Kaer ran.
Branches tore at his cloak. Blood trailed behind him in thin, dark lines.
Vampires were close.
Too close.
His thoughts fractured under pressure.
I'm not thinking clearly… I'm injured. I won't make it. No matter how fast I run—they'll catch me. Tear me apart.
His breath burned.
What are they? Not myths. Not weaknesses to sunlight or relics. No—these things are something else. Stronger. Smarter. Hunters.
His legs gave out.
Kaer dropped to his knees.
For the first time—
He felt fear.
They hit him all at once.
Claws. Fangs. Weight.
Pain exploded across his back, chest, thighs. Something tore. Something snapped.
His vision blurred.
Images flickered—
A distant land. A castle. A battlefield.
A horde of monstrous figures rising beside him—
Then—
Nothing.
Kaer stood again.
Back pressed against a stone cross.
A graveyard.
Silent.
Cold.
So this is how it ends…
He exhaled slowly.
Waiting.
Then—
A voice.
"Climb the tower," a man said.
Kaer turned.
A figure stood nearby—wrapped in tattered cloth. His skin pale as fresh snow, almost blue under the shifting light. Sharp features. Eyes unreadable.
"Climb the church tower," the man repeated. "Tell the world how you killed the vampires."
Kaer frowned.
"What…?"
But the world was already breaking again.
A river.
From the northern bank, an orange boat drifted downstream.
A soldier rowed in silence.
White armor marked with three dragon scales—each stained with vivid red. A green cloak snapped in the wind. His face hidden beneath a conical helm.
The water turned.
Red.
Then streaks of green.
Then—
A mountain rose ahead.
A pyramid.
The Great Kingdom of Whemkhot.
Visions plagued the land.
The people whispered:
The gods are angry.
Deep inside the newly raised pyramid of Pharaoh Amenkhotep—
A vast chamber lay in shadow.
At its center stood an altar, surrounded by alabaster vessels, sacred oils, carved idols. The walls told stories of gods and monsters in endless battle.
And before the altar—
Marummuha.
The High Priest.
She wore gold-threaded garments and sacred amulets. Her face hidden behind a veil of white cloth. In her hand—a staff carved from bone, etched with ancient symbols.
She had begun the ritual.
Then—
A sound.
Heavy. Violent.
The sarcophagus in the corner trembled.
Covered in inscriptions.
One name repeated again and again:
Kaer — The Eternal Spirit.
The lid lifted.
Light spilled out.
And from it—
Kaer stepped forward.
Alive.
Marummuha fell to her knees, forehead pressed to stone.
"Rise," Kaer said, disoriented, scanning the chamber. "Tell me who you are. And where I am."
She lifted her head slowly.
"I am Marummuha. High Priest of Whemkhot. This is the pyramid of Pharaoh Amenkhotep."
Her voice trembled—half reverence, half awe.
"I dreamed of this moment. Of you. I was told to come here… to perform a ritual before your sarcophagus."
Kaer blinked.
"The Eternal Spirit, huh…" he muttered dryly. "That's… new."
She brought him to her residence within the temple district.
Unlike the rest of the city, her home was built from rare red stone, not mud or straw.
Inside—
Simple. Quiet.
A table. Two chairs.
She poured wine.
"I am the only one who knows who you truly are," she said softly. "And it will remain that way. For now."
Kaer studied her.
"You brought me here?"
She shook her head.
"No. I only waited."
A pause.
"What ritual did you abandon for this?" he asked.
"A banishment ritual," she replied. "The visions… the disturbances. People believe the gods are angered."
Kaer leaned back slightly.
"We'll figure it out."
Then, after a moment:
"What do you need from me?"
Marummuha hesitated.
"There is an artifact. I have tried to retrieve it many times… and failed."
"What artifact?"
She slowly lifted her veil.
Kaer went still.
She was young.
Strikingly beautiful. Pale skin, dark hair falling over her shoulders. Eyes deep and steady, yet carrying something fragile beneath.
"You're…" Kaer exhaled. "…beautiful."
She smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
"Are you married?"
"No."
A small pause.
"I am the only woman the Pharaoh is forbidden to touch."
In the chamber beside them, steam rose from a bath.
She helped him clean his wounds. Treated them with oils and herbs. Her movements calm, careful.
There was a quiet closeness between them.
Unspoken.
Days passed.
They talked. Shared fragments of themselves—what they could, what they dared.
Her life had been chosen for her.
At eight years old, she became High Priest.
Trials. Isolation. Duty.
"No marriage. No children. I cannot leave the temple district," she said quietly.
Then, almost breaking—
"I am not allowed to love."
Her eyes met his.
"But I can help you."
Kaer said nothing.
But he understood.
"The artifact," he said finally.
She nodded.
"It is called The Lost Amulet of Nil. I found the hidden chamber… but I could not go further."
They returned to the pyramid.
Deep inside.
Walls covered in chaotic hieroglyphs—patterns that seemed meaningless.
But Kaer saw it.
He knelt.
Pressed three hidden ankh symbols in sequence.
Stone shifted.
A platform rose.
At its center—
A glowing amulet.
And then—
The ground cracked.
A massive shape rose from beneath the floor.
A guardian.
A stone golem nearly three meters tall, armored in layered rock, its head encased in silver metal.
Marummuha raised a protective barrier around Kaer.
But brute force wouldn't work.
Kaer stepped forward.
Closed his eyes.
Focused.
Mind Control.
Energy surged through him—white-blue, pulsing like a living current.
The golem lifted its arm—
Then froze.
Light engulfed its head.
It trembled.
Cracked.
Collapsed into lifeless stone that sank back into the earth.
Silence returned.
Marummuha approached the pedestal slowly.
Carefully.
She lifted The Lost Amulet of Nil.
It burned with ancient light in her hands.
And for the first time—
Kaer felt it.
Not danger.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
A shift.
As if the world had just… acknowledged him.
And somewhere far beyond Whemkhot—
Something else did too.