As for when Seno and the others arrived, the snakes, scorpions, and birds entrenched within the city had already completely lost all semblance of humanity and intelligence.
This was the end of Abydos City. Its crown had fallen to the ground; it no longer existed.
Farewell
Heliopolis.
"Splendid! Magnificent! Unparalleled!"
After a brief silence born of astonishment, Tutankhamun burst into hearty laughter. Clapping his hands, he spared no praise. "What audacity, and what brilliance! To realize the right direction from mere fragments of conversation—the pulse of history can be said to rest in your hands now."
"Then, since this is such a grand occasion, surely you would not refuse a pharaoh's participation?"
"That would be my honor." Hebe dipped slightly in a bow.
"Excellent, excellent." Tutankhamun leaned against the table, a knowing smile on his face. "You need not have any concerns about Heliopolis. As for now, I trust you will not mind a little assistance from me?"
The pharaoh rose to his feet, brushed at his white cloak, and leisurely extended a hand.
Two pure beams of light abruptly appeared above his head. Their ends joined together, forming a radiant ring behind him.
"My Third Mark is called Illusory Wings of Sunrise," Tutankhamun explained. "Its greatest function is to bear the power of the Lord of Secret Arts, stabilizing this frail body of mine, preventing the Marks from conflicting with one another, and allowing my achievements to function properly.
"For that reason, those blessed by my Third Mark may travel unimpeded along every path of secrets. Your Highness Hermes, once you receive this blessing, you will be able to cross over the vast territory between Upper and Lower Egypt, arriving east of Abydos from here in an instant."
As Tutankhamun spoke, wing-like patterns extended from both sides of the halo, and brilliant sunlight draped over Hebe like a veil.
Hebe knew that the Mark's power was certainly not limited to this, but since Tutankhamun did not mention it, she did not ask.
"The Third Mark's blessing is complete." Tutankhamun smiled. "But it is not enough."
The halo behind his head expanded like a living thing, sharp spikes jutting from its edges.
A massive object made entirely of gold gradually rose from the temple floor. Its exterior somewhat resembled a sarcophagus for storing a mummy, but its front was a hollow, majestic face, identical to the "Tutankhamun's Golden Mask" Hebe had seen on television in her previous life.
The golden mask was enormous, with enough room inside for two people.
Hebe stepped into it, and illusory sunlight gradually began to radiate from the golden mask's surface.
The pharaoh's face slowly turned toward the distant east of Abydos, toward where Nitocris was.
A voice drifted over from afar, like sleep-talk.
—Among the gods, she who possesses a beautiful visage
This was Tutankhamun's achievement.
Current Progress: 75% ...
The climate east of Abydos had already been completely changed by the calamities. When Hebe stepped out of the golden mask, the scorching yellow sand genuinely burned her.
Fortunately, it had not yet reached an utterly unbearable level.
Not far away was a small oasis where wild date palms grew. Nitocris sat beneath the trees.
When Hebe approached, Nitocris tugged at the corner of her mouth as though she wanted to smile, but the expression looked more painful than crying.
"He really did it. How could he dare..."
The female pharaoh murmured in confusion. Endless hatred, grievance, and pain surged within her pupils.
Just moments ago, Nitocris had wanted to see Hebe, but when Hebe truly appeared before her, Nitocris instead did not dare speak.
—She had neither kept her promise to Hebe and continued traveling east, nor possessed the ability to stop the calamities. Even when the Breath of Set swept in, terror had seized her heart for an instant.
In truth, that was only human nature.
What truly tormented Nitocris was her own delicate, sensitive heart.
Hebe keenly sensed this.
"Please help me." The girl with linen-colored long hair lowered her eyes. "Your Highness Nitocris."
"Alright." The female pharaoh's voice trembled. At last, she raised her face and bloomed into a smile as brilliant as a sunflower. "If it is you..."
If it is you, then everything I have done will not have been meaningless.
Five minutes later, Hebe and Nitocris returned to the vicinity of Abydos City. Avoiding the rampaging venomous snakes and beasts, they reunited with Seno and the others.
"King of Ibis." When everyone saw Hebe arrive, the hearts they had been holding finally settled, if only barely.
"Seno, tell your subordinates to prepare." Hebe calmly gave orders as though she had rehearsed them countless times. "Once we return to the White City, immediately mobilize all the people of Memphis and have them head for the city gates. Tell them not to bring anything, lest panic break out."
The taciturn young man froze, then his body trembled slightly with excitement.
He silently bowed. "I will obey your command."
Nitocris emerged from Hebe's side, the obsidian mirror in her arms aimed at Seno and his subordinates, drawing them into the mirror as well.
The golden mask descended from the clouds. Illusory sunlight once again enveloped that majestic face as it slowly turned, this time toward Memphis.
Hebe realized that her estimates had still been somewhat off. When she had first ridden the golden mask, she had thought it could easily carry two people.
Yet once Nitocris entered, Hebe's formerly spacious room to move instantly became extremely cramped, forcing her to curl up in Nitocris's embrace.
That was naturally a posture prone to misunderstanding, but they had no time to dwell on it now.
The golden mask descended soundlessly into Memphis. The city's residents had yet to disperse from the lingering excitement of the festival, wholly unaware that a city had already been destroyed in a distant part of their land.
Nitocris held Hebe and leaped out of the golden mask. The moment their feet touched the ground, the golden mask gradually faded, dispersed, and returned to formlessness.
Tutankhamun's protection had a time limit.
Hebe patted Nitocris's arm, signaling for her to put her down.
The female pharaoh turned the mirror around, and Seno and the others began running through the streets and alleys of Memphis. They gathered their colleagues and subordinates, beginning to mobilize the people of Memphis.
