Harakhty and the firefighter driver arrived at the Capital of Egypt in the middle of a flood. Luckily for them, the firefighter truck was equipped exactly for situations like those, so at least it wasn't impossible for them to break through the almost impassable streets of Cairo.
The main problem wasn't that, though; it was the fact that they had no idea where Kurou was, and had no idea where to even begin searching for him.
But they didn't have the time to think about it, as an enormous humanoid figure could be seen in the distance, crushing buildings and throwing people around like toy soldiers. Harakhty wasn't a scholar, but he did know that creature wasn't natural. Its head was similar to that of an animal, with a long snout, and it was carrying a long scepter in his left hand.
What he didn't know is that this monstrosity was Set, the god of storms, and that he was feeding off all the violence he was causing in order to become even stronger.
Terrorized by the scene he was witnessing, Harakhty impulsively took the wheel from the driver and forced it to the left, trying to enter a street where they couldn't be seen by the wicked god. It had the exact opposite effect to what he intended, as the truck crashed loudly into the façade of a building, attracting the god's attention immediately.
The firefighter driver hit his head on the windshield and lost consciousness. Harakhty tried to wake him up but Set had already locked his eyes on him and ran towards him with earth-shaking steps.
He desperately tried to get out of the truck, but all he could do in time was open the door. Set grabbed him with his enormous hand, looked at him with blood-red outworldly eyes and asked, in a grave voice.
"Who are you? I sense the Post-Mortal energy in you, somehow".
"I'm just a policeman", Harakhty said, his voice trembling. Set laughed.
"Just a policeman, you say? Humans are so used to lying". He focused on Harakhty's eyes and Harakhty felt an acute headache.
"Well, it seems you're a friend of that worm", Set said, triumphant. "You can't lie to me, mortal".
"Please don't hurt me. I never meant to infuriate the Gods", Harakhty begged, cold sweat falling from his temples.
"You are just as coward as your friend. All you can do is run and beg", Set said, increasing the strength of his grip around Harakhty's body, causing him to scream. Set laughed while the poor man panted.
"I know what you are thinking, mortal. I know everything about the Post-Mortal, and I owe no one an explanation, least of all a mortal of your kind", Set said.
"Please spare me, mighty God", Harakhty said with a choked voice.
"Your pathetic desperation provided me with great inspiration, human. Let's see how the Post-Mortal will react to the surprise I'll have prepared for him", Set said, his eyes glowing red with cruelty and malice.
***
The Ascension process, to an outsider, looked like a demonic possession whereby Kurou's eyes glowed red, unblinking, and he didn't seem to have any control over his body, which levitated while the entire chamber shook.
As Hatshepsut, Wepwawet, Riddle and the goddesses Isis and Nephthys watched this spectacle unfold, a universe of information passed through Kurou's mind.
Kurou saw, as in a movie, the entire evolution of ancient Egyptian civilization, since more than 5,500 BC, when small tribes, established on the banks of the Nile, began to develop husbandry and breeding of animals, which would change the country's agriculture and would allow, with the help of the flood of the Nile, resources to be left over so that they could be used in the development of military activities, mathematics, writing, as well as in the appointment of a Pharaoh who represented at the same time the maximum administration of Egypt and the religious reference that would bridge the gap between the people and the Gods.
During that brief moment, Kurou saw things about the first Pharaohs that Egypt had, and about whom mankind only learned through the Palermo Stone.
He met, in his mind, Djoser, the first pharaoh to determine the construction of a pyramid; Khufu, the great Pharaoh responsible for the Great Pyramid of Giza; Thutmose III, stepson of Hatshepsut, a military genius; Amen-Hotep III, father of Akhenaton and responsible for one of the most peaceful and prosperous periods in the history of Egypt; and Alexander the Great, the Macedonian leader and conqueror of Egypt.
Kurou experienced the creation of the world by Atum, the God of Heliopolis, out of Nun, the principle of dark and infinite waters. As the pure expression of life, Atum created two offspring in what was called in the myths as the Zep Tepi, the first time: his son Shu, representing the dry air, and Tefnut, the corrosive moist air.
In a magnificent scene, Kurou saw the twins separate the sky from the waters, and the two young Gods produced Geb, the dry land, and Nut, the Sky itself. Then, Ra, the Sun God, appeared.
Geb and Nut produced the four Gods that Kurou would come to know pretty well: Set, Osiris, Nephthys and Isis. He finally understood why those last four Gods were so interconnected: they were part of the Ennead of the Gods, the oldest deities in Ancient Egyptian's creed.
During this trance, Kurou felt the motherly protection of Isis, the authority of Amon, the vengeful nature of Sekhmet, the sacrifice of Osiris, and the unstoppable violence of Set.
