"Praise Ammit!"
It was the boy's last words.
Marc's eyes went wide in shock when the boy he was holding near the ledge pulled out a sharp knife. It was by Khonshu's order that he wanted the boy to be put on near the edge of the cliff, to make him speak about Harrow's dig site. But things took an unexpected turn when the boy cut off his red scarf with the knife. Before Marc could even act, the boy was falling off the ledge, plummeting to his death.
Marc took a few steps forward, peering down at the last person who had information about Harrow's dig site now dead. Khonshu appeared beside Marc, sitting by the ledge with his legs hanging off the edge as he too peered down at the body with a thoughtful look, not one ounce of sympathy for the boy.
Hmm. I thought he'd talk.
"What the hell's wrong with you, Steven?" Marc growled as he turned around, facing the back of a street sign where he could see Steven. He was frustrated at him because when he came to from blacking out earlier, Marc was holding a bloodied knife in one hand and one of Harrow's men in the other, his life already fading away. He looked around and two of the men he was chasing earlier in the city were dead except for the kid but now, he was gone too.
Now, all their leads were gone.
Me? You're the one going on a killing spree.
"I didn't do any of this." He argued back, gesturing to the two dead bodies on the ground.
Me neither. Listen, if you've got a problem with the body count. I suggest you stop listening to that stupid pigeon!
"Stay out of my way." Marc hissed, shooting Steven a threatening look before walking past the sign where he could no longer see Steven. "All right, well, if we can't find Harrow's digging crew, we're gonna have to stop 'em another way."
Marc came to a stop, sighing heavily as he thought of another way of stopping Harrow from releasing Ammit. Nothing came to his mind but the other Egyptian Gods, surely they wouldn't just let this happen under their noses. Marc turned to Khonshu, who was now seated on the top of an old rusty car.
"So? What about the other gods?" Marc queried, looking at Khonshu for answers. "Are they just gonna stand by and allow somebody to unleash Ammit?"
To signal for an audience with the gods is to risk their wrath.
"Why? What's the worst that could happen?" Marc asked, wondering what would happen if they were to face the wrath of the other Egyptian gods.
Anger them enough and they'll imprison me in stone.
"That doesn't sound so bad to me." Marc quipped, shooting Khonshu a look.
See how you fare against Harrow without the protection of my healing armor.
Marc looked at himself, groaning softly. Blood stained his arms and his clothing and while that was not much of a problem, the pain radiating throughout his body and the bruises that he received from fighting Harrow's men were now starting to be more noticeable—despite having no recollection of how it happened. Marc lifted his gaze, his lips flattened into a thin line as he released an irritated huff, knowing that Khonshu was right.
Without the armor, he won't be able to heal. Without him, he'd be dead.
"All right, so what? Do you have any good ideas?" Marc questioned him and the god fell silent for a moment. His head—reminiscent of that of a bird's skull—turned away from Marc as he thought deeply. There was one idea that came to his mind, something that would surely catch the other gods' attention, possibly even making a certain falcon-headed god livid.
I have a bad one.
Hitting the end of his staff on the ground, Khonshu disappeared into thin air, leaving Marc alone, wondering where the Egyptian god had gone to.
"Khonshu?" Marc called out, his eyes darting around aimlessly, looking for the God. Suddenly, the wind started to pick up and he noticed that the sunlight was not as bright as it was from seconds ago. Marc then started to turn around, gaze drifting upwards to the sun. He watched with knitted eyebrows the moon starting to cross over the sun, blocking out all the light emitted by the sun.
"What are you doing?" Marc asked as the light began to dim, the moon was already halfway from covering the sun completely.
Sending the gods a signal they can't ignore.
With the whole of Egypt and possibly half of the world being shrouded in darkness because of the eclipse, Marc quickly returned to the city below.
"That was a bit over the top, don't you think?" Marc stated as he walked down the stairs with haste. He almost ran into some people who were too focused on the eclipse occurring right before their eyes.
Hurry. They're gathering their Avatars now.
