After entering the pyramid, the first thing that came into view was a staircase.
It descended straight downward. At its center lay a square stone platform, suspended like an altar.
Ancient Egyptian script covered its surface, dense rows of words, symbols, and patterns praising and worshiping Anubis, god of death and judgment.
At the four corners of the platform stood colossal statues of Anubis.
Each one loomed, jackal heads lowered slightly. Imhotep walked to the platform's edge and stopped.
He knew this place.
This was not a mere passage and was a tribunal.
The platform existed to screen those who sought passage deeper into the pyramid, to determine whether they were qualified to proceed.
And once the judgment was made, the outcome would be absolute.
Life.
Or death.
By the time he stood there, Imhotep had no path left to retreat.
The instant his foot touched the platform, the eyes of the four Anubis statues ignited with cold light.
Golden radiance poured down upon him and in a single, merciless moment, the mana within his body was stripped away.
Gone.
Every trace.
At the same time, a voice echoed directly into his soul… impartial and inescapable.
'Competition must be fair.'
Imhotep staggered.
Anck-su-namun's face drained of color. Only now did she fully understand her mistake.
It was already too late. Anubis would not return Imhotep's power unless the trial was completed.
Evelyn, O'Connor, and the others sensed the change immediately.
Even without understanding the mechanics, they felt something fundamental had shifted and not in Imhotep's favor.
The challenge had been initiated by O'Connor himself. There was no withdrawing now.
Swallowing hard, he forced himself forward, pretending bravery he did not truly feel.
As O'Connor stepped onto the platform, the four statues flashed again. This time, the golden light did not strip power, it invaded his mind.
Memories surged.
Scenes from previous lives, fragmented and disordered, flooded his consciousness.
Then Evelyn followed.
Jonathan.
The curator.
Lock-Nah.
Alex.
One by one, they stepped onto the platform and passed through the silent judgment.
At the entrance, Garfield and Wang crouched casually, watching.
They were thinking about the same question. What exactly would Anubis do to them?
Garfield pointed at the platform. "Wang. Why don't you try it?"
"Alright." The bald monk nodded calmly.
"Hey, don't get excited. I was just saying."
Wang shrugged.
"I came to Anubis to take something anyway. I don't see how he's qualified to take things from me."
Garfield considered this. Disturbingly, it made sense.
He patted Wang on the shoulder. "Go on, brother. I like you."
"Don't panic."
Wang extinguished the cigar at his lips, rubbed his bald head, and stepped forward, ignoring Hei Changzhi's attempt to stop him.
The four Anubis statues flared with radiance.
Wang froze for two seconds.
Then he waved casually at Hei Changzhi. "Come on."
She hesitated only briefly. Trusting him, she stepped onto the platform.
Nothing happened. They passed through as if the platform did not exist.
"What… the hell is this?" Garfield stared.
Was this bravery or recklessness?
He thought about it carefully, killing me would kill the cat.
Satisfied with that logic, Garfield followed.
Deep within the pyramid, before the sealed stone gate imprisoning the Scorpion Emperor, the bracelet on Alex's wrist finally completed its task.
With a dull clink, it fell to the ground.
The curator, burning with obsession, lunged forward and snatched it up. Slipping it onto his own wrist, he pressed his palm against the ancient mechanism.
The gate opened.
At that exact moment…
A black vortex tore open in the sky above the desert oasis.
…
Far away, at Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One looked up sharply.
One hand rested on the Book of the Vishanti, the Eye of Agamotto glowing softly at her chest. Several Sorcerer masters stood behind her, expressions grave.
Across the cosmos, on the Bifrost of Asgard… Odin stood in full armor atop his warhorse, Gungnir clenched in his hand.
Thor stood behind him, Mjolnir ready. The Warriors Three grasped their weapons.
Even Loki wore armor.
Rows upon rows of golden-armored Asgardian soldiers stood in absolute silence, awaiting their king's command.
The black vortex continued to expand, swallowing the sky above the oasis and stretching outward to the desert's edge.
Sand dunes trembled.
Tens of thousands of black-armored cavalry appeared on the desert horizon.