For centuries, the Egyptian Gods influenced the lives of their people, some trying to bring prosperity and peace, while others wanted only to disseminate chaos and disorder among them. That mix of both benign and nefarious influences could only end in failure, as the Egyptian Pharaohs became more and more arrogant, trusting that the Gods would intervene whenever they were in peril, to the point that they became weak and sloppy as a military power and were finally defeated by the Nubians.
These Nubians, who also considered themselves Egyptians, were later attacked by Persia and utterly crushed. The last Pharaoh to rule the country before such humiliation happened, ironically, was also called Ramses, but in this case it was Ramses III.
By the time Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and freed it from the Persians, the Gods were already losing their strength. Although the Macedonian ruler respected Egyptian customs and even proclaimed himself Pharaoh, he spent too much time on military campaigns and died young, at the age of 33.
Because of that, Egypt spent long centuries disconnected from its ancient origins, to the point that the Gods would have faded into oblivion if not for the relics and monuments humanity preserved, not for the sake of history, but for their own profit.
Now, the growing frustration that afflicted the Egyptian people caused a spark that reignited their desire to be ruled by the Gods, as in the myths.
Kurou saw the reawakening of the Gods, represented by Osiris rising from his royal tomb, holding the ceremonial crook and flail as well as the Atef Crown, in a full display of his power. He could see a peregrine falcon flying over the imagery, and its loud wailing cry. That was the representation of Horus. Kurou looked at the falcon's eyes, and they were red, just like his own, after the plane crash.
The imagery changed, for a moment, to that of a woman with a feather tied to her head. She smiled at him strangely, in such a manner that he could not interpret, like a Mona Lisa painting. Kurou felt a shiver run down his spine.
After that, Kurou woke up from the trance, landing on his feet. A burst of power coursed through his body. His head was down but his eyes were full of a determination he never felt before.
He looked at Hatshepsut and said, in a distorted voice:
"It's god hunting time!".
Hatshepsut was startled by what she saw. Kurou's previous disinterested and boring expression, which she was used to seeing, had now changed to an unshakable will that seemed capable of changing the world with a snap of his fingers.
Wasting no time, Kurou disappeared like lightning. Hatshepsut, Riddle and Wepwawet looked at each other in disbelief. Isis and Nephthys smiled triumphantly.
"He has accomplished the impossible, my servant", Nephthys told Hatshepsut.
"I want to fight beside him", Hatshepsut said.
Isis looked at her from head to toe and smirked. "Do you understand what it means to fight that battle? Death is the most likely outcome".
Hatshepsut nodded in agreement.
"So be it", Isis said, and the young woman Pharaoh was teleported in the same way.
Riddle assumed his true form, that of the god Anubis, and said to the goddesses:
"How much of what is happening right now is out of that man's free will?", he asked, but no answer came from the Goddesses, who remained expressionless. "Very well. I'll find out soon enough, with or without your cooperation", he said, gritting his teeth. A sand swirl enveloped Anubis, and he disappeared from sight.
***
Kurou sudden reappearance in the mortal realm raised a maelstrom of sand in the middle of what he recognized as the Valley of Kings.
It was easy for Kurou to see, now that his power had reached a different level, what was going on in the country, or rather, in the world while he was away.
The sky was darkened by heavy, black clouds, striking with lightning. Winds were strong and the Nile River was in turmoil.
"It seems like that monster god is causing quite the commotion here", Kurou said to himself. "He will regret it".
Kurou could now sense every mystical force in Egypt. From relics and talismans displayed at the Egyptian Museums to lost artifacts buried beneath the sands, nothing could escape his newfound power.
Because of that, pinpointing Set's location was an easy task.
The feeling Kurou experienced, however, was no less terrifying. The god of storms had been feeding off his own acts of violence while Kurou was taking the trials, and was now probably stronger than any other Egyptian God.
What was most unusual, in such situation, was that Kurou didn't feel like he was responsible for killing the beast. He wasn't Egyptian, and he never believed in gods of any kind. Now that he knew they were real, he realized they were no better than human beings, and did not feel proud for wielding Osiris' and Amon-Ra's power. Because of that, he managed to keep his sanity as the surge of power tried to take hold of his body.
What he felt, undeniably, was hatred and desire for revenge against Set, Ramses and Akhenaton for the death of Tutankhamon and Mahmoud. That alone was plenty.
By releasing his Ka, Kurou started levitating and took flight towards the source of destruction, Set, the wicked god. The scene he witnessed was disturbing. Corpses were scattered on the ground, buildings were torn apart and pretty much everything else was just a pile of rubble. The god of storms did a good job at tearing the city down like he promised he would.
Kurou's blood boiled at such devastation, but he had little time to think about that, because a giant scepter had been thrown at him, giving him only a fragment of a second to dodge.
The scepter buried itself on the ground, causing a small earthquake, and returned as if drawn by an irresistible force.
"He got stronger, that piece of shit of a monster", Kurou told himself.
