The Black Sun of Seth

**The Black Sun of Seth** (French titled *Le soleil noir de Seth*) is the seventh episode of the first season and series overall.

## Plot

Never has the god of destruction, Seth, been so powerful and close to victory in Egyptian history. Papyrus and Théti are hurrying to Thebes via chariot (possibly from Akhetaton). Papyrus is uneased at the reckless ride, while Théti informs to him that she needs to get back to her father, Pharaoh Merenre, leading Papyrus to comment that princesses are sensitive.

Aker sends a tornado through supernatural means, and meets with them. Papyrus urges Théti to turn around, which she does. The mouth of the storm gets closer to them, and the two could not hold on for long. Both Papyrus and Théti are swallowed into the funnel, sucking them into oblivion.

At the Royal Palace, there, Merenre and Ratoufer await for the arrival of Papyrus and Théti, with Ratoufer fearing they may have lost their lives on the way. Mesimonptu approaches them, and Merenre is eager is to hear news from him. However, Mesimonptu has announced that Papyrus and Théti have drowned in the Nile, adding that the chariot remains were found at a riverbank. Merenre is grieved, unaware that he is being eavesdropped by Ahmès and Keptes, a minion of Seth. Merenre then decides to visit the Valley of the Kings for the gods' council. He pleads Ratoufer to come with him, deeming his wisdom precious to him.

Ahmès makes sure to Keptes that Papyrus and Théti would be absent, and Keptes gloats over such thing for the glory of Seth.

Thoth, the god of time, is outraged by the discourse in time and confronts to Aker. He strikes his statue of Seth. Papyrus and Théti land in the middle of a desert and make their way to Thebes, only the city does not look as pristine as it was. Papyrus and Théti investigate the cause.

The market place is deserted and out of business unlike before. There, Bebo, taken prisoner, is oppressed by the Guards of Ahmès, who ridicule him and his donkey, Kamelot. The guards continue to deride and hit them with a whip, to which Bebo stops them and declares Kamelot's promotion by Pharaoh Merenre. The guards view this as an insult and continue to intimidate Bebo with their whips. Bebo insists that he and Kamelot go elsewhere, commenting that intelligence triumphs over brutality.

Papyrus and Théti come into the scene, with Bebo delighted to see them alive. The guards also step in and question their identity. Théti states she is the daughter of Pharaoh, however, the guards find it disbelieving and pester the two to go with them. Théti is confused and continues to declare her royalty. Her persistence causes the guards to raise their whips at them, until Tiya drops a tent on them, serving as a distraction. She leads Papyrus and Théti out of the trouble into an alleyway.

Papyrus and Théti are concerned to what is to become of Bebo, with Tiya responding that he is taken to the mines like everybody else, confusing the two. She hands Papyrus her amulet, as a charm of protection. Shepsi alerts the guards' presence and Tiya allows herself to be chased by the guards so Papyrus and Théti can make their escape.

Papyrus and Théti make their way to the palace, they are bewildered to see Ahmès as pharaoh. Papyrus confronts to him about Merenre's whereabouts, to which Ahmès informs that it has been three years since he has disappeared after the "death" of Théti. Théti finds this absurd and once again declares her identity. Feeling provoked, Ahmès sends the royal guards at the two. One guard seizes Papyrus's sword, but it electrocutes him (due to his submission to Ahmès), leading Papyrus to label him a traitor. The two are taken out of the room.

Keptes steps in and demands that the two are ridden of. However, Ahmès believes that he should do the dirty work, but Keptes rejects the offer. He reminds him that he became pharaoh at the will of Seth, and his position will be taken away if he does not do Seth's will. They then hear Hapou's giggling around the palace; Keptes sees him as a menace, while Ahmès shrugs it off, deeming him harmless. Hapou notices Papyrus's sword laying on the floor and picks it up.

Papyrus and Théti are locked in a room, with Papyrus finding it incredulous that three years have gone by. They try to figure out a way to get out and find Merenre. Papyrus is greeted with a man holding the unconscious guard who was guarding the door. He leads them out, certain that he knows where Merenre is. They both go after him, followed by the "unconscious" guard who looks up and smirks ominously.

They are lead to a chamber where a colossal statue of sacred gold is being constructed by the citizens of Thebes, against their will. Papyrus and Théti soon realize that they have fallen into the trap that the man leads them; he and the other guard prevent them from getting out. Théti calls out this behavior, labels it a profanity to the gods. They are led up to the top to witness the boiling pot of gold. Hapou climbs up on a rooftop, encouraging Papyrus to quickly shove the men off the platform. Hapou tosses Papyrus his sword. The guards come after them, but Papyrus severs a rope, causing the entire pot of gold to pour over. Papyrus, Théti, and Hapou exit the place and immediately lock the door, to prevent the molten gold from going further. However, Keptes rejoices, believing that won't be able to stop Seth.

Papyrus and the two continue to flee. Hapou runs out of fuel and unable to run further, catching his breath. Hapou noticeably begins to act strangely and speaks in Merenre's voice. Merenre speaks to Théti through Hapou and informs to them that he is in the Valley of the Kings. Théti is frantic and decides to go there to save the latter.

In Aker's black pyramid, he scolds Keptes for letting Papyrus and Théti get away. But he urges him to disregard them and instead complete the statue.

