'Lord Anubis, I would give advice to you.' You hear Anubis' voice in your head.
"That isn't my name."
'It is now. Just as the Pharaoh upon his death becomes Horus, you too have become Anubis, god of embalming, final rites, and protector of the dead. I now merely exist as a part of you, to offer my experience and council. The human shape you now wear is but a farce and will quickly fade.'
You realized Anubis was right, as you saw fur as black as death begin to cover your hands and arms.
"Still, I've got to find my friends."
'I imagine you will find them eventually, though they will very likely be not as you last met them. Fate drew you were because you were fitting to become our new incarnations, Lord Anubis.'
"In that case, I want to find them even more quickly."
---
Emily meanwhile... had found an tomb similar to Anubis', but was filled with renditions of cats everywhere. Emily was a lot of things, but ignorant wasn't one of them.
"Bastet... whoever was buried here must have been a high priest of Bastet."
"Close little mouse... she is still buried here, and she is no priestess, but Bastet herself."
Emily shrieked when she turned around and came face to face with a lioness, she stumbled backwards over the various treasures, scurring back fearful for her life.
"Another name you may have for me is Wadjet-Bast."
Then she realized... the lioness stood on two feet, had thumbs... and was wearing a Egyptian war crown, with a cobra upon the top. She also had a pair of furry breasts. She was as bald as any lioness. She wearing a white dress around her waist. In one clawed hand was an ankh, and in the other was a weird scepter thingie with a abacus on top or something.
"It is called a sistrum little mouse."
'She's going to eat me!'
"Not quite... more like you are going to eat me..."
"Wha?" Emily mumbled not realizing the goddess was hearing her thoughts.
"I, and my four of my fellows are all that remain of the gods of Egypt... for now... did you think you five getting this far into this place of worship when so many foreigners tour it every day was mere luck?" Bastet laughed, purred, then cough, falling to her knees. "We were promised five who were worthy of us to continue Egypt's legacy, and bring our divine light back to the world. And bring our blessings upon mankind . . . that is where you come in my dear Emily..."
"How-how you know my name!?"
"I told you already, you five coming here was not mere luck. However... I can not force my essence upon you little mouse... if you reject my gift, I shall find another who shall appreciate it . . . But would you Emily? You've known once you left your educational system, your network of popularity would come to its end, and you'll be forced into the world of adults. You've been preparing for it, you are no sloth. But in your heart you've never wanted that to end... it doesn't have to... become the NEW Bastet, take my essence for yourself... and you will be able to create an entire race from Man and Woman who will love and serve you as their goddess and mother... Well little mouse? Will you become the lioness?"
Bewildered and shocked, and not slightly aware of how tired the lioness looked, Emily gingerly reached out her hand. Instantly Bastet grappled, and began to fade away to nothing.
Just as she completely vanished however, Bastet bowed to EMILY, "All hail the goddess Bastet."
Then nothing. Emily wondered if she was going crazy or if there was some hidden fungus making her see things.
'I assure you my goddess Wadjet-Bast, what you experienced was quite real, and you are quite sane.'
"W-what?!" Emily got up.. but did with a grace and purpose, and realized she didn't feel nearly as afraid she did a moment ago.
'I am now but a shade of my former self, I am Bastet no longer, you are, I am now but merely your previous incarnation my goddess... I shall serve you to the best of my ability with my knowledge and experience, this is part of the contract that exists between us.'
"The others aren't going to believe this..."
'Oh they will oh goddess Bastet, Anubis has already been reborn, and the other three are not far behind. It is annoying I know to share divine status, but such is the lot of a goddess of Egypt, but in this new age, we can get a head start on the others for our new worshippers.'
"What do you mean?"
'Touch any mortal human with your divine essence immortal one, and they will become your child now. The cats are already your loyal agents, eyes and ears, and servants wherever they may be. But they do not count as worshippers.'
"Isn't that kinda... forceful?"
'HA! My goddess have you READ HISTORY? We were many things, but considerate to mortal standards on what is right or wrong was not one of them. You are a goddess now, playing god comes with the territory. Though as a goddess, it is your responsibility to accept the sacrifices and answer the prayers of your worshippers... though right now... we are without any... but we can rectify that... there was NOTHING in the agreement that the five of us had to get started at the same time.'
"Alright... then we best get started then."
'Yes oh goddess Bastet,' the former Bastet said obediently.
