Chapter 233: I Am Khonshu, Guardian of Night Travelers
The Egyptian galleries housed the Temple of Dendur—gifted by the Egyptian government thanking America for contributions preserving Nubian antiquities.
Viewing from the magnificent columned hall into the Egyptian galleries revealed pitch-black darkness—an abyss seemingly awaiting Batman's arrival.
But when Batman entered, he witnessed moonlight flowing like water, illuminating the Temple of Dendur in grayscale tones.
Not just the temple—moonlight flooded every Egyptian gallery location. As though this lunar radiance existed everywhere simultaneously. Zero blind spots.
Museums maintained relatively comfortable temperature and humidity protecting artifacts. Batman's Arkham suit similarly provided comprehensive protection—cold resistance, thermal insulation, heat shielding.
Nevertheless, a chill emerged from within—seemingly seeping from Batman's body's deepest recesses. As though only following human instinct and shivering could provide relief.
Ordinary people couldn't control instinct. But Batman could.
His powerful willpower resisted all external negative influences—whether psychological or physical.
Through willpower alone, Batman suppressed that shiver, forcibly pushing down the internal chill.
The Egyptian galleries contained no white figure from moments ago. But Batman knew clearly that entity remained here.
Because the Egyptian galleries' moonlight wasn't artificial simulation—rather omnipresent illumination seemingly projecting from every spatial crevice.
This ubiquitous radiance eliminated all shadows throughout the Egyptian galleries, even coating pitch-black Batman in frost-like lunar tones.
This represented non-physical-reality extraordinary power. Also Batman's third genuine supernatural encounter since arriving in this world.
First: Mister Negative Martin Li's negative energy. Second: The Leader's mental control.
Beyond these three instances, everything Batman had contacted appeared supernatural but could actually be scientifically explained.
Venom, for instance—an extraterrestrial symbiote. Batman could design "Anti-Venom" protocols based on pheromone research and similar scientific principles.
Or those gamma creatures explainable through genetic mutation.
But this supernatural encounter differed completely from the previous two. Despite not yet seeing the opponent's true form, Batman had already determined this wasn't small-scale confrontation like Martin Li or The Leader.
He'd possibly encountered a deity.
In Batman's original world, most mythological gods genuinely existed. Therefore Batman possessed considerable expertise regarding Egyptian mythology, undead, mummies, curses.
Preparation for potential divine confrontation—Batman required plans capable of deterring them.
He'd contacted countless deities. From Old Gods to New Gods. From Earth's native spirits to extraterrestrial beings, even dimensional entities beyond reality.
Dream. Barbatos. Trigon. Neron. Olympian pantheon. Darkseid.
In his original world, Batman was likely the sole mortal contacting the most deities. Also the only mortal capable of uniting other superheroes to subdue, defeat, or banish these gods.
Batman never feared divinity.
Observing the Egyptian galleries' frost-like moonlight, Batman's voice remained low:
"Khonshu?"
The moonlight flooding the entire Egyptian galleries represented an obvious hint. Egypt possessed only one moon-associated deity—the one Batman directly named: "Moon God Khonshu."
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Manhattan District. A square skyscraper stood beside Central Park, directly opposite the Metropolitan Museum.
Unlike Manhattan's other brilliantly maintained buildings, this tower's glass exterior remained dust-covered. Obviously lacking cleaning for extended periods.
At the summit, "Pym Technologies" glowed in white letters—though prolonged sun and rain exposure had dimmed the P letter completely.
Only New York's municipal services periodically managing vegetation and maintaining overall external appearance prevented the building's deterioration.
Otherwise, Pym Technologies Tower would have already been completely covered in climbing ivy across its glass facade.
Black Widow Natasha stood below Pym Technologies Tower, looking upward at the P-less "ym Technologies," tilting her head while confirming she'd found the correct location.
She'd successfully joined Stark Industries under Nick Fury's assignment, becoming a finance department employee.
Natasha had conducted comprehensive investigation of Tony Stark, learning he possessed exactly two friends. One: U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes—previously handling weapons transactions between Stark Industries and the U.S. military.
The other: Peter Parker—a young man currently attending Empire State University, owner of Parker Industries, established using Tony Stark's initial funding then rapidly expanded through invented memory fiber materials.
The world's wealthiest individual possessed only two friends. One was practically a child. Natasha had shaken her head involuntarily upon discovering this information.
Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes represented military backing. Peter Parker's backing was... Peter Parker.
From multiple perspectives, Rhodes appeared more likely as the individual who'd taken Agent Coulson's delivered SHIELD cipher, transferring it to military for network firewall design.
If military involvement existed, Nick Fury's hypothesis—"Batman is a secretly trained American government super-agent"—could be validated.
But Rhodes's military background made Natasha's investigation considerably difficult. Conversely, Peter Parker—the lower-probability candidate—was easier investigating.
Though no useful information had emerged yet. Natasha possessed additional assignments beyond this one.
After arriving in Manhattan, beyond investigating Stark's friends and identifying that mysterious Batman-suspect individual, Natasha's other assignment involved contacting Hank Pym.
More precisely—establishing contact with Ant-Man and Wasp, reestablishing their relationship with SHIELD.
This deep night represented Natasha's execution window for that assignment.
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The instant after Batman directly named "Khonshu"—
Throughout the Egyptian galleries, moonlight flowed like river water, rapidly converging from all directions. This pure white illumination crystallized mid-air, forming a humanoid figure wrapped in white mummy bandages, tall and gaunt, wearing a crescent crown.
He held a staff. The staff's apex formed a crescent moon shape. White moonlight tendrils radiated outward from the crescent.
Batman's brow furrowed slightly, rapidly calculating Moon God Khonshu's purpose seeking him.
"Dost thou dislike this form?" Moon God Khonshu's voice carried magnetic resonance—resembling a wisdom-filled, benevolent elder.
He apparently perceived Batman's slightly furrowed brow beneath the mask. While speaking, he raised the staff slightly, tapping it against the floor.
Within gentle moonlight, Khonshu's physique remained tall and gaunt. But his white mummy wrappings transformed into a white suit. The crescent crown merged with his skull, becoming an enormous falcon skull.
"Two souls slumber within thy vessel. Yet neither owns this shell."
"Spider's exterior concealing bat's shadow. Intriguing."
Khonshu's first sentence was benevolent, casual conversation. But the second sentence pierced like a blade directly toward Batman's greatest current secret.
But Batman didn't panic despite Moon God Khonshu revealing his secret. He simply raised his head slightly, meeting this Egyptian deity's gaze directly.
Moon God Khonshu's enormous falcon skull tilted downward slightly, hollow eye sockets similarly observing Batman.
Confronting Batman—currently calculating what protocols might counter a deity—Moon God Khonshu spoke his third sentence:
"I am Khonshu. Guardian of night travelers. Arbiter of moonlight. I seek an earthly avatar."