Then the cracks appeared.
He cracked the Brass Key first. Not by force, but by convincing the lock that the door had already been opened. The second — the Silver — broke when he offered it a contradiction it couldn't resolve. The third… the Obsidian one simply wept dust the moment he asked, "What are you afraid to unlock?" magic keys cracked
They called him the Rattle. A nobody from the gutter ports. No lineage, no grimoire, no god-blessing. But he had patience, and he had heard the truth that mages forgot: Every lock has a heartbeat. Stop the heart, the key is just metal. Then the cracks appeared
