The Chamber of Rebirth hasn’t been used in generations.

Pale torches flicker against the walls, making the painted images of gods and spirits seem almost to shift and breathe.

I carry Neferet in my arms, following Meritaten’s sure, solemn steps. Behind us, two priests trail silently, bearing the ritual items between them – the golden mask of Osiris, a ceremonial dagger and sacred oils.

“Quickly now,” Meritaten urges, her composure fraying just slightly at the edges. “Place her at the altar.”

My steps falter only for a breath and then I move forward.

With infinite gentleness, I lower Neferet’s body onto the sacred stone.

Her skin is almost translucent under the chamber’s strange light, her hair falling around her shoulders like spilled ink, her throat – a cruel gash of red against her pale flesh.

The priests hurry forward, arranging the sacred items with methodical precision, whispering prayers under their breath.

I take a few dazed steps backward, feeling hollow, feeling sick.

Meritaten stands nearby, her hands folded before her. Every inch a noble daughter of Egypt, though her eyes, glistening with restrained tears, betray the storm beneath.

I cross the space between us and take her hand.

“Thank you,” I say, meaning it with every battered fiber of my soul. “If you succeed, if we succeed, you may ask for anything. Any price, any reward, and you’ll have it. I’m giving you my word.”

She turned to face me then, and her smile carried such profound sadness that it nearly brought me to my knees before she shook her head.

“The one thing I ever truly wanted,” she said softly, “you would not be able to give to me under any condition anyway. Now I see and understand that fully.”

I frown, not understanding.

Tears shimmer in her eyes, but she holds herself with regal pride.

“I was always eager for your hear, Enhotep,” she confesses, voice scarcely above a whisper. “I thought if I was patient… if I was perfect… someday it would be mine.”

Pain twists in my chest as I open my mouth to answer, but she raises a hand to silence me.

“It’s not your fault,” she says gently. “Your heart was never mine to claim anyway. It was always hers.”

She glances toward Neferet’s still form on the altar.

“And that’s alright,” she adds, her smile strengthening. “I have made peace with this truth, Enhotep. I find purpose in helping secure your wellbeing and happiness, even if it lies with another.”

Before I could fully process this confession, this final, gentle closing of a door that had stood ajar for so many years, Meritaten revealed what I had dreaded to hear.

“You need to know that such magic follows fundamental laws,” she explained, lowering her eyes briefly before meeting my gaze with quiet dignity. “Balance must be maintained in all things…”

My stomach drops waiting for her words as terrifying thoughts circling in my head.

She lowers her eyes briefly, as if gathering strength, then lifts them again to meet mine squarely.

“And one soul cannot return without an exchange of another,” she finished quietly

Understanding slams into me like a hammer blow.

“A life for a life,” I whisper while fresh tears threaten to blind me.

Meritaten nodded once, her expression resolute as carved stone.

“I’ll do it,” I declared without hesitation, stepping forward. “I will trade places with her.”

Meritaten’s hand shoots out to stop me.

“No,” she says firmly. “Egypt needs its Pharaoh, especially now. You are more than yourself, Enhotep. You are Egypt.”

“Not for her,” Meritaten answers quietly but sharply. “For you.”

“And I’ve seen how she changed you – brought light back into your eyes, gave you purpose beyond mere survival.”

“I may not have always understood what you saw in her, but I see what she was ready to go through for you and what her loss has done to you.”

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