New York, Manhattan.
The city was already waking up, its streets bustling as always, but with a peculiar quietness in the air. The sun began to bathe the tall glass and concrete buildings, reflecting its golden rays on the facades and illuminating the streets that were already beginning to fill with hurried people. The distant sound of cars, chatting pedestrians, and sirens mixed with the city's constant hum, but nothing seemed to affect the serenity of the moment.
In the heart of the city, in the center of Manhattan, in his new apartment, Ikki woke up that morning.
He opened his eyes slowly, feeling the first rays of light touching his face. The warm, comforting sensation made him stretch his body, his muscles relaxing with the fluid motion of a lazy stretch. As he stretched, he realized Artemis wasn't sleeping beside him and let out a sigh. She had told him last night that she would have to return her "copy" to her divine duties.
It had been almost two days since Artemis had given him a "surprise." They had spent the entire two days together, making love, talking, watching movies, and even going somewhere to hunt for fun. It was wonderful. After two days, his relationship with Artemis was much better and didn't have that initial awkwardness. Fate seemed to have given up on influencing them both since they had resolved everything between them.
Being honest with himself, he didn't know what to think about it. That day, he had impulsively chosen to accept her feelings because of his own emotions, ignoring the fact that they might have been planted by fate and all that.
He had a better time to think about it beside her.
And he didn't care about any of that anymore; all that drama was bullshit. He wanted to be with her, and screw it if she had rejected him a year ago. Actually, that was good; she tended to want to compensate him for "everything." And besides, he had become very good at this by using the natural abilities of his awakened body. The caution tag in his mind, knowing what he was capable of, was correct...
After another wonderful night, his body felt light, as if the weight of the past weeks had dissipated, or perhaps it was a reflection of the peaceful night he had spent. He yawned and, without hurrying, looked at his surroundings.
The aroma of fresh coffee coming from the kitchen began to invade the space, but Ikki didn't rush to pour it into his cup. He got out of bed and walked to the window, feeling the cold floor beneath his bare feet. Opening the glass doors of the balcony, the vibrant sound of Manhattan became present, but Ikki seemed, apart from that, absorbing the freshness of the morning.
The sky was gently brightening, with the sun beginning to paint the city in golden hues.
Ikki stepped back and walked towards the kitchen, feeling the aroma of coffee intensify as he approached. Upon entering the room, his eyes immediately fixed on the table, where breakfast was prepared. Fresh fruit, golden toast, scrambled eggs, and, of course, a steaming cup of coffee awaited him. The place was impeccably tidy, and he noticed something familiar about the scene, something that made him feel slightly strange.
His mind became somewhat confused for a moment, but he couldn't deny the comforting feeling of being cared for. Artemis had done it again; her concern was cute.
Ikki stood still for a few seconds, observing the table. But instead of complaining or questioning, he simply approached. He sat down at the table and picked up the coffee cup, feeling the warm, comforting temperature in his hands. The coffee tasted just the way he liked it, and the warmth of the drink seemed to blend with the coziness of the moment, although the feeling of strangeness was still there, like a distant echo.
He looked at the food in front of him, a faint smile touching his lips, but not letting it dominate him.
He never imagined he would reach this point after everything. The anger and fury of fate had not clouded his mind and made him think that all the people he knew and were his friends, who had become important in his life, were just a trap set by fate. He had the impression that he was quite lonely in his past life because he didn't care if this small possibility was real since, thanks to it, he was no longer alone.
Obviously, he felt bad when he learned that his love for Artemis was a seed planted to control him, but it seemed so real that he didn't even care. And even if it was, fate underestimated him too much… It played too much with his emotions. Accepting Artemis was also seen as his personal revenge, although it felt wrong… To him, it didn't matter; it wasn't just for that after everything.
A sigh escaped his lips as he started to eat his breakfast and put those thoughts aside.
As Ikki took another sip of coffee, his memories intertwined with the Iris messages he had received. His mind wandered to the Iris messages he had received from Thalia, who wanted to know how he was doing and shared the news about her life as a Hunter. She was having fun but admitted that she missed everyone. She also mentioned that Zoë seemed to want to send him an Iris message to chat a bit but was hesitant. Well, Annabeth also contacted him through a few Iris messages, saying that everything was fine at camp and asking about everything. She was much more "daring." She also said that Silena had asked her to say that she was very sorry and would show him that she regretted it through her actions, something that left the daughter of Athena quite confused.
Bianca and Nico had called him a few times too, saying that everything was fine, that they were getting used to their lives, and that living in the Hades Cabin was cool. That helpful request to give cabins to Hestia and Hades that he made at the end of his first year as a camper for the Gods came in handy.
Ikki finished his coffee slowly, absorbed in his thoughts as the warmth of the drink dissipated. The silence of the apartment enveloped everything around him, intensifying the introspective atmosphere. However, at that moment, something in the air seemed to change. A subtle sensation, like a slight ripple on the surface of the water, crossed the room.
The table in front of him shimmered for an instant, and before he could react, a Shabti appeared. The clay statue came to life before his eyes, emitting a magical aura that filled the space. It grumbled something before addressing Ikki: "You are Ikki Phoenix, right? The Hero of the Red Sands. I have a message from Sadie Kane: 'I need help. Come to Cairo, Egypt!' Goodbye, idiot!"
Before Ikki could digest the words, the Shabti vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the apartment enveloped in a deep silence once again.
Twisting his lips in a slight expression of displeasure, Ikki reflected on the intrusive nature of these small magical figurines.
