For what that is already dust

Chapter 7 : History

The confirmation receipt mocks her,no turning back now.

She tried to prevent the antcipation from resurfacing by attempting to relax with her arms crossed behind her head, while Vykaria began wondering what on Earth did she just agree to?

I mean its not like she's going to sites that would magically resurrect the dead or some supernatural nonsense would occur.

Its not like anything will happen right?

Hopefully not.

Vykaria sighed internally, she recognized that line of thinking,thats the same thoughts protagonists from horror movies would think before things escalated for the worst or one of the : 'Top ten moments before disaster.'

The office hums around her-keyboards clicking, coworkers chatting about weekend plans. Vykaria sits there like a statue, arms behind her head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What did I just do?"

Not out loud. Just in the quiet of her mind-the same question mortals ask themselves before they realize they've made a catastrophic mistake.

Babylon and Jerusalem weren't just random locations on a map to *her*. They were places soaked in history that directly involved *her family*, their tragedies, their bloodlines... The kind of land that carried weight even for someone as detached as Vykaria. And now she was going there? Voluntarily? For work?

[Internal Screaming] "This is how horror movies start."

(A protagonist ignores warnings.)

(They go somewhere cursed.)

(And then something wakes up...)

A shudder runs through her despite herself-not from fear (she doesn't get scared), but from instinctive unease: ancient places have memories... and sometimes those memories don't stay buried.

Whatever its been 7000 years that accursed land probably forgot about her existence since its fall and desolation.

And trip starts in a few weeks plenty of time for Vykaria to prepare herself emotionally.

She goes back home after a persuambly ordinary day,and starts researching facts she most likely already knows by now, a week passes by Dale noticed her being more tense then usual but says nothing about it,knowing her she wouldnt give him an answer anyways even if he was persistent,unfortunately for Vykaria her cousin was surprisingly smarter than she thought,too smart despite his bright and immature antics,because Dale got too nosy and found out the trip via work emails ,somehow she conveniently forgot he worked under the same company where she was employed.

He knew his great great 30th cousin well enough to know she doesnt show much interest on anyone really let alone sightseeing ,unless ....Dale figured those specific places were important enough to be personal judging by her lifelong existence of solitude and trauma.

Vykaria sighed internally great...Ofcourse it was the cousin who thought it was a good idea to open a coffin during his expedition in the aftermath of WWII over 50 years ago even when Antobias (being the voice of reason) suggested otherwise that it was best not to disturb an ancient beings slumber who knows what could unfold,but his caution fell on deaf ears when Dale pryed the coffin lid open anyways which caused Vykaria to emerge from her slumber ,well thats how she first met her 2 extended families how did she know they were related thanks to something called DNA tests a while later,it was the exact coffin where Vykaria once resided in after the Salem witch trails incident where she was burned then burried after bruising a man's pride the one lord who took offense to her rejection,ofcourse it was Dale once again who pieces together just what she may be getting herself into even if he didnt know the full context,the irony wasnt lost on her.

Honestly,he should've kept that coffin shut she wouldnt mind sleeping for another 100 or so years instead of facing capitalism, the bane of existence itself.

Dale waits until Vykaria is curled on the couch, scrolling mindlessly through her phone-avoiding research about Babylon or Jerusalem like it might bite her. He sits beside her, unusually quiet for someone who usually fills silences with chatter.

Then he drops the bomb:

"So... you're going to Iraq and Israel?"

No preamble. No small talk. Just straight to the point-the same way a surgeon would announce a diagnosis.

Vykaria's eye twitches slightly. *Of course he knew.* Of *course*. This was Dale-her meddling, overly observant cousin who somehow always found out things before she wanted him to know them... The man responsible for waking an ancient being from centuries of forced slumber because curiosity won over self-preservation (as usual).

[Internal] "I could lie."

(She doesn't.)

Instead? She just stares at him blankly-unimpressed by his detective skills but not surprised either.

A beat passes.

Dale tilts his head: "...You okay?"

Well thats an excellent question she thought sarcasticly,when was she ever okay to begin with?

This man was annoyingly too perceptive for his own good,thanks to his intuition for someone who meddles purely for the love of the game with atrocious attempts at comedic relief.

Vykaria rolls her eyes,before responding: *"Yeah"* In the most painstakingly monotonous voice known to man ,a tone that said dont push for more details before Dale could press any further,not at his question if she was okay, just affirming his suspicions about her motives going to that trip.

He conceded with the silent request not before giving Vykaria a look that suggested 'Im telling Antobias everything'. As if they were children with an ongoing feud that needs to be reprimanded.

"And also...we're accompanying you." Dale spoke with a persistence which was too cheerful, a polite way to indicate he wont be dettered by arguments ,because if theres one thing this i***t knows its to somehow not risk a primordial being walk alone into ruins just incase they may trigger anything that may still remember them after centuries,which inevitbaly have devastating consequences as a result to mortals wandering by.

Vykaria's expression goes completely flat like a who cat hates social interaction specifically by humans disrupting their one tranquile moment of peace.

"No."

One syllable. Ice-cold. Final.

She doesn't even bother looking at Dale-just stares straight ahead like he's invisible, as if her sheer disdain alone could evaporate him from existence.

[Internally] "Absolutely not."

(These are ancient lands.)

(Places tied to blood and divinity and things that shouldn't be disturbed.)

A muscle ticks in her jaw. The thought of them tagging along is worse than the idea of going herself... because they'd ask questions. They'd poke at ruins with morbid curiosity... They might trigger something without meaning to...

"Antobias and I are coming," he repeats enthusiastically, "and we already cleared it with your work! They said since the trip is volunteer-based for preservation efforts... they can allow us to tag along as 'cultural liaisons.'" (He air-quotes.)

A muscle ticks in Vykaria's jaw as she processes this betrayal... Her own COWORKERS enabling Dale's nonsense? Unbelievable.