Chapter 3
1907words
Without warning, Michael froze. He adjusted his earpiece, his expression darkening.
"What is it?" I whispered, instantly on edge.
"…I'm picking up a signal," Michael murmured, barely audible. "Faint, but definite. Someone's behind us. They've got tech."
My heart clenched as ice shot down my spine.
I signaled for silence, killed my light, and pressed against the wall, straining to listen. The darkness was absolute, the silence so complete I could hear blood pulsing in my ears.
Then—from deep in the passage behind us—the unmistakable sound of stone crunching under a boot.
"We've got company."
I breathed the words against the cold stone, barely a whisper, yet in that perfect silence they seemed to echo like gunshots.
Leo's eyes narrowed to slits in the darkness as he drew his knife, holding it in a reverse grip. His body coiled like a predator about to strike. Michael's fingers flew over his wrist computer, the dim screen casting an eerie glow on his face.
"Signal's intermittent. They're using counter-surveillance gear," Michael hissed through clenched teeth.
"Multiple targets. At least three."
"Fuck! Victor works fast," Leo growled. "What's the play, Jason? Fight or flight?"
"Run," I decided instantly, scanning Grandfather's notes by the narrow beam of my light. "After the Three Questions comes the 'Path of Heartlessness'—a gauntlet of death traps. Perfect place to lose them."
Without another word, we bolted.
The passage stretched long and narrow, bluestone floors treacherously slick with moisture. I led the charge, notes in one hand, flashlight in the other, mentally mapping Grandfather's diagrams onto the path ahead.
"Left three, right five!" I called out, moving in a precise pattern like some deadly dance. The "Seven Stars Step"—an ancient technique for navigating trapped ground.
Leo and Michael matched my movements exactly, following in my footsteps without question.
Just as we cleared what looked like an ordinary stretch of floor, mechanical clicks sounded behind us, followed by the whistling of projectiles and the thunk of metal embedding in stone.
I risked a glance back. Glowing blue spikes jutted from floor and walls where we'd just been. One misstep and we'd have been human pincushions.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Leo gasped, sweat beading on his forehead. "Our ancestors were sick bastards!"
"Less talking, more running!"
The rest of the path was a nightmare gauntlet straight out of an adventure film. Crushing boulders dropping from above. Poisonous gas seeping from the floor. Hidden crossbows firing toxic bolts from the walls. Without Grandfather's cheat sheet, we'd have died a dozen gruesome deaths.
After dodging death traps for what felt like hours, the passage suddenly widened. We burst into an enormous circular chamber the size of a basketball court. The ceiling soared impossibly high—our flashlight beams couldn't reach it. But scattered across the dome were countless glittering points of light, like stars transplanted underground.
"What the hell is this place?" Leo gasped, scanning for threats.
"The Court of Stars." I stared up at the artificial cosmos in awe. The glittering points weren't jewels but some kind of bioluminescent mineral, arranged in perfect replication of the twenty-eight celestial mansions.
"Not just for show—it's an astronomical puzzle hiding the exit." The passage behind us had sealed shut the moment we entered. No other exits were visible anywhere in the chamber.
"They'll be right behind us," Michael warned, face grim. "They'll know how to navigate the traps."
"Clock's ticking." I moved to the center of the chamber, where a massive Later Heaven Bagua diagram was carved into the floor, mirroring the star pattern above.
Grandfather's notes offered just one cryptic line: "Stars guide, Earth trigrams form the door, where celestial regions intersect, life force reveals itself." Maddeningly vague, but Grandfather never wasted words. He trusted I could crack it.
"Celestial regions…" I muttered, mind racing. In traditional astrology, star patterns corresponded to earthly territories—the celestial-terrestrial correspondence theory. Whoever designed this tomb had merged astrology, geomancy, and geography into one fiendish puzzle.
"Leo, Michael, I need you both." I inhaled deeply and pointed my light toward the northwest corner of the dome. "Leo, see that bright cluster? The Pleiades. In ancient cosmology, it corresponds to the northern territories. Find the 'Gen' position on the floor diagram and stand on it."
"Michael, look southeast," I directed my beam to another constellation. "The Phoenix. It represents the southern lands. Stand on the 'Li' position." Though clearly confused, they followed without question.
With them in position, I turned east. There hung the "Celestial Hare," representing our home territory—the very land beneath our feet.
"That's it!" The realization hit me. "This isn't testing knowledge—it's verifying identity! Only true locals would understand the connection." I strode to the center of the diagram, to the "Zhen" position representing our homeland, and planted my feet.
The moment we all stood in position, the chamber trembled.
The celestial map above began to rotate, stars flowing in hypnotic patterns. Beautiful, yet menacing. A deep hum filled the chamber as light beams shot down from the stars, forming an intricate web that surrounded us on all sides.
The web of light began to contract. I didn't need to imagine what would happen if it touched us.
"Jason! What the fuck is happening?!" Leo shouted, panic edging his voice.
"Stay calm! Final verification!" My mind raced as I tracked the shifting patterns above and below. "The key is the 'Three Enclosures'! Purple Forbidden, Supreme Palace, and Heavenly Market! We need to find our birth stars!" I demanded their birth dates, calculating furiously as the deadly web closed in.
