Seven hours after the 2007 event, three personnel disappeared from the Institute of Solar & Celestial Physics: Agent S. Fakhoury, Dr. A. Kraken, and D-23545 (real name Tyrone ███████).
Personnel entered SCP-6671-2 with nothing but the small amount of rations they were given and a single camera. Due to time and resource constraints, Dr. Kraken and D-23545 were not given cameras or microphones prior to being transported.
It was later revealed that Agent Fakhoury's camera was not turned on at the beginning of the mission, due to dangerous conditions caused by the "shifts." As a result, the team spent an unknown amount of days navigating the anomaly unmonitored. The team spent this time walking towards a manifestation of SCP-6671 that appeared in the sky during each "shift." Given the unusual nature of this expedition, the informal dialogue herein is excused.
<Begin Log>
[Footage starts at ground level in a dark forest. Only the outline of the trees can be seen. A light source (SCP-6671) emanates from the upper right of the frame. No people are visible. The edges of the picture are faded, as if seen through a filter.]
S. Fakhoury: —and refracts the light back. That’s why the picture is reversed, you see, inside of the camera. The pinhole lets in the light, which is then reflected on the inner wall of the box. It is extremely similar to how the human eye works.
D-23545: I'm surprised you didn't drop it in that snowy place.
S. Fakhoury: No, but I nearly did as much a couple shifts ago. That place with all the garbage, where it was raining?
D-23545: Yeah, I remember. Did you see me biff it down that hill? There was this really sharp piece of metal sticking out of the trash and I was sliding towards it, but we shifted again before I hit it.
S. Fakhoury: We’ve had good luck, all considered. Let's hope I haven't jinxed it by finally turning on the camera.
D-23545: You really think following the star is gonna get us somewhere?
S. Fakhoury: It's the only constant in this place.
[Footsteps approach from behind the camera.]
D-23545: I’ve been in tests that took me to… other places. Places like this. Usually, people don't come back.
S. Fakhoury: And usually agents don't have casual chats with D-Class. Stranger things have happened, so look on the bright side. You could potentially go back to a normal life after all this.
D-23545: At least one of us is being positive.
[A pair of boots step into the right side of the frame.]
A. Kraken: It’s moving north. We should get going.
[The team navigates through the forest for approximately 15 minutes, moving north. Agent Fakhoury holds the camera facing forward: Dr. Kraken and D-23545 can be seen moving intermittently.]
[A “shift” occurs approximately 18 minutes into the footage. Details are difficult to discern due to limited visibility. There is a sudden effect of bright light that blows out the camera. The forest is no longer visible when the image refocuses; it has been replaced with the interior wall of a palace.]
S. Fakhoury: Oh—
D-23545: It’s—
A. Kraken: This is fun.
D-23545: Part of the wall…
S. Fakhoury: I should get the camera on this. You two continue, I’ll keep up.
[The view from the camera shifts as Agent Fakhoury places it on the ground. The same light source seen in the forest, SCP-6671, is visible at the top of the palace’s north wall. Dr. Kraken and D-23545 can be seen walking towards it.]
[Agent Fakhoury lifts the camera from behind. He focuses on SCP-6671. It appears as if it is fixed in front of, or fused to, the far wall of the palace. Agent Fakhoury holds the camera steady for a prolonged period. By the time he moves again, SCP-6671 has shrunk noticeably.]
[He picks up the camera and jogs to catch up to the others. There is an optical illusion as SCP-6671 appears to grow larger (i.e. closer) but the wall of the palace does not.]
[The team continues to move in the direction of SCP-6671. The anomaly maintains its size, suggesting that it is moving away from the team at a pace equivalent to their own. The far wall of the palace never gets closer.]
[After approximately three hours, the camera is whited out again by another “shift.” The team are now standing in Site-11's second floor presentation room. SCP-6671 is in the far corner, on the wall. Relative to the camera, the star is in the same location it was prior to the shift.]
A. Kraken: (looking around) Are we back?
D-23545: I dunno, has there always been a giant star in the corner?
A. Kraken: Oh — shut up. I was facing the other way.
S. Fakhoury: Didn't an agent go missing during last year's event?
A. Kraken: Tmesis, yeah.
S. Fakhoury: I wonder if this has something to do with him.
[The team continues walking in the direction of SCP-6671. As in the palace, the far wall of the presentation room never grows closer.]
<EXTRANEOUS DATA EXPUNGED>
A. Kraken: I wonder if I could get out into the hall by going the opposite direction.
D-23545: Why?
