In the spring of the fifteenth year of Xiantong, the city of Chang'an was plagued by seven consecutive days of black rain.
The rain poured like ink, staining the cobblestones of Zhuque Street with a dark, glossy sheen. Even more strange, anyone who came into contact with the rain was doomed to experience the same eerie dream within three days—one in which they found themselves standing in a vast, desolate wasteland, watching a crimson star plummet from the heavens, crashing deep into the heart of Zhongnan Mountain.
The Bureau of Astronomy worked through the night to conduct divination, and they uncovered a prophecy in four ominous words: "The demon star appears, chaos in Chang'an."
A month later, the first strange occurrence indeed transpired in Chang'an.