Lam Huy Trường froze instantly.
His body reacted almost on instinct.
He took half a step back, then quickly slipped into the blind corner of a bend in the tunnel. His back pressed tightly against the freezing stone wall.
He forced himself to remain completely still.
No heavy breathing.
No sound.
Even his footsteps had to be controlled.
He shifted his foot.
One step.
Very slowly.
Then another.
So slow that even he felt as if time itself had begun to stretch.
A thought surfaced in Lam Huy Trường's mind.
It didn't make sense.
No one should have reached this tunnel before him.
Unless—
A chilling possibility made his stomach tighten.
Could someone have already gathered all four fragments… and opened the path to this tunnel?
The moment the thought appeared, Lam Huy Trường narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.
The tunnel was dark.
Pitch black.
Yet within that darkness…
Something was glowing.
The light was faint.
Small.
But it was enough to tear a thin crack through the darkness at the far end of the tunnel.
A flickering source of light.
Lam Huy Trường squinted, trying to see more clearly.
At first, he thought it was a flashlight.
But the longer he stared…
the more wrong it felt.
It wasn't electric light.
There was no focused beam.
No bulb.
What burned within the darkness—
was a flame.
A green flame.
It floated quietly in the still air.
No wind.
No smoke.
Only the soft flicker of green fire.
The light washed over the tunnel's stone walls, twisting the rough surfaces into distorted shapes.
Shadows stretched out.
Then shrank again.
As if—
the shadows themselves were breathing.
Lam Huy Trường's scalp tingled instantly.
A chill ran down his spine.
A ridiculous thought surfaced in his mind.
Don't tell me… it's a ghost?
He immediately shook his head.
Impossible.
This part didn't exist in the game.
Lam Huy Trường remembered it clearly.
Along the entire route he had chosen, he had avoided every area that contained monsters.
Every dangerous path.
Every place with traps.
According to the game's original storyline…
those things weren't supposed to appear until the research institute collapsed.
When the world descended into chaos.
When everything began to spiral out of control—
…that was when those creatures would emerge.
Monsters.
Anomalies.
But now—
why were they appearing so early?
The thought had just flashed through his mind—
when a sound echoed through the tunnel.
Clop.
Sharp and clear.
Lam Huy Trường froze.
Clop.
Another step.
The dry sound of a shoe striking stone.
Like a human footstep.
The sound snapped Lam Huy Trường back to reality.
His heart pounded.
He narrowed his eyes toward the source of the green light.
Trying to see through the flickering flames.
Something was moving.
A shadow.
Slowly.
Approaching the fire.
Lam Huy Trường held his breath.
The flame wavered.
The darkness shrank.
And then—
he saw it.
From within the flickering green light—
a figure stepped out.
The footsteps were light.
But even that was enough to disturb the floating flame.
Under the eerie glow, the shape slowly became clearer.
A hooded figure.
A black cloak covered the entire body.
Heavy fabric draped all the way down to the ankles, hiding every detail.
No face could be seen.
The hood hung low.
Beneath it—only a deep, swallowing darkness.
Lam Huy Trường narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
The green flame flickered again.
The figure shifted slightly.
And in that instant—
Lam Huy Trường froze.
Beneath the loose cloak, the body shifted with each step.
Faint curves appeared in the flickering light.
Then disappeared.
But the outline was unmistakable.
Lam Huy Trường swallowed.
A thought surfaced in his mind.
…A bold guess.
This person wasn't a man.
But the chill crawling down his spine didn't come from that.
What truly made Lam Huy Trường's scalp prickle—
was the green flame.
The flame drifted closer.
Slowly.
As if it had a will of its own.
Then it landed.
Perching on the outstretched hand of the woman.
The green fire shrank.
Twisted.
And revealed its true shape.
Lam Huy Trường went rigid instantly.
That wasn't fire.
It was a black raven.
Its feathers were so black they seemed to be swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
But the thing that made it impossible to look away—
was its eyes.
No.
Not two.
Three.
Three pale, milky eyes were wide open.
No pupils.
No light.
Only cold white spheres.
Thin red veins spread across them.
Like living veins.
The green flame had not completely faded.
It still burned around the raven's head.
Curling.
Spreading.
Like a crown of fire.
The raven tilted its head slightly.
Its feathers ruffled.
Then—
it looked.
It looked straight ahead.
Straight toward the dark corner where Lam Huy Trường was hiding.
Lam Huy Trường's heart lurched.
A violent thump that made his chest ache.
His mind went blank.
No thoughts.
No analysis.
His body reacted first.
He immediately stepped back half a step.
His back pressed deeper against the cold stone wall.
The darkness swallowed him.
He forced himself tighter into the corner.
Trying to make his body as small as possible.
No heavy breathing.
No movement.
Not a single sound.
Lam Huy Trường had only one thought left in his mind.
Don't let her notice me.
From the other side of the tunnel—
a voice rang out.
Feminine.
Low.
Soft.
Yet beneath that softness was something… strangely alluring.
The sound slid through the still air of the tunnel, echoing faintly off the damp stone walls.
"Did you find something, Corvok?"
Her tone was calm.
Not loud.
Not hurried.
As if she were asking about something completely ordinary.
The raven shifted slightly.
Its small head tilted to the side.
Its dark feathers ruffled slightly.
Its three milky-white eyes never left a single point in the darkness.
More precisely—
the shadowed corner where Lam Huy Trường was hiding.
Lam Huy Trường's throat went dry.
As if every drop of moisture in his body had evaporated.
