Skyhaven Vault – Pre-Dawn
The Skyhaven Vault rose under a starless sky, a silent monolith lined with wards. Its jade walls pulsed softly in the chill air, casting a faint emerald glow across the empty streets of Skyhaven City. Lanterns flickered along the cobbles, sending long shadows dancing in irregular patterns.
Kael Vaelor crouched on the rear wall of the vault. His black silk bodysuit merged with the darkness, while a jester mask streaked with crimson swirls hid his face. The mask's eerie grin caught the soft glow of the wards. Thin threads clung to the jade surface, woven by his Mirror Mask's third-ring skill, Emotion Echo, vibrating subtly like living vines. The hum of energy was muffled by a talisman in his satchel, which contained climbing threads, a blade.
Above him, a ward shimmered faintly. The jade clock on the tower pulsed once, signaling the approach of dawn.
Kael whispered into a soul talisman strapped to his sleeve. "The wards are down. I have reached the vent."
A muted voice returned through the talisman, sharp and urgent. "The core chamber unlocks with the first rays of dawn. You have two minutes. Do not linger."
"I do not linger," Kael replied calmly.
He drew his blade, which hummed with spirit power, and sliced through the jade vent grate with quiet precision. He slid inside the narrow shaft. His Mirror Mask floated beside him, projecting a spirit map onto the surface of his slate talisman.
"This is a tight fit," Kael muttered. "However, I have danced on thinner threads."
Ahead, a ward grid glimmered faintly. Kael activated Persona Shift, blending his presence with the vault's ambient soul energy, rendering him nearly invisible. From his satchel, he released a soft mist that revealed the crisscrossing lines of spirit energy in the wards.
He moved with careful, fluid grace, slipping between the beams using Mirror Step.
"Like a shadow," he whispered beneath the mask, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "They will not see me coming."
Safehouse – Midnight
In a cramped jade chamber at the Skyhaven Guard outpost, Lira Voss paced back and forth. Her boots clicked sharply against the polished floor as she traced her fingers around the rim of a mug. A table nearby was cluttered with maps, parchments, and notes, their edges curling from repeated handling.
On a bench, Jian Holt slouched, thumbing through a creased silk flyer from the Starlight Circus. The jester silhouette on the cover was faded with wear. A talisman on the wall crackled with faint pulses, carrying routine reports from other districts.
The jade clock on the wall pulsed once past midnight.
"That trapdoor is the key," Lira said, voice tight and determined. "He is staging everything from the circus. We will hit it tonight."
Jian groaned, setting the flyer aside. "Lira, we nearly got caught by a patrol earlier. That orb nearly gave me a heart attack. Could we not rest for a few hours first? Perhaps a cup of tea?"
"He is moving tonight, Jian," she snapped, her eyes flashing. "I can feel it. He will strike before dawn."
Jian rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long sigh. "You and your instincts. Always so dramatic." He reached for the talisman on the wall. "Fine. I will call Rhen but if we are wrong, I am sleeping for a week afterward."
He pressed the talisman, and a calm, measured voice filled the room. "Rhen here. Speak."
"It is Holt," Jian said. "Lira believes the vault will be hit tonight. Have you sensed anything unusual?"
"Voss is rarely wrong," Rhen replied immediately. "I have detected faint soul fluctuations near the vault. I will send a patrol to both the vault and the circus. Exercise caution. Check the trapdoor once more, but avoid detection at all costs."
Jian leaned back, rubbing his eyes. "Patrols… excellent. Nothing like waking up to a mess in the middle of the night."
Lira pinned a sketched image of the trapdoor next to a jester card on the jade board. Her hand lingered over the images. "It is personal," she said quietly. "That jester carving, the circus returning it is tied to the last vault break-in. He is sending a message, not just stealing."
Jian squinted, confused. "A message? Revenge? What could he possibly be angry about? He is a circus star why risk everything for old relics?"
Lira's voice hardened, unwavering. "It is not about the artifacts themselves. It is about what they represent. Every object in that vault carries a mark, a history, a warning. He wants people to remember something or someone."
Jian leaned back, muttering under his breath, "Great. Another vengeful masked thief. Just what we needed. And those illusions of his… they give me a headache every time."
"Then stay alert," Lira said, grabbing her cloak. "We are leaving for the circus at dawn."
Skyhaven Vault – Core Chamber
Kael emerged from the vent into a narrow jade corridor. Red pulses of ward energy crisscrossed the floor, forming a deadly grid. He drew a small spirit illusion orb from his satchel. When he activated it, the orb flared, projecting the flickering image of a vault guard patrolling the hall.
A real guard, Toren, stepped into view. His soul aura burned faintly yellow, and his blade shimmered with spirit energy. "Who goes there?" he demanded, advancing cautiously toward the illusion.
Kael remained hidden in the shadows, a faint smile beneath his jester mask. As Toren stepped forward, he unknowingly triggered a trap Kael had set earlier. A hissing mist erupted from the floor, twisting through the corridor, clouding the space with a spirit-suppressing haze.
"Fool," Kael whispered, and moved.
Mirror Step carried him silently between the red beams, his movements fluid, precise, and nearly impossible to track. Toren coughed violently, waving his blade blindly as Kael approached the core gate. He pressed a disruption rune onto the lock. Its runes flared, twisting and unspooling under the touch of Kael's soul energy. With a metallic whir and a series of clicks, the lock aligned.
"The gate is open," Kael murmured into his soul talisman. "I am inside."
A voice returned instantly, tense but controlled. "Move quickly. The guards are stirring. Patrols are already converging on the corridor."
"I am aware," Kael replied. "Do not worry. They will not see me coming."
He stepped into the core chamber. Spirit stones stacked like miniature mountains glowed faintly, ancient jade relics radiated quiet energy, and ceremonial weapons glimmered under the soft light of spirit energy flowing through the walls. For a moment, the chamber seemed frozen, the only sound the faint hum of the relics.
Kael reached into his satchel and withdrew a silver spirit coin. He held it over one of the stones, letting its faint aura mingle with the relics.
"For you, father," he said softly, voice barely more than a whisper. He placed the coin carefully atop the stone, letting the warmth of his soul energy seep into it.
To be continued.....