“With all due respect, even if I do understand what you are talking about given my studies, there is no way I can possibly know where Minkyung is right now”- It was all really hard for Yebin to take in, each sentence the god uttered only added to her confusion, which was already furthered by the annoying headache she was experiencing ever since the teleportation - “Although you can do it, right? Since you are a god an all that…”

“Well, regrettably, I’m not able to pinpoint Nephthys location…”- Despite bearing bad news, the smile never left Ra’s face - “I can sense her in the middle of the desert, but with Set influencing the energies I cannot exactly trace a path towards her”

“Then how?”

Giant golden double doors opened from behind Yebin, doors she hadn’t noticed when she first entered since her eyes were always understandably glued to the god in front of her. Through them came both Atem and Khepri, bearing a serious appearance and a toothy grin respectively.

“I can answer that question, girl!”- Khepri’s voice boomed through the hall, before being promptly by a glare that came from Ra, who seemed to dislike rowdiness - “Or, well, Atem can”

“Indeed, I know of a way we could locate Nephthys energy”- Atem spoke, unlike his counterpart, with a much calmer tone of voice - “Human, remember the painting? Back at the hotel, near your room”

“Oh… near my room? There is only one painting near my room, and that’d be the one I first saw Set at, when he gave my wife the little evil statuette thingy”- Yebin remembered watching Minkyung being completely dazed with a painting in front of her before Set appeared. Now that she thought about it, the girl in the painting was awfully similar to Minkyung.

“Exactly!”- Khepri couldn’t contain his excitement once more and confirmed Yebin’s suspicions - “That was a painting of her! Of Nephthys!”

“And what does that have to do with finding her?”- As strange as it sounded, the notion that there was an antique painting of her wife wasn’t that hard to get her head around - at least not now that she knew Minkyung was a god - but even then, Yebin couldn’t still comprehend how a painting of her wife from ancient times could help them at all.

“Oh silly human, I forgot you don’t know”- Khepri smirked, taking the opportunity to belittle Yebin again, something that did not go unnoticed by her and, although she didn’t interrupt, she made sure he could see her glaring daggers at him - “Both humans, gods and creatures leave traces of their own energy when they travel, a painting is nothing but an immortalization of a figment of the energy that person possessed when it was painted, human energy is usually faint so there would be no way to locate it, however, god’s energy is another completely different thing”

“So wait, let me get this straight”- Yebin tried to summarize the whole thing, just for the sake of simplicity - “If we go back to the hotel then we could know where Minkyung is?”

“Well, you can’t, but Atem and I would be able to do it”- Khepri answered matter-of-factly

“Then it’s settled”- And Ra took the opportunity to speak, having already descended the flight of stairs that separated Yebin from her and her golden throne - “You two shall accompany Yebin to the hotel, and then to Set’s hideout”

“Her? But, my lady, wouldn’t she be in danger? After all, it’s Set we are talking about…”- Khepri’s face turned into seriousness all of a sudden and just for a moment, Yebin thought that he was concerned about her well-being - “She’d just hinder our progress”

She was wrong.

“…”- She didn’t hold back the insult, though Ra didn’t seem to mind and nor did Atem, who suppressed a chuckle.

“You underestimate what she can do, Khepri”- Ra continued - “If she weren’t there, then it would be the life and essence of you two the ones in danger”

“Ours? What are you referring too?”- This time it was Atem the one who spoke, apparently honestly curious about Ra’s words. - “How can she aid us in such a battle?”

Yebin remained silent, however, if she had to be honest, she was just as curious as Atem. There was something Ra was seeing in her that she didn’t, that was for sure, and it was something great enough to allow her to accompany two gods to fight against a third.

“Atem, sometimes the most important knowledge we can hold is the knowledge of what we do not know.”- There were no more answers from Ra- “The time is nigh for you to go”

“Yes, my lady”- Atem didn’t ask any more questions, instead accepting his master’s silence - “I’ll teleport us to the hotel, are you ready Yebin?”

“Always”- With a determined look, Yebin replied.

“Good”- Ra turned around, ascending the steps towards her throne again before stopping abruptly - “And, whatever happens down there, do not falter, remember the sun always remains at the top of the sky, ever vigilant, and so do I”

The last sentence was particularly directed at Yebin, who acknowledged it with a nod, taking Atem’s hand seconds later.

And the world that surrounded her disappeared in a flash of white.

-------------------------------------------------

White transformed into a mix of colors, those colors transformed into undistinguishable shapes and soon those shapes morphed into the different figures. Yebin felt like she was freefalling for a second before her body bounced against something soft, her bed.

At least there was no headache and she had fallen onto her mattress, better than the floor. She blinked a few times, adjusting again to the sunlight that invaded the room through the windows.

“Are you alright?”- Atem extended his arm, giving Yebin a hand for her to grab on as she got up - “No headache this time? Good, you adapt fast it seems”

“Yeah, that’s cool and all but we need to look for that painting”- Khepri grumbled, he was already at the door, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the two of them. It seemed that, even if Yebin didn’t perceive it, she remained various seconds laying on the bed after the teleportation ended.