A. Kraken: There's taps out there. We might not be able to trust the water, but it's better than nothing.
D-23545: …There has to be something else we can do first.
A. Kraken: Like test it on a D-Class, maybe? Oh wait!
[Silence.]
S. Fakhoury: …Tyrone, it must be said… we’re far from the shore here. We’ll be lucky if we return… entirely ourselves. Or at all.
D-23545: I know. I know that. I’ve thought about that.
A. Kraken: We already ran out of food. Our only light is the star, so there’s no way to count the days. And all we’ve been doing this whole time is walking.
[Silence.]
A. Kraken: We’re just trying to be realistic.
[The following hour of footage features various attempts to exit the presentation room by walking away from the star. In all cases, the walls of the presentation room never appear to get closer to anyone approaching them.]
[After approximately 28 hours, there is another “shift.” The team is now standing at the top of a sand dune, in the middle of a desert. It is daytime. SCP-6671 has disappeared.]
A. Kraken: Oh, shitting Jesus.
D-23545: Really… is he now…?
S. Fakhoury: There’s a person up ahead.
[The team approaches a figure standing at the top of the next dune. The figure is not observed to move at any point during their 15-minute approach. As they get closer, the camera picks up the figure’s horned crown. It is SCP-6671-1.]
SCP-6671-1: I greet you. You are the Pharaohs? Welcome, the star basin awaits.
S. Fakhoury: Star basin?
SCP-6671-1: Don't worry, it is not far now. The trip back is far shorter. You will like it!
[SCP-6671-1 laughs.]
A. Kraken: Ominous.
D-23525: Maybe it’s less of an ominous laugh, and more like a comforting laugh, you know?
S. Fakhoury: Was that supposed to be a joke?
[The team begins following the entity. The sand dunes level out ahead. Unbeknownst to them, they are approaching the basin in the center of SCP-6671-2.]
SCP-6671-1: Welcome again, thank you for joining me. You are the Pharaohs now.
S. Fakhoury: We’re scientists, and operatives, and (he looks at D-23545) …and others. We aren’t Pharaohs.
SCP-6671-1: Only Pharaohs come to Renpet. There are no Pharaohs anymore. It is my duty to pick new ones for Renpet. You may not be true Pharaohs, but you are close enough.
A. Kraken: Is that where we are?
SCP-6671-1: Renpet is a celebration! We will banish the old world, and call in the new one. We will say goodbye to the Pyramids, and hello to the Foundations.
S. Fakhoury: Your "celebration" has gotten people killed.
SCP-6671-1: It isn't mine. It's yours. Would you prefer to call it a ritual?
A. Kraken: An Ancient Egyptian pharaoh ritual. (to D-23545) You go first.
D-23545: Oh, boo, hiss.
[Abruptly, the sand drops away in front of them. Beneath it is the edge of a manmade water basin. SCP-6671-1 turns sharply and begins walking along the edge of the basin. A sloped path leading into it is visible ahead.]
SCP-6671-1: I am sorry you had to spend so long in the separation. But the real Pharaohs did not make me walk so far.
S. Fakhoury: Because they were in Abu Simbel?
SCP-6671-1: (nodding) They built temples for me.
S. Fakhoury: Those were for Ramses.
SCP-6671-1: Yes. He came with me to the basin once, as all the great Pharaohs do. But you come from a faraway place. “Site-11.” Is this how cities are named now?
A. Kraken: Might as well be.
SCP-6671-1: I was afraid you would not make it through the separation. No one has for a long time. The Pharaohs came here every year. They would help me celebrate the new year, and I would bless them in turn. But after they left there was no one who understood the tradition.
S. Fakhoury: You mean there was no one who could survive it. They would die along the way, or fail to follow the star.
SCP-6671-1: It is so. The pieces of them circle around this basin. Memories lost in the separation. I tried every year, but it made me sad to see them fail. So I stopped trying. It has been a long time since Renpet was last held.
A. Kraken: Until last year.
SCP-6671-1: Last year, yes! I would not have bothered coming this year, but for one of those would-be Pharaohs. He died just outside the basin. He got farther than I had seen in centuries. It was sad, but the kind of sad that carries hope within it. So I came back. And you are here! I made the right choice.
S. Fakhoury: Yes, well, a lot has changed since then. There are people dedicated to studying the star now.
A. Kraken: Us.
SCP-6671-1: A new Kingdom, yes. You will show the rest of your Kingdom how it works when you return, yes? And they will come to see me next year?
