Chapter 1

Chapter 1 — The Sundar Heist

Sundar never truly slept. Even at two in the morning, the city below the clouds remained alive. Thousands of windows illuminated the towering buildings, streams of traffic moved silently between elevated lanes, and advertisements flickered across enormous holographic displays.

But several kilometers outside the city center, everything was different. The MAS facility stood alone on a stretch of dark terrain. It looked less like a building and more like a fortress. Its outer walls were reinforced with layers of alloy and magical shielding. Security towers surrounded the perimeter, their cameras sweeping across the grounds, while patrol drones moved through the air at regular intervals.

No civilian traffic passed anywhere near it. No businesses. No homes. Nothing.

The facility had been designed around one simple principle:

Nothing gets in.

A small transport descended through the clouds. Its lights were off. It slowed until it hovered several hundred meters from the fortress.

Inside, five people sat in silence.

A woman wearing a dark tactical suit looked toward the man sitting across from her.

“That’s it?”

Julius Veyron did not answer at once. He studied the facility through the transport’s forward display, his expression completely calm.

“That’s it.”

Mara glanced at the security feed.

“Looks like a lot.”

“It is.”

Julius finally looked at the others.

“Everyone knows their position?”

Ronan, Dorian, Mara, and Silas all nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

The transport doors opened.

Ronan jumped first. A second later, the rest followed, with Julius stepping out last.

The freezing night air passed over his face as he descended toward the ground. His dark navy coat moved behind him, silver fasteners catching the faint light from the city far away.

He landed without a sound.

The others were already moving.

Silas raised a small device.

“Outer sensors are active.”

Julius looked toward the facility.

“Disable them.”

Silas pressed a button.

Nothing happened.

He frowned.

“There’s another layer.”

Julius walked over.

“Move.”

Silas stepped aside.

Crouching beside the device, Julius studied the security system. A faint golden-blue glow appeared around his eyes and on the mark on his forearm.

For several seconds, he simply watched.

The system cycled through its security protocols: magical encryption, electronic encryption, biometric authentication, and motion detection.

His eyes moved from one display to another.

Then the glow disappeared.

“Try it,” Julius said.

Silas activated the device again.

This time, the sensors went dark.

He stared at the display.

“How did you—”

“Later.”

Julius stood.

“Go.”

The crew crossed the perimeter.

No alarms sounded.

The first security door was thirty meters ahead, guarded by two MAS personnel standing outside.

Julius raised one hand.

“Stop.”

The group halted.

The guards spoke to each other, and one checked a handheld device.

Julius watched them, his eyes focusing on the guard’s belt where a small device was attached.

The guard activated it, and a translucent barrier appeared across the entrance.

Julius watched carefully.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He understood it.

He stepped forward, drawing looks from the others.

Raising his arm, a thin layer of pale energy formed around his fingers. The same pattern appeared—not identical, and weaker, but recognizable.

He had copied it.

Julius touched the barrier, and the energy reacted.

For a moment, the two magical fields pushed against each other.

Then his imitation collapsed, but that was all he needed.

The original barrier flickered, and the security door unlocked.

One of the crew members stared.

“Archive?”

Julius nodded.

“Don’t make me use it twice.”

The crew moved, giving the guards barely any time to react.

A burst of energy struck the first guard’s weapon, knocking it from his hand.

The second reached for his communicator, but Mara appeared behind him, striking his arm aside and dropping him with a quick blow.

No gunshots.

No shouting.

No unnecessary movement.

Within seconds, both guards were unconscious.

Julius walked past them.

“Keep moving.”

Inside, the facility was completely silent.

White lights illuminated the corridors, and the walls were lined with reinforced doors.

The deeper they went, the heavier security became.

Silas looked at the map.

“We’re approaching the restricted archive.”

Julius shook his head.

“How long?”

“Three minutes.”

“Make it two.”

Silas smiled.

“You’re paying me extra for this, right?”

“No.”

“Had to ask.”

They reached the next checkpoint, but this one was different.

A massive circular door blocked the hallway with a magical seal embedded in its center.

The symbol rotated slowly.

Julius stopped.

“That’s new.”

The crew looked at him.

“You didn’t know about this?”

“I knew there was a seal.”

He studied it.

“I didn’t know it was this old.”

Julius stepped closer.

As the symbol changed, his expression shifted slightly.

For the first time that night, he looked genuinely interested.

“What is it?” Dorian asked.

“Old magic.”

“Can you open it?”

Julius placed his hand against the seal.

“Eventually.”

He closed his eyes, and the magical structure unfolded inside his mind.

He could feel the layers—one spell protecting another, a secondary seal hidden beneath the first, and a third beneath that.

Whoever designed it had expected someone like him.

Julius smiled.

“Interesting.”

His fingers moved.

The gold lines of the seal changed, then stopped.

He opened his eyes.

“Everyone back.”

The crew moved away.

Julius raised his hand, and a pulse of magic traveled through the door.

The entire seal flashed.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

click.

The massive door opened.

One of them laughed.

