The following morning, Richard woke before dawn, feeling the urgency to return to the temple as soon as possible. The system's mission remained in his mind: he had to open the sealed door in the Guardian's Chamber. He quickly checked his status:
[**Status: Apprentice**]
[**Mana: 10/10**]
[**Active mission: Open the sealed door in the Guardian's Chamber**]
[**Time remaining: 36 hours**]
During the night, his mana had fully recharged. He now understood that this energy seemed to recover naturally during rest, valuable information for planning the use of his abilities.
He put Emily's amulet in his pocket and slipped quietly out of his tent. The camp was still asleep, with only a couple of guards watching the perimeter. Richard easily avoided them, taking advantage of the dawn shadows to head toward the temple they had discovered the day before.
As he approached the structure, he noticed something strange. The temple looked different in the dawn light, more solid yet more ethereal at the same time, as if it existed simultaneously in two different planes. The symbols on the columns at the entrance emitted a faint glow that seemed to intensify with his proximity.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" said a voice behind him, startling him.
Richard turned to find Marcus, who had apparently followed him from the camp.
"I'm not the only early riser," the archaeologist continued, studying Richard's reaction. "This place seems to exert a strong attraction on you."
"I wanted to examine the inscriptions in better light," Richard improvised, trying to maintain his composure.
Marcus nodded, although his skeptical gaze revealed he wasn't entirely convinced.
"Let's go in together then. Some of my assistants will join us shortly."
Richard concealed his frustration. He had hoped to explore the temple alone so he could freely use his abilities, but now he would have to be more discreet.
---
Once inside, Richard stood in front of one of the temple walls, observing the inscriptions that seemed to tell a story lost in time. He decided to use the "Inscription Analysis" ability again to try to decipher more details, but when he activated the system, a message appeared before his eyes:
[**Inscription Analysis activated**]
[**Mana: 8/10**]
The inscriptions began to reveal their meaning, showing fragments of an ancient tale about guardians and a sacred pact to protect something called "The Key of Ur-Kigal." However, when he tried to delve deeper into a particularly complex section using the ability a second time, the system warned him:
[**Insufficient mana for this specific action. Deeper analysis required.**]
He frowned, frustrated. He had spent mana on his first analysis, but some parts of the text seemed to require a more advanced level of understanding than he currently possessed.
"Everything all right?" Marcus asked, noticing Richard's expression.
"Yes, just... these inscriptions are more complex than I expected. I need time to analyze them," Richard replied, avoiding any mention of the system.
Marcus nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer.
"Perhaps we'll find something further ahead that will help you. This place seems to be full of secrets."
Richard nodded, mentally evaluating his options. He needed to conserve enough mana for when he reached the sealed door, but he also required more information to understand how to open it.
---
They decided to continue exploring. The main corridor of the temple branched in several directions, each leading to smaller chambers.
In one of them, they found what appeared to be an ancient storage room: broken vessels, stone tools, and fragments of tablets covered the floor.
"This is incredible," Marcus murmured, examining one of the tablets. "It seems this place was abandoned abruptly."
Richard, meanwhile, was looking for something that could help him complete his mission. He carefully inspected the objects, hoping to find some clue about how to open the sealed door. Emily's amulet vibrated softly in his pocket, as if responding to the energy of the place.
In another chamber, they found a pedestal with a stone bowl in the center. The inscriptions around the pedestal formed a circular pattern that Richard immediately recognized: it was similar to the symbols on Emily's amulet, but more elaborate.
"What do you think this is?" Marcus asked, pointing to the bowl.
Richard remembered the "Meditation" ability he had unlocked the night before to recharge his mana. An idea crossed his mind: these pedestals could serve as recharging or amplification points.
"I'm going to try something," he said, without going into details.
He sat in front of the pedestal and placed Emily's amulet in the bowl. Immediately, the symbols on the pedestal began to glow with a soft light. Richard closed his eyes and concentrated, synchronizing his breathing with the luminous pulse of the symbols.
A new sensation swept over him, as if the temple itself was communicating with him through the amulet. The system displayed a message:
[**Ancestral power point detected**]
[**Enhanced Meditation: Accelerated mana regeneration**]
[**Mana: 10/10 (recharged)**]
[**New knowledge acquired: The amulet serves as both key and conduit**]
Richard opened his eyes, surprised. He checked the mana section in the system and saw how it had fully recharged, faster than he expected.
"What happened?" Marcus asked, noticing the change in Richard's expression.
"I think this place has something special. I feel... more focused now," Richard replied, carefully choosing his words while retrieving the amulet from the bowl.
Marcus observed him with intense curiosity but was distracted by the call of one of his assistants from another chamber.
---
With his mana restored, Richard decided to use the "Echo Vision" ability when Marcus momentarily walked away. When he activated it on the pedestal, a new vision enveloped him:
[**Echo Vision activated**]
[**Mana: 7/10**]
The temple appeared before him in its full splendor. The walls, now intact, were covered with golden inscriptions that shone with a warm light. Large columns supported a ceiling decorated with intricate engravings representing stars and constellations. The air was filled with a sweet aroma, like incense, and the sound of chanting resonated in the main hall.
The people were not just hooded figures. Men and women wore elaborate robes, adorned with embroidery representing symbols similar to those of the system. Some wore amulets identical to Emily's, which glowed with different intensities depending on who carried them. There were children running among them, laughing, while adults performed ceremonial tasks.
