Outside the room with the Guardian, both Sett and Zarah began arguing in soft voices.
"Let's go in and hunt the Guardian, then we can go search for your sister!"
Zainah shook her head resolutely. "No. No, that won't do. What if she is hurt before we reach her? What will you do then?"
Sett looked at her with irritation, then ignoring her protest, he pushed the Guardian Room open.
Zainah stood frozen for a moment, staring blankly at the Guardian inside. Its mummified figure was like a twisted, ancient tree, its hollow sockets locking onto them the moment the door creaked open. Her grip tightened around the bone flute, and instinct took over—she raised it to her lips.
"You just have to distract it with," he shouted, running to the side of the room where the wine-green torches were. "I will handle the rest!"
But the Guardian moved first.
It blurred forward like a phantom, its decayed limbs stretching toward Zainah. A rush of cold air slammed into Zainah's body.
She hesitated—too slow.
A rustling noise of cloth filled her ears and she saw a piece of thick white bandage floating some meters in front of her. It was very tightly woven and it had a rock tied to its end. The rock flew through the gap between the Guardian's legs.
The creature didn't care. It lunged for her anyway.
But Sett grinned. He yanked the two ends of the bandage.
The Guardian stumbled—then fell, limbs tangled.
"Now! Use the song!" Sett shouted, dashing toward the wine-green flames crackling at the room's edge.
Zainah didn't waste time arguing. She stepped inside—the air was deathly cold.
The bone flute pressed against her lips, its surface smooth, faintly salty. She inhaled deeply, then blew.
A lilting melody filled the chamber.
The moment the sound echoed, something shifted. The world seemed to turn playful, as if beckoning all things to abandon conflict, to embrace joy. Axiom Tier 1 Attack—Song of Playfulness.
The Guardian faltered. A guttural moan left its throat.
Sett seized the moment. He coiled the bandage tighter, locking the creature in place. A smirk played on his lips as he took a torch—then tossed it onto the flammable fabric. In but a second, the cloth, along with the mummy, began to burn.
Fire erupted.
Sett jumped back, grabbing Zainah's wrist as they both stumbled out. Slamming the door shut behind them.
A tragic weeping echoed out from within, muffled.
Boom! Boom!
A fist smashed at the heavy door and they quaked, booming.
But soon enough, the sounds stopped.
"You killed a Guardian that easily?" Zainah panted, her breath still uneven. "And why was it surrounded by flames—its greatest weakness?"
Sett shrugged. "No clue. Nobody knows everything about the Tombs, except maybe the Gods. But inside these places, if there's poison, there's usually an antidote nearby. That's just how it works. It's almost like… the tomb wants us to defeat it."
A trial of sorts.
He left that part unsaid.
Zainah absorbed his words in silence, her heart still pounding. Even while burning, the Guardian had shaken the massive door behind them—it had been that strong.
"Just who are you?" she asked, her voice low. "You seem to know everything. And you're so strong. You knew exactly how to defeat it before we even stepped inside—you used me as bait, used the cloth to trip it, then set it on fire.
"That was all part of your plan, wasn't it? Its iron-hard body did not matter to you at all!"
Sett smirked, puffing out his chest. "Well I am quite awesome, my grandmother always used to tell me that. But no, that Guardian's body wasn't as hard as iron, it wouldn't have been this easy otherwise."
"Anyway." He waved a hand dismissively. "Your sister still isn't safe."
She nodded without hesitation.
Then—Sett froze.
A peculiar warmth pulsed through his chest. Something foreign.
His forehead especially felt warm.
What was that…?
Then the sensation vanished.
Slowly, they pushed the door open.
The flames had burned out, leaving only the charred remains of the once-regal Guardian. Its body, hardened like ancient wood, looked unbreakable—but brute strength meant nothing if it was never given the chance to be used.
Sett chuckled. "Old crooks call this 'defeating the forceful with the gentle.'" He sighed dramatically. "I, too, have grown old."
Sett crouched beside the corpse. Amid the wreckage, something gleamed—a small, floating sphere nestled in the creature's chest cavity. The Tomb Heart.
There were always nine of these in every tomb.
He let it roll into his palm, turning it over between his fingers before sitting down, inhaling deeply.
The Heart was deep black, barely the size of a fingernail.
Zainah's fingers twitched. She held back the urge to snatch it from him.
Without hesitation, Sett popped it into his mouth.
No taste.
That was good—these things were disgusting to eat.
He swallowed.
Immediately, a strange sensation spread through his body. Like waves crashing against the shore, an energy surged through him, rippling outward. At first, it was faint, but soon it began to carve itself into his very being.
This would make a normal person into a Tomb Raider.
But can mummies even become Tomb Raiders?
Sett snapped his eyes open. It was as if something began to crawl out of his rotten chest, like a centipede buried deep inside. Yet, that was just the feeling of his own skin writhing near his chest.
Wasn't the feeling after eating a Tomb Heart supposed to be good?
Maybe it was good that he couldn't sense pain. A hole began to open in his chest—and something floated inside it. A small, black sphere, slightly smaller than the cavity itself.
His hands clenched on the air, making sounds akin to wood smashing into wood.
His broken and disfigured body began to transform, some of his torn skin and broken bones mending to resemble a better preserved corpse.
Still, by the end, he had the same crypt-like smell and looked like an ancient corpse.
Yet, his sight became much, much better.
He ogled at Zainah.
"You… became a Guardian?" she whispered, nails digging into her palm.
There was unease in her voice.
A stronger Sett was still a mummy. Still a threat.
"I di—"
Sett's voice cut off.
Inside his mind, something stirred.
[Pre-natal divinity detected]
[Limitless Evolution Art initial fusion with the Host!]
[Host suitability confirmed!]
[Fusion complete!]
He frowned.
D-Tier (Tier 1) 'Low' Guardian Mummy]
[Revealing refreshed stats.]
Sett couldn't help but be surprised.
Not only hadn't he become a Tomb Raider, he had become something akin to a Guardian mummy. He could feel his improved strength, and so could he also feel a refreshing sensation of growth.
But what was that voice?
And Guardian mummies were supposed to be trapped inside the room they were born in.
Will he be trapped, too?
Sett was silent.