The restaurant remained warm, the yellow lights soft, and the aroma of food lingered gently in the air.
Yet, Van Thien suddenly froze.
"…?"
The glass of water in front of him vibrated slightly. Very faint, as if something was impacting it from deep below.
"Brother Thien?" Bao Uyen tilted her head, looking at him. "…Is something wrong?"
He didn't answer immediately. He just stared intently at the surface of the water, watching a tiny ripple expand. Then, it vanished.
"…It's nothing."
He set the glass down, but a shadow of doubt remained in his eyes.
Outside, the wind wasn't blowing. Yet, the river in the distance moved strangely—not with the natural flow of the waves, but like a misplaced, erratic heartbeat.
After finishing their meal, the two stepped out of the restaurant.
"We're heading back first, Sis!" Bao Uyen waved to Miss Thu, who was still in the kitchen.
"Alright, drive safely!" Miss Thu's voice echoed back from inside.
The electric vehicle rolled forward. Sitting behind him, Bao Uyen still held onto Van Thien gently.
"…Are you tired?" he asked.
"…No," she replied softly. "…As long as you're here, I'm fine."
Van Thien smiled faintly. The vehicle glided through the quiet streets of Quang Yen as the evening sun slowly faded away.
Elsewhere, deep beneath the riverbed.
Inside the command module of the battleship, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon stared at the viewport. Several crimson dots flickered on the holographic display.
At another stretch of the river, a black-robed operative was diving down to the bottom. He hammered a strange pillar into the riverbed. Once secured, the light at its apex began to blink with a sinister crimson glow.
The surrounding water immediately swirled into a reverse vortex.
Arriving home, the two walked inside only to find Van Thien's father and Uncle Ut sitting in the living room.
"Where did you two just get back from?" Uncle Ut asked.
"Right... we went to the temple," Bao Uyen answered.
"Yeah. Go wherever you need to... just remember to come back early." Van Thien's father looked at him. "Did you tease the girl at all?"
"…I didn't, Dad."
"Hmm."
Bao Uyen took Van Thien's hand. "We're heading up to our rooms first."
Saying that, she dragged him along without waiting.
"Whoa, slow down…"
The two vanished up the stairs. Van Thien's father and Uncle Ut exchanged a look.
"…Those two…"
Upstairs, the bedroom door closed. Both of them sat down on the bed. Van Thien looked at her.
"Why did you pull me up so fast?"
Bao Uyen lowered her head. "…I didn't want Dad to know."
"Know what?"
"…What happened earlier…"
The atmosphere grew heavy. Van Thien stepped closer, gently stroking her head.
"…No one will know."
"But…" Her hands clenched tightly. "…I'm still scared."
He took another step forward, closing the distance between them.
"Brother Thien…"
She snapped her head up, startled by how close Van Thien's face was to her own. He looked at her, then raised his hand.
She instinctively closed her eyes.
But his finger only tapped the tip of her nose gently.
"…Silly girl."
Bao Uyen opened her eyes slowly.
"…I'm right here," his voice dropped to a gentle murmur. "Don't be scared anymore."
"…Um…" She nodded softly.
A moment of silence fell over the room as the wind drifted in through the window.
"…Ah, right." Van Thien looked outside. "Earlier, I saw a statue... pointing down at the river."
Bao Uyen tilted her head. "Ah... that statue."
She walked over to the window, gazing out into the distance.
"…That is Hung Dao Dai Vuong."
Van Thien was slightly taken aback. "…There's one here too?"
Bao Uyen smiled softly. "…It's not a matter of 'here too'."
"…But rather... here is exactly where that battle took place."
"…That battle?"
She nodded, her gaze locking onto the distant river.
"…That river... flows between two realms."
"It's like... a division."
"But in reality... it is one."
Van Thien remained silent, listening intently.
"My father once told me..." Her voice grew softer. "…the battle that year didn't just happen in one single spot."
"…It was... across the entire river."
The wind swept into the room.
"…So..." She looked at him. "…every place... holds a fragment of that memory."
A second of dead silence.
"…Memory, huh…" Van Thien repeated.
Bao Uyen nodded. "…Yes."
"…Some people say…" She hesitated. "…that the river... still remembers."
The air suddenly turned suffocatingly heavy. The necklace around Van Thien's neck flared with a faint glow. He looked out at the river, which was still flowing.
But in his eyes, it was no longer normal.
"…Tomorrow…" he said quietly. "…let's go there."
Bao Uyen smiled. "…Okay."
Outside, the wind shifted directions violently.Deep beneath the riverbed, a crimson point of light snapped open.