Midnight had passed. Silence and calm had fallen over the temple and its surroundings. Having no need of sleep and having let Mathias return to his cell to rest, Princess Ahmanet returned alone to the altar room, ordering her guards not to disturb her. Sitting cross-legged on the large stone altar, she had plunged herself into deep meditation. 

But suddenly, Ahmanet opened her eyes in an expression that was both worried and hostile. Her superhuman monster senses were warning her of something. The atmosphere in the room became overwhelming and unhealthy, the glow of the flames from the braziers fading unnaturally.

_"I know you're there... Set." Ahmanet then said coldly.

From the dark recesses of the hall, a giant, misshapen, clawed shadow slowly took shape, gliding down the walls and moving like a ghost. A powerful and palpable aura of chaos and death permeated the place from then on, Ahmanet being able to feel it like thousands of invisible arms coming to touch her.

_"Are you having fun with your new toy, princess?" Then growled the cavernous, inhuman and haughty voice of Set. "I thought you couldn't disappoint me anymore, but I guess I was wrong. Have you forgotten the pact we made thousands of moons ago?"

_"Oh no, I could never forget." Ahmanet replied with a contemptuous look and refusing to look at the shadow of the god lurking around her. "Even during these millennia of imprisonment, you were still there, torturing me for my failure. But today is different, I am back and soon the world will know too."

Set's voice rang out in a sinister, belittling sneer towards the fallen princess.

_"What do you hope to prove, little idiot?" he asked. "It's that young mortal, isn't it? He lulled you with illusions with his honeyed words about tolerance and choice. He's just a human like any other, stupid, evil and insensitive. In reality he fears you, he despises you, you are just a soulless beast in his eyes! A murderer!"

The words of the deceitful god were harsh, cruel and crushing like a hammer bringing down a little more his judgment on Ahmanet, who nevertheless clenched her fists and did not let the god influence her mind, although the black magic she inherited came from him. Rising, the princess stood straight and faced her own master.

_"Mathias Parrish is not like them. I read his mind, his heart. He accepted me, as I am and for the first time in my entire existence, thanks to him, I feel alive and accepted!"

But despite the force and firmness of his words, Ahmanet once again heard that mocking, sinister and haughty laughter from Set surrounding her from side to side.

_"The sound of your voice... The beat of your black heart... the way you talk about him... Could it be love that I feel?" Set asked cynically.

Ahmanet did not respond, not wanting to give him this pleasure. She looked away but could not hide the blush on her cheeks, her embarrassed look and the beating of her heart which had intensified and which the god had directly felt it.

_"Interesting..." Set then commented. "It seems that this young mortal has managed to rekindle the last spark of humanity in you... Pathetic, typical of the lesser beings of his species. Do you want to become weak again, princess? Have you forgotten everything that the humans, your own family, made you endure? You were only a cursed being to them, a demon who killed her mother when she was born. I didn't entrust you with these powers to see you ruin everything!"

_"I will never do that to Mathias, you hear me?!" Ahmanet retorted, trying to hold on against the increasingly overwhelming aura of the god over her. "I would rather live an eternity of solitude than betray him!"

_"Your resistance is lost in advance!" Set then roared at him, his voice growing louder and more aggressive. "Sooner or later, this mortal's body will be mine, and I can once again spread my chaos to all of humanity! Mathias Parrish will die, and all your efforts to save him will have been in vain, like the rest of your miserable existence on this earth!"

_"SHUT UP!" Ahmanet yelled, internally struggling against Set's grip and with a wave of her hand, she swept into the void as if to drive the shadow away from her.

The god's sneer gradually faded into the distance as his shadow and his presence disappeared, as did the aura of his presence, the room becoming lit again and empty of any chaotic impregnation. Falling to her knees as the mental effort had been so violent, Ahmanet took a moment to recover a little breath and strength, but it was with a sad look that she raised her head. She knew Set's threats were never in vain. She blamed herself for putting Mathias in such danger. She knew what she had to do.

***********

Despite the improved comfort of the bed in his cell and the gentle warmth, Mathias had a little trouble getting to sleep, not finding a suitable position. He didn't understand this sudden nervousness. He then found himself thinking about the events of that day. He and Ahmanet had managed to establish a great bond of trust and the young man had faith that the princess could find her way despite her new nature. But he also did not hide his fear about the world's reaction if Ahmanet's existence was revealed. He knew human intolerance and cruelty towards things they don't understand, because he had experienced it himself.

