"Few know the whole story." "From what I recall, it goes something like this..." "Before history began, Egypt was the birthplace of all life." "A paradise worthy of the gods who created it." "So the gods decided to live there alongside their lesser creation, man." "But there was no mistaking the gods amongst the mortals who worshipped them." "The gods were taller with gold running through their veins instead of blood." "And they could transform at will into all manner of frightening beasts." "Egypt itself was divided between two mighty brothers." "Osiris, the God of Life, was the beloved king of all the lands made bountiful by the Nile." "His brother, Set, ruled the far barren desert finding both strength and bitterness in his isolation." "But then the time came for Osiris to crown a new king." "His only son, Horus." "It was a decision that would test the brothers' bond and the fate of all Egypt." "But the gods are only half our tale." "It had become clear that they couldn't shape the course of destiny alone." "A man of exceptional judgment, wisdom and fortitude would be needed." "Unfortunately, I was not such a man." "But before you dismiss my younger foolhardy self, remember..." "Never doubt a man fighting for the one thing as powerful as any god." "Three hundred, impossible." "Love." "Thief!" "Stop!" "This dress is hopeless." "I need to buy some ribbon to even begin to make it suitable for the coronation." "I say we spend tomorrow together instead." "We are spending tomorrow together." "At the coronation." "We're blessed the gods shall give us a new king in our lifetime." "Horus?" "You know I couldn't care less about the gods." "Well, they care about you." " Oh, yeah?" " Bek!" "Give it back." "I knew you wanted to wear something special." "Did you steal it from a shopkeeper or from someone's closet?" "It was quicker than waiting for the gods to answer my prayers." "The gods give us everything we need." "Yes." "Their generosity knows no bounds." "You look beautiful." "Zaya, when I asked you to run away with me, I promised you a good life." "Dresses worthy of a princess." "A new one every day." "Rivers of jewels to adorn you." " A golden palace to raise our family." " And how many children would we have?" "A dozen." "I would do anything to make you happy." "And how was Horus, the king-to-be, preparing for his great day?" "Lord of the Air." "Quite an occasion last night." "Already crowds press cheek-to-cheek to catch a glimpse of you." "You will look splendid." "Eventually." "Glorious, glorious Horus!" "But don't discount Horus yet either." "Because when it comes to the fate of the world in one's hands, even gods can be surprised by the strength they possess." "If I was to be crowned, I might have spent the preceding hours composing a message for my people." "Could the people love him more?" "Maybe Lord Horus doesn't think we need boring speeches." "Except when it comes to toasting his own glory." "Many toasts were required." "I was doing deeds of which songs will be sung." "The great lion he slayed was terrorizing villages." "It was?" "Good." "All the more song-worthy." "That's nice." "That's fine, thank..." "You." "A shame I have come too late." "But here I am, sober and clothed." "Don't tell anyone." "I have a bad reputation to keep." "Come here." "Come." "No." "No, no." "No, no!" "Hard to believe, but you look like a king." "If that's what excites you, who am I to judge?" "Jewelry excites me." "Then look to your wrist, if the effort is not too great." "The Bracelet of 42 Stars." "To remind you of the demons I slayed for you." "A more valuable treasure Egypt has never known." "This old thing?" "How can the Goddess of Love not know what love is?" "It's not bedding any girl who flutters her eyelashes, mighty lion-slayer." "I was celebrating the hunt." "You would know that had you been here." "I value my freedom." "Dead animals less so." "Well, you have no problem wearing them." " Oh..." " Hathor, don't." "Don't." "That's no way for a queen to behave." "Then it's a good thing I am not a queen." "Can you imagine anything more dull than sitting on a throne all day?" "What exactly are you asking me?" "Did I ask you something?" "I am not sure." "Did you?" "My Lord." "It's starting." "Hathor......." "Goddess of Love!" "Nephthys....." "Goddess of Protection!" " Sir." " Oh..." "Thank you, young man." "You have been awfully nice to strangers today." "Show me your hands." " What?" "Gifts for Osiris." " Hurry up!" "Thoth, God of Wisdom!" "Greetings, Thoth." "Did you ever imagine that your former student would 1 day wear the crown of Egypt?" "Horus evinced a range of attributes, some of which may well correlate with a leadership position." "If he's lucky." "Praise Osiris!" "King.... of..... all......" "Egypt!" "Hail Ra, Lord of Light." "Hail Ra, Lord of Light!" "My father has seen fit to bless this day as you all bless us with your generosity." "A token from someone with much." "And from someone with little." "But when both die and stand at the Final Gate, what is their value then?" "I say they are equal." "Symbols of lives well-lived." "All are welcome to the Afterlife." "This is my legacy." "But today, we crown a new king." "And one day, he will have a legacy of his own." "My son Horus, Lord of the Air." "Are you ready?" "I am." "Wait!" "Wait." "Sorry, I am late." "Ugh, three days to cross the desert." "And nearly one more to pass through all your admirers." " Set!" "Brother." "Good to see