(4 hours earlier)
Rivan city, it could not sleep because of the roar of thousands of alchemical furnaces and the hiss of steam pipes that covered the city like giant, pulsing veins.
In the Western Black Market, the air was thick with the smell of sulfur and coal.
Sinhara Veylan stood hidden under the roof of an old mechanical parts shop. He wore an ash-gray cloak, blending perfectly into the thick fog and smoke. In his hand was a small measuring device the size of a pocket watch; its needle was shaking violently.
"35 degrees Northeast. Mana interference is spiking. They are two minutes earlier than expected," Sin whispered, putting the device into his inner pocket. His face was calm, without a trace of panic, even though he knew he was being hunted by the Silver Knights—the Emperor's most fearsome executioners.
He hadn't come here for a shady deal. He came to test a theory: that the Mirrakyn Stone was not a natural gem, but a failed man-made product from a previous era. The clue was held by an old mechanic in this market. But before the meeting could happen, the Royal hounds had already caught his scent.
CRASH!
A brick wall ten meters away exploded. Dust and white smoke flew everywhere.
From the smoke, a tall figure stepped out. The blue light from the sword in his hand tore through the dark night. Eric. His silver armor was spotless, and his crimson cloak flowed behind him even though there was no wind—a sign of a high-level magical protection field.
Following him were five other knights, all chanting acceleration spells.
"Sinhara Veylan," Eric's voice rang out, deep and cold, amplified by magic so that the entire market went silent. "You are under arrest for possessing forbidden knowledge and defying a Royal summons."
Sin adjusted his collar and stepped out of the shadows. He did not pull out a weapon—he didn't have one. He simply stood there, back straight, looking like a fragile scholar surrounded by armored war machines.
"I am not 'possessing' it, Sir Knight," Sin replied, his voice strangely steady amidst the hissing steam. "I am studying. And the Royal summons demands that I hand over my intellect—something the Rivan Constitution defines as the inalienable property of a citizen."
"The logic of a man with no magic," Eric mocked, raising his sword. "Capture him. Do not damage his head; the Emperor needs it intact."
The five soldiers lunged forward like arrows. Their speed was enhanced by magic, moving faster than the human eye could follow.
But Sin did not look at them with normal eyes. He looked at them through the laws of physics.
Just as the first soldier stepped onto a metal manhole cover in front of him, Sin calmly raised his foot and kicked a rusty lever on the wall—something everyone else thought was just scrap metal.
HISSSSSSSS!!!!
A blast of high-pressure steam from deep underground, trapped in the old pipe system, suddenly erupted through the loose cover.
"Aaaaaagh!"
The lead soldier screamed in pain as the scalding steam threw him backward, crashing into the two behind him. The perfect formation of the Silver Knights was broken in an instant. A thick mist of steam immediately covered the alley, blocking their vision.
Sin did not run in a panic. He turned and walked quickly and precisely along a path he had already calculated in his head. Three steps left, climb onto crate number four, swing across to the opposite roof using a winch cable. Everything was calculated. He didn't have magic to fly, but he knew the structure of this city better than anyone.
"Don't you dare escape!"
Eric's roar sounded right behind him. A magical shockwave swept through the alley, blowing away the wall of steam Sin had created.
Sin looked back. Eric was not affected by that simple physical trap. He was charging forward, his armored boots stepping on the air as if it were solid ground. The distance closed rapidly: 50 meters, 30 meters...
Sin narrowed his eyes. Acceleration: 12m/s. Air resistance is negligible due to his magic shield. I cannot outrun him.
He stopped in the middle of a suspension bridge connecting two metal factories. Below was a dark abyss where giant gears were grinding raw ore.
Eric landed on the other side of the bridge, his sword pointing straight at Sin.
"No more running, Veylan. Your little tricks are useless against absolute power."
Sin stood still, the wind blowing through his black hair. He looked at Eric, not with the eyes of prey looking at a hunter, but with the eyes of a professor looking at a stubborn student.
"Absolute power often comes with absolute blindness, Eric," Sin said, his hand quietly reaching into his pocket to grab a small glass vial filled with a light blue liquid. "You believe in the magic protecting your armor. But you forget that this bridge was built in the year 402, using a zinc-iron alloy."
"So what?" Eric stepped forward, the pressure of his magic weighing down on Sin's shoulders.
"So, it becomes very brittle at low temperatures," Sin threw the vial hard onto the ground right at Eric's feet.
CLINK!
The glass shattered, but there was no explosion. Instead, a cloud of freezing white smoke rose up. It was concentrated liquid nitrogen—a product of science, not magic.
The metal floor under Eric's feet froze instantly, turning white. Eric froze, feeling that his magic shield did not react—because this was not a magical attack.
Sin pulled out a small knife and threw it accurately at a rusty bolt sitting right at the edge of the frozen area.
CRACK!
The metal, suddenly cooled and then struck by a physical force, shattered like glass. A large section of the bridge floor beneath Eric collapsed.
The Silver Knight lost his balance, falling into the empty space below.
But Sin had underestimated one thing: Eric's reflexes.
As he fell, instead of panicking, Eric swung his arm. A magical chain shot out from his wrist. It didn't aim for the bridge railing; it wrapped tightly around Sin's waist.
"If I fall, you're coming with me!"
"What the—" Sin gasped, losing his calm for the first time that night.
A massive force jerked him off his feet. Both of them fell together into the deep darkness of the factory below, where the roar of machines was waiting.