“It’s right outside, you big baby, quit whining for a second or my headache will return”- Yebin returned fire, now that Ra wasn’t around she didn’t have to be all educated and fancy.

Well, she technically still had to – since both guys were still gods – yet there was something about their attitude that made her feel at ease, just as if she was hanging out with two old friends from high school.

Friends that could potentially blast her away to smithereens.

“You seem awfully concerned about your wife, girl”- Khepri tone dripped with sarcasm.

“I am, thank you very much, but kicking and sobbing like a toddler wouldn’t do me any good”- Moving closer towards the door, Yebin replied honestly. It was true, she was scared out of her mind, she felt like she was at the point of breaking every single time Minkyung’s name was pronounced, but if she were to break down now what kind of help would she be then?

She didn’t want to be a bother; she didn’t want to hold the team back. She just wanted to get back her wife, make sure she was alright and prove Khepri wrong while she was at it.

“That’s… that’s a really good point actually”

“Cut it out you two, follow me, I can already feel the energy the portrait emanates”- Atem opened the door, taking a peek into the hallway to verify that no one else was there but them. The place was dead silent now that Yebin and Khepri had shut their mouths.

Atem scanned the room for a few more seconds before his head seemed to lock onto something. He signaled for both of them to follow him, peering over her shoulder, Yebin could see the painting they were looking for.

“Unbelievable”- Atem whispered, his eyes still fixated in the painting.

“I feel you, bro”- Khepri, too, seemed amazed - “Whoever painted this was a real pro…”

The lady of the blue wings had charmed them both.

And Yebin was no exception, from the moment she laid her eyes on such a magnificent painting she had been enamored. The more she looked at it the more the woman in there started to look like Minkyung. Her thin lips, her perfect nose, her hazel eyes, everything started to remind her of her wife and, before she knew it, she couldn’t even think about looking away.

Until black started staining the portrait.

It was little at first but now, as seconds passed, some sort of blank ink was consuming her wife’s image by leaps and bounds. She wanted to open , to ask her companions if they were seeing the same as she, but no sound would come out.

The ink slowly started oozing from the painting, travelling downwards to the floor and leaving behind a sinister trail, that, coupled with the raising temperature of the room, gave Yebin a threatening sentiment of asphyxia.

She wanted to leave, she wanted to run away but her body wouldn’t budge. She couldn’t move her legs nor her arms, moreover, her head seemed to be glued to the painting in front of her

Her chest heaved at a brutal pace and her heart felt like it was about to explode at any second. Something was pressing at her head the longer she stared at the portrait, hammering at her like she was a simple iron nail.

“Don’t look, close your eyes Yebin”- Ra’s voice assaulted her from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, giving her the lucidity necessary to obey.

She closed her eyes, depriving herself of the gorgeous sight the painting was. For a moment she was tempted to open them again yet something told her, deep inside, that she’d regret it if she did.

Time went by and the heat started to subside, the infernal sounds of the trickling ink disappeared altogether.

And when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t in the hotel’s hallway anymore.

She was floating right above a castle that was made entirely out of sand. It seemed to be located in the middle of the desert and looked sturdy from the outside, unmoved by the rough winds, yet fragile enough to fall if one were to simple sneeze beside it.

She got closer to it, waddling through the desert winds, stopping only when it was within an arm’s reach. She extended her arms, cautiously at first, until they were supposed to make contact with the sandy surface, only that they didn’t, they went right through.

There was something inside, she could feel it in every bone of her body.

She felt fear.

She felt confusion.

She felt Minkyung.

“Yebin!”- A voice pierced the sky, calling her name.

“Yebin!”- It repeated once more, finally making her look up.

“Yebin!”- And she was back to the hallway, right in front of two very worried-looking gods.

“What happened?”- She couldn’t quite explain it herself, but she felt nauseous.

“It was Set, that er”- Khepri seemed angry, his lower lip was quivering wildly from all the contained rage - “He probably knew we’d come around so he set a trap for us”

“It wasn’t that hard for us to overcome it”- Atem was still looking at her, clearly worried - “But it must have been hell for you, we’ve been calling you for the past four minutes”

“I heard Ra speaking…”- She told them - “And then I was near a giant sand castle…”

“We know”- Atem spoke again, interrupting Yebin as he offered her his hand - “That’s where Set is…”

“That’s where Minkyung is…”- And Yebin accepted that hand wholeheartedly, for it led towards her beloved.

-------------------------------------------------

Yebin was the first to rush into the giant sand building after Atem finished teleporting them there. Determined, the girl broke through the multiple doors on her way, an unending flame guiding her every step, a flame that guided her towards Minkyung.

She could sense as she opened the final door, rushing into what looked to be the exact replica of Ra’s throne room minus the magnificence but with an added lifeless atmosphere afflicting it, an unconscious Minkyung was there, this was the end of her already short journey.

And Set was standing right beside her.