Mathias was then snapped out of her thoughts by the opening of her cell door and saw Ahmanet enter, her silhouette outlined in the candlelight.

_"Ahmanet? What happens?" he asked, not expecting to see her here this late.

But she didn't say a word, just looking at Mathias as she came and climbed onto the bed. Confused but also blushing, the young man saw Ahmanet, with a seductive look, crawl towards him and block him on the bed, standing on all fours above him. Then she sits astride him, her pelvis beginning to move on his in a sensual way. With her hands, she began to caress his chest.

_"But... Ahmanet, what...?" Mathias stammered, embarrassed and red as a tomato.

_"Shhhh..." she breathed, interrupting him by gently placing her finger on his lips. "Calm down, Setepai, and let me do this..."

Without giving Mathias time to say a word or understand, Ahmanet leaned down and pressed her lips to his in a kiss. With wide eyes, Mathias was frozen, not even trying to resist, and even began to let himself go into the kiss, as if he no longer controlled himself and his hands came to rest on the princess's hips. Ahmanet became more and more enterprising, the kiss strengthening and deepening as the seconds passed and their mouths even opening to let their tongues touch. Then, after long seconds of a torrid kiss, Ahmanet came and whispered sweet words into the young man's ear.

_"Forgive me, Setepai..."

_"For what?"

_"For that..."

With this last sentence, Ahmanet's seductive expression gave way to boundless cruelty and hatred as she revealed an obsidian dagger with a serrated blade and inlaid with a flaming red ruby. Brandishing the weapon above her, grabbing Mathias, surprised and terrified, by the throat to pin him to the bed, Ahmanet brought the weapon down on him to stab him in the heart.

In a gasp of fear, Mathias opened his eyes and jumped up in his bed. Heart pounding, forehead sweating, he looked around to see that he was still alone in the small room and that the door was closed. He took a few seconds to collect his thoughts and calm down. What a horrible nightmare, he thought. That monstrous and hateful look that Ahmanet showed in the dream, he got shivers just thinking about it. He didn't understand why he had dreamed of that. What if Ahamanet was capable of...? No, he quickly chased this idea from his head, refusing to believe it. No longer finding the strength to go back to sleep after that, he decided to take his mind off things a little and go for a walk in the temple to calm down and go see Ahmanet to talk to her and confide in her. But as he opened the cell door and went out into the corridor, a muffled noise, distant but increasingly distinct, began to be heard and Mathias even felt vibrations. He recognized these noises because he had already heard them before... Helicopters!

For her part, in the altar room, Ahmanet had already felt something. Intruders were approaching and had just arrived at the temple. Clenching her fists, her gaze darkening, she walked, mentally ordering all her undead to stand ready for battle. Meanwhile, she headed to Mathias' room to get him to safety.

Most of the undead guards, armed, gathered in the great hall of the temple, ready to defend the place. But a massive and powerful explosion forced open the main doors of the temple, and a torrent of flames invaded the place, charring and pulverizing the rows of undead who could do absolutely nothing against the deluge of shots which fell on them in moments and broke their defense. Disembarked from the helicopters and cargo planes, squads of soldiers in black, over-equipped and well organized, invaded the temple, shooting and destroying all the undead they saw without sparing any. Despite the thick smoke, their high-tech glasses and gas masks allowed them to see and breathe without any problem. Within minutes, the legion of undead guards was wiped out and while soldiers were busy finishing off the last ones on the ground, the other teams followed their superior's order.

_"Scatter around the sanctuary and destroy all the zombies you find! As for the main target, capture her alive as planned!"

Meanwhile, Mathias, who had heard the din and felt the temple tremble under the power of the shots, ran, panicked, through the labyrinthine corridors, without meeting anyone, not even an undead servant. Then, it was with relief that at the bend of a corridor he came across Ahmanet, who was also relieved to finally find him.

_"Ahmanet?! What's happening?!" he asked.

_"Humans, with infernal power! They are here for me!" she replied. "You must not stay here, Mathias, I will get you to safety."

With these words and without asking the young man's opinion, she took him by the wrist and tried to take him away, but he resisted.

_"But, wait, which humans? I don't understand!"

Knowing that time was running out, Ahmanet did something she regretted. Without responding to Mathias, she hit him in the head, hard enough to knock him out, and carried him in her arms.

