CHAPTER ONE

Oblivion of Stardust

AN: Hi everyone, this will first and foremost be a love story between Imhotep and Ancksunamun, but I need to get the logistics out of the way to set up the framework for my story! I promise it'll be lovey-dovey and romantic. Just hold out! If you could leave reviews, that would be amazing!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story from The Mummy (1999) except for my OCs.

Here are some terms for you to familiarize yourself with in case you do not know what I'm talking about:

Apep: The God of chaos and destruction. He was a 120-meter long serpent who chased the dead through the underworld, trying to eat their soul. He was also said to be the reason for solar eclipses.

Anubis: The jackal-headed God who was the conductor of souls and the judge of the pure of heart in the Temple of Two Truths. He was the original lord of the underworld and was said to have created mummification to resurrect Osiris when he was killed by his brother Set.

Duat: The Ancient Egyptian underworld.

Horus: Falcon-headed God of the sky. Child of Isis and Osiris.

Isis: Goddess of healing, protection, and magic. She was the sister-wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus.

Ma'at: Goddess of truth, justice, balance, and order. Ma'at was also a group of laws that the Ancient Egyptian people followed to salvation.

Set(h): The God of war, chaos, and storms. He was the brother of Isis and Osiris and was to blame for the death of Osiris. His punishment was to guard Ra as he made his way through the underworld each night against Apep.

Temple of Two Truths: The golden hall where Anubis took the deceases' heart and weighed it against a feather of truth, which was said to come from the goddess Ma'at. If the heart was pure, the dead would be taken to meet Osiris; if the feather was heavier, their heart was eaten by a demon, and the soul ceased to exist forever.

Osiris: Egypt's first pharaoh (according to myths) and the God of the world. Once Set killed him, he became the God of the Underworld.

Ra: The God of the Sun, the other gods, and the father of creation. He rode his boat across the sky each day, lighting up the world. At night he traversed the dangerous underworld, attacked by monsters and Apep. Set guarded him.

Okay, on to the story!:)

"O people of the earth, men and women born and made of the elements, but with the spirit of the Divine within you, rise from your sleep of ignorance! Be sober and thoughtful. Realize that your home is not on the earth but in the Light. Why have you delivered yourselves unto death, having power to partake of immortality?"
― Muata Ashby, Ancient Egyptian Proverbs

There was nothing but pain and darkness. The scarabs had long since feasted upon his flesh, extracting his life force and using it as their own, until they had perished. Imhotep was aware of the oppressive darkness closing in on him from all four sides, but there was something strange about it.

He lay there in the suffocating stillness, his body a strange juxtaposition of hot anger and cold sorrow. He didn't know how long he lay there before he suddenly was awash in a brilliant light that seemed to stem from nowhere. How can that be? I don't have eyes anymore, Imhotep thought, grimacing at the sudden brightness. He used what used to be his arms to shield his eyes. The sarcophagus suddenly fell out from underneath him, and he screamed in terror. I thought my torment was to be undead in my tomb for all time?

Imhotep fell for what seemed an eternity, but he could see nothing; everything was a piercing white. Finally, his back hit the ground with a mighty thud knocking the wind out of him. How am I still having all these feelings of life? He pondered, lying on the cold ground. Imhotep groaned, and he suddenly realized the bleak darkness once again surrounded him. Forcing himself into a sitting position, Imhotep tried to understand what was happening. The ground beneath him felt cold, but it burned his skin where it touched. He peered into the darkness that lay before him and saw that the air around him seemed to sparkle, almost challenging him to see what lay beyond it. The powerful anger inside of his no longer beating heart was dampened for a moment, and he felt incredible anxiety take hold of him in its place. Where am I? This can't be right, he thought, placing his hand on his head. Before he could react to the sensation of the pads of his fingers touching skin, a growl sounded from the darkness. Imhotep froze in place, not daring to make a sound.

