Prologue

Thunder rained over the desert land; rarity for this part of the world. With it came no rain as it usually should. For the early Egyptians, a crack of the lightning was a blessed sign from the gods that the rains would come to water the crops they so desperately needed to survive. It also provided much needed cloud cover to the sun-drenched Egyptians. A little break in the heat is all they ever wanted. Today, smoke mixed with clouds as fires blazed in the distance. The capital city, Egypt's jewel in the desert, went under lockdown. People were advised to stay in their homes and not be out. The walls of the city closed and locked as the guards raced to their posts. Most importantly, the Palace of the Pharaoh Ramesses II surrounded itself with Egypt's finest warriors, ready to give themselves up for the king.

For awhile, all was silent as the guards stood vigilantly on the city walls. On the horizon, the farms and smaller villages were in flames; so many of which that the combined smoke attempted to turn the grey day into an early night. Refugees came in swarms to the city, all telling the same tale: "He's coming! He's coming! He is mad!"

At last, the swarms stopped, saying the rest of the population was either dead or in hiding. Soft winds floated across the desert floor, kicking up sand and dust. The wind picked up, turning a small dust devil into a minor sandstorm. Interestingly enough, the storm never reached the city. It sat just outside as if it were observing the city itself. A few minutes went by until somebody screamed out to ready themselves. The guards looked out to an incredible sight: a lone man in black walked straight out of the storm, pulling two chariots behind him.

"It is Mighty-Adam! He has betrayed us all!" one of the guards yelled out.

"He will slaughter us all!" another yelled out.

"Save yourselves! Run away!" a further, scared voice cried. The leader of the guardians raised himself up above the rest of his men.

"Get a hold of yourselves, men! You are protectors of the Pharaoh and I will make sure that he will get protected! Now, get yourselves ready and show that traitor what he'll get for his betrayal!" he yelled out. The archers stretched out their bows, ready to fire the first volley of arrows. With the command, they released the arrows.

Mighty-Adam smiled. The arrows snapped like twigs as they impacted against his invulnerable skin. He kept walking towards the city gates, the two chariots in tow. Another volley was fired with the same result. The defenders then tried throwing the heavy stones. One flew directly at Mighty-Adam, ready to smash him to bits. Adam swung his arm and obliterated the stone into a thousand pieces. All the other stones missed their marks.

Adam reached over to the chariot on his left. With a spin, the chariot went flying at a guard tower, completely smashing it and knocking it off its pedestal. Grinning, he flung the second chariot at another guard tower, getting the same result. The screams of the inhabitants were heard over the waning sounds of the sandstorm as Mighty Adam walked towards the massive city gates.

The gigantic wooden gates had stood for decades, being contracted by the mighty king himself to protect his people from foreign invaders. He never anticipated the walls to be brought down by forces from within. Adam kicked one of the gates, sending it crashing down upon the poor defenders who happened to be in its path. Adam walked calmly into the city as the heavily armed guardians grouped together in columns and marched towards the fallen hero.

The attack was a miserable failure. Their spears and lances snapped in two as they realized they could not pierce Mighty Adam's tough-as-diamonds skin. Next, they pulled out their swords and attempted to slice away their enemy to no avail. One soldier attempted to stab Adam square in the eye, which only fueled Adam's anger.

Bodies flew and weapons snapped like twigs. Soldiers rained down in the city as far away as three miles. Limbs were torn off and used as clubs against the guardians, who ran away in terror from Adam. Soon enough, he was left alone in a city of millions. Bored, he smashed through several buildings and residences, setting homes ablaze which would soon set the city ablaze.

Brave soldiers who mustered up their courage repeatedly attacked Adam, only for them to be killed in an utmost graphic manner. Two hours after his initial attack, Mighty Adam stood in a field of dismembered corpses and pools of blood. The sky darkened with the smoke of the uncontrolled fires as Adam made his way to the royal palace.

As his approach became apparent, the few fanatical defenders tried to slow his advance. One jumped onto Adam's back, only to be slammed against a stone wall and crushed into a bloody pulp. Another smashed a pole across his face; his fate was being flung into the sky, never to be seen in this country again. Still, yet another defender latched onto the legs of the invader. Adam stopped, lifted up the poor man and twisted off his head. He then casually flung it away and continued towards the palace.

The King sat on his throne as he saw Mighty Adam single handedly slaughter the entire royal guard and approach his presence. Adam smiled and bowed.

"I have returned…Father." said the deranged voice of Adam.

"So you have, Mighty Adam. So is this what you leave as your legacy?" said Ramesses as he rose from his throne.

