The order
Arthur Harrow smiled under the moonlight.
The light that represented the god who previously enslaved him.
And now... now he was nothing more than a shadow of the power that in other times had taken Arthur’s breath away and had dragged the human to be the fist of his vengeance.
He still remembered how he had seen Khonshu for the first time. Where had he done it. What had he felt.
Very similar to Marc Spector's story, Arthur's had begun during one of the jobs he had held as a mercenary and con man.
Oh, those years of youth, in which he had believed that the world belonged to him and in which, with an insane cynicism, he hadn’t taken responsibility for the consequences of his actions. All the pleasures had been part of his days and nights, until, during a robbery at the house of a major dealer in Turkey, the false information provided by his colleagues had caused them to fall into a trap and Arthur ended up locked in a room, surrounded by armed men, with the sole certainty that if he moved from there or that, if the men managed to enter, his days were over.
The place had been packed with relics.
Back then, he had laughed and sarcastically stated in a low voice that at least he would go among god figures, to which, seconds later, he had added that, if any of those gods listened to him, in order to save his life, he would do what that deity ordered, forever.
And so Khonshu and the Moon Knight suit had arrived. And, damn it, how he had enjoyed being that warrior.
Together, the moon god and his fist of vengeance had been legendary.
Howeer, not much time had passed, until Harrow realized that Khonshu was a useless proposition.
Punish who had already hurt somebody else?
Where was the sense on that?
Guys like him or worse than him, didn't take into account the consequences, many lived those consequences with as much pleasure as the crime that originated them. While those who had been victims of it, they never managed to find a drop of satisfaction in the suffering resulting from the actions of the wrongdoers.
He had discussed the subject with Khonshu.
The god had expressed that it wasn’t his place to stop tragedies. That trying to do so was the work of a fool or another malefactor much worse than those who they fought. That that type of justice was one that intoxicated and, that sooner rather than later, would cause the disappearance of life itself, because judging before what happened was an insult to the gods themselves.
Of course, by then, Harrow not only knew that there were other gods, but that those deities despised Khonshu. Therefore, he had sought advice from the ancient texts. And he had found a way to sever the promise that had bound him to the moon god. But what was left of the Arthur that Khonshu had abandoned had been the shadow of the being he once was.
It had led him to look for Ammit.
In her mind, reprogrammed from his time as a servant to one deity, serving another was the way to refocus, to find his physical health and mental sanity again.
Ammit, as was obvious, had perceived his will and had rewarded him by becoming present in his life in the form of the staff handed to him by his former servant, who, like Arthur, needed a break from the goddess, although this man continued to serve faithfully until the end of his days.
Health and a goal consistent with his own ideals had appeared on the horizon.
And now, that very triumph was in his hands.
In the figure of her mistress walking toward Cairo, followed by the men and women Arthur had identified and judged for her.
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Thoth smirked at Anubis, and the jackal-headed god sighed but nodded gently.
Although neither they nor Khonshu had been great friends in the past, they belonged to the same generation of gods. Children of other deities, with quite challenging lives, the three of them, wouldn’t the first time that supported each other and, at that time, the good or bad decisions of them three could become an impediment to being able to lock up or eliminate Ammit again.
“Don't speak” Thoth told Khonshu “unless it’s to say: yes. Understood?”
The moon god turned his almost phantasmagorical face and watched him carefully for a few moments, then turned that same face towards Anubis, who spoke softly to his little avatar, who nodded when he heard jackal-headed god.
“Alright” answered Khonshu turning his face towards Thoth again.
The god of knowledge stepped forward and sank his knee in the ground again in front of Isis.
“My dear lady” expressed the god with the head of an Ibis “I ask for your intercession in this complex moment”
The goddess crossed her arms and smiled with amusement, while the man she had chosen as her avatar stood at her right side.
Isis didn't usually buy his aggiornated speeches, but she let them happen anyway. The woman was intelligent enough to discern in between the words that were pleasant to the ear the struggles of power and interests.
“It’s my request to you, as to his Majesty, that you mediate between Khonshu and his avatar” said Thoth getting up again “The god of the moon is the protector of Earth. The only one who has followed in her fields and felt the need of her people. It isn’t an excuse for his behavior with his avatar, but… it's an explanation to his situation. We gods leave Khonshu with a great duty. And that same commitment has caused damage to his ability to limit himself in certain aspects. Power has that curse, after all. Without rules, or who enforces them, any of us would fall into temptation”
The goddess took a deep breath and the Mandalorian questioned her.
“Did you abandon this world into the hands of a single god?”
“Unfortunately” admitted Isis “what Thoth tells is true. The gods, by order of who was directing us at the time, decided that leaving Earth, which was already governed with much more stability and did not require our intervention to ensure survival, was the most logical thing to do and, in fact, it seemed to be what they wanted. That there were no more gods among humans”
“And the humans of this world?” asked the Princess taking the floor “What did you think about it?”
