It was a different experience than when I had seen visions of the past, but it never felt wrong. However, it was worrying how much damage my body had endured for the past two days.
My phantasmal eyes carefully took in every tear and scrape on my back, the thin linen growing red where it rested against the open lesions. Bruises dotted my shoulders and arms while angry red scratches marred my legs. Should Thoth be successful, I was worried that every injury I endured would transfer with me to my time. I wanted to trust that Thoth wouldn't break his word, but the worry remained present.
The quill in Thoth's (my) hand quickly scratched out in a rhythmic pattern, almost like he was writing out a melody instead of words. While I had a fantastical display in mind for when we were talking about spells, what unfolded in front of my eyes felt more right than the dazzling display of glowing runes and incomprehensible incantations.
"What are you doing?!" A screech sounded from within the cell before I felt something pinch and twist my left ear, dragging me down a little as I wordlessly cried out in surprise.
Another phantasmal figure stood next to me, their eyes practically glowing with fury as their teeth gnashed. Grabbing their hand, I tried to pull away from their grip while they started yanking harder on my ear.
There was no pain, but it was quite disorienting.
"You are a fool to think that this was the right choice to make!" The voice sounded familiar, gathering into a more detailed shape while the quill continued to scratch out a pattern, "You're ruining everything!"
"<You're the one that ruined my life!>" Finally prying their fingers from my ear, I took a few steps back to see the Egyptian goddess of death glaring at me, "<Fuck you and your plan. You're getting what you deserve.>"
For a brief second, I thought I was staring at a mirror before Nephthys' glare intensified while my gaze widened in shock.
Her hair was dyed black with the roots beginning to show my natural color while the black makeup surrounding her eyes was thick and surrounded a little pocket of my favorite color just to the outside of each eyelid. A long red sash of cloth was tied around her head, its length stopping in the middle of her hair length, while a white bolt of linen was wrapped around her figure to conceal her physique.
"I showed you everything that happened, allowed you to listen to what was said, and this is how you repay my desire?"
"<You're the coward that thought it would be better to flee than tell the truth!>" The anger from being forced into an unfair position began bubbling up within me, my wish to reprimand Nephthys fulfilled, "<If you think that you messed with me for your own gain, you're sorely mistaken. Set has every right to be angry with you, but you don't get to play the victim when you had every opportunity to stop this in its tracks by treating your brother-husband with the same respect he was giving you.>"
"A mortal like you has no right to speak like that to me," Her arms crossed over her chest as she stood straight.
"<I have every right. I've endured so much torture and torment in your stead because Set loves you, his marital fury coming from being betrayed in every way possible.>"
"You don't understand how much he hates me!"
"You think...I hate you?" The unexpected voice drew both of our attention towards the cell's door, seeing Set leaning against the wall next to it. His pale yellow eyes were solely focused on Nephthys but I couldn't place the expression on his face, "No...I never hated you."
Both Nephthys and I backed away as Set pushed himself away from the wall, the sand covering his lower body shifting forward a little. The gentle movement only exuded rage.
"I hated the choices you made."
"But I--"
"No more excuses!" Set's fangs clicked in frustration, "I had given you chance after chance for righting the wrongs you've done to our marriage, but you've fled in terror because you didn't want to deal with the consequences."
"I was drugged! I couldn't do anything!" Her voice was tense as she appeared to be holding back tears, her figure becoming more substantial and less ghostly.
"Yet you thought it was best to not divulge to me what you were doing. I was there that day when Isis asked you to visit, watched you get everything ready with a doubtful look on your face," Set stopped in front of Nephthys, lifting a hand to rest against her cheek, "Why?"
"Because I knew you hated Osiris, of how you coveted his throne and power. I feared that you would fly into a rage if I mentioned his name..." The tears were thick from her eyes, streaming down and over his hand before evaporating from the heat rolling from his form, "You never showed interest before in what I did."
I moved closer to my possessed body, noticing that Thoth was completely ignoring what was going on behind him. Either that or he couldn't hear what was happening.
His fingers deftly scrawled something along the papers' surface, methodically writing down whatever his spell was on each sheet. Out of the twenty I had prepared, he was halfway through.
"I want you back with me, Nebthwt. I stayed silent while our sister spoke with you because I hoped that you would take a stand against her on your own, but you continued to bend to her word," Set shook his head a little in disbelief, "When I had confronted to two of you in our home, you played the victim and cried innocence."
