Valentina’s peaceful sleep had not lasted long before she dreamed of herself wandering into a barren desert scorched by sun and wind. Not a single soul existed around her – no trees, no shade, not even the faintest trace of living creatures. Everything she could see was nothing but sand, endless sand. Dry gusts of wind battered against her body in relentless waves, as if trying to carry her far away. Valentina suddenly realized something and let her body go limp. She gently loosened her mind, allowing the wind to lift her into the sky. She flew and flew like a drifting cloud, gliding over layers upon layers of surging sand below, until she softly descended beside a dune with a strange silhouette.
Curiosity urged her to move closer and examine it more carefully. The nearer she came, the stronger the wind stripped away the sand covering its surface, revealing a massive pyramid shyly hidden beneath the soft dunes. The structure stood in stark contrast to the empty landscape around it – partly because of its sheer size, and partly because of the mysterious black hue it bore, like a bottomless abyss. The pyramid’s apex was obscured by swirling desert dust, preventing her from seeing what its upper half truly looked like.
She stepped forward and reached out, gently touching the colossal relic. Instantly, the surrounding scenery began to shift violently. Everything unfolded like a film being rewound into the past. The fierce winds gradually died away, returning the grains of sand to the places they had once occupied in ancient times. Towering buildings slowly replaced the massive dunes, and roads emerged, sweeping away the last stubborn traces of sand. In the blink of an eye, the vast desert stretching to the horizon vanished completely, giving way to a magnificent megacity reborn from ruin.
The ground beneath Valentina’s feet rose above everything else, drawing the entire city below into her field of vision. The city bore the silhouette of a medieval metropolis, yet its buildings possessed features far more modern than anything she had ever known. The pyramid behind her was fully restored as well, and it looked nothing like the structures she had seen in books about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramids she knew were built from stacked stone blocks, forming stepped layers that gradually narrowed toward the peak. The structure before her, however, followed no such pattern. Its surface was smooth and seamless, constructed with slanted planes forming a perfect square pyramid. Waterfalls poured endlessly from its four sides, becoming four great rivers that flowed downstream, nurturing and shaping the distinctive culture of a prosperous grand city.
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Residents began to appear. Streams of people painted a vivid, colorful tableau of life. Beautiful young women strolled through the streets wearing sheer kalasiris dresses, revealing graceful curves that drew countless glances. Some affluent women adorned their necks with gem-studded usekh collars, enhancing their elegant nobility and signaling their social status. The men dressed more simply – mostly in linen garments, with lightweight shendyt wrapped around their waists for ease of movement. All of it formed a vibrant scene that Valentina could hardly believe was merely a dream.
“The pyramid is the ultimate harmony of grace and grandeur. We can measure its parameters, but we cannot put its beauty into words.”
Those were the words spoken by the Egyptologist Jean-Fran?ois Champollion when he first encountered a pyramid up close. Indeed, witnessing an ancient wonder standing so near truly allowed one to feel the majesty it radiated. Valentina wandered slowly around the pyramid’s grounds, marveling at the vast world unfolding before her eyes. Children ran and played, laughter rang through the air… everything blended into a peaceful scene she had not experienced in a very long time. She walked on unhurriedly, until a voice from behind abruptly cut through her drifting thoughts.
“Is my kingdom beautiful?”
