The moon hung low, veiled in swirling mist. The abandoned school loomed before him, its windows like hollow eyes watching his every move.

  Kaito stood at the top of the staircase. The air was heavy, thick with something he couldn’t name. A chill ran through his spine, but his feet refused to move back. Only forward.

  He took the first step.

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  The creaking wood echoed in the empty corridors. The second step followed, then the third. A whisper, barely audible, brushed against his ear.

  "You shouldn’t be here."

  His breath hitched. He turned—nothing.

  Another step.

  The world twisted.

  The staircase no longer led downward. It stretched into infinity, spiraling through a darkness deeper than the night itself. And beyond it—beyond the final step—something waited.

  Something that had been waiting for a long, long time.