After a long day of training, Gallo collapsed onto a stack of boxes near the back of the store. Sweat dripped down his braided beard, and his massive arms ached from swinging the foam axe.
Nyx, ever the opportunist, had already set up the tablet again. "You need entertainment," she said, tossing it toward him. "I curated the best cringe videos from the internet."
Gallo caught the tablet with one hand, squinting at the glowing screen. "Cringe… videos?" he asked.
Nyx leaned closer, smirking. "Oh yes. You'll either laugh, cry, or die of confusion."
Gallo pressed play.
The first video showed someone attempting a backflip into a pool… and missing entirely, landing face-first on the deck.
Gallo's brow furrowed. "Why are they… falling?"
"Because it's funny!" Nyx said, barely containing her laughter.
The next clip was someone singing an original song about their pet turtle. The lyrics made zero sense.
Gallo's eyes narrowed. "What… purpose does this serve?"
"None!" Nyx cheered. "That's the point!"
As the videos continued—terrible dancing, accidental fails, over-the-top reactions—Gallo's expression shifted from confusion to mild horror.
At one particularly ridiculous clip of a man trying to eat a spaghetti taco while riding a scooter, Gallo's jaw dropped. "This… this is… horrifying."
Bella walked past, holding a bottle of water. "What's wrong with him?"
Nyx pointed at the screen. "He's watching the internet's finest cringe."
Bella snorted. "I think he's traumatized."
Gallo muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "In my world, people face monsters, dragons… but this…" He waved at the tablet. "…this is evil."
Vario peeked over the snack aisle. "You're overreacting. It's just people being dumb."
Gallo turned his glare on Vario. "Overreacting? No. This is chaos in motion. Civilization… is lost."
Nyx laughed so hard she almost dropped the tablet. "Welcome to the internet, Gallo!"
By the end of the night, Gallo was exhausted not from training, but from trying to comprehend the absurdity humanity produced online.
As he collapsed back onto the boxes, he whispered to himself, "I fight dragons… but the internet… the internet may be the true final boss."
Bella quietly shook her head. "He's going to be stuck watching these every night, isn't he?"
Nyx nodded. "Oh, absolutely. And I'll make sure he never forgets them."
The store lights flickered as the night continued, filled with laughter, groans, and Gallo slowly coming to terms with modern human culture.