Bebo loads Kamelot with gold, but Kamelot's stubbornness irritates an Amennese guard and he raises a whip. However, another guard stops him and pesters the rest of the workers to work harder of they will starve in the night. Imhoutep is already languished, no longer to keep up. But Tiya encourages him, confident that Papyrus and Théti will save them.

Papyrus and Théti arrive at the Valley of the Kings and proceed to go in to find Merenre's tomb. They stumble across a symbol of Uraeus, but the slab opens, causing Théti to fall in. Théti finds herself in a corridor, she hears her father's voice. She follows it and she is lead to a tomb. Meanwhile, Papyrus tries to get the slab to budge with his sword. It opens, and he falls into the same spot. Théti comes across a sarcophagus. Merenre's voice encourages her to move the lid. She makes an attempt until the lid opens on its own. An eleven-foot cobra appears before Théti and accuses her of profaning the tomb. Théti states otherwise, being the daughter of a pharaoh. The cobra delivers to Théti a bite on her shoulder and declares that if she tells the truth, she may continue on. But if not, she will disappear.

Théti begins to lose strength as Papyrus steps in and defeats the cobra. As she starts to slowly fade away, knowing she is dying, she urges Papyrus to save her and Merenre. She disappears completely.

There is a line at the construction site, supervised by both royal and Amennese guards. Ahmès complains to Keptes about their progress, fearing that Merenre might return because of Papyrus and Théti. Keptes, as usual, is confident that they are too late and reassures Ahmès to be faithful to Seth. The gold statue is already complete, as Keptes explains that the statue will absorb the light of Ra and create darkness. One of the workers pours in rocks of gold, creating a minor outburst of the gold. At this, Ahmès fears that the wrath of Thoth is upon them.

Papyrus faces the cobra in the tomb. As it attacks him, Papyrus uses his sword to strike it, only making matters worse for him. The serpent replicates, creating another cobra. He accidentally loses the sword and is unable to retrieve it due to the cobra. He attempts to defeat them without his sword by using his smarts. He manages to get around each cobra and have them bite each other's end. He is sent to a place of large crystals, possibly to the Kingdom of the Dead.

Meawhile, the statue is close to completion. Ahmès comments on the excessive weight of the head of the statue, to which Keptes reassures that all is well. The head is placed upon the statue, completing the model.

Papyrus wonders around the place and is met with a baboon that leads him to his destination. Unfortunately, he cannot keep up with the agility of the baboon, and he stumbles. He is met with the cobra again, in the form of crystals. The baboon helps him to defeat it by having his reflection on a crystal make the serpent think it is him. The cobra lunges toward the reflection and hits the crystal, shattering it. Papyrus thanks the baboon for his help, the crystals begin to crumble into tiny fragments, clearing the place.

Papyrus notices a glass pyramid with silhouettes of Merenre, Ratoufer, and Théti in it. Papyrus is delighted to see them, but the cobra appears to him once again. Papyrus believes its here for another match, but the cobra transforms into the goddess Uraeus herself. She assures that confrontation is not necessary. The baboon transforms to Thoth, and he pleads Uraeus to release the Merenre, Ratoufer, and Théti. The latters are free and glad to see each other and Papyrus. Thoth then declares for time to resume its course and restore the three years stolen by Seth.

Meanwhile, Keptes calls upon Seth to unleash the darkness by using Ra. The sky turns dark for a moment, but they soon regress, and the statue vanishes. Ahmès is confused and comments that it is the doing of Thoth. Everything suddenly starts to swirl and time starts to reverse.

Like before, Mesimonptu is on his way to deliver to Pharaoh the news. Ahmès is eavesdropping and is declared by Keptes of his impending reign. Merenre comments on his premature reign in a sarcastic tone. Papyrus then gets out his sword to confront Ahmès and Keptes, but Keptes vows that Seth will have victory one day, and he flees. While Ahmès tries to justify his actions, Merenre lets him go unpunished, being aware of despite what he did and what he might do in the future. However, he banishes him.

The friends are at Tiya’s home, Papyrus has told them the story of their experience. None of them believe in his story. Bebo deems it an imagination, and Tiya understood what happened, but does not buy it. Papyrus tries to provide evidence by requesting if Tiya has her amulet. She looks into her pouch but Papyrus gets out her amulet and hands it back to her, perplexing her. She still does not buy it and believes Papyrus took it. Papyrus then goes into a series of complicated thoughts that she gave the amulet to him three years ago or will give to him in three years, and were in the market or will be in the market. Bebo bawls that the whole thing hurts his head, causing a laugh among the friends. The episode ends with Kamelot braying.

## Characters

Main

* Papyrus
* Théti
* Ahmès
* Keptes
* Seth
* Aker

Major

* Uraeus
* Pharaoh Merenre
* Tiya
* Bebo
* Thoth

Minor

* Guards of Ahmès
* Royal guards
* Imhoutep
* Mesimonptu

Mentioned

* Ra

## Trivia

* This is the first episode in which the main cast, except Nekhet, are featured in. In addition, it is also the second episode where a minion of Seth is not struck or killed in a way.

## Gallery

Mesinomptu announced the news.The market scene.Merenre speaks through Hapou.Théti fading away.The cobra defeated thanks to the baboon's help.Ahmès and Keptes realizing they lost.Papyrus confronts Keptes and Ahmès.The friends at Tiya's place.