Dust filled the air, thick as smoke, and the tremors didn't stop. The ground beneath my feet continued to shudder as though the entire tomb was locked in a slow, agonizing convulsion.
Through the swirling haze of dust and falling debris, I saw it—my so-called companion, the giant, standing unharmed amid the chaos. Shadows clung to its massive frame like a dark mist, absorbing the falling stones before they could even touch it. He didn't even blink, didn't even acknowledge the violence that had erupted around it. Instead, he stood with a kind of solemn confidence, his eyes fixed on the chest across the chamber as if nothing else existed.
Every instinct in me was screaming that we should leave. The tomb didn't want us here; I could feel it in my bones, a deep, vibrating warning that pulsed through the walls. I glanced at the exit, heart pounding, but I knew that abandoning the giant now would be suicide. Whatever ancient power lay within that chest, it had drawn the him here, and it had drawn me here as well, by some invisible thread that I couldn't break. I had come too far. I had to see it through.
The giant moved with unhurried purpose, crossing the fractured floor with each step as graceful as a flowing shadow. His power was palpable, radiating from it in dark waves that made the air thick and heavy. I felt my skin prickle, the fine hairs on my arms standing on end, and a metallic taste filled my mouth. It was like being in the presence of a storm, the kind that could tear apart the earth with a thought.
When he finally reached the chest, he paused, stretching out one massive, clawed hand toward the ancient stone lid. I watched, rooted in place by a cocktail of fear and fascination. The carvings on the chest—runes and symbols too ancient for me to understand—began to glow, not in a steady light, but with an unsettling pulse, like the beat of an alien heart.
A faint, sickly luminescence seeped from the chest, a color that defied categorization, shifting between green and gold and something darker, something that felt… wrong. It was as if the light itself was alive, creeping outward with a purpose. The air grew thick, colder somehow, each breath feeling like a weight I had to drag into my lungs. The metallic taste grew stronger, and I realized that my hands were shaking.
Then the giant touched the chest, his fingers brushing the stone with a reverence that felt out of place on something so inhuman. The chamber's pulse quickened. I could feel it in the floor beneath me, a thrumming, an acceleration, as if the tomb itself had a heartbeat, and that heartbeat was speeding up.
And then… silence.
The deep, ringing silence that comes after a distant thunderclap, when you can almost feel the air pulling back, preparing for another strike. My stomach twisted, every fiber of my being screaming that something was horribly, irrevocably wrong. I took a step back, my eyes fixed on the chest, on the creature standing over it with that unreadable, solemn expression.
A low, ominous rumble rose from the depths of the tomb, a sound so deep and vast that it seemed to bypass my ears entirely, resonating directly in my bones. The walls groaned, as if some ancient force was testing them, stretching against the constraints of stone and time. The air grew colder, so cold that frost began to creep along the floor in delicate tendrils, as if the tomb itself were bleeding ice.
And then I felt it. A presence—ancient, boundless, and filled with an overwhelming sense of purpose. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before, a consciousness so vast and alien that my mind instinctively recoiled from it. This was no mindless creature stirring awake; this was something far worse. It was aware. And it was angry.
The shadows at the far end of the chamber began to move, slowly at first, a massive shape coalescing out of the darkness. It wasn't just a shape, though—it was a force, a weight that pressed down on the room, filling every corner with its malevolent intent. The creature beside me, my so-called ally, tilted its head, watching with an almost amused expression as the shadow solidified, taking form.
The guardian.
The thing before us was more shadow than flesh, a monstrous creature woven from nightmare and despair. Its body was covered in leathery, mottled skin, slick with the grime of ages, and its hulking shape crawled across the chamber, each step shaking the ground beneath my feet. The guardian's three heads rose like serpent-tipped towers, each one crowned with eyes that burned with a malevolent, blood-red glow. Its three sets of jaws snapped open, each mouth stretching unnaturally wide, revealing teeth like jagged shards of obsidian, glistening with malice.
The air grew heavier with every breath it took, a sickly stench of decay and death seeping from its gaping maw. Its eyes were fixated on the giant, its red pupils narrowing in malevolent calculation.
