{Author's Note} Written as my entry for a Mythology AU Ichiruki contest on DeviantArt.

They were known by many names, over many ages. He was known as Osiris among the mortals of this country, the King of their gods. And yet, it was not that name he heard, calling him back from the haze of death.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo. His name. The name of the immortal, not the god.

.

Rukia landed at her husband's side, her form shifting from her bird-avatar to her more human appearance. Magic, restored to full strength when balance was returned, flowed through her like the flooding Nile. Pure, life-giving power.

"Wake up, Ichigo, please..." she begged, all her magic backing her desire. Moments passed, long, agonizing moments, and then the dead god's eyes fluttered, opening slightly. Rukia let out a relieved sigh, taking his cold hand in her own.

"Ichigo, can you hear me?"

He blinked a few times, as if trying to clear his head. "I was... dead," he said slowly, looking at her in confusion. "Wasn't I?"

"Yes. Shiro killed you."

His eyes hardened. "I remember that..."

Rukia hurriedly continued. "I brought you here to keep him from finding you, and was able to keep your spirit from going to the Afterlife. That's probably why you are feeling so disoriented."

"But... I thought you could restore a spirit fully if they hadn't followed the sun's journey yet."

There was a moment of silence. Rukia looked at the floor. "My magic... Shiro threw the country into chaos when he took over, and since my magic is that of this land, it was thrown out of balance as well. We had to restore balance and order before I could bring you back, and I had to keep your spirit here constantly or we would lose our chance."

"We?"

"Me... and our son."

Ichigo didn't respond for a few moments, then carefully propped himself up on one arm, looking Rukia in the eyes. "How long has it been?"

"Eighteen years."

"And you... you stayed here the whole time?"

Rukia looked away. "I couldn't lose you," she whispered. "Not again." She took a deep breath, then added, "Besides, I wasn't alone. They couldn't do much, but the others did make sure I was safe. Uryu, Byakuya, Hisana... they made sure Shiro wouldn't find us. And Hisana helped me with Horus."

Ichigo mouthed the name to himself a few times. "Is that his name, or the name of the god?"

"The name of the god. I couldn't give him his true name alone."

Ichigo finally smiled, the gentle one that made Rukia's heart ache. It had been too long, far, far too long.

"What's he like?" Ichigo asked, and Rukia dragged herself back to reality.

"Like you," she replied. "Well, in spirit. Hisana says he looks more like me, but his eyes are yours. And his determination. He used to tell me, when he was growing up, that he would definitely defeat Shiro and save the country."

Ichigo's smile turned into a chuckle. "And he actually did it," he said admiringly. "You must have raised him well, my brother is not an easy opponent."

Rukia felt the shift in his thoughts immediately, a shift from cheerfulness to sorrow as Ichigo continued.

"Horus'll make a good king."

Rukia looked at him, horrified. "You're not staying?" she asked, and Ichigo shook his head.

"I can't. Rukia, I've been dead for eighteen years. The mortals... they would be terrified if I took back the throne. Even now, I don't really belong here. I've been too long on the edge."

He swung his legs off the edge of his stone bed, reaching out to touch Rukia's cheek. "You should have let me go."

Rukia shook her head desperately, grabbing his hand in both of hers. "No! Ichigo, you can't! Horus didn't fight to take the throne back from Shiro, he fought to give it back to you. You are the King, you always have been."

"I lost that right when Shiro defeated me," Ichigo replied gently. "And Horus won it when he defeated Shiro. You know the elder gods and their laws on succession, they will support Horus as the next king."

"You don't need to be king, then," Rukia retorted. "Just... don't leave me!"

"I am dead," Ichigo reminded her, still in the same, gentle tone he had been using the whole time. He leaned forward and lightly kissed her, like a feather brush against her lips. "Don't look like that, my queen. When Shiro killed me, eighteen years ago, you knew this would happen. The dead cannot stay in the World of the Living, but that does not mean this is the end."

"How can it not be?" Rukia asked despairingly. "I am the goddess of life, of magic. I cannot die myself, and there are none that would send me to join you in the Afterlife."

"There are ways for the living and the dead to meet," Ichigo said, brushing the tears off Rukia's cheeks. "The Afterlife has long lacked a king, Rukia. Who better to lead them then the former King of the gods? And who is to say anything against him if the King of the Dead requests visitors from the World of the Living?"

Silence fell again in the hidden cave, and after a minute Rukia nodded slowly.

"What about Horus?" she asked, her voice cracking just slightly.

"I can't meet him, not in this world, but whenever he or his descendants come to the Afterlife, I will watch over them," Ichigo promised. "Tell him I'm proud of him, though."

Rukia nodded again. Then, "Our allies told me they would come for me as soon as they were certain Shiro would no longer be a threat. They could be here any minute."

"Then I should go," Ichigo said, and drew her into an embrace. "Stay safe, my beautiful queen, and as soon as I have established my rule in the Afterlife, I will call for you."

"And I will wait eagerly for your summons," Rukia replied, pulling out of his arms to give him a kiss of her own. "Do not keep me waiting, King of the Dead."

.

And the god Osiris descended to the Afterlife, leaving the bright World of the Living forever. However, even in their confused and conflicting myths and legends, the humans often drew the King of the Dead with Isis, Queen of Magic, by his side.