The astral keys

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.