Interlude I: The Birth of a Godslaying Pharaoh

Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

"The Black art that Epimetheus and I left behind." says the high pitched voice of a girl, slowly stirring Atem back to consciousness. "The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch." the voice says, causing Atem to groan as awareness returns to him. "A secret rite of usurpation, only possible through the sacrifice of a god. All conditions have been met." finishes the voice as Atem's eyes snap open and the memory of his battle with Baphomet jolts him into attention.

"Baphomet!" exclaims Atem as he stands up in a hurry and warily looks around for the Heretic God. Instead of finding the Heretic God, or the ruins of Fort Quintus, Atem finds himself in a dark field shrouded in a heavy mist with the only person nearby being a young girl around his age possessing violet hair tied into twintails with white ribbons, green eyes with slitted pupils, and pointed ears adorned with red earrings. She wears a strapless white dress with light purple accents, and white shoes.

"Not Baphomet, Pandora." says the girl with a voice full of cheer.

"Pandora, the goddess in charge of Campiones?" asks Atem while gently rubbing his eyes. "Ah that's right, I did kill Baphomet. It only makes sense that I would be meeting you." says Atem as he recalls the outcome of the battle.

"That's right, I am Pandora, the All Giving Woman, and mother of all Campiones. And since you killed Baphomet you will be reborn as a Campione, a God-Slayer, a King of Kings." she says. "As such, you should call me Mom from now on." she adds as she skips towards him.

Looking at the amusing sight of a child skipping towards him while telling him that he should call her mother causes Atem to fall sitting on the ground while letting out a boisterous laugh.

"Mmm, don't laugh at me. Isn't it natural for a child to call his mother mom?" says Pandora with a pout.

"How can I possibly call you mom when you show yourself to me in such a state?" asks Atem as he stops laughing long enough to answer her.

"What's wrong with the way I am?" she replies while looking down at her child-like body.

"You do not look a day older than me, how can I possibly call someone of the same age as me 'mom'. Even if that person is thousands of years older than me it would not feel right." explains Atem. "Calling you sister would be more fitting." he adds.

"So the problem is the appearance, not the request itself?" asks Pandora with a tilt of her head, earning a nod from Atem. "Very well." says Pandora as her body changes. Her height increases to reach around five feet seven inches, her hair changes from twintails to simply falling on her lower back, and her body fills out to become that of a mature woman. "Is this better?" she asks with a slightly deeper voice and calmer attitude.

"It is." answers Atem as he stands up. "Now you look worthy of being called mom. Unfortunately I cannot call you mom." says Atem with a shake of his head.

"What?! Why not?" asks Pandora with slouched shoulders and a pout.

"There is already a woman that has earned that title from me. Despite not being my biological mother, she raised me as her own and is the reason why I have survived until now." explains Atem.

"Oh." dejectedly says Pandora. "I guess that makes sense." she adds as she looks away from Atem.

"However, that does not mean that I cannot accept you as my mother." says Atem, causing Pandora to look back at him with excitement in her eyes.

"Really?" asks Pandora.

"Of course." says Atem as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Since I have already said it, then it is now a fact. I, Atem, Pharaoh of this era, accept you as my mother. It is the least I can do for the gift that you have bestowed upon me." claims with Atem with a proud smirk on his face.

"Finally!" exclaims Pandora as she envelops Atem in a crushing hug, startling the boy. "Finally a child of mine calls me Mother. It may not be mom, but it is good all the same." she says with a smile as she gently ruffles Atem's hair.

Not used to being hugged by anyone other than Adanna, Atem is at a loss for what to do before eventually deciding to return the hug. He has already accepted her as his mother, as such it's only natural that he hugs her like a good son hugs their mother.

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Memphis, Egypt

Headquarters of The House of Life

October 17, 1798

Memphis Egypt, the ancient capital of Inebu-hedj, the first nome of Lower Egypt that was known as mḥw, or north. It was the capital of ancient Egypt, Kemet or Kumat, during the Old Kingdom and remained an important city throughout ancient Egyptian history. In more modern times its importance has been reduced in favor of Cairo, the current capital of Egypt, or at least that is what seems to be the case to those not aware of the supernatural side of the world.

In reality while Memphis is just another city to the mundane world, to the supernatural world it is one of the most important cities for it is where the tombs of Pharaoh Atem and Ramasses II are located along with the headquarters of The House of Life, the sole magical association of Egypt and one that is on the verge of destruction.

Currently, within a bedroom located in the underground headquarters of The House of Life, the figure of a young girl no older than twelve can be seen tossing and turning restlessly on the bed while the girl whispers in her sleep. As the young girl's sleep grows more and more restless, a glowing Eye of Ra, the same symbol that is engraved on Atem's Millennium Eye, appears on her forehead, causing her to become more and more restless.

Just as it seems that the girl will injure herself through her tossing and turning, she violently lurches awake with a loud scream that resonates throughout the underground headquarters.

Coming to her senses quickly, the young girl attempts to catch her breath and wipes the sweat from her brow while the Eye of Ra slowly disappears from her forehead without a trace of ever having been there. As her breath slowly becomes more and more controlled, the door to her room is blasted open as a grown man and two boys step in.

"Isis!" exclaims the man as he enters the room with two glowing fists and looking for an intruder.

While the man makes sure that the room is devoid of any intruder, the two boys silently make their way to Isis with worried frowns on their faces.

"Are you ok?" asks the first boy who seems to be around two years younger than the girl.

