The manor’s main doors creaked open.

It was even creepier inside.

A rusted chandelier swayed overhead. Cobwebs clung to the banisters like shredded veils. The air was thick with the smell of rot and decay.

At least, that’s what everyone else said.

I couldn't smell a thing.

"Alright, listen up," Chloe announced, taking charge. "As an experienced player, I'll give you the rundown."

Marcus frowned. "When did you become experienced? Weren't you just saying you were a novice?"

"I did my homework," Chloe said with a wink. "This manor has four floors. The first floor is relatively safe, home to some of the gentler spirits. The second is a bit more dangerous, and the third is pretty terrifying."

"What about the fourth floor?" the guy in glasses asked.

Chloe's expression turned serious. "The attic suite. It's home to the most terrifying entity in this manor. No player has ever survived a single night in that room."

A collective gasp went through the crowd.

"So," Chloe continued, "I suggest everyone choose a room on the first floor. They're smaller, but at least you'll stay alive."

As soon as she finished, everyone scrambled for the first floor.

"I call 101!"

"102 is mine!"

"Don't push, I saw 103 first!"

In just a few minutes, the first-floor rooms were all claimed.

Then the second, and then the third.

I stood back, watching them scramble for rooms like it was Black Friday.

So damn loud.

"Ava," Ethan walked over to me. "Why aren't you picking a room?"

"No rush," I yawned. "I'm sure I'll find a spot."

"But only the fourth floor is left," he said, his voice laced with a worry I no longer cared about. "It's dangerous up there."

"Oh," I nodded. "Perfect. I don't like noise."

Ethan stared at me. "Are you insane? Chloe just said—"

"I don't care what she said," I cut him off, my voice sharp. "We're over, Ethan. Remember?"

His face went pale.

Chloe ran down from upstairs, a fake look of concern on her face. "Ava, you haven't picked a room yet? I can let you have my room, 206."

"No, thanks," I said, heading for the stairs. "The fourth floor sounds fine."

"Wait!" Chloe grabbed my arm. "The attic suite is suicide! The thing in there isn't just a ghost, it's—"

"It's what?"

She bit her lip, her voice a terrified whisper. “It’s the Shadow Lord. An ancient entity that devours light and souls. They say he rips your soul straight from your body, leaving your mind to scream in the endless dark until he finally swallows you whole.”

I pulled my arm away. “Sounds cool.”

“Cool?!” Marcus leaned over the third-floor railing.

“Little girl, do you have any idea what happened to the last player who tried that? He didn’t even make it through the first night. The next morning, all they found was a human-shaped bloodstain on the floor!”

"Guess he had bad manners," I said, starting up the stairs. "I'll be sure to knock."

The entire manor fell silent.

Everyone stared at me like I was a lunatic.

I reached the fourth floor. There was only one door, with a rusty plaque that read: "Attic Suite."

The lock was an old mechanical type.

I pulled a paper clip from my pocket. Bent it into shape. Slid it into the keyhole and gave it a few twists.

Click.

The door swung open.

I heard a collective gasp from downstairs.

【Comment 1: Holy shit, she's a pro at lockpicking】

【Comment 2: What did this girl do for a living? Was she a thief?】

【Comment 3: Wait, she's a designer, why does she know how to pick locks?】

【Comment 4: Doesn't matter what she did, she's about to die anyway】

【Comment 5: I bet she won't even make it inside the room】

I pushed the door open and peered inside.

The room was huge, with a skylight and a small balcony.

The decor was old, but the space was generous.

Most importantly, it was quiet.

"Not bad," I nodded, satisfied. Then I called out into the empty darkness:

"Hey. New roommate moving in. Hope you don't mind a little mess."

The moment I stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind me.

The room was pitch black.

"Where's the light switch—"

Before I could finish, I felt something cold and wet brush against my face.

Then came a dripping sound.

Drip, drip, drip.

I squinted, letting my eyes adjust.

I finally made out a small shape in the center of the room.

It was a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old.