“It appears that you were late after all, just like you should always have been”- Set taunted, if he was amused he didn’t show it - “How does it feel? How does it feel to finally fail? You cannot prevent my victory this time…”

“What did you do to her?”- Yebin didn’t bother to address the god’s words, for each second she spent watching Minkyung’s body her anger grew. She was about to step in, ready to rush at her wife’s side, when a hand latched onto her wrist.

“Yebs! Stop! The place could be trapped!”- Khepri, who had just come through the door with Atem behind him, stopped her before she could even take a single step.

“Me? I did nothing but bestow unto her what she lacked”- Set paced back and forth behind Minkyung, his eyes never leaving Yebin - “I gave Nephthys her memories back, the memories that were so unjustly taken from her”

“Ridiculous, what can the god of evil know about justice?”- Yebin replied, disdainfully.

“More than you know, human”- Though Set seemed unfazed by Yebin’s poor attempt at controlling her ever growing rage - “Justice sometimes does not only not oppose evil, but it complements it, surely a scholar like yourself must now that the world isn’t only black and white”

“I don’t care about your morals”- Yebin had lost it by now, resorting to screaming her lungs off - “Give me my wife back!”

“She was first linked to me through our divine fathers, mortal, you just never understood that”- Set lifted his staff, the rubies inside the Jackal’s head looked menacing, and pointed it towards Yebin as the girl attempted to move again, issuing a clear warning. - “Besides, now that she has already remembered everything, it’s only a matter of time before she accepts me again”

“You son of a…”

“But I’ll be merciful just this time…”- There was a hint of impatience in Set’s tone of voice, evident by the way he slammed his staff on the ground to interrupt Yebin.  - “Be gone, human, leave us alone, I do not pose a threat to humanity at all for Ra to send her subjects against me… Do that and I’ll spare your life.”

“You don’t comprehend, Set, we are here to take back Nephthys”- Atem interjected before Yebin could answer, his voices sounded collected, something Yebin was not - “Ra erased her memory with her own consent”

“Bah! You can try to deceive me all you want”- This seemed to annoy Set - “I know that’s not true”

The god of deserts and evil turned his back to them and Yebin’s mind saw in this a perfect opportunity to attack. She wasn’t thinking clearly, attacking a god like that, but she moved in without a second thought nonetheless.

A bad choice from her part.

As soon as she was about a meter away from Set her body started floating, subject to an external force, before she was thrown all the way across the room.

“You ought to do better than that if you wish to surprise a god”- Set growled, unable to hide his dissatisfaction anymore, before he raised his ornate cane again, aiming it at Yebin. - “I tire of your games, mortal, time to do what the pharaoh couldn’t”

The rubies started glowing red, letting out sparks of crimson energy that gathered between the jackal’s ears.

Set fired.

And a two-meter tall beetle rushed through the hall, slicing the energy ball in half with its golden horns. Gold mandibles clicked rhythmically against each other while the light that filtered through the sand castle windows made its carapace glow a yellowish color. An insect-like growl came from deep inside the creature, who was now facing Set, protecting Yebin with its elytron just like it had done against the pharaoh.

“Courageous or foolish”- Set let out a soft chuckle, walking closer to the transformed Khepri - “I’d say the second”

A battle was brewing and ready to explode in front of her, but Yebin’s eyes were trained on Atem, who took a finger to his lips, motioning for Yebin to remain silent, as he paced closer to Minkyung. A short, guttural cry ripped Yebin’s eyes from Atem as she noticed that Khepri had charged against Set.

Set, albeit buffed, seemed to be dodging Khepri’s horns fairly easily – it should be considered that the room was ample enough for him to do so – shooting red energy balls at him every now and them. Although the projectiles did nothing but scratch Khepri’s carapace, it was noticeable that it was Set the one with the upper hand, as Khepri had still to land a hit on him.

Set noticed that, at the moment, Yebin was no longer protected, and readied another blast in her direction, though he didn’t fire.

Yebin immediately understood why.

Khepri rushed once again at her side, ready to intercept the energy discharge, only for Set to cancel the attack and raise his other hand, from where a sand stream came out, apparently materializing out of nowhere. Set wielded the sand as a weapon, molding it into multiple shapes before it contained itself on his hand.

Then it exploded, sending a concentrated beam their way. Yebin braced herself, hiding again behind Khepri’s wing case, though she could feel her flesh stinging after a few seconds. She opened her eyes, only to find multiple cuts on her body and half of Khepri’s wing torn out.

As impervious as his natural armor may have seemed to the energy blasts, Set had other ways to deal with an oversized beetle.

“Charging into battle so recklessly will cost you greatly, you lesser god”- Set taunted Khepri once more, molding the sand that quickly returned to his body into a pair of scimitars that seemed just as sharp as their metal counterparts.

Khepri charged again, yet his moves were slower. Weakened from the last attack, he wouldn’t last much longer against a Set that had started to punish him every time he did as much as take a wrong step.

