Severed Arm

Zainah watched in a mix of awe and horror as Sett evolved before her very eyes.

Just moments ago, he had been a grotesque, rotting mummy. Now, he looked more like a deceased but well-preserved wounded warrior. His wounds were still there, his skin still cold, but his muscles were taut, his bones stronger, and the six Tomb Hearts floating in the hollow of his chest pulsed with an eerie glow. 

He looked better—far better—than before.

Yet, despite his newfound strength, his eyes remained lifeless. No spark, no warmth.

Though, at the same time, his behavior screamed that he was alive just like her.

But at the same time, he was also cold hearted. Killing people for his own benefits like it meant nothing. 

Sett turned to her. His eyes were cleaner now—she could see golden pupils hidden behind dirt. 

"We need to move. That High Guardian won't stay blind forever, and it'll be hunting us soon. I am no longer worried about it hurting us but I am worried about your sister."

He was already strong enough to meet it head on but Zarah was far from that. That poured a cold bucket of water over Zainah, waking her up. She nodded, though her mind was still racing. 

What living and dead? 

Why was she comparing Sett to a normal person? 

She had just witnessed Sett kill two Tomb Raiders with terrifying efficiency. He was of a completely different breed from her, be it in mind or body. He had absorbed their Tomb Hearts and grown stronger in moments.

How can that be compared to others?

Zainah couldn't help but wonder if she was next. Was all his kind acts to her an elaborate plan to eat her? Some twisted mummy game?

She tightened her grip on the bone flute, her only weapon, and followed him deeper into the labyrinthine corridors.

He looked at her with a weird smile. "I will eat you, don't worry."

Sett suddenly looked at her with an odd smile. "I will eat you, don't worry."

She paled. "Wha—what?"

Did he just read her thoughts?!

Sett chuckled. "Zainah, oh Zainah. You never change." He turned the corner, leaving her flustered.

With a pout, she hurried after him.

The Tomb seemed to grow darker, the air thicker with decay. The walls felt like they were closing in. A creeping sensation crawled up Zainah's spine. Something was watching them. She glanced back—nothing but shifting shadows.

Sett, on the other hand, moved with purpose. His senses were sharper than ever. He could feel the subtle energy shifts in the Tomb, the faint vibrations of hidden mechanisms. Traps that once would've fooled him now felt like clumsy, obvious things.

He was no longer the weak, rotting mummy he had been when he first awoke. He was a Tier 1 High Guardian now, a predator in this mere D-tier tomb. 

…

After what felt like an eternity, they reached another Guardian Room. The door was massive, carved with hidden runes and symbols that showed the wine green flames beyond the door. 

If Sett were not so highly sensitive with sight and hearing due to not having any other senses, he wouldn't have noticed the runes.

Indeed, Gods have something to do with the creation of the Tombs, he thought grimly. This is not made with simple Axiom Cooperation.

Many people could work together using their Axioms to create miracles. For example, there was once a group called the ExoMan in Sett's past life.

They had ten members in their group. And each of them had a different Axiom related to the human body: Blood, Bones, Nerves, Organs, and other such. And when they all worked together using their Axioms, they ended up creating a Homunculus.

A human-made human.

That was Axiom cooperation. 

Adding two or more Axioms to get the sum of its effects.

But the Tombs were too great to be made by Axiom Cooperation. Yes, D-tier Tombs were much simpler, and technically possible for humans to emulate, but stronger Tombs were completely on different levels.

Only those beings who have far surpassed Tier 5—Gods—could create something like the Tombs in such quantity.

They exist, he thought. They just are not showing themselves.

Sett placed a hand on the door. Zainah bit her lip tightly, her face twisted with worry.

Sett was also a bit worried now.

It had taken more time than he expected to reach here. 

The earlier High Guardian they had met had'd 6 Tomb Hearts within its Heart Zone. Sett himself had hunted another Low Guardian to steal a Tomb Heart. That amounted to seven Tomb Hearts in total that had been seen from Guardians alone. Theoretically, only two more Tomb Hearts remained in the hands of this Tomb's other guardians. 

If Zarah wasn't in this room, that spelled trouble.

That meant she was with another Guardian and by the time they reach her—the variables were too high and her survival would truly be at risk.

At the center of the room sat a luxurious man-shaped coffin.

And on top of it—

Zainah's expression shifted before Sett's did.

Zarah was here. But she was nothing like the lively girl they had seen earlier.

Sett exhaled sharply. He regretted it.

