Genesis [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

I decided to do some cloaked work for a while. By cloaked, I meant astral projection. A difficult thing to do if you weren't born into the ability, such gifted creatures being gods of dreams. It was also rather dangerous, particularly in enemy territory where I could be caught outside my body, and my body would be killed, then I would cease to exist and along with it the entire universe.

Still, it was the best way for me to tail Set without rousing his suspicion, and being able to see exactly how he behaved when no one was around to watch him.

I prepped a hot bath with scented oils in order to further lull me into a relaxed state. I meditated, listened to the Source sing its natural hum to assure me they were there, and listening, and watching, everything I did. There was no disappointment or anger in my actions, no longer did the Source weep with my actions as they did so long ago, before I had met Lucifer.

With that content thought, I retreated to my quarters. I double checked the locking mechanisms within the room to ensure privacy and went to the bed, laying down and resting my head on the thick satin pillow. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

And waited as I drifted slowly into sleep, allowing the heavy warm arms embrace me and drag me into the darkness. It lasted no more than a few seconds, and I found myself standing across the room, watching my physical body slumber. I turned away and focused on seeking out Set, which wasn't particularly hard for he was still in his quarters, even during this time of day.

Anka's testimonials had proven to be fact; Set never left the palace, unless it was a meeting, and Nephthys was the only outsider who visited.

I traveled right through the thick walls between our rooms and entered Set's, which in itself, was an entirely new domain. Unlike the golden splendor of the palace, Set's room was quite plain and stark. Only the necessities took up space. A large bed against the wall separating our rooms, a small basket sitting beside it, an archway leading to a bathing chamber that held only the bathing pool and a vanity with a single pot sitting on the counter. The only decoration were black silk curtains draped over the balcony entrance, and even the balcony as large and spacious as it was, held no furniture or plant life. The quarters were bare and untouched as if no one lived within, and they were so large that it seemed like a tomb already.

No, even the Egyptians adorned their tombs with glorious riches and beauty.

Set's room was... a prison.

And Set himself lay sprawled on his stomach on the bed, black silk sheets tangled about his legs, his arm tucked beneath his pillow, his other arm splayed out. He wasn't sleeping. He simply laid there, unmoving, staring straight ahead, his long black hair falling about his shoulders and face.

The air around him was thick with misery. It was such a deep dark shroud of depression that it nearly stole my breath away and I was frozen in my position near the corner of the room. I stood there for so long, possibly a couple hours. He still did not move. Only blinked on occasion. It was as if he were dead already.

And I swallowed thickly as my vision became distorted with tears.

His agony was so fierce, so powerful, that it touched something inside me.

It was like watching a great and powerful beast give up. He was, as Anka said, a shell of his former self. He no longer cared about the world and the beauty in it, because he could not see the beauty. He was trapped for so long in the darkness and in the misery. He was shown only the cruelty and the hatred, the greed and the mockery.

And briefly, I saw those silver eyes flicker when he passed a window and stared outside. In fact, now that I looked back upon the times I walked in on him in the throne room, he would be standing near the window, staring outside. Even with no glass, no wall, no barrier, really, to separate him from the desert he appeared to long for, he still felt trapped.