The air inside the hidden vault chamber was thick with tension. Benjamin Moore stood still, shoulders taut, his sharp eyes scanning the silent, high-tech corridor before them. Amanda Williams, just a pace behind, adjusted her glasses and whispered, "Are you sure this is the place?"Benjamin nodded once. "The coordinates matched the map from the historian. But we’re not alone."The vault was unlike anything Amanda had expected. Built deep beneath an abandoned government building, it resembled a fusion of ancient catacombs and ultra-modern security tech. The walls were lined with reinforced steel embedded with symbols that pulsed faintly like veins of light sneaking through rock. As they advanced, Amanda noticed something peculiar. Small etchings carved along the metallic floor tiles, almost like a language. She knelt, brushing her fingers over the pattern."These symbols... they weren’t mentioned by the historian," she murmured.Benjamin’s eyes narrowed. "That’s because he only told

Emily sat alone in her office, the city lights of the skyline flickering through the tinted windows like stars trying to break through a storm. Her desk was usually cluttered with quarterly reports, product designs, and memos, but tonight, it was filled with something far less familiar—background checks, surveillance footage, and discreet emails exchanged through an encrypted server. She had never imagined herself doing something like this. But ever since the incident at the restaurant, a feeling had lodged itself deep in her chest, a mix of unease and intrigue. Benjamin Moore was not who she had thought he was. And Marcus? Well, the less she thought of him, the better. For days, she had quietly rerouted some of her company’s private investigation resources. Through shell companies and a trusted third-party contact, she initiated an investigation into Benjamin Moore’s background. It wasn't easy. Most of his official records were either sealed or oddly incomplete. No academic tra

The quiet hum of the hospital room filled the air like a soft, invisible fog. Machines blinked and pulses beside the bed, their steady rhythm a fragile comfort. Benjamin sat still, eyes locked on the thin figure lying before him. His adoptive mother looked more peaceful than she had in weeks. She wasn’t awake, but her face had relaxed. Her skin wasn’t quite as pale as it had been. Even her breathing, once shallow and uneven, had steadied into something more natural. For someone else, it might have seemed like nothing, just another moment of waiting. But Benjamin knew better.It was working. Hours earlier, he had completed the ritual if it could even be called that. It was more of a treatment, or perhaps a hybrid between a ritual and a medical procedure. The instructions were etched into the inner panel of Treasure 2, hidden beneath layers of protective symbols. It had taken Benjamin and Amanda days to uncover them, and even longer to understand them.The artifact had revealed som

The mountain air was thin and cold, brushing against Benjamin's face as he and Amanda descended into a narrow ravine. They had left Nejem's hideout hours ago, guided only by the vague coordinates scrawled on a torn parchment the professor had pressed into Benjamin's hand at the last moment. The moon was hidden behind heavy clouds, and their path was lit by nothing but a flickering lantern Amanda carried. "Are we close?" she asked, her voice hushed.Benjamin glanced down at the parchment, comparing the symbols with the stone markings etched along the rock face. He nodded. "Just beyond that bend. There should be a cave entrance." He paused, then added, "Be ready for anything."Amanda gripped the lantern tightly. "Always."The path opened up into a jagged crevice, half-covered by overgrowth and stone. They slipped inside, stepping into the dark, damp air of the cave. Their footsteps echoed faintly as they moved deeper, the narrow tunnel gradually widening into what seemed like a na

The air was heavy with heat and tension as Benjamin crouched beside a broken pillar, his eyes scanning the moss-covered stone carvings along the chamber's walls. The symbols were old, older than any language he had studied formally. Yet, strangely, something about them stirred a memory deep within him. Like a dream once vivid but faded by morning.Amanda stood nearby, her flashlight casting shaky beams across the uneven floor. In one hand, she held a notebook scribbled with sketches and translations. In the other, a shortwave radio, silent for now. "This has to be it," she whispered. "The chamber. The third treasure is close."Benjamin didn’t answer. He moved slowly along the wall, tracing symbols with his fingers. “We’re not the first to come looking for this place,” he said softly. “But maybe we’re the first to understand what we’re really looking for.”From above, muffled noises broke the stillness. Leaves rustled. Footsteps crunched faintly over the jungle floor. Amanda turned o