“Not much” Layla confessed “We weren’t asked if we wanted them to leave or not. The pantheons of gods, from one day to the next, stopped communicating with humanity and, in fact, not a few came to the conclusion that the gods had died”
Bastet laughed sarcastically and also went ahead, throwing a handful of sand among the gods that turned into a violet powder that unfolded like a sheet and in which scenes from the history of humanity took place.
“My children from Wakanda have been my eyes and ears these long years. I have obeyed and have only communicated with them in their dreams, but humanity… has suffered in our absence. And I'm not saying that Khonshu is the best of the gods, or a hero for staying here, but living in isolation... hasn't benefited anyone. We are learning that harsh truth, my children have learned it also”
“The universes can no longer live safely without relating. Today the threats are much higher and they involve us all” added Shekmet “As an example, we just have to see what happened to Asgard”
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The inner doors of the temple opened to allow two people enter the antechamber of the Ennead.
“Good morning” greeted the oldest of the newcomers “My name is T'Challa, avatar of the glorious Bastet”
“Oh, a pleasure” commented the young man who was next to him “My name is Kehmu, avatar of Kebechet”
“My apologies young Kehmu, but... I have no record of the goddess you represent”
“It's just that she's new... or more or less new” explained the boy entertained with the situation “She's the last daughter of two gods”
“I had no idea that there was birth of new gods still” confessed the young king of Wakanda “I always thought that the pantheons were already determined”
“Determined? No, no, pantheons are living things, that's why we also have so many problems when they have family quarrels” Kehmu explained, taking out his mobile from one of his pockets “Emptying Cairo has been crazy”
“Excuse me? Emptying what?” T'Challa asked in amazement.
“Cairo. Ammit was going there and... Bastet didn't tell you what was going on?” cuestioned the boy raising his face as much or more astonished than the monarch.
“Lady Bastet has not communicated with us directly for many years” commented the king “Only recently has she done so through dreams and visions”
“Shit” the boy sighed putting away the mobile “I'll be brief then. Some fool came up with the idea of freeing a goddess who had been imprisoned by the other gods because... well, she's unhinged and she's powerful enough that it takes several gods to imprisoned her. She’s called Ammit”
“The soul devourer”
“Exactly” say the boy “My goddess has been preparing for a dangerous situation on Earth since Thanos happened. According to her, only more complicated things could come after that imbalance and, therefore, she secretly returned to our world to get in touch with a very old organization that has always served her adoptive father Anubis”
“And you are part of that organization?”
“I’m its current leader. My father, he wasn’t in a good place after the blip. And during his absence I had already led our group, so...”
“There were no problems in the transition” finished for Kehmu the king of Wakanda “I'm very sorry that you had to assume in those conditions. I… lived something similar and… it isn’t the sweetest of times”
“No, it's not” admitted the boy “What was your father's or mother's name?”
“T'Chaka” T'Challa told him “King of Wakanda”
“That name sounds familiar…” Kehmu said, putting a hand to his chin and moments later opening his eyes wide “It can't be… Are you the new Black Panther?!”
The young king burst out laughing at the young man's shocked expression.
It was still hard for him to deal with all that fame outside the borders of his kingdom.
Ever since Wakanda joined the world, it had been unfeasible to hide his double identity from everyone. Under the light of the Agreements, he had had to register and not a few organizations and countries were aware of his extracurricular activities. He imagined that a young man assisted by a goddess wouldn’t be unaware of them either.
“At your service” he smiled “Avatar of Kebechet”
“Man... your Royal Guard is the best” the boy told him, joining his hands with enthusiasm “I'm a big fan of the Dora Milaje since I trained with them...”
“Beg your pardon?” T'Challa questioned the young man “Did you say that you train with the Dora Milaje?”
“Of course. It’s a requirement to be able to integrate my organization to be approved by the guardians”
The monarch, without leaving his stupor, fixed his sight on the young man again. In addition to his short age, which couldn’t exceed seventeen or eighteen, the boy wore a white hood that barely covered his dreadlocks, over a suit close to the body, which behind his back showed a series of weapons that were obviously sharp and ready to attack.
“I thought that never in my life...”
“Were you going to meet one of mine?” the boy commented with a low laugh as he winked at him “We aren’t the hidden ones for nothing, King of Wakanda”
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Marc removed one of his daggers to see Steven's reflection in it.
“What do you say?”
He asked his alter, who crossed his own arms sighing.
