Journeying to The Legendary Land of the Dead Se-Osiris, the gifted child magician and his father Setna, the son of Pharaoh Rameses the Great, made the only visit to the Duat.
On their trip to the West, they stood one day in the royal window at Thebes and observed two funerals. The first was that of a wealthy man, whose mummy was enclosed in a wooden case inlaid with gold. Troops of servants and mourners carried him to burial and carried gifts for the tomb, while numerous priests walked in front and behind them, reciting great names and words of power that he would need on his journey through the Duat. A poor labourer was laid to rest at the second funeral. The widow and daughters-in-law were the only mourners, and his two sons carried the plain wooden case.
Setna saw the two funerals as they were being transported across the Nile by boats and said, "Well, I hope that my fate will be that of the rich noble and not of the lowly labourer."
Se-Osiris responded, "On the contrary, I hope that the poor man's fate be yours and not the rich man's!"
Se-Osiris attempted to justify his son's remarks by saying, "Whatever you may have seen here matters nothing compared with what will change to these two in the Judgement Hall of Osiris," which deeply saddened Setna. If you put your trust in me, I will demonstrate it to you. I am aware of the magic words that can open any gate. By releasing your Ba and mine, or our souls, they will be able to fly into the Duat, the world of the dead, and see everything that is going on there. You will then see how the destiny of this rich man, who has worked evil all his life, and this poor man, who has only done good, are very different.
Although Setna knew that such an expedition would be risky because they would not be able to return once they were in the Duat, he had grown accustomed to believing anything the magnificent child said without surprise and had now consented to go with him.
Being members of the royal family with the authority to enter, the prince and the young boy entered the Temple of Osiris' sanctuary.
Se-Osiris created a magical circle around the doors after Setna had locked them, as well as the statue of Osiris and the altar, where a tiny cedar wood fire was burning. He then threw a specific powder into the altar's flame. He tossed the powder three times, and each time a ball of fire floated away from the altar and ascended from it. He then cast a spell and finished with a powerful name that caused the entire temple to tremble and the flame on the altar to leap high before disappearing into the darkness.
But there was light in the Osiris Temple. Setna turned to look at the source of the light and would have screamed in fear if the silence hadn't crushed down on him like a weight, paralysing him.
Standing on either side of the altar, he first thought he was looking at himself and his son Se-Osiris, but then he realised it wasn't him or the boy; rather, the two bodies were hidden in the shadows cast by their doubles, or Kas. Over each Ka, a tongue of flame, or Khou, floated, and the clear, bright light of the Khou served to reveal both the Ka and the dim form of the body from which the Ka and Khou were drawn.
Then a whisper that was as faint as a feather falling pierced the silence: "Follow me now, my father. Because the time is short and we must be back before sunrise if we would live to see the Sun of Re rise again over Egypt," whispered the voice of Se-Osiris.
Turning around, Setna saw the Ba, or soul of Se-Osiris, standing next to him in the form of a large bird with golden feathers but his son's head.
He forcibly replied, "I follow," and as the whisper reverberated throughout the Temple, he rose on the golden wings of his own Ba and followed Se-Osiris' Ba.
They appeared to be able to pass through the temple ceiling, and in the space of a moment, they were flying into the West faster than an arrow from an Ethiopian bow.
Egypt was in complete darkness, but the Gap of Abydos, a large gap in the Western Desert mountains, was illuminated by a single red sunset gash. The Mesektet Boat, in which Re started his journey into the Duat at the end of each day, was seen underneath them as they rushed into the First Area of the Night through this. The Boat was magnificent, its decorations were spectacular, and its hues included amethyst and emerald, jasper and turquoise, lapis lazuli, and the rich shine of gold. The Boat was pulled by a group of gods using golden towing ropes along the eerie River of Death. The Duat portals were opened, and they entered the First Area between the six serpents that were curled on either side. All of the people who had passed on that day and were en route to Osiris's Judgment Hall travelled in the big Boat of Re.
The Boat eventually arrived at the portal to the Second Area after travelling through night-time and dense darkness zones. The massive wooden doors swung on pivots, and once more snakes spitting fire and poison guarded them. The walls on either side were tall, and on their tops were spear points to prevent anyone from climbing over. Yet, everyone who entered the Boat of Re murmured the command words intended for that portal, and the doors opened.
The Second Region was the Kingdom of Re, and there, protected by the Spirits of the Corn who made the wheat and barley grow and make the earth's produce expand, were the gods and historical figures who had lived on Earth when he was King. They lived there in peace and bliss.
None of the deceased who travelled on the Boat of Re, however, were permitted to stop there or set foot on land; instead, they were required to proceed into Amenti, the Third Region of the Duat, where the Osiris judgement hall was ready to greet them.
