We both kept staring at the ceiling. How were we supposed to get it if it was that high and the distance between us and the ceiling was too great? Asking Farrel to carry me again wasn’t an option. Being lifted wasn’t the right choice.

“How are we supposed to get it?” we both kept looking up at the ceiling, and I couldn’t figure out what method we could use to reach that key.

My mind searched for something, and my gaze shifted to the sword still hanging at my waist.

“You’re wearing shoes, right?” I asked Farrel. He immediately sat up from where he had been lying and looked at me suspiciously.

“Don’t tell me you want me to strip?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest while I looked at him coldly.

“Yes. We don’t have any other choice. There’s no chair or table here. No ladder. No ventilation shaft. And even those might not reach it.” I explained, and he let out a rough breath.

There was no other option and no other way to take the key from above our heads.

Farrel’s gaze swept the room. What he had said was the truth he couldn’t deny, because there wasn’t a single object left here except what we were wearing.

“So how do we get that key?” Farrel asked.

I stood up and removed my shoes.

He took off his shoes as well, then removed his armor and clothing, and finally pulled out the daggers hidden inside his garments.

“How many daggers are you carrying?” I asked when I saw the two blades he had prepared. He scratched his head and grinned widely.

“We can only try. The rest is up to the gods.”

I looked away. I had no idea what was going on inside his head. He always seemed to think too far ahead. I could only shake my head at his behavior.

After Farrel removed his clothes, I tore them into strips and tied them together to make them longer, so when I threw the dagger it could reach the key.

“You sure this will work?” Farrel asked.

I nodded with a faint smile.

We gathered the torn cloth pieces and tied them together so they formed a long strip. To make it strong, we knotted them tightly so they wouldn’t come loose easily. Farrel finished tying them, and the result satisfied me.

“At the end, we tie the dagger and the shoe,” I reminded him step by step. We connected one strip of cloth to another until the length felt right.

Once everything was ready, I slowly prepared to throw the shoe upward toward the ceiling. Nervously, I glanced at Farrel. Earlier I had told him to catch the key if it fell, and he was already ready, bracing himself to receive it.

“One… two… three.”

I counted, and on three I threw the shoe toward the key.

It missed.

“…It didn’t hit?” I muttered with a quiet sigh of disappointment. Farrel stepped closer and chuckled softly.

“Can’t throw properly?” he teased.

I exhaled harshly but didn’t answer.

I prepared again. This time I focused, aligning my aim with the hanging key. I drew my arms back and swung hard—

The key fell.

It almost hit the ground, but I quickly crouched and snatched it before it touched the floor. The key had an unusual pattern, but I immediately turned to Farrel, who was grinning foolishly even though earlier I had told him to stay alert and catch it.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Farrel said.

I nodded briefly and turned to the chest, inserting the key into the lock.

When I twisted it, a sharp metallic sound echoed.

Suddenly, all the flames around us went out.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Nothing happened for a moment—no tremor, no sound. Then suddenly the chest jerked open with force, making us both step back in shock.

Inside—

Nothing.

Only some clothes and ornaments that looked attractive at first glance. But in the center was a hollow space—more precisely, a passage leading out.

Before I could speak, a loud rumble thundered through the room. We both searched for the source of the sound.

I kept staring at the opened chest. A bad feeling crept over me, so I stepped closer to Farrel to keep him from wandering off. But he ignored me again, busy examining something else.

“There’s nothing here,” he muttered slowly, disappointed.

I stayed silent. To me, this felt like a trap. I didn’t know what to do, but I also had no hope for anything good in a place like this.

“Why do you look disappointed?” Farrel asked.

I looked at him. “Don’t you think this is strange?”

He raised an eyebrow, confused.

“I think it’s strange too. But look—there’s no mummy or corpse here.”

Before he could finish—

CRACK.

The wall split open.

The tremor shook the ground violently. Panic seized us both. Without hesitation, Farrel jumped into the chest.

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Why are you getting in?” I asked.

Farrel grabbed my arm and pulled hard.

The structure began collapsing. Chunks of stone fell around us. One nearly hit my head, but I dodged it. I didn’t know whether to follow him, but I had no choice. I climbed in after him.

Inside, we squeezed together. The chest barely fit us. My neck bent painfully from the cramped space.

“Push the lid!” Farrel said, trying to shove it shut. I pushed too, but the violent shaking made it hard.

Pieces of rubble fell onto us, striking our shoulders and backs. We endured the pain.

“We have to close it!”

I forced the lid downward with all my strength, afraid it might shift. I grabbed the key again.

For a brief moment I looked outside—

The chamber was collapsing completely.

The rumbling sound became clearer, louder, more violent. Objects crashed down from above, striking and shaking the container we were trapped inside. Dust sifted through unseen cracks, and every impact sent a dull vibration through the cramped space, as if the world outside were collapsing piece by piece.

I didn’t know how long we could survive in here.

The air was thinning.

Each breath felt heavier than the last, pressing against my chest like an invisible weight. My lungs strained, drawing in what little oxygen remained. The space smelled of stone, rust, and old earth. Another tremor came—stronger than before. The entire container lurched, and I braced myself against the wall, though there was nothing sturdy enough to hold onto.

Then I heard it.

Water.

A distant rushing sound, faint at first, like a whisper beneath the thunder of falling debris.

BRAKKK

DUG

DUG

DUG

The container jolted.

It felt as if the entire coffin was shifting—sliding, scraping, moving somewhere. Because of the darkness, I couldn’t see anything at all. Suddenly Farrel’s hands brushed across my face, his fingers clumsily tracing my cheek and jaw as if searching for proof I was still there.

“You touched my face , Farrel!” I snapped.

He let out a soft laugh.

“Blame the darkness, Xanders,” he muttered, chuckling quietly.

“Do you feel that?” I asked.

He nodded, even though I could barely make out the motion.

“Yes. I feel it.”

He paused, listening.

“It sounds like water… flowing. And the coffin is rocking, like it’s being carried by a current.”

My pulse tightened.

“Where is this water taking us—”

Before I could finish—

THUD.

We slammed into something.

The impact shook the container so hard my teeth clicked together. The rushing sound grew louder, fiercer. The current was stronger now, dragging us along whatever unseen path lay beyond the darkness.

I stayed still, silent, tense.

Because outside—

Debris was still falling onto the coffin.

Note: Thank you for reading my story, I hope you like it.Leave a mark by commenting and adding to the library.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep