The Twilight of the Gods
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, lovelies! :)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yep. I'm back, from the place called college. I thought I'd go totally insane, but from the looks of it, I think I'm fine, and I am not self – diagnosing myself of going crazy. Teehee. Anyway, I was picturing this prologue during my political science class when I'm supposed to be taking down notes, then I realized, I scribbled bits of the prologue on my notebook, but well, it kept me awake during the hour and wrote this just some time ago, after school ended. On another note, I rewrote the first chapter because I felt unsatisfied with how it turned out, so you might want to reread it again, since I think I added or removed some things. :)
PROLOGUE
The old king stood at the edge of the balcony of the great palace of the gods, towering over vast expanse of grandeur. His golden, bullion armor gleamed, emanating radiance, like that of the rising sun from the far east, and without a doubt, radiating a sense of great power and royalty fit for a king. Only, he was not the king anymore.
He evidently heard heavy footsteps shuffling against the carpeted pavement of the palace, but he did not tore his intent gaze on the scene he grew so accustomed to for two very short years, after the dreadful war with the Serpent. His mouth twitched for a moment when the footsteps reached him and stopped a few feet away from him. He opened his lips, and huffed a whiff of air. "To what do I owe the privilege of your presence, my King?" He said, his voice so deep, a hint of authority in it, but soft and kind. He finally looked away from the landscape, his hand locked behind his back and his aged eyes gawked at the King of the Gods, Lord Horus.
Lord Horus seemed distressed, and it was very unnatural for a god, an immortal being, to have dark rings under his eyes, yet those very same eyes burned with the persona of a determined warrior. "You know why, Lord Ra." Horus has murmured, and the old king caught a hint of annoyance, and very much anguish. "I want answers. Now." Ra has sensed the exigency and the terror in his voice, those two things Horus never had masked his well – chiseled face and as much as the Sun – God wanted to provide the answers he sought, he is as clueless as the Warrior – God is.
"Ah. I failed to greet you, Lady Isis." Ra said, his old, affectionate smile graced his lips, but a look from Horus made him drop his smile. "My liege, I do believe I have none, but, perhaps Thoth –" His being rippled before he could continue, and before Horus and Isis, Lord Ra's armor dissipated, leaving the frail, thin old man before them. He smiled widely, his toothy grin, at the two horrified immortal beings. "Hellooooooooo~" Lord Ra has screamed, waving and flailing his arms at his sides. Moments later, before Horus could roll his eyes at the impudent old king, the Sun – God returned to his former state.
"I do apologize, my liege. It has been happening as of late." He said as he grinned apologetically. "As I was saying, perhaps Thoth might be of great assistance."
Isis sighed disappointedly, her hands balled into fists against her white, flowing dress, embedded with iridescent hieroglyphics that whispered in every movement of grace and flaunt, and with opalescent jewelry any goddess gaped at with covetousness and contempt. "We have no time to locate Thoth, especially now, with his fanatical antics and conquests."
"Lord Sobek has disappeared, Lord Ra, along with a great number of minor gods and goddesses." Horus pointed out, his eyes narrowed in slits. "He was exceedingly frail and weak, and was unable to control his supremacy, and was swallowed by a sarcophagus not long after, much similar to what had taken place with my Father when the Rosetta Stone broke. You must understand, Lord Ra, the gods are weakening."
Ra chuckled, an act that made his chest grumble slightly against his bullion armor. "Weakening is an understatement, Lord Horus, is it not?" Isis caught a glint in the eyes of Ra, a faraway look of reminiscing what had took place in the past, for more than a millennia, more than what could the Sun – God count with his fingers and toes. His exile, of course.
"Dying, then?" Isis shrugged her elegant shoulders as she suggested.
"We are immortal beings, Mother." Horus thundered, his patience thinning. "Death is not achievable for us!" He pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to contain the infuriation within his being.
"Is it? Perhaps immortality never meant forever or an eternity, my King. Perhaps, despite being a divine being, we were still meant to pass on." Ra countered brusquely, but kept his voice even and oddly gentle, as if the idea of death never terrified him. "I might have been a debilitated god before the jolly Kane siblings have awoken me; nevertheless, I was aware of what had occurred in Sunny Acres during my stay. Long forgotten gods and goddesses disappear in one corner or the other. It was a natural occurrence in that place, I might add."
"Disappear, not swallowed by a sarcophagus!" Horus bellowed, fuming that the conversation was futile, and a great waste of time. He stomped his foot against the carpeted floor, and the palace reverberated with so much force, that Isis had to quell the anger of her son and prevent him from doing any more damage.
"If I may suggest, and since we have spoken about a sarcophagus, perchance, your Father might be of assistance. It gets lonely in the Underworld, yes?" Ra concluded, his body angled before the balcony once again, prepared to end the vain banter. The Sun – God did not bother to hear his answer, as he opened a portal before him, and disappeared.
The God of the Underworld dismissed the gods of Judgment, leaving him and Anubis alone, with a slumbering Ammit the Devourer at the base of the throne. Lord Osiris buried his face in his hands, rubbing his aching temples and shutting his weary eyes. The ghost of the siblings' mother appeared at his side, and placed an affectionate hand on his shoulder, only to pass through his being. An evident frown graced the beautiful ghost, but replaced with a shy smile as the blue god reached for her.
Anubis, the young god who stood at the base of the dais, watched at the exchange of the two, and looked away. He was longing to reach for the beautiful British girl in Brooklyn. Only Lord Osiris did not allowed him to, for the past few months, five and a half, to be exact. He was not the type of person – god – to be startled so easily, but Horus, bloody Horus always managed to do so, and snapped him back from his silent reverie. Even more reason why the God of the Dead has a great distaste for his cousin.
"Lord Osiris." Horus said tentatively and Ruby Kane's ghost disappeared. The King of the Gods glanced at Anubis pointedly, and Lord Osiris nodded.
"Anubis, you may leave." He said, authority in his voice. The young god gave a respectful nod of the head to the blue god, whose image flickered from Julius Kane to Lord Osiris, yet his daunting, fearless eyes remained equally the same. Anubis turned and waved his hand towards the towering metal doors of the Hall of Judgment as it opened. In a few seconds, he disappeared between the gap the doors had made; leaving the two divine beings to chatter, but Anubis doubted that it was about a silly family reunion.
"Lord Osiris – Father, Sobek has disappeared." Horus said, his voice basked with panic and dread. He was the King of the Gods, and as much as a king is concerned, he must have all the answers within the palm of his hands in order to address the circumstances. Not like this, weary, oblivious and weak. "He was weak and uncontrollable and was swallowed by a sarcophagus. I just thought, maybe, just maybe, you have an answer. Also, Ra, that old excuse for a god, is growing weaker by the day. I could not handle his old, fragile, childish state."
"Hold your tongue, Horus. Do not offend Lord Ra." Lord Osiris chastised, but his voice quivered from each syllable that passed through his lips. His brows furrowed, creating a deep crevice between his eyes. "I apologize. As much as I desire to provide you the answers that you require, I have nothing within the grasps of my knowledge." Horus sighed, defeated, and as much as he wanted to slump on the floor, and take refuge in the comfort his father would surely offer, he was a King, and in this period of crisis, he, of all people, must remain steadfast and calm, if it were possible.
"You are growing weaker, Father." Horus remarked, his eyes squinted into narrow slits as he studied the divine being before him. His power was flickering, much like his image of Julius Kane and Osiris, and he was not emanating the aura of a commanding god as much as before. Osiris hung his head low, and gave a feeble nod. Carter and Sadie will surely be livid at their father for not informing them sooner about his condition, especially his daughter with the sharp tongue. From the indents between his fingers, he was unquestionably aware of the presence behind the metal doors of the hall, but chose to ignore it.
"Is this what we fear?" The cerulean god inquired in confirmation.
"Yes, Father." Horus replied, a bit too harshly and bitterly. "It is the twilight. Our twilight."
