Roi wheeled his stolen grocery cart through the entrance of his apartment complex, its squeaky wheels echoing in the dimly lit hallway.
"Damn, some crazy dude almost ran me over," he muttered under his breath, still slightly out of breath. "Didn't even get a chance to bag my groceries… and now I've technically stolen this cart."
He let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Eh, whatever. Consider this another donation to the apartment complex."
Shoving the cart into the corner of the hallway like a forgotten relic, he made his way inside his tiny unit. The air was stuffy, the kind of warmth that settled in after hours of being closed off from the world.
His stomach grumbled.
"Eggs it is," he mumbled to himself.
A few minutes later, the pan sizzled as he fried up his meal. The apartment was quiet except for the soft popping of oil and the occasional clatter of utensils. Just another ordinary day.
By the time the clock hit 12:30 PM, his food was ready. He grabbed his plate, balancing it in one hand as he made his way toward the couch in the living room.
And then—
He walked past the mirror.
The one hanging on the wall near his kitchen. The one he barely noticed most days.
And yet, today…
Something felt off.
Roi kept walking, but his peripheral vision caught something—something wrong.
His reflection.
It was smiling.
A slow, eerie grin stretching across its face.
Its eyes were pitch black.
His breath hitched.
He froze.
His grip on the plate tightened as his body tensed. A cold chill spread down his spine, his skin crawling with an instinctive fear he couldn't explain.
"What… the hell?" he whispered.
He took a slow step backward.
Then another.
Slowly. Carefully.
The floor creaked beneath his weight. His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
He reached the mirror's edge—just enough to see his reflection clearly.
It was normal.
Just him.
No eerie smile. No black eyes.
Nothing unusual.
His throat was dry. His skin felt clammy.
Had he imagined it?
With a deep breath, he let out a nervous chuckle. "Damn, maybe I didn't get enough sleep."
Shaking off the unease, he turned away. But even as he sat down to eat, the image lingered in the back of his mind.
The reflection that smiled back at him…
Roi finished his meal, setting his empty plate on the counter. He was full—though, considering all he had was a plain omelet, it wasn't exactly satisfying.
Still, food was food.
He stretched, rolling his shoulders. Maybe I should stream again. He had made a decent amount last night—who knew what today would bring?
With that thought, he made his way to his workstation.
His bedroom was dimly lit, the only source of light coming from the small lamp near his desk. His gaming chair sat in its usual spot, and his dual monitors loomed over the desk like twin watchful eyes. He plugged in the necessary cables, fingers moving out of habit. The soft hum of electricity filled the room as his PC booted up, the monitors flashing to life.
Then—
A feeling.
That unnerving, skin-prickling sensation of being watched.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. His body went rigid, instincts screaming at him that he wasn't alone.
Slowly—so painfully slowly—he turned his head.
His gaze drifted toward his bed.
And his breath caught in his throat.
There was a kid.
A small boy—couldn't have been older than ten.
Standing at the foot of his bed. Motionless. Silent. Watching.
Roi's stomach twisted. His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
He stumbled back, nearly knocking over his chair, his voice cracking—
"What the hell?! Who are you?!"
The child didn't move. Didn't blink.
It just stared.
Roi's pulse was a drum in his ears. His breath came out shaky as he grabbed his keyboard, holding it up like a weapon.
"What are you doing here?!" His voice was uneven, teetering between anger and fear. "Who the hell are you?! Where are your parents?!"
For a moment, nothing.
Then—
The boy's lips curled into a faint smile.
And in a voice too soft, too wrong, he spoke.
"Have you felt it now?"
The room felt colder.
Roi's grip on the keyboard tightened.
His gut twisted with something dark, something he didn't want to name.
Something was very, very wrong.
And deep down—he knew this was no ordinary child.
The child stood up.
Then, it started walking toward him.
Slow. Deliberate. Each step was soundless, yet each one made the air in the room feel heavier.
Roi's body tensed, his breath shallow.
"Don't come any closer." His voice wavered.
The child didn't stop.
Then—on the tenth step—
The floor glitched.
A sharp distortion rippled beneath their feet, as if reality itself had corrupted.
Then, the entire room flickered.
The walls darkened, pixelating, breaking apart like a shattered screen. Colors bled. The ceiling cracked into endless blackness. His bed, his desk, his monitors—all melting, shifting, glitching.
It was surreal.
One second, he was in his tiny apartment—
The next, he was in a glitching void.
"AHHH!" Roi stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing. His surroundings were warping, twisting into something unnatural.
His chest tightened. Panic clawed at his throat.
"What the hell is this?! Are you a ghost?! What the f*** is happening?!"
The child tilted its head, watching him with an eerie calm.