"Aren't they scattered around the world?" Marc asked as he made a turn, heading towards the path that would lead to the market until Khonshu reappeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Yes. But for a meeting of the Ennead, a portal presents itself anywhere.
"Okay. So, where's mine?" Marc inquired, looking around for a portal that could lead them to the place of the Ennead.
As if on cue, A low rumbling sound caught his attention, prompting him to turn around to follow where it came from. His gaze fell upon the pathway that was once open with people passing through it, the one that would lead to the market. Now it was bricked up, the people walking past it or near it were gone.
Marc started to move closer to it as the walls began to part, revealing another path. Marc made a quick peek only to find nothing but darkness inside the portal.
The last time I spoke to the gods, they banished me. Our case against Harrow must be indisputable.
Marc turned his head, mouth opening to say something as a response to Khonshu but he quickly shut it when he saw that the Egyptian god was no longer near him. Marc eyed his surroundings, looking for the god until he found him down the road, walking away.
"Aren't you coming with?" Marc asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Oh, I'll be there.
Marc's gaze lingered on Khonshu's retreating figure before deciding to walk through the portal. It was dark inside but he immediately saw a dim light on the other end within a few strides. The closer he was to get to the Chamber of the Gods, the first thing his gaze fell upon was a large statue that reminisces a face of a man. There were two more statues on both sides of the first one he saw; the one on the right was reminiscent of a large falcon with a crown on its head and the one on the left was a tall woman with large wings covering the front of her body.
I can't believe it.
Marc turned his head to the left, seeing Steven with a delighted look on his face, his hands were joined together, pressed against his chest as he took in the large chamber.
Oh, my days. We're inside. We're inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Oh, Elizabeth would've loved to be here.
Marc returned his gaze up ahead, observing his surroundings as he kept moving forward. He climbed down the small flight of stairs before approaching the smaller statues of Egyptian gods. It was at that time that the Avatars of the Ennead started to come out one by one through portals that lined the chamber of the Gods.
Two of them had already arrived, one a dark-skinned woman and a man in a suit. Both of them gave him a stern look after acknowledging Marc Spector's presence before walking over to one corner of the chamber, meeting up with the Avatar that had just arrived.
Then, a beautiful woman started to walk out of the portal near Marc. She has tanned skin, and long black hair and she was wearing a long dress.
"Khonshu's theatrics are unparalleled." The woman stated the moment her gaze fell upon Marc Spector, she then started walking forward, meeting him halfway. "You must be his Avatar."
"Hi. And who are you?" Marc asked as he gave the woman a once over.
"I'm Yatzil, Avatar of Hathor." She answered with a soft smile.
"Okay," Marc replied plainly, he stopped walking to face the woman.
"Goddess of music and love?" Yatzil continued as if she was trying to help him recognize who was the goddess she was serving.
But Marc didn't get the idea, he didn't have much knowledge about Egyptian mythology as much as Steven has.
"Cool." Marc simply replied curtly with a nod. He turned his head, his gaze drifting over to the other Avatars where they were all gathered in one corner, all of them smiling at the Avatar whom Marc still has yet to see.
"Surely Khonshu has mentioned her?" Yatzil inquired, bringing Marc's attention back to Yatzil.
Marc was quiet for a second, recollecting whether Khonshu had mentioned her. But in the end, he remembered nothing and he shook his head. "The gods aren't really his favorite topic." He informed her.
"Not even when they are old friends?" Yatzil queried further, bee brow raised in curiosity.
"Sorry," Marc answered, his gaze returning to the other Avatars once again. For some reason, he seemed to be drawn by the unknown Avatar he has yet to see. Marc couldn't get his eyes off of them and he wondered why. Marc had determined that the Avatar he hadn't seen yet was a woman but he couldn't make out her face due to the man in the suit completely blocking him of his view. But something in the back of his mind made it seem like he had seen her somewhere before.
Yatzil's soft chuckles took his attention off of the woman he had been eyeing, then realized that he was staring far longer than he should have.