Shabtis, figures from Egyptian mythology, were known for their functions as servants or workers in the afterlife.
Originally, these statuettes were placed in Egyptian tombs to act as "substitutes" for the deceased, performing tasks in their name, but Egyptian magicians use them as animated servants that can be summoned to perform various tasks, such as delivering messages, fighting, or even assisting in magical rituals. They are created through powerful spells, utilizing Egyptian magic. When activated, these Shabtis respond to commands and can have distinct personalities, although they are often described as somewhat grumpy or direct, like the one he encountered.
There was one thing he hadn't seen in a long time.
"It's been a while, huh? Still an unpleasant statuette…"
Lost in his thoughts, Ikki remembered the Kane siblings and the moments they spent together. It happened about a year ago.
.
.
.
.
One Year Ago…
It all began when his father, Julius Kane, along with him, went to pick up his sister, Sadie, in London to spend some time together.
Carter still perfectly remembered his father acting strangely during the visit, showing nervousness and clinging to his briefcase, which he associated with dangerous situations. They met a mysterious man named Amos, who argued with Julius about an imminent danger and the "House of Life."
But that wasn't so relevant; the crux of it all was a visit to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. Julius asked his sister, Sadie, and him to lock the curator in his office and, using a kind of boomerang, wrote glowing hieroglyphs on the stone. The stone exploded, releasing a man of fire who identified himself as an enemy of Julius and imprisoned him in a sarcophagus.
He still briefly remembered everything since he fell unconscious afterward due to an accident.
After the explosion at the museum, and all that questioning by the police, who didn't believe his story, Amos appeared, revealing himself to be his uncle, shortly after Inspector Williams inexplicably deported Sadie and him, of course, due to his uncle's magic.
Well, see… magic exists.
After the explosion at the British Museum, they were taken to Brooklyn, crossing a river on a barge in just a few minutes. There, they arrived at the Brooklyn House, one of the three hundred nomes of the House of Life, where they discovered the truth about his father. Julius Kane had tried to summon Osiris using the Rosetta Stone, but instead, he released five gods.
It was in that place that they learned more about their lineage. His family had a long history with Egyptian magic, and they both carried great potential as magicians. They also learned about the Egyptian gods, their manifestations, and their influence on the world. He then had a strange dream and decided to tell his uncle about it.
He remembered the explanation he received about the Duat, the world of spirits and magic, which existed beneath reality as a vast ocean of layers and hidden realms. The night before, when they traveled to New York, they had only submerged on the surface of the Duat to shorten the journey. His dream wasn't just a daydream but a consequence of that contact. His consciousness had crossed the shallowest currents, and because of that, he witnessed what was happening in Phoenix. It was a relief to have survived the experience, but now he understood the risks. The deeper one delved into the Duat, the more horrible things one encountered, and the more difficult it became to return.
There were entire realms populated by demons, palaces where the gods existed in their pure form, so powerful that their mere presence could reduce a human to ashes. There were prisons containing beings of unspeakable evil and abysses so deep that not even the gods dared to explore them. Now that his powers were awakening, sleeping without protection could mean dangerous exposure to these forces. The anchor between his consciousness and his body would become unstable, and he could be dragged on unwanted journeys into the Duat.
Next, his uncle left for Phoenix to investigate more than his astral journey to the Duat had revealed when he slept, leaving them at the Twenty-First Nome mansion under the care of Khufu, the baboon, and Philip, the crocodile.
Disobeying Amos's orders, they broke into the library, where they found a shabti named Doughboy, who gave them some information before becoming inanimate again.
Meanwhile, Sadie discovered she could use magic and blew up the library door. They found a scroll containing the Kane family name and the story of the five gods, confirming that Set is the Red Lord and that the Demon Days are approaching.
After many events, here they were.
"The Eye of the Hurricane"
It was a sinister sight. A cylinder of black clouds swirled around the mountain. Smoke trails connected the peaks of Camelback to the walls of the vortex, like spokes of a wheel. But high above them, the sky was clear and starry, starting to turn gray. A new day was approaching.
The streets were empty. The mansions and hotels that surrounded the base of the mountain were completely dark, but Camelback glowed. It looked as if someone had put their hand in front of a lit lantern and seen how the skin reflected the red light. That's how the mountain looked: something very bright and hot trying to break through the rock.
"Nothing's moving on the streets," observed Zia, an Egyptian magician with striking features. She possessed features reminiscent of Arabic traits, with caramel-toned skin. Her eyes were a deep amber, outlined with kohl, and her hair was black, straight, and cut to her jawline, Egyptian style. She wore loose linen clothing and Egyptian perfume. After a moment of pause, she continued, "If we try to climb the slope…"
"We'll be seen," Sadie finished.
"And that enchantment?" Carter asked, looking at Zia. "You know… the one you used in the First Nome."
"What enchantment?" Sadie asked.
Zia shook her head. "Carter is referring to an invisibility spell. But I'm out of magic. And unless you have the appropriate components, that enchantment can't be done just like that, immediately."
"Amos?" Sadie tried.
Amos thought for a moment. "Sorry, no invisibility. But I have another idea."
Sadie thought turning into a bird was already bad, but Amos transformed them into storm clouds. He quickly explained what they would do, but that didn't alleviate Sadie's nervousness.
"No one's going to notice a few black clouds in the middle of a storm," Amos argued.
"But that's impossible," Zia countered. "That's magic storm, chaos magic. We shouldn't…"
Amos raised his wand, and Zia disintegrated.
