Prologue (Re-write)

That night, the rain fell in a ceaseless torrent. The sky, a starless abyss, was blotted out by a thick curtain of clouds that seemed to cradle some dark, unspeakable secret. In the heart of the city, where light and life once pulsed, there was now only the anemic glow of old neon signs from a monstrous, abandoned building that loomed over the street. The Triton Aquarium.

The furious wind’s whispers sounded like the wailing of trapped souls. A profound silence hung in the air, broken only by the spattering of raindrops against the fractured glass of a colossal fish tank, behind which a slow-moving, shadowy silhouette of some unknown thing was revealed. The damp stench of saltwater and rust mingled with the heavy smell of decay, as if to warn any unfortunate soul passing by that this was no mere relic of the past, but a tomb teeming with terrifying stories.

No one dared to go near it. No one dared to speak of it. The aquarium was a “black box” that held a gruesome truth behind rumors of immoral experiments and the mysterious disappearances of people long ago. These were not just whispers of folklore; they were a warning from the unseen, patiently waiting for a “chosen one” to walk into a trap from which there was no escape.

Amid the suffocating darkness and the storm's roar, a single, jet-black invitation lay on a decaying wooden table within a forgotten room. Silver letters gleamed, announcing a "Special Event for the Chosen" with a promise of a "priceless reward." It was a cryptic invitation that was about to change one person's life forever.

The wind whistled through a shattered window, causing the invitation to flutter and flip over, revealing a warning etched on its back: "Beware... every step is a rule."

Unseen by all, a single figure stood in the shadows across the street, their eyes fixed on the foreboding building. A slick, black umbrella shielded them from the deluge, a stark silhouette against the storm-battered night. Their gaze was not one of fear, but of detached calculation. They knew the truth of the Triton Aquarium, a truth far darker than the whispered rumors. The illegal experiments, the missing people—they weren't just folklore. They were a reality orchestrated by a clandestine organization, a ruthless group that played a deadly game with human lives. The invitation, now a fleeting beacon in the night, was the bait for their next victim.

The figure reached into their coat and pulled out a sleek tablet. The screen glowed with an encrypted message, a single line of text confirming the operation was underway. "The bait has been set," it read. The figure's lips curled into a thin, predatory smile. They had been waiting for this night, for the final piece of their intricate puzzle to fall into place. The "chosen one" was nothing more than a pawn in a larger scheme, a variable that would soon be controlled.

As the wind howled and the rain pounded the city into submission, the figure turned and melted into the darkness. The city was a chessboard, and they were the unseen player, manipulating the pieces from the shadows. The Triton Aquarium was merely the first square in a game that had no rules, only consequences. The invitation was a promise, but the price of that promise was a soul. And tonight, a storm was brewing, not just in the sky, but in the heart of a city on the brink of a terrifying truth. The game had begun.