Chapter 165: Apocalypse Awakens

"Caven, are you sure we should be doing this? I heard it was forbidden to walk atop the Pyramids, let alone try to enter one." Asked a young man as he skeptically looked up at his, glancing at a slightly taller and older man who looked to be much more confident.

"Of course, it's forbidden, but these pyramids house an unbelievable amount of gold; getting just a small amount would change our lives. Besides, isn't this the only reason why we flew to Eygpt? To pillage the pyramids and rob the Pharaoh's tombs." Replied Caven with a confident smirk as he hoisted himself up atop the rock above before squatting down and helping the younger man by outstretching his arm.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now, José? You were super excited to rob these pyramids when I first introduced the idea; now you seem so uncertain." Added Caven with furrowed brows as he pulled José up to the same rock as him before hoisting himself up the next rock, climbing a pyramid to the top.

"Ugh, I was drunk when you first brought the idea up; of course, I'm going to think differently now that I'm no longer under the influence. I've just heard from some other tourists that getting caught attempting to steal from the pyramids results in instant jail time; if I'm going to jail, I don't want it to be in Egypt; at least send me back to the States." Remarked José with a grunt as he helped Caven up before grabbing his hand and climbing to the next rock, repeating this process as they slowly climbed the side of the pyramid.

"Well, then it's simple: just don't get caught; it's as easy as that." Said Caven confidently as he looked at José, who sighed at their inevitable defeat.

"Yeah, sure, since we're robbing a Pharaoh's tomb, why don't we go and rob a bank when we, I mean, IF WE, return to the States while we're at it?" Said José sarcastically as he pushed Caven up with a grunt before leaning against the large rock and enjoying the dark, starry sky of Eypgt.

"Why would we rob a bank back in the States after raiding a Pharaoh's tomb? That's stupid and just plain greedy; we should have more than enough gold from one tomb." Replied Caven with a confused expression as he looked down at José and pulled him up to the same rock as him.

"Haa, never mind. Let's just enter this Pharaoh's tomb and get it over with." Muttered José with a shake of his head before once again leaning against the rock, helping Caven up by pushing against his foot with his hands.

"S-Speaking of Pharaoh, did you see that thing on the internet? It has to do with Blacksteel." Asked Caven with a faint smile as he looked over the edge of the rock and eyed José, who shook his head.

"Well, it was only brief, but I saw an article about Blacksteel supposedly being a 16-year-old kid who lives in Queens, New York, and get this; apparently, his real name is Pharaoh Kent." Added Caven with a slight grin while José skeptically raised an eyebrow.

"Is it true? Is the article a decently trustworthy source?" Asked José curiously, causing Caven to shrug his shoulders while José stared at him blankly.

"I don't know, and I can't find that article anymore; it's like it doesn't exist, but it seemed pretty detailed if you ask me, not to mention Blacksteel doesn't wear anything that hides his face, so it's probably true, or at least worth looking into. You interested?" Remarked Caven lightly with a grunt as he climbed the next rock before standing up and stretching a little.

"Am I interested in possibly uncovering the true identity of Blacksteel, the same supposed alien that fought against three of his kind in Manhattan, which had been partially destroyed from their intense battle? No. Why would I be? I'm not trying to die." Remarked José with a blank expression before shaking his head, vehemently refusing such an idea, though neither of them noticed an incredibly powerful psionic entering their minds before retreating a few minutes later.

"Hmm, what the hell were we talking about? Something about Blacksteel's identity?" Asked Caven in slight confusion, rubbing his head before looking down at José, who looked to be just as lost as him.

"I-I've got no idea; anyways, we should probably focus on raiding this tomb rather than Blacksteel's identity. I'm not trying to incur his wrath or anything; you save the video of him fighting; every single one of his punches creates a shock wave that shatters nearby windows. I can't imagine what it would feel like if it landed on a human's body." Said José in confusion before shaking his head with a frown and an expression of awe, while Caven nodded in agreement.

