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Isis could see it coming on the horizon. Even if they didn't have the warning signs of the crops starting to fail and the Nile's waters receding, something horrible was coming their way. Pharaoh Atem and Great Royal Wife Keket already were aware of the problem, and promised that they would find a solution together. The millennium necklace told her otherwise: they would not be able to find a solution. She'd seen the prophecy unfold, and she could see their bodies in her nightmares. Every time Keket smiled, it was hard to remember that she was still alive. She was a walking dead woman, and there was only hopelessness. She saw the future vessels of the Pharaoh and the Great Royal Wife - ages into the future that she couldn't wrap her head around. Isis again was kneeling at the altar of Shai, staring up at the God with hope that He might deliver a change in the prophecy.
Once again, she saw the same future unfold in thousands of images, across every single version she could see. It all ended the same - the Great Royal Wife was desperate to reach out to an old friend, and that old friend threw her off the balcony. Her body laid limp on the spikes before disintegrating away - the spell she'd cast to seal her soul into the millennium scales succeeding. Isis found herself sobbing yet again, begging at Shai's feet to please, change the prophecy. This could not be how their dynasty ended. And she could see that it would be the only way to save the future that confused her so. A knock at the arch, and she turned around to see Keket standing there in all her glory. "Still the same prophecy," Keket asked. The silence was enough to answer the question. Keket looked up at the God, and sighed. "If this is what Shai says must happen... if the prophecy is correct... then we shall save a great many people suffering from the collapse of the world. I would be glad to sacrifice myself to protect the world."
"What about my world," Isis countered, standing up from the altar to move forward to Keket. She cupped her cheek, not worrying who might see. If she were to die soon, what did it matter if she was caught? What did anything matter if she were not alive? "I can't... It's not fair to lose you like this."
Keket reached up, her hand delicately placed on Isis's wrist. She had a soft smile on her face, shaking her head. Even now, Isis knew she'd already long lost her. Yet she couldn't help but lose herself in the fantasy that things could turn out okay. She imagined a world where Keket would reach old age, her hair lined with gray and face full of wrinkles. The image of Keket's dead body violently returned, and she could feel the tears coming on. Keket's other hand reached up to gently wipe the tears away. "You'll be safe," she said softly, so full of certainty that it was hard to push it aside. "If I have to give my life for you to be safe, it would be a worthy sacrifice."
She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and Isis felt her heart sink in her chest. No matter how alive Keket was now, she was walking ever closer to her final destiny. And Isis didn't know if she could survive that.