The three of them scrambled into the towering pyramid, with hordes of scorpions right on their heels. The entryway was dimly lit by flickering torches, casting an eerie glow across the stone walls lined with intricate hieroglyphics.

As they rushed inside, a loud rumbling sounded behind them. They spun around to see a large stone doorway sliding closed, sealing them inside the ancient structure and crushing several scorpions unlucky enough to be just entering the pyramid.

"Well, no going back now," Calvin said, trying to make light of their predicament.

Amy shot him a look. "Let's just hope there's another way out."

They ventured cautiously down the long passageway. Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they passed between rows of statues depicting jackal-headed gods and goddesses. The air felt heavy with ancient secrets and foreboding.

Eventually the passage opened up into a massive central chamber. Calvin and Amy gasped in awe at the sight before them. The room was dominated by four towering obelisks carved with hieroglyphs and images of pharaohs. Between them stood a row of sarcophagi, their stone lids carved into the likenesses of their royal inhabitants.

"It's an ancient burial chamber," Amy whispered. Despite not sensing any immediate threats, they couldn't shake the uneasy feeling creeping over them. This was a crypt that was not meant to be disturbed.

Freya let out a low growl as she sniffed around the room. They exchanged nervous glances, hands drifting toward their weapons.

"Let's keep moving," Calvin said. "Hopefully there's a way out on the other side."

They skirted along the walls, giving the sarcophagi a wide berth. Calvin studied the hieroglyphs as they walked, brushing his fingers over the intricate carvings.

"Can you read any of this?" Amy asked.

"Some of it, though I'm not sure how. You can't?"

Amy shook her head.

"This section tells the story of Osiris and his sister-wife Isis. According to the myth, after Osiris was murdered by his brother Set, Isis put his body back together and brought him back to life with her magic. Their son Horus then defeated Set to become pharaoh."

Amy traced her hand over a carved image of Isis. "Bringing her husband back from the dead... sounds like they could wield some serious power."

"Yes, many of the old gods and pharaohs were believed to hold dominion over life and death," Calvin mused.

They continued exploring the chamber, marveling at the monumental craftsmanship. Calvin wondered what revelations from humanity's distant past might still lie buried within these walls, hidden for millennia.

As they approached the far end of the room, Freya let out another warning growl. The air seemed to grow heavier, and the flickering torchlight took on an ominous shade.

Calvin and Amy drew their weapons, squinting into the shadows along the back wall. From behind the towering obelisks shuffled four figures, their desiccated limbs wrapped in tattered mumification bindings. Their corpse-like faces were twisted into hungry snarls as they lurched toward the trio.

"What the hell are those things?" Amy grimaced.

"I'm guessing the former inhabitants of this chamber," Calvin said. "And it doesn't look like they want to share."

The undead creatures stalked closer, letting out rattling, inhuman shrieks. Ribs and limbs poked through their tattered wrappings. Calvin slashed a wind blade at the approaching monsters. The creatures barely flinched.

"We need to move, now!"

They took off running along the wall, vaulting over a heavy stone sarcophagus. The undead were slow but relentless in their pursuit. Calvin and Amy released wind blades and daggers behind them, but the creatures seemed unfazed.

"Any ideas how to kill something that's already dead?" Amy panted.

Calvin racked his brain, desperately trying to recall anything useful from myths or games. "Usually you have to destroy their brains or cut them to pieces. Or remove whatever magic is animating them."

"Wonderful," Amy grumbled. She flung one of her blades in an arcing shot, slicing through the neck of one creature. Its head toppled to the floor, but the body continued shambling after them.

"Okay, that's just unnecessary," Calvin said.

The headless creature swiped at Freya. She snarled and ripped away a chunk of its leg in her jaws. They continued running, blasting away at the undead and hacking off limbs when they got too close. But nothing seemed to stop their relentless pursuit.

"This isn't working, we'll tire ourselves out at this rate," Amy panted, retrieving another severed hand still clawing after her boot. "We need a new strategy."

Calvin scanned the room, looking for anything they could use. His eyes landed on the stone sarcophagi.

"The lid... help me push one over onto them!"

They sprinted toward the massive carved lid. Bracing their shoulders against the stone, they pushed with all their strength. The heavy lid scraped slowly, inch by inch, until finally teetering over the edge. It crashed down in an explosion of stone and dust, crushing two undead beneath it. The others stumbled back from the impact.

Calvin and Amy slumped against the sarcophagus, catching their breath. The creatures were temporarily stalled, clawing futilely at the stone pinning them down. But they didn't have long before they'd be free again.

"There must be something keeping them animated," Calvin panted. "Some kind of magic or artifact." He studied the chamber again. If he was an ancient Egyptian storing his soul in an object for eternal life, where would he put it?