you." " And you, brother." "There's always a place for you here." "Such a big day for the family." "You must be proud." "I am." "Look at you, nephew." "Magnificent." "At least someone here will make a fine king." " I was afraid you wouldn't come." " No, I wouldn't miss it." "Ah." " For you." " Oh..." "A hunting horn." "From the skull of a ram that flattened ten gods slower than me." "It's beautiful." "Yeah?" "Try it out." "From Set." "Come on!" "Let Ra himself hear you." "I think someone heard you." "What is this, Set?" "You recognize it?" "Father gave it to you." "Kept me alive for many a night in the desert." "Fight me." " Father, don't." " Stay out of this, son." "Why?" "In 1,000 years of peace, what have you accomplished?" "A land of people who dream of nothing more." " It's my turn now." " I won't fight." "I love you, brother." "With all my heart." "I love you, too, brother." "No!" "Osiris!" "Well, this truly is a big day for the family." "I, Set... shall be your one true king." "King of all Egypt!" "Behold the fate of those who stand in my way." "Gods..." "Bow before me or die." "Mortals, worship me or be enslaved!" "Bek!" "My brother thought the Afterlife was a gift." "I think a king should have higher standards." "From now on, you have to buy your way in with riches earned." "Your journey has just begun." "It's yours now." "Many of us will stand with you, but now is not the time." " I looked up to you." " Of course you did." "That would be unwise." "Is it true you still never miss?" "Doesn't that get dull?" "I thought your sight was perfect." "You fight well." "Are you so sure you're his son?" "Zaya!" " Bek!" " Zaya!" "Bek!" "I am doing Egypt a favor." "You're not fit to be King." "No!" "No!" "Set!" "Forgive me, Father." "Zaya!" "Zaya!" "And so Set was King." "In the year that followed, many gods stood against him." "One by one, they paid with their lives." "For mortals, things were worse." "Most were forced into slavery, and denied even the tiniest penny to buy our way into the Afterlife." "Blinded and defeated, Horus withdrew into exile." "Those who prayed for him to save Egypt were sorely disappointed." "But I was never much for prayer." "I had found Zaya enslaved to a cruel master." "But how could I free her from all this?" "It was the maddest of all plans." "You may not control the wind, Zaya, but I'd think you could close a shutter." "Sorry, "My Lord"." "Pretty one, if ever I find my desk disordered again," "I will throw you outside to push stone." "Is that clear?" "Come on, come on!" "Haven't got all day." "I'd like to drop him from a great height." "Morning." "One day, I am going to steal you away from him." "Is theft always the answer?" "It is now in this world." "You're either rich or nothing." "Even if you could free me, what about my family?" "Our friends?" "Can you steal all Egypt away from Set?" "Only Horus can free us." " You really believe the gods care?" " If Horus could come, he would." "I want to show you something." "Set's army returns with spoils of war." "His vault will be unlocked tonight." "The perfect time for someone to sneak inside." "Why?" "They say Horus' eyes are kept there." "He would have his power again." "Steal from a god?" "Only a madman would try such a thing." "Where do you suppose we could find someone so mad?" "The plans should be here." "Urshu built the vault." "He's Set's architect." "What's this?" "Uh, Set's pyramid of sand." "He's built himself quite the fire pit." "He must cook massive feasts." "It's the pit to the center of the world." "The source of his power." "No feasts." "Found it." "The treasure will pass through the front gate." "The front gate isn't the problem." "It's what comes after." "Two bridges rigged with traps." "Urshu boasts of them endlessly." "Good thing I am cheating." "Welcome me properly, soldier." "Don't keep the Queen of Egypt waiting." "I think you missed me." "I have to miss you." "I am your prisoner, after all." " Oh, this prison's not so bad." " Well, I am miserable." "You have a funny way of showing it." "Can I borrow your knife?" "So if you had the chance, you'd kill me?" "How could I kill you?" "But you would if you could." "Better keep your eyes open." "Lord Set." "Oh..." "And, uh..." "Mistress." "Perhaps I might come at a better time." "No, come in." "Don't be shy." "Come on." "No one has ever so honored the great God Ra." "He will pass over its peak and marvel at the tribute you have built in his name." "Is that it?" "I am sorry?" "Well, can you make it any taller?" " Taller?" " Yes, it's a simple question." "Well, that might be difficult, um, now, I mean..." "Relax, Urshu." "I am joking." "Tell me, why'd your father choose you to be master builder rather than one of your brothers?" "I suppose because I proved to be the best, My Lord." "As I shall prove to be the best to my father." "He shall see it from dawn to dusk." "Your satisfaction is worth more than gold." "Oh, gold, gold!" "You will have plenty enough gold for the Afterlife." "A toast!" "To Egypt's greatest builder." "A toast to my legacy." "Whoa!" "Where do you even get that many scorpions?" "Enough to make you afraid of your own shadow." ""The circle is the trigger."" "So I will go around." "Well, that was easy." "A third bridge." "Doesn't say anything about a third bridge." "This is criminal." "And only one eye." "Terrific." "Zaya, you'd say a prayer, I will roll the bones." "Zaya!" "I am so sorry." "As if using my house for your fornicating were