Emperor of Time : The Battle of The Gods

Ryan returned to his room, his mind in disarray. He turned off the lights, then lay down with his hands over his eyes, he didn't want to do anything that night.

"I haven't been able to overcome my nightmares, then there was the vision of the gods in KV5-14, the time stopping in the coffee incident, and now of all times, Professor James..."

Frustration bubbled up inside him. This chaos felt suffocating to him.

He remembered the beginning of his life turning very bad at the age of eight when his parents died in a bus accident, and then he was put in an orphanage by the government. And then haunted by nightmares two to three times a week, starting from the night after his parents' funeral.

"It's all a joke..." he sighed again.

Then he sat up and lifted his shirt. Under the dim moonlight that came through the window, he checked his chest for a symbol or picture of a clock. Nothing. No signs of anything.

"Is that also a new form of nightmare...?" he whispered to himself.

He was silent for a moment, then whispered again. "But today, the coffee stopped in the air when other people were around me..."

Then he lay down again, stared at the ceiling of his room blankly, and fell asleep.

Soon after, his chest glowed softly with a soft blue light under his shirt.

***

Ryan now stood in a room filled with scrolls, parchments, and hieroglyphics. The air felt dusty and heavy with a familiar scent of ink.

'Is this… the same library room from what I saw the other day?' he thought as he looked around.

It was indeed the same place and he was now standing in the same spot he had left it. But this time, it was nighttime. The dim light from a few brazier torches barely lit up the entire room.

The priest who had been staring at him was gone. Silence enveloped the library, broken only by the quiet scribbles of the priests working under oil lamps not far from where he stood.

'I guess they know the meaning of working overtime too,' he thought.

Feeling the scrolls he had touched the last time he was there, he flinched and left the place.

'It's too dark for me to read. Bringing the scrolls under the lamp might cause a commotion since they can't see me. Not to mention bringing torches, haha... there will be a commotion if someone sees a burning torch, floating in the air.'

With a chuckle because he imagined the flying torch, Ryan walked southwest, toward the treasury. He remembered the layout of the Medinet Habu Temple Library. The treasury was located southwest of the entrance, while the scriptorium was to the northeast.

He arrived at the treasury room. Two guards stood on either side, their eyes scanning the corridor that was only lit by torchlight.

He then approached the double doors of cedar, locked tightly with a large bronze lock.

'I guess the records I read were true... The place really does have security measures as stated in the records.' Ryan thought.

There would probably be a spell guarding the treasury room's lock as well, so he simply studied the mythological carvings on the door leaf.

'Isis and Nephthys with wings... Anubis and Horus...'

'Goddesses and Gods guard the treasury...'

He let out a soft sigh and left the treasury in disappointment. He longed to see the artifacts and jewels that according to old documents, were kept in the treasury.

"Never mind," he muttered to himself. "I've seen most of them on records anyway..."

As he walked down the dimly lit corridor toward the entrance, a voice suddenly echoed behind him.

"Ha-khah we-kh Her-khet-ep Dje-ba-a Khnu?"

Ryan let out a muffled gasp. He turned his body around to find the priest, the same man who had stared at him the other time, standing before him.

He spoke ancient Egyptian!

It meant, 'Are you the newly appointed Time Guardian?'

Confusion gripped him. 'How could he see me when no one else could? And what did he mean by "Time Guardian"?'

'"Ha-khah Mu Het-ep, Ha-khah Khah-w puh Ha-khah."

(Excuse me, are you talking to me?)

Ryan swallowed, 'Luckily I can speak this language.'

"Ha-khah Khes," the priest replied.

(Yes.)

"Khenti Dje-ba. Heh."

(Time Guardian. You.)

"..."

The words made Ryan pause for a moment.

"What are you talking about…" Ryan muttered, disbelief etched on his face.

"You are a Time Guardian." the priest insisted in a steady voice.

Ryan's jaw dropped.

"You speak English?"

"Of course. Because I am a Time Guardian too."

A faint glimmer of understanding flooded Ryan. It explained why the priest could see him when no one else could.

"Follow me," the priest urged. "We can talk freely in my room."

Ryan hesitated.

'Time Guardian?' he felt like he had read those words somewhere.

'What does that mean? What does that have to do with me?'

The priest motioned to follow him, leading Ryan deeper into the shadows of the corridor.

***

The young priest led Ryan out of the Library and into the corridors of the Medinet Habu Temple. They approached the priest's quarters, or rather, the priests' dormitories.

He opened the door of one of the rooms and the wood creaked softly. With a gentle gesture, he invited Ryan inside.

The room was simple—about 3 to 4 meters long and 2 to 3 meters wide. The limestone floor felt cool beneath Ryan's bare feet. The walls were made of thick mud bricks.

In the center of the room stood a stone pedestal, worn but sturdy. A niche for images of the god Ra towered on one wall. Benches lined the sides of the stone pedestal.Then there was a small altar, storage compartments, and an oil lamp that gave off a light that was bright enough for such a large room. The room also had a small hole for ventilation.

"Sit," the priest said, pointing to a bench. Ryan did so, feeling the rough texture of the bench. The young priest sat on the opposite side.

Without further ado, he introduced himself.

"My name is Paser. I was born and lived in this era, here in Egypt. I can speak English fluently because I lived in England during the Napoleonic Wars in 1804."

"Wh-what..?" Ryan gaped once more.

Paser continued, "You may not believe everything, but you have to believe this: we can travel through time and dimensions."

"What are you talking about...?" Ryan sighed, rubbing his temples. "Ah, I know, I'm dreaming. I must be sleeping while..."

Paser shook his head, "No, you're not."

Ryan blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Paser remained silent.

Ryan sighed.

"Okay... What's a Time Guardian?" Ryan finally gave up.