The day didn't feel any different from others. Nox was woken by the same alarm that was ringing at the same time with the same melody for the last year. He wore the same set of clothes that he always rotated throughout the week. He took the same route to work, worked the same shift as always. Visited the same cafe in the evening to watch the world around him, ordered the same drink. Went to toward the same bus stop that he always did. He lived in a routine, nothing new ever happened, everything was supposed to be monotonous. Yet this day was different.

  It started with a scream. One strong enough to shatter all the background noise. One that made everyone deadly silent, trying to understand what happened. A trembling woman, the source of the noise, fell down while watching a dark space between two buildings. It seems like the initial scream took everything out of her, her wide mouth gaping like a fish.

  Like everyone else, Nox got curious and stopped to watch the scene, but never in his wildest imagination could he expect what happened next. A skeletal arm reached out and grabbed the corner of the wall, horrifying the nearby people. Then, from the shadows, the rest of the body came out, it was as thin and as skeletal as the arm. Its empty eye sockets looked around at the fleeing and frozen people and slowly, its towering presence of over 2 meters fully entered the street and crossed the road, ignoring the traffic as if it wasn't there and entering another dark alley, opposite to the one it just came out of.

  The moment it was gone, the street bustled with noise again, more chaotic than ever. To Nox though, it felt like background noise; he didn't perceive what was said or done around him. The creature itself wasn't as shocking as the people who saw it as well. His mind became a blank in that moment.

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  'They saw it? How? Isn't it just a fragment of my imagination? Did something else happen and my mind made it up?'

  The confusion would not leave Nox alone. His mind was running and jumping all over the place. Everything became clear though when he arrived home and looked at his phone, which was filled with articles. Namely, articles with photos of the creature that crossed the street. Some people even managed to film it. The news though, was not well received by those who didn't see it in person.

  ?Wow! AI sure evolved!

  ?Are they really expecting us to believe that?

  ?My sister was there, she said that thing was real

  ?I want whatever those guys gave the passer-by to say they saw it too

  ?Maybe it was a promo for a new horror?

  ?Hologram? Looks cool

  ?If it's a new horror movie or game, count me in!

  ?Anyone found out the name?

  ?Dungeon Manhwa starting? Lol

  ?Guild Recruitment! hahahaha

  Nox couldn't blame those people. If he didn't grow up seeing those things, he also wouldn't believe his eyes. But it was concerning.

  'How did it happen?' he bit his knuckle, 'Is it a one-time thing? Did it appear because of me?'

  He then quickly shook his head, 'No way!'

  Taking a deep breath, Nox decided to not think about it anymore. Too many things happened that day. Part of him still believed that it was all a fragment of his imagination. So he went on with his routine: make and eat some dinner, take a shower, watch some TV (avoiding news channels at all cost), then head to bed.