"What are you planning to do?"
Anubis rose to his full height. A sword materialized in his hand, its blade dull.
"Of course." He said calmly before breaking into wild laughter, "A war. A war that reminds mankind what a god truly is."
"You've lost your mind, Brother One Ear," Garfield snapped. "I strongly advise you to abandon this madness."
The one-eared clone of Anubis shook his head slowly. "No, orange cat. You don't understand."
"Gods have dignity." His voice deepened, carrying a weight far beyond mortal emotion.
"I would rather fall on the battlefield than return to nothingness, waiting helplessly for oblivion."
"Mortals of this world, tremble. The army of Anubis will trample everything before it."
Garfield pressed a paw to his forehead. He had not expected the situation to deteriorate this badly.
This lunatic truly intended to ignite a catastrophe. He should have dissolved into dust long ago, as fate demanded.
With no other option, Garfield raised his paw. A radiant golden rope burst into existence, snapping forward to bind the rogue god.
But in the instant the rope appeared, Anubis disappeared.
At the same moment, the four Anubis statues standing in the corners of the platform began to tremble.
Eyes ignited with dull light, and within seconds, they sprang to life charging Garfield in unison.
"Just statues." Garfield muttered. "Hardly worth the trouble."
He lifted his paw.
"Fracture."
"Bone Shatter."
"Burning Fire."
"God and Shadow, No Form Before Me."
Four spells struck in rapid succession. Violent mana tore through the chamber, obliterating the statues into rubble and ash.
As the dust settled, Garfield frowned.
Where did that one-eared bastard run off to? And what had happened back then? Even now, with one ear gone, he still hadn't recovered.
…
Inside the pyramid, O'Connell stared in disbelief as the Scorpion King, previously impaled by his own spear, was resurrected by the one-eared Anubis.
Without sparing anyone a glance, Anubis seized the Scorpion King and vanished once more.
O'Connell turned to Imhotep. "Do you have any idea what happened?"
Imhotep shook his head slowly. "That was indeed Lord Anubis's avatar. But why resurrect the Scorpion King?"
"And why only one ear?" He paused, then added flatly, "Do not ask me. I truly do not know."
The battle between Evelyn and Anck-su-namun ended abruptly after the disturbance.
Wang, who had been squatting quietly nearby, stood up, walked into the chamber where the Scorpion King had been imprisoned, lingered for a moment, then returned.
Hei Chang slipped an arm around Wang's shoulders. The old dynasty turned and waved casually at Imhotep, O'Connell, and the others.
"Goodbye, everyone. Oh and one last piece of advice. Leave this place immediately."
"Otherwise, you'll vanish along with this land."
A beam of light descended. Wang and Hei Chang disappeared.
The remaining group stood frozen in shock.
"What do we do now?" Evelyn finally spoke.
O'Connell glanced at Imhotep. "How about we put our grudges aside and get out first?"
Imhotep surveyed the devastation, then nodded. "Yes. That would be wise."
They fled together. Along the way, they passed Lock-Nah's corpse, caught in a trap while attempting to escape alone, his end both sudden and brutal.
No one stopped.
At the exit, they encountered Garfield, standing amid glowing golden lines and impossibly complex spell arrays, clearly searching for something.
Jonathan swallowed hard. "Garfield, you have no idea what just—"
"Quiet," Garfield snapped without looking back. "Don't distract me."
"I was talking to that one-eared Anubis clone, and he vanished in the blink of an eye."
He finally turned his head. "Get out of here. If you stay, you'll regret it."
"It will all be destroyed here. Garfield said with deranged conviction, "And you will go to hell with me."
"What?!"
Everyone bolted for the exit. With no chanting to sustain the spell, the mana binding Imhotep dissipated, restoring what had been taken from him.
He turned at once to follow O'Connell and the others out of the pyramid.
Once the nuisances were gone, Garfield resumed his work in silence.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
At the edge of the desert.
The bearded warlord and his cavalry stared in stunned disbelief at the figures that had appeared before them… Anubis, one ear missing and teeth bared in a broken snarl, and beside him, the towering Scorpion King.
The warlord's mind went blank.
This was supposed to be a novice battlefield. Why had it suddenly turned into hell-level difficulty?
He was certain he was about to die.
"Mortal. Leave." Instead, Anubis merely waved a hand dismissively.
The warlord opened his mouth to protest, then stopped. A hero did not suffer unnecessary losses.
Whatever madness these beings were about to unleash, it was not meant for him.
He withdrew his troops at once, leading them far from Anubis's army. The moment they cleared the battlefield, the sky split with radiant light.
A blazing rainbow bridge descended.
Odin appeared astride his steed, the Spear of Eternity in hand, his single eye blazing with authority.
"Anubis." Odin thundered, "What madness are you committing?"
"Odin." The one-eared god bared his teeth in contempt. "Traitor to the gods. What right do you have to question me?"
"What happened then was a mistake." Odin's voice lowered, heavy with warning.
"Across the multiverse, there are countless versions of you and me. Do not cling to one failure. Disband your army and leave this universe or I will erase your clone completely."
"Then let us fight." Anubis only smiled. "I would rather die on the battlefield than continue to exist in fear."
He raised his hand. "My army, kill him."
A roar shook the sand.
The Scorpion King lunged toward Odin.
Boom.
A hammer crashed down from the heavens, smashing the Scorpion King into the desert.
Lightning followed, reducing the massive body to scorched ruin.
Thor descended with Mjolnir in hand, planting himself between Odin and Anubis.
"Anubis," Thor declared, "Your opponent is me."
Anubis glanced at the smoking corpse and snapped his fingers. Dark power surged, flesh knitting back together as the Scorpion King rose once more, fully restored.
"No." Anubis replied calmly. "Your opponent is still him."
"You cheat!" Thor's face twisted with fury.
But there was no time to argue. The Scorpion King charged again, forcing Thor to meet him head-on.
Alone, the Scorpion King was no match for the God of Thunder. In two or three strikes,
Thor smashed him into the ground again and again. Yet every time the hammer fell, Anubis's power restored the creature completely.
While Thor was engaged, Anubis raised his arm.
The army of Anubis surged forward.
Odin slammed the Spear of Eternity into the ground.
The Bifrost flared once more, and golden-armored Asgardian soldiers poured onto the battlefield with spears and swords shining.
Under the command of Loki and several Asgardian generals, Asgard's army clashed with the legions of death.
The battle was brutally one-sided.
Despite their towering forms, Anubis's soldiers shattered under Uru-forged weapons.
Even when they rose again, the Asgardians cut them down repeatedly, harvesting them like wheat.
Above the carnage, Odin leveled the Spear of Eternity at Anubis.
"This is your final warning." He said coldly.
"Leave or die."
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream