What to do…?

The stairway was narrow and dark, the air thick with dust and the scent of old death. Sett and Zainah moved forward, their footsteps swallowed by silence. At the end of the passage, an archway led into the unknown.

But something blocked their path.

A fat mummy.

Bloated. Unmoving. It looked wrong—its swollen flesh straining against its wrappings, its milky eyes sunken deep into folds of rotting skin.

Zainah gripped her bone flute, her throat so dry it ached. She had been blowing too much. If not for the fear gnawing at her insides, she would have collapsed by now.

Even so, her voice was fading.

Sett glanced at her and said calmly, "No need."

Before she could react, his left foot planted firmly. He twisted his body—the air cracked.

BOOM!

His leg whipped out like a steel bar, smashing into the mummy's head.

The grotesque corpse tilted.

Then it fell.

CRASH!

The floor trembled as the massive body slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of thick dust. Sett remained standing, his foot still pressed against its crushed skull.

Zainah's breath hitched.

"Damn…"

Was this… really a Guardian?

Was this what Tomb Raiders fought?

INHUMAN.

MONSTER.

She prayed this wasn't her monster to fight.

"Wasn't that cool?" Sett asked, flexing his torn muscles.

She smiled wryly. "Yeah."

And deep down, she made up her mind.

If Sett helped her save Zarah… she'd do it. She'd kiss him. Even if it was disgusting.

This thing…?

She couldn't afford to be his enemy.

Sett, meanwhile, took a deep breath. 

A strange warmth seeped into his body. Faint—too weak for any normal human to notice. But to a mummy—who could feel neither warmth nor cold—it was like the glow of the moon in an abyss of darkness.

[Neutral Energy +1]

[Limitless Evolution Art: 0/6 Unlocked (Neutral Energy 11/100)]

So… the murder of mummies gave him this warmth?

A Guardian was worth 10 points.

A normal mummy? Just 1.

That meant he needed 89 more mummies… or nine more Guardians. Or some mix of both.

His gaze darkened.

He strode forward.

Zainah followed, but something felt… off.

The mummy was quiet. Too quiet.

It made her uncomfortable.

She broke the silence.

"Since you already have a Tomb Heart… can you leave the Tomb?"

Sett smirked. "Leaving isn't that simple. You have to kill all nine Guardians of a Tomb before you can leave."

Zainah nodded.

That made sense.

A lot of sense.

Too much sense.

Her breath hitched.

Sett was one of the nine Guardians now.

Her face paled.

…Did that mean she had to kill him to escape?

A shiver ran down her spine.

Sett kept walking. 

"I am…" he said with a deep voice. "Joking."

She gritted her teeth. "Can you leave then?"

Sett chuckled, smiling widely. "Yeah, I should theoretically be incapable of leaving the Tomb, but I am not really sure. But either way, you will be able to leave, so don't worry.."

He didn't say another word.

Until they reached another Guardian's room.

He stopped before the door. Then, he turned to her.

"Can you sing?"

She swallowed. Nodded.

Without hesitation, Sett pushed the door open.

That was the mistake.

A fist slammed into his face.

BOOM!

The impact sent him flying—straight toward Zainah.

Her body locked up.

She could only watch as he hurtled toward her, as death itself came crashing down.

Sett's eyes flickered, staring at her. He was too strong now, body almost made of wooden flesh. If he were to slam into her body, no matter how cute she looked now, no matter how cushioning she might be, she will absolutely die.

No.

Not today.

CRACK!

His feet smashed into the ground, burying into the stone to slow himself down. Rotten blood leaked from his legs, but he barely noticed. His head lifted.

His eyes locked onto the enemy.

And what an enemy it was.

A giant of rusted armor.

It stood tall, unmoving, its presence suffocating.

And in the middle of its chest—

A hole.

A see-through, gaping hole.

And within that hole…

Six.

Six Tomb Hearts.

Zainah's breath hitched.

Could a mummy… have that many Tomb Hearts?

Sett's voice dropped into a near whisper. "Run."

"I can sing—"

"RUN!"

She obeyed.

The Guardian tilted its head, rusted plates scraping together.

"Lively… prey… this time," it rasped, voice like stones grinding against metal.

Sett's mind raced.

This was bad. Really bad.

Some Tombs—very rarely—spawned anomalous Guardians. 

The mummified remains of Axiom Holders.

Unlike normal mummies, these creatures kept fragments of their intelligence.

And worse—they could still use their Axioms.

The only way to kill one?

Before they activated their ability.

But before Sett could move—

Zainah gritted her teeth, stopped running, and—

Song of Playfulness!

Sett's body stiffened.

"You fucking woman."

That skill was useless against something with intelligence.

The Guardian barely hesitated.

"You… You two deserve to… die… my food…"

It used its Axiom.

A single drop of water splashed onto Sett's face.

His body froze.

For a brief, fleeting moment—he wasn't a mummy.

He was a fish.

A fish swimming through deep, endless waters.

Then, a shift.

He snapped back to reality—and horror flooded his mind.

Zainah.

She was choking.

Clawing at the water bubble encasing her head.

This Axiom…

Fuck.

Sett's hands clenched into fists, ignoring the water bubble around his own head.

This was bad.

This was so bad.

He knew this Axiom.

He knew this General.

Fushu.

The Mad General of the Drowned Legion. 

The one who wielded the Axiom of Water.

Sett's mind screamed for a plan, for a way out.

But before he could react—

The Guardian's rusted fingers closed around the hilt of its sword.

It lifted the blade.

And swung.