"Stay still—this is for your own good," Joseph said, trying to wash Ammit in the black waters of the Nile.
She hadn't bathed in days. She reeked and looked filthy—completely unacceptable, considering she doubled as a very comfortable pillow.
Her response was a bizarre mix of a crocodile's bellow and a lion's irritated mewl.
Which made no sense. She was a chimera of crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus—three animals that could all swim. Joseph had no idea why she hated the water so much. Despite its dark, unnatural color in this inverted realm, it behaved exactly like normal water.
"Stop being such a baby. There—we're done. Was that so hard?" he said.
Ammit immediately leapt out and shook herself violently. Water sprayed everywhere, soaking him from head to toe.
"Really?" Joseph deadpanned.
All he got in response was a smug look from her orange, reptilian eyes. He sighed, shaking his head with a rueful smile.
After he'd beaten the brakes off her for destroying his cabin, she'd finally learned her place in the pecking order and become almost catlike in her behavior.
It had been two weeks since then, and she'd stuck around. Joseph didn't mind. The company had kept him from slipping into madness from more loneliness.
Ammit bumped her forehead against him, nudging him toward the direction of his rebuilt cabin. A large part of the reason she stayed was probably the food. Not that he blamed her—he was a pretty good chef.
"Fine, let's go. What do you want this time? Fish, birds, water buffalo, Nile monitor, mongoose—"
Ammit sat back on her hind, hippo-like legs and extended three claws from one of her lion forelegs.
"Buffalo it is. You hunt, I'll butcher and cook—same as usual. Meet you back home," Joseph said.
She didn't hesitate, bounding off toward the river where the water buffalo roamed.
Joseph lifted himself into the air, using the gravity manipulation of his Strength Force, and flew back toward the cabin—his spice stash waiting.
Then he paused.
The door was open.
His expression hardened instantly. He summoned his Soulsword and stepped inside.
A man stood there—tall, composed, with the head of a green ibis.
Thoth.
They stared at each other in silence.
Joseph assessed him, already calculating escape routes—if escape was even possible.
Thoth, meanwhile, simply observed.
"Curious," Thoth said at last. Then, calmly: "Tell me, child—do you stand with Ma'at or Isfet?"
"I'd say Ma'at," Joseph replied. He didn't perfectly embody truth, balance, and order—but he was far closer to that than to chaos, violence, and injustice.
Thoth inclined his head slightly and continued.
"Your soul carries the scent of Chaos, Order… and the Source itself. In all my existence, I have never encountered such a thing in a mortal—or what was once a mortal. Tell me… how did you come to be?"
As the god of knowledge, magic, and judgment, curiosity was not something Thoth indulged lightly. If he was asking, it meant Joseph was worth studying before being judged.
Before Joseph could answer, heavy footsteps thundered outside.
A moment later, Ammit shoved her head through the doorway with a low thud, giving Thoth a casual, almost dismissive meow before turning to Joseph with clear impatience.
Joseph sighed. "It's… a long story."
He lowered his Soulsword slightly, glancing between them. "Why don't I explain it while I cook? She's not very patient when she's hungry."
**
"Fascinating," Thoth said later, holding a skewer of roasted water buffalo. "Now I understand. I even see why Horus briefly stirred from his slumber… before returning to it."
Joseph leaned against Ammit's side. She had already devoured her portion and was sprawled beside him, content.
"Horus?" Joseph frowned. "Nabu said I was blessed by him. Is that true?"
"Ah—Nabu," Thoth said with faint approval. "One of my finest students. Yes. What he told you is true."
"But how? When? Why?" Joseph asked, confusion clear in his voice.
Thoth answered without hesitation.
"Long ago, Horus chose Thanagar as his resting place, turning the planet itself into a crypt for his millennia-long slumber. His divine essence seeped into the world, shaping its people—their culture, their symbolism."
He gestured faintly.
"From that slumber, he called to the ancestors of the Thanagarians. Through conquest, bloodshed, and perseverance, they answered—unknowingly fulfilling his will."
Joseph blinked, stunned.
He had noticed the resemblance between Thanagar's Hawkgod and Horus—but he'd never thought it meant anything.
Now it all clicked.
A Thanagarian ship had reached ancient Egypt—bringing Nth metal. Nabu's Helmet of Fate. The pyramids…
Not just aliens.
Gods, too.
"And I remember your mother," Thoth added.
Joseph stiffened. "You… knew her?"
"Yes. Hope Taya. I recorded the weight of her soul and the entirety of her life. I passed final judgment."
Joseph's throat tightened. "Is she—"
"She resides in Aaru."
Relief hit him like a wave upon hearing she was in paradise.
Thoth continued, voice steady.
"She was a capable Bana. She could have risen to become Shim'tar—the greatest warrior of the Lost Tribe. But she chose another path."
He paused.
"She never abandoned her devotion to the Egyptian gods."
Joseph listened, unmoving.
"When the rocket descended upon her vehicle," Thoth said, "she prayed—not for herself, but for you."
Joseph's chest tightened.
"Though her people had lost their divinity over generations, she remained stronger than a normal human. She would have survived."
He met Joseph's gaze.
"But she did not know if you would."
Silence fell.
"So she offered her life."
Joseph's vision blurred.
"To our surprise," Thoth continued, "Horus—still in slumber—answered. As the god of protection, he intervened."
A pause.
"But even gods obey balance."
