‘That’s impossible, right?’

Lucien thought, before seeing the person who’d previously left, return with a black stick in her hand. “This is an electric shocker... thingy. I don’t know what it’s called. They took out the battery and said we could use it.” The girl threw it to Yize, who then brought out a hairpin and tape from his pocket.

Ignoring the strange glances they all threw at his ‘accessory’, his fingers promptly taped the hairpin to the end of the stick. He then slowly inserted it into the small gap at the edge of the hole, where the silver light was coming from. The glimmer wasn’t too noticeable though, since the inside of the tube-hall was already brightly lit with white artificial light.

“What are you doi-“

“Shhh,” Yize hushed the person who was trying to speak to him, with his eyes still focused on his actions. Since Lucien was very close, he could easily see what the other was doing. He seemed to fiddle with the hairpin inside the gap⎯ as though doing nothing, yet something, at the same time.

‘Oh, is he trying to pick it like a lock?’

The moment that thought passed through Lucien's mind, a loud ‘Clang!’ rung in everyone’s ears⎯ then before their very eyes, the stick Yize held was suddenly sucked into the hole. He, Kiara, and Lucien looked at each other in confusion before staring at the hole that had lost its silver luster.

The next second, someone called out from a few feet away.

“Guys look. The door. It’s opening!”

They all rushed back to the entrance, just in time to catch sight of the large slab of a door sliding upwards. The motion made no noise, nor was there a rumbling of stones clashing or anything of the sorts. Everyone looked at each other, visibly dumbfounded but still excited nonetheless.

“Should we go in? We’re going in, right? Let’s go in.” The person who had called their attention looked inside almost obsessively as he talked. He was the first to take the step towards it, while everyone else immediately followed after. For some reason, the light from the tube couldn’t illuminate the inside of the pyramid, as though there was something blocking the rays from entering. It was strange, to say the least, but their curiosity outweighed their fear.

“It’s kinda scary, want me to hold your hand?” Kiara spoke as they walked. “Get lost.” Lucien responded, pushing her head away and increasing his pace. She laughed while following after him, but still set her eyes on the entrance⎯ a hint of hesitation and excitement mixed in her gaze. Lucien, on the other hand, held no hesitance. He moved briskly till his legs stepped on the black, stony ground. It was unexpectedly smooth, like marble.

One after another, they all brought out their phones and flashlights, including the four army personnel that had followed them. However, even when they turned them on, the place was still dark, causing murmurs to gradually echo.

“Hmm... weird.” Kiara said beside him, stupidly smacking her phone on her hand like it would make the flashlight shine brighter. Everyone could see the bright light of the flashlight when they looked at the phone itself, but wherever they pointed it at was unaffected. They had already begun to discuss the situation amongst themselves, wondering what to do when something sparked. Yize had just brought out a lighter and a candle from his side pouch, which surprisingly worked.

Everyone looked at the face illuminated by the flames in proximity again, and someone couldn’t help but blurt, “Why do you even have that?”. No one uses candles these days. Any poor person could afford a torch light or two. The only people still using candles were those who claimed they were psychics, trying to look mysterious whenever they chanted their alahakubaras. “Always be prepared.” Yize said monotonously, reaching into the pouch and bringing out four more candles.

“Has four candles, but no stick. Not as prepared as expected. Also, how big is that pouch?.” Kiara whispered in Lucien’s ear, while he went over to collect a lit candle from Yize. “I don’t know. How big do you think it is?” He responded carelessly, taking the candle to the walls. The number of candles was limited, and as a result, five groups were formed.

With the few people he had, Lucien scouted the walls of the tomb. Although the darkness was looming, and honestly a bit eerie, they felt safe in their numbers.

It was far better than only one person having to face such an atmosphere alone.

“I’ve never seen these alphabets before, and I’ve studied a lot. Down to Runic.” Someone grumbled, trailing the cracks with her hand. They all saw many alphabets they couldn’t understand, no matter how many times they tried to decipher them. “Could we possibly have discovered unknown ancient letters?” Another soon cheered with bright eyes, bringing more liveliness to the group.

However, although It was all cherry on the outside, the more they looked, the more a strange feeling settled inside their hearts. The deeper they went, the more densely packed the letters were, till it eventually spread to the marble floors.

⎯⎯ “AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

A harsh shriek suddenly cut through the nigh-calmness of the air, causing everyone to suck in a frigid breath. The armed persons were the first to respond, immediately following the direction of the sound. Others also went forward, including Lucien and Kiara.

The male that screamed was close to the entrance, which was quite a distance from the rest of them that had already gone deeper.

“Why d’ya scream? And why’d you stay here instead of following a group?” The big burly man who had almost broken Lucien’s shoulder inquired with a tense face. At that, the male’s expression grew a bit ugly, and he said with a shaky voice, “I was following the group! But someone pulled my leg and dragged me! I kept shouting for help, but you all ignored me!” His voice was loud and his fingers trembled as he pointed in their direction.

“What do you mean, ignored you?! We just heard you scream now and rushed over. We didn’t hear anything before that!” A lady retorted angrily, and her partner had to calm her down. Lucien, Yize and Lieutenant Castleford furrowed their brows at the same time where they were⎯ sensing something strange about the tension in the air. “It’s alright. There’s no need for any arguments.” Lieutenant Castleford consoled, patting the shaky man on his shoulder.

