novelraw Chapter 201: The Serpent God's Tear and the Pharaoh's Curse
Chapter 201: The Serpent God's Tear and the Pharaoh's Curse
The thick, scorched smell of burning protein mixed with ozone lingered for a long time in the underground river channel, holding a long funeral with a darkly humorous tone for a dark monarch who had ruled this place for nearly two thousand years.
With the dramatic death of that Subterranean Giant Eel, the sewer system of the Serapeum finally calmed down.
"We... succeeded?"
Ethan couldn't believe it. His face was smeared with river mud and oily char from the explosion splash, looking utterly disheveled.
"No, not yet."
Lin Jie's voice drifted over from beside him, faint and eerie. "We've only eliminated the primary target."
His gaze pierced through the endless darkness, looking towards the unknown endpoint this underground river ultimately led to.
"Whatever 'thing' Mr. Humboldt left behind is still waiting for us inside."
These words pulled everyone back from the post-victory joy to the core of the mission.
Yes.Besides eradicating the Subterranean Giant Eel as a major threat, they had another equally important objective for this trip: to discover what secrets the pioneer Humboldt had left behind in this isolated underground labyrinth.
The team didn't rest unnecessarily. They continued paddling along the Divine Corridor, welcomed by hundreds of silent giant bronze snakes lining the path, heading deeper into the darkness that had previously been blocked by the giant eel.
After advancing several kilometers and passing through a narrow natural rock fissure barely wide enough for one person, the scene before them opened up.
A massive natural underground cavern unfolded before their eyes. Unlike the grand, rushing waterways outside, this place exuded an aura of primal nature and sacredness.
Many enormous stalactites hung from the cavern's dome, their color pure white and warm to the touch. The ground was covered with a thick layer of white calcite crystals, shimmering with starlight-like glimmers.
The entire cave appeared to be a natural temple, untouched by human hands, formed perfectly by nature itself.
Deep within this natural temple, directly beneath the center of the dome, stood quietly an ancient small sacrificial temple from the Ptolemaic-era. It had been abandoned for thousands of years.
That temple was not grand in scale;
one could even say it was somewhat dilapidated.
Its colonnades were broken, the murals on its walls were peeling and mottled. The temple had long been forgotten by its builders and worshippers long ago.
Yet, this dilapidated temple forgotten by the river of time now emitted a strange sense of "cleanliness."
The temple floor had been carefully swept, with no dust or debris in sight.
And on the stone altar of the temple, someone had performed a romantic rearrangement.
On that altar, someone had used several glowing moonstones of varying sizes, knocked down from the cavern dome, to meticulously arrange a circle of mysterious totems in the Druidic "triskelion" style.
In the center of that circle of softly glowing white totems, an ornament rested quietly.
This ornament had an archaic design, inconsistent with the temple's Egyptian decorative style, yet it exuded a holy aura.
It was a necklace.
Or rather, it was a large yet incomplete necklace setting.
Its chain was formed by several small, polished white ivory beads strung together, symbolizing purity and life.
Its main body, the setting, was meticulously carved from a single piece of warm golden sunstone.
The entire setting was carved into a pair of interlocking white vulture wings.
And in the very center guarded by those wings, there was an empty, diamond-shaped socket.
"This... this is..."
Julian stammered, unable to speak after seeing that necklace.
"This is impossible... absolutely impossible..."
He muttered in disbelief while recalling the ornament patterns from the Louvre's secret archives.
"This interlocking vulture wing design and the combined use of ivory and sunstone techniques are the style of 'Royal Highest Grade' sacrificial items from the First Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period."
"But in all known excavated artifacts and historical records, there has never been any ornament similar to it. It's like a 'forbidden object' that has had all traces erased from history."
Julian's face displayed the complex expression of a scholar facing a "missing link in history," a mix of ecstasy and confusion.
He knew he had discovered an item that could shake the entire archaeological world, but he couldn't immediately name it.
While Julian was still searching his knowledge base, trying to precisely categorize this "forbidden object"...
Ethan suddenly let out a low, muffled groan, suppressing pain.
"Ugh..."
The color drained from his face, and his entire body uncontrollably staggered back a step.
"Ethan, what's wrong?!" William reacted immediately, stepping forward to steadily support Ethan's body as it threatened to collapse.
"My... my chest..." Ethan's voice was weak, his eyes revealing pain.
With trembling fingers, he pressed hard against the thick lead box on his chest that could isolate spiritual energy.
"It... it seems to be coming alive!!"
He could feel it.
That Spiritually Inert Lead box, bound inseparably to his chest with a special strap, had now become scalding hot like an iron block connected to high-voltage current, and it was vibrating slightly.
A malicious, chaotic aura and another scorching, repelling holy power were waging an invisible "war" inside that small lead box.
Ethan could no longer suppress it. He lowered his head and looked with horrified eyes at the trembling "Pandora's Box" on his chest.
So, the essence of this cursed Inner Demon that he and his family had guarded for generations... was actually the remnant of a sacred object?!
A momentary loss of mental control!
"Bzzz—"
The lead box on his chest and the Old Kingdom necklace on the stone altar were like two positive and negative magnetic poles that had been separated for thousands of years.
At this moment, because of their destined reunion, they produced a violent resonance.
The chaotic aura finally found a vent and could no longer be restrained by that small lead box, continuously seeping out from the gaps of the lead box.
"Damn it! It's going out of control!!!"
Ethan used his last shred of rationality to grip the lead box tightly.
He tried to use his own mental strength and will to pacify that cursed diamond that had gone berserk upon seeing its "kindred."
But it was all too late!
With a faint "crack" sound, a tiny fissure appeared on the sturdy lead box crafted with I.A.R.C.'s exquisite craftsmanship.
A wave of "malice" seeped out from that fissure. The moment it surged out of the lead box, it immediately locked onto its nearest target.
Ethan's tall frame shuddered, his eyes losing focus, turning a uniform grayish-white.
Oil-like, viscous dark gas began to uncontrollably seep slowly from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
He was being rapidly eroded and assimilated from within by the darkness from the [Tear of Apophis]!
"Damn it! It's a spiritual backlash!" Julian cursed. "That diamond is resonating with the necklace! It's forcibly seizing control of Ethan's body! Stop it! Otherwise, Ethan will be turned into a drooling idiot!"
But facing this intangible, untouchable mental erosion, even a powerful warrior like William was helpless.
Then, a decisive voice rang out.
"William, catch!"
Lin Jie decisively unbuckled the [Serene Heart] from his waist and forcefully threw it towards William, who was closest to Ethan!
"Get it close to Ethan! The 'Hearing Bone' in the grip can temporarily stabilize his mind! Hurry!!"
William immediately reached out and caught the pistol. He knew Lin Jie was right. The [Serene Heart] contained profound "Zen" and "mental protection" power.
This was their only hope right now to externally interfere with this "mental war"!
However!
After Lin Jie threw away his only "mental shield"...
That chaotic aura, which had Ethan as its sole target, seemed to smell a "gluttonous feast" more delicious and tempting than the "leftover scraps" before it!
It actually abandoned its prey, which was already mostly eroded and within easy reach, turned its gun, and forcefully crashed into Lin Jie's body, which was currently defenseless!
Under the passive effect of [Reverberation Touch], this malice also brought with it a fragmented torrent of memories.
Lin Jie first saw a magnificent golden Throne. On the throne sat a young pharaoh, wearing the red and white double crown symbolizing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, holding a crook and flail. His face was shrouded in sacred golden light, making his specific features unclear.
That young pharaoh wore a complete necklace around his chest, constructed from ivory beads and sunstone, with a deep blue diamond embedded in the very center.
That pharaoh raised his right hand. On the back of his hand, a black "King Cobra" totem was faintly visible.
The next second, the scene shifted thousands of years later, arriving at the early 19th century.
A tall, thin German explorer with a thick beard and thick round glasses appeared in Lin Jie's field of vision.
He was holding a dim kerosene lamp, walking with difficulty through the enormous underground cavern.
It was Alexander von Humboldt.
This pioneer's face showed no fear, only the tranquility after discovering truth, a tranquility tinged with exhaustion and relief.
He walked to the stone platform and carefully took an item from his archaeological satchel.
It was precisely the Old Kingdom necklace that had lost its "heart," its glow therefore dimmed.
He solemnly placed this sacred relic from the dawn of human civilization in the very center of the stone platform, leaving behind a circle of Druidic prohibition magic array.
Then he bowed deeply to that necklace missing its core.
Finally, Humboldt turned and, dragging his exhausted body, walked towards the underground river leading to the giant eel's habitat without looking back.
He was going to complete his final suppression in this lifetime.
He left himself in this labyrinth.
The memory ended abruptly there.
Lin Jie only had time to let out a scream before his dark pupils lost focus, just like Ethan's.
Black blood gushed simultaneously from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
His brain was completely overwhelmed by this curse from thousands of years ago, offering no resistance.
At the same time, a black mark resembling a king cobra raising its head began to emerge bit by bit from beneath his skin.