Dawn found Anubis in his bar, sitting at the counter with a cup of strong coffee. His body still ached from the battle, but the divine healing was already doing its job—the bruises were fading, the cuts were healing.

  The gods parted ways an hour ago. Thor returned to Asgard through the Bifrost, Sekhmet retreated to her lair on the Upper East Side, Hephaestus to the forge in Brooklyn, and Guan Yu vanished into the predawn shadows, heading back to Chinatown.

  Before leaving, everyone promised to stay in touch. For the first time in millennia, gods from different pantheons had formed something resembling an alliance.

  Interesting times, Anubis thought, taking a sip of scalding coffee.

  The bar door opened and Sarah walked in. She stopped when she saw him.

  — Andy? What are you doing here at six in the morning? I thought the bar was closed for maintenance.

  “The work is finished,” he replied, gesturing for her to come in. “Coffee?”

  "Always," she came closer, studying his face. "You look... exhausted. But less than you should after a whole night without sleep."

  “Good genes,” Anubis answered evasively, pouring her coffee.

  Sarah sat down opposite him, her hands wrapped around the cup.

  "Boss, I'm not stupid. Something's going on. First this Thor and his friends, then the giant robot, then you closing the bar for the day for the first time in three years... What's going on?"

  Anubis remained silent, swirling his cup.

  — Do you really want to know?

  — Yes.

  He looked at her—this ordinary girl from Queens who had worked for him for three years, who was kind, honest, trustworthy.

  "Last night, I hunted an ancient demon in the abandoned subway tunnels. Along with the goddess of war, the god of the blacksmith, the Chinese god of war, and the god of thunder. We won. The demon is imprisoned back in the underworld. The city is safe."

  Sarah looked at him for a long moment, then took a sip of coffee.

  - Fine.

  "Okay?" Anubis asked, surprised. "Is that all?"

  "What do you want me to say?" She shrugged. "Andy, I already know you're an Egyptian god. I saw the video of the battle against the Destroyer, even after you deleted it—the internet never forgets. I know that sometimes sand swirls around you when you're focused. I know you never get sick, never age, and you talk about things as if you were there in person, thousands of years ago."

  Anubis blinked.

  - And you... just accepted it?

  "What else could I do?" Sarah chuckled. "Quit? Miss out on the chance to work for a real god? Besides, you're a good boss. You pay on time, you're fair, you care about people. That's more important to me than you turning into a dog-headed guy."

  "Jackal-headed," Anubis corrected automatically, then laughed. "Sorry. Habit."

  They sat in comfortable silence, sipping coffee, while the city outside the windows woke up.

  “So,” Sarah finally said. “Is it over? Is the danger over?”

  "Ammut is imprisoned," Anubis answered slowly. "But he was freed by someone. And that someone is still there."

  - So, there will be more night raids?

  - Maybe.

  "Then we need to hire some extra help," Sarah said matter-of-factly. "I can't run the bar alone every time you need to save the world."

  Anubis smiled, broadly and sincerely.

  - You're amazing, you know.

  “I know,” she winked. “And I want a raise.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  - Fair.

  The next few days passed surprisingly calmly. The bar operated as usual, customers came and went, and life went on as usual. Anubis continued to check the soul flow every night, but found no more anomalies. It seemed that Ammut's conclusion had solved the problem.

  But he couldn't shake the feeling that this was the calm before the storm.

  On Wednesday evening, when the bar was full of ordinary customers, the door opened and in walked a man Anubis had not expected to see.

  Dr. Eric Selvig, Jane Foster's colleague, looked nervous and a little lost. He paused at the entrance, looked around, and then headed straight for the counter.

  "Doctor Selvig," Anubis greeted him. "An unexpected surprise. What brings you here?"

  "I need to talk to you," Eric said, his voice tense. "About something... unusual."

  Anubis pointed to an empty chair.

  — Sit down. Would you like something to drink?

  — Whiskey. Double.

  Anubis poured and waited. Eric drained the glass in one gulp, then took a deep breath.

  - Andy... or Anubis, or whatever the correct name is... strange things have been happening to me for the last few days.

  — What kind?

  "I see things," Eric rubbed his eyes. "Symbols. Formulas. They appear in the air when I look in certain places. I've tried writing them down, but they disappear as soon as I blink."

  Anubis frowned.

  — Describe these symbols.

  Eric took out a notebook and began drawing from memory. Anubis leaned over, studying the drawings, and felt a chill.

  These were no ordinary symbols. They were seals—ancient magical seals used to communicate between worlds.

  "Doctor Selvig," Anubis said slowly. "Have you had any contact with anything magical lately? Touched ancient artifacts? Visited places of power?"

  "No, nothing like that. I just..." Eric trailed off, remembering. "Although, there was one thing. A week ago, I was at the Natural History Museum with Jane. We were looking at the Egyptian exhibit. There was a new exhibit there—some papyrus, recently found in Egypt."

  "Papyrus," Anubis repeated, his instincts awakening. "Did you touch him?"

  "No, it was behind glass. But I... I looked at it for a long time. I tried to decipher the hieroglyphs. They were strange, distorted. And then the visions began."

  Anubis stood up.

  — We need to go to this museum. Now.

  - But it's closed. It's already nine o'clock in the evening.

  “Closed for you,” Anubis took off his apron. “Sarah!”

  She appeared from the utility room.

  - Yes, boss?

  — I need to go out urgently. Can you handle it?

  - Of course. But Andy...

  "I know," he said, already heading for the door. "If I'm not back before closing, close it without me."

  He and Eric walked outside. Anubis hailed a taxi, but as they got in, he placed his hand on the driver's shoulder. A golden light flashed in his eyes.

