I Gained An Ability While Surfing On The Dark Web

The battlefield shook violently, the very air distorting under Kyler's overwhelming presence.

The faceless man struggled against Kyler's grip, his entire body flickering, glitching, trying to escape—but it was useless.

Kyler's expression was cold, detached. His usual playful smirk was gone, replaced by something far more terrifying.

"You're a fool if you thought you could survive here."

With an effortless movement, Kyler lifted the faceless man and slammed him into the ground again. The force cracked reality itself, sending waves of static through the space.

The faceless man gasped, or at least, the sound that came from him was close to one. His form flickered, unstable. He was breaking apart.

But then, through the chaos, his head snapped toward Roi.

Even now—he wasn't looking at Kyler.

He was looking at him.

"Roi."

His voice was warped, distorted, weaker. But there was something else there—something that sent a sharp pain through Roi's chest.

A plea.

Kyler sighed, his grip tightening.

"You're dragging this out, Roi."

Roi's breath hitched.

Kyler turned toward him, his grip unwavering.

"Finish him."

Roi froze.

His hands clenched around Black Ruin, but he didn't move.

Kyler's eyes narrowed.

"What, still hesitating?" His voice was sharp now, irritated. "You heard me before—he's not supposed to be here."

The faceless man twitched violently. His body was failing, breaking apart into shattered data, his glitching worse than ever.

Roi could barely breathe.

"No. I… I don't want to."

Kyler sighed dramatically, shaking his head.

"You're too soft. Fine. I'll do it myself."

He raised his free hand—and the world itself reacted.

A crushing force surrounded the faceless man, tightening, ready to erase him completely.

"Wait!" Roi shouted, stepping forward. His body moved before his mind did.

Kyler paused, arching a brow.

Roi's voice was shaky but firm.

"I'll do it."

Kyler tilted his head, intrigued.

"Oh? Why the change of heart?"

Roi's grip on his sword tightened. His stomach twisted with nausea.

"You said it yourself." His voice was barely above a whisper. "If I don't finish the trial, I don't get the Black Ruin."

Kyler grinned.

"Now you're thinking like a survivor."

Roi swallowed hard.

His feet felt heavy as he approached. Every step felt like walking through wet cement.

The faceless man didn't fight back.

Didn't even try.

He just… stared.

Roi clenched his jaw, lifting the massive blade.

"You were the first person to see me," the faceless man murmured, voice fading, distorting.

Roi shut his eyes.

Then—he swung.

Black Ruin cleaved through him.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—a burst of white light.

The faceless man's body glitched violently, flickering in and out of existence. His form split apart, pixel by pixel, until there was nothing left.

The battlefield was quiet.

Kyler let out a slow, satisfied sigh.

"See? That wasn't so hard."

Roi didn't answer.

His hands were still shaking.

Then—

A new system prompt appeared.

"TRIAL COMPLETE."

"BLACK RUIN PERMANENTLY OBTAINED."

Roi stared at the screen, his breath unsteady.

He had won.

But it didn't feel like victory.

Kyler stretched, his grin returning.

"You'll get used to it."

Roi wasn't so sure.

Because as he stood there, gripping the blade that had taken a life, one thought burned in his mind.

What if Kyler is the real enemy?

And worse—

What if one day, I'll have to kill him too?

Silence.

The battlefield was gone. The shattered mirrors, the glitching sky, the distorted space—all of it had vanished.

Now, there was only darkness.

Roi stood there, breathing hard, Black Ruin still clutched in his trembling hands. The blade pulsed with energy, the cold metal vibrating against his palm.

But he couldn't move.

The faceless man was gone.

No body. No trace.

As if he had never existed.

Yet, the memory of him lingered—the way he had looked at Roi in the final moments, the way his voice had broken, the way he had pleaded.

Roi…

His name. That was the last thing the faceless man had said before Roi cut him down.

His grip on the sword tightened painfully.

His stomach twisted, nausea rolling over him in violent waves.