His gaze traveled over the walls of hieroglyphs, the four towering obelisks, the perfectly preserved sarcophagi... and landed on the massive stone statue at the back of the chamber. It was an image of Anubis, judging the soul on its journey to the afterlife. Clutched in his hands was a golden scarab, its wings spread wide.

"The scarab... that's got to be it." Calvin vaulted over the sarcophagus lid toward the statue. The two free creatures shuffled into his path, rotted jaws dripping. He stabbed one through the eye socket, knocking it aside just long enough for him to lunge past. Springing onto the statue's base, he reached up and ripped the golden scarab from its carved hands.

Immediately, the undead creatures collapsed into lifeless piles of dust and bones. Amy let out a relieved sigh, sagging back against the lid.

Calvin studied the scarab amulet in his hand - the puppeteer of the corpses they just destroyed. On the back was etched an inscription in hieroglyphs.

"What does it say?" Amy asked, peering over his shoulder.

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"It's a clue," he realized. "It says 'The path ahead lies through the halls of judgment, the feathered guardian shall guide the way.'"

They exchanged an uneasy look.

"Feathered guardian?" Amy asked, looking around. At first, they'd seen nothing out of the ordinary.

Caw!

A large raven sat perched up high in the chamber. It peered down at the trio while Freya barked madly at the bird. It leaped off of its perch and flew down toward the group, landing on the hand of Anubis, before Cawing again and flying off down a passageway in the rear.

Calvin felt incredibly uneasy about this. The raven, was a prominent symbol in mythology. From the insight he gained from Bastet, and the curious knowledge he now had in his brain about Egyptian mythology, the Raven represented protection and guidance. Thinking back to the clue on the scarab, this made sense.

He knew a little bit about Norse mythology, mostly from video games and pop culture. They were the sacred birds of Odin. While they offered knowledge and protection, they also were said to guide fallen warriors to the afterlife.

Calvin most certainly wasn't ready for a personal tour into the afterlife.

As hesitant as he felt about this, it was currently the only clue they had to go on. It was clear this dungeon was about far more than fighting ability.

They cautiously followed the raven deeper into the pyramid. The bird would caw loudly to get their attention whenever it disappeared down a branching hallway or around a corner. They passed through chamber after chamber, many filled with even more stunning examples of ancient Egyptian art and artifacts.

"This place is enormous," Amy said as they jogged to keep up with the raven. "It must go on for miles."

"Makes you wonder what else is buried down here," Calvin replied. He paused briefly to study an intricate wall carving depicting Egyptian farmers harvesting grain along a vast delta. Curiously, there were beings depicted in this carving that didn't belong. They were massive six-legged creatures that towered over the workers.

They arrived at a large rotunda with several exits. The raven perched atop a statue of Horus and cawed loudly. When they entered the room, heavy stone doors slid closed over each passageway surrounding them.

"I guess we need to figure out the right path forward," Calvin said.

The room contained a circle of pillars, each engraved with a different Egyptian god or goddess. Calvin inspected each one closely while Amy and Freya investigated the sealed doorways.

"Any luck?" Amy called.

"I think it's one of those sequence puzzles, like with Bastet," Calvin replied. "We need to activate the correct pillars in order."

The images showed Osiris, Isis, Set, Horus, Anubis, Bastet, Ra, and Thoth. Calvin considered the relationships between the gods, trying to determine a logical order.

"Let's try the order of Ra's stages of creation," he suggested. "Water, air, earth, plants, animals, humans, gods."

He touched the pillars in sequence. At first nothing happened. Then the Horus statue's eyes began to glow. The door behind it slowly grated open. The raven cawed and fluttered through the doorway.

They continued following the bird through rooms filled with statues, reliefs, and stacks of clay jars sealed for millennia. Occasionally it would disappear then reappear further ahead, forcing them to explore side passages blocked by puzzles or traps.

One chamber held a detailed star map on its ceiling. Interestingly, Calvin didn't recognize any of the constellations depicted there. They were completely foreign to him.

In another room, touching the wrong relief unleashed poison darts from the walls. After some trial and error they discovered the correct sequence of gods narrating the death and rebirth of Osiris.

The raven led them through a hallway filled with sculptures of strange mythical creatures, some recognizable, like Medusa, others he had no recollection of from any stories he'd heard. Halfway down the passage, it cawed then vanished. Stone doors immediately sealed both ends of the corridor.

Amy inspected the statues and discovered one with a loose base. She carefully shifted it aside, revealing a hidden lever. When she pulled it, a section of wall slid away.

The newly opened passage brought them to a small chamber with a deep pit in the center. As they entered, the stone doors closed and sealed behind them yet again. Across the pit stood another door with a barred window. Through the opening they could see the raven perched on a statue, watching them expectantly.

Four heavy stone blocks sat around the pit. "Another sequence puzzle," Calvin guessed. "We have to get the blocks across."

