A cold, rainy night reigned outside a half-dark office, trickles of water streaming in miniature rivers over the window. The black telephone on the desk rang and a gloved hand immediately grabbed it.

_"I hope you have good news." the man hidden in the shadows asked bluntly.

_"Yes, doctor." replied a voice. "Our spies have managed to locate Mathias Parrish, in Egypt."

_"Excellent." replied the man in the shadows, stoically. "Not a moment to waste. Let the squads prepare to leave as soon as possible. We have a monster to capture."

***********

The day was ending at the temple of the gods, now the landmark and future palace of the fallen princess. While the sun had given way to the moon, an ocean of stars invaded a sky perfectly devoid of clouds, giving the desert an even more enchanting and fantastic appearance, as if it were another world.

After singing several songs that he knew and loved, Mathias, along with Ahmanet, remained in the courtyard, lying side by side on the soft, cool sand, and together admiring the constellations that dotted the sky. They didn't say a word, but that suited them, silence being sometimes welcome and as expressive as words.

_"You surprise me more and more, Mathias." Ahmanet finally said, breaking the silence and turning her gaze towards him. "And believe me, it takes a lot to surprise me."

_"Coming from a royal highness, I take that as a compliment." Mathias replied with a small smile, which made her giggle a little. "Since my childhood, I have always loved looking at the stars. When I felt alone, misunderstood, which happened often, I would open my bedroom window and spend hours looking out, imagining what could be there. up there, if a better world could exist... I imagined myself exploring these new worlds, living great adventures like the characters in my stories. I wanted to be someone else, but ultimately, it seems that in reality, it was ultimately adventure that found me."

Ahmanet said nothing, listening to him speak and seeing once again this sincerity and this devotion to his passion which could be read in his eyes. Admiring the stars alone, she had already done it too, many times, when she was sad, when she was afraid, seeking comfort from its millions of celestial lights which lit up the sky every night, seeing there a presence divine and benevolent who would protect her. She even remembered, when she was 10 years old, during a sad night, she made a wish to the stars: to grant her one day to find a soul capable of accepting her and loving her for who she is.

And millennia later, in a world she no longer knew, Ahmanet had at her side this Mathias Parrish, a stranger, a man from a decadent and unbelieving world of the future, but who nevertheless accepted her as she was without never judge her. Was this the soul she had been waiting for all this time? But in this case, what about... love? Did he love her that way? This question galloped through the princess's mind. Does Mathias love me? Could he love a monster and understand the beauty that lies within the beast? While he was busy looking at the stars, Ahmanet observed him without him noticing. His face, his long hair, his eyes, his little mustache and his little goatee on his chin which gave him a certain charm. Ahmanet then looked away, her cheeks slightly red at the idea that he could fall in love with her, she who had never known true love, neither in this existence, nor in the old one. She then thought for a moment, then had an idea and Mathias saw her get up and offer him her hand.

_"You showed me the music of your world. Tonight, you will be my guest for dinner. And I will show you my world." Ahmanet said with a smile and an almost seductive look.

Blushing a little and smiling, also very intrigued by what she said, Mathias accepted the proposal with pleasure and Ahmanet helped him get up by taking his hand.

_"Go back to your room, wait there for half an hour." said the princess. "Then come join me in the dining room."

She then brought her lips closer to Mathias' ear, whispering "don't be late".

Mathias, with red cheeks and feeling his heart beating, obeyed the princess's request and returned to the cell which served as his bedroom and sat down on the bed. During the next half hour of waiting as had been agreed, a thousand questions raced through his head. What could Ahmanet have predicted? What did she mean by "showing him her world?" He couldn't sit still, counting almost every minute that passed.

When the time was finally up, Mathias left the room and walked hurriedly towards the dining room, not encountering any guards in the corridors, which took him a little by surprise. Arriving in the dining room, he discovered a completely different atmosphere from last time. The room was plunged into semi-darkness, torches hanging on the walls providing a moving, subdued glow to the place. On the table, a very tasty-looking meal like the previous one had been served, and a golden jug filled with wine. Two undead servants waited in silence, bowing to greet the young man and inviting him to take a seat, which he did, perplexed but at the same time very eager to see what would happen.