Thousands of eyes began to appear, one by one, the sparkles in the air began to take shape. Each pair of eyes was a different size and color; some were bloodshot and cold, others were dopey and lolled in their sockets, while most appeared angry and hungry. The feeling of anxiety grew within Imhotep's soul. A strange fluttering in his chest began as his heart struggled to pound, sputtering back to life in a matter of seconds. Feeling lightheaded, he scrambled to his feet, feeling the sand beneath his toes spray in all directions. His black robe spun around him as he tried to get his bearings amidst all of the eyes boring into his soul. They seemed to be waiting for something. Imhotep whipped his head back and forth, searching desperately for a source of light, for anything indicating an exit. Suddenly, he saw a golden door appear in the distance, almost materializing out of thin air before his eyes.

The creatures around him began to growl now, a low sound at first, which steadily rose to a loud hum. They seemed to be conversing amongst themselves. Imhotep listened closer. He could almost make out the words they were saying, but not quite. They were speaking an ancient language that he had never heard before. As the humming around him grew louder, Imhotep took a step forward, the noises stopped. The eyes disappeared. The air felt thick with the feeling of tension. Imhotep took another step, and suddenly he was running for the golden door up ahead as fast as he could. His breath coming out in ragged gasps, Imhotep ran as fast as his feet could carry him when he suddenly felt the sensation of the hot breath at his heels and smelt the stench of blood. The pain of being eaten alive came back now in full force. He could feel rivers of blood running over his skin. His muscles and bones began to waste away and crumble.

All he focused on was getting to the golden door in front of him. But no matter how fast he ran, the door seemed to get further and further away from him. Imhotep cried out! "Please! I'll do anything! Anything!" But all that came out was a chaotic mash of letters as his decaying body began to slow down and fail him. Imhotep fell to the sand then, begging, "Please. I just need to see her again." Imhotep wept, crumpling into the sand pathetically. "Do whatever you wish with me, but I would do anything to see her again. Just once…"

The hungry creatures had caught up with him now, but Imhotep did not care. He lay there, his body oozing out onto the sand that lay beneath him. They began to eat what was left of him. He felt every tooth mark and bone crunch between their teeth. This time he did not scream as he had done with the scarabs. He was too tired to do anything. When they were done, they all sighed in pleasure and licked their lips, disappearing once more into the sparkling darkness. All but one left, and he stayed and watched Imhotep before coming over and whispering in the old language, "Thank you for the delicious meal." Before he, too, vanished into the darkness.

Imhotep's body had been ravaged, but he slowly felt his life force begin to regenerate once more. There had been no answer to his pleas. He dragged himself to the stone steps of the golden door. It now stayed in one place, resigned that Imhotep had lost his battle. Laying there on the cold stone, the golden light from behind the door glowed through the cracks and was enough to tempt Imhotep inside. He pulled himself up with the ornate handle of the door, feeling his heart beginning its laborious pounding once again.

Pushing the door open, he stepped into a long room, seeming to span eons. Imhotep looked around at the stone floor; it was covered in ancient writings, words too old and worn for him to make any sense of. A long red carpet went perfectly down the middle of the long hallway, its edges shaggy and trimmed in gold. He looked to his right to see heavy red curtains held back with gold rope, seemingly opening the way to a black abyss on the other side. Tall limestone pillars separated the curtains. In the darkness, Imhotep could make out nothing of what lay within. As he stepped forward, torches on the walls began to ignite the further he walked. There were paintings on the left wall depicting the evils done by humanity. Imhotep stared at them, trying to make sense of the images before him. He walked further down the hallway, and as he did, each step became gradually more painful, as if he were walking on knives. The pain became almost unbearable, but still, Imhotep pressed on, taking in the images before him.

Many of the images displayed the creation of the universe and the Gods and Goddesses getting into cosmic battles. One that had always intrigued him significantly was the story of Osiris and his wife, Isis. He looked at the rich details of their painted story, of how Osiris had been betrayed and killed by his brother Set, who chopped up his body and spread the pieces all over Egypt. Isis was distraught and found each part of her husband, begging for Anubis to put them all back together, but he was now not fit to be amongst the living. Osiris descended to the Underworld and took over as ruler from Anubis. Imhotep smiled softly at the thought that Isis had been so devoted to her husband that she had gone to the ends of the earth to resurrect him. Their love was greater than all of the wealth of Egypt. Imhotep's smile faltered at that, Ancksunamun. He fell back against the wall and slid to the floor, ignoring the excruciating pain that came with it.

