Chapter 53

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It did not take long for the group to arrive at the fork on their way inside, which separated the twin temples.

"We are going to need to split. We need Zaid and Bilaal to be in the two groups. Both groups should have a Curse Breaker too. How about I lead the first group with Weasley and Zaid, and the rest of you make the second group?"

Rakepick formed the two groups, and since she was the expert here, no one said anything as they went along with her instructions.

Once separated from Rakepick, Merula Snyde took the lead as she led them to the end of the muggle part. As they stood before what looked like to be a dead end, in part muggles were forbidden from accessing, Snyde said, "The Egyptians loved their runes, and they made for quite the intricate barriers. When you know what you are looking for, things become easier."

She looked at Helene and asked, "Do you want to give it a shot?"

Helene remained impassive in the face of the challenge. She took a look at Ethan and said, "Why not get some practical experience?"

Ethan grinned, while Snyde looked shocked. "Hey, those are dangerous!"

Helene replied, "My son is better than most professional Rune Masters. And much faster too."

Snyde looked at Bilaal, who shrugged and said, "They are about to open the way. It will probably take them two minutes."

Snyde bit her lower lip, and after a moment of hesitation, she groaned, "Fine, you can take a look. But we need to move out in two minutes; we don't want to keep them waiting."

Ethan looked at Bilaal with curiosity. He had two pairs of twins back in Hogwarts, and they all shared a bond between twins, but not quite as strong as the one between Bilaal and Zaid. Ethan wondered whether this was something that could be trained or if it was innate.

Turning his attention to the unassuming wall, Ethan could feel its magic from a metre away. Passing his over it, not quite touching it but being close enough to get a closer feel of its magic.

It was Ancient Egyptian Runes, as expected. The enchantment was quite complicated, with quite a few hieroglyphs being a part of it. It was expertly made as well, with little to no redundancy. It had quite a few effects on it that would make trying to brute force through it close to impossible and do more harm to whoever tried than the wall.

However, the wall wasn't just protected by runes. By taking a closer look at it, Ethan could feel that the wall was also protected by charms, and it even had some transfiguration in there, all of them in synergy with each other.

It was hard enough to apply several magical effects to an object through different magical practices, but to link them together to synergize and strengthen each other—that was not just an expert's work. It was a master's work, unlike anything Ethan had ever seen.

What was even stranger, however, was that despite this synergy, to open this door, one did not even need to alter or even detect the charm-work and the transfiguration within the wall to open the way forward.

Ethan felt that this was surprising because if someone was capable enough to make this kind of enchantment, then they definitely would have been capable of creating a seal that incorporated the strength of all three magics.

Of course, even as it was, the seal was strong; no muggle could ever hope to open it, and most wizards would be left helpless before it. But the creator of this seal had held back, making Ethan believe that their goal hadn't only been to stop people from entering.

The magical society at the time had been very different, however, so it was hard for Ethan to pinpoint the exact reason for these choices.

Channelling magic to his fingertip, Ethan lightly traced it over the wall, deactivating some of the runes. With his action, a hole formed at the centre of the rocky wall and quickly expanded out to turn into a passage.

Taking a step back, Ethan looked at Snyde and said, "Interesting enchantment. I wonder what kind of enchantment has locked you out for so long."

Snyde was looking at him in shock, however, with a small booklet in her hands. It was a dictionary for hieroglyphs, Ethan noticed.

Snyde asked, "You know Ancient Egyptian?"

Ethan shrugged. "I know hieroglyphs used in runes, yeah. It makes it easier and faster to work."

Just as he said that, however, Ethan felt his father ruffle his hair as he reprimanded, "Don't be cocky."

Ethan smiled, and Snyde led the way in.

All the disappointment Ethan had been feeling disappeared as he stepped into the real Temple of Ramesses II, the magical side of it.

There was no renovation here or any trace of the modern world. The place was teeming with magic; Ethan could feel it the moment he stepped in, but that hadn't stopped the effects of time; it only hindered them.

The passage was wide and illuminated by a series of torches, whose magical nature was made obvious by their blood-red color. Another stark difference was the smoothness of the stone.

Where the muggle part had uneven walls with jagged rocks, whether because of the degradation of time or the lack of technique of the men who built it thousands of years ago, everything had been cut with extreme precision here, as even after all this time, every wall was completely flat and polished.

The passage descended deeper within, and Snyde cautioned, "Move carefully, and do not touch anything."

Tracey, although she did follow carefully, couldn't help but ask as she looked around, "Why so much caution? Haven't hundreds of Curse Breakers already come here over the years? Are there any curses left?"

Snyde kept her sight straight ahead as she replied enthusiastically, "The number one rule of Curse Breakers is that while on a job, we should always consider ourselves to be the first within."

"Why?"

"Ancient people were quite inventive with their curses. There have been records of certain curses that would only activate under certain circumstances. For example, there once was a curse in an old Chinese Crypt that was set to activate only on the 1623rd person to pass by it."

Tracey shrunk behind Ethan as she exclaimed softly, "What kind of person does that?!"

Snyde looked over her shoulder and replied with a grimace, "I know, right?"

She looked back ahead and continued, "There are also certain curses that are very hard or even impossible to completely erase, and these are either temporarily disabled or counters have to be prepared for them. And those are only some examples among many. The point is, even if hundreds of other wizards came before you, you should always expect there to be a curse hidden, just in case."

Helene looked at Tracey and added with a smile, "But don't worry, if there is a curse, we will protect you."

Tracey nodded, although she was still visibly perturbed by the possibility of being targeted by a curse. She looked at Ethan's face, hoping to find the same worry, but she only saw eagerness.

She whispered, "You want to have a curse attack us, don't you?"

Ethan faked a cough and replied, "I am simply curious about ancient magic. Of course, I don't wish for us to be attacked."

"Obviously."

Tracey rolled her eyes, and the group continued heading in deeper.