I can't bear to part with you.
Schrödinger lowered her head and was silent for a long time before replying: "Yes, I did not pass the test of fate, but I was not destroyed in the judgment of Armageddon either. This is what I have achieved after three hundred years of practice. Although I am still a cat, I have the soul of Bastet."
Ah looked down at her and said: "So you are not an ordinary cat. No cat can be as magical as you. You are the imprisoned Goddess Bastet. Although you don't want to hear me mention this name, it is still the truth. The reason why you can become such a magical cat is still because of the guidance of the Ennead. Either you give up completely, or you will still be imprisoned. You don't want to go back to being the Goddess Bastet, but you have not given up the experience that Bastet once had. "
There was a deep unwillingness in Schrödinger's tone: "Osiris once asked me to open my spiritual imprint to him, but I was unwilling. That is what I have gained after three hundred years of practice, and it is impossible not to cherish it. I am not even willing to open it, let alone give it up. "
Ah can certainly understand your feelings, but what you have achieved after three hundred years of practice is not the spiritual imprint, but the life and power that you have enjoyed for three hundred years. Great Goddess Bastet, please look at the people of this world, what have they left behind in their lives? "
The cat's head lowered even more: "You are right, if I still have unwillingness in my heart, then how should the mortals of this world live? I have suffered enough. In your eyes, I am the most magical cat in the world, but who can understand the pain of such a cat? "
Ah certainly knew Schrödinger's pain, he was a witness of her spiritual imprint and had personally felt what she had gone through. Ah gently combed the cat's fur with his fingers and changed the subject: "You refused to integrate your spiritual imprint into the soul of Osiris, but you took the initiative to open it to me."
Schrodinger said in a low voice: "This requires my own sincerity, otherwise I will not be able to spread the imprint of my soul. Osiris, Bair, Nietzsche, and the others cannot do it. I will only choose you."
Ah stood up and said: "I have a discovery to tell you, maybe you already know it, but as a bystander, I should see it more clearly. Let's talk in the temple, the temple I built for you. "
A man and a cat left the house and walked through the manor to the backyard. Ah's manor was really too big. The so-called backyard was a garden where horses could gallop freely. In the place with the best scenery, the Cat Goddess Bastet's temple was built. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, they walked very slowly, their shadows gradually lengthening. When they stepped into the temple, the last ray of the setting sun disappeared over the top of Mount Horeb in the distance.
With his hands behind his back, he stood in the center of the shrine, gazing at the statue of Bastet on the altar. The statue of this goddess was a cat's head with long hair draped over it like a lion's mane. Under the head was a young woman's body, looking very charming.
Schrödinger was a little embarrassed when he saw how engrossed he was and asked, "Who are you looking at? What are you thinking about?"
Ah replied, "I'm thinking about the endless test. It's like an endless river that eventually flows back to its source. It's like experiencing and witnessing the course of many lives, seeing it so clearly but unable to think about it. In the end, I can't tell if it's forgotten or cut it off. I've witnessed it in your spiritual imprint, and I've been thinking about it for the past few days. It may be the course of countless lives in the world, or it may be the many lives of one person, but there's no difference in the meaning of the two.
After passing this test, you are yourself, with an endless source of power. Now you are still you, not another life in the world, nor are you the endless course of previous lives, you are still the goddess Bastet. Your achievements are guided by the divine system, and you should still follow the oath you made. You don't want to be Bastet, but in fact you are Bastet. This is the source of Osiris's ability to seal your soul. The way to break the shackles is also very simple, that is to cut off all of this. Only when you no longer exist will Bastet be truly free. "
The cat raised her head and also looked at the statue and murmured, "I don't exist? Then where will I go? "
A little afraid to look back at her, Ah Jing sighed softly. "Your achievements far exceed mine. If even you don't know, how can I know the answer?"
The cat shook her head stubbornly. "No, I must ask you to give me an answer, even if it's just a guess, I want you to say it yourself!"
In fact, Ah Jing had already thought of this answer, but he was unwilling to say it. Schrödinger, however, insisted on asking, and he had to say: "If the seal that imprisons your soul is broken, I don't know where you will go, but I know where you will be. Perhaps in the future, you will be in the endless verification of another life. But at that time, you will no longer be the Bastet of today, and perhaps you will be able to verify it, or perhaps you will never have the chance to reach that step. "
Bastet closed her eyes in the darkness. "I understand. In fact, I should have understood it long ago, but I still refused to give up."
Ah Jing finally turned around and looked at Schrödinger. "Today you should be able to do it, you just need an external force to break the seal that imprisons your soul. I am this external force, and spreading your spiritual imprint on me is the process. Thank you for telling me all the secrets of your hundreds of years of achievements. "
The cat still did not open her eyes. "Yes, I can finally let go of this shackle, but when the time comes, I can't bear to part with it …"
Ah asked gently, "What are you still reluctant to part with? Do you want to continue being the most painful cat in the world?"
Schrödinger finally opened her eyes, and unexpectedly, they were filled with tears. "I can't bear to part with you."
