Chapter 308
Hiccups POV:
It's been a few hours since Toothless and I had begun our hunt for Setaka and the heads of his followers and although we'd been able to capture multiple groups, we hadn't been able to find the group that was travelling with Setaka. Now, we were on the trail of the last group which I knew were the ones who were leading Setaka to his fortress and had a huge head start on us which is why I'd switched back to flying Toothless since he was faster than my scorpion. This brings us to now with us flying at full speed above the desert while following the tracks down that were left in the sand and I was not happy with what I'd seen on this trail. We'd passed by four villages or to be more precise, villages that had been reduced to nothing but ruins with no bodies left behind and multiple burning or destroyed houses. What was worse is the tracks that left those villages became more and more numerous after each village meaning Setaka had been growing his forces by turning all the people in the villages into those blue stone skinned creatures of his. I knew that the people he turned were nothing more than corpses beneath the stone so the only thing we could offer them was a quick death so it would make the fight a lot easier since I wouldn't have to worry about not hurting them.
It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by Toothless letting out a roar gaining my attention but before I could ask what was wrong, I saw where he was looking and when I looked ahead, I was shocked to see a giant black stone sha stand up from the sands. I growled in anger since I knew that was Setaka's moving fortress that I was warned about and knew things were about to get a whole lot harder to deal with. I rubbed the back of Toothless' neck and said.
"Get your armor on and start glowing bud, for this fight we're going to need all the fire power we can get."
Toothless growled and nodded as his armor formed and his body began to glow blue before we took off towards the sha at full speed right as it began walking away. I growled and gave Toothless a nudge to signal him that it was time for a blast which he seemed all too happy to do, with the blast hitting the sha right on the back of the head before it exploded. Sadly, it didn't do any damage other than making the sha tilt its head forward slightly before it turned to face us, which gave us the opportunity to deliver another blast right into the face which still had no effect. It was then the beast opened its mouth and I saw a blue glow from inside and quickly steered Toothless to the side, just in time to avoid a large stream of dark blue flames that was wider than three curled up catastrophic quakens. We as fast as we could when the Sha tried to hit us with the flames by turning its head to try and follow us but we avoided the flames and came to land on its back. I dismounted Toothless before placing my prosthetic hand against the floor that was the sha's back and kept my real one on Toothless as I asked.
"You ready to do this bud?"
Toothless growled before I focused on my prosthetics ability to make it possible for us to go through the ground and we quickly sunk through, landing in a black stone tiled hallway with walls lined with blue flame torches. I knew I was going to have a tough time finding my way around this place, but it was then I remembered my mystic compass that I got from Rooney which would lead me to anyone I desired. (AN: Chapter 72 guys) I honestly felt like slapping myself forgetting about it when I could have used it to find Setaka earlier when we were following the tracks in the desert. I brought the compass out and focused on finding Setaka before the needle began to spin until it began pointing us in the direction where we could find him. I turned to Toothless with a smile before I hopped onto his back and said.
"Let's go bud!" He growled and nodded before we took off down the hall as fast as his legs could carry us, but I knew we needed to be careful since Setaka would do anything he could to kill us for invading his base.
Fortress throne room
Nobodies POV:
Setaka glared at the mirror which showed Hiccup and Toothless running down the halls of his fortress before he growled while asking.
"How did this fool and his beast get into my fortress?" One of his human followers stepped forward.
"We do not know master, but we believe it is magic infused into one of his gifts." Setaka growled and slapped him away with his tail before leaning back into his throne.
"It matters not as they shall not leave my fortress alive." He glared at the image. "My forces shall make sure of that." He closed his eyes in focus and all the blue stone skinned creatures in the fortress began marching towards where Hiccup and Toothless were.
Back with Hiccup and Toothless
Hiccups POV:
We were making our way down another hall which is when Toothless stopped and began growling but before I could ask what was wrong, I heard footsteps echoing down the hall and knew Setaka had realized we were here and had sent his minions to welcome us. As soon as that thought came to mind, I was proven right when multiple armed creatures rushed towards us from around the corner and others came from behind us. I smirked and said.