S. Fakhoury: The purpose of our… "kingdom" is to look after beings like you. We have very strict protocol we follow… but it's no doubt that you'll be seeing more of us.
SCP-6671-1: I hear my brother has found a new Kingdom of his own. We were both dogs, once, companions of men, but he took after it more than I. He wanted me to leave with him, but I could not bear to abandon the basin.
A. Kraken: And now?
SCP-6671-1: Now I must be three places at once. My Lord's Eye, the basin, my own body… I am the only one left who knows how to be all of them. So it is! Someone has to invite the new year.
S. Fakhoury: Hang on, you're saying you are the star. You are the basin.
SCP-6671-1: You understand. I am glad.
S. Fakhoury: I’m not certain I do.
SCP-6671-1: In truth, nor am I. Your Kingdom has many rules. Many rules can be dangerous. Rules take time to understand.
A. Kraken: Rules take experience to understand.
SCP-6671-1: Which is why it is good that we’re here.
[The team follows SCP-6671-1 into the center of the basin. It is dusk. They enter a stone circle thirty (30) meters in diameter comprised of twenty-eight (28) large stones, with six stones arranged in the center.]
[SCP-6671-1 paces the perimeter of the stone circle seven (7) times. It indicates with one hand each of the team members, and then gestures to a spot where each of them should stand.]
[After some hesitation, all three team members do as instructed. Before moving to his position, Agent Fakhoury places the camera outside the circle, facing the center.]
SCP-6671-1: Now, in the traditional ways of the Cat and the Cattle, we shall celebrate the dawn of a new year.
[All three team members visibly tense. There is a moment of silence.]
[SCP-6671-1 begins dancing.]
S. Fakhoury: Oh—
A. Kraken: What?
SCP-6671-1: Dance with me, Pharaohs.
A. Kraken: What?
D-23545: Okay, come on. This is a joke, right?
[SCP-6671-1 continues dancing.]
A. Kraken: We’ve been walking for what must have been weeks. We can’t just…
D-23545: There's no way we went through all that just to…
[SCP-6671-1 continues dancing.]
D-23545: Right? Guys? Right?
[S. Fakhoury slowly turns to look at the other two. There is a pause. He shrugs.]
[The expedition team has been dancing for approximately 2:33 minutes.]
A. Kraken: I’m not tired.
D-23545: Yeah—not even out of breath.
S. Fakhoury: Can you hear the music yet?
D-23545: What? No.
A. Kraken: It just started. The drums, there’s so many…
[Microphone does not pick up any music at any time during the dance.]
<3:47 ELAPSED>
[All three expedition members begin dancing in unison with SCP-6671-1, using the same choreography. No comment is made on this change.]
<6:21 ELAPSED>
A. Kraken: Saeed, I don’t think I can stop.
S. Fakhoury: Nor me. At least we aren’t in pain.
<7:55 ELAPSED>
A. Kraken: I can’t — how are we moving like this? I’ve never moved like this before.
<12:41 ELAPSED>
S. Fakhoury: Out of breath yet?
A. Kraken: Not at all. You?
S. Fakhoury: (laughing) I could sing along.
<15:50 ELAPSED>
A Kraken: You okay? Tyrone? (pause) Tyrone?
D-23545: Huh? Sorry. I’m sorry. The music kicked in. I was just listening. Oh my God, are we still dancing?
A. Kraken: You didn’t notice?
D-23545: I was just… listening.
<21:21 ELAPSED>
A. Kraken: I think I could do this forever. I think I want to do this forever.
S. Fakhoury: Kraken?
D-23545: It’s hard to describe, I know.
A. Kraken: It’s good. It feels good. I’m so full of energy. Everything is so close. I can feel it in every part of me.
D-23545: Yeah.
A. Kraken: We’re made out of light. We’re made out of stars. You forget that, the older you get, the more years go by. But she resets the clock. She brings all the star-and-light to the surface.
D-23545: Yes, exactly.
S. Fakhoury: (to SCP-6671-1) Thank you.
[No further dialogue is recorded for the duration of the dance. Dance concludes after seven hours and fifty-five (55) seconds have elapsed. Team displays no signs of exertion during this time.]
[At the conclusion of the dance, SCP-6671-1 raises its arms and holds them up as a white light rises in the sky behind it. As it lowers its arms, all three team members collapse. It begins to approach the camera. Shortly after, the frame is whited out again by a bright light.]
<END LOG>
