The Collar of the Two Skies Chapter 11

 

Chapter 11

After two gulps of strong liquor, Anemo regained his senses and sat down on the carpet alongside the furry ones, keeping one hand on the white cat’s fur to maintain the connection open.

"Agent 003.5, explain to me what we have here, because if you ask me, this is just my dad’s scribbling."

Aeolus cleared his throat, which he had almost completely lost due to nerves, and spoke with the tone of a schoolmaster explaining things to his pupils.

"The map, hastily copied from memory by the professor onto this rough piece of linen, looks like a secret plan, geometric and mystical at the same time, where science blends with the feline magic of Ancient Egypt. The Central Circle (The Body of Nut): In the middle of the canvas, a large circle is drawn in a single charcoal stroke, slightly asymmetrical due to the rush. This represents the womb of the sky goddess, Nut. In the exact center of the circle lies a thickened dot: The Eye of Ra (Udjat), the feline gaze watching over the axis of time. The Sun Line: A thin graphite pencil line cuts the circle in four, marking the cardinal axes. On this line, the professor quickly sketched small signs indicating the direction in which the year’s energy moves. The Summer Solstice (South - Top): This is a violent, almost black smudge of burnt charcoal. The professor pressed so hard that he scratched the linen, drawing chaotic flames and the gaunt, furious profile of a lioness (Sekhmet). This is where the imbalance in the house began. The Autumn Equinox (West - Left): This is the cleanest and most studied area on the canvas. With a sharp pencil, the professor drew two perfect vertical lines, like a portal, and the elegant, slender silhouette of a cheetah (The Goddess Mafdet). Next to it, a delicate scale is sketched, and over this spot, the cats have placed the Eye of Horus. The East and North Gates (Spring and Winter): These are only schematically sketched, barely visible. A small shape of a domestic cat in the East (Bastet) and a dark, circular vortex rubbed with a finger in the North, representing the night of the winter solstice. The hieroglyphs and translations written by the professor on the margins of the canvas, among rapidly drawn Egyptian symbols, are probably the key to reading the map. Next to the Summer Portal (Sekhmet): Under the hieroglyph of the burning sun (Ra), it reads in tiny letters: *'The voice of the lioness roars at noon, the gods feel the boiling point of the underworld. The long day is a new beginning.'*"

"Stop for a moment. My head is spinning! Does anyone actually understand these words?"

"I don't, milord," Mistral said in a serious tone and with absolute sincerity. "But I know that Remi turned into a cat on the day of the solstice, the exact moment she found the necklace... well, the collar of the two skies. She found the collar here in the yard, not in Egypt, not in who knows what sacred spot in this wide universe. The collar had been lost by Sirocco for over two weeks. No one noticed it was missing, no one looked for it, and it didn't catch anyone's eye hanging right where that kid left it."

"Miss Remi, I think this gadget was waiting for you. The moment you showed up, it winked at you," Sirocco added.

"And what about the six-digit unlock code? How do you explain that, *mon cher* Aeolus?"

"What do you mean, what code are you talking about?" Anemo asked himself, still unsure whether this reality was the real one or if he was just in a dream.

"Miss Remi's screen unlock code is the exact date of the solstice."

"Well... that's seven digits," Anemo counted on his fingers.

"Exactly, her 'six-digit' code is actually seven... an anomaly, and these digits represent the date of the solstice: year, month, day... in this format," Mistral commented dryly. "You have every right to have a headache."

"Do you want me to keep reading the map, or are we going to sleep?" Aeolus interrupted, annoyed.

"Sorry, little mouse! Go on!"

"'Next to the Autumn Portal (Mafdet - September 23): Under the symbol of the scales (Ma'at) and the sacred candlestick, the professor underlined the translation three times: *“Here day and night are measured. At the equinox, shadow and light are equal. It is the only gate through which the beast becomes human again, and the human finds their divinity.”* Next to the central Eye in the middle of the map, there is another explanatory note that is giving the furry ones a headache: *“Time is not a straight line, but a spiral. To open the West Gate, a mirroring of the heavens is required.”*'"

Anemo instinctively reached for his pocket to grab his phone, except pajamas don't go well with such accessories... you're not supposed to call anyone in your sleep.

"We need to call dad, but my phone is upstairs."

"It's better to wait, I don't think the professor wants to be called at this hour," Aeolus said and practically vanished.

"That's just what he does," Mistral reassured Anemo. "He's used to living hidden away..."