Previously Golden Horizon.
Walking toward the next destination, The Unas's Pyramid, Aperel told them what he knew about this place, King Unas, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and before.
Aperel and Prince walk to the dark corridor Bjorn and Cheetah left behind.
Pyramid of Ka
They walk through a dark corridor into the open courtyard surrounded by tall columns.
In the center of it, a stone cat statue welcomes them obelisk behind it.
In the First Dynasty, a Cat-headed deity Mafdet was the protector of Pharao's chambers against venomous snakes, scorpions, and evil.
This Cat-goddess was often depicted with a head of a leopard or a cheetah.
Another cat deity Bastet appeared in the Second Dynasty, and she became regardless as the protector of the Pharaos to the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties and beyond.
Bastet protects Lower Egypt.
Since then, Cats have been praised.
Cat motifs were prevalent in the New Kingdom period, from statues to decorations as funerary goods.
In the Book of the Dead, the cat protects Pharaoh from killing.
They walked through the courtyard and proceeded to the next gate.
After they exited the courtyard, in front was the entrance to the chapel and to the sanctuary, which it is not lead to underground chambers.
Aperel was thinking of taking Prince to the underground chambers immediately, but suddenly he remembered there was another thing Prince needed to see.
He turned left to the south wall, a small satellite Pyramid for Unas's Ka statue.
"Before we go to the Underground, let's see other things first. There is a satellite Pyramid on the south wall. Unas's Ka statue in the Pyramid, Do you know what the Ka and Ka Statue is, right?"
"Yes, Ka is the vital essence, a person's double. After his death, Ka Statue provides a resting place for his Ka."
"After we die and Ka-body detached from the physical body no longer bounded by resh and bones, organs anymore, free to be soaring or wandering around. Ka-Statue furnishes as its resting place, to return, or as a permanent dwelling."
The Ka-statue image reflects personal aspects because it needs to be a person's double. An icon, a second image of the King.
The posture reflects the statue to "see" the world they used to live in, whether seated or standing.
The Seated Ka Statue of 4th Dynasty Pharaoh Khafre was made of stone and almost life-size.
Standing Ka statue of 13th Dynasty King Hor is made of wood with almost no painting but marked by the Ka hieroglyphic sign as two upraised arms topping the head, a little lower than life-size.
Also standing life-size Ka Statue of 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun's two wood Ka statues are his skin is painted black, and used gold foil.
A Ka statue is a type of ancient Egyptian sculpture, and the style and size of it change from one Dynasty to the next.
Since Prince has a chance to see Unas's Ka-statue, Aperel thought he needed to tell Prince about Ka, Ka-statue, and the Opening mouth ritual."
"Dead can perceive our world from another side, and they can come back and settle into their Ka-statue to participate in our life. You know Ka-statue could be set up as the guest of events or festivals, right? In Abidos, numerous Ka-statues were set up for deceased ancestors or family members to participate in the commemoration festival of Osiris's Resurrection."
They enter inside of Ka Pyramid.
Their torch flames lighten up the dark room to illuminate bright reddish.
Flame scarlet reflects the mirrors next to the statue, then suddenly Unas's Ka-statue emerges from the darkness.
The almost life-size statue was made of wood.
It seems like it used to have a thin layer of coating but no painting.
The most striking feature of this was the Ka symbol, a pair of upraised arms on top of his head.
The Lost King in the statue firmly holds a divine sceptre with Ankh in his left hand, stands on his right foot, and his left foot steps forward.
Prince felt something he could not describe using words.
Invisible presence, or breathing sort of.
Deceased King Unas prepared a physical place, Ka-statue, for his Ka to manifest in our world.
King Unas's likeness reinforces the spiritual connection with the underworld, and his Ka-statue preserves his eternal memory.
Now statue sees Young Prince and Aperel's world in front of them.
Prince started to feel his destined future as the next King, Pharaoh, to be a living God, to carry his father and his ancestors' heavy legacy.
And the same time, he needed to prepare for his departure from this life to life in Afterlife.
Regarding sitting on the next King, there are so many things Prince needs to swallow, memorize, and master.
Sitting on the throne to rule the Kingdom isn't an easy task.
Even officers and advisers come and work with.
And on top of that, he needs to be the high priest to work with his gods.
To pray, perform daily rituals, and master many ceremonies, including "The Opening of the mouth."
"Now, your brother's body is in the process of mummification. It takes some time, and after the whole thing is done, Your father will perform the Opening of the mouth ritual before placing his mummy in a coffin."
"I heard about it. The Opening of the mouth ritual gave the power of breath, sight, smell, and hearing to the mummified body and Ka-statues."
Prince felt he wants to run away from this. This whole thing was not in his plan but his elder brother's.
"And in your time, when your father departed to another life, you will be the one who needs to perform the Opening of the mouth ritual as Successor."
"Yes, I understood."
Prince needed to breathe and get out of this mortuary Pyramid.
To be continued to 2-7. Duat - Part 1. Underworld Entrance
Deviant Art Subscription could be found in an uncensored version of the series and another uncensored 3D rendering series.