Chapter 306: The Explorers - 1

Chapter 306: Chapter 306: The Explorers - 1

The Egyptian Pantheon was once one of the richest and most powerful pantheons in the entire universe.

Its wealth, divine resources, and sheer influence were so great that what had once been a Lower Plane pantheon eventually rose through its own strength and accomplishments and was promoted to the Upper Plane.

Even so, the Egyptian Pantheon was not powerful enough to stand on equal footing with the mightiest forces of the Upper Plane.

It could not compete with the great Celestial Races, the Dragon Race, or the Hindu Pantheon, which was regarded as the strongest godly pantheon in the universe.

Yet among the countless pantheons that existed throughout the universe, the Egyptian Pantheon still stood among the most powerful.

At the very beginning of its history stood Ra.

Ra was the creator and supreme ruler of the Egyptian Pantheon, bearing authority over the Sun, Light, Creation, Life, Kingship, Time, Protection, Judgment, Destruction, and Regeneration.

He was one of the strongest gods in existence, both in the Lower Plane and the Upper Plane, possessing power that far surpassed that of gods such as Zeus and Odin.

But what truly distinguished Ra from those who merely carried the title of God King was not simply his overwhelming strength.

Ra was a true God King.

He was a righteous ruler who genuinely embodied the authority, responsibility, and dignity of kingship.

Unlike false kings who sought power for themselves, Ra ruled for the sake of his pantheon and the countless beings under his protection.

Eventually, after ruling over the Egyptian Pantheon for an immeasurable span of time, Ra relinquished his throne.

He passed the throne down to his great-grandson, Osiris, naming him the next God King of the Egyptian Pantheon.

Ra himself did not disappear.

Instead, he remained within Duat, where he took upon himself the responsibility of preventing one of the greatest catastrophes that could ever befall the Egyptian Pantheon.

Deep within Duat, frozen beneath the cold desert, slept Apophis, the Dragon of End.

As long as Apophis remained asleep, the Egyptian Pantheon could continue to exist in peace.

But should the Dragon of End ever awaken, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Thus, Ra remained in Duat, standing as the final guardian between Apophis and the rest of the Egyptian Pantheon.

For a long period of time, everything proceeded smoothly.

Then Set emerged.

Set, the God of War, Disorder, Violence, Strength, Protection, Darkness, and Drought, eventually began a conflict with his brother, Osiris.

What initially began as a conflict between two brothers gradually escalated into something far greater.

The tension within the Egyptian Pantheon continued to grow until it eventually erupted into a massive internal conflict, dividing the gods themselves.

At the center of it stood Osiris, the current God King of the Egyptian Pantheon, and Set, his brother, who desired the throne for himself.

Set wanted the position of God King.

Osiris stood between him and that ambition.

In the end, Set killed Osiris.

Yet even after murdering his own brother, Set was unable to claim the throne.

Because standing in his way was Horus.

Horus, the God of the Sky, Kingship, Protection, Rule, and Rightful Order, refused to allow Set to take the throne after murdering his father.

Horus sought revenge for Osiris.

What followed would become one of the greatest conflicts in the history of the Egyptian Pantheon.

The Egyptian Pantheon eventually fractured into two opposing factions.

On one side stood Horus and the old gods of the Egyptian Pantheon, the ancient deities who continued to follow the teachings and ideals established by the old God King, Ra.

They believed in the order Ra had established and sought to preserve the legacy of the true God King.

On the other side stood Set, his son, and the new generation of Egyptian gods.

They desired nothing more than war, conflict, and change.

Neither side was willing to surrender.

Neither side was willing to abandon its beliefs.

And so, the Egyptian Pantheon descended into a war between its own gods.

The war continues even now.

However, the conflict has currently reached a standstill.

Neither faction is willing to initiate the next major attack.

Both sides remain completely locked in a tense standoff, waiting for the opposing faction to make the first move.

It was during this period of deadlock that Horus and the other deities of the Egyptian Pantheon received news that could potentially change everything.

The Heavenly Son had returned.

And he had returned in all his glory.

Even more importantly, they learned that one of the goddesses of the Egyptian Pantheon had become his true love.

She was a neutral goddess, one who had refused to take part in the conflict between Horus and Set and had remained separate from the war that had torn their pantheon apart.

The revelation gave Horus and the other gods something they had long since lost.

Hope.

For the first time, they saw a possibility of finally bringing an end to the war.

They believed that the return of the Heavenly Son could provide them with the opportunity they had been waiting for.

An opportunity to finally end the conflict that had divided the Egyptian Pantheon.

An opportunity to defeat Set.

