Alister Vaughn never believed in fate. Fate was for fools who waited for miracles instead of taking what they wanted.
He lived by one rule: If something was out of reach, it just meant you hadn't figured out how to steal it yet.
And right now, the prize was something that would change his very own destiny, locked away in the most secure vault in the mortal world. After all, those vaults held the treasures of gods.
The Grand Cathedral of Solas stood tall against the midnight sky, bathed in golden light from its floating lanterns. It was a holy place, a monument to the gods who ruled over mortals as their kings.
Inside, beneath layers of enchantments, steel, and blind devotion, lay a relic that would grant him the power of the gods without binding him to them or make him rich enough to never need to steal again: The Shard of Loki.
Alister crouched on the rooftop across the street, his eyes scanning the guards below. Ten men on patrol. Four more at the entrance. Magic sensors along the walls. He let out a slow breath.
"Easy enough."
He adjusted the black gloves, which contained some runes on it, on his hands, pulled out a plain black mask and hung it over his face.
These were items he 'acquired' from the finest Hephaestus blacksmith in the city. And since this was going to be a high risk job, he was going to use high quality items to complete it.
But the risks were worth the reward and he was going to make sure he got his hands on it.
"Ready when you are," a voice whispered through the earpiece he was wearing.
Alister smirked. That was Riven, his current partner-in-crime, perched on another rooftop. Unlike him, she believed in crossing the gods—or at least in pissing them off as often as possible.
"Patience," Alister murmured, his fingers tapping against the hilt of his dagger. "Let the first patrol pass."
Below, a squad of armored clerics marched through the courtyard. Each dressed in white to symbolize how 'pure' they were and their armors carried the insignia of the gods depending on the ones they served.
He counted the seconds, waiting for the exact moment when their backs were turned.
Then he moved.
A single step off the rooftop and gravity took hold. The wind rushed past him, but he landed silently in the alley below, rolling smoothly into the shadows.
He place his gloved hand on the wall and the runes on it produced a subtle glow. The gloves were capable of hijacking wards for a couple of minutes.
The wall produced a golden glow and the stones shifted, creating an opening that allowed him through.
He walked through the opening and found himself in a hallway seemed to stretch endlessly.
Even though lighting the hallway would have been easier with runes, the cathedral was lit with candles that hung on the walls.
The opening closed behind him and he quickly dove in the shadows. He proceeded to tap on the earpiece and spoke.
"I'm in" he informed Riven on the other side.
"Great, I'll take the opposite end" she said "see you in the vault".
The line went silent and Alister continued moving forward. He was getting a bad feeling from the lack of guards in the supposedly safest vault in the mortal realm but he just shrugged it off.
Just then—a sound.
Footsteps, approaching fast.
Alister moved without hesitation, pressed himself deeper into the shadows just as a robed priest turned the corner. The man paused, his eyes scanning the hall with suspicious.
Alister's fingers twitched toward his dagger. 'No, no need to kill—unless necessary' he reminded himself.
The priest hesitated. Then, shaking his head, he continued down the hall.
'Still got it' Alister exhaled slowly.
He watched the priest disappear around the corner before slipping from the shadows, he silently continued forward. The closer he got to the vault, the more the unease in his chest grew. Something wasn't right.
He had been in high-risk heists before—this was too easy.
No guards? No alarms triggered? Even with his gear, there should have been at least some resistance.
He tapped his earpiece. "Riven, status?"
A few seconds of silence. Then her voice came through. "No trouble here. I'm almost at the vault."
He frowned. 'That was fast.' but still kept moving forward.
Alister reached the chamber. The Vault of the Gods stood before him, a massive set of doors made of celestial silver, inscribed with golden runes that were meant to keep unauthorized figures out.
A mortal could spend their entire lifetime trying to crack this vault and fail.
But Alister Vaughn wasn't just any mortal.
He slipped his glove-covered fingers over the surface of the door, the runes reacting to the ones on the gloves.
With a final flash of golden glow, the vault's door opened, allowing him access.
Inside lay piles of gold, and golden artifacts that would make any mortal rich for their entire lifetimes but these were not Alister's goal.
His real goal rested on a pedestal of obsidian in the middle of the vault.
