Merit could remember the grains of sand slipping between her hands as she looked up at the jackal-headed god. How he cackled and she felt it deep in her bones as her tears slid down her cheeks. How much she had wished she could find a way above him, but the great almighty Seth condemned her as a sinner for defaming him and set her up for the greatest punishment he could think of for her.
Eternal life. Just because she had spilled blood of one of his worshipers in his temple. To protect herself from a man that was trying to force her to do something she did not want to do. Though Seth wouldn't listen as she did not fit the mold of one that he really appreciated. Seth had passed the role onto his son to keep her alive, and she remembered the face of Anubis as he loomed over her as well. It seemed like he scoffed, feeling some sort of resentment to his father that she could almost remember in that moment how she reacted to her parents when they were alive. Yet those two were far above what humans could see as a normal human father and son dynamic with their godly status.
And she could remember how Anubis's hand felt around her chin as she had her gaze forced up and into his mask-covered eyes. Flickers of gold were seen yet he was inherently more human then his father. Anubis dealt with humans every day, took in and judged their sorrows and that gave him this jackal mask over then the literal animal head that Seth had. She could almost feel Anubis's pity towards her as he slit his hand and let his blood fall between her lips, giving her a taste of the godhood immortality they carried. The blood was sweet the first time she tasted it though she remembered the warmth it blossomed deep in her belly. Before every nerve-end felt like it was alive and she could feel a searing pain course through her body, but Anubis kept her mouth shut so she wouldn't spill any out. Just watching with those dark and solemn eyes that contrasted Seth's. Ones that as she was forced to stare at them reminded her of every painting she remembered of Nephthys, the goddess of mourning and his mother. He seemed more of his mother's son then his father's son, Merit remembered thinking in that moment of dazed confusion and pain. The simple thought fueled by how sick his blood made her.
Merit was not the only person condemned to immortality throughout time. Some were blessed with such a thing from the deities that they worshiped, some were punished like she was. And yet they found themselves inexplicably drawn to each other throughout their lives because of the parts of gods or other beings that flowed through their very human forms. There was of course competition between immortals to show off how each of their sponsors' power could be used, no matter what they had gained this immortality from. If you were blessed, showing off the power could set apart your deity from the others and if you did well could set you as well above the rest. And those punished could show their strength from their god and just maybe win over the favor of their unhuman sponsor to get more like those blessed had. Just furthering the humans to play a game that wasn't truly theirs.
Though that was not a big amount of those given immortality as they tried to live their day-to-day life in the shifting world, just as Merit did. Merit watched countries connect and gained more and more freedoms as the world shifted ideals and connected more and more. Though every year she met with Anubis on the anniversary of her day she turned immortal and he fed her more of his blood to keep her alive another year. Sometimes she saw him more in a year, sometimes it was only that one time, though Merit could say they had an okay relationship now. Yet again he was a god, not the greatest company she could keep yet she could not trust any other immortal she felt as she did not know what they had to gain. And she had experienced too much heartbreak from losing those that got to live normally nowadays as they would die while she lived on and on. They did not know about the immortals, so she also had to step away from a certain point to make them not question why she didn't change. So maybe Merit would consider Anubis some sort of friend of hers, as he was the only recurring figure in her life. She never even really saw Seth anymore nowadays anyways, so it was truly just the god of death that kept her company.
And she did not think that would change– not yet.