The desert wind carried the scent of dust and secrets as Nick and Dr. Hassan rode quietly in the back of an old transport truck, disguised under a tarp of faded blankets. The raid had taken its toll—Dr. Hassan was bruised but stable. Nick, however, was restless. The energy that surged through him during the fight still pulsed beneath his skin, like a second heartbeat.
Aisha rode up front, navigating toward a Guardian safehouse nestled on the outskirts of Al-Minya. Silence settled thick between them, broken only by the occasional rattle of gravel beneath the tires.
Nick sat with the parchment in one hand, the locket in the other. Azariel. The Eighth Stone. The Seeker's words haunted him. You haven't been awakened yet…
Dr. Hassan stirred. "You've changed."
Nick looked up. "You mean the whole glowing-eyes thing?"
"I mean something deeper." Hassan's voice was low. "There's power inside you… but not just any power. It's old. Blood-bound."
Nick leaned back against the metal frame. "Then why do I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore?"
Dr. Hassan hesitated, then reached into his satchel and withdrew a battered leather journal—his mother's. "There's something you should read."
Nick's hands trembled as he flipped through the pages. Her handwriting was sharp, deliberate. Diagrams. Notes on ancient myths. But then—personal entries.
> March 7. The stars above Giza whispered tonight. They speak of convergence, of something older than gods. Azariel's sigil matches the one from Saqqara. But I can't do this alone anymore.
March 15. He returned. Not as man. Not fully. He said he cannot stay. Said he was born of Horus and flame—an ancient bloodline tasked with guarding the Gate to the Library. He calls himself Naramu. A demi-god. I believe him. I've felt it in his presence. In his touch.
May 10. Nick is growing fast. And when he cries, sometimes the shadows dance.
Nick stared at the words, heart pounding.
"She fell in love with… a god?" he muttered.
"A demi-god," Hassan said. "According to her notes, Naramu was a guardian of the spiritual veil, bound to the Library. But during a celestial convergence, he chose to cross into the mortal world—just long enough to warn her. Just long enough to love her."
"Why would he leave?" Nick's voice cracked.
"Because he had to," Aisha answered from the front. She had been listening. "If he stayed, the balance would shift. The convergence demands sacrifice."
Nick stared out into the darkening horizon. "So I'm… what? Half human, half… ancient protector?"
Aisha nodded. "And it's why The Order fears you."
That night, at the safehouse, Nick stood under the open sky, watching the stars drift.
A shadow approached—another Guardian operative. A new character.
Amir al-Dajani, lean and sharp-eyed, wearing robes marked with blue sigils. You may not know it yet, but your blood has awakened."
Nick sighed. "That's the problem. I don't know what to do with it."
Amir smiled faintly. "Then let's teach you."
---
Elsewhere...
In the hidden chambers of SSF, Rachel Kim reported to Director Reed. "Nick's lineage checks out. His father was Naramu."
Reed leaned back, smiling faintly. "Then it begins. Keep him alive. He's the key to the first stone."
Rachel frowned. "We've tracked the Egypt stone to beneath the Nile Delta. A sunken ruin, guarded by ancient wards."
"Then we watch. Let him lead us to it."
---
The Next Clue
Nick, Hassan, Aisha, and now Amir, gathered around the poetic map. The celestial lines glowed faintly under starlight, pointing them to the Nile. Symbols of the ibis and lotus bloomed.
Dr. Hassan traced the route. "The first stone lies beneath the waters of the Nile, in a temple once dedicated to Thoth. It only surfaces during a rare lunar eclipse."
Nick's eyes gleamed. "When's the next one?"
Amir answered. "Three days."
Nick looked to the stars. "Then let's dive."
---