"Okay, so…Ka, Akh and Ba...afterlife, soul form and soul mobility. What the fuck does that even mean?". Why are the Egyptians so fond of riddles?".

Kurou had to think while trading blows with Set and the results were only getting worse. Set relentlessly pummeled him with punches, kicks, and scepter swipes.

“Think Kurou, these guys like to be literal and metaphorical at the same time. Post-Mortal is the one who lives after death. Ka is the soul that lives after death”, he reasoned amidst the chaos.

Set crushed two of Kurou's ribs with one swing of the scepter, and he crashed against a wall, coughing up blood.

“Shit, shit, shit...I'm really going to die like this! What's the point of gathering so much power from those half-assed gods if I can't even handle this guy?”, Kurou grimaced.

Set's laughter echoed through the mayhem.

“Your feigned immortality is of no use against me, human. You're no god. What makes you think you can wield the power of one? Your only choice is to surrender. Give your power to me and maybe I'll let you and your friend live”, Set said.

"You just want to lay waste to everything, do you really think I'm going to believe you’ll spare me?”, Kurou retorted, one hand pressed against his broken ribs, his breathing strained from the pain.

"A valid point", Set conceded, still chuckling. "You're not as foolish as you look."

Before Set could resume his onslaught, strong winds whipped up a maelstrom of sand. Kurou and Set both sensed an approaching source of malevolent energy, their focus momentarily diverted. Kurou frowned.

"Great, more trouble. I need to figure this out... Alright, Akh is the form of the soul, probably related to shadow projection", Kurou thought. A sand vortex swirled violently and dissipated, revealing Ramses II, utterly possessed by Apep, the Serpent of Chaos. His eyes glowed yellow, with vertical pupils resembling those of a snake.

"Holy shit, come on... I can't catch a break. If Ka is post-mortality, and Akh is shadow projection, then Ba... soul mobility?", Kurou's thought process was interrupted by Set's monstrous roar. Kurou was momentarily dazed by the sheer power of the god's furious scream, but his attention was soon reclaimed by a familiar voice.

“Ba is your ability to transition between life and death, Kurou”, Harakhty's weakened voice reached him, as the injured man limped towards Kurou, leaning on overturned cars for support.

“Harakhty!”, Kurou exclaimed.

Collapsing to the ground, Harakhty's body gave in after enduring Set's torturous onslaught. Anguish and rage welled up within Kurou as he witnessed his friend's condition. Though they hadn't known each other for long, the policeman was an innocent soul undeserving of suffering due to the machinations of the Egyptian gods.

Apep's alien voice pulled Kurou back from his turmoil and into the present.

“They tried to eliminate me from this game, but all they did was make me stronger and angrier”, Apep taunted, manipulating dark energies that rendered the landscape reminiscent of the realm of Duat.

“Serpent, return to the abyss whence you came. This world is mine, and you have no place in it”, Set seethed, his eyes blazing with hatred.

“And by what right do you lay claim to this world, fallen god? You couldn't even handle mere mortals", Apep jeered, charging towards Set.

Set looked at Kurou. "You're in luck, worm", the god remarked, dryly. "Our fight is on hold for a moment. After I deal with this wretched snake, I'll take care of you".

Seizing the window of opportunity presented by the clash of titans, Kurou took shelter, struggling to decipher Horus's cryptic message.

"Alright, so Ba is my soul ability to transition between life and death. What next? Nothing's changed. These stupid riddles are a waste of time. I better get Harakhty to safety before we're caught in the crossfire", Kurou resolved, his determination clear.

After ensuring that Apep and Set continued their battle and quickly checking on Harakhty, Kurou positioned him behind a half-shattered building, providing the safest refuge amid the turmoil.

"It's almost too convenient that they're too worried about each other to come after me", Kurou muttered.

"Feeling left out, Kurou?", a female voice playfully teased.

"You're still going to scare me to death!", Kurou said upon seeing Hatshepsut, who appeared out of nowhere.

"You are a wreck. I thought you'd be stronger after the coronation, but instead you look like a kid that got beaten up by his neighbors", Hatshepsut chided.

"You haven't seen the extent of Set's power. He's been feeding on his own destruction, and even my regeneration isn't keeping up", Kurou said, pointing at the god of storms, fiercely battling Apep.

"You're probably getting it all wrong", Hatshepsut said.

"What am I getting wrong? Horus made it very clear that I need to converge the three aspects of my soul so that I can use the power of the gods to the fullest", Kurou inquired.

