?”.
“Please forgive me, Ma’at. Of course your will is enough for anything. But I wanted to know why HIM. Why a foreigner, a vagabond, a commoner like him?, Ramses asked, clearly disturbed.
“Not everything in life can be solved by gods and pharaohs, Ramses. This world is everchanging, and I do what I must to keep it in balance”.
“But that man is not worthy, Ma’at. He shows no respect for the tradition, for hierarchy, for anything. He is selfish, and tragedy follows him wherever he goes”, Ramses argued.
“Is he that different from you and me? Aren’t we all made of the same principles of life and death, light and darkness, order and chaos? Can’t we all be good at one time, but bad at the other?".
“With all respect, my Goddess, but why don’t you answer me?”, Ramses asked, getting more and more nervous.
“The answer is all around you, Ramses II. Look at your homeland. Then look at yourself. Judge your own actions before you question mine. Forget that you were a pharaoh; remember only that you are a human being. Then you will understand everything you wish to understand".
“I know I am a human being, Ma’at. But I’m also more than that; I’m a Pharaoh chosen by the Gods, and I have paid tribute to you more than once. Why should I forget how important I am if the Gods wanted me to be so?”, Ramses inquired.
“Because chaos awaits those who stray from the path of justice. And if you want to know what justice is, look at me and you will see it. Listen to my words, and you will hear it. Like the old tale…those who destroy the lie promote Ma'at; those who promote the good will erase the evil; as fulness casts out appetite; as clothes cover the nude; and as heaven clears up after a storm”.
“I NEED AN ANSWER, MA’AT”, Ramses screamed, holding his head between his hands. Wepwawet snarled furiously and Thoth stopped writing for a second, glancing at the enraged pharaoh. “Why was the Post-Mortal chosen by you? What’s so special about him?”, Ramses asked.
“Nothing, Ramses. I never decided he was special. I just decided he deserved to live. The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts, my dear. A single piece can change the meaning of the whole puzzle. You must understand that or you will never find peace of mind, in this life or in the next".
“I can’t take this anymore. Even the almighty Ma’at is useless!”, Ramses exclaimed, turning away from the Goddess to look at his own statue at the inner sanctuary.
With a sad smile, Ma’at started to fade until she disappeared completely. Thoth’s voice could be heard again.
"Way over the line, pharaoh. You shame your ancestors".
I don’t care, Thoth. I’m tired of all this. Let me tell you what I’ll do. I’ll kill Ammit, that’s what I’ll do. Then the Weighing of the Heart will be over and this world will be free of your noxious influence forever”, Ramses said, out of his mind.
“How ignorant and arrogant can you be, Ramses?”, Wepwawet said, showing his teeth. “Do you think you’re greater and wiser than the Gods of this land?”.
“You will see when the time is right, Wepwawet”, Ramses said, threateningly. “Not that a betrayer like yourself had any rights, though”.
"You hate the Post-Mortal yet you seek to obtain immortality through the same means, pharaoh".
“I’m the only one who deserves to live forever, ibis god!”, Ramses shouted, trembling. “And Egypt will belong to me for the eternity!”.
"Eternity is beyond your comprehension, pharaoh”.
Wepwawet was about to leash out at Ramses when Thoth flew towards his shoulder.
"Leave him, Wepwawet. Ma’at says he will find peace at the end of the road”.
Wepwawet snorted, but ultimately turned away and they left the Abu Simbel temple while Ramses stood there, trembling with anger.
“They will pay for this. I am the rightful inheritor of this country".
After a while staring at the statues of his inner sanctuary, Ramses closed his eyes, took a deep breath and whispered.
“Isfet, lend me your power”.