Ah didn't know what to say. Of course, he couldn't bear to part with this cat either. Since the day he left his hometown, Schrödinger had always been accompanying and guiding him. Ah couldn't even imagine what would happen if he didn't have Schrödinger. But in the end, he hardened his heart and said: "I am also one of your experiences as Bastet. True separation includes not only the facts that you are unwilling to face, but also the things that you love. All of this is woven together to form the seal that imprisons your soul. True separation is also the separation of a whole body. Isn't this very difficult? When you can touch the seal that imprisons your soul, you have another kind of reluctance. "
Schrödinger used a pitiful tone and said: "Ah, can you tell me, will you still recognize me?"
Ah crouched down to touch her, but his hand didn't reach out. He just lowered his head and said: "Perhaps you don't even know who you are, perhaps you have another origin, perhaps we have met before, perhaps we will meet again. This life's spiritual imprint has been opened to me, and I can leave another imprint on your soul. In the future, I will recognize you, and you will also recognize me. With my achievements, I can't do this, but the situation between us is very special, and I can do it to you.
Hearing this, Schrödinger closed her eyes again. Tears rolled down from the corner of the cat's eyes. The goddess finally understood the wishes of this life. Ah suddenly felt that something was wrong behind him. The statue on the altar seemed to have come to life. He hurriedly stood up and turned to look, but heard someone say behind him: "Ah, are you looking at me?"
It was really the voice of a woman, not coming from the soul. He turned around again and saw her. The cat named Schrodinger finally turned into a woman. It had the same body as the statue on the altar, but it didn't have the head of a cat with a lion's mane. Instead, it was a pretty woman. The tip of her nose was slightly raised, and her pink mouth was very cute.
Ah stepped forward and said: "I finally see you. You have broken free from the seal that imprisons your soul."
Schrödinger gently shook his head: "No, this is not a true break, but a farewell before I leave. I have restored Bastet's power, but as long as I use this power, I will leave."
Ah, maybe you don't have to leave in such a hurry. "
Schrödinger: "There are some things you still don't understand. I can use the power of the goddess Bastet to help you fulfill your last wish, which also means that I will disappear from this world. But I don't want you to see that scene, so I will leave before sunrise. "
Ah looked at the starlight sprinkled on the doorsill of the temple, and opened his arms to Schrödinger: "At least for now, there is no sunrise yet."
…
Before sunrise the next day, Schrödinger quietly left. Ah sat alone in the temple for three days. For the first time in his life, the cat was not by his side. He did not know how Schrödinger would say goodbye to this world, but he knew that Schrödinger did not want him to see that scene.
Ah, who had never been depressed no matter what difficulties he faced, felt a deep sense of loss and powerlessness at this moment. Schrödinger's separation was also his separation. There were still many things waiting for him in the distance, but he was not interested in them. He just wanted to sit quietly in the temple alone, as if he had spent hundreds of years.
Three days later, Ah finally walked out of the temple. He sent a servant to report to the city of Heliopolis: the messenger from Siberia had come, and he was going to participate in the duel that had been arranged for a long time, and entrusted the city of Heliopolis to convey the news to the capital. Ah was just informing, not applying, because this duel was witnessed by the monarchs of the two countries, and there was no need to ask for the opinion of anyone, including Pharaoh of Merneptah. If he did not go, he would be ridiculed by the world.
After the servant set off, Ah also set off. He did not take any attendants with him, but drove a milk boat across the Nile River alone. When he reached the other side, he did not tie the boat, but let the boat drift along the river. Without Schrödinger, without a leather bag, and without an iron staff, Ah walked with his hands in his hands. He hid the rib of Osiris close to his body, and all the important things were in the rib.
Ah didn't try to hide, he just walked along the official road openly. When he arrived at the city of Heliopolis, the governor and the local garrison were alarmed. The lords hurriedly received the Supreme General of the Empire and asked him why he came alone. Ah answered frankly at the banquet that he was going to participate in the duel that was known to the world, and took out the letter sent by the messenger from Siberia.
So that was how it was. The Supreme General's bearing impressed everyone present, and he went alone to such a faraway place to keep the appointment. When Ah set off from the city of Heliopolis, the governor sent carriages and guards to escort him.
The news spread quickly, and when Ah passed through various cities, he was received with great ceremony along the way, like a welcoming ceremony. When Ah arrived in the Cape States, the welcome reached the most enthusiastic high.
Lord Rod-dick, the governor of Cape, personally went to the border of the territory to wait for him. The generals of the An-Ra Legion lined up to welcome the Supreme General, and they welcomed Ah to the Cape States. Rod-dick was the current commander of the An-Ra Legion, but his prestige could not be compared to the former commander of the legion, Ah. Most of the generals here were old subordinates who had followed Ah through fire and water, and they respected Ah like a god.
Except for the reception along the way, Ah did not specifically bid farewell to anyone, nor did he contact anyone. He even refrained from going to Montefiore to see Maria, because if he did not return, his actions might bring trouble to the people involved. Because of the new Pharaoh's monotheistic reform, many things in the Empire of Eygut were very sensitive.