"The Shard of Loki" he mumbled.
A fragment of power belonging to the God of Mischief himself.
A smirk graced Alister's lips. "There you are".
He stepped forward, reaching out. His fingers hovered just above the relic—
And then—
The floor erupted in golden chains.
Alister's eyes widened as divine bindings shot up, wrapping around his wrists, his ankles, his torso. A powerful force slammed him to his knees, locking him in place.
The bindings burned, searing into his skin, glowing with holy inscriptions meant to bind thieves, heretics, and those who dared defy the gods.
Footsteps echoed in the chamber behind him.
Slow. Confident. Unrushed.
Alister clenched his teeth, slowly tilting his head back. He spotted his partner walking towards him.
Riven had raven black hair just like Alister but unlike his own silver eyes currently hidden behind a mask, hers were amber.
Her usual cocky grin? Gone.
Instead, she looked down at him with a cold, unreadable expression.
"Damn," she said, crouching beside him. "You almost made it."
Alister's jaw tightened. "You set me up."
Riven sighed. "It's nothing personal, Ace."
Ace was the name he was known by, no one else apart from him knew his actual name was Alister and they didn't know his face either.
"What is it the?" He calmly asked. This wasn't the time to get angry, he had to come up with a plan to escape.
"Business," she said simply, standing up and walking toward the pedestal.
She reached out and—without resistance—picked up the Shard of Loki. The divine alarms that should have gone off? Silent.
Alister understood instantly.
She hadn't done this to keep the shard for herself, she was working with the gods.
Riven turned the relic in her hands, watching the way it reflected the light.
"They always knew you'd come for it, you know." She shot him a sideways glance. "You're predictable that way."
Alister let out a laugh. "Predictable huh? I guess you're right. But tell me, why'd have to stab me in the back to win?"
She shrugged. "Because unlike you, I don't take unnecessary risks."
There was no regret in her voice. No hesitation.
Riven had made her choice.
She walked toward the entrance, the Shard of Loki glowing in her hand. As she reached the doorway, divine figures emerged from the shadows. Priests. Paladins. A god's champion.
Riven tossed the shard toward the tallest figure—a man clad in golden armor, his presence suffocating with divine energy.
"You held up your end," the figure said in a deep rumbling voice.
Riven smirked. "Told you I would."
They proceeded to walk towards the still bound Alister and stopped directly in front of him.
"You know, for a mere mortal" the champion addressed "you've amassed quite the reputation for yourself."
"Ace, the thief capable of entering and exiting any vault no matter how secured it is" the champion continued "even the gods have heard of you, but somehow, no one knows your face".
"Stop it, you're making me blush" Alister raised his head and looked directly at the the champion with a smile on his face "I mean, I knew I was good, but even the gods talking about me? That's almost enough to make a guy feel special."
The champion narrowed his eyes, unimpressed by Alister's humor. "Do you not understand the gravity of your situation?"
Alister tilted his head, pretending to think. "Hmm. Let's see. Chained up in a holy vault, surrounded by divine warriors, and my partner just sold me out. Nope, can't say I do." He flashed a grin. "Mind explaining it to me like I'm five?"
One of the paladins scowled. "Mock us again, thief, and I'll—"
"Let me guess," Alister interrupted. "You'll smite me? Strike me down in the name of your god? Maybe throw in a dramatic speech about justice?"
He sighed theatrically. "You holy types really need new material."
The champion's lips pressed into a thin line. "You think this is a joke?"
"I know this is a joke." Alister yanked at the golden chains, wincing slightly as they burned against his skin. "Because if you actually wanted me dead, you would've done it already."
"You're right" the champion suddenly said "you are not in the book of the fates and yet you're still alive, the gods want to know why"
"Even if we do not know your name or face, your actions and popularity should be visible in it but it's not".
Before he could come up with another smug reply, the champion turned to the priest.
"So we'll have to open you up and find out how and why" he said.
"Begin the extraction priest" The champion placed the shard back in the pedestal and walked back while the priest approached.
'Damn it' Alister cursed. He knew he had to find a way to escape now before the priest did any 'extraction' on him.
The priest approached him with a blade in his hands which glowed golden, getting close enough he raised the dagger high up, ready to plunge it into him.