text: &#x200B; *** &#x200B; ***\[WP\] You're a historian exploring a crypt unopened for 800 years. You uncover a coffin that bears your family's crest and name. Upon opening it, you see a man, awake and very much alive. His eyes go wide upon seeing you, and says "Rosie, you're still alive?"*** &#x200B; "No," I said, "Rosalyn Darmitage passed away ten years after your seal. I'm Nadia Darmitage, about thirty generations off from Rosalyn." "Oh." The man's expression slumped by my news. His thin lips turned into a single line and his forehead furrowed in thought. "You look a lot like Rosie." "Cyclic inheritance," I said, offering a hand. For a man over 800 years, Tobias Darmitage looked suprisingly healthy. Tall and thin, with a sharp face and a mane of brown hair. His ancient linen clothes acted more natural, crumbling to dust as soon as he grabbed my hand and stepped out of the coffin. I handed over my backpack with spare clothes and looked away, glancing at the other coffins in the crypt, my nose itching from wanting to uncover their contents. "If you've inherited Rosalyn's memories, you should know the dangers of opening the crypt," Tobias Darmitage said behind my back. "I'm a person who's bad at listening to hearsay," I replied. "I'd rather confirm things myself." Chuckles rumbled behind me. "Still the same Nosy Rosie. You can turn around now." The hoodie was a bit small on him, half his underarms stuck out and his bellybutton, an outie, said hello to the world. The gym pants were thankfully black. "Strange clothes you wear this day and age," Tobias said. "I'll get you something better when we get out of here," I said. "And what's the reason for awakening one of your ancestors?" Tobias asked, his voice piqueing with curiosity. "And even wanting to take him out to show the world. I'm sure that the Hunters are still alive and well... hunting. They wouldn't take it kindly if they found me up and running." "They're busy with another bigger problem at the moment," I said. Tobias seemed to take insult on that as he harrumphed and folded his arms across his chest. The hoodie stretched to its max, seeming to burst at any moment. "No seriously, a demon lord has opened a portal to this realm," I said. "The Hunters are holding them at bay but it's not going so well." "And you want me to help the Hunters?" Tobias asked, his voice sharp around the edges. "Those who sealed me?" From what I had gathered from Rosalyn's memories was that Tobias had some megalomanic tendencies which didn't coincide with the Hunters' business statement 'to keep the world at peace'. They've killed Tobias several times or rather his predecessors. Due to cyclic inheritance, the person who gained Tobias's memories seemed to always have a deep hatred against the Hunters and rose to challenge them, once every hundred years or so. The simplest thing had been to chuck him into a crypt and keep it hidden. "Look," I said, "You can fight the Hunters *after* the demon lord has been pushed back into the portal." "Why wait?" Tobias said as he began to step up the stairs, heading to the exit of the crypt. "I can simply side with the demon." "Oh, I wouldn't recommend that," I said, as my lips split into a cheeky smile. "What would Nosy Rosie say if you allied with her killer?" He froze mid-step. "What?" But I didn't reply, instead I pushed the coffin lid back into place. I rumbled through my bag, left on the ground by the old man, and pulled out three talismans and applied them to the coffin. "What did you say about Rosie?" Tobias's voice had some crackling undertones, like gravel rolled in his throat. A tingle ran down my spine and goosebumps crawled on my forearms. It seemed like air had turned heavy and the light from my lamp flickered. I opened my mouth but words didn't come out, just a rasp and a cough. It felt like the moisture in my lips and throat and been drawn out. "Rosie wouldn't fall prey to a demon's whispers," Tobias said and stepped closer. His face was ashen and his hair crackled with electricity. My knees buckled from the man's intensity. My hands tried to pry away the invisible force strangling my neck. And then everything returned to normal. The pressure disappeared and air rushed down my lungs while I gasped on the ground. So this was why the Hunters had nicknamed Tobias and his predecessors as "The Calamity". "So, Nadia Darmitage," Tobias began, staring at me with his grey eyes. "What was your reason for opening the crypt which I was sealed in? Are you a mage in cahoot with the Hunters? You're perhaps a Hunter yourself, hoping to use the family name to lull me into a sense of safety and then push me through the portal together with that demon lord of yours?" "No," I said, my voice hoarse and still dry. "I'm not a mage, nor a Hunter." "Then what are you?" I pushed myself up on wobbly legs and stood tall and proud, meeting the eyes of The Calamity. "I'm a historian.