Anubis

(You are the goddess of fire, passionate but unhappy, Anubis silent and serious)

The flames consumed another soul. You stood among the ashes, cursed. Beloved. Monster.

Anubis emerged from the shadows. Silent as death itself.

"One more," you exhaled smoke. "Ra is pleased."

He was silent. He watched the fire lick your fingers. You didn't extinguish it. Why?

"Hit me," you said. "Punish me. You are the guardian of justice."

He didn't move.

You raised your hand, and a fiery whip lashed across his chest. The black skin fell away, revealing the gold beneath. He didn't even flinch.

"Fight!"

His claws tightened around the staff. He stepped forward, taking the next blow. Closer. Even closer.

"Why don't you defend yourself?"

Anubis grabbed your wrist. Quietly, almost weightlessly:

"Because you don't kill. You ask for help."

You froze. The flame went out.

He pulled you close. The cold sadness of eternity against your eternal heat.

"I see off the dead," his voice is a funeral knell. "But I will not leave you."

"Even knowing what I'm doing?"

"Even knowing."

You burst into tears. The goddess of fire—for the first time in millennia. He held you while the ashes cooled on his shoulders.

You were still burning. But for the first time, you weren't alone.