“Excuse me? You say there’s no need to touch it…? Have you figured something out?”
The forensic scientist was startled by Jinseong’s words.
He had merely taken out the frozen corpse, but to think he had deduced something?
“Ah, of course, I’m not saying I know everything. But…”
Jinseong paused for a moment and put on a mask that was resting on the shelf.
He slowly approached the corpse and raised a finger, pointing to a specific spot.
He pointed at the chest.
There was a large hole gaping there.
“Just looking at this gives me some insight.”
“The hole…?”
“Yes.”
Jinseong observed the inside of the chest where the heart was missing and looked at the forensic scientist.
He met the forensic scientist’s gaze and threw a question.
“Do you happen to know about Egypt?”
“Ah, yes… Well, I suppose there’s no one who doesn’t know Egypt…”
“How much do you know? Even if it’s just bits and pieces, could you tell me what you know about Egypt?”
“Well… I’m not an expert in that area, so I don’t know much in detail. Just what I learned from textbooks. There were pharaohs, pyramids, mammoths when the pyramids were built, one of the four great civilizations… That’s about all I know.”
“I see.”
Jinseong nodded at the forensic scientist’s words and began to speak.
“Then, have you ever heard of the Book of the Dead?”
“The Book of the Dead…? Ah, perhaps from movies?”
“If you know that, then discussions will be easy.”
Two people talking in front of a frozen corpse was indeed something peculiar.
“The Book of the Dead, to put it simply, is a funerary text used in Egypt.”
“A funerary text…”
“Yes. It’s a book containing spells and methods so the dead can safely reach the Field of Reeds. The original name is ‘Book of Coming Forth by Day,’ which means a book to come forth in light.”
The meaning of the Field of Reeds is the “field of rushes” or “plain of rushes.”
This was the paradise referred to in Egypt.
The people of Egypt did not see the afterlife as a separate world; they considered it an extension of the current world.
Thus, those who lived sincerely in accordance with the truth of Ma’at could achieve immortality after judgment when their earthly life ended.
Those who passed the judgment could live a happy life in the paradise ruled by Osiris.
Without lack of water and grain, they retained all the best memories from their earthly life and lived alongside the gods.
“Ancient Egyptians did not see death as an end. Egyptian mythology was tied to resurrection, rebirth, and immortality. They believed that while the flesh would eventually perish, the soul was immortal, thus regarding the earthly life as a temporary stay and the afterlife as the true place to live.”
However, not everyone could achieve immortality.
The road to paradise is perilous, and attaining immortality is even more fraught with difficulties.
When a person dies, the ‘Ka’ and ‘Ba,’ which make up their soul, leave the body.
One stays at the tomb to eat and protect the flesh, while the other follows the processes to reach paradise. Finally, when the ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ reunite with the mummy, only then can they become an ‘Akh,’ a being that never dies, thus obtaining immortality.
However, those who attain immortality are very few.
This indicates how long and treacherous the path to the field of rushes, the Field of Reeds, is.
“To reach the afterlife, one must pass through countless gateways and channels. They had to get through terrible, bizarre gatekeepers and avoid all sorts of monsters and demons to reach Osiris’s court. This danger is truly horrific; without the Book to come forth in light, one couldn’t hope to reach the Field of Reeds, let alone the court.”
That’s precisely why ‘Book of Coming Forth by Day’ is essential.
It contains spells to command the gatekeepers, methods to evade monsters and demons, and ways to distract and deal with them when discovered.
“Thus, the dead use the Book of the Dead to navigate the dangers of the underworld. Evading every danger, they aim to meet Anubis and, under his guidance, reach the court presided over by the god of death and resurrection, Osiris.”
However, passing the gatekeepers and getting through the dangers is not the end.
The trial is what truly matters.
Osiris, the god of death and resurrection, begins to pronounce judgment on the sins committed by the deceased during their lifetime, alongside 42 judges.
At this time, the dead recite 42 ‘Negative Confessions of Sin,’ known as the confessions.
Once the confessions are done, Anubis’s scales are used to determine the truth.
On one side, Ma’at’s feather of truth and law is placed, and on the other, the ‘Ib’, or heart of the dead person.
Thus, the scales hold Ma’at’s white feather and the heart.
The dead person must confront the sins they committed during their lifetime.
Each sin adds weight.
Each lie adds weight.