A hot and appetizing meal was served on his plate and he was served some wine in a silver goblet. Then, several other undead arrived to settle in a corner of the room, and all carried with them ancient instruments, such as drums, flutes, lyres and lutes, like a musical group coming to take their place. Once ready, the undead musicians began to play very ritualistic and powerful music, beating the drums, blowing the flutes, and vibrating the strings of the lyres and lutes. The magnificent sound resonating in the room gave Mathias shivers, it was so beautiful. An ancient melody, worthy of taking you on a journey through fantastic landscapes just by closing your eyes.

As the ritual music began, two columns of guards entered the room from the back, in perfect single file, walking with a strict and impeccable military step and forming real body hedges and creating a path between them to the table. All the guards were armed, standing at attention, and some even held flaming torches. Mathias watched all this, admiring while taking a sip of wine. But suddenly, a new arrival left Mathias frozen, unable to look away or even drink again, as if he were under a spell. Arriving in her turn in the room, Ahmanet appeared. The princess walked with a slow but solemn step in the middle of the rows of her guards, looking straight ahead with strength, seriousness and presence. As she passed, the guards knocked on their armor or on the ground, accompanying the sounds of the drums. Ahmanet had adorned herself with some jewelry belonging to the royalty of ancient Egypt, such as golden bracelets around her wrists, a gold adornment encrusted with precious stones around her neck, and sheets of transparent silk fabric around the waist, revealing her legs. Her beauty and stature left Mathias speechless, his heart beating and feeling this warmth invade his being. She seemed so unreal, and yet she was there. Mathias almost thought he was in a dream.

Without looking away or interrupting her walk, Ahmanet took a flaming torch in each hand from the guards, then gracefully climbed onto the table. Her gaze met that of Mathias, and once again, the young man was hypnotized by her supernatural beauty worthy of that of the goddesses. Then, without saying a single word and under the music, the princess entered as if in a sort of trance and began a ritual dance, mixing agility, grace and elegance, in almost superhuman dance movements while performing figures with the torches, almost tracing lines of fire in the air she was going so fast. A most impressive ritual dance, which she had surely learned during her education as a princess. Mathias admired the spectacle without missing a beat, recording everything in his head because he could never forget it. As she danced, Ahmanet moved closer for a moment, untying one of the silk sheets hanging at her waist and letting it fall on Mathias who let the soft fabric fall into his hands and hold it. Mathias could see the way Ahmanet glanced at him. She seduced him, without even trying to hide it. And it worked. Once the dance was over, the princess ordered all her servants and guards to leave, which they did without hesitation and left their mistress with the young human, alone.

_"It was... truly incredible." admitted Mathias, still under the influence of admiration. "Thank you for letting me enjoy the music of your world for a moment."

She smiled, happy to see that he was happy. She came to him without saying a word at first, then gently took his hand.

_"It's me who thanks you, Mathias Parrish." she replied, in a soft and almost...loving voice. "Thanks to you, I feel finally alive and myself, for the first time in my existence."

Mathias was touched by these words and saw that she was sincere. They certainly came from two very distant and totally different "worlds". She was a crown princess of an ancient and prestigious line of pharaohs, he was a simple and humble writer from France born into a modest country family, but that did not prevent their meeting, and also this kind of connection forming between them, even breaking the boundaries of time. Maybe were they destined to meet, who could know?

With this, she placed a short kiss on Mathias' cheek, who blushed even more and couldn't even hide it. Smiling to see him like this, Ahmanet then walked away towards the door of the room, but before crossing the threshold, turned towards him one last time.

_"Good night... Setepai."

_"Good night... Ahmanet." replied the young man.

***********

A dark and icy night had taken over the desert, but the gloom and darkness could not stop the flight of an armada of large black helicopters and cargo planes of the same color, all filled with men and women equipped with dark outfits and military weapons. The imposing squadron of flying machines raised clouds of sand and dust in its wake, scaring away the few nocturnal animals and heading quickly in a specific direction.

_"This is Black Saber." one of the helicopter pilots communicated to his control center. "We are approaching the target marker. Arrived at estimated destination in an hour. Over."