"No!" Carter shouted, but soon he too disappeared, replaced by a spiral of black dust.
Amos turned to Sadie. "Oh, no. Thank you very much, but…"
Poof. She transformed into a storm cloud. Imagine, then, what it would be like: your feet and hands disappearing, replaced by gusts of wind. Your body transforming into dust and vapor. Feeling a strange coldness in your stomach without even having a stomach. Concentrating simply not to disperse, not to become nothing.
Furious, a flash of light cracked within Sadie.
"Don't be like that," Amos chided. "It's just for a few minutes. Follow me."
He disintegrated into a denser, darker cloud and headed towards the mountain. Following Amos was a challenge. Initially, Sadie could only float. Every gust of wind threatened to carry her away. Trying to maintain control, she discovered that spinning helped keep her particles together. Then, she imagined herself filled with helium, and suddenly, she shot off.
She couldn't be sure if Zia and Carter were following her. When you were a storm, your vision wasn't human. She vaguely felt what surrounded her, but what she "saw" was indistinct and unfocused, surrounded by electrostatics.
The mountain was like an irresistible magnet to her, with its heat, pressure, and turbulence. She followed Amos to a recess on the mountainside, but as she went to regain human form, she rolled down and knocked Carter over.
"Ouch!" he complained.
"Sorry," Sadie said, though she was more concerned with controlling her nausea. Her stomach still felt like there was a storm inside it.
Zia and Amos were standing near them, peering through a gap between two large rocks. The red glow from inside the mountain made their faces look demonic. Zia looked at Sadie and Carter, and her expression indicated that what she had seen was not good.
"Only the pyramidion is missing," Zia said.
"The what?" Sadie asked.
She moved closer to peek through the crack, and what she saw was almost as disorienting as transforming into a storm cloud. The entire mountain was hollow, just as Carter had described. The cave floor was about six hundred meters below them. Fire burned in several places, bathing the stone walls in a blood-red light. A gigantic red pyramid occupied the cave.
At the base of the pyramid, a crowd of demons moved about, like an audience at a rock concert waiting for the show to begin.
Just above them, at eye level, two magical boats floated slowly, ceremoniously, towards the pyramid. Suspended by a tangle of ropes between the boats was the only part of the construction yet to be placed: a golden triangular stone that would be the top of the pyramid.
Carter commented, "They know they've won. They're turning the end of the project into a spectacle."
Amos agreed, "Yes."
Sadie suggested, "Well, let's blow up the boats or something!"
Amos looked at her, seeming incredulous. "That's your strategy? Honestly."
Amos's tone of voice made Sadie feel completely stupid. She looked down at the army of demons and the enormous pyramid. Where was her head? She was just a twelve-year-old girl!
Carter said, "We have to try. Dad's in there."
Those words snapped Sadie out of her self-pity. If they were going to die, they would at least die trying to save Sadie's father (and, well, North America too, maybe).
Sadie replied, "Right. We'll fly to the boats. And we'll stop them from placing the summit…"
"The pyramidion," Zia corrected.
Sadie, impatiently, retorted, "Whatever. Then we fly into the pyramid and find Dad."
Amos asked, "And when Set tries to stop you?"
Sadie looked at Zia, whose gaze made her understand that she shouldn't reveal anything else.
"One thing at a time," Sadie replied. "How do we fly to the boats?"
Amos suggested, "As a storm."
"No!" everyone replied in unison.
Zia insisted, "I don't want to take part in any more chaos magic. It's not natural."
Amos gestured to the spectacle within the mountain. "And this is natural? Do you have another plan?"
Sadie, unintentionally, blurted out, "Birds? I'll turn into a parrot. Carter can be a hawk."
Carter warned, "Sadie, what if…"
Sadie looked away before losing her courage. "I need to try. Zia, it's been almost ten hours since you created that pillar of fire. Are you still out of magic?"
Zia extended her hand and concentrated. At first, nothing happened. But soon, a red light began to glow between her fingers, and the staff appeared, still smoking.
Carter approved, "Just in time."
Amos observed, "More or less. It means Desjardins is no longer being chased by the pillar of fire. He'll be here soon, and I'm sure he'll bring reinforcements. More enemies for us."
Zia warned, "My magic will still be weak. I won't be able to help much in combat, but maybe I can summon transportation." She showed the vulture pendant she wore in Luxor.
Amos concluded, "In that case, I'll go. Don't worry. We'll meet at the left boat. We take down that one first, then we take care of the right one. And we'll count on the element of surprise."
Sadie wasn't willing to let Amos make their plans, but his logic made sense. "Right. We'll have to finish the boats quickly, then head for the pyramid. Maybe we can seal the entrance or something."
Carter nodded. "I'm ready."
At first, the plan seemed to be working well. Transforming into a parrot wasn't a problem for Sadie, and to her surprise, as soon as she reached the bow of the ship, she managed to return to human form on the first try, with her staff and wand in hand. The only person more surprised was the demon in front of her, whose switchblade head armed itself in fright.
Before he could attack her or raise the alarm, Sadie summoned the wind with her staff and blew the demon off the boat. Two of his partners advanced, but Carter appeared behind them, sword in hand, and turned them into piles of sand.
Unfortunately, Zia wasn't as discreet. A giant hawk with a girl hanging from its talons always attracts a lot of attention. As she flew to the boat, demons pointed and shouted. Some threw spears that passed very close.
But Zia's grand entrance distracted the other two demons on the boat, which allowed Amos to appear behind them. He had taken the form of a fruit bat, which brought back bad memories for Sadie. Quickly, however, Amos returned to human form and threw the bodies against the demons, launching them far away.