Slicing and dicing, soon Khepri found himself falling towards the floor product of Set relentless assault, the giant beetle landing shook the entire sand palace but the building remained firm nonetheless. Over him was Set, laughing quietly as Khepri’s body reverted back to human form.

His eyes locked onto Yebin again, though barely for a second, since his laugh died down soon after, replaced with what seemed to be a great deal of both suffering and physical exertion.

“Vanquish!”- Atem shouted, carrying Minkyung on his shoulder, from behind Yebin.

And she remembered, she remembered that Atem carried the so called words of power. Ra made them sound like they were absolute, it didn’t seem to be the case at all, however, since Set was still resisting Atem’s influence.

Little by little, and despite Atem constantly yelling “vanquish” over and over again, Set started to turn back. His eyes were glowing a bright red and his head had started to shift from a human to that of a rabid jackal.

Yebin would have moved away, except that raw terror had taken hold of her body at the sight.

“NO!”- Set voice, now much more profound and rasping, drowned Atem’s shouts. From his body emerged multiple chains made entirely out of sand, chains that travelled towards Atem at a speed Yebin wasn’t able to follow.

Before she knew it, Atem was chained firmly against the wall and Minkyung, still unconscious had plummeted to the floor. A final block of sand materialized on Set’s hand before it shot like the rest, flying towards Atem and lodging itself on his mouth, preventing him from chanting any more words of power and thus rendering him useless.

“Incredible…”- Set panted, his face having become human once more – “To think that you would be able to gain such a power in such a short length… I may have underestimated you Atem… or maybe I just overestimated what Ra’s magic can do.”

Set had apparently forgotten about Yebin, who was still terror stricken, and was now walking towards Atem, who could do nothing but glare at his fellow god.

“Y-Yebin…”- A voice broke her out of her thoughts. It was Khepri.

She tiptoed to his side, careful not to remind Set of her presence.

Khepri’s human body was bleeding all over, there were multiple deep cuts and stab wounds on various parts of his body. If this were a normal human then Yebin could have said, certainly, that he wasn’t going to live due to blood loss, but he was a god so he should be alright, right?”

“Y-Yebin…”- - “My… My body is fading…”

“Fading?”- - “How? Why? Aren’t you a god?”

“I am… not strong enough now… to regenerate it”- - “I’ll… return to being energy… soon…”

Yebin remembered what Ra said before, about the choice to remain one with the energy until the god decided to create his own body. But, if Khepri was disappearing right now, how would she face Set?

They lost, didn’t they?

“Y-Yebin…”- Atem spoke once again, his voice seemingly feebler than before - “Touch… me…”

“What? B-b-b-but I h-have a wife a-and we barely know e-each o-other…”- His sudden and dirty immoral request sent blood streaming towards Yebin’s head, tinting her cheeks crimson red.

“Not… that way… you… moron…”- Khepri let out what appeared to be a chocked laugh before pointing to his torso - “Your hand… in… my chest…”

She didn’t know what he wanted, but Yebin complied anyways, taking her right hand and putting it on the gods bloodied chest. A dim yellow light started to appear from Khepri’s body, increasing in brightness as seconds passed before Khepri’s body completely dissolved in a matter of seconds. There was a cloud of sand that lingered for a few moments before it moved, enveloping Yebin, forcing its way into her.

“What do we have here?”- The show attracted Set’s interest, who had now finished paying attention to Atem.

“I…”

“So he is dead now…”- - “You must be regretting not taking my offer when I suggested it…”

“Yebin!”- Just like back at the hotel, a voice came suddenly to her head, interrupting her own thoughts

“What? Who?”

“No time to explain girl!”- She recognized the voice, though it seemed to be another whole level of surreal - “It’s me, Khepri, now listen closely because you only have one shot at this…”

“Well, too bad, I’ll be sure to tell Nephthys of this when she wakes up…”- Sand emerged from Set’s fingertip, ready to pierce Yebin’s skin and flesh at will.

“Yebin! The words of power!”- Khepri urged - “Cast them upon him!”

“What? Which words?”- She was confused, anguish growing as she watched Set maniacal smile directed at her.

“Close your eyes! Search inside yourself for the power I’m giving you!”- She did as she was told, closing her eyes and just opening her mind - “That’s it! You are close!”

“Afar Ells Or…?”- Weird letters and symbols materialized on her mind and strangely, but surely, they began to make sense - “I… I got it! It’s…”

“It’s a solar flare!”

“What?!”- Set was taken aback as Yebin raised her hand, shouting and pointing it at him.

Though nothing happened.

“Well… that was disappoint- “

Before he could finish, a powerful concentrated beam of light perforated the heavens, sky and ceiling. Set acted quickly, raising his hands as a shield started to materialize, but the suddenness combined with the constant pressure proved to be too much for the god to handle. The red shield cracked as soon as it formed, allowing the orange beam of fire to land square on Set’s figure.

It lasted for about two seconds and, once it was over, Set’s charred body tumbled down towards the floor. He didn’t rise after that. Yebin, even as shocked as she was, couldn’t help but to throw her fist up in the air in celebration. It didn’t last long, since a soft groan perked up her ears.

