The Imagination Latibule: Moon Knight - The Rise of the Moon

Chapter 15

As you lowered yourself into the tomb, you couldn't see anything. The sunlight streaming in lit up what was almost a safety box, saying your safe as long as you go no further.

"You alright?" Layla asked from the shadows as your feet reached solid ground.

"Mhmmm," you mumbled back, undoing your harness. When it was off, you turned on your torch and stepped boldly from the threshold of light to dark, holding it up to reveal a detail of ancient statues. Your jaw dropped. 

Then you heard loose pebbles drop, and turned as Steven less than gracefully dropped into the pit, skidding on the sand as he did so. "Oh shit," he mumbled, trying to find his balance.

"You okay?" you asked, holding him steady as he unclipped himself.

"I'm aces," he said, and then he held up his torch to the surroundings and let out a staggered breath. "Oh, wow, look at you," he marvelled, light running up and down the statue.

"Gorgeous, aren't they?" Layla commented.

"They're just, like... Been standing guard for centuries. Right?" Steven was getting giddier by the second and you adored the look on his face. "Look, I can't even... Like, if they just sprang to life right now and asked me a riddle for passage, I'd be thrilled. I'd shit myself but I'd be thrilled." You burst out laughing at his comment and he smiled from ear to ear at your reaction. But Layla put a finger over her lips, and the two of you quickly fell silent as she led you further into the tomb. 

Somewhere between leaving the sunlight behind and approaching a dusty crypt-esque space with a single large block in the middle of it, Steven's fingers intertwined with yours, and the two of you crept along together, catching up with Layla who was desperate to find Ammit's Ushabti. 

"Strange," she muttered as the two of you entered the room. You looked around, flashing your torch at the walls, and many openings in them. 

"It's a maze," you said.

"It's a-maze-ing," Steven joked and you chuckled.

"There are six paths," Layla continued, ignoring your jests, and you could almost see the thoughts running through her head as Steven scratched his chin, humming to himself. 

You took a step forward to peer down one of the corridors, and something metal skidded beneath your feet. A bullet casing. Still warm.  You picked it up and both Layla and Steven frowned. 

"What would they be shooting at?" you asked, feeling your heartbeat quicken. Neither of them had an explanation. Then Steven clicked his fingers. 

"This whole structure is a symbol," he realised and then he flashed his light onto the wall where an Eye of Horus pattern was engraved. "That's the eye of Horus, yeah," he said. "Look at that. Look, the royal symbol, protection in the afterlife. I mean, like, the resources needed to build this thing..." he trailed off, and that's when realisation dawned on you, about the same time it did him. You gasped, throwing your hands into the air as you had no other way to express the excitement you felt. 

"Her final Avatar was a pharaoh." 

"Whoa! A bloody pharaoh." Steven breathed. It was definitely one of the best days of his life.

"So what? You think it's a map?" Layla asked, fingers brushing across the eye, and Steven nodded eagerly. 

"Yeah, well... Right. So, the eye of Horus is also the eye of mind, yeah?" he said, and rushing to the table in the middle of the room he began wiping off the millennia of dust into a pattern. "The eye Representing the six senses, six points. So you got the eyebrow that denotes thoughts. Pupil, sight, obviously. This point here is, uh, hearing. This, smell. Touch. And this long line ending in a spiral is the tongue."