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Outside a walled compound that lies in ruins, a figure peers from beneath the metal cover to an underground tunnel.
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Inside the walls, Reign is awakened by the scrape of the cover against stone. She ventures out to investigate.
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CAUTIOUSLY, REIGN APPROACHES AN UNFAMILIAR MAN AS HE EMERGES FROM HIS SUBTERRANEAN LAIR.
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THE MAN SAYS HIS NAME IS EGYP, AND DISPLAYS A SPIRAL TATTOO THAT IDENTIFIES HIM AS A MEMBER OF HER SPLINTERED TRIBE.
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AS REIGN AND EGYP WALK WAY FROM THE TUNNEL, THEY SEE A FRAGMENT EMERGING FROM THE GROUND UNDERFOOT.
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THEY UNEARTH A STRANGE AND UNSETTLING OBJECT. INSIDE IT, THEY FIND A SPIRAL, LIKE THE SYMBOL OF THEIR TRIBE.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/42e54300f73c0c2b6043eda6fe4bad47/3328adc282ca24d6189023d2_rw_1920.jpg?h=ad1a1c44b6547f435a2959bbc681d1bc)
THE OBJECT APPEARS TO BE BOTH A MEMORIAL TO THOSE WHO HAVE PERISHED, AND A GUIDE TO HUMANITY'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
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INSPIRED BY THEIR DISCOVERY, YET WITH GREAT APPREHENSION, REIGN AND EGYP BEGIN THE JOURNEY THE OBJECT PRESCRIBES.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf.myportfolio.com/42e54300f73c0c2b6043eda6fe4bad47/bd6a2d85a0a4f8aac69c2ddc_rw_1920.jpg?h=5e9f6cc45ad109a50d903a8b8da71d18)
AFTER SEVERAL DAYS, THEY REACH THE TOP OF A RIDGE. BELOW THEM, A SPIRAL PATH LEADS TO A POWERFUL BEAM OF LIGHT.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/42e54300f73c0c2b6043eda6fe4bad47/30c772aab20b3bf56fe59be5_rw_1920.jpg?h=0718fe80b0c5f73076056c06a92f5f56)
REIGN AND EGYP ARRIVE AT THE BEACON. THEY DISCOVER AN ENERGY SOURCE, AND RECHARGE BOTH THEMSELVES AND THEIR DEVICES.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf.myportfolio.com/42e54300f73c0c2b6043eda6fe4bad47/1a211ba18912044198aa6207_rw_1920.jpg?h=940033fc9b83900dca9941dd98c5b4c8)
PUSHING ON, THE COUPLE ENCOUNTERS A MASSIVE MONOLITH IN A DEEP CRATER.
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THEY ARE IRRESISTIBLY DRAWN TO AN OCULAR PORTAL AT THE BASE OF THE MONOLITH. DARE THEY ENTER?