Thoth's voice softened, just slightly.
"Her life… for yours."
Tears streamed down Joseph's face.
It all made sense now.
He had survived that day—not by chance, not by strength—
but because his mother chose him.
Because she loved him enough to die in his place.
Ammit, noticing his sadness, rubbed her cheek against him. Thoth carried on.
"Horus is the one who granted you the initial connection to the Speed Force. It wasn't just the chemicals that splashed on you. There was no lightning for it to have worked on its own, after all."
Wow. The more Thoth spoke, the more Joseph felt stupid for not putting things together himself.
No wonder the Speed Force didn't like him. Other users had gained it through their own efforts—he had been gifted it by a god.
As for how Horus could influence the Speed Force, he was the one who granted Black Adam his hyper-speed, just as Thoth—Zehuti—standing before him had granted Black Adam wisdom. A powerful, ancient god likely had many mysterious methods at his disposal.
Then did his connection to the Strength Force also have something to do with Horus? He had acquired it on Thanagar, the same day he awakened with semi-sentient Nth metal.
But if that were the case, why didn't the Strength Force reject him the way the Speed Force did? Was it just chill like that? Or was he overthinking things, considering Horus wasn't known to have dominion over strength?
Or maybe strength fell under his domain as a god of war?
Fuck. What did it even matter? Knowing where his powers came from didn't change the fact that he had them now—that he had used them to do good, to save the world.
But he still remembered Thanagar. The way people had called him the Son of the Sun and the Hawkgod's Hero.
Joseph had manipulated people on Earth himself—through nanotech mind control, through wealth as a Luthor, through power as Bullseye—but the idea that it might have been done to him left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"So was my whole life just… orchestrated?" Joseph asked. "Did Horus plan everything and move me like a puppet according to his whims?"
Was going to Thanagar planned too? Was his golden stellar energy and gravity manipulation just a coincidence when Horus was the god of the sun and sky?
Why had he based his Nova suit off Doctor Fate? Was that Horus's influence as well?
He was second-guessing everything now.
"You have reason to believe so," Thoth replied. "Your life has been a series of interesting coincidences, hardships, and fortuitous encounters that propelled a mere mortal like you into something godlike in less than a year. Anyone would feel as though it were orchestrated."
He paused briefly.
"But it is unlikely that Horus planned everything, as I sense that he still slumbers—unless his intelligence and foresight surpass my own, which is extremely unlikely," Thoth added arrogantly.
"Beyond saving your life and granting you a blessing that protects you in dangerous situations, there is a ninety-nine percent chance he has not been involved. Your mother's life was only the equivalent exchange for saving yours in that moment. He may yet call in a favor for granting you access to the Speed Force, which allowed you to overwrite the Nightmare creature residing within you. As for the blessing, it was freely given—and what the gods give is not easily taken back."
Joseph took a moment to absorb everything.
The realization that he wasn't merely a pawn in some grand cosmic scheme eased his mind—but it introduced a new concern.
Now he owed Horus.
And Joseph hated owing favors.
He had already saved Thanagar once. Hopefully, that counted for something if Horus ever came to collect.
"Thank you, Thoth," Joseph said. "But why have you been so forthcoming with my questions?"
"For the same reason Horus slumbers, and the same reason Ammit left the Hall of Two Truths to wander," Thoth replied. "Boredom. Our followers wane, and we cannot interfere with Earth as freely as we once did due to the sensitivities of other pantheons. There is simply little to do."
He studied Joseph with interest.
"You have regaled me with an intriguing story, and I have witnessed something unprecedented—a being capable of wielding both Order and Chaos. Or at least, one who once could. You will again, once your AI restores you. For that, I have chosen to offer you a measure of my infinite wisdom."
Thoth was not a humble being.
"Thank you again," Joseph said. "One last question. Is there any way to kill a Lord of Chaos?"
At that, Thoth laughed.
"Horus could not kill Set, a god of chaos. And you feel the tremors across the Nile even now—Ra himself cannot destroy Apep, the chaos serpent, even with the aid of Set, Bastet, Isis, and Mehen."
The Egyptians believed the sun did not simply set—it entered the Duat on the Solar Barque.
To rise again, Ra must traverse the twelve hours of night.
Apep lurks in the deepest darkness, seeking to devour the sun or capsize the barque, plunging existence into eternal night.
If Ra ever loses, the sun does not rise—and the universe dissolves back into the primordial void, Nun.
Apep is terrifying precisely because he cannot be killed—only repelled.
Thoth continued, "The struggle between Ra and Apep, Ma'at and Isfet, Order and Chaos, is a fundamental necessity for the universe to function. This balance has existed for billions of years—long before even I came into being. Believe me, as an ally of Order, I would gladly rid the universe of Chaos. But it is not possible."
With that, Thoth rose to his feet.
"Ammit, come. Anubis and I require you to resume your duties."
Ammit stood reluctantly.
Joseph rose with her and wrapped his arms around her neck, running a hand through her mane. He would miss the ugly creature. Now he understood why Selina liked cats so much.
"Can I go with her?" Joseph asked.
Ammit tried to give Thoth a pleading, cute look—but with the face of a crocodile, it failed completely.
"No. Your fate lies elsewhere. I am sending you back. Your presence has already disrupted the ecology at the threshold of Duat," Thoth said, raising his staff as golden light began to shine.
"Wait—" Joseph started, but the world dissolved into darkness.