Then, in that same soft, unnatural tone, it spoke.
"This is my place. My prison."
The boy's gaze darkened.
"You freed me. Kind of."
Roi's stomach churned. A deep, primal fear twisted inside him.
"What the hell?!" he repeated, his voice more desperate.
He squeezed his eyes shut. This isn't real. This can't be real.
Maybe he had fallen asleep at his desk again? Maybe this was just a dream?
He pinched his arm. Hard.
The pain shot through him. His skin reddened.
It was real.
His pulse pounded against his skull. He wasn't dreaming.
A soft, chilling laugh escaped the boy's lips.
"No need to be scared." The child's black eyes gleamed. "I'm just here to guide you."
Roi felt his blood run cold.
"Guide me? Guide me where?! The afterlife?! The f***, man, you're creepy as hell!"
The child didn't flinch.
Instead, it simply asked:
"Do you remember what happened last night?"
Roi's breath caught.
"…Huh?"
"The dark web?"
His stomach twisted.
"The Black Gate?"
His fingers clenched.
"The loud sound?"
A flicker of static passed through the air.
"The energy?"
Roi's body locked up.
His mind raced back—to the video. The gate. The screech. The way the monitor refused to turn off.
His own reflection, staring back at him with pitch-black eyes.
He swallowed hard.
He did remember.
And suddenly—he wished he didn't.
The child—Kyler—spoke again, his voice eerily calm.
"I am Kyler. And like I said, I own this cyberspace."
Roi's breathing was uneven, his hands cold. Cyberspace? Prisoned? None of this made sense.
"Huh?" was all he could manage.
Kyler's expression didn't change. "Just like you, the dark web was my playground. I had mastery over tech—hacking, coding, breaking through firewalls."
He smiled faintly, but there was something off about it.
"At nine years old, I could do everything."
Roi felt his gut twist. A kid genius? A hacker? What was he even saying?
"But one day, I came across a site… and everything went blurry."
Kyler's voice softened, his pitch-black eyes seeming distant.
"Now I know. It's 2025. And I've been stuck here ever since."
Roi stiffened. 2025?
His mind struggled to connect the dots. "Wait, what do you mean? Are you… a ghost?"
Kyler let out a quiet chuckle.
"You could say that." His head tilted slightly, his gaze unwavering.
Then he spoke the words that sent a shiver down Roi's spine—
"I'm a kid from 1989."
Roi's stomach dropped.
"1989?!" His voice cracked. "You're messing with me. That was—"
Kyler nodded. "A time when technology was just being born. A time when the world hadn't drowned in it yet."
His voice held something deeper—nostalgia? Regret?
"I've been stuck here for decades, trying to find a way out. And then… last night, I saw it."
Kyler took a slow step forward.
"I saw a light. A crack in the void, like a doorway opening."
Roi's mouth went dry.
Kyler's gaze bore into him.
"And through that crack, I saw your world. I saw you… opening the Black Gate."
Silence.
Roi felt like his mind was unraveling.
Kyler clenched his small fists. "I don't know exactly what the Black Gate is, but it was a doorway—a link between my cyberspace, this prison… and the real world."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"And now… I think I can finally leave."
Roi's body went rigid.
Kyler's smile widened.
And for the first time, Roi felt truly afraid.
Kyler took another step forward, his expression unreadable.
"Don't be afraid." His voice was calm, almost amused. "I feel like I have a mission… to teach you an ability."
Roi's brow furrowed. His mind was already overloaded, and now this kid was talking about abilities?
"What ability?" Roi asked, his voice sharp.
Kyler simply tilted his head. "Well, it seems like you're the only one who can even see me."
His smile didn't falter as he continued, "I've wandered the streets, tried talking to other people, but they just… passed through me."
His fingers twitched at his sides.
"So, your guess that I'm a ghost? It might actually be true." He chuckled, as if the realization barely bothered him.
But Roi was done with cryptic answers.
His frustration boiled over.
"Answer me—what ability?!" he demanded.
Kyler blinked. Then, instead of answering, he grinned.
"Oh, no need to be frustrated!" He laughed lightly, taking a step back.
Roi clenched his fists. His heart was racing, his mind screaming that none of this was normal.
But Kyler only pointed at him.
"You already have it."
Roi froze.
"Find a way to push yourself to the limit… and you'll see your power."
The room around them glitched again.
The walls flickered between his apartment and the endless void. A sharp ringing noise filled the air, and for a split second, Roi felt something stir deep inside him.
Something unfamiliar.
Something powerful.
And then—everything snapped back to normal.
Kyler was gone.
Roi stood there, breathless, his entire body trembling.
He wasn't sure if he was terrified… or excited.