[Current Viewers: 55 -> 203]
[Fear Points: 260]
The wooden stairs groaned under Ryan's feet like the ribs of a dying beast. Creak... Creak...
Every step kicked up a cloud of dust. The air on the second floor was thick, smelling of mold and something sweet—like rotting flowers.
Ryan held the Rusty Crowbar in one hand and his phone in the other. He glanced at the livestream chat.
User_Slayer69: "Bro, turn back! The 2nd floor is where the family died! The police report said the bodies were found in the master bedroom!"
User_CatLover: "I can hear breathing... is that you, Ryan?"
User_RichKid: "I bet $500 he screams within 3 minutes."
Ryan smirked at the camera. "Make it $1,000, RichKid. And get your wallet ready."
He reached the top of the stairs. There was a long, dark corridor with three doors.
The Bathroom (Left)
The Kid's Room (Right)
The Master Bedroom (End of the hall)
Suddenly, the temperature plummeted. Frost began to form on Ryan's phone screen.
[System Warning: Spirit fluctuation detected nearby.]
Ryan didn't hesitate. He turned left and kicked the bathroom door open.
BANG!
"Housekeeping!" Ryan shouted.
The bathroom was filthy. The tiles were cracked, covered in grime. But the most disturbing thing was the large mirror above the sink. It was perfectly clean. Pristine. Not a speck of dust.
Ryan walked up to the mirror. He looked at his reflection. Messy hair, dark circles under his eyes, but a confident grin.
Then, his reflection stopped grinning.
Ryan blinked. He was smiling, but the 'Ryan' in the mirror was frowning.
Slowly, the reflection's skin began to rot. Chunks of flesh fell off its face, revealing white bone underneath. The reflection's eyes turned completely black, bleeding dark tears.
A raspy, hollow voice echoed from the glass, not from Ryan's mouth.
"You... look... delicious..."
The chat went wild.
User_GhostHunter: "HOLY SHIT! MIRROR GHOST!"
User_ScaredyCat: "Look behind you! Is he coming out?!"
A pale, rotten hand slowly reached out from inside the mirror, trying to grab Ryan's neck.
Ryan didn't move. He activated his 'Ghost Eye' skill. He could see the spirit's core hidden inside the glass.
Instead of hitting it with the crowbar, Ryan leaned closer to the mirror. He tilted his head, looking at his rotting reflection with a critical expression.
"Delicious?" Ryan scoffed. "Buddy, have you seen my skin? I have pores the size of craters. And look at this pimple on my chin."
The ghost froze. The hand that was reaching out stopped in mid-air.
The ghost was confused. Why is he talking about skincare?
"I... will... eat... your... soul..." the ghost growled, trying to regain the scary atmosphere.
"Yeah, yeah, eat my soul later," Ryan interrupted, using his free hand to fix his hair in the mirror, ignoring the rotting hand sticking out. "But seriously, this lighting is terrible. You're a ghost, right? Can't you create some ambient lighting? I look pale."
The Mirror Ghost: "???"
[System Notification: The Mirror Ghost is bewildered. +30 Fear Points.]
"You dare... ignore me?!" The ghost roared. The mirror began to crack. The rotting hand shot forward to strangle Ryan.
"COURTING DEATH!"
Ryan's expression instantly turned cold. The bored streamer persona vanished.
"No," Ryan said flatly. "You are the one courting death."
Whoosh!
Ryan swung the Rusty Crowbar.
CRASH!
He didn't hit the hand. He smashed the mirror itself.
The glass shattered into a thousand pieces.
"AAAAAAHHH!"
An agonizing scream echoed through the bathroom. The physical vessel of the ghost was destroyed. Black smoke erupted from the broken shards, forming into a small, distorted shadow on the floor.
The ghost was trying to flee, crawling towards the drain.
"Oh no, you don't," Ryan stepped on the shadow with his sneaker.
[Skill Activated: Ghost Touch]
He reached down and grabbed the shadow by its neck. It felt cold and slimy, like holding a block of ice.
"Please! Spare me!" the ghost shrieked, shrinking in size. "I was just pranking you! It's a prank, bro!"
Ryan held the ghost up to the camera.
"Chat, look at this," Ryan said like a teacher showing a science experiment. "This is a Level 1 Mirror Spirit. They feed on vanity and fear. If you break their home (the mirror), they become as weak as a chicken."
User_Slayer69: "Did he just call a ghost a chicken?"
User_RichKid: "Unbelievable. Take my money! [Sent: Super Rocket x2]"
Ryan looked at the trembling ghost in his hand.
"System, can I eat him?"
[System Answer: No. Host is human. Eating raw ghosts causes diarrhea. Recommend: Extract.]
"Fine. Extract."
Ryan squeezed his hand.
[Ding! Extracted Level 1 Spirit.]
[Gained: +50 Fear Points.]
[Drop Item: 'Shard of Truth']
The shadow dissolved into light particles and vanished into Ryan's phone. A small, glowing piece of glass appeared in his inventory.
[Item: Shard of Truth]
Description: A piece of a cursed mirror. Looking through it allows you to see the past events of this house for 5 seconds.
Ryan's eyes narrowed. "See the past?"
He held up the glowing shard to his eye and looked at the bathtub.
Flash.
Suddenly, the bathroom changed. It wasn't dirty anymore. It was clean.
He saw a woman—the mother of the family—drowning a little boy in the bathtub. She was crying, chanting something insane.
"They are coming... I have to save him... death is better than them..."
Flash.
The vision ended. Ryan gasped, stepping back.
"She didn't murder them out of hate," Ryan whispered to himself, a cold chill running down his spine. "She killed them to save them. Save them from what?"
[Mission Update: Uncover the Truth (Progress: 30%)]
Suddenly, a heavy thud came from the hallway.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
It sounded like something massive was dragging a heavy axe across the floor.
The chat went silent.
Then, a single comment appeared.
User_Unknown: "Get out of the bathroom, Ryan. The Father is awake. And he is hungry."
Ryan gripped his crowbar. He walked to the bathroom door and peeked into the dark hallway.
Standing at the end of the hall, in front of the Master Bedroom, was a towering figure. It was at least 7 feet tall, headless, holding a massive fire axe.
The figure slowly turned its torso towards Ryan.
[System Warning: WARNING! WARNING!]
[Level 5 Evil Spirit Detected: 'The Headless Butcher'.]
[Danger Level: Lethal.]
[Advice: RUN.]
Ryan looked at the monster. Then he looked at his rusty crowbar.
"System," Ryan whispered. "If I beat him, how many points do I get?"
[System: ...You are crazy. Reward: 1000 Points.]
Ryan grinned. A manic, greedy grin.
"Hey, Big Guy!" Ryan shouted, stepping into the hallway and waving his hand. "Nice axe! Is that plastic?"