Chapter 603: [The Journey of Sun] [17] [Understanding Authority and Yidhra]

I remained seated in the desert long after Amunet left me.

My eyes remained fixed on the sun that oddly always remained at the top of my head.

Part of me had already come to terms with the fact that I was fighting those beyond my reach.

The game that I didn’t want to play was much more prominent to my existence than anything else.

’...Leaving everything aside, I need to stop delving into the past and start learning from the mistakes I made.’

Everything that I did had some sort of flaw, be it my naivety in thinking that Isis’s magic could stop Amun-Ra or my interpretation of what exactly happened at night.

’...No, I am sure that Amun-Ra and Apophis are bound to fight at night.’

Then what happened last night? Why did they not fight with each other?

’....Did they both make some sort of deal just to fuck me over?’

"..."

I don’t know how I should feel about the information. It was odd and bizarre, to say the least.

Taking in a deep breath, I glanced at her chest as a semi-solid thing moved out of it.

CHRIP!!!

Liraz let out a soft cry as he rubbed his face against my cheek.

"...I am not that depressed." I mumbled, gently rubbing his head. "I just don’t know how I should move from here."

CHRIP!!

The blue bird gently pecked my head, and spoken memories exploded in my mind.

Memories that belonged to my life on Lumina with my loved ones.

I saw myself walking through the streets of Akasha, arguing with Oliver, Aimar, and Elijah over the smallest things, and laughing at stupid jokes.

I saw myself with Inna and talking with El.

I saw Christina, Nymeria, Shyamal, Zenith, and Serisha. I saw myself spending time with the people who had slowly become a part of my life.

...It was an odd feeling. Those memories clearly were mine, but I still felt reluctant to accept that.

Perhaps living the life of a God was making me forget who I really was.

’....I cannot lose myself.’ I thought, closing my eyes. ’In the end, Amun-Ra is a greedy God, and I am nothing like him.’

I opened my eyes and took another deep breath, allowing the memories to settle instead of pushing them away.

Liraz chirped softly beside my ear, seemingly satisfied with whatever he had shown me.

I couldn’t help but smile. "...Thanks."

CHRIP!

"Don’t get too proud of yourself."

CHRIP!!

"I said don’t get too proud."

The little blue bird puffed out his chest before settling down on my shoulder.

I shook my head and stood up from the sand, brushing the grains from my clothes.

Looking away from all the negativity, there was one thing that happened in my favor.

I waved my hand, and a green light spread out of it like a wave of vanishing flames.

The same green, unrestrained light that I had seen in the hands of Osiris countless times.

Because of being inside the body of Amun-Ra, I could use the Authority over Souls as well, which he had acquired.

’...It’s quite ironic to think that Amun-Ra had to bind the Authority to his body rather than his own soul.’

"..."

Wait, perhaps I am missing something.

What if he needed the Authority over Souls specifically bound to his body for his plans?

’...I need to keep that in mind.’

I remained still for a moment, staring at the green light covering my hand.

The Authority felt strangely familiar, almost as if I had been using it for years, despite the fact that I had only seen Osiris use it a handful of times.

’...If Amun-Ra really needed this Authority bound to his body, then there has to be a reason.’

I slowly closed my fingers, and the green light disappeared.

I had already seen what Osiris could do with this Authority, but there was something I had never properly considered.

The Authority belonged to Osiris, and Amun-Ra somehow acquired it after his death.

’So what exactly did Amun-Ra do to take it?’ I frowned.

I remembered the scene Isis had shown me.

Amun-Ra had been holding Osiris in one hand while removing his heart with the other.

At the time, I had been so focused on Osiris’s death that I never paid attention to what happened afterward.

’Did he actually absorb the Authority... or did he eat Osiris’s heart to acquire it?’

I raised my hand again, and the green light appeared.

It slowly spread across my palm before flowing toward my fingers like tiny streams.

’...I need to do some experiments.’ I thought to myself. ’I need to find out how much I can do with the Authority to understand what Amun-Ra plans to do with it.’

I turned my gaze and looked far ahead until I found a group of Nomads.

They were on the verge of death, with none of them having the chance of living.

The group was sleeping peacefully under the shade of a boulder.

I moved, and in the next instant, I was standing above the group of ten people without making any sound.

’...I am sorry.’

Using the Authority over Souls, I gave them all a painless death and collected their souls that lay in my hand.

The ten souls floated above my palm, but they looked nothing like their bodies.

They were faint, translucent figures that barely retained their original shapes.

Their faces were blurred, as if they were already being forgotten by the world.

There was no weight to them, yet I could somehow feel every little movement they made.

I could feel their fear and confusion.

Even the faint traces of emotions they had experienced during their lives.

’...This Authority really is terrifying.’ I moved one of the souls closer to my fingers.

The moment I touched it, a strange sensation entered my mind.

It was for a really brief moment, but I most definitely saw their entire life in a flash.

The Authority wasn’t simply allowing me to control souls.

It was allowing me to interact with the things contained within them.

I looked at the remaining nine souls. ’How far does this go?’

I slowly brought two souls together.

The moment they touched, the green light around my hand intensified.

The two souls began to twist around each other, and with a small push, they began to merge.

In just a few seconds, they were one and much larger than their original size.

I let them float in the air as I kept on staring at the newly formed soul.

"What could you possibly use a merged Soul for?" I wondered out loud.

Without thinking much, I began to push the rest of the Souls into the merged one.

They all began to turn into one large soul without much problem or resistance.

’...Well, given they were souls of mortals on the verge of death, it made sense they couldn’t resist.’

I continued staring at the massive soul floating in front of me.

It was already much larger than before, but its appearance had changed as well.

The faint figures that once made up the individual souls had disappeared completely, leaving behind a single translucent form.

I kept on staring at the thing without thinking about anything else.

Suddenly, I gave in to my urge as I extended my hand and touched it.

Immediately, I saw hundreds of different memories appear at once, overlapping each other so quickly that I couldn’t properly understand any of them.

I immediately pulled my hand away. "...That’s fucking disturbing."

I kept on staring at the thing while jerking my hand off as if I had been touched by a filth.

’...Wait, is it just me, or did this thing shrink a little?’

I narrowed my eyes and examined it again, and sure enough, it was smaller than before.

’...What if...’

I raised my hand and touched it again, fighting back all the memories bombarding my mind.

In front of my eyes, the thing became smaller and smaller until it was completely gone.

"...."

I looked down at my hand in complete silence as I tried to understand what actually happened.

’...The Authority over Souls absorbed the Soul...’

Thinking along the line, if it was absorbing souls, does that mean the Souls can be used for something else?

It was not much, but I think I have gotten a pretty big lead.

"Amunet." I called out, knowing she was watching me. "In a hypothetical situation, if Amun-Ra wins the game and becomes an Outer God, what would his name be?"

El once told me every name of an Outer God represents their authority.

Amun-Ra died reaching a half-Outer-God stage, but he had done enough to get a name for himself.

...If I can know the name...

There was silence from her side for a long while before she answered. "Yidhra of Sun and Soul-Sothoth."

’Yes! Fuck, I knew it!’

Taking in a deep breath, I continued. "...I can assume that Soul would be one of the foundations of Amun-Ra’s power, right?"

"..."

There was no answer from her side, which was typical, but it also gave me the answer.

’...So, his foundation would be Soul and Sun.’

At least now I know what I need to keep my eyes on.

But still, that made me ask myself another question.

’...What and how much will Osiris’s Authority over Souls play in his Ascension to Outer God level?’