not sufficient..." "You dare steal from the King?" "I pride myself in an orderly office, Zaya." "You never did understand that, did you?" "Oh.... ....and this pathetic little trinket of yours will save neither of you, I am afraid." "Set is your god." "It was all my idea." "Liar!" "Give me back what you took." "Thank you." " Feed them to the jackals." " Wait!" "I took something else." "Run!" "Hee-ya!" "You did it." "Where's the other?" "You know how hard it was to steal that one?" " I will love you forever." " Zaya." "Death is not the end." "Zaya." "Whoa." "I will make it right, Zaya." "I don't need any more worshippers." "Tributes that rot and stink." "Unless you brought more wine, get out." "I am no worshipper." "What are you?" "Some thief?" "Yes." "A thief." "I have something Set took from you." "No mortal could rob Set's vault." "You pilfered one of my followers' corpses." " They never even got close." " Give them to me." " Not yet." " Give me my eyes." " I have a proposition." " You bargain with me?" "You're lucky I am willing to." "You can't strike a three-legged elephant." "You want a reward, I suppose?" "Gold?" "Gold I can steal." "There's someone I want saved." "From what?" "Death." "Didn't your father teach that death isn't the end?" "It can't be done." "Well, figure it out." "You're Horus, Lord of the Air!" "Or maybe I will just toss what I have in the Nile." "Wait." "Stay with the living." "Stay with the living." "Stay with the living." "She's gone beyond where I can reach her." "But you're a god." "Gods may live 1,000 of your years, but we cannot cure mortality." "It's time for her to walk the path." "There must be something you can do." "I have done all I can." "Oh, thou who art everlasting, send your servant to guide the dead to new life." "Anubis, come forth." "You are released." "The doors of Earth are open to you." " You must begin your journey." " She died a slave." "Without treasure, she won't be allowed through the Final Gate." "What do you offer?" "She can't pass into the Afterlife." "For you, Lord Anubis," "Governor of the Bows, who is upon his mountain.... ...I have only my smile." "So be it." "Zaya!" "Zaya!" "The dead don't speak to the living." "Stay on the path...." "Now give them to me." " You have done nothing!" " My eyes." "Spend the rest of your days wandering around sightless." "I have nothing to lose." "Do you understand?" "Give me.... ....my eyes." "I will do anything to see her again or I will die trying." "You want to hide from me?" "Learn to talk less." "Here." "Where's the other?" "Where's the other?" "Well, I am not exactly sure, but I..." "I will snap your neck." "You must hate Set for what he did to your father." "The pyramid." "I know how to get into Set's pyramid." "How?" "How?" "Oh..." "It's where he keeps his power locked up, right?" "If I could get you inside, could you kill him?" "How would you do that?" " I saw the plans." " Tell me." " I will show you." " Go on." "If you bring Zaya back." "There may be a way." "No one may leave the Afterlife once entered." "But the journey through the Nine Gates will take several days to complete." "And only the King can make Anubis turn back." "If I kill Set and take back the crown before your beloved reaches the Final Gate," "I might be able to save her." "Try to keep up." "My magnificent bloody hounds." "You are the true sons of Egypt." "You are my children of iron and blood." "No father could be more proud." "The rebel gods have choked on our spears." "The rest have retreated to Nephthys' stronghold where they now stand ready to face us." "But you, my legions of the desert, will bring them reckoning!" "So take your fill of gold!" "And if you should fall in battle and travel the Nine Gates, tell my brother who it is you worship!" "Division Set!" "Amarn!" "Ta!" "Rai!" "Fall in!" "Forward march!" "My Lord." "Your royal treasury has been breached." "Urshu..." "Wasn't the eye meant to lure those loyal to Horus to their deaths?" "Yes, Lord." "And weren't your traps..." "What was the term you used?" "Thief-proof?" "Yes, Lord." "Can you pick up the trail?" "I will find him." "And find whichever of his allies was clever enough to steal back his eye." "It was a mortal, Lord." "A mortal?" "Who is she?" "His servant." "In my defense, Lord..." "Believe me, I am very curious to hear what your excuse is." "But not right now." "Yes, Lord." "Well, it appears you're not the cleverest mortal in Egypt after all." "This thief is." "So what is your plan?" "To kill the God of the Desert, we must kill the desert itself." "Kill the desert?" "How do you kill the desert?" "We must go to my grandfather's." " He will help us with our task." " Your grandfather?" "You mean Ra?" "The Sun God, Ra?" "So where exactly is your grandfather?" "You're being funny, right?" "You think I'd put any effort into trying to amuse you?" "It seems flying would be useful right now." "Without both my eyes, I cannot transform." "I need to pray for strength." "Oh, that's not encouraging." "Be silent or you will reach the bottom of this mountain much quicker than you reached the top." "Great Ra, know my name." "The Lord of the Air seeks your embrace." "Grandfather, I need your help." "Please!" "Impressed!" "Stay in my shadow." " Why?" " Just do as I say." "Hail, thou Great God Ra." "Normally, when a bird lands on my boat, I kill it before it can shit." "What is this?" "You dare bring a mortal to the source of Creation?" "He's valuable to me." "I could