The Curse of the Ruby Serpent

The desert wind howled through the ruins of Teshkar, sending fine grains of sand swirling into the air. Nathan Drake adjusted his scarf and surveyed the crumbling temple ahead. The map in his hands, supposedly drawn centuries ago, promised that within these walls lay the legendary Ruby Serpent—a jewel said to grant immense power… at a terrible cost.

Behind him, Sophia Lane dusted off her compass. “Tell me again why we’re chasing a cursed artifact?”

Nathan grinned. “Because ‘cursed’ usually means valuable.”

Sophia sighed but followed him inside. The temple’s entrance was marked by carvings of coiled serpents, their eyes hollow and watchful. As they stepped through the archway, torches along the walls flared to life.

Sophia jumped. “That’s… unsettling.”

Nathan ran a hand along the nearest wall. “Pressure sensors, maybe?”

She shot him a look. “In a thousand-year-old ruin?”

Before he could answer, a whisper echoed through the chamber. Turn back.

Sophia tensed. “Did you hear that?”

Nathan hesitated, then forced a chuckle. “Probably just the wind.”

They pressed on, navigating a maze of corridors. Strange murals lined the walls—depictions of a great serpent towering over kneeling figures. In each carving, the serpent’s eyes glowed red.

At last, they reached the central chamber. There, on a pedestal surrounded by skeletal remains, sat the Ruby Serpent.

Sophia exhaled. “That’s it.”

Nathan approached cautiously. “No obvious traps…” He reached out, fingers brushing the ruby’s smooth surface—

The ground trembled.

A deep, rumbling hiss filled the room. The murals shifted as if the stone itself were alive. A shape uncoiled from the shadows—a massive serpent, its scales like burnished gold, its eyes glowing with an eerie crimson light.

“You dare take what is mine?”

Nathan stumbled back. “Not good.”

Sophia grabbed his arm. “RUN!”

The serpent lunged, its fangs sinking into the pedestal where the ruby had sat moments before. The walls cracked, and sand began pouring in from above.

Nathan sprinted for the exit, the ruby clutched tightly in his hand. “I really hope that curse isn’t real!”

They barely made it through the collapsing corridors, dodging falling stones and leaping over crumbling pathways. The serpent’s enraged hissing echoed behind them, growing fainter as the temple sealed itself shut.

Outside, they collapsed onto the sand, coughing.

Sophia turned to Nathan, still clutching the ruby. “So… worth it?”

Nathan studied the jewel in his palm. For a moment, the ruby pulsed as if it had a heartbeat.

A shiver ran down his spine.

“Maybe,” he said, slipping it into his pack. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Behind them, the ruins of Teshkar stood silent once more. But deep beneath the sand, something still stirred.