Whitehall looked at the mutant before him, who was so strange he hardly seemed human, and carefully fastened the power-inhibiting collar around his neck.
Only after confirming it was securely locked in place did he order his subordinates to reopen the entrance and let the sunlight in. The sunlight fell on the pyramid, activating the markings on it once more.
Lines of energy spread out, converging on the mutant.
This wasn't ordinary light energy. Even if it could be converted into energy without any loss, the light streaming through such a small opening wouldn't even affect the temperature. It was more like the sunlight was activating some kind of energy inside the pyramid, allowing En Sabah Nur to complete his body-snatching ritual.
The ancient mutant, who had been asleep for several thousand years, opened his eyes.
But when he awoke, he didn't see the Egyptians who had once worshipped him. Instead, he saw a group of Hydra members armed to the teeth, looking thoroughly ill-intentioned.
En Sabah Nur muttered something, his voice hoarse and rasping, like someone who had been parched in the desert for a long time. Even if he could speak clearly, it wouldn't have helped. He spoke ancient Egyptian, and no one present was likely to understand him.
But though they couldn't understand each other's language, En Sabah Nur could read the expressions on their faces. There was no reverence in them, only wariness—and even disdain.
After all, he was an ancient mutant who had been buried underground for ages. Who knew if he was really as powerful as they claimed? They had put so much effort into digging him up; if he turned out to be useless, all that work would have been for nothing.
En Sabah Nur "heard" what they were thinking, because one of