"She says it was not so long ago Khonshu enjoyed Hathor's melodies." She informed him.
"Well, as far as I know, the only melody Khonshu enjoys is the sound of pain." Marc rebutted.
"Yatzil!"
Both Marc and Yatzil snapped their heads toward the direction of the voice, both finding out that it came from the man in the suit. He stood behind a statue of a certain Egyptian God that Marc couldn't quite put a finger at who it was. Marc then observed his surroundings and saw that the other Avatars were now standing in front of each statue as well which made him assume that these were the gods and goddesses they serve.
Yatzil beckoned Marc to move forward as she began walking.
"Has Khonshu told you how this works?" Yatzil inquired in a low voice, only for Marc's ears to hear.
"Not really. Is there somethin' I should know?" Marc asked back, watching as the woman began to head towards a statue of what he assumed to be Hathor.
"I try not to fight it. It's a strange sensation. But you'll get used to it." Yatzil reassured him as she picked up the ends of her dress.
As Yatzil walked past Marc, his gaze drifted upwards, looking at the three statues in front of him. One of them was still unoccupied—the one with the statue of a falcon-headed god. He pondered whether that was for the woman he saw earlier.
That was until a few seconds later when the woman walked up to it, only confirming his theory. Her gaze was focused on the man beside her, who was talking to her with a reassuring smile on his face before dropping it.
Marc couldn't leave his eyes off of her, because the woman whom he had been eyeing seconds ago trying to figure out who she was turned out to be Elizabeth.
Is that...Is that Elizabeth?
Steven questioned, starting up at Elizabeth. He was currently situated at one of the gold paints of the statues.
It is! It is Elizabeth. Oh, love.
Marc kept his gaze on Elizabeth while she now sat behind the statue of the God she was representing. She didn't come to notice Marc until she turned her head and faced the one who caused the meeting to happen. When she saw that it was Marc, her heart leaped inside of her chest. The two of them shared the same shocked expression as they held their gazes.
Marc gulped nervously, diverting his gaze from her as the memories of a few nights ago started to pop up in his mind.
Elizabeth subtly released a soft relieved sigh through her nose. Days of worrying were gone the moment she laid his eyes on him and saw that he was all right.
Halfway up to the stairs that lead to her seat, Yatzil's head moved backward, eyes emitting a white glow, an indication that Hathor had taken over her body.
"In attendance," Hathor started, "Horus, Isis, Tefnut, Osiris, and Hathor. To hear the account of Khonshu."
As Hathor mentioned the names of the Ennead, one by one, the gods inhabited the bodies of their avatars, taking full control of them. Marc's body jolted, his eyes glowing briefly as he felt Khonshu enter his body, he felt weird by the sensation but he listened to Yatzil's advice. He did not fight it.
"You've been banished once for nearly exposing us, Khonshu. And you know we despite your garishness, your showy masks, and your weapons. But manipulate the sky again and we will in prison you in stone." Osiris declared, giving Marc a stern look.
"Spare me your self-righteous threats!" Khonshu bellowed, his voice booming throughout the chambers. " I was banished for not abandoning humanity unlike the rest of you!"
Marc blinked, surprised at what had come out of him.
"We have not abandoned humanity. They abandoned us. " Horus stated in a calm tone, bringing Khonshu's attention to him. But deep inside Horus was livid that Khonshu had manipulated the skies. But Horus did not show any of his anger, he wouldn't give Khonshu that satisfaction.
"We simply trust our Avatars to carry out our purposes without calling undue attention to ourselves." Horus scrutinized the man, "Not like some of us." Horus concluded.
You guys sure are petty.
In the back of his mind, Elizabeth was able to witness everything that was happening. Horus shook his head, trying to rid Elizabeth's voice from his mind so that he could focus on the council. He regretted not telling her to keep quiet before the trial.
"Avatars are not enough! We need the might of gods!" Khonshu retorted in the same volume of his voice. "Return from the opulence of the Overvoid before you lose this realm!"
