"That strange dream again…"
Hao Thien opened his eyes, blinking a few times to shake off the heaviness of sleep. He sat up, stretched his arms, then headed downstairs to get a drink of water.
His footsteps echoed softly on the stairs, cutting through the quiet stillness of the house, until the living room light came into view. His parents had returned at some point and were now sitting and watching the news.
"Hao Thien, it's late—why aren't you in bed yet?"
His mother turned to him, her voice gentle but filled with concern.
"I just woke up. Must've dozed off earlier in the afternoon."
He replied while opening the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water, and letting out a sleepy yawn.
Hao Thien walked over and sat down next to his father. On the TV screen, the evening news was broadcasting scenes of massive storms, sudden floods, and extreme weather occurring in various parts of the world.
"Weather's been unpredictable lately. Make sure to check for rain or strong winds before heading out tomorrow. Don't take it lightly,"
his father said, his voice deep but warm, eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Yes, I got it, Dad."
Hao Thien nodded, gave a faint smile, then stood up and headed back to his room.
As soon as he lay down on the bed, he reached into his desk drawer and took out the red crystal. He turned it over and over in his hand, his gaze locked onto it. The soft glow it emitted reflected on the ceiling, making the quiet room feel even more still.
Before he knew it, Hao Thien had drifted off to sleep…
On the third-floor balcony of Ha Thanh High School, a group of seven students gathered, leaning against the railing as they watched the rain fall, each wearing the same look of boredom.
"Of all times to rain, it had to be when we wanted to go out,"
Thanh Phap sighed, gently tapping his fingers on the railing.
"The weather's been weird lately. A light rain could suddenly turn into a storm,"
Anh Vu said, eyes still following the falling raindrops.
"Well, guess we might as well bring our blankets and pillows up here tomorrow and sleep at school,"
Tran Quang added casually, as if it was the most normal suggestion in the world.
The group chuckled quietly—not loudly, but just enough to chase away some of the gloom brought on by the heavy rain pouring down on the schoolyard.
"Whatever you say, the rain will stop eventually. All we can do now is wait."
Quang Chuong slipped his hands into his pockets and looked up at the light drizzle outside, his tone calm—as if there was nothing to worry about.
The others simply nodded in agreement. No one added a word, but deep down, everyone knew… there wasn't much choice anyway.
A moment later, the seven of them left the balcony together, chatting and laughing as they headed down the stairs. Their voices echoed through the hallway, drowning out the steady rhythm of rain hitting the school's rooftop.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
A deafening crack of thunder tore through the sky without warning, making every student in the school jump in shock. The glass windows along the hallway trembled violently—some even cracked, as though just one more tremor would shatter them completely.
"Get back to the classroom, now!"
No one needed to be told twice. The whole group immediately broke into a run, feet pounding against the hallway floor, their hearts still rattled by the sudden thunderclap.
BOOOOOMMMMM!!!
Another thunderous strike erupted—this one even louder than before. A windowpane at the far end of the corridor shattered into pieces, sending glass flying in all directions. Screams echoed as students scattered in panic, scrambling for cover.
"Hey… Look up at the sky, outside the window!"
Hao Thien suddenly shouted, eyes wide with terror as he pointed toward the glass panels lining the hallway. His voice wasn't loud, but in the tense, strained silence, it rang out like an alarm bell.
Everyone turned to look—and then, no one could say a word.
Across the pitch-black sky, a massive spatial rift had opened wide, like a long, jagged tear stretching across the heavens.
From within that rift, streaks of violet-silver lightning crackled violently, howling as if the entire universe itself was screaming in agony.
"W-What the hell is that?! What even is that thing?!"
Quang Hao's voice trembled as he stumbled back a few steps, one hand bracing against the wall to steady himself.
Without a moment's hesitation, the group bolted into a nearby empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind them. Their hearts pounded wildly in their chests.
Out in the hallway, chaos had erupted—students were screaming, scattering in panic. Bolts of lightning struck just beyond the school yard, electric arcs lashing across rooftops. The lights inside the building flickered wildly.
"Emergency alert! All students are to enter the nearest classroom immediately, shut the doors, and—"
POP!
The intercom abruptly cut off. Power outage.
In that instant, the entire school was swallowed by darkness, lit only by the faint, blood-red glow of the sky outside.
But no one stopped. Without waiting for further instructions, students across the campus rushed into the nearest classrooms, slamming the doors shut behind them, sitting in silence as if bracing for a storm to tear everything apart.
