"Everyone to the front!"
A man's voice echoed through the room they were in. It was powerful enough to cause mild shockwaves. The dust around him scattered, and the puddles of water rippled from the force.
He was wearing crimson-scaled armor and a helmet with a blue feather on it. The sword in his hand radiated a bright green light, smoke rising from it as he unsheathed it.
The man looked up into the sky, where a creature that resembled a dragon—with the head of a snake—was flying above them. When the creature opened its mouth, a dark purple smoke with hints of yellow poured out.
[Acidic Smoke of Cratus has enveloped the battlefield]
[Steel and iron equipment durability has dropped]
[The smoke is melting your skin]
—To be continued
_____
A man wearing a light green shirt opened his umbrella and walked out of the coffee shop, holding his phone in one hand.
The badge around his neck swayed with each step.
Name: Oliver Ardwin
Age: 24
Occupation: Junior Interior Designer
He looked at his phone once more and tried to refresh the novel he was reading. But no new chapter had been published.
It had been two days since the author posted anything.
The rain was soft, just a quiet tapping on his umbrella as Oliver walked down the street. He passed by rows of parked cars, headlights reflecting off wet asphalt. The city looked gray, like the color had been washed off everything.
His screen dimmed a bit and he tapped it again, refreshing the page.
Still nothing.
No new chapter.
"Come on, man," Oliver muttered under his breath. "Just one post. Even a short one."
He lowered the umbrella slightly and stopped in front of the crosswalk. The red light blinked. Across the street, a couple stood under a shared umbrella, laughing about something. Their voices were soft, like background noise.
Oliver's phone buzzed.
Office Group Chat:
Jason: Yo, we still doing the 3PM meet w/ the client?
Kira: Yeah, client confirmed. Don't be late.
Oliver: Got it.
Oliver sighed and tucked his phone into his coat pocket. The rain hadn't let up. Drops hit the umbrella in a steady rhythm as he walked to the train station.
He scanned his transit card and stepped onto the platform. The train screeched to a stop a minute later. He got on, found a seat by the window, and sat down.
His phone buzzed again.
Jason: "You better have the sketches ready. Client's picky."
Oliver didn't reply. He stared out the window as the city passed by.
The announcements played overhead. Three more stops to go. His eyes became heavy but he forced to stay awake. The window showed his reflection, a tired man with dark circles under his eyes and a messy hairstyle. He ran his fingers through it, trying to make it look a little better.
The train rocked a little as it sped through a tunnel. Oliver blinked slowly. He leaned back against the seat, closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again. Couldn't sleep now. Not with a meeting in less than an hour.
He reached into his bag and pulled out his sketchpad. The pages were a little bent from being stuffed in there. He flipped through them—furniture layouts, ceiling light concepts, a few half-done rough sketches. Not good enough yet. He'd clean them up before showing the client.
Another buzz.
Jason: "You alive?"
Oliver rolled his eyes and typed back.
Oliver: "Yeah. On the train."
The train pulled into the next station. A few people got off. A few others got on. One guy sat across from him, soaking wet, shaking out his hoodie. The guy's shoes squeaked every time he moved.
Oliver looked back down at his phone and, almost out of habit, opened the novel app again.
Still no update.
Oliver sighed through his nose. He knew it was dumb, getting this hung up over a story. But it was the only thing lately that made his days feel a little different.
He slid the phone back into his pocket and closed the sketchbook. The train rattled as it passed over a bridge, rain hitting the windows like static.
A small leak was dripping from the ceiling two seats down. Nobody was sitting there. The guy across from him was scrolling through his phone, earbuds in. Looked like he was watching a video. His screen flickered with light and motion, but Oliver didn't care to see what it was.
Another stop.
The train slowed. Doors opened. People moved.
He stayed still.
One more stop.
He was early, but not by much. His fingers tapped lightly on the sketchbook. Just nervous energy. He hated these meetings. Not because of the work—he liked designing. But the clients always wanted more than the budget could handle. And he always had to smile and nod like everything was fine.
He leaned his head against the window. The glass was cold.
He closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened his eyes what he saw was a teddy bear with blue bowtie floating in air and the people shouting and crying.
I blinked. Hard.
The teddy bear didn't go away.
It was floating. Just hovering there, a few feet above the train floor. Its fur was clean, like it had been pulled right off a shelf. The blue bowtie around its neck looked perfectly tied.
I didn't move. Nobody did at first.
Then someone screamed.
A woman toward the front clutched her bag and backed into the door. A man near her grabbed onto the pole beside him. People scrambled. Some dropped their phones. One guy started banging on the window.
