The damp environment of the cell silently nourished all negative, gloomy emotions. The only light sources came from the moonlight above and the torch mounted on the stone wall beside the entrance.
“You’re mocking me?”
Rather than getting angry, Rahotep laughed. He stepped to the edge of the square pool’s marble slab. Across the vast expanse of water and the iron cage in the middle, the tension between the two men was palpable, like drawn swords.
“Shamule, since we were children, you have always been my defeated opponent. What right do you have to mock your elder brother?”
Rahotep coldly addressed the two other soldiers present: “You two, go out and receive your punishment. Inform the others, the guard change will happen in the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn.”
The two soldiers bowed and left.
The flame on the torch burned. To reach this cell, located in the deepest, darkest part of the palace from the outside, one had to pass through a long corridor. The wind blew through the long corridor, causing the flame to flicker momentarily, its light reflected in Shamule’s eyes.
The wall was illuminated by raging firelight, yet the water in the pool was piercingly cold.
Even in such a chilling environment, when Rahotep produced the carnelian ring, the anger in Shamule’s heart instantly exploded and spread like wildfire!
“You stole his ring?!”
Shamule’s face could no longer be described as merely gloomy; without exaggeration, it was dark enough to drip ink.
Seeing the other party so distressed, Rahotep finally seemed to have hit the bullseye. He adjusted his clothing and demeanor, walking slowly along the edge of the square pool. “You put it too harshly. It seems even after all these years apart, you’re still the same. When you couldn’t beat me in hunting competitions as a child, you would complain to Father and Mother, using fabricated, pathetic words to slander me.”
“You’re the one talking nonsense,” Shamule stared at the ring held between Rahotep’s fingers, and said through gritted teeth. “I shot that gazelle first.”
Rahotep’s steps paused. He pivoted on his heel to face Shamule and coldly retorted, “But your arrow didn’t hit a vital spot, did it?”
“Just like with this ring.” Rahotep pinched the ring, holding it between the moonlight and his eyes. His eyes and the night sky were separated by the skylight, and he framed the round moon with the ring. “The moon is very beautiful tonight. Originally, I should have had a perfect evening with Iah.”
“Nefer Iah, that name suits him, doesn’t it?” Rahotep said.
His tone gradually slowed. Shamule had already realized something, and his eyes turned red. “…Shut up!”
But this couldn’t change the truth Rahotep had spoken.
“The name of the Divine Envoy… was given by me.”
Drip, drip, drip……
Accompanied by the sound of water droplets from his hair falling back into the pool, Shamule could hear the sound of his heart dripping blood and then freezing.
[Shamulle’s Heartbreak Value +15]
Perhaps because the blood flow in his body had slowed, and the temperature difference in Thebes at night was greater, after so many days without seeing the sun, Shamule finally felt that this square pool was piercingly cold.
His reflection in the water showed disheveled, lackluster golden hair, as wretched as a hunting dog abandoned in the wilderness. The strands of wet hair clung to his skin like icy thorns.
The hand gripping the iron cage bars moved slightly. Suddenly, he laughed, and asked in a hoarse voice, “So what?”
Rahotep frowned.
Shamule pulled his lips into a cold, stern smile. “Isn’t his willingness to wear this ring proof enough of his love for me?” He raised his hand, turning the back of it towards Rahotep so the other man could see clearly that on the ring finger of his left hand, there was an identical matching ring. “We have already sworn our vows in the temple of Isis.”
The matching ring shone brilliantly.
Shamule: “And you?”
“…”
[Rahotep’s Heartbreak Value +15]
A snow-white cat, with a long, dandelion-like tail, swaggered with its tail held high from the corridor and into the gloom outside the cell after the two soldiers had withdrawn.
It sat down with its tail curled, and began meticulously licking and grooming its fur.
Hearing the successive heartbreak value notifications, the white cat paused its grooming.
‘What’s this?’
‘Is this a game of turns?’
‘This won’t kill anyone, anyway.’
Xin Hexue leisurely wiped his paw pads on a nearby carpet.
[Shamule’s Current Heartbreak Value 90]
[Rahotep’s Current Heartbreak Value 95]
“I can take this ring from Iah’s hand,” Rahotep slowly smiled, his expression calm like deep, stagnant water, “and I can also erase any trace you left in his heart.”
“Plop.” The ring fell into the water.
Shamule instantly went mad, grabbing the bars of the iron cage and causing the entire suspended cage to shake. “Rahotep! I’ll kill you!”
Compared to the vast square pool, the iron cage only occupied the central part, and the ring was at the distant far edge of the pool.
Rahotep: “Now, it is nothing.”
The white cat yawned.
Its front paws slowly and elegantly brushed past its ears, smoothing the long smart hairs at the tips.
He was growing tired and bored watching this scene. Seeing that it should be nearing its end, he left without looking back, his upright, fluffy tail swaying side to side as it disappeared into the darkness at the end of the long corridor.
Rahotep did not return that night. Xin Hexue knew, just from the sharp increase in heartbreak value at the time, that Shamule’s words had indeed irritated him.
Rahotep simply wanted to avoid the fact that Xin Hexue had voluntarily worn the ring. He hadn’t yet figured out how to face Xin Hexue.
Besides, Xin Hexue had previously shown a rejecting attitude towards him.
To deceive himself and… seize the Divine Envoy’s body?
It wasn’t what Rahotep wanted.
Even so, he could still approach the Divine Envoy through other means, through legitimate reasons.
