It had never really been the ministry’s place to store ancient artifacts— at least ones that weren’t made there. Most physical artifacts were under the care of Primo, but as Copia ascended the ranks, now a Papa, he felt more confident taking up the responsibility. He just hadn’t expected to be given the responsibility over one so delicate; an ancient Egyptian tomb that had been purchased from a particularly anxious explorer.

The daytime was deemed safe. Nobody was stupid enough to try and break into the Ministry during the day, so he’d go and check the storage room at nighttime. The first few nights, all went well. Most of the Siblings of Sin were too afraid of the room to go poking around in it— Copia had only recently gotten over his jitters.

Setting his candle down on the table, he lowered himself into one of the chairs nearby. Why not finish some things up down here? He could see alright enough, anyway.

A few hours passed by. More than he’d realized. When he checked the time on his wristwatch, it was almost midnight. With a grunt, he stood, turning to lean over the nearby table and pack his things back into their organized folders. Color-coded, of course.

“Why are you here?” he heard a darkened, dry voice from behind him.

“Excuse me? I work down— holy shit!” He wasn’t expecting… that thing, the mummy, to be standing in front of him, the most vicious look on his face he’d seen perhaps in his entire life. How dried flesh could be so expressive was beyond his understanding. The thing strode forward, extending its bony fingers and attempting to grab at his shoulders. He stepped back quicker than it could get to him. It seemed to pause for a moment, looking about the darkened room. “What is this place?” it demanded.

“I- uhm,” Copia started, slowly moving backwards. “Italy,” he answered. The thing looked at him as if he’d risen from the grave.