Inside a cramped room, cluttered with scattered papers and pinned-up maps, the air crackled with tension. The faint hum of hanging lamps added an uneasy glow to the scene as three men argued in hushed tones.
One stood at the center of the room, eyes burning with fury, his breath ragged as if wrestling with his own thoughts. Another leaned against the wall, arms crossed, while the third sat tilted back in a chair, rocking it gently in a futile attempt to diffuse the mood.
*"Are you joking?!"* the furious man spat, glaring at his companions. *"How can magic not exist?! Every civilization in history has spoken of it—every myth, every ancient text! Six years of research, and in the end… nothing?!"*
The seated man leaned forward, voice calm. *"Relax. We're not done yet. There are still places we haven't searched."*
But the enraged man slammed his fist onto the desk, sending papers fluttering to the floor. *"Places?! We've scoured every possible civilization! Not a single shred of real evidence! Isn't magic supposed to be part of human history?!"*
At that, the man against the wall sighed and shut his eyes for a moment. This memory… it always haunted him.
**Years earlier…**
During his first year at the archaeology college, he had sat beside his friend in one of the ancient stone corridors, the air thick with the scent of old books and dust laced with the perfume of history.
His friend had asked, *"Which civilization will you specialize in?"*
He'd smiled with certainty. *"All of them."*
His friend raised an eyebrow. *"All of them?!"*
*"Yes. I want to understand the full truth."*
But the truth wasn't his only motive… There was something else he hadn't admitted, something buried deep within, a secret he'd never dared voice.
His friend chuckled. *"Well, I'm focusing on Egyptology."*
*"Why?"* he'd asked, curious.
*"Because that civilization is full of unsolved secrets,"* his friend replied with quiet confidence. *"Despite all our scientific progress, we still haven't cracked all its mysteries. A civilization that didn't believe in immortality yet obsessed over death more than anything. They mastered medicine, astronomy, engineering—yet remained shrouded in enigma. To me, it's the closest thing to logic."*
**Back to the present…**
The man opened his eyes, gaze settling on his friends—the furious one, the disillusioned one—and the map before them, marked with every site they'd ever explored.
His focus snagged on a single point: **Egypt.**
He took a step forward, then turned to the others with resolve. *"We're going to Egypt."*
The furious man scowled. *"And then what? Waste more time there too?!"*
A confident smile. *"Isn't Egypt full of secrets? Even if we don't find magic… isn't it worth a shot?"*
The third man stretched lazily and yawned. *"I don't care. As long as it's entertaining, I'm in."* But there was a strange glint in his eye.
The furious man opened his mouth to refuse—then froze. For some reason, he felt it… an inexplicable pull. A whisper in his gut telling him he'd find what he sought. That this might be his last journey.
He exhaled sharply. *"Fine. We'll go to Egypt."*
**The next day…**
The plane soared above the clouds, the three men lost in silence, each drowning in his own thoughts.
The furious one stared out the window, muttering, *"Will we really find what we're looking for?"*
His friend beside him smirked, cryptic. *"I don't know… but I feel something waiting for us."*
No reply came. But the furious man felt it too—an indescribable certainty.
**Next stop: Egypt. And Let the game begin.**