The streets beyond the old district felt like they belonged to another time.No traffic. No footsteps.Only the faint groan of rusted signs swaying in the wind and the far-off hum of a city that had chosen not to come here.
Lee Rang walked alone, the folded paper from last night warm in his coat pocket despite the cold.It wasn't far now — two blocks, maybe less.He could already see the outline of the address scrawled at the bottom of that note.
It wasn't a building.It was a ruin.
Half its roof had collapsed in on itself, and the rest sagged under the weight of years.Windows were just hollow sockets staring out at the empty street.The only working streetlight flickered weakly, spilling pale light onto a patch of cracked pavement… and then dying again, like even electricity didn't want to stay here.
He checked his watch.11:58.
A whisper of wind curled past him, carrying the smell of damp concrete and something faintly metallic.It reminded him of the moment before rain — heavy, expectant, like the air itself was holding its breath.
That's when he heard it.The sound wasn't loud, but it didn't belong here — the deliberate crunch of gravel underfoot.Measured. Controlled.Like someone making sure he knew they were there.
Rang stopped walking.Didn't turn. Didn't speak.
From the corner of his vision, he caught it — the faint outline of a figure half-buried in shadow.Tall. Still. Watching.
And then… the mask.
Smooth. Black.No mouth. No eyes. Just the faintest gleam where the moonlight touched it, making it look less like a face and more like a void.For a second, Rang thought it might be a trick of the dark.It wasn't.
Neither moved.Neither spoke.
The quiet pressed in on them both, until Rang could hear the pulse in his ears.Even the wind seemed to falter, leaving only the weight of stillness between them.
Then the figure shifted.Not a step forward — just enough for the mask to tilt, studying him.
And slowly, one gloved hand lifted.The movement was deliberate, almost slow enough to be cruel.A single finger curled inward, beckoning.
Rang's breath clouded in the cold air.Every instinct screamed at him to walk away.But there was something in the gesture — not threat, not welcome, but… inevitability.
He took one step forward.The masked man stepped back into the dark.
Another step.Another retreat.
Until the shadows swallowed them both.
And as the darkness closed in, Rang realized something that froze his blood—Whoever this man is… he's been closer to me than anyone I've ever let in.
The chain on the warehouse door didn't rattle.It was already unhooked, hanging limp against the rusted metal like someone had been waiting for him.
Rang pushed the door open.It groaned in protest, the sound bouncing into the cavernous dark beyond.The air inside was colder — not the natural kind of cold, but the kind that felt… chosen.
He stepped in.The light from the street spilled only a few feet past the threshold before being swallowed whole.Every step he took echoed — soft at first, then deeper, like the ground beneath him was hollow.
Somewhere to his right, metal scraped faintly.Not loud enough to pinpoint, but just enough to remind him he wasn't alone.
His eyes adjusted, catching fragments in the dark — the skeletal remains of machinery, stacks of forgotten crates, a staircase leading into blackness above.
And then, movement.High up on one of the steel walkways, the Masked Man leaned against the railing, watching.Even from this distance, Rang could feel the weight of that gaze.
No words.No sound.Just the faintest tilt of the head, as if measuring him.
Rang opened his mouth to speak — but the Masked Man turned away, walking deeper into the dark, boots whispering against the metal.It wasn't an invitation.It was a command.
The sound of his footsteps faded, replaced by something else…A slow, deliberate tapping — metal on metal, in a pattern almost like a clock counting down.
Rang swallowed hard and followed.Not because he wanted to.Because he knew — if he left now, he'd never learn why this man had been watching.
Some doors you walk through once… and never walk back out the same.