After school, the sun sank behind the apartment blocks, casting long shadows across the basketball court. The concrete glowed orange, the rusty hoops rattled in the wind, and students gathered like it was a street tournament.
Whispers spread as Lâm Dạ Minh approached.
"That's him…""The loser who fainted last week?""He's fighting Lê Quý Đôn today?""He's dead."
Hoàng Lâm waved him over aggressively.
"Took you long enough, G! Ready?"
"No," Minh muttered truthfully.
Lâm grinned anyway. "Good. Let's go."
The court was split into two groups:
At the center stood their leader—Tùng, a tall, sharp-eyed boy with a permanent smirk.
"Well, well," Tùng said, cracking his knuckles. "You brought your mascot."
Lâm pushed Minh forward. "He's here to finish what you started."
Minh's blood ran cold.
The ghost appeared beside him, calm and analytical.
"Child, listen carefully. Breathe low. Raise your guard. Keep your center stable. Avoid direct confrontation."
Gomboc purred over him like a shadow creeping up his spine.
"Raise your fists~Break their bones~Spill their fear~"
Minh's pulse spiked.
Tùng approached, tilting his head, analyzing Minh's posture.
"So you're the guy who dodged my friends."He chuckled."Cute. Let's see if you can do it again."
Minh swallowed. "I… didn't mean to—"
Tùng cut him off.
"You embarrassed my boys.On my court.In my school district."
He cracked his neck.
"That means I get to embarrass you."
The crowd exploded:
"LET'S GO!""FIGHT!""MINH IS DEAD!"
Hoàng Lâm shouted from behind:
"G! Don't freeze up now!"
But Minh felt frozen from the inside out.
Ghost:"Stance. Stance now."
Gomboc:"Let me handle this~"
Minh's vision blurred.Sweat trickled down his neck.
He stepped forward into the ring.
Tùng smiled like a wolf.
"Ready?"
Minh didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His heartbeat was too loud.
The ghost whispered:
"Child… survive."
Gomboc whispered:
"Child… unleash."
Tùng threw the first punch—
Minh's knees trembled.
The ghost said sharply:
"LOOK at his shoulders. He'll strike from the right. Get ready."
Minh inhaled. One proper breath—just like rooftop training.
Tùng lunged.
"Step left," the ghost ordered.
Minh stepped left.
Tùng's punch scraped past his ear.
"What the—?" Tùng blinked. "Lucky."
"Pivot," the ghost commanded.
Minh pivoted clumsily.
Tùng stumbled, nearly losing balance.
Gasps rose from the crowd.
"Did he dodge that?""No way.""That loser?!"
But Minh's legs shook uncontrollably.
He wasn't dodging with skill—he was surviving with borrowed instincts.
"Good," the ghost said. "But your stance is collapsing. Fix your feet."
Minh tried.
His feet slipped.
He panicked.
Tùng's eyes sharpened.
"There it is. The fear I wanted."
Tùng rushed in with a flurry of strikes—wild but fast.
"Lower your chin. Breathe. Move!" the ghost barked.
Minh obeyed with sloppy precision.
He dodged one punch.Barely avoided the second.The third clipped his cheek—
SMACK!
Minh spun and hit the ground.
The crowd groaned.
Lâm shouted, "MINH!"
Gomboc's voice slithered up through the pain.
"Feel it…Let the hurt sharpen you~Let me guide you~"
Minh's breath wavered.
"Do NOT listen," the ghost snapped. "Stand up."
Minh pushed himself up on shaking arms.
His vision doubled.
His legs struggled to hold him.
Tùng cracked his neck. "You were lucky once. That's all."
Tùng charged again.
"Dodge right!" the ghost snapped.
Minh dodged left.
A fist smashed into his jaw.
He stumbled backward, stars filling his vision.
"Your fear is blinding you!" the ghost barked. "Focus!"
"No… let it consume you instead~" Gomboc whispered.
His hands trembled.
His breath collapsed.
Tùng approached with confident steps.
"You're nothing," he said. "Just a punching bag with legs."
Minh felt a quiet snap in his chest—angerfearand something darkertwisting together.
Gomboc's voice deepened:
"Yes… let him insult you…let him feed me…"
Minh's fingers twitched.
