In the aftermath of nine devastating plagues that ravaged ancient Egypt, a high priestess desperately seeks to prevent the impending tenth plague. Still, her efforts fail, leaving her at the mercy of an enraged pharaoh. Meanwhile, the pharaoh's son...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Half a dozen lamps hung from the ceiling of the wide luxurious bedroom, their amber glow exposing the sleeping sons of the Pharaoh. The crown prince slept on his back with arms spread apart, and the other five slept on separate beds. Ra sighed, relief washing over him. They were still alive.
"Why do you try to stop the inevitable?" Asked a low voice from the shadows.
Ra sharply turned to his left. His gaze bounced over every corner; he could see no one. A shadow shifted behind a white curtain. His eyes narrowed to slits. Taking a battle stance, Ra growled. "Show yourself!"
Ra wore the appearance of a typical large-bodied Egyptian, complete with a white kilt and a gold hoop earring. He flexed the muscles of his shoulders, every part of him sprung tight in anticipation.
At the sound of faint shuffling, panic rose unbidden within Ra. Even though he was no match for Abaddon, he still refused to cower. It was against his nature to do so.
Abaddon had a notorious reputation of precisely carrying out whatever assignment he was given by I AM. Not once had he failed. Ra had a notion that the angel of destruction appeared as a human to toy with his opponent.
"One would think after all Egypt has suffered, you will come to your senses and stand back for the hand of justice to take its due." The Destroyer's voice, a bored drawl, echoed unnaturally around Ra.
Ra scowled when Abaddon emerged from the shadows with a suave gait, hands clasped at his back, and staff floating before him. The edge of his robe resembled wisps of black smoke and his eyes were alight with blue fire.
"Do not insult me by attempting to stop this. These sons of the man whose heart is as dark as yours will not escape death."
In a blink, Abaddon materialised above the sleeping sons and peered down at them. Ra bolted forward and summoned his spear. Raising the weapon over his shoulder, he hurled it at the Destroyer.
Without taking his eyes off the sleeping sons, Abaddon blocked the blow with his staff. Ra's eyes widened as the force from the little collision pushed him several feet back.
"One seems to be missing." With blazing eyes still roaming over the sleeping sons, the Destroyer retrieved his floating staff but did not wave it.
Ra lurched forward once more but realized no amount of speed could have stopped what came next. It happened in a flash. Six shadows of death burst out of Abaddon's staff and raced downward in a blur of smoke and dull red flame. They settled over the sons and dispersed immediately, leaving husks behind. Their skin took on a pale appearance with maps of black veins fanning across their lifeless bodies.
Ra stared at the corpses in silence. There was a roaring in his head. His fingers flexed around his spear as he forced himself to think past the bitterness of defeat.
When Abaddon straightened and turned to face him, he spoke with the grace of a cultured noble. "You incited the Pharaoh to feed the Nile crocodiles with newborn babies and harvested their life force to grow in power. You should be glad these sons died this way." The Destroyer gestured at the dead sons with a careless hand.
"Believe me, I tried to convince I AM to make this gruesome but my request was denied. Their death means nothing to you. It is the lost faith and disdain of the people you try to fight. Their abandonment is what strikes fear in you. No more adulation and reverence. About time, I think," Abaddon said with calm dismissal as he turned to leave.
The wrath in Ra's head erupted, spewing and burning every ounce of reason he possessed. His true form tore through the skin of his human disguise. As he morphed, the spear in his hand was replaced by a thorny mace, and heavy chains encircled his biceps and torso. He exhaled a gust of smoke when his black feathery wings pushed through his back.
Giving off a harsh cry, Ra flew forward and struck Abaddon with his mace, effectively shooting the dark angel through the roof. Flapping both wings, he blazed after Abaddon.
Innumerable shadows of death still whizzed about. Their great number filled the air with mismatched sounds of wild laughter and screeches. They hampered Ra's concentration, killed his patience, and fanned the flame of his rage to scalding heights. Snapping his hooked beak in frustration, he swatted them out of his way. He whipped around, desperate to get a glimpse of Abaddon, but all he saw were shadows and more shadows.
"Although I feel gravely insulted by your action, I love a fair fight and never turn down a challenge."
The shadows parted for a moment and Ra caught a glimpse of Abaddon hovering a few feet away. His robe had two strips that snapped behind him, giving the illusion of restless wings.
Without so much as a shift of his staff, all the shadows sped towards the Destroyer. As they zapped into the staff in droves, the noise they generated gradually faded to silence, and Ra was awakened to the reality of his failure.
The sound of wailing filled the air. There was not a single house without a lamp on; the people were screaming his name and those of other gods. They did not speak their usual words of reverence and praise, instead, they wept at the gods' betrayal and abandonment.
"You have failed, Ra. Not that you ever stood a chance to stop what was coming."
The calm cadence of Abaddon's voice only served as fuel to Ra's burning rage.
"Take a look at your household. It has turned against you." The Destroyer gestured to his left.
When Ra glanced in the direction Abaddon pointed, he frowned then balled his fist as an understanding of what he was witnessing dawned on him. The other gods had retreated, and Quatesh seemed to be the one leading them away. It was impossible not to make out the betraying lesser god; his white serpentine form shone as bright as his treachery.
"Do you not think it is wise to give up now? Your house has abandoned you and yet you still challenge me..."
Ra was unable to keep listening. He could not think past the rage, the betrayal. As the months of back-to-back defeat filled his mind, his pride bled and in that moment, he completely discarded reason. He would fight, and even though he got crushed, he would still fight.
"Get out of my principality," Ra spat.
When Abaddon said nothing in response, Ra sped forward.
The Destroyer vanished before Ra could land a strike. Drawing to a stop, Ra looked around. Had he fled? Ra allowed a small smile of victory to touch his lips.
A large shadow fell over Ra.
Twisting around, Ra's smile evaporated and his mouth fell open at the sight of the creature before him. His mace dropped from his slack grip and vanished.
A mighty sphinx flew above Ra with his tail thrashing about like a freshly decapitated serpent. The only resemblance the sphinx had with Abaddon was his burning blue eyes and solemn face. Huge black wings beat the air and his black fur gleamed in the moonlight. In size proportion, Ra was a sparrow before an edifice.
For the first time in centuries, Ra admitted his own smallness. Abaddon was right, he should have counted his losses and accepted defeat.
