It was late at night when Yoru finally noticed how long he had been staring at his phone.
He had been scrolling for a while, but nothing on the screen stayed in his mind. Lately, his thoughts had felt strange. Restless. Heavy, in a way he couldn't explain. Like something inside him was slowly slipping out of place.
He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.
"I really don't feel right," he said under his breath.
A cold breeze passed over his skin.
Yoru frowned and turned toward the window.
It was closed.
He stared at it for a second, trying to make sense of what he had felt. Then he heard it again.
Thak.
Thak.
Thak.
Something was tapping on the glass from outside.
Yoru slowly sat up.
"...Who's there?"
No one answered.
The room stayed quiet.
Maybe it was just a branch. Or some animal outside. He almost convinced himself to ignore it—
CRACK!
The window shattered.
Glass flew across the room as something dark forced its way inside.
Yoru froze.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what he was seeing.
The thing looked almost human, but only for a moment. The closer it moved, the more wrong it seemed. Its body was covered in a black, shadow-like layer, and its red eyes were locked on him without blinking.
A chill ran down his spine.
"What are you...?"
The creature didn't answer.
It kept walking toward him.
Yoru tried to back away, but his body felt strangely heavy. His heartbeat slammed in his ears, so loud it almost drowned out everything else.
Then he heard a voice.
Not from the room.
From inside his head.
Finally...
Yoru's eyes widened.
Let me out.
His breath caught.
"Who said that?"
Silence.
Then, a quiet laugh.
The room seemed to tilt. His vision blurred at the edges, and a sharp pressure settled in his chest.
The creature suddenly lunged.
Everything after that happened too fast.
Something inside Yoru broke open.
Heat rushed through his body. His vision flashed red. Dark energy began rising from his skin in thin trails, like smoke.
The voice returned.
I am your true self.
For a moment, the fear loosened its grip.
Not gone.
Just far enough away for him to move.
The creature was already in front of him, its claws inches from his face.
Yoru raised his hand.
He didn't think.
He just reacted.
Then—
BOOM.
The creature was thrown across the room and slammed into the wall hard enough to crack the concrete.
The apartment fell silent.
Yoru stood there, breathing hard, staring at his own hand.
His fingers were shaking.
"What... did I just do?"
The creature didn't move.
The black energy around his arm flickered once before fading away, but the feeling in his chest remained.
Cold.
Heavy.
Alive.
He looked down at his hand for a long moment.
Then, slowly, a small smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Maybe I really am the monster."