"For the last time, Khonshu...the Avatars that remain here are simply meant to observe. We decided long ago we did not wish to meddle in the affairs of man." Osiris explained to him.
Then Tefnut spoke, her voice thick with an African accent. "We will decide our best course of action. Speak your purpose."
"I call for judgment against Arthur Harrow!"
"The charges?" Isis queried.
"Conspiracy to release Ammit!"
"That is a heavy accusation, Khonshu," Osiris stated.
A beat of silence took over the chamber as all Avatars eyed Marc Spector. None of them, except Horus, was convinced he was speaking the truth.
Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt as she gazed down at him, unable to utter a word, unable to help him due to the consequences both her and Horus would face if they found out that they went against the rule of not interfering with the conflicts of men.
"Let us summon the accused." Osiris declared, his eyes trained on the portal behind Marc.
The Ennead and Khonshu all turned their attention at the arrival of Arthur Harrow. As he came out of the portal behind Marc, Khonshu gazed at him with contempt as he entered with a bewildered look on his face. He then walked over to stand beside Marc to face the council of the Ennead.
Both Marc and Elizabeth noticed he didn't bring his cane along with him.
"So, I see by the presence of Khonshu's current makeshift Avatar, the purposes of our meeting must be nefarious." Harrow remarked as he now stood beside Marc.
"You know exactly why we are here!" Khonshu bellowed once more.
"I must admit I do not miss the sound of that voice," Harrow stated with a disgruntled expression on his face while he joined his hands together in front of him.
"But speak, old master, to the point." Harrow requested, now turning his head at Marc.
"Do you not seek to release Ammit from her tomb?" Khonshu questioned him.
"I was in the desert. But if visiting the sands were a crime, the line of sinners would be longer than the Nile." Harrow explained, now turning to Marc with an accusing look on his face.
Bullshit. Elizabeth voiced out from the back of Horus' mind.
"Khonshu has searched for Ammit's tomb since he ensnared me to his service. His vision is obscured by jealousy, paranoia, and his..."
"He is a deceiver!" Khonshu interrupted while pointing an accusing finger at Harrow.
"Do not trust the word of a shamed god." Harrow told the Ennead, he then continued, "No, Khonshu is unhinged and his servant unwell."
"How do you mean?" Hathor questioned with her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
Silence filled the room for a moment, Marc felt himself grow tense, though, he wasn't sure if it was him, Khonshu, or maybe the both of them.
"This is a man who literally does not know his own name. He has a marriage certificate under the name Marc Spector—"
"Liar!" Khonshu shouted.
"Employment records under the name Steven Grant—"
"Stop!"
"I've seen him speak to himself—"
"Shut up!"
"Threaten himself." Harrow released a noise that sounded like a chuckle as he looked onto the council of the Ennead, seeing that most of them seemed to be convinced by his words. "I have no idea how many personalities he must possess. The man is clearly insane."
Marc's right hand curled into a fist and without hesitation, went to throw a punch at Harrow's face in order to shut him up. However, his fist never came into contact with Harrow's face for a flurry of white energy wrapped around Marc's wrist, leaving his fist hanging in the air.
Khonshu turned his head to see that Osiris had risen from his seat, his arms outstretched towards him the same white energy around Marc's wrist swirled between Osiris' fingers while he manipulated Marc's arms, bringing both of his arms behind him and sending him to his knees.
"We will not tolerate violence in this Chamber." Osiris told Khonshu, staring at him pointedly as the white energy now left his fingers.
Khonshu lifted his head, meeting the Osiris' gaze as he nodded while muttering 'yeah'.
"It brings me no pleasure to tell you that this is a deeply troubled man. Khonshu is taking advantage of him the same way that he abused me, the way he aspires to abuse this court. Take action now before it's too late." Harrow said, his voice trembling as if he was about cry.
"Let us speak to Marc Spector." Horus raised Elizabeth's arms, both of her hands were engulfed in the same white energy that Osiris' hand had while waving them in a downward motion to eliminate the spell that kept Marc's arms together.
