THE MOST PLEASANT PHARAOH (Part 1)

THE STORY BEGINS

I see the Pyramid to my right. Several gusts of wind blow, and as the wind blows, the sand rises into the air, creating a layer of yellowish, sheer fabric-like texture. I’m standing on a sand dune, quite far from the Pyramid. The space is empty, just sand and the Pyramid. The sky is a light blue, and the wind is strong. I feel comfortable and at peace. I feel like I’m just a small part of this world. I’m enjoying being a part of it. I’m just standing and observing. I have a staff in my hand… It resembles a scepter. I see myself as a black man, middle-aged, shirtless. My attire makes me feel… wait, is that really me? The person looks like a Pharaoh. Behind me is a group of attendants, like they’re waiting for me, while I look ahead toward the Pyramid, as if taking a moment to rest. The attendants behind me are wrapped in white cloth, holding staffs with round, palm-leaf-like tops. Some are carrying what looks like a golden basin. They’re lined up in two rows behind me. I feel proud because I see my empire building such a wonder. It’s not that I built it myself, but it feels like it was built by my ancestors, and I am just the successor. I feel proud of my ancestors.

Now, I see myself sitting in what looks like an oasis, as there are plants, even though the surroundings are desert. I’m sitting on a throne. At this moment, my clothes are white with gold patterns, and I’m no longer shirtless. Below, I have a skirt-like garment. There are servants around me. It’s simply a peaceful moment, nothing happening. This place is different from the sand dune I saw earlier, and it’s closer to the Pyramid I saw before, still to my right but now behind me. I’m in my thirties. I see the number 38.

Everything around me now has outdoor architecture made of white stone, palm trees, and water flowing through channels that run along the streets. It’s expanding into a town.

Now, I see a market scene. The stalls are made of fabric and leather, with goods on display under them. I’m walking through the fruit section. People are bustling about. They even bring camels into the market. The city’s color palette is mostly white and yellow. The people around me don’t know who I am. I have a group of people with me, but they are still going about their business as usual. A woman comes out, her head covered, and offers me a bag of fruit.

From the moment I first saw the Pyramid, I’ve had a common feeling: I’m enjoying the prosperity of my empire. I’m just inheriting what was built before me, but I feel proud of that legacy. The people around me aren’t distant… At this point, I don’t feel like a Pharaoh anymore; I feel more like an official, younger than the Pharaoh I once envisioned myself as. My walk has also become more casual.

My house has tall stone columns, with a corridor supported by stone pillars, and there are gardens around. It doesn’t look like a desert anymore; there are many trees. There are several women walking back and forth. I’m standing outside on the corridor of my house, like my father, who might be a prime minister or something. The place I like the most is the corridor because it’s bright, while inside the house it’s dark, and from the corridor, I can see the garden and watch the women walking by. At this point, I’m young, maybe even younger than when I was at the market.

My family includes my father, mother, and a woman I don’t know the relationship with. I see little of my father. He seems quite strict. My mother, on the other hand, has curly hair. She’s gentle and good. The other woman seems like an older sister, but I only remember her as a distant memory, as if she’s gone… She got married. She didn’t marry someone from our land, but from a different country… a different tribe. I don’t see my father much because he’s often in the royal palace meeting the king.

Every day is normal; I wander around the market and slack off. Occasionally, I read books with my mother. I like holding fruit, sitting on the corridor, eating, and staying there. Now I’m around… 17 years old. I don’t have many goals in life… and I feel a bit bored. Because every day feels the same. Everything seems easy, but just wandering around gets tiring, and I don’t know what else to do. I have to study a lot—astronomy, geography, math. A teacher comes to teach me. Sometimes my mother sits next to me to help with my studies. Actually, my mother just worries I’ll fall asleep, so she sits with me to keep me awake. I like astronomy, but I don’t really like math… Well, math is okay. There’s a subject about writing, ancient script, which my mother mostly teaches me, but I don’t like it. I prefer astronomy and math. My teacher wears white clothes, has long hair and a long beard. His hair is tied up in a white cloth. He feels like someone from India, even though his skin is dark. He is very tall.

He doesn’t look like an ordinary person; the people from my land are short, solid, and muscular, but short and with dark skin. I also have muscles, but I’m not very tall.

Now, there’s a family meal at my house. There’s a rectangular table with four chairs, but only three people are sitting now. I see a plate of olives, lots of meat, and some fish… but not many vegetables, just meat. Well… we eat with our hands. There are silver spoons, but I prefer picking olives from the plate of fish. It’s probably the only “vegetable” there; there are some leafy greens, but I like the olives the most.

