I tend to draw Iset more modern in appearance, so I thought this time I’d draw her more akin to how she’d have looked when alive… wig and such. Took a toooon of liberties design-wise, but I like how she turned out.
Summary: Iset dies and finds love and Chisaki is born. More backstory for my darling OCs
Warnings: Nothing graphic but it does start out with the self-inflicted demise of one of the lead characters.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Iset was beyond desperate when driven to sacrifice herself to protect her kingdom- no, the entire world- from evil men such as the scorned high priest who wanted to use her gift to undo the very fabric of the world.
She hadn’t really known what to expect from the spell she’d translated for Abasi, but it was the only spell in that damn book that only required one life, and thus the only spell she could cast. The description of the spell mentioned that it summoned the nameless one to make a deal, a wish granted in return for a suitable offering.
Was her life a suitable offering?
She hoped so. It wasn’t as if she could take back killing herself.
“You’re worth plenty. A princess, valued by her father and her kingdom, with amazing gifts? Your worth is immense.”
Iset wasn’t alone anymore. She was standing above the cursed array, above her own body, and was now face to face with the nameless one that the book had mentioned.
The forgotten god. The one nobody could recall.
The form in front of her wasn’t what Iset had been expecting. The nameless god mirrored Iset’s appearance nearly perfectly; only the eyes were different. They were a strange color, not quite blue, and not quite purple. Iset couldn’t look away.
“I can’t mirror your eyes. They’re yours alone now. The pact has been sealed.” Iset’s mirror image spoke once again. “Your spirit shall remain here, tied to this body and the power of the eyes of truth. No other shall inherit the power.”
Iset nodded her head slowly, not entirely sure how to speak to a god that she was negotiating the results of a human sacrifice with. “…My spirit will remain with my body for all times?”
“Yes. It’s the only way. The eyes are part of your soul. I can’t remove them from you.” The god was matter-of-fact in her speaking.
Iset wasn’t really surprised by the verdict. She hadn’t known what use the dark god would have for her ba when she entered into this deal, honestly. She knew her ka was forfeit to the god upon sacrifice, but… Not much else.
The god seemed able to read her thoughts and nodded.
“Only your ka is needed as payment. Your ba remains here.
The door swings open as Iset’s captor arrives back from wherever he’d been, and the god vanishes along with any memory that Iset had of the entire encounter. She doesn’t know what happened, but she knows the deal has been made.
~
Iset spends the next few weeks watching things unfold in the mortal realm, since she has literally nothing else to do now. She can’t even think over her encounter with the nameless god, because she isn’t even sure it occurred.
She is sure that the eyes have been sealed, though, and that’s enough for her. Abasi and others like him would never achieve their wicked goals.
Abasi isn’t giving up, though. He sacrifices the woman and children that had hidden them in this wretched village, desperate for a chance to… What? Achieve his goals? See her again?
Whatever deal he intended to make, the six lives offered apparently wasn’t payment enough. The Pharaoh’s army finds Abasi and executes him for his crimes.
The scene doesn’t bring the princess the joy she’d hoped it would. All she could think about was how pained her father and brother looked, cradling her dead body. There is nothing she can do to comfort them now, and it hurts.
They’ll never even know why things turned out this way.
Iset allows her ba to sleep when the embalming process begins. Continuing to watch the living is too painful.
~
When Iset awakes she’s in her tomb, and she’s not alone.
The nameless god has returned and is seated in one of her chairs, an elaborate piece of furniture meant to accompany her to the afterlife and now stuck with her in the shroud between the living and the dead.
“You came back..?” Iset is more concerned that the terms of their agreement are going to change than anything else.
The god doesn’t show any emotions.
“The man known as Abasi bartered a deal to be reunited with you when you are reborn. He will be waiting forever for it.” The mirror image of Iset stood and took a step towards her. “I thought you would appreciate the irony. And the reassurance that you will never see him again.”