"Hold on!…" he said.
Zia landed in time to grab the helm. Carter and Sadie held onto the sides of the boat. Sadie had no idea what Amos was planning, but after her last trip on a flying boat, she preferred not to take any chances. Amos began chanting something, pointing his staff at the other boat, where the demons were shouting and pointing at them.
One of the demons was tall and very thin, with black eyes and a repulsive face, with exposed muscles without any skin.
"That's Set's helper," Carter warned.
"— You!" the demon yelled. "Get them!"
Amos finished his spell.
"Smoke," he intoned.
At that instant, the second boat evaporated into a gray mist. The demons fell screaming. The golden pyramidion plummeted until the ropes holding it were fully taut, and the boat nearly capsized.
Tilting, they began to fall.
"Carter, cut the ropes!" Sadie shouted.
He cut them with his sword, and the boat returned to level, rising several meters in a single instant, leaving their stomachs behind.
The pyramidion hit the cave floor with a loud crash. Sadie had the feeling they had just produced a pile of demon pancakes.
"So far, so good," Carter commented, but as always, he spoke too soon.
Zia pointed down.
"Look."
All the demons that had wings — a small percentage, but still a good forty or fifty of them — were charging towards them, looking like a swarm of angry wasps.
"Fly to the pyramid," Amos instructed. "I'll distract the demons."
The pyramid's entrance, a simple door between two columns at the base of the structure, wasn't too far away. It was guarded by a few demons, but most of Set's forces were running to the boat, shouting and throwing stones, which fell back on top of them (no one said demons were intelligent).
"There are too many," Sadie argued. "Amos, they'll kill you."
"Don't worry about me," he said darkly. "Seal the entrance when you get through."
He pushed Sadie over the side of the boat, and she had no choice but to transform into a parrot. Carter, in hawk form, was already spiraling down to the entrance, and she could hear Zia's vulture flapping its large wings behind them.
She heard Amos shout, "For Brooklyn!"
It was an old war cry. Sadie looked back, and the boat burst into flames, began to move away from the pyramid, and descended towards the army of monsters. Fireballs sprouted from the vessel in all directions, and pieces of the hull plummeted. She didn't have time to admire Amos's magic or worry about what would happen to him. Amos had distracted most of the demons with his pyrotechnics, but some of them noticed them.
Carter and Sadie landed inside the pyramid and returned to human form. Zia fell beside them and transformed her vulture back into an amulet. The demons were only a few steps away — a dozen huge creatures with insect or dragon heads and various Swiss Army knife-type appendages.
Carter reached out. A huge, radiant fist appeared, following his movement — it passed between Sadie and Zia and closed the doors. Carter closed his eyes and concentrated, and a shimmering golden symbol was drawn on the doors like a seal: the Eye of Horus. The lines glowed faintly as the demons crashed against the barrier, trying to get in.
"This won't hold them for long," Carter warned.
Sadie was very impressed, but she said nothing, of course. She looked at the closed doors and could only think of Amos out there, on the boat, surrounded by an army of evil.
"Amos knew what he was doing," Carter said, though he didn't sound very convinced. "He must be fine."
"Let's go," Zia called them. "We don't have time for assumptions."
The tunnel was narrow, red, and damp, making Sadie feel like she was crawling through the artery of a huge beast.
They descended in single file, with the tunnel inclined at about forty degrees — which would have served as a fun poolside slide but was horrible for those who had to walk carefully. The walls were decorated with complex inscriptions, like many Egyptian walls they had seen, but Carter obviously wasn't enjoying it. He stopped every now and then, looking at the drawings with a worried expression.
"What was that?" Sadie asked after the fifth or sixth time.
"They're not normal drawings for a tomb," Carter replied. "There are no symbols of the afterlife, no images of the gods."
Zia nodded.
"This pyramid is not a tomb. It's a receptacle, a body to contain Set's power. All these images are meant to increase chaos and make it reign forever."
Sadie continued walking, now paying more attention to the drawings, understanding what Zia meant. The images were of terrible monsters, war scenes, cities like Paris and London in flames, colorful portraits of Set and the Set animal defeating modern armies — scenes so horrible that no Egyptian would ever carve them in stone. The further they walked, the stranger and clearer the images became, and the sicker she felt.
Finally, they reached the heart of the pyramid.
Where the burial chamber of an ordinary pyramid should be, Set had created a throne room for himself. It was the size of a tennis court, and around it, the floor formed a trench, like a moat. Down below, a red liquid bubbled. Blood? Lava? Evil ketchup? None of the alternatives were good.
The trench was easy to jump, but Sadie wasn't keen on it because the entire room floor was carved with red hieroglyphs — spells invoking Isfet, chaos. Above, in the center of the ceiling, a single square hole let in the red light. Apart from this space, there seemed to be no exits. Along each wall, there were four statues of the Set animal, all facing them, with their white teeth bared and their green eyes glinting.
But the worst part was the throne. It was a horrible, deformed thing, like a red stalagmite that had grown randomly for centuries from dripping sediment. And it had formed around a golden coffin — Dad's coffin — which was buried at the base of the throne, with one part exposed, forming a footrest.
"How are we going to get him out of there?" Sadie asked, her voice trembling.
Beside her, Carter held his breath.
"Amos?"
