Fog coils around the cliffs as Black Ivory Castle rises above a frozen, silent sea. Iron gates creak open by themselves, and faint candlelight trembles behind towering black windows. A single wavering piano note drifts through the air, dissolving into hollow echoes.

In the courtyard, pale roses litter slick stone, petals darkening in real time. High above, a still figure stands on a balcony, watching without breath — while the great doors close with a thunderous boom behind whoever has arrived.