Previously Golden Horizon.
They saw the entrance to the inside of the Pyramid.
It would take them to King Unas's funeral chambers.
But before Aperel took Prince to see the underground chambers, he took Prince to see the Ka-statue of King Unas, told him about the world of Ka, and mentioned the Opening of the mouth ritual.
Those things remind Prince of his destined future. To rule the kingdom comes with overwhelming responsibilities and neither world; he is unsure of grasping it.
Prince's gateway romance with Aperel unexpectedly turned took him to face reality before him.
Underworld
They walked back the way they come from toward the north wall and then turned left.
Both saw the entrance to the underground chambers in the center of the Pyramid's north side.
Most Pyramids aligned with the north, south, east, and west.
And the temple complexes surround the Pyramid in the center.
The god of rebirth and afterlife, Osiris, was associated with The stars of Orion.
Some researchers believe The Great Pyramids of Giza are Gateway to the Stars, pointing to Ancient Egyptian's origins, from the stars shining above the Pyramids, the constellation Orion and its three-star belt.
Many believe the Pyramids are the Tomb of Pharaohs.
But many of them are buried in the valley of the Kings.
They dug an underground tunnel, probably symbolizing the way to the Underworld, Duat.
The valley of the Kings is also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings.
If The Pyramid was the gateway to their home, as some researchers believe, their way home signifies the stars of Orion.
On the other hand, underground chambers are gateways too.
His lifelong secured imprisonment limits his exploration outside the Royal house and courts.
Prince knows about cultural and spiritual religious beliefs as a story taught by his tutors and scribes in the history lesson, but he had never visited a place like this before.
There was no way to see such sites because the royal tombs in the valley of the Kings were utterly sealed and hidden, impossible to find or enter.
They stood in front of the entrance.
Prince's feelings differed from the Ka-pyramid; it felt slightly darker and eerily.
Perhaps because of preknowledge of the Underworld, its unfamiliar and strangeness.
This whole thing is not a matter of everyday life, not for everyone, only for the pharaohs, temple workers, priests, priestesses, and high in their position.
Aperel seems calm like usual; this kind of thing may be familiar to him but to Prince.
He wasn't sure about entering the world of the deceased.
There is something he could explain, almost as if he felt surrounded by invisible eyes watching and observing to judge if he was worthy to enter the Duat, where the Underworld gods and goddesses reside.
Aperel asked Prince to come to follow him.
At the temple of Min, Prince started to suspect Aperel led him to enter such a world without being dead but still alive before the Ascension.
That's why Aperel wants him to grow his Ka-body and develop it as much as possible.
Developing his Ka-body felt enjoyable with pleasure and orgasmic sensations, which he had never experienced.
Am I able to pass their judgments?
To enter and to pass through?
Prince did not want to think those; he couldn't differentiate between being dead and entering and still alive to join it.
They walked down the dark corridor with torch flame for a while, and a shallow square entrance to continued passage appeared. You must crouch and walk or crawl on hands and knees to go further.
And this shallow cordial has no texts but a smooth stone wall for a while.
And then they sow the texts just before entering Ante-chamber.
"Can you read this?" Aperel asked Prince.
"This is old Egyptian; I think I can..." Prince read through for a bit and started to read the text.
Opening the door to the sky,
Draw back the Phallus of Babi.
Open the door of the sky.
You sealed the door and opened a path for King Unas in the heat of the fire where the gods scoop water."
Prince paused a bit to think and said, "Oh well, this is the scene of Unas getting out from the Pyramid, then flying away toward the door of the sky, which seems like this door is the phallus of Babi."
Aperel slightly laughed and said, "Baboon god Babi is a god of the Underworld. The Phallus of Babi is the mast of the netherworld ferry boat, and his body is the boat. How funny our ancestors were so fascinated with Phallus so much."
Aperel's comment did not make Prince laugh or smile.
He was still thinking, trying to find another perspective to understand, and he continued, "That means it's a metaphor, and the Phallus is probably referencing something else. As its definition, it must be close to the Phallus or associated with it, maybe a shape, movements, or functionalities. Because if they are talking about men's Phallus, men only can ascend? Not women? It must be something related to men and women both."
"You are smart, already started to figure those out; so, what do you think?" Aperel mysteriously smiled.
"You won't tell me so easily, aren't you?"
"Of cause, I won't; giving you an answer is easy. I want you to find a way to see and think. Ancestors or priests do not want everybody to know or find out; that's obvious. Once you figure out how to translate these strange expressions, you will start to see and understand what those mean. It is the secret because so sacred."
"Only I'm sure about is this whole world of Duat and Gods and Goddesses, creatures belong to neither world and process of the Ascension to reach the realms or world of Ancestors. Which legends refer to the three stars above the Pyramids—Sah, the resting place of the soul of the god Osiris."
Sah means "The father of the gods," referring to Orion and Lepus Constellations, and it frequently appears in the Pyramid Texts.
"So, can you restate what these funeral texts mean?"
"These utterances or texts guide the deceased King Unas from Duat to walk through the gates toward Sah for sure."
Prince paused again to think and continued, "But who created such a worldview and specific implications? To develop or complete such a worldview and rituals must be brought by somebody, not by the dead. Maybe from the generation of Pharaohs and or the Priests and Priestess. Somebody associated with the world of Pharaohs and Ascension rituals, and it probably extracted from their experiences."
"Go on."
"This is from Ascension rituals, which not many know, secret within the secret, true knowledge to reach the three shining stars, Sah—our ancestral home, or at least communicates with it. In the long past, many individuals, not a single person, succeeded journey to the Sah, and they have met ancestors; we call them gods and goddesses occasionally."
"And then, it applied to Unas's afterlife journey," Aperel concluded.
To be continued to 2-8. Duat - Part 2. Sarcophagus Chamber
Deviant Art Subscription could be found in an uncensored version of the series and another uncensored 3D rendering series.