Sadie followed Carter's gaze to the red opening in the middle of the ceiling. A pair of legs dangled from there. Then Amos fell, opening his cloak like a parachute and gliding to the ground. His clothes were still smoking, his hair covered in ash. He pointed his staff at the ceiling and said a command. The opening through which he had entered shuddered, causing a shower of debris and dust, and the light suddenly went out.
Amos brushed off his clothes and smiled at them.
"That should hold them for a while."
"How did you do that?" Sadie asked.
He gestured for them to follow him into the chamber.
Carter jumped the trench without hesitation. Sadie didn't like it, but she wouldn't let him go without her, so she jumped the moat too. Immediately, she felt a stronger nausea than before, as if the room was swaying, causing some disorientation.
Zia was the last to jump, watching Amos cautiously.
"You shouldn't be alive," she said.
Amos laughed.
"Oh, I've heard that before. Now, let's get to work."
"Yes." Sadie went towards the throne. "How do we get the coffin out of there?"
"By cutting it?" Carter was already wielding his sword, but Amos raised his hand.
"No, children. That's not what I'm talking about. I've made arrangements so that no one will interrupt us."
The moment they had talked about had arrived.
A shiver ran down Sadie's spine.
"We talked?"
Suddenly, Amos fell to his knees and began to convulse. Sadie ran to him, but he looked up, and his face was contorted in pain. His eyes were red like molten lava.
"Run!" he groaned.
Amos fell, and red vapor detached itself from his body.
"We have to go!" Zia grabbed Sadie's arm. "Now!"
But she was paralyzed, staring in horror at the vapor that detached itself from Amos and rose to the throne, slowly taking the shape of a seated man: a red warrior in fiery armor, with an iron staff in one hand and the head of a canine monster.
"And now," Set smiled, "Zia is going to say, 'I told you so.'"
It was only at that moment, when Carter came face to face with the god Set in the middle of his throne room, in the heart of an evil pyramid, with an army of demons outside and the world about to explode, that he thought, "Coming here wasn't a good idea."
Set rose from the throne. He had red skin and was muscular; he wore fire armor, and his staff was of black iron. His head changed shape, sometimes animal, sometimes human. At one moment, he had the hungry look and powerful jaws of a monster, while in another, he was a blond, handsome man, but with a stern face, intelligent eyes that suggested humor, and a half-smile of cruelty. He kicked their uncle out of the way, and Amos groaned, which meant that at least he was alive.
Carter held his sword so tightly that the blade trembled.
"Zia was right. You possessed Amos."
Set spread his hands, trying to appear modest.
"Well, it wasn't a complete possession. Gods can exist in many places at the same time. Horus could have told you if he were honest with you. I'm sure he was looking for a good war memorial to settle in, or a military academy somewhere, anything but this scrawny form of yours. Most of my being has now been transferred to this magnificent structure."
He spread his arms proudly, showing off the throne room.
"A portion of my soul was enough to control Amos Kane."
He raised his little finger, and a wisp of red smoke went towards Amos, penetrating his clothes. Their uncle arched his back as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Stop!" Sadie yelled, running towards Amos, but the red smoke had already dissipated. Amos lay still, inert.
Set dropped his hands as if bored.
"There wasn't much left of him, unfortunately. Amos fought well. It was a lot of fun, it took a lot of energy, more than I had anticipated."
That chaos magic… That was his idea. He did everything to prevent them, to make it clear that he controlled him. The funny thing was that he forced him to use his own magic reserve to cast the spells. He almost burned his soul trying to send those flaming warnings. Transforming them into a storm? Honestly! Who still does that?
"You're a beast!" shouted Sadie, who had been silent until then.
Set feigned surprise.
"Really? Me?"
He roared with laughter as Sadie tried to drag Amos away from the dangerous situation.
"Amos was in London that night," Carter began to say, hoping to keep Set's attention on him. "He must have followed us to the British Museum, and you've been controlling him ever since. Desjardins was never the host."
"Oh, that commoner? Please." Set scoffed, "We've always preferred pharaoh's blood, as you should know. But I loved fooling you. I thought the 'bonsoir' was a particularly charming touch."
"You knew my ba was there, watching. You forced Amos to sabotage his own home to allow the monsters to enter. You made him fall into the ambush. Why didn't you just kidnap us?"
Set spread his hands.
"As I said, Amos fought hard. There were certain things I couldn't have forced him to do without destroying him completely, and I didn't want to spoil my new toy so quickly."
Anger burned within him. Amos's strange behavior made sense. Yes, he had been controlled by Set, but he had fought the whole time. The conflict he had perceived in him was the result of his effort to warn them. He almost destroyed himself trying to save them, and Set discarded him like a broken toy.
"Let me take over," Horus pleaded. "Let's avenge your uncle."
"I'll take care of this," he replied.
"No! I need to take care of this," Horus insisted.
Set laughed as if he could hear the internal argument.
"Oh, poor Horus. Your host still needs training wheels, like the ones that prevent a child from falling while learning to ride a bicycle. Do you really expect to challenge me with that?"
For the first time, Horus and he felt the same thing at exactly the same moment: hatred. Without thinking, they raised their hand, expanding their energy towards Set. A shining fist struck the Red God. He was thrown back so hard that he collided with a column, which fell on top of him.
For a moment, there was only the sound of rubble and falling earth. Then, through the wreckage, they heard laughter. Set rose, tossing a huge chunk of rock aside.
"Very good!" he snarled. "Completely useless, but good! It will be a pleasure to tear you to pieces, Horus, like I did with your father. I will bury all of you in this chamber to increase the power of my storm: my four precious siblings. The storm will be strong enough to engulf the world!"
