When Ana?s woke up, a familiar sight greeted her. She rubbed her eyes before sitting up and pcing her palms in the warm sand of the gray desert. She certainly had a lot of déjà vu moments tely.

  Her gaze nded on the young man beside her, still in his human form, sitting a few meters away. He was examining the neckce he had taken from her, lost in thought. When he noticed she had regained consciousness, he put the neckce in his pocket and stood up.

  "Where are we?" Ana?s asked, still groggy from her fall onto the tracks.

  Before he could answer, a beautiful woman with bck hair and brown skin appeared behind the young man. She wore a sor disk surrounded by two cow horns. Slowly, the pieces clicked in her mind: the desert, the ankh, the strange head she saw on the ptform, the woman's peculiar attire...

  OK, if I remember my lessons from a few years ago... That makes them Anubis and Isis. Really? she thought, rolling her eyes at the situation's absurdity.

  Isis grabbed Anubis’s arm to speak to him quietly. Ana?s could only make out a few words: "return," "amulet," and something that sounded suspiciously like "what are we going to do with her."

  Ana?s was losing patience. No one had expined where she was or how she got here. She stood up quickly and approached the pair, fists clenched.

  "Excuse me, hello, can someone expin what the hell I’m doing here?" she snapped sarcastically.

  Isis made a "tsk" sound as she looked Ana?s up and down. If she were in a cartoon, a throbbing vein would have appeared on Ana?s’s temple.

  Goddess or not, who does she think she is?

  Anubis finally turned his attention back to the young human, and after a final gnce at Isis, who walked away, he pced his hand on her elbow and pulled her forward. Ana?s angrily shrugged off his grip but continued to follow him. The man sighed but didn’t comment on her reaction.

  After about ten seconds of walking, Ana?s's impatience erupted again.

  "Where are we going? And where are we?"

  Anubis sighed again. He stopped and focused his attention on the young woman.

  "We are in the Duat, and we are going to the Field of Offerings."

  Ana?s nodded, but her eyes and the puzzled expression on her face betrayed her ck of understanding. She felt like he was speaking a foreign nguage.

  "Well, you are in the afterlife. We are going to Imentet, the city of the Gods and the Blessed."

  "Oh. OK," she responded, not at all disturbed by this revetion.

  After nding in a gray desert and meeting supposed Egyptian Gods, Ana?s wasn’t fazed by much anymore. The only question that remained: if she was in the afterlife, was she dead? If so, she was somewhat reassured to find out there was indeed something after death. She had lived a simple life and wasn’t worried about the weight of her soul.

  Anubis started walking again, watching the young woman from the corner of his eye.

  "You’re taking the news surprisingly well," he continued a note of curiosity in his voice.

  She shrugged nonchantly.

  "I’m just thinking, 'why not.' Plus, it’s more interesting than scrubbing toilets."

  "Oh, you’re a domestic servant. That expins your nguage," he excimed, an understanding and pitying look on his face.

  "Is that a problem for you?" she muttered, scowling.

  Another sideways gnce from Anubis.

  "No."

  In the distance, Ana?s finally saw a change in the ndscape. Ahead of them stood a simple door banced on the ground. There was no structure around it, but what was most surprising were the two colossal figures with crocodile heads guarding the door. Each held a spear and stood perfectly still, so much so that they looked like statues.

  Yet, as they approached the door, the guards' gaze slid over to Ana?s. A shiver immediately ran down her spine. Their eyes didn’t leave her and tracked her every move. It was creepy and a bit unsettling. Instinctively, she moved closer to Anubis as he pushed the double doors open. Behind them, she could only see darkness.

  Okay, there are portals in the afterlife, she noted mentally. This is so bizarre that I must be dreaming. Maybe I'm in a coma from the fall?

  Without asking questions, she followed him closely through the door. They nded in a long corridor that seemed endless, with hundreds of doors on each side. The structure was made of beige sandstone and was naturally lit. Ana?s assumed it was the same process used in the sunless desert since no torches or windows let in sunlight.

