The city looked different at night.
Not quieter.
Just… colder.
Streetlights reflected in the rainwater like broken pieces of gold. Cars passed occasionally, their headlights cutting through the mist.
Aarav walked quickly.
Tunnel 17.
He had searched the city map on his phone.
There was only one place with that name.
An old maintenance tunnel near the abandoned metro construction site.
The project had stopped years ago after funding problems.
Most people avoided the place now.
Which made it the perfect location for something hidden.
Twenty minutes later, Aarav reached the area.
The streets here were darker.
Many buildings were unfinished.
Construction fences rattled in the wind.
And there, beside a broken concrete wall, he saw it.
A metal door.
Rust covered most of its surface.
A faded number was painted across it.
Aarav swallowed.
"So this is the place."
He expected the door to be locked.
But when he pushed it…
It slowly creaked open.
Darkness waited on the other side.
Cold air drifted upward from the tunnel.
It smelled of damp stone and rust.
For a moment, Aarav hesitated.
Every instinct told him this was a bad idea.
But curiosity pushed harder.
He switched on his phone flashlight.
And stepped inside.
The tunnel stretched downward like a long throat swallowing light.
Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.
Echoing.
Step.
Step.
Step.
His footsteps sounded too loud.
After about thirty meters, the tunnel split into two directions.
Aarav stopped.
Then he noticed something strange.
Fresh footprints.
Someone had walked here recently.
He followed them.
The tunnel turned once.
Then again.
And suddenly—
A voice echoed from the darkness.
"You're late."
Aarav froze.
A figure stepped forward from the shadows.
A young woman.
Black jacket.
Short hair.
Sharp eyes that studied him carefully.
"You're Aarav," she said.
He nodded slowly.
"Yes… and you are?"
She crossed her arms.
"The person who sent the signal."
Aarav looked at her.
"So the tunnels are real?"
She gave a small smile.
"Oh, the tunnels are just the beginning."
She turned and pointed deeper into the underground darkness.
"Under this city… there's another world."
Then she looked back at him.
"And now you're part of it."