The sun spread across the horizon, brightening the dunes in a golden glow as the wind blew over the sand, carrying with it the sounds of temple bells in a massive city from afar. At the center of the city stood a Church; one of marble sanctuary adorned with carvings of lions, cats, and celestial hieroglyphs.
There were pillars shaped like feline silhouettes that stretched skyward, supposedly obsidian.
In the city were pilgrims (some who had cat ears), civilians who wore Egyptian clothing, and one who walked barefoot across the city sand. She stood apart from the rest; it was a young woman, dressed in a white robe with a hood over her head. She had golden-brown skin and long black hair. Her eyes, however, gave away slit pupils and the unmistakable sign of a feline.
She ambled toward the church and stepped past a priestess who bowed deeply in reverence. The woman could sense her divine aura even without a word spoken.
"Blessed One." The priestess said. "The Bishop has awaited your return."
The hooded figure nodded before walking inside the church. Service had ended and everyone was leaving.
The worshippers who stayed after the sermon parted instinctively when she passed by as no one dared speak; they merely bowed their heads, saying quiet prayers as if afraid to draw her gaze.
The hood shadowed her features, though her aura was more than enough to be a feature in and of itself.
At the far end of the sanctuary stood a Bishop; an elderly man dressed in black and gold robes. His face had been marked with the sacred sigil of a certain goddess beneath each eye, and he had cat ears like everyone else in the city.
He was kneeling before the grand statue of Bastet herself with her feline statue towering above the altar. When the figure approached, the old man lifted his head.
"So you've returned." He said with a reverent voice. "The faithful rejoice! It has been many moons since your last visit."
She stopped a few meters away from him, lowering her hood. Her hair spilled out as the temple light caught a minor glimpse of her features beneath the hood.
"Many moons indeed." She said calmly. "It feels as if the world has grown restless in my absence, Bishop Menka."
Now, her feline eyes met his as the old man rose slowly, smiling at her.
"Indeed it has, the other Beasts worry. Rumors speak of Sobek's descendant conquering the lands to the south. The swamps run red, and even most amphibians avoid the rivers."
The figure's tail, hidden within her robes, slowly made itself known as her expression remained unchanged. "So it's Sasobek..." She muttered with hate in her voice. "I thought as much, it's been so long since we last met, ever since childhood."
Bishop Menka nodded his head.
"He plans on conquering the entire Khetmenet and making it his own. He's already taken half of this world, and soon he will take even more."
Beneath her hood, the figure frowned.
"He seeks the impossible. No fool truly believes they can conquer the world that Primordial God, Ra, has created."
Bishop Menka lowered his head in disappointment. "I'm afraid it is possible." He muttered, visibly ashamed. "He's been given the title as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he has strength beyond our comprehension."
The hooded figure widened their eyes, a bit stunned by his words.
"Then I will simply travel to Gaia, and ask for help from Zeus and the other Demigods if possible."
Bishop Menka shook his head in disappointment, turning around to face the altar.
"That is impossible, I'm afraid." He crossed his arms behind his back, lowering his head. "As you may know, in the World of Axis Mundi, different beliefs exist in its own self-contained world with its own story of creation, laws, and even cosmos, but they're separated by the Conceptual Barrier."
"Then I'll simply break through the Conceptual Barrier." Said the hooded figure.
"...It has been reinforced." Said the Bishop.
"...???"
"Yes, the Primordial God, Ra, has reinforced the barrier to prevent others from entering the Khetmenet. After seeing how much Sasobek was growing, he knew that he'd eventually go into other worlds and spread his tyranny. He had to be stopped at all costs."
The Axis Mundi, simply referred to as the World, or Earth, held all mythologies. Each mythology was separated by a Conceptual Barrier that was used to contain them.
These separate mythologies coexisted within the Axis Mundi, but operated as their own objective realities with different laws and cosmologies; meaning the creation of the world and myths don't conflict with one another, allowing them to exist in unison.
Just because the Norse believed that the earth was created from Ymir doesn't affect the Greek belief that Gaia is the Earth. Across the Axis Mundi, each mythology was known to be tied to a specific geographical region on Earth, or in other words, a continent. Separation by the Conceptual Barriers was the key to maintaining unison.
"...Lord Ra has told you this?"
"Yes." He said, nodding his head. "He speaks to me when I pray, he tells me everything there is to know about the world. About... Sasobek and his tyrannical rule."
