December 26th, 2029
Kai found himself in a strange meadow, sitting cross-legged, confused. The trees were warping, and the ground moved like jelly. A dream—there was no other explanation.
The last thing he remembered was passing through a golden tunnel and catching a glimpse of a mountain so tall it pierced the sky, with a waterfall cascading from its peak into a river as wide as a highway. Then, darkness.
He buried his face in his hands, embarrassed, and let out a frustrated scream. After all that talk about not letting anyone knock him out, he had fainted the moment he arrived.
He lay back on the wobbly ground and sighed in defeat.
The dream was strange—he knew instinctively that it
was
a dream, but he couldn’t understand what he was seeing, nor could he control anything.
He had always liked the idea of having vivid dreams he could shape at will. Turned out it was kind of disappointing.
Eventually, he decided to get up, looking around for something to help him recognize where he was.
But then he felt a tingling sensation in his lower back. When he turned, there was nothing there—but he
felt
it, like something moving and tugging erratically.
He remembered his earlier transformation and quickly checked his ears and teeth. Back to normal.
A mix of relief and disappointment hit him. He wondered if those distortions still existed in the real world—and if he’d feel his body burning again once he woke up, like it had every night for the past year.
He tried to wake up—shutting his eyes tightly, then opening them—but it didn’t work.
So, he kept walking through the abstract landscape. It was warping more and more; the trees began to take on familiar shapes.
His mother. His brother. And his... father, standing beside Maddie’s dad.
He saw Maddie herself, laughing loudly next to Mike.
And then he saw himself—sitting, playing video games, with a blank, distant expression and dark circles under his eyes like bruises. He looked pathetic: scrawny, aimless, no drive to stand up, no dreams beyond just getting through the day.
Kai sighed and kicked the tree—it crumbled like dust.
He kept walking. He wasn’t sure if he was wandering through his subconscious… or if he was just losing it.
His favorite band, shredding the electric guitar like gods. His favorite food, extra spicy burritos from the food truck that used to park outside the school.
He also noticed that peaches of various shapes and colors were growing from the trees.
As he kept walking, things got stranger. He started seeing images he didn’t understand—or had never seen before.
A woman being consumed by flames. Farther ahead, a tree twisted into a perfect circle, and in the background stood the boy who called himself like the Chinese god, Nezha. Kai recognized him instantly, even though he wasn’t wearing his school uniform—he wore armor instead.
Next to Nezha stood two other figures Kai didn’t recognize at all.
When he turned again, he came upon a ring of trees—much taller than the others. Each one showed a figure that took him a moment to recognize: a humanoid monkey wearing a headband and holding a staff.
As he looked around at the rest of the trees, he saw breathtaking scenes—an ocean collapsing into a massive typhoon with a laughing figure rising from its heart; the same monkey, cackling mischievously as he stole peaches identical to the ones growing here; and a horde of monkeys charging toward what looked like an Eastern palace floating in the clouds.
Just before completing the circle, he saw a bald man in a funny-looking toga—a monk. A shiver ran down Kai’s spine as he remembered the strange man from earlier.
“This place is creepy. What the hell is wrong with my head? What is this even supposed to be?” he muttered into the air, glancing around as if expecting his own mind to answer. “Stupid…”
“It’s your subconscious.”
The voice had an Asian accent, and it pierced straight through his head.
He spun around. A massive peach tree had appeared out of nowhere. In front of it sat a stone egg glowing with golden and purple energy. Something about the rock stirred something deep in Kai—something he couldn’t explain. And perched atop the stone was the same monkey-like being he’d seen in the trees.
“Well, more like
our
subconscious,” the creature added, voice dripping with arrogance and disdain.
“Our…?”
A chill crawled down his spine. He turned—and everything was gone. Darkness surrounded him, with only a faint light shining from above. He was floating in nothingness. Around twenty-five silhouettes appeared before him, their glowing eyes watching him with curiosity… and fury.
Kai couldn’t breathe. Shivers ran through him, and flashes of memories that didn’t belong to him crashed down all at once.
“It’s time to wake up.”
Kai gasped and jolted awake, breathing like a man dragged up from underwater after minutes without air.
He brought his hand to his chest and looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening.
The ceiling was carved stone, so finely polished it looked almost smooth. The bed felt like cotton candy—so soft it practically cradled him. It was unbelievably comfortable, as if it had been custom-made just for him. The sheets covering him were deep crimson with golden embroidery.
As he looked around, he took in a room that was surprisingly pleasant to his taste. Dark wooden furniture, a sleek, cableless computer on a polished desk, and a door slightly ajar that revealed a walk-in closet.
Light came from small paper lanterns floating gently in the air. Their warm glow added to the sense of calm. On either side of the bed, incense sticks were set into the walls, filling the room with a sweet, caramel-like scent Kai found oddly comforting.
