The staircase seemed endless.
Aanya and Aarav continued downward, the silver glow from the symbol on Aarav’s wrist barely lighting the steps.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Aanya glanced at him.
“You okay?”
Aarav nodded.
“Yeah.”
“You’ve said that a lot today.”
He smiled faintly.
“And you’ve asked me a lot.”
“Because you’re terrible at admitting when something is wrong.”
“Maybe.”
They continued.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
Then— the staircase ended.
Aanya stepped forward.
And stopped.
Her breath caught.
There was an entire university beneath them.
Classrooms.
Hallways.
A library.
A courtyard.
Even a massive clock tower built into the cavern above.
It looked like Ravenhall.
But older.
Much older.
Aarav stared.
“This is impossible.”
Aanya whispered:
“The Original Ravenhall.”
They entered the main hall.
Dust covered the floor, but strangely, nothing looked destroyed.
Old desks remained inside classrooms.
Books filled the shelves.
Portraits covered the walls.
Aanya stopped before one.
It showed a group of students standing outside the university.
At the bottom was a date:
1897.
Aarav looked at it.
“That’s over a century ago.”
Aanya nodded.
“Look at the corner.”
Hidden beside the Ravenhall crest was the familiar silver symbol.
The Nightfall symbol.
Aarav’s expression changed.
“So it was here from the beginning.”
“Maybe.”
Aanya moved farther down the corridor.
Then she stopped.
Words had been carved into the wall.
MEMORY IS THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING.
She slowly touched the letters.
Instantly— everything disappeared.
A young woman stood in the same hall.
Aanya recognized her immediately.
Her mother.
But she looked much younger.
She was standing opposite the Founder.
He held a small silver box.
“You must protect this.”
Aanya’s mother shook her head.
“You shouldn’t have created it.”
“It was necessary.”
“No.”
Her voice became firmer.
“It was an experiment.”
“It was supposed to save people.”
“By controlling their memories?”
“By preserving them.”
Aanya’s mother stepped closer.
“You don’t preserve someone by taking away their ability to choose.”
The Founder said nothing.
Then her mother spoke quietly.
“One day, our daughter will have to fix what you created.”
Aanya’s eyes widened.
The vision disappeared.
Aanya pulled her hand away.
She was breathing heavily.
“Aarav…”
He was standing beside her.
“I saw it.”
“My mother.”
“And the Founder.”
Aanya nodded.
“They knew.”
“They knew something was coming.”
Aanya looked around.
“What exactly did they create?”
Aarav walked toward an old wooden cabinet.
“Let’s find out.”
He opened it.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
The first showed Aanya’s mother.
The second showed the Founder.
The third showed a group of researchers.
Then—
Aanya froze.
A photograph of two children.
A little girl.
A little boy.
Aanya and Aarav.
Standing outside the Original Ravenhall.
Aanya turned it over.
2009.
Her heart skipped.
“We were here.”
Aarav stared at the photograph.
“But we weren’t supposed to meet until years later.”
Aanya turned it over again.
There was another line.
FIRST CONTACT SUCCESSFUL.
Aarav frowned.
“First contact?”
Aanya looked at him.
“Why would they call it that?”
Before Aarav could answer— a voice came from behind them.
“Because you weren’t supposed to remember meeting.”
They turned.
The old woman stood at the end of the corridor.
Aanya immediately stepped forward.
“Tell us everything.”
The woman looked at the photograph.
“You weren’t brought here by Nightfall.”
Aarav frowned.
“Then why were we here?”
The woman looked at Aanya.
“Your mother brought you.”
Aanya froze.
“What?”
“She knew what the Founder was planning.”
“Then why bring me here?”
“To hide you.”
“From him?”
“And from Nightfall.”
Aarav looked at her.
“What about me?”
The woman turned toward him.
“Your parents made the same choice.”
Aarav’s expression changed.
“My parents knew?”
“Yes.”
Aanya looked between them.
“So our families knew each other.”
“For years.”
“Then why did we forget?”
The woman hesitated.
Before she could answer— the enormous clock above them began moving.
TICK.
Aanya looked up.
The clock hands started turning.
Faster.
And faster.
The entire university began shaking.
THUMP.
Aanya froze.
That sound.
The second Heart.
The old woman whispered:
“The Original Ravenhall only wakes once every twenty years.”
Aarav stared at the clock.
“And when it wakes?”
The woman looked at them.
“It chooses two people.”
Aanya’s voice became quiet.
“Two people for what?”
The clock struck midnight.
DONG.
Every light in the Original Ravenhall turned on.
Classroom doors opened by themselves.
Books fell from shelves.
The portraits on the walls turned toward Aanya and Aarav.
Then— a voice echoed through the entire university.
“WELCOME BACK, SUBJECT ZERO.”
Aanya froze.
Aarav looked at her.
“Subject Zero?”
The voice continued.
“WELCOME BACK, SUBJECT ONE.”
The silver symbol on Aarav’s wrist began glowing.
Aanya looked at her own hand.
The same symbol was appearing across her palm.
She stepped backward.
“What is happening?”
The old woman looked terrified.
“It has chosen.”
Aarav stared at his glowing wrist.
“Chosen us for what?”
The voice answered.
“THE EXPERIMENT.”
Aanya’s heart sank.
The doors behind them slammed shut.
BANG.
Then the final words echoed through the halls:
“THE EXPERIMENT WILL NOW CONTINUE.”
Aanya grabbed Aarav’s hand.
“We’re getting out.”
Aarav nodded.
But before they could move— every door in the Original Ravenhall opened at once.
And somewhere deep beneath them, something woke up.