Beneath the Luxor Temple, through catacombs never mapped by modern eyes, Ashur-Neḥum stood alone in the Vault of Origins.
Before him, ten colossal stone coffins — sealed with symbols older than Egypt, older even than time — waited.
His hand trembled as he placed the white lotus shard into the heart-shaped altar.
"You once answered the cry of the Sumerians. Answer me now."
But the chamber stayed silent.
He looked up, toward the faint slit of light far above. He could feel Tiba, his dog, at his side — loyal as ever. But even she sensed the despair growing in him.
Ashur fell to his knees.
"I failed them. The princess. The battalion. I watched them die. I let them die."
Memories surged — the princess's soft hands smeared in war paint, the battalion chanting before battle, the victory turned slaughter.
And the dog.
That one dog — the same species the High Gods still feared — barking before the first strike. Warning him.
And still, he had let her go.
"I don't deserve them."
Tears fell onto the altar. Then his voice rose — not a whisper, not a chant.
But a roar:
"I SWEAR I WILL FIGHT ALONE IF I MUST! IF YOU WON'T WAKE, I'LL FACE THEM ALONE!"
The silence held…
Then —
A soft paw on his shoulder.
Tiba.
And behind her — a second dog.
And a third.
And a fourth.
Dozens emerged from the darkness, called by something ancient. Their eyes glowed with a spectral fire.
The lotus flared.
The altar split.
The air shifted.
The first sarcophagus opened.
A woman stepped out — her armor cracked, her eyes shimmering with sorrow and fire.
"Ashur. You never failed us. We were waiting... for your heart to open again."
The others followed. One by one.
Ten divine warriors.
Each bearing the name of a surface god — Horus, Bastet, Anubis, Thoth, Sekhmet, and others long forgotten.
Ashur stood.
His hand on his chest.
His face wet with tears and fury.
"The gods have returned."
And the dogs — all of them — sat in a perfect circle.
They had found their generals.
The divine army had awakened.
And the war for Earth would never be the same.
20 hours remain.