Exterior – Egyptian Desert – Day
The sun hung high, an incandescent coin suspended in the pale sky. The air shimmered over the dunes, and the golden sand vibrated like a living serpent. Nothing moved. No wind. No life.
Until the sound came.
Not a roar.
A cut through the silence.
A golden blur sliced across the desert, shattering the calm in a straight line. The air parted in a flash, and where there was once emptiness, now stood Clark Kent.
He stopped atop a sandy ridge, eyes narrowed against the sun's harsh glare. Sand particles floated around him, suspended, as if time wasn't sure whether to move forward.
His eyes scanned the horizon. Nothing but desert and broken ruins nestled in the dunes' embrace. But he knew. Something pulsed beneath the surface. Something ancient. Something… familiar.
"Jor-El."
[Listening, Kal-El.]
"Is this the place?"
[Confirm your exact location.]
Clark closed his eyes for a second. A three-dimensional map of Earth projected in his mind. Egypt glowed red. More precisely: 29°58' N, 31°07' E. The coordinates flashed in vivid numbers across his inner retina.
"Coordinates sent."
[Processing… access granted.]
[Yes. This is the location.]
The desert began to tremble.
Beneath the sand, buried structures vibrated. A hum of energy coursed through the ground, like an awakening. Inaudible to humans, but clear to him.
Clark took a deep breath. The dry scent of sand mingled with something metallic. As if ancient technology were about to tear through the world.
"So the Fire Crystal is buried here?"
[Not buried. Protected.]
Clark frowned.
"Protected by who?"
[Not by who… by what.]
A faint shift in the wind. The dunes stirred. Something began to rise from the earth's depths.
Clark descended the dune's slope with long strides. Each footprint sank softly, precisely. He approached the base of a rocky hill. There, part of an ancient structure revealed itself: broken columns, hieroglyphs fused with circuits invisible to human eyes.
But he saw.
With Kryptonian vision activated, the walls pulsed with residual heat. Energetic pathways traced through the stone. As if someone—or something—had blended code with mythology.
He touched the rock.
A snap.
The stone glowed.
A panel opened—impossibly technological.
(Interior – Entrance to Underground Chamber)
The sand receded like water being sucked away. A tunnel descended beneath Clark's feet, revealing black stairs carved from a material not found on Earth. The light within didn't come from lamps. It came from the air itself.
Clark began to descend.
The sound of his footsteps echoed, but never struck the walls. The space felt larger than it should. As if he were walking inside a memory.
[The Fire Crystal was brought to Earth millennia ago. Before the rise of the first dynasties.]
"Why here?"
[Because this soil has already known fire.]
Clark reached a flat platform. The ceiling rose into a towering dome. At the center, an inverted black stone pyramid levitated, spinning slowly. At its heart… something pulsed.
Red. Orange. Alive.
The Fire Crystal.
Clark took a step.
The dome reacted. The walls lit up with runes blending Kryptonian script with Egyptian symbols.
"This… is impossible."
[Not impossible. Syncretic.]
"Technology… and faith?"
[To humans, technology was magic. We simply let them believe.]
Something moved in the shadows.
Clark turned his head.
Nothing.
But the air had changed. The pressure increased. As if the dome were now breathing.
'Someone… or something… senses me here.'
Clark activated intangibility. His body vibrated until it became mist. He turned invisible. But…
The torches ignited on their own. Dozens. Then hundreds.
And then…
The stone spun faster.
Energy surged through the walls. Statues came to life.
The mummies emerged.
But not like in movies.
Nothing shambling. Nothing comical.
They rose with precision. Calculated movements. Their bodies were clad in corroded golden armor, sacred fabrics woven with magic and circuitry. Their eyes glowed with scarlet light.
Clark stepped back, still invisible.
One mummy turned its face directly toward him.
"Staring at nothing," he murmured. "But seeing everything."
The mummy raised a staff.
Others mirrored the gesture.
The torches' energy converged at the center. A circle of fire opened on the floor.
Clark deactivated intangibility.
He stood at the center now.
Surrounded.
"What are you?"
A voice resonated from the walls. Masculine. Ancient. Divine.
"They are what remains of an oath."
A glow descended from the dome's apex.
A figure materialized in the air.
---
Anubis.
The jackal.
His black skin reflected the crystal's light. His body wasn't flesh—it was solid energy. His eyes were empty, yet filled with judgment. His voice echoed in every corner.
"You seek the fire… but you are not yet worthy."
Clark clenched his fists.
"I am a son of Krypton. Heir to the House of El. The crystal is mine by right."
"Right? Here, there is no inheritance. Here, there is the scale."
The god raised a hand.
A massive stone scale appeared. On one side, a feather. On the other… an emptiness.
"Offer your heart."
Clark didn't move. Not out of fear. But out of focus.
The scale. The divine projection. The ceremonial tone. It was all… too artificial. Too perfect. Like a theater.
His eyes glowed golden for a second. X-ray. Infrared. Frequency analysis.
And then he saw.
Anubis blinked. Literally.
An imperceptible tremor. A micro-glitch in the jackal's contours. The light pattern interwoven with nanometric particles. The energy signature was clear as day.
Clark narrowed his eyes.
"You're not a god."
The dome fell silent. The mummies didn't react. But the air seemed to freeze—as if the truth had stripped the room bare.
"You're a protocol."
Clark stepped forward. The dust on the floor rose. The scale creaked.
"A defense system created by Kryptonians to keep anyone… except us… from reaching the crystal."
Anubis tilted his head. The light in his face flickered faintly, struggling to maintain the illusion.
Clark took another step. His voice was now steady, without echo. Raw. Real.
"The game has changed."
The hologram trembled.
"These rituals. This performance. They no longer serve. The threat approaching our world won't be stopped with symbolic judgments or tests of heart."
He reached for the scale.
"I don't need to prove I'm worthy."
His hand passed through the air—straight through the hologram.
The scale dissolved into golden particles. Anubis flickered, stepping back. Not out of fear. Because the illusion was broken.
Clark turned to the mummies.
They still surrounded him. But now… they hesitated.
"If you're truly guardians… recognize this."
He raised his fist. The House of El symbol gleamed on his chest.
"The fire will be used. Not for ego. Not for glory. But because the world will need a shield that burns."
The room's energy shifted. The torches dimmed. The black pyramid above spun faster.
Anubis looked at him one last time. The glow in his eyes now seemed… respectful. Not fear. Recognition.
"The protocol acknowledges the lineage of El."
The figure dissolved into light.
The mummies lowered their staffs.
The pyramid descended slowly, opening its base.
Inside, the Fire Crystal floated. Alive. Pulsing. An orange core in constant flux.
Clark approached. Not with haste. But with control.
He extended his hand.
The crystal settled softly into his palm.
Instantly, sparks coursed through his arm. The temperature spiked. Clark's body was enveloped in a fiery aura for a moment—but he didn't let go.
The crystal recognized him.
[Log updated. Bearer: Kal-El.]
[Judgment: bypassed by superior authority.]
[Game… redefined.]
Clark closed his hand. The heat ceased. The dome darkened.
The light faded.
The mummies returned to their original positions, like statues.
And Clark, with the crystal now embedded in his suit, turned toward the exit.
He walked to the stairs. His voice was low but clear, addressed to the intelligence that tried to test him:
"I'm no longer just a son of Krypton."
"I am the entire legacy."
The ascent began. Each step reverberated.
And the fire… now had its master.
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