“Eventually, huh?”

Julius walked through.

“Don’t get comfortable.”

The restricted archive was enormous.

Thousands of physical objects were locked behind transparent containment fields—artifacts, research samples, ancient documents, and magical instruments whose origins were unknown.

Julius walked past all of them without stopping.

His target wasn’t an artifact; it was information.

He reached a terminal near the back of the chamber.

“This.”

The others gathered around him as Silas connected a device to the terminal.

“Security?”

“Encrypted.”

“Can you crack it?”

“Give me a minute.”

Julius looked around.

“Thirty seconds.”

Silas sighed.

“You’re impossible.”

Twenty seconds passed before the terminal flashed.

Access granted.

Julius stepped forward.

Hundreds of files appeared, and he searched for one specific phrase:

ASTRAL KEY.

The results popped up—only seven files.

His expression became serious.

“Download everything.”

Silas began copying the data.

“There’s a problem.”

“What?”

“Some of these files are restricted even beyond this level.”

Julius looked at the screen.

“How restricted?”

“MAS classified.”

“That’s why we’re here.”

The download continued until an alarm suddenly sounded.

Everyone froze.

Silas looked at his screen.

“They know.”

Julius calmly looked toward the entrance.

“How long?”

“Less than two minutes.”

Julius turned toward his crew.

“Time to leave.”

The facility erupted into activity.

Red lights flashed through the corridors as security personnel rushed toward the archive.

Magical barriers appeared, doors locked, and drones activated.

Julius and his crew moved in the opposite direction until a squad of MAS officers rounded the corner.

“Stop!”

Weapons were raised.

Julius stopped as the officers attacked, energy streaking through the corridor.

He moved aside, watching one officer form a circular magical shield.

Archive activated.

A faint copy of the technique appeared around Julius’s hand, and he pushed forward.

The copied shield absorbed the first attack, cracking immediately before Julius discarded it.

Another officer charged.

Julius ducked, his crew moving around him as Ronan fired a pulse that disabled the officer’s weapon, while Dorian threw a compact device onto the floor.

A flash of energy filled the corridor, sending the squad staggering.

Julius continued walking.

“You don’t have to fight them all,” Ronan said.

“I know.”

“Then why are you?”

Julius looked back.

“Because they’re slowing us down.”

He turned forward again.

“Not because I enjoy it.”

They reached an emergency exit, but the door refused to open.

Julius looked at it.

“It’s locked.”

Silas stepped forward.

“I’ll handle it.”

“No,” Julius said, raising his arm as a small golden glow formed between his fingers.

He had seen the locking mechanism earlier, and now he reproduced the security override.

The door opened, letting freezing air rush inside as the team escaped into the night.

Outside, security ships were already approaching, but their transport was waiting just beyond the perimeter.

“Go!”

The crew sprinted toward it.

A blast struck the ground right behind them, forcing everyone to duck.

Julius looked toward the sky; MAS had arrived.

He smiled faintly.

“Faster.”

They reached the transport and the doors slammed shut.

The ship shot upward, and within seconds, Sundar’s city became a field of lights fading below them.

Ravik sat at the controls, keeping the transport steady as security ships followed behind.

The pilot looked back.

“Did we get it?”

Silas held up the data device.

“Everything.”

Julius sat down.

“Good.”

Taking the device, he activated the files as the others gathered around.

The first document appeared—ancient records.

The second contained references to an unexplained phenomenon, and the third showed a series of archaeological discoveries.

Then he reached the final file.

A single image appeared, showing an ancient structure covered in strange symbols.

At the center was a diagram.

Julius stared at it.

The Astral Key.

His crew went completely silent.

One of them finally spoke.

“That’s what they were hiding?”

Julius did not answer.

He zoomed in on a set of coordinates.

They weren’t complete—just fragments—but it was enough.

He leaned back.

After years of searching, they finally had a real lead.

He closed the file.

“We’re closer.”

Ravik glanced back from the controls.

“Where to?”

Julius looked out through the window as Sundar disappeared behind them.

“Somewhere MAS doesn’t want us to go.”

The ship vanished into the darkness of space.

Far below, the MAS facility remained illuminated by flashing emergency lights.

Investigators moved through the ruined archive, and one officer stood directly in front of the empty terminal.

“Any witnesses?”

“No.”

“Security footage?”

“Corrupted.”

“Facial identification?”

“Nothing.”

The officer frowned.

“Then who did this?”

No one answered.

Another investigator approached.

“We’ve recovered something.”

“What?”

“A partial security recording.”

The officer looked at the handheld screen.

The image was distorted, showing five figures moving through the corridor.

One of them stopped.

For only a single moment, the recording captured Julius’s face before the screen went entirely black.

The investigator stared at the frozen image.

“We’ll need to send this to central.”

The officer nodded.

“Do it.”

He looked back toward the destroyed archive.

Whatever had been stolen, the thieves clearly weren’t looking for money.

They were looking for something MAS had gone to great lengths to keep hidden—and now, someone had found the first piece.