He blinked, suddenly confused.
"Four?"
"Ah, yes." Set's eyes turned to Zia, who had quietly retreated to a corner of the room. "I haven't forgotten you, my dear."
Zia looked at him desperately.
"Carter, don't worry about me. He just wants to distract you."
"Lovely goddess," Set murmured, "this form doesn't do you justice, but you didn't have many options, did you?"
Set walked towards her, and his staff began to glow.
"No!" Carter shouted.
He lunged forward, but Set was as skilled as he was in magical pushes. The god pointed at Carter and hurled him against the wall, trapping him there as if an entire football team was holding him.
"Carter!" Sadie yelled. "She's Nephthys. She can take care of herself!"
"No!" Carter's instinct told him she couldn't be Nephthys. Initially, he had thought so, but the more he reflected on it, the more wrong it seemed. He didn't sense any divine magic in her, and something told him he would perceive it if she were truly a goddess.
Set was going to destroy her unless Carter stopped him. If he wanted to distract Carter, he was succeeding. Set walked towards Zia as Carter struggled against his magic, unable to break free. The more he tried to unite his power with Horus's, the more fear and panic hindered him.
"Take over!" Horus insisted, and the two of them fought for control of Carter's mind, which gave him a terrible headache.
Set took another step towards Zia.
"Ah, Nephthys. In the beginning of time, you were my treacherous sister. In another incarnation, in another era, you were my treacherous wife. Now, I think you'll be a tasty appetizer. Yes, you are the weakest of us all, but you are still one of the five, and there is power in capturing the complete set."
He paused and laughed, his eyes full of malice.
"Now, let's consume your energy and bury your soul, shall we?"
Zia pointed her wand. A red sphere of defensive energy surrounded her, but even Carter could perceive that it was weak. Set fired a jet of sand with his staff, and the sphere shattered. Zia staggered back, sand falling from her hair and clothes.
But before anything else could happen, something shifted.
The air thickened, as if the universe itself had paused for a moment.
Everyone felt it.
Silence fell over the room. Carter was still pinned to the wall, struggling against Set's magic as the god advanced on Zia. But before he could take the next step, the door opened.
The figure who entered made no fanfare. His steps were slow and silent, contrasting with the suffocating tension in the room. He was young, perhaps 14 or 15 years old, but his presence seemed displaced in time and space, as if he didn't belong there—or anywhere else.
There was something about him that transcended understanding. An absolute beauty, impossible to translate into words. His black hair fell in soft waves around his face and down his back, framing fair skin and features so perfect they seemed unreal. But it was his eyes that truly captured everyone's attention. Two bottomless sapphire-blue abysses, void of any emotion, cold as absolute nothingness. It was a distant, weary gaze, as if the world had nothing left to offer. Yet, there was something mesmerizing about him, a silent strength that both attracted and terrified at the same time.
His face remained expressionless, indifferent to the chaos unfolding around him.
Carter, Sadie, Zia, and even Set froze, unable to look away.
Despite not knowing who the boy was, they knew he was not someone ordinary.
And indeed, that boy was not someone ordinary. He was a son of Zeus. The warrior who defeated the Greek God of War. The King of Heroes, who trampled the greatest demigod in Greek history. A legend among his own.
His nameHis name was Ikki Phoenix.
He observed the scene with absolute coldness. There was nothing in his posture that suggested haste, a desire to fight, or even curiosity. But his presence alone was enough to make the air heavier, making hearts race, as if the room had become dangerous solely because of his existence.
Beautiful and deadly.
If it weren't for the danger he radiated, everyone there would have been completely captivated by him.
Ikki turned his gaze to Set. Then, with a low, almost imperceptible sigh, he broke the silence with a single sentence, spoken slowly, without emotion:
"It seems I arrived at the right time."
The simplicity of the words only increased their weight. They reverberated in the room like an inevitable omen.
He had spent a considerable amount of time in the Underworld, searching for a way to bring his mother back. A month. The only person who truly understood him. The only one he lost, and whose absence left an unbearable void.
After leaving the Underworld, rumors led him there. Stories about the Egyptian Gods, the House of Life, secrets buried in ancient magic. The fate of the Kane siblings caught his attention. Their father tried to revive their mother. Maybe there was something there, some clue…
But first, there was a god to be stopped.
Ikki annihilated some demons on his way to finding Sadie and Carter and heard whispers about Set's plans. Thus, he decided to save the world once more—and maybe, just maybe, he would find the answers he sought.
And now, he was there.
Silence.
Set, until then amused by the humiliation of the others, frowned. His instinct screamed that this boy was no mere mortal. There was something about him… something that defied all logic and understanding. The god tilted his head, casually twirling his staff between his fingers, but his gaze revealed a sharp attention.
"And you?" Set asked, his voice laced with predatory curiosity. "Who the hell are you?"
Ikki didn't answer immediately. His gaze swept across the room as if analyzing something insignificant. The question seemed irrelevant, a mere distant noise.
"It doesn't matter."
The answer came in a calm tone, devoid of emotion. His empty eyes met Set's, and for a brief instant, the god of chaos felt something he hadn't experienced in millennia: a shiver.
The silence deepened as Ikki raised his hand, unhurried, without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, symmetrical cubes appeared around Carter, Sadie, Amos, and Zia, encasing them in an impenetrable barrier. Set's magic that imprisoned Carter dissipated as if it had never existed.
The god raised an eyebrow, his expression wavering between amusement and caution.
