I Gained An Ability While Surfing On The Dark Web

Roi was still catching his breath when the system prompt flickered into existence.

"TRIAL COMPLETE."

"REWARD GRANTED: [???]"

Roi blinked. Huh?

The text glitched for a second before stabilizing—

"ITEM ACQUIRED: HARIBON STONE."

Something dropped into his hands.

He looked down.

It was… a rock.

A small, dull, unimpressive rock.

Roi frowned. What. The. Hell.

He turned it over in his palm, expecting it to do something. Glow, pulse, whisper dark secrets—anything.

It didn't.

It was just a rock.

He slowly lifted his head.

Kyler was watching him, grinning ear to ear.

"Well? Happy with your prize?"

Roi's eye twitched.

"I ALMOST DIED. MULTIPLE TIMES. AND I GET A ROCK?!"

Kyler burst out laughing.

"Oh man, this is beautiful." He wiped a fake tear from his eye.

Roi turned the stone over in his hands.

"Okay, maybe it has some hidden ability." He held it up dramatically. "Activate!"

Nothing.

"Enhance!"

Nothing.

He shook it aggressively. "Do something, you useless piece of sh—"

"Haribon Stone: No detected abilities."

The system actually confirmed it.

Kyler was on the floor wheezing.

"Oh my god, I can't breathe."

Roi glared at the rock like it personally betrayed him.

"What kind of scam-ass trial gives a rock as a reward?!"

Kyler, still laughing, shrugged. "Maybe it's a metaphor for your intelligence."

Roi deadpanned. "I'm throwing this at your face."

Kyler smirked. "Go ahead. Maybe that's the hidden ability."

Roi reeled his arm back—

Then stopped.

His stomach dropped.

Because for a split second, he could've sworn the rock pulsed.

Faint. Barely noticeable.

But it did something.

His fingers tightened around it.

Maybe this thing wasn't so useless after all.

Roi stared at the rock in his hand.

It was small, dull, completely ordinary.

Except for that one moment where it felt like it pulsed.

Maybe.

Possibly.

Or maybe he was just losing his damn mind.

Kyler was still grinning like an idiot.

"Well? Figured out what your grand prize does?"

Roi exhaled sharply and shoved the Echo Stone into his pocket.

"Nope. Don't care. Moving on."

Kyler blinked. "Wait—just like that?"

Roi turned away. "If it wants to be useless, it can be useless. Not my problem."

Kyler scoffed. "Wow. That's some impressive denial."

"I call it selective ignorance." Roi adjusted his glasses. "Works every time."

Kyler grinned. "Alright. But don't come crying when that rock saves your ass later."

Roi rolled his eyes.

Yeah, right.

Like some dumb magic rock was going to matter.

After that. Days will pass. He will be back into his normal life.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, Roi was back in his apartment.

No glitching landscapes. No faceless men. No twisted trials forcing him to fight for his life.

Just him.

And his monitors, streaming setup, and an unopened pack of instant noodles sitting on his desk.

He let out a long exhale, rubbing his face.

"Alright. That was a fever dream."

He pulled out the Haribon Stone, glanced at it for half a second—then chucked it onto his bed without a second thought.

Not his problem.

Not right now.

He flopped into his chair, rolling toward his PC. His hands moved on autopilot—booting up his stream, flicking on his mic, activating the dog filter that hid his real face.

The chat immediately exploded.

[User: XxShadowLurker]: YO YOU'RE BACK???

[User: H4ckM4ster]: Thought u died lmao

[User: GlitchHunterX]: Bro went into hiding after that dark web sh*t

Roi smirked, leaning into his mic.

"Surprise, I lived."

The comments flooded in faster.

[User: NeonVoid]: WTF HAPPENED WHERE'VE U BEEN?!

[User: BloodReaper69]: MORE DARK WEB STREAMS OR NAH?

[User: MrAnon13]: OPEN MORE CREEPY LINKS PLS

Roi paused.

His fingers hovered over his keyboard.

The Black Gate. The faceless man. His parents—twisted and monstrous.

He could still hear the chains rattling.

Still feel Black Ruin in his hands.

A phantom pain ghosted across his ribs where his father's chains had crushed him.

For a moment, he considered telling them everything.

Then, he forced a grin.

"Nah. No dark web today. I've had enough cursed sh*t for a lifetime."

The chat spammed disappointment.

[User: CyberGhost]: BOOO LAME

[User: DeadByte]: WTF MAN THAT'S UR WHOLE BRAND

[User: MaskedMarauder]: SOFT LMAOOOO

Roi rolled his eyes.

