When Khonshu finally felt like himself again, he forced his eyes to open and the first thing he saw was a painfully bright sky. So glaringly bright that he immediately regretted waking up. But the sun is hard for him to ignore, for anyone really.
One thought floated in his mind at that moment.
I'm not dead. I didn't drown …
Against all odds, someone pulled him out of the water in time. But he recalled not seeing anyone or any boats during his few seconds above water. This just confuses him, but he have other things to worry about. He can't go back to sleep now, so the moon god figured he should get up and see where he is.
But when he tried to put some force on his arms, he is greeted with burning with pain. And thanks to experience, he now knows what it is. Muscle fatigue, again.
Though unlike before, the painful and burning sensation is mostly focused on his upper limbs and not his entire body. Slightly better than before but the pain in his arms seams to have doubled now. He was almost tempted to just lay there but the god is too stubborn to not give in to his own body pain.
As he added force, it only made each second more excruciating for the mortal god but he was able to finally get on a sitting position.
And He found himself on the concrete viewing deck by the river coast. The ground is hot from the midday sun and the boy god found that he doesn't mind it much. Compared to the cold atmosphere of the pocket dimension he was in, the heat is a warm welcome.
Khonshu noticed a dark water trail on the edge of the deck, starting from the rails and ends on where he is currently sitting. He can guess it is where he was pulled out from the water. Curiously, he looked around to see if anyone is there and noticed that the water trail branches out to his right, right outside his peripheral vision.
Naturally, he turned his head, and saw a white cloaked man sitting a few meters away from him. It took a second for Khonshu to notice that it isn't just a man, it's a zombie.
Not again!
Acting on instinct and conditioning, Khonshu panicked and jumped back. Not turning back as he ran to the other direction as fast as his legs can take him, ignoring the slight fatigue he can feel in his lower limbs. He now clearly remembers being chased by a horde of zombie Moon knights. He does not want to repeat of that experience even if it is just one.
Khonshu kept on running, nearly tripping as he crossed the coastal road to the more urbanized district of the city. He dodged cars and civilians infront of him. And once he is surrounded by stores, the moon god let himself slow down until he stopped next to a building. Panting from his impromptu escape.
He looked back to see if the zombie is following him but all he can see are pedestrians ignoring him as they go about their day. He looked around more and didn't see any signs of that white cape anywhere.
A dozen questions pop-upped up in his mind as he leaned against the brick wall.
Why is that zombie here?
But after a second, an idea creeped in.
That zombie was there the whole time I was unconscious, and the second water trail ends with him. Could it be that …No, that's not how it works.
He didn't finish that thought as he was having trouble believing it. Khonshu was attacked more than once by the zombie Moon Knights, so the idea that it suddenly decided to help him is already making him raise an eyebrow. It does not even follow his own strategy, as Khonshu is aware of his own distrustful and underhanded techniques. Nothing is not without a catch.
My Counterpart may have some trick or is planning something.
He suspects, though now it seemed that he got away for now. This only made him even more tense as he knows that the zombie is still out there. Possibly waiting for him to let his guard down.
The moon god didn't let that stop him from relieving the fact that he didn't die, again. Though he is now more cautious of his surroundings and where he is.
Khonshu pushed himself off the wall and walked down the sidewalk. Joining the many pedestrians on their commute even though the boy doesn't have a destination in mind. He passed by an electronic store with dozens of TV's on display with the largest one broadcasting the latest news. Khonshu didn't pay mind to that, until he heard the anchor woman explain about a train attack. This immediately caught the god's attention and he froze on the middle of the sidewalk, causing one civilian to bump into him.
"Hey, move asshole." The civilian said as he walked around and passed Khonshu. But the god barely heard the insult, he just walked closer to the store front to watch the news.
"…an unexpected alien attacked rocked 8th Roosevelt Avenue, cuasing a massive blackout that nearly shut down the surrounding establishments as well as halting the nearby train operations…"
Everything else became a blur for Khonshu as his mind quickly recapped what had happened. The train, the alien attack, and his sudden interdimensional jump. Though one thing stood out above the rest, a little girl named Eva. But the moon god also remembered that he left Eva at he hands of the train conductor he met.
During the attack, Khonshu took quick peak at the conductor's heart. And while he saw some stains of darkness, it is more like a shadow of the past. What Khonshu saw was genuine conviction and a strong determination to help others. Enough that Khonshu deemed her worthy of watching over Eva in his stead.
It does hurt him to break his promise to help the little redhead. He admits secretly that he grew fond of her as they travelled together, however short it was. But he knows that he have to see the bigger picture and leaving Eva was needed for him to stop the alien from hurting everyone.
Eva will probably hate me now for leaving her, but at least she has a greater chance to live and see her mother again.
Khonshu reasoned. He stood there, listening to the news as it recaps the alien attack. Learning that Tony Stark and Spider-man defeated the alien as well as getting all the civilians to safety. A portion of the Avenue is now closed off until all the repairs are done.
The news ended there, and the hosts are now talking about who Tony Stark is sleeping with this week. Khonshu completely ignored that, but he didn't leave just yet.
So far, everything is resolved. Khonshu's limbs are still sore, and he have a twang of pain at the back of his head from where he hit it. He knows that the better decision is to take some rest and move on. But he also found that he really wants to see the remains of the alien attack.
It is an old habit of his to observe the affairs of the world. Practically a hobby. His natural protective instincts as well as nearly a millennium of traveling on his own resulted in him not trusting secondhand news, as there might be some things that the journalist and investigators have not looked over. At least not in the thousand-year-old eyes of the moon god. And he knows fully well how strong the alien is, so he rather sees the wreckage himself.
He stood still as the god began to tap into his inner navigation senses. And is greeted with nothing.
"What the…" The god was so surprised that he practically said out loud.
He tried again and end up with the same results. Still nothing.
Now this is getting alarming for the god, but he quickly forced himself to take a deep breath. Trying to tone his inner panic before it got out of control.
One thing he learned when being mortal is the importance of breathing. He never paid mind to it as a ghostly incorporeal being since he doesn't really need to, but now that he has actual working lungs, that physical obstacle of being a banished incorporeal ghost-like figure is gone so now he has to pay attention to his breathing.
It's probably a side-effect of what happened…
He quickly reasoned, remembering the consecutive events he experience. Khonshu is starting to worry if this is going to be a recuring issue. This might also be a consequence of overexerting himself again. And like his experience with fatigue, his strength will return once he recovers enough.
But he is not going to let that stop him.
I'll really take a rest, right after I do this. He decided. The moon god have traversed the city many times that he memorized its layout enough, he may not even need his godly navigation as long as his memory is updated, or someone suddenly decided to rearrange the city overnight.
It took less than a second for Khonshu to fully create a coherent mind map of the city, and looking around him, he pinpointed where he is exactly. Then he pinpoints where the wrecked train is and calculated the distance between him and his destination.
He ended up internally groaning at the distance, especially since he will have to walk there. The moon god was almost tempted to not go through it.
No, I decided on this. I 'm going through it no matter what.
He said stubbornly to himself. And with his current state, he will need to take some breaks to let his sore legs rest. The fact that he is wasting time just to take those breaks does nothing but annoy the god. But he refuses to just give up after, seeing it as a sign of dishonor or defeat.
But sometimes it has to be given up. Khonshu learned a long, long time ago that not all promises can be kept, and some sacrifices needs to be done.
To Be Continued...