Shackles on the Soul

Yinsen had wanted to negotiate with the Medjai before because he did not want them causing trouble on his way to resurrecting Imhotep, delaying him and wasting his energy.

Now that Imhotep had been resurrected, what was there left to discuss?

Become friends with the Medjai? Yinsen had no interest in that, and the Medjai could not possibly truly regard an outsider who had resurrected Imhotep as a friend. They had stepped forward now only because they had realized how powerful he was and that they could not defeat him head-on, so they wanted to seek another solution.

Yinsen could not even be bothered to deal with these people anymore. Next, he needed to learn about Soul Summoning and resurrection from Imhotep. He had no time to waste arguing with them.

If they were smart enough not to disturb him, then naturally there would be no problem. But if they came out looking to die, Yinsen would not mind sending them on their way.

No longer paying Ad-Bey any attention, Yinsen lightly moved a finger, and a blue portal appeared beside him.

He had no desire to keep wasting time in the desert. Hamunaptra might have been an old house from thousands of years ago, but at least it had a roof, and there was not nearly as much sand.

Driven by the wind, desert sand could seep into nearly every crack and crevice. Even if you merely stood there, fine grains would inevitably work their way onto your body, especially into your shoes. Staying in the desert for too long was anything but comfortable.

In truth, Yinsen would have preferred to leave directly, but resurrecting Anck-Su-Namun required Imhotep to make some preparations. Things like altars were already available in Hamunaptra, and resurrecting Anck-Su-Namun would also require her corpse and the organs that had been removed from it. Those things were all still inside the pyramid.

Logan and the others entered the portal one after another. Before going in last, Yinsen left Ad-Bey with a final remark, barely counting as one last warning. "I have no interest in destroying the world, nor do I intend to let Imhotep cause any disasters. That is what I truly think. Whether you believe it is up to you."

With Imhotep in tow, Yinsen stepped through the portal. The blue Light Gate vanished immediately afterward. Ad-Bey had no idea where they had gone, nor did he know how he should react. All he could do was return to his team in frustration, gather his men, and prepare to go back and discuss their next move with the Medjai leadership.

Yinsen did not care what reaction the Medjai would have. Back in Hamunaptra, he had his own matters to attend to.

As for those Americans, the Medjai had already killed nearly all of them. The few survivors had fled into the desert, and whether they could stay alive would depend on their individual luck.

Hamunaptra fell silent once more. With only Yinsen and the others wandering through the enormous pyramid, they could hardly add much life to such a massive structure.

No matter how much commotion they made inside, from the outside Hamunaptra still looked like a lifeless ancient pyramid. That was why Ad-Bey had not realized they had returned there.

"My lord, are you really willing to help me resurrect Anck-Su-Namun?"

Imhotep voiced the doubt in his heart. He could not understand why Yinsen was willing to help him. He did not believe that, after their recent conflict, Yinsen would magnanimously forgive his offenses and even help resurrect the woman he loved.

After thinking it over and over, the most plausible explanation was that Yinsen had some ulterior motive. But what could he possibly want?

"As long as you can solve my problem."

Yinsen emphasized this again. Imhotep had to perfectly answer all of his questions regarding souls and resurrection before he would begin helping Imhotep resurrect Anck-Su-Namun.

If possible, Yinsen even wanted Imhotep to swear that, after Anck-Su-Namun was resurrected, the two of them would simply live out their happy Two-Person World instead of trying to use their extraordinary power to destroy the world or anything of that sort.

Yinsen did not think Imhotep had such ambitions. In the second movie, Imhotep had wanted to defeat the Scorpion King and gain control of the Army of Anubis mostly because that reincarnated Anck-Su-Namun had egged him on. If no one mentioned it from the start, Imhotep might never think of conquering the world in his entire life.

As for that reincarnated Anck-Su-Namun…

Some people in his previous life believed that woman merely looked like Anck-Su-Namun and was not truly her reincarnation. Yinsen did not care much about that. Whether she truly was Anck-Su-Namun reincarnated or a fake Anck-Su-Namun meant nothing to him now.

What he intended to do now was directly summon the genuine Anck-Su-Namun’s soul from this world’s underworld, then resurrect her using her original body. Even if that reincarnation really was Anck-Su-Namun, the one Imhotep loved was definitely the original.

But if Anck-Su-Namun had reincarnated, would her soul still remain in the underworld? Or did reincarnation in this world not take away the entire soul, leaving Anck-Su-Namun’s memories and part of her soul behind in the underworld while only another portion, carrying a few imprints, went on to be reborn?

