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The night was like a huge piece of obsidian, covering the city of Memphis.
The lights in the palace were like broken diamonds inlaid in obsidian, bright and distant.
Ding Wei, or now Nefertari, stood on the terrace, letting the evening breeze blowing from the Nile River lift her linen dress.
Ever since she shined in front of the Hittite delegation, her status in the palace has quietly changed.
The servants' gazes changed from scrutiny and contempt at first to awe and obedience now.
Even the ladies-in-waiting who once looked down on her would now stop respectfully and give her an impeccable curtsy when they met her in the corridor.
But all this glory could not dispel the fog in the deepest part of her heart.
She is not Nefertari, she is Dingwei, a soul from more than three thousand years later.
This fact was like an invisible thorn, constantly reminding her that everything here, whether prosperous or favored, was built on a huge lie.
She had to find her way back, or at least figure out why she was there.
Curiosity and the desire for the unknown grew wildly in her heart like weeds.
She decided not to wait passively but to take the initiative.
And the starting point of all this is her current identity - Nefertari.
Does this name and this life itself hide some unknown secret?
Deep in the palace, there is a library that few people visit.
It is much older than the study where Ramses handled his daily government affairs, and is said to contain wisdom passed down from the time of Pharaoh Menes.
There are no windows here, and oil lamps are lit all year round. The air is filled with a unique smell that is a mixture of papyrus, dried spices and time, so thick that it seems to suppress one's soul.
Ding Wei carried an oil lamp and walked carefully between the bookshelves that were more than one meter tall.
The scrolls here were not neatly stacked like those outside. Many were piled randomly in the corners, covered with thick dust.
She took a deep breath and began her search.
What she was looking for was not history or legal codes, but those fragmentary records related to mythology, sacrifices and astrology that were ignored by orthodox records.
For several days, she immersed herself in this ancient ocean.
Finally, in a broken pottery jar, she found several extremely old papyrus scrolls.
The hieroglyphs above were completely different from the mainstream characters she had recently learned. They were more abstract and more bizarre.
Some symbols resemble twisted stars, others intersecting doors.
With the shallow understanding of semiotics brought from the modern era and the knowledge of ancient Egypt that she had crammed during this period, she vaguely felt that these words did not describe the laws of the human world, but some kind of... theory that transcends dimensions.
Several words appear repeatedly on the scroll: "Gate of the Stars", "Soul Ferry", and "Priests Not of This World".
Her heart was pounding and she was overcome by an unprecedented excitement.
Could this be the clue she was looking for?
However, after the excitement, a huge sense of frustration followed.
These words are so obscure that each symbol seems to contain multiple meanings, and when combined together they resemble a heavenly book.
She was like a poor person who was guarding a treasure but couldn't find the key, and was extremely anxious.
For the first time, the barrier of knowledge stood so clearly before her, making her feel deeply powerless.
Just as she was scowling at a picture of a snake devouring stars, a deep and magnetic voice sounded behind her.
"The great queen seems to have encountered an opponent more formidable than the Hittite envoys."
Ding Wei froze and turned around suddenly.
In the dim light, Ramses' tall figure cast a long shadow, completely covering her.
He had arrived here at some point, still wearing the gorgeous clothes he wore for meetings, his golden collar gleaming brightly under the lights.
"Pharaoh..." She subconsciously wanted to hide the scroll, but it was too late.
Ramses paid no attention to her nervousness, his eyes falling on the ancient papyrus, his brows slightly furrowed.
"This is a priestly code from the Third Dynasty. Even the most learned scribes in the palace may not be able to fully decipher it. Are you studying this?"
His approach brought with it a reassuring scent of cedar and sunshine, instantly dispelling the stale smell of the secret room.
Ding Wei's tense nerves miraculously relaxed.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
Instead of hiding it, it is better to be honest.
"I'm just... curious about ancient history." She made a lame excuse.
Ramses smiled, and there seemed to be stars flowing in his deep eyes, and he easily saw through her disguise.
But he didn't ask any further questions. He simply sat down beside her naturally, picked up another scroll, and said softly, "Perhaps, the two rulers of Upper and Lower Egypt can challenge this ancient wisdom together."
He didn't ask her why, but just chose to accompany her.
This unspoken trust and consideration caused ripples in Ding Wei's heart.
In the following evenings, this dusty library became their own secret base.
They sat head to head, studying the difficult texts together by the light of the same oil lamp.
Ramses knew the ancient language far better than she did, and he was able to decipher some key fragments from the fragmented symbols.
Ding Wei, on the other hand, was able to connect these fragments with the logical thinking of modern people and put forward some bold guesses.
The light was dim, and their shadows intertwined and stretched on the wall.
Occasionally, his fingers would accidentally brush against the back of her hand, bringing a tingling shudder.
As he explained, his warm breath brushed against her ear, making her cheeks feel hot.
The scent of papyrus ink in the air seemed to be tinged with a hint of sweetness, and an indescribable ambiguous atmosphere quietly spread between the two of them.
Ding Wei found that she was becoming more and more addicted to this feeling.
Ramses' company allowed her to feel the warmth and stability of "home" for the first time in this strange time and space.
However, they did not know that in the dark corner of the library, a pair of eyes were watching all this coldly like a poisonous snake.
