CHAPTER 1- PROLOGUE: THE TOMB THAT SHOULD NOT BE FOUND

..."Beneath every dune lies a secret clawing to be uncovered.... "...

The wind carried secrets older than the time itself, swirling the endless dunes into shapes that seemed to whisper warnings to those who dared listen. Under the pale glow of a crescent Moon, the sands hide what most thought had been lost to history-a tomb, sealed in silence, older than any of the empires that had once walked these lands.

But! Wei Wu-Xian was not like most.

He stood at the edge of the tomb's entrance, heart pounding as his fingers hovered over the ancient scroll. He was uncovered from the ruins of a forgotten city. Dust clung to its brittle corners, but the ink-etched in a forgotten script-still shimmered faintly in the moonlight, pursuing something that felt...... Alive.

"it's real!... The Tomb. The Legend. The Whispering Sand. All. Of. It."- he whispered, his voice barely above the wind's mourning cry. The words felt like a secret that had been kept for centuries. The Tomb was real. And whatever lay inside it was something that should never have been found.

Behind him....Lan Zhan stood silently, unmoving, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the darkened doorway. He said nothing. He rarely did. But in the stillness of the desert, his silence was louder than any scream. His hand rested on the hold of his sword, the metal gleaming faintly in the moonlight. A warrior at rest, yet always alert. His presence was the clam before a storm-silent, but ready to strike.

Fatty on the other hand, was less composed. His torch stuck in the strap of his bag which faintly lightens up their surroundings as he glances between his two companions." Do you really think we're doing the right thing?"

Wei Wu-Xian turns and flashes the torchlight on the fatty face who caught up with-sweating, panting, and clutching his snack pouch tighter than his courage." You really realize this is probably cursed, right?" he said, peering nervously into the yawning void of the tomb." Like.... ancient-blood-pouring-from-the-walls cursed". He looks around the tomb and the silent desert-" This place.... It feels like it's.... Watching us".

Wu-Xian did not answer immediately. His mind was already lost in the cryptic markings of the tomb's entrance, a spiral of jackal heads, fangs bared, surrounding a single eye. His thoughts racing through ancient texts he'd read a hundred times. "We're here to uncover the truth". He turned towards fatty- "there's a history in these stones that's never been told, and we're the ones to tell it".

Fatty shuddered his eyes wide "you... you know I'm not usually scared," he muttered, stepping close to Lan Zhan. "But... if that thing inside is as bad as it feels, maybe it's better to be left buried?", He speaks this line as slowly as only he would be able to hear. Fatty signed dramatically ,"I just wanted a roasted duck.Not death by some desert spirits".

Lan Zhan finally spoke," Then turn back".

Fatty blinked "You say that like I'd actually leave you two idiots here alone".

A gust of cold wind howled, brushing past them like fingers And then it came-

Whisper. Soft. Hissing. Ancient.

Not from the wind.

From *within*.

A strange sound-that seemed to rise from the very bowels of the earth itself.

All three froze.

Fatty's voice broke the silence "Tell me I Imagined that."

Wu-Xian looked at both of them, flashes of light dancing in his eyes.

"Whatever's inside this tomb, it hasn't been sleeping..." Lan Zhan spoke for the first time, his voice steady and cold, "It .Has .been .waiting.for.us".

Wu-Xian turned,his expression unreadable,he stepped forward,"Then we'd better be ready for it".

"yes! Ready to die, I miss you my roasted duck", fatty said dramatically makes Wu-Xian crack up and lighten their mood for that time.... Or~

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

*To be continued 🌻*

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