Children of Death

Khaelan blinked awake to find Nubi, his half-sister's Kénoba familiar, staring down at him. The creature, reminiscent of Anubis with its jackal ears and innocent red eyes, wasted no time in prodding him to rise.

"Get up, sleepyhead! We need to move!" Nubi urged, his tiny voice trying its best to sound tough.

"I... fell asleep...?" Khaelan muttered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. His midnight blue hair was a tangled mess of leaves and grass. He had dozed off under a tree in a small patch of grass on the 49th floor of the Tower of Imhotep, a Crypt rumored to house a genie lamp on its topmost level.

"Finally awake, I see," a voice chimed in. It was Sybil, his elder half-sister and Master of the crypthunting guild "Anubis House." Her regal, blue and gold top barely contained her ample chest, accentuated by slim straps. Below, her toned torso sported a visible six-pack, framed by blue cloth that wrapped around her waist like a skirt, with gold tapestries accentuating her thighs. Atop her midnight blue hair, a pair of blue jackal ears stood tall. She wielded a stunning black staff adorned with three jackal heads at its tip.

"Was I out long?" Khaelan asked, absentmindedly touching the prism on his gold necklace, his tired, sapphire eyes surveying their serene surroundings. He wore a sleeveless white cloak adorned with gold pendants, ankhs, and jewels around his neck, resembling a priest in ceremonial attire.

"No, just twenty minutes or so. I was getting impatient, that's all," Sybil replied, her fierce golden eyes scanning the dungeon walls adorned with vines. Nearby, a waterfall cascaded into a peaceful pond teeming with life. This room was a tranquil oasis before the final Crypt floor, a well-known sanctuary for Crypt Hunters. It gave explorers time to rest before facing the final test.

"Are you sure that was a long enough break?" Nubi asked, a concerned look in his eyes. He reached out a black paw and poked Khaelan's cheek. "He looks dead already."

"Nubi, Nubi, Nubi," Khaelan mumbled, picking leaves out of his hair. "I'll be okay. I can be awake long enough for us to finish this. We didn't come this far for nothing."

"That's the spirit, little brother," Sybil beamed. "And you can nap all you want when we return to Alexandria. You too, Nubi. All of us can get some much-needed rest."

"To the 50th floor!" Nubi cheered.

"To the 50th floor." Sybil entertained, raising her staff in the air.

The trio gathered at the room's center, stepping onto a glowing circular platform. Blue lines etched into its surface shimmered as they huddled together. Suddenly, a brilliant flash enveloped them, transporting them to a vast, torch-lit chamber. Khaelan stood beside Sybil and Nubi, his eyes darting through the shadows, greeted only by an unsettling silence.

"Who dares trespass in my abode?" A guttural voice rumbled from the darkness.

Nubi gasped. "That sounds like something big. And scary."

"Nubi. Shh." Sybil put a finger to her lips.

In an instant, flames erupted, casting light across the room, revealing their unexpected visitor: a red dragon, chained to the floor with a massive collar clasped around its neck. Its presence was chilling, marked by razor-sharp teeth and eerie, glowing green eyes.

"We are Sybil, Khaelan, and Nubi of House Anubis," Sybil replied to the dragon fearlessly, her tall posture unwavering. "We have come to claim the reward at the top of this tower."

More silence followed the fading echoes of Sybil's voice. Freigtened, Nubi grabbed Khaelan's leg, only to be shaken off.

"Is that so?"

All at once, a magical light enveloped the shackle around the dragon's neck, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"My master won't be happy that you freed me," The dragon let out a thunderous bellow as it rose to its full height, its massive form stretching slowly, each movement reverberating through the room. "But I thank you, nevertheless."

"Your master?" Khaelan asked aloud, his voice lingering in the chamber.

"Yes. Nahkt, The First Holder of the Key of the Pharoah, and the human responsible for the existence of the Crypts."

"Woah, so you're really old," Nubi chimed in, his fear seemingly gone, beaten by his curiosity.

