Marc burst out laughing at the friendly greeting, shaking his head. Khonshu's amusement was almost audible in their head.
Osiris leaned forward, a frown on his features. It was clear that something had happened and Steven was also quite sure none of the Ennead had an idea about who or what Marc Spector was.
"May I ask: I thought you didn't meddle in the affairs of humankind anymore, ain't I right?" Steven addressed them, the British accent carrying polite criticism in each word. "But then you go and you create a weapon to hurt an avatar? And the god using that avatar?"
Marc caught sight of Isis' startled expression at the switch, as Khonshu handed over control to his avatar. The full orb glow to his eyes hadn't changed, just Steven's demeanor had taken over.
He blinked, then rubbed his eyes as if he had something sticking to them, and the glow was gone. There was only the deep brown, softer than Marc's, but far from vulnerable.
Isis looked slightly puzzled. "The Unholy was created long before we decided to leave this realm, Marc Spector."
Steven tilted his head, but he didn't correct her. His eyes were on Osiris once more.
"The bond between an avatar and their god is a blessed connection. It is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a human being. You all gave your respective avatars that choice. You all honor that choice, as they honor you."
Horus' softened briefly and he fractionally inclined his head.
"But you also created a weapon," Steven went on. "Not a pretty pendant or handy amulet. You could have woven those spells into shackles or golden ropes. No, you made it a deadly weapon, and then imbued that beautifully crafted piece with dark magic that shouldn't exist in this realm. You accused Khonshu of wielding weapons, yet you created one. One that is able to kill an avatar."
"It is not a weapon," Osiris stated coolly.
Like hell it is, Marc commented angrily.
"It is a knife," Steven said almost pleasantly. "A dagger. That is classified as a deadly weapon. Please explain to me how you cut into a blessed binding without injuring the avatar? You're not cutting an invisible ribbon. You harm a physical form."
"The avatar survives if they are strong enough."
Steven's hands clenched into fists and it wasn't Khonshu's doing. Neither was that hot fury racing through him. It was a protective instinct he had never felt more intensely, never more violently, and he wasn't a violent person to begin with.
"Which is not very likely, isn't it?" he accused mildly. "You have to stab a soul with this blade. You ram it into a body and the magic does the rest. It confronts the avatar with twisted nightmares and memories that are not their own. It enthralls them. It's not a free choice, nor is it a healing. It tortures the mind and the soul."
The other avatars murmured and Osiris held up his hand to quiet them.
"Without Khonshu, we would be dead!" Steven stated, voice louder now. "Bled out! I'm not sure what you blokes think a weapon is, but we humans call that dagger one!"
Marc was still trying to understand how the other gods had forged a weapon to kick an entity out of their chosen avatar. How they accepted the possible death of the host, due to the physical injury through the blade; or the shock to the system when the binding was forced apart. He had experienced the cruel, painful way that happened.
There was a phantom twinge from the scar and Khonshu's presence enveloped them, both of them, shielding and protective. There was a thrum of power, a pulse that echoed through his very soul, and he soaked it all up. Marc was more than glad they had resolved their issues before the dagger incident. He would be dead and gone otherwise.
"And others die?" he heard Steven ask with more bite, though he still sounded positively polite.
There was nothing demure about his manner, nothing shy or apprehensive. He was currently very much in protective mode, standing tall, shoulders squared, fighting a different kind of fight than Marc usually did.
"Collateral, you might call it? How many actually died as you judged the avatar bond unworthy? All? What gave you the right to judge another god's choice?"
Osiris stiffened. "Seth was unhinged," he said coldly.
"So was Ammit and I didn't see you get that dagger."
Marc smiled darkly and the same dark satisfaction was echoed by Khonshu.
"According to your own decree you won't interfere in this realm, but you created a deadly weapon," Steven drove his point home. "You sacrificed living beings, Osiris. Human beings. You accepted their fate because banishing a god, trapped in stone, wasn't enough. Why is this Unholy so important now? Its destruction shouldn't bother you at all. You left. And you left everything you did behind, too. Free for any human grave robber to loot and sell off to the highest bidder. I believe Khonshu is doing a marvelous job keeping humankind and this realm safe. And I, for my part, are more than proud to be his avatar!"
Steven held his head high, face a determined mask. Khonshu's pride was a clear mirror to that and Marc had to laugh softly. There was a stubborn line between Steven's eyes and a set to his mouth that was a clear indicator that he wasn't about to apologize for anything. Anything at all.
Osiris looked at him, eyes filled with very clear antipathy. Steven responded with a bland smile, hands clasped in front of him. He wouldn't be cowed.