Before he could fall, Marc immediately caught himself before his face landed on the ground, he felt Khonshu leave his body at Horus' behest. Heavy breaths left his lips as he lifted his head, his eyes connecting with Horus.
"Are you unwell?" He raised the question him, the stern expression on his face never wavered ever since they had commenced.
Marc's eyes left Horus' to look at Harrow. Silence filled the chamber as the Ennead waited for his response. Seconds later, he returned his gaze towards Elizabeth, nodding.
"I am...I am unwell." He admitted with his voice shaking, "I need help."
Elizabeth couldn't help but feel pity at Marc's confession. His gaze went around the chamber once more before they once again connected with Elizabeth's. He knew that it was not her that was in control of her body and yet, he could still see her emotions seeping out from Horus' hard exterior.
"But that doesn't change the fact that this man is.. " he trailed off as he pointed a finger at Harrow. Marc released a sigh of defeat as he dipped his head down, bringing his fist to the ground.
"This is a safe space for you to tell us if you feel exploited by Khonshu." Hathor reassured him with her eyebrows drawn together in concern.
"This is not about my feelings! I'm not the one trial here. He is!" Marc snapped, his voice bouncing off the walls of the chamber "This is about how dangerous he is if you would just listen for a second."
"He has committed to offense." Osiris stated firmly.
"This matter is concluded."
Elizabeth felt her jaw drop at what she heard, just like they had done to Horus, none of them listened or even considered looking into it.
Meanwhile, Harrow turned to the Ennead, nodding his head at them. His lies had worked.
With the council now concluded, the Ennead rose from their seats, their gods leaving their bodies of their Avatars before they dispersed, heading back to the portal they all came out off.
Elizabeth stayed, lingering in the shadows of the portal she walked out of while waiting for the right opportunity to approach Marc. She gazed down at the man who was still sunken to his knees on the ground, despair racked his whole being.
Once she saw all of the avatars and Harrow were gone, she walked out of the portal and made her way down to Marc, who held a defeated look on his face.
He lifted his gaze when he heard someone approaching him. Elizabeth kneeled in front of him, concern gracing her features as her eyes scanned him from head to toe.
"Ste—." Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, realizing she was about to call Marc a different name before she corrected herself. "Marc."
Marc scoffed as he sat up. "So you're Horus' Avatar, huh?"
"Is that such a surprise?" She questioned him back with a teasing edge on her voice.
"No. Explains the wings a few nights ago though." Marc replied, the corners of his mouth quirked up in a smirk. Elizabeth gave him a soft smile but it disappeared once her eyes fell upon the bruises and the wounds that littered his arms and face.
"Do you mind?"
"Mind what?" Marc glanced down at her hands, which were inside of her pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. She moved the handkerchief close to his face, she didn't do anything until Marc had said something. When he nodded, Elizabeth began wiping the sweat and the dried blood from his face gently, slowly exposing the wound skin above his eyebrow.
Marc watched Elizabeth curiously as she dropped her handkerchief to her lap. White energy swirled in between her fingers as she placed it over Marc's wound, he winced when her fingers made contact with it.
His actions elicited a chuckle from the brunette.
"You know, you should be more careful with this body." Elizabeth chided as she watched the wound closing up with the abilities she gained as Horus' Avatar. When she finished, the white energy disappeared from her fingertips, she pressed the area where the wound was.
"It's not just you who uses the body." Elizabeth finished as she lowered her hands down to her lap to offer the handkerchief to him.
"Thanks." Marc mumbled awkwardly as he took the handkerchief from her. He then diverted his gaze from her, feeling guilty at the way he acted a few nights ago.
"You really shouldn't be helping me." Marc told her as he rose to his feet and then offered his hand for her to take so he could pull her up.
"I'm not." Elizabeth started, disregarding Marc's hand as she stood up on her own. "I'm helping Steven."
Marc gave her a confused look.