"I have lived to see the rise and fall of many nations and people. I am called Draxes. And you... That odor..." The dragon's yellow, slit eyes fixed on Khaelan and Sybil, flickering between them. Its nostrils flared as it inclined its colossal neck nearer, positioning its jaws directly in front of Khaelan. Draxes snorted loudly. "Godblood." His voice dripped with unmistakable disgust and contempt.

Khaelan kept his gaze with Draxes. "I'm the only son of Anubis, the god of death. Heard of him?"

Draxes reared his neck. "Heard of him? Oh, much more than that. We fought."

"You fought my father?" Khaelan's eyes widened, and the questions in his mind flickered in his gaze. "Did you win? Where is he now?"

"I will say this: he won."

In the hush of the room, Sybil sensed her brother's mind was like a hamster wheel spinning over their long-lost father. It had been two decades since she'd glimpsed him, and Khaelan, nine years. She knew it'd been too long for her because she could barely remember his face.

"Do you have any idea where he might be now?" Khaelan pressed, as if the silence owed him an answer.

Draxes sized up Khaelan with a look that could pick lint off steel. "Duat."

Khaelan groaned, clearly unimpressed. He exhaled heavily, eyes tracing the chamber's stone floor. "Well, at least he's somewhere out there."

Sybil's expression flickered with sadness briefly, swiftly masked. "Absolutely. Baba will turn up eventually. Being a god, he's probably just... caught up."

"I believe you requested this?" Their attention snapped towards Draxes, who was rummaging in a chest overflowing with treasure, using his massive claws to fish out a greatsword. The blade, its curve alternating between inward and outward arcs, shimmered in a sapphire-blue hue under the flickering torchlight. With a deliberate motion, Draxes extended the sword towards Khaelan, holding it delicately between the tips of his claws.

"This is the legendary blade, Greedy Tyrant, wielded by Nahkt himself. Crafted from the scales of a Northern Ice Dragon. Nahkt was known for bringing back souvenirs from his countless conquests."

"No magical lamp? No genie?" Nubi's eyes widened, paws instinctively covering his snout in dismay.

"No genie," Draxes affirmed, glancing at Nubi, who promptly sought refuge behind Sybil's legs.

"Well, that's a bust, sis," Khaelan grumbled, his frustration evident after conquering fifty floors of a Crypt without finding what they sought.

"So Nahkt wasn't a Pharaoh?" Sybil interjected, her brow furrowed in confusion as she disregarded her brother's complaint. "The tales always spoke of a pact between a young Pharaoh and a djinn."

"No," Draxes clarified solemnly. "Nahkt was a poor orphan, his parents slain by Roman troops. He never held any throne. It was the pact with the djinn and the Key of the Pharaoh that altered his fate. Yet, he ruled nothing. It was an obscure human named Narmer who seized the Key from Nahkt's remains, initiating the cycle of prism and Pharaoh when he wielded its power to dominate Egypt."

"How do you know all this?" Nubi's small voice piped up beside Draxes's resonant tones.

"Why are you telling us this anyway?" Khaelan interjected.

"Are you going to eat us?" Nubi followed up.

Ignoring the questions, Draxes turned away, retreating to a corner where chains lay shattered, and settled atop them with a heavy sigh.

"I did not be freed from bondage after all of these centuries to be interrogated by humans. Take your treasure and begone."

Sybil and Khaelan exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Sybil hoisted the bulky treasure chest effortlessly, while Khaelan tightened his grip on Evil Tyrant, their prized weapon, as they maneuvered past the dragon towards the final teleporter. Positioned atop the glowing circle, they braced themselves for the anticipated flash of blue light.

Emerging from the dungeon's entrance, they found themselves back in the vast desert expanse. Two sturdy camels and a sturdy mule, towing a waiting carriage, greeted them under the rising sun.

Sybil and Khaelan wasted no time. They swiftly loaded the treasure chest and the gleaming sword onto the carriage. With practiced efficiency, they mounted their respective rides: Sybil astride one camel and Khaelan on the other, while Nubi settled comfortably on the mule's back.

As the first rays of dawn painted the horizon in hues of gold and pink, they set off into the endless desert, their quest concluded but their next adventure already beckoning on the horizon.