I slept uneasily. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer lying in my tent.
I stood in a vast hall where the sand beneath my feet glimmered as if it were made of gold.
The sky above me was filled with stars, but they shone brighter than any I had ever seen.
Figures began appearing one by one – Hathor with her golden bracelets, Ma'at holding her scales, Thoth with a scroll in his hand, Bastet with her glowing feline eyes, Horus young and proud, the Huntress with a bow in her hand, and finally Usir – tall, calm, with green-tinged skin and a crown upon his head.
Their gazes turned toward me. Hathor was the first to speak:
"Man who walks the border between life and death. Tell us who you are."
I felt my throat tighten. "I am just a man," I said.
"A man doing what must be done to keep Egypt alive."
Usir stepped forward. His voice was deep, calm, yet heavy with meaning:
"No mere man survives the wounds you have endured. No mere man walks from my realm back to the living again and again. Tell us – who gave you immortality? And why?"
"No one," I said after a pause. "Or… not in the way you think. There was a time when I begged for death. The gods denied me. They gave me life and took away my love so that I would carry out a duty I didn't yet understand.
Only now am I beginning to see what is required of me."
Ma'at tilted her head, her scales shifting as if weighing something.
"Your presence changes the balance. Mortals believe in you, even when you are unsure if you are still one of them.
You are the anchor between the mortal world and us."
Horus frowned. "And yet while your presence strengthens our power, Seth's strength grows as well. Why?"
"Because every battle, every fear, every act of vengeance feeds him," I answered.
"And I… let it happen. I could not stop it. Every drop of blood we spilled was his feast."
The Huntress narrowed her eyes and drew her bow, though she did not release the string.
"Then stop him. Find a way to take his strength from him. If you do not, his shadow will spread across the land."
Usir studied me for a long moment before nodding once.
"It is not time for you to stand aside. You are tied to life and to death – but one day I will come for you myself. And when that day comes, I want to know your true name."
Hathor stepped closer, touched my forehead with her warm fingers.
"Man who belongs nowhere, your path is nearing its choice. You are a bridge – but a bridge must one day choose which side it will rest on."
The light around us dimmed. The gods began to fade into shadow.
Horus looked at me one last time:
"If Egypt falls, we fall with it. Do not fail."
And then I was back in my tent, soaked with sweat, my heart pounding in my chest.
I took Nakht's small wooden figure into my hand and whispered:
"They know now I am not just a man. But as long as they do not know my name, I still have time."
I hadn't even managed to take a full breath after the dream of Hathor when everything around me shifted.
The tent, the sand, even the night sky were gone.
I stood on the bank of a river whose water was as black as obsidian.
There were no stars above me, only a heavy, gray haze hanging from the sky.
The air reeked of rot, blood, and swamp mud.
Before me stretched an endless plain, littered with bones and corpses.
Some lay still, but others were being gnawed apart by crocodiles.
A few bodies still twitched, letting out choked, rattling sounds before going silent.
Far in the distance, I saw a temple.
It was unlike any temple I had ever known – no clean lines, no shining pylons to catch the sun.
This one was made of dark stone, mud, and bone. Its walls glistened as if wet, almost alive.
And then I felt it – the pull.
Not physical, but something deep inside me that compelled me forward.
The crocodiles did not attack.
They just watched as I walked through their feeding ground, some even sliding aside to clear my path.
As though they were welcoming me.
I entered the temple.
Inside, greenish fire flared to life in the torches along the walls.
At the end of the hall stood Sobek.
He was massive, far larger than any carving or statue had ever shown him.
His body was like forged iron, covered in thick scales, and his yellow eyes glowed like lamps.
When he spoke, his voice rolled through the entire chamber.
"So, you finally come," he said.
"The one who changes the course of destiny. The one who gives them gods and teaches them to worship."
I stopped a few steps away from him.
"Sobek," I said.
His crocodilian maw twisted into something that might have been a smile.
"You are the one who freed me.
For years, for centuries, I was bound within their pantheon.
Through your wars, your bloodshed, I was able to break free.
Now I have my own river, my own world, my own temples.