High Priest Amenhotep.
He was dressed in a simple white priest robe, and his entire body seemed to blend into the shadows.
As he watched the Pharaoh being so close to the woman of unknown origin, exploring the forbidden knowledge together, his eyes became more sinister.
In his view, Nefertari's existence itself is a challenge to the theocratic order.
She was intelligent, decisive, and even able to influence Pharaoh's judgment.
Now, she has even reached out to the core secrets guarded by generations of priests - those records about time, space and the nature of gods.
"Those who blaspheme the gods will surely bring disaster to Egypt." He murmured to himself. He could not let the Pharaoh be bewitched by this witch, let alone let her uncover the secret that would shake the foundation of the entire Egyptian faith.
That night, after Ding Wei and Ramses left, Amenhotep sneaked into the library like a ghost.
He walked straight to the place where Ding Wei had been studying before and accurately found the most crucial scroll that recorded the "Gate of Stars" ceremony.
He carefully put it away without leaving any trace, and then left quietly as if he had never appeared.
The next day, when Ding Wei came to the library again with great anticipation, she was struck by lightning.
That position is empty.
She searched through all the pottery jars and bookshelves around her, but the key scroll that she and Ramses had studied together for several nights and had already begun to take shape had disappeared out of thin air!
An uncontrollable anger rushed from the bottom of my heart to the top of my head.
Who is it?
Who stole it?
There are only a handful of people in this palace who have the ability, motivation, and the ability to do all this so quietly.
A figure in a white robe and with a serious face instantly appeared in her mind.
Amenhotep!
Ding Wei was not defeated by this sudden setback.
After her anger, she quickly calmed down.
Even though the scroll was gone, the contents that had been imprinted in her mind were still there!
She forced herself to recall every detail, those broken words and strange patterns, rearranged in her mind.
She immediately found Ramses. Her face looked a little pale with anger and anxiety, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
"Ramesses, the scroll is missing." She said straight to the point, with a slight tremor in her voice.
Ramses looked at her excitement and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
"Don't be impatient, take your time."
Ding Wei took a deep breath and laid out her speculation. "I've remembered something. The scroll seems to contain an extremely ancient and mysterious sacrificial ritual. It's not for praying for a good harvest or victory, but to open a 'star gate' leading to another world. The ritual requires the power of special astrological signs, presided over by a 'priest from another world,' to summon a soul from a distant time and space, or... send it back."
At the end of her words, her voice lowered, but her eyes were fixed on Ramses's.
"Ramesses, I have a very crazy guess. I...maybe I came here through a similar ceremony and became Nefertari."
The whole room fell into deathly silence.
Ding Wei's words were undoubtedly a severe blow to the worldview of this era and were nothing short of a fairy tale.
The expression on Ramses' face froze, his blue eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
He looked at the woman in front of him, at the unquestionable seriousness and honesty in her eyes.
There was silence for a long time, so long that Ding Wei's heart sank.
However, Ramses slowly reached out and held her cold hands.
His palms were warm and strong, as if they could convey infinite power.
He stared into her eyes and said word by word: "No matter what you say, no matter how incredible it is, I believe you."
These three simple words were like a warm current, instantly dispelling all the anxiety and fear in Ding Wei's heart.
She had won the trust of the most important person in the world, a victory that was more exciting to her than retrieving the scroll.
With Ramses' support, Ding Wei instantly felt more confident.
She went straight to the Temple of Karnak to confront Amenhotep.
The temple is filled with the smoke of incense, and huge stone pillars reach into the sky, creating a solemn and oppressive feeling.
Amenhotep was standing under a huge statue of the god Amun, as if he had expected her arrival.
"High Priest, I hope you can return the things that do not belong to you." Ding Wei's voice echoed in the empty hall, cold and firm.
Amenhotep turned around slowly. There was no emotion in his old eyes, only a condescending indifference.
"Your Majesty, some knowledge is granted exclusively to priests by the gods, and mortals have no right to access it. Your exploration has crossed the line."
"Boundary? What boundary? Is it the boundary of exploring the truth, or the boundary of threatening your position?" Ding Wei met his gaze without fear.
Amenhotep's expression finally darkened. He raised the golden scepter in his hand, and his voice became solemn and threatening. "In the name of Amun, the patron god of Thebes, I warn you, Nefertari. Stop your dangerous and foolish quest immediately! Otherwise, the price of angering the gods will be unbearable for you, and for all of Egypt. Divine punishment is coming, so be on your own."
Divine punishment?
The cold warning echoed in the majestic temple, hitting the stone pillars and also hitting Ding Wei's heart.
The wind blew in from outside the hall, rolling the tassels of her skirt.
She stood in the shadow of the huge statue, looking so small, yet so tall.
In Amenhotep's eyes was the pressure of theocracy and the constraints of thousands of years of tradition.
But what burned in Ding Wei's eyes was not fear, but a brighter and more stubborn flame.
She came from a world that believed in science instead of God, so the word "divine punishment" was ridiculous to her.
Would she back down and succumb to this divine warning?
Or will he face this so-called "divine punishment" and continue his search for the truth?
Her silence made the air in the temple freeze to freezing point, and a confrontation between mortals and the agents of divine power had begun.
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