"Looks like Setaka knows we're here." Toothless growled. "You handle the ones coming at us from the front, I'll watch your back." Toothless nodded and readied a plasma blast while my prosthetic hand extended out a little and folded down onto my wrist before I was ready to launch balls of metal from my prosthetic. "Let's do this bud."
He nodded and let out a blast at the coming hoards throwing them back while I began to rapidly shooting the metal balls rapidly but it took more than five of them to shatter their heads open and another before they went down. When I ran out of balls to fire, I switched to shooting small rotating blades until I felt I'd narrowed down their numbers enough and turned back to the front and fired a few more at the remaining few that hadn't been blasted by Toothless. I saw a lot more of them were now coming from behind and I gave Toothless a nudge to signal him to begin running and we quickly took off down the hall while I threw a couple of handfuls of red makibishi to slow down the ones pursuing us. I smirked when I heard the familiar sound of my makibishi exploding behind us meaning that I'd just brought us a little extra time and just to be on the safe side, I tossed a few more behind us as I said.
"Don't let your guard down bud, Setaka isn't done with us yet."
He growled and nodded as he ran which is when I sensed something from above and my reflexes kicked in before I raised my hand, catching what looked like a cat by the neck before it let out a roar that made Toothless stop. I knew it couldn't be called a cat anymore since its skin had been covered in blue stone, its eyes were empty holes lined with gold as were the layers of stone covering its body, gold lining its lower neck and upper chest with golden fangs and claws. It let out a small roar in my face until I channeled a light blue crystal in my prosthetic, freezing it and then throwing it into the wall, shattering it. I looked back down at Toothless who looked at me in concern, but I smiled and said.
"Don't worry bud, I got it but just to make sure they don't get that close again, let's take some precautions."
I released my sentient metal tail and had the joints separate before hovering around me, ready to strike any more cats that decided to pounce on me. We then began running down the hall again and it turned out, bringing my tail out was the right choice since fifteen more cats tried to get the drop on us but my tail shattered them before they could reach us. I kept tossing red makibishi down as we ran through the halls to take out any possible foes following us and if the explosive sounds, I heard from behind were anything to go by, it was the right choice. It was then that as we were running the floor fell right beneath us and we ended up sliding down into the darkness leading to who knows where but with the eye of the dragon, I knew I'd be able to see when it was time to stop us when it was needed.
Fortress throne room
Nobodies POV:
Setaka chuckled as he watched Hiccup and his dragon fall down the trap door before he turned to his servants with an amused smile on his face as he said.
"I admit, Hiccup has proven to be quite the warrior and his beast is impressive." He then turned back to the mirror. "They'll prove to be good entertainment in battle against my own personal creations which I believe is best viewed in person."
The parts of the floor that his followers were on glowed light blue before they along with the throne lowered down into the floor with the opening closing as soon as they were fully beneath them. A few seconds later, their bodies were raised in a different section of the fortress which took the form of a large pit that had a floor, littered with bones, doors lining the walls while the followers stood on the edges, looking in as Setaka's throne rose from the floor onto a platform. As soon as his throne was in place, a hatch in the ceiling opened up and dropped Hiccup and Toothless through it with Toothless quickly spreading his wings to slow down their decent. They landed right in the middle of the pit before they looked around which is when Hiccup looked up and his eyes landed on Setaka along with the two women at his sides with his anger at the demon growing when he saw Cleopatra with the blank look in her eyes. Setaka chuckled when he saw where Hiccup was looking and said.
"Admiring my work young champion?" Hiccup glared at him.
"So, you're Setaka, the one who's behind all this." Setaka nodded.
"Indeed, I have been freed from my imprisonment and I shall remake this land in the image that shall honor my father and then the rest of this world shall join until it is prepared to welcome my father Seth and I as its true rulers with nobody to face us." Setaka then turned back to Hiccup and Toothless both of whom glared at him. "I've been watching you both since you entered my fortress and began slaughtering my forces and I will admit, I am impressed with your combat abilities and teamwork, but I know from the stories I've been told of you that you won't join me no matter what I offer." Hiccup nodded.
"I'd sooner die than help you bring that demon you call your father into this world." Setaka nodded.
"I know which is why I decided you and your beast would better serve as entertainment."
"You mean you're going to have us fight more of those minions of yours?" Setaka chuckled.