not leave him behind." "Ah." "Why have you come?" "I would only ask something of you." "Oh, in that case, I shall stop what I am doing and heed your bidding." "Grandfather, I am sorry." "I mean no disrespect." "You don't know the difference." "Stay there." "Be quiet." "I have work to do." "And put the mortal below deck if you want him to live." "Crawl back to shadow, you stinking worm!" "You shall never feast on my creation!" "Try as you might." "Things would be different if I could dwell amongst my children in the garden of the Nile." "It is my burden to fight the demon Apophis night after night." "Egypt must never be destroyed by Chaos." "So, you see, there are things worse than Set." "You're wrong." "That demon isn't the one who murdered my father." " Murdered your son." " They are both my sons." "They were both equal in my eyes." "As is all of my creation." "And the uncertainty of its destiny is my will." "So what is it actually that brings you here?" "Allow me to fill my flask with these waters." "The waters are not mine." "You plan to quench the desert fire." "To kill Set." "To become King as your father wished." " Grant me the power to fly again." " I heard your prayer the first time." "I let you come here and I grant you passage home." "But after that?" "Without both my eyes, I doubt I am strong enough to beat Set." "So become stronger." "Have you been so lazy for so long that you have forgotten every god's life is a journey?" "When you stray from your path, you grow weak." "Hey!" "Why are you lugging around this mortal?" "He had the gall to strike a bargain with me." "Ah." "Not worth the papyrus it's written on, hmm?" "What does it matter?" "He is but a mortal." "I do not approve of how Set rules." "But I am uncertain you would be much better." "Lord, the last of the rebel gods have retreated behind her walls." "Every last one?" "Yes, sir." "Good." "Then they're ripe for the picking." "Isn't this a bit excessive?" "She'd want them to fight to the death anyway." " She was your wife." " All the more reason to kill her." "From now on, this will be the way of things." "Our way." "Better get used to it." "Is it right that a goddess should perform such labor?" "Since you became King, the need for burial shrouds has been great." " You could have been a queen." " You should know why I could not." "Then, when I asked you to marry me, why did you say yes?" "I remember when you rode out of the desert." "Impetuous." "Dashing." "So handsome." "I braved those stinging winds just to be at your side." "And imagined the great deeds we would accomplish together." "It didn't all sting." " Some parts were sweet." " Perhaps." "I still thought we could have been happy." "I should have been enough to fulfill you." "Nothing can fulfill me." "That's why Ra was wise to ensure you would never have a child." "Why.....?" "No one will know, until it's too late." "Maybe next time, keep flying until we're actually on the ground." "What Ra gave, he took back." " I thought he was helping you." " I got what I needed." "The whole of the Nile cannot quench Set's fire." "But a few drops from the water of Creation can." "Kill the desert." "With his fire gone, Set will be weakened." "Vulnerable." "What would happen if I drank that?" "You would be refreshed." "Then you would die." "It doesn't seem right that the water of Creation would kill." "I would kill you." "For wasting my water." "What's this?" "So you don't have to bring me something to drink cupped in your hands." "I am not your slave." "My father taught me it's unworthy of a god to strike a man." "He should have taught you to get off your ass and get your own water." "Sorry, Father." "This is becoming unacceptable." "Where is the Eye of Horus?" "Up your behind, alongside the goats you keep up there." "Where is the Eye of Horus?" "Right here." "I thought you were crawling sightless in the mud somewhere." "Cut him down!" "See, brothers?" "Without his other eye, he is weak." "Even if I were blind, deaf, bereft of limbs..." "You're still no match for me." "You will be glad to know I didn't fall to my death." "Praise Ra." "The deal doesn't count if I die." "The whole point is for Zaya and I both to be here, together." "Breathing!" "Behind you!" "Horus!" "Horus!" "Oh, Ra, dear Ra, please, help us!" "Horus!" "We are going to die!" "After you." " Are you sure you can do this?" " I saved you, didn't I?" " Oh, you saved me?" " Only because you're useful to me." "You know what would be useful?" "Your other eye." "I could steal it back for you, if you like." "Don't test my patience, mortal." "My name is not "mortal."" "What is it, then?" "Bek." "Very well, Bek." "The roads will be watched now." "Set will send better hunters." "Well, that didn't go according to plan, did it?" "No, Lord." "My nephew did all this with one eye?" " I underestimated his strength." " Tough to kill, that boy." "Like his uncle." "Where's he going?" "Who's he allying with?" " His only ally is the mortal." " It's hardly an army, is it?" "I overheard them." "The mortal spoke of a bargain he'd made with Horus." "This is one ambitious mortal." "Horus has agreed to bring the mortal's woman back from death." "Are you sure?" "I am certain of it, Lord." "You should really get that attended to." "Yes, Lord." "Thank you." "Good job." "You should have trusted us with this from the start." "Haven't we always left you satisfied?" "Then satisfy me again." "Did you let your wife live?" "Sooner or later, you and I