Chapter 153:
The message arrived three days after the clone's report.
Lucas was standing before the glass tube in his laboratory, observing the clone formation as it floated in its nutrient solution, when a pulse of mana rippled through the runes he had placed around the perimeter of the Dark Forest. The pulse was faint, barely perceptible to anyone without his level of sensitivity, but Lucas felt it immediately. He crossed to the communication array he had built into the far wall of the laboratory and placed his palm against the central crystal.
The crystal glowed, and Ezra's voice emerged from it, distorted by distance but unmistakable.
"We found the location."
Lucas's heart rate did not change. His expression did not change. But something in his posture shifted, a subtle straightening of his shoulders that spoke of anticipation finally fulfilled.
Ezra continued. "The entrance is in a hidden realm connected to this world. Myles and I have confirmed it. Getting there and doing what you need to do inside will take time. Finish everything you need to finish there before you come."
Lucas listened without interrupting. The crystal pulsed with each word, translating the mana fluctuations into recognizable speech.
"The White Tiger says the realm is old," Ezra said. "Older than the Hidden Cities. Older than the current era. The techniques you want are there." He paused. "How long until you can leave?"
Lucas considered the question. His birthday was approaching. The team would be returning soon, and he needed to replace his clone before they reported to Arthur. There were loose ends to tie, preparations to make, and people to see before he disappeared into a hidden realm for an unknown period of time.
"Two weeks" Lucas said. "Maybe less. I will contact you when I am ready to leave."
The crystal dimmed. The message ended.
Lucas stood in silence for a long moment, his hand still resting on the crystal. The hidden realm contained the final piece of his research, the technique that would help him to grow faster physically and also the location of the creature he wants to make a mana beast.
But reaching it would take time. The realm was not a place he could enter and exit at will. Once he went in, he would be committed until he either succeeded or failed. He could not afford to leave loose ends behind.
He needed to finish his preparations first.
Two days later, Lucas stood on a low ridge a few kilometers from the Hidden City of Sky, watching the road that led to the city's eastern gate. The morning sun had climbed above the hills, burning away the last traces of mist, and the distant walls of the city gleamed white against the pale blue sky.
His mana sense extended outward, reaching across the kilometers that separated him from the approaching team. He felt them before he saw them—Ethan's wind mana, dense and controlled; Austin's fire mana, banked but simmering; Kaya's lightning mana, crackling faintly at the edges of his perception. And at the center of the formation, his own mana signature, identical to his in every way, carried by the clone that had been fighting beside them for the past six months.
They crested a hill and began the final approach toward the ridge. Lucas walked down to meet them, his silver hair catching the light, his goggles concealing the glow of his Mana Eyes.
The clone saw him first. It broke formation and walked toward him, and when they were close enough to touch, the clone raised its hand. Lucas raised his own hand, and the clone dissolved into blue light, the mana flowing back into Lucas's core in a smooth, seamless transfer.
The memories came with it.
Lucas saw the chase through the clone's eyes, the spy sprinting across rooftops and through narrow alleys, always staying just ahead of their grasp. He saw the moment they cornered him in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of a small trading town, the spy's face pale with fear as he realized he could not escape. He saw Ethan's interrogation, the spy's resistance crumbling under the pressure of wind magic that threatened to tear the flesh from his bones.
And he saw what the spy had revealed.
The information had not been sold only to the Hidden City of Lightning. The spy had made deals with multiple buyers, offering the same information to anyone willing to pay. The Hidden City of cloud had purchased the team's identities. The Hidden City of Sand had purchased them as well. And the Hidden City of Light had paid the most, demanding not just descriptions and mana signatures but also detailed accounts of the team's fighting styles and tactical preferences.
Lucas absorbed the memories in a fraction of a second, his face betraying nothing. He fell into formation beside Austin as if he had been there the entire time, and the team continued toward the city gates.
The throne room was the same as always—vast, silent, the morning light filtering through the tall windows behind Arthur's throne. The Sky King sat with his golden hair bright and his red eyes fixed on the four agents who stood before him.
Ethan reported first. He described the chase, the interrogation, and the spy's confession. He listed the buyers—Lightning, Cloud, Sand, and Light—and provided the names of the intermediaries who had facilitated the transactions. He explained that the spy had been working independently, not as part of a larger network, and that his death would not disrupt any ongoing operations.
Arthur listened without interrupting. When Ethan finished, he leaned back in his throne and let out a slow breath.
"The Hidden City of Light," Arthur said. "That is the one that concerns me most."
Ethan nodded. "They paid the most. They asked for the most detailed information. And they have been quiet recently—no border skirmishes, no diplomatic posturing, no public statements about the war between Sky and Zenith."
"They are waiting for something," Arthur said.
"That is our assessment as well."
Arthur was silent for a moment, his red eyes moving across the faces of the four agents. Then he spoke.
"You have done well. The information you gathered will help us identify and neutralize the threats against you." He paused. "For now, you are dismissed. You will have two to three months of rest. After that, I will have a new mission for you."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mission?"
Arthur's expression did not change. "The Hidden City of Light is developing a weapon. We do not know exactly what it is or where it is being built, but we know it exists, and we know it is dangerous. I need you to find it and destroy it."
The throne room was silent.
"I will spend the next two months gathering intelligence," Arthur continued. "When I have a location, you will move. Until then, rest. Train. Prepare."
Ethan bowed his head. "Yes, my king."
Kaya bowed. Austin bowed. Lucas bowed.
They turned and walked toward the throne room doors, their footsteps echoing on the polished stone.
That evening, Lucas sat in his study at the manor, staring at the map he had unrolled across his desk. The Hidden City of Light was marked in the far north, its territory stretching across mountains and frozen plains that few cultivators dared to cross.
He had been planning this for months.
The weapon mission was the distraction he needed. When the Black Ops team moved against the Hidden City of Light, the city's defenses would focus on the external threat. Its spies would track the team's movements, its cultivators would mobilize to counter the attack, and its leadership would be consumed with the immediate danger.
And while they were distracted, Lucas would slip in and take what he came for.
The book of runes was kept in the Hidden City of Light's central archive, a fortress within a fortress, protected by seals and guards and ancient artifacts that had been accumulating for centuries. No one had ever successfully stolen from it. No one had ever even tried, because the cost of failure was death and the probability of success was effectively zero.
But Lucas was not planning to steal the book himself.
His clone would go with the team. It would fight beside them, draw attention, and make sure that every eye in the Hidden City of Light was fixed on the Black Ops agents who had come to destroy their weapon. And while the clone fought, Lucas's real body would enter the archive, bypass the seals, and take the book.
It was dangerous. It was reckless. It was exactly the kind of plan that got people killed.
But Lucas had spent six months preparing for it. He had studied the archive's layout, mapped its defenses, and identified the weaknesses in its security. He had created runes designed to counter the seals that protected the book, and he had practiced the infiltration so many times in simulations that he could navigate the archive blindfolded.
The only thing left was to go to the hidden realm first.