Gate of Memoirs/On the Brink

The Gods and Vessels sit in grim tension, when Set arrives to shake things up.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Cordelica" 	Music: "Cordelica"
 	
*Amiable silence stretched between them as Neferet and Thoth wove their magic in tandem.
*Though all gods shared a resonance of recognition between them,
*the God-King's severing of their souls from flesh had flensed that link threadbare.
*The most they could rely on was Harakhte's blood bond with his mother, the Lady of Horizons, but even then,
*it was a tenuous connection at best, amid the chaotic dissonance that seemed to hang in the air.
*At last, just before the sun fully sank beneath the horizon, two familiar and weary faces peeked warily around the ancient shrine.
*Tried and tested. Beaten, but unbowed.
*And so did the gods convene upon a shattered remnant of their faded glory.
*As they sat sullenly around a makeshift fire, taking a moment to collect their thoughts,
 	
*a small spark of tension jumped between the Lady of Horizons and Neferet as they locked eyes with each other.
*Aesys: Horus...Oh, my little sun.
*Aesys: You are here before me, and yet I cannot see you...
 	
*Neferet: ... ...
*Neferet could feel a distinct twinge in her heart—undoubtedly Harakhte's own longing for his mother.
*While she kept a respectful distance from the Lady of Horizons, she couldn't help but feel drawn toward her.
*If anything, this was only marginally better than being a puppet of the gods.
 	
*Rahotep, meanwhile, stayed close to his priestess the entire time, a warm and reassuring hand upon her shoulder.
*Neither god nor mortal knew what to say, and as his gaze swept across the group, 
*the anticipation of their enemy looming behind every shadow worried at his soldier's instincts like a dull knife.
 	
*After no small amount of time, Aesys finally spoke up.
 	
*Aesys: So, Set simply vanished in the middle of your altercation with the fiend.
*Aesys: Some things never change.
 	
*Thoth: Fortunately for her, she has managed to escape the grasp of Chaos.
 	
*Thoth: If it is any small solace, should tragedy befall us all, she would at least be afforded an element of surprise—
 	
*Aesys: Indeed, you too...Detached and clinical as always.
*Aesys: You were always on her side.
 	
*Thoth: ...Now is not the time, Aesys.
 	
*Aesys: Not the time? *Not the time?* 
*Aesys: My husband has perished twice now, Thoth. Twice!
*Aesys: I refuse to believe this was a mere coincidence.
 	
*Thoth: You are letting your emotions cloud your judgement.
 	
*Aesys: We are on the *brink* of annihilation. 
*Aesys: If there's even one more thing left to do, I should like to feed her to the Serpent myself!
 	
*Thoth pinches her nosebridge in annoyance as the two Vessels look on grimly.
 	
*Rahotep: The Serpent?
 	
*Neferet: The manifestation of Chaos. As Order exists, so must its nemesis.
 	
*Rahotep: But they're both intangible concepts. I can't even begin to fathom how...
 	
*Neferet: ...No matter what exists within us, Rahotep, we are not gods.
*Neferet: We were not meant to fathom this.
*Neferet: It will be much easier if we simply deal with the matter at hand. Trust me.
 	
*Rahotep goes silent, not wishing to pursue the subject.
 	
*Neferet: (...Even so...Strung along in their grand schemes...)
*Neferet: (No, we cannot simply wait and see what they will do.)
*Neferet: (But without the means to find our enemy—)
 	
*Without warning, Aesys stands, hair ablaze with fury—so unlike her reticent coolness within the walls of the Capital.
*Aesys: I will not sit here and wait for us all to fade from existence.
*Aesys: This is OUR legacy. And no one, not even Chaos itself, will wrest it from us.
*Aesys: Deceiver! Face me, and let us see if light or night shall prevail!
 	
*Thoth: Aesys—
 	
*Before anyone else could protest, Aesys weaves together a streak of pure divine energy,
*and begins to force open a rift using the lingering magic of the broken altar.
*As Aesys furiously tears at the threads, a single beat lances through everyone present,
*causing something deep within them to seize in response.
*The carefully enunciated words of a forgotten tongue, barely above a whisper, rings out amid a rapidly growing darkness.
Music: "Roaring Soul"	Music: "Roaring Soul"
 	
*Now, fall!
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Hetepheres: (Ugh...I can't breathe all of a sudden.)
 	
*Hetepheres: *gasp*
*Hetepheres could only clasp her hand to her mouth as soldiers patrolling the walls vanished before her eyes, their faces twisted in agony.
*One by one, tendrils of darkness blanketed sections of the Capital, and just before her vision went black,
*Hetepheres caught the unmistakable cry of a cat in her ears.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*A wail of terror.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*The world was silent, and even the swirling mass of dark fog made nary a sound.
*Rahotep and Neferet found themselves sprawled on the cold floor of a ruined arena.
*Aesys' divine magic, spurred by fury and desperation, seemed to have torn a rift in space...
*...or perhaps it was that surge of divinity that tempted the Serpent to plunge all Urzyma into this realm.
 	
*Rahotep: Are you all right?
 	
*Neferet: Could be worse...Where are we?
*Neferet: (Harakhte, are you there?)
 	
*Neferet: (Harakhte...?)
 	
*A familiar streak of fire whips out in sheer fury just across the arena, jolting the two of them into action.
*The scene before them began to unfold, and both of them leapt into action.
 	
*There, hovering just above the highest unbroken spire, was a female figure clad in deep azure,
*a single, unblinking eye embedded in a metallic mask upon her face.
 	
*Like the rest of this realm, she made no sound, but every god—Shard or no—could feel a steady pulsing in their beings.
*Below her, Aesys was at Set's throat, the two goddesses engaged in vicious combat.
 	
*Aesys: You FIEND. I should have incinerated you on the spot when you first murdered my husband!
*Aesys: Finally, this will all end! This nightmare!
 	
*Set: You're one to talk...Stay still!
 	
*A wave of dark tendrils explodes from the floor, attempting to ensnare the Lady of Horizons,
*but so great was her fury that even pure shadow was burned away by her fire.
 	
*Aesys: I'll kill you, Deceiver.
*Aesys: It was you all this time...I'll make you disappear.
 	
*Neferet: No...Wait!
 	
*Set: Tch...!