will end up just the same." "The Land of the Dead and its Nine Gates." "Is it accurate, Mistress of the West?" "Don't call me that." "I left all that behind." "Soon, I will rule all the world." "The Land of the Dead is the final kingdom left standing." "You want things you can't have." " I want you to take me there." " But you're a living soul." "Yes." "And you were a living soul, too, when you were counselor to the dead." "You know what's waiting for me if I go back." "You have your little bracelet to protect you from those demons." "It's not that." "You miss it." "Don't you?" "The darkness." "What it brought out in you." "No..." "Ah, you're not so good, Goddess of Love." " I know." " Then do this." "Prove your loyalty to me." "Then we can have everything." "Together." "Horus..." "My love." "Horus..." "You're not in your father's tomb?" "I was wondering where he was." "Now I know." "Thanks." "For someone who bends the will of men by batting her lashes, you're not very clever." " How long has he had his sight?" " Why do you care?" "I am yours now." "I will do as you have asked." "Even if I kill Horus?" "Of course." "Who cares about him?" "I'd have thought you'd be exhausted from so much lying." "I loved Nephthys once, and I took her wings." "Imagine what I will do to you." "Do that and I will hunt you down." "Let me touch." "I suppose it's better than running." "Can we find a less unpleasant campsite next time?" "Hmm." "This used to be a garden like you have never seen." "What happened?" "It was my father's first temple." "In his generosity, he opened the grounds so the poor could bury their own here." "Set has corrupted his teachings." "My father loved this place." "So Set brought him here to be butchered." "His body was cut into 14 pieces." "The heart was never found." " Set salted the earth?" " No." "It was my mother's tears." "Before she took her own life." "I failed them." "I am sorry." "Ra told me I was on a journey." "And if I reach the end, I will be mighty again." " How does it end?" " With vengeance." "Ends with my spear through Set's skull." "Is that a storm?" "There's no clouds." "Set's hunters riding their pets." "Those aren't pets." "A cat is a pet." "I can't withstand their venom." "Not as I am now." "Then I guess we should run." " Run?" " Mortals do it all the time!" " Run faster!" " I can't!" " Run faster!" " I can't!" "Come on!" " We have to kill them." " "We"?" "When you go fishing, what's most important?" " I don't fish." " It's the quality of the bait." "It's too dangerous." "Are you worried about me?" "No, it's just my aim with a spear is not what it was." "Then get closer before you throw it." "Hey!" "Beautiful!" "I meant the snake!" "That worked great." "Let's go again." "This time, the bait needs to dangle longer." "I must strike the weak spot from behind." "And how do you know they have a weak spot?" "I don't." "But they must, right?" "Go!" "Excellent!" "You have made it angry." "Too bad you can no longer fly." "Neither can you." "You!" "Just shut up and stay out of my way." "Pretty girl, you don't belong in battle." "Burn her!" "What a lovely creature you are." "Let me help you." "Burn her!" "You are so very cold." "Warm yourself." "I command you." "Quickly." "Your company was preferable." "Outrageous!" "You're welcome for saving your life." "So while I was sitting blind in my father's tomb you shared a bed with the god who pulled out my eyes." "Why would I waste this on someone who can't see?" "Why would I ever trust you again?" "He's slaying all the gods who won't bow to him." "That includes me." "We're breaking into Set's temple." "Horus is going to kill him." "How were you planning to get in?" "Him?" "He's seen the plans." "He knows the way." "What about the Sphinx?" "Have you forgotten about that?" " Sphinx?" " Set captured it to guard his fire." "It will kill mercilessly all who enter if they cannot answer its riddle." "You can answer the riddle, right?" "We shall ask Thoth for help." "Why would you ever do that on purpose?" "So we won't have to die any sooner than is absolutely necessary." "Let's go." "Did he give you that dress?" "I chose from what was provided." "So you chose the one you thought would please him the most." " I dress to please myself." " Hmm." "Why?" "You don't like it?" "It's too much." "I am the Goddess of Too Much." "And there's plenty I have given you you have never found excessive." " Ah." " Now it's maybe too little." "You never used to be so hard to please." "You're slowing us down." "Ooh." "I think it makes you look roguish." "What did I look like before?" " Oblivious." "Oh!" "But in a cute way." " Oblivious of what?" "Exactly." "You always did take me for granted." "What?" "With your eye back, you should've come to get me." "Oh?" "Don't I mean enough to you?" "Be a dear and fetch me some clean water." "Would it kill you to say "please"?" "I am really not in the mood to argue." "Go get it for me." "I command you." "You're all the same, aren't you?" "What's her name?" "I can make any man, woman, god or beast do my bidding." "Unless their heart belongs to another." "You're in love." "Her name's..." "Zaya." "I am so sorry." "I promised her a proper home." "Money for a family." "Respectability." "I gave her nothing." "Oh, she wouldn't have been with you if she didn't love you." " Believe me, I know." " I am going to make it up to her." "But I thought she..." "Horus is going to bring her back." "He said that?" "I know it's hard to