Kael's consciousness stirred before his body did. His skin still burned with the aftershocks of his transformation, but it was nothing compared to the chaos raging within him. The celestial and abyssal forces inside him had finally settled into an uneasy equilibrium, though his body felt foreign ,stronger, heavier, yet unsettlingly unstable. He could feel the power coursing through his veins, reshaping him even now. The hunger he had felt upon absorbing the Disciple's essence had subsided, but in its place was something deeper, more insidious an awareness that he had stepped beyond the threshold of mortality.
A groan beside him snapped his focus outward.
Elara.
She sat against the cold stone wall, her arms wrapped around her knees. The dim lighting revealed the bruises on her arms, likely from their struggle through the desert night. Her dark eyes flickered toward him, sharp but undeniably relieved.
"About time you woke up," she muttered, though her tone carried more concern than irritation.
Kael exhaled, his throat dry. "Where are we?"
"Locked up," she said, stretching her legs out. "Egyptian authorities picked us up before we could even get out of the desert. And a certain someone made it more difficult."
She said with slight irritation before scoffing and looking away.
Kael blinked, trying to push past the haze in his mind. He remembered staggering through the desert with her, his body barely holding itself together. Then the distant roar of approaching vehicles, the blinding lights cutting through the night. He had barely resisted when they were taken. It wasn't that he couldn't fight back he simply hadn't seen the point. Running wasn't going to solve anything.
He let his head rest against the wall. "And the Demi-Gods?"
"Gone. Didn't interfere. Just… watched."
Kael's fingers curled. He had felt their departure before everything went dark. If they weren't attacking, it meant they were either assessing or waiting. Both possibilities made his skin crawl.
He sighed. "Guess we should've expected this."
Elara scoffed. "You think? It's you who go around doing shits you don't understand yet!!!" She snapped immediately, although she was concerned she couldn't help but feel irritated, this was the second time she had been held captive throughout her life and both times happened because of the hard head in front of her, she glared at him but Kael wasn't really paying attention to her anymore.
The sound of approaching footsteps made them both tense. A moment later, the iron door creaked open, revealing a group of uniformed officers. Their leader, a man in his fifties with graying hair and deep-set eyes, stepped inside. His name tag read Commander Fareed.
"You're lucky to be alive," he said in heavily accented English, his sharp gaze scanning Kael from head to toe. "What happened back there?"
Kael shrugged, the movement testing his new muscles. "Archaeological mishap?"
Fareed's expression didn't change. "That's the story you're going with?"
Elara, ever the tactician, spoke up. "We were caught in the middle of something we didn't understand. We barely made it out."
"That much is obvious," Fareed muttered. He stepped closer, peering at Kael as if searching for something. "Your name?"
Kael hesitated. Giving his real name might invite unwanted attention. But at this point, the authorities already had them in custody. Lying wouldn't help.
"Kael," he said simply.
Fareed studied him for a long moment. Then he turned to Elara. "And you?"
"Elara."
Fareed nodded, then gestured for the guards. "They come with me."
The officers stepped forward, cuffs in hand. Kael tensed but didn't resist as the cold metal snapped around his wrists. The moment they clicked shut, he felt a strange resistance in his body. These weren't ordinary restraints. There was something dampening about them.
Elara shot him a wary look. "Magic suppressors?"
Fareed gave a thin smile. "We're not fools."
They were escorted out of the dim cell and down a long hallway lined with more guards than seemed necessary. Outside, the night was nearly over, the first light of dawn creeping over the horizon.
Kael's senses were still heightened, though dulled slightly by the restraints. He could feel the hum of energy in the air ,the lingering remnants of his battle, the whispers of unseen watchers. The Demi-Gods hadn't left entirely. They were just out of sight.
He let out a breath. Cowards.
They were led into a grand office overlooking the Nile. Fareed took a seat behind a desk and gestured for them to sit.
"You're not ordinary travelers," he said. "We don't often get reports of foreigners walking out of classified historical sites covered in battle wounds."
Kael met his gaze without flinching. "What do you want?"
"To understand," Fareed replied. "Egypt is already under enough strain from forces beyond our control. If you are an additional threat, I need to know."
"We're not here to cause problems," Elara said. "We were just looking for answers."
Fareed drummed his fingers on the desk. "And did you find them?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "Some."
Silence stretched between them. Finally, Fareed exhaled and leaned back in his chair. "You'll be processed and released under strict surveillance. Any further disturbances, and you won't get off so easily."
Kael nodded. He had no intention of staying longer than necessary.
"But I do have some questions??" Kael said making Elara want to choke the life out of him, they're letting him off easy and he goes seeking answers again.
"Go on..."
Kael picked the cuffs and gestured at the commander.
Commander Fareed gave him a deep look before turning away.
"This country is ours, the site is in our territory, do you think we won't be aware of what's in there?? Go now, I'm a busy man"
He waved them off
Kael nodded and made for the door, those words alone was all he needed.
---
Two days later, they were on a plane heading back to the United States. The air felt lighter, but the weight in Kael's chest remained. He stared out the window, watching the landscape shift below.
"You're quiet," Elara murmured beside him.
"Thinking."
"About what?"
Kael exhaled. "Everything."
She studied him. "You feel different."
"I am different."
She nodded, as if she had already known that. "So, what now?"
Kael's fingers tightened around the armrest. "I go back for my diary."
Elara raised an eyebrow. "That old thing?"
"It's not just a diary," he said. "It's a record. Of everything. Of who I was before… all this."
"And then?"
Kael turned to her, his eyes reflecting something new, a dark glint shimmering in the depths of his golden eyes that seemed to be becoming more prominent this past few days.
"Then, I start afresh."