"You treat your body so harshly just because you know Khonshu heals it without even thinking about what it'll do to Steven." She chastised him with her arms crossed over her chest. He may be someone else but this was still Steven's body, and he was not taking care of it properly.
"And you could've helped us by telling the rest of the Ennead about Harrow. You were there." He reminded her, "Maybe if they heard it straight from Horus then they would've listened." Marc countered, placing his hands on his hips while shaking his head slowly.
"You think he hasn't done that yet? Horus once called the Ennead because it had been brought to his attention that many lives were being brought down to the Underworld without facing any judgment from Anubis or any of the underworld gods." Elizabeth explained to him in a frustrated voice, "And what did they do? Nothing! Because that's what they've been doing ever since humans forgot about them. And about the matter? They passed it off by assuming another tragedy had befallen Earth once more that took the lives of many, many people."
Marc was stunned, he was uncertain whether it was Horus or Elizabeth speaking.
Elizabeth then released a breath, feeling letting her frustration subside. "In other words, if we speak up about it. They will find out that Horus has been going behind their backs and they'll imprison him in stone." She released a heavy sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Try stopping Harrow and Ammit without him."
"I have Khonshu." Marc countered.
"Who, I remind you, is one step closer to being imprisoned in stone. One wrong move and he's gone." Elizabeth said with the corners of her mouth upturned. Marc noticed her briefly glancing over to the empty space beside her, chuckling softly at it.
Marc sighed, knowing she was right. Khonshu made a risk just to summon the gods but it backfired. Now they had no lead, no help. He wondered what he was going to do now without any repercussions coming their way.
"Marc."
At the mention of his name, Marc turned his head, spotting Yatzil walking out of a portal. Elizabeth's jaw clenched, feeling anxiety sink in. She wondered how long Yatzil was inside the chamber, listening in on them.
She had revealed so much to Marc just out of frustration. She let her emotion get the best of her and now, she knew that she fucked up all of Horus' efforts to keep all of it a secret.
"Do not fret." Yatzil's gentle voice promoted Elizabeth to release a breath, "Hathor won't tell anything, she knows her husband can be stubborn when he set his mind on things."
Marc looked over to Elizabeth, confused. "Husband?"
Elizabeth found herself smirking as the relief started to set within her. "Hathor and Horus are a couple. Maybe you should get some tips on how to keep up a marriage."
Marc pressed his lips into a thin line as he rolled his eyes at Elizabeth. "What is it, Yatzil?" he asked her, binging the subject back to the matter.
"There's another way." Yatzil told him, "You must listen to me carefully."
Marc nodded diligently as he moved one step closer to Yatzil.
"Ammit was buried in secret. The location hidden even from the gods. Ammit had many followers. I didn't know who to trust." she explained.
"But someone had to know something." Marc added, making Yatzil nod in assent. Elizabeth stood near them, listening to the two as they conversed. If she's going to stop Harrow from releasing Ammit and bring her sister back safely, she needed all the information she could get.
"One man. A medjay named Senfu. He was tasked with recording the location of the tomb in case the gods ever changed their minds and decided to show mercy. Find Senfu's sarcophagus and you'll find your tomb." Yatzil continued.
"Okay. How am I supposed to do that?"
"His sarcophagus was stolen and sold on the black market. You might want to start there."
Elizabeth finally decided to step in, "Where can we find him?"
"We?" Marc asked as he turned to Elizabeth, shooting her a confused look.
"Horus plans to stop Harrow as well. And I plan to bring my sister back. So I guess what I'm saying is that Horus and I are going to help you." Elizabeth explained, ending it with a soft smile.
Marc glanced over to his side, looking at Khonshu who had released a soft, distasteful groan. He didn't like the idea of working with someone who had him banished ages ago. But he didn't have much of a choice, to stop Ammit, he and Marc would need help from another Avatar and her God.
Very well.
With that, Marc turned his head to Elizabeth, who gave him an anticipating look until he nodded. The corners of Elizabeth's lips pulled into a soft smile.
March then returned his attention to Yatzil.
"Where can we find Senfu?"