“Everyone is probably tired now. I suggest you all go to rest. You can continue tomorrow, or better yet, after we order a flame device for better eyesight.” Castleford’s voice was without fluctuations, somewhat calming everyone down. They all tacitly agreed, though Lucien couldn’t help but look back into the darkness while the others walked out. “What are you gawking at? Let’s go.” Kiara pulled his arm to leave, and he briskly followed, slowly putting the strange feeling that was bubbling in his heart to the back of his mind.

Afterwards, they went back to the submarine where they were served dinner and given their own separate rooms to rest in.

Lucien lay on the bed, his brown hair spread around the pillow⎯ wet from the shower he just took. Without his hair packed up or styled, some strands rested on his face, casting a shadow over his eyes that currently seemed even sharper and more piercing without the glasses on. He stared at the ceiling with his blurred vision, for some reason refraining from falling asleep, as though he was afraid to. But of course, there wasn’t exactly a reason to be afraid, so he turned to his side and closed his eyes⎯ soon falling asleep under the heavy weight of today’s journey.

*******

*Tap...* *Tap...* *Tap...*

The sound of hesitant footsteps echoed in the darkness, disrupting the opaque silence. Lucien adjusted his glasses as he squinted his eyes, trying to get used to the lack of sight. ‘How did I get here?’ He thought, turning his head from side to side. His right hand trailed on the rune wall for support and the markings told him he was currently inside the underwater pyramid, or better yet, tomb. “I was sure I went to bed after I took a shower. Am I dreaming?” He pinched himself as he murmured.

“Ow. Well, I feel pain so... Not dreaming?”

Unfortunately, he had nothing to make a fire, so could only continue on in the darkness. When Lucien came to his senses a few minutes ago, he was already standing inside this place, so didn’t know any direction– hence, wasn’t sure if he was going deeper or not. He’d called out at first, but there was no answer and the eerie silence made his skin crawl with goosebumps. That was when he decided to move.

*Tap...* *Tap...* *Tap...* *Tap Tap...*

*Tap Tap...* *Tap Tap Tap...*

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap...*

*Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TA-!*

“?!!!!” A sudden bolt of electricity shot down Lucien’s spine. Those heavy footsteps weren’t his! He was still walking slowly! He instinctively sprinted forward without a second thought, not even trying to wait to see if it was someone he knew. Lucien had always had good intuition, and many a time, his instincts have played a big part in his survival.

At this moment, all his instincts told him was to run. As fast as he could. He shouldn’t even turn back to check.

“Huff! Hah-“ His heart kept pounding against his chest and sweat dripped from his forehead, his breath was ragged and his throat soon became dry. The loud and fast footsteps still continued, getting louder⎯ closer; as though it would reach him the next second. Lucien’s head was already beginning to throb as fear enshrouded his mind.

But what exactly was he afraid of?

Was it dying? Pain before death? The darkness or the unknown, terrifying thing that lurked in it? Was it all combined?

He didn’t know. And quite frankly, no one would care if they were in this position.

After running for a while, sweat had already drenched the collar of his shirt and his glasses had fallen off his eyes to hang on his chest. Not that it was currently useful anyway, with the place being dark enough for everything to be naturally blurry. Luckily, Lucien had always been one to train himself⎯ frequenting training facilities and dabbling in home exercises when he could. Although he wasn’t as burly nor as macho as those heavy trainers, he still had enough physique to boast about. He also knew a thing or two about fighting, and had been able to defend himself multiple times when the situation called for it.

But Lucien knew, out of nowhere, deep down in the depth of his soul, that not even twenty of him would be able to stand against what was currently chasing after him.

“Haah... Haah... Haah...” He didn’t know how long he had been running, only that it was in a straight line, since there didn’t seem to be anywhere else. His stamina was already depleting and his legs were now getting weaker with every step.

when it seemed like he wasn’t going to be able to escape the clutches of whatever it was, a ray of hope shone down⎯ In the form of a silver light.

As though clutching on to life, Lucien gathered his strength and bolted towards that area. However, when he got there, his heart almost fell; because what seemed like a door stood there, blocking the way. The light came from the four corner cracks along the sides of the door, making the place a little brighter. Luckily, before all hope was lost, Lucien saw a small long cubit just by the wall to the right, which he quickly squeezed into as much as he could.

He closed his eyes afterward, hearing the sound of his heart beating heavily against his chest. The closer the heavy footsteps sounded, the faster his heart drummed. At a point he even held his breath, as though afraid his breathing would alert the entity.

“SKCHRAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

Suddenly, a large harsh screech tore through his ear drums, bringing a pain so intense he almost screamed out loud regardless of consequences. A wet sensation soon dripped from his ears, down his neck into his clothes⎯ no one needed to tell him what it was. Lucien gritted his teeth and bit his lips, as if trying to use one pain to subdue the other. Blood also dripped from the wound he made on his mouth.

Fortunately, the sound became further away as time went on. The further the steps sounded, the less tense his frigid body was. By the time the sound completely disappeared, he was already like a plate of spaghetti, dangling without strength in the small space. If it weren’t for the fact that the cubit was too small, he would’ve already slipped to the ground by now.