Rod-dick accompanied Ah all the way across the Red Sea, and expressed his desire to accompany Ah to the duel and be a witness. But Ah firmly refused this request, and he did not want to involve the governor.
The landscape of the Cape States had changed greatly. The original Khenmet defense line had been submerged by the Red Sea, forming a natural barrier, leaving only a narrow passage at the southernmost end, where the An-Ra Legion was heavily garrisoned.
When Ah passed by this place, he realized that it was impossible for Moses and the others to walk out of the divine realm of the Ennead by land, because there was only one narrow passage here, and it was a heavily guarded pass. If the fugitive slaves wanted to leave, they could only try to cross the Red Sea in the north.
The passage at the southern end of the Red Sea had now become an important town, not only a military fortress, but also the throat of the trade route. It was bustling with people coming and going, and the arrival of General Ah was the biggest event in the town, attracting everyone's attention. Just as Ah arrived at the southern shore of the Red Sea, Moses and the Ducians had also gone through many hardships to reach the shore of the Red Sea a hundred miles away.
… …
Starting from the outskirts of the city of Heliopolis, passing through the city-state territories of Bubas, Tanis, and Cape, Moses and the others walked for half a year. Walking through the deep mountains and valleys, without carriages or livestock, the journey was particularly difficult. The messengers sent by Seth obstructed their footsteps in various ways, and they encountered terrible storms and huge hailstones falling from the sky on the way. The overwhelming locusts had eaten up all the leaves in the mountains and fields they passed, and the animals had fled far away, leaving them without food supplies.
Moses, armed with an iron staff, overcame many dangers with the help of the twelve Judges, while Medanzo and Link also secretly used various means to deal with Seth's messengers. When the ragged clansmen finally reached the shore of the Red Sea, they could no longer continue to walk. Link guided Moses to lead the clansmen to harvest wood and quietly build boats in the valley by the sea, intending to take advantage of the calm night to cross the sea and escape.
But for many days in a row, the wind on the Red Sea was strong, and they could not cross it, so they could only wait in the valley. Medanzo and Link could do nothing but worry. They had secretly made several moves, and had made an agreement with Seth's messengers that no one could directly intervene.
But the boats had been built, and the wind on the Red Sea could not stop forever, and the messengers sent by Seth did not make Moses and the others give up their faith. If Moses crossed the Red Sea, he would leave the divine realm of the Ennead. But at this moment, something that Ah had been worried about for a long time finally happened.
… …
When Ah passed through the southernmost land passage of the Red Sea, Rod-dick rushed back to the main city of Cape due to an urgent matter, because there was a distinguished guest in the city – Prince Snek of the Empire of Eygut.
This prince was the eldest son of the former Pharaoh Lasith Ii, and the elder brother of the current Pharaoh Merneptah. Snek had come to the Cape States on an important mission, carrying an order personally written by His Majesty Pharaoh, and Rod-dick cooperated to the best of his ability. As for what this mission was, Rod-dick had no right to ask.
In fact, Prince Snek did not have a good relationship with Pharaoh Merneptah. As the eldest son of Lasith Ii, he was not able to inherit the throne, and he also had his own faction in the country and a vast territory, so he was not obedient to Merneptah. But this time, Merneptah had ordered Prince Snek to come to the Cape States in the name of an oracle.
This oracle was issued directly by the Archangel Seth to the priests of the main shrine of the Empire, ordering Pharaoh to prevent the Supreme General Ah from leaving the territory of Eygut. As for how to stop him, it was up to Snek to figure it out himself, and if that was not possible, he could catch up with Ah and read the oracle in person. But before that, it was not good to make it public, and it was best to use gentle means to persuade the Supreme General to come back.
As soon as Ah left, Prince Snek rushed to the main city of Cape, and when he heard that the Supreme General had left, he immediately sent mages to go after him in a flying shuttle, saying that there was something important to discuss, and that the Supreme General Ah and Governor Drick should hurry back to the main city on horseback.
Rod-dick returned immediately upon receiving the order, but Ah did not go to see Prince Snek. He asked Rod-dick to pass on a message. "Once I set foot on this path, I will not look back, and this duel will be witnessed by Pharaoh. It concerns the honor and promise of a warrior, and it cannot be repented. Your Highness, whatever it is, we will talk about it later. "
Rod-dick could not do anything about Ah, unless he let the garrison of the An-Ra Legion take Ah back to the city, but how could Rod-dick dare to give such an order? Besides, Prince Snek did not say what the specifics were, so Rod-dick had to go back and tell the prince himself that the Supreme General refused to see him and had already continued on his way.
When Snek heard Rod-dick's report, he realized that things were not going well, and it seemed that the Supreme General wanted to leave Eygut. Because before this, Ah had already sent away all his trusted aides, and the clansmen who had become slaves had long since fled. So it seemed that it was really necessary to force him to stay.
Prince Snek intended to set out with his army immediately at dawn the next day to catch up with Ah. That night, the priests in the shrine of Cape were again guided by the Archangel's oracle. The fugitive slaves that Pharaoh had ordered to be wanted throughout the country were finally found. They were in a valley on the Red Sea, quietly building boats to cross the sea.
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