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*****
The group froze.
Four mummies were waddling forward… carrying another mummy on their shoulders like some kind of ancient VIP being escorted to a meeting she definitely didn't schedule.
And yes — the one being carried looked distinctly female.
Jonathan squinted. "Okay. That is definitely the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life."
He pointed dramatically. "Four mummies carrying another mummy… what kind of religious funeral even is that?"
No one had an answer.
Daniel didn't bother commenting either. Instead, he lifted his hammer, took a calm breath, and flicked it forward as if he were casually skipping a stone.
The hammer spun through the air like a pissed-off frisbee.
WHUMP–WHUMP–WHUMP–WHUMP.
All four carrier-mummies lost their torsos in perfect sequence, collapsing like rotten dominoes.
The female mummy they had been carrying dropped to the sand with a dusty thud.
O'Connell stared at Daniel's skinny arms. "I'll never understand this. You've got zero muscles, but you swing that thing like it weighs nothing."
Daniel shrugged. "Strength isn't always about muscles."
And honestly, in a world filled with so many strange things, where would you even begin explaining it? Half the creatures they had seen today didn't make sense in any book, myth, or nightmare.
Daniel himself was starting to qualify as one of the strangest things walking around—no muscles to show, yet somehow swinging a hammer like it weighed nothing.
Suddenly, the ground trembled—FWOOSH!
A sandstorm exploded out of nowhere, engulfing the entire group in a swirling golden haze.
Daniel immediately started yelling, "Oh, come on! Fuck this shit—where did this sandstorm even come from underground?!"
"Underground!" Jonathan shouted back, waving his arms uselessly as sand slapped his face. "There isn't even wind down here! How is this fair?!"
O'Connell coughed, eyes squinting through the blinding cloud. "Everybody stay close! Don't breathe too much of this in."
Ardeth shouted something noble and warrior-like, but it was completely swallowed by the roaring sand.
After what felt like an eternity—but was probably one miserable minute—the sandstorm faded just as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving them hacking, brushing themselves off, and looking like they'd rolled through a bakery.
Jonathan spat sand. "What the hell was that?! Since when do we get premium sandstorms in underground corridors?!"
"I swear the desert hates us," O'Connell muttered.
Daniel looked around, trying to count the heads. "Okay, is everyone alive? Everyone got their limbs?"
He counted again.
And again.
His stomach dropped.
"Wait… wait—where did Evy go?" Daniel shouted, spinning in circles.
O'Connell's voice cracked. "What do you mean where did she go?! She was right next to you!"
Ardeth's expression darkened. "The sandstorm… it took her."
Daniel scanned the corridor again—something felt wrong.
Then he noticed it.
The female mummy's body… was gone too.
His left eye twitched.
"…Oh, fuck you, you sneaky Mummy bastard!" Daniel roared, voice echoing across the stone walls. "I hope you become a damn eunuch, you sand-eating corpse!"
O'Connell winced. "Wow, going straight for the soul there."
Jonathan raised a hand. "Is… is that even possible for a mummy?"
Daniel ignored them completely, fury boiling.
He knew exactly what this meant.
Imhotep didn't just snatch Evelyn—he took her to sacrifice her and resurrect his precious dead girlfriend.
'Fuck that guy,' Daniel thought, jaw clenching. 'It's already hard enough to find a good, beautiful woman in this world—and now he wants to sacrifice the one he found? Not on my damn watch.'
But even in the chaos, there was one thing keeping him from completely losing it.
A small, smug smile tugged at his lips.
Because the Book of the Dead…
And the key…
Were safely tucked inside his inventory.
"Go on, you dusty idiot," Daniel muttered. "Try your ritual. Without the book and key, you can't do jack shit."
Ardeth eyed him. "You seem… awfully confident."
There was something strange about this man—he clearly cared about the woman Mummy had taken, but he didn't show the panic or desperation he expected.
No hurried movements, no frantic shouting. Just irritation… and a little too much confidence.
Daniel cracked his knuckles. "Oh, trust me. This is the part where the mummy's plan goes from dramatic… to utterly screwed."