"So Ra watches everything..." She said at last. "He strengthens barriers, locks us within our own dominion, and calls it protection. Yet Sasobek still grows stronger, spreading death through the rivers. I wonder how long until he reaches even this holy city..."
Bishop Menka felt his tail twitch behind his robes.
"Lord Ra does not abandon his creations, Blessed One. His light still watches us."
Bubastis turned her head to face him, angry in her gaze.
"Then tell me, Bishop, why do I no longer feel his warmth?"
Menka froze as she stepped closer with her bare feet.
"Ra's light dims while the darkness of the swamps spreads. The beasts of Sobek grow bolder, and mortals pray for salvation from gods who do not answer. If he will not act, then I will."
"Blessed of Bastet." Menka said in a deep voice. "You must not go to war alone. Sasobek is not the same creature you once fought in the past. His power is unfathomable for he has killed a God in the past, and absorbed their soul, earning him the title of one of the Heavenly Kings. Even you cannot hope to defeat him."
"So you doubt me?"
"Yes, I fear for you..." He admitted as his tone became heavy with devotion. "You are Bastet's last light in this world. If you fall, the beasts of Sobek will trample what little faith of Bastet's worshipers remains."
"Faith is not what saves the world, Bishop. Action does."
A moment passed between them as an unspoken understanding that neither words nor prayers would stop what was coming.
"I've just recently had children, Bishop Menka, they're the most important things in my life." She changed her tone of voice. "My daughter, whom I have yet to name, can speak at an early age. She is only two days old."
The Bishop widened his eyes, staring at the hooded figure.
"I believe she is an Otherworlder."
"A-An Otherworlder? Are you certain?"
"Yes." Nodded the hooded individual.
Bishop Menka couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"An Otherworlder... born from a Divine Beast such as yourself?" He whispered in disbelief. "That is unheard of, Blessed One. Better yet... such a thing should be impossible! Souls from other worlds shouldn't be capable of breaching the Conceptual Barrier reinforced by Ra, even if they're an Otherworlder."
The Blessed One lowered her head in thought, yet she was proud.
"And yet, she exists. From the moment I gave life to her, I felt it; a different vibration in her soul." She smiled beneath her hood. "It is as if she is unbound by the laws of the world"
Menka frowned deeply before speaking with uncertainty.
"Then perhaps her existence alone could shatter the balance that Ra and the other pantheons have fought to preserve. The Conceptual Barrier was meant to separate beliefs and worlds, but if her soul can overcome a reinforced version of it, then who knows what she is capable of..."
"She will one day grow to become a great warrior after my passing."
The Bishop took a step forward in disbelief.
"Are you saying..."
"Mmm." The hooded individual nodded their head. "Once she grows up, she could be the one who takes down Sasobek if I fail."
Menka stopped a few feet in front of them, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Don't be a fool, Bubastis! Are you implying suicide by attacking Sasobek?"
Bubastis, the hooded figure, averted her gaze as a fire burned within her pupils.
"If I die and nothing changes, then everything I loved dies with me." She said in a deeper voice. "If I do nothing, more lands fall. Beastly mothers will lose their cubs, and humans will die by Sasobek's hands. I will not stand by and watch that happen."
"You fool, Bubastis! Do not attack any longer! Didn't you move to the west, where there is a swamp, in order to live a lavish life, away from all of this pointless battle?"
Bubastis finally stared him in the eyes.
"I moved to the swamp to gain intel on Sasobek..."
"What?!" Shouted the Bishop. "While you were pregnant? You fool!"
"I didn't let my pregnancy slow me down... that is, until it finally happened. Now, I have a responsibility to take care of my children and protect them at all costs. But in order to do that, Sasobek must die."
"Sasobek is the King of Hunters, Bubastis... he's even hunted a God in the past. He's far too strong for you, or even your kitten to handle if she were to grow older."
Bubastis lowered her head and closed her eyes.
"My daughter has told me that she could hear the Spiritus Mundi speak to her directly, Bishop Menki."
The Bishop suddenly widened his eyes before taking a step backwards, baffled.
"Hear... the Grand System? But that is impossible!"
"I'm afraid what she says might be true. She's just two days old, yet she can see, while it takes most of our kind weeks to develop eyesight. It's as if the Grand System is helping her. She has learned much about our world in such a short amount of time. With my telepathic skill, Mind Scan, I can hear her speak to the voice directly, and have actual conversations with it." She lifted her head in certainty. "I even pretend to leave the nest just to spy on her and see what she does. My daughter may be the key to saving the entire Khetmenet, if all fails, Bishop Menka."