- "If the Scales balance by the time you end the journey, then a soul is permitted to pass into the Field of Reeds."
"What if they don't balance?"
"You get thrown overboard. The dead will drag you down into the Duat, where you will remain forever, frozen in sand." - ―Taweret and Marc Spector[src]
The Escape from the Duat was an attempt by Marc Spector and Steven Grant to leave the Duat and return to the realm of living, after they were killed by Arthur Harrow.
Background[]
- "You shot me."
- ―Marc Spector to Arthur Harrow[src]
Using the catronnage from Senfu's sarcophagus, Steven Grant and Khonshu turned the night sky to triangulate the location of the tomb where Ammit was buried. Although they succeeded, the Ennead Council trapped Khonshu inside an ushabti as a punishment for disobeying them yet again, stripping Grant of his powers. Grant and Layla El-Faouly arrived at the dig site and followed the Disciples of Ammit into the tomb, where they faced the Heka Priests. While El-Faouly fought them off, Grant found the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, who was Ammit's previous Avatar, and collected her ushabti from his throat.
Marc Spector is killed by Arthur Harrow
El-Faouly then confronted Spector, as Arthur Harrow told her that Spector was responsible for the death of her father, Abdallah El-Faouly. Spector admitted that her father was killed by Raul Bushman, who also tried to kill him, and he had tried to tell her but could not. During their argument, they were confronted by Harrow and his disciples, who demanded Spector hand over the ushabti, but Spector refused and attacked the disciples. Harrow unfazedly killed Spector by shooting him in the chest twice, and suddenly woke up Spector in the Putnam Psychiatric Hospital as a patient, with other familiar faces as either patients or staff.[3]
Escape[]
Marc Spector meets Steven Grant
- "Leave here, and you can't return. Anyway, you don't need him anymore, Marc."
"So I get to go on to eternal peace, and he just... stays lost in the sand forever? No, I'm not good with that." - ―Taweret and Marc Spector[src]
Marc Spector was taken to Arthur Harrow's office for a talk about his condition, as Harrow pointed out the Tomb Buster movie and tried to convince Spector that he had deluded himself into imagining a life as a vigilante to shield himself from unpleasant memories. However, Spector suddenly remembered what had occurred at the Tomb of Alexander the Great, when the original Harrow shot him dead, although Harrow was only confused. Spector attempted to escape from the hospital and found the sarcophagus where he met Steven Grant, face to face.[3]
Marc Spector is sedated by Bobbi Kennedy
Spector and Grant attempted to run away, but they stumbled across Taweret, which startled them and Spector found himself back at Harrow's office. Harrow once again tried to talk to Spector but he had a violent episode, attempting to hurt Harrow and himself, so Bobbi Kennedy and Billy Fitzgerald had to restrain and sedate Spector. Spector then returned to Grant and Taweret and found out that Harrow had actually killed him in the tomb, and because of this, he was now in the Duat. As Putnam Psychiatric Hospital was merely a visualization, Taweret explained that if they could not make the Scales of Justice balance, their souls would be trapped in the Duat forever.
As their Scales were not yet balanced, Spector and Grant had to explore their memories to find the truth and make their hearts full. As Spector was confronted by the fact that he had killed a lot of people under Khonshu's influence, Grant noticed that it helped balance their Scales a bit. However, Grant then found out more about Spector's life, such as him having a brother, Randall Spector, who died at a young age. Wendy Spector would mourn her younger son and blamed Marc for what happened, which resulted in her becoming abusive towards Marc, although Grant remembered her differently.
Grant was shocked and distraught by the realization that he was nothing but a figment of Spector's psyche, that he created to shield himself from traumatic experience. The breakdown resulted in him appearing in Harrow's office, where he continued to dismiss everything, until Harrow made him admit that his mother was dead. In the different memory, Grant saw Spector refusing to go Wendy's shiva and him switching to Grant, before moving to London. Grant told Spector that nothing that Wendy had accused him of was his fault, regardless of how it made Spector feel.
Steven Grant being frozen in the sands of the Duat
Spector and Grant then had to return to Taweret's boat, as she informed them that the Scales still had not balanced, and the souls of the Duat climbed on the boat to claim them. While Grant took control of the boat, Spector fought off the souls of people he killed on Khonshu's behalf, but they managed to outnumber and corner him. Grant rushed in to save Spector and defeat the souls, but while saving Spector, he fell overboard and was frozen in the sands of the Duat. Grant's sacrifice managed to balance the Scales, allowing Spector to walk into the Field of Reeds.[4]
However, Spector refused to abandon Grant and turned his back on the Field, walking through the sands to find him. Spector managed to reach the frozen Grant and apologized for failing to protect him, Spector put their complete heart into Grant's hand. At that moment, the Gates of Osiris opened near them and the light liberated both Spector and Grant, allowing them to return to the realm of the living. They had to rush because of the sandstorm appearing near them, but as Taweret used her boat to slow down the storm, Spector and Grant walked through the gates and successfully left the Duat.[5]
Aftermath[]
Marc Spector meets Arthur Harrow again
- "Why am I bleeding?"
"Yeah, I don't think you know as much as you think you do." - ―Arthur Harrow and Marc Spector[src]
Once Marc Spector and Steven Grant walked through the Gates of Osiris and returned to their body, Khonshu sensed their presence and returned to the Tomb of Alexander the Great to bestow the power of Moon Knight back to them. As both Spector and Grant redefined the conditions of their deal, they rushed to Cairo to stop Arthur Harrow and Ammit from achieving their goals. Eventually, as Harrow was finally defeated and Ammit was trapped inside their body, Khonshu demanded Spector to kill Harrow and put an end to both of them, but Spector refused and demanded Khonshu to let him go.
Spector and Grant briefly found themselves back in the Duat, talking to Arthur Harrow in his office at Putnam Psychiatric Hospital. Harrow once again tried to convince Spector that everything he saw was merely a delusion, but Spector noticed the blood on Harrow's footprints, which made him certain that what he knows was real. Spector and Grant chose to reject Harrow's version and snapped back to reality, waking up in Grant's apartment in London.[5]