As Emily walked... her body changed... her entire body sprouted platinum blond fur, her shoes and socks dissolved, leaving her bare digigrated feet. The rest of her clothes slowly dissolved as a puffy tail grew from her rear, and her hands became thumbed paws. She grew taller. Her body aging to that of an fully adult woman. Her fear grew into a muzzle as all her teeth became fangs. Her irises became slit, the whites of her eyes became gold while the black centers became white. Giving her eyes the appearance of a solar eclipse. Her muscle mass increased as she walked, becoming muscle ton, but not muscle around. But this meant little. A god had no actual need for muscle. Emily, the new Bastet, picked up a rock, and crushed it into her hand without effort.
Her ears became rounded and moved to the top of her head, as her body became naked, so did her head... Emily let out an agitated and angry growl as she saw her hair fall out... lionesses were balled after all.
Her maternal material, of course, increased in size, to match her vanity. She now stood naked as a picture of physical beauty and savage power.
Still, old habit die hard, and the new Bastet willed into exist a platinum blond wig, but done in the hair cut style of ancient Egypt with gold nubs on the end. A ghostly white cloak with gold trim formed around her that did not so much hide as draw attention to her feminine traits. Egyptian gold jewelry formed around her neck, and along her waist, wrists, and ankles. She was Bastet.
She walked back to where the five intersection was... but felt no need to wait for Anubis or the others. It had been agreed it would be first come first serve after all. And Bastet at her core was a CAT goddess after all, she was what she was.
She came out back into the temple proper. Bastet wanted to be loved and seen... but her experienced self advised her it was smarter to stay hidden from mortal devices and senses until she had built up her chosen.
Bastet already had a list in her mind. She would bless her friends greatly, they would the highest among her daughters. (And she planned to make sure her mortal self's family lived comfortably and privileged, Bastet was not without gratitude or loyalty after all, even as a cat goddess).
And two at the top of her list were spotted right away.
Duke and Barb... those two... Emily had never... and WOULD never forget them... while Emily enjoyed the status of the popular girl... this had not always been the case. She would never forget the teasing... the promised date in the middle of the rain that never came... the humiliations... the time her pet cat had been dangled over a fence in front of her... Emily hadn't forgotten.
Duke and Barb were laughing with each other. Duke telling stupid jokes only Barb ever found funny, and Barb making herself sound smarter than she actually was with her smart glasses.
Bastet stood in front of them, and made it so they could see her.
The two gasped in shock, then found themselves paralyzed before the Egyptian goddess.
"Hello Duke, hello Barb... know the old saying, be nice, because you never know who will turn out to be what? Well, I've moved up in the world... Oh, right, it's me, Emily... well, it's actually Bastet now, but you get the point... no one can see me but you right now, so you can panic if you want. And well, I'll be making a lot of cat people, Anubis will be making a lot of jackal people, and the others, you get the idea. Since you two treated me SO WELLLLLLLL over the years." Bastet purred. "I'm going to be just as nice to you... "
Bastet touched their forehead.
"Human you will no longer be, down to your very soul, you will be my kind. It is to my your souls will come to if you meet your end. But don't worry, I have something EXTRA special for you. Consider it a gift for all those WONDERFUL times you gave me... "
You two shall look alike, feel alike, think alike, act alike, BE alike... and you will remember and BE for all time but servants to your new goddess, Bastet. You will be not flesh, but living stone, my guardians and servants not just to me, but my kittens as I create them. This your purpose in life, your reason for being, it is who you are, and what you are."
At Bastet's words, Duke and Barb changed... their inside turned to solid stone... their clothes dissolving off them... their bodies shifted and morphed, gaining stone paws, stone claws, stone tail, their ears moving to the top of their head forming stone triangles, as their faces pushed into stone muzzles. But this was only the beginning as Duke's body slimmed and smoothed over... breasts grew from his chest, and the space between his legs became smooth like a doll's, just like Barb's ... As their bodies reshaped, they became as identical as two side of the same mirror... but they stayed colorless stone for not long as black and gold pain covered their stone bodies, leaving Egyptian writing in lines in around parts of their bodies, their eyes were painted green. Then identical white ancient Egyptian style dresses with gold pieces holding them in place formed around the two stone feline women.
They 'blinked' their painted stone eyes as Bastet released them. In perfect synch with each other, they knelt down, and lowered her head. "Oh creator, we thank you for giving us new purpose, and new meaning, will serve you till the wind and sand grind us into dust." They echoed in a subservient tone.
Emily looked around and noticed no one was taking the presence of the two living statues that strangely.
'You are no mere magician Bastet, you are a goddess, what you will within your sphere of authority, is, it is as natural as the sun rising and the tides turning, and mortal perceive it as normal the same way you perceived the color blue, being blue as normal.
"Rise you two." Bastet commanded, Duke and Barb did so at the same time, their motions identical. "We have much work to do."
"Whatever work you have for us, we will do so with zeal our goddess." The two eagerly echoed, excited at the chance of being of use to their goddess.