Chapter 26: The Scales
Freya awoke, gasping for breath. It felt like her lungs were full of water, as if she had been drowning. Fingers clutched her chest, digging into her skin realizing there was no water anywhere near her, only air. As she lay there, slowly regaining her breathing, she stared up at the sky above her. It was a soft purplish-black. Beautiful, glowing white stars littered it, but not in any constellations or formations she recognized.
Wait...I'm not supposed to be here…
Visions of events from moments before reeled through her head. Her grabbing Nergal's fist to ram the sword through the pair of them, the death god's mace crushing her chest, Kratos' face as she tried to tell him she was sorry for leaving him.
Kratos.
The goddess immediately sat up, her hands bracing her against the sand. Her gaze dropped down to her fingers, the sand that they slowly sunk into. She had been on stone, underground, a few moments before. Kratos and Nergal right there as well. How was she outside now? How was it night? Why was there no moon in the sky and why did she not recognize any of the stars?
Wait..I'm…
Her hands returned to her chest now. They slid over unblemished metal chest armor. No wound from the cursed blade, no damage from the lion shaped mace. She was untouched.
No..I'm…Am I?
"Dead, yes." She heard calmly stated from behind her. The goddess raised to her feet to confront the unexpected voice that had somehow replied to her thoughts. Her hands went for the blades on her back, only, they weren't there. Valkyrie wings that should have grown out from her shoulders would not come forth either. Her head was looking back over her shoulder at the visible lack of wings in disbelief when the visitor spoke again. "You are dead, Lady Freya, apologies for the brisk realization. I fear it's never easy."
Freya turned to look at the voice's source. It was clearly another Egyptian as it had the body of a muscular human man donning an animal head. This time the attached visage was that of a black dog. Its fur was dark and sleek, short as well, much like Bast's had been. It had tall, pointed ears aimed straight up towards the sky. A canine's nose stood at the end of a slender, long snout to which it gazed down upon Freya along with shining purple eyes. The being's brows were striped with gold, and a dark blue and gold headdress reached from between its ears down to just past its shoulders.
"Greetings, Lady Freya, welcome to the Sands of the Undying. You may call me Anubis," the god spoke through its long snout with pointed teeth. Her memory seemed to recall Thoth mentioning a death god of his home lands with the same name.
"What are the..undying sands?" She posed as she slowly calmed her stance, realizing she had no way to defend herself or attack. It also appeared this god showed her no ill will.
Anubis nodded. "The Sands of the Undying are where souls of the departed go for their judgment. Afterwards, they will be sent to one of several places for the remainder of eternity. These are certainly not the practices or ways death is handled in your realm, but since you have died here in Egypt, you have been taken here. Apologies."
"You're quite…nice, for a god of death. At least from my limited experience and the stories Kratos told me," she attempted at making a light hearted jape.
"You have done our home a great kindness, my lady. I have no malicious intent towards those souls that enter this place. You have very likely saved my king, my kind, all of Egypt, with your actions. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for you," the canid god uttered with a shallow bow and an overwhelming sense of sincerity.
Her eyes turned to continue taking in her surroundings. Dunes of sand stretched as far as the eye could see like an ocean. There were no buildings, trees, rocks, nothing but the sands.
"You're the god of the dead here, yes?"
Anubis grunted and softly shook his head. "No, the ruler of this kingdom, which we call The Duat, is my father, Osiris. I am only present for the first part of your journey. I take you to the scales."
She turned and looked confusedly at her greeter. "Scales?"
Nodding, the jackal god continued, "Yes. In our lands, myself or my father pass judgment upon you when you arrive. I take you to the scales. They weigh your soul and determine if you are worthy or not."
Swallowing, she took a few steps closer to the Egyptian, not liking the sound of what he was saying. "And if I am found..not worthy?"
He smiled. "I would not fret overly about that, Lady Freya. If you are found worthy you shall enter the Field of Reeds, a paradise shaped from your life and experiences where your soul will remain in wonderful salvation until the end of times. If you are found wanting, your soul will be cast down, and devoured by the goddess Ammit, the soul eater. She bears a visage not unlike Lord Sobek, who I believe you have already met. In truth, eons ago, such a task was once his charge. Ammit was once a demon but found salvation in my lord Ra's light, and has since joined us in the important tasks we carry out in this realm. Sorry, I am prattling too long. It is not often I get the blessing to greet another god to The Duat. In most cases, there are mortals either terrified of me or begging for their lives back. Unfortunately, I have met a sad number of gods this night.."
