Shadows of the Sunken Temple

The monsoon winds slammed against the side of the rusty cargo boat as it cut across the dark water, spraying cold waves over the deck. Mira tightened the straps of her weather-beaten backpack, bracing herself against the railing. Lightning split the sky in a jagged white vein, illuminating the rolling clouds like a beast awakening.

Perfect weather for a terrible decision.

Ari would say it was her specialty.

“Remind me again,” Ari shouted over the roar of the storm. His coat was drenched, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. “Why are we doing this now and not during the dry season like normal archaeologists?”

“Because normal archaeologists don’t get ambushed by mercenaries every time they sneeze,” Mira yelled back. “And because the map says the temple only resurfaces when the tide is this low. We either go now, or we wait three more years.”

“Right,” Ari muttered. “Suicidal, but time-efficient.”

The boat’s engine growled as the captain steered them toward the cluster of jagged sea rocks ahead—barely visible through sheets of rain. Between those rocks, half-swallowed by the rising ocean, was the entrance to the Sunken Temple of Keshar.

A place everyone believed was a myth.

A place Mira’s father had died searching for.

Her fists tightened on the railing.

Not this time.

This time, she would reach it.

This time, she would finish what he started.

Ari tapped her shoulder. “We’ve got company.”

She followed his gaze to the horizon.

A fast, black speedboat slicing through the storm.

Of course.

“Darkan’s men,” Mira said, pulse quickening. “They must’ve tracked us from the port.”

“They’re getting close,” Ari said. “And I don’t think they want to share the discovery.”

“They never do.”

The captain shouted something in a language neither of them understood, pointing toward the rocks. Mira handed him a sealed tube with money.

“Just get us close enough,” she told him. “We can swim the rest.”

“Swim?” Ari sputtered. “In that?” He pointed at the monstrous waves crashing against the stone cliffs. “Do you enjoy testing my will to live?”

Before Mira could respond, gunfire cracked through the storm.

A bullet punched into a metal beam behind them with a deafening clang.

“Down!” Mira pulled Ari to the deck as more shots peppered the railing.

The speedboat was only fifty meters away now, its spotlight cutting through the rain, revealing masked men with rifles.

The captain cursed and throttled the engine, the cargo boat lurching forward violently.

“Mira,” Ari gasped. “We need to jump.”

“Not yet.”

“Mira—!”

She scanned the water, lightning flashing overhead.

There.

A jagged gap between two towering rock formations—like a mouth opening and closing with every furious wave. Behind that gap lay a narrow channel leading to the cave entrance. Too small for the speedboat to enter.

But large enough for them.

“When I say jump,” Mira said, “jump toward the gap.”

“That’s not a plan,” Ari protested. “That’s a cry for help!”

Bullets ricocheted around them.

The speedboat was nearly parallel now—one of the mercenaries leveling a rifle directly at Mira.

She grabbed Ari’s hand.

“Jump!”

They leaped over the side just as a spray of bullets tore through the metal where they’d been standing. The ocean swallowed them in a freezing embrace. Mira kicked her legs hard, pulling Ari deeper to avoid the rain of bullets above.

The current dragged at them with violent force.

She surfaced first, gasping for air—and was immediately slammed by a wave.

“Mira!” Ari sputtered beside her. “Which way is death? I can’t see!”

She pointed toward the narrow opening between the rocks, where waves smashed against stone like fists.

“Through there!”

“You mean into the blender?!”

“Swim!”

Fighting the current, they pushed their way toward the gap. Rain blinded them, salt stung their eyes, and each wave felt like being hit by a wall.

A bullet struck the water half a meter from Ari.

“Faster!” Mira shouted.

They surged forward just as a massive wave lifted them and hurled them straight into the narrow passage—

Darkness swallowed them.

The water calmed slightly, sheltered from the worst of the storm. The roaring outside became a muffled thunder. A faint blue glow shimmered ahead—coming from bioluminescent algae clinging to the cave walls.

Ari coughed, clinging to a slippery rock edge. “Please tell me this is the part where we find shelter and not an underwater tomb.”

Mira pulled herself up onto the ledge beside him, soaked and shaking. “If the legends are right, the entrance should be—”

A deep rumble echoed through the cavern, vibrating the stone beneath them.

Ari’s eyes widened. “What was that?”

Mira stood, ignoring the tremor running through her legs. The blue light revealed a massive stone arch carved into the cave wall—marked with symbols she had studied since childhood.

Her breath hitched.

“We found it,” she whispered. “Ari… we actually found it.”

He followed her gaze—and froze.

Beyond the archway, half submerged in water, was a large stone door engraved with a sun split in half.

On the left: rays carved like fire.

On the right: rays carved like claws.

A warning.

Or a promise.

“Still think this was a bad idea?” Mira asked softly.

Ari gave her a long, exhausted stare. “Oh no. It was absolutely a terrible idea.”

Then he smiled.

“But it’s ours.”

Before Mira could respond, a sharp metallic click echoed behind them.

They spun around.

A figure stood at the tunnel entrance—soaking wet, rifle raised, lightning framing him in a white glow.

Darkan’s lieutenant.

“So,” he growled, stepping forward, “you two went through all the trouble of opening the way for us.”

Mira’s heart hammered.

Ari whispered, “I hate being right.”

The lieutenant cocked his weapon.

“Now,” he said, voice low and cold, “move away from the door.”

Mira’s fingers tensed.

Not a chance.