Chapter 158: Moon Knight

Under the powerful psychic force of Gu Chongyan, the most active energy was isolated and instantaneously transformed into a streak of light that shot into the distance.

Seeing this, Gu Chongyan hurriedly gave chase.

Following the trail of light, Gu Chongyan pursued it all the way into the city of Cairo.

In the bustling streets filled with clamor and noise, a man clad in a white cloak, wrapped entirely in white fabric from head to toe, and possessing a physique as perfect as a sculpted statue, was wielding a pair of crescent-shaped metal weapons as he fought fiercely against a humanoid jackal.

The glowing energy, invisible to ordinary mortals, streaked across the sky and merged into the strangely dressed man.

He paused for a slight moment before lunging at the jackal with even greater speed.

Moon Knight?

Watching the man battling the jackal, Gu Chongyan paused briefly, recognizing his identity.

Moon Knight, whose real name was Marc Spector, was originally a mercenary. While on a mission in Egypt, he was brutally wounded and left for dead by his employer, Bushman. The dying Marc crawled into an ancient tomb and drew his final breath.

At that very moment, however, the statue beside him came to life. Khonshu, the moon god of Egyptian mythology, resurrected him, making him his avatar in the mortal realm and launching his heroic career as the Moon Knight.

Empowered by the moon god Khonshu, Moon Knight's physical strength, speed, stamina, and resilience were enhanced by the moonlight during the night.

Moon Knight could perceive spiritual entities invisible to the naked eye of ordinary mortals, see in the dark without the aid of tools, move stealthily within deeply shaded areas, and heal from injuries when bathed in moonlight.

The Marvel Universe boasted numerous pantheons. Yet compared to the Norse pantheon, which enjoyed favored status like a true son, the other pantheons were treated almost like stepchildren.

Deities like Odin, Thor, and Loki could travel to Earth as easily as returning home.

Other pantheons, however, were largely sealed outside of Earth due to various reasons, making it virtually impossible for them to set foot on the planet casually.

For instance, the Egyptian pantheon was entirely sealed within the celestial realm, forcing them to manipulate the mortal world solely through agents.

Moon Knight was precisely the agent of the moon god Khonshu. If Khonshu wished to manifest on Earth, he could only do so by possessing Moon Knight.

Other Egyptian deities wishing to descend to Earth had to resort to the exact same method. That streak of light was undoubtedly Khonshu's divine power.

Because it shared the same origin as Moon Knight's power, it was drawn to him after being separated and ultimately fused with him.

The moon god Khonshu belonged to a collateral branch of the Egyptian pantheon. His father, Amun, was the principal deity of the Theban pantheon in Egypt, roughly contemporary with Odin and Zeus as a third-generation king of the gods.

Like other mythologies, the Egyptian pantheon had evolved into various branches over the passage of time.

The original supreme deity was Atum, the sun god of the Heliopolitan pantheon. In his later years, Atum's divine power waned, and he merged with Ra to become a brand-new sun god. Ra became the second-generation king of the gods, also originating from the Heliopolitan pantheon.

When Ra's divine power faded, the third generation arrived. This time, Amun of the Theban pantheon merged with Ra, and the combined entity took the name Amun-Ra.

Subsequently, led by Amun-Ra, nine Egyptian deities formed the mainstream of the Egyptian pantheon known as the Ennead.

As the son of Amun-Ra, although Khonshu was not ranked among the Ennead, he formed the triad known as the Three Gods alongside his father Amun-Ra and his mother Mut, the goddess of war.

Because he did not belong to the mainstream Egyptian pantheon, Khonshu could not draw power from the celestial realm like the Ennead. Consequently, he was forced to constantly walk the mortal realm, selecting avatars to bolster his worship and sustain his divine power.

However, as the age of gods passed and Kamar-Taj became the guardian of Earth, even the ancient deities were forced to keep their distance.

Especially after the Ancient One became the Sorcerer Supreme, neither gods nor demons could step onto Earth lightly; otherwise, their fate could be summed up in a single word—death.

Over the years, countless gods and demons had perished at the hands of the Ancient One, and the title of Sorcerer Supreme was forged amidst flames and bloodshed.

The primary reason the Norse deities could freely travel between Earth and Asgard was that the Ancient One and Odin had come to an understanding after crossing paths, and realizing neither could defeat the other, they became friends.

Clearly, the other pantheons lacked such capability and were thus forced to cower within their respective divine realms, relying on the power of those realms to maintain their existence.

Only a tiny handful of entities like Khonshu, who were not principal deities and could not draw power from a divine realm, had to acquire divine power through whatever alternative means possible.

Because of this, despite also bearing the title of a god, Khonshu's strength fell vastly short of Thor's.

As the streak of light merged into Moon Knight's body, a tall figure materialized under the bath of moonlight.

He wore the skeletal head of a falcon, his entire body wrapped in bandages, his cloak worn and tattered, and he wielded a crescent-shaped weapon. He looked less like a lofty deity and more like some wandering specter.

A deity's appearance was intimately tied to the abundance of their divine power. When divine power was abundant, the excess energy would materialize into battle armor or sacred robes, displaying the majesty of the god.

For instance, Thor's armor, Loki's armor, and Hela's armor were all materializations of divine power.

This made it clear that this Egyptian moon god, draped in rags, was living quite a difficult life.

Khonshu hurriedly materialized from the void, a flicker of panic crossing his fleshless falcon skeletal skull.

For he discovered that he could no longer sense the existence of the Pantheon.

The Pantheon served as the bridge of communication between the Egyptian gods and Heliopolitan celestial realm. Centuries ago, with the rise of Kamar-Taj, the gods were forced away from Earth. To preserve their stronghold, the Egyptian deities established the Pantheon on this land.

The Pantheon was capable of shielding against the power of Kamar-Taj. Through the Pantheon, the deities could channel their divine power via avatars to influence this land.

At the same time, the Pantheon was the sole passage for the Egyptian gods to travel between Heliopolis and Earth.

Once the Pantheon was lost, Khonshu would never be able to return to Heliopolis, and deprived of the Pantheon's protection, his true form would gradually become exposed to the watchful eyes of Kamar-Taj.

Although the era of slaughtering gods had passed centuries ago, that bloody carnage had never been erased from Khonshu's heart.

At the mere thought of those past scenes, he could not help but tremble all over.

Just as he materialized from the void, Khonshu spotted the presence of Gu Chongyan.

Within those deep, hollow eye sockets, an intense wariness emerged.

"Sorcerer?"