_"Forgive me, Setepai..." she breathed regretfully.

These intruders, no matter who they were or how powerful they were, they would never have Mathias. Carrying the unconscious young man in her arms, the princess quickened her pace and crossed several series of corridors, finally arriving in the most remote room of the temple, the room of tombs, where several great pharaohs rested, and of whom she knew that there was a passage hidden behind the back wall that would lead them far into the desert.

But as she walked towards the back of the room, a dart fired hit her in the back of the neck, and immediately, an intense feeling of pain and paralysis passed through her, making her let go of Mathias who fell and rolled on the ground. Ahmanet tore the stinger from her flesh and looked at it. A thin metal dart, and made... of mercury!

_"There she is! Use more darts!" one of the soldiers in black shouted, followed by many others who burst into the room in commando formation, and in just a few seconds had formed a semi-circle. Ahmanet wanted to retaliate but received several more mercury darts in her body, arms and legs, and each new projectile weakened her, she felt it like a poison spreading in her body. Screaming and roaring in pain but also in rage towards the intruders, Ahmanet tried despite everything to attack them, but it was in vain.

_"Harpoons, now!" ordered one of the men in black.

A first harpoon, coated in mercury and attached to a cable, was fired and passed through Ahmanet's right arm, who screamed in pain as the serrated blade caught perfectly in her flesh. She tried to pull it out, but other harpoons were fired, one in each leg, one in the other arm and two in the body. Falling on her knees, her strength more and more sapped by the mercury that invaded her body, Ahmanet still struggled, but immobilized by the solid cables.

_"We've got her!" said one of the soldiers. "Hold on guys!"

Mathias, gradually regaining his senses while he was on the ground, opened his eyes to a surreal scene that horrified him to the highest degree. About ten meters away, Ahmanet was on her knees, her monstrous screams of pain echoing as she was pierced with harpoons and held firmly by cables connected to the weapons of these men in black military uniforms who gradually surrounded the princess and continued to shoot mercury darts at her to weaken her.

_"AHMANET!" Mathias yelled, jumping up and running towards her to help her.

But three of these men in black jumped on him, managing to grab his arms and force him back.

_"No, let me go! Stop, don't hurt her! Ahmanet, defend yourself!" Mathias screamed, struggling in despair by seeing Ahmanet suffer and weaken more and more.

It was useless to struggle, the men, much stronger physically and trained, pinned Mathias to the ground without any problem and put their hands behind his back to handcuff him.

Mathias' piercing voice had drawn Ahmanet's gaze to him. Having lost almost all of her strength, on the ground and struggling to keep her eyes open, Ahmanet nevertheless drew on her last strength to manage to crawl, despite the pain, the mercury and the cables, scratching the ground with the tips of her sharp nails, to try to reach Mathias. Their gazes did not leave each other. They were only a few meters apart and in a last ditch effort, Ahmanet, her gaze filled with despair and concern for Mathias, stretched out a trembling hand towards him, as far as she could, as if to try to touch him.

_"Se...Setepa..." she tried to say, but it was with horror that the young man saw Ahmanet roll his eyes and sink into unconsciousness under the excessive effect of the mercury.

Immediately, the commando leader made contact with his radio.

_"Black Saber leader on report. Main target acquired. Ready for transfer."

While two soldiers in black took care of immobilizing Ahmanet's body with some sort of Kevlar straps, others quickly brought a kind of reinforced containment box to contain and transport her. Mathias contemplated this, speechless and unable to believe what had just happened, feeling miserable for not having been able to do anything to help Ahmanet.

_"Hurry up guys! We have no time to waste!" ordered the commando leader.

_"Sir, what do we do with him?" then asked one of the men who was holding Mathias by the arm and pointing to him.

_"We're taking him too. The boss wants to talk to him." ordered the squad leader bluntly.

Mathias did not understand what was happening and then saw Ahmanet being taken away by these men in this large and armored box.

_"Wait a minute, who the fuck are you?...And what are you doing with Ahmanet?!...I..."

But as he began to struggle and protest, Mathias was silenced by the squad leader who took out a syringe and with a very dazzling gesture injected the contents into the young man's neck without him being able to react. Mathias then began to feel strange, his whole body going numb, his legs no longer able to support his weight, his vision becoming more and more blurred, and it was in an irrepressible desire to sleep that he sank into darkness, his last sight being the metallic containment box, with Ahmanet inside, being taken away.