Ancient Coffin

"Argh, dammit, stupid people."

Meanwhile, a young woman entered her house, closing the door behind her with a loud bang. She took off her white lab coat and carelessly threw it on the floor, stomping hard on it. It was obvious that she was angry and frustrated.

Her apartment was shabby and untidy, the room was a chaotic mess, with clothes strewn haphazardly across the floor, books piled high on the desk, and empty pizza boxes scattered about. The bed was unmade, and a tangle of cords and cables snaked across the carpet, connecting various electronic devices in a web of disarray. Dust had settled on every surface, and the once-vibrant posters on the walls were now partially hidden behind a layer of neglect. It was a scene of utter untidiness, a testament to days, or perhaps even weeks, of neglect and disorganisation. , but she didn't even care, she kicked everything in her path while walking to the bathroom.

"Stupid people, stupid facility, stupid research. How dare they say that to me, how dare they." She fumed in annoyance. She ran to the faded posters on the wall and pulled them down, the posters that had pictures of scientists and scientific quotes were all torn into pieces.

The young lady had just decided to let go of the one thing she really loved, she had resigned from her job as scientist in a facility.

She fell down on her knees and face-palmed herself. The little weak side she had been trying to hide under a crazy woman facade finally broke out. Tears gushed out from her eyes and the curses that threatened to spew from her guts slowly disappeared as she let her feelings out.

She laid on the empty potion on the floor for a while, mulling over the years she had endured in her workplace.

After a long hour of sobbing, she finally carried herself up and walked to the bathroom with a long face. She stopped and stared at her reflection on the mirror, the dark circles around her eyes had further amplified her light blue eyes, her rare curly red hair was shaggy and dry after years of negligence. She unbuttoned her shirt and let it slide down her arms. She then stared silently at the mark on her left arm, purple lines that formed patterns stretching from her shoulder blade to her elbow.

Her fingers ran across the unique birthmark on her arm, letting them slide through the intricate designs.

She suddenly paused and muttered underneath her breath, "Stupid." She left the bathroom and walked straight to the underground tunnel she found when she first started living in this house.

She walked straight through the tunnels and finally got to a rocky chamber, at the centre laid a coffin. Its designs, ancient and curvy.

The chamber that she had successfully modified into her own private research lab had two chairs, a research table and different research tools and apparatus.

She sat on the chair and stared blankly at the coffin, this one thing that she had tried to open countless number of times but never succeeded. The day she found the coffin, it was all dusty inside this underground basement. She was super happy but refrained from sharing it with her superiors. She did not ask any questions either, about who lived here before or who really built this whole apartment building and planted an underground basement under the last floor.

Now, seeing the coffin laying still without any improvements annoyed her to the bone, it further proved the fact that she was incapable just like her fellow scientists had said.

The young lady picked up a name tag from the table, Lillian Rowan was written on it. She frowned and clenched the name tag, the blunt side pierced into her soft palm due to how hard she squeezed.

"Stupid orphan, stupid Lillian, who the hell is Rowan for f**ks sake?!" She screamed, letting her insecurities overwhelm her.

She banged her bloodied hand on the coffin and slumped back onto the chair, letting her tired body slide over.

Suddenly, a single droplet of crimson liquid landed upon the polished wood, breaking the silence with a soft splatter. It was as if time itself had slowed down as her gaze fixated on that mesmerising bead of blood.

The liquid began to flow, almost of its own accord, tracing a sinuous path along the meticulously crafted patterns. It followed the delicate curves of blooming roses and intertwined vines, like a river of life coursing through the intricate channels of death's vessel.

With each passing moment, the blood's journey became more entrancing, weaving through the engraved symbols and embellishments. It mirrored the Lillian's collective breaths, rising and falling, as it inched closer to the end of its mysterious path.

The room seemed to hold its breath, captivated by the haunting beauty of this macabre spectacle. The blood, a poignant reminder of life's impermanence, whispered secrets as it navigated the labyrinthine designs on the coffin, leaving a haunting memory etched into the heart of whoever witnessed this solemn dance.

The coffin clicked causing Lillian to flinch and back away, continuous clicking and clacking sounds came from the coffin. The young woman glanced at the cut on her palm and took her gaze back to the coffin that suddenly opened, the lid automatically lifted up in a graceful fashion.

Lillian, who was already far away from the coffin, slowly moved towards it again. She had no fear, but excitement coursed through her veins, giving her the ultimate chills.

Her excitement died when she saw what was in the coffin, it was a corpse, an old dried corpse. She sighed and sat on the chair as she ingrained the corpse's visible features in her memory.

The corpse that seemed to belong to a male had his body still in one piece, his skin was dried up of fluid and flesh but still had the pale white colour, his sunken cheeks made him look especially scary. The corpse was just a bag of bones covered in a thin layer of pale skin and…there was a dagger impaled in his heart.

Lillian pursed her lips, confusion written all over her face. The clothes on his body seemed to be made from high quality materials but it was not something that could be worn in this era. She gasped and marvelled at how wonderful the corpse mummification was, it was still recognisable even after so many years.

She stared at the lusterless bronze dagger that had not even a speck of dust on it, the ruby gem stone on the hilt was particularly fancy and beautiful. She traced her fingers across the ruby gem and the beautiful pattern on the hilt, she then gripped the hilt and pulled it out with all her strength…