Chapter 68: The Great Avians
"B-Big Uncle, what happened to you!" Maya stared at him, horrified.
But Simon just stared at her worriedly. "How did you get in? Did anyone see you?"
Maya shook her head. "No. We came to check up on what was going on, and why we couldn’t see Seth."
Simon’s frown grew deeper. "We?" His eyes flashed. It didn’t take much to connect the dots.
Maya and whoever came with her had to be the intruders giving the family a headache for the past three hours or so.
Deep down, he was even impressed. To infiltrate the Duskreavers’ highly secured estate unscathed was a tough feat to pull off.
"I came with a few of Seth’s friends. They were also worried," Maya quickly admitted.
Simon put on a cloak to cover his bruised body and nodded. "Good. I will provide shelter for all of you. That’s the best I can do for now."
Maya was confused. "But aren’t we going to find Seth? What happened in the family council meeting that led to him being confined, that he had to escape?"
Simon paused, recalling the events that played out in the meeting hall. A cold light flashed through his gaze.
"You and the others don’t have to worry about any of that. Just know that I have things handled. The moment Seth is found, I’ll be the first to hear." He assured her, patting her head.
Maya frowned. It seemed Simon was bent on keeping them out of this. She opened her lips but could only close them again.
She could tell Simon was trying to protect them from something. What that was, she didn’t know.
Before she and Simon could exchange any more words, a knock rang out.
Her gaze flashed.
’Finally.’ She rushed to open it.
It was Uriel. He was the first to make it here.
"One of Seth’s friends?" Simon’s eyes flashed with approval as he scanned Uriel.
He could feel the power residing in Uriel’s body. It wasn’t any lesser than his own.
’But alas, it is all useless.’ His thoughts drifted back to the elders. Those guys were too strong.
If not for the fact that they seemed confined to the family mansion, Simon didn’t feel there’d be much hope in rescuing Seth.
But since it seemed his son had escaped that damned place, there was still a chance.
As the current generation family head, even though he was facing setback after setback, he still had his own circle of loyalists.
And the moment anyone got a whiff of Seth, he’d know before anyone else.
He quickly made arrangements for Seth’s friends and Maya to settle. Hidden under his roof, no one would be able to find them.
Fortunately, it seemed the government wanted to recruit Seth. That was perfect. If they could get Seth out of here, that would be the best.
But for now, there was nothing anyone could do except wait until Seth was found.
...
While all this was happening, a storm brewed in Africa...
Rumble!
Tumultuous storm clouds brimming with furious currents of lightning swirled above the pyramids of Egypt.
Egypt could be said to be one of, if not the most, fortunate countries in this apocalypse.
A good 80% of their land had become a safe zone, making it one of the largest safe zones of humanity yet.
Some speculated this had to do with the ancient pyramid structures.
The country had received a vast influx of survivors pleading for sanctuary from other nations.
But today, their luck seemed to have come to an end, as the very thing that seemed to protect them turned against them.
Lightning fell from the skies like rain, causing chaotic slaughter.
The air cackled, rich with currents. Roasted corpses lay strewn across the nation. Even those in hiding weren’t exempt, as their shadows turned corporeal to slaughter them.
It was a disaster. Humans died like flies. As soon as it began, it ended.
The country once brimming with life turned into a silent graveyard.
And the pyramids — ancient colossal constructs that once awed humanity — crumbled like the shell of an egg hatching.
The massive structures peeled away to reveal figures in fetal positions, levitating mid-air as pulses of overwhelming essence rippled through reality.
It wasn’t just one. It was several. As many pyramids, even the legendary Sphinx, crumbled to reveal creatures residing within.
Brilliant gold burned as a figure shone brightly. His eyes fluttered open as his body stretched.
Looking closely, one would see this creature — whatever it was — wasn’t human.
It had the head of a bird and the wings of one. Its feathers fluttered with ethereal golden cadence as it stood in the void.
Behind him, more of these similar creatures awoke. There were hundreds of them.
A billowing wave of darkness fumed as crazed laughter peeled through the sky.
"Hahaha! Alas, no matter how much you tried, Adam, this day still came!" A bird-headed figure cloaked in shadowy feathers laughed to the heavens.
The figure covered in blinding gold turned to stare at the sky. His gaze flashed cold as he thought of that damned human, Adam.
He dared blaspheme their holy race, sealing them into the pits of darkness.
His eyes burned with rage. There was a time they once ruled over humans as gods.
A time when he, Ra, and his holy race — the Avians — were the Hegemons of Earth.
But all because of a puny human, they were pushed to the sidelines. They became mere unbelievable myths.
He, the almighty Ra, was reduced to a mere character of ancient legends.
All his accomplishments and feats reduced to children’s storybook tales.
They were humanized, called the ancient gods of Egypt.
Well, now the gods were back!
And they would show humans the reason they had once reigned as gods of the Earth!
A figure with beautiful blue feathers stepped forward. "Father, where do we begin?"
Ra’s gaze remained cold, boundless arrogance resonating from his body as he declared:
"The Humans Must Die!"