CHAPTER 155: SAND VS. THE STORM 2

Every dune shook. Every grain of sand hissed from the weight of powers clashing above it. The gods tore the horizon into a battlefield no mortal tongue could ever describe.

At the center stood Zeus, his storm flaring brighter than ever, his chest streaked with blood, his knuckles raw but steady. Around him loomed the Egyptian Primordials—the first breaths of this land, the bones that held its sky. Shu’s winds roared, Nut’s stars spread wide, Tefnut’s waters boiled, and Geb’s mountain-body bent the very earth beneath them. Ra hovered like a burning crown above it all, his staff glowing like a second sun.

Zeus inhaled, lightning rattling in his lungs. He clenched his fists, sparks dripping onto the glassed sand. He was outnumbered, outflanked, but not alone.

Nyx rose beside him, her robe shredded from Set’s storm yet her silver eyes steady. Stars spilled from her skin, constellations forming weapons sharper than any forged by hand. Gaia stood at his other side, her roots cracking through the sand, her body heavy as the earth itself. Her face was streaked with stone dust and blood, but her arms were unyielding.

The three of them together faced the Primordials. Storm, night, and earth.

–––

The first strike came from Shu. His breath bent into gales that howled like armies, the air crushing downward, aiming to pin Zeus to the ground. The desert howled like a hurricane had been dropped from the sky.

Zeus roared back. His storm erupted upward, lightning ripping the air apart. The winds turned jagged, torn into shards of pressure that screamed across the battlefield. Where Shu’s breath had tried to bind, Zeus’s thunder scattered it into wild currents, explosions ringing like artillery.

Tefnut surged through the chaos. Her body a rushing torrent, her claws dripping with boiling water, she struck like a wall of flood. Zeus twisted aside, but her wave clipped his shoulder, steam searing his flesh. He staggered, blood and water mixing down his arm.

Before she could crush him, Gaia moved. Roots the size of pillars exploded from the ground, wrapping around Tefnut’s waist. The flood goddess screamed, tearing at the bindings, steam burning holes through bark, but Gaia forced deeper, the roots glowing red as they held.

Nut spread wide above, her body the night itself. Stars cascaded down like bombs, whole constellations shattering into fire upon the desert. The sky was falling. Nyx answered her directly. She raised both hands, and her veil stretched across Nut’s stars. The falling heavens dimmed, bent, and broke against her night. Star struck star, constellations colliding in silence so bright it burned shadows into the sand.

Geb struck next. His mountain-body lurched forward, fists of stone smashing into the battlefield. Every strike cracked the earth, canyons ripping open beneath Zeus’s feet. Entire dunes collapsed into trenches that bled lava. Zeus leapt onto one of the collapsing cliffs, his fists raised, lightning pouring down into Geb’s skull. The mountain god reeled, his skin glowing white where the thunder had burned. But his hand swung back, a slab of stone the size of a temple, and Zeus caught it with both arms. The weight drove him to his knees, his muscles straining, sparks screaming around him.

Nyx’s stars rained across Geb’s shoulders, cracking the stone further. Gaia thrust her roots deep into the cracks, splitting them wider, forcing his body apart. Together, storm, night, and earth drove the mountain down.

But Ra was not still.

The sun flared until the world turned white. His staff swung, arcs of fire sweeping like artillery strikes. One struck Zeus directly, flames detonating across his chest. He roared in pain, his body crashing into the sand. Glass shattered beneath him, the desert breaking under the heat.

Nyx blurred over him, her veil snapping shut, absorbing the next wave of fire. Her stars dimmed from the strain, sparks burning holes through her robe, but she stood. Gaia lifted her arms, stone walls rising from the sand, molten heat rolling down their sides as they shielded them for a heartbeat.

Ra’s voice boomed like dawn itself. "Storm ends. The sun remains."

Zeus spat blood into the glassed sand and rose again. His fists sparked brighter, arcs lashing out like whips across the field. He pointed one finger upward, his voice rolling like cannon fire. "Not today."

He unleashed everything.

The desert turned into war-fire. Lightning erupted in rivers, storms clawing at the sun itself. The arcs tore Shu’s winds into rags, blasted holes through Nut’s star-body, and split Geb’s stone skin wider. Even Ra’s fire wavered, the brilliance dimming as thunder drowned it.

–––

Nyx pressed harder, constellations sharpening into blades that sliced through Nut’s falling stars. Her silver eyes locked with Nut’s night-body above, and for every galaxy that fell, Nyx flung another back. The sky itself was bleeding.

Gaia gritted her teeth, her roots spreading wider, mountains forcing themselves upward against Geb’s collapsing weight. Stone cracked against stone, roots split his body into fragments. Every quake shook her to the bone, but she did not falter.

Zeus surged forward. His fists smashed into Tefnut’s chest, lightning boiling her water body until steam burst upward in towers. Shu’s gale caught him from the side, slamming him into a dune. Sand collapsed, glass slicing his arms, but he clawed back out, his storm burning hotter than pain.

He burst upward, fists raised, and struck Shu square in the jaw. The wind-god staggered, his breath breaking, the desert suddenly still. A second strike followed, arcs tearing through his body, shattering his form into screaming gusts that scattered across the horizon. Shu was undone.

Ra bellowed, his staff blazing, the sun itself shoving closer, heat hammering down until the dunes melted into rivers of glass. Zeus screamed back, his lightning ripping upward, spearing the sun’s edge, cracks spreading across its glare.

Nut screamed from above, her body fracturing where Nyx’s stars ripped through her skin of constellations. Entire galaxies shattered, falling as burning fragments across the battlefield. Nyx raised both arms, silver light flaring, and the fallen stars froze in place. With a twist, she hurled them back upward, tearing holes straight through Nut’s body. The goddess of sky split in two, her scream fading into the void as her stars went dark.

Gaia drove her roots into Geb’s chest, lightning from Zeus pouring through them. The storm fused with the earth, exploding outward in a quake that split mountains apart. Geb collapsed, his stone body shattering into rubble, his roar fading into the sandstorm.

Tefnut rose one last time, her form boiling, waves screaming across the desert. Zeus leapt forward, thunder roaring from his fists, Nyx’s stars spearing her flanks, Gaia’s roots tangling her limbs. They crushed her in unison, lightning boiling her body dry until her roar ended in silence.

–––

Only Ra remained.

He hovered above, his crown still blazing, but his fire dimmer, his breath heavier. Below him, Zeus stood with blood dripping down his side, Nyx swaying on her feet, Gaia bleeding stone dust from her arms.

Ra raised his staff one last time. The sun itself bent closer, filling the entire sky with fire. The desert screamed, pyramids melted, rivers of molten light rolled in every direction.

Zeus planted his feet, his fists raised, his storm burning brighter than it had in any realm before. Nyx’s stars gathered around him, Gaia’s roots coiled into his legs, grounding him deeper. Together they braced.

Zeus roared, and his storm erupted.

Lightning speared the sun. Thunder shattered the fire. The blast cracked the desert wide open, the horizon glowing white. Ra screamed as his crown split, his staff snapping in his hands. The sun behind him burst, fragments raining like meteors.

When the light cleared, Ra lay broken on the sand, his fire sputtering, his eyes dim.

Zeus stood over him, chest heaving, sparks still crawling across his skin. Nyx stood at his side, veil torn but glowing. Gaia braced behind them, her roots trembling, her body bleeding stone.

The Primordials of Egypt had fallen.

The desert groaned in silence, broken and burned.

And Zeus lifted his fist once more, his storm still hungry for the next realm.