Directly in front of him, a flat screen hung suspended in the air. He remembered what Nezha had said—
his spiritual home.
Well, they’d nailed it. This was nerd heaven.
He tried to sit up, but something was weighing down his legs. Leaning forward, still groggy, he focused his eyes.
Maddie was asleep on top of him.
Looking closer, he saw that her injuries seemed to be healing. Only a few bandages remained, and at least her arm no longer looked like it had been put on backward.
A small smile tugged at his lips. Relief washed over him like a wave. He felt a tightness in his throat, and his eyes began to sting—he hadn't even realized how tense he'd been.
He went to wipe his eyes with his hand... but something beat him to it.
Something furry. Thin. Moving erratically—yet somehow following his gaze.
A monkey tail peeled away from his face, extending back... to his lower back.
Kai screamed in surprise, twisting to look behind him and realizing the tail was coming straight out of his body, through his clothes. He immediately checked his face again. Yep. Pointed ears. Sharp teeth.
A wave of confusion rushed through him and he screamed again, ruffling his own hair in panic. He jerked his legs—hard—and accidentally kicked Maddie square in the nose.
She jolted upright, furious at having her nap disturbed.
“Hold still, you freak!” she shouted, smacking his legs. Kai froze in shock. She’d
really
hit him. So why didn’t it hurt?
They both went silent for a few seconds. Maddie sat swaying, still half-asleep, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. When she realized Kai was actually awake, the realization hit her all at once.
She lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck.
Kai blinked, still totally lost.
Maddie sobbed into his shoulder, letting out a mix of hiccups and breathless complaints.
“You idiot... you’re alive,” she said, hugging him tighter. “How
dare
you scare me like that.”
Kai chuckled softly.
“I swear, next time a psycho cultist attacks us, I’ll try not to end up with a hole in my gut,” Kai joked—half-serious this time. “But hey, get off me, you're gonna get snot all over my shirt.”
Maddie let go, frowning as a few more tears slipped down her face.
“What shirt?”
Kai raised an eyebrow and looked down, suddenly realizing he wasn’t wearing one. He yanked up the sheets in a panic. Luckily, he still had on pants and underwear. He let out a breath of relief. Still, Kai wasn't exactly a fan of people seeing his bony chest.
Maddie smirked. “You really think I’d be lying on top of you if you weren’t wearing anything? I could’ve hit something a lot more... delicate than your leg.”
Kai’s face turned red as he tried to hide under the blanket. Maddie, of course, tried to pull it away just to tease him and get a better look at his embarrassment.
He smiled under the sheets. Her being so annoying meant she was still herself.
After a while, Maddie stopped and stretched.
“You should get dressed. There are people waiting to see you.” She got up and wiped her face with her sleeve. “Two weird guys even showed up last night.”
Her tone shifted—serious, almost uneasy.
“Wait, at least tell me what happened. How long have I been out?” Kai asked while struggling to control his monkey tail, which was swaying around like it had a mind of its own. “And… since when do I
have
this thing?”
“Well, according to the cute guy, you passed out as soon as you got here. He tried explaining something about the trip and whatever he gave to help you, but I didn’t really get it.” Maddie grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Kai glanced down at his stomach—no wound, not even a scar. “You’ve been out for two days. It’s the 26th. And the tail… it was already there when I visited you yesterday. Isn’t it kinda cute?”
“If it would stop twitching, maybe I could appreciate its beauty.”
“Nezha said it’ll take a while before you can control it. Until then, it’s gonna do whatever it wants.”
“Great,” he muttered, swinging it to the side and shifting to sit at the edge of the bed.
He looked at the pillows. Embroidered on them were Chinese characters: “大聖齊天”.
He knew instinctively what they meant.
“Great Sage Equal to Heaven,” he murmured to himself.
Maddie glanced at him, not quite catching what he said.
Kai stepped off the bed, feeling confident—his body felt amazing. Bad move. The moment his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled. He collapsed, gritting his teeth as pain shot through his legs. It was like something was rushing through his body, burning from the inside out.
Maddie rushed over, trying to lift him, but his body felt heavy again. Kai wrapped his arm around her shoulders and stood up with difficulty.
“It’s getting worse.”
Maddie looked at him with concern. She helped him walk until he could move on his own, forcing each step, all the way to the dressing room.
“Want me to help you?”
“No. I should at least be able to dress myself.” Kai let go of her and stepped inside. The pain was slowly fading. It felt like waking up with numb legs, blood slowly rushing back in, nerves coming alive—only ten times worse.
Maddie waited outside, covering her face. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her legs trembled just thinking about what Nezha had told her. Kai needed to know—soon. But she didn’t want to be the one to say it. They promised to explain everything when they brought him to them. Still, the image of Kai… what was going to happen to him...
