Nathan knew he was dreaming. It was actually the third night this week he had dreamt being transported to this sun-scorched landscape. He looked ahead to the open crypt that beckoned and a chill ran down his spine. Nathan knew what lay down there. He knew, but like every night before, he couldn't resist the call of the tomb.

            "Don't forget, it's just a dream," Nathan muttered to himself. He slowly began descending the long flight of stairs that led into the tomb. After a few minutes down the winding steps the sun outside became completely obscured and Nathan's pulse quickened considerably. He grabbed a lit torch from the wall and lunged forward into the ever darkening chamber. As he moved downward, Nathan examined the walls of the crypt; all intricately carved stone. He recognized many of the figures portrayed: great kings of the past, generals leading their armies onto the battlefields of legend, facing head on hordes of rampaging beasts from the very pits of hell.

He recognized Captain Steven Rogers of Avalon, history's most famed knight. Etched in stone, Rogers was locked in eternal battle with his nemesis, the villainous Red Skull. Nathan continued down the spiral staircase, observing the wall carvings, which laid out like a visual archive of the world's history. All of it was there: the Symkarian Wars, the Kree Invasion, the Starkar revolt, the Great Siege of Doomstadt.

Then he noticed something he has not seen in past dreams. The carvings appeared to be in chronological order, with older events up towards the entrance, and ever more recent events spreading out before him. Yet all were carved with such a singularity of vision that Nathan was sure all been carved by the same artist - an individual who had witnessed these events first hand, even though he knew that was impossible. Over a thousand years had passed since the last Great War, yet the events in front of him showed Lord Victor Von Doom assuming the throne of Latveria; and that was less than thirty years ago.

What jarred Nathan even more was the next image that confronted him. He had seen enough portraits of his father to recognize him as young man. There he stood as the central figure in the carving; stripped to the waist, a strip of cloth wrapped around his head, blinding him. He faced the heavens, his arms outstretched as two women pulled him in opposite directions. Both appeared to be his mother, young and beautiful, the only daughter of a wealthy foreign merchant. Who was this other woman?

Nathan tried to shake off the nagging feeling of dread as he continued down the stairs. He soon reached the bottom, and noticed the walls were now smooth, virginal. He walked down a narrow hallway and saw a faint but growing light ahead. Instinctively, he reached for his sword but sheepishly remembered he was still in his bedclothes. Nevertheless, he pushed ahead with care. The hallway opened up into a central, torch-lit chamber. The walls were once again carved, but now with long indiscernible lines of text from a long dead and probably forgotten language. A large, ebony dais occupied the center of the burial chamber, and was the obvious focal point - but no sarcophagus lay upon the dais; it was completely empty.

The passing dread came rushing back, making Nathan almost double over. What had happened to the tomb's occupant? In every past dream, Nathan had seen a gigantic ornately designed sarcophagus resting upon the dais. Where had is gone? He heard a noise behind him and spun around. It was him. He immediately recognized the burning eyes. He had always been there, lurking just outside Nathan's consciousness.

"You," was all Nathan could let out, as his throat tightened and his heart begun to beat as though it was about to burst from his chest.

"You should not have come here boy, not disturbed my slumber. I know not how you came upon this place but you will leave and not return!" With that, the burning eyes flared and suddenly pained seared through the young man's side. He clutched at himself, and dropped to the ground. He looked at his hands and saw thick dark blood covering them. Nathan tried to fight it, but all too quickly the darkness overtook him.