Long ago, under the reign of Ramesses II, the ancient kingdom of Kemet enjoyed great cultural and economic prosperity, and to this day Ramesses is hailed as one of Kemet's greatest pharaohs. Odji, one of the pharaoh's foremost high priests, was a highly respected figure in the royal court, and enjoyed a close friendship with the royal family that afforded him considerable political influence in the kingdom. As time went on, however, Odji's high status slowly led him to become arrogant and corrupt, and he secretly aligned himself with Apep, the spirit of chaos and darkness, in exchange for the limitless power that they each craved: Odji over the land of Kemet, and Apep over the mortal world. Odji and his mistress, the concubine Neferet, went on to learn the dark arts from Apep, who blessed them with a vast array of dark powers. They became the first super villains, and began preparations to conquer Kemet in Apep's name.
Only Khnumhotep, one of the pharaoh's many sons, suspected Odji and Neferet of plotting against the kingdom, but by then it was too late. Using their new powers and Odji's political influence, Odji and Neferet managed to take over the capital city of Pi-Ramesses in a single night and take most of the royal family hostage, with only Prince Khnumhotep and a small group of loyal citizens managing to flee the city in time. Once in control of the capital, Odji and Neferet kept their end of the bargain and proceeded to spread Apep's influence throughout Kemet, allowing Apep to reign virtually unchallenged in the mortal plane.
While seeking refuge in an abandoned temple, Prince Khnumhotep discovered an ancient set of manuscripts, from which they learned how to unlock hidden powers within ordinary mortals such that would transform them into supernatural beings. Using the information from these texts, Prince Khnumhotep blessed himself and his resistance fighters with incredible powers, and likewise bestowed these same powers on others who joined their fold. Together, they became the first super heroes.
And so, over the course of many great battles, Khnumhotep and his rebellion clashed time and again with the dark forces led by Odji and Neferet, before the war ended with a final one-on-one battle between Odji and Prince Khnumhotep in the palace throne room. Prince Khnumhotep won the duel, ending Odji's reign by driving a sword through the villainous pharaoh's heart, while Neferet fled the city at Odji's request.
But the story did not end there, for with his dying breath, Odji placed one final curse on Prince Khnumhotep:
My death shall one day be undone
within this very room
when he who mixes your blood with mine
shall raise me from my tomb.
Only then did Prince Khnumhotep realize that Neferet had been carrying Odji's child when she had fled Kemet, but all subsequent efforts to find her proved fruitless. Meanwhile, the newly-reinstated Pharaoh Ramesses II ordered that Odji's body be burned to ash in a desperate attempt to stop his curse from coming to pass, but the body was stolen by Odji's loyalists before it could be destroyed, never to be found since.
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