A beam of sunlight slipped through the narrow gap in the curtains, forcing its way into the room before settling across his face. It was the first thing he saw when he woke.
There was no alarm.
His eyes opened slowly, unfocused and dull, as if even waking required more effort than it should. For a while, he simply stared at the ceiling, his mind empty, drifting in that familiar haze that always followed sleep. It was a habit of his to linger like this, suspended between consciousness and nothingness, with no urgency to move.
Eventually, his hand reached out to the side, searching blindly until it found his phone.
16:24.
It was not morning that had awakened him, but the fading light of the afternoon. The sun had already begun its descent, its glow softer now, quieter, as if even it had grown tired.
He unlocked his phone and checked for messages.
There were none.
Only notifications from his viewers, scattered comments piling up in place of anything meaningful. As he stared at the screen, a memory surfaced. Today was the release day of the new DLC for Elden Bracelet.
For a moment, he remained still.
Then, with visible effort, he forced his body to move.
His limbs felt heavy, stiff, as if weighed down by something unseen. When his feet touched the cold floor, a faint shiver ran through him before he pushed himself forward, walking slowly toward the bathroom with uneven steps.
The mirror greeted him without mercy.
His hair was a mess. His eyes were sunken, framed by faint shadows. His face looked pale, drained of any trace of vitality. He stared at his reflection in silence, as if trying to recognize the person standing there, as if searching for something that was no longer present.
He did not bother to shower.
He turned on the tap and splashed cold water onto his face, once, twice, again. The chill ran down his skin, sharp enough to wake his body, but never enough to reach anything deeper. He grabbed a towel, wiped his face carelessly, and lifted his gaze back to the mirror.
Nothing had changed.
His face was still the same as always. No miracle water, no ritual, not even the mythical seven-flower essence people liked to talk about could ever change what he had been born with.
He looked away.
Without another thought, he left the bathroom and returned to his room.
Everything remained exactly as it had been the night before. Two monitors stood quietly on the desk, the gaming chair waiting in place, the surface cluttered with the small remnants of a life spent indoors. He lowered himself into the chair, letting his weight sink into it, then reached forward and turned on the computer.
The screens flickered to life.
Cold light filled the room once more, chasing away the dim traces of afternoon.
The first thing he did was begin preparing the DLC he would stream later that night.
"Forty dollars??? Are they trying to rob me or something?"
He muttered under his breath, staring at the price on the screen. Even so, with a reluctant sigh, he went through with the purchase and immediately started the download.
As the progress bar crept forward, a low growl rose from his stomach, followed by a sharp, twisting hunger. He pushed himself up and headed to the kitchen. The space was quiet and lifeless, filled only with the faint hum of appliances. He boiled some water and reached for one of the many instant noodle packs stacked neatly in a corner, part of a monthly supply he relied on. It was cheap, simple, and enough to keep him going.
Once the water was ready, he poured it over the noodles, waited briefly, then added the seasoning without much care. Carrying the bowl back to his desk, he sat down and began eating immediately, without pause or ceremony.
The taste was familiar, almost comforting in its consistency. The artificial richness of the seasoning lingered on his tongue, that unmistakable flavor people often joked about as addictive. It was not good in any meaningful sense, yet it was enough.
After finishing his meal, he leaned back and began scrolling through his phone. His thumb moved endlessly across the screen, drifting through short videos on TokTik, glimpses of a world that felt distant and unreachable. Faces, trends, laughter, and the occasional stream of attractive women passing through his feed, all blending together into something fleeting and hollow.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
When he finally glanced at the clock, it was already eight in the evening.
It was time.
Time to put on the mask known as Let Me Solo Impregnate Her and become someone else again. Like a machine bound to its routine, he began preparing the stream. Opening software. Checking settings. Adjusting small details that no longer required thought.
He turned on the camera.
His face appeared on the screen. He stared at it for a moment, expression blank, before slowly forming a smile. The same smile as always, lively, energetic, and completely false.
He took a quiet breath and pressed the button to go live.
"Yo… welcome, guys."
His voice sounded cheerful, as if all the weight he carried had vanished the moment the stream began.
Viewers: 1,654
They came quickly.
The chat began to flow once more.
Loremipsum:
Let's go!!!!
DonySignGuy:
Finally, you're live!!!
RonaldDump:
DLC! DLC! DLC!
