“Bishop, take out the knight on the black square please.” I say, watching as the tiny white dragon which represents my bishop walks diagonally across the board until it sits in front of the knight. The dragon stands up on it’s back legs, reaches forward with its head, and bites off the enemy knight’s head. The now headless piece slowly walks off the board, it’s head regrowing as it walks. I take a sip of my orange juice. “So cool.”

The man in the egyptian headdress moves his queen to take the bishop I’d just sent after his knight. I feel only a little envious of his ability to command the pieces without using words. “You are very good at this game.” He says, his tone slightly less frosty than it used to be.

“I’ve had lot’s of practice.” I smile fondly at the memories of my dad teaching me the game, before taking another look at the board. “Although… I don’t believe I’m going to win this round.”

We both turn quiet as we contemplate our next move.

“So what is your objective here anyway? Take over the world? Kill off the human race? Kill all the Beta Testers that oppose you?” I ask, watching as the chess game slowly turns in his favor.

“You’ve finally decided to interrogate me for information?” His tone regains its earlier frostiness.

“Not really. I’m just curious. I have people that I care about after all.” I shrug. “You aren’t exactly the evil zombie covered in tissue paper that I was expecting.”

He doesn’t respond until he makes his next move, taking my next bishop. “I have come here to kill the followers of certain gods. I do this to repay a debt I owe to Ra.”

I frown at the name, surprised it wasn’t one of the gods I had already indirectly dealt with, like Set, or Sobek. If I remember my reading of the annoyingly complex egyption mythology correctly, wasn’t Ra, the sun god, a good guy? “I’m guessing that I am one of those Beta Testers you were sent to kill, if I was supposed to stop your awakening.”

“Yes.” He says, moving his queen to put my king in check.

“That sucks.” I respond, moving my king out of check. I swear, the dragon that represents my king glares at me as it moves out of the way.

“Indeed. I do not enjoy killing young ones.”

“Then why don’t you stop killing young ones?” I ask, studying the board intently. I feel heat from the intense look the man sends me.

Quiet descends on us again, only interrupted by me drinking the last of the orange juice. I put the empty bottle in my inventory.

“I do not know how to stop.” He says after a few more moves.

“It’s pretty easy once you decide to do it.” I say. “It’s much harder to take a life than it is to spare one. You just don’t realize how hard it is, until it’s too late.” I smile. “And that’s checkmate. Good game.”

The man stares in surprise at my queen, who has just check-mated his king. “Were you bating me the entire time by sacrificing your pieces?”

“Nah, I was just lucky. You up for another? I’m trying to avoid a call with my mom at the moment, and I know that the moment I get back to proper civilization, I’ll have to call her.” I smile at the thought of my poor sister, who is probably facing the inquisitive nature of my mother at this very moment.

I really should look into that boyfriend thing.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time.” The man says, standing up as his chair and the table disappear back into the sand. I hurriedly put the chess set into my inventory, before the table completely sandifies.

“That’s a shame.” I say, standing up from my chair as it too disappears.

“You realize that I must kill you now?” The man asks.

“Do you realize that you don’t have to kill me now?” I respond, my smile never disappearing.

“It was a good game, but it is over now.” The man reaches toward his waist, where a sword and sheath materialize out of the sand.

“Is it?” I ask, winking at him and activating my earring. The world starts to distort. “I don’t think the game ever really ended.” I add.

The man unsheathes his sword, then hesitates at my words. The hesitation is all I need as the world’s colours continue to blend together. The colours return to normal as I appear on the rug in my room.

Well. That was a fun game of chess.

I’m glad I finally got to use that set.

I guess it’s time to play another game.

I sit down on the rug, getting into a meditative pose, feeling for the chakras in my body. Once I feel ready, I stimulate my crown chakra, the connection with god.

The difference isn’t immediately noticeable, but when I open my eyes, I’m in a familiar field, with a large sycamore tree standing in all its glory right in front of me.

“This is a surprise. I take it you succeeded in stopping the awakening of the mummy?” Isis says from behind me.