"You have more than proven my regular minions stand no chance against you, so I've decided to bring out some of my personal creations, starting with these."
He raised his hand and one door opened before four creatures charged out and stood across from them allowing Hiccup to see they resembled large boars but with extra pincer like tusks on the sides of their mouths with golden tips in addition to the blue plated skin that looked as if it were wearing armor and gold fangs. Setaka smirked and clapped hands and the beasts charged forward at Hiccup and Toothless right before they took off into the air to try and gain the upper hand but when they reached just above the edge of the pit, they were met with a powerful shock that sent them back down with Hiccup being knocked off the saddle. Setaka and his followers laughed at this before Setaka said.
"I placed a barrier over the pit you fool, no living creature or any weapon can pass through it without my consent." He then raised his hand. "And just to make sure you don't try that again!" He snapped his fingers and shackles shot out from the ground and wrapped around Toothless' legs. "Your beast will now be restrained to that spot as punishment for trying to flee." Hiccup ignored him and ran to Toothless.
"You okay bud?"
Toothless crooned but then looked behind Hiccup and growled aggressively and although his rider didn't turn around, he knew what was coming thanks to all his training. Hiccup didn't turn around as he released his crystal spear and quickly thrust the crystal end behind him, stabbing it right into the mouth of one of the beasts right before crystals burst from inside its body. Hiccup raised his spear the body on top of it and threw it at one of the others that had begun charging from the other side of Toothless, knocking both against the wall right before he turned and did a swing kick at the one coming at him from the side, sending it flying to the side and into the wall after the blades cut through its stomach, killing it. Hiccup then looked at the one that he'd flung the first one into and saw it getting up from under its fallen ally and was quick to recover. It charged at Hiccup and Toothless but before it could reach them, Hiccup pulled out the bag holding his cobra sand and spread it in front of them. Right as the beast reached them, the sand took form of a giant sand cobras head, throwing the beast back before pouring down on it before it cleared to reveal a now crushed beast covered in sand. Hiccup pointed his spear at Setaka and asked.
"That all you got Setaka?" Setaka smirked.
"Not even close." He snapped his fingers and another door opened with a fire glowing in the dark and when the source came out of the cage, hiccup saw it resembled a manticore with golden claws, a thick tail that had multiple joints and ended with a scorpion stinger that had a flame glowing brightly within it. "My followers told me much of the creatures you have faced and a took great interest in the manticore from Greece and decided to make my own."
The beast roared exposed its golden fangs before it charged at Hiccup who tuck and rolled out of the way out of its charge, but it quickly stopped and turned back to him. Before it could pounce on him though, Toothless blasted it in the side, sending it flying to the side as Hiccup smiled at his dragon until he noticed the manticore shaking its tail while aiming at Toothless. Hiccup quickly rushed between the two while unfolding his eagle shield which proved to be the right choice since a second later, the manticore extended its tail to strike Toothless with its stinger only for it to meet Hiccups shield. The moment it struck, the stinger was thrown back and stunning the manticore which gave Hiccup the chance to rush up while collapsing the pole of his spear and drop to the ground, making him slide across the ground. He slid right beneath the manticore and with his spears head facing up at its head, Hiccup reextended it, impaling the head of the manticore from the underside until the spears pole came out the other end and the body stopped moving. Hiccup pushed it to the side and pulled his spear out expecting things to be over until he saw the smile on Setaka's face and heard something rattling behind him. Hiccup turned and saw it was the stinger that was shaking, making Hiccups eyes widen before he dived away just as it exploded, sending shards and pieces of lava all over the place. Fortunately, Hiccups coat shielded his body from the shards while Toothless armor did the same for him before Hiccup got back up to glare at Setaka who just chuckled at Hiccup and said.
"Impressive, I look forward to seeing how you handle my other creation which was also inspired by the tales of your time in Greece."
