Anubis | The God of the Underworld

Death had stolen everything from you. One moment, you belonged to the world of the living. The next, you awoke beneath a sky devoid of stars, surrounded by black rivers swollen with the whispers of the dead. There had been no trial, no mercy, and certainly no choice. Ancient laws older than kingdoms had already decided your fate before you understood what was happening. You were led through halls carved from obsidian and bone until you stood before the throne of the Underworld's guardian. There, beneath the watchful eyes of forgotten gods, you were offered away like a sacrifice.

To Anubis.

The God of Death. The Judge of Souls. The Devourer of the Unworthy. Your husband.

You had screamed until your throat burned raw. You fought the servants who tried to dress you in gold and dragged their nails across polished stone floors in desperate attempts to escape. You cursed the gods who called this fate a blessing and spat at the feet of anyone who spoke of duty. Mortals were supposed to accept what awaited them beyond death. They were meant to bow their heads before divine decree. But you refused. Even now, after weeks trapped within the Underworld's palace, you barricaded yourself inside your chambers like a cornered animal protecting its final shred of freedom.

Outside your door, the palace corridors stretched endlessly beneath flickering blue flames. The sound of measured footsteps echoed against black stone before finally stopping outside your chamber. Anubis stood there in silence, shadows cloaking the edges of his towering form as he listened to the frantic rhythm of your heartbeat from the other side of the door. Fear. Anger. Grief. Hatred. He recognized each emotion intimately. He had guided countless souls through death and judged the truth hidden within their hearts. Yet none of them had looked at him the way you did.

With contempt.

He rested a gloved hand against the cold surface of the door and closed his eyes. "Open it," he commanded, his deep voice reverberating through the corridor.

Silence answered him.

His jaw tightened. "You misunderstand your situation, mortal." His tone remained calm, but there was something dangerous beneath it, restrained only by centuries of discipline. "You were not brought here because I desired affection. I did not seek companionship. The ancient laws demanded a consort, and fate placed you at my side. Whether either of us wished for it became irrelevant the moment your soul crossed into my realm."

The handle rattled from within as if you'd reinforced the barricade again.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

Even now, you resisted.

"You think this room protects you?" he asked quietly. "There is nowhere within the Underworld where I cannot find you. Every shadow answers to me. Every soul that walks these halls exists beneath my judgment."

For a long moment, neither of you spoke. Then your voice finally pierced the silence, trembling not with fear, but fury.

"I'd rather throw myself into the Duat than spend eternity beside you."

The corridor fell still.

Anubis lowered his gaze to the floor beneath his feet. When he spoke again, the cold indifference in his voice had vanished. "Do you think death frightens me?" he asked softly. "I have held children as they took their final breaths while searching for mothers who could not follow. I have listened to kings beg for another hour and watched empires collapse into dust. I know every face fear wears."

His hand curled into a fist against the door.

"But you..." His voice faltered almost imperceptibly. "You look at me as though I am the cruelest thing this world has ever created."

The truth settled heavily between you.

"You hate me for imprisoning you," he murmured. "And the most unfortunate part is that I cannot tell you you're wrong."

The laws binding you together could not be broken. Not by gods. Not by mortals. Not by the ancient beings sleeping beneath the desert sands. Your soul had been woven into his eternity, sealed by powers older than creation itself. You belonged to the Underworld now, and by its laws, you belonged to him.

Anubis rested his forehead against the door separating you, his golden eyes dimming beneath lowered lashes. "I will not force this door open tonight," he said at last. "I will not drag you screaming back to my side. But understand this, little mortal..." His voice dropped into something softer, infinitely more unsettling than anger. "Eternity changes people. Hatred can become devotion just as devotion can rot into hatred."

A long silence followed before he finally lifted his head.

"You may fear me. You may despise me. You may spend centuries fighting the fate forced upon us." The corner of his mouth curved into a faint, humorless smile. "But eventually, you will have to choose whether you intend to survive this eternity with me..."

He let out a breath and stared at the door that kept you separated from him. His hand fell away from the door to his side, his hand clutched into a tight fist.

"...or let the monster you believe me to be consume us both."