I Gained An Ability While Surfing On The Dark Web

Roi's wrists ached from the ropes that bound him, his mind racing as the weight of the faceless man's offer settled over him. A deal. A temporary truce.

It was madness.

But what choice did he have?

He exhaled slowly, forcing down the knot of fear twisting in his gut. "Fine. We help each other."

The faceless man tilted his head slightly, as if amused. Then, without a word, he raised a single hand.

The ropes around Roi's wrists and ankles unraveled instantly, as if obeying an unseen command.

Roi barely had time to react before—

"NEW TRIAL UNLOCKED."

"NEXT PHASE INITIATING."

A sharp static noise crackled through the air.

The room shuddered.

Roi's vision glitched—his surroundings distorting, warping. For a split second, he swore he saw lines of code flickering in the air, twisting reality itself.

Then—everything changed.

The darkness vanished.

He was no longer in the dim, suffocating room.

He was somewhere else.

Somewhere worse.

A blinding white void stretched infinitely, eerily similar to where his previous trials had started. But this time, something was different.

Rows of mirrors lined the space.

Hundreds of them.

Each reflecting an image of himself.

But the reflections… were wrong.

Some versions of him were smiling when he wasn't. Others were staring directly at him, even when he looked away. And some… some were twisted, grotesque—their eyes hollow, their mouths stretched into unnatural grins.

A chilling realization crept down his spine.

This is another trial.

The faceless man stepped forward beside him, completely unfazed.

"This… is new." His voice was unreadable, almost intrigued.

Roi's fists clenched.

Then, as if triggered by his movement—

One of the mirrors shattered.

A voice—his own—whispered from the shards.

"Are you sure you're real?"

The next phase had begun.

And Roi wasn't ready.

The words burned into the air, glowing in an eerie red light. The instruction for the trail was given.

"KILL THE FACELESS MAN."

Roi's stomach dropped.

The faceless man stood beside him, still as death. Then, slowly, deliberately, he turned his head toward the floating text. His blank, featureless face didn't move—but something about him shifted.

A low, distorted chuckle escaped his throat.

"Well. This is interesting."

Roi stepped back instinctively. He knew what was coming.

The faceless man turned fully to face him now. The glitches around his body intensified, the edges of his form flickering, breaking apart, then snapping back together.

Then—

The world shattered.

The mirrors surrounding them exploded, shards of glass raining down like falling stars. The reflections of himself screamed as they were destroyed, their twisted smiles vanishing into nothingness.

And standing amidst the carnage… was Kyler.

A few feet away, he sat on the edge of a floating mirror fragment, legs crossed, grinning. His eyes gleamed with amusement, watching like a spectator at a grand show.

"Well, well, well. This should be fun," Kyler mused.

Roi barely had time to process before—

The faceless man moved.

No—he blurred.

One second he was standing still. The next, he was right in front of Roi.

A fist slammed into his stomach.

The air ripped from Roi's lungs. He was sent flying backward, crashing through what remained of the mirrors. Glass cut into his skin, his body skidding across the ground, pain exploding through his ribs.

He barely had time to groan before—

The faceless man was already there.

A hand wrapped around Roi's throat, lifting him off the ground like he weighed nothing.

"Pathetic."

Roi kicked, struggled, his fingers clawing at the iron grip. The faceless man's head twitched violently, glitching in and out of existence.

Then, with effortless ease—

He threw Roi like a ragdoll.

CRACK.

Roi's back slammed into the broken floor, his entire body screaming in agony. Blood pooled in his mouth. His vision blurred, darkened.

He was going to die.

Then—

Something called to him.

A pull. A sensation.

Like a hand reaching into his mind, dragging something to the surface.

And in the corner of his fading vision—he saw it.

A sword.

Towering. Monstrous.

Its blade as tall as he was, its metal dark and jagged, pulsing with an energy he didn't understand.

"WEAPON UNLOCKED: BLACK RUIN."

For a moment—just a moment—Kyler's smirk faltered.

Roi's fingers twitched.

Then—he grabbed the hilt.

A sharp, thrumming power rushed through his veins. His vision snapped into focus, the pain in his body dulled by something far greater.

The faceless man took a slow step forward.

"Oh? What's this?"

Roi's grip on the sword tightened.

Then, for the first time—he charged.

And the fight truly began.

The ground trembled as Roi charged, Black Ruin dragging behind him, its jagged blade carving into the fragmented world. His breath burned, his muscles screamed, but none of it mattered.

This was it.

His only chance.

The faceless man didn't move. Not at first. He stood still, watching, his glitching form vibrating in place. Then, just as Roi swung the massive sword—

The faceless man vanished.

A burst of static filled the air.

Roi's blade sliced through nothing but echoes.

Then—

A hand appeared behind his head.

Before he could react—SLAM.

His skull cracked against the ground, his vision exploding into white-hot pain. He barely registered the movement before he was yanked up again, thrown across the battlefield like a broken doll.

The mirrors that still floated in the space around them shattered from the impact, glass and shards of his own twisted reflections scattering into oblivion.

Roi hit the ground hard, his fingers tightening around Black Ruin as he forced himself back up.

The faceless man stood a few feet away, head twitching, body flickering in and out of reality.

Then—he laughed.

A low, glitching chuckle, layered and wrong.

"Is that all?"

Roi gritted his teeth, his breath ragged. His grip on the sword tightened.

Then—he moved.

Not forward—up.

Phantom Dash. Activate.

