🇹🇳 Jack and the Mosaic of Shadows

Tunisia greeted them with golden light and desert wind.

They had arrived in El Djem, home to one of the largest Roman amphitheatres in the world. Its grand arches still stood, defiant against the creeping sands of time. Jack ran his hand along the sun-warmed stone.

“This is bigger than it looks,” Lenny said, tilting his head back.

“And quieter than it should be,” Ollie added.

Bernard led them down a crumbling passageway beneath the arena — the same tunnels where gladiators once waited, silent and terrified. Down here, the walls still echoed with ghosts.

A chamber opened before them, round and domed, its floor covered in broken mosaics. At the centre, a perfectly preserved square tile glowed faintly. When Jack knelt beside it, the pouch began to vibrate softly.

Words swirled across the tile in broken Latin, then settled into English:

“Where shadow danced and sandals fell,
A marble waits where silence dwells.
Unseen by kings, unknown by flame —
The one who claims must know its name.”

“I don’t think it wants a guess,” Imogen whispered. “It wants truth.”

Jack reached into the pouch.

A marble emerged — dusty gold, burnt orange, with a swirling core that looked like fire sealed in ancient sand.

🧱 PLANET MING

The marble gave off a low hum — not loud, but vibrating with intensity, like a flame that didn’t flicker.

Bernard bowed his head. “Planet Ming is the flame of purpose. She was once used to light the path of fallen warriors. She doesn’t destroy — she remembers.”

Jack stepped forward and placed the marble into the centre of the mosaic.

It glowed.

One tile shifted… then fell into the earth. A soft pop! — and the marble reappeared in the pouch.

The chamber filled with warmth. For a moment, they all heard faint cheering… long gone.

Jack looked toward the light above. “We just walked into history.”

Bernard nodded. “Next, we walk into fire. We’re going to Hawaii.”