"Yes, you are rambling, father." A lighter voice called out from behind him.
Anubis turned, and seemingly out of thin air a young woman was there standing with a golden goblet and pitcher. The girl's head stood even with her father's shoulder, and she had long, black hair swept back behind her. She wore plain white robes with a golden piece of metal wrapped around her shoulders and neck. By all appearances she was just an ordinary mortal girl, except for two features. The first were her slitted, unblinking eyes, and the second was a thin, forked tongue that would dart out from her lips every few seconds. The young goddess tilted her head and looked up to her father.
"You carry on too much, you know grandfather doesn't like when you take too long with a soul."
The jackal god chuckled, "Yes, you are correct, daughter. Forgive me Freya, you presumably wish to, how would you say, 'get this over with', yes? This is my daughter, Khebhut. Her role here is to bring you and the other souls water upon your arrival."
His daughter came to stand beside him as Anubis wrested an arm lovingly around her shoulders. Khebhut took up the pitcher and goblet in her hand, pouring the clear liquid from the former into the latter.
Freya swallowed again, realizing just how parched her throat was. She had not had a drink of water since the ship bringing them to Memphis, and she didn't realize thirst was a sensation one could experience in death.
The young goddess with serpent-like features approached Freya now, extending out her hand and offering the goblet. With a gentle smile the Vanir goddess accepted, and gave a small bow in appreciation. The water felt incredible on her throat as it ran down her neck, like a flood washing through a barren desert. She handed the cup back to the girl and within an instant, the girl was gone.
"Ah, children. She is reaching such an age that she gives my wife and I quite the difficulties. Shall we continue?" Anubis lightly japed as he extended his arm out towards her.
Nodding with a slight tint of reservation, she followed the Egyptian as he turned and walked through the sands.
"You had children in life, yes, my lady?" Anubis asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Yes, I had a son, years ago."
Her guide paused for a moment to look back at her, "You had another, yes? Not of your own flesh, but of your heart?"
She replied with a small smile, "Yes, Atreus. I saved his life nearly a decade ago, that's when his father and he first came into my life. I grew to love him as my own though. He lost his mother shortly before we met, and not long before my own..passing, he told me he came to view me as a fitting successor. I was most..touched."
Tears dotted the corner of her eyes which she promptly wiped away with her wrist. "Apologies, I, uh, it just takes some time..getting used to the reality of the situation."
Anubis offered a slight smile before turning and continuing. "Fret not, my lady, you are not alone in that when coming here. We can walk in silence if you wish."
"No, no, it's fine. I think talking makes all of this feel more..normal. Like I'm not walking through endless sands in a desert of death with a dog-headed god after sacrificing my own life to save the man I'm fairly certain I love. No offense intended."
Anubis snorted, "None taken, my lady. I have been called worse. To us here, death is not the end, just a natural continuation of the path a soul takes. The man you love, he is the Ghost of Sparta I have heard whispers of, yes? I had heard talk that he entered our lands."
Oh Kratos…I'm so sorry for leaving you. I hope you are safe.
More tears came to her as she nodded to herself. "Yes, uh, yes he is. He was never that to me though. He was unlike any man I've ever met."
"Oh really? In what ways?"
Freya had no idea why she was bearing her soul to this god she had met only a few minutes ago after her death, but the company was nice for such a despairing, somber reality.
"He was kind, warm, gentle in his own ways, even. He never lied to me, he never disrespected me, demeaned me, made me feel like an object or prize. Kratos was respectful, respectable, a man that woke every day trying to be better than he was the last. He was an unmatched father that raised a purely incredible son. Kratos was the first man..to make me really feel like a goddess of love.." her words trailed off as she wiped her cheeks again of tears.
"I don't suppose the afterlife here has a goddess of cloth for wiping away tears does it?," she continued on, attempting levity.
Anubis outright laughed at that one. "Very good, my lady. I have been doing this task for millennia upon millennia, and that is the first time I've heard that particular joke. I'll be sure to remember it. Now, this Kratos. He has not come to join you in the Duat, so I can only assume your measures before coming here worked, no?"