In the center of the temple, a black stone altar shone with an intense light. Above it floated an object similar to Emily's amulet, but larger and more elaborate, radiating an energy that seemed to connect all those present.
A voice resonated in Richard's mind, clear and solemn:
*"The bond must remain hidden. Only the descendants will be able to open the path."*
The vision changed. Now he saw a group of people delivering a bright object to a hooded figure. The figure took it with reverence and placed it on the altar. The words resonated again:
*"The secret must remain hidden. The lineage is the key, and the guardian of the bridge between worlds."*
When the vision ended, Richard fell to his knees, breathing heavily.
"What did you see?" asked Marcus, who had returned just in time to see him.
"The purpose of the temple... it's connected to a lineage. A bond that must be protected," Richard responded, sharing only part of what he had seen.
Marcus looked at him in amazement, but before he could respond, a noise from the main corridor interrupted them.
---
Following the noise, they arrived at a chamber larger than the previous ones. Richard recognized it immediately: it was the Guardian's Chamber he had found the day before, with the sealed door in the center, surrounded by a mural covering the walls. The mural showed scenes of rituals, hooded figures, and an infinite desert.
"This is... impressive," Marcus murmured, approaching the mural.
Richard, however, couldn't take his eyes off the sealed door. This was his objective, what the system had ordered him to open. Remembering what he had learned, he discreetly took out Emily's amulet.
[**Basic Arcane Reading activated**]
[**Mana: 6/10**]
The symbols on the door began to reorganize in his vision, revealing a message:
*"Only those who possess the guardian's blood will be able to open the path. Place the key and offer your essence."*
Richard analyzed the message. The amulet seemed to be the "key," but what did offering his "essence" mean?
As he reflected, he noticed that the shadows in the chamber began to move unnaturally. The hooded figures he had seen in his visions began to materialize, surrounding them. They didn't seem exactly hostile, but rather... expectant, as if they were evaluating the intruders.
Marcus stepped back, visibly alarmed.
"What the hell is that?" he whispered.
"I think they're the temple guardians," Richard responded, surprisingly calm. "They're waiting for something."
Following his instinct, Richard approached the sealed door and placed Emily's amulet in a small indentation in the center that fit perfectly. The amulet began to glow, but the door remained sealed.
"Offer your essence," Richard remembered. Understanding what he had to do, he pressed his palm against the door next to the amulet and felt a sharp pain when a small hidden mechanism pricked his finger, extracting a drop of blood that the stone instantly absorbed.
[**Blood offered: Lineage analysis in process...**]
[**Compatibility detected: 37%**]
[**Partial access granted**]
The door emitted a glow and began to move, but it only opened enough to reveal a small hidden compartment. Inside was a small stone chest with inscriptions similar to those on the amulet.
Richard took it carefully, and as he did so, the hooded figures began to stir. Whispers in an ancient language filled the air, growing more agitated, and one of the figures raised a hand, pointing directly at them.
Richard felt a chill run down his spine. The atmosphere had changed; the shadows' presence was no longer merely observant but threatening.
"We need to get out of here!" he shouted, pulling Marcus.
The figures began to recite an incantation, and a wave of energy swept through the room. The lights from the flashlights flickered, and the air became heavy, almost unbreathable. Without thinking twice, Richard and Marcus ran toward the exit, while the shadows seemed to push them out of the temple, as if wanting to expel the intruders who had stolen something sacred.
[**Warning: Energy disturbance detected**]
[**Protection activated: The amulet is creating a shield**]
[**Mana: 3/10**]
Emily's amulet, which Richard had instinctively recovered from the door, glowed intensely in his hand, creating a protective barrier that kept the shadows at bay as they escaped.
When they finally got out, the desert wind had ceased, leaving an unsettling silence. Richard looked back, watching how the shadows disappeared into the darkness of the temple.
To his amazement, the temple began to vanish, as if it had never been there. The sand quickly covered it, leaving only empty ground where the structure had once stood.
"What the hell was that?" asked Marcus, panting.
Richard pressed the small stone chest against his chest, feeling that its weight was much greater than its physical dimensions.
"I don't know for certain," he finally responded. "But I think we just witnessed some kind of ancestral defense mechanism."
Marcus stared at the place where the temple had been and then at Richard.
"Whatever happened in there... whatever you saw... it wasn't normal, Richard. And that amulet," he pointed at the object that had now stopped glowing in Richard's hand, "isn't just a simple memento from your friend, is it?"
"It's complicated," was all Richard could respond.
"When we get back to camp, you and I are going to have a long conversation," Marcus said in a severe tone. "There are too many coincidences and inexplicable things happening since you arrived."
Richard nodded, knowing he would have to reveal at least part of the truth. But for now, all that mattered was the stone chest he had recovered and the system message that had just appeared:
[**Mission partially completed: Sealed door opened**]
[**Reward: +3 maximum mana capacity (13/13)**]
[**New object obtained: Guardian's Chest**]
[**New mission available: Decipher the secrets of the Guardian's Chest**]
[**Time limit: 72 hours**]
Richard looked toward the horizon, where the sun was beginning to rise completely. His adventure was just beginning, and he had the feeling that each step was taking him deeper into a mystery that was much older and much more personal than he had ever imagined.