And perhaps, finally, to kill the god who had murdered Osiris and brought unimaginable disorder, destruction, and death upon the Egyptian Pantheon for so long.

And now, that brought the story back to why Horus and the other gods of the Old Age faction had been begging Hathor for her help, asking her to call upon the Heavenly Son to aid their cause.

Hathor had already made her proposition to the Mother Goddess, Isis, causing the Mother Goddess to flinch as her face turned red with embarrassment.

"What do you say, Mother Goddess?" Hathor asked once again, telepathically sending her question directly into Isis’s mind.

"I... I..." Mother Goddess Isis was about to answer when, suddenly, her expression changed.

She felt an unknown and threatening presence suddenly enter the range of her senses.

It was not just her.

All the gods and goddesses present felt it as well.

Even Set and his faction sensed the threatening presence.

Even the God King Ra, who was currently in Duat, the Underworld of the Egyptian Pantheon, frowned as he sensed the same presence.

For a moment, they all remained completely still.

Then, before any of them could react, they witnessed something that immediately changed the atmosphere.

Across the bright blue sky, a tear suddenly began to form.

It was as if something immensely powerful had sliced through space itself, like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The cut stretched horizontally across the sky.

Then, it began to widen.

The surrounding space started to crack apart into countless pieces, shattering like broken shards of glass.

Through the fractured space, hundreds of thousands of figures began to emerge as they stepped out from the other side.

A figure suddenly appeared beside Hathor.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Elder God King."

All the gods and goddesses present immediately knelt in respect as they looked toward the True God King Ra, the creator of the Egyptian Pantheon and their True God King.

"Invaders," the True God King Ra muttered, narrowing his eyes in concern.

He then looked toward the gods of his pantheon.

"Put aside your petty quarrels. This is the time of war."

His voice became solemn.

"True war."

Ra’s gaze swept across all of them.

"Threats from outside our universe are pouring into your pantheon. We must defend our universe at all costs."

Horus and the other gods did not get the chance to say anything or answer the True God King.

There was no time for it.

They simply nodded and began revealing their true Godly Forms one after another.

The gods shifted into their true forms as their figures began glowing with a bright red light.

Every being who had achieved Godhood possessed their own Godly Form.

Even beings who had achieved a particular level of influence over a Divine Concept could sometimes transform into a Godly Form, such as the Seraphim of the Biblical Pantheon.

These Godly Forms represented their Godhood, their Divine Concepts, their authorities, and the level of power they possessed.

When a god entered their Godly Form, they reached the peak of their strength.

The Godly Forms of gods from different pantheons were different, and in most cases, gods within the same pantheon possessed similar Godly Forms.

However, this rule was not absolute.

In many cases, a Godly Form was created by the will of the god themselves, while in others, it was influenced by certain Divine Concepts.

For example, Lenora was the Werewolf Goddess of the Moon, Family, and Protection.

She also possessed a true Godly Form that she could enter when she reached the peak of her strength.

When she revealed her Godly Form, she transformed into a gigantic moon-white wolf, her form influenced by both her race and her Divine Concepts.

Amelia, on the other hand, was the Vampire Goddess of Flames, Night, and Battle.

When she entered her Godly Form, she transformed into a three-meter-tall Vampiric Ancestral Form.

Her body became leaner, with a pair of vampiric-shaped wings behind her back, while her entire existence seemed to become a manifestation of nothing but the darkness of the night and crimson flames.

As for the gods and goddesses of the Egyptian Pantheon, their Godly Forms were quite unique.

Their true Godly Forms appeared as metallic, humanoid, animal-like beings.

They could freely shift between their human disguises and their true forms at will.

Horus took the lead and transformed into his Godly Form.

Golden light erupted from within him, spreading across his body like molten sunlight.

His flesh hardened, becoming covered in gleaming golden and silver plates that resembled the feathers of a colossal celestial falcon.

The human features of his head distorted and reshaped.

His face elongated as his nose and mouth fused together into the sharp beak of a magnificent falcon.

His eyes blazed with an intense blue radiance, burning like twin stars against his metallic visage.

With a thunderous roar, enormous wings erupted from his back.

Layer upon layer of golden and silver feathers unfolded, each one gleaming like a blade forged from divine metal.

The wings stretched outward until they dwarfed the surrounding battlefield, casting a vast shadow beneath them.

Horus spread them to their full length.

Meanwhile, the God King Ra looked toward his daughter.

"Hathor, my daughter."

"Father." Hathor gave a small bow.

"Now is not the time for greetings. We must defend our universe," he said in a serious tone.

Ra looked toward the countless figures emerging from the broken sky.

"You know what you have to do."

His expression became solemn.

"It is time to call upon the Heavenly Son."