“To be honest, Marc, I haven't had a relationship with Khonshu like you have, but he's not a… god… I think we should protect or obey. However, Ammit must be stopped. No one will be safe if we don't and to be able to do so we need him… for now"
“And after?” the American questioned the Londoner again “Because there will be an after, if all goes well”
“No way we continue with that bird. Layla, you and I, are going to be together doing what we want, but not with him in between"
“If I break my promise, Steven, his powers will no longer protect us and...”
"We will die, won't we?"
The former souvenir seller asked and the former mercenary nodded.
"Well no. I didn't accept that” snorted the Londoner “Let me talk to the other gods”
Marc nodded and Steven took charge of the situation, allowing him to observe what was happening from the reflection that his alter kept oriented, as the dagger they had talked with remained in control of Mr. Night.
“Lady Isis” Steven began clearing his throat “You told us that… Khonshu… should have done things differently with Marc and me and… from what I understand Lord Thoth here is saying that, by the way, big fan god of knowledge, you are his avatar, right Layla?”
"Steven! Focus!”
Exclaimed the former mercenary seeing that his alter had lost the thread of his argument.
“Yes, you’re right” continued the Londoner “Lord Thoth then, wants Khonshu to be forgiven. Or am I wrong?”
“Need stay together” a soft voice at his feet told Steven.
“He… hello” greeted the former gift seller to the little green kid.
“Hello. I Grogu”
“Hi Grogu, I'm Steven”
The boy jumped into his alter arms and the somewhat astonished man held him with one of them, after which the boy turned to see Marc's reflection.
“Be avatar. Mister go. You free”
"What?"
“I think this child is telling us that... we can continue to be avatars of Khonshu... without him present, Marc”
“That's exactly what he’s saying” Anubis commented approaching “Marc Spector, Steven Grant, if you agree to forgive our brother, you can keep your powers and call him even if you need to, but we promise that, until you exhale your last breath, Khonshu will remain in the Overvoid, getting the help that he needs and rebuilding certain relationships and bonds that’s convenient for him to form again. Or not, Khonshu?”
The moon god nodded with a sigh, while Thoth patted him on the back.
It was clear that, as Steven was telling him, the bad-temper pigeon he had worked for didn't like the idea of leaving Earth but he didn't have much of a choice. He was at a distinct disadvantage. And, furthermore, the smiles that both Marc and his alter saw on the faces of Hathor and Kebechet when the moon god finally assented to Anubis's request, foreshadowed that this same deity, in truth, wasn’t going to miss their presence too much.
“We will take care of Khonshu and our avatars will assist you if necessary” expressed Isis.
“Marc?”
Steven asked and the American bit his lip in thought before answering.
It hadn't happened to him for months, but the truth was, he didn't want to die anymore. He just wanted to let all this Ammit delusion pass and rest at least for a while with Layla, somewhere remote where the world wasn't ending every five seconds.
"Okay"
He told Steve.
“Are you sure?”
"I am"
“Then” commented the ex-seller of gifts looking Khonshu in the eye “we will continue to be your avatars, pigeon”
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The oldest members of the order of the hidden ones watched as the crocodile-headed goddess and her acolytes made their way through the streets of Cairo.
“They’re in for a surprise”
Ahmed whispered slyly and his twin, Eman, who laughed low.
“We can't sing victory yet, brother”
“You’re right, we can’t”
Ahmed recognized, following the goddess's walk with his eyes.
Like their leader, Kehmu, the rest of the order, hidden in different parts of the city and protected by amulets given by the goddess Kebechet, but in their case they had never seen a deity up close.
The communication with the goddess who requested their assistance, Kebechet daughter of Anubis, had been carried out almost exclusively by Kehmu, who was a direct descendant of the guardians of the pharaohs and to whom she had appeared in a dream, giving him enough power to resist the tests that were needed to lead the organization once his father Bayek couldn’t.
The young leader, under the influence of his protector's presence, carried the training needed, he had survived with the Doras and achieved a level of perfection that had always taken their breath away.
The power of the goddess was something the order members could only imagine, until the amulets were given to them. With those tools, the order was able to open passages in reality, to a monastery far away between mountains, where its leaders, magicians or spiritualists of some kind, had agreed to receive and accommodate the entire population of a huge city for one night in what they called pocket dimensions, people to which their own authorities had mobilized using the fear of a new Thanos as a resource to convince them.
After which, the members of the order, had remained in the place waiting.
What were they waiting?
That reality hit Ammit and her followers.
Letting their frustration come out.
Just as it was happening now, in angry cries, when the goddess and her people had realized that, there was not a single soul in Cairo to reap.
“We must go to Kehmu’s side” Eman whispered, getting up stealthily “We’ve already seen that what we needed happened”
Ahmed nodded and they both left the roof, making signs that were received and replicated over the roofs of the entire city, from where, moments later, dozens of lights flashed. Kebechet's amulets led to the most hidden order on the planet, to the chamber and temple of the Ennead.