She was completely soaked, her hair plastered to her face, water dripping endlessly from her body.

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

Then, she reached her hands toward me.

"Sister... play... with... me..."

【WARNING: Player Ava has triggered the Drowned Wraith’s lethal curse. Illusion ‘The Bottomless Pit’ is now active.】

She wasn’t a little girl at all.

She was a child’s corpse, one that had steeped for decades at the bottom of a pond.

Her skin was puffy and deathly pale.

From her empty eye sockets, a black, oily fluid constantly dripped.

Her nails, long and black, were bent at a sickening angle, ready to break the neck of the living soul before her.

【Comment 1: It’s her! The Drowned Wraith! Her illusion makes you feel like you’re drowning for real!】

【Comment 2: Just look at her! That bloated skin, the empty eyes… just two black holes! My anxiety is going through the roof!】

【Comment 3: That black ooze is concentrated hatred. Touch it and it’s game over.】 【Comment 4: RIP newbie.】

But I only saw a little girl, shivering in the rain.

"Oh, you poor thing!" I stripped off my jacket without a second thought. "You're soaked! You're going to catch a cold."

I rushed over and wrapped my jacket tightly around her.

The drowning illusion vanished instantly.

For any sane player, the sight would have been the stuff of nightmares.

There was a woman, tenderly bundling a drowned, discolored corpse in her own coat.

The ghost’s stiff, cyanotic hands, which had been seconds from strangling her, hovered just a breath away from her delicate neck.

The little girl froze, her eyes wide as she stared at me.

Her hands were still poised to strangle me, but she didn't move.

"How long were you out there?" I touched her forehead. "You're freezing. You must be chilled to the bone."

I led her by the hand to the fireplace. There was some dry wood, and I lit a fire.

Warm light filled the room.

The little girl stared blankly at the flames, the emptiness in her eyes gradually replaced by an emotion I’d never seen before.

Confusion.

"Sit down, I'll dry your hair," I said, pulling a towel from my luggage. "What's your name?"

She didn't answer, just sat stiffly by the fire.

I gently wrapped the towel around her head and began to dry her dripping hair.

My touch was delicate, like I was handling priceless porcelain.

"It's okay if you don't want to say," I said softly. "I'm Ava. You look like a Lily. Is it okay if I call you Lily?"

Her body trembled slightly.

Not from cold, but from shock.

For decades, humans had only screamed at her terrifying face.

They tried to run. They begged. They cursed her.

But this woman... she didn't scream.

She dried her hair.

She gave her a name.

"You must be hungry." I rummaged through my bag, found a chocolate bar, and handed it to her. "It's all I've got. We can look for something better in the kitchen tomorrow."

Lily looked at the chocolate in her hand, and black liquid welled up in her eyes.

But this time, it wasn't the venom of a curse. It was tears.

"...Warm," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.

I smiled. "Of course, it's warm. We have a fireplace and blankets." My voice became firm but gentle. "From now on, this is our home."

"Our?"

"That's right." I patted her shoulder. "From today on, you're my little sister!"

Lily's eyes went wide, as if she'd heard the most unbelievable thing in the world.

Sister?

The word was completely foreign to her.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd heard it.

Was it when she was alive?

When she was human?

She remembered her death.

The icy pond, the desperate struggle, the burning in her lungs.

After she died, she became a vengeful spirit, torturing every living person who entered this room in the same way.

But now, this woman named Ava had given her warmth.

A name.

A home.

Lily slowly relaxed the hand that had been ready to snap Ava’s neck. Gently, she reached out and took hold of Ava’s finger.

"Sister..." she whispered.

"I'm here," I said, stroking her head.

In that warm moment, the temperature in the room plummeted.

The fire in the fireplace flickered, as if suppressed by an unseen force.

A tall figure materialized silently behind me, a cold presence washing over us like a tide.

Darkness swirled around him like a living thing.

Light was devoured. The air grew heavy.

The Shadow Lord.

The true master of this room.

"Interesting."

