Rain was punishing the city like it owed it money.
2:17 a.m., abandoned Subway Line 17 station, sealed since 2002.
A rusted security door that hadn't moved in twenty-three years suddenly screamed on its hinges.
Rust snowed down in flakes. When the gap reached the width of a hand, something pale reached out from the dark and gently pushed.
Click.
The lock undid itself like it had never been locked at all.
The hand withdrew. The door swung wide on its own.
Behind it: absolute black. The kind that eats flashlights.
A figure in a soaked black trench coat stood under the downpour, watching.
His current legal name was Elias Vark. Three hours ago it had still been something else.
He lifted his left hand. A silver emblem glowed faintly on the skin: a circle split by an upside-down sword, twelve Roman numerals around the edge.
The emblem pulsed once, hot.
[Anomaly Detected] [Object No.: Abyss-017] [Object Class: Keter] [Containment Difficulty: High] [Distance to breach: 7 meters]
Elias stepped forward. Rain streamed off his hood.
From the throat of the station came a sound that was almost laughter, almost breath, almost a thousand voices speaking the same two words at once.
"Found you."
Elias didn't flinch. He drew an old brass key from his inner pocket (finger-length, covered in sigils that hurt to look at directly).
He spoke to the darkness, calm and flat.
"Rule One: Anything that opens doors without permission forfeits the right to have doors."
The brass key burst into cold blue-white fire.
The flames shot forward, drawing a perfect rectangle in mid-air exactly over the open security door.
Ten seconds later the fire hardened into a new door (seamless, matte-black, no handle).
Burned letters appeared across it in glowing English:
Abyss-017 "The Mouth That Swallows Trains"Object Class: KeterCurrent Status: Contained (Provisional)Special Containment Procedures: Do not allow physical doors within 500 m of active subway tunnels
Inside, something huge roared and slammed against the new barrier. Hundreds of pale arms punched the air, fingers scrabbling for purchase that wasn't there.
They found nothing. Thirty seconds later the arms retreated. Silence returned.
Elias turned and walked back into the rain.
His phone buzzed once.
[New assignment. Return to Site-19 immediately.]
He glanced at the sealed doorway one last time.
The flaming text had already dimmed to a dull ember, but four final lines still glowed:
Containment Specialist: Elias VarkClearance Level: 4/AbyssSuccess Rate This Month: 100 %Reminder: You are not allowed to die.
The rain kept falling.
Somewhere else in the city, another door that had no business existing was already turning its knob.