"Huh. Interesting," he murmured, tilting his head slightly.
Ikki didn't react. He simply walked, slow and deliberate steps. His expressionless gaze remained unchanged, but something about him seemed to vibrate with an invisible energy. Lightning snaked across his body in brief bluish flashes, dancing on his skin as if the storm itself were contained within him.
The air grew heavy. A sharp wind swept through the hall, shadows rippled around him, and an oppressive pressure spread, making the simple act of breathing a challenge.
Then, he took a deep breath.
The electricity radiating from his body wasn't just raw power. It was lightning charged with divinity and magic, crackling in a dazzling gold. Each crackle raised the heat to an extreme until the very air shimmered, distorting as if it were about to ignite.
The pyramid began to melt. First, the walls dripped like hot wax; then, the floor trembled under the unbearable heat.
Set's eyes widened. For the first time, his smug demeanor gave way to something bordering on unease.
He attacked, knowing that allowing this spell to materialize would be a fatal mistake. Since when was a mortal so strong?
"What horrible power…" Horus's voice echoed in Carter's mind, somber and tense. "What… Is he a god?"
Carter could barely process the boy's arrival. Horus's words only threw him into an even greater whirlwind.
Ikki, in turn, raised his hand.
Set attacked with fury, but the impact was received with frightening ease. The air exploded with the collision, but Ikki remained motionless, as if the blow were nothing.
Then, came the punch.
Lightning enveloped his fist, sparking and pulsing until it reached an indescribable brilliance. The instant the punch was thrown, the energy intensified beyond any limit. The heat surpassed the core of the sun. For a moment, it shone like a supernova.
The impact obliterated Set before he could react. The god dissolved into ash in an instant, his existence erased as if it had never been. The pyramid was reduced to nothing, consumed by the vacuum of destruction that followed.
Carter, Sadie, Amos, and Zia remained untouched. The cube that enveloped them held firm, a pristine refuge in the midst of absolute chaos.
The army of demons had no better luck. Lightning branched out like golden serpents, hunting down every creature for miles around. They dissolved into dust before they even understood what hit them.
Then, finally, all was silent.
Ikki remained where he was, unchanged.
He exhaled slowly, dispelling the electricity around him.
It all ended that way.
.
.
.
.
After resolving the conflicts in the Red Pyramid, the group returned to Brooklyn.
While channeling his magic to heal Amos from Set's possession, Ikki turned to Sadie and Carter, revealing his true intention. With an impassive expression, his voice sounded almost like the narration of a forgotten fable: he was a wandering magician, roaming the world in search of a way to bring the dead back to life. His journey had led him to the Egyptian Gods after hearing about Julius Kane's ritual and the attempt to resurrect Osiris.
Sadie and Carter listened in silence, absorbing the weight of the words and the implications of what they had just witnessed. There was something unsettling about the way Ikki spoke, a cold, distant calmness that made everything even more disturbing.
As Amos recovered under Ikki's magic, the atmosphere around them seemed to grow denser, charged by the revelation.
After a moment of hesitation, Ikki questioned them. The ensuing silence was broken by uncertain answers, the generalized admission of ignorance only increasing the tension in the room. Perhaps it was Ikki's empty, expressionless gaze, or the overwhelming presence that emanated from him, but the discomfort was palpable.
Even Horus, the divine entity inhabiting Carter, acknowledged the impossibility of what Ikki sought, clarifying that true resurrection was beyond the power of the Egyptian Gods themselves.
Ikki didn't react. He merely shifted his gaze toward Zia, who until then had remained silent. When she finally spoke, her voice carried hesitation, but her eyes shone with a subtle hint of curiosity. She had never heard of magic capable of bringing back the dead. Sadie, in turn, struggled to maintain her composure, but couldn't hide her own fascination.
Ikki's countenance remained neutral, but the slight tightening of his lips betrayed a trace of disappointment. Years of searching, questioning, and investigating, only to find another dead end.
It was then that Sadie, ever impulsive, caught the subtle shift in his expression, and before she could reconsider, blurted out:
"Well, if you want to research something, we have a library at the Brooklyn House."
A heavy silence fell upon the group, as if even she were surprised by her own words. Carter shot her an incredulous look, his eyes reflecting a mixture of astonishment and concern. Zia looked away, her enigmatic expression hiding the thoughts swirling in her mind.
Ikki remained motionless for a moment, analyzing Sadie with his unfathomable gaze. He seemed to weigh the implications of the invitation, assessing whether this could be the key to his deepest desires. Finally, he nodded slightly—a subtle gesture, but laden with meaning. If there was a sliver of hope, he would not waste it.
Upon arriving at the Brooklyn House, they found a scene of destruction. The building was in ruins, scars visible from the tragic events that had unfolded there. However, before anyone could lament the loss, Ikki raised his hand.
A subtle glow ran through the rubble. In an instant, the structure began to rebuild itself. Bricks returned to their places, broken windows reconfigured themselves, cracks disappeared as if time were rewinding. The air vibrated with the energy of magic, creating an almost palpable aura.
In a matter of seconds, the house was fully restored, as if it had never been destroyed.
The Kanes were absolutely silent, disbelief etched on their faces. None of them had ever witnessed such a precise and overwhelming magical feat. Carter and Sadie exchanged glances, confusion and admiration mirroring their thoughts. Amos, still recovering, managed to murmur a thank you, but his words failed to capture the depth of what he had just witnessed.