As Kurou finished mumbling, a giant creature landed a few meters away from him. It was a towering humanoid figure with the head of an animal, undeniably the god the Ancient Egyptians called Sutekh. He was much more muscular than before and it felt like he was oozing power through her pores.
"So you ran away in order to take the trial, Post-Mortal", Set said, with disdain.
"I didn't run away, freak", Kurou said with a smirk. "I just made a temporary retreat".
"I won't give you the chance to retreat now", Set said. "Especially now that your friend's life is in my hands".
"What are you talking about, you crazy god?", Kurou asked, nervous. Set raised his hand and a beaten up, bloodied and barely conscious Harakhty appeared from beneath the rubble, floating in the air.
Kurou's eyes glowed a very strong red, and his hatred turned to wrath.
"I'll kill you and all your kind!", Kurou screamed thoughtlessly and flew towards Set. The god smiled with cold malice, and released a roar that pushed Kurou back so strongly his clothes were almost completely torn.
Kurou was surprised at the power Set amassed in such a short time. Had he absorbed the power of a Pharaoh or something?
"I know what you're thinking, Post-Mortal", Set said, triumphant. "How have I become this powerful?".
Set let out a loud laugh.
"I'm a God, Post-Mortal. Did you really think I would settle for those pitiful Pharaohs in order to become powerful? Why should I resort to that if I learned how to take it from Egypt itself?".
Set wasn't lying. As a God, he had not only the strength but also the intelligence of a superior being. It wasn't really surprising that he could develop new ways of becoming stronger.
"So you are draining the energy of every mystical source in this place…and even the life force of the Egyptian people", Kurou said.
"Are you mad at me, Post-Mortal? Come, show me what you can do. I promise to crush you and all your friends before I turn this doomed country into the desert tomb it deserves to become!", Set said, extending his hand in a defying stance.
Kurou had his patience at its limit and decided to go all out. He released his Ka and a large wave of black energy formed around his body. He flew towards Set with great speed and launched a powerful punch in the god's stomach, sending him flying.
The 10 meters tall god crushed houses with his body as he fell on top of them. Kurou panted as he observed the god raising from the ground, unscathed.
"Is that your best, Post-Mortal?", Set said. "Must I kill your friend for you to fight seriously?".
Set started crushing Harakhty's body with a sort of telekinetic power, and Kurou darted towards him again, delivering an even more powerful punch, this time on Set's face, producing a shockwave.
However, Set didn't fall this time. He just took a step back and looked at Kurou's face with a sadistic smile, and punched Kurou with his giant fist, throwing him a mile away.
Kurou coughed blood from the attack.
"Am I not supposed to be immortal? Why am I bleeding?", Kurou asked himself.
"You're doing it all wrong, Kurou. Not worthy of being called the Avenger at all", a voice inside his head said.
"What the hell is going on? Am I going schizoid now?", Kurou said.
"You've never been good in the head, but that's not the problem right now", the voice said.
"Wait…I recognize this voice. Horus", Kurou said, getting on his feet.
"Well done, Kurou. Thanks for being my host for the evening, by the way", the Falcon God said.
"You are a funny guy, you know. Very different from the other Gods", Kurou said, full of irony.
"Yes I am. I have a sense of humor. I like that about humans. Except you", Horus said.
"This has been a lovely conversation, Horus, but I'm in a pinch right now. Set is stronger than ever and is about to kill Harakhty. I need to do something", Kurou said, running fast in Set's direction.
"You can't fight Set with the mindset you have right now. Being angry won't make you more powerful", Horus said.
"And what am I supposed to do?", Kurou said while dodging another strike from Set's scepter.
"Listen. You already know what you Ka is, right?", Horus asked.
"No, I don't. It's power, right? Energy", Kurou said, clueless.
Kurou traded blows with Set but his attacks had little effect. Set's attacks, on the other hand, were doing great harm to Kurou's body even though he had the power of the greatest Gods in Egypt coursing through his veins.
"Ka is the aspect of your soul that stays alive after you die", Horus said. "But that's not the only aspect of it. You need to converge all three aspects in order to use the power you have been given to its full extent".
"Great. And here I thought the trial was over", Kurou grumbled.
"It's never over, old man", Horus said. "Now stop being lazy and listen".
Kurou grimaced in contempt.
"Now that you know what Ka is, you have to understand the aspects of Akh and Ba", Horus said.
"Akh and Ba…okay. What if I try to save Harakhty while you explain?", Kurou asked.
"I don't care what you do, just pay attention!", Horus screamed inside his head.
"All right, all right!", Kurou replied.
"I'll shorten the story and you figure it out yourself", Horus said, impatient. "Akh is the aspect that gives form to your soul. Ba is the aspect that gives mobility to your soul. That's all".
Kurou hadn't even had the time to process the information when a huge hand suddenly appeared and slapped him violently, knocking him to the ground, earning him a pair of broken ribs and a thousand-years' worth of pain.
