The night was as dark as ink, enveloping Memphis.
The temple's bell had long ceased its ringing, the courtyard was silent, with only the wind brushing past the stone pillars, emitting a low moan. The solemnity and order of the daytime were replaced by a secretive, almost decaying silence.
The woman in black robes took a final look at the pulsating embryo, turned and left, her robes sweeping over the stone steps, silent and soundless. Her robes dragged over the stone-brick ground, producing a rustling sound. As she turned, the golden runes embroidered on the hem shimmered on and off in the torchlight, like a group of fireflies trapped in the fabric.
"She should also be able to sense the malice of that embryo, but not as clearly as I do... my Animagus form possesses a god's vision."
Ian perched on the beam about thirty feet from the ground, this height was sufficient for him to take in the entire inner hall, yet avoid detection by the busy priests below.
Shortly after she left, a middle-aged man in a deep blue priest's robe stealthily entered the underground secret chamber. He cradled an obsidian plate covered in runes, muttering ancient concealing spells under his breath. As the spell completed, the obsidian plate released a circle of ghostly blue halos, enveloping the entire magic array.
The pulsating embryo gradually blurred in the light, as if wrapped by an invisible veil.
It followed then.
The scepter priest, accompanied by four young priests wearing white linen robes, hurriedly entered, each carrying a copper bowl filled with black powder. Ian's raven eyes narrowed slightly—those powders emanated a strange aura, resembling burnt ashes mixed with a metallic sharpness.
"Begin."
The scepter priest's voice was like sandpaper scraping stone walls, his thin fingers drew three intertwined rings on the embryo's surface. The translucent lump of flesh immediately began to squirm uneasily.
The golden lines on its surface flickered on and off, as if protesting.
The oldest priest began to chant spells, his voice deep as if thunder rumbling from underground. As the chant proceeded, the four young priests scattered the black powder onto the embryo. At the moment the powder touched the membrane, the entire inner hall's light suddenly distorted momentarily. Ian felt a slight dizziness in his vision.
It was as if someone lightly plucked a string in his bird's brain.
When the vision cleared again, the embryo on the altar had vanished, replaced by an ordinary little statue of Ra, roughly made, like a cheap replica from the market.
The secret chamber returned to silence, leaving only cold stone walls and extinguished fire pits. No one could tell what had happened here, clearly the priests used magic to conceal everything.
This was an exceptionally advanced magic, even Ian's Animagus form was affected, yet Ian could still see that thing sinking into the ground.
The scepter priest wiped sweat from his forehead, turning to the others: "The seventh level cellar, reinforce the guard. Especially that new priest from Thebes, I always feel his gaze is off."
"High Priest, should we really place our resurrection cocoon underground?" a young priest couldn't help but ask, "Last time when it was underground it almost..."
"Shut up!" The scepter priest's scepter heavily struck the ground, the sun disk at the end emitted a piercing reverberation noise, "Do you want the entire Memphis to know what we're doing?"
The young priest instantly fell silent. The five swiftly tidied up the traces around the altar, even wiping clean the bloodstains in the floor cracks with some pungent potion. In mere moments, the entire inner hall resumed its dignified and solemn appearance, as if that bizarre ritual had never occurred.
The priests stowed the stone plate, left the secret chamber, and casually closed the heavy stone door. The temple once again sank into silence, as if everything just now—the embryo's will fluctuations, the priests' disputes, the life sacrifice—were merely illusions. No one noticed, above the eaves, a raven quietly watched all this.
"Disaster... what is it?"
The "disaster" mentioned by that scepter priest was clearly not ordinary war or plague. To make the entire temple resort to sacrificing living beings and creating pseudo-gods to cope with, must be calamity enough to overthrow the entire divine system.
"And Sun God Ra... has truly fallen?"
This thought made Ian hard to believe.
"Do common people not know that the Sun God might have already fallen? No, perhaps even the gods don't know?" Ian watched the departing backs of the priests, his beak unconsciously slightly opened and closed.
The scepter priest's final warning especially captured his attention.
Things are growing increasingly bizarre.
The raven's head slightly tilted to one side, Ian fell into contemplation. If Sun God Ra truly fell, the entire Egyptian Pantheon should have already been turned upside down. In the Egyptian Pantheon, Ra is the supreme god, the lord of light, the eternal master who daily drives the sun ship across the sky. His existence maintains the order of life and death, even Anubis in the Netherworld operates under his system.
If Ra truly died, how could Anubis be so calmly guarding the other side of the Nether River? How would he have spare time to converse pleasantly and discuss Nether River oars and duel trials with him?
The jackal-headed God of Death seemed all normal, even having leisure to duel with Ian. Logically, if the main god of the pantheon, Ra, were in trouble, the first to be affected should be the Netherworld... perhaps... Sun God Ra isn't "dead," but "missing"? "asleep"? "imprisoned"?
Even this does not make sense!