Cheers of encouragement echoed throughout the arena when furious sparks of lightning loudly crackled as they struck the sand. The Greek soldiers were hitting their swords against their shields in unison, as to taunt their common enemy. They simply loved watching battles between gods. It made their blood boil. They were sad that they had to sit down and watch instead of taking part in the battle, but they knew that only a god could kill another god. On the other side, the Egyptian mortals and gods were silently watching the fight. The feeling of disappointment could be sensed from a mile away. While the gods didn't have any great expectations, the Egyptian humans were rooting for their leader. They believed in him and worshipped him out of love, not out of fear of punishment.
"I'll be honest. I didn't think that he had a chance against Zeus. I told him, but he didn't listen. He never does." Anubis whispered to Anhur. He was standing on the edge of his seat. Rarely had the God of the Dead felt the need to save someone's life, but this was about his friend. His creator. His father.
"This is not the end of the fight. Zeus is indeed a powerful god and a fearsome ruler, but he lacks the wisdom that his opponent possesses." Anhur said, loudly enough for the others to hear as well. "Zeus will lose, jackal. You'll see." He said as he rested his back against the seat. Anhur seemed incredibly confident in his words.
Zeus punched his opponent in the head, sending him flying towards the edge of the arena and disarming him. Ra landed on the sand with an audible thud as he covered his beak with one hand. He was obviously in pain from the last hit. Zeus picked up Ra's staff with both hands and hit it against his knee, breaking it in half. He tossed the pieces on the ground.
At the sight of this, Anubis clenched the armrests of his seat so tight that he almost crushed them. He was about to get up. Anhur put his paw on his shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid, Anubis. You get in there and the Greek gods will attack us all. Believe in him for once!"
Anubis released the armrests from his vicious grip and sat down, puffing a burst of air through his nose. He just couldn't stand watching Ra get humiliated in the arena like this, but he couldn't do anything to save him. Jumping into the fight meant that the other Greek gods were free to jump in too. This would lead to a defeat, since the Egyptian gods were outnumbered.
Anubis scanned the other side of the arena. He counted five potential enemies: Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Chronos and Hades.
Apollo, the God of Music, was standing on the edge of his seat. He seemed tense, even though Zeus had the lead in the battle.
Aphrodite was silently watching the battle. She hated watching people fight, but it was her father who was fighting this time. Anubis could read a feeling of compassion in her eyes. Compassion for Ra, who was losing the fight.
Ares was sitting in the front row, as close to the fight as possible. He would cheer every time a blow was dealt. He could hardly resist the urge to jump in and intensify the bloodshed.
Chronos seemed to gaze into the void. He didn't seem very entertained. He was holding his staff vertically with his right hand while his left hand was resting on his left leg. His eyes were fixed in one spot in the arena. He was obviously not paying attention to the battle. He was deepened in his thoughts, and it looked like he had a huge weight on his heart.
Hades was in one of the furthest rows. He was staring at Anubis, hands and legs crossed. The Egyptian god wasn't intimidated, and responded with a piercing gaze of his own. Hades broke the eye contact and shifted his gaze upon the two "gladiators".
Zeus grabbed Ra by the throat and sent him flying towards the arena wall. Ra slammed into the wall, leaving a human shape in it, before hitting the ground once again. He managed to lift himself on his knees, using his hands to hold the weight of his body, which now seemed almost impossible to him. He could see his blood drip onto the ground, staining the beautiful golden sand with a crimson shade of red.
Zeus started slowly walking to his fallen enemy. As he rose his right hand, a lightning bolt formed in it. With his arm up and ready to strike, he was now only a few feet away from the Sun God. "You were foolish enough to challenge me. Now Thanatos will have a new soul to play with! Look at this weakling, my fellow spectators and adorers! He will soon feel the wrath of the King of Olympus!" Zeus shouted proudly while looking at the crowd. The Greek spectators started cheering for Zeus, loudly shouting and acclaiming him.
Ra clenched his fists into the warm sand. He glanced up to see Zeus ready to deliver the final blow and seal his fate once and for all. He squinted at the God of the Sky, breathing heavily. He opened his beak as if trying to say something.
Zeus, holding his stance, stood still, allowing him to mutter what would soon become Ra's epitaph.
"Feel the power…" Ra said with a raspy voice. His entire body was shaking. He was badly wounded and bleeding.
Zeus lifted his eyebrow. "He obviously stood too much in the sun. Is he hallucinating?" Zeus thought to himself.
Zeus rose his hand even higher and was about to strike. A smile crept onto his face as he was about to kill Ra, one of the strongest gods.
"…of the Sun!" Ra shouted.
Suddenly, a blinding light started emanating from Ra's body, blinding Zeus and the entire crowd of spectators.
"Ahh! It burns!" Zeus shouted as he dispelled the lightning bold. He covered his face with his shield to block the pungent rays of light that felt like needles piercing his eyes. The spectators used whatever they could to block the light: hands, shields, stones and whatever could do the job. Zeus started blindly backing away from Ra.
An uncontrollable smile appeared on Anubis' face. Anhur was right.
