Chapter 9 => Rebirth!

The guardian statue, carved in the image of Anubis, turned its head toward the treasury. It had dealt a decisive blow to the pest that had dared trespass upon these hallowed grounds.

It did not know how long it had stood here, nor how it had first come to be. But one thing was certain: guard the Eye.

No matter the circumstances, that was its solemn duty in this tomb.

That was why when it had felt a presence with intent to take that which it was obliged to protect, the guardian had awoken from its long slumber to take action.

The intruder was still alive—though its life was faint.

And it was near the Eye. That it could not allow.

Lifting its mighty legs, it began to march toward the treasury to finish off the intruder. Something about this being was grating on it.

Something unimaginable.

That its existence was in danger.

Impossible!

That being was no more than a fly.

Then—

A sudden explosion erupted from the direction of the treasury.

And two curved blades of gold flashed toward it.

⨷⨷⨷⨷⨷

⟪ See the Path⟫

My eyes shot open.

I heard a voice. A powerful voice calling out to me in my sleep.

Taking a quick look around, I saw that I was still in the treasure room.

I sat up—wait! I sat up?!

Running my hand along my sides and wriggling my feet, it felt as if all the damage from before had simply been an illusion.

But I’m sure it was all very real.

My body felt like it was constantly being embraced in a warm hug. An all-encompassing hug that spread from my head down to the soles of my feet.

I now examined the Eye dangling from my neck.

I grasped it with a sense of fulfillment.

I’d done it.

It was mine now.

But something was still left unfinished.

That’s right. The guardian beyond that collapsed wall.

It certainly would not let me waltz out of here while putting up no resistance.

So what choice is left for me…?

What path is there to take…?

There’s only one.

And that is to force my way out.

I began to search among the heaps of treasure for something I can use—

Planted firmly in a corner were two identical swords, carved out of gold. Their radiance was spectacular.

These were swords known as Khopesh.

Curved blades of war.

I moved closer then pulled them out. Light gleamed along their edges, emphasizing their sharpness.

After taking note of a few other desirable items inside this space, I tossed off the coat dad gave me.

I’d need my full mobility.

My fedora had since been blown away to some location. And my turquoise stained hair was disheveled and on full display.

Then, taking a runner’s stance, I faced out the hole in the wall preparing to challenge the guardian properly this time.

Now that I’d gotten the Eye, my outlook toward my current situation was clearer than ever…

⨷⨷⨷⨷⨷

BOOOOM!!!

I kicked off the treasure-strewn floor toward the guardian. There was a loud explosion behind me as the space around me moved past in a blur.

During my run, my right foot came in direct contact with the ground, meaning my shoe must’ve been blown off earlier.

No need for the other one, then!

I shook it off while accelerating toward the guardian barefoot. More booms resounded behind me as I reached it.

The two swords in my hands were held in a reverse grip as I lunged at it, as if they were fangs that I wanted to sink deep into its body.

With surprising agility, the guardian brought its weapon up to block my strike aimed at its chest. It then made a swatting motion that flung me back several feet.

I’d been wearing nothing but a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, over a pair of plain black trousers. And in addition to that, I was now barefoot.

My opponent on the other hand had a body that looked as tough as steel. And had a weapon that had an impressive reach.

The mismatch was obvious.

It was like telling the world’s strongest human to wrestle an elephant. No. A blue whale.

That was the kind of odds I was against.

And yet, I felt excited.

My lips curled into a smile as I spun mid-air to force my feet to touch the floor. As soon as I reclaimed my footing, faster than before, I charged in.

The human body naturally limits how many motor units fire at once, to prevent tendon tear, muscle ruptures, and joint damage.

I didn’t bother about any of that nonsense, only pushing my body to its limits—past them even.

I could feel the Eye soothing any issues that impaired my body’s functioning, enabling me to focus solely on the fight.

CLING! CLANG! GA-SHANG!

The cries of our weapons striking against each other filled the space.

The guardian thrust its scepter again and again.

Forgetting about the difference in specs, I started to parry the thrusts.

More of them rained down on me. It wanted to crush me with brute force.

It then made a wide sweep with the scepter—

Leap!

I started to circle around the guardian, searching for an opening when suddenly…

⟪ See the Path⟫

That same voice from before that communicated directly to my soul echoed through my spirit. It reminded me of the first time I’d engaged in a battle.

Then green lines started to fill my vision.

They all resembled paths. I followed one—

WOOSH!

The oversized scepter whooshed past me.

I see…

The paths glowing the brightest are most optimal. The deciding factor is whether or not I could follow its guidance.

I chose a path, dashing alongside it at full speed—

CRINK!

I shot right past the guardian’s flank, leaving behind a shallow cut across its torso.

Its facial expression didn’t change, but its countenance certainly displayed shock.

It now turned around to face me, acknowledging me as a genuine threat.

A path… No… Several paths to victory had opened up. I just have to take them.

I raised a battle cry!

“LET’S GOOOOOOOO!!!”

And we both rushed at each other.

My eyes, now amplified several times by the Eye of Horus, could perceive the gaps in the guardian’s defenses that I couldn’t see or access before.

CRINK! CRINK! CRINK!

I made numerous cuts along the guardian’s arms and legs, but none of them would put it down for good.

Rolling out of the way, I evaded another overhead strike meant to flatten me—

Parry!

The scepter strained against my blade, my arm tensed as I held it in place before jumping backward to get some distance.

To win this battle, I need to be mostly all offence.

It seemed the guardian realized this too as it charged at me with more devastating overhead swings.

I avoided them, watching each time the head of the scepter—which was a foot long blade shaped like an animal head—buried itself into the stone bricks.

Then, I had a radical idea!

Before it could pull out its submerged weapon’s tip, I planted my foot on the blunt edge of the blade.

Seeing this as an opportunity to attack, it flung the scepter as hard as it could, launching me all the way to the high ceiling in seconds.

I spun around, pressing against it with my legs—the force was so great, that they sunk, breaking through the stone.

While I was getting ready to shoot myself back down, I remembered something my dad once said…

“…An Occultist with an artifact or relic of some kind can achieve wonders…”

Why was I thinking of him now…? Besides that, he has a point. I mean, I’m going toe to toe with this behemoth.

I kicked off the ceiling, the stone exploding and crumbling behind me as I began my descent.

I was planning to throw off its coordination with this move.

It all depends on how it responded.

The guardian raised the tip of its scepter in an attempt to spear me.

Wait! It’s opting to block now!

It saw that I’d have gone around its thrust to attack the head.

Well, I’ll just have to mix things up a bit.

Aided by gravity, I released a massive swing with both blades against the scepter which the guardian held up horizontally above it.

The sheer power behind my assault sent both its feet burrowing into the ground until stopping just short of its knees.

This was my chance!

It’s like last time. I could feel that this fight would be coming to an end soon.

Ignoring the numbness in my arms, I flipped back down to the ground, and started running towards it.

Sensing my intent to end things quickly, it raised its scepter again without a moment to spare—

⟪ See the Path⟫

“Yeah Horus! I see it!”

That same overhead swing. One that I’ve seen more times than I could count.

“RAAAAAH!!!”

I deflected it to my side with a—

CLANG!

I’d closed the gap.

My vision became flooded with green as the path reflected in my burning eyes of amber.

Transferring the bulk of my strength into both legs, I squatted briefly—the buildup threatened to blow them to pieces.

Then I let it loose!

A flash!

A rising vertical flash of gold that left a deep trail my right blade had gouged out. Starting from its groin, right up until its head where the blade had stopped.

Kicking off its shoulders, I flipped several feet backwards before assuming a fighting stance once more.