“No. I was too late.” I respond, turning around to look at her, “Instead, we sat and played a game of chess. Speaking of, would you like to play?” I get ready to pull the set out of my inventory.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time.” She smiles in apology, “I was not aware he would awaken so soon. If you did not stop his awakening, how are you here?”

I touch the little earring I’m wearing. “It’s my little life saver.”

“I’m glad to see you here safe.”

“I do have a few questions for you.” I say, sitting down cross legged in the grass.

“I expected as much.” Isis sits down in a chair she makes out of dark wood that materialized from the ground.

Everyone I’ve met is able to create furniture out of nothing, I ought to learn that skill soon.

“Why does Ra want me dead?” I ask the main question on my mind.

Isis looks thoughtful as she thinks over my question. “It’s a long story, one of the few that your myths remembered correctly.” She pauses, looking into the distance as she reminisces. “When I was much younger, thousands of years ago, all I wanted was power. I knew that if I had enough power, I could bring back my husband from the land of the dead. In a sense, I was right, but my husband was no longer meant to be in the land of the living. I only got to spend one day with him. To get this power over death, I did many things I regret.”

****

Ra was an emperor, he was not a bad emperor, nor was he a good emperor. He was an Emperor.

Some might say he was ruthless, and cruel, I would not argue with them. Ra brought the wrath of the sun on those who angered him, killing women and children alike. But he also oversaw the greatest time of his people, bringing life and wealth wherever he went.

Ra was the most powerful of the gods, and I knew that with his power I could accomplish my dream of seeing my husband again.

All I needed was the smallest piece of him. So I waited for my moment, and eventually it came. On the night he fought Apep, the great snake, he shed blood.

I used that blood in my magic to create a creature in the likeness of his enemy, a snake. Then one day, he was bitten by the creature I created.

No word of power he used could free him of the poison of the snake, since the poison was made with part of his own flesh. Terrified of the poison that would one day kill him, he called upon me, one of the greatest healers in the land, to free him of this poison.

As he lay dying there, I told him that the only way I could heal him was if I knew his true name. He knew to not give his true name away, for with it, someone could have power beyond imagining. But fear of death twisted his mind, and he told me.

With knowledge of his true name, I forced the poison out of his body, and gained the power I desired.

It would take him a long time to find the truth of my actions, but eventually he did.

****

Isis finished her story, her face unreadable.

“So you were a manipulative bitch, and now you have one of the greatest gods, who controls the power of the sun, as your enemy.” I say, raising an eyebrow at her.

Isis smiles at my summary. “That is fairly accurate, yes.”

I sigh, “Alright.” With that one word, I cut the connection and return to my room.

For some reason, the mummy’s casual acceptance of killing me had struck a nerve. It reminded me how fucked up the world can be sometimes.

I get out of my room, and walk downstairs to the kitchen. Nobody is in the house at the moment, so I take my time in creating some proper food.

I’d packed rations and quick meals for my trip, but they really weren’t the same as a proper meal.

I make something simple, frying a few eggs, then putting them on some toast with cheese.

My first bite is heaven. My second bite loses its taste as I think of Isabelle, the Beta Tester that had almost killed me in Korea. I can’t help but wonder what she is up to right now. Does she feel regret for the deaths of the people in our group? Or is she continuing to live her life as if nothing happened?

I finish my meal, trying to get the feeling of my first bite back. Unfortunately the taste isn’t quite the same.

It’s official, I need to snuggle with Rose.

I take my phone out to message her, only to realize that it’s still out of battery.

Another sigh leaves me as I scrounge up a charger and plug it in.

I should also call Blake. We really need to talk about what is going on, and what the future is going to look like.

I don’t know how he and Damien are going to survive without some kind of protection. There might be a way to introduce them to the system, without having them kill Beta Testers. I should probably ask Taylor.

Once my phone is done charging, I message Rose.

Can you come over? I could use some cuddles.

I watch as the three little dots move up and down, signaling that she’s typing.

Rose: Where have u been? I’m busy atm, but I’ll b over after dinner?

I’ve been out of town looking into some stuff. I’ll see you then.

I look over my message one more time, before sending it.

I could really use some cuddles.