The Curse of the Sphinx: The Secret of the Dark Caves

On a quiet moonlit night, the streets of Giza were almost empty except for a cool breeze that caressed the face of Sam, an archaeology student with a passion for myths. Little did he know that night would change his life forever. He usually visited the Pyramids at night to sketch and write his notes, but this time, something was different.

Standing in front of the Sphinx, he glimpsed a strange light seeping from between its stone claws. It seemed like a flicker of light that faded and reappeared. Unable to resist his curiosity, Sam advanced cautiously. When he touched the rock with his hand, the ground shook beneath his feet and a dark gap opened, leading to an ancient crypt.

He hesitated for a moment, but his inner voice whispered, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." He leaped inside, finding himself in a narrow passageway covered in mysterious pharaonic inscriptions, depicting battles between kings and creatures he had never seen before.

With each step, he heard the echo of his breathing mingling with distant sounds, like whispers emerging from deep within the stone. He turned on his small flashlight, and suddenly something moved in the darkness. Glowing red eyes appeared between the cracks, then quickly disappeared. His heart trembled, but he continued walking.

A few minutes later, he reached a huge hall, centered on a broken obelisk, surrounded by four statues of ancient gods, all looking toward the center of the hall, where a massive stone sarcophagus lay. He approached slowly, but suddenly the passage behind him closed with a resounding clang, and the place was plunged into a heavy silence.

Sam tried to open the sarcophagus, and as soon as he touched it, the inscriptions on the walls trembled and a mysterious light emanated from them. A dark spirit emerged from the darkness in a plume of black smoke, coiling around the hall and laughing with a frightening voice. He heard it say, "You have awakened the curse of the Sphinx... You will not leave here except in blood!"

Sam recoiled, trying to retreat, but the ground split beneath his feet, and he fell into another, deeper crypt. He found himself in a corridor filled with skeletons, the remains of adventurers who had tried to reach the secret before him. Among the skulls, an ancient book covered in blood gleamed. He trembled and picked it up. On its cover was an inscription: "The Book of the Guardian."

He opened the pages, revealing glowing words in ancient Egyptian. Suddenly, the ghost of a priest, dressed in white and wielding a golden staff, appeared before him. He said, "If you want to survive, you must confront the Guardian. Recite the spell when the time comes, or you will join those who came before you."

Before he could ask anything, the priest disappeared. Then a terrifying voice echoed from the darkness, and the ground began to shake. From the end of the corridor emerged a massive creature: its body was a lion's, its head resembled a human's, but distorted, and its eyes glowed bloodshot. It was the Guardian of the Catacombs.

Sam ran down the corridors, pursued by the creature with a deafening roar. Every wall he passed moved as if it wanted to crush him. He fell to the ground, the book falling beside him, and he remembered the priest's words. He quickly picked it up and began reading the incantation in a trembling voice:

"O Guardian Spirit, return to your eternal sleep, and close the damned door..."

As he read, the creature slowed down, but suddenly it leaped at him, nearly tearing him apart with its claws. At the last moment, Sam shouted at the top of his lungs and finished the last words. Powerful golden rays shot out from the book, enveloping the creature, and it let out a thunderous scream before fading into nothingness.

Sam fell to the ground, exhausted, as the book closed by itself. He heard the priest's voice again, whispering, "You have passed the test, but beware... the catacombs are only opened to those chosen by the curse."

Suddenly, the light returned, and the walls began to swirl around him. Then, as if nothing had happened, he found himself emerging from the gap beneath the Sphinx. Dawn was breaking, and the air was cold. Sam looked behind him, but there was no sign of the catacombs, only silent rock.

He grabbed the book, but it vanished as if it had never existed. All that remained was a small inscription in the sand written in blood: "The game is not over yet."