Roi jolted awake.
He was in his gaming chair.
His breath came in short, ragged gasps. The deafening sound, the mirror, the blood—it all rushed back. His hands shot up to his face, expecting to feel the sticky warmth of blood.
Nothing.
His fingers trembled as they traced over his skin. No cuts. No pain. No proof that anything had happened.
His eyes darted toward the mirror across the room. His reflection stared back. Normal. No eerie smile. No pitch-black eyes. Just him.
Had it all been a dream? A hallucination?
Then something caught his attention—the glow of his monitor. His livestream was still on.
The chat was going insane.
[CyberNeko]: YO HE JUST PASSED OUT LOOOL
[GlitchPhantom]: BRO WE THOUGHT U DIED LMAOOO
[VXDarkMode]: what kinda horror game is this???
[404NotFound]: nah fr why he sleeping mid-stream 😭
[LunaByte]: HE GOT JUMPSCARED BY HIS OWN SCREEN 💀
[SpectreSync]: OMG THE FILTER 😭😭 LOOK AT HIM
[VoidVortex]: possessed dog moment 💀💀💀
[PixelGhost]: WAKE UP MAN U GOOD??
Roi's eyes widened. He leaned forward. His webcam feed was still on. And a dog filter was stuck on his face.
Perked ears. Wide, terrified eyes. Mouth slightly open like a shocked puppy.
His fingers hovered over his mouse before finally unmuting his mic. His voice came out hoarse.
"What the hell happened?"
The chat exploded again.
[BitCrusher]: OMG HE'S ALIVE
[NeonReaper]: DUDE YOU JUST BLANKED OUT FOR 10 MINUTES
[DebugDemon]: we thought u were trolling lol
[DataGremlin]: UR CAMERA GLITCHED N THE FILTER GOT STUCK 😭
[PhantomHavoc]: nah man that wasn't normal 💀💀
[HexadecimalX]: bro what if he's actually possessed 😭
Roi's stomach churned. Ten minutes?
To him, it felt like an eternity.
His fingers curled into fists.
Something had happened. The blood. The mirror. The sound. The thing inside him.
His chat was laughing it off. But he knew the truth.
Then suddenly, a notification popped up.
A donation.
$500.
The chat exploded.
[ByteFreak]: YO BIG DONO DROP
[GlitchPhantom]: $500????? BRO WHO'S RICH LIKE THAT??
[CyberNeko]: ain't no way, again 💀
[404NotFound]: MYSTERIO69 BACK AT IT AGAIN
[SpectreSync]: dude's a legend fr
Roi's heart skipped a beat.
A familiar username.
Mysterio69.
He swallowed, his fingers gripping the edge of his desk.
"Hey, you…" he muttered, his voice shaky. "Mysterio69!"
The chat flooded with reactions.
[PixelGhost]: AYOO HE ACKNOWLEDGED HIM
[NeonReaper]: mysterio69 lore drop incoming??
[PhantomHavoc]: why he sound nervous 💀
Roi's gaze locked onto the username.
Mysterio69 was the one who gave him $2000 moments ago. The one who commanded him about the black gate thing in the dark web.
Roi felt something. He feels like what he experienced seconds ago has something to do with Mysterio69.
Tonight wasn't normal. Everything is connected
A new message popped up in the chat.
[Mysterio69]: Yo man, rest now lol. Even with the dog filter, you look tired af.
The chat exploded again.
[GlitchPhantom]: LMAOO HE RIGHT THO
[CyberNeko]: dude look like he's about to pass out 💀
[404NotFound]: this filter lowkey suits him ngl
[SpectreSync]: bro mysterio69 might be his gf fr 😭
[NeonReaper]: Mysterio x Roi confirmed?? 😂
Roi sighed, still baffled by everything that had happened.
Maybe Mysterio was right. Maybe he was just tired. He'd been streaming for hours. The exhaustion was catching up to him.
Yeah. That had to be it.
He forced a small laugh, shook his head, and decided to end the stream.
One by one, his screens went dark. His setup powered down. Everything turned off normally.
Nothing unusual.
No eerie glow. No strange sounds. No messages from an unseen entity.
Just… normal.
Roi dragged himself to the bathroom, peeling off his hoodie. The cold water of the shower helped clear his mind, washing away the lingering unease.
By the time he stood at the sink, brushing his teeth, he almost felt okay.