Zia, on the other hand, watched with growing fascination. She felt as though she were standing before a living legend, and the curiosity about Ikki ignited within her a spark of interest she could not ignore. He wasn't just a magician—he was an enigma wrapped in mystery, and that drew her in irresistibly.
The following weeks were marked by a new dynamic within the group. Amos recovered completely and, as a token of gratitude, decided to share with Ikki all of his brother's research on Osiris. The yellowed pages, the meticulously drawn diagrams, and the secrets of the afterlife became the focus of attention in the newly restored library.
Meanwhile, Carter and Sadie continued their training, honing their magical skills under Amos's guidance. Ikki interacted with them, participating in discussions and enjoying their company, but his mind always seemed to wander to places the others couldn't reach. Even immersed in the routine of the Brooklyn House, sharing meals, listening to stories from the Kane siblings, and recounting fragments of his own journey, there was always something distant in his gaze, as if he were on the verge of a revelation that never came.
Still, against all expectations, he found friendship among them. Despite the internal storms he faced, he felt grateful. For the first time in a long time, he realized he wasn't entirely alone.
And Zia?
Well, when they returned to New York, the truth came out. The Zia they knew was a Shabti, a clay statue created by her master to protect her, as she hosted a goddess. Her real body was hidden, kept safe. The Shabti wouldn't last forever, and before disappearing, Zia extended an invitation: her master wanted to meet Ikki.
So, he spent a few days with Iskandar, the leader of the House of Life, a man who carried over two thousand years of knowledge. Ikki hoped to find answers on how to revive the dead, but in the end, he left empty-handed. However, he learned to respect the old magician and, more than that, he met the real Zia. The connection between them arose naturally, perhaps even faster than with the Kane siblings. She seemed to understand him in a way few could.
Two weeks later, he returned to the Brooklyn House. Carter and Sadie said they had found ancient books on the subject of resurrection, and Ikki spent the next month immersed in research with them.
Then, Anubis appeared.
In his human form, the god of the dead came to fetch them. The gods wished to thank them for their deeds. But Ikki had other interests. Without hesitation, he asked directly: was it possible to bring someone back to life?
Anubis was straightforward. There were ways to find the dead in the Duat, to interact with them, but bringing them back to the mortal world… that was another story. Complicated. Practically impossible.
Ikki had expected this answer, but couldn't avoid the disappointment. Still, he decided to accompany Carter and Sadie to the Hall of Judgment. Only they were summoned; Zia and Amos stayed behind.
There, the Kane siblings had a touching reunion with their parents. Julius, now fully merged with Osiris, explained the sacrifice he had made. Ruby, ever maternal, gave them a djed amulet, a symbol of hope for the future of the Path of the Gods—the magicians capable of hosting a god and channeling their power. Carter, who had once been the Eye of Horus, understood this burden well.
When the Kane parents turned to Ikki, they expressed gratitude for his protection of their children. As a sign of trust, they offered him a similar amulet, suggesting he could find other descendants of the pharaohs to train. He accepted with a slight nod, maintaining his impassive expression.
They believed he was one of them; a descendant of the pharaohs, part of the Path of the Gods. Ikki didn't correct them. From the beginning, he used subtle magic to replicate the Kane's aura, amplifying it until any suspicion became impossible. His true self remained a mystery.
After the farewell, Anubis led them to the grand throne room of the gods.
Horus addressed Carter first, offering him once again the merger to rule together the House of Life and the gods of Egypt. But Carter refused without hesitation. His choice had already been made. He didn't want to be a receptacle for a god, even if it meant giving up power.
Horus and Isis accepted his decision, granting Carter and Sadie powerful artifacts as tokens of gratitude for their victory against Set.
Then, they turned to Ikki.
His presence was impossible to ignore. He had defeated Set single-handedly and reduced the Red Pyramid to ashes.
Horus was the first to ask: how could someone without a god incarnate possess such power? Isis studied him cautiously, searching for any trace of an explanation, but found only what they already knew: Ikki was a human, a wandering magician, supposedly with pharaoh's blood. Even Anubis, normally indifferent, seemed intrigued.
Ikki remained serene. His weary gaze didn't waver, and his answer was simple:
"I don't know either."
The gods exchanged glances. Was it true? Or did he simply not want to answer? In the end, they decided not to press the matter. He had already proven his strength, and if he wished to keep his secrets, there was nothing they could do.
In recognition of his deeds, they granted him the title of [Hero of the Red Sands]. A grand name, but empty to Ikki. What truly mattered was the gift he was given: a staff, an artifact of immense power.
The instant he touched the object, its form shifted. It transformed into a necklace with a lightning pendant—the same one he received in his first year at Camp Half-Blood and which he always kept hidden with his magic. For the Greeks, it was a symbol of his legacy. For the Egyptians, an amulet forged by Horus, Isis, and Anubis.
The next day, life went on.
Amos departed for unknown reasons.
He stayed at the Brooklyn House for a few more days, helping Carter and Sadie reorganize everything.
Meanwhile, he became legendary among magicians.
His fame grew.
The sense of belonging he found there was comforting, but not enough to extinguish the flame of his personal quest.
So, without promises of return, he left.
_________
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it; Set in the real world is quite weak, like a Greek God without their divine form. Although if he were in Duat (where an Egyptian God would be at their peak), the story would be different; he would reach the level of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades easily. He would be a Typhon of life, basically. Ikki would have a little more difficulty killing him.
The image of the chapter is Zia, the only character from the Kane Chronicles that I liked, and to be honest with you? The Egyptian mythology was well-constructed, but it's not very cool compared to Percy Jackson.