And then, with a thunderous roar that shook the walls, the guardian charged.
The clash was apocalyptic.
The giant didn't flinch. He raised one hand, slow and deliberate, and the shadows around him seemed to pulse, stretching like fingers reaching into the void. With a guttural, rasping chant, he whispered words that seemed to distort the very air, words that had no place in this world. Dark tendrils of magic spiraled from his outstretched fingers, twisting and writhing like serpents as they lashed toward the guardian.
The air crackled with ancient power.
The magic struck the guardian with the force of a thousand storms. Lightning-like tendrils of shadow crackled through the air, slamming into the guardian's massive chest, sending it skidding backward across the chamber, its claws screeching against the stone floor. The guardian let out a howl of rage, its three heads snapping and thrashing in every direction.
But the giant didn't relent.
He raised his other hand, and the chamber seemed to bend around him, the walls warping and distorting as though the very fabric of reality was bending to his will. His voice echoed in the chamber, the words impossible to understand, like a song sung by a thousand voices speaking at once.
Dark flames erupted from the giant's hands, a writhing mass of ethereal fire that moved as though it had a life of its own. It crawled across the air like a black tide, weaving around the guardian's form, engulfing it in a suffocating blaze of shadow and flame. The heat was oppressive, the flames cold as death itself, and the guardian's hideous roars grew more desperate. The creature's massive clawed feet scraped against the ground as it struggled to move, the flames licking at its skin with unrelenting hunger.
The giant spoke again, this time the words clearer, the power in them vibrating through the very air.
"ḏꜥk nfr"
A ripple of force erupted from him, the ground shaking violently. The very stones of the tomb cracked open beneath our feet as if the giant's words themselves had caused the earth to split. The guardian's form was slammed against the far wall, crashing into the stone with an ear-splitting thud that left the walls shuddering.
But the guardian was relentless. It surged forward, its jaws snapping and claws tearing at the air, furious beyond reason. It lunged at the giant, a blur of motion and death.
The giant moved with an unsettling calm. He sidestepped the guardian's massive clawed swipe, the motion slow but precise. The creature's claws missed him by mere inches, crashing into the stone with a deafening crack.
The giant's response was immediate. His hand shot out again, the shadows swirling like a storm around his fist, and he thrust it toward the guardian's center mass.
"Oblivion."
A wave of pitch-black energy exploded from the giant's palm, a pure force of nothingness that spread outward, swallowing the guardian's form. The very air seemed to freeze, caught in a moment of timelessness, and for an instant, everything was dark—darker than pitch, darker than the void between stars. The guardian let out a screech of agony, its multiple heads twisting in every direction as the force of the magic consumed it.
But the guardian, powerful beyond comprehension, did not die. It fought against the void with sheer force of will, its claws raking at the magic with abandon, tearing the air itself apart in its struggle. It was an ancient, primal force, a creature forged in the dark corners of the world, and it would not fall easily.
And that was when I realized the truth. The giant was weakening.
With every blow, every spell, I saw it. The giant's movements were slower now. His breaths came heavier, his magic faltering as the power required to combat the guardian began to drain him. His face, usually an implacable mask of stone, now betrayed cracks—flickers of exhaustion, flickers of something I couldn't name.
The guardian's roars of fury grew louder, more vicious. It was feeding off the fight, the challenge, and it was adapting.
With a final, desperate surge, the guardian launched itself forward, its three sets of jaws snapping in unison, each one aimed straight at the giant's throat. The creature's body seemed to melt into shadow, its jaws opening wide enough to swallow the giant whole.
The giant's eyes flared with light. His hand shot up one final time, fingers outstretched as if reaching for the very fabric of the universe.
"Die."
A wave of force blasted from the giant's palm, a horrific scream of energy that felt like a rift in the world. The air thickened with magic as the force slammed into the guardian with enough power to crack the very foundations of the tomb. The guardian staggered back, its massive frame shaking with the blow, its jaws snapping wildly in an effort to regain its balance.
But the giant was already retreating, his strength faltering but the guardian wasn't having it.It caused him down and the battle resumed.
"Ahmed!" he shouted, his voice cold but urgent. "Take it and run."