Almost.
Then, his eyes flicked up to the mirror.
For a second, he saw it again.
His own reflection. The blood. The pitch-black eyes. The sinister smile that wasn't his.
Roi froze.
His grip on the toothbrush tightened.
But when he blinked—it was gone.
His reflection was normal again.
He exhaled shakily. "Did I pass out and dream all that?" he muttered, staring at himself.
His own tired eyes stared back.
Damn, my imagination's wild.
He shook the thought away and headed to bed.
Lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, the memories wouldn't fade.
The deafening sound.
The blood.
The mirror.
The surge of power inside him.
It all still felt too real.
His body was exhausted, but his mind refused to rest.
Roi woke up feeling like hell.
His body was heavy. His eyes stung. It wasn't a good night's sleep—not that he ever really had one. Insomnia had been a constant in his life. But today, the exhaustion felt different.
What really happened last night?
The thought weighed on him as he dragged himself out of bed.
It was already 10 AM by the time he reached the kitchen. His stomach growled. He opened the fridge, grabbed a box of cereal, and pulled out the milk.
Without thinking, he poured the milk into a glass and took a sip.
"BWAAAH!"
He gagged, nearly spitting it out. His face twisted in disgust.
Checking the carton, his eyes widened. The milk had expired three days ago.
"Great. Just great."
Annoyed, he grabbed a glass of water instead and ate the cereal dry.
Each crunchy bite only reminded him of how much he needed to go grocery shopping.
He sighed. "Guess I have no choice."
Roi stepped out of his apartment complex, stretching as the morning sun hit his face.
The grocery store was just a few blocks away—a short walk, nothing special. But today felt different.
As he neared the entrance, a thought popped into his head.
The huge donations last night.
His lips curled into a small smirk. "Maybe I'll be getting a hefty amount of groceries today."
He chuckled to himself. "I deserve it."
For the first time ever, Roi grabbed a pushcart.
Usually, he only bought the bare minimum, carrying everything in his hands. But today? Not today.
Rolling the cart into the aisles, he made his first stop—the refrigerated section.
He grabbed three gallons of milk. No more expired surprises.
Then, he kept going.
For once, he wasn't just buying what he needed.
He picked up things he liked. Things he wanted.
Snacks, frozen meals, expensive drinks he usually ignored. Why not?
It felt good. Like a small victory.
But as he pushed the cart further into the store, a strange feeling crept into the back of his mind.
A lingering unease.
Like someone was watching him.
Roi wheeled his cart to the self-checkout section and began ringing up his items.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The machine chimed as he scanned each item, but the uneasy feeling from earlier hadn't left.
His instincts screamed that something was off.
As he reached for another item, his gaze drifted—almost involuntarily—toward the far side of the grocery store.
And that's when he saw him.
A man.
Dressed in a black suit. Sleek. Professional.
But that wasn't what unsettled Roi.
The man was wearing a mask.
Not a surgical mask. Not a ski mask.
A completely featureless, white mask. No mouth. No eyes. No markings. Just a blank, circular face staring in his direction.
Or at least—it felt like it was staring.
Roi's stomach twisted. Who the hell wears something like that in public?
His fingers trembled slightly as he swiped his items faster.
But there were too many.
The cart was full. And the machine, with its sluggish responses, wasn't moving fast enough.
He glanced back.
The masked man hadn't moved.
Hadn't looked away.
Hadn't blinked.
Roi swallowed hard.
And kept scanning. Faster.
Roi kept scanning, his hands moving faster.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
He stole another glance.
The masked man was walking away.
Roi exhaled, relieved. "Maybe just some crazy weirdo," he muttered under his breath.
But then—the man stopped.
Roi's body tensed. His eyes locked onto the figure, watching for any movement.
The man just stood there.
Waiting.
Roi swallowed, forcing himself to focus. He was almost done. Just pay and leave.
He swiped his card.
The masked man turned.
Then—he started running.
Straight toward him.
Fast.
Roi's heart dropped. His breath hitched. His fingers shook as he typed his PIN as fast as humanly possible.
The screen loaded.
Hurry. Hurry. HURRY.
The man was getting closer.
The machine dinged.
"PAYMENT SUCCESSFUL."
Roi didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the pushcart—didn't even bag his groceries—and sprinted.
Out the doors. Into the streets.
And he didn't look back.
Yes—with the pushcart.