The Usurper Appears in the Dead of Night – Part 03

The storage conditions in the vault were perfect. The temperature and humidity were kept constant, and not a speck of dust stirred in the air—well, not quite—but it felt as though time itself stood still inside.

The door to the pitch-black vault opened without a sound. A figure stepped inside and closed it behind them, then lit a magic lamp.

A pale light spread across the room. Jewelry, vases, and paintings sat neatly arranged on waist-high platforms, each draped in cloth. The figure ignored them and moved deeper inside.

Along the far wall lay carpets bearing larger furnishings and stone statues, also covered in cloth. You could roughly tell what they were from their silhouettes. The figure’s gaze shifted, then stopped before a small stone statue.

They removed the cloth. This was the one they wanted. Even beneath the fabric, the statue’s rounded head shape was unmistakable.

As they stepped forward, a blade was