After a few moments, the piercing light disappeared. Zeus rubbed his eyes. His vision was still affected by the sudden change of light. Lowering his shield with caution, he could distinguish the body of Ra from the rest of the objects in the arena.
Ra was floating two feet above the ground. His skin and armor were glowing, and his wounds almost completely healed. His fists were clenched near his waist. His right leg was lifted up, his lower leg now parallel to his body and forming a straight angle with his upper leg, while his left leg was stretched down. He was angry. At the sight of this incredible demonstration, the Egyptian crowd burst into applause, cheering for their favourite god. "I told you." Anhur said to Anubis. Anubis nodded, smiling.
Ra put his hands together and opened his palms towards Zeus. A sphere of glowing yellow energy formed in front of his hands. Zeus knew he was about to strike, so he rose his shield to his torso and ducked his head behind it while conjuring a lightning bolt with his other hand.
A golden beam of solar energy flew from the sphere. It hit Zeus' shield and knocked it out of his hand.
Zeus flung the lightning bolt at Ra, quickly conjuring and throwing anther one afterwards. Ra dodged the first one and countered the second with a projectile of his own, made of solar energy. Zeus picked up his shield and rose it up towards the sky. Lightning struck his shield, charging it with electricity. He pointed his shield towards Ra and punched it. The shield let loose a continuous bolt of lightning. Ra opened his beak and fired another beam of solar energy, this time a stronger one. The lightning and solar beams collided as hundreds of sparks flew from the point where the two beams collided. Zeus was holding his shield with his forearm, pressing against it with his shoulder and using his feet to resist the pushback effect.
Ra dispelled his solar beam. Zeus continued firing his continuous lightning beam at Ra, who was now flying around the arena in order to avoid it. Still flying, Ra rose his hand up. A ray of solar energy struck Zeus from above, interrupting his attack. Ra then flew to Zeus and used his knee to hit him right in the face. Another wave of shouts echoed through the arena as Zeus was sent flying. Ra slowly landed on the ground and walked up to Zeus, who was unable to get up due to being tired from using his attacks and wounded from Ra's attacks.
Zeus was on his back, one hand on his chest and the other still holding his shield. He looked the Sun God in the eyes. "Finish me now! What are you waiting for!? Give them what they want to see!" Zeus shouted as a tear ran down his cheek and onto the hot sand, vanishing with a silent hiss.
Ra rose his left arm towards the Sun, his palm pointing at the enormous burning star that was floating above them. Suddenly, Apollo appeared, riding his fiery chariot, and landed near the two. He got out of the chariot and rose his hands up to show that he meant no harm.
"Ra, I-I beg you, d-don't do it!" he pleaded, intimidated by the Sun God's gaze. He felt like Ra was staring deep into his soul. He froze in fear.
A cloud of darkness formed a few feet behind Apollo. Hades stepped out, casually walking towards Zeus and Ra. Before he could get to them, a swarm of locusts appeared out of nowhere and started circling the spot in front of him. After a few seconds, they flew in different directions, revealing Anubis less than a foot away, standing directly in front of Hades.
"Step away, King of the Underworld" Anubis demanded, looking him in the eyes. "Your intervention means I am free to end your life right here and now. Don't force me to." He growled to Hades. The two stood in front of each other, their eyes filled with hate and anger. They slowly drew their staves.
Ra clenched his raised palm into a fist. A huge Sun ray coming from the very Sun engulfed Zeus. Both Hades and Anubis turned to the fallen King of the Sky.
"No!" Apollo shouted. He ran towards Zeus, but was grabbed by Hades and held back. "Don't be stupid, Apollo!" Hades shouted.
Zeus looked up at Ra, waiting for his end. He didn't feel pain. In fact, it felt… good.
"W-what are… what are you… d-doing, Sun God?" he managed to speak.
Ra didn't respond. All three Greek gods watched in awe as Zeus' wound were slowly closing. When the Sun ray disappeared, Zeus' wounds were now turned into scars.
Apollo opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. His innocent glare towards Ra was enough for the Sun God to understand that he was grateful for him sparing his father. Anubis and Hades carefully watched Ra's next move.
Ra reached out his right hand towards Zeus.
"I wish no war between our people, Zeus."
Zeus grabbed Ra's hand and got up. He dropped his shield and put his other hand on Ra's shoulder.
"Neither do I, Sun God." Zeus spoke. His voice sounded honest and grateful.
Ra shook his hand before grabbing Zeus' shield and handing it to Zeus. This reminded Zeus of destroying Ra's staff. He was about to apologize, but Apollo ran to Zeus and hugged him. "Father! I'm so glad you're alive!" he said. Zeus put his hand on Apollo's back
Hades turned to Anubis and reached his hand out. "I'm sorry, God of the Dead."
Anubis tossed his staff into his left hand and shook Hades' hand. "No harm done."
Anhur let out a mighty roar from the crowd before everyone else started cheering and applauding.
"Shall we have a celebration?" Zeus asked Ra.
"It would be my pleasure." Ra said with a smile.
From the Underworld, Ah Puch glared into his sphere. "The peace between the Greek and Egyptian pantheons is getting in my way. Seems like our plan didn't work. How long will the peace last?
"Not for long, I assure you" said Loki as he came out from the shadows, smiling.
To be continued…