บท 40: Egypt

Egypt wasn't always this arid desert where the sand flowed like the sea. In ancient times, Inmo walked these lands when they were lush, forming a large jungle teeming with life. Now, the only things left are the oases and the Nile River, which sustained life in this area.

In this Universe, Egypt evolved very differently from the original, as Inmo's actions of erasing any belief that mortals had in the gods affected this civilization, which had the worship of the gods as the basis of its society, with the pharaoh considered a deity on Earth.

Another thing affected by Inmo's actions was the near demise of this civilization. While it was forming, the gods were sometimes helping, but the magical wave that Inmo spread across the world had more than one purpose, such as taking away humans' faith and being perceptible only to the gods.

When Inmo's energy traveled across the world, all the gods could sense his intention. Some gods fell into hibernation just because of the intensity of their aura, which warned all gods not to walk the mortal world anymore. He would not tolerate their interference in the mortal world.

Some gods tried to oppose him, but their deaths were so swift that no revolt arose. Now that the gods could no longer interfere, the Egyptians were dying. However, salvation came from the heavens.

A Thanagarian ship crossed the starry sky of Egypt, crashing in the central part of Lower Egypt. The ship had been damaged during a pursuit by their enemies, and of the 15 crew, only five survived – two women and three men. Their craft was completely destroyed upon crash-landing, and it was a miracle it didn't disintegrate upon entering Earth's atmosphere.

Realizing that the ship was beyond repair, they formed groups to survey their surroundings. Over time, they discovered that this planet was too primitive to rebuild a new ship. So they came up with a plan to take over the region and use its resources to try to restore communication with their people.

Their plan was simple for dealing with such a primitive civilization. They would present themselves as divine beings. The dying Egyptians accepted the Thanagarians who brought new knowledge and recognized the strength of the people with wings. In a short time, the Thanagarians transformed from helpers to great monarchs, ruling Lower Egypt. Soon, they could unify all of Egypt, but what they didn't expect was that, in Upper Egypt, another civilization was evolving as quickly as they were.

That seemed impossible, but centuries ago, a Martian ship had landed on Earth. Explorers in search of new lands encountered humans and realized they weren't so different. These three explorers mixed with humans and abandoned the idea of contacting their people. They decided to help this new civilization in its infancy, and it took a few centuries for them to fully rule Upper Egypt. Their plans didn't involve world domination or anything like that. However, years later, they encountered another civilization that could compete with them. So they chose one among them to investigate this new civilization. With their shape-shifting abilities and incorporeal form, this task would be easy.

However, what the Martians didn't expect was that the Thanagarians possessed a rare metal that could affect their powers. When the Martian infiltrated the castle of the lower Egyptian commanders, he was detected. When he tried to become invulnerable, his powers failed, and he was hit by a magic bat in panic. However, he managed to escape, thanks to his telepathy, which he used to confuse his enemies as he fled. Others flew after him, but when he crossed the river into Upper Egypt, they gave up the chase.

Upon his return, the Martian told about his enemies and his plans to conquer all of Egypt. They wielded weapons that could neutralize their invulnerability powers. After hearing this, the other Martians became worried and got into an argument to figure out what to do next.

On the other side of Egypt, the Thanagarians learned that another race, the Martians, existed on this planet. Finally, they found out why this other civilization was so evolved. They had some records of the Martians and recognized them by their specific and well-known powers.

Upon learning that another race was on this planet, they decided to speed up their plans and try to repair their ship's transmission module. They would need a lot of manpower, so the war would have to happen even faster. They declared war on Upper Egypt, and its people were ready for it, as the foundations of their society were based on war and conquest. They knew they had to go to war and had mentally prepared their people for a long time.

As for Upper Egypt, the Martians came to the consensus that they would have to destroy this winged people. War had to happen, and although her people didn't expect it to come, they knew they had to protect themselves. They had already prepared themselves by building great walls and weapons for this moment. So they warned their people to be on high alert because they were now at war.

Years passed, with the war raging, and neither group managed to outdo the other.

On the horizon, a ship could be seen sailing across the sea. Its travelers could bring either peace or even more chaos to this war. Only time will tell.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------