"They'd die, no doubt about that. Though what's crazy is he didn't seem injured at all; despite taking so many attacks, he never once seemed bruised or anything of the sort. Do you think he was stronger than what he showed during that battle?" Remarked Caven as he helped José up before folding his arms, slightly frowning with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know, I wouldn't really be surprised, but at the same time, the video footage wasn't the best, so we might've just missed his injuries." Replied José with a shake of his head before walking forward, stepping along the massive stones of the pyramids.

"Yeah, true; that video footage was pretty bad. It's 2010, can't we do better than 360p-Ahhhhhhh!" Said Caven with a nod, following behind José, only to step in the wrong spot and fall through the floor as the stone crumbled beneath his feet, creating a small hole or entranceway into the pyramid.

"C-CAVEN!" Yelled José as he turned around and quickly ran towards the hole, only for him to step in the wrong spot, causing him to experience the exact same thing as Caven.

"U-Ugh, m-my fucking body; I-I think my arm might've broken the fall, b-better than my leg." Muttered Caven in pain as he slowly sat upright, brushing all the dirt and stone off him before reaching into his pocket, grabbing a small flashlight, and illuminating the area.

"W-Woah, i-is this what the inside of every pyramid looks like? I-I didn't know they were so hallowed." Added Caven in widened eyes as he looked at the inside of the pyramid, only to flinch and flick his light towards the sound or movement.

"A l-little help w-would be appreciated C-Caven!" Yelled José with a red face while trying to prop up a stone that was lying on his chest, prompting Caven to quickly stand up and run over to assist.

"H-Here, crawl out." Said Caven as he propped the stone up with his back, giving José the time to exit from underneath the stone before he dropped it.

"W-Well, we solved the problem of entering; now we just need to find the gold." Added Caven while his right arm dangled to his side, bent at a wrong angle while using his left hand to move the light throughout the entire cavern.

"Yeah, then we need to get the hell out of here 'cause I don't know about you, but after taking that fall, I feel like our luck is running low." Said José as he turned on his flashlight before walking down the several flights of stairs in the distance.

"S-So, is it just me, or does this pyramid look much different than what either of us had expected? It doesn't look very tomb-like." Muttered Caven as he walked down the stairs behind José, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe, but how are we supposed to know? It's the first tomb and pyramid we've been in, and they probably all have a similar design, or they all look completely different." Replied José lightly, causing Caven to nod in agreement before the two descended into silence while walking down the numerous flights of stairs until they eventually reached the bottom, only to be utterly astonished by what they saw.

"S-So, a-aliens really did build the pyramids." Muttered Caven with widened eyes as he stared at the black ship, which, unknown to them, housed a very powerful being known yet unknown to the world; unfortunately for them, said being had just woken when he sensed the eruption of cosmic energy.

"W-Well, that's cool and very interesting, but I'm not too surprised, though if it were a few days before that Zod guy appeared, I'd be greatly shocked." Said José in uncertainty as he eyed the sleek, black ship, which was far more technologically advanced than even the Black Zero.

"Anyways, let's just find the gold and forget everything else; I want to get out of here as quickly as possible." Added Jose with a frown as he shook his head before observing the rest of the room, looking for any signs of valuables.

"Y-Yeah, I-I just want to take a closer look." Muttered Caven as he carefully approached the spaceship before putting his flashlight in his mouth and gliding his hand across its surface, only for it to slightly tremble as it suddenly came to life.

"C-Caven! What did you do!?" Exclaimed José angrily as he turned to look at Caven, who quickly retreated in confusion.

"I-I just lightly touched it, t-that's all." Replied Caven, though before either of them could say anything, a door suddenly opened, revealing the silhouette of a large, armored, humanoid individual who stared at them with his piercing eyes.

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Uh-oh, this…This isn't good. It seems to me the Kryptonian invasion was merely a snack, and it's about time for the full-course meal. Will Pharaoh be enough to stop Apocalypse?