Chapter 39 - Showdown in the desert

Amun!

A voice pierced the stillness of the night, a perfect blend of apathy and amusement.

"Amun, you coward, scurrying back to your hiding place?"

The voice taunted, the moonlight casting a shadow of a solitary figure darting across the sandy landscape like a specter, each step silent and leaving no trace.

"Ha-hah-ha."

Amun gasped for breath, his lungs heaving as if he were a mere mortal, forgetting his undead nature. Or was this display of fear and fatigue all part of a cunning ruse?

"Swoosh."

Out of the blue, a massive amount of sand abruptly surged from the horizon, aiming to engulf Amun.

Amun skillfully evaded and broke through the vulnerable spot of the assault.

"Swish"

Having cleared his way, he sprinted down the narrow path of sand, steering clear of the quicksand.

"Your performance is lacking, Amun."

The voice persisted in taunting him, assigning a poor grade for his performance, yet the source of the voice remained unseen in the vast desert, almost as if invisible.

"Who are you? What is your purpose?"

Amun's mind raced as he sprinted through the desert, his vampire instincts on high alert, evading traps and trying to identify his pursuer.

The vast desert was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of Amun's careful footsteps breaking the silence.

Despite his attempts to draw out his pursuer, they remained elusive, leaving Amun frustrated and covered in irritating sand. The gritty particles clung to his clothes, a constant annoyance that he was grateful did not affect his bare feet.

The mere thought of struggling to run in sand-filled shoes nearly drove him to madness, causing him to stumble on a sandy dune.

The once powerful leader of the Egyptian coven, responsible for guiding mortals in creating a magnificent civilization, now found himself in a humbling predicament.

The founder of Egyptian mythology, worshipped by millions, found himself reduced to a vagrant and outcast by the Volturi and now this.

As he ran, memories of hunting humans flooded his mind. He remembered driving them to despair, draining them dry while quenching his thirst, while their throats were parched from running.

Now, a vampire thousands of years old, he was facing the same fate, becoming a plaything. How terrifying!

These thoughts raced through his mind as he spat out the sand.

"The instincts of the oldest vampire are commendable. Even without any special abilities, you have survived this long in the world."

The voice persisted, devoid of any amusement this time. As if It possessed the vast knowledge of creation, capable of captivating even the most powerful supernatural beings.

"Yet, all efforts are in vain before me."

As the voice ceased, colossal hands made of sand emerged and struck in various directions, their strength generating a gust of wind in the otherwise still desert.

"Crack!"

One of the hands abruptly halted, causing a tremendous explosion that sent a massive cloud of sand scattering in every direction.

Bathed in the ethereal glow of moonlight, a peculiar sight unfolded before them. A spherical structure adorned with intricate carvings materialized in their presence.

Although the sphere appeared fragile, it emitted an overwhelming aura, causing the fundamental forces to behave erratically. The sand levitated in the air, and the moonlight vanished, plunging everything into darkness.

The sphere's light was the only source of illumination in the darkness, gradually fading away and triggering chaotic transformations in the environment.

The trembling land created a desolate dead zone, expanding rapidly as the air dried up.

Thankfully, it occurred in an uninhabited area; otherwise, entire cities would have been devastated.

After reaching the pyramid, the dead zone ceased to spread, revealing the mysterious figure responsible. His very presence caused space to distort and fracture, intensifying the decay as if he defied all creation.

Though his face was obscured by light, its outlines were captivating enough to thaw even the iciest of hearts.

"Is this the grand scheme?" inquired the enigmatic individual, his soft yet emotionless voice sending chills down the spines of the undead.

With his intense crimson eyes, he fixed his gaze upon the pyramid, effortlessly deciphering its intricate workings. Bowing his head, he gracefully descended to the ground below.

"You shall meet your demise here, Jason," Amun proclaimed with unwavering confidence, his once timid nature completely vanished.

"Oh," Jason responded, a concealed smile dancing beneath the radiant glow surrounding him.

"Your audacity stems from your lack of understanding," Jason declared, as an enormous mass of sand suddenly emerged from nowhere, weighing thousands of tons. It swiftly enveloped Jason, pulling him down to be buried alive.

"Proceed to the pyramid and activate the mechanism," Amun commanded Kebi and Tia.

However, Kebi remained motionless, her gaze fixed upon the vast hole in the ground that appeared to lead to the underworld.

"Surely this will suffice, my love. He cannot survive this-" Kebi began to say, but before she could finish, Amun materialized before her and delivered a powerful slap, causing her to tumble towards the pyramid.

Tia swiftly came to Kebi's aid, casting a hateful glare at Amun before disappearing in the direction of the pyramid.

"Foolish Women".

Amun grumbled quietly, peering into the dark abyss, then turned to Benjamin, whose handsome face was now marred by cracks, his expression one of intense concentration.

Just as he considered taking a break, the ground trembled once more, this time with such force that the entire continent shook.

The shaking caused cracks to appear everywhere, swallowing up bustling cities and leaving nothing behind.

The sudden quake caught everyone off guard, leading to widespread depopulation across the continent.

Surprisingly, the battlefield remained relatively unharmed, but the pyramid trembled as if trying to stabilize the chaos.

Unaware of the devastation they had caused, Amun and Benjamin continued their work. Benjamin focused the mass of entire continent on Jason while also using the pressure and temperature below the surface, while Amun provided fresh human blood. This divine task took a toll on Benjamin, his body riddled with cracks as he struggled to contain Jason.

"Don't stop or we will die".

Amun's cry echoed through the air, urging everyone to keep going despite the impending danger. Benjamin, however, remained silent, his attention fixed on guiding Jason deeper towards the core.

"It's all in vain," a voice boomed, its source indiscernible yet omnipresent.

Across the globe, humans collapsed, their once towering skyscrapers reduced to rubble, as if doomsday had arrived.

In a sudden burst, Benjamin's body disintegrated into a shimmering dust, coinciding with the cessation of the tremors. Amun's body froze in place, the chaos finally subsiding.