It was a kind gesture, at least Iset thought it was. She wasn’t sure the god knew how to be kind, but she seemed to be trying.
“It… Does help ease my nerves. Thank you.” Iset offered the god a tense smile.
The god smiled back.
And then she was alone again, and Iset couldn’t help but feel like she’d just woken from a dream. What had she been doing, again?
At least she felt sure now that nothing would come of Abasi’s wish, though she didn’t know how she knew it.
~
Iset wasn’t sure how much time passed alone in her tomb. The days blend together in monotony.
It was lonely, but that was her burden to bear.
And then the god returned, and once again she had something to focus on besides the sad turn of events that had ended with her in this situation in the first place.
“I can’t remember you at all when you leave, you know…” Iset complained lightly, testing to see how the god would respond. If she was too rude would the god get angry?
The god still seemed as stoic as ever.
“It’s how it works with me. I can’t be remembered unless I’m in front of you.”
Matter of fact. Clinical. Sad. Iset couldn’t imagine how sad it would be not to be remembered by her friends and family. She’d be even more lonely than she was now.
She pushes on, attempting to learn more about the god despite the fact that she wouldn’t remember it later.
“Is it like that with other gods, too?”
“It is.”
“Isn’t it lonely?”
The god remained silent for a moment, but nodded her head in agreement. It was lonely. Maybe that was why the god kept coming back to her. She was someone to talk to, who didn’t have anything else to do.
“…You don’t have to be lonely. I’ll be your friend, whenever you come to see me.” Iset declared with certainty. “It’s not like I have anything else to do!”
The god looked taken aback, a rare flash of emotion on a face that wasn’t accustomed to emoting, before she nodded again and offered the same smile that she’d offered Iset on her last visit.
“…I’d like that.”
When the god left after that visit Iset still couldn’t remember what had happened. She was sure she was just alone in her tomb like always, but…
…She was happy for the first time in forever.
~
The god visited regularly from that point on, and Iset was able to learn plenty about the god.
She learned that she indeed had no name. She also had no physical form, and tended just to mirror whoever she was speaking to because it was easiest, though she could take any form she wanted.
She learned that the god could in fact hear her thoughts, and even respond to them mentally.
She learned that the god had many brothers and sisters, the other ones with spells in the blasted book, and that none of those brothers and sisters were individuals that the god would suggest meeting.
And she learned that the god only didn’t show emotions because she’d never had the chance, but that when she did laugh it was a beautiful sound.
When the god left she forgot all these things, but Iset remembered them when the god returned, and that was enough for her.
~
Time passes. Now and then someone tries to intrude upon Iset’s now-ancient resting place.
The god drives the intruders off with a touch of madness.
The princess goes undisturbed.
~
“Do you wish you were human?” The question comes out of Iset’s mouth spontaneously, after describing her adventures with her friends at the palace for the upteenth time. The forgotten god always loved to listen to stories about Iset’s life, no matter how many times before she’d told them.
It hadn’t been intended as a heavy question, but the god seemed very affected by it.
“I’ve… Thought about it before.”
Iset felt a little bad. She hadn’t been meant to upset her friend with the question. She’d just been curious.
But as long as they were on this topic.
“Is it not something you’re able to do? I mean, you regularly alter fate for those who make deals with you, so…”
Iset was relieved when the nameless god laughed, relaxing again. “I can’t do anything I feel like, Iset. There are things like magic consumption and materials to worry about. I don’t often have a lot left over after my ‘deals’ are complete.”
“So how much would it cost? Is it something you could manage?”
The god looked thoughtful, playing scenarios over in her head, calculating what such a miracle would take.
“…I could make it work, I think. For a single lifetime.”
Iset made a thoughtful sound. “…You should do it, then. I think you’d enjoy yourself. And it’s not like I won’t still be here when you get back.”
Her friend deserved a chance to experience what it was like to be remembered by people, if just for a small human lifetime. It was clear that this was something she wanted, too. Iset would have to be blind not to see that.