see past his short temper and proclamations of revenge but..." "He's not so bad." "It is hard to see." "There it is." "Is that him?" " Them?" " Of course not." "Then who are they?" "His trusted servants." "He only trusts himself." "Rich with generous compost." "Colorful." "Mainly in the green and red spectrums." "Variegated varieties with inflorescences composed of multiple florets, each with a modified calyx." "Wise Lord of the Sacred Word, we seek your counsel." "Once, a weed, uprooted and burned." "Now prized for the vigor of its oils and the sustenance of its leaves." "But what is its truth?" "You!" "Turn around." "You prefer the view from behind?" "No, I..." "Well, yes." "You know I can't lie." "Turn." "I am not going to risk looking at those tricky eyes of yours." "Forty-seven." "Excuse me?" "The percentage of knowledge I've so far recorded." "I am not even half done." "Thoth, I only need..." "The answer to the riddle of the Sphinx." "A child could deduce why you're here." "Go ask the riddle and come back and relay it to me." " I will solve it." " One of us would have to die." "Well, draw lots." " Come with us." " Ha!" " One night." "I will give you one night." " Hmm..." "No, you won't." "Set must be stopped before he destroys us all." "You see the wisdom in that, don't you?" "This is far too important to risk." "I can recite the true names of the stars." "I know." "I have seen the world created from sand and water." "Mmm-hmm." "I contain all the wisdom in the universe." "More precious than some crown." "Ha!" "I have it!" "Its mystery." "Its essence." "Its truth." "It's lettuce!" "Your father dropped his guard." "That was not only extremely stupid, but now I am forced to write down everything I know as a defense against the remote possibility that Set's war finds me." "I am sorry that the corpses of my parents have inconvenienced you." "Apology accepted." "Now, get out!" "But you have to help us!" "Careful." "I outnumber you." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" "It's fine." "I will do it." "I thought you were a stray baboon." "I told you I'd be the one to face the Sphinx." "Your chance of failure is overwhelming." "I am sure." "But before it kills me I am going to tell it that I asked the God of Wisdom to come but he was afraid he'd get the answer wrong." "This is the cleverest strategy you could devise?" "Playing on my ego?" "How vain do you think I am?" "Um......" "Hmm....." "Yes, well..." "Fine." "Fine!" "Let's go." "Bye." "Well done." "Thank you." "You know his Zaya can never come back." "The King doesn't have the power." "Anubis doesn't have the power." "You deceived him." "He will probably die trying to break into Set's pyramid." "He offered his life." "Because he thought he could save her." "He believes what he wants to believe." "You have been blind in more ways than one." "You really watched the world come into being?" "I don't lie." "Where were you watching it from, if nothing had been created yet?" "If I even attempted to explain, your brain would liquefy and run out of your ears." "I did not choose a path of revenge." "I chose none of this." "You tell me what kind of power do I really have?" "You have the power to make this right." "He deserves to know the truth." "I need him to get us in to choke Set's fire." "If he refuses, we will all die." "Is that what you want?" "It's too dangerous to cross the plain." " We will wait for darkness." " But we're running out of time." " I say we cross now." " And I say we wait." "All the time you were apart, she never forgot you." "You have always been in Hathor's heart, you know." "Yes, but she's got a big heart." "Room enough for a crowd in there." "Tell me, oh, wise Lord of the Air." "Why do you think Set let you live?" "She did it for love." "You'd punish her for that?" "I didn't want her help." "I only ever wanted one thing." "You know, I think everyone's a fool." "But you, My Lord, are bigger than most." "Are you thinking about her?" "Of course you are." "I was once known as the Mistress of the West." "My duty was to help dead souls make their way to the Afterlife." "You traveled to the Land of the Dead?" "I am the Goddess of Love." "Even to those who have died." "I was young." "Easily seduced." " "Seduced"?" " Demons." "This keeps them at bay." "The Bracelet of 42 Stars." "One for each of the demons Horus slayed to free me." "That's when I knew I loved him." "Zaya needs to know you're fighting for her." "So she does not lose hope." "Zaya." "Zaya." "Zaya?" "Zaya?" "Can you hear me?" "Zaya?" "Who is it?" "Who's there?" " Hathor, Mistress of the West." " Mistress." "I speak to you from the Land of the Living." "Your beloved is with me." " Bek?" " Zaya, it's me." "I knew if there was a way, you would find it." "But I can't see you." "Listen, we can be together again." "You can return." "But how?" "I am helping Horus." "In return, he's going to help us." "It is really the Bek I love?" "I know, Zaya." "I can hardly believe it myself." "Bek, me, trusting the gods." "But I was wrong, Zaya." "Horus is a just god, as you said he would be." "You're probably thinking, "I told you so," right now." "Well, yes." "Just a little bit." "It's so good to hear your voice." "Everything's going to be fine, Zaya, trust me." "Horus is going to bring you back." "I know he will." "Bek?" "Bek, are you there?" "It is forbidden for the dead to speak with the living." "Go." "There's a wheel inside." "When you turn it, the sand stops