"ANARCHY!!!" roared a powerful figure, shrouded in a cloud of dust that filled the entire archives room.
Arthur still sat in the chair, while Seshat leaned against him. Yet a single thought raced through the young mortal's mind:
"Hey, this is bad, right?"
Without hesitating, Arthur scooped Seshat into his arms and bolted for the door. The figure wasted no time, launching itself at the floor and chasing after them.
"PURSUIT!!!"
"Shit!" Arthur cursed under his breath as he fled the library, turning left and slamming the door behind him, hoping to slow the behemoth.
He barely got the door shut before the wall behind it exploded outward—Enkidu needed neither a key nor an open door to follow, and soon a new cloud of dust billowed through the academy's corridors.
"DESTRUCTION!!!"
"You idiot," Arthur scolded himself. Of course it made sense: his adversary had obliterated a solid sand wall moments ago—just as tough as reinforced concrete. Why had he thought a closed door would stop him?
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Arthur shouted to Seshat as he sprinted. "What's going on exactly?! Why is he chasing us?!"
Seshat fussed with her glasses and tried to gather her hair.
"He's Enkidu—one of the first students to enter Da'at Academy. And he's been trapped here since his first reincarnation."
"Oh, I think I get it!"
"Well, it wasn't that hard to guess," Seshat replied.
Arthur glanced behind them and saw Enkidu barreling along, gouging a trench in the corridor wall and ripping doors from their frames.
"What the hell is that?! He's running insanely fast—scraping his body against the wall!"
"I told you," Seshat said, finishing her ponytail. "That brute beat mighty Hercules with his bare hands—while Hercules was wearing the Nemean Cestus!"
Arthur stared at her as if his soul might exit his body.
"You're joking, right?"
"Actually…" Seshat adjusted her glasses. "Yes—I'm joking."
"Oh, thank god—"
"Actually, he used both the Nemean Cestus and armor forged from the infinite wall of Tartarus."
At that, Arthur's eyelid twitched.
"THAT DOESN'T REASSURE ME AT ALL!"
Seshat didn't respond. She let her glasses slip down her nose and forced out a guilty giggle—"Nyehehe."
Her moment of levity vanished when Enkidu appeared before them, raising a massive hand.
"HUMAN THEFT AND TRAFFICKING!!!"
Seshat didn't need to shout at Arthur—there was no time. He heard the floor thrum beneath his feet and redoubled his pace, pulling Seshat away from Enkidu's outstretched hand.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Seshat whispered, cold sweat running down her forehead. "That was way too close!"
"Seshat," said Arthur in a near-whisper.
Seshat turned to him, wide-eyed and trembling.
"Tell me, mortal."
"I'm tired. My feet can't go on."
Seshat's face drained of color.
"Don't stop, mortal," she gasped, feeling her stomach knot in her chest. "If you stop, he'll turn us into Chop Suey."
"Sorry…" Arthur croaked. "I can't… you're too heavy."
Offended by the jab about her weight, the goddess clenched her eyes and forced a crooked smile.
"What did you say—Oh!" Her protest died when Arthur's legs gave out and he began to fall.
Seshat's heart nearly stopped. Life flashed before her eyes as she glimpsed Enkidu two meters away, hoisting a solid sand pillar in both hands.
In that instant, a spark of inspiration lit her glasses. She spotted a door on their right—Room 137. Realizing how close they were, she offered a triumphant smile and caught Arthur in mid-fall, cradling him.
*Brilliant, mortal. Thanks to you, we are saved.*
Using the momentum of the fall and a powerful push from her legs, she flung Arthur through the doorway into Room 137, vaulting herself inside on the same arc.
Enkidu didn't notice. He only saw two small insects near him and brought the sand pillar down in a crushing arc.
Arthur and Seshat dived out of the way just in time—but Enkidu's attack couldn't reach them now that they'd crossed the threshold.
Inside, the nearly unconscious Arthur was still moving on the force of the throw. He smashed through the door and tumbled forward, landing in a shallow pool of water.
Seshat halted her own momentum, thanks to her strong legs. Then she scanned the room, calling out:
"Lord Anubis!" she cried, voice trembling. "Lord Anubis!"
"Calm yourself, Seshat." A deep, serene voice came from behind her. She turned.
At the far end of the room, a dark-skinned man lounged in a small pool, his arms draped over the edges as he sipped wine from a jug. A black canine hood hid his eyes. This was Anubis, God of the Underworld and ancient Judge of the Dead.
"I foreknew your arrival," he said, rising slowly from the water. "By the way…" He bent to scoop the unconscious Arthur from the pool. "Did this boy come with you?"
Seshat nodded vigorously.
"Lord Anubis, we need your—"
"DESTRUCTION!!!"
Before she could finish, Enkidu smashed through the wall behind her and burst into the room, raising another cloud of dust.
"OVERCROWDING!!!"
"Do not worry," said Anubis as he passed the goddess, a towel wrapped around his waist. "His arrival was part of the plan."
Despite the dust, Anubis planted himself before Enkidu, raised his right arm, and swept it downward—sending a powerful gust that drove the dust cloud out of the chamber.
"VIOLENCE!!!" Enkidu bellowed, heaving the sand pillar toward Anubis.
But before Seshat could blink, Enkidu lay prone and unconscious on the floor.
"That was too easy to predict," Anubis remarked, eyeing the fallen Enkidu. "I expected more strategy from someone who once defeated the Nemean Conqueror with bare hands. But it seems brute force was all he had."
Seshat's eyes glowed with admiration. She hopped forward and offered a series of small, excited claps.
"Lord Anubis!" she exclaimed. "That was incredible."
Anubis scratched the back of his head and looked away.
"It was nothing. I merely protected the dorm's inhabitants—no need for praise."
He paused, glancing around.
"By the way…" He hesitated, then looked down at Arthur, now still on the floor. "Who is he?"
Seshat fixed her glasses, smoothed her dress, and approached Anubis.
"He is Arthur—Arthur Pendragon. A new student at the academy, a mortal," she said, arching an eyebrow. "Why do you ask, sir?"
Anubis placed a hand on his chin and stared at the floor, as if recalling a distant memory.
"Nothing… it's just he didn't appear in my predictions."