Elias shoved Kaelo aside and stepped forward.
"What is it?"
Artem moved with him.
They both looked inside the opened crate.
And froze.
Artem's lips parted slowly.
"It… it… it's…"
His throat tightened.
"A coffin."
Silence.
The word echoed against the white walls like a verdict.
Inside the crate lay a wooden coffin. Old, but preserved. Its surface was wrapped carefully in cloth and sealed with resin.
Artem reached forward with trembling fingers and pushed the lid open.
The smell hit them first.
Dry.
Ancient.
Inside was a mummified body.
The skin was darkened and shriveled tight against bone. The eye sockets hollow. Wrappings bound around limbs with deliberate care. Not thrown in. Not discarded.
Prepared.
Preserved.
A ritual.
A tradition.
Behind them, men shifted uneasily.
Elias rushed to another crate and tore it open.
Another coffin.
He opened it.
Another body.
He moved to the next.
Another.
Then another.
"They are everywhere…"
Rows of crates.