"I hope.. I wish, I wish I had more time. I spent years either on my own, married to a man I swiftly grew to hate, and then later imprisoned in a realm that was not my own by said husband. I've only been working with Kratos for a few years now. I had only just told him how I felt a few days prior to this. I told him to tell me after the battle if he shared them too. Ugh, what an idiot I am. He's had so much loss in his life..and now I've only added to it. But if he and Atreus are safe then…it was worth it. I just..there was so much more I should have said, did."
Anubis pivoted to face her once more. "It is a common sentiment."
"What? Not wanting to be dead?"
The jackal's face cracked another toothy smile, "Yes, but I more so meant regret. Many spend their entire time with me as we walk regretting certain life choices..wishing they could return to the mortal plane and make amends or do things differently. It is not the way fate works. From what I've gathered, Lady Freya. You died saving the man you loved and sharing the love of a family, maybe not your own outright, but one you chose. For all of the souls I have guided to the scales, you are in the select, more sparing number that seem to have died fulfilled and with purpose. I don't know if we can ask for much more when it is our time."
After another minute of quiet Freya now took the lead to start a dialogue. "I did not see you at Thoth's party, the night of Ra's murder."
"Ah yes, well, I am not one for social gatherings. I prefer the quiet serenity here in the sands. I get visitors from time to time. Thoth comes quite frequently, I also am graced with Sobek's presence on occasion. I simply prefer the peacefulness of my duty. I am blessed, truly. Not all gods enjoy their role, as you saw with Khonsu. I greatly enjoy these walks and talks I get to have with the souls I meet upon their departure from the land of the living. I learn so many things. Solitude gives me that chance to have such conversations."
Freya smirked, "Kratos and you would get along well, I think."
The jackal's purplish eyes lit up. "The Ghost of Sparta? My friend? Why, that would be an occasion. I doubt I will ever meet the man. Your actions saved his life, most likely. I doubt he will ever see the scales' judgment. Speaking of the scales, we have arrived."
Anubis paced to the side and as he moved, a small stone pedestal came into view. Atop it sat a brass set of scales. Two wide, shallow dishes were suspended by chains to either side of the balancing arm, and the whole apparatus was polished to a perfect shine. The Egyptian moved to stand behind it, signaling Freya to come stand before it.
"Now, this might cause some slight discomfort my lady," he cautioned as his arm reached out and entered her chest. There was no pain, but it was a very bizarre, previously unimaginable sensation as the death god's fingers slid through her form without disruption. She glanced down to see a weird rippling across her, apparently intangible, torso as Anubis rummaged about inside her. After a few moments his hand withdrew, and in its fingers was clutched her heart. There was no blood, no agony or dismay, it was just resting in his palm now.
"I never asked before, but, what gives you the right to pass judgment upon me? Upon any that enter these realms? Seems rather arrogant," she sniped, realizing her apparent judgment and sentencing for eternity was looming on the very near horizon.
I'm scared..why am I scared? I've lived a troubled life, but I've never done any incredible amount of wrong. Surely he knows that.
The hand not wielding her unbeating heart rose to calm her. "I do not pass the judgment, my lady. That is left to the scales. I am merely your guide. Now, if I also might bother for one last thing from your person."
Reaching back once more with the extended hand, he aimed for the top of her head this time. He plucked one of the feathers protruding from her long, wild hair and withdrew it. Anubis held both hands out evenly, her heart in the right palm, the feather in the left.
Her brow raised in irritated surprise as she mocked the image before her. "You're to use a feather to weigh against my heart? Is this a joke?"
Anubis only returned her skepticism with a warm glance. "We shall see."
The Egyptian set both items down upon the respective dishes hanging from the balancing arm, and stepped back to let the scales complete their duty. The scale shifted to and fro for a few minutes, first the heart greatly overtaking the feather, then the reverse. Finally, after a few oscillations the scale steadied, and the two objects sat at even heights.
"As I said, you had nothing to concern yourself over, my lady. You are a soul that is most deserving of eternal peace."
Anubis stepped to join her on the other side of the stone pedestal as his palm raised, resulting in a trembling in the earth. About thirty paces before them, two large stone doors slowly rose from the sand. Their archways were made of pristine white marble, much like Thoth's palace had been. The doors themselves were a shiny black stone she had not seen before. It reflected the stars' light quite vibrantly.
Well, I guess this is it.