For example, the construction of the Nefer Iah temple complex was located on the west bank of Thebes. The religious reform he had been brewing for a long time had finally begun on a grand scale. Now was indeed the peak of his royal authority and prestige since his accession. Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under his command, the original priestly groups of the Two Lands were scattered and disorganized, and the Divine Envoy’s fame had won popular support. At this time, all necessary conditions for the reform were in place.
“Relax, Iah.”
Rahotep requested the Divine Envoy to transform into his cat form. He told Xin Hexue he only needed to sit upright in place.
The Vizier nearby said eagerly, “Divine Envoy, this is the court painter, he will sketch your image. And this is the most renowned artistic craftsman from Deir el-Medina. Your majesty will be immortalized in an alabaster statue, allowing future generations to behold your eternal glory.”
Xin Hexue shook his fur, making him look like a full dandelion. A strand of long white hair, caught by the wind, drifted gently in the air.
Rahotep pinched the stray strand that had left its main body. The white cat licked its front paw in embarrassment.
It was the changing season lately, which made him shed some fur. Even the omnipotent Cat God had things he couldn’t control.
Fortunately, such a small detail did not detract from the god’s majesty.
“Meow.” You better hurry up.
Xin Hexue said, because his transformation couldn’t be maintained for too long. “Meow,meow, meow.”
Everyone present sat upright, listening to the god’s language. Although they couldn’t comprehend the wisdom and mystery within, that didn’t stop them from praising the divine oracle.
Xin Hexue: “…”
So embarrassed that he yawned elegantly.
When the portrait and statue images first circulated from the palace, the first legend of the new god began to spread…
The beautiful Nefer Iah sometimes walked the mortal world in the form of a cat.
Although the local mythology already had a Bastet god who also walked the world in cat form, no one would mistake the incarnations of these two gods. Bastet was a brown-black short-haired cat, while God Iah was a snow-white long-haired cat, the latter being almost unseen in this hot, sandy land.
So, upon seeing such a cat, one only needed to bow in submission to the god and offer loyalty.
[Congratulations, Host, on achieving the achievement: The Civilization of the Cat God.] K said with a tone filled with amusement and teasing, if his cold mechanical voice could simulate such a tone.
Xin Hexue swayed his big tail, then tucked it under his paw pad. [Exchange for the pain-free world departure procedure.]
K: [How long does the host wish to set the buffer period?]
Xin Hexue glanced at Rahotep and replied: [Half a month.]
Counting from now, half a month later would be exactly the day after Rahotep’s coronation ceremony ended.
To crown the new king was the Cat God’s final act of mercy.
……..
Golden light broke through the clouds in the sky, gilding the Theban mountains with a layer of gold powder.
A hawk soared up from the horizon, flying back to land on the golden wood beside the altar.
The coronation of the Lord of the Two Lands was grand and magnificent. People praised him as the King of Kings on earth, with tributes from all directions and the submission of the strong.
For the past half month, congratulatory gifts prepared by the various Nomes, neighboring countries, and tribes converged into Thebes like rivers from all sides.
This was the most sacred moment between heaven and earth. The sun pierced the gloom of the horizon and slowly rose.
Tall papyrus-patterned stone pillars supported the majestic and rich temple, and the altar stood like a mountain in the very center of the temple.
Rahotep ascended the steps, leaving the crowd of nobles and guests below. Waiting for him at the top of the steps was the one whose name would be passed down together with his for millennia.
Rahotep realized he loved him, so he could not allow anyone to criticize their relationship. He wanted to elevate his beloved to the height of divine authority, making it even more unattainable than royal power.
Finally, he reached Xin Hexue. He knelt, leaned forward, lowered his head, and kissed the golden thread on the god’s robe.
He stood up, smiling as he met his lover’s gaze. “Iah, please crown me.”
Like a wind passing through a hall, the light crossed the temple’s pylon, forecourt, sacred lake, and the courtyard of sacred birds, illuminating the Double Crown symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt.
The crown was placed on Rahotep’s head by a pair of pure white hands.
[Rahotep’s Love Value is Full]
“You are a worthy king.”
Xin Hexue said as usual.
Taking advantage of the crowd kneeling below the altar steps, Rahotep took Xin Hexue’s hand. He kissed Xin Hexue’s palm, the tickling sensation causing the Divine Envoy’s eyes to curve slightly.
At that moment, the murals on the dome also seemed to flow with light and color, and the world in Rahotep’s eyes became bright.
But for some reason, his heart missed a beat.
In contrast, the Divine Envoy’s lips were so pale. Rahotep inexplicably felt that Iah was about to be swept into the sky like rootless tumbleweed.
He barely managed to steady his mind, as there were many matters requiring the king’s attention after the ceremony.
“Iah, you should return to the palace and rest first,” Rahotep said. “The physician’s routine check-up for you is almost due.”
Xin Hexue smiled at him. This was a rare smile he had shown Rahotep recently.
By the time Rahotep recovered from the smile, Xin Hexue had already left via the path behind.
Passing through this long corridor, Xin Hexue saw the guest he had expected to come find him…
A pair of golden pupils, symbolizing pure Nubian bloodline, stared at him with tension and anxiety.
Nub pleaded, “Please, leave this place with me.”
……
Their low, urgent conversation would not attract attention because everyone was gathered near the altar.
After a long time, the conversation ended, and Xin Hexue nodded to Nub. They acted as if nothing had just happened, as if they had no close connection, passing by each other like strangers.
Until Xin Hexue bumped into a disheveled, abandoned puppy at the corner.
“You’re leaving?”
Seto’s eyes were bloodshot as he stubbornly blocked the Mother Goddess’s path.
“Take me with you. Don’t abandon me.”
Seto’s voice sounded as if grated by sandpaper, and his thin lips were trembling uncontrollably.
“Please.”