moving." "We just need to go through the door." "Good thing you saw those plans." "If you didn't know which one it was, this would truly be impossible." " Bek?" " Yes?" "You do know which is the door, right?" "Yes, of course, it's..." "This one." "No, no, it's..." "It's that one." "No, no, it's this one!" "Roll the bones." "You guessed?" "Well..." "I find your dependence on chance troubling." "If you continue to survive, I may need to study you further." "Now, which way to the Sphinx?" "Trespassers in the House of the King, answer my riddle or cease to be." "Go on." "I am waiting." "I never was." "Am always to be." "No one ever saw me, nor ever will." "And yet I am the confidence of all who live and breathe." "What..... am......." "I........?" "Order." "You are Order." "I never doubted you." "Incorrect." "Try again." "Please." "That was a completely suitable answer." "You are Purity." "Wrong again." ""What never was."" ""Always to be." In the future." "Non-existent." "Imaginary." "Yet..." "Yet it exists and "never was."" ""Always to be." Thoth..." "Yet I am the confidence of all who live and breathe." "Mortals live and breathe!" "Maybe stop thinking like a god." " Then I might as well stop thinking." " Thoth!" "Wait, wait, I have it!" "You are Tomorrow." "Oh, bother." "One drop." "No!" "I should thank you." "You lured him from his library so that I didn't have to." "The final piece." "You coward." " Open this gate and fight me." " Again?" "Hasn't she seen you lose enough?" "Can't you allow me to spare you one last moment of embarrassment before you die?" "Stop!" "Recognize this?" "Did he tell you he could bring your woman back from death?" "It's not possible." "Not even for me." "You expect me to believe you?" "I don't have to lie." "How else would a blind, useless god get you to help him?" "Go on." "Ask him." " Pour it in." " Is it true?" "Bek, pour it in!" "No....." "Shame you weren't on my side." "I admire someone that doesn't let death stand in his way." "But this is what love gets you." "It's quite fitting that you will both die together here in my house." "I will miss the conversation." "And the rest." "You denied me vengeance." "Zaya thought you were the greatest thing in all of creation." "Every day, she prayed for you to save Egypt, but you didn't come." " I was in a tomb." "I didn't hear." " No, you didn't listen." "All you care about is your stupid vengeance." "I started to think I was wrong about you." "But I have finally learned the lesson of the gods." "We don't matter to you." "Well, now you know." "Anubis, come forth." "Mistress." "You are still as lovely as the first dawn." "Hathor, what are you doing?" "This mortal's beloved bears no treasure for the scales." " Perhaps we can help her." " You ask much, Mistress." "It would require a very special treasure indeed." "No." "No." "Like this?" "No!" "For you, Mistress of the West?" "Yes." "Grant him passage to give it to her himself." " You will see her one last time." " Thank you." "No, no, I forbid it." "We're both guilty of deceiving Bek." " This will make amends." " Not like this." "Not with you." "I command you to release me." "You can't command me." "You know why." "I am the Goddess of Love." " If I don't do this, I am nothing." " I can't lose you again." "Take it." "Do what you need to do." "The Hall of Two Truths." "Where we shall be judged." "Step forward." "What do you offer?" "Step forward." "I shall live forever!" "What do you offer?" "Step forward." "Step forward." "What do you offer?" "What do you offer?" "Zaya....." "Bek...." "Set, receive the golden wings of Nephthys." "May they protect him from those who would harm." "The karr of Thoth, God of Wisdom." "Allow him knowledge of old." "The heart of Osiris." "Grant him dominion over all Lands." "The all-seeing eye." "Reward him so no enemy can deceive." "You look glorious, Lord." "I know." "Father....." "I noticed the tower." "Impressive." "I built it for you." "If it were any taller, it would be in my way." "Turn your eyes from your sails and look at everything I have done." "What Osiris never could." "I rule all that breathes." "And all that is breathed upon." "None is mightier below the sun." "Then honor me as I have honored you." "If honor had been your intent, you might have abstained from murdering your brother." "So you do see everything down there." "Tell me, Father, do you care what happens?" "I care more than you know." "Then why was I cast out alone..... .....to walk on burning sand, while my brother played barefoot by the shores of the Nile?" "Why did you make Osiris King?" "And why did you give him a son?" "And yet you denied me the chance to even give life." " This was your test." "You didn't test him." " I gave Osiris the crown of Egypt." "And when the time came, he didn't cling to his power." "He gave it away freely." "He passed his test." " And I'd wager I have passed mine." " Not yet." "It's true I did not want you to have children." "This was a kindness, because I did not want you to miss them as terribly as I have." "Miss them?" "I need you to take my place." "Here?" "This is how your test ends, my son." "There is no greater burden." "But no greater honor." "All you have done can be forgiven." "You expect me to joust with this beast.... ....night after night until I die?" "What do you want?" "Immortality." "Immortality awaits us all in the Afterlife." "I don't want to die." "I want to live." "Forever." "Down there in the lands I conquered." "My