Their banners snapped violently in the wind. At their head rode a bearded man, his brows knit tightly as he stared toward the oasis, where black clouds churned unnaturally above the pyramid.
He lowered his sword slightly. "My friend, O'Connor… I hope you can stop disaster once again."
…
Inside the pyramid, Garfield sensed the upheaval outside. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, choosing for the moment to remain patient.
Besides the Scorpion Emperor, the curator served his purpose perfectly.
As cannon fodder.
He barely had time to scream before being torn apart.
Lock-Nah stared at the Scorpion Emperor's towering form… human from the waist up, monstrous below, chitinous limbs armored like ancient boots and was so terrified he scarcely dared to breathe.
O'Connor, however, was changing.
After stepping onto the platform of judgment, the power of Anubis had awakened memories from his previous life.
Knowledge, instincts, and battle awareness surged back into him all at once.
His combat strength skyrocketed.
He seized a weapon from a massive rack along the chamber wall… perfectly balanced and charged.
Imhotep answered immediately.
Dust and divine pressure shook the chamber as the two collided.
Nearby, Evelyn, now fully restored with memories of her past life, finally understood.
She had been a pharaoh's daughter.
And Imhotep had killed her.
She grabbed a weapon without hesitation and joined Anck-su-namun. Their conflict ignited a second battlefield… betrayal crashing together with lethal intent.
Jonathan, meanwhile, stared at the golden scepter in his hands.
So that's what it was for.
Regret flashed across his face as he prepared to throw it toward O'Connor.
Off to the side, Wang and Hei Changzhi squatted comfortably, each holding melon seeds and peanuts, watching the chaos unfold as if attending a particularly exciting street performance.
It was true, O'Connor's combat power had increased dramatically.
But there was a problem.
Years of comfortable civilian life had ruined his conditioning.
Compared to Imhotep, whose resurrected body was honed, O'Connor's stamina was painfully lacking.
Add the Scorpion Emperor's occasional interference, and O'Connor's situation became dire.
Among the three combatants, his performance was the worst.
Time and again, he was nearly knocked out of the fight, either crushed by the Scorpion Emperor or overwhelmed by Imhotep's relentless assaults.
Yet every time…
At the very edge of failure, he clawed his way back.
Pig-foot protagonist aura.
Hei Changzhi cracked sunflower seeds and leaned against Wang Defa.
"Sure enough." She muttered, "His fate is good. They never die. Makes lonely ghosts like us jealous."
Wang patted her head lightly. "Don't worry. We're here."
She nodded obediently and casually tossed a handful of metaphorical dog food toward Jonathan and Lock-Nah.
Outside the pyramid, the Scorpion Emperor's influence continued to spread.
The black clouds rolled beyond the oasis and into the open desert.
Sand began to rise.
From the dunes emerged towering figures, over two meters tall Anubis warriors formed from sand and divine authority, each gripping ancient weapons.
Their number was not overwhelming.
Less than ten thousand.
But their power was terrifying.
As long as Anubis's authority remained intact, and no high-level magic was used against them, ordinary weapons meant nothing.
They were immortal.
Under normal circumstances, these warriors would have waited patiently at the desert's edge until the trial inside the pyramid concluded.
But the bearded man did not know this.
With a roar, he raised his sword and charged, leading his cavalry into battle.
Man clashed with death.
At first, the humans held the advantage. Warhorses thundered through the sand, trampling enemies and shattering formations.
But the dead rose again.
Again.
And again.
As stamina drained and blades dulled, the living faltered. Against tireless sand incarnations, exhaustion led to death.
…
At the pyramid's entrance, Garfield crouched calmly, cigar clenched between his teeth.
He glanced at the platform beneath the four Anubis statues. After a moment's thought, he stood.
"Either I don't die." He muttered, "or I die properly."
Step.
Step.
A cat's pace.
He stopped at the platform's edge.
From his pocket, Garfield pulled out a snack, he tossed it forward.
The snack crossed the platform's boundary, arcing toward the center.
At the moment it reached its apex… The four statues of Anubis blazed with blinding light.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream