Evil Entity!

"The God Mot..." Isis whispered to herself, her voice tinged with concern. "Does he harbor feelings for Nephthys?"

"He does," Set responded with unwavering certainty.

Upon learning of this, Set had sought confirmation directly from the god himself. When the deity affirmed his feelings, Set, overcome by jealousy, attacked him mercilessly.

"Very well, I shall seek him out," Isis declared resolutely. She also instructed Set to harness more of their divine energy to cleanse their celestial forms, ensuring that Apep, the embodiment of chaos, could not exploit any vulnerabilities with his insidious tricks.

Apep, though lacking true wisdom, was a master of deceit and manipulation.

"I understand," Set nodded gravely, aware of the stakes. "If it concerns my own safety, I'll cleanse myself daily without fail."

Isis transformed into a swift gust of wind and vanished, her urgency palpable.

Set reflected on the nature of divine power. He knew that the essence of a deity's influence was rooted in their domains of control. Isis, for instance, held sway over magic, life, and the sanctity of marriage. By promoting unions among the gods, she could significantly amplify her power. Conversely, widespread death, the dissolution of marriages, and a decline in the pursuit of magical knowledge could severely diminish her influence.

Prideful as ever, his sister would never accept such a decline in her stature.

Seth shook off these thoughts and muttered, "Let's proceed."

At his command, a gust swirled the desert sands into the form of a massive bird, sculpted entirely from yellow grains.

"Master," the sand bird intoned.

Seth mounted the creature and instructed, "Take us to the nearest oasis."

With powerful beats of its wings, the bird ascended, heading south. Seth's mind wandered to the vastness of Ra's creation—mostly desert, with the lifeline of the Nile and its lush tributaries forming a stark contrast.

Though Seth had traditionally paid little heed to the humans Ra had crafted, even as they worshipped him, his curiosity was piqued. He yearned to explore their world and savor their cuisine, the mere thought of which made his mouth water.

Suddenly, a winged black snake with malevolent red eyes launched itself at Seth. Reacting swiftly, the sand bird retaliated, expelling a powerful blast of sand that transformed the serpent into mere flakes, scattering them across the wind-swept desert. Unperturbed, Seth watched as the sand bird resumed its journey, leaving the desolate expanse and its dark inhabitants behind.

Like Apep, these creatures thrived on chaos and destruction, lacking wisdom and driven by a feral madness.

However, they typically steered clear of oases, temples, and the domains of gods, preferring the desolate stretches of the wilderness. Yet, there were exceptions, monstrous beings so consumed by their madness that they dared to challenge the gods themselves.

Amidst these thoughts, a pristine white feather drifted into Set's view. Radiating a divine aura, it was unmistakably the feather of Maat, the principal deity of truth, justice, and harmony.

"Why would Maat reach out to me?" Set pondered with a blend of suspicion and curiosity as he reached out to grasp the feather.

The moment his fingers brushed against it, the feather disintegrated, transforming into ancient sacred texts inscribed in hieroglyphics. As Set scanned the symbols, the message became clear: an entity of malevolence had manifested at a nearby oasis, and Set, being in proximity, was summoned to eradicate it.

"An evil entity," Set murmured to himself. He instructed the sand-formed bird beneath him to change course toward the troubled oasis.

After traversing the desert for half a solar day, they arrived above the oasis. From his throne atop the yellow sand bird, Set surveyed the scene below. The oasis was a verdant paradise amidst the barren desert, with clear lake waters where red fish swam freely. Along the water's edge, women laughed and chatted as they washed clothes, while men dove into the waters to catch fish. The fishers, successful in their efforts, carried their catch towards the heart of the oasis, where orderly wooden houses surrounded a solitary stone temple.

Children played barefoot, their laughter echoing through the air, painting a picture of idyllic peace.

Set's gaze fixed on the stone temple at the center. Unlike the simple wooden structures, it was adorned with intricate, unknown patterns, a testament to its sanctity.

Before the temple, the inhabitants of the oasis knelt in prayer. A man pleaded, "Almighty God, grant us a bountiful harvest!" Following him, a woman implored, "Almighty God, ensure my health!"

With each prayer, a nascent power materialized, an ethereal force that seeped into the temple and curiously, began to corrupt.

"Faith breeds gods," Set realized, recalling ancient lore. The devout prayers of humans spawned a raw energy. When this energy melded with a deity, it could enhance their divine essence. However, if this nascent force fused with a malevolent spirit, it could transformed it into an 'evil god,' driven by the desires and fears imbued within the prayers.

Set understood the gravity of his task. This oasis, a paradise in the eyes of its people, was on the brink of succumbing to a darkness born from their own devotions. It was his duty to intervene, to ensure that their prayers did not give rise to destruction.

Set withdrew his Ankh from beneath his robes, an artifact the size of a palm and unlike any earthly relic. Its shape was reminiscent of a cross, but instead of a straight beam, its top featured an elliptical loop, symbolizing eternal life. This Ankh was not merely ornamental, it was imbued with the condensed essence of divinity, a tangible breath of the gods.

With a deliberate motion, Set cast the Ankh downward. It didn't fall to the ground; rather, it hovered above the oasis, radiating a gentle white light that soon enveloped the entire area.

The inhabitants of the oasis paused, their activities stilled as they gazed upward, captivated by the celestial spectacle.

Suddenly, a surge of green light burst from the temple at the heart of the oasis, streaking toward the barren desert beyond. But just at the boundary, the Ankh's radiant barrier halted its escape.

Set's gaze hardened as he observed the figure trying to flee, a grotesque fusion of a robust young man and a lizard cloaked in black scales. Disgust rose within him at the sight. This creature had infiltrated the oasis, siphoning the raw power of the people's faith and twisting it into something dark.

The edges of the oasis erupted in chaos as the people, seeing the monstrous form, began to pray fervently out of fear and awe. Their prayers, imbued with desperate hope, fed the creature, enhancing its corrupt power, even as it began to assume a more human appearance.

The creature raised its head, locking eyes with Set, and declared in a gravelly voice, "I... am... God! The God who grants... them a good harvest and good health!"

Ignoring the creature's proclamation, Set reached out and touched a man kneeling nearby, who had been praying to the monster. In an instant, the man disintegrated into particles of yellow sand, scattering across the lush grass of the oasis.

The crowd gasped, their cries of horror quickly turning into pleas of desperation. "God, almighty God, please resurrect Nak!" they chanted in unison, directing their prayers to the creature.

Feeling empowered, the creature's voice grew confident. "I am... God, the God who resurrects people!" It expelled a cloud of green mist over the sand remains, but when the mist cleared, the man briefly reformed before collapsing back into sand.

A hush fell over the oasis. The creature looked around, its confidence wavering under the weight of its failed miracle.

Set, watching from above, knew the outcome before it had even unfolded. Faith alone could not confer divine authority. Without the rightful power to enact miracles, such acts were doomed to fail. Moreover, the creature was shaped by the believers' wishes, bound to their collective will, a deity, true in form but hollow in essence.

"How can such a being truly be considered a god?" Set mused, reflecting on the shallow faith that had birthed a false deity, pondering the implications of power without legitimacy.