Outside—
The wind howled like an invisible beast, roaring across the school grounds.
Signs, stone benches, even bicycles were being lifted off the ground.
A large sheet of corrugated metal roofing was torn from the sports field, spinning violently in the air before slamming into the third-floor balcony—right where a student had narrowly leapt away in the nick of time.
The clash of metal echoed thunderously, leaving a deep dent and a few drops of blood on the tiled floor.
The entire school felt like it had been plunged into a waking nightmare.
"This isn't just a storm anymore… It's a full-blown disaster."
Văn Quân curled up in the corner of the classroom, his voice trembling with fear.
"That rift in the sky… it's not a natural disaster. It's something supernatural—like it doesn't belong to this world…"
Quang Chương spoke while gripping the door tightly, which trembled with each gust of wind as if it were about to be torn apart.
No one responded.
The whole group sank into silence.
Only the howling wind outside, the constant rumble of thunder, and the rain lashing against the windows remained—like the weeping screams of the earth and sky.
Suddenly, Hạo Thiên reached into his pocket and pulled out an object—a small crystal that emitted a faint, purplish-blue glow, flickering as if reflecting a soul trapped within.
"What if… all of this… is somehow connected to this crystal?"
He spoke softly, but his voice carried a haunting weight.
Then, Hạo Thiên began to recount everything—the strange dream, the man in the black cloak, and the whispered words that echoed like a voice from the abyss of his mind.
Every detail seemed to draw a chill deeper into the room, as if the shadow of a nightmare was beginning to slither into reality.
"You don't think… it was just a dream, do you?"
Quang Hào asked, though his voice no longer held the certainty it usually did.
"I used to think so too…"
Hạo Thiên tightened his grip on the crystal.
"…but what I saw in the sky today… it was exactly like the dream. The cracks. The purple lightning. And that feeling… like someone—or something—was watching me."
No one said another word.
Only the crystal in Hạo Thiên's hand continued to glow with a pale, unsettling light—
—as if responding to something that was drawing closer.
The dark rift in the sky began to tremble, emitting a chilling screech like bones snapping in the void.
A cold wind swept down from above, pressing heavily on everything below, making the air thick—suffocating.
And then it appeared.
From within the rift, a massive, serpentine form slowly emerged—a dragon.
But it wasn't like anything found in books or ancient legends.
Its entire body was covered in shimmering black-and-violet scales, glinting like fragments of living meteors.
Twin horns twisted backward from its skull, releasing faint streams of shadowy mist—like smoke from the depths of the underworld.
It was so immense that part of its body remained stuck within the rift, while its head and half its torso had already slithered out, dominating the entire sky.
Everyone who saw it stood frozen.
No one could believe their eyes.
A mythic beast—something thought to exist only in the pages of ancient lore—was now truly hovering in the air above them.
And with every subtle movement, it distorted the atmosphere, making the earth tremble beneath its presence.
GRUUUUUHH…
Its roar echoed deep and low, like a sound born from the bottom of a void.
It didn't just pass through ears—it pierced straight into the mind,
sending a cold shiver through the heart and seizing it with sheer terror.
Immediately after the roar, the buildings surrounding the school began to tremble.
Massive chunks of concrete cracked and collapsed, as if shaken by a force far beyond human understanding.
The buildings, mid-collapse… suddenly froze.
Not because of a miracle.
But because time—it had stopped.
The wind hung still in midair, each raindrop suspended like frozen shards of crystal. Lightning halted mid-strike, its violet arc tearing across the sky but refusing to fade. All sound was swallowed. Every movement locked in place.
And then—from atop the dragon's colossal head—a figure cloaked in black descended in silence, as if walking down invisible steps carved into the void itself. His cloak did not billow, for there was no wind. Each footstep was light as mist, yet with every step he took, the air trembled—as if the very fabric of reality was shifting to make way for him.
He stopped at the window of the classroom—where Hạo Thiên and his group were hiding.
CRACK!
Without lifting a finger, the glass shattered into a thousand tiny shards, scattering like ash into the frozen stillness. He stepped inside, his shadow swallowing the light, and stood before Hạo Thiên—imposing, wordless, needing no threats.
"It is time…"
His voice rang out—not loud, not hurried—but each word struck directly into Hạo Thiên's mind, clearer than sound, heavier than the sky outside.
"…for you to choose between two paths."