The ground smelled like blood and smoke, but it was morning already. Or maybe it wasn't. The light looked strange, thin like water poured through dust. Yun couldn't tell if the sun was rising or dying. His ears still rang. His body still shook.

He remembered flashes—Shen Yu's hands glowing faint blue, the creature screaming, the trees burning without fire. And then silence. Just that heavy silence that pressed on everything like the air forgot to move.

The village was still standing, mostly. A few roofs torn, a fence broken clean in half. Chickens gone, dogs quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes your teeth hurt.

Yun stumbled through the path, bare feet cold and sticky with mud. People stared from their doors but no one spoke to him. Maybe they didn't know what to say or maybe they didn't want to know what he'd seen. He didn't even know what he saw.

Shen Yu stood by the well, his robe torn, one sleeve gone completely. His hair was wet, or maybe it was blood, Yun couldn't tell. He was looking down into the water like something was talking to him from inside it.

"Shen…" Yun's voice cracked, soft, afraid.

Shen Yu looked up slow, eyes darker than before. They didn't shine, not now. They looked tired, like they'd seen too much sky.

"It's not over," he said, voice flat, empty almost. "It was just one of them."

Yun blinked. His mind refused that. "One? That—thing—it was like death walking, what do you mean one?"

Shen Yu didn't answer right away. He looked to the forest again, the same direction he always looked. His jaw clenched, and Yun saw for the first time that his right hand was shaking.

"They come in packs," he finally said. "Always have. One hunts, the rest wait."

The words dropped like stones in Yun's stomach. The world spun a bit, like the ground itself tried to leave.

He wanted to run home, tell his mother it was okay, tell her it was done—but he knew that would be a lie. Everyone knew it. Even the air felt scared, like it wanted to leave the village too.

Then, suddenly, a scream came. A sharp one, from the north side, near the fields.

Yun and Shen Yu both ran. The mud splashed under their feet, the wind caught on their clothes. Yun's chest burned but he kept going, couldn't stop now.

When they reached the field, the old farmer, Uncle Guo, was on the ground. Not dead, but his face was pale, shaking. He pointed toward the hills, his finger trembling so bad it looked like it might snap.

"It..It took the ox," he stammered. "It wasn't...wasn't like before. It was smaller, faster. Shadows everywhere."

Shen Yu's face hardened. His calm cracked just a bit. He knelt by the man and whispered something Yun didn't understand, a language that felt like stone and wind. The old man stopped shaking, his breathing steadied.

Then Shen Yu stood again and looked at Yun.

"They're testing us," he said. "They want to see if I'll stay and fight again."

Yun's voice was small, almost breaking. "Then what do we do?"

Shen Yu smiled, but it wasn't happy. It was sad, like a man remembering something too far gone.

"We survive tonight," he said. "After that… maybe we run."

But Yun shook his head. "We can't just run! My mother,everyone,this is our home!"

Shen Yu's gaze softened for a moment. "Home is just a place until you protect it," he said, turning toward the forest. "After that, it becomes something worth dying for."

Yun didn't understand it all, but something in his chest tightened, something that felt almost like courage or maybe just stubbornness.

That night came again too fast. The clouds didn't move. The wind smelled wrong. Like something burning that shouldn't burn.

They lit torches around the village, every door shut tight. Shen Yu stood near the well again, eyes closed, hands clasped behind his back. Yun stood not far away, holding a stick that was supposed to be a weapon. His hands trembled but he didn't drop it.

Then came the whispers. From the forest. Soft, crawling, like voices that forgot how to speak properly. The ground trembled, just a little, enough to make the torches flicker.

Shen Yu opened his eyes. "They're here," he said.

Something moved at the edge of the torchlight. Then another thing. And another. Small, crouched shapes, crawling on all fours. Their skin like smoke, eyes like coals pressed in ash.

Yun's heart pounded so loud he thought it would break his ribs.

"Stay behind me," Shen Yu said, calm but sharp.

Then the creatures screamed—a sound like metal tearing and rushed forward.

Shen Yu raised his hand, and the world bent. The air itself rippled like water thrown against a wall. A wave of light burst out from him, pure and violent. The creatures flew back, twisting, dissolving into mist.

But one—one got through.

It leapt straight at Yun.

Time slowed. Yun's mind blanked. His stick fell. He saw its mouth open, teeth like glass. He felt the wind from it cold, empty.

Then something inside him snapped awake.

A pulse. A warmth in his chest, spreading fast. His eyes burned white for half a breath. The creature froze mid-air, shrieking, then exploded into dust before it touched him.

Silence.

Yun gasped. His knees hit the dirt. Shen Yu turned, eyes wide for the first time.

"You…" Shen Yu whispered. "You awakened it."

Yun didn't understand. He could barely breathe. His hands shook, still glowing faint silver.

"What—what did I do?" he stammered.

Shen Yu looked at him for a long time. "You called the stars," he said quietly. "And now they will start watching you."

The night wind blew harder, the torches flickered out one by one, and far in the distance something screamed again longer this time, louder.

The night wasn't done.

It was only just starting.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.