The key was colder than it should have been. Not just metal-cold, unnatural, like it had been sitting in ice for days. It bit into Ethan’s palm as though it didn’t want to be held for long.The old man kept smiling, his head tilted slightly, as if waiting for Ethan to understand something he couldn’t yet see. “Where is it?” Ethan asked.The old man tapped one long, bony finger on the table. “You’ll see soon enough. But you will not open it alone.”The man in the tailored suit, whose presence still felt like a wall Ethan couldn’t get past, stepped forward. “I’ll take him.”The woman with the streak of silver in her hair didn’t move from the doorway. Her eyes followed Ethan, measuring him.“Be careful with this one,” the old man said, voice dipping low. “He has his father’s look when cornered. That’s when they’re dangerous.”Dangerous? Ethan thought. They were talking about him like he was a weapon, They led him back to the car. This time, there was no cityscape outside. The drive was l

The voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be, It carried the weight of someone used to being obeyed, not out of fear alone, but inevitability. Ethan turned, every muscle tensing, The tunnel behind them was no longer empty.A tall figure stood in the shadows, framed by the faint yellow light from farther down the corridor. The face was hidden under the hood of a long, dark coat, but what caught Ethan’s eye wasn’t the figure’s size, it was the way the air around them seemed to bend slightly, as if reality was leaning away.The woman with the silver streak moved first, blade raised. “You’re not supposed to be here.”The hooded figure chuckled a sound with no warmth. “Neither are you. But here we are.”The suited man shifted to block Ethan from view. “He’s under protection. Walk away.”The figure’s head tilted slightly, and Ethan caught the gleam of eyes that reflected like a predator’s in low light. “Protection? From me?”The hatch behind them groaned, the metal hand tightening its gr