Tomb Lord

Zarah's breath caught in her throat. She flexed her fingers, staring at her newly regrown arm. It looked perfectly normal—pale skin smooth, feminine muscles firm. If she hadn't seen it happen, she wouldn't have believed it.

"I… I'm a Tomb Raider?" she said slowly, voice unsteady. "Me?" She shook her head. "No, that doesn't make sense. I thought only nobles and lucky people could become Tomb Raiders. I was… just a thief!"

Sett leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with amusement. "Yeah. Were a thief. The Tomb Hearts don't care about your past. They care about potential. And looks like you've got plenty."

Zarah's face flushed. She turned to Zainah, who was still kneeling beside her.

"Sis… did you do this for me?"

Zainah nodded at first then shook her head. She wrapped her arms around Zarah and held her tight. "You were dying," she whispered, feeling a profound sense of lingering fear. "Sett helped me find the Tomb Hearts. He saved you."

She didn't mention that Sett was indeed the mummy that had kicked her into the coffin.

Sett appreciated that.

Zarah's gaze flickered back to Sett. He posed. Her initial confusion was still there, but now it was mixed with respect, maybe even admiration.

Not only was this person so handsome, he had even saved her! In fact, he had even helped her become a Tomb Raider. 

He had probably also saved her sister!

She felt an immediate sense of respect, reliance, and trust.

What a man! 

She didn't mind having such a brother in law, even.

"Big brother," the little girl gave him a lopsided grin. "Since I don't know how to repay you for this." She tilted her head, teasing. "How about I give you my sister's body, will it suffice?"

Sett was taken aback. But then, he nodded. "Yes. But your sister seems to dislike the idea."

Zainah twitched but didn't snap back. She was too tired. Yet, at the same time, she sighed, watching him carefully with mellowing eyes.

 Even now when she looked at Sett, she didn't see a human being. Nor a hot man. She saw a monster, a mummy, a man in a mask. He was cold. He was a murder machine. But no matter what…

He was her savior.

"I truly can't ever pay you back for all the things you did for us," Zainah said with a bow of her head. "I… truly can't." 

If she hadn't met Sett, who knew what would have happened?

Maybe her sister might have died. Maybe they both might have.

Sett waved a hand dismissively, though he felt a bit gloomy. Look at her act so distant. Of course I'd save you.

"Don't mention it." 

"Big brother likes you!" Zarah exclaimed. "So of course he would save you." 

"..." Zainah remained silent.

Zarah smirked and moved to pat her sister's back—idiot big sister, this guy suits you too much—but Sett appeared out of nowhere and held her wrist with immovable strength. 

She, for all her newfound strength, found that she couldn't even move.

Zarah stared up at him.

"Do you want to crush your big sister, you little devil?" 

Zarah blinked, confused. "What? I was just—"

Sett nodded toward the ground.

Both sisters looked down. 

The stone floor around Zarah was cracked, like someone had dropped a boulder from above.

He ruffled the girl's hair. 

"Did you think becoming a good Tomb Raider or Axiom Holder was so easy, that if you just got to eat a Tomb Heart you will reach the level of nobles who trained all their life?" He shook his head. "Being a Tomb Raider or an Axiom Holder isn't just about having a fancy title. It's not just strength, but discipline, survival, training. You've got a long way to go."

This was just the startline for her. 

Unlike Sett, who was well trained with a whole life's experience, Zarah was far from that.

…

They conversed for a while longer, but then, finally, Zarah asked, "This place is so mouldy. Shouldn't we leave? Since the Guardians are all dead—what now?"

Zainah looked at Sett.

Sett nodded. "We should leave." 

"How are we going to leave?" Zarah asked curiously.

Sett looked around as he explained. "When a Guardian Mummy reaches the Sacred Tier, they automatically become the master of the Tomb they are in. Of course, that is if they are of the same Tier as the Tomb itself and there is no other equally powerful mummy inside. That means, currently, I am the master of this tomb."

In fact, while he was here, he felt a sort of blessed sensation as if the Tomb was embracing him. If he were to be wounded now, he would have a really high healing factor—blessing factor, to be exact.

"...Right," Zarah said slowly, pretending to understand.

"Basically, I am the master of this place, so I get to let anyone in and out."

Though, whether he himself could leave was yet to be tested.

Zainah silently watched him, curious.

Closing his eyes, Sett reached out with his senses. 

The air itself seemed to shift, the dim torchlight bending unnaturally. 

A dark mass formed in front of him, rippling.

It made the air warp.

The girls took a simultaneous step back.

The dark mass expanded and became translucent, transforming into a gateway through space. Through the gateway, they could see a vast, sunlit desert.

"The Mesopen Desert," Zainah murmured. "That's where I entered the Tomb."

Sett gestured. "Step through, and you're out."

Zarah stretched and yawned. "Nice." Without hesitation, she strolled into the portal like she was walking through a doorway at home. A second later, she emerged in the sweltering desert, blinking up at the cloudless sky. 

"Damn, it's hot."

Yet, she felt much better.

Back in the Tomb, Sett turned to Zainah, who was looking out at Zarah through the gateway. "Are you not leaving?" he asked.

She hesitated. "Are you not coming? Why do I feel like you plan to stay?"

Sett blinked with a weird expression. "I don't plan to stay. Just go in. We are not even married, yet you are already unwilling to separate."

Shameless! Zainah fumed and stormed towards the gateway in a huff. 

But just before she left, she paused and ran back towards Sett. 

"I've never done this before," she said urgently. Then moved towards his face with her lips pouted.

He tilted his head to make her kiss land on his cheek.

She blinked. 

"Don't be in a hurry," he said with a smile, wrapping his hand around her waist. He looked into her eyes—how damn beautiful. 

She looked back.

At least, he is handsome.

"I look good but I haven't had a bath in years. First, let me groom myself and all. Then you can kiss."

Then her face twisted in disgust. "UGH—"

She shoved him away and bolted through the portal.

Sett grinned.

…

Once alone, Sett's expression became serious. Finally, he himself came close to the gateway and touched it. 

Immediately, he felt a deadly sense of crisis assault him. If he moved even an inch out, he would die. 

The Tomb Raider pathway hadn't made it possible for Sett to walk out of Tombs. 

"..."

But he didn't panic, instead, he took a deep breath.

He was ready for this. He took a deep breath.

Limitless Magic: Tomb Lord.

A simple but terrifying ability—the power to absorb entire Tombs into himself, making them part of his own body. The catch? 

He could only absorb Tombs where he was the undisputed master.

And he was the undisputed master of this Tomb. The world around him began to bend, reality itself pulled toward him. 

Sett closed his eyes.

Walls, pillars, even the lingering energy of the place—all of it collapsed into him!

By the time he opened his eyes again, Sett stood in the desert, calf half submerged in sand.

Two women gawked at him. 

He, unlike them who walked through the portal, seemed to have forced himself into existence!

Inside his Heart Zone, where his Tomb Heart floated, a tiny, near-invisible drop of light shimmered.

Within it, the Tomb they had just conquered still existed.

It was his now.

His own personal space hidden inside his body!

NOW HE WAS THE TOMB!

THE TOMB WAS HIM!

And since he was the Tomb…

Of course, he could walk freely in the real world!!!

Sett took a deep breath of the real world.