But the god shook her head.
“I don’t want to leave you for that long. I’d miss you.”
It was Iset’s turn to laugh.
“Should I go with you, then? Maybe I could haunt you through an entire human life!” She teased the god, moving to wrap her arms around her to give her a hug.
The god smiled at her and returned the gesture.
“…Do you trust me, Iset?”
“I do. You’re not a bad person.”
“I’m not a person at all.”
“It doesn’t matter. I know you, and I know that you wouldn’t do anything to harm me.”
The god looked satisfied with that answer, and let go of Iset.
“… Let’s do it, then. I’ll become human, and we’ll stay together for it.”
Iset blinked. Her suggestion hadn’t really been a serious one, just absent musing to pass the time. But if her friend wanted to…
Well, it was a way to pass the time.
~
From that point on the plan to become human is the main topic of discussion when the god visits.
Iset isn’t really sure of what the spell that her nameless companion is constructing entails, but it’s moving along quickly. The god’s “birth” as a human should be coming soon, and Iset would be going with her.
Iset didn’t know how that part would work, but she trusted her friend.
“We won’t remember each other, once I’m a human. You’ll be with me, but you won’t remember me, and I won’t remember what I am.” The god explains.
That’s fine, Iset replies, I know I’ll become just as attached to the human you as I am to you now.
“You might… Encounter some painful feelings once you’re back amongst the living. It will make you remember your own life more acutely.”
If I have you beside me I’ll be fine, Iset reassures her friend.
“The spell… Might count as rebirth for you. You might end up seeing him again.
That part makes Iset pause. The idea of running into Abasi again terrifies her, but at the same time… You’ll protect me. I know you will.
The god laughed, her laughter music to Iset’s ears. It chased away any unease that had been lingering in Iset’s mind.
“You amaze me, Iset. I love you.” The god reached a hand out to stroke Iset’s cheek, carefully lulling the spirit to sleep. “As a human I will finally have a name. I wonder what it will be…”
For a moment Iset felt like she was back in Khemet, playing in the lush palace gardens with her friends while Ahmose watched over her with a smile.
She was in a world where she was out of reach of corrupt high priests who wished for her hand in marriage, where she would never have to consider things like human sacrifice just to contain eyes that were less of a gift and more of a curse.
In that moment she was at complete peace.
I’m forgetting something…
“Don’t worry…” A voice whispered inside Iset’s mind. It was painfully familiar, but she couldn’t identify it. “…I’m here.”
And then for the first time in millennia there was light in Iset’s tomb.
~
The archaeologist wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and looked to his wife with a joyous grin.
“It’s completely intact. Untouched since… Probably the 18th dynasty. I mean, it’s not the tomb of a Pharaoh, but still… This is an amazing discovery! Look at it!”
Kotori laughed. She definitely understood her husband’s euphoria. “Yes, Takuya. This is amazing. Although… Do you hear something?”
Both of the archeologists quieted, listening to a faint squeaking sound from within the tomb, and Kotori moved for the grand sarcophagus that should house the mummy of an ancient Egyptian princess.
“It’s coming from here. Rats?”
“It sounds almost like…”
The two worked to pry open the grand coffin that hadn’t been opened since long before they were born, driven by a strange sense of urgency to find the source of the noise.
What they found was astounding.
There, swaddled in the ancient cotton rags that should encase the mummy, was a baby girl.
The baby laughed at them. It’s laughter was like music.
“Technically I am the spirit, I guess. Though Chisaki and I share this body.” Iset pointed out, unimpressed by the implication that she might be an evil spirit too. She was just… Well, it was complicated.
Chisaki was a stranger existence than she was.
“Rude!” Chisaki was offended, but… She couldn’t really argue.
“And I know all about the Millennium Items because I read the whole book that particular spell came from, back when I was alive.” It had been one of the less extreme spells in the damn book, honestly. Only ninety-nine lives as a cost. “I could probably tell you all about how it works, even. I have a good memory.”