Last time had been a slightly too terrifying experience. Marc had been a fish out of water and Khonshu's possession had been abrasive and yes, abusive in a way. This time he was prepared. This time, they were whole. This time they acted as one, as it should always have been.
"Please do not pin your short-sightedness on us, Osiris," Steven told him evenly, holding the other man's gaze without flinching. "You misjudged the situation a while ago, too."
A pinprick of white appeared deep within his eyes.
Osiris froze, looking suddenly murderous.
"You were mistaken about Harrow and Ammit," Marc's alter added with a tilt of his head, still so absolutely polite and respectful, it clearly enraged the other god more than yelling would have. "You failed to see the danger to this realm and to yours. We saved your bloody arses, if I may say so. Didn't get a single 'well done, mates'. Now we destroyed a weapon that would be able to tear you and your avatars apart. If it fell into the wrong hands." Steven spread his hands. "And it fell into the wrong hands, didn't it? I'm sure not all of you see your human avatars as just a temporary vessel." He briefly glanced at Yatzil.
"Do not threaten me, avatar!" Osiris spat.
"I state facts," was the mild reply. "What happened to Khonshu could very easily have happened to any of you. It was a random attack. Who is to say someone else won't get his sticky fingers on one of your Unholy weapons? What if your avatar walks into a situation where a bond-breaking curse hits them?"
The very air in the room had grown more tense by the second.
"You left live weaponry behind. No safety on them. It is rather negligent, don't you think? So we took care of the one that tried to kill us."
Osiris was about to lose his own control. Khonshu took over, the sensation almost like a caress and a slight nudge. Steven yielded without a fight and the moon god surged forward.
"We are done," Khonshu stated with a low, warning growl. "This is comedy of a hearing is over!"
"You will not leave this chamber before a verdict has been reached! This is to decide whether your actions have harmed the Ennead!"
"Harmed?! I did the Ennead a favor! And like the last time my avatar fought an unspeakable evil that threatened this realm, you only sit on your thrones and dole out false judgment! The sinister spells woven into the Unholy broke apart as they failed to claim me and what is mine!" Khonshu declared, drawing sharp whispers. "Like the curse and abomination it was!"
"Impossible!" Osiris replied sharply, rising to his feet in a swift motion. "Lies and deceit, Khonshu? Still lies and deceit? No single one of us can unravel the Unholy's magic."
"The truth!"
"There is no curse-breaker for an Unholy! Nothing can undo the spells once an avatar is in their thrall!"
Khonshu's streak of vicious satisfaction was clear to feel. "There is. I claim the twin souls of my avatar as my one host," he said, voice clear and loud, echoing in the chamber. "My soul-bound! Such a binding cannot be broken. It is more than an oath. It is everything! No spellwork can undo what a soul bond has created!"
"Twin souls are a rarity! Unheard of!" Tefnut's eyes flared. "Twin souls cause an imbalance, Khonshu. It hurts the avatar to be a vessel of a god when the mind is unwell!"
"There is no imbalance." Marc stated firmly. "Our scales are even."
"That's not impossible!" Tefnut argued, shaking her head. "Those of us who took on mentally unstable or hurt avatars couldn't exist with that imbalance, the pain! The avatar suffers! We, as gods, suffered. We had to leave them. Mentally fractured avatars are incapable of sustaining our presence. None would present as two equal souls either! Just like a mind with fractured parts cannot give us a hold, a body cannot hold two souls! We cannot exist as a triad!"
Marc felt a sudden, sharp pull in his chest area that spread through his body and seemed to root him to the very ground he stood on. It felt like someone was draining him of energy while simultaneously giving him a massive transfusion at the same speed.
Holy…! What the frig…?
Steven's gasp was loud in his head and he saw his alter flail a little, then stare with wide-eyed wonder. The sensation spread, encompassed them, made them one, while still staying individuals, and Marc thought he could feel Steven right there next to him.
Physically.
Right there.
So very, very close.
"Steven?" he blurted.
He felt a hand grasp his, for a fraction of a second. For that single moment they looked at one another, as if they were in the core, and then he was back in the Council Chamber.
Barely a second had passed.
And Khonshu was standing in the room with him, behind him, tall and proud, head held high.
The other avatars shot from their seats, eyes wide. Marc caught sight of Hathor's. Yatzil was the only one who appeared calm and collected, like she had expected this to happen. There was a flicker of magic licking over Osiris's fingers.
Wow… headrush, Steven managed. What… what did he… oh! He's… here? Khonshu's here?!