A SIGNIFICANT DAY IN MY LIFE

I briefly saw two images. The first image was of something burning, like a war, but at the moment, I was at my sister’s wedding. The wedding wasn’t special, just some flower petals being thrown. Then I went over to my… brother-in-law. After that, they went to the border, crossed a river, and then there was nothing else. At that time, I was still young, much younger. My mother was crying a little, while my father… I couldn’t guess his expression. His face wasn’t sure if it showed regret or pride. But I just felt a bit disappointed because there weren’t many people to talk to at home, and now she was leaving too… Because usually, it’s just my mom, and she talks very sweetly, but she only wants me to focus on my studies. I was close to my sister. I… I… I loved her. She had black hair, was beautiful, and played with me, often playing with me when we were young. We played something like a wooden sword and fought together. That day was so much fun.

At her wedding, she wasn’t happy because he wasn’t the man she loved. It was a political marriage, but she was ready for it.

The image of the burning scene… (sigh) It’s like a coup to overthrow the king. My father was the one who started it. My mother… she was the one who died in that battle. After that, my father continued to hold his position, like a national advisor, and let me ascend to the throne. But he didn’t do it for me. He did it for himself. He didn’t want to be the one to bear the brunt of public opinion. He wanted someone else to take his place, so I ascended, but he would control the supreme power… But not long after, he passed away.

I faced no resistance when I became king because my father… At that time, there were many magicians… in the temples. My father controlled them, so when they followed him, the people also followed suit. But this coup didn’t lead to a nationwide uprising; it was more like a civil war within the capital, in the palace, and when the sorcerers who followed my father, out of fear, led the people to follow as well.

After I became king, I didn’t like my father’s actions much. But I thought that since I became king, I would have the power… because before, I had no purpose. So, when I became king, it felt like a game, like I could create the environment and the nation I wanted.

To escape from my father, I had him poisoned, but it was gradual. I didn’t hate the previous Pharaoh, so when I succeeded him, I still felt proud of what they had done. I didn’t feel any dramatic changes. I felt that my father’s actions weren’t necessary. But if he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to become king. But I feel like, whether I became king or not, I would still be the same… I wouldn’t change the country. I’d leave the country the same as the previous Pharaohs, because I felt it was already peaceful enough.

I didn’t maintain the relationship with the country my sister was married to… I didn’t like maintaining that kind of relationship, so… I… Wait… I had them invade their country. It was successful… but… I see an image of me bringing my sister back, but she didn’t seem to live long after that… because she… was sad… (pauses). I feel it’s all meaningless. I wanted to invade that country to bring her back and stop anyone from marrying off to form political alliances. When everything is one, there’s no need to do those things anymore. I just want everyone to be with the one they love… I… I… I loved my sister in a way that felt like a man and a woman (The subject, upon waking, shared that this felt strange, but it was how they felt about that love). I felt jealous, I felt sad when she got married. I wanted her to be with me, but she didn’t accept that.

THE PHARAOH’S LIFE

After ascending to the throne, I started to feel myself becoming more cruel as I gained more power. The fact that my sister was no longer alive made me realize that. I had abused my power. When I first became king, I thought, “The previous kings did fine, I’ll just follow what they did.” But, after I killed my father, I realized how easy it was. I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore. I only feared meaninglessness, emptiness. I didn’t feel the pride I once felt when I looked at the Pyramid. I only feared myself.

Was there anything significant I did for my kingdom? No. I saw the water system, the channels, but I didn’t think I contributed much. I just continued what was already in place. I was a nameless person. I didn’t rule for long, and I didn’t accomplish anything. Everything I did wasn’t for the people—it was just to fill the emptiness inside me. I was always bored, didn’t know what to do. I even thought about living the life of a laborer at the market, but I was afraid of hardship. And yet, even in the palaces, I did nothing. When I felt I had the power to create my own happiness, I took it away from others… like from my sister. My sister, during her time there, had fallen in love with her husband. Even ascending to the throne was a sacrifice from a previous king, even though they hadn’t done anything wrong. Even though I felt proud and grateful for what they did, that feeling didn’t last long because I would get caught up in my own power, trying to escape meaninglessness, but I couldn’t do anything. I felt like I was the meaninglessness itself.

Another significant day in my life… was the day I died. I felt relief because I thought, “This is enough.” From now on, I will end this meaninglessness here. At this point, I was around 39 years old. 39 or 42. It felt like a natural death, but it was more like I had given up on myself. There were still people around me, but I didn’t want them to pay attention to me. I wanted to die alone. I had no wife or children. I just wore myself out and died. I had no wife or children… because I only wanted my sister.

Did I have any distinctive features or marks on my body that would make people remember me when they talk about me?

I didn’t have any special features. I only had… very dark skin. I wasn’t as fair as the rest of my family.

Did the people in the area have a name or story they used to refer to me?

They called me the MOST EASYGOING PHARAOH. Because during my reign, I didn’t force anyone into slavery, except for the conquest of that country—but it wasn’t a whole country, just a small tribe, so the war was quite easy.


Stay tuned for part 2 of this regression session.

Read part 2 here.tại đây.

 

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