"Did he tell you what aspects these are?", Hatshepsut asked.

"Yes, Ka, Akh and Ba. Post-Mortality, Shadow Projection and Soul Mobility, the ability to traverse between life and death", Kurou said.

"Yeah, you got it wrong", Hatshepsut said, with a little laugh. "Akh is not shadow projection. 'Soul Form', remember? That's what Akh really means".

"Right, Soul Form", Kurou corrected himself, still puzzled.

"I can see you haven't put a lot of thought into this, but I know what you've been through", Hatshepsut said. "It's hard to think when a god is trying to kill you".

"EXACTLY", Kurou agreed, extending his arms in a gesture of thanks.

"Listen closely. Akh isn't shadow projection. It's the aspect that enables your soul to endure hardships. The form of the soul is not simply the shape of the soul, it's the resilience, the ability to bounce back from pain, misery and any other kind of tribulation", Hatshepsut clarified.

"So...Ka keeps my soul alive after death. Ba lets my soul traverse between both the worlds of the dead and the living. And Akh…allows my soul to withstand the hardships of both life and death?", Kurou asked, not so certain.

"That's pretty much it, Kurou", Hatshepsut nodded. "Concentrate on the hardships you have gone through, and the answers will come to you. I promise".

With renewed resolve, and making sure Set and Apep's attention was still fixed elsewhere, Kurou checked from the corner of his eye to see if Harakhty was okay, leaned against the building and closed his eyes.

"Alright, then. I'll do it!", Kurou whispered to himself. As the storm of battle raged around him, he harnessed all of the suffering and loneliness he has gone through up to now.

Not only from losing his newly made friends upon arriving in Egypt, but also from the miserable life he had led up until that point.

Kurou had always been miserable, mediocre, useless.

His soul was tortured not by the defeats he had suffered in his life, but simply by the sheer frustration of not even being able to do anything worth suffering a loss.

He had, in a way, been dead long before the plane crash.

Ironically, the inability to die had granted him freedom.

Freedom to do what he wanted to do, kill who he felt deserved death, follow the path he thought was right, offend who he felt was unworthy of his respect.

And he never knew why until he became immortal.

It seems being unable to die gives a man a different sense of what life is all about.

Upon realizing he couldn’t die, he thought boredom would be his only friend, and that he would do nothing but stare at the ceiling of some dusty old room like he used to.

But fate, it seems, smiles at you when you turn your back to it.

But freedom came at a price. Kurou was now embroiled in a world-class conflict among gods and pharaohs, transitioning from a naked stranger in the middle of the desert to Egypt's heir, from someone who knew naught of his whereabouts to the King of a long lost civilization he once deemed nothing but a bunch of religious fanatics.

Yet, he had the freedom to choose. And the fact that he wouldn’t die because of that choice was more than enough for him to believe himself, and that he could overcome whatever hardship he could possibly face because of that choice.

As such, Kurou resolved to fight. Not for Egypt, gods, or pharaohs, but to eliminate those who kept him shackled. If he was going to bore himself to death afterwards, it didn’t matter. As long as gods and pharaohs clashed, peace would elude him. They wouldn't allow it.

Kurou was about to unleash his fury and go berserk, when he sensed Hatshepsut's hands gently cupping his cheeks.

"You don’t need to lose sight of yourself, Kurou. You know it deep down, don’t you. You're eternal now. You can do whatever you want. Your soul has been battered and hammered into shape, like a sword in a forge. Sharp and resilient, and ready to strike! Yamada Kurou, break free from the shackles that tie your hands. Show the Gods and Pharaohs of this land who is the strongest!”.

Kurou's soul erupted like a wild volcano. The once raw, black energy pouring from his body now radiated gold, imbued with a newfound potency.

As his cuts and bruises healed instantly, including the shattered ribs, Kurou took a breath as if it were his first.

"This ends now!”, Kurou proclaimed, to which she nodded confidently.

Both Set and Apep were astonished by Kurou's unleashed might. Genuine fear coursed through them for the first time.

"So, you've let the worm become a python, Sutekh", Apep remarked disdainfully.

"Weren't you supposed to devour the Sun and obliterate Amon-Ra, serpent?", Set retorted. "Too late now. The Avenger has awoken completely, and he won't rest until we're dust."

"You might die, but I—", Apep laughed as sand poured from every pore of Ramses II's body. "I AM GREATER THAN THIS WORLD AND NOTHING CAN STOP ME!", the Serpent of Chaos roared, shaping the sand into a colossal snake.