"Of course not," said Adam with a grin "this is what I leave as your legacy, Father."

"I am not your father and you are certainly not my son! You return Teth-Adam back to me!"

"But I am here, Father! I am your son!"

"You are a blasphemous, poor imitation of Teth-Adam!"

Mighty Adam lost his grin for favor of an angry frown. "Get off your throne…and bow to me,"

"I will do…no such thing," Ramesses responded.

"Bow to me…Now!"

"Burn in—"

Adam drove his arm through his father's chest. A few short gagging sounds came from the king before completely felling to death. The fallen hero shook his arm free and let the body fall limp.

"Disgusting…"

A sensual woman walked down the darkening corridors of the palace. She admired the artistry and beautiful, soft colors that the home was known for. Her short steps echoed throughout the abandoned halls, each step corrupting the home by a small fraction.

"Oh no, my dear, did you have to make such a mess?" asked the woman as she walked in to find the dead monarch. Adam smiled.

"I am the new god. I can do whatever I please," he said as he relaxed on the throne. The woman sat to his right and stroked his cheek.

"My dear, we can't just confine ourselves to one land. There are many others out there. All of them just waiting for us to conquer," she said.

"You are right! With the power that old man gave me, they will all bow down before my own might!" he boasted.

"Of course, my dear…of course…" she said.

The dark clouds that covered the Egyptian lands failed to let the gleaming sunlight in. At first, the people called this a quick and much needed blessing; a break from the intense heat. As the hours winded down, night set in and stole the ambient heat from the sands. Temperatures fell and those without shelter quickly succumbed to the frigid temperatures. They looked towards the royal palace to a salvation that would never come.

Inside the palace, the two occupants sat and contemplated about what deed to do next. A crack of thunder was heard…a sound which Mighty Adam knew all too well.

"He's here…" said Adam.

"I do believe you're right, dear," added the woman, looking more terrified than Adam himself.

From the main steps came a frail old man with a large white beard long enough to envelop a city. He needed no staff to aid him as he walked with the stride of a forty year old. The old man approached the two and clenched his fist.

"What are you doing here, old man?" asked Adam, as he jumped off the throne to face him.

"I should have been more cautious…Lust has always been one of my enemies," said the old man.

"I said, what are you doing here??" demanded Adam.

"To set things right, Adam," the old man said as he turned towards the woman "Obviously, it was my fault that everything turned out this way. We both failed out our duty,"

"I've done my duty, old man! We conquered this land and soon we will conquer even more!" boasted Adam.

"Father, dear," said the woman "I believe he has made his choice. It would be unwi—

"Silence, Blaze! Don't you dare address me with that title!!" boomed the old man. He waved his arm and with a wisp, the woman Blaze was no more.

"You killed her! You killed my only love!" cried Adam.

"She was not your love! She was only using you to attain her own goals! You have been corrupted, my boy! Let me help you!" argued the old man with the tone of a father quarreling with his son.

"Blaze loved me. She was the only one who knew me…" said Adam, now becoming distraught "Oh, please, I've done so many bad things...It shouldn't have been like this!" Adam fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands. The old man looked down with a determined frown.

"It's all…all…" said Adam, clenching his fists and looking up at the old man "Because of you! You made me this way! You turned me into this monster!" He rose and swung his fist at the old man.

The punch flew harmlessly through the elder. Mighty Adam tried again, only to the same result.

"Damn you! Stay still and fight me!" he screamed.

"Adam…do not make this harder than it already is…"

"I swear, I will kill you! I will destroy you and everything you stand for!"

"…you have left me no choice…"

The old man caught Mighty Adam in midair. Slowly, yellow energy flowed from Adam back into the old man. The fallen hero aged as his power was taken away. Soon, the yellow energy faded, leaving only a shriveled corpse.

The old man sighed softly and reached for a stone scarab in his robes. All of Adam's energy was then placed into the false insect. Shaking his head, the old man then left the palace, leaving Egypt to its own destiny.

At the burials of the dead king and prince, the old man stood at the back, watching as the bodies were placed within their magnificent tombs. Their followers stayed until the stars shone at their brightest. The old man silently entered the tomb and opened the thick stone slab covering the body of Teth-Adam. He looked down at him for a time, and then placed the stone scarab next to the body.

The elder exited the tomb and stepped outside into the cool desert night. The Moon shone unusually bright this type of night. It was strong with the magical energies that flowed throughout this universe. Somehow, he felt a slight connection with the celestial body, something subtle yet important. He'll look into it later, he decided. Too much has happened this past week. For the first time, in a long time, he felt tired. A good sleep was in order and he aimed to get exactly that.