The scent of Myrrh and Frankincense washed over him then. Imhotep could almost feel her presence if he imagined it hard enough. Her soft spiced skin, her voluptuous body, the way it perfectly fit into his hands, the gentle curve of her neck as she reached up to kiss him. Her soft pouty lips inviting him in for a taste of her honey. Imhotep groaned in agony. Tears sprang to his eyes as he sat there on the floor, his eyes reflecting the fire from the torches. This time they were not lit up with anger though, he felt nothing but soul-crushing loneliness and agony. A flash of color caught his eye just then. He blinked in the dimly lit room and rubbed at his eyes. He swore he had seen movement behind one of the curtains at the far end of the hall. Standing up slowly, he began making his way across the room, his eyes plastered to where he saw the movement come from.

He heard a soft giggle from behind him. Imhotep spun around, his chest heaving. But there was nothing there. Turning around to face forward again, Imhotep began his agonizing journey towards the end of the hallway once again. Each step felt like shards of glass. The pain was not confined to his feet anymore; the further he walked, the more the pain traveled up his legs. He kept going, his eyes plastered on the curtain at the furthest point of the room he could see. There it was! A flash of silky black hair, adorned with gold, swayed as the figure turned slightly to look at him and giggle. Ancksunamun? His heart began to beat harder in anticipation. He walked faster. "Wait!" he tried to call out, but the words were jumbled once again. "Ancksunamun!" Imhotep cried out. The figure's face kept turning back to look at him, and the room stretched on forever. The sweet scent of lotus, myrrh, and frankincense permeated his senses. Now the apparition up ahead was walking in the middle of the blood-red rug. The face was obscured as he heard the words in his mind, almost taunting him, Imhotep, my love, be with me!

"Ancksunamun!" Imhotep cried out, his words an unintelligible garble. "Please! I want nothing more! Wait for me, my love, stop!"

At that, the figure began to move faster away from him, occasionally stopping to laugh at him gleefully. He quickened his pace, the feeling of knives in his feet had now traveled up to his torso. His breath was coming out in gasps, but still, the woman up ahead continued to taunt him. She ran faster and faster and began to fade in and out of view, almost like a vision. The smell of spices grew more robust, and suddenly, she stopped altogether. Her back to him, her head hanging low, her body appeared almost limp. Imhotep caught up to her finally and reached out for her. "Ancksunamun, it's me! Do not be afraid." Imhotep murmured as he went to cradle her in his arms. At this point, he was half-crazed with the desire to be near her; he had hardly noticed the growing pain in his body. When he reached out to touch her, something seemed off about her.

Her hair hung limply around her sallow face, and her skin was gray. Imhotep grabbed her softly, pulling her into his arms, and as he did, the pain in his torso inched towards his heart. His breath was coming out in heaving gasps now, his forehead slick with sweat, and his eyes leaked tears, but he ignored it all. "My love, it is okay. We are together now. Seti is dead. There is nothing to be afraid of here. I will protect you from anything." He murmured, brushing the hair back from her face. Just then, the knives pierced his heart, the pain unbearable. Imhotep almost crumpled to the ground, but not from the physical pain. Looking down at the woman in his arms, the face…there was nothing there. It was an empty abyss of the sparkling stardust he had encountered in the room prior. Imhotep gaped at the sight before him. He had been so convinced it was her.

The abyss where her face should have been began to emit colors, almost like a flame. They flickered back and forth, and from the black hole, a tendril of concentrated light began to emerge, slowly at first. Imhotep stared in awe and fear at what he was seeing. The tendril grew bigger until it began to take shape. A small serpent began to appear. Imhotep dropped the body he was holding hastily and backed up, his eyes plastered on the sight before him. The snake started to grow in size; its skin was red and mottled with black, yellow, and orange scales, which glinted in the torchlight. It unfurled on itself slowly, and staring back at Imhotep were bright green eyes that he swore could see into his soul. The serpent grinned, its mouth black and gaping. Long white fangs slid down, dripping with poison.

"Imhotep, my friend, you have finally decided to grace me with your presence." The serpent said with sarcastic glee.

Imhotep stared at the green-eyed God, not knowing how to answer. He was frozen to the spot, his back precariously hanging near the edge of the dark abyss.