This wasn't like the trials before. The landmine run, the mental test—those had been different. There had been suffering, yes, but no real weight.

But this… this was different.

He had killed someone.

Someone who had once been human.

Someone who had begged him for answers, not death.

His knees nearly buckled.

Then—Kyler's voice cut through the silence.

"Took you long enough."

Roi barely registered him. His breathing was shallow, uneven. His chest felt tight, suffocating.

Kyler sighed loudly, stepping forward.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're getting sentimental now." His voice was light, but there was an edge to it—mocking, but also irritated.

Roi didn't answer.

Kyler's eyes narrowed.

"You're feeling guilty."

Roi's hands shook harder.

Kyler exhaled through his nose, crossing his arms.

"You really are pathetic, you know that?" He tilted his head, watching Roi's hunched figure. "He was already dying. You just finished the job."

Roi finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"I didn't want to."

Kyler rolled his eyes.

"But you did." He grinned slightly, tilting his head. "And you know what? That's all that matters."

Roi swallowed, forcing down the sickness rising in his throat.

"It shouldn't have mattered." His voice shook.

Kyler let out a slow, dramatic sigh.

"Roi, let me explain something to you." His voice lost all traces of amusement.

He stepped closer, his presence suffocating.

"You think you had a choice? You think that because you hesitated, because you felt something, that it makes you different?"

His grin widened, but his eyes were cold.

"Newsflash: It doesn't."

Roi's breathing hitched.

Kyler leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.

"You still swung the sword. You still killed him. And now, you have what you wanted."

He tapped Black Ruin's hilt.

"That's what this world is, Roi." His voice was low, cutting. "You win, or you die. And today? You won."

Roi wanted to argue. Wanted to scream that it wasn't that simple. That he wasn't like Kyler, that he hadn't wanted this.

But deep down, a part of him knew.

Kyler was right.

Because in the end—he had swung.

And that meant something inside him had changed.

The weight of Black Ruin vanished from Roi's hands.

One moment, the massive blade was there—solid, heavy, real. The next, it dissolved into thin air, flickering like corrupted data before disappearing completely.

Roi's eyes widened.

"What the—?!" He took a step back, his hands gripping empty air.

Kyler smirked, crossing his arms.

"Relax, dumbass. It's not gone."

Roi's breath was still uneven from the battle, his head pounding from the weight of what he had just done. "Then where the hell is it?"

Kyler tapped his temple.

"Back in storage."

Roi blinked. "Storage?"

Kyler sighed like he was explaining something painfully obvious.

"Your tablet."

Roi stared. "My… what?"

Kyler rolled his eyes. "You know, the one sitting in your apartment? The thing you probably use to watch dumb videos while eating instant noodles?"

Roi's jaw tightened. "What does my tablet have to do with this?"

Kyler lifted a finger, and suddenly, a holographic screen flickered to life in front of him. It displayed a list of items, with the words "Black Ruin" glowing at the top.

"Everything you pull out of the cyberspace—items, weapons, tools—they all get stored in your digital access point. And in your case, that's your tablet." Kyler flicked the screen, making it spin like a menu selection.

Roi's stomach twisted. "So… it's inside my tablet now?"

Kyler nodded. "Exactly."

"But why my tablet? Why not my PC? Or my phone?"

Kyler shrugged. "Any digital screen can be used, but a tablet is the most suitable. The screen size is perfect for accessing stored items. It's like…" He smirked. "Doraemon's pocket, but for cyber-weapons."

Roi stared at him. "You're messing with me."

Kyler gave him a mock-serious nod. "Nope. Welcome to your new inventory system. If you ever need Black Ruin again, just pull it out from your tablet."

Roi exhaled sharply, his head spinning. The absurdity of it all should have been impossible.

But after everything?

After the Black Gate, the trials, the faceless man…

It was just another part of his new reality.

Kyler smirked, his eyes gleaming.

"And trust me. You're gonna need that blade again real soon."

Roi had a bad feeling he was right.