Sector Four was the industrial heart of Johannesburg but beneath the massive factories and smog choked refineries lay a sprawling subterranean black market known as the Rust Grid.

It was a lawless zone where stolen monster cores illegal alchemy and classified Association data were traded freely. The air smelled of sulfur and cheap synthetic spices. Neon sigg unnecessary attention. Caleb leaned heavily on his wooden staff looking nervously at the heavily armed mercenaries guarding the various merchant stalls.

Isla led the way moving with the confident swagger of someone who had spent years navigating the criminal underworld.

"Keep your hands on your wallets" Isla muttered over her shoulder. "And do not make eye contact with the guards. The Rust Grid is run by the Grimhunt Guild. They do not like outsiders."

"You said you knew an information broker" Glen said keeping his voice low. "Where is he?"

"He operates out of an old maintenance hub at the bottom of the grid" Isla replied taking a sharp left turn down a narrow dimly lit alleyway. "His name is Silas. He used to work for my father before the Astra Guild bankrupted us. He is paranoid, greedy and completely untrustworthy. But he knows everything."

They reached the end of the alleyway stopping in front of a heavy reinforced steel door. A single red optical scanner glowed above the frame.

Isla stepped forward and pulled a small silver coin from her pocket. It was stamped with the old crest of the Sinclair family. She held it up to the scanner.

The red light swept over the coin. A heavy mechanical clunk echoed from inside the wall and the steel door slowly hissed open.

The room inside looked like a chaotic server farm. Dozens of glowing monitors covered the walls displaying live feeds of the city’s transit lines guild deployments and black market stock prices. Sitting in the center of the room surrounded by empty energy drink cans and tangled wires was a thin rat faced man with cybernetic implants grafted into his temples.

Silas spun around in his chair his mechanical eyes whirring as they focused on the intruders.

"Isla Sinclair" Silas smiled revealing a row of silver plated teeth. "I heard you got your Independent License. Moving up in the world. And you brought friends. The Gravity Mage and the famous F Rank anomaly."

"Cut the small talk Silas" Isla said walking into the room and crossing her arms. "We are not here for a reunion. We need information."

Silas leaned back lacing his fingers together. "Information is expensive little bird. Especially right now. The whole city is going crazy over this Ghost of Valor business. Prices are up across the board."

Glen stepped forward pulling back his hood. He reached into his pocket and tossed a glowing red B Rank monster core onto the desk. It was the core he had ripped from the Alpha Lycan in the Howling Chasm.

"That is worth 10 million credits on the open market" Glen said his dark eyes locking onto the broker. "I want to know how to contact Eden."

Silas stared at the glowing red core his silver teeth flashing in the dim light. But he did not reach for it. Instead his mechanical eyes whirred rapidly scanning Glen’s face.

"Eden" Silas whispered the amusement completely vanishing from his voice. "You want to contact the ghost faction. The people who play with outer world magic."

"They possess extensive knowledge about our current foe," Glen stated flatly. "I need their research."

Silas let out a harsh barking laugh. "You do not contact Eden kid. They contact you. They do not have a headquarters. They do not have a public roster. They operate entirely through proxy cells and dead drops."

"You are an information broker" Isla pressed slamming her hand on the desk. "You have to know a way in."

Silas looked at the B Rank core then looked back at Glen. He sighed rubbing his cybernetic temples.

"There is a rumor" Silas said his voice dropping to a low whisper. "A whisper on the dark web. Eden is looking for something. A specific relic that was pulled from the upper floors of the Celestial Tower ten years ago. It is called the Abyssal Prism. It is a containment vessel capable of holding pure anti mana without degrading."

"Where is it?" Caleb asked stepping forward.

"That is the problem" Silas smirked. "It is currently sitting in the maximum security vault of the Astra Guild headquarters. Viktor Rostova uses it as a paperweight because his researchers cannot figure out how to open it."

Glen frowned his mind racing. "You are saying if we steal this Abyssal Prism from the Astra Guild Eden will find us?"

"I am saying if you steal the Abyssal Prism you will have the only bargaining chip in the world that Eden actually cares about" Silas corrected. "They will track the mana signature the moment it leaves the vault. They will come to you."

Isla let out a long slow breath. "Breaking into the Astra Guild headquarters. That is suicide. They have S Rank mages guarding the vault."

"Not for long" Silas smiled tapping a few keys on his terminal. A holographic projection of the city’s deployment schedule appeared. "In less than forty eight hours Viktor Rostova is sending fifty of his best Hunters including his S Rank vault guard into the Red Gate for the joint expedition. The headquarters will be running on a skeleton crew."

Glen looked at the holographic schedule. The pieces were falling into place. The Ghost Of Valor was drawing the strongest Hunters in the city into its nest, leaving the corporate towers completely vulnerable.

It was a suicide mission. But it was the only way to get the weapon they needed to fight a god.

"Then it is settle we shall rob the Astra Guild" Glen said picking the B Rank core back up and tossing it to Silas. "Get us the blueprints to the vault."

"That will be three million credits." Silas responded with shrug.

"Done."