"He's here." answers Isis as she ignores the question. "The Pharaoh is here." she tells them with wide eyes.

"What?" asks the same boy. "That's not possible unless one of the past Pharaohs decided to manifest as a Heretic God." he argues just as a woman enters the room.

"No, not one of the old Pharaohs." says Isis with a shake of her head "A new Pharaoh, one with the potential to surpass all of the previous ones. He has officially ascended as Campione." she explains, silencing everyone.

"Isis, can you repeat that please?" asks the man as his and everyone's body tenses in anticipation.

"There is a new Campione who has ascended tonight." she says slowly, earning a slow nod from everyone as they register the words that she has just spoken. "One from the Pharaoh's bloodline." she tells them, making all of their eyes widen subconsciously.

Silence falls in the room while everyone present processes the information. A new Campione has ascended today, making him or her the second Campione in the world. Not only is there a new Campione, but that Campione is one who is a member of the Pharaoh's bloodline, a bloodline that many had believed to either be extent or devoid of its previous power.

As the people finally understand the situation, a roaring laughter erupts from the man, shocking everyone out of their stupor.

"Grandmother was right!" exclaims the man as he bangs his fist into the wall. "She was right. All we had to do was bide our time and salvation would come to us." he says as tears begin to stream from his eyes.

"Father?" hesitantly calls out Isis with a questioning frown.

"It is nothing." reassures Isis' father as he wipes the tears from his eyes with a smile on his face. "It's just that after years of nothing but trouble that receiving good news for once has made me emotional. Now tell us about the Pharaoh." he says.

"He was named Atem by his mother before she perished, and was raised by a woman who seems to deeply care about him." explains Isis.

"What a terrible fate." whispers one of the women before Isis can continue.

"It gets worse unfortunately. The Pharaoh was born a slave in the french colony of Saint-Domingue, on the fort of a magus family." continues Isis, causing them to frown.

"Someone actually dared to enslave the Pharaoh's bloodline?" asks the boy.

"For a time, yes. However the Pharaoh not only managed to free himself, but he also managed to defeat the magus and kill the Heretic God, Baphomet." explains Isis.

"Good. Do you know what his current plans are?" asks Isis' father.

"He seems to plan on taking the island for himself. At least that's what I was able to see in the vision before waking." answers Isis.

"As expected of a God-slayer from the Pharaoh's bloodline." says the man before folding his arms in thought. "With our current situation, the best we can do is abandon Egypt and join the Pharaoh to offer our services. Grandmother believed that someday a Campione above all others will ascend. She said that when the time comes we should abandon everything and serve him faithfully" says Isis' father after a few minutes of thought.

"And what if he doesn't accept us, or what if he is cruel and unreasonable? Do you plan on placing our entire family's survival in the hand of some unknown Devil King?" asks one of the women with a glare.

"What would you have me do Zahra?" asks the man with a frustrated sigh. "I can only hold the Barthomeloi family back for so long. Even now they send enforcers to Egypt in search of the Millennium Items in our protection. If we stay then not only do we die, but we will also fail in the task given to our family by Pharaoh Ramasses II." he says with a frown.

"Then let's give it to them. We can give them the Millennium Items before escaping from this world. We can live our lives normally without worrying about the supernatural world." fervently says Zahra in an attempt to sway her husband.

"NO!" screams one of the boys before the man can even answer. "You wish to hand the Millenium Items to the Barthomeloi family? Are you mad?" asks the boy with wide eyes.

"Be quiet Marik, this conversation is between your father and I." orders Zahra with a glare.

"Marik is right Zahra. I can't forsake my duty to the Pharaoh." says their father with a shake of his head. "Even if it's possible that the new Pharaoh is cruel and unreasonable, not only do I owe it to myself and my family to do this, but I also owe it to us to grasp this chance." he explains.

"But this isn't the only chance." says Zahra desperately as she grabs onto her husband. "We can leave this all behind us and our chances of survival will increase."

"No. The way you propose would have us forsake our heritage and that's something that I can never agree to."

"What has this stupid heritage done for us? We are hunted for artifacts whose purpose we don't even know, our daughter can't even sleep without waking up from prophetic nightmares and we live underground. So explain to me Abasi, why should I care about this heritage you speak of?" questions Zahra with a scream.

"Enough." says Absi softly. "This conversation is over. We leave in three days so be prepared." orders Abasi before walking past an enraged Zahra and out of Isis' room.

Not willing to just let the conversation end like that, Zahra follows him, leaving the three children by themselves. As she exits the room, she misses the dark shadow that appears over Marik and warily stares at her retreating figure before quickly returning back inside the boy, unseen by his parents but not by his sister and his friend.

"We should return to bed Marik." says the second boy, speaking for the first time since his arrival in Isis' room.

"You can go without me Odion." answers Marik.

"I saw how the shadow was looking at your mother, I won't leave you alone for it to take over." says Odion.

"Maybe we should tell father about it now." suggests Isis.

"No, I can control it just fine. And even if I can't, I have you two." replies Marik. "Besides, it only shows up when it senses a threat so it should be fine." he adds.

"What threat could it possibly sense from your mother of all people?" asks Odion with a frown.

"I have a hunch, but I really hope that I'm wrong." says Marik.

"And if you're not?" wonders Isis.

"Then we'll need to stop her or risk having an enraged Godslaying Pharoah after our heads." answers Marik ominously.

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AN: Here's the chapter, as usual tell me what you think and comment on your theories on what comes next for Atem, I love reading them.

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