[Chapter 57: The Healing Stone Box]
The basement was anything but dark; in fact, it was glaringly bright. Rows of lit candles cast a steady glow, stacked in neat layers forming a semicircle that left only the entrance clear.
Through that entrance, the first thing Daniel noticed was a stone platform. A young woman lay unconscious there -- if nothing went wrong, this was Ambar, Carlos's niece.
Positioned just beyond the platform was a weathered stone box, square and about the size of an old black-and-white television. Its surface was etched with ancient, mysterious symbols that hinted at something long hidden.
Moments before Daniel descended, he had seen the box's lid slightly open. A massive pair of pale, brownish hands had stretched out from its depths. But sensing Daniel's approach, the hands retreated quickly, and the lid shut tight again.
Now, the box was sealed shut.
Looking first at the young woman, then the stone box, Daniel smiled knowingly. He had guessed right. What he was witnessing now was practically a live reenactment of the movie No One Gets Out Alive -- a story he had been thinking about just recently.
The plotlines matched almost perfectly, with the stone box at the center of it all.
...
In the movie, an archaeological team from the U.S. had uncovered this exact stone box in 1950s Old Mexico. It was adorned with unmistakable Aztec-style patterns.
The apartment's Landlord brothers were descendants of the archaeological expedition's captain, and the stone box had been passed down through their family.
Inside the box lived a bloated, pale-brown monster nearly ten feet tall, its entire form wrapped in some unknown hide. Whenever a person was offered as a sacrifice, the monster would crawl out, bite the person's head clean off, and swallow it whole.
In exchange, the sacrificial giver's injuries and illnesses would be instantly healed.
The movie's older landlord brother suffered from a debilitating brain condition that left him wracked with agonizing headaches. To ease the pain, he depended on the monster's healing powers, which came at a terrible cost -- continuous sacrifices of innocent tenants.
The landlords deliberately dropped the apartment rent, renting only to vulnerable women, who were then selected as the monster's next offerings.
...
Daniel's gaze shifted back to Ambar, lying still on the stone platform, and the ominous stone box nearby.
In the movie, the heroine was a strong-willed woman who fought back fiercely. She killed the malevolent spirit tormenting her in dreams -- a ruthless presence giving off a sinister aura.
It was this fierce aura that repelled the stone box monster, causing it to retreat.
Seizing the moment, she escaped, fighting off the bald strongman despite a broken ankle, and dragged the skinny landlord back to serve as the sacrifice in her place.
Just as she prepared to flee for good, the monster bit off the landlord's head. Instantly, the heroine's broken ankle was fully healed by the monster's power.
But what was meant to be her freedom instead chained her -- she became addicted to the miraculous healing and, ultimately, the monster's slave.
That was where the movie ended.
...
From what Daniel recalled, the monster wasn't a fierce fighter. It was somewhat weak, almost cowardly, especially if the victim was bold and ruthless enough to confront it.
Its real power was in its function: healing whoever supplied the sacrifices, and seducing them into submission -- trapping them in a cycle of servitude.
But this was more a reflection of human nature itself; a grim dance with greed and the thirst for power.
Stepping closer to the stone platform, Daniel examined the young woman. She was not the resolute heroine of the film -- instead, she looked fragile and vulnerable, perhaps in her early twenties, with clear Mexican features.
Without the Protagonist Halo, her fate was sealed. She lay there unconscious, helpless, even as the monster surely prepared to devour her head.
If Daniel hadn't arrived, she'd have become the next sacrifice.
Ignoring her for the moment, he approached the stone box.
...
Up close, the ancient patterns carved into the surface revealed themselves more clearly, yet still baffled Daniel.
He studied them for several minutes but discerned nothing specific -- only an overwhelming sense of eerie dread that made him slightly dizzy. He quickly looked away.
In the movie, though small on the outside, the box contained a seemingly infinite cavern inside, home to the towering monster. Clearly, this box was no ordinary container.
Carefully, Daniel tried to pry open the lid -- but it was sealed as if welded shut.
Resisting further exertion, he tried to place the entire stone box into his System space.
A chime echoed silently in his mind:
[Ding! This item contains a spiritual life form internally. If placed into the System space, its spirituality will be erased. Do you wish to proceed?]
Daniel cursed under his breath. He had forgotten that the System space couldn't store living creatures. Like Flesh-Mangled Face, who dwelled in a paperweight Daniel carried directly on his person, living beings or spirits could not be stored there without being erased.
So placing the stone box inside was out of the question.
Instead, Daniel produced a prayer seal from his palm.
He pressed it firmly onto the box, chanting: "Seal!"
A strange energy enveloped the box, locking it shut with a supernatural force.
Only then did Daniel manage, with both hands, to lift the hefty box. It was heavy, but not too much for him.
Relieved, he set off to carry it out of the basement.
...
At the entrance, Carlos hurried over once he saw Daniel emerge alone, holding the stone box.
"Mr. Cross, how's my niece Ambar?"
"She's fine," Daniel said calmly. "You can head downstairs to see her."
Grateful, Carlos rushed back into the basement.
Daniel secured the stone box in his car, locking it before returning inside.
...
Back in the apartment, the landlord brothers remained unconscious.
The skinny landlord was subdued by Daniel's seal, keeping him fainted.
The bald landlord, knocked out by Flesh-Mangled Face, bled heavily from a head wound and barely clung to life.
Daniel's eyes went toward the upper floors of the apartment. He called out in a firm voice, "Stop hiding. Come out."
No answer came.
Daniel let the matter lie and began to pace, chanting an incantation:
By sanctified word and consecrated ground,
By judgment entrusted and authority sworn,
Let no restless spirit deny this call.
Let the unseen hear, and let truth answer.
As the powerful incantation echoed, an intense mystical force expanded outward.
Soon, several shadowy figures floated down, appearing before Daniel.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
https://discord.gg/HjHHhUXPn7.