The Egyptian Gods and The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Chapter 35: Horus

Suddenly, he heard the sobbing of little children. When he found where they came from, he was astonished to see more than thirty underage children crying and sobbing behind the bushes. How come these many children die at the same time?

Aside from them, there were also more than ten teenagers and adults. Some just cowered in fear, while some tried to comfort the crying children. Horus then learned that all of them were not aware of his presence, and it immediately convinced him that this was a dream. On one side, it relieved him because he believed the deaths were just part of it. Nevertheless, on the other side, he started wondering whether the entire ideal situation never actually took place, just as Hathor had hinted earlier.

"The deaths are all real," Hathor suddenly said. Strangely, when Horus glanced everywhere, he did not see where his wife was standing.

"The deaths are all real," Hathor said again. "It's happening in the real realm. You can witness it because Yahweh pulled it into your dream."

Horus did not immediately respond. It's because the moment he heard the name 'Yahweh', the memories of so many disasters ravaging the land popped up in his head. The last disaster he recalled was the hailstorm and rain of fiery spheres that destroyed so many buildings and killed some people. He also remembered how he decided to surrender to Yahweh, and how he was astonished upon seeing Set's arrows. In just a short time, he grew angry towards his uncle, and to anyone who had released him from the prison.

"Many of these humans are still so young. They might haven't mastered the spell in The Book of The Dead," Horus said as he tightly clenched his fists.

"Now you can see the reason why these little children are crying, and why some teenagers and adults are trembling in fear," Hathor said. "They're all the firstborn in your land, and there are more of them out there. Most of them cannot protect themselves from the demons because they haven't mastered the spell in The Book of The Dead, just like you said earlier. There are even a few who have mastered it, yet they cannot chant it properly. For the demons, they're all an easy target."

"Are they all Set's victims?" Horus asked. "And who's the one responsible for his release?"

"These humans were not Set's victims, as Yahweh has defeated him before he can even sit on your throne," Hathor said. "The one who released him was your grandmother. He then knocked you down and put a sleep spell on you, so that he can freely do anything in order to steal the throne from you."

"If what you're said about Nut releasing Set is true, then I will make sure she receives a proper punishment for this treason."

"As for why these humans died, it's because after Set's defeat, Nut was still persistent to rebel against Yahweh. She even planned to prolong the sleep effect on you, so that she can make a thorough plan for this. The only way to quickly break her is by taking the lives of all firstborn, humans and animals, in your land."

Horus exhaled an exasperated sigh, but said nothing.

"It's still a day before the spell wears off. However, I shall now take you out. After you wake up, I trust you will end up with the right decision."

In a blink of an eye, everything vanished, replaced by darkness. Soon after that, his eyes skittered open, allowing him to see a blurry figure in front of him. After his eyesight finally recovered, that figure turned out to be Hathor. Immediately, she hugged him. "How can you wake up?" she asked. "Set's spell supposedly wears off tomorrow."

"It's... ," Horus paused. "It's Yahweh who wakes me up."

"Yahweh?" Hathor responded confusedly.

"It's not important who wakes me up," Horus said. "Where is Set now?"

"He's being treated for his wounds," Hathor said.

"What did you just say?" Horus was astonished. "You treated his wounds?"

"Don't worry, Lord Shu and hundreds of your soldiers are watching over him."

"I don't care if there are thousands of soldiers watching over him!" Horus' voice suddenly heightened. "The main issue here is why do we have to treat the wounds of a traitor?!"

"Set helped Ra and his crew fight Apophis," Hathor said; her voice was calm but stern. "That's where he got his grave wounds."

Horus raised his eyebrows. "Why would Set help Lord Ra and his crew?"

"That's... ," Hathor paused.

"Forget, I'll deal with Set later," Horus said. "Where is Lady Nut now?"

"She's... mourning for the death of the firstborn," Hathor said. "I can see that she's so devastated by the cries of our people. I also can feel that her anger towards Yahweh has melted after this disaster. I think... ."

"She's ready to surrender to Yahweh," Horus guessed.

"You're right."

"Then I'll handle her punishment later," Horus said as he tried to get up. Hathor tried to hold him, but he immediately tossed away her hand and walked to the door.

"Where are you going??!"

"I'm going to Duat."

"Why do you need to go there?" Hathor responded confusedly.

"Many of the firstborn haven't mastered the spell in The Book of The Dead. It's really unfair if they die because of this reason. That's why I'm planning to escort them safely to The Hall of Ma'at."

"Lord Osiris will not approve of this action!"

"Lord Osiris is my father. And I'm The King of the gods. We will have an audience later to discuss this matter."

"He will still declare you violating the law!" Hathor exclaimed. "Once he does that, the entire Great Pesedjet can sentence you to prison!"

"I don't care about that," Horus said as he turned around and walked again.

"The soldiers you bring will also be punished for this violation!"

"I never said I will bring my soldiers," Horus stopped walking and said.

Hathor quickly went ahead of Horus and faced him. "Are you saying you're going all alone?!"

"You said it yourself that violating the law will put me in prison," Horus said. "I surely won't throw my soldiers into that same risk."

"But all those demons will target you!" Hathor exclaimed. "Furthermore, Apophis has grown stronger and is roaming freely in Duat due to Lord Ra's absence!"

"Apophis has grown stronger?" Horus responded confusedly.

"That's what made Set suffer grave wounds," Hathor said. "It's because Lord Ra has –."

"I don't have time for your story," Horus said as he started walking again towards the garden. He then expanded his wings and flew straight to the sky, ignoring Hathor's cry that broke the silence of the night.