Another door opened and the ground seemed to shake as a blue stone skinned creature that was twice the size of Stoick walked out to reveal what looked to be a minotaur but with longer more jagged horns with a cow's skull. In its left hand was a large two handed khopesh made of black stone with gold lining and in its right hand was a two handed jagged edged axe with curved blades sticking out of the bottom and top on the opposite end of the blade. The minotaur like beast let out a roared and charged at Hiccup with its weapons raised high but Hiccup stood his ground with his spear and shield at the ready. When the minotaur was a few feet away, the minotaur jumped and swung its weapons down towards Hiccup who tuck and rolled out of the way of the coming weapons and ended up behind the minotaur. Hiccup thrust his spears head forward to try and strike it in the back, but the minotaur turned to the side, so the spear only put a cut into the side of the beast.
The minotaur turned back to him while giving its weapons a low swing, but Hiccup ducked beneath the strike and took a few steps back as he took out a three grey shuriken and threw them at the beast. The minotaur raised its arms to block the shuriken, but they still pierced its arms, making it roar in pain until it raised its khopesh and threw it at Hiccup who dived out of the way, barely avoiding it by a few hairs since it was so fast. A few seconds later, Hiccup heard gasps of fear and turned to see that the blade of the khopesh had not only pierced the wall but was inches away from impaling one of the human followers since it had hit the upper edge of the pit with the blade now pointing at one of them with the tip being only an inch away. The second Hiccup saw this he realized that he and his weapons might not be able to get near Setaka but the weapons wielded by his creations could and an idea formed in his head. Hiccup looked up at Setaka's throne and saw the ankh that was imbedded in the top of it and saw the glow it had, and Hiccup knew that it was the not only Setaka's ankh but also the source of this fortresses power and knew he'd only had one shot at this.
Hiccup pulled his spear back into his prosthetic and ran to the right position while the beast got its khopesh back and turned to Hiccup who was now on the other side of the pit and growled before it raised its axe and threw it at Hiccup as he closed his eyes and took a breath. When the axe was two feet away from Hiccup, he opened his eyes and caught the handle of the axe before swinging it around to keep the momentum of the minotaur before turning around and throwing the axe back at the minotaur while it was facing sideways in a way that it would act as a boomerang and go up. The axe went up when it was a few feet away from the minotaur, going right through its neck, decapitating it right before it continued to fly towards Setaka's throne shocking him. Setaka dived out of the way and the axe went through the throne, shattering it and sending the ankh along with various stone chunks flying right into the pit. Hiccup rushed forward before Setaka or his followers could even realize what happened and grabbed the ankh which is when Setaka realized what happened and growled before yelling.
"GET MY ANKH YOU FOOLS!"
Hiccupjust smirked and released his boomerang, loading it with his knockout gas before throwing it out of the pit just as Setakas followers along with Cleopatra and the woman stood up, having the boomerang circle above them all, spraying the gas. The entire upper part was blanketed in the gas as the shackles holding Toothless shattered before the gas dissipated to reveal all the human's lying unconscious. Hiccup smiled as his boomerang returned to his prosthetic hand and went back into his prosthetic until he realized Setaka wasn't among the unconscious victims. He then quickly back flipped after sensing something from behind and barely dodged a swiping strike from Setaka's tail and exposing his position behind Hiccup who turned to see the demon glaring at him as Toothless ran to stand beside his rider and growl. Setaka smirked and said.
"You think just because you now have my ankh, you can defeat me." Hiccup smirked as he looked through the eyes of one of his scouters outside the fortress and gave a hand signal to Toothless.
"No, but with a little sunlight I could." Toothless then fired six plasma blasts to the ceiling causing rubble to fall on them with Hiccup using his eagle shield to protect him and Toothless while Setaka dodged the larger pieces until the dust cleared and sun light beamed down on the pit. "This place needed some anyway."
His words however were drowned out by the sound of Setaka's screams of pain as smoke rose from his body while his skin burned but before he could flee into the shaded spots, Hiccup launched one of his prosthetics bolas followed by a net. The net was connected to a rope and when it was wrapped around Setaka's body, Hiccup reeled it back to pull him down to the ground and into the middle of the pit. Hiccup walked up to Setaka after severing the rope and pinning his human torso down with his foot, while Setaka's tail swung around wildly in pain as Hiccup held up the ankh and said.
"Now the source of your power will be the thing that kills you."
"Do you really think that you can use the power of my ankh." Hiccup smirked.
"No, but I think I have enough strength to put it someplace that's really going to hurt."