The teddy bear smiled. Not in a creepy way—just a simple toy smile. But it didn't match what was happening around it.
A soft chime played, like elevator music.
Then the bear spoke.
"Hello, Candidates!" Its voice was high-pitched. Friendly. "Welcome to the Live Zone!"
Nobody said anything.
"Your lives have been selected for livestream access by the Multiversal Viewer Program—EIDOLIVE!"
The guy across from me stood up, shaky, pointing at it. "What the hell is that?! Is this a prank?!"
The bear spun in the air. "This is not a prank. This is your Orientation Trial!"
My head throbbed.
My vision blurred for a second. I blinked again. The bear's voice didn't stop.
"Please do not panic. This train has been repurposed as an Orientation Zone for your trial. You are now Streamers! Smile for the audience!"
Audience?
A sharp, static-like sensation ran through my ears. My skin prickled, like I was being watched—really watched. But not by the people on the train.
Above the teddy bear's head, glowing text flickered into the air, like it had been typed on an invisible screen:
[EIDOLIVE INITIATED]
[You are now being streamed across the Multiverse]
[Viewer count: 0]
[Stream Title: "Orientation Kill Zone – Earth Beta Transit Line 7A"]
[Please remain calm.]
Someone puked. I think it was the woman near the front.
The bear kept smiling. "Let's begin!"
A loud clunk echoed through the train as the doors sealed shut. The lights flickered once. Then a new line of text appeared, brighter than the rest:
[Zone Trial: ORIENTATION KILL ZONE]
[Objective: SURVIVE for 15 Minutes]
[Rules: DO NOT leave the train. DO NOT close your eyes. DO NOT speak directly to the Passengers.]
[Begin.]
"W-What does that mean?" a man whispered near me. He was holding a briefcase like a shield. "What passengers?"
The lights dimmed further.
And then we heard them.
Footsteps.
Not from inside the train. No—these were on top of it. Heavy, slow, deliberate.
Something was walking on the roof.
I held my breath.
Then a second set of footsteps. Lighter. Faster. Skittering.
Something like nails scraping metal.
The teddy bear turned slowly in the air, facing the front of the train. "Oop! Someone's early!"
The ceiling above the frontmost car buckled. Metal groaned.
Then a pale hand punched through.
It was long. Too long. Like someone had stretched the arm of a mannequin until the joints snapped and kept going anyway. The hand gripped the edge of the broken roof and began pulling the rest of itself in.
The lights turned bloody red.
[First Passenger has boarded.]
[WARNING: Perception rules now active.]
I froze.
Another line of text appeared in the corner of my vision. Like a pop-up window in my brain.
[You are being watched.]
[Viewer: "A Thought That Once Was a City" has joined your stream.]
A hand dropped through the hole in the ceiling.
It moved strange. Like it wasn't sure how hands were supposed to move.
Another limb followed. Longer. Thinner. It bent the wrong way at the joints. I didn't know if it was from the same thing or not.
The roof groaned. Something heavy was above us.
The lights in the train flickered again.
[Second Passenger has boarded.]
[Perception rules now fully active.]
[Remember: Do NOT speak to the Passengers.]
No one said anything.
We just watched.
Then a long shape slid through the hole—head first. It was tall, way too tall. Its face was wrapped in dirty cloth, like it didn't want to see us.
It hung upside down from the ceiling.
Still.
Silent.
Listening.
My skin was cold. My hands shook, but I didn't move.
[Viewer: "The One Who Eats Dialogue" is watching your stream]
[Pulse Donation Received: 0.01 Units]
[Note: Donations may influence streamer outcomes]
There was a tiny sound in my ear. Like a small coin hitting the floor.
Somebody near the back made a noise. Could've been a sob. Could've been a word.
The creature turned its head fast—like it heard it.
Then it dropped.
Screams broke out.
A guy near the end of the car lost it. He rushed the door, slamming it with his fists. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"
The bear mascot floated next to him, still smiling.
"Aww, that's against the rules."
The door bent.
Not open—bent. Like a book being closed wrong.
The guy was gone.
No blood. No sound. Just… gone.
[Rule Violation Detected – Participant Removed]
[Viewer Reaction: Mild Disappointment]
[Pulse Flow: -0.04 from collective viewership]
I couldn't move.
I couldn't even breathe right. My eyes stung.
The bear floated higher and spoke like nothing was wrong.
"Only thirteen minutes left! Keep up the good work!"
Thirteen minutes.
That felt like forever.