Minkyung was waking up.

Yebin didn’t waste a single second, she rushed towards her wife side, checking for any superficial injuries at first. Minkyung rose slowly, blinking multiple times to clear her head, but didn’t seem to be wounded at all. Moreover, she only seemed to have her eyes focused on Yebin.

“Yebin…”-Minkyung raised her eyes, her expression that of a terrified person - “So now you know…”

“I… I do”- She was honest, there was no point in hiding it.

And then Minkyung broke down, kneeling in front of her, asking for her forgiveness.

“Please, don’t hate me for doing it!”- Minkyung’s voice faltered, she must have been truly guilt-ridden - “I was scared! I had already seen you die so many times!”

Her words shocked Yebin, who couldn’t understand them fully, but she disregarded them to deal with the crazed Minkyung in front of her. There was nothing for her to forgive, Yebin did not hold her accountable for anything.

“Minkyung, stop, please”- She said, her tone radiating seriousness - “I couldn’t hate you even if I tried, it doesn’t matter what or who you are to me… you are still the same girl I fell in love with…”

“So…”- Minkyung expectant eyes locked with hers.

“Yes, it doesn’t matter to me at all, you are still the same person in my eyes”

“How wonderful…”- There was a cough before a rough voice spoke from behind them. Set had risen from the floor. - “How is it that every single time I try to have her back; you appear to ruin everything?”

“The hell are you talking about?”- First Minkyung, now Set was the one spouting nonsense.

“It’s far from humorous anymore”- The god let out a sardonic laugh - “From the moment I laid my eyes on you five thousand years ago I knew you’d be trouble… and you still are”

“What?”

“So I’ll just have to get rid of you again…”- Energy crackled around Set, gathering quickly into the palms of his hands - “Just like in the past… priestess”

With both hands together, Set conjured a crimson beam of energy towards her. Yebin acted without thinking, bracing herself as she positioned her body in front of Minkyung, who was still kneeled behind her.

But the blast never reached her, instead, her clothes were shaken when a high-velocity wind filled the sand manor. She opened her eyes, watching as the gust of air enveloped her, never really touching her but diverting the ray, slicing it in two.

“Nephthys! What are you doing?!”- Set roared, infuriated.

And Yebin took the opportunity to watch Nephthys, Minkyung, her wife, standing right behind her. The only difference from before being the two giant blue wings that had sprouted from her back, forming a protective shield around both of them.

The wings, which were adorned with gold, flapped once more, sending a wind-slash in Set’s direction, an attack that he blocked easily with his staff.

“Try that again, dear husband, and I’ll be having your head on a platter”- Minkyung’s voice had shifted into something more commanding, a voice with a clear air of superiority that imposed respect to those around her.

But it was clear she wasn’t just “Minkyung” anymore. She now was Nephthys, goddess of death.

“I cannot comprehend… I unlocked your memories…”- Set ire died down shortly after, being replaced by confusion - “Why are you raising against me?! You are my wife! You should be at my side!””

“It hasn’t been like that for the last four millennia and you refuse to accept it”- Nephthys was curt with her answer.

“…”- There were a few seconds of silence in which the anger returned to Set’s factions, who shifted his gaze from Nephthys to Yebin a couple times - “So it was true after all… You eloped with the priestess back then… and Ra erased your memories…”

“I wanted to be free, Set, both from you and my entire life… Yebin gave me that”- At the mention of Yebin’s name, Minkyung’s voice turned softer, more mellow, before it quickly regained the previous intensity - “I just couldn’t’ stay around and see the Egyptians lose their beliefs gradually, as they were subjugated by the other empires!”

“This… This wasn’t supposed to end like this!”- Set shouted again, although this time his anger was directed to something else - “We, the gods, could have stopped that from happening! But you all refused to act!”

“It wouldn’t have been right to mess with humanity, Set”- Another brusque response came from Nephthys - “Now we’ll be leaving… Never search for me again…”

She started to move, beckoning Yebin to do the same, before a sword made out of sand cut their way towards the door. It swung downwards, aiming at both Yebin and Nephthys, before it was parried by one of the goddess’ wings, who took the hit like it was nothing.

“There is no way I’m letting you out of here…”- Set conjured another sand-sword - “I’ll just get rid of the priestess and chain you to me forever!”

“Prepare yourself then, god of the desert!”- A black ball of energy, with a greenish core that reminded Yebin of poison, manifested in Minkyung’s right hand. - “For death is nothing but a cruel mistress!”

Nephthys attack quickly flew towards Set, who cut it into four pieces with the help of his swords, counterattacking with a wave of sand that emerged from the floor, traveling towards Nephthys, in an attempt to solidify it and lock her in place just like he had with Atem. The goddess wasn’t easily caught, nonetheless, and she jumped out of the way before the sand could reach her.

Now in the air, Nephthys spread her wings and from them shot multiple feathers, flying at an incredible speed towards Set. Some were deflected by either his staff or his shields, some were not. Those that weren’t lodged themselves into Set’s skin, drawing out a grunt from the god.

