Secrets of the Tomb Main Story Prologue
Overview
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Guide
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Script
Desert Outskirts
The first impressions that Khaimit gave you were the blazing sun, the endless dunes, and the staggering remains of the pyramids.
You: ...
Sitting in the open-roof jeep, you try to keep your eyes open against the incoming wind to scan over the desert situated thousands of miles away from Stellis City.
Yellow sand stretches on endlessly, dancing amongst waves of hot air. No matter how hard you try, you fail to see its end.
You: That's one massive desert...
Artem: Yeah, the country of Khaimit is almost entirely covered in sand...
Artem: The Ita Desert we are looking at right now takes up about two-thirds of its total area.
Marius: When I was a kid, I once visited Khaimit with my brother...
Marius: Back then, I looked down from the helicopter and tried to find something other than sand.
Marius: Well... It turned out there was nothing here but sand and sand for days. I couldn't even see where it started and where it ended.
Luke: It is a desert country in the literal sense.
Luke: Looks like we'll just have to deal with the sand for the next few days.
You: (I'm glad I bought several bottles of sunblock before coming here...)
You: By the way, are the Hessu Ruins that we are going to visit also in the desert? How far away are we?
Vyn: If things go well, it may take another hour or so by car.
Vyn: We have to hurry up. After nightfall, the temperature in the desert drops dramatically, which will make any further travel difficult.
You: Yeah, let's keep going.
The black jeep drives along the road toward the Hessu Ruins, which is marked on your map...
Hessu Ruins. This is the destination of your trip to Khaimit.
A week ago, right after stepping into the NXX base conference room, you sensed something odd.
Everyone was huddled together, discussing something with utmost seriousness.
You: What's going on? Why does everyone look so... solemn?
Artem: Captain Morgan sent us a missing people data report this morning.
Luke: The reports show that, in total, 18 people from Stellis City went missing during the past month...
Luke: Some of them are social celebrities, some are entrepreneurs.
Marius: It's pretty suspicious for a dozen people to go missing in a month like that.
You: Has Captain Morgan found anything?
Artem: Police have accessed the travel records of the missing people and found that they had all recently traveled to Khaimit.
Artem: Some of them went missing during their trip...
Artem: Some of them cut off contact with their families shortly after having returned from Khaimit.
Marius: Does that mean... that the reason for their disappearance might have something to do with their trip to Khaimit?
Luke: Is it possible that people who went missing during their trip there are still there?
Artem: That's one possibility. Right now, the police are in contact with their counterparts in Khaimit. They hope they can work together to find the missing people.
Regarding the citizens who went missing on their trip to Khaimit... After excluding the other unknown factors, the only speculation you can arrive at is...
You: Did they encounter something... in Khaimit?
Marius: We still aren't sure about what they encountered there...
Marius: However... the Big Data Lab does provide an interesting piece of information related to Khaimit.
Marius: One of the people who went missing made a post on the internet detailing his miraculous experience in Khaimit.
Luke: Is it the post about the female pharaoh? Feels rather fake, I think.
You: Huh? What post are you talking about?
Artem: It's this one.
Artem took out his phone, searched in a few keywords in the web browser, and showed you the page that popped up.
The title of the post is "Placing my faith in God, I discovered Hepharet's way to eternal life".
You: "Hepharet, didn't really pass away, and has found the way to eternal life."
You: "Brave followers of the Pharaoh, follow the guidance of the Seth's Bone to the Hessu Ruins. There, you will find eternity."
You: Hmm... What is all of this...? What's this Hessu Ruins place?
Luke: The Hessu ruin is an archaeological site in Khaimit. It's in the Ita Desert, roughly in the direction of Canat Port.
Luke: A number of ancient Khaimit artifacts were found there. It has now been turned into a heritage park.
Luke: Travelers who go to Khaimit can visit the Hessu Ruins for free.
You: Sounds like a tourist attraction.
Marius: Yup, it's just an ordinary tourist attraction. *Sigh* Despite how engrossed the author was in writing up that post, it's actually nothing but a bunch of nonsense.
Marius: Hepharet's mummy is now in the Rubis Museum. How could it suddenly come back to life?
Vyn: I don't know if the Pharaoh of the ancient kingdom of Khaimit can come back from the dead, but I did see the Seth's Bone in person.
Vyn Richter who has remained silent since you entered the conference room finally speaks up.
Vyn: Not too long ago, a lady came to my clinic for psychological consultation.
Vyn: During our conversation, I found that she had great respect for ancient Khaimit culture and the legend about Pharaoh Hepharet.
Vyn: This lady kept telling me that she longed to live in ancient Khaimit under the rule of Pharaohs.
Vyn: She also wore a strange metal necklace, which was called the Seth's Bone.
Vyn: It is said to possess the power of the God of storms, Seth. The Seth's Bone can break the boundary between life and death.
You: Can we get ahold of her? Maybe she might know something...
Vyn: Unfortunately, she is one of the people who disappeared. Since her trip to Khaimit last week, I have not been able to contact her.
Vyn: I shouldn't have revealed her personal information... but considering the current circumstances, I thought it would be better to explain it to all of you.
Vyn: Moreover, her family also wished that I could assist them in their search for the missing lady.
Luke: Do you think the other missing people might be in the same situation as her...?
Luke: Did they leave Stellis City because they encountered, or heard something in Khaimit?
Artem: That is possible. I even suspect that... this case might be somewhat related to missing person cases that we are investigating right now.
Artem decides to voice his inferences in a cautious tone.
Artem: Of course, this is only my speculation. There is no tangible evidence yet.
Artem: However, I will apply for the permit from Captain Morgan to assist in the investigation as soon as possible so that we can proceed further.
