In the end, Amaterasu was subjected to an emotion that she was not only unaccustomed to, but one she had no experience navigating as well.

Embarrassment.

Apophis was perfectly fine, and that was great.

But now, she looked like the paranoid ex-flame who was still far too invested in the personal affairs of an ex who had clearly moved on.

And that wasn''t true, since she had also moved on long ago! Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire

She was far from the type of woman to sit and wallow while pining over a man.

She didn''t do it when she divorced her first husband (and brother) and she certainly didn''t do it when she rejected Apophis'' proposal.

But appearances were everything, and she was a woman with her pride to maintain. The last thing she needed was Apophis thinking she was still holding a candle for him and-

"You were worried about me. That''s very kind."

"I was not, and you take that back!"

Amaterasu''s outburst surprised even her.

If she were just embarrassed before, now she was mortified.@@@@

*Ahem..* "... I''ll be taking my leave now." Amaterasu swiftly turned around and started bolting towards the exit.

"Wait."

A blinding light filled her vision once again, and when it dyed down she had a breathtakingly charming man in Egyptian garments standing in front of her.

"You could stay for a while, you know?" He offered. "Just to talk a bit?"

Amaterasu smiled softly and for the first time it did not seem like she was going to incinerate him.

Because she knew that Apophis held no ulterior motivations. As he said, he simply wanted a chance to catch up.

Almost like normal friends.

"Your offer.. is appreciated. But I think I''ve long said everything that needs to be said. I just came to make sure you were alright."

Apophis would be lying through his teeth if he ever said that he was surprised.

But he still had one last thing that he needed to say.

"...You were wrong about her, you know? She''s a good woman. Better than I deserve."

Amaterasu turned her back to him, and started to leave the throne room under her own power.

"I don''t believe that I''ve ever been more happy to be wrong. Such an odd feeling."

"I''m not in the mood for you to be difficult, woman..!" Apophis hissed. "Wake up, now!"

That was the moment that Apophis'' hope fled him.

Amaterasu was a fiery, hard headed woman who ordinarily would have responded to his outburst with her own.

But she didn''t this time.

Instead, she used all of the strength she had to place her hand on top of Apophis''. Her dimming eyes silently pleading for him to stop.

But Apophis was hard headed, and a being of tremendous power.

He had a difficult time just giving up on the things he wanted. Least of all a matter as... sensitive as this one.

Apophis'' desperation made him break a rule that he was traditionally pretty adamant about.

He began trying to rewind time.

The smoke and ash ceased to billow freely in the air. Instead it started to flow backwards.

The doors to the hall that had flown off during the initial explosion were putting themselves back to where they came from.

Amaterasu was affected too. Her body left Apophis'' grip and and started heading towards the hallway.

Now, all Apophis had to do was get to her before-

"That''s... inconvenient. Undoing all of another man''s hard work. Do you have any concept of manners?" A foreign voice said.

All of the sudden, Apophis felt ''something'' fighting against his attempt to reverse time.

Finally, his mind snapped out of it''s shock. And he realized the full gravity of what had just happened.

He''d been attacked. Him.

Unprovoked and with no prior warning at all.

And he hadn''t even sensed anything coming beforehand.

At the moment the realization dawned on him, he felt a visceral rage overtake him the likes of which he had never known or experienced before.

A man walked through the dust, unencumbered by Apophis'' attempt to reverse time.

He was a man who stunk of demon kind. Neatly dressed and with a handsome, unassuming face that one might find anywhere.

He wore a simple black sweater with dark grey slacks and smart shoes.

He lifted his hand and gestured to some form of laceration across his chest. It looked to have been crudely burned closed.

"I hope your father didn''t think I wouldn''t pay him back for this. I''m not the kind of man to let even minor slights go unpunished."