Something inside him shifted.
The ghost stiffened, alarm rising.
"Child—NO. Control yourself. Control it!"
But the darkness pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Like a second heartbeat awakening.
Suddenly—
"MINH, MOVE!"
Hoàng Lâm sprinted in and shoved Minh aside just as a second punch from Tùng came flying.
The shove snapped Minh out of his daze.
Tùng glared at Lâm, insulted.
"You again? You should've stayed out of this."
Lâm smirked, fists up."Then stop attacking people who can't even stand yet."
The crowd ROARED as more boys jumped in.
Lê Quý Đôn's crew surged forward.Lâm's boys rushed in to block them.
The court dissolved into a chaotic street brawl:
Punches.Shouting.Bodies slamming into fences.Shoes scraping concrete.Phones filming every brutal second.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was a dogfight.
Minh stumbled through the chaos, disoriented, searching for the ghost.
"Phú—what do I do?!"
"Stay back!" the ghost barked. "You are in NO condition to fight!"
But Minh's vision spun.Gomboc's whisper drowned the ghost out.
"Join the violence… feed me…"
Minh shook his head violently.
"No… not now…"
He staggered toward Lâm—
Just in time to see something that froze him solid.
Lâm raised his fists. "Back off!"
Tùng smirked."Oh, you wanna be a hero?"
He stepped forward.
Fast.
Lâm swung first—but Tùng ducked effortlessly—
—and landed a brutal hook to Lâm's jaw.
CRACK.
Lâm crumpled to the ground, dazed.
"LÂM!" Minh screamed.
Tùng didn't stop.
He kicked Lâm in the ribs.Once.Twice.Three times.
Each impact echoed across the concrete.
The ghost shouted urgently:
"MINH—DO NOT RUSH IN!"
But Minh's legs were frozen in horror.
The crowd erupted:
"THIS IS TOO MUCH!""STOP HIM!""He's killing him!"
Lâm tried to get up—Tùng kicked him back down.
Rage filled Tùng's eyes.
"You think you can step into OUR fight?!You worthless bitch!"
He stomped Lâm's chest—Lâm coughed blood.
Minh felt something inside him twist violently.
"No… stop…"
Gomboc whispered:
"Yes… let him suffer…let your rage OPEN…"
The ghost snapped:
"CHILD, HOLD YOURSELF TOGETHER!"
But Minh couldn't.
Not after watching his only friend get hurt for him.
Then—
Tùng walked toward the benches.
The crowd went to chaos, frenzied in blood and sweats.
He picked up a rolling metal bat conveniently to his feet.
A heavy one.
"Alright," he growled, "I'll end this properly."
Minh's heart collapsed.
"Tùng—STOP!" he shouted.
Tùng ignored him.
He approached the barely conscious Lâm, raising the bat with both hands.
Dạ Minh's mind shrieked:
"HE'S NOT PLAYING ANYMORE!""SOMEONE HELP LÂM!""CALL A TEACHER!"
But nobody dared to step in because they were busy with their own fights.
Lâm lifted one shaky arm, dazed and bleeding.
"Minh… run…"
Tùng sneered.
"Run? He can't even walk."
And then—
Tùng swung.
A sickening metallic THWACKcrashed against Lâm's shoulder.
Lâm screamed—raw and agonized.
Minh's mind went blank.
Something inside Minh cracked.
Not mentally.Not emotionally.
Something spiritual.
The ghost froze.
"…No."
Gomboc rejoiced.
"YESSSSS~THAT'S IT—LET ME OUT."
Minh's breath vanished.A second heartbeat pulsed under his skin.Black pressure unfurled through his chest.His muscles tensed like wires pulled too tight.
The world tinted in red edges.His vision sharpened into predatory clarity.
The ghost shouted:
"STOP—IF YOU MOVE NOW, I WILL DISAPPEAR!"
But Minh didn't hear him.
Or maybe he did…
…and chose the other voice instead.
Gomboc whispered—
"He hurt your friend.Break him."
Minh stepped forward.
Fast.Too fast.Unnaturally fast.The concrete cracked under his heel.
Tùng raised the bat again—
and Minh launched himself straight into the beginning of awakening.