He removed them shortly after, each feather making a clinking sound as they fell, as if they were made from metal.

Meanwhile, Yebin had remained in the sidelines with Khepri insisting she joined the ongoing battle. She wasn’t dumb enough to do it, however, because that would probably make her a burden to Minkyung, who would need to protect both of them from Set attacks.

“Oh come on girl! You are missing the fun!”- For the eleventh time, Khepri tried to persuade her to join, though when Yebin said nothing it seemed like had given up - “Okay, listen then, if you want to help her, how about you free Atem from the shackles?”

And that was a fantastic idea, how come she didn’t think of that herself?

Looking around the room, Yebin located Atem, chained to the wall and with the solidified sand still blocking his mouth. Sticking to the walls, Yebin evaded all the incoming attacks – both from Set and Nephthys, who were awfully concentrated on their battle to the point that neither acknowledged their surroundings anymore, destroying the castle at whim – as she rushed towards the god of creation.

“Use my powers again, cast a small flame to destroy the sand”- Khepri said just as Yebin was racking her brain looking for a way to rip off the chains. They looked sturdy enough to assume she wouldn’t have been able to do it with her hands. Following Khepri’s’ advice, she concentrated, looking for the correct words, and a small flame erupted in Yebin’s hand - “That’s it! There we go! You learn fast, my girly!”

“No thanks to you, that’s for sure”- It wasn’t really that annoying now, but imagining Khepri’s incessant chatter inside her mind 24/7 was enough to give her a headache

“Hey! I’m doing my best giving you moral support”- He sounded almost offended - “Besides, you can only access this powers because I’m inside you…”

“I just hope you stay silent once we are done with this”- Yebin couldn’t help but chuckle - “Having someone in my head is already bad, YOU out of anyone makes it even worse”

“I’m nothing if not the most gregarious of guests”- Khepri’s words would have made her laugh loudly had it not been for the situation they were in - “I’ll behave… most of the time”

While the conversation occurred, Yebin had been aiming the little flame at the sand chains, concentrating as much as she could – and as much as Khepri would let her – so they flame didn’t die. In the end, she succeeded in breaking one of the chains that held Atem’s arms, watching it dissolve into regular sand, as the god ripped the others by himself, crushing the restraints with his immense strength.

Once free, Atem removed the block from his mouth, mouthing a quick thank you towards Yebin before his gaze shifted, setting on Set.

“Vanquish!”

Just like before, Set stopped moving, standing in place and, just like before, he was starting to shift, resisting Atem’s control over him. Though confused at first, Nephthys, who had stopped fighting once Set stopped moving, took the opportunity to fire an energy blast to the unmoving opponent.

This forced Set to completely change, morphing into a full-blown humanoid jackal. The sudden increase in power seemingly allowed him to move freely and to deflect Nephthys’s blast. Yet it was too late for him.

He lost the concentration he had amassed to resist Atem’s influence. Without it, the spell itself began taking effect. His legs were the first parts of his body to start vanishing, soon enough his waist and torso followed.

And, just as he was about to be erased, he let out a monstrous howl that shook the building to its foundation, then he just exploded in a flash of yellow light, leaving behind nothing but sand.

“You… You killed him…”- Yebin rubbed her eyes to check if they were lying to her, just in case.

“No, I didn’t kill him”- Atem answered first - “You cannot truly kill a god…”

“He’ll be back eventually, once he amasses enough energy to shape his own body…”- Nephthys, now sounding much more like Minkyung, landed near Yebin, retracting her wings as she shot her wife a loving smile, a smile Yebin paralleled almost instantly with her own.

“Now what?”- Yebin asked the two gods.

“Now…”- Atem had his gaze glued to her, which was kind of unnerving to Yebin - “You sleep.”

A sudden fatigue enveloped her body and it took her only a second to realize this was Atem’s work. She tightened her muscles, mimicking Set reaction when he was under the same influence, but that tightness faded almost immediately. Her eyes were closing and her strength was being zapped from her at an alarming rate.

“You know you are just a human right?”- Khepri’s voice filled the void once more - “You cannot resist Atem’s influence”

And then it was just darkness.

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“Ha!”- Yebin shot up from the bed, punching the air as she did before a wave of confusion hit her. - “Huh?”

Sitting up in her bed, she could hear her breathing and the heavy beating of her heart. Apart from that, the place was quiet. What had just happened?

Yebin looked around the chamber, afternoon light bled through the window. She was in her hotel room, the same one that she had left full of sand and weird symbols, the same one where she had received Eunwoo’s call. She looked at the clock that sat on a desk across the room.

5:46 p.m.

She remembers being with Minkyung and Atem before fainting, probably out of shock or fatigue – probably both – and then what? She felt the memories quickly slipping away and, for each second that passed, she struggled more and more to remember the details of the entire adventure. It now seemed so remote, so unreal.