"Why?" Osiris asked weakly, his blue skin drained of any sign of vibrancy and majesty. "Why is it happening?" Horus shrugged his shoulders, and the mere gesture was enough for the God of the Underworld to understand. He gave him a nod of sympathy, and with final look at the defeated air of the Hall of Judgment, Horus disappeared in a whiff of smoke. If the King of the Gods did not know, what chance do we have?
"Anubis."
The metal doors, with gray hieroglyphics floating around its perimeter, opened with a loud, creaking sound. The God of Mummification hesitated, before he stepped between the gaps. Lord Osiris' voice was not raised, but it was a bit threatening for Anubis' taste. He suddenly felt like a child, awaiting punishment for breaking a vase, or for stealing from the cookie jar. If only the life of a god was that easy. Anubis sauntered towards the dais, stopped a few feet away, and kneeled before him. Osiris did not seem affronted or irritated, despite being caught in the act of eavesdropping.
The Hall of Judgment was hushed, save for the soft snores of Ammit. Lord Osiris gripped the edges of his throne, and his lips pulled into a very tight line. "Anubis." He started, his voice was even. "Promise me. Promise me that my children won't hear about this, yes? Especially Sadie. Not until her birthday has ended." Anubis dropped his gaze at the divine being, his forehead touched his raised knee. With a slight nod of the head, he murmured his answer to Lord Osiris. "Yes, my lord." The young god heard a deep sigh, and descended from the throne.
"I fear my time is drawing near." Lord Osiris whispered feebly before he disappeared between the gaps of the metal doors.
Anubis resigned to the weariness that was bearing on his shoulders for months. He surely did not feel such weakness in the five thousand years he had lived. Never. Twilight. That seemed to be a more appealing way to put the death of immortals into words. Anubis felt unwell, if truth were told. Despite being accustomed to death, talking about the death of immortal beings was something he had never pictured in his mind. We were meant to live forever, were we not? As much as the fact of seeing Sadie for her birthday tomorrow, seeing Sadie this moment was alluring. Tempting, even.
Her mere presence was more than enough to keep him, and Walt, sane and to quell the anxiety that plagued them – him, more so – endlessly. He sauntered through the empty corridors of the Hall of Judgment, and arrived shortly on the courtyard. It was eerily silent, and the hieroglyphics that hummed peacefully responded to his presence, and formed a bench of mummy linen at one corner. He sat, and dipped his head to the side.
"No, you are not doing that, Anubis. Lord Osiris forbade you." Walt chastised in his mind, and Anubis flinched. Anubis did not mean to forget about him, but it was a distraught to have two minds in a single body, to share the same thoughts and feel the same feelings with someone who undoubtedly shared the same sentiments. The Death God smirked at Walt in his mind, and murmured. "I do not think it is fair if you all have the fun, Walt. I am seeing Sadie. Now."
"Oh, so now you're jealous that I get to see her every time in Brooklyn?" Walt taunted, and Anubis saw a smirk.
"We haven't seen her at all, Walt."
Anubis felt a sudden rush of power, as he slipped outside the many levels of the Duat, into her mind, and immediately pulled her ba. It was supposed to be an easy, effortless task, but the young god found himself inwardly exhausted, both physically and mentally. If it were even possible for a god.
After a few heartbeats, she stood, her eyes glowered with intensity.
Nevertheless, Anubis smiled warmly. And so did Walt.
"Do I look poultry to you?"
PS: You guys actually made me happy after almost three months of inactivity. Thank you so much for all those reviews, favorites and follows. You actually tempted me to write the second chapter while I was busy shaving my hair for school. Lol. Kidding. While I was busy for my research, defense, surprise quizzes and from my majors. I think that was a good thing. So my target, I will be finishing this story before summer term starts on April. But no promises. :D Ooh, I have an idea. If I get a certain number of reviews, not that I am a review – hoarder, but, anyway, if I get that certain number of reviews, I will be writing certain chapters from Anubis/Walt's point of view, since the whole story is an alternating point of views of Sadie and Carter. That okay? :) I'll try my very best to keep them in character :D