My It was nearly 11 a.m. at the villa in Th?o ?i?n. Harsh sunlight filtered through the curtains, yet the atmosphere inside remained grim and tense.

  curled up in a corner of the bed, her body trembling faintly. Her face was pale, with dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her messy hair fell limply over her shoulders. Since last night, she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, muttering nonsense without pause.

  "The bugs... they're crawling out... of my body... help me..."

  she whispered repeatedly.

  Beside her sat Tu?n, her fiancé, trying to stay calm despite the clear exhaustion on his face. He gently rubbed her back, softly comforting her:

  "Calm down... it’s just a nightmare… I’m here now, everything’s okay."

  My didn’t respond. Her gaze was empty, staring into some deep, terrifying void.

  Just then, Tu?n’s phone rang. He looked at the screen: Deep, his longtime friend and business partner.

  "Hello, it’s Tu?n."

  Deep’s cheerful voice came through:

  "Hey, are you home? I just invited Ti?n to have lunch at that French restaurant in District 3. You and My should come too—make it fun."

  Tu?n sighed, his voice weary:

  "Do you have any idea how stressed I am right now? My fiancée has been having nightmares since last night. She keeps saying something about bugs crawling in and out of her body… She’s completely disoriented. Still hasn’t snapped out of it."

  There was a pause on the other end. Then Deep replied in surprise:

  "Sounds like... some kind of delusion. I mean, like hallucinations or something."

  Tu?n frowned, his tone serious:

  "I’m not joking. If you don’t believe me, you and Ti?n should come over. I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. I just know... something’s haunting her."

  There was another short pause, then Deep’s voice lowered:

  "Alright. I’ll talk to Ti?n and we’ll come right away. Maybe… she really needs to see a psychiatrist."

  Tu?n hung up and turned to look at My. She hadn’t moved at all, still curled up on the bed, eyes vacant, lips endlessly muttering.

  A deep fear crept into his heart. On the surface, her condition resembled a mental disorder—but it wasn’t. He could feel it. Something unnatural, somethi

  ng beyond logic, was closing in on her.

  Just before noon, under the blazing sun, a sleek black car pulled up in front of the villa in Th?o ?i?n. Two men stepped out—Deep and Ti?n—both calm by nature, but visibly tense and concerned.

  As the doorbell rang, Vú N?m, the housemaid, hurried down to the gate. She opened it, panting:

  "You came just in time! Miss My is screaming upstairs, and Mr.Tu?n is with her!"

  Before any of them could say another word, My’s voice echoed violently from the upper floor, slicing through the air:

  "Help me! The bugs… they're crawling out of my face!!!"

  Shocked, Deep and Ti?n bolted up the stairs with Vú N?m right behind them.

  The bedroom door was wide open. A sharp scent of essential oils filled the air. On the bed, Tu?n was struggling to restrain My, who was thrashing wildly. Her hands clawed at her own face in panic, leaving raw red streaks on her skin, as she screamed hysterically:

  "No! They're coming out of my face… they're gnawing on it!"

  Deep rushed in without hesitation, grabbing her wrists. Ti?n stepped in to hold her shoulders. Tu?n, still trying to restrain her, yelled:

  "Hold her down! She’s having another episode!"

  Deep shouted:

  "Vú N?m! Get me a glass of ice water—hurry!"

  Without delay, Vú N?m ran straight to the kitchen. Barely a minute later, she returned, holding a glass filled with ice water. Deep splashed some into his hand and began slapping cold handfuls onto My’s face:

  "My! Snap out of it! Look at me—wake up!"

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  The cold water seeped into her skin, slowly calming her. Her breathing was still erratic, and her eyes remained wild, but they began to refocus.

  Ti?n glanced at My, then turned to Tu?n, his voice stern:

  "Your fiancée is suffering from a serious psychological breakdown. She needs to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital immediately. Keeping her at home like this is dangerous."

  Tu?n clenched his fists, his face darkened:

  "Just yesterday… we were at D?ng’s daughter’s wedding. She was perfectly fine. Smiling, laughing… talking like her usual self. But now—just one night later… one night…"

  No one said a word.

  In the luxurious bedroom, the only sounds were My’s trembling breaths and occasional shudders… like an ominous war

  ning of something far worse yet to come.

  It was close to 1 p.m. The sun had softened slightly, but heat still radiated off the cement in the small, impoverished alleyway of rental rooms. A rickety old 50cc Honda Cub rattled in, a large plastic container strapped to the back, packed with ingredients for rice paper salad and bubble tea.

  Trang wiped the sweat off her cheek and rode slowly toward the front of her room.

  At the end of the alley, ?ng Nhan sat leisurely outside his unit. On a small rattan table beside him was a plate of freshly fried sesame banana fritters. He looked up, raising an eyebrow at the girl approaching:

  "I bought you some Chu?i Chiên. Sit down, rest a bit, and eat before you start prepping your ingredients."

  Trang stopped the bike with a bright smile and quickly kicked down the stand. Her face lit up:

  "You made Bánh Xèo for me this morning, and now you’re feeding me Chu?i Chiên too... I'm seriously blessed with food today!"

  She crouched and unhooked two large, still-cold N??c Mía cups dangling neatly in a plastic bag from the bike’s hook, giving them a playful shake:

  "I brought you N??c Mía too! In this heat, nothing beats a cold glass, right?"