Caseyo donated 5 dollars.
TrafalgarDLow donated 15 dollars.
Forseen:
Get your popcorn ready, this is going to be epic!!
He leaned slightly closer to the mic, his energy rising.
"So, how was your rest? Are you all ready to conquer the newest DLC?"
His voice carried excitement, almost infectious.
Asmonbronze:
Ready, captain.
Caseyo:
I'm still waiting for that thing.
A grin spread across his face as he read the messages.
"I promise you this," he said, his tone playful but sharp. "If I clear this DLC without dying even once, I'll do it live on camera."
Caseyo donated 100 dollars.
Asmonbronze donated 20 dollars.
DonySignGuy:
Let's go, reveal time!
Kkkattendance:
A man must stand by his words.
"Well, that's only if I don't die," he replied with a chuckle.
TrafalgarDLow:
I don't think that's happening. I heard from Fromhardware staff that the bosses in this DLC are insanely difficult.
RonaldDump:
Yeah, I heard that too. They say even the Rot Princess is nothing compared to what's in this DLC.
He leaned back slightly, his grin widening.
"I see… you guys really know how to get me fired up."
He let out a quiet breath, the corners of his lips still curled in that familiar grin as his fingers hovered over the mouse.
"Alright then… let's begin."
With a single click, he launched Elden Bracelet.
The screen shifted, and the familiar logo emerged from the darkness. It was the same opening he had seen countless times before. A lone knight stood in silence, as if in the act of pulling a sword from where it had been driven into the ground, while behind him the title Elden Bracelet loomed, solemn and unchanging.
"Hmm? Where's the DLC?" he muttered.
RonaldDump:
You have to go to the Lord of Blood area. You can't access it directly.
"Oh, I see. Good thing I already beat him," he replied.
As usual, he selected his save file and quickly loaded in. Within moments, his character stood once more in the familiar world. He navigated to the map and teleported to the grace near the arena of the Lord of Blood.
Leaning forward slightly, his eyes sharpened with focus.
What awaited him there was… different.
At the center of the arena lay a grotesque mass of flesh, something unnatural and unsettling, as though it did not belong to the world at all. From it extended a single arm, red and glistening, drenched in what looked like fresh blood. The fingers twitched faintly, as if still alive.
"What am I supposed to do?" he asked.
TrafalgarDLow:
You have to lick the hand.
Forseen:
You're about to get a handjob.
RonaldDump:
Kekw.
Ignoring the chaos in chat, he guided his character closer. Unlike before, a new interaction prompt appeared when he approached the strange mass.
"This is it," he murmured under his breath.
He pressed the button.
On screen, his character reached out and grasped the bloodied hand.
The chat surged with excitement. Messages overlapped endlessly, anticipation building with every passing second. Donation alerts chimed softly, blending into the low, eerie ambience of the game.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the screen flickered.
At first, it was subtle. A faint distortion rippled across the display, like heat bending the air. His brows furrowed.
"…Huh?"
The image warped again, more violently this time. Colors bled into one another, the scene twisting unnaturally before snapping back into place.
He shifted slightly in his seat, unease creeping into his chest.
"Is that… lag?"
Another flicker followed.
This time, the sound stuttered.
A sharp, almost inaudible ringing crept into his ears, thin and piercing, like a frequency that did not belong in the world around him.
His hand froze on the controller.
Then the pain came.
Sudden. Crushing.
It seized his chest without warning, as if an invisible force had reached inside and clenched his heart with impossible strength. His breath caught instantly, his entire body locking in place.
"Wha—"
The word never fully left his lips.
His vision blurred. The screen in front of him stretched and warped, its light smearing into something incomprehensible. The ringing in his ears grew louder, drowning out everything else.
His body jerked once.
Then again.
The chair creaked beneath him as all strength left him at once. The controller slipped from his fingers, his arm falling limp at his side.
The chat continued to move.
Messages kept flooding the screen.
Viewers were still watching.
But he no longer saw any of it.
His body leaned forward slightly before collapsing against the desk with a harsh, heavy thud. The monitors continued to glow. The game remained open. The stream was still live.
And just like that, the streamer known as Let Me Impregnate Her died in the middle of his broadcast, his life cut short by a sudden heart attack, leaving behind nothing but a silent room and a screen that refused to go dark.