"It is an honor to meet a servant of Osiris down here in my humble dwelling," the snake said, slithering closer. "Don't look so afraid, Imhotep. You and I are just getting acquainted." His eyes glinted brighter, no longer shining from the torches but lit within from an unholy source.

"Apep," Imhotep managed to say, though the word was almost unintelligible. The word hung in the air before the great serpent stopped his gradual advancement on Imhotep.

Apep was the God of chaos and destruction. Each night he traversed the Duat, eating up lost souls who did not heed the great duty of Ma'at and then went on to terrorize Ra as he made his way through the Underworld each night. Apep was the bringer of death whose greatest wish was to throw the human world into death and destruction. His vendetta lay with Ra, the God of the sun, who was the bringer of light and life.

"Yes…" Apep hissed. "You know who I am, as well you should. You and I are not so different, are we, hm?" his tongue flicked in and out of his fangs. "I have been informed, sadly, that your soul is not up for grabs, but I have a proposition for you. Come away from the edge." He commanded, leaving little room for Imhotep to disagree.

Imhotep moved slowly, keeping his eyes on the great snake, to stand in the middle of the long hallway. Blood had begun to drip from his mouth once more. He wished he had jumped out of the room when he had gotten the chance.

"Well, do you want to hear it or not?" Venom dripped from Apeps teeth onto the rug, searing a hole through the ground, exposing the sparkly darkness once again.

Imhotep wanted to do nothing but run, but he knew it would be in vain, for this was Apeps territory. "Yes, what is your proposition?" He sighed, briefly putting his head in his hands. Maybe he can help me bring back Ancksunamun? Looking up at the towering God, Imhotep waited for his answer.

"I want you to help me overthrow Osiris," the snake hissed, "I am tired of him telling me which souls I can and cannot eat. And with him out of the way, Ra wouldn't be far behind." Apeps green eyes shone brighter in the gloom.

Overthrow Osiris? Was he crazy? Imhotep hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

The great God was becoming restless, his tail began to sway, and he hissed, his tongue flicking in and out of his gaping mouth. "Well, boy? Will you help me or not?"

"If I do this for you, what is in it for me?" Imhotep questioned, looking up at the God with a challenge in his eyes.

"What's in it for you? Why all the glory in the world, of course. And you will be reunited with your lover."

As Apep spoke those words, the apparition of Ancksunamun appeared in the gloom behind him. Her face was visible now. Imhotep stared open-mouthed. She gestured towards him, her gold-painted body glittering in the torchlight. Her dark eyes shone with love as she looked at him. "Imhotep…" she whispered, beckoning him in. Imhotep's feet moved towards her without even thinking about it.

"Insolent boy!" Apep spat, his long tail whipped forward, blocking his path to her. "Your answer! Then you may see her."

"Yes, my Lord, whatever you wish… I will do it." Imhotep choked. He turned to look toward his beloved, but her image began to fade in and out.

"Nooo!" Imhotep howled, falling to his knees. "You tricked me!"

The serpent began to laugh, a horrible raspy sound that grated on Imhotep's eardrums.

"What did you expect? Don't make a deal with me if you wish to be compensated for it." He continued laughing. "Just think! A servant of Osiris, now working for me!"

The anger that Imhotep had suppressed began to trickle back into his heart. The feeling of knives that had threatened to keep him hostage to insufferable pain began to melt away. His newfound power began to incinerate the strange hold that the room itself had over him. Imhotep's eyes, which had been trained on the darkness behind Apep, snapped up to the Gods' face. His eyes were ablaze with the same unholy flame he had seen earlier in the gods' green eyes. His body began to regenerate once more, the taut muscles regrowing over his skin, rippling with power. His heart, which had been sluggish in its ministrations, began to pump the blood through his veins rapidly. But in his face, there was the most change. What had previously been a mess of inconsolable sorrow and deep longing gave way to arrogant indifference. Only his eyes betrayed his true feelings. They burned with the power of a thousand suns.

"You will not take her from me. You will pay for this!" Imhotep snarled.

Though the god looked nervous upon seeing Imhotep's inner change, he tried not to show it. "Oh, I will, will I?" the god mocked, beginning to advance on Imhotep now, mouth open, his breath stinking of death and decay. "What makes you believe that you can so easily get what you desire without my help? What makes you think that they will even let you be with her?"

