The Egyptian Gods and The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Chapter 18: Ra

Day 32 (Afternoon)

Ra knew Gabriel's coming would not be good news. From above the boat Mandjet, he observed the interaction between the angel and Geb, which ended in him disintegrating into sands. As Ra could see that the situation had become pretty tense, he did not find it astonishing if such a thing happened to Geb. He asked Kephri to row the boat down, simply to figure out whether the god of earth was still alive or dead.

"Ra! Old friend!" Gabriel greeted as Ra got off the boat.

Instead of replying, Ra knelt down and touched the ground. "So he's still alive."

"You won't fight your old squad mate, will you?"

"I don't resent you for doing this to Geb," Ra said as he got up to his feet. "But I also don't need you to express this kind of friendliness."

"You're still like you used to."

"The others will be here soon. I know you can defeat us all, even if you have to stand by yourself. However, I prefer to avoid any unnecessary commotion. Therefore, it's better for you to leave now."

"If only you're this prudent before you joined The Great Rebellion..."

"Leave now!!"

"As you wish," Gabriel said as he looked to the sky and leaped towards it. Before long, the chariots ridden by Nut, Isis, Tefnut and Horus emerged onto the surface. Nut rushed out from the vehicle as soon as it landed; she dropped to her knees and touched the sand with her two hands.

"My dear Geb!" she wept; tears flowed out from her eyes.

"He's still alive," Tefnut said. "But he could not do anything, let alone reshape himself. We should chant the restoration spell to help him."

"Yes," Ra said. "Let us proceed."

****

Day 33 (morning)

Ra had defeated Apophis again and the day was close to sunrise. After switching boats from Mesektet to Mandjet, he commanded Kephri to head to the area where Geb disintegrated. The effort to restore him was not yet successful, even though the spell had been cast repeatedly. It was just like The River Nile once again.

Arriving at the said area, Ra did not expect to see Nut was already kneeling down and chanting the restoration spell. He went down from the boat and approached her. However, seeing her still focus, he did not speak to her. Instead, he went to the nearby Horus' soldiers. "Since when she was here?"

"Since yesterday, my Lord."

"Since yesterday?" Ra's eyebrows furrowed.

"My Lady Nut hasn't gone home yet. After everyone left in the evening, she remained here and continued chanting the spell."

Ra looked back at Nut. "She would die in vain if she keeps forcing herself like this."

"We also have the same worry, my Lord," the soldier said. "But Lady Nut has threatened us to not disturb her. That's why we dared not inform Lady Isis or Lady Nephthys."

"Go now and inform them," Ra commanded. "In no time, Lady Nut will collapse due to exhaustion. If they don't treat her soon, death will claim her."

"I shall do your command," the soldier bowed down. He then expanded his wings and leaped, before he swooped down into Duat.

Just as Ra had expected, Nut suddenly stopped chanting and fell to the ground. Her breathing rhythm was slow, and the divine energy could no longer be felt. Sighing once, Ra touched her wrist and began to channel his power into her vein.

Moments later, Isis and Nephthys arrived; they soon approached their mother and checked her vein and heart.

"She should be fine, as I've channeled my power to keep her away from death," Ra said. "Both of you should treat her now."

"Lord Ra," Nephthys got up to her feet. "We thank you for saving our mother."

"Just bring her back to Aaru now."

Nephthys nodded. She and Isis then returned to the realm to resume the treatment.

Meanwhile, one by one the gods arrived. Seemingly already knew about Nut, they began to chant the spell without asking anything. However, as there were no results at all, the gods started leaving; not just because of the exhaustion, but also because of their daily tasks that must not be forgotten. In the end, it was just Ra, Kephri, Atum and Horus who remained there. They each manipulated a rock into an alabaster chair and took a break, until Nephthys and Isis's chariot finally emerged onto the surface.

The two goddesses stepped down as soon as the rider managed to stop the vehicle. Strangely, their attention was immediately shifted to something that was way past Ra and the others, making the four gods turn around to see what grabbed their attention. Unexpectedly, it was Aaron and Moses; they were walking straight towards the gods. As there was nothing physical in the area, Ra wondered what business that had brought these two emissaries here.

Both of them stopped at the area where Geb disintegrated. Before Ra could even make a guess on what they were planning to do, Aaron struck the sand with his rod.

A few grains of sand floated. Soon they were followed with more grains; they all suddenly lurched towards the city. Surprised by the phenomena, everyone rushed there. Upon reaching the gate, they were all shocked upon seeing lice overwhelming the humans.

"Those grains of sand... transformed into lice?" Horus muttered in disbelief.

"It wasn't something to be shocked of," Ra said. "I said that not because Yahweh was Almighty and can do anything, but because of another thing that supposedly shocked you more."

"What do you mean by that, Lord Ra?" Nephthys asked.

"Shut your eyes now and sense the familiar power flowing around the lice."

Everyone looked at each other, but then they followed the instructions. In just a short time, they opened their eyes again; they were wide-opened. They all observed all the lice, before Isis began to speak.

"These lice... are father?" Isis asked incredulously.

"Yes," Ra nodded. "These lice were all formed from Geb's disintegrated body."

"What should we do now, Lord Ra?" Nephthys asked.

"Try casting the spell to drive the lice away. It's the very least we can do to help the humans."

Nephthys nodded. She then started casting the spell, followed by Isis. Nonetheless, after they finished the composition, instead of the lice going away, they kept crawling on everyone.

"The spell doesn't work," Nephthys said; worry flashed across her face.

Ra sighed. "Yahweh has no intention to make it work, so it doesn't work."

"What can we do now then?" Nephthys asked.

"The only thing we can do is stop making Yahweh angry."

"Son!" Isis looked toward Horus. "We really have to stop this madness! We must free The Hebrews now!"

"I will never free these slaves!" Horus exclaimed as he fixated at his mother.

"Why do you keep being irrational?!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S BEING IRRATIONAL!" Horus exclaimed, causing Isis to stun. He then expanded both of his wings and dashed towards the sky.

"Horus!"

"Isis, let him go," Ra said. "Besides, these lice have started biting everyone. We cannot drive them away, and we definitely cannot scorch them. However, I have a strong conviction that we can still ease everyone's pain."

Isis took in her surroundings. After realizing that these insects were indeed biting every human on the heads and at the back of their necks, she started chanting the spell to cure the wound. As Ra had estimated, the spell worked properly. Sighing in relief, Nephthys stepped forward and started chanting the same spell. On the other hand, Ra, Kephri and Atum chose to channel their power into the two goddesses, assisting them for the whole healing process.