As the number of sins increases, the weight gradually grows, tilting the scales.
Ultimately, when the scales tip and the heart cannot bear the weight of the sins and tilts down, the heart rolls down, while the famished head makes its way to the heart.
“A person judged guilty in the court will have their heart devoured by the beast. Ammit, Ammut, Amit, Ammemait, Amut… It has many names, and it means ‘the devourer of the dead.’ This beast, resembling a lion with a swishing mane, rushes at the heart that has fallen to the ground, using the hind legs of a hippo and the forelegs of a leopard. And it opens its crocodile-like mouth wide to chew and swallow the heart.”
Once the heart is swallowed, the dead person cannot find rest.
“The one whose heart has been devoured by her dies twice. Without the essential organ, the heart, they cannot achieve full resurrection, and the soul of the dead will wander forever and suffer.”
Jinseong stopped there and gazed intently at the forensic scientist.
His eyes seemed to ask if the scientist understood why he was sharing such a tale.
“Could it be that this corpse…?”
“Yes. That’s right. This corpse is related to Egypt’s ‘Weighing of the Heart.’ The definitive evidence is… Hmm. Could you shine your flashlight where I’m pointing?”
“…Sure.”
The forensic scientist shone the flashlight on the spot Jinseong was indicating.
The small torch produced a surprisingly strong light, illuminating the interior of the corpse.
From the internal organs to the ribs.
“Huh?”
The forensic scientist’s eyes widened as he examined what Jinseong was pointing to.
“What is this?”
What caught his eye was a pattern engraved on the rib.
At a size comparable to a pea… something was inscribed on the rib.
“A bird…? No, it’s a human face…?”
What was engraved on the rib was something that could be described as a pattern or symbol.
It seemed to be made by scratching the bone with something sharp. It had the body and legs of a bird, and where the bird’s head should be was a human head. It was not just similar in shape; the outlines of what looked like a person’s eyes and nose were distinctly drawn.
“This is a sacred script used in Egypt. ‘Ba.’ It’s one of the components of the soul I mentioned earlier and signifies individuality that distinguishes oneself from others.”
“Egypt… sacred script… Why is something like this here? There was nothing like this anywhere else…”
“Perhaps that’s the case.”
Jinseong nodded at the forensic scientist’s murmuring.
“The Egyptians believed that when ‘Ka,’ representing the life force, and the breath of life leaves the body, a person dies. ‘Ka’ is the element that differentiates the dead from the living.”
“Then there wouldn’t be a symbol for ‘Ka.’ Since this is a corpse, ‘Ka’ should have left and be absent…”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“And as you mentioned earlier, for immortality, the ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ must combine with the body, right? Then to reduce variables, ‘Ka’ can be absent, but ‘Ba’ must remain with the body.”
“That is also correct.”
“So, this crazy murderer engraved the symbol corresponding to ‘Ba’ here… Since the corpse has no life, instead, ‘Ba,’ which signifies personality, is…”
“Yes.”
“And the mouth? Ib? Either way, the heart corresponding with that must have been taken for the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ rite. Or perhaps, this corpse was made to wander eternally by removing its heart… Yes, then it all clicks into place.”
The forensic scientist was sharp.
Through Jinseong’s words, he understood why the murderer had engraved the symbol on the rib and why they had taken the heart.
“And to add, ‘Ka’ is the essential soul, while ‘Ba’ is the free and mutable soul, which might also be the reason for engraving ‘Ba.'”
“…Are you saying they imprisoned the free and mutable soul in the rib?”
“There must be a reason for choosing the rib. For example, perhaps from Abrahamic religions…”
“Haha. If your speculation is correct, this person is truly vile. Christianity is deeply related to ‘original sin,’ isn’t it?”
“Oh, you know well.”
“I learned about it in liberal arts class. Hmm… So, does it mean that even a free and mutable soul cannot escape sin? In that case, it feels more like an act near a curse to prevent the dead from finding peace even after death rather than mere imitation of Egyptian afterlife rituals… Then, could it be a revenge killing? This is getting more interesting. Ah, how amusing.”
The forensic scientist kept nodding and muttering.
Each time he muttered, a bright smile appeared on his face, as the exhilaration of solving a difficult puzzle began to rise within him.
With a distinctly brightened expression, unlike before, the forensic scientist smiled at Jinseong and said,
“Thank you, Shaman. I think I’ve grasped a clue.”
