I Gained An Ability While Surfing On The Dark Web

Roi's back slammed against the cold floor, his breath escaping in a painful gasp. The door—his only escape—was gone, swallowed by the darkness of the room.

The faceless man stood over him, his form flickering, body distorting like a corrupted file. The impact of the pipe had shaken him, his head glitching violently, as if something inside was trying to reconstruct itself.

But he wasn't down.

Not even close.

Roi gritted his teeth, forcing himself up, pain stabbing through his ribs. He still had the rusted pipe in his hand, fingers tight around the metal.

He's not invincible. He reacted when I hit him. I can fight.

The faceless man tilted his head, his voice still calm despite the glitching.

"You're faster than I expected. That's good."

He took a slow step forward.

"It means this won't be over too quickly."

Roi's fingers twitched.

Then—he moved.

Phantom Dash. Activate.

His body blurred forward, closing the distance in an instant.

He swung the pipe—aiming straight for the man's head again.

But—

His opponent was faster.

Before the strike could land, the faceless man's arm snapped up, his fingers gripping the pipe mid-swing.

Roi's stomach dropped.

"That won't work twice," the faceless man murmured.

Then—he pulled.

Roi was ripped forward with terrifying force, his body whipping through the air.

CRACK.

He crashed into the wall, pain exploding in his spine. His vision blurred for a split second, his lungs struggling to pull in air.

He barely had time to recover before a hand wrapped around his throat again.

The faceless man lifted him off the ground, pressing him against the wall.

"You're not ready for this." His voice was cold, final.

Roi gasped, struggling, but the grip was ironclad. His legs kicked uselessly, his fingers clawing at the unyielding arm.

Dark spots danced in his vision.

His body was losing oxygen.

He needed to move—now.

Desperation took over.

Phantom Dash. One more time.

His body lurched forward, but instead of launching him away, it fizzled out.

A failure.

His mind screamed.

I can't use it repeatedly.

The faceless man let out a dry chuckle.

"Running out of tricks?"

Then, suddenly—

A loud bang.

The door burst open.

Roi barely had time to process before a dark figure rushed in.

And everything descended into chaos.

Pain.

A dull, throbbing ache pulsed through Roi's skull as he regained consciousness. His body felt heavy, stiff, sore. His wrists and ankles were tied again, the rough rope biting into his skin.

The room was dimly lit, the air thick with tension.

Then—a voice.

"I thought something was happening here, so I banged the door."

Roi's eyes snapped open.

Beside him, another man sat, also tied to a chair. His face was bruised and bloodied, his clothes torn. He looked exhausted but alert, his gaze searching.

"What is this? Are you okay?" the man exclaimed, his voice hoarse but genuine.

Before Roi could answer—

SLAP.

The faceless man struck him across the face, hard. The sound was sharp, sickening, echoing in the small room.

The man's head snapped to the side.

He slumped over—completely unconscious.

Roi flinched, his breath hitching.

Then—the faceless man turned to him.

Calm. Unbothered. As if he had simply swatted a fly.

"You know," the faceless man mused, his voice smooth yet distorted, "you are the only one who can see me in this world."

Roi's blood ran cold.

"Believe it or not, this man?" The faceless man gestured lazily toward the unconscious captive.

"He couldn't even see me."

Roi's stomach twisted.

He watched as the faceless man leaned in slightly, as if examining him.

"Which fires my curiosity, Roi." His voice dropped lower, intrigued, hungry.

"Why are you the only one who can see me?"

Roi's breath was shaky.

His mind raced. This wasn't normal. This wasn't possible.

But before he could speak, the faceless man continued.

"Are you part of the game? The space? What are you, really?"

His head glitched violently, distorting for a brief second before settling back into its eerie, smooth form.

Then—his voice turned almost… pleading.

"Teach me how to live here."

His hands clenched into fists.

"I like it here. Everyone's powerless."

Roi's pulse thundered.

He didn't have answers.

He didn't understand why he could see him.

Did it have to do with the Black Gate? The trials? Kyler?

His throat was dry, but he forced out the only truth he knew.

