The stairs seemed endless.
Aanya walked beside Aarav.
The Keeper followed behind them.
Nobody spoke.
Only their footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Finally, Aarav broke the silence.
“Where are we going?”
The Keeper kept walking.
“Above.”
Aarav frowned.
“We’ve been underground for nearly an hour.”
“I know.”
“Then how can we be going above?”
The Keeper stopped.
Aanya nearly walked into him.
He looked at them.
“Because Ravenhall has never had only one direction.”
Aanya stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.”
They continued.
Another staircase appeared.
This one was older.
The walls were covered with faded silver symbols.
Aanya touched one.
The symbol disappeared beneath her fingers.
She pulled her hand away.
“It knows me.”
The Keeper looked back.
“No.”
Aanya frowned.
“Then what?”
“It remembers you.”
Aarav looked at her.
“That’s worse.”
Aanya gave him a small smile.
“Much worse.”
They reached the final step.
A wooden door stood before them.
There was no handle.
Only a silver mark.
Aanya took out the key.
It began glowing immediately.
The Keeper stepped back.
“Aanya…”
She looked at him.
“What?”
“Whatever you see inside…”
He hesitated.
“Don’t believe the first memory.”
Aanya’s expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because Nightfall doesn’t always lie.”
Aarav stared at him.
“Then what does it do?”
The Keeper looked at the door.
Silence.
Aanya slowly placed the key against the mark.
CLICK.
The door opened.
Light flooded the staircase.
They stepped inside.
Aanya stopped.
It was a classroom.
But not a normal one.
Old desks.
Dust-covered books.
A large blackboard.
And dozens of photographs pinned across the walls.
Aarav walked closer.
“What’s this place?”
The Keeper whispered,
“The first classroom.”
Aanya looked at him.
“Ravenhall’s first classroom?”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Yours.”
Aanya froze.
“My classroom?”
The Keeper nodded.
“Before you came to Ravenhall.”
Aarav stared at the photographs.
Then he saw one.
His face changed.
“Aanya.”
She turned.
He pointed.
A photograph showed two children sitting together.
Aanya and Aarav.
Again.
But this time— there was something written underneath.
SUBJECT ZERO — MEMORY ONE
Aanya’s heart raced.
“There’s another.”
Aarav pointed to the next photograph.
SUBJECT ONE — MEMORY ONE
Aanya looked around.
“How many are there?”
The Keeper didn’t answer.
She counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Aarav whispered,
“Seven memories.”
One photograph suddenly fell from the wall.
Aanya picked it up.
It showed her standing alone.
No Aarav.
No Keeper.
No Ravenhall.
Just Aanya.
And behind her— a black door.
She turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting.
THE FIRST MEMORY WAS NOT YOURS.
Aanya’s breathing stopped.
“What?”
Aarav took the photograph.
“Maybe it’s talking about Nightfall.”
The Keeper shook his head.
“No.”
Aanya looked at him.
“Then whose memory was it?”
The Keeper stared at her.
“That’s what Nightfall wants you to remember.”
Aanya felt a chill.
Suddenly— the blackboard behind them changed.
Letters appeared by themselves.
Slowly.
One word at a time.
AANYA.
Then—
AARAV.
Then—
REMEMBER.
Aarav stepped closer.
The blackboard changed again.
This time, only one sentence appeared.
ONE OF YOU REMEMBERED FIRST.
Aanya looked at Aarav.
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
The Keeper whispered,
“That’s the question Nightfall has been waiting for.”
The classroom doors slammed shut.
Aanya grabbed Aarav’s hand.
The silver key began glowing.
And from somewhere inside the classroom— a child’s voice whispered:
“I remember.”
Aanya turned.
Nobody was there.
Then Aarav suddenly whispered—
“I do too.”
The lights went out.
And this time—
Aanya wasn’t sure whether the voice had belonged to him.