The monitor flared up sharply, as if someone had switched on a light right in his eyes. Labubu flinched and pulled his hand away from the mouse. The room was warm, even stifling, but the screen breathed cold. His fingers went numb for a moment, and he rubbed them against his knees, feeling the rough fabric of his pants. No sound came from the speakers, yet the silence was too dense, as if something extra was hiding within it.
The world was already on the screen. He didn’t remember pressing launch. The character stood in the middle of an empty square, and the sky above was darker than it should have been. Labubu leaned in closer and smelled a faint scent of hot plastic from the system unit. The fan was running in jerks, as if gasping for air.
He moved the mouse. The character responded with a delay. The movement wasn’t smooth, but jagged, like in a dream where the body doesn’t obey immediately. Labubu thought the game was just taking a long time to load, but the feeling wouldn’t let go. It was too empty here. Even for this world.
Somewhere in the depths of the map, a sound appeared. Not music, not an effect, but a dull thud, like someone knocking on a table from below. Labubu instinctively looked under his desk. There lay the power strip and some dust. Nothing moved.
He led the character forward. The square ended abruptly, without transition, and a corridor with walls of the same color began. The surface underfoot looked slippery, though the texture was dry. The camera shook slightly, and Labubu felt a faint dizziness, as if he were looking not at a screen, but into a deep pit.
That’s when the thought occurred that after this game, he wouldn’t close his computer the same way as usual.
It was colder in the corridor. He didn’t know how it was possible, but a slight shiver covered his shoulders. Labubu pulled his feet up onto the chair, feeling the wooden edge beneath his soles. A quiet crackling came from the speakers, as if someone were slowly tearing paper.
The character stopped on its own. The keys didn’t respond. Labubu pressed again, harder, and only then did the movement resume. Another avatar appeared ahead. It stood with its back turned and did not move. The clothes were ordinary, but the head was turned at a slightly wrong angle.
Labubu wanted to go around it, but space contracted. The corridor became narrower, the walls seemed to crawl closer. A line appeared in the chat.
— Do you see this?
Labubu swallowed hard. His throat was dry, though he had drunk water a few minutes ago. He typed ‘yes’, but the message didn’t send. The cursor hung, blinked, and returned to its place.
The other avatar slowly turned around. The face was standard, but the eyes were darker than they should be. They didn’t blink. Labubu felt his heart beating somewhere in his ears. The same thud was heard in the speakers again, closer now.
The world suddenly expanded. The corridor vanished, and they stood on a platform above a black void. It wasn’t empty. Something was moving there, barely noticeable, like a shadow in murky water. Labubu wanted to look away, but his gaze clung to the darkness.
The other player took a step toward the edge.
WOW:
— This is where they wake up.
Those words didn’t look like a joke. Labubu felt the mouse getting sweaty under his palm. He thought about the exit button but didn’t look at it. From below, a sound rose, like breathing—slow and heavy.
The platform shuddered. Labubu pushed away from the monitor, the chair creaking. The room suddenly grew cold, as if someone had opened a window. He knew it was impossible, but the feeling was real. A chill swept across his ankles.
The other avatar disappeared without animation. It simply ceased to exist. At that same moment, something from below rose higher. The camera wouldn’t show it fully, but Labubu saw the edge of a shape—dark and uneven. He pressed exit. Once. Twice. The button only worked on the third try.
The screen went dark. Only the hum of the fan remained in the room, now steady and calm. Labubu sat without moving. His fingers trembled. He touched the table and felt a cold surface, as if it had been standing in a basement for a long time.
He stood up and went to the kitchen. The floor was warm, the lamp shone as usual. He poured himself some water and drank, feeling the gulp bring his body back to normal. When he returned, the computer was off.
The next day, Labubu opened the game again. Everything looked normal. Bright colors, music, full servers. He relaxed a bit. But somewhere on the edge of the screen, in the reflection of the dark glass, it seemed to him that someone was standing behind his character.
He logged out immediately.
The computer shut down quickly this time. But as he passed the desk, he heard a faint sound, like a quiet breathing.
Genre: Digital Horror.
