The shards of porcelain hadn't even hit the floor before the sound came—an unearthly shriek ripping through the streets, shaking the café windows like they were thin paper.
The stranger didn't flinch. He merely sat back, lacing his fingers, watching Seraphine with a predator's patience.
"On time, as always," he murmured.
Nyx hissed, tail puffed like a bottlebrush. The café's warm glow faltered under the flickering lights, shadows stuttering across the walls like broken film.
Seraphine rose slowly, her palm still dripping faint blood where the cup had cut her. The glow at her fingertips flared brighter now, no longer concealed.
"Stay behind me," she whispered.
I adjusted the lens instead. Cameramen don't fight. Cameramen record. And the red dot blinking on my rig meant every twitch, every tremor, every terror would be streamed live.
The door rattled. Once. Twice. Then splintered inward under something far larger than any human fist.
---
[Live Chat]
NeonByte: YO WTF WTF WTF
HoneyCrumb: is this… LIVE??? like ACTUALLY happening rn??
InkSpill: THAT WAS A CLAW. I SAW IT. REWIND!!!
SaltyShrimp: nah bro this too high budget for cosplay 😭
---
The thing that squeezed through was wrong in ways my brain didn't want to process. It wasn't one monster, but a tangle of limbs and faces, as if half a dozen people had melted into one body and kept growing. Its claws dragged sparks across the café tiles.
Every instinct screamed at me to run. My knees wanted to bolt. But the camera held me still.
The stranger at the window only smiled, as though he'd been waiting for this exact entrance.
"Consider this a… demonstration," he said. His eyes gleamed metallic in the stuttered light.
Seraphine threw out her hand, words of fire curling from her tongue. The café air ignited, a roaring wall of flame rushing across the counter. Nyx leapt onto the register and let loose a howl that sounded far too human.
The monster screeched, recoiling. Its many mouths screamed in discordant agony.
I zoomed in. Frame perfect. The death scene had to be captured.
---
[Live Chat]
ChocoMint: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
GrimTape: bro i swear i felt the HEAT through the screen wtf
DawnWalker: nyx is NOT a normal cat i'm calling it rn
GhostMango: WHAT IS THAT THINGGGGG 😱
---
The café tables shattered as the monster lurched forward again, fire still clinging to its limbs. Its claws caught the camera's edge, shaking the frame. I almost lost the rig, but my grip tightened.
Cameramen don't fight. Cameramen survive.
But survival didn't mean standing still.
"Basement!" Seraphine barked, flames wreathing her arms. "Now!"
I stumbled backward, already moving, already filming. Because if this was going to be our last night, then damn it, the world was going to see it.
The stranger finally stood, brushing an invisible speck of dust from his sleeve. His smirk widened.
"This is only the opening act."
The glass windows burst inward as more shadows poured into the café.
And just like that, the fight began.
---
The Battle
The air itself became a weapon. Fire whirled into spirals under Seraphine's command, each lash of flame scorching limbs off the writhing abomination. Nyx darted through the chaos like a bolt of shadow, her claws leaving silver trails midair.
The monster howled, its limbs regrowing almost instantly, bone twisting into new shapes, mouths gnashing and spitting black ichor that hissed against the walls.
Tables were thrown aside. Chairs splintered. The café—the one place I thought safe—was turning into a warzone.
I ducked low, panning the shot, the red blink of my recorder steady as my heartbeat wasn't. My audience didn't need courage. They needed clarity. They needed the truth in 4K.
And truth was this: monsters were real, and tonight, one was dying.
---
[Live Chat]
PixelRift: THIS IS BETTER THAN MOVIES WTF
MoonJelly: don't just film HELP THEM BRO 💀
NeonByte: nah nah cameraman got rules, let him cook 📹
HazelDusk: ngl this feels like boss fight bgm about to drop
---
Seraphine's chant reached a crescendo. The café ceiling shook as if the sky itself leaned down to listen. Flames gathered around her, not as fire now, but as wings of molten light. Her silhouette burned into my retinas, something holy and terrible all at once.
The monster lunged.
Time slowed.
Nyx intercepted first, hurling herself at a throat that wasn't a throat, her fangs sinking deep. The creature shrieked, swatting her across the room, but that bought Seraphine the opening she needed.
Her hands came together.
The wings collapsed into a single spear of fire.
And she drove it straight into the heart of the abomination.
The monster convulsed. Its bodies—plural—shuddered apart, collapsing into fragments of what they once were. Faces, limbs, voices—all torn away in one catastrophic burst of light.
And in that moment—
---
The Death Scene
It wasn't gore. It wasn't even horror.
It was art.
Each limb tore free in slow motion, burning into embers that danced like fireflies. The faces screamed, but the sound melted into haunting, melodic tones—like a choir trapped between agony and ecstasy. The café filled with colors I didn't have names for, the death throes painting the world in surreal, impossible hues.
The livestream chat exploded.
---
[Live Chat]
GlitchyToast: BRO WHAT AM I WATCHINGGGGGGG
CherryPop: this is like… beautiful?? help?? 😭😭
FallenPine: if death looked like THIS i wouldn't be scared anymore ngl
VoidKiss: i just nutted. yeah i said it. sorry mom.
HoneyCrumb: censor this mf ^ 💀💀💀
---
The monster's final cry became a beam of light shooting upward, tearing a hole in the café roof before dissipating into the night sky. For a heartbeat, the city outside paused, silent, as though the world itself had witnessed the spectacle.
Then came the crash—the café walls collapsing inward, dust and ash billowing like storm clouds.
I coughed, shielded the lens, and when the air cleared… there was nothing left of the monster but smoking stains on the tiles.
---
The Fallout
Seraphine dropped to one knee, exhausted, sweat and blood mingling on her face. Nyx limped back, fur singed, but her eyes still gleamed like twin moons.
The stranger applauded slowly, mockingly.
"Impressive," he drawled. "But you're burning yourself out faster each time. Sooner or later…" His gaze flicked toward me, then back to Seraphine. "…you won't be enough."
I swallowed. Hard.
The café was ruined. The roof open to the night. The smell of fire and death hung heavy. And yet, my camera still blinked red. Still recording.
Because this wasn't over.
This was only the beginning.
---
[Live Chat]
NeonByte: BEST STREAM EVER HOLY SH*T
ChocoMint: someone tell me this is NOT scripted pls i can't sleep
HazelDusk: nah if that's "opening act" we DEAD 💀💀💀
InkSpill: …i think i just saw a second shadow in the smoke 👀👀👀
---
To be continued…