The enormous serpent spun like a whirlwind, conjuring tornadoes and sandstorms that threatened Cairo's remnants of complete destruction. Set shielded himself from Apep's assault with ease, watching as Ramses II's body fell to the ground, inert, carried away by the powerful air current.

Despite Set's power, he couldn't penetrate the ferocious gales created by the Serpent. Allowing it to gather momentum would only escalate its force, eventually consuming Earth's atmosphere, making the myth of Apep devouring the Sun a reality – at least for Earth's inhabitants.

Kurou's attention was torn from the chaos by Set's voice.

"Post-Mortal, you see what's happening. Help me defeat Apep, or we all perish."

Before Set could finish, Kurou appeared by his side, levitating with an insolent expression that had become his signature.

"Who'd have thought, ugly monster? Relying on a mere mortal for help", Kurou quipped.

"There's no time for squabbles. We either unite or perish. I suggest a truce. What do you say?", Set proposed.

Kurou maintained caution, aware of how cunning and vile Set was. "I accept your proposal, for now. But that doesn't mean I'm going to add you to my networks after this is over".

Set snarled, unfazed by Kurou's taunts, and readied himself against Apep, using his magic to counter the raging wind. He looked at Kurou from the corner of his eye. " I know the woman Pharaoh's with you. She knows the spell. Tell her to chant it before it's too late".

Kurou's gaze shifted to Hatshepsut, who nodded in acknowledgment. "Spell number 7 from the Book of the Dead. I remember. I'll chant it, Kurou. But watch out for Sutekh. He's the most treacherous among the Egyptian gods", she cautioned. Kurou smirked and drew his khopesh.

As Hatshepsut began chanting, Apep showed signs of distress. The Serpent seemed to writhe under an unseen force, its focus splintered as it struggled to maintain the sandstorm.

"O you waxen one who take by robbery and who live on the inert ones, I will not be inert for you, I will not be weak for you, your poison shall not enter my members, for my members are the member of Atum. If I am not weak for you, suffering from you shall not enter into these members of mine. I am Atum at the head of the Abyss, my protection is from the gods, the lords of eternity, I am He whose name is secret, more Holy of throne than the Chaos-gods; I am among them, I have gone forth with Atum, I am one who's not examined, I am hale, I am hale!".

Both Set and Kurou realized Apep's weakening, but as they advanced, the serpent roared with a fury that pushed them back. The tempest expanded, growing as it consumed the sky in a catastrophic avalanche of destruction.

The sand and strong gusts of wind hampered Hatshepsut's work, which should have been as simple as saying a prayer. But the strong and resilient Pharaoh would not be shaken by anything, even more so at such a crucial moment. Seeing how hard she was trying, Kurou resolved to give it his all, aware of the power he was now able to manifest.

Exacerbating determination, Kurou decided to plunge headfirst into the eye of the storm, getting pelted by merciless debris and ending up bitten by one of Apep's fangs. The Serpent's massive teeth tore into Kurou's shoulder, causing ghastly lacerations that unleashed waves of indescribable pain. But that wouldn't be enough to stop the Post-Mortal, now that he had his regeneration ability restored.

Furthermore, Even as his left arm lay immobilized by Apep's vicious strike, his khopesh remained firmly in his right hand, a nice twist of fate that granted him the perfect opportunity to thrust it into the Serpent's snout, and the power of Amon-Ra channeled through its body causing the monster to howl in pain.

Quelled by Kurou's bold move, the sandstorm showed signs of subsiding. The figure of Hatshepsut stood resolute, her incantation gaining fervor as she pronounced each word with unwavering will. Precisely as the sands began to settle, Set enacted a brutal coup de grâce, as his scepter descended with deadly precision and impaled Apep's head, pinning it to the very ground it had sought to consume.

Kurou evaded the attack by inches, aware that Set's calculated attack was aimed at him as well, and inwardly laughed at the storm god's perfidious malice.

An eerie calm followed, punctuated by a violent tremor. Apep began disintegrating, leaving only sand and mud amid Cairo's ruins.

"We did it!", Hatshepsut exclaimed.

"I guess we did...", Kurou mumbled.

"Think again!", Set snarled, and a sand swirl appeared behind Kurou.

Startled, Kurou turned to see Ammit lunging at him. The Post-Mortal had less than a second to evade the bite that would most certainly chomp half his body off.

It was Ammit.

"Goddamit you, Set. Off with the truce, already?", Kurou scoffed, getting ready for battle, again.