Upon the squeak of the cell door opening, the peculiar prisoner inside looked up. He was just sitting on his bed, not touching the books the police offered him, neither his food. Frustration pinched his brow, likely because of the language barrier, but he lit up when he recognised Yeosang's blond head next to the officer.

"Hello," Yeosang greeted him, keeping a nervous distance between them. He startled when the man jumped to his feet, taller than Yeosang, and definitely much broader. He looked ready to come his way, but Mingi held out his hand, a universal warning to stay back.

Yeosang stared at the built muscle of the stranger's bare chest, the indents of his abdomen through his skin. He snapped his eyes back up when the prisoner wisely paused and beamed a happy grin at Yeosang instead.

He looked nice, smiling like that. His grin showed off his gums, his healthy teeth. All in all, he looked well put-together and polite, youthful with the round of his features and the bright smile.

Just how did he end up inside a glass display?

"You. I would like to apologise," the man addressed Yeosang and Yeosang nodded at Mingi, signalling it was fine to have a conversation. The officer guarded him quietly, leaving them to talk so Yeosang could catch him up later.

"Did you finally came to your senses?" Yeosang made sure, and the prisoner nodded, glad to have someone to talk to. He looked friendlier now, perhaps less maniac than in the museum, so Yeosang had some hope.

Only to have it shattered as soon as the man opened his mouth again.

"I mistook you as a servant, but you must have a high-ranking position to call the guards upon my intrusion into your palace. You are a concubine, aren't you? Tell me, who rules these marvellous lands? I would like to talk to your current king." He smiled, full of confidence that this was the correct approach.

Yeosang slapped his hand to his forehead. His cheeks burnt with shame.

"A concu- I'm going home."

This guy was beyond help. Perhaps it was no longer a prank now that he was jailed up, but that meant he had just gone mad and needed professional help. And it wasn't just the lack of words in Demotic. What was he talking about, kings and palaces?

But before Yeosang could turn on his heel to tell Mingi this was a waste of time, the man hastily kept talking.

"I have been thrown into a cell... Jailed up like some criminal. This is your fault! You called your guards, so who are you? My foe in this absurd world?" He gestured towards the cell, as if all of this was highly unrealistic to him.

Could a case of brain injury be that bad? Could he forget how toilets worked and what food he had eaten for all his life?

Yeosang was no doctor. He was just a historian.

"Why would we be friends or foes? Who do you claim to be?" He crossed his arms, reversing the questions if that meant he could fish for some information.

Pleased, the prisoner tilted his head back to stand in all his glory.

"I am a god."

Yeosang rubbed his forehead.

"Yeah, me too. Gotta keep the confidence going. So, were you high? Drunk? Both? These guards here would like to help you find the right healer once we know what's wrong with you."

He supposed that had happened before. People waking up thinking they were someone wholly different. They believed in those delusions. Arguing wouldn't get Yeosang anywhere.

But the stranger scowled at his dismissive reaction.

"You make a grave mistake disrespecting me, slave. I may not appear as such in the flesh, but my soul is divine!"

Mingi threw Yeosang a concerned look as their conversation got more heated, but Yeosang didn't feel threatened. It was almost ridiculous. A man claiming to be a god locked himself in their cabinet. What a day.

"Yes, I'm sure every wannabe-pharaoh thinks that way," he replied dryly.

"I speak the truth and you should tremble with fear! But you must be influential in this strange world to lock me up so easily, so tell me, which gods do you honour? Are you a priest? Or are you divine yourself?"

He really sounded as if he hadn't lived a day in their world. But then, what was his deal? An injury, for sure. Yeosang didn't believe in the supernatural. In time-travel or reincarnated gods or the dead come to life. That was the substance of fairytales, not of their depressing capitalist reality.

"No, the world relies on things of logic... We have no more gods walking among us, if that was ever the case. I am a scholar." Though maybe he should also put 'whisperer of strange men' on his resume.

The strange man in question lit up.

"Then you must revere Thoth!"

Thoth, the egyptian god of wisdom, writing and knowledge. Based on the stories, one of the more agreeable personalities in their pantheon. Yeosang always liked him, not that he ever regarded him as anything more than a religious character of ancient times.

"You know a great deal about Egypt for knowing nothing else," Yeosang pointed out, and that was perhaps the strangest part. This man's mind wasn't fully wiped. He spoke a specific language, had specific interests. He sure played his role well.

With a sigh, Yeosang beckoned him to go on.

"Okay, humour me. What god are you?"

Finally, the man's frustrated scowl dropped, and he bristled as he stood to his full height again. As if the sun was shining only on him and gave him enough confidence to last a lifetime.

Yeosang and Mingi exchanged a look. Oh, how Yeosang looked forward to telling this story to the police. At some point, he would sound crazier than their lunatic.

"I am Anubis, God of the Dead. Of the most sinister of underworlds. God of suffering and the deceased and lost memories. "

Yeosang couldn't deny the goosebumps that erupted across his arms. If the supernatural were real, that would be a pretty badass revelation. A god reborn onto their human plane to walk among them. And not just any god, but one from a specific mythology, overthrowing everything science ever believed and confirming the truth behind Ancient Egyptian religion.

But as it was, with that madman, Yeosang could only lift his brow, not very impressed.

"Isn't Anubis the God of Embalmment?" Their prisoner knew his gods? He could try Yeosang and his double masters.

Pleased that he offered knowledge on the same topic yet once more, the 'god' sat on the corner of his bed.

"Hah! In later times, surely. Many things happened among my siblings. But my power is still the same. I have kingdoms to rule. Followers to bless for waiting for me. The end is nigh. My awakening means that the universe trembles in its foundations. Soon, eternal night will fall and then my reign begins. I have been dreaming and now I woke."

Befuddled, Yeosang tried to keep up. So, this wannabe Anubis claimed he woke up in the sarcophagus, not that he snuck into the museum? It made sense only in so far that the alarms didn't pick up on any intruder, neither did Yeosang see someone coming in.

But the rest was nonsense, classic fairytales to scare children.

"The world is ending?" He repeated, partly entertained and partly just pitying that poor guy. What of his family, his job? He might work at a bank and here he was, sprouting nonsense after hitting his head somewhere.

His nod was convinced of himself.

"Yes. Locusts will devour crops and humans alike. Will gnaw flesh from bone. The night will darken out the sun as Apep devours Ra. Famine and disease will spread, and I have many mortals to guide through into the afterlife," he explained and Yeosang really wondered how he would try to do that if he were to be set free.

He sighed. How would he explain this?

"You speak like a madman. We have our own battles. No more prophecies but wars with developed weapons. Science disproves the presence of gods. This isn't whatever world you think you are in, no play or game. You need medical help." Yeosang did his best to guide him gently, but their Anubis cosplayer insisted.

"The gods may have been forgotten by humans, but the universe never forgot. That's why I woke. Mark my words, pretty scholar of Thoth."

Lost, Yeosang just shook his head. He didn't know how to help this man regain his memories. He seemed genuinely out of it, the passion in his eyes too bright to just be pranking them.

If he genuinely believed what he said, no wonder he showed up in a museum, but that was all there was to it. He couldn't possibly be an actual god who awoke in their world.

"I'll go now. Thank you for explaining." Yeosang nodded at him politely, and 'Anubis' rewarded him with a gracious smile.

"You revere another and that is fine. I am not so possessive to steal the followers of others in the pantheon. But I am the one who guides you over into the next life. You may want to consider a sacrifice in my honour to ask for my forgiveness. And I should speak to Thoth if he is around... His teachings are all wrong."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Yeosang just said, leaving him to babble about his insanity. He turned and Mingi led them back outside while Anubis stretched out on his bed, satisfied with the talk. As if Yeosang would return with pillows and a palace for him now.

Outside, Yeosang rubbed his eyes, exhausted from this strange ordeal, even if it still tickled laughter in his chest.

"So, what was that all about?" Mingi asked, awed by the exchange wholly in a dead language.

"He claimed he is a god, reborn in this world since the apocalypse is drawing near and demands his attention. I didn't get anything out of him about work, a home or family. The only person he mentioned was another god. Might be a family member. He seems to believe in his story, though, so a clinic will be best for him."

Confused, Mingi took a few notes. He also seemed to have so many questions, but Yeosang just shrugged. None of this would make logical sense to them.

"Okay, I see. Then we will dig around some more. Maybe he comes from Egypt and that's why he is so obsessed with it? I will see if we can contact the police there and send him over. Thank you for your time today. And your sanity." Mingi held out his hand to shake and Yeosang squeezed back, hoping they found someone to help the stranger even if this conversation amounted to nothing.

"Sorry that I couldn't be of much help."

"Oh, that's not your fault. The poor guy is confused. We will contact some doctors to take care of him and make sure he is safe," Mingi promised as he guided Yeosang back through the corridors of the station. Definitely, the story of this prisoner would be one of the history books for the team. Yeosang also couldn't wait to explain it to Seonghwa and Yongguk. Perhaps they knew more about those cases of head injury that caused memory loss.

"Good... I hope he can heal," Yeosang sighed. He did wish the best for that stranger. He had given Yeosang and his broom a mighty scare, but he didn't actually attack anyone. Even when he claimed to be a god locked up by mortals (as if he couldn't just leave if that was the truth), he hadn't lashed out. Despite feeling alien to his surroundings.

Mingi held the door for Yeosang while he slipped into his coat.

"I'll be in touch about everything else. If we have any more documents you need to fill in, I'll call you," he promised and Yeosang smiled back at him, glad Mingi took this whole case with as much humour as possible.

"I'll be ready. Thank you for your help."

Mingi saw him off as Yeosang slipped outside into the fresh autumn air. He breathed in the scent of wet leaves on the pavement, relished the mist and the remainders of the last rain clinging to the plants and the pavement.

He would stop by his favourite coffee shop on his way home since he deserved a treat for all this nonsense. Then he would read some more about Anubis.