And seeing as she had translated the spell it really stuck out in her mind.
Iset was not impressed by having an evil spirit poke Chisaki’s nose, and it was only because she didn’t have time to react that she didn’t bite the offending finger.
Well that, and the fact that Chisaki probably didn’t want her to go around biting people.
“Yeah, don’t bite people, please.”
But then the malevolent spirit of the ring was gone, and the polite Nii-san was back.
“There’s an evil spirit in your necklace.” Iset helpfully informed the boy, though it was likely he already knew about it. It was kinda hard to not notice something like that. “Also your necklace is made of dead bodies.”
“Don’t just go telling people stuff like that!” Chisaki wailed from within their head.
Chisaki barely had a chance to reply to Ryo's comment about the ring being from Egypt before the "Nii-san" she'd been talking to was replaced by something else.
And she didn't have a chance to respond to that before Iset had taken over their body, red eyes glowing and ready to face the new threat.
"So someone was depraved enough to use that spell..." Iset didn't look pleased with that fact. Probably because she'd translated said spell in the first place, and knew exactly what it entail. "...Shit. I thought Ahmose got rid of the translation... Did they find another way to translate the book!? That shouldn't have been possible!"
"Isecchi... Calm down?" Chisaki pled to the ancient spirit that was now in control of her body and possibly getting ready to pick a fight. Iset could be pretty unpredictable.
Chisaki looked up at the boy who had spoken to her, big eyes blinking in shyness. But she nodded her head in agreement.
"Uh, yeah. I like to read. Isn't that why you're here too, Nii-san?" She asked him, carefully setting down the book she'd been absorbed in as she looked him over.
Iset stirred with interest in her mind, focusing on the ring the boy had around his neck warily, as if worried about something. "I know that design..."
Chisaki tipped her head to the side, concerned about Iset's atypical reaction. "...Your necklace is interesting, Nii-san."
Chisaki grinned and nodded her head. "My Mama and Papa are super nice! They are archeologists, but they don't do much field work anymore because they wanted to be able to keep me in one place while I attend school!"She paused, face growing more grim."Iset's parents, on the other hand... She doesn't talk about them often, but I know her dad spoiled her a lot. And that her mom passed away when she was little. She misses them."
Atem's clear regret over the source of the magical artifact around his neck was how Iset knew she could trust the man, and she nodded in sympathy to his plight.
"You're right, it can't be undone. Lives can't be returned once taken. All you can do is guard that power, and use it for a noble cause." She nodded sagely, as if she were a wise old man and not the ghost of a child who had died under desperate circumstances.
Well, as far as sacrificing a life went she did have more firsthand experience than most people.
"I probably have more fault in the whole situation than you, honestly. I translated that exact spell for Ahmose, back when I was young and foolish and thought it would be beneficial to have a trump card in case of emergency." Her brother and father had both condemned the spell and ordered it destroyed, but clearly either a manuscript had survived or they'd found other means to translate the original.
Either way she had to feel somewhat responsible. She should have tried bargaining to have the book destroyed when she sealed her eyes.
"One life wasn't worth that much. What you got was plenty." The small voice in the back of her head whispered. Iset narrowed her eyes a bit.
"...I need to check on the book. Can you take me to it?"
Iset wandered out into the water, or rather onto it. She danced across the surface of the pool, a child amused by how she didn't leave so much as a ripple on the surface of the pond.
"Good. I was a little unsure what to think of you when I met you, but you are doing a good job, Pharaoh." She stopped to stare at the pendant hanging from Atem's neck with a small frown, though.
She was more in tune with magic since her death. It would have been stranger if she hadn't realized what the pyramid Atem wore was. Especially since she was familiar with the Millennium Tome.
"...It wasn't you who ordered those made, correct? You don't really seem the type for human sacrifice."