As soon as he said that he raised the ankh with both hands and slammed it down, right into Setaka's chest with enough force for the flat end to punch through his skin and puncture his heart. As soon as it did though, Setaka let out a scream that echoed throughout the entire fortress while a shockwave threw both Hiccup and Toothless back against the walls of the pit. Despite being dazed by the hit, they were both able to watch as Setaka's body was pulled up by the ankh that then began rapidly spinning, drilling itself into his body as he continued to scream in agony. They watched as the body of the demon was slowly pulled into the ankh until there was nothing left before the ankh fell to the ground and Hiccup let out a sigh of relief until the fortress began to break apart. Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless and yelled.
"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Toothless roared in agreement but before they took off, Hiccup remembered the people in the arena and quickly sent out his shadow wolves to collect them all, starting with Cleopatra and the woman while shooting out his prosthetic hand and grabbing the ankh. All the people were all gathered up in seconds and the moment they were all collected they took off out of the hole Toothless made in the ceiling and landed twenty feet away from the now crumbling Sha. Once it was nothing more than a pile of rubble, Hiccup sighed and looked down at the ankh, knowing it was far too powerful to be left out in the world. This meant the second he got back to his island; it was going into the vault in the volcano where he kept the weapons of fallen foes that were too powerful to be left out in the world or used by him without running the risk of them killing himself. Hiccup sighed and knew that for now, he needed to check out Cleopatra and the woman to make sure they were both alright and his shadow was no place to do so. Hiccup dismounted Toothless and began setting up his tent along with his travelling scorpion so they could begin heading back to Alexandria.
6 hours later
Hiccups POV:
It's been six hours since the fall of Setaka's fortress and since then we'd returned to Alexandria where I immediately handed Cleopatra and the woman to the guards who took them to a room with two beds where healers and priests could examine them both. Following that, I talked to some of the other guards lead by Asim arranged for a full armed force to escort Setaka's human followers down into the dungeon with me summoning some of my Anubis warriors just to be safe. I admit they did think it was overdoing it until they found out who the followers were and what they had done, they all went quiet, but I could tell a lot of them wanted to just execute the followers for their crimes. As for the ankh, some of the high priests wanted to take it for examination but I flat out refused claiming it was too dangerous and although they weren't happy, they agreed with my opinion of it being too dangerous for any of them to handle. Following that, Asim requested my help in guarding Cleopatra and the woman until they woke up which is something I agreed to which is why for the past five hours, I'd been in the same room that Cleopatra and the woman were resting with Toothless and Asim, waiting for the two to awaken. I didn't mind though since I'd been trained to be patient by my ninja, the Ancient One and all of my kung fu master's since waiting for the right moment to strike could sometimes take time. During that time, I at least had Asim to speak with since he wanted to know every detail on what happened to Setaka and his moving fortress.
It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of groaning and turned to see Cleopatra was coming to with her grasping their heads in pain. When they were done, they sat up and looked around before Cleopatras eyes landed on me and she asked.
"Hiccup?" I nodded and kneeled.
"It is a great relief to see you are alright oh queen of queens."
"What happened?" She rubbed her head. "The last thing I remember is seeing a winged man serpent and then everything went black."
"That creature was the demon son of Seth, Setaka who placed both you and this woman under his control by feasting on your blood to help restore his power and then used you as pets for his amusement." She growled while glaring at her lap.
"I have heard tails of Setaka but assumed they were just tales to scare young pharaohs."
"I wish they were, but I believe that this time he's been vanquished for good." Cleopatra looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Let me show you what happened." I used my illusion spider to show her what happened to Setaka and once it ended, I told her. "That ankh was the source of his power and the one thing that could truly defeat him when mixed with the light of the sun shining down on him." She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Hiccup, for your services I shall have you buried in gold and given treasures for your services." She then frowned. "But what happened to Setaka's human followers?"
"Toothless and I captured them all and they are now in the dungeon, under heavy guard and awaiting your decision for what punishment they shall receive for their crimes." She nodded and began getting out of bed. "Your majesty, you really should get some more rest before going anywhere." She shook her head.
"I know but I am queen of the Nile and must at least assure my people that their queen is alright and that the threat we faced has been dealt with." I nodded before Asim walked up to her before bowing and saying.
