The ancient tomb trembled beneath their feet as Alastor, Selene, and Aurora reached the final chamber. A massive stone door, sealed with obsidian and gold, loomed before them. Glyphs etched into its surface pulsed with eerie green light—a gateway to the heart of the Pyramid’s power, where the founders had anchored their immortality to the loop.

Alastor felt the scarab under his sleeve pulse harder, its energy thrumming through his veins. They were close. Just beyond this door lay the secret that could sever the loop and end the curse. But something didn’t feel right—the air in the chamber was heavy, crackling with tension, as though the tomb itself was watching, waiting for the inevitable betrayal.

Aurora ran her fingers across the glowing symbols, her neural interface flickering as it decoded the glyphs. "This is it," she whispered. "If we break the seal, we’ll cut off the founders’ immortality—the source of the loop. Everything Lucius built will start to unravel."

"Then let’s finish this," Selene muttered, her blade still drawn as she glanced around the dark chamber. She didn’t trust the silence. Neither did Alastor.

But before Aurora could unlock the door, one of the priests stepped forward.

The sound of brittle bones cracking echoed through the chamber as the priest dragged his withered body across the stone floor. He moved slowly, cautiously—but not with the mindless rage that filled the others. There was something deliberate in his actions, something calculating, as though he had waited lifetimes for this very moment.

Alastor tensed, his hand hovering near the scarab. "Stay back," he warned.

The priest stopped a few feet away, his ragged linen strips trailing behind him like tattered flags. His hollow eyes flickered with a strange light—not just hatred, but desperation.

"You’ve come to sever the loop," the priest rasped, his voice a harsh whisper that scraped like stone on stone. "You think you are the first to try, but you are wrong. **Many have stood where you stand now—**and all have failed."

Selene raised her blade, her eyes narrowing. "If you’ve come to stop us, this will end badly for you."

The priest gave a dry, rasping chuckle that sounded more like a death rattle. "No, assassin. I have not come to stop you." Slowly, painfully, the priest dropped to his knees before Alastor, his ancient bones creaking with the effort. "I have come to bargain."

Alastor’s heart skipped a beat. Bargain? None of the cursed priests they had encountered so far had shown any interest in negotiation—they were guardians of the loop, bound to defend it for eternity.

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"You’re one of the founders," Alastor said carefully, his gaze locked on the kneeling priest. "Why would you help us?"

The priest’s hollow eyes burned with ancient fury, but behind that fury was something even darker—regret. "Because I am tired," the priest whispered. "Tired of living, tired of dying, tired of this endless prison we built with our own hands." His bony fingers dug into the dust-covered floor as he leaned closer. "We thought we had conquered death, but instead we became its prisoners. I have been trapped in this loop for centuries, cursed to wander between life and death, waiting for someone—anyone—who could break the cycle."

Alastor stared at the priest, his mind racing. This was a betrayal—not just of the Pyramid, but of the founders themselves. This priest wasn’t here to guard the loop anymore. He wanted to be free.

"If you’ve been waiting for freedom," Selene said suspiciously, "why not destroy the loop yourself?"

The priest’s sunken eyes narrowed. "Because I cannot. We are bound to the curse, trapped by the magic we created. Only someone who has walked the path of the loop and lived through its trials can sever the connection." His gaze locked onto Alastor, sharp and intense. "That someone is you."

Alastor felt a cold knot tighten in his chest. This priest had waited lifetimes for someone like him—someone shaped by the loop, but not yet consumed by it.

"You want me to end the curse," Alastor said slowly, "and you think I can."

The priest gave a slow, deliberate nod. "Yes. But I need your help. Free me from this curse, and I will serve you. I will show you the secrets buried deeper than even the Pyramid’s founders knew."

Selene’s blade twitched, her instincts flaring. "You expect us to trust you?" she growled. "After centuries of guarding the loop, now you’re just going to switch sides?"

The priest smiled faintly—a bitter, broken thing. "The gods we served abandoned us long ago. I have no loyalty to the Pyramid anymore. All I want is freedom. And if you end this loop, you can have the power to shape time, life, and death however you choose."

Aurora stepped closer, her expression wary. "If you’re lying, you’ll die here."

The priest gave another dry chuckle. "Death is no punishment for me, little hacker. It would be a mercy."

Alastor’s mind churned. He knew they couldn’t trust the priest. But at the same time, he needed what the priest knew. If this cursed soul had guarded the Pyramid’s secrets for centuries, then he might hold the key to severing the loop once and for all.

"You said you’d serve me," Alastor murmured, his eyes narrowing. "What exactly do you want in return?"

The priest knelt lower, his withered hands pressed flat against the floor in a gesture of desperate submission. "All I ask is that you end it. End the loop. Set me free from this curse, and I will give you everything I know."

The room fell silent, the air heavy with tension. Selene shot Alastor a warning look, but he ignored it. This priest was dangerous, yes—but he was also a weapon. One that could help them bring down the Pyramid for good.

Alastor took a slow, deliberate step forward, looking down at the broken figure before him. This was the moment the priest had waited centuries for—freedom at any cost.

"Free me from this curse," the priest whispered, his hollow eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. "And I will serve you."