The relic was still in that chest, waiting to be claimed. But to reach it, I'd have to cross the chamber—a chamber that had become a battleground for these ancient forces. I took a breath, steeling myself, and then I moved.
Every step was a risk, every heartbeat a countdown to death. The ground was splitting open beneath me, jagged cracks racing across the floor, forcing me to leap from one unsteady platform of stone to another. Massive chunks of the ceiling were falling like boulders, and the very air felt charged, alive with destructive energy that seared my skin as I ran.
I ducked as a chunk of debris the size of a boulder crashed beside me, sending a spray of jagged stone that tore through my sleeve, grazing my skin. My heart was hammering, my lungs burning from the thick dust and acrid, electric scent of old magic filling the air. I was barely halfway across the room, and already I felt like I was being crushed beneath the weight of the tomb itself.
"Ahmed!" The creature's voice cut through the chaos, cold and commanding. "The relic. Now."
"Yeah, I got that!" I muttered, teeth gritted as I dodged another falling stone. But my hands were trembling, my skin prickling with a sense of foreboding. I couldn't tell if it was the tomb, the relic, or the battle itself that filled me with dread, but each step felt heavier, as though the weight of centuries was pressing down on me.
The guardian roared, a terrible, guttural sound, and then one of its heads swiveled, its blazing red eyes locking onto me. My blood turned to ice. I was an afterthought, barely worth its notice… but now, with the relic so close, its gaze was fixed on me with a sudden, chilling intent.
I threw myself forward, diving for the chest as its clawed hand swept through the space I'd occupied a heartbeat before. I could feel the wind of its swing, a rush of air that smelled of decay and blood. My fingers found the edge of the chest, and I pulled myself up, heart pounding as I opened the lid.
Inside, resting in a bed of stone, was the relic.
It was smaller than I'd expected—an amulet.
It was beautiful and deadly, a simple design that seemed to carry the weight of centuries. The amulet glowed softly in the dim light, its surface smooth but unnervingly warm to the touch. The moment my fingers brushed against it, I felt the power surge through me, an electric shock that rattled my insides.
It was more than I had ever imagined. The air around me hummed, and the amulet pulsed in my hand, its energy overwhelming. I felt it in my veins, a force that seemed to push and pull at my very essence. For the briefest moment, I could almost hear a whisper, a voice that seemed to belong not to a person, but to the tomb itself.
And then, with the weight of that power in my hand, I turned and ran.
"Ahmed!" the giant bellowed, its voice snapping me back to reality.
I didn't need any more urging. The guardian's roar shook the tomb again, the air crackling with raw, untamed magic. Behind me, the creature was still locked in battle with the guardian, their clash echoing through the collapsing chamber. The ground buckled, stones falling like rain, but I didn't look back. I could feel the presence of the amulet, burning hot against my palm, as if urging me onward.
The exit loomed ahead, a narrow gap in the wreckage. I sprinted toward it, my legs feeling like lead. Behind me, the tomb was coming apart, its walls crumbling, the ceiling caving in. I could hear the sounds of the battle—magic colliding with primal force, shattering stone, the world shaking with their fury.
And then, just as I reached the gap, I heard the creature's voice—cold, detached. "Run, Ahmed. You've taken what we came for. Now go."
I didn't need to be told twice. The roar of the guardian echoed behind me, and I pushed myself harder, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The tomb seemed to collapse around me, but I was almost there.
And then, in an instant, the entrance was before me. I dived through the gap, rolling to the other side just as a boulder the size of a house slammed into the ground where I had been. I scrambled to my feet, the amulet still clutched tightly in my hand.
The giant had followed, emerging through the dust and debris, its massive frame silhouetted against the crumbling tomb. Its gaze locked onto me once more, but there was something different in its eyes. A hint of something… darker.
"The blessings of the gods were upon us," it said, voice low and gravelly.
I didn't have time to respond. The ground shook again as the guardian's enraged roar echoed through the collapsing tomb, it didn't take a genius to know that the guardian was still on our tail, a reminder that something far more dangerous than I could ever imagine was now hunting me.
With that thought on my mind, I ran.