NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: The Normalcy
For the first time in what felt like forever, Roi was back in his apartment, sitting in his familiar gaming chair, the glow of multiple monitors reflecting in his glasses.
No trials. No faceless monsters. No cyberspace horrors.
Just… normal life.
Or at least, what was left of it.
The apartment felt smaller now. The walls, once comforting, now seemed like a thin barrier between him and something bigger, something waiting beyond.
But Roi ignored it.
He needed normal.
With a deep breath, he booted up his streaming software, adjusting the familiar dog filter over his face. His chat instantly exploded.
[User: DoomFury]: YO YOU'RE BACK??!!
[User: C4S1N0]: Thought you died lmao
[User: GlitchHunterX]: Bro vanished after that creepy stream... WTF happened?
Roi smirked, leaning into his mic.
"Alright, chat. Before you start writing my obituary, I'm still alive."
The comments scrolled faster.
[User: Z3r0P1ng]: WHERE TF WERE YOU?!
[User: BloodReaper69]: MORE DARK WEB STUFF???
Roi hesitated for just a second.
The dark web. The Black Gate. The deal.
His fingers twitched slightly over his keyboard.
I can't talk about it.
Instead, he forced a grin.
"Nah, just needed a break. But I'm back, and we're grinding today."
He queued into a match, throwing himself into the game.
For the first time in days, his mind wasn't on the horrors he had faced.
It was on the screen. The chat. The game.
And it felt… good.
But as the hours passed, as he racked up wins, as donations flooded in—something was off.
No matter how much he tried to lose himself in the game, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was all fake.
That the person laughing with his chat, bantering with viewers, trash-talking opponents—wasn't him anymore.
Because every time he looked at his reflection in the darkened screen, he saw something else staring back.
Not the faceless man.
Not Kyler.
Himself.
But… different.
Like the moment he had swung Black Ruin, something had changed.
Something that couldn't be undone.
And no amount of gaming, streaming, or pretending was going to fix it.
Roi stared at the victory screen on his monitor, his teammates celebrating in voice chat. His stream chat was exploding with donations and hype messages.
[User: K1LLSh0t]: EZ DUBS LET'S GOOOOO!!!
[User: PhantomVoid]: THAT LAST SHOT WAS INSANE WTF
[User: DoomFury]: BRO'S BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER
But Roi barely heard them.
His fingers rested loosely on his mouse, not clicking, not moving. The sound of the game faded into the background—a distant, empty noise.
He should have been excited. The old him would have been thrilled at the numbers rising in chat, at the donations stacking up.
But now?
Now it all felt… hollow.
His reflection flickered on the black edges of his monitor. He wasn't even wearing his dog filter anymore, and yet, no one noticed.
Maybe because the real mask wasn't on his face.
It was in how he spoke. How he acted.
Like he was still the same person.
Like he hadn't killed someone.
His hand twitched involuntarily, his mind flashing back to the way Black Ruin had carved through the faceless man's body, how his form had glitched apart pixel by pixel, his voice calling his name—
Roi sucked in a sharp breath.
"Alright, chat, that's enough for today." His voice came out too smooth, too normal.
The chat flooded with protests.
[User: CyberReaper]: WHAT?? STREAM JUST STARTED BROOO
[User: Z3r0P1ng]: TF U MEAN??
[User: NeonGhost]: DO ANOTHER MATCH PLS
Roi forced a chuckle, his fingers already moving to shut down the stream.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be back tomorrow."
He clicked "End Stream."
The chat vanished.
The moment the screen went dark, the silence hit him like a fist.
For the first time in days, he wasn't pretending.
He sat there, staring at his blank monitor, his own hollow reflection staring back.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then—
A glitch.
A tiny flicker at the edge of his screen.
Roi's breath caught.
It was gone in an instant.
Had he imagined it?
He leaned forward, his heart pounding, staring hard at the screen.
A minute passed. Then another.
Nothing.
His shoulders slumped.
He was seeing things.
He rubbed his face, exhaustion settling in. He needed to sleep, to shake this off—
But then.
A sound.
A faint whisper.
From inside the monitor.
Not loud. Not clear. But there.
And it said his name.
"Roi."
Roi's breath hitched.
That voice.
It was soft, barely a whisper, but unmistakable.
It had come from inside the monitor.
His pulse pounded in his ears, his body frozen as he stared at the dark screen.
Did I imagine that?
He sat perfectly still, waiting, listening. The air in his apartment felt thicker, as if something was pressing against his skin, weighing down on him.
A full minute passed. Then two.
Nothing.
His shoulders sagged.
It had to be his mind messing with him. Too many sleepless nights. Too many things he hadn't processed.
With a shaky breath, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes.
Just go to sleep. Forget it.
But then—the screen flickered.
A split-second flash of white static.
Roi's hands gripped his armrests.
The screen was off. Completely powered down. And yet—something was moving.
A faint, distorted image.
Not a reflection.
Not his room.
Something else.
He leaned in slowly, cautiously.
The image was unclear, shifting, like a corrupted video struggling to play. A room? A shadow? A—
Then, without warning—
A face appeared.
Not a normal face.
Not a human face.
It was warped, featureless, like a distorted version of a person that had been stretched and corrupted. The instant it appeared, a sharp burst of static shrieked through the speakers.
Roi jerked back violently, his chair slamming into the desk.
The screen went black again.
Silence.
His ragged breathing was the only sound in the room.
He sat there, paralyzed, pulse hammering, every nerve on edge.
What the hell was that?
Seconds passed. His fingers twitched. He had to do something, to check, to prove he wasn't losing his mind.
With shaking hands, he reached for his tablet.
The one that now stored Black Ruin.
The moment he touched it—
The lights in his apartment flickered.
A new system prompt flashed across the dark monitor.
"NEW TRIAL UNLOCKED."
"WELCOME BACK, ROI."
His stomach dropped.
No, no, no… I was out. I was done.
But deep down, he knew.
He had never really left.
And whatever was watching him?
It was just getting started.
Roi's hands trembled as he gripped the edges of his desk, eyes locked on the screen.
"NEW TRIAL UNLOCKED."
"WELCOME BACK, ROI."
The words lingered, glowing faintly in the dark. The monitor was off. He was sure of it. But the message was still there, hovering like a ghost.
A shiver crawled down his spine.
Slowly, he reached toward the power button—his fingers hesitated just inches away.
The moment his fingertip brushed it—
Static exploded from the speakers.
A sudden, ear-piercing screech that sent him stumbling back, knocking over his chair. The noise drilled into his skull, like nails scraping across metal, like a voice trying to speak but failing, choking on itself.
And beneath the static—
He swore he heard his name.
Roi.
The lights in his apartment flickered violently.
His breath hitched. His back pressed against the floor as he stared at the screen, heart hammering.
Then, the sound stopped.
Silence.
The air was thick, suffocating.
Then—
A new message slowly typed itself out.
Letter by letter.
"I SEE YOU."
Roi's stomach dropped.
His limbs refused to move. He wanted to run, to bolt out of the apartment, to be anywhere but here.
Then—
The screen flickered.
For a split second, a reflection flashed across it.
Not his.
Something standing behind him.
A shadow. Tall. Unmoving.
Roi whirled around.
Nothing.
Just his dark, empty apartment.
But he knew something had been there.
He could still feel it.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then, the message on the screen changed.
"DON'T MAKE ME COME GET YOU."
The apartment lights cut out completely.
And this time—
A whisper, right behind his ear.
"Let's begin."