Last night, Bast went to sleep at the temple to restore her vessel. Wanting to visit her, you approach the temple, but everything seems to be shaking again today. You look down into the rift, terrified to see that it's moving. Rocks are falling, and the giant body of a snake is slithering in the darkness at the bottom of the rift. The shine of the scales and the embers of its body are very visible and very terrifying, because it makes you realise just how truly big the snake is. It's larger than a river, longer than the sky. This creature is absolutely monumental. The lava flowing in the rift doesn't harm it - it seems like it's only warming it up. Your throat clenches in fear as you look out into the distance, where the rift is opening yet again.

A giant pyramid pushes up from under the ground. It's being raised by the rift's movements, which are surely caused by the charging serpent. You clench your claws into the obelisk, so as to not lose your balance, as the ground growls like a wounded animal with another massive earthquake. You see it on the horizon: the Undying Serpent rising from the chasm. Its head, covered by the dust and clouds, opens above the pyramid and spits out a massive fireball, destroying the monumental construction into pieces. The explosion squeezes air out of your lungs. You grasp the obelisk, trying to reach the other side, but the Serpent notices you. It begins to turn back.

The Serpent rises its body to break the obelisk. You jump to climb onto the rift's cliff, praying to Bast that your claws will hold. Funny, almost, how the protective goddess became so easy to pray to in such a situation. You try to lunge yourself toward the temple, while keeping an eye on the approaching snake. You notice it's now growing wings, perhaps to reach the sun. This must mean the end is near. As you climb up onto a rocky shelf, the snake lowers its head above you. It's huge.

Barely alive, you begin to crawl. The Serpent is laughing. You hear a deep voice, causing the chasm to tremble even more. "Pathetic. You must not be the lion I seek." It speaks, moving toward you and smashing rocks with its giant body. You manage to crawl between fallen rocks onto the temple's floor, where the entrance seems to be partially collapsed. You get up and feel that your ribs are broken, making you wheeze with every breath. Every step is painful. You limp with a smashed wrist toward the altar, leaving a trail of blood behind you.

A previously-sealed chamber opens to reveal an altar to the sun. Bast is sitting in front of a winged disc, possibly praying, or connecting with another energy or a god. The temple is shaking, but it seems to be holding so far. She must have noticed what was going on. She turns around and gasps. You probably don't look so good. "I know you're in pain. I know you must think there's no way you can help defeating the Serpent. But, I assure you, we'll do it together." She approaches you and rubs her head under your chin to comfort you. It's a minor relief from the pain of everything else that hurts so much. You feel like you just want to lie down.

Bast's muzzle is nearly in your face as she looks deeply into your eyes. "You shall become one with me. Our bodies will unite into the being that was foretold to defeat the Serpent. This is how vessels are made." You look at her with disbelief. It's not ideal, and it's not how you imagined it would be. Will this be permanent?

"No, you won't die. When we're done, you will be whole again, I promise. Perhaps even better than yourself as you are right now. The power of Ra will heal you. This is your last chance to choose your fate. It could be me, it could be Seth, it could even be my husband, Anubis. You can go back in time as many times as you wish, but you cannot prolong the end. The end must happen, in whichever path it is that you choose. If you leave me now, my reality will warp. I will go back to my slumber. Do not worry about me. I will cherish our time together." She nudges you and nods her head toward Shai's altar. Indeed, this is your very last chance to go back in time, to do it all over. Do you want to?

Let me light the incense and go back in time.

(This option will restart the storyline from the very beginning.)

I have chosen you, my queen

"Thank you, [NAME]. The battle will be magnificent. I will have a wonderful story to tell my brethren when I depart. I appreciate your choice and your faith. I appreciate your sacrifice. I will not disappoint you." She leads you toward the altar of the sun and touches the disc with her paw. Small sparks sizzle from her paw pads, and the room fills with light, reflecting the natural brightness nearly a dozen times, it seems. Bast speaks in ancient Egyptian - that's all you know that's happening, because you cannot see, it's too bright. You close your eyes so that you won't go blind; then, you fall down, unable to stand any further. Your broken legs just hurt too much. Every breath hurts too much. You feel Bast's paws on your back. You're ready to succumb to anything that's going to happen. You just don't have the power to do anything on your own anymore. Suddenly, a powerful motion pulls you up into the air. A hot, burning feeling shoots down your back.

