"You guys go and hide," Daniel said, his voice firm, leaving no room for debate.
Ardeth nodded immediately. Evelyn pulled Jonathan back with her.
Daniel stepped up to the great bronze gong.
Energy gathered in his hand — bright, swirling, violent. The air crackled around his fingers as he drew in power, condensing it into a single devastating pulse.
He exhaled once.
Then drove his fist forward.
The strike echoed through the entire pyramid, a metallic roar that rippled through stone, dust, and every ancient carving on the walls. For a split second, everything went silent.
Then the world changed.
The ground split open as rings of fire erupted from the four sides of the chamber, racing across the floor and carving glowing patterns into the stone.
The temperature spiked instantly — scorching heat rushing upward as if the Underworld itself had breathed into the room.
Daniel jumped straight into the center of the flaming ring, landing with a solid thud as the heat rippled around him. He looked across the chamber just as the massive stone door on the far side began to shudder.
The ancient mechanisms groaned… then slammed open.
From the darkness inside, something enormous began to move.
A massive scorpion leg pushed out first — thick, armored. Then another. The creature dragged itself into the light, revealing the towering upper body of a man fused grotesquely with the monstrous arachnid form beneath.
The Scorpion King.
Nearly ten feet tall, his body bulged with ancient strength, and his monstrous lower half scraped violently across the stone floor.
His eyes — glowing, predatory, and filled with millennia of rage — locked instantly onto Daniel standing alone in the dueling arena.
The creature let out a deep, inhuman snarl that shook dust from the ceiling.
With terrifying speed, he launched himself forward.
He jumped — the entire chamber shaking under the weight — and landed inside the ring of fire, claws slamming down beside him with enough force to crack the stone.
His massive scorpion pincers snapped open and shut.
The two stared each other down — man and monster, the chamber trembling with the weight of their presence.
Daniel twisted the Spear of Osiris in his hand.
The weapon responded instantly.
Just like in the movie, the spear unfolded, ancient mechanisms sliding outward as the blade extended into its true form.
The Scorpion King saw the transformation.
And he roared — a furious, bone-shaking scream that rattled the entire chamber.
He recognized the weapon.
He knew what it could do.
So he did the only thing his monstrous instincts demanded—
He leapt.
A massive blur of claws, muscle, and chitin launched straight at Daniel, trying to crush him before the spear could be used against him.
The impact shattered the stone behind Daniel as the beast landed where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
Daniel slid back.
The Scorpion King wasn't about to give him a moment to breathe—
He wanted Daniel dead before the spear even struck once.
"You've got good instincts," Daniel said, grinning despite the pressure. This guy didn't waste words—he just acted. Sensed danger and struck.
The Scorpion King hissed low, claws scraping the stone as he prepared to lunge again.
"But don't underestimate me."
Daniel slammed his foot into the ground.
Blood-red chains erupted from the floor, walls, and even the burning ring itself. They shot outward like living serpents and wrapped around the Scorpion King, binding his arms, legs, tail — everything.
The chains tightened.
The Scorpion King roared — a deafening, guttural sound that shook sand loose from the ceiling — and thrashed violently, claws sparking as he tried to hack through the restraints.
Daniel didn't give him a chance.
He kicked off the ground, soaring upward, spear drawn back, the golden blade burning bright as he aimed straight for the monster's exposed chest.
"End of the line!"
But—
CRRRRRAAACK!!!
The chains shattered mid-roar, exploding like glass under a hammer.
Daniel's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."
Still mid-air, he had no way to dodge as the Scorpion King's massive tail whipped upward with terrifying speed.
The stinger smashed into Daniel with the force of a battering ram.
He was launched across the chamber, slammed back-first into the ceiling with a thunderous BOOOOM.
The Spear of Osiris spun out of his hand and skidded across the arena floor, landing far out of reach.
Dust still rained from the ceiling when a deep, echoing thundered overhead.
The Scorpion King turned—
Just in time to see Daniel launch himself downward from the shattered ceiling.
Blood-red sigils pulsed across his arms and shoulders.
And then,
SHRRRAAANG!!
Chains erupted from Daniel's body like a crimson explosion.
Not just thin bindings—these were massive, heavy links, glowing with violent energy.
They tore huge chunks of the ceiling free as they shot forward, dragging stone slabs the size of wagons behind them.
Daniel roared as he descended.
"TRY THIS!"
With a brutal swing of both arms, he whipped the chains downward, sending the massive stone chunks hurtling straight toward the Scorpion King.
The arena shook as the first block slammed into the monster's side, the impact throwing dust and flame into a violent cyclone.
The second struck his tail, pinning it momentarily against the floor. The third smashed into his torso, forcing a deafening roar from his twisted human throat.
For the first time, the Scorpion King staggered.
But he wasn't down.
Not even close.
His claws dug into the stone his muscles bulged and with a furious, guttural howl.
He shattered the debris in an explosive shockwave.
Daniel landed, sliding backward across the cracked floor, chains snapping back into his arms like living serpents.
*****
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