  — The Natural History Museum. Quickly. And you won't remember those passengers.

  The driver nodded, looking straight ahead, and stepped on the gas.

  Eric looked at Anubis with surprise.

  — Can you control the mind?

  "To a limited extent," Anubis replied. "Not constantly, just... suggestion. A useful ability in the modern world."

  They reached the museum in fifteen minutes. Anubis gave the driver a generous tip (who wouldn't remember their face), and they disembarked in front of the massive building.

  "How do we get inside?" Eric asked. "Security, alarms..."

  Anubis simply walked to the service entrance. Sand seeped into the lock, the mechanisms clicked, and the door swung open.

  “Gods don’t need keys,” he explained.

  Inside the museum, it was quiet and dark, only the emergency lighting casting ghostly shadows among the exhibits. Their footsteps echoed off the marble floors.

  “The Egyptian Hall is on the second floor,” Eric whispered.

  They climbed the stairs. Anubis felt a growing sense of unease with every step. Something was wrong. The air was too cold, too heavy.

  The Egyptian hall greeted them with familiar artifacts—sarcophagi, statues of gods, mummies. But in the center of the hall, under a spotlight, sat a new exhibit.

  Papyrus mounted in a glass display case.

  Anubis came closer and froze.

  This wasn't just papyrus. It was a curse. Dark magic so powerful he could feel it even through the glass.

  The hieroglyphs were truly distorted, perverted. They spoke of opening gates, of summoning ancient powers, of...

  "It's a ritual," Anubis whispered. "A summoning ritual. Someone is trying to summon something from the Duat."

  "What exactly?" Eric stood behind him, looking around nervously.

  Anubis continued reading, his face growing darker.

  - Apop. They're trying to summon Apop.

  — Who is Apop?

  "The serpent of chaos," Anubis turned to Eric, his golden eyes blazing. "The opposite of order, the enemy of Ra, the one who tries to devour the sun every night. If Apophis is released into this world..."

  He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.

  — What can we do?

  — Destroy this papyrus. Now.

  Anubis raised his hand, preparing to break the glass, when he heard slow claps behind him.

  They both turned around.

  A figure emerged from the shadows. Tall, wearing a dark cloak, his face hidden by a hood. The same figure Anubis had seen in the cemetery.

  "Impressive," the voice was masculine, cultured, with a slight accent. "You figured out my plan faster than I expected, Guardian."

  "Who are you?" Anubis demanded, sand already beginning to swirl around his hands.

  The figure pulled back its hood, revealing its face.

  A middle-aged man with graying temples and piercing gray eyes. He looked like a professor or a scholar, but the aura around him was dark and distorted.

  "My name is Victor Stone," he introduced himself. "An archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and... as you recently discovered... a practitioner of the dark arts."

  “You freed Ammut,” Anubis realized.

  "Yes," Stone nodded shamelessly. "Although you ruined that plan. Ammut was just an experiment, a test. Apophis is the real target."

  "Why?" Eric found his voice. "Why release monsters that will destroy the world?"

  Stone turned to him, his eyes full of madness.

  "Because this world is already rotting, Doctor Selvig. Corruption, wars, suffering. Apophis will bring the end. Purification. And from the ashes a new order will arise."

  “You are mad,” Anubis whispered.

  “No,” Stone smiled. “I am enlightened. I spent thirty years studying ancient Egypt. I found forgotten texts, forbidden rituals. I learned the truth—that the gods are weak, that they have abandoned this world. But Apophis... Apophis is eternal. Apophis is unstoppable.”

  “I will stop you,” Anubis stepped forward.

  “Try it,” Stone raised his hands, and dark energy began to boil around him.

  The battle began before Eric could even realize what was happening.

  Stone unleashed a wave of dark magic that crashed against Anubis's sand shield. The god responded with an attack—sand spears erupted from the floor, aiming for the mage.

  Stone dodged, moving faster than a normal human should. He chanted incantations in garbled Egyptian, summoning shadow creatures that rushed at Anubis.

  "Eric, run!" Anubis shouted, tearing the creatures apart with his sand blades.

  But Stone was between them and the exit.

  "No one is leaving," the mage hissed. "You will both witness the birth of a new world."

  He pointed at the display case containing the papyrus, and the glass exploded. The papyrus flew into the air, unfurled, and the hieroglyphs began to glow blood-red.

  "No!" Anubis lunged forward, but Stone unleashed another wave of dark energy, knocking him off his feet.

  The papyrus began to burn, but the fire was not destructive, but inviting. A portal formed from the ashes, small yet, but growing.

  Anubis rose, his nose bleeding from the strain of his magic. He knew he couldn't defeat Stone in direct combat—the mage was too powerful, fueled by dark magic and madness.

  But there was one thing he could do.

  "Eric," he called, not taking his eyes off Stone. "Do you have a phone?"

  — Yes, but...

  — Call Jane. Tell her to call Thor. Immediately.

  - But how did she...

  - She'll find a way. Call her!

  Eric took out his phone with trembling hands and began dialing.

  Stone laughed.

  "Are you calling for reinforcements? It's too late, Guardian. The portal will open in five minutes. And even the Asgardians won't make it in time."

  “Then,” Anubis straightened up, allowing his divine aura to fully unfold, “I’ll have to hold out for these five minutes.”

  A golden light filled the hall. The sand rose, forming a vortex around Anubis. His eyes glowed like tiny suns.

  And he attacked with all the might of the god of the dead.

  The battle for the fate of the world began in a quiet museum, among ancient artifacts and forgotten gods.

  And time went on.