Chapter 35

The air was thick with anticipation. The gods sat in silence as Osiris, still weak from his long entombment, was carefully helped to his throne by his wife, Isis, and his son, Anubis. Though he had reclaimed his heart, the weight of his resurrection was evident in the way his hands trembled, the effort it took to merely sit upright. It might take some years to get back his strength.

As he settled, the gods followed suit. For the first time in centuries, the Council of the Gods was complete.

Standing among them, a mortal—Merlin, the sorcerer, both an outsider and a trusted ally. His presence was unprecedented, yet unquestioned; after all, he had been instrumental in Osiris's return.

A tense silence followed.

Then, Osiris spoke. His voice, though weakened, carried the weight of divine authority."I know what Set has done is undeniable. But I feel… he was pushed too much."

A hushed murmur rippled through the chamber.

Bast sighed, her golden feline eyes flickering with restrained emotion."I understand your love for your brother, Osiris. But he nearly destroyed not just Egypt—he risked war with every pantheon when he tried to obliterate the Ancestral Plane."

Anubis, his voice a deep, echoing timbre, nodded."If he had succeeded, the veil between life and death would have shattered. The world itself would have collapsed into chaos."

Osiris looked around. Even those closest to him—his wife, his son—agreed that Set's actions were beyond redemption. But then his eyes met Nephthys's. She bowed her head, her grief etched into the very fabric of her being.

His heart clenched.

Set had not always been a monster. When Osiris had taken his brother's heart, he had seen the conflict in Set's eyes. The brother he had once known—was not truly lost.

Osiris looked at Merlin for some help, sensing Osiris's turmoil, Merlin stepped forward, his long cloak billowing slightly as he entered the center of the council chamber.

He lifted a hand, and the blue flames above them flared for a moment, casting deep shadows.

"I know many of you are angry," Merlin began, his voice measured, controlled. "What Set did was undeniably dangerous. But I ask you—was he truly acting in the right mind?"

A murmur rose. Even Nephthys, who had been silent, leaned forward, listening intently.

Merlin's gaze swept the room, his voice carrying the weight of reason."Set was given the burning sands of the desert. Osiris was chosen to be King. You may say Set was not fit to rule, that he was too cruel, while Osiris was kind. But from what I understand—Set was not always cruel."

Silence.

Isis, Osiris, Nephthys, Bast, and Hathor nodded in quiet agreement. The others, though reluctant, did not object.

Merlin continued, his voice smoother than the Nile's current.

"For Set, it was as if he were cast aside. Ra favored Osiris. The people adored him. And to make it worse—Ra cursed Set, stripping him of the ability to have a family."

The gods exchanged glances. Understanding dawned.

Set had watched his brother become everything he was forbidden to be—a king, a husband, a father. And bitterness had festered, corroding what remained of his heart.

A sudden explosion of fire.

A pillar of golden flame erupted in the center of the chamber, and from it, Ra himself emerged. His towering form blazed with celestial energy, his falcon eyes piercing through the assembly.

"Sit."His voice, though calm, carried the weight of millennia. Immediately, every god, no matter how powerful, lowered their gaze and obeyed.

Ra turned to Merlin, his expression unreadable. Then, he looked to Osiris.

"I have come to accept my own faults."

A ripple of shock passed through the gods.

The great Ra—admitting fault?

His gaze swept across the chamber. "Merlin speaks the truth. I… I am responsible for Set's fall. It was I who cast him into the desert. It was I who pushed him to the brink."

Even the air seemed to grow heavier with his words.

As the gods debated Set's punishment, Osiris, Isis, Anubis, Bast, and Hathor stood at the heart of the discussion.

Then, Merlin spoke once more.

"Let him be sealed for 200 years."

A hush fell over the room.

"After that," he continued, "we will judge if his heart has changed."

The gods exchanged glances, weighing the wisdom of the proposal. Osiris looked to Ra.

After a moment, Ra gave a solemn nod.

"So be it."

The chamber rumbled, the very walls seeming to acknowledge the will of the gods. The verdict was sealed.

Set would be given one last chance—after two centuries of exile.

As the flames flickered and the echoes of judgment faded, Osiris looked down, his expression unreadable.

Somewhere, deep in the void of exile, Set's fate had been rewritten.

For better… or worse.

The council chamber fades to darkness, the blue flames dimming as the gods depart, one by one.Osiris remains seated, his gaze lingering on the throne where Set once sat.