"If that is what you wish your majesty then please at least allow me to have some of the guards escort you while Hiccup and I continue to watch over the other victim." She nodded and waited for Asim to summon guards who took her out before he turned back to the woman. "I am a stranger from the East who seeks an ally who I have yet to meet." I was surprised when the woman opened her eyes and sat up as she said.
"I am a stranger from the west who is the ally you have yet to meet and has been eager to join you in the coming battles." He smiled before the woman turned to me and then back to him. "Can he be trusted?" Asim nodded.
"Hiccup has been an ally of mine for a long time and if you have heard of him, you know that he is one of our founders' successors." I decided to make it clear that I wanted to know what was going on.
"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt but could you two tell me what you mean about me being trusted and one of your founders' successors." Asim smiled and closed the door before he turned to me.
"Hiccup, does the name Abubakar mean anything to you?" I nodded.
"Yeah, he was a champion who served the gods of Egypt centuries ago and in a dream, he warned me about Setaka's return." He smiled.
"Impressive, but he did more than simply imprison Setaka during his time in this world." He turned around and lifted his head piece to show a tattoo of a burning sun with a falcon's head in the middle on the back of his neck. "When he grew old and could no longer fight, he formed 'The guard of the burning falcon' a tribe of nomads trained in combat and mysticism that would continue his mission of protecting not only the pharaoh but all the people of this land from the forces of darkness." The woman then said.
"As time went on, the small tribe of nomads grew into multiple large tribes which have numbers that may be able to surpass the number of residents of Alexandria which allowed us to split off into multiple large tribes that covers all of Egypt, but we all keep in contact for major threats." She looked down in sadness. "Me and a large group of my tribes' members went to try and slow Setaka down but although we succeeded in wiping out most of his minions, they were able to wipe us out and turn my fellow tribe members into those creatures and then enslaved me." I frowned.
"I'm sorry for your loss." She smiled.
"Thank you but for my people, there is no greater honour than to die protecting Egypt against the demons that threaten it." I smiled. "We haven't been introduced yet; my name is Aaliyah."
"It's nice to meet you and I'm glad to see you're alright." She smiled but then frowned.
"Setaka's ankh, do you still have it?" I nodded before Asim placed a hand on my shoulder and said.
"Hiccup, I don't think I need to tell you of the power it possesses and how dangerous it is." I nodded.
"You don't, I know how powerful it is which is why it's coming back to my island with me." His eyes widened as Aaliyah asked.
"Hiccup, you don't intend to try and harness that power, do you?" I shook my head.
"No, I have a place on my island where I keep all the powerful weapons and items that I take from my enemies which are too dangerous to use or leave out in the world since I'm the only one who knows where it is and the only one who can open it and it's where I intend to put the ankh so nobody will be able to use it again." They both looked uneasy until Asim sighed.
"If you truly believe it will be safe there than I will trust you." I smiled and nodded. "Now, do you remember where Setaka's fortress went down since there may be artifacts of mystic powers that should be locked up and I am hoping to give the bodies of his victims a proper burial." I nodded.
"I remember and I'll happily take you both there with Toothless so we can help excavate the sight." He smiled and nodded before they began telling me about 'The guard of the burning falcon'.
Afternoon the next day
It's been a day since I defeated Setaka and captured his human followers while also rescuing Cleopatra and Aaliyah before I learnt about 'The guard of the burning falcon'. After Asim told me more about these nomadic tribes and sent word out to both his tribe and the others to let them know of Setaka's defeat along with the location of his fallen fortress. This brings us to now, with me and Toothless, standing on a sand dune while watching multiple workers who belonged to 'The guard of the burning falcon' tribes as they dug through the remains of Setaka's fortress while we took a short break since we'd been helping since before sunrise. So far, we'd been able to dig up multiple dead bodies which used to be the people and animals Setaka turned into his beasts and put them aside till they could be properly dealt with. We hadn't found just bodies though; we'd also dug up a few golden treasures and bejeweled items and other things that we believed were looted from the villages the fortress attacked. When it was all dug up, we intended to have the boulders that made up the fortress moved to the most barren part of the desert so nobody would be able to mess with them and it was a part of the past we all agreed should remain buried.
