Rain fell over the city like a whisper of secrets—soft, steady, and relentless.  

Inside a black SUV cutting through the morning fog, **Ed Relven** sat silently, his ID card still smelling of fresh ink: *A.R.C. Foundation – Field Investigator (Probationary)*.

He had received the transfer notice less than forty-eight hours ago. No public announcement. No explanation. Only a direct order signed by **Director Barek Joseph**—a name that carried weight even among the highest branches of government intelligence.  

Ed had served in the National Investigation Bureau’s elite training unit. His records were flawless—zero operational errors, a 99.6% psychological stability score, and a reputation for seeing connections no one else could. Yet the letter that changed his life contained only one line:

*“Report to the Anomalous Regulation and Containment Foundation. You have been reassigned.”*

The car stopped before an unmarked facility at the edge of the city—an abandoned research complex, according to public registry. But as Ed stepped through the gates, he noticed the faint shimmer of electromagnetic shielding across the perimeter fence, and the security cameras that tracked him with uncanny precision.

Inside, the air was colder. Metallic corridors stretched endlessly, lit by sterile white lights that hummed faintly overhead. Every door required dual authorization—keycard and retinal scan. Every corner had eyes.

A woman waited for him near the central elevator. She was tall, poised, and carried herself with the calm of someone who had seen too much and survived it all.

“Agent Relven, I presume.” Her voice was precise, British-accented. “Marline Cain. Senior Containment Specialist, R-Division. I’ve been assigned as your orientation supervisor.”

Ed nodded, his usual confidence wavering slightly under her gaze. “You already know who I am.”

“We know more than you think,” Marline replied, motioning for him to follow. “You were chosen personally by Director Joseph. He doesn’t recruit often. Or lightly.”

The elevator descended—deeper than any government building Ed had ever seen. The walls changed from steel to reinforced concrete, lined with sigils and containment locks of unfamiliar design. The air grew denser.

“What exactly *is* this place?” he asked.

Marline glanced at him. “It’s where the world hides what it’s not ready to understand.”

As the doors opened, Ed was greeted by a vast underground chamber filled with rows of observation cells, laboratories, and armed personnel. In one sealed chamber, something—human-shaped but wrong—pressed its hand against reinforced glass, watching them pass.

Ed froze. The creature’s gaze met his. For a moment, he felt its thoughts brush against his mind, like the echo of a dream he couldn’t remember.

Marline’s voice cut through the silence. “Welcome to A.R.C., Agent Relven. From now on, truth is classified.”

The overhead lights flickered once, then steadied.  

Somewhere deep within the facility, an alarm began to pulse—a slow, rhythmic tone like a heartbeat.

Ed didn’t yet know it, but his first day had already begun unraveling the thin fabric of everything he believed was real.