1 Gate of the Gods

The biggest find of the 22nd century, but it was not yet proven and the archeologist hid this kind of discovery to the world. Pedro Ramirez, a 56-year-old archeologist and historian was on a trail of something extraordinary. Beneath a ruin in Egypt lies an unknown tomb that was so complex they labeled it a labyrinth or a maze. They were constantly mapping the area and found what was supposed to be a tomb of someone very important.

"Professor, shouldn't we send the men first before entering?" A young man with glasses beside Pedro was worried but at the same time excited. They were nearing the most critical moment, and Pedro's team themselves was the one to enter the tomb first after mapping it for almost a year.

"Don't worry, the team already checked the area and there no irregularities." Pedro just smiled and said and could not wait.Various lights coming from their helmet illuminated the cave, and it was breath taking. They could not believe the massive structure that was built under ground. It may have been more complicated to build than the pyramids of Giza.

The murals on the wall depicted of a God; deformed large head and huge eyes. It depicted an extraterrestrial being in modern fiction, It symbolizes something new in the history of Egypt. They could not yet comment yet on something strange and at the same time exciting because the search is still underway.

"The murals here are very large and life like, this was truly a master piece." Pedro was so excited as he looked at the 10 – 15 foot tall wall full of paintings depicting the owner, creator of the tomb and what lies ahead. Pedro read the hieroglyphs and it said to be the tomb of Iah; a 'time' God. The only strange thing was it also said to be the gate of the Gods.

At the end of the cave a huge 10-foot tall, 7 foot wide arch opening welcomed them. The marble materials used in the arch was massive, and they can only stare at it with awe as they slowly walked into the next room.

The end area was not something they predicted; no stone coffins, or any other indication that it was a tomb. The room was huge dome design, and at the center there is a structure elevated in a platform. 10 foot tall, circle platform and surrounded by totem like stones full of unknown hieroglyphs.

They hastened their pace to search the structure but as all of them entered the area, a sudden flash of light blinded them."Huh?!" As their visions slowly returned they panicked and looked at each other while looking around, then suddenly, an earthquake of some kind shook them. It was as if they triggered some kind of trap.

"Hurry, get out of the area." Pedro shouted to his men with all his might. He knew something was wrong and it was not the time to panic. They started to run back but the arch opening to the area collapsed and the only exit was blocked. It was too late as the walls started to crumble and some men were already buried under the huge heavy stones.

The abrupt incident also injured Pedro. A boulder crushed his right leg but fortunately it continued to roll freeing him. His vision was hazy from the pain as he shouted, but adrenaline kicked in and he started to crawl to the center. He checked from time to time if for any survivor, but he can only see piles of boulder and a fog of dust everywhere.

Massive stones from the ceiling are still collapsing and the walls are still crumbling while Pedro crawled with all his might to the center. "I'm sorry my team, I will try to see what we discover." He blurted to himself as his tears was falling from his eyes, he was now near the platform and struggling to climbed the four steps to the top. It was the only thing he can do to his loyal team that never left him despite his circumstances.

His panting never stopped due to pain and blood loss, but he finally arrived into one of the totem like structures. It was as thick as his body and it was full of hieroglyphs he had never seen before. He smiled and said "Damn it, I can't read them." He was a bit frustrated; he was finally able to discover something to prove himself, but he was dying in an unknown tomb, and the world might not able to recover them due to hiding this project.

Pedro was a successful archeologist, during his late years he discovered something new and thought that it was a very old and somewhat mysterious. He presented his discovery but proof and evidence was lacking, he was the talk of the century at that time.

They even dubbed him 'Lunatic' for his claims of something unknown and mysterious. His sponsors and even the company he was working with backed out, and all he can do is fund his ventures privately to redeem his claims. The younger generations of archeologist see to him as crazy and laugh behind him, and it affected not only him but also his family.

His children are shamed, grandchildren bullied at school and other relatives are rejected. He petitioned to the government but some of his enemies and the bullies have ties inside, and the government just acted like nothing happened and just promised to solve the problem but even in a few years nothing happened.

It was very painful for him as a professional archeologist. Pedro dedicated some of his work to the government, but they seemed to forget him in times of trouble. It was maybe because of his success in the field that many was jealous. The organization he was in claimed that his most recent discovery was a provocation to the recent discoveries and they were right but instead of leaving him off; they underhandedly attacked him in social media and bringing him down.

Now that he was dying Pedro could only reminisce of the past and remember his family as he sat his back in the totem while his bloodied leg was now numb. His vision was getting dimmer due to sand in his glasses, so he removed it, his vision was blurry, but he can see something strange.

"My wife, please take care of our family. Mother and Father, I will see you soon."

Even though the area was collapsing, the center was unharmed. He could not ascertain it because the fog of sand was blocking his vision adding to his poor eyesight, but it seems that there is some kind of invisible barrier protecting the area. "Damn it, I'm hallucinating, the blood loss is getting worst." He gritted his teeth in pain as he tried to relax himself. He already surrendered everything at this point, and he can feel his end. He closed his eyes not minding the still shaking room and drew his last breath.

His life ended, but he was right that there was something strange. The invisible barrier protected the most central area, and as the cave was shaking his blood was sipping into the carved hieroglyphs in the floor and it glowed with golden light. His lifeless body then floated in the center of the structure and all totems started to glow from its foot to the tip.

[Scan Complete.. Brain Functions Compatible..Initiating Transfer] A mechanical voice sounded in the area. [Body Incompatible..Initiate Protocol X] It continued to speak as the totem was now beaming lights into Pedro's floating body. It bombarded beam of light that gradually turned his whole body into golden light.

[Error detected..Initiate emergency protocol] The voice again echoed in the shaking room, while large boulders where disintegrated as it made contact to the invisible barrier.

The totems now was bombarding another target beside Pedro's golden body of light and it slowly made a black hole slowly growing and absorbing Pedro's body at the same time. After absorbing him the black hole continued to absorb everything inside the area and even the whole labyrinth.

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Outside, where some locals and other part of the project was working also felt the shake, and all of them panicked running out of the entrance of the tomb. They then witnessed after a few minutes that the whole structure was collapsing from the inside, and it even got some other workers near the entrance.

It was the biggest disaster in the history of archeology, and it became the hottest topic. The legacy and bad reputation of Pedro ended with his last project that produced nothing. He was buried in an unknown tomb that even the archeological organizations deem as insignificant.

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In pain Pedro opened his eyes. "Ahhhh." He shouted as he felt his right leg in pain again. As he looked around he could not distinguish anything aside from boulders and a dark cave illuminated with something like a glowing crystal on the walls. Then suddenly, memories of someone suddenly flooded his head.

He gritted his teeth, eyes wide and checked his body. "Sekani?" He knew the word meaning 'Full of laughter' in the Egyptian word.