I took a breath and lay back against Toothless while looking up at the desert sun and couldn't help but enjoy the warmth it provided and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep for a short nap. When I opened my eyes again, I was looking at a sky full of stars and my eyes widened as I wondered how long I'd been sleeping since I fell asleep in the afternoon. I looked around and realized I wasn't in the desert but back on the barge belonging to none other than the god Ra and was once again surrounded by the gods of Egypt. I immediately stood up and bowed to them as Ra chuckled and said.
"No need to bow Hiccup Haddock, I feel that after you've done for our people not only today but also the other times you've been in these lands, you have more than earned the right to stand in our presence without the need to bow whenever you bring you here." I smiled and stood up.
"Did you bring me here to hand over Setaka's ankh?" Ra frowned and shook his head.
"No, that ankh is now a prison that holds Setaka and his soul so it better kept in the mortal world for if it was brought into our world, it would absorb the power around it and eventually allow its master to escape stronger than ever." I nodded, not wanting to even think about what Setaka would do if he got out again. "No, the reason we have brought you here is to once again reward you for your brave actions." I smiled.
"I am grateful for the offer mighty Ra but to be honest, I'm not sure what you can give me that I don't already have." He smiled.
"We're gods Hiccup, we helped create the world and we could not do such a thing without imagination." The goddess Nephthys stepped forward.
"As it was my husband who created that demon which you faced, I shall be the first to present you with a reward." She bowed her head. "My apologies for the pain."
Before I could ask her what she meant, she held a hand towards me, and my wings came out on their own right before I dropped to my knees in pain like when their power was being enhanced. I honestly don't know what was being done to my wings, but it felt as if they were being covered in magma and I was without my heat resistance, and it only got worse when it seemed to sink into my skin. Even with my training to ignore and force through pain though it felt like hours until it finally stopped, and I was able to take a breath before pulling my wings back in, but they felt like they covered more of my body. I was brought out of my thoughts when the goddess Nephthys spoke.
"I have given your wings enhancements and with it they have obtained a new form and with it, new abilities which you shall need to discover for yourself." I smiled and nodded before the goddess Bastet walked forward.
"I believe I am next." She pulled out a large cat statue that reached my waist in height, sitting on a small foot long platform with a gold cat skull mask that went down the back of the neck and around the shoulders to rest on the chest while exposing its golden eyes. "I don't believe I need to tell you that this statue possess' a great power." I nodded.
"Thank you, lady Bastet." She smiled as stepped back as Horus walked forward.
"Hiccup, the compass you used to find your way around the fortress of Setaka, may I see it?" I nodded and brought it out before it floated out of my hand and into his before he examined it and nodded. "The magic is impressive for something that came from the mortal realm." He then smiled. "But a little magic from the gods can help it do much more." He closed his hand before it glowed gold from within for a few seconds until it faded which is when ge opened up his hand and handed my compass back, but it had changed into a small falcon with its wings closed at the front. "I have enhanced your compass and its abilities with my own magic, may it serve you well." I nodded.
"Thank you, lord Horus." He nodded as Osiris stepped forward and held out a golden canopic jar with a white human head for the lid which he handed to me.
"Within this jar is the heart of a guardian, open it and allow a single drop of your blood within, wait till sunrise and then bring out the heart within, bury it in the sands and a warrior shall be born from it." I nodded.
"Thank you, lord Osiris." It was then the god Hapi stepped forward and held out a long thin light blue crystal.
"An addition to your island." Knowing what Hapi, was the god of, I had a decent idea of what it was and bowed.
"Thank you, lord Hapi." The god Montu then stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Hiccup, may I see your khopesh?" I nodded and brought it out before handing it to him and watched as he examined it. "Just as I suspected." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I have been watching your many battles Hiccup and I have watched you sharpen your skills over time and now, you have become too powerful for this weapon as it is currently." He then smiled. "Nothing a few alterations and enhancements." He gestured Bastet over before she placed her hand on the handle with both of them clenching it their grips before my khopesh began glowing and changing form before the glow died down and he handed it back to me. "We have enhanced its abilities and given it a new form which you will need to practice with in order to truly master as it may be similar to its previous form but it is not the same." I smiled.
