The stone passage loomed ahead like the gaping maw of some ancient beast, wide enough to accommodate a hundred men shoulder-to-shoulder, yet it felt suffocatingly narrow.

Flickering torches sputtered weakly in iron sconces along the walls, their flames struggling against the stale air that clung to them like a shroud.

The faint echo of boots reverberated off the high ceiling, mingling with the ragged breaths of weary soldiers.

At the forefront marched Caelum, his polished armor now streaked with grime and his once-proud cloak tattered at the hem.

Sweat glistened on his temples despite the chill that hung in the air.

He held his chin high, forcing strength into each step, but his eyes darted nervously,up at the ceiling, across the walls, down at the floor.

The tomb had stripped away layers of confidence with every corpse it claimed.

What had started as more than seventy men under his command now dwindled to less than a dozen.

The archaeologists that followed him have already been swallowed up by the deadly traps of the tomb.

His right hand man and his personal servant is also dead,all of them turned into overheating skewers by a rain of arrows.

Behind him, their footsteps dragged; shields scraped against stone; voices hissed low.

"…lost more than half…"

"…all for his pride…"

"…we should've taken the other tunnel…"

These mutters crawled through the group like rot.

No longer did they look at their leader with reverence; suspicion filled their gazes, a hunger for blame simmering just beneath the surface.

Finally, one soldier broke ranks.

"Enough!" His voice cracked under strain. Pale and wild-eyed, a streak of blood marred his cheek.

"We follow you,why? Every step bleeds us! Every trap takes more lives! And you call this leadership?"

Another chimed in bitterly. "You drove us here, Caelum! You bragged and boasted while we became walking corpses. You've killed us with your arrogance."

A third spat venomously. "You're no leader; you're a butcher."

Their words echoed like stones hurled into silence.

Caelum halted mid-step. His boots scraped against stone as he turned sharply; armor creaking ominously around him.

For an instant he stood still,hands loose at his sides,torchlight carving shadows across his sharp features and throwing his jaw into harsh relief.

Then he moved.

With lightning speed, he drew a pistol from its holster and fired three shots into the oppressive silence.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Three skulls shattered like fragile eggshells; brains and blood splattered across the stone wall as bodies crumpled to the ground in twitching heaps that pooled crimson on smooth floor tiles.

The stench of gunpowder mingled instantly with iron,a sickening cocktail that filled their nostrils.

The survivors froze in place,eyes wide and breaths caught in their throats.

Caelum lowered the smoking barrel slowly as he caught his breath,a calmness settling over him that felt almost unnatural amid chaos.

He scanned the shaken men before him, his voice slicing through the air like shards of broken glass.

"Doubt me again, and you'll join them. I won't bleed for cowards or waste my breath on worms gnawing at my heels."

Silence enveloped them,an oppressive stillness born not of loyalty but sheer terror.

Caelum holstered his pistol and turned away. "Forward,always forward. The tomb doesn't wait for the weak."

Reluctantly, they obeyed, each step echoing like chains dragged across stone.

The passage stretched on, narrowing slightly as the air grew colder.

Strange grooves lined the walls,shallow channels that converged high above into patterns resembling jagged teeth.

The archaeologists had warned about such designs; they weren't mere decorations,they were warnings.

One man hesitated, glancing up. "Captain..."

Suddenly, the ceiling groaned ominously.

A thunderous crack shattered the silence as stone shifted above—and then it fell.

Massive slabs of rock adorned with jagged spikes plummeted from above with brutal finality.

BAM! BAM! CRUNCH!

The impact shook the ground like an earthquake, a horrific symphony of grinding stone mingling with the sickening crunch of bodies being crushed to pulp.

In an instant, five men vanished beneath the weight,flesh burst open, blood sprayed across the survivors in a warm metallic mist. Bone fragments and shredded armor littered the floor in grotesque heaps.

One of those crushed twitched once before bursting open under pressure,a dark stain spreading outward like ink in water.

Panic erupted among the survivors. One man dropped his weapon and clawed at his hair, eyes wide with madness; another fell to his knees, violently vomiting onto the bloody stone as iron and bile filled their nostrils like a choking fog.

For a heartbeat, Caelum stood frozen, legs quaking beneath him as dust cascaded down from above like ash from a dying fire.

He forced out a raw command: "MOVE! Forward, damn you!"

The survivors stumbled onward, slipping in blood as their boots left streaks of red across the floor.

One tripped over a crushed corpse and shrieked as if death might reach out to grab him.

Caelum seized him by the collar and yanked him upright.

Spittle flew from his lips as he roared: "Stand up! Or I'll kill you myself!"

Terror propelled the man forward more than obedience ever could.

They pressed on through the passage that felt increasingly claustrophobic the walls closing in while ominous groans echoed from above as if warning them of another impending collapse.

Every sound made them flinch; every shadow seemed alive with menace.

Caelum marched ahead with rigid determination; sweat streamed down his face while sharp breaths came too quickly for comfort.

Pride kept him upright even as cracks spread within him,the tomb was stripping away not just his men but also his authority and certainty.

The corridor twisted ahead, suddenly expanding into a labyrinth of stone paths branching off in every direction.

Narrow passages split off like veins from a heart, disappearing into the suffocating darkness.

The walls towered high above them, smooth and unblemished, offering no clues to guide their way.

The survivors halted, their torches flickering nervously in their hands.

A maze.

Despair etched across their faces as one voice broke the silence,a whisper laced with fear.

"We'll never get out of here. We're going to die."

Caelum spun around, his eyes blazing with intensity. "You'll die if you give up! You'll die if you dare question me again! But if you follow my lead and do as I say, you might just live long enough to see me conquer this tomb and claim what's rightfully mine."

With determination, he raised his torch high and stepped boldly into the nearest corridor without a moment's hesitation.

His men,wounded and weary,,followed him like shadows dragged along by an unseen force.

The maze swallowed them whole, the sound of their footsteps fading into the oppressive dark.

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