Your thoughts, your consciousness, everything that's yours twists into a chaotic swirl, as you start to experience the feeling that you don't control your body anymore. You feel unreal, like you're both in your body and outside of it at the same time. Like you're you, yourself, but you're also Bast. You remember everything she remembers. You are her, and she is you. You feel her emotions, and you embrace her memories. You understand everything. You also understand how terrifying it is to be worried about your pride, your cubs, the herds, and the world collapsing above you. When you smile, it's unclear if it's Bast that's smiling at you, or if you just wanted to smile. You can't get up, though. It feels like you're in a very tight space. You crawl out of the temple, as if it was a small burrow for your new body. Your paws aren't paws anymore. They're hands! It feels so amazing to have hands. Is this how humans feel?

As you crawl out, the rift seems smaller. The Serpent is puny now. You're gigantic, actually - and your new hybrid body is glowing with the light of Ra and cosmic energy. Your large, armoured claws are ready to strange the Serpent. You feel strong. "I'm ready. You're ready," you whisper to yourself, smiling proudly. "You've become strong enough to handle this spell, trust me." You jump toward the chasm, straight onto the Serpent's coils. Apophis notices you and shrieks, enraged. "This is NOT the lion. This cannot happen!"

You call upon Ra's blessing to enchant your claws with a powerful gleam of light. The Serpent's eyes look at you, to hypnotise you, but you know better. You close your eyes while opening your inner eye - the Eye of Ra. The whole world is gleaming with sunlight strokes, vibrating like curtains crashing together wherever objects reflect the light. You see the Serpent's shape clearly, and you go for it. Your shining claws penetrate its vile body, causing it to squirm in spasms.

"You have awoken much too early, Apophis. You tried to cheat fate. I know you'll try to rise again, but we will be here, every time, because this world is worth saving. Fate is something you cannot run away from," you growl, ripping the Serpent's body apart. It crumbles and burns in the light, hissing unworldly, turning into ash-like dust. It falls down to the bottom of the chasm, forming snake-like ripples in the air. You lose your footing as the Serpent's coils fall apart, and you fall down with them. The chasm's darkness, ash, and dust seem to be closing above you.

You open your eyes, feeling like you've just woken up from a bad dream. You find yourself in Bast's temple, inside the Sun chamber, like nothing happened at all. Memories that you've shared with Bast begin to slowly fade away, and you have trouble remembering the events that just occurred - exactly as if you were dreaming. You get up, surprised that your body doesn't ache anymore. Bast's vessel looks normal, and she's here with you, licking your face so that you would wake up. When she realises you're moving, she bows a little and smiles. "Thank you, my friend. Without you, we'd be nothing." You blink slowly, carefully digging in your mind to recall what happened. You remember most of it.

"We fell to the bottom, where it was dark and hot. The dust of the Serpent covered our body, nearly burying us. The chasm started collapsing, so I used all my remaining energy to climb out. We began to separate, but I called upon every invocation I knew to hold us together until we reached the safety of the temple. When we split here, we were safe. We... probably also dozed off for a day or two. My servants took care of us, and once I awoke, I healed you." She helps you get up. The temple took a few hits, but it still looks whole, as you examine the main chamber.

"It is! It will take the Serpent a few more centuries at the very least to gather himself back again. I suppose I should go back to my slumber to prepare, but... I don't want to sleep yet. I don't want to disappear again for centuries. Your companionship is nice. Do you think we could train some more? The minions are still slithering around. It would be smart to get rid of them." She asks you gently, clinging to the physical world for a little while longer. You're still a bit dazed, but... sure. That's what friends do. You owe her that much.

Bast jumps up like a springful kitten, ecstatic at the thought of adventuring some more. "Wonderful! Oh, right! I promised that you wouldn't regret this. Let me bless you. Thank you, [NAME]." She bumps her forehead against yours. You feel a pulsating warmth travelling through your body. You feel stronger. You also get showered with beetles, which you may as well keep in the temple. "We looked grrreat in that united body. I should create more vessels with such powerful lions in the future." She nudges you with her hip as she runs to the main corridor.