If my life were an anime, this would definitely be the filler episode where the protagonist tries something stupid and accidentally breaks the universe.
Except… it's not filler. It's Tuesday.
And I, Ayumi Tanaka—certified nerd, ramen addict, and proud owner of three limited-edition plushies of Eternal Eclipse Online bosses—just managed to summon a six-foot-something pile of nightmare fuel into my bedroom.
All because I thought it'd be funny to test a "real spell" I found on a sketchy gamer forum at 3 a.m.
Spoiler: it worked.
The lights flickered as the circle I drew with a permanent marker on my bedroom floor began to glow. My laptop blasted ominous music—which I did not press play on. The posters on my wall rippled as if someone turned on a cosmic fan.
Then, BOOM!
Black smoke exploded out of the circle, the smell of burnt plastic filled the air, and when it cleared… he was standing there.
Lucian.
The Lucian. Final boss of Eternal Eclipse Online. The guy with the world-ending scythe, six wings of shadow, glowing crimson eyes, and the bad-boy smirk that made half the fandom write fanfics about him.
Except this wasn't pixels on a screen. This was six-foot-five of real, very breathing, very glaring demon overlord standing on top of my anime rug.
And oh no—he was even hotter in person.
"You—" His voice was low, gravelly, echoing with a dark power that made my desk lamp flicker. "Who dares to rip me from my throne of shadows?"
My brain: Say something cool, Ayumi.
My mouth: "Uh… hi?"
Smooth. Real smooth.
He narrowed his eyes. The temperature dropped five degrees. My cat bolted under the bed.
"I see," Lucian said, stepping closer, his heavy boots crunching over my poor rug. "A mortal. Weak. Foolish. Yet… bold enough to summon me."
I backed up until my spine hit my bookshelf. "Okay, so… tiny misunderstanding. I may have, um, borrowed a spell online that may or may not have been fake. You're not mad, right?"
"Mad?" He tilted his head, lips curving into a dangerous grin. "No. Amused."
Great. The villain of my favorite game was about to kill me, and he was smiling like it was foreplay.
But then—plot twist.
The summoning circle flared again, wrapping both of us in a chain of glowing runes. They burned bright, then sunk into our skin like tattoos.
I yelped. Lucian's smirk vanished.
"What is this binding?" His voice thundered.
The chain pulsed, and suddenly a notification popped up on my laptop screen:
[Congratulations! You have successfully bound Final Boss: Lucian as your familiar ♥]
My eyes widened. His jaw clenched.
We both turned to each other at the same time and shouted:
"WHAT?!"
⚡ Cliffhanger / Hook: The most feared villain in gaming history is now bound to Ayumi… as her "familiar." But what exactly does that mean? And what happens when a Final Boss starts living in your apartment?