"Alright, chill. We're doing normal sh*t today."

He booted up a game, letting himself sink into the comfort of something simple. Something that didn't require him to think about death, survival, or cryptic entities stalking him through the internet.

And for a while—it worked.

The game felt familiar. The chat spammed their usual nonsense.

He was just streaming again.

Just Roi, the streamer.

Not Roi, the survivor of the Black Gate.

Not Roi, the wielder of Black Ruin.

Not Roi, the one who had killed.

Just Roi.

And it was enough.

For a while.

But as the hours passed, as he racked up wins, as the chat spammed hype messages and donations—

That feeling came creeping back.

The hollowness.

Like something was off.

Like this wasn't real anymore.

His fingers felt too light on the keyboard. His voice, too rehearsed.

And for the first time, the mask didn't feel like it was just on his face.

It felt like it was inside him now.

Like he was just pretending to be the person he used to be.

And then—

A system prompt flashed.

Not in the game.

Not on his PC.

In his vision.

"NEW TRIAL UNLOCKED."

"WELCOME BACK, ROI."

His breath caught.

The lights in his apartment flickered.

The screen glitched.

And just like that—normal was over.

Roi stared at the notification.

"NEW TRIAL UNLOCKED."

"WELCOME BACK, ROI."

His heart pounded. His vision blurred slightly, the words flickering like a corrupted file—then vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

His chat was still scrolling. His game was still running.

But something felt off.

The lights in his apartment flickered again.

Just once. Barely noticeable.

But he noticed.

A prickle ran down his spine. Slowly, cautiously, he moved his mouse. The game responded normally. Everything looked fine.

Maybe he imagined it.

Maybe he was just tired.

He let out a slow breath and forced himself to focus.

"Alright, chat, let's get another match in."

He queued up, forcing his hands to stay steady.

The loading screen lingered too long.

Then—a single frame flickered.

A dark hallway. A single door. A red glow seeping out from beneath it.

Then, back to normal.

His stomach twisted.

His chat hadn't reacted.

That wasn't part of the game.

His pulse picked up. But he shoved the thought down, shaking it off.

Just a glitch. A random visual bug.

Nothing more.

He played another match. Won. Another one. Won again.

And for a while, he convinced himself it was fine.

Until—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A faint knocking.

Roi froze.

The sound had come from behind him.

But that was impossible.

He lived alone.

Slowly, so slowly, he turned his head toward his apartment door.

Silence.

Nothing.

The knocking had stopped.

His shoulders tensed. His breath felt too loud in the empty space.

Then—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His blood ran cold.

Because this time—

The sound had come from his monitor.

A knock. From inside the screen.

His game flickered. The colors distorted. The shadows in the background of the map twisted.

Then—

For one split second, his own reflection stared back at him.

And it smiled.

Roi's chest tightened.

His reflection had smiled.

Not a twitch. Not a flicker. A full, knowing grin.

He sat there, completely still. The glow of his monitor flickered slightly, bathing the room in an uneven light.

His chat was still scrolling normally. His game was still running.

But everything felt wrong.

Like the air in his apartment had thickened. Like something was watching him.

He forced out a shaky breath.

It was a trick of the light. A graphical bug. Just my mind messing with me.

But then—

His reflection blinked.

And Roi hadn't.

A chill ripped through his spine.

His fingers twitched over his keyboard, but his reflection's hands remained perfectly still.

For a long, suffocating second, they just stared at each other.

Then—his reflection's head tilted, just slightly.

And tapped the screen.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The same knocking as before.

This time, from inside the monitor.

Roi flinched back, his chair rolling slightly. His breath came quicker now.

Then—

A new message popped up in his chat.

A username he didn't recognize.

[User: ???]: "Let me out."

The color drained from his face.

The chat kept scrolling, completely normal. No one else reacted.

Then—another message.

[User: ???]: "I know you can see me."

His stomach twisted.

Then—his PC crashed.

The screen went black. The hum of the machine cut out.

The room plunged into silence.

Roi sat there, staring at the blank screen, pulse hammering in his ears.

And in the reflection of the dark monitor—

He wasn't alone.

Something stood behind him.

Tall. Motionless. Watching.

Waiting.

The knocking started again.

This time—from inside the room.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Roi's breath hitched. His hands tightened on the armrests.

Then—

The voice came.

Right behind his ear.

Soft. Familiar.

His own.

"You can't ignore me forever."

Roi spun around—

And everything went dark.