  When she turned to ask Anubis where they were, she almost jumped in surprise. His appearance had changed after passing through the portal: he had regained his half-jackal, half-bck dog head and white loincloth. The realization hit her hard.

  "It was you," she accused Anubis, pointing at him. "In my dream... Oh, I remember it clearly now."

  His muzzle opened slightly to let out his words. It was quite an unusual sight to see an animal speak like a human.

  "Hmm... I was searching for the neckce and knew you had it. I just needed to locate you. You made it easy by calling out to me," he chuckled.

  "So it wasn’t just a simple dream."

  "No."

  "Why is that neckce so important? And where is it?"

  Anubis pulled the neckce out from his loincloth and waved it in front of her nose.

  "You’ll see," he said, putting the object away from her inquisitive gaze.

  "I’ll see, I’ll see... When are we getting there?"

  "Soon."

  The corridor seemed endless. After what felt like ten minutes of walking — at least, that was her impression — it split into two, revealing two enormous wooden doors. The door on the left was guarded by men with serpent heads, while the right door was fnked by guards with bull heads. On the left door, Ana?s could make out a carving: a scale with a heart on the left pan and a feather on the right. On the door to the right, towards which they were heading, the same style of engraving depicted stalks of wheat.

  The bull-headed guards once again tracked Ana?s's every move, as if expecting her to explode at any moment. This might very well happen if they didn't reach their destination soon, and if the god at her side didn't start answering her questions.

  Finally, a few seconds ter, they passed through the st portal before reaching their destination. The carving had not lied. Behind the doors y an entirely new ndscape: a small dirt path wound between countless wheat fields. Some were being harvested by men in loincloths. Further ahead, Ana?s could see golden sandstone fortifications, which she assumed enclosed a city.

  The afterlife bore a strong resembnce to life on Ancient Earth, except that "bad souls" technically did not gain access, and a mystical atmosphere pervaded the pce. The sun cast a warm yet gentle light, a cool breeze refreshed Ana?s's face, and the sky was cloudless. She could easily imagine that the weather here was always pleasant, neither too cold nor too hot.

  With a rexed smile on her face, Ana?s followed Anubis to the fortified city. The inhabitants greeted the god with small bows to show their respect. There was no animosity or fear in their eyes; they genuinely seemed to appreciate the mysterious man accompanying her.

  The city was much rger than she had expected. Thousands of citizens bustled about the main avenues. They chatted, strolled, exchanged goods, and all seemed content and at peace. It was a very different vision from what she was used to on Earth, and she did not dislike it.

  Here, people stepped aside to let them pass, nodding in acknowledgment of the god beside her until they reached a more secluded part of the city. This area was surrounded by palm trees, and a small river outlined its borders. Several vils with rge green gardens stood spaced apart to allow sufficient outdoor space for each residence.

  The pair headed towards a vil whose door was fnked by two life-sized statues of Anubis. Ana?s chuckled at the extravagance of the decoration. The jackal god bore such a serious expression that it was hard to imagine him being interested in something so trivial, especially when the design was as... eccentric as this.

  Still silent, Anubis opened the doors and led the young human to a divan set in a rge room open to the gardens, reminiscent of a Californian vil. Ana?s sat down and observed the green space for a moment, noting that Anubis had disappeared as soon as he had brought her here. There was only a small water feature, a few fruit trees, and perfectly maintained green grass, but the pce exuded serenity and joy. She sighed contentedly. If the afterlife was like this, dying didn't seem as dreadful as it once had.

  The god returned with a gss of water and handed it to the young woman. She jumped, noticing that he had resumed his human appearance and was eyeing her with a mocking smile dancing on his lips. She thanked him for the drink, ignoring his teasing look, unable to feel annoyed in such a peaceful pce.

  "Well," he began, sitting in a white wicker chair. "Where should I start..."

  From the beginning maybe? It felt to her like he was taking his time on purpose.