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Reader, I’m gonna be so real with you right now. This whole mess? It started on a Tuesday.

The most cursed day of the week, if you think about it.

You were just existing. Living your life. Running errands like a completely normal person with absolutely zero knowledge of the supernatural hellscape hiding underneath modern society. The train was delayed. The convenience store was out of your favorite drink. The guy in front of you in line took forever arguing about a coupon that expired three years ago.

Normal problems. Annoying, but normal.

And then it happened.

You saw it.

A thing.

Not a person. Not an animal. Just... wrong. It was crouched on the roof of the building across the street, all jagged limbs and too many eyes, staring directly at you like it knew exactly what you were. Like it had been waiting for you.

You blinked. It was still there.

You blinked again. Still there.

And that was the exact moment your life decided to go completely off the rails.

Because nobody else on that street seemed to notice it. Nobody screamed. Nobody ran. The old lady with the shopping cart just shuffled past like there wasn't a nightmare creature perched above her head, drooling something that might've been ectoplasm onto the sidewalk.

So either you were losing your mind, or something was genuinely, deeply wrong with reality.

Spoiler alert, reader. It wasn't you.

A cold chill ran down your spine as the thing tilted its head. Its mouth split open in a grin that was way too wide, and then—

A hand landed on your shoulder.

You spun around, heart hammering, ready to fight or flee or both.

A man stood there. Tall. Silver hair. Dark sunglasses despite the overcast sky. He was grinning at you like you were the most entertaining thing he'd seen all week, which, knowing him, was probably true.

The thing was still watching. Still grinning. Still very much not normal.

And then—

The creature exploded.

Not in a messy way. Not in a bloody way. It just sort of... ceased to exist. One moment it was there, and the next it was gone, like it had never been there at all.

The man lowered his hand, still grinning.