The roar of students filled the air as St. Altair High School's football match reached its climax. The team was struggling—three goals behind, their chances of victory slipping away like sand through fingers. On the sidelines, Coach Hargrove shouted over the noise, his voice raw with urgency.
"We need to win this match! Three more goals!"
It seemed like the game was nearly lost when, suddenly, a young man entered the stadium. He was the vice-captain of the football team. As soon as the students saw him, they erupted into cheers, chanting his name.
"Ray! Ray! Ray!"
From the sidelines, Coach Hargrove and the team's captain, Axel Vaughn, exchanged hopeful smiles. If anyone could turn this game around, it was Ray.
Then, everything changed.
The momentum of the match shifted, and the team quickly gained the scores they needed.
Despite his exceptional skill, Ray had always refused the captaincy. He wasn't just a star on the field—he excelled academically, in extracurriculars, and in nearly everything he pursued.
He had little interest in titles or leadership. He simply wanted to play.
Ray's only family was his father, Dr. Adrian Valehart—a distinguished archaeologist known for his discoveries and relentless pursuit of knowledge.
When he was eleven, tragedy struck. A car accident took the lives of his mother and little sister, leaving his world shattered. His family was neither rich nor poor, but his father frequently moved from place to place, attempting to keep Ray from dwelling on the past.
Ray grew up watching his father chase ancient mysteries. It was what Adrian did best—venturing into uncharted ruins, deciphering cryptic languages, unearthing history.
Whenever time allowed, Adrian took Ray with him on expeditions.
At home, Ray filled his days with rigorous academics, martial arts, and history books, obsessively learning everything he could about ancient civilizations.
One day, Adrian's longtime friend, Elias Whitmore, sent word of a discovery—an underground tunnel in Egypt, buried beneath layers of forgotten history.
Elias wanted Adrian's help in deciphering the inscriptions found within the pyramid that led to this passage. And Ray was on holiday.
So they went.
Upon arriving in Cairo, Elias greeted them with uncontainable excitement. He had found an inscription detailing a path to an undiscovered chamber, deep beneath the sands.
"Adrian, this could change everything," Elias had said.
Adrian, always the scholar, wasted no time in agreeing to the task.
Over the next few days, they worked tirelessly to decode the ancient text and prepared for their descent into the tunnel.
The passage was ancient, buried in complete darkness.
Even with maps, navigating the underground maze was a challenge.
Twisting corridors. Unstable walls. The air thick with history and dust.
Then, at long last, they reached the end.
Elias was astounded. A light source underground? It defied all expectations.
What awaited them was a chamber unlike anything they had seen before.
Crystals radiated a soft glow, casting eerie reflections against the stone walls.
At its center stood a massive stone tablet, inscribed in a language no one could comprehend.
Gold artifacts lined the room, untouched, preserved in time.
Adrian turned to Ray. "Copy everything in this room. It could be valuable."
Elias and Adrian began transcribing the ancient inscriptions covering the chamber walls. Meanwhile, Ray approached the tablet at the heart of the room.
As he stepped closer, prepared to copy the markings, the ground beneath him suddenly lit up with intricate, pulsing runes.
Panic surged through the group.
Elias shouted: "Run!"
Adrian and Elias bolted toward the exit.
Ray tried to follow, but before he could take another step—
He vanished.
Adrian froze.
His only son—gone.
Panic seized him, his mind unable to process what had just happened.
But before he could rush to where Ray had stood, the chamber started collapsing.
Elias grabbed Adrian, pulling him away.
They had no choice but to escape.