"I'm Purple Forbidden, Leo's Supreme Palace, Michael's Heavenly Market! Each of you—find your birth star in the web and step onto it!"
It was insane—like walking deliberately into the jaws of death. But neither hesitated. As the web contracted to its minimum, we all stepped forward simultaneously into the lethal lattice of light.
The expected rain of arrows never came. The moment we stepped onto our respective stars, the entire web vanished. The chamber fell silent.
A low rumble echoed as a section of seemingly solid wall slid open before us. We'd done it.
"Move!" Without pausing to celebrate, I pushed them through the opening.
Instead of the grand passage to the main burial chamber we'd expected, we found ourselves in a cramped, rough-hewn alcove. The stench of mold and decay hit us like a wall. As our lights swept the space, my stomach dropped.
In the corner, a skeleton in a tattered lab coat slumped against the wall. Its posture frozen in time—one hand dangling lifelessly, the other still reaching for a rusted water flask. Decayed equipment and a rotting backpack lay scattered around it.
"Who the hell is that?" Leo's voice cracked.
My heart hammered against my ribs as dread clawed up my throat.
I approached slowly, legs numb, each step an effort.
I knelt beside the remains. Despite the coat's decay, its breast pocket remained intact.
My hand shook violently as I reached inside.
My fingers found something hard and square, carefully wrapped in wax paper. Beside it, a folded sheet, yellowed and fragile with age.
I withdrew both items, hardly daring to breathe.
I carefully unwrapped the wax paper. An ID card. When my light fell on that familiar face—so much younger than in my memories—the world seemed to collapse around me.
A shy, scholarly smile. Eyes exactly like mine.
Name: William Lawrence.
My father.
"Dad…" The sound that escaped me wasn't human. Hot tears blurred my vision instantly.
I'd imagined our reunion a thousand times over the years. Never like this. Never finding his bones in a forgotten tomb. The man who'd carried me on his shoulders, who'd always had a gentle smile—reduced to a skeleton in the dark.
"Jason!" Leo was at my side in an instant, gripping my shoulders as I swayed.
"I'm okay…" I shoved him away, roughly wiping my face though tears continued to fall. I forced myself to look away from the remains and focus on the yellowed paper.
My hands trembled too violently to unfold the delicate paper. Michael silently took it from me and carefully opened it.
The page contained hurried scrawl, written with failing strength.
"Jason, if you're reading this, I've failed."
"The 'curse' is actually a genetic defect that can be triggered by specific sound frequencies. Some Lawrence bloodlines carry it. Victor discovered this secret and found a way to activate it—using particular sound waves to target those with pure bloodlines who threatened his power."
"There is no chemical antidote. The cure is the 'Restoration' ritual in the main burial chamber—a massive acoustic device that emits counter-frequencies to repair the damaged genetic code."
"But the ritual requires the purest bloodline—our lineage—to activate it. Victor's blood is tainted; he can't use it himself. That's why he needs you or Lily. Grandfather's notes were planted as bait to lure you here—either to die or to be captured as a 'component' in the ritual. But the notebook itself contains the real key. Trust Grandfather's wisdom. Don't make my mistakes."
"Save your sister." The final words were carved into the paper with desperate force.
I stared at the note, each word burning into my brain like acid. It all made sense now. Victor's elaborate game. He didn't want us dead—he wanted us as tools. My father hadn't abandoned us—he'd died trying to save us.
Rage and grief exploded in my chest like napalm, scorching me from the inside out. Everything clicked into place—Dad's disappearance, Victor's charade, the family "curse." All the pieces of the puzzle finally fit.
BANG! The hidden door behind us crashed open!
Dark figures flooded in, tactical lights blinding us as weapons glinted in the harsh beams.
"There they are! Get Jason Lawrence—dead or alive!" barked a gruff voice.
Victor's men! "Fuck this!" Leo roared, lunging forward like a berserker, combat knife flashing. The clash of steel and pained grunts echoed in the cramped space.
Leo somehow held off multiple attackers, buying us precious seconds!
"Jason! Find an exit!" Leo shouted between savage strikes.
I snapped back to reality, stuffed the letter into my pocket, and yanked Michael to his feet. "Find another way out!"
Dad's letter said the notebook contained the real key! I frantically flipped to the section on the "Court of Stars."
In the margin, I spotted a tiny mark—a dot with a reversed arrow pointing toward "Heavenly Market Enclosure."
I sprinted to the opposite wall—the one corresponding to the Heavenly Market position in the main chamber—and ran my hands over the rough stone.
"Here!" Michael pointed to a slightly protruding stone in the corner.
I twisted it using Grandfather's standard sequence—three turns left, one and a half right, then pushed hard. Click! The wall slid open, revealing a narrow escape tunnel barely wide enough for one person.
"Leo! Now!" I shouted.
Leo kicked one attacker in the chest, faked out another, and dove toward us. Blood poured from a deep gash in his arm, but he didn't even flinch.
We scrambled into the tunnel one by one. As I entered last, I reached back for the interior switch and yanked it with all my strength.
The stone slab slammed shut, cutting off the shouts and curses of our pursuers.
Ahead lay only darkness deeper than any we'd faced before. None of us knew where this tunnel led—or what waited at its end.