Kai came out of the dressing room looking much better. He was wearing a gray T-shirt with a skull print, a black hoodie with a gray hood, dark jeans, and white sneakers.
He tried to fix his hair, but it just bounced back to its messy style, ignoring his efforts.
He sighed and joined Maddie.
Together, they walked through a large bamboo door. A stone hallway stretched before them, lined with closed doors on both sides. It felt like the same number of shadows he had seen in his dream.
They walked almost to the end of the corridor. Maddie remained silent, and Kai was still struggling too much to start a conversation.
Then, one of the last doors opened, and a small figure stepped out.
At first, Kai thought it was a child—but then he noticed the fur, the tail, the monkey-like face. It was a tiny monkey boy, walking on two legs… wearing clothes.
A simple little outfit: an oversized white shirt and baggy pants.
The monkey kid's eyes went wide, and he fell flat on his back. Kai moved forward to help, but the monkey scrambled up clumsily and ran off in a panic.
“Well, that was weird…” Kai muttered, trying to make sense of what he just saw. Not the most terrifying thing he’d seen in the last 48 hours—but definitely unnatural.
“And it’s only just beginning,” Maddie confirmed, rubbing her temples as she carefully opened the last door at the end of the hallway.
A strong yellow light blinded Kai for a moment. Maddie grabbed his arm to guide him forward—but this wasn’t the outside world.
When his vision cleared, he realized they were standing on top of a stone wall. Intermittent half-walls of rock lined the path, leaving dangerous gaps—perfect for someone to fall through.
He turned back and saw they had exited a wooden structure with downward-curving rooftops and a square foundation—an oriental castle, carved right into the Stone.
When he looked ahead, he couldn’t quite grasp what he was seeing.
They were inside a cave—a cave the size of a small city.
Countless village-style houses spread across the rock, with monkeys like the child from earlier walking upright and fully dressed, moving in and out of homes. A great river split the town in two, where the monkeys fished and cultivated plants that seemed to grow at unnatural speed. Market stalls had been carved directly into the stone walls of the cave.
But it wasn’t just monkeys. Kai saw creatures he would’ve never believed could exist—white foxes with blue manes and red markings played with children; some monkeys in armor, armed with staffs, rode the strangest equine beings he’d ever seen—fiery horse-shaped creatures with blazing red fur and branching antlers like elk. And even more bizarre beings moved about.
Far in the distance, at the edge of what the eye could see, a massive wall of water—hundreds of meters wide—marked the end of the scenery.
They were behind a colossal waterfall. Even from that distance, the water looked pristine, clean, and crystal clear.
The light came from hundreds of floating lanterns, like the ones from his room, suspended in the air throughout the entire cave.
And flanking each side of the waterfall stood two titanic figures—serpents, each hundreds of meters long, with dark scales. But their heads were elongated, like a snout, with bluish fur and razor-sharp teeth the size of a house.
It took Kai a few seconds to recognize them.
“Eastern dragons,” he muttered, eyes wide in awe, unable to fully grasp what he was seeing.
Maddie tried to get his attention, but a voice interrupted them.
“They are the guardians of this place.”
Both turned to look. A fur-covered being stood on the far end of the wall, watching them. He had long arms, massive hands, and was waving cheerfully at Kai. He wore ancient Chinese armor made of dark plates, and his simian face held a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying Kai’s amazement.
“It’s an honor to meet you, my lord,” the monkey said with a hand over his chest in a respectful bow, his voice sincere. “But you shouldn’t be surprised just yet.”
“‘My lord’?” Kai echoed, confused.
The monkey blinked, then laughed with a hooting, unmistakably simian sound.
“My name is Ma Da Jun. A pleasure. Please, come with me.”
He raised his head and started walking, but Kai didn’t follow.
That’s when he noticed it.
Behind the monkey man was a different kind of wall—darker, gleaming, with a faint golden sheen embedded in the rock. As Kai slowly lifted his gaze, he realized it wasn’t a wall at all.
It was a column.
A massive column.
Taller than the Empire State Building, though slightly thinner.
It was hard to see it entirely. Golden markings spiraled up its surface, and at the top was an enormous golden cap, crowned with a protruding ring. Glowing Chinese characters shimmered across its height, and somehow, Kai understood them instantly.
He stepped forward and placed his hand against the pillar.
The symbols lit up.
The monkey stared at him, uneasy. Maddie took a step closer, alarmed—Kai’s eyes were glowing. His brown irises were starting to turn red.
“Golden staff that obeys the will,” Kai whispered.
The ground trembled slightly, and the column almost seemed to pulse in response.
“Ruyi Bang.”
End of Chapter.