  ?ng Nhan chuckled softly, the warmth in his eyes shining behind his reading glasses:

  "Hot weather and N??c Mía—what a perfect pair. Thank you, my dear."

  They sat beneath the small shaded awning, each holding a chilled cup of N??c Mía, sipping slowly, enjoying the gentle breeze. The humble scene was filled with the aroma of sesame Chu?i Chiên, the sound of cicadas buzzing on a summer afternoon—a moment of quiet peace.

  It was a world apart from the luxury estates wrapped in chaos, corruption, and unseen forces tightening their grip. Here, life was simple… unhurrie

  d… untouched—for now.

  Just as Trang took a bite of the crispy, hot Chu?i Chiên, her phone buzzed inside her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the caller ID: "C?u D?ng." She answered immediately, her tone respectful:

  "Hello C?u, it’s me."

  C?u D?ng's voice came through, rushed and slightly anxious:

  "Trang, are you home right now?"

  "Yes, I just came back from the market with ingredients for my stall. I’m sitting here having Chu?i Chiên with ?ng Nhan. What’s going on?"

  "It’s Tu?n—my close friend. He just called. His fiancée, My, is still in a state of severe distress. She hasn’t calmed down at all."

  The piece of fritter in Trang’s mouth seemed to stick to her throat. She choked slightly, her voice startled:

  "What? But she looked completely normal yesterday… even pulled my hair, remember?"

  "Today, I think it’s either a psychological breakdown or some kind of hallucination disorder. Tu?n said she screamed all night, said she had nightmares every time she closed her eyes. Three of my friends are at My’s place right now. Things are bad. I’m heading there. Talk later."

  Beep… beep…

  Trang froze for a few seconds, eyes staring blankly into the distance. She murmured to herself:

  "How could she be having a breakdown… she was totally fine at the wedding yesterday…"

  Beside her, ?ng Nhan remained calm and slow. He lifted his sugarcane juice and sipped quietly, as if savoring a tranquil summer afternoon. But his eyes—those kind, grandfatherly eyes—had turned sharp, cold, and predatory, like a hunter silently watching his prey fall right into the trap.

  No one noticed the shift.

  The courtyard remained still. The only movement was the hot summer wind weaving through the alley, carrying with it the faint scent of Chu?i Chiên… and something far more sinister hidden beneath.

  Th?o ?i?n Villa – 2:30 PM...

  The car screeched to a stop just outside the villa gates. Vú N?m, the old housemaid, rushed out in a panic to open the gate, her face pale with fear.

  "You’re here, Mr. D?ng! Miss My... she’s completely delirious now!"

  C?u D?ng frowned deeply and stepped into the yard without pause:

  "Let me go up and check on her."

  Without wasting a second, C?u D?ng and Vú N?m bolted up the stairs, their footsteps echoing eerily along the quiet hallway.

  The bedroom door swung open. Harsh midday sunlight streamed in through the sheer curtains, yet the room felt as frigid as the Arctic.

  On the bed, My had just drifted off after a sleepless night plagued by nightmares. Her face was gaunt, eyes sunken with dark rings like a panda’s, her breath unsteady and shallow. Her hands clutched the blanket tightly, as if some invisible force loomed near, watching her every move.

  Three men—Tu?n, Ti?n, and Deep—stood nearby, looking drained and stunned. None of them could comprehend how the stylish, vibrant woman from yesterday's wedding had deteriorated into this husk of terror.

  C?u D?ng froze for a few seconds, his expression heavy with disbelief:

  "Good heavens… just yesterday she was perfectly healthy. How did she end up like this?"

  The atmosphere in the room thickened, weighed down by dread.

  At that moment, Vú N?m cleared her throat softly, her voice trembling, eyes darting nervously:

  "Last night, when Miss My started screaming, I ran in to check on her… and in the large mirror next to the wardrobe, I… I saw something."

  Everyone turned toward her, startled. She continued, her voice dropping to a whisper:

  "A hulking black figure was sitting there. It had twisted horns on its head… a crown on its forehead… and its eyes glowed like fire. I was scared out of my wits!"

  Deep furrowed his brow:

  "Are you sure? Maybe your mind was playing tricks on you in the chaos."

  "No, sir… I’ve studied a bit of the spiritual world. I own an old book on demonology passed down from my grandfather. It describes a being exactly like what I saw—'Satan, the Demon King.' It says he walks this world, and encountering him brings dire omens."

  A suffocating silence swallowed the room.

  Outside, the sun blazed mercilessly. Yet inside, it felt as though dark clouds had gathered overhead. A sudden chill crept in from nowhere, crawling into the space like a serpent. Ti?n shivered, a cold sweat forming at his neck. Deep felt goosebumps rise all over his skin.

  C?u D?ng pulled his jacket tight around his collar:

  "Are you guys cold too? It suddenly feels like we’re standing in snow."

  Vú N?m, voice shaking:

  "It’s not normal cold... it's like standing at the edge of an abyss. The air feels heavy—like a storm is about to hit."

  Tu?n whispered, his gaze locked on the mirror across the room:

  "Could it be… something is really haunting My? I need to find out what it is. I can’t

  just stand by while my fiancée suffers like this."