Soul Seeker (Peace Keeper Sequel)

Chapter Twenty-One: A Tragic Comedy

Yay! Last chapter for this book. That's really it for this series, bookwise anyway. If you're into webcomics, I have a little spin-off of this series on Webtoons, called Spider's Curse. It's a character-driven,  supernatural/drama story about a college student who moves to London, and eventually discovers mysterious powers she can control in her dreams. Not to mention, the ghost of a mysterious woman who claims to be the descendent of an Egyptian Goddess. 

If that sounds at all interesting to you, feel free to check it out on Webtoons. 

Thank you all for making it this far, and I hope you enjoyed this little series. Have a great day, and please stay safe! 

"Well, I didn't see that coming."

That's what I would have said if this was all some sort of stupid comedy. As if none of what happened actually happened. We were all actors paid to do one job, and at the end of the day, we all simply got to go home to our normal lives. Wouldn't that have been wonderful?

It wasn't, though, and I was just waking up to the sobbing face of my best friend. Confused at first, I sat up and looked around, soon remembering what had just taken place. I immediately felt a lump well within my throat, making it hard for me to breathe. There was one new face beside me, but I was too busy having flashbacks from before I had died to actually register her presence.

Stay calm, stay calm.

That's funny, there were no more voices in my head. Just my own, just the one I controlled. That was really the only serene light in the violently dark cavern I had been plunged into.

"Mirella?" Phoebe asked as I turned to her in tears,

"They're all dead, aren't they?" I asked, my tears staining both my eyes and t-shirt.

Phoebe nodded, sniffling a bit as I began to bawl my eyes out. None of this could have happened, right? This had only been some sort of dream. Yes, I was still asleep in my flat, and soon enough, Jumishat would wake me up with some dumb joke of hers.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, Ella."

Why was my mind so cruel?

"No, no, no!" I cried hysterically, I had almost forgotten I had an actual voice, "this isn't real!"

I felt Phoebe's arms envelop me in a warm embrace, but it wasn't enough to stop the tears that kept coming.

It felt like an eternity, but finally, someone spoke up. It was the woman next to us.

"Mirella, dear, I am so sorry for everything that happened. I really wish I could have stopped it from transpiring."

I wiped the tears from my face, holding back another wave of sobs when I saw what looked to be Jumi's body lying on the palace floor in front of me. Who had killed her? Had it been me? Had I killed my own friend?

"It's okay, I suppose," I said in a quiet tone, trying to keep the tears in.

Had she tried to save me?

I then perked up a bit at a sudden thought and turned to the woman beside us.

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"My name is Ma'at, I was the one who created..." She trailed off, turning from my gaze.

She created the thing that killed my friend. She had been the one who had created this entire mess I was in. Was there really a way to forgive her? Of course, it had also been my fault for letting the entity out in the first place. Perhaps we were both to blame for this mess.

I pressed my lips together as someone else appeared within the throne room. It was Nephthys, and her face was stained in soft red. A red I recognized since I had assumed it was adorning my face as well. The goddess had been crying. But why had she...

"Where's Anubis?" I asked, and took both immortals' silence as a grim answer.

"If at all possible," I began wanly, "I would like to go home with Phoebe, please."

"Of course," Isis said with a compassionate nod, "we can transport you back to your own home safely, but first, we would like to let you two in on something."

All five woman stood outside the palace walls. The sun was just beginning to peak over the hills of sand around them, it's grapefruit pink color reminding me of home. The air around us was crisp with a soft chill, and I could see a few villagers exiting their homes and getting ready for work. In reality, this time wasn't too much different than our own.

"Now," Isis began as they all stood in a small circle, Isis stood across from Phoebe and I and Ma'at had taken the spot next to me, while Nephthys stood next to Phoebe, "I don't suppose you two are aware, maybe not even lady Ma'at, but Nephthys, Anubis, and I suspect that Set is planning to resurrect himself into your world."

"How can you be so sure?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, the entity, among doing other things, has been collecting souls. We assumed he's been doing this in order to gain enough power to free himself, his true self." Nephthys said.

"How do you two know this?" Ma'at asked.

"I created a um...being to spy on the human world when I wasn't around. She was sent to look for anyone connected to Set so she could get intel and relay it back to me via telepathy," Nephthys said.

"Corvina, right?" I asked, and the goddess gave a small, benign nod.

"Though Corvina did an excellent job finding the intel on the surface world, we also took into account some common sense," Isis said, "Nephthys thought, depending on the number of human souls he already had collected, he should be able to remove himself from the prison already with his power. So why hasn't he tried removing his whole self?"

"That weird snake thing wasn't him?" Phoebe asked.

Isis shook her head, "it was only a mere part of him, that's why he needed Osiris to reach full power."

"How can he even come to our time?" I asked, "with all due respect, I don't believe there are very many people who believe in your power anymore where we're from."

"That would explain why he would need more souls to resurrect himself in your time period. If he can't make people believe in him, he'll just have to collect their essences to strengthen his power."

"What a dick," Phoebe groaned.

"Doesn't he know what you're planning, already?" Ma'at asked, "I mean, his counterpart is right here."

"I've blocked him from my subconscious. If he does hear anything, it will just be bits and pieces." Nephthys said.

"How can we stop him, then?" I asked.

"We'll keep an eye on him over here, for now, so you two can rest easy after all that's happened. Once we think he's getting too close to the resurrection, we'll let you know We have preparations in your time period for when we need them as well."

"With all due respect, how are we supposed to "rest easy" after that?" Phoebe asked.

"We can help," Ma'at said with a smile, a smile I wasn't quite sure I could trust at the moment.

"We've kept you long enough, girls, I think it's time we take you back," Isis said.

"Be well, okay." Nephthys said, "we'll call you when we need you."

"Goodbye, girls, and my most humblest of apologies for everything," Ma'at added.

After they had finished, I heard Isis mumble something under her breath, and the next minute, I was being enveloped by a soft light. The last thing I remembered thinking was how I would tell any of this to my brother.