"I… I don't know the answer either."

The faceless man went silent.

And for the first time, Roi felt something far worse than fear.

Curiosity.

The faceless man wasn't just after power.

He wanted something deeper.

And Roi had the sickening feeling…

That he would do anything to get it.

Silence.

The faceless man stood there, waiting. Watching. His blank, featureless face betrayed nothing, but the air around him felt hungry—as if his very existence demanded an answer.

Roi's throat was dry, his mind racing.

Could he even explain it?

Could he put into words the hell he had stepped into when he first typed "The Black Gate" into the dark web?

His lips parted, and before he could stop himself, the words spilled out.

"It started with a search."

The faceless man didn't move.

"A stupid challenge. A game." Roi's voice was hoarse, distant, as if he was speaking to himself. "A streamer's dare. The kind of thing you do for views. For money."

His pulse pounded. He took a shaky breath.

"The site looked normal. Just pictures of gates. But then… someone told me to click on the sixth image."

A glitch rippled across the faceless man's body.

"And then?"

Roi's fingers curled into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"There was a video."

He could still hear it. The distorted, screeching sound that cut through his speakers. The way his screen flickered, distorting reality.

"The gate in the video opened. And something—" He swallowed hard. "Something looked back at me."

The faceless man stiffened.

"And then?" he repeated, his voice strangely urgent now.

Roi's breath hitched.

"I blacked out."

He shook his head, his jaw tightening.

"And when I woke up, I was different."

The air in the room shifted.

The faceless man took a step closer.

"How?"

Roi's eyes darkened.

"I had power."

A pause. Then—

"That's when I met Kyler."

The faceless man froze.

For the first time, the distortion around him sharpened, his glitches intensifying.

"Kyler?" His voice was no longer calm. There was something underneath it now. Something unsteady.

"Who is Kyler?"

Roi hesitated.

He had never seen the faceless man react like this.

Was Kyler… important?

He took a breath.

"A kid. A hacker. Someone who's trapped in cyberspace."

He looked the faceless man dead in the nonexistent eyes.

"He told me I had stepped into something I couldn't escape from. That the dark web wasn't just a network—it was something alive."

The faceless man didn't speak.

But the glitches around him grew worse.

And then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he asked:

"Where is he now?"

Roi's stomach dropped.

The way he said it—it wasn't curiosity.

It was something else.

Something far, far more dangerous.

Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. The faceless man stood unnaturally still, waiting for an answer, his glitching form pulsing with unreadable tension.

Roi swallowed hard, his throat dry and tight.

"I… don't know where he is."

The words hung in the air, fragile yet dangerous.

The faceless man didn't respond immediately. His head twitched, his entire form flickering like a corrupted file struggling to load properly.

Then, slowly—he let out a low, distorted chuckle.

"Of course you don't."

His voice was calm again, but Roi didn't trust it.

The man tilted his head, his blank face unreadable.

Then—he stepped back.

"Fine, then."

Roi tensed.

"What?"

The faceless man exhaled—a sound that wasn't quite a sigh, wasn't quite human.

"I'll behave."

Roi's brows furrowed. "What—?"

"As long as we help each other."

The room felt smaller. The air heavier.

"You want answers, don't you? About the Black Gate. About why you're different. About what's happening to you?"

The faceless man leaned closer, voice lowering to something almost… persuasive.

"And I want something, too."

Roi's stomach tightened.

"I want to exist here. Fully. Completely."

His head glitched violently, as if reinforcing the truth of his words.

"I want to know how to live here the way you do."

He straightened, voice smooth once more.

"So let's make a deal."

A beat.

Then—a hand extended.

Not out of kindness. Not out of friendship.

But out of necessity.

Roi stared at the pale, gloved fingers, his own hands still tied.

Everything in him screamed no.

But something else—something deep in his gut—told him he wouldn't survive if he refused.

The faceless man chuckled softly.

"You don't have to like it."

His head twitched, distorting.

"You just have to choose."

And for the first time since this nightmare began…

Roi had the power to decide.

To decide what his life would lead to.