With considerable effort, they pushed one massive block onto a section that slowly descended into the pit like a platform. Working together, Amy and Calvin managed to shift a second block onto the platform as it ascended. They rode with them across and placed the first block into an empty slot on the far wall. When they sent the platform back across for the third piece, spears shot out from the walls by the pit.

"Booby trap if the blocks aren't in the right order," Calvin said. "We'll have to be careful."

After several failed attempts, some nearly impaling them on spears, they discovered the correct sequence and completed the bridge. The door ground open and the raven fluttered through the next corridor.

They continued following the strange bird through the depths of the pyramid, traversing challenging obstacles and admiring the marvels held within.

After passing through a hallway of jackal statues, they entered a chamber with a large stone coffin on a raised dais. The raven perched atop the engraved lid and peered down at them silently. As they approached, the lid began to shift...

They tensed as the heavy stone lid slowly slid aside. Within the sarcophagus lay the perfectly preserved body of an ancient being, swathed in intricate linens and gold bands etched with a mixture of ancient hieroglyphs and Aetherian runic script. Clutched in the crossed arms lay an ornate golden scepter with a charged essence stone at its center.

The trio exchanged uneasy looks as the raven let out an eerie caw. This was clearly someone of immense importance buried deep within the pyramid. But had his rest now been disturbed?

After several silent moments with no further movement from the coffin, they began to relax slightly. Calvin studied the carved hieroglyphs along the dais.

"His name was Pharaoh Akhenre," Calvin murmured. "It says he wielded dominion over both the mortal realm and the underworld."

Amy's eyes widened. "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

As if in response, the linen-wrapped hands twitched. With alarming speed the corpse sat bolt upright, bandaged head swiveling toward them. Glowing red eyes peered out from the wrappings.

The trio scrambled back as the undead pharaoh rose from the sarcophagus, ancient bones creaking. He descended the steps toward them, scepter clutched in a pose of magical attack. Sand swirled ominously around him. The sand picked up in intensity and began transforming the surfaces around the mummy. Calvin realized it wasn't sand, but a swirling mass of nanites.

Calvin blinked as the swarm of nanites enveloped them in an impenetrable fog. One moment he was standing beside Amy and Freya in the burial chamber, and the next everything went dark. There was a feeling of motion, as if he was being pulled rapidly through space. Strange flashes of light and color, streaked past.

Just as suddenly as it started, the sensation stopped. Calvin found himself standing alone on a glass platform, hovering in a void of swirling blue energy. He blinked in confusion, waiting for his vision to clear.

"Amy? Freya?" His voice echoed in the emptiness. There was no sign of his companions.

Calvin peered over the edge of the platform. Below him stretched an endless expanse, with globules of light drifting in the abyss. He couldn't even see the bottom, if there was one.

Cautiously, he walked across the smooth glass surface. With no landmarks it was impossible to judge distance or direction. "Where the hell am I?"

"You stand at the crossroads."

Calvin spun around. Behind him stood a tall figure in a feathered cloak, holding a long staff. He had the head of a jackal.

"Anubis," Calvin realized.

The god inclined his head. "Your path brought you to my halls. Now you must face the weighing of hearts."

Calvin looked around uncertainly. "Have I died? Is this the afterlife?"

"Not yet" Anubis replied. "Consider this... an evaluation. Your actions shall determine which path opens next."

Calvin thought back to the swarm of nanites that brought him here. Were Amy and Freya undergoing similar trials?

"What do I need to do?" he asked warily.

Anubis waved a hand. A glowing scale manifested before them, one side holding a pure white feather.

"The feather of Ma'at represents truth and justice," Anubis explained. "It shall be weighed against your heart."

Calvin felt a strange tugging sensation in his chest. To his shock, a ghostly green heart emerged and drifted over to the scales. As it settled onto the plate, the scale beam tilted sharply before balancing evenly.

"Your heart is light, but not yet free of burden," Anubis pronounced. "You have taken the first steps, but the journey ahead remains long."

He waved the staff. The scales vanished. Behind Calvin, a stone doorway etched with hieroglyphs emerged from the abyss.

"Where does it lead?" Calvin asked warily.

"That depends on you. It shall open where needed most."

Calvin took a deep breath. Amy and Freya were out there somewhere, possibly facing similar trials. And he still had no idea what lay behind all of this. But answers wouldn't come from standing still.

He strode toward the doorway with determination. As he passed through, the hieroglyphs flashed with light. Everything went white...

...Calvin found himself emerging from a stone archway onto a grassy hillside. Squinting in the sunlight, he looked around uncertainly. In the distance rose the spires of a majestic golden city unlike anything he'd seen.

"What is this place?"

"A place unlike any other." a gruff voice said beside him.

Calvin jumped, not having noticed the figure standing beside the archway. He was tall and muscular, with golden hair and intricate runic tattoos covering his arms. Something about him seemed faintly familiar.

"Greetings, Traveler. I am Baldur, First Guardian of Asgard. Welcome to my realm."