This seemed to involve some of this world’s laws, and it gave Yinsen a tremendous headache.

The best-case scenario was that she was a fake, and the real Anck-Su-Namun’s soul was still in the underworld.

A slightly worse outcome was that he could only resurrect an incomplete Anck-Su-Namun. In that case, Yinsen might have to help Imhotep find that reincarnated body so Anck-Su-Namun could regain her complete soul—only by resolving every issue could Yinsen fully understand all the details of resurrection.

"Perhaps that is why Imhotep is restrained by the Book of Amun-Ra? His soul is not actually complete?"

Ever since becoming a mage, Yinsen’s thoughts had become increasingly prone to leaps. From Anck-Su-Namun’s situation, he jumped straight to Imhotep and began considering why Imhotep could be restrained.

He was not imagining things at random. Unless he figured out these questions, he would have no direction for solving them. He had to completely eliminate such hidden dangers before seeking out Tony Stark. He was not the sort of person who would fob others off with "inferior products."

Hamunaptra was vast, and Imhotep was thoroughly familiar with the place. The group soon found a sufficiently clean room with relatively fresh air and settled down there.

Evelyn was delighted. She could freely study all sorts of things within it. To her, everything she saw in Hamunaptra was a major discovery for the archaeological world.

O’Connell was terribly bored. He had no interest in archaeology, but after discovering nearly endless treasures, he found himself something to do: collecting valuable, easily portable gold and jewelry with Jonathan, while leaving the bulky vessels alone for now.

Even if they could take away only a small portion, it would be enough for the two of them to live wealthy, worry-free lives for the rest of their days. Both of them felt that this trip had not been in vain.

At Yinsen’s suggestion, Logan also packed some gold to bring back. Yinsen and the others needed to travel through various planes. The gold he had previously used had been left behind by Arthur, and while he had not spent much of it, the original stock had never been large. This time, they could replenish a substantial amount so they would not find themselves without any when they needed it later.

Ada had no particular job. Every day, she simply wandered around. Occasionally, she went outside Hamunaptra to check the surroundings, conducting routine reconnaissance while also taking in this world’s unique local flavor.

Only Yinsen was busy. Every day, he discussed all manner of Mystic Arts knowledge with Imhotep.

They began with the foundations of the Ancient Egyptian Magic system, then moved on to the detailed principles behind the spells recorded in the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra. As the High Priest, Imhotep truly lived up to his identity and status. His understanding of Ancient Egyptian Magic exceeded Yinsen’s expectations.

For example, Imhotep had long since figured out the principles behind the divine spells recorded in the two Scriptures. In other words, as long as he possessed sufficient magical power, even without faith, Imhotep could cast those spells by following the correct procedures.

The only problem was that all of Imhotep’s power as High Priest came from his devout faith and the painful curse he had suffered after death. The power he had gained through personal cultivation had vanished along with his death long ago, so at certain times, his power could be completely stripped away, leaving not even a trace behind.

However, that had nothing to do with Yinsen learning Ancient Egyptian Magic. Yinsen could finally gain a detailed understanding of these spells, especially the contents in the Book of the Dead related to death, the underworld, and souls.

"Even with my understanding of death and soul magic, I cannot cast these spells through my own power. That is why I must rely on the Book of the Dead and use the power attached to it to resurrect Anck-Su-Namun."

Through systematic study, Yinsen finally understood just how difficult it was to resurrect someone. Imhotep frankly admitted that he could not do it. Even though he understood the principles behind the spells in the Book of the Dead, he still could not accomplish it.

It was not merely a matter of whether one had enough magical power. It also involved the more complicated issue of "authority and responsibility."

In a world like The Mummy, where gods genuinely existed, a mere human actually wanted to steal something from the underworld under the gods’ control? Did he really think the gods had no temper? They could crush him to death in minutes, drag his soul back, and whip it every day. Believe that?

After pondering for a while, Yinsen recalled that the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed to have a hell. There had once been a segment showing hell in the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series.

Although it had provided no relevant details or explanations, nor said whether there were any powerful beings governing hell or heaven, Yinsen understood that even a Sub-dimension governed purely by rules would likewise not allow him to casually take anything from within it.

"Even if the god of death permits you to summon a soul back into the world of the living, it will still keep an extremely close watch on that soul."

This was also the fundamental reason why the resurrected Imhotep was subjected to multiple restraints. Thus, taking away a soul intact without drawing the attention of powerful beings or rules, and without leaving any shackles upon that soul, was an extremely difficult matter.