Shen Hao collapsed at the school gate. Everything went silent.
Everything went black.
Suddenly—
His eyes opened slowly. Blurry at first, his vision gradually cleared. He found himself lying flat on his back, staring up at the sky.
But something was off.
There was no sun. And yet... the sky looked like it was daytime. A soft glow lit the atmosphere, but it came from nowhere.
Confused, Shen Hao turned his head—and what he saw shocked him to his core.
"…What the hell… is all this?!"
He scrambled to sit up.
What he thought was solid ground was actually water—still, smooth, and endless. Yet somehow, he wasn't sinking. He stood on it like it was solid glass. Its depth? Infinite. Its reach? Boundless. It was like standing in the middle of a sea that stretched beyond existence.
Then came the second shock.
Three giant planets hovered in the sky above him—massive, almost as big as Jupiter—close enough to see every crater, every swirling cloud.
"…This has to be a dream. It has to be."
He muttered to himself, still reeling, trying to convince his own mind. But just then—
A voice echoed through the stillness.
"Shen Hao… Shen Hao… Shen Hao…"
It was the same deep, ancient voice he'd heard before collapsing.
He whipped around, heart racing. "Who's there?! How do you know my name?!"
No answer.
Then—a shove.
Something pushed him hard from behind. He stumbled forward and hit the surface with a splash… but still didn't sink.
He spun around in panic, fists raised. "Whoever you are, stop playing games with me! Show yourself! Or are you scared of me?!"
He barely believed his own words. Fear crept in, but he held his ground.
Then it happened.
A crack formed in the air in front of him—like a fracture in space itself.
It slowly widened, three feet across, until finally—it shattered, like breaking glass.
Behind the fracture was only blackness. A darkness so deep it felt alive. It wasn't just empty—it was hiding something. Something watching.
Then came the voice again. Louder. Closer.
"Shen Hao… Find me."
Without thinking, Shen Hao shouted back:
"Where?! Where do I find you?!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze.
"…Why did I say that? What made me say that?"
His head began to spin. The world around him twisted.
And then—
Darkness.
He woke up screaming.
Breathing heavily, Shen Hao sat straight up in bed, drenched in sweat.
His bedroom.
It was his room. Everything was back to normal.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
His whole family rushed in—his mother, father, and two brothers. They all stopped when they saw him wide awake and panicking.
His older brother, Wenhao, broke the silence.
"Bro, what the hell was that scream?! Thought you were dying or something."
Then Fengjian, the youngest, piped up.
"If you are dying… can I have your gaming account?"
"WHAT is wrong with you two?!" their mother yelled, smacking both of them lightly on the head. "Why would you even say something like that?!"
Meet the Hao Family:
Father: Junwei Hao, 39
Mother: Meilin Hao, 38
Older Brother: Wenhao Hao, 18
Middle Brother: Shen Hao, 16
Younger Brother: Fengjian Hao, 13
After scolding the boys, Meilin turned to Shen Hao and pulled him into a tight hug.
"Thank God you're okay. You scared us half to death!"
Shen Hao slowly relaxed in her arms, then leaned back against the headboard with a sigh.
"…So it really was just a dream, huh?"
He glanced out the window.
"…I guess that's… a good thing?"