05/04/2025
The Crypt of Eternal Greed
The fog hung low in the moonless night, shrouding the gnarled forest in an oppressive silence. A single lantern's flickering glow barely illuminated the twisted path as Adrian Kane trudged forward. The map in his trembling hands was said to lead to the Crypt of Eternal Greed, a forgotten tomb brimming with treasure beyond imagination. The warnings etched in blood-red ink at the edge of the parchment—Beware what it will take—were the last things on his mind.
Adrian's heartbeat drummed louder than the crickets' song. He wasn’t just chasing gold; he was chasing redemption. His sister lay dying from a wasting sickness, and the fortune promised in the crypt could buy the only cure. Every step deeper into the forest brought him closer to hope—or so he thought.
As the trees grew denser, their skeletal branches seemed to clutch at him like ghostly hands. Then came the first sound: a whisper. Faint, fleeting, it seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Turn back... he’ll take more than gold."
Adrian froze, lantern quivering in his grip. "Who’s there?" he barked, but the whisper faded, swallowed by the cold stillness of the air. He pressed on, the map’s ink now faintly glowing, guiding him.
The trees gave way to a clearing, at the center of which loomed the crypt's entrance—a gaping maw of black stone, its archway etched with symbols that made Adrian’s skin crawl. The words above it read:
"What you seek, you already own. What you own, he will claim."
He hesitated, gripping the locket around his neck, his sister’s picture inside. His resolve steeled. He couldn’t afford fear.
The crypt swallowed him whole as he descended its winding staircase. The air grew colder, the stench of decay overpowering. Adrian’s lantern revealed carvings on the walls—depictions of figures kneeling before a shadowy entity, their eyes hollow and lifeless.
The whispers returned, louder now, overlapping, suffocating:
"Your greed blinds you. It will cost you everything."
Adrian pushed forward, heart pounding like a war drum. At the end of the passage, he found it: the treasure chamber. The room glittered with gold, jewels, and artifacts that shimmered in the dim light. At its center sat a blackened throne, and on it lay the crown of eternal greed—a relic said to grant its bearer unimaginable wealth.
As Adrian stepped closer, a shadow unfurled from the darkness, tall and featureless except for two glowing, amber eyes. The air turned to ice.
"You seek the crown," the shadow hissed, its voice a chorus of agony. "But all treasures demand a sacrifice. What will you offer?"
Adrian fell to his knees. "Take the gold, the jewels, anything! Just let me save her!"
The shadow’s laugh was like nails on glass. "Not gold. Not jewels. Your dearest treasure."
The locket around his neck burned against his chest. Adrian clutched it protectively. "No! Take me instead!"
The shadow loomed closer, its presence suffocating. "That is not the bargain. You came here for her, but she will pay the price. As all who seek me must."
Adrian screamed, lunging for the crown, but the shadow was faster. Darkness enveloped him, his screams echoing through the crypt. When the silence returned, the shadow was gone.
Adrian emerged from the forest at dawn, clutching the crown in his bloodied hands. He found his sister’s room empty, her bed cold. The locket hung heavy around his neck, now bearing only a blackened, blank disc where her picture had been.
And far away, in the depths of the crypt, the shadow sat upon its throne once more, cradling a faint, flickering light—the last remnants of a girl who had been loved too dearly.
