The carrier's engines thrummed like a loudly, above the Azyion Mountain Range.

Outside, the dark ridges of the Ayzion Mountains loomed, their jagged silhouettes dancing beneath drifting clouds.

The moon hung pale in the sky, its light flickering in and out of view as the thick clouds rolled in the night sky.

Inside the transport carrier was deep silence. Everyone just sat there keeping to their own thoughts.

The squad sat strapped into their seats, their face's drawn tight, eyes sunken with fatigue. Their armor bore dents and blood from the tomb, their shoulders sagged.

There was no laughter in the carrier, no one spoke, just silence.

Ethan who is usually the loudest among them, sat hunched forward.

His eyes were empty, his lips pressed into a thin line as if words were trapped within him.

From time to time, his chest would rise as if he wanted to speak but he swallowed whatever he was going to say back.

His hands rested limply between his knees; he looked hollowed out,as though his joy had been stripped away.

Mireille leaned back in her seat, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her face half-hidden in shadow.

Anger can be seen in her eyes, sharp and unyielding but it wasn't directed at anyone present.

It was anger born from helplessness itself. Her jaw clenched and unclenched rhythmically, suppressing the anger in her heart.

Rask's lips moved silently; his hands rubbed together restlessly, palms rough against each othe.

Holt held his flask tightly but didn't drink from it; instead, he stared at it as if waiting for Stone to reach over with a quip or snatch it away playfully.

Gunner sat stiffly by the bulkhead, posture straight as a ramrod while his eyes remained locked ahead.

He appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was feeling the same helplessness as the others,his fist was clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Discipline was all that held him together amid this emotional storm.

Each one of them have different expressions on their faces,anger, resentment, helplessness etc

Btut all of them shared one common thing, the expectation and anticipation in their eyes, a fragile hope that somehow the rescue team can find Stone maybe might still be alive.

That hope was delicat but none dared let that go.

Arthur sat at a corner of the cabin, arms crossed over his chests while he observed each face around him, reading their quiet grief and hollow stillness without uttering a word himself.

He didn't say anything to comfort them,he too was also sad, after all he finally found someone who share the same hobbies as him and can be considered a friend.

Arthur let out a sigh with a shake of his head and then reached into his coat and pulled out the folded map the one that had slipped from the crown.

He spread it across his lap, furrowing his brows as he stared intently.

The inked lines and marks twisted like serpents.His gaze was locked on the map for a while before he taking his eyes off it.

Outside,the night clouds rolled in, dark and heavy, swallowing the stars whole. For a fleeting moment, the moon peeked through, only to vanish again behind the thick veil of night.

Arthur's face was calm and expressionless as always but inside, he was thinking a lot.

Coming to this tomb have made him realized that, the waters of Panterra run really deep especially Vaerion VII this guy is simply run wrapped in dense layers of mystery.

At the other end of the cabin, the group of archaeologists huddled together like moths drawn to a flame.

Their voices rose in hushed tones filed with excitement and anxiety

Adrian broke the silence first. His voice trembled with urgency as fire sparked in his eyes.

"Till now, I still don't understand how could this magnetic field,so powerful it crippled every system for centuries, vanish just when we found the treasury?"

Kaelen Rhys leaned forward eagerly, adjusting his glasses with his fingers. "This energy…it think it wasn't natural! It had to be bound to something, something that is created."

Marta Sorel shook her head vigorously, clutching her satchel tightly. "Energy doesn't simply disappear! It must still exist..perhaps tied directly to the treasury itself or an object within."

"Or even to him," Dr. Ren interjected softly but firmly. His words carried weight like stones dropped into water. "Vaerion VII, it may have been his lock or seal. And when we opened it…"

Adrian inhaled sharply as realization dawned on him. "The field died along with the the thing it was bound to!"

Their voices overlapped in a flurry of ideas and hypotheses.

"A defense that lasted millennia!"

"Or maybe a trap designed to conceal true power behind the empire's rise."

"Think about it...Vaerion brought technology centuries ahead of its time! Could he have been solely responsible for that field?"

"Impossible!" someone countered.

"Unless…" another voice trailed off thoughtfully.

Arthur listened intently without uttering a word; although his eyes remained fixed on the map, their discussions pressed against his thoughts like waves crashing against rocks.

The magnetic field had been over that mountain for generations, consuming everything within its borders but it had dissipated as soon as they entered the treasury.

Too clean and also too sudden.

Shaking his head, he folded up the map again and tucked it back into his coat pocket.

His gaze drifted back to the window, where clouds shifted in the night sky.

The moon peeked through, casting a fleeting silver light that danced across his face. Arthur narrowed his eyes, feeling the weight of the moment settle around him.

Vaerion VII.

This guy is simply too mysterious and unfathomable,the secrets surrounding him might be good.

Arthur smiled when he thought of this.He closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling deeply to calm himself.

The gentle hum of the engine filled the silence, a stark contrast to the heavy hearts surrounding him.

His men sat in stillness, clinging desperately to their fragile thread of hope.

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