As the Boat approached the next portals, the enormous wooden doors screamed as they opened on their pivots, but not as loudly as the guy who lay with one of the pivots revolving in his eye as retribution for the wrong he had done on Earth.
The Boat of Re travelled into the Third Area, where the dead disembarked in the outer court of the Osiris Judgement Hall. But the Boat itself kept travelling through the other nine Regions of the Night until the sun rose and dawn returned to earth with Re's rebirth from the Dragon of the East's mouth. Yet the light wouldn't come up unless Re fought and killed the Dragon Apep every night, who was always trying to consume him in the Tenth District of the Night.
Instead of continuing to pursue the Boat of Re, the Ba of Setna and Se-Osiris flew over the Kas of the recently deceased, who arrived one by one at the Hall of Osiris' entrance and were confronted by the Door-Keeper one by one.
“Remain”, the Door-Keeper yelled. “Unless you know my name, I won't announce you.”
Ka responded to each command with "Understander of Hearts is thine name. I call you Searcher of Bodies!”
“Whom then shall I announce thee?" the Doorkeeper questioned.
“You should inform the Interpreter of the Two Lands of my arrival”, he said.
“The Interpreter of the Two Lands, then, is who?”
“Thoth the Wise God, that is.”
Each Ka then proceeded to enter through the portal, and in the Hall, Thoth was standing by, calling out, "Come with me. But why have you come here? "
The Ka responded, "I came here to be announced."
“What state are you in?”
"I am free from sin."
“Whom then shall I proclaim thee to? Will I proclaim thee to him whose roof is made of fire, whose walls are made of living serpents, and whose floor is made of water?”
The Ka said, "Yes, tell him I'm here because he's Osiris,"
Ibis-headed that Thoth led the Ka to Osiris' seat, where he was draped in dead people's clothing, wearing the uraeus crown on his brow, and holding the scourge and the crook in his crossed hands. A massive balance with two scales was set in front of him, and the jackal-headed deity of death Anubis came forward to guide the Ka to the verdict.
But each dead man's Ka spoke up for himself before the Weighing of the Heart, declaring, "I am pure! I'm clean! I'm clean! I'm clean! My purity is comparable to that of the Bennu bird, a brilliant phoenix whose nest is on the obelisk at Heliopolis' stone persea tree. Look at me, I've come to you free from sin, guilt, and evil. I have no one to testify against me, and I haven't done anything to anyone. I eat and drink only the truth. I followed what people advised and what pleased the gods. I've given each deity what he wants to make him happy. I have given food to the starving, drink to the parched, clothing to the naked, and a boat to the one who was unable to cross the river. Offerings to the gods and sacrifices for the deceased have been made by me. Thus, Lord of the Atef-Crown, Lord of Breath, powerful deity Osiris, please protect me from Apep, the "Eater-up of Souls."
Then came the time that the evildoer dreaded but the good man joyfully anticipated.
The Feather of Truth was set in the other Scale when Anubis removed the heart from the Ka, who was the duplicate of his earthly body. The Scale descended lower and lower as the evildoer's heart dragged it down; Thoth noted the angle of the beam as it did so. Eventually, the Scale sank so low that Ammit, the Devourer of Hearts, could seize the sinner's heart in his teeth and carry it away. The evildoer was then driven out into the pitch-black Duat to live there alongside Apep the Horrible.
Thoth yelled aloud to Osiris and the gods, "True and correct are the words this man has spoken," but with the good man the Feather of Truth fell and his heart rose. He hasn't sinned and he hasn't been mean to us. Don't give the Soul Eater the upper hand. Give him the everlasting bread of Osiris and a seat among the Horus-folk in the Fields of Peace!
The dead man was then led before Osiris by Horus, who said, "I have come to thee, oh Unnefer Osiris, carrying with me this new Osiris." As the Balance emerged, his heart was sincere. He has not offended any gods or goddesses. Thoth has measured his heart and determined it to be sincere and upright. May he be like the followers of Horus; grant that he may get the bread and drink of Osiris!
The dead man then joyfully entered the Fields of Peace, where he lived, delighting in all the things he had loved most during his life, in a rich land of plenty, until Osiris returned to earth, bringing with him all those who had proven deserving to live forever as his subjects.
The Ba of Se-Osiris demonstrated all of these things and more to the Ba of his father Setna before stating, "Now you understand why I intended your fate to be that of the poor man and not of the affluent man. The Third Door's pivot revolves in the eye of the rich man, while the poor man lives forever in the Fields of Peace, wearing lovely robes and possessing all the sacrifices that went with the bad rich man to his grave.
The two Ba extended their golden wings and took flight, returning to Thebes through the night. They were able to return to their original location as normal, living father and child in time to witness the sunrise beyond the eastern desert and turn the cliffs of Western Thebes to pink, purple, and gold as a new day dawned over Egypt. There, they re-entered their bodies that their Ka's had been guarding in the Temple of Osiris.
