In a forgotten crypt, buried deep beneath the ruins of an ancient temple, four tomb raiders advanced cautiously.
The light from their torches danced across walls covered in moss and cobwebs.
"How much longer are we going to wander in this rat hole?" grumbled Kess, a burly man with a scar running across his left eye.
Kess was a former mercenary who had turned to tomb raiding after losing his eye in a battle he'd rather forget. He needed money to pay off gambling debts.
"Stop complaining," replied Tessa, a slender woman with short hair and nimble fingers. "We're almost there, I can feel it."
Tessa was a street thief who had become a tomb raider. She had grown up in the slums and learned to pick locks before she could even read. She was chasing the big score that would let her retire.
"You're always 'feeling' something," muttered Kael, a thin man with round glasses. "The last time you 'felt' something, we ended up in a nest of venomous snakes."
Kael was the scholar of the group. He had studied for years at a prestigious magic academy in the capital. He had abandoned everything after being caught stealing rare books from the academy's library. Now, he used his knowledge to translate ancient languages and decipher magical traps.
"That wasn't my fault!" protested Tessa.
"Both of you, shut up," cut in Theron, the group's leader. "We're here."
Theron was a former adventurer who had turned to tomb raiding after a botched quest cost the lives of his old team. He carried that weight every day, but money helped him forget.
Before them stood a massive coffin, placed at the center of a small chamber.
It was made of dark, almost black wood, engraved with strange symbols.
"Odd," murmured Kess. "What's this thing?"
Kael stepped forward, pulling a small crystal from his pocket.
"Wait, let me check if there's a message."
He activated the crystal, which began to glow with a bluish light.
Words appeared, floating in the air above the coffin.
Kael frowned, his lips moving silently as he deciphered the text.
"Well?" asked Theron after a moment.
Kael took a deep breath.
"It says… that what's inside the coffin is extremely dangerous. It was sealed to be forgotten forever. The thing inside was responsible for countless atrocities."
He paused.
"And it warns future generations."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
"Atrocities?" repeated Tessa. "What kind of atrocities?"
Kael shook his head.
"It doesn't specify. But it mentions a vampire."
"A vampire?!" exclaimed Kess, taking a step back. "Hell no, we're leaving. Now."
"Wait," said Theron, raising a hand. "Is there a name? A date? Anything?"
Kael shook his head.
"No. No name. No date. Just a general warning."
Kael boasted, "Without me, you lot of ignoramuses wouldn't have understood a thing. This magic I learned lets me read the intent behind the words, not just a literal translation. It takes years to master."
"Yeah, yeah, we know, you're a genius," muttered Kess. "Now, can we leave?"
Tessa crossed her arms.
"Wait. Let's think for a second. We came here to loot and make money, right?"
"Yeah, but not to get killed by a vampire," Kess shot back.
"Is the thing inside even still alive after all this time?" asked Theron, eyeing the coffin warily.
The group began to debate.
"I mean, how long has this thing been locked up here?" said Tessa. "Decades? Centuries? It's got to be dead by now."
"Or not," countered Kess. "Vampires are immortal, aren't they?"
"Technically, yes, but without blood, they eventually desiccate and enter torpor," explained Kael, adjusting his glasses. "That doesn't mean they're dead, though."
"So it could wake up if we open this?" asked Theron.
Kael shrugged.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"The message didn't even mention a name," Tessa pointed out. "That's suspicious, right? Like, if it was really that dangerous, why not include a name so we could look it up?"
"Good question," admitted Kael. "Maybe it was to prevent anyone from finding out no one ever had that name. It could just be propaganda to scare people off."
"Or maybe its name was so terrifying they didn't even want to write it down," countered Theron.
Kess sighed.
"How long are you all going to keep speculating?"
The group went back and forth.
"In our line of work, we've faced all kinds of weird situations," said Tessa. "This message might just be there to scare us. Basically, there's no real danger according to that theory."
"Or we could all die," Kess added grimly.
"Always the optimist," Tessa mocked.
Theron weighed the pros and cons.
If we open it and there's really a living vampire, we're dead. But if it's just nonsense, we're missing out on potential treasure.
Finally, Theron made his decision.
"We open it."
"WHAT?!" Kess shouted.
"We came here for this," Theron said firmly. "And we're not leaving empty-handed."
Tessa grinned.
"Now that's more like it."
Kael sighed but nodded.
"Fine. But if we die, I'm haunting all of you."
They approached the coffin.
Theron and Kess placed their hands on the lid.
"Ready?" asked Theron.
"No," replied Kess, but he pushed anyway.
Oddly, the coffin wasn't that hard to open. A little resistance, but nothing too serious.
The lid slid slowly.
CREEEEEAK.
Inside lay an absurdly pale being, beautiful enough to make even the most hardened soul blush.
Despite its body showing signs of extreme desiccation, its magnificence remained breathtaking.
Long white hair framed a perfect face. Its lips were slightly parted, revealing sharp fangs.
The group was stunned.
"Holy…" Tessa whispered.
"It's… magnificent," breathed Kael, unable to look away.
Then the vampire moved.
Or rather, its body, sensing the promise of a feast, reacted instinctively.
It grabbed Kael, who was closest.
SWISH.
Kael didn't even have time to scream.
The vampire sank its fangs into his delicate neck and drank greedily.
It happened so fast that the group couldn't process what was going on.
By the time Kael realized what was happening, it was too late.
He struggled with all his strength, but the nameless vampire's grip was too strong.
He couldn't break free.
He was losing strength. His eyes desperately sought help.
"HELP… ME…" he gurgled weakly.
"KAEL!" Theron shouted, rushing forward.
But something strange happened.
The vampire's skin was smoking.
Daylight filtering through a crack in the ceiling was burning it.
It was regaining strength from drinking, but it wasn't enough.
It wasn't conscious. Its body was moving on instinct alone.
The sun overpowered it.
Its skin began to crack, then split.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
In seconds, it was reduced to dust.
The group stood frozen.
Kael collapsed to the ground, released by the vampire that no longer existed.
"KAEL! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Tessa cried, rushing toward him.
But as she approached, she stopped dead.
Kael was starting to change.
His skin was paling. His eyes were turning red.
"What's… what's happening to me?" Kael whispered, staring at his hands in horror.
This vampire was so powerful that Kael was already transforming after the bite.
He didn't understand. Fear, confusion—everything swirled in his mind.
But the sun burned him too.
"AAAAAAAAH!"
He writhed in pain, desperately seeking shade.
"HELP ME! PLEASE!"
But it was too late.
In seconds, he was reduced to ashes.
The group stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
Everything had happened so fast.
Kess fell to his knees.
"What… what just happened?"
Tessa stared at the ashes, her hands trembling.
"Kael… he…"
Theron closed his eyes, clenching his fists.
Again. I've lost someone again.
They stood there, staring at what remained of the scene.
Two piles of ashes. An empty coffin.
"Did we… just save the world?" Tessa asked in a weak voice.
"Maybe," Theron replied. "Or maybe we just lost Kael for nothing."
Kess stood up slowly.
"Either way, no one will ever know that the fate of the continent was decided here."
They left the crypt in silence.
The ancient evil was gone for good.
But the price had been paid.