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***
A deep, guttural ROOOOAR rumbled from the deep chambers, shaking dust off the golden walls.
Everyone froze.
Daniel slowly turned his head toward Jonathan.
"…Jonathan, if you value your life, get your shiny ass back here. I think those dog-headed things are coming this way."
His hammer materialized in his hand with a low, heavy thunk.
Jonathan didn't argue — not even a little. He dropped a whole armful of glittering treasures and sprinted back like a terrified rabbit.
Too late.
The Army of Anubis poured into the chamber — jackal-headed warriors, their eyes locked on the intruders.
Daniel cracked his neck. "Alright, listen up! Aim for the necks! You're not killing them unless the head comes off!"
One Anubis warrior lunged at him with a bronze axe — Daniel stepped in, swung his hammer like he was smashing a piñata of nightmares, and obliterated the creature's skull in a single blow.
Another charged from behind — Daniel ducked under the swing, twisted his body, and brought the hammer around in a spinning arc.
CRUNCH.
The head went flying.
Daniel grinned. "Like that! I swear I'm starting to enjoy this."
Ardeth Bay, meanwhile, moved like a desert storm given human form.
His curved sword flashed, a clean silver blur — one slice, another head rolled.
Two more warriors leapt toward him; Ardeth sidestepped, pivoted, and decapitated both in a single sweeping motion.
O'Connell fired round after round, each shot cracking through the chamber. "Why is it always undead dog monsters?! Can't we get one normal enemy?!"
Jonathan hid behind a pillar, poking his head out only long enough to scream, "Shoot the neck, Rick! The neck!"
More warriors surged forward.
Daniel smirked, tightening his grip on the hammer.
"Alright then… let's turn these flea-bitten bastards into headless sandbags."
The Treasury Chamber erupted into chaos — gold clattering, gunfire echoing, jackal-warriors roaring, and Daniel and Ardeth slicing through the pack like a pair of professionals who were way, way too used to this insanity.
After five grueling minutes, the last of the Anubis warriors decapitated.
Ardeth Bay stepped forward, eyes scanning the shadows. "We should hurry. That thing is gaining power every second it's left unchecked."
He gestured sharply to his two subordinates. "Stay here. Stop anyone who tries to come through these corridors."
The Medjai nodded, stepping into position like statues of vigilance, swords glinting in the flickering light.
They stepped cautiously into the deep underground chamber, the air thick with the weight of centuries. Shadows danced across the walls, carved with hieroglyphs that seemed to whisper in the flickering torchlight.
"There she is," Daniel said quietly, relief flashing across his face as soon as he spotted Evelyn strapped to the sacrificial table.
Evelyn's head whipped toward him, her eyes blazing with fear and relief..
"You… what took you so long?" she snapped, straining against the wrappings. "I was this close to being sacrificed!"
Daniel hurried to her side, hands immediately going to the bindings.
"Yeah, I noticed," he said, tugging hard at the first knot. "We were a little busy running from things that wanted to turn us into decorative wall pieces."
"But Evy, ladies shouldn't shout," Daniel teased, fingers still working at the bindings. "And you're a scholar — you scholars should learn to savor every moment."
"It's not every day you end up in this kind of situation," he added with a crooked grin.
"Then you can be strapped here and savor it yourself!" Evelyn snapped, wincing as her wrists finally came free.
Daniel stepped back slightly as she sat up, rubbing the angry red marks on her skin.
"By the way… where's that mummy?" he asked, eyes scanning the chamber, muscles tense with the sudden realization of its absence.
"Don't know," Evelyn muttered, not looking eager to find out. "And honestly? I don't care."
The others scanned the chamber, weapons ready, but there was no sign of Imhotep.
Then—
B A M !
A sudden invisible force slammed into them.
Daniel, O'Connell, Jonathan, and Ardeth Bay were yanked off their feet and hurled upward, smashing into the stone ceiling with a sickening crack before being pinned there, suspended by a power none of them could see.
Daniel's hammer clattered to the ground far below.
Imhotep stepped out of the shadows. The Golden Book of Amun-Ra rested in his hands as he chanted in ancient Egyptian, his voice echoing through the chamber like a curse.
Evelyn gasped as unseen hands coiled around her again, dragging her back onto the sacrificial altar and binding her wrists and ankles in an instant.
"Evy! Translation!" Daniel shouted, struggling against the force that kept him pinned to the ceiling. His muscles strained, but it didn't budge.
Great. Just great.
In the movie, Imhotep always fought O'Connell hand-to-hand like some overpowered brawler. But here? He was using telekinesis like a damn Sith lord.
This is blatant favoritism, Daniel thought. I'd like to report a complaint to whichever god is writing this script.
Evelyn swallowed, eyes on Imhotep. "He said—'Give me the Book of the Dead, and I will grant you eternal sleep.'"
Jonathan blinked rapidly. "Eternal sleep…? Is that… what I think it is?"
Daniel sighed, deadpan despite being glued to a ceiling. "No need to doubt, Jonathan. It's death. He's offering us death."