256 Balance Of The Hear

-From what I can gather, it was a fight that took place with the blessing of the Pharaoh.- Aether continued. 

Vy turned to her Familiar, "You're joking, right?"

How and why would a Pharaoh allow something like it? Things just did not make sense. Aether explained that it was a traditional fight for them. According to the murals, the tradition was that if someone wanted to contest another person's hand in marriage, they could do so in combat. 

While it does not always lead to death, should the other party choose to yield, it happens. Hearing the interesting tales of Pharoah Netiri made Vy wish she could meet this monarch in person. Her life was definitely not lacking any excitement. 

When they finally arrived at the top of the stairs, all of them were a little out of breath. Loiden and Marco had just deciphered the puzzle that led them into the Pharaoh's chamber. The two grave robbers tried to close the door on them, but Vy and her companions swiftly entered. 

The door closed behind them mere seconds later. Having seen much of the internal structure of the pyramid, Vy was now more intrigued to see if the two grave robbers could pull off what they came here to do. When the moment was right, she would stop them. 

But something also told her that she might not need to step in after all. The Pharaoh's chamber first began with a long corridor, each side of it was lined with small sarcophagi. Upon closer inspection, the Aether realised that each sarcophagus was painted in gold with a cat death mask. 

The inscriptions on each of them were still clearly visible. Each of them recorded the name of a cat. Each death mask was unique as well, each supposedly mimicked how the cat looked like when it was still alive. 

The Blackfire siblings were intrigued by the attention to detail to each of them. This did not look like something that would be done for the cats if Pharaoh Netiri killed them. When Vy whispered her thoughts to her brother, he wondered about it too. 

"Maybe this is what they did to imprison the cats here? Or to allow them to take revenge? Or maybe so that they can guard her and trap her here?" Lycster spouted whichever theory that came to his mind. 

While they were interesting theories, Vy felt that maybe, there was a much simpler reason to all of it. At the end of the corridor was a wide-open plane space. In the middle of the room, was a raised platform with a golden scale. 

Treasure and chests of all sorts surrounded them, while at the end of the room, were four sarcophagi. The two of them in the centre were human-sized, although only one of them was decorated in gold and paint. The other had no markings, only two lines of text written on it. 

Vy had silently observed the two grave robbers who were engrossed with figuring out how the scale worked. She noticed the inscription at the base of the raised platform that the golden scale was on. 

-Aether, what does the inscription read?- Vy asked. 

The winged serpent looked over and tilted his head left and right to get a clearer view of the inscription. It had been carved on instead of painted on so it withstood the test of time. 

-The scale is known as the Balance of the Heart. In order for the sceptre to be revealed, you must balance the scale. If the heart you place is heavier than the feather of truth, you will be consumed by shadow.- Aether explained. 

-What happens if it's lighter?- 

Aether looked over the inscription. -It does not say.- 

Seeing this as an opportunity to have a bit of fun, Vy walked up to the grave robbers with a smile on her face. Lycster wanted to warn his sister of the danger, but Aether stopped him and shook his head. 

Vy held her hands up as she approached them, as a sign that she bore no weapons. The grave robbers were not bothered by her, but seeing the smirk on her face irritated Loiden. He knew that Vy knew something they did not. 

"What do you want," Loiden barked at her. 

Acting all surprised that they took notice of her, Vy replied, "Oh nothing. Just wondering if you've figured out how to get the sceptre yet."

"Do you know how to-" before Marco could finish speaking, he felt a hard knock on the back of his head. 

"Ow! What was that for, old man!" Marco shouted at Loiden.

"I might know a thing or two. But it's up to you to decide if you would like to take the advice or not," Vy explained with a coy smile. 

Loiden was irritated. He did not have time to waste. Without warning, he grabbed Vy by the collar, pulling her in close. Their faces were only inches apart. 

"Spit. It. Out. Woman. Or else,"

"Or else what?" she rebutted.

Loiden pulled out a knife, threatening Vy with. He brought it up so close to her face that she could see her reflection on it. She also noticed a familiar symbol on the bolster of the knife. It was the symbol of a rabbit surrounded by curved lines. 

It looked like a rabbit stuck in the middle of a circular maze. Where had she seen that before? Vy could not quite recall. 

"Or I will puncture this pretty neck of yours right here, right now." Loiden threatened before letting go of Vy's collar, pushing her back away. 

Vy readjusted the collar of her shirt, she was not at all intimidated by the man. But she was toying with him and he clearly saw through it. She had wanted to toy with them further, but there was no point in wasting any more time than they already had. 

A part of her had wished that she took care of them back the stairs. But she wanted to make sure these men were up to no good before she made a move. 

"You need to put a heart on the scale," Vy said out loud. 

Lycster did not know why his sister was helping these thieves, but he knew she must have her reason. The look she had on her face told him so.