Chapter One: A Father's Legacy
Raindrops tapped against the windowpane like countless tiny fingers gently knocking on the glass. Leah Castro stood in the center of her father's study, enveloped by the familiar scent of aged wood and old books. Three years had passed since her father had mysteriously vanished during an expedition, yet the room remained untouched—scattered notebooks, maps pinned to the walls, and the massive oak desk piled high with archaeological records and untranslated ancient texts.
Her fingers traced a scratch along the desk's edge—a mark she had accidentally made at ten years old with a paper knife. Instead of scolding her, her father had smiled and said, "Every scar is a witness to history, just like the ruins we study."
Leah took a deep breath and approached the drawer she had never dared to open. A week before his disappearance, her father had sent her a letter containing only a brass key and a warning: "If I don't return in three months, open the bottom drawer of my desk. Remember—when the Guardians awaken, the door must not be opened."
Three months had stretched into three years, and her father had never come back.
The key turned in the lock with a sharp click that echoed in the silent room. The drawer slid open, revealing only three items: a yellowed star chart, a leather-bound notebook, and a small stone figurine—a strange creature with a humanoid body and a reptilian head, its eyes two green gemstones that glowed faintly even in the dim light.
Leah picked up the star chart first. It resembled an astronomical diagram, covered in unfamiliar symbols and intersecting lines. But in one corner, her father had circled a location in red ink and scribbled two words beside it: "The Golden City."
"The Golden City..." Leah whispered the name. It had been her father's lifelong pursuit—a legendary Mayan metropolis said to hold secrets powerful enough to alter the course of human civilization. Most academics dismissed it as myth, but her father had believed.
She opened the notebook. The first page read: "If you are reading this, I can no longer complete this research myself. Leah, my daughter, whether you choose to continue my work or abandon it, remember this—the truth is far stranger than we can imagine."
Her fingers trembled slightly. The handwriting was achingly familiar, yet distant. She read on:
"The Golden City is real. But it was not built by the Maya—they were merely its guardians. This city predates human civilization. It conceals a Stargate, a bridge between our world and a distant star system. The Maya called it 'Xibalba be'—the road to the underworld—but they misunderstood its nature. It does not lead to the land of the dead, but to the stars."
Leah frowned. Her father had been a rigorous scholar, never one for alien conspiracy theories or supernatural claims. What had changed his mind?
She flipped through the notebook, scanning observations, symbol translations, and speculative theories. Near the end, a photograph slipped free—her father standing before a massive stone door, its frame carved with symbols matching those on the star chart. His expression was a mix of exhilaration and dread, his finger pointing at a circular indentation at the door's center.
On the back, he had written: "The Guardians have awakened. The door must not be opened. I must stop them."
"Stop who?" Leah murmured to herself. She picked up the figurine—and gasped as a sharp edge on its base pricked her finger. A drop of blood fell onto the figurine's eyes, and the two green gems suddenly flared to life, projecting a beam of light that formed a three-dimensional star chart on the study wall.
Leah stumbled back. This wasn't some simple trick of light—it was holographic technology. Yet the figurine looked centuries old!
The star map rotated before her, then locked into position. A red line extended from Earth, through the solar system, toward a distant constellation. At the end of the line, a golden city floated in space, encircled by seven stars arranged in a perfect hexagon.
Just then, the study door swung open.
"Leah? Are you okay? I knocked for ages—" Sofia Mendoza stood in the doorway, two coffee cups in hand. Her best friend and her father's former student. "Holy—what is that?" Sofia's gaze fixed on the hologram, and the coffee cups slipped from her fingers, staining the carpet.
Leah quickly set the figurine down, and the projection vanished. "I found some of my father's research," she said, unsure how to explain what had just happened.
Sofia stepped closer, lifting the star chart. "This... this can't be." Her voice trembled with excitement. "This is the legendary Mayan navigation map! Academics thought it was lost forever! Your father actually found it?"
"And more." Leah flipped open the notebook to her father's notes on the Stargate.
Sofia skimmed the pages, her frown deepening. "This is insane... but if it's true..."
"Do you think my father's still alive?" Leah asked suddenly, her voice smaller than she intended.
Sofia hesitated, then gently squeezed Leah's hand. "I don't know. But I do know this—if he is alive, he'd want you to continue his work. And if he's... gone, then solving this mystery would be the greatest tribute to him."
Leah looked out the window. The rain had stopped, and a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the figurine on the desk. Its emerald eyes gleamed as if watching her.
"I'm going to find the Golden City," Leah said, her voice firm. "Not just for my father, but for what this discovery could mean for humanity."
Sofia nodded. "Then you'll need a team. First, we'll need an expert in ancient astral sciences—"
"—and equipment, technical support," Leah added, her mind already racing. "I know who to call."
She picked up her phone and dialed. When the call connected, she said only one thing: "Max, I need you. It's about my father's research."
After hanging up, Leah looked back at the figurine. For some reason, the glow in its gemstone eyes seemed brighter—almost as if it were... waiting.
Chapter Two: The Jungle Gateway
The jungles of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula sprawled like an emerald blanket over the ancient land. The roar of helicopter blades startled a flock of scarlet macaws into flight, their vibrant wings flashing against the canopy.
"Confirming coordinates one last time." Max Chen adjusted his smart glasses, and a holographic display flickered to life before him. "According to the star chart and our adjusted calculations, the entrance should be within this five-kilometer radius."
Leah adjusted her backpack straps, her shirt soaked with sweat. They'd been searching the jungle for two days, relying on Max's modified ground-penetrating radar and Sofia's deciphering of Mayan glyphs to narrow their path.
"The problem," Sofia said, wiping her brow, "is that the Mayan 'underworld' migh