kingdom." "This should be my reward." "How?" "The only way to achieve this is unthinkable." " One would need to devour..." " The Afterlife itself." "You would unleash Chaos upon creation?" "You would destroy everything?" "Not destroy." "Reshape it." "I will take your place." "But it won't be sitting on some damn boat." "No god could withstand that." "I am not just one god." "What do you offer?" "This will buy you a place in the Afterlife." "No." "Not without you." "The gate has been broken!" "Chaos spreads." "Apophis shall destroy this land." "Horus is our only hope now." "He's not the god you think he is, Zaya." " He lied to me." " Give him another chance." "He only got this far because of you." "My strength is not infinite." "If the Lord of the Air has any plan to rectify this, he should do so with haste." "If you don't trust him, trust me." "I know we will be together again." "Ra has fallen." "Set has unleashed Chaos." "So how do we stop him?" "You never give up, do you?" "Only because Zaya told me not to." "You didn't tell her about our bargain?" "Yes, I did tell her." "But for some reason, she still believes in you." "We must return to the capital." "Then we have a long walk ahead of us." "I prefer flying." "Nephthys." "Even beyond death, she's trying to help us." "Come, demon!" "Set has Ra's spear." "He's drawing Apophis to the Nile, to the source of all life." "Why?" "To drink it." "To destroy all creation." "Ra isn't dead." "And only he can make this right." "But he needs his spear." "So how do we get it back?" "Maybe it's time we go fishing." "I come in your service, I ask for your help." "Builder." "We have need of you." "It is the single greatest architectural achievement that ever was and ever will be." "My....." "I mean, Lord Set's obelisk stands exactly 2,220 cubits tall." "And not a rod off." "Built from seven billion blocks of granite, five billion slabs of Tura limestone, and nine billion talents of gold." "And the lives of how many slaves?" ""Five thousand nine hundred and thirty."" "No, wait." "Make that 5,931." "Don't!" "You need him to get to the roof." "I will see you up top." "You stood beside him as if he were your friend." "Oh, I know how it feels." "Favor of a god." "It's intoxicating." "I am sorry you picked the wrong one to follow." "He's improving." "Your woman's still dead, isn't she?" "Shame." "Such a pretty girl." "Hmm..." "Such lovely soft skin." "Riches for the Afterlife." "You see?" "I am ready to die." "Come, Apophis!" "You should have stayed under the sand." "I can understand killing for a crown, but this is madness." "Of course you don't understand." "How could you?" "Favored son of a favored son." "By the way, Apophis is going to eat the Land of the Dead." "You will never make it to the Afterlife now." "What?" "Who picked the wrong god now?" "I think I may actually miss our little get-togethers." "But you're still no match for me." "You're right." "I am just the bait." "Now you're just becoming a pest." "Horus......" "You don't think your eye might have been more useful than a wounded thief?" "Probably, yes." "I am sorry for everything I have done to you." " Including this." " Accepted." "I told you I'd steal your other eye." "But you could have saved me some trouble and told me you didn't need it." "Ra showed me the way, but I didn't listen." "I believed I needed my eye to transform, but my journey isn't to seek revenge at all costs." "It is to protect my people." "Stop congratulating yourself." "You have got more protecting to do." "Behold, the new King." "I thought you were the greatest of all the gods." "Now look at you." "You have nothing." "I am the greatest god." "I spared you once." "Huh?" " I showed you mercy." " I won't make that mistake." "Grandfather, there's still time." "Enough, beast!" "Thank you." "We make a good team." "Are you sure you're not a god?" "What would I be the god of?" "Stupidity?" "The Impossible." "Bek?" "I have never been in debt." "And yet I am in debt to you, grandson." "Ask whatever you will." "Mountains will kneel before you." "The winds will do your bidding." "Answer quickly, for Apophis still hungers." "And night is always coming." "I want nothing." "Except what's impossible for me to give." "Am I..." "You have returned." "Bek?" "You might want to help her." "Zaya." "Bek." "Zaya?" " I am Horus." " My Lord." "I thought this was impossible." "Impossible?" "Yes." "Hail Ra, Lord of Light!" "Hail Ra, Lord of Light!" "And so wisdom had been found." "Tests had been passed." "Second chances given." "To live again." "To be whole again." "Horus mourned his parents." "They had long since passed into the Afterlife." "But he knew it was the wisdom of Ra that the Final Gate would remain as it had always been." "An unbreakable barrier between this life and immortality." "You think I am ready?" "Hmm, true readiness is a notoriously difficult state to achieve." " But you're close enough." " Hmm." "Arise, Horus..." "King of all Egypt." "From this moment on, the Afterlife must be earned, not with gold, but by good deeds, compassion, and generosity." "What we do, how we act in this life matters." "Are you thinking about her?" "Of course, you are." "You didn't think I'd misplace Egypt's greatest treasure?" "You think they'd miss me if I were gone a few days?" "As Chief Advisor to the King, it's my duty to ensure they hardly notice." "But if anyone asks..." "Tell them I had to go help a friend." "I leave Egypt in your capable hands."