“Yeb, baby? Are you okay? What happened?”- A familiar face came out of the bathroom and Yebin’s whole body shook with relief. Minkyung came rushing to her side, laying on the other side of the bed as she took Yebin’s hand in hers.

“Oh my god, Minky, you are alright”- And a piece of memory returned just in time, was she really supposed to call her Minkyung? - “Wait, am I supposed to call you Minky still?”

“What…? What are you talking about?”- The bewilderment on Minkyung’s face did not go unnoticed by Yebin and that only served to further confuse her even more - “Did you have a bad dream or something?”

“How did you get me back here? Where is Atem?”- The name Atem returned to her and, in a desperate attempt to cling to it, Yebin inquired.

“A-Who?”- But again, Minkyung seemed to be foreign to the topic - “Baby, is this another one of your jokes?”

“…”- What were they talking about in the first place? Yebin couldn’t help but to wonder, she didn’t really remember what she did in the morning. - “Please tell me what I did today…”

“Well, first of all, you woke up at seven and then went to have some coffee with Eunwoo, then you came back, had a little lunch and jumped on the bed telling me to wake you up in the afternoon so that we could go sightseeing”- Minkyung complied with Yebin’s strange request, she must have been as confused as her wife was. - “But really, did you have a nightmare? I heard you shouting from the bathroom”

“I… Yeah… I supposed I did”- Everything was gone now, her mind was entirely blank and whatever memory she could muster was foggy enough to prevent her from remembering. - “It felt… weird, almost real, but now I can’t remember anything about it…”

“Then it’s better that way, isn’t it?”- Minkyung’s hand found her way to Yebin’s cheek, caressing it softly as she gave her a bright, reassuring smile - “If you can’t remember a nightmare, then you save yourself the trouble of recalling it”

But there was something off, something deep inside Yebin told her that there was more to her day than just a nap. What did she do last night? She remembers visiting the pyramid with Eunwoo and Minkyung, and then? They came back to the hotel and called… and… and she went to sleep, she doesn’t remember arranging a meet up with Eunwoo nevertheless. Maybe she is just overthinking things, she most likely agreed to going out for coffee when they exited the pyramid.

Yeah, that was probably it, she should stop worrying about little details and enjoy the rest of her holiday.

Wait…

Yesterday, at the pyramid, Minkyung was injured…

No, she wasn’t.

That’s right, she wasn’t injured and they had a good time, isn’t that right?

Yes, that’s right

“Anyways… do you want to go out?”- Changing the topic, Yebin paid attention to her rumbling stomach - “I’m starving; I feel like I could eat a whole horse in just one sitting”

“Gross”- Minkyung grimaced before getting off the bed, leaving Yebin some room to get up - “Sure, I just finished getting ready.”

The clothes from last night trip were tidily folded in a nearby chair, Yebin thought about using them again but decided against it, the casual look she had when she went out to meet Eunwoo would suffice for an evening trip. She had already started planning where to go, maybe something near the river? So they could appreciate the view. She’d have time to get changed into something more fashionable if they decided to go out tonight.

“Shall we then, oh my lovely madam?”- Getting up from the bed, Yebin took her wallet and cellphone from her nightstand before turning to Minkyung, stretching her arm towards her as an invitation, pointing towards the door with the other one.

“But of course, my gentle sweetheart!”- Minkyung couldn’t hold back the giggle and accepted Yebin’s hand, quickly interlocking their fingers as they both started to walk together.

They just finished opening the door when they stumbled upon a little girl, a reddish brown-haired girl with twin pigtails. From what it looked like, she was about to knock on their door when they caught her by surprise, she seemed lost – evident from the little pout that adorned her face – and Yebin got a weird feeling almost immediately after seeing her.

She knew her…

No she didn’t

That’s right, she had never seen this girl in her life.

“Um…”- The girl started, looking at them with a pout - “I’m sorry to interrupt but… I lost my mommy inside this place and I don’t know where I am, can you help me please, misses?”

 The girl’s sparkling eyes certainly caused empathy to arise on Yebin, but Minkyung interrupted before she could offer herself to help.

“Oh my god you are adorable! I’ll help you return to your mommy don’t worry!”- Her wife ruffled the girl’s hair before turning to her - “Yeb, baby, wait for me at the entrance while I help her, I’ll be there in a second!”

“Umm, sure”- It wasn’t like she had any other option, they wouldn’t just leave that little girl on her own, so she started marching down the corridor by herself, turning around occasionally to wave at Minkyung, who still hadn’t moved from her position in front of the door.

It was only when Yebin had turned around the corner that Minkyung, or better referred as Nephthys, goddess of death and lamentations, allowed herself to drop the fake smile. Something shifted behind her, revealing a full-grown woman with the same appearance she used to possess when she was a little girl just a few seconds ago. She could feel the piercing eyes reaching deep into her soul, scanning it.

“What do you want, exactly?”- Minkyung wasn’t exactly polite with her choice of words nor did she want to be.