He didn't dare swallow.
Didn't dare move.
Even his chest rose and fell as gently as possible.
Then—
the woman turned her head.
Her black cloak swayed with the motion.
The green flame flickered beside her, casting faint light across her face.
But the hood was still pulled low.
Darkness covered most of her features.
Only the faint outline of her chin appeared for a moment—
then vanished again in the shifting light.
She looked forward.
Straight in Lam Huy Trường's direction.
"A rat… or something?"
Her voice remained low.
But this time, there was a hint of curiosity in it.
Lam Huy Trường's heart pounded.
So loudly he felt as if the entire tunnel could hear it.
In his mind, only one prayer remained.
Oh God…
Please don't come over here.
But that prayer didn't seem to reach anyone.
A sound echoed through the tunnel.
Clop.
One step.
Clop.
Another step.
Clop.
Shoes struck stone, the sound ringing through the empty passage.
Little by little.
The distance closed.
A cold thought surfaced in Lam Huy Trường's mind.
Each step…
sounded like death knocking on the door.
He almost stopped breathing.
His lungs filled with air—
but he didn't dare let it out too loudly.
His mind was in chaos.
Thoughts tangled together.
Confessions.
Prayers.
Begging for forgiveness.
He prayed for everything.
For God's mercy.
For his ancestors' protection.
For anything in this world—
anything that could drag him out of this damn situation.
Clop.
Clop.
Then—
suddenly.
The footsteps…
stopped.
Lam Huy Trường could feel the distance.
He didn't need to look.
He didn't need to hear anything else.
Instinct alone told him—
the woman was only a few steps away now.
Very close.
So close that if she took one more step…
she would be standing right in front of the dark corner where he was hiding.
Lam Huy Trường pressed his back against the cold stone wall.
Moisture seeped through his clothes.
He didn't dare move.
Didn't dare breathe too hard.
Only one thought remained.
It's over.
But—
what he feared didn't happen.
The woman did not bend down to look.
Instead—
she slowly raised her head.
Her gaze moved toward the tunnel ceiling.
The movement was natural.
As if the thing that had caught her attention… was not the darkness at her feet—
but the structure above.
Lam Huy Trường blinked.
In the flickering green light, he could see her movements more clearly.
Her left hand lightly lifted her right wrist.
Her right index finger lifted.
Then gently touched her cheek.
A small gesture.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Clearly the gesture of someone thinking.
The black raven had already left her hand.
It flapped its wings.
A soft whoosh echoed through the silent tunnel.
Its dark wings swept through the green fire.
Tiny sparks scattered into the air.
Then the raven descended.
It landed on her shoulder.
Its three pale eyes moved slightly.
But this time—
it was no longer looking into the dark corner.
Lam Huy Trường felt as if his heart had just been released from a crushing grip.
At that moment—
the woman spoke.
Her voice remained low.
Soft.
But this time, there was a trace of contemplation in it.
"Looks like the structure here is starting to collapse."
The green flame hovering beside her flickered gently.
Their shadows stretched across the rough stone wall.
She tilted her head.
Her gaze still fixed on the ceiling.
"We should get that thing quickly."
A question flashed through Lam Huy Trường's mind.
That thing?
But he didn't dare think about it further.
Because the woman suddenly fell silent.
A brief pause.
Then—
a faint laugh slipped out from beneath the hood.
"Probably just a few rats running around."
Lam Huy Trường felt his heart skip a beat.
Rats.
He knew very well who those "rats" were referring to.
The woman continued speaking.
Her voice calm.
"No one else should be here."
A quiet sigh escaped from beneath the hood.
So faint it almost blended with the wind moving through the tunnel.
"Seems I was being overly cautious."
Lam Huy Trường couldn't believe his ears.
Did she… really believe that?
Or was she just saying it to herself?
He didn't know.
And he didn't dare find out.
Then—
the woman turned around.
Clop.
Clop.
Clop.
Her heels clicked against the stone as she walked away.
Her footsteps echoed through the long tunnel.
Each step growing more distant.
Clop.
Clop.
Clop.
The distance between them slowly widened.
The sound faded.
Farther.
Farther still.
Until—
only silence remained in the tunnel.
No more footsteps.
No more rustling cloth.
No more wings beating.
Only the faint wind slipping through the cracks in the stone.
Lam Huy Trường did not move.
His body went completely rigid.
Ten seconds passed.
His heart was still pounding.
But he didn't dare breathe too heavily.
He didn't dare believe the danger had truly left.
Time continued to pass.
Thirty seconds.
Then a full minute.
When he was finally certain that not a single sound remained in the tunnel…
Lam Huy Trường finally relaxed.
A long breath escaped his chest.
"Whew…"
His whole body went limp.
His legs felt like they had lost all strength.
He dropped to the ground.
The cold stone seeped through his clothes.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
At some point, his clothes had already been soaked through.
"Wow…"
he muttered.
His voice hoarse from the tension.
"Feels like I just came back from the dead…"
At that moment—
a voice spoke.
Very close.
So close it was almost right beside his ear.
Right next to the spot where he had just sat down.
"Oh."
Lam Huy Trường froze.
The voice continued.
Still low.
Still gentle.
But this time… there was a trace of amusement in it.
"So there really was a rat running through here."
The blood in Lam Huy Trường's body seemed to freeze.
His body went rigid.
Every joint felt locked in place.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Slow.
Very slow.
And then—
he saw her.
The woman.
Sitting right beside him.
He had no idea when she got there.