The bar's light was dim and flickered, casting everyone in a haze of gold and shadow. Xiaohuo leaned back against the wall, fingers unconsciously drumming on the table, his gaze sweeping over each face in the group. Tension was thick in the air, heavier than at any gathering before.
Sophie was fiddling with a protective amulet in her palm, brows knit in worry. Maya kept glancing at the window, as if expecting something to leap out from the night. Ethan shrank into the corner of the sofa, pale, clutching a faded talisman like a life preserver. Alex tried to appear calm, but the tremor in his fingertips betrayed him.
"Did you all dream of the door last night?" Sophie's voice was low, her eyes moving from one to another.
Maya gave a wry, hoarse laugh. "Not just a dream. I felt a hand reach through the crack in the door—almost pulled me out."
Ethan's voice trembled. "Me too… When I woke up, there was a red scratch on my arm."
Xiaohuo pressed his lips tight, a flash of last night's nightmare burning in his mind—himself running down an endless corridor, strange doors on both sides leaking crimson light, whispers flooding his ears until he couldn't tell dream from reality.
"It's not just a dream," Alex said. "Today, during a meeting at work, I heard someone whispering in my ear. The words were exactly the same as in my dream."
Sophie laid out a pile of yellowed papers on the table, lowering her voice. "I found something about this—'resonance network.' High-level resonators use psychic interference to pull us into a shared hallucination, eating away at our willpower."
"So what do we do?" Ethan's voice was on the verge of tears. "We can't spend every day clutching amulets and chanting spells."
Xiaohuo shook his head, his fingers instinctively reaching for the prayer beads around his neck. He had never believed in ghosts or gods, but in the face of this, rationality seemed useless.
At that moment, a faint moan drifted in from outside the window—a sound like a wounded animal circling in the dark. Sophie tensed, moved to the window, and peered out through a crack in the curtain. A split-second flash of red light in the night made her heart skip.
"We have to fight back," Sophie said firmly, returning to the table. "If we stay on defense, we'll just be picked off, one by one."
Suddenly, Alex's phone vibrated violently. He picked it up with shaking hands. On the screen was a message from an unknown number: "You have been chosen. Tonight, the door will open for you."
Chill swept the room. Xiaohuo felt his blood run cold. Something was stalking them—something relentless and unseen.
Sophie was quick to react. "Everyone, come to my place. Now. I have protection wards set up. No one goes alone tonight!"
They hurriedly gathered their things and left the bar. The night pressed heavy, the streets eerily deserted, only neon lights flickering far away.
Sophie's apartment was in an old, creaking building downtown, its door plastered with symbols and talismans. As soon as they entered, Sophie activated her protective array: candles flared up, and she set charms at every window, door, and mirror. Xiaohuo couldn't help but ask, "How do you know all this?"
Sophie gave a wan smile. "My family's been studying otherworldly arts for generations. This is basic. But the power of this crack… it's beyond anything I've ever seen."
Maya took out a diary, her hands shaking. "I write down every dream. The scenes change every night—the crack in the door gets wider, the red light stronger. Sometimes the faces in the dreams morph into people I know in real life."
Alex pulled out a scrap of paper covered in a strange symbol. "I saw this in my dream—drew it from memory after I woke up. Anyone recognize it?"
Sophie's eyes went wide. She snatched the paper. "That's the center mark of the 'resonance network.' The legend says if this symbol appears in your reality, you've already been marked."
A wave of dread swept through Xiaohuo. He remembered seeing that exact symbol pulsing above the red-lit crack in his nightmare.
"What do we do?" Ethan asked, desperate.
Sophie's tone was calm but firm. "We take turns on watch. If anyone acts strange, we suppress them with amulets, no hesitation. Meditate in shifts. Focus on your will. Don't let the dream lure you away."
That night, Xiaohuo sat before a candle, nerves raw. He tried to focus, but his shadow on the wall stretched and twisted, as if something was reaching out from the crack, ready to pull him through.
Suddenly, Alex screamed. An invisible force yanked him toward the corner of the living room. Sophie was on him in a flash, pressing a talisman to his forehead. Maya began chanting, and Ethan clung to Xiaohuo like he was the only anchor to reality.
The red light from the crack grew stronger, whispers rising to a fever pitch. Xiaohuo felt an enormous tug trying to drag him into the terrifying corridor. He clutched his beads, muttering the heart-guarding mantra under his breath.
Then, a blurred figure appeared in the scarlet light, its voice a seductive whisper in his ear: "Just let go… I can give you all the power and freedom you crave…"
Xiaohuo bit down, forcing himself to remember his friends' faces, the promises they'd made. He shouted back, "You're not taking anyone from me!"
The red light flared, shaking the entire warded room. Sophie called everyone into a circle, leading them in the heart-guarding chant. Amulets glowed white-hot. Finally, the red light receded, and Alex collapsed, face ashen.
The room held its breath, then fell into a tense calm. Xiaohuo was drenched in sweat, gasping for air. He knew this was only the beginning. The real crack was opening, and every one of them was prey.
Their eyes met in the candlelight—fear and determination mingled in every glance. Xiaohuo's heart hammered with one certainty: the fight had only just begun.