The tunnel finally spat us out into light. For a second, I thought we stepped into another city entirely.
The ground floor of the Great Pyramid wasn't a temple hall or a tomb chamber like my Earth's history would have suggested. It was a living, breathing, sprawling market that glittered with so much color and movement it felt like I walked into a festival.
Above, the ceiling soared so high that one could barely even see where the stone ended. Instead, rows of spherical lights hung suspended in the air, glowing with amber and sapphire light, mimicking a permanent night sky. The place had the mood of a night market.
Booths and stalls stretched in endless rows, draped with silks dyed in different colours. There was roasted lamb, fresh dates, crushed mint and perfumes so rich they burned my nose. I heard the crack of copper pans, the hiss of oil and the chatter of merchants selling fabrics, jewelry and tablets.
They spoke Coptic, according to the system as it tries to translate the languages. Thales glanced around, clearly lost in the flow of it but me? My system adjusted instantly. The voices resolved into meaning as if I always known them. I could even feel my tongue itching to respond in the same cadence. The perks of being an Outer… sometimes they scared me. Other times like now, they were priceless.
We had only been walking a few minutes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder.
The woman standing before me looked like she walked straight out of the kind of painting one was not supposed to stare at for too long. She wore a white dress woven so finely it seemed almost liquid, clinging to the curve of her hips before flowing down in airy folds that brushed her sandaled feet. Gold jewelry gleamed against her skin. It was a wide collar necklace of turquoise and lapis, with bangles stacked on her arms and rings. Her skin was light brown. She had a white blindfold covering her eyes. Her hair was long and curly cascading down her back, threaded with thin gold cords. And her body… I hated to admit it even to myself, but there was no denying the truth. She was literally voluptuous.
"By the—"
Thales cut himself off. His mouth actually fell open. For once, House Erdict's heir was speechless. The woman didn't look at him. Her gaze stayed on me before she spoke in Ancient Coptic.
"Are you of the Houses?"
"We are."
Thales glanced at me in surprise. "You know Coptic?"
"I just guessed the meaning from tone and formality."
The woman arched a brow and then, to my surprise, she switched seamlessly into English. Her accent wrapped heavily around the words.
"I did not expect the silver-eyed one to speak in my language."
I inclined my head slightly, suppressing a smile. "I know a few languages."
Her lips curved just slightly to let me know she found the answer amusing. Then she straightened up.
"I am Nefira Rameses, third daughter of the Ruler of the House of Rameses."
Thales managed to recover enough to bow slightly. "An honor, Lady Rameses."
She inclined her head politely, her eyes flicking toward the guards stationed across the hall before returning to us.
"I was told to escort you. The guards felt your Xana signature. Outsiders of Houses should not wander unattended."
That explained it. Of course the guards hadn't just let us stroll in without arranging someone to watch us. Still, I found myself unreasonably grateful it had been her.
Thales cleared his throat. "We came to observe the ceremony of the transition from winter to spring."
Her expression softened, though her posture remained regal.
"It is an honor that other Houses appreciate the Spring Ceremony. Too often, the world forgets how much the cycle of seasons matters."
She turned as she gestured for us to follow.
"Come. The ceremony will begin in the evening and preparations are already underway. I will see that you are shown to a place of honor."
I glanced at Thales. His pale face was still pink, though whether from the sun or from her sudden appearance, I couldn't tell. He leaned toward me as we followed her into the crowd.
"Phaser, if all the daughters of Rameses look like that, I'm moving to Egypt."
I smirked, though I kept my eyes on Nefira's graceful stride. Somehow, I doubted he was exaggerating.
°°°°°°
The deeper we walked into the market, the more surreal it became and yet no one looked at us. That was strange. I mean, sure, me and Thales didn't exactly blend in. We had the aura of outsiders stamped all over us. But still, not even a second glance? It was like we didn't exist.
Nefira Rameses hadn't lost an ounce of her grace since the last time I looked at her. If anything, in the glow of the lights, she looked even more untouchable. She was even close enough that I could smell her perfume.
Thales noticed her too. I caught him in the corner of my eye, slack-jawed like someone had just unveiled a lost goddess from myth. And honestly, I couldn't even blame him.
But what surprised me wasn't how she looked. It was how she was looking at me. Not at Thales, mot around the market or scanning for guards or whatever noble daughters do when they sneak around. Her eyes lingered in a way I was painfully aware of. That's when the question slipped out of me before I could stop it.
"Are we invisible right now?"
Her lips curved in a little smirk.
"I am. If I were visible to these people, they would crowd me, begging for blessings and for the Goddess's touch. I would not be able to take a single step without being smothered."
"Blessings, huh? So instead you just make yourself… invisible?"
She lifted her hand gracefully and for a fraction of a second, the shimmer of her power bent the light around her skin like water refracting. Then she let it fade again.
"Yes. I am using Elemental Flux, Luminous specifically. There are nine element varieties as you know. For reference, they are Aqua, Zephyr, Terra, Ember, Luminous, Flora, Frost, Plasma and Void. Most in my House wield three at minimum. I use Luminous to bend perception and erase myself from the eyes of the market."
Thales let out a low whistle. "Figures. Only nobles get to play with tricks like that. So you've got three?"
Her smile widened as she looked back at him, then immediately drifted back to me.
"Yes. And perhaps more."
"And you can just… bend light like that? Erase yourself entirely?"
"Not erase. Redirect. Refract. I make the eye see what it should not. It is mastery of patience and precision, not brute strength. But yes… to them, I am nothing at all."
I nodded slowly. "Neat trick."
That's when she tilted her head slightly, studying me with those eyes again. Her voice softened, like she was dropping something serious into casual conversation.
"You, however, have something much more interesting."
"Do I?"
She leaned in slightly, her perfume brushing against me.
"Yes. You have an incredibly high concentration of Xana."
That word made my stomach flip. It was the energy one generated after reaching the Second Awakening. It is pure condensed energy but the problem was… I wasn't supposed to have that.
"Xana's for Second Awakenings. I'm not—"
"Yes, you are. You have already awakened beyond the first. In fact, your awakening is so powerful that the entire House of Rameses felt it. That was the second reason I was sent to you. Not merely because of your presence, but because of your… surge."
Thales burst out laughing beside me, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, you're screwed now, brother. You're about to be the most popular bastard in this entire pyramid."
I forced a chuckle, but inside? My head was spinning. Something didn't add up.
Because in the story of Masquerade of Dreams: Shattered, Phasnovterich, the guy I'm supposed to be playing as, never made it past the First Awakening. That was the tragedy of his life. He was born Ennèa, which is the rarest and strongest category and yet, he was cursed. His body couldn't pass the threshold. His family ridiculed him, his sister mocked him, and his power was useless.
So how the hell did I get here...
That's when it clicked. The Frostclave Stag's words.
"Your curse has been broken."
Was that it? Was the curse the lock? Did I actually break the chains holding Phasnovterich down? If that was true, then I wasn't just surviving. For the first time, I wasn't doomed to be stuck. I could grow stronger.
A laugh slipped out of me that was half relief, half disbelief. I didn't care if Thales or Nefira thought I was crazy. For once, I actually felt… hopeful.
"Guess it's a good thing we decided to chase your Azure Sword lead after all."
Thales tilted his head. "Why?"
"Because now, I can start learning Xana. And with that… I've got a shot."
The next time I would meet the Frostclave Stag, I'm going to thank him for breaking the curse of Phasnovterich. Because now, my chances of getting stronger are visible.