The city of Raventon never truly slept.
Even at midnight, neon lights flickered like restless stars, and the low hum of traffic echoed through narrow streets. From the rooftop of a half-abandoned apartment building, Aarav Blake, a 19-year-old college student, stared at the sky with tired eyes.
He wasn't looking for stars.
He was running from his thoughts.
Aarav's life was painfully ordinary—classes he barely cared about, a part-time job that drained his soul, and a past he could never remember clearly. Since childhood, his memories before the age of ten were… missing. Doctors called it trauma. Aarav called it a blank curse.
That night, the air felt different.
Heavy.
The wind suddenly stopped.
A strange pulse vibrated through the rooftop, like the heartbeat of the world itself. Aarav frowned and stood up, his heart racing for no reason. Then he heard it—a whisper, soft but clear.
"You are late, but not too late."
Aarav spun around.
"No one's here," he muttered.
But the sky above him began to change.
Dark clouds twisted unnaturally, forming a spiral. A deep blue light cracked through the clouds like lightning frozen in time. The city below went silent—as if the world had pressed pause.
Aarav's phone buzzed violently in his pocket.
Unknown Number
Do you remember who you are?
His breath caught.
Before he could reply, the light in the sky exploded downward, slamming into the rooftop just meters away from him. Aarav was thrown back, his head hitting the concrete.
Pain blurred his vision.
Through the smoke and glowing dust, something stood there.
Not human.
Not entirely.
A tall figure wrapped in shifting shadows stepped forward. Its eyes glowed silver, ancient and cold. Symbols floated around it, rotating slowly like a broken clock.
Aarav tried to scream, but no sound came out.
The figure raised its hand, and suddenly—memories flooded Aarav's mind.
Fire.
Screams.
A child running through ruins.
A voice shouting his name—not Aarav.
The pain was unbearable.
Just before he lost consciousness, the figure spoke again, this time directly into his mind:
"The Seal is breaking. And you… are the key."
Everything went dark.
End of Chapter 1 – Suspense
Aarav's eyes slowly opened.
He wasn't on the rooftop anymore.
He was lying on a cold black floor, surrounded by floating doors, each one carved with glowing symbols.
And one door… was already opening