You are the giver of my freedom."
"I am none of those things," I answered coldly.
Sobek laughed – a deep, guttural sound that made the walls of the temple shudder.
"You are more than you think.
I see you, mortal. I see how the wars are shaping you.
I feel the darkness that has awakened within you.
You are like me – hungry for blood, for victory.
Every fallen enemy strengthens you."
"You're wrong," I said, though I felt his words strike somewhere deep inside.
"No," he replied slowly, stepping closer.
"I want you to be my servant. My chosen one in the world of the living.
Leave those others you freed to play at being gods. They are weak.
Serve me.
With you at my side, the rivers will run red forever, and Egypt will be my hunting ground."
For an instant, visions flashed before my eyes – rivers of blood, cities in flames, crocodiles dragging screaming bodies beneath the surface.
A wave of revulsion rolled over me.
I stepped forward, my hands clenched.
"Never," I said, my voice low but steady.
"I will never serve you.
And I swear, Sobek – your cult, your priests, your statues – I will burn them all.
Nothing of you will remain.
You will be forgotten. And if I must, I will see it done with my own hands."
Sobek's grin vanished.
The yellow glow in his eyes turned cold, narrow like a predator about to strike.
"Then we are enemies," he hissed.
"So be it. But remember this – you feed me.
Every battle you fight, every scream, every drop of blood you spill is my feast.
Sooner or later, you will come back to me."
The temple shook.
The torches went out.
I felt the ground give way beneath my feet and the black river swallowed me whole.
I woke up in my tent, heart hammering so hard I thought it might burst from my chest.
Sweat soaked through my tunic.
For a long moment I just sat there, breathing hard, staring into the darkness – knowing this war was far from over.
I sat down on the mat and rubbed my face with my hands. The images of Sobek's realm were still flashing in my mind – the black river, the temple of bones, his voice. I needed to wash that weight off me.
I took the clay water jar that stood near the entrance of the tent. I dipped my hands into it and slowly washed my face and neck. The cold water forced me to take a deep breath. Something inside me settled.
"Alright," I said to myself quietly. "Time to talk to Karem."
---
Karem was sitting by the fire when I found him. He looked like he had just finished the last piece of bread. When he saw me, he immediately got to his feet.
"You look like you haven't slept all night," he remarked.
"I didn't," I admitted. "I've got two pieces of news for you – one good, one bad."
He raised an eyebrow. "Start with the good one. Give me at least a moment of good mood."
I sat down across from him by the fire. "Almost all the gods I was meant to help bring into existence are here. Hathor, Ma'at, Osiris, Hor, the huntress goddess… they are real now. People are worshipping them, beginning to believe in their power. Egypt is changing."
Karem smiled. "Then your task is nearly done."
"Not quite," I said, shaking my head. "And now for the bad news – Sutekh is stronger than ever. The wars we fought have fed him. And as long as his power grows, he will try to destroy everything we've built."
Karem's expression hardened. "So what do we do?"
I stared into the fire for a long moment. "It came to me that since the men have already started believing in Hor, we can strengthen that faith. Before every battle, we'll offer prayers to him – to guide us and protect us. And to the goddess of the hunt, so that she gives us precision and swiftness. And we will introduce Sekhmet – goddess of war and vengeance. If we honor them before every fight, their power will grow. And with them, so will our chances to stand against Sutekh and his cult."
Karem grinned, but there was fire in his eyes. "That's a good idea. The men will love it. They already see you as Hor in the flesh. When you tell them to pray before battle, they'll do it eagerly."
"That's exactly what we need," I nodded. "If the gods are to keep up with Sutekh, we have to feed them faith. And only the people can do that."
"Then we tell the men at the next sunrise," Karem suggested. "Let it start immediately."
"Exactly," I said, managing a faint smile, though the shadow of Sobek's words still lingered in me. "And then we wait. Sutekh will move. And when he does, we'll be ready."
Karem chuckled and slapped my shoulder. "You really are insane, you know that? First you create gods, and now you want to arm them for war against another god."
"If I'm going to finish what I started, I have to," I replied seriously. "We can't let Egypt belong to him."