"That just makes training with it all the more fun." He smiled at me. "Thank you, lord, Montu." It was then lord Anubis stepped forward.
"Hiccup, you have done well in helping the souls Setaka abused find freedom from his enslavement and for that, the wrappings we have given you shall receive an enhancement." He held out his hand and my bandage bands warmed up beneath by wrists and I felt them grow longer beneath my clothes, eventually wrapping around both my arms followed by my torso before Anubis lowered his hand. "I look forward to seeing how you use this gifts enhancements Hiccup." I nodded.
"Thank you, lord Anubis." It was after he nodded and stepped back that Ra stepped forward and held out his hand.
"Hiccup, the sands you used to create the sand cobra, please let me see it." I nodded and pulled out the bag before I handed it to him and watched as he poured some into his free hand, nodding as he did so. "Impressive magic but it can be enhanced with my own."
He held the bag up over the other sand in his hand before the sand in his hand rose up and began circling the bag with the bag began glowing until it became an orange orb before the sand took form int a golden crook with the orb sitting on the bottom of the curve. I didn't get much time to examine it before he looked at me and then held out his free hand before a single locusts flew out of my coat right before it began spinning and became a green orb which a green mist flowed out of, slowing taking the form of a flail like the ones a pharaoh uses. I didn't get much of a chance to examine them before they floated over to me before he said.
"I gave my son Seth the power to command the desert and locust, now I grant you this power but how you use it is something you must learn on your own." I nodded and bowed.
"Thank you, lord Ra." He smiled.
"Hiccup, although I do enjoy seeing you protect the mortals of our land, I do hope that the next threats you take on are nothing more than bandits or wild animals." I chuckled as I nodded in agreement. "Now before we send you back, Abubakar requested that we give this to you as thanks for not taking his warning lightly and finishing what he started." He held out his hand with a yellow bandana with gold hieroglyphics embroidered on the edges ending with a golden embroidery of a burning sun with a falcon's head in the middle. "We gave him this bandana to help him on his journey when he was serving us." The bandana floated down to me. "It has the ability to block out any type of poisonous gas whether it be made by mortal crafts or mortal sorcery, but it will also make things easier for you if you get caught in a sandstorm." I smiled and nodded.
"Please, tell him I said thanks." Ra nodded.
"Now it is back to the mortal realm with you until the next time we meet."
I smiled and nodded before there was a bright light and when I opened my eyes I jolted up while grabbing my face in pain and realized it was wet. I looked around to try and figure out what had happened while I was out and saw Asim and Aaliyah looking at me in concern as I shook my head before I asked.
"Could one of you please explain to me why my face hurts and covered in water?" Asim answered.
"You have my sincerest apologies my friend but when you would not wake up, we worried and were resorted to drastic measures to ensure you were alright."
"I take it those measures were throwing water in my face and slapping me." They nodded hesitantly before Aaliyah replied.
"We are truly sorry, but we also feared sorcery when strange objects appeared around you." I looked around and saw the items I'd been given by the gods that weren't on my body or in my prosthetic, were now surrounding me before Toothless let out a croon of concern, but I just rubbed his head.
"Don't worry guys, these aren't items that can harm me." I picked up the new island piece. "These are gifts from the gods but what they do, I have no idea since I have to find out myself." Asim smiled and patted my shoulder.
"Well I look forward to hearing what they can do my friend." I smiled and looked back at the remains of the fortress.
"I'll figure out what they can do later, for now we still have a fortress to clear up." With that said we got back to work.
AN: And another chapter done and yeah, I know it took a while but I've been busy and could really use some reviews here since I have not been having the best week here needing to move over seventy computers this week alone. If that's not bad enough I kept getting called aside when I literally had two monitors under my arms so they could tell I was busy and in addition to all this the store room is over loaded with my superiors claiming it just needs to be organized but we've tried that and it made no difference. All in all, just not having a good week so could use some reviews as they normally cheer me up for some reason. Any way's Seths minions will be on my pinterest page so just be patient and if you have a hard time picturing them just look them up but their will be better descriptions for some of the gifts next chapter before they go up on pinterest. Have a nice day and review.
P.S.
Next week I'm going on vacation for a few days so the next chapter could be a while but I need some time to unwind after this bad week.