Throughout this process, Hebe kept watch on their surroundings, but the King of Sheep never appeared.
Taking the opportunity, Nitocris went outside the city and turned the mirror over once more. The guided citizens then unknowingly walked into the Mirror of the Underworld.
Angry thunder rumbled through the sky. The Red King had noticed Hebe's actions, but he could do nothing—his ascension ritual had reached a critical moment, and Ozymandias could not spare any more attention.
But that did not mean he would let these people go.
The earth began to shake, and houses outside Memphis started collapsing in swathes.
"Imma, hurry!"
Nitocris stood outside the city gates, dodging fissures opening in the ground as she shouted at Hebe.
Yet Hebe merely smiled and waved at Nitocris.
Nine Calamities
The earth trembled, sandstorms gradually rolled in from afar, cracks widened, and houses swayed before collapsing.
Everything in Memphis fell apart in the sudden earthquake. Across the increasingly ruined city walls and gates, Hebe and Nitocris looked at one another.
The girl with long linen-colored hair smiled and waved, her eyes gleaming like gemstones washed by fresh rain.
Nitocris stared blankly at her.
Without saying a word, she simply watched Hebe's smiling face.
The ground shook and mountains swayed around them, the earth sank, yet that face only became clearer.
Nitocris thought that she would probably never forget those deep green eyes for the rest of her life.
The female pharaoh turned and left.
The corners of Hebe's mouth drooped slightly. She was still smiling, but there was now a little more relief, a little more wistfulness.
This counted as deception, didn't it? the girl thought. But there are no more attachments now, so this is fine.
Think of me as a liar if you wish, or as a treacherous minister burdened with a thousand sins and evils.
That way, we can walk our separate paths without having to fear blades, frost, or wind.
Hebe turned around, spread her arms, and laughed aloud in this world of ruins.
"Ozymandias will unleash nine calamities. With the tenth, he will end the suffering that came before, using it as a ritual to declare that even the Ennead shall fall before his divine might. He will achieve an unprecedented and unsurpassed feat."
"But the priest has brought another possibility, declaring that Ozymandias will ultimately die of his own regret..."
You will complete a reversal during Ozymandias's ritual of apotheosis. The fate of December Archon · Duke of Sighs being born cannot be avoided, yet it may not necessarily be Ozymandias. If that is truly the case, then Egypt will escape its doomed destruction, and the world and all histories will be remade. Current Progress: 90% ...
The clouds pressed lower and lower. If someone could have surveyed all of Egypt at this moment, they would have seen that the great river rushing north had turned muddy red. This time, whether tiny fish and shrimp or giant crocodiles several meters long, all had died in the river, their corpses mixing with the bloody water.
One of the Nine Calamities: Blood Water Calamity, Blood of Isis.
Or rather, the influence of July Archon · Holy Grail.
The sky trembled as though enduring immense pain. After a brief silence, hailstones as large as human heads fell from the clouds alongside lightning.
When the hail struck the desert, it left behind brutal craters; when it fell upon Abydos, it destroyed every building in the city.
Rumble. Rumble.
The thick layer of sand and dust covering the city walls also came cascading down.
Several hailstones struck the walls, and the walls that had stood there for thousands of years collapsed as well, leaving only low remnants.
Dense herds of beasts let out shrill cries as hailstones fell like heavy fists upon their heads.
One of the Nine Calamities: Hailstone Calamity, Fist of Tefnut.
The influence of June Archon · Pearl.
An east wind suddenly blew in from another part of the desert, and then countless black shadows appeared within it.
Bearing ominous buzzing sounds, they pounced upon every living thing in the gale, monsters included. These tiny insects rapidly devoured everything in sight, then laid eggs and hatched at even greater speed.
These terrifying swarms should have become Memphis's most troublesome enemy, yet what covered the land now was not living people, but herds of beasts.
The insect swarms and beast herds became entangled, launching an exceptionally bloody slaughter across the earth.
One of the Nine Calamities: Insect Calamity, Legions of Horus.
The influence of February Archon · Scar Father.
Amid deafening roars, the ground began to sink. Both desert and oasis plunged amid violent tremors as terrifying whirlpools tore open fissures and swallowed everything in sight.
The beast herds, insect swarms, and hailstones remaining on the ground all fell into the bottomless depths.
Beginning in the west of the African continent, that dreadful rift stretched straight toward the northeast. After passing through the river valley, it split into two branches, forming a massive crack shaped like the Chinese character for "person." From then on, it would remain there forever, and in later generations, it would even be named the "East African Rift Valley."
The dreadful chasm made the beast herds hesitate, while the raging sandstorm collapsed halfway through its course. For a time, heaven and earth were silent for roughly half an hour.
One of the Nine Calamities: Earthquake Calamity, Geb's Labor Pains.
The power of September Archon · Celestial Flint.
Including the several calamities that had already been raging before, all nine calamities had now arrived.
Just as Hebe had expected, the nine calamities were not concentrated upon Egypt. There were even cases where the calamities completely opposed and counteracted one another.
Yet even so, these influences originating from the Archons themselves continued to objectively destroy every city of Egyptian civilization, ravaging, crushing, and annihilating the Great Red Sand Sea and every oasis.
The clouds gathered and swirled like a deep sea suspended upside down in the sky.
Hebe moved through the constantly collapsing city. Every road was breaking apart, yet new roads immediately appeared. Everything in the city cried out its death throes. Memphis was dying.
The Red King Ozymandias did not wish to see Hebe, so Memphis was trying to impede her advance.
The majesty of a king could still command the city even now, forcing it into submission.
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