War Of Egypt II • The Persians

Chapter 8: Urgent Matters

    He could feel it pulling him into the darkness, the voice of his father ever so quiet but distinct. He was walking around in a palace, beside him a tall rather large man followed. Suddenly out of nowhere, the sorceress came out behind a pillar, dragging a man along on his knees. He could see that he started asking the man some questions, but after he cooperated, he raised his sword and swung it cleanly across his head. The head rolled off to the side and he wiped the sprayed blood from his face before kicking the kneeling headless body to the floor. The blood ran out of his decapitated body, flowing like wine until it covered the entire floor. Genera Utgeb and the sorceress disappeared, leaving him behind with his true self.

    "Kha look at yourself." The voice whispered in the stillness of the empty corridor. "This is your nature, my boy. The evil runs through your blood as my offspring, you cannot escape it!"

    Kha shook his head and walked backwards from the scene in front of him. He was not sure whether his father was taunting him in the present or if it was what he said during that time. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his other self cleaning the blood of his blade, his head snapping up to look directly at him suddenly. It was him, but Kha could see that his eyes held so much hatred, pain and anger. He started to run from himself, all the while hearing Set's voice echo through the palace, telling him not to run away like a coward. The image of the palace suddenly broke into dimness of a big chamber.

   "Look at yourself. Even as a child, you knew your place."

    Kha collapsed on the floor and saw the familiar black marble. He gazed up heaving and saw the door opening slightly and a child with dark curls stepped through with a dagger in his hands. The child approached the bed in the room and reached over with the dagger poised high. There was little concentration on his face, he knew what he wanted and he knew he would achieve it that moment and bear the consequences later. Nothing else mattered. Just as Kha remembered it, there was a woman's scream and suddenly Nephthys was cradling the little him in her arms. She was weeping and the dagger was on the floor.

    The other figure on the bed rose. A big man with broad shoulders and dark hair, his face was heavily sculpted and so were his muscles. He reached out to Nephthys and prised her protective motherly arms out from the kid. She weeped, knowing certainly he would end her child in that moment but the god pulled the kid from his mother's arms and forced him to sit in front of him. Set stared at the child and the child stared back, not even fearful of what was expected.

    Set brought his face and placed it against his son's, "I am proud of you my boy. My beautiful son, my legacy will be yours one day!"

    Kha's fell backwards into the darkness and suddenly his vision took him to his slaughter on the battlefields. The god watched as his former self raged through masses of warriors and bluntly slaughtered them all. He swung his blade and sliced through everything that came in his path, the backdrop was dark, dreary and rainy. His shadow moved and his power followed. Kha felt the rain through his hair and he felt the blood of thousands splatter across his face and body. He was ruthless.

   "Face him!" Set's voice ordered in the chaos.

    Kha glanced before him and saw a gleaming blade, the moment he picked it, the shadow turned towards him and marched forward. He lifted the blade and brought it down against Kha's sword. The force was sudden and heavy against his own! It was impossible!

    As if reading his mind, Set replied. "The dream has done nothing for you, he is only as strong as you once were. You are failing!"

    Kha growled and countered an attack from his shadow. The shadow moved back and twirled the sword in his hand, giving off a wicked chuckle before he lunged at Kha again. As they fought on, Kha found the taunting from Set angering him, therfore pushing him to move swifter and more agressive than the shadow. The loud clashes from their blade ran out in the battlefield and gleamed in the lightning. Finally Kha pushed against the shadow and slipped the blade under his ribs, faintly feeling the pain in his own body. The shadow fell and he walked over to him.