253 Murals Of A Pharoah

Her voice echoed down the dimly lit hallway. As they looked around, their attention quickly turned to the murals that lined both sides of the wall. Aether was intrigued by them as well, but a series of sounds in the distant had his attention.

"These… these pictures seem to be telling a story, sis," Lycster whispered to Vy.

Vy took a closer look at them. As she quickly glanced at the murals that ran down the hallway, Vy realised that her brother was right. Each mural depicted a scene. But some of the paint had faded over time. The first mural depicted a scene.

Out of everything that was painted in the murals, there was a common theme throughout. 

"Is it just me, or are there a lot of cats?" Lycster asked.

Her brother was right. 

Vy looked at the murals, above them and down below, they were all surrounded by strange symbols. It all seemed part of an ancient forgotten language. If only they were able to read them. After staring into the dark hallway for a while, Aether turned his attention to the murals.

He flew up above them, inspecting the symbols as he mumbled to himself. Unfortunately, most of the symbols had also faded off over time due to wear and tear. 

-This tomb belongs to a person- he informed the Blackfire siblings as he continued to read. -A Pharoah.-

"What's a Pharoah?" Lycster asked.

"I think it's the title given to a ruling monarch."

Aether nodded in agreement. -Like a King or Queen. Her name was Netiri.-

Lycster folded his arms, "You could tell that from these symbols?"

The winged serpent snootily glared at the boy. -You dare question my intelligence?-

The boy felt a chill down his spine as he quickly shook his head, laughing it off, "Haha… of course not!"

Vy chuckled as she shook her head, "What else came you tell us about this place, Aether? Enlighten us."

-Tch.- the winged serpent said with a grin. -Don't try and butter me up, human.-

Aether continued to read the symbols and referencing the murals. The murals depicted the tale of the Pharoah Netiri. 

The first mural depicted her early in her reign. She was well-liked by her people, evident from the images of citizens bowing at her feet. The lands flourished with wheat and wine, and the people were happy. Noticeably, she was surrounded by cats.

The second mural faded out, only some parts of it survived the passage of time. All Vy could see under the light, were images of cats. Most of the cats had black fur and there were a lot of them. 

A few murals down, and there was a scene depicting armies marching upon the Pharoah's Palace. It was under attack by opposing armies. 

After her death, she was mummified and so were the cats. Pharoah Netiri's mummified body was placed into a sarcophagus with a death mask made for her. When it came to the description and mural of her death mask, Aether fell silent. 

"Is something wrong, Aether?" Vy asked as soon as she noticed his silence. 

Aether hesitated, something did not feel right. Pharaohs typically had a death mask made to resemble how they looked when they were alive. But Pharoah Netiri's death mask was the face of a cat, made out of gold, wearing the Pharoah's headpiece with black cat eye liner around the eyes. 

Moving on to one of the final murals, there was something even more sinister. It depicted a scene from within the Pharoah's chamber in the Pyramid. Black cats glowing with glowing red and yellow eyes covered the mural amongst chests of treasures. 

-It's as if the cats are guarding her. Keeping her here.- Aether said. 

Lycster took a closer look at the murals and processed what he had learnt about the Pyramid and the Pharoah that Aether had told them. When he came to the realisation, he felt a shiver down his spine. 

"Wait, if the Pharoah is dead...and she's here." Lycster gulped and he turned to look at his sister, "Does that mean this is her grave?"

Vy nodded, "It's more of a tomb, but yes. It's her final resting place."

-Places like these usually are cursed.- Aether muttered. 

Vy did not like the idea of disturbing a tomb. The dead should not be disturbed. Vy recalled what she had noticed just before they entered the pyramid. There were people who entered the pyramid before them. 

Before she could say anything, Vy heard a sound echoing from down the hallway. She took a step forward and felt as if the ground beneath her moved. Vy looked down and noticed a square piece of the path they were in, where her foot was on, was indented. 

Vy looked up at Aether and Lycster as sweat trickled down her forehead. She had triggered a trap. As soon as she lifted her foot off it, the trap would be activated. Vy swallowed as she tried to clear her mind and think of a solution. 

Without any idea on what the trap might be, it was difficult for them to plot out their next move. It could be a boulder that would come rolling down the hallway, crushing them if they did not run fast enough. 

Arrows could be shot out from both sides, impaling them. Or spears could spring up from beneath their feet, impaling them. Vy did a quick scan of the space around her. 

"We run on three," Vy said to Lycster and Aether. 

Both of them nodded back to her. 

"One, two, three!"

As soon as the last word left her mouth, Vy lifted her foot off the square panel and made a run for it. Lycster made a run for it too. None of them looked back, they kept running. But Vy realised quickly that she could not hear anything. 

She stopped in her tracks and looked back. 

"What are you doing sis-" Lycster shouted as he continued to run. 

The boy did not see where he was going. A hand shot out of nowhere and muffled Lycster. Vy turned back around and drew her dagger, ready to attack. Aether bared his teeth, ready to attack as well. 

They had been so focused on running away from what might be coming for them from behind, that they forgot to be aware of what was in front of them.