Mysterious pharaohs, strange pendants...
All the clues seem to be point to the country thousands of miles away from Stellis city.
After learning all this information, what will you do?
You: How about we... just go to Khaimit to investigate this whole thing?
You: If we're investigating things, then we might as well start from the source.
All four of them look at you simultaneously.
From their eyes, you could detect a slight hint of hesitancy. You decide to continue the effort and try to convince everyone once more...
You: As of right now, all of our clues are pointing towards Khaimit...
You: So I'm thinking that if we investigated on-site, we might be able to find the crucial piece of this incident quicker. What do you guys think?
Luke: Yeah, I'm in! I think we must go to Khaimit to investigate this case.
Vyn: It would be of great benefit if we can separate the rumors from the truth.
Artem: Alright, I will explain the situation to Captain Morgan, and we will leave as soon as we are ready.
Marius: Leave it to me. I'll arrange for a specially chartered flight, and we can leave tomorrow.
You: Does anyone else have any other ideas?
You: Do we stay in Stellis city to investigate? Or...
Artem: Maybe... We should go to Khaimit and directly conduct our investigation there.
Before you could finish your sentence, Artem picks up from there and continues.
Artem: Most of the clues we have so far are related to Khaimit, and I think it would be much easier for us to find a breakthrough over there.
Luke: Yeah. Maybe a trip to the Hessu Ruins might reveal something new.
Vyn: I also agree that a trip to Khaimit is necessary for our investigation.
Marius: Okay, I'll arrange for a specially chartered flight now. How about we leave tomorrow?
You: Okay. It's a deal, then!
Just like that, NXX embarked on their adventure to investigate Khaimit.
However,... The search for the Hessu Ruins didn't go as smoothly as you thought it would.
You: Vyn, don't you think... the temple on our right looks a little familiar?
You: Didn't we just drive past this place?
After the jeep made countless loops, you can't help but turn your attention to the GPS guidance system mounted on the car.
It previously indicated that there was only about an hour's drive away from the Hessu Ruins. However, it seems like almost two hours have passed...
However, all that lies before you is the familiar and endless desert trail.
Vyn: According to the GPS, this road should take us to Hessu Ruins...
Artem: Wait a moment... Something seems to be wrong. The direction on the GPS isn't quite the same as the one on my mobile phone.
Artem takes out his phone and starts to compare the location on the map with the actual scenery in sight.
Marius: Huh? The GPS is telling us... to keep on heading down the highway and head west...
Marius: But the ruins are on the east side of the highway on my phone's GPS. That's weird. How is that possible?
You: Is it because the desert's too vast, so the GPS isn't too clear on our position?
Luke: Perhaps. Plus, the signal's quite bad in the desert so there's no way we'll get constant GPS coverage. From that alone, there are already loads of room for error...
Luke: So... Are we... lost?
Marius: ...
Artem: ...
Vyn: ...
Despite everyone's reluctance to admit it, what Luke said seems to be true.
Eventually, your group finally finds a gas station near the highway. The jeep is parked, and all of you prepare to ask the residents about the right directions to the Hessu Ruins.
Fortunately, there happens to be a police car parked by the road, and a young man in a police uniform comes to your group after he spots upon spotting you.
???: Greetings, guests from afar. My name is Yehya and I am a police officer. Do you need help?
Vyn: Hello, sir. This is what happened...
Vyn starts to explain your current predicament to the police officer...
After hearing Vyn's account, Yehya shakes his head and laughs.
Yehya: The Hessu Ruins are in a relatively remote location. Although the map shows a location in the Ita desert towards Canat Port...
Yehya: The road to the ruins is actually not the same as the way to Canat Port.
Yehya: I recommend everyone to follow the highway heading from the Ita Desert to Mien. Go straight after turning left at the intersection and you'll arrive in about an hour.
You: It seems like something really was off with the GPS!
Luke: The GPS was only indicating the point-to-point path, but we... took the wrong turn and went down the wrong direction since the start.
Yehya: Does everyone here want to visit the Hessu Ruins? If that's the case,then I'd recommend everyone to head to Mien city to stock up on supplies before heading out again.
Yehya: The Hessu Ruins are in a very remote area surrounded by the desert... It'd be difficult for you to find a resting area once you're all the way out there.
The policeman does have a point. Before heading out to the ruins, ample preparation is a must.
You: Thank you, Yehya. We'll make sure to put in the time for preparations. That being said...
Some of the temples on the right side of the road have also piqued your curiosity.
You: Could you please tell me about that temple over there? Can we visit it?
Yehya: It is a burial temple under excavation.
Yehya: Decades ago, that temple was the base of a group of thieves. They buried all the looted artifacts and treasures under the temple...
Yehya: After years of effort, the police finally captured all of the thieves.
Yehya: The head of the Rubis Museum is currently conducting conservational excavation for the artifacts buried under that temple.
Yehya: If you're interested, you can also go there and have a look when you're free.
You: Huh? Are tourists allowed in there?
Yehya: Well, the museum is currently short on staff for the excavation work, so they're really hopeful for some volunteers to help out.
Yehya: If you are all willing to help, you can have a chat with the museum head near the temple and check out the situation.
You: Thanks. I'll do just that.
Marius: That temple doesn't seem far from here. Miss, do you want to have a look? Or should we go to Mien to replenish our supplies first?
A temple that was occupied by thieves for many years with countless precious hidden artifacts buried underneath. That's alluring for sure.
But... it is also crucial for us to replenish essential supplies at Mien, and then head to the Hessu Ruins as soon as possible.
What do you think we should do?
You: Hmm...
After recollecting your thoughts, a clear answer springs forth from your mind...
Summary