Imhotep had been standing his ground against the beast, but now he faltered. What if he is right? Osiris has to understand why we did it. He has to! Apep took advantage of Imhotep's momentary delay and unhinged his jaw further. Imhotep realized that he had no chance against Apep. Besides, what powers did he even have? Imhotep still felt the burning anger within him but had no idea how to harness it. It was useless to him now. He began to run down the long hallway, pictures of humanity flashing by him in quick succession. The torchlight started to flicker as the monster chased after him.

Suddenly, the room ended. There was nothing at the end of the dark hallway save a large stone wall. Imhotep searched wildly around him for an exit. He looked to the left. Maybe I could jump out into the abyss? He didn't know what was down there, but he was willing to find out. Looking behind him, he saw that Apep was advancing down the hallway at an alarming pace. Imhotep made eye contact with the God, and as he did, his last chance at an exit suddenly sealed off, becoming a wall. His eyes wide with fear, he backed up against the wall, ready to meet his fate once again. Well, at least I can't die here, right? It'll just be like in the room before. Imhotep covered his face with his hands. He didn't want to see Apep when he decided to swallow him. He felt the hot, stinky breath hit his face, and Apeps fangs pierce the skin on his shoulder blades.

But Imhotep felt no more than that. Suddenly, the room was cold, and he felt the hot breath mysteriously retract. Imhotep struggled to open his eyes and looked around. Apep was gone. Blood snaked down his arm, mingling with the red rug on the floor, indistinguishable. Wincing with the poison that was undoubtedly circulating through his body. Imhotep was startled by the sudden change and slowly looked up to make eye contact with his next visitor.

The figure stood a mere five feet tall, but he commanded nothing but respect and power. Muscular black arms snaked with veins were crossed over his chest in a gesture of displeasure. Lit up by a mystical blue light, Anubis looked down at Imhotep on the floor. His calm eyes betrayed nothing of his genuine emotions, but Imhotep saw a flicker of recognition go through them before it was gone.

"Enough with the games. It is time to face your destiny." The jackal-headed God said, annoyance seeping into his voice. "I have been following you for quite some time now, and it seems that you are still hung up on the…female."

Anubis left no room for comment as he waved his hand and forced Imhotep into standing. Imhotep's shoulder stopped bleeding with another wave of his hand, and the feeling of slow poison scourging his veins stopped. Imhotep looked at him incredulously and tried to thank him, but the jumbled words were back again. "Thank you, my Lord." He tried to say. His mouth leaked with blood.

Sighing, Anubis looked at him. "That is one thing that I cannot fix." He answered as he saw Imhotep's quizzical look. Anubis studiously avoided eye contact.

Looking behind Anubis, Imhotep gasped. Painted on the wall was a timeline of his own life. He walked closer, mesmerized by the amount of detail he saw. Each scene of his life perfectly splayed out and scrutinized. His birth, from a mother and father, that he had never known. It showed his time at the temple of Ra; before it was decided by Kher-heb that Imhotep showed an aptitude for working with Osiris, the God of the dead. His initiation in the temple had been a warm time for Imhotep. He had made friends with many other priests and considered them family. He had healed people and helped with births and mysterious illnesses; he even helped some of those very same people make their passage into the afterlife. He had become friends with the pharaoh. Seti, Imhotep growled in his mind. He had shared many feasts with the man, even occasionally joining him on military campaigns to trade and help advise his Pharoah.

Looking further down the line, Imhotep stopped cold. There she was. Ancksunamun. The painted likeness of her almost seemed to sparkle on the wall. She looked as radiant as the day he had met her. He swallowed back a mixture of tears and blood. He knew what came next. Their passionate affair behind Setis' back. Their endless nights of stolen kisses and secret walks by the Nile. But at the very end, the painted story spoke of death and betrayal. He had to look away, tears forming in his eyes, a lump in his throat.

Anubis had kept a close eye on Imhotep throughout all of this. He seemed very interested in the priests' reaction to the art on the wall. Pushing up his golden bracelets that had begun to slip down his arms, Anubis walked to stand near Imhotep, this time placing a hand on his shoulder in a kindly gesture.

"Come, it is time for you to meet Osiris."