Once a Tomb-hidden coffin captured a living being or a mummy trying to escape it, it will bring them deep into the Tomb. To a Guardian Room, most probably. And the person trapped in the coffin would have to fight the Guardian for a chance to swap places.

Zarah had appeared in exactly such a place, right before a Guardian. But that had been alright, if her coffin hadn't been opene, that is. 

Since, only Guardians at Sett's level would be able to open such a heavy coffin!

It was able to trap Guardians and everything.

It was more than 500 tons heavy.

Even Sett could only be defeated in the face of that much weight.

Naturally, it could only be opened by the mechanism inside the coffin itself and if someone from inside the coffin left its confines, it would pull the person back into it. 

If Zarah had hid within the coffin, not daring to come out, she would have been fine. 

But…

Sett sighed deeply.

Yet what was not alright… was how the mummy was chewing on a severed arm. 

It was an incredibly fair arm, definitely a woman's. 

Maybe, when she had just appeared, Zarah had opened the door a bit and lost her arm.

Sett looked guiltily at Zainah and she turned her venomous gaze to him. 

"Kill it!" she hissed at him, half panicking and half sobbing. 

Sett didn't hesitate and moved, the rusty sword slicing down in an arc to sever the Guardian's neck. It had two Tomb Hearts in its Heart Zone but that was nothing. It didn't stand much of a chance against him, not when it was so distracted with eating the limb.

Its head fell limply.

[Limitless Evolution: 31/100] (+20)

Sett immediately moved towards the coffin along with Zainah and they both knocked.

"Open, can you hear me?!"

"Open, Zarah, it's me!"

A long bout of silence.

Sett looked away. Did she bleed and fall unconscious inside?

Then, not even Sett could save her. He became silent, feeling emotions he hadn't felt in years. He hadn't expected the girl to be so rash and unlucky.

How can he face Zainah now?

I hope she is at least alive. If she opens the coffin, I will find some way to heal her arm. If I can find someone with a decent healing Axiom, or awaken my own Axiom abilities, it shouldn't be too hard. 

Or maybe she has talent to become a Tomb Raider, then it would be even easier.

Zainah shouted, "Zar-Zarah are you there?"

That was not the real problem and Sett knew it. He had unknowingly ignored that, as if too worried to accept it.

With this much bloodloss, she has probably fainted. With the coffin being what it is, even I can't break it open. Zarah would also need immediate care.

Without her waking up—she was dead.

No hope for her.

None at all.

He sighed. 

Zainah stared at him, eyes red. "What are you sighing for?! Help wake her up! She is in there!"

There is a way, Sett thought. 

He stared at her. Just as he was going to tell her about asking the outside world for help—from some higher Tier Tomb Raiders—he froze. 

With a slow, grating sound, the coffin creaked open.

A timid teenage girl peeked out.

Her frightened eyes darted to Sett first—then to Zainah. And as soon as she saw her sister, her face crumpled.

"Sis!"

Sett and Zainah stood dumbfounded as Zarah threw herself into her sister's arms, sobbing. She was crying—shaking—but whole.

No missing arm. No bleeding. Just a small bruise on her forehead.

She must have bumped her head.

Sett cleared his throat, feeling absurdly proud. His plans could never be wrong, he had never expected for Zarah to be too injured and that obviously meant she would be fine. 

See? Never wrong. Not even once.

He wasn't even worried.

Never. 

The more Sett looked at the sobbing little girl, the more pleasing she seemed to him. She wasn't dead. She wasn't going to affect his relationship with Zainah. What a cute little thing. 

So that was someone else's hand, then. That means there are still more humans around. 

Why are there so many humans inside a D-tier Tomb? 

Did this Tomb open up near a city?

Anyway, that didn't matter. Now that Zarah was safe, they had time to plan things out patiently.

He smirked. 

"I told you, Zain—"

A chill shot up his spine.

The air buzzed.

Something sharp whooshed toward them.

For a second, time seemed to crawl.

Sett lunged to pull Zainah away—but Zarah had already broken from her sister's embrace.

He couldn't reach the girl.

A sickening, wet sound.

Blood sprayed the air.

A severed arm spun through the dim light, landing with a dull thud.

Zarah's scream rang through the chamber.

Sett's head snapped toward the enemy.

The High Guardian.

Standing near the other Guardian he had just slain—with both its stolen Tomb Hearts clutched in its hands.

Sett should've sensed it. Should've heard it coming.

But it had used its Axiom to mask its presence.

A tremor of rage settled into his bones.

Zarah's wretched, pain-filled shriek made his gaze sharpen to a deadly edge.