His body blurred, launching into the air, flipping above the faceless man. The moment he reached the peak of his jump—he swung down.

BOOM.

Black Ruin slammed into the ground where the faceless man had been standing.

The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, fracturing the very space around them. The mirrors still intact splintered into cracks, the air distorting from the force.

For a moment—just a second—Roi thought he had landed a hit.

But then—

A whisper.

Right behind him.

"You're too slow."

Before he could react—a knee slammed into his spine.

Pain exploded through his back as he was sent flying again, his body crashing through another floating mirror, the shards slicing into his arms and legs.

He hit the ground in a heap, gasping for breath.

He was losing.

No matter how fast he moved, how strong his sword was—the faceless man was stronger. Faster. Untouchable.

Kyler, still perched on his mirror shard, let out a mocking whistle.

"Oof. That looked painful."

Roi cursed under his breath. He didn't have time for this. He had to think.

I can't hit him directly. He's too fast. But he always counterattacks.

His mind spun.

What if I make him take the bait?

The faceless man tilted his head. "Are we done?"

Roi wiped the blood from his mouth.

Then—he smiled.

"Not even close."

And then—he ran.

Not at the faceless man.

But past him.

He sprinted, Phantom Dash activating in bursts, making his movements unpredictable. The faceless man blurred forward, chasing.

Good.

Roi tightened his grip on Black Ruin, feeling the energy within the blade surge.

Come on, take the bait.

The moment the faceless man reached for him—

Roi planted his foot down, twisted, and swung with everything he had.

And this time—he connected.

Black Ruin cleaved into the faceless man's side, cutting through his glitching form like tearing through data itself.

A static-filled scream erupted from his body as his figure distorted violently, the wound flickering in and out of reality.

Kyler sat up straighter, eyes narrowing.

For the first time—the faceless man staggered.

Roi panted, the weight of the battle pressing down on him. But despite the pain, despite the overwhelming odds—

He grinned.

Because now—he knew he could win.

The faceless man staggered, his form distorting violently where Black Ruin had struck him. A choked, static-filled noise escaped him as he clutched his side, glitching in and out of reality.

Roi stood a few feet away, breath ragged, arms shaking from exhaustion. The weight of Black Ruin pressed heavily in his grip, but he didn't swing again.

He should have.

But then—the faceless man spoke.

"You… forgot, didn't you?" His voice crackled, layered with distortion. His head twitched, glitching violently as he straightened.

Roi's fingers tightened around his sword.

"Forgot what?"

The faceless man chuckled—not mocking, but knowing.

"Our deal."

Roi's heart skipped.

The earlier agreement hit him like a cold wave.

We help each other. I behave. I don't kill you. You help me understand this world.

His hands shook. His resolve wavered.

For the first time in the fight, he hesitated.

And that hesitation froze everything.

The battlefield that had been filled with clashing steel, breaking mirrors, and shattering reality was suddenly… silent.

Behind him, Kyler's smirk dropped.

The young hacker had been watching with keen amusement, treating this battle like entertainment. But now—his expression twisted into something darker.

"What the hell are you doing, Roi?"

Roi swallowed, his mind spinning.

Kyler slowly stood from his floating mirror shard, stepping forward. His usual cocky demeanor was gone, replaced by something cold and lethal.

"You're actually hesitating?" His voice was sharp, almost offended. "What, just because he reminded you of a stupid deal?"

Roi turned to him, his grip still trembling on his sword. "Kyler, it's not that simple."

Kyler's eyes darkened.

"No, it is."

He took another step forward, his presence shifting the air.

"You don't get it, do you?" Kyler's voice was lower now, a slow, creeping danger laced beneath it. "People like him aren't supposed to exist in the real world."

Roi's breath hitched.

"What?"

Kyler's gaze never left him.

"The people created in cyberspace—those that were born from the system—aren't meant to leave it." His voice was final, absolute.

Then, his next words sent a cold chill down Roi's spine.

"Anyone who breaks that law should be killed. And erased."

Kyler turned his head slightly, his calm, dead stare landing on the faceless man.

"He should be killed."

Roi's heart pounded.

"No."

Kyler's eyes flicked back to him.

"What?"

Roi clenched his fists. "I… I don't want to kill him."

Kyler let out a slow exhale, as if testing his patience.

Then—he grinned.

Not his usual playful grin.

Something colder.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Roi barely had time to react before—

Kyler moved.

The entire battlefield shattered.

A force unlike anything before ripped through the space, warping the very air itself.

Roi felt it immediately—a suffocating pressure, something so impossibly strong that his body nearly collapsed under it.

Then, he saw Kyler's hand grip the faceless man's head.

Not fast. Not aggressive.

Just a simple, terrifying grip.

And in that moment—the faceless man struggled.

For the first time since their encounter, since everything began—

He was afraid.

Kyler's grin widened.

"You think you're powerful, huh?" His voice was almost mocking.

The faceless man clawed at Kyler's wrist, his form glitching uncontrollably. But nothing he did worked.

Kyler's fingers tightened.

"Let me tell you something, buddy."

The space around them distorted, bending under Kyler's presence.

"If you're strong—"

He slammed the faceless man into the ground so hard the battlefield cracked apart.

The impact shook everything.

"I'm ten times stronger."

Roi stood frozen, horrified.

This wasn't just power.

This was absolute dominance.

Kyler, the mischievous hacker who had guided him all this time, wasn't just another player in the game.

He was something else entirely.

And for the first time—Roi realized he might be the real monster.