The voice was a deep, emotionless rumble. It sliced through the silence like a scythe. Death had arrived.

"The first time in decades a human has managed to quiet the little water wraith."

Lily shot up, standing in front of me.

A moment ago, she was a little girl in need of protection. Now, she was like a small animal defending its young.

"Don't you hurt my sister!" She spread her arms, black liquid pouring from her eyes. "Kael, this is my sister!"

"Yours?" The voice was filled with scorn. "A mortal about to die is worthy of being your sister?"

Tendrils of shadow shot out from the darkness, easily sweeping Lily aside.

She slammed into the wall with a pained groan.

"Stop it!"

I immediately rushed forward to confront him, but my foot slipped and I lost my balance.

As I fell, my hands shot out instinctively, landing on something.

His chest.

It was cold and hard, but a warm crack glowed with a faint light.

I looked up.

To my eyes, he was a tall man, maybe six-foot-three.

He was dressed in all black, wearing some kind of mask or hood that looked very artistic.

The coolest part was the glowing decoration on his chest, like a special effect from a sci-fi movie.

【WARNING: Player Ava has touched the S-rank Boss ‘The Shadow Lord’s’ ‘Soul Scar.’ This is a fatal wound from a past betrayal. Touching it means instant, murderous rage.】

To anyone else, Kael wasn’t a ‘man.’

He was a walking shadow, a hole in reality.

He flickered in and out of existence, sucking in all light and sound around him.

That ‘glowing crack’ wasn’t a decoration.

It was a raw, open wound on his very soul.

It pulsed with pure, concentrated hatred—enough to kill a god.

And now, because a human touched it, that hatred was about to explode.

"Whoa," I breathed. "This cosplay is insane."

【Comment 1: Is she insane? That's the Shadow Lord! Not a cosplayer!】

【Comment 2: Holy shit, she just touched his wound】

【Comment 3: That crack is the fatal wound he got from a betrayal, anyone who touches it sends him into a rage】

【Comment 4: It's over, she's really dead this time】

I curiously poked the glowing crack. "How did you do this effect? Is it an LED strip? Some new tech?"

The man named Kael froze completely, as if he'd been struck by lightning.

"The craftsmanship is master-level," I gushed. "Seriously, it's a shame you're so stoic. You'd win first place at Comic-Con, no contest. You could totally go pro."

The room was terrifyingly quiet.

Even Lily was staring at us with wide eyes.

【Comment 5: Wait, why isn't the Shadow Lord reacting?】

I let go and took a step back. "Sorry, that was rude of me. I'm Ava, your new roommate."

Kael looked down at me, his eyes hidden in shadow, glinting with a complex light.

For centuries, every creature who saw him was consumed by terror.

They screamed. They ran. They died in despair.

But this woman was complimenting his "cosplay."

She dared to touch his most painful wound and call it a "special effect."

She called him her "roommate."

Her eyes were clear. No fear, no greed. Just pure curiosity and goodwill.

He hadn't seen a gaze like that in hundreds of years.

"You..." his voice was a little unsteady. "You're not afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you?" I tilted my head. "Why would I be? You're not a real monster."

"I am a monster," he insisted. "I am the Shadow Lord. I devour light and tear souls apart—"

"Oh, right," I nodded. "Method acting. Total commitment. I respect that."

Kael was silent. Utterly, completely silent.

He had no idea how to respond.

It was the first time in centuries that a living being had interrupted his intimidation speech.

"By the way," I looked over at Lily in the corner. "You were bullying my sister just now."

"Sister?" Kael followed my gaze. "She's a drowning spirit who has killed countless humans—"

"She's Lily," I cut him off. "A little girl who got caught in the rain."

I walked over and helped Lily up, checking to see if she was hurt.

"Sister, are you okay?" Lily clung to my clothes. "He's dangerous."

"I'm fine," I patted her head, then turned back to Kael. "If we're going to be roommates, we need to set some ground rules. Rule number one: no bullying children."

Kael stared at me, an unreadable emotion flickering in his eyes.