The days kept crawling like they always did in Starfall village, but now there was something different in the air, like the sky itself leaned down too close and watched. People still tried to laugh, still went to the fields and pulled weeds and carried water, but every laugh was shorter, every look lingered too long on the tree line.

The animals felt it first maybe. The goats wouldn't graze near the edge anymore, they pulled at their ropes and made ugly sounds, chickens flapped like they seen hawks even when no hawk flew. One night, even the pigs refused to come out of their pen, they just huddled together, eyes wide like they knew something waiting.

Yun tried to tell himself it was nothing. Maybe wolves, maybe just wild dogs. But deep inside he knew better, he remembered the glowing eyes, that feeling in his chest that night with Shen Yu. And every day Shen Yu's calm face made it worse, cause calm faces like that only belong to people who already seen blood before.

One evening, Liang came running to him, out of breath, shouting, "Yun, you gotta see this down by the river." They went together, and what they found wasn't normal. The mud by the water had deep scratches, like claws dragging, but too big, too wide, not like any beast they knew. And the fish in the river floated belly up, dozens of them, eyes glassy, no wound on them. Just dead.

Liang's face went pale. "This ain't right. This… this is evil spirits maybe." He made a sign with his hand, the old way people did to chase bad luck. Yun didn't answer, he only stared at the water, cause in the reflection of the moon he thought he saw a shape behind him. He turned fast, but nothing there, only the trees whispering.

When they told the elders, they hushed them quick. "Don't speak of this in front of the children," Old Guo snapped, his voice shaking even though he tried to sound strong. Grandma Mei only muttered prayers under her breath, her eyes not meeting Yun's.

That night no one slept easy. Fires burned in front of doors, men stayed awake holding sticks and rusty blades, the women whispering prayers inside. Yun lay awake too, staring at the ceiling beams, listening to every sound outside. The dogs barked, then whined, then barked again, until the whole night was broken into pieces by their cries.

At some point, Yun couldn't stay still anymore, he got up and slipped out. The village was quiet except the dogs, the fires low now, smoke curling up like ghosts. He walked toward the well and there, sitting on the stone wall, was Shen Yu again. Like always.

"You can't sleep either?" Yun whispered, though his voice cracked in the night air.

Shen Yu didn't look at him. He stared at the trees, his eyes too sharp. Finally he said, "The village is not ready. But ready or not, something will test it." His words were slow, heavy, like he carried them from far away.

Yun felt cold all over. "What is it? Tell me what you know."

Shen Yu looked at him then, the moonlight on his face making it look like a mask. "If I told you, you wouldn't sleep at all. Better to keep your strength for when it comes."

That answer made Yun's stomach twist. He wanted to shout, to shake the man, but instead he only lowered his head, cause somehow he already knew Shen Yu was right.

The next morning, everyone looked tired, like shadows under their eyes. The children didn't run and play like before, they stayed near their mothers. The blacksmith hammered metal but too hard, sparks flying, like he wanted to chase away the fear with noise.

And Yun knew… this peace was thinner than a thread now. One wrong step and it would break.

The heavens was watching, and the shadows too, waiting just outside the trees.

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