"I tried--"
"No, you didn't! You spoke as if my actions were a certainty against you!" His white fangs flashed in the light while his hand dropped from Nethphys' face, "I never believed Isis' words against yours, yet you lied to me when I pressed you for the smallest bit of information."
Nephthys' tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she let out a cry of sorrow mixed with realization, her hands pressing against her face while she slouched forward a little. Set only stood by as she released whatever pent up emotion held her, his eyes never wavering from her form.
"Will you stop running from me?" The deity of chaos shifted back a little, allowing his sister-wife more room, "Will you stop this ridiculous plan of yours?"
"I have no choice at this moment. She's made a bargain with Thoth," Nephthys regained most of her composure while taking deep breaths.
"That's not what I asked."
She seemed to flinch away from Set before looking up at him, "Yes..."
With the soft admission, Set stood up straight and shifted his gaze towards me. While I expected him to start admonishing me for what I was having Thoth do, I was only left speechless as Set turned away and moved back towards the wall he had been leaning against. His eyes warned me that he still regarded me less than an ant, something I had grown accustomed to from him.
Nephthys wiped away the remaining tears from her face, letting out a soft breath before her figure flashed in a bright light that forced me to turn away.
When I looked back, she was gone.
"It was intelligent of you to not interrupt," Thoth's voice sounded, my body standing up smoothly while the stack of papers in my hand became engulfed with green fire.
"I'm not that rash, birdbrain," Set made it clear who the comment was targeted towards, "I learned my lesson millenia ago to not mess with your spells."
"The timing for the spell would've been better if it was closer to the full moon, but I gave her as much of a peaceful send-off as I could," The ibis-headed deity walked up to me.
I opened my mouth to answer before I felt myself become pulled into my body as it stepped through me, Thoth walking on his original path without flinching. My hands burned like fire while the wounds I sustained through the torture raged with pain, my legs unable to stand under their own strength as I knelt on the ground.
"It would've been better if you had just let me do as I wished," Set continued as the transformation happened, ignoring the small grunt I made when I fell, "Everything was to be finished in the morning."
"Your little puppet will be disappointed by an empty cell," Thoth commented. His words reminded me of my original bargain with Set.
"Since I'm no longer the host for Nephthys...you need to uphold your end," I looked up at both deities, their human-sized forms appearing small when I was used to their larger-than-life displays, "Send me home."
"I don't remember promising that you would be returned to your time."
"You are bound to your word, Set," Thoth interjected, his right wing lifting as a scroll appeared at his lead feathertips, "Everything you and (y/n) have spoken has been written down."
Set narrowed his eyes into a glare, shooting a withering glance at the deity of knowledge before his lips spread into a snarl, "...fine."
I didn't know how I would be sent back, my eyes showing my fear as Set moved around Thoth to approach me, "What about my body?"
"I believe I have already told you of this, (y/n)," Thoth barely turned towards me with a small smirk, "The state of the body has no bearing on your soul."
Set's furred hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me up into the air effortlessly, "Which means I don't need to be gentle."
I grabbed at his fingers while I gasped for air, "Always the gentleman."
"I look forward to seeing you again."
My hand fell from the doorknob, the metal cold in my hand while I heard the neighbors across the way shout at each other about something that seemed unimportant. Sunlight poured through the stairway window that was broken, allowing some bugs to fly in and out at their will.
A sudden wave of lightheadedness washed over my form as a shudder danced on my skin.
"I'm...back?"
I rushed to grab the housekeys that rested in my jogging shorts pocket, opening my apartment and nearly sprinting to the hall mirror. The reflection looking back at me appeared to be the same, my hair neatly done up to stay out of my face, the tank top loose while a sports bra kept my chest modest.
Lifting up the tank top, my eyes widened in surprise before letting out a laugh of disbelief. Like a set of brands, two symbols had been carved into my skin. Both held familiarity with me.
One was a tapered bar with six wavy lines falling from under the bar, the symbol filling my head with memories of the ill-tempered deity.
The other was one that was more attributed to the medical field, a winged staff wrapped by two serpents. I smiled at the memory of the ibis-headed deity and his extensive living library.
They had kept their end of the bargain.