“I came to tell you Atem spell worked and Khepri will remain silent until he has enough energy to leave her body”- That was useless information to her, things she already knew beforehand, there was something else her fellow god wanted to say. - “She’ll probably be sick for a couple of days after that”

“I know that”- She deadpanned - “You are here for something more, aren’t you?”

“Indeed, we can’t know for sure if Khepri’s energy will affect her body in any way, so there may be some… undesirable side-effects”- Minkyung frowned, that could be bad, if Yebin somehow acquired a power of her own under Khepri’s influence then her memories wouldn’t delay their return along with it - “I’m also here to ask you again, do you wish for me to cast a mind-erasing hex on you like we always did?”

“No”- Ra’s expression changed from the usual unmoving yet dazzling smile into a look of confusion – that still carried the hint of a smile underneath it – as she took a step closer to Minkyung.

“Interesting… may I know the reason?”- There was true interest in her question, something that made Minkyung’s ego rise a little, she was so used to the sun-goddess reading her every move in the past that being able to create such a query from her was enough. - “This will only make it more difficult for you in the long run… watching her die again… I’ve seen you cry countless times now”

“It’s not going to happen again, Ra”- Minkyung replied curtly yet again, a soft, sardonic laugh leaving as she prepared to shock the god with her revelation - “…I’m going to erase her mortality”

“Preposterous…”- And, just like she had hoped, the sun-goddess erased every trace of a smile there was, replacing it with a scowl so ferocious it would scare even the mightiest of lions. - “Even you, goddess of death, should know that it is no simple matter. Need I remind you that, even when you were at your peak, it was already difficult for you to perform such a feat, how do you plan on doing it now that you don’t even hold a fraction of that power?”

“I have a plan, Ra, and it does not concern you”- Minkyung turned around, preparing to leave, before Ra spoke once again.

“It never surprised me how Set and you got along so well before”- The mere mention of her husband’s name was enough to vex her - “You have the same twisted ambition to topple the world around you… you should thread carefully, lest that ambition be your undoing…”

“Your concern is not needed, sun goddess”- The bitter, scornful remark did not deter Ra - “I have my own means to an end, I won’t watch her die another time”

“Then I should warn you…”- In a second, Ra’s hand had clamped tight around her wrist, morphing itself into a talon that pierced Minkyung’s skin. When she finally looked at the sun-goddess again, her eyes were bright red, possessing such an intensity that it could amount to two scorching suns. - “Do not threaten humanity on your deviant path because I will not hesitate to turn you into sand…”

“I am not frightened by your threats”- Minkyung’s voice almost faltered, but she managed to hold it, diverting the topic - “But if you are so interested, I’ll satiate your curiosity just this time… I’m going to search for the weavers…”

Strangely, this seemed to placate Ra, who abandoned the glowing eyes and morphed the eagle talon back, releasing her grip on Minkyung’s flesh but leaving behind a sizeable hole on it – a hole that didn’t linger, thanks to Minkyung’s own regenerative powers – as she took a step back.

There were a few seconds of complete silence, Minkyung knew that, despite Ra’s wisdom, there was much she did not know. The weavers were mostly unknown beings, things that simply existed before the universes and worlds came to be.

They were the mysterious gods of fate, called by many names for every cult that once walked the earth. Powerful beings that operated in secret, away from both gods and humans, they had the power to alter each and every human life.

But what made them scarier was the fact that they could alter god’s immortalities at will.

And they could give that same immortality to a human.

“And how do you plan on entering the deepest part of the underworld, when we lost the ability to do so long ago?”

Residing in the deepest parts of the underworld, only a few fortunate gods had been able to see them from afar. Despite being a goddess of death, she wasn’t one of those gods.

“I may not be able to do it at will anymore…”

“But Hades will help me return…”

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Hiyaaaaa!

Finally finished with this one! Sorry it took me longer than needed, I started uni’s semester again just two days ago and I was lacking a few scenes at the time, so I waited until I had a bunch of free time (which was today, since I didn’t have classes) and wrote the last two scenes all in one go. I’ll probably take this next weekend off to adjust to my schedule (that means no updates.)

I think it turned out okay, save for a few parts I don’t really like (If you always read my a/n’s then you most likely know which parts I’m talking about lmao, I always rant about the same )

Nothing much to say about this except that the twist was evident at some point and that I kinda left a really open ending just in case I want to write more about this. Still, no sequel is planned atm so don’t hold your hopes high.

OH WAIT, RIGHT, WEKI MEKI DEBUTED AND PRISTIN IS COMING FOR US IN LESS THAN 7 DAYS! MAN, WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! Loved Weme's album so I'm probably buying it along with Pristin's.

Just one more thing before I go, I opened a CC just for s and giggles -> There you go! <-- I’ll probably check it every couple of days and post the link to it every time I update. Drop by if you want to ask about anything, be either about me or my stories.

P.S: I had to create a twitter for it too but I’m probably not sharing it nor using it, since I’m the exact definition of a social amoeba and I don’t really have anything interesting to say, still, I might use it in the future, when that happens I’ll let you all know so we can be friends on that platform!

I hope you liked the story just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Look forward to my other works!