Heliopolis, the Holy City where the Egyptian gods resided among mortals.
This was a city on earth, as well as a domain of the deity. It had many names in the past: Sun City, Home of the Gods, City of All Gods, and it was even once the capital revered by the thirteen nomes (city-states) of Lower Egypt.
In years past, Isis, who fell accidentally to Hemenu, took her place and married the God of Underworld Osiris here; then, under the witness of All Gods, she was condemned as a sinner and died.
For thousands of years, this place had scarcely been without the trace of a deity; the gods of Egypt enjoyed the offerings of mortals here.
It was like a Mount Olympus closer to the Mortal Realm, where Divine Persons and mortals lived together... until the cataclysm a few years prior, which brought everything to a halt.
It began with the highest deity, La, summoning the God Shu, who oversaw the atmosphere and the winds among the Nine Pillar Gods, to the Solar Golden Palace, and before long, the remaining gods departed one by one.
At first, no one took this to heart, even those servants who guarded and served the gods thought it was merely a gathering of the divine. They waited in the city for the return of the gods, but day after day, they were greeted only by silence.
No god ever returned, and from that day on, the Home of the Gods was as if abandoned. The traces of the gods gradually faded, leaving only the empty Temples standing tall on the ground.
And it was not just the gods, but also the traces of humans. At the onset of the event, the Priests tried to bring back the attention of the gods with grand sacrifices, and even the Pharaoh came here to worship in person.
But as hope and despair intertwined time and again, the number of people in the Holy City dwindled.
After all, no one would respect Priests and Temples forsaken by the gods; it was a clear sign of their dereliction of duty. Moreover, in the eyes of the Egyptians, it was the Pharaoh who was the highest Priest, a ruler who held both secular and non-secular significance.
Since the gods were no longer present, even the truly devout had mostly gone to Memphis to serve the Pharaoh. Thus, this desolate Holy City was increasingly devoid of inhabitants.
"So, Aibu, that's how it is. The truly devout have left, forsaking all worldly matters and still in pursuit of the gods. Compared to them, those who remained aren't so devout, like me,"
"Over the years, many times I believed I was a devout believer... but now it seems it was only an illusion. Many thought I was born to comprehend the greatness of the gods, but in truth, the only reason I came to Heliopolis was because serving the deities was the best way out for a commoner."
"I don't have noble blood or an extraordinary family, so when I learned of the chance to become a servant of the gods, I almost immediately agreed— and as it turns out, my choice was quite right. "
"Within just a few decades, I became the mortal most admired by the God of Sun, and the Priest with the greatest Fame aside from the Pharaoh. If not for this disaster, I would still be one of the most powerful mortals in all Egypt."
"You see, that's the importance of choices."
In the vast hall, the triune Statue of God of Sun towered a hundred meters, dwarfing the mortals kneeling before it like a small mountain.
However, at this moment, neither the kneeling Priest nor the apprentice serving his teacher beside him spared even a glance at the statue.
Just as Kasim had said about himself, he was never a devout believer, and his student was the same.
"So, Teacher, why do you insist on staying here?"
"The gods have abandoned this city, and no one knows when they'll return... What sense is there to stay with these stones? The Pharaoh has invited you more than once to Memphis. Even though he does so to stabilize the hearts of the people with your Fame, the honor you'd retain wouldn't be less..."
Kasim interrupted his student's words with a faint inquiry.
The young man called Aibu was somewhat confused; he didn't understand what his teacher meant.
"Yes, and then. You see, nobody knows when the gods might change their minds, but I know people can learn to adapt. In the first decade after the gods left, people still fondly remembered the days with the gods. In the second decade, they still held on to the memory. In the third, the fourth decade, to many young people, the gods became just a symbol because they've never seen the real gods, and the right to interpret this symbol will only belong to the Pharaoh."
"But the Pharaoh is dying."
Speaking lightly, Kasim devoutly knelt in worship, just like every time before.
In the empty hall with no audience, if anyone were to witness this scene, they would probably think he was a true believer.
The words following seemed difficult to say, as Aibu felt a certain fear.
Even though the gods had left, the authority they had instilled had not dissipated enough to be discussed openly in the once sacred hall within just a few years. In the end, he still lacked the courage.
"Never mind, you are still young."
Without turning around, the Priest seemed to have a complete grasp of his student's reaction from behind.
"These matters are indeed not for you to consider right now, but you have to write them down first, and remember them until you can understand. The Pharaoh is dying, and I am actually very old too. If All Gods return, staying here will be the best choice. But if they don't... I won't leave at this time to use my accumulated Fame to stabilize the situation for the Pharaoh."