Chapter 44: Leave while the applause is Still Ringing

To get to the conclusion quickly, my dilemma about whether I should pretend to be scared for the viewers was pointless.

Now that I was actually facing it, I realized I didn’t need to fake it at all because it was terrifying enough on its own.

Wow… the technology has really advanced.

Even though it’s just a bunch of graphics, they still managed to make my heart drop and my entire body break out in goosebumps.

Well, the people who made this game must be experts in the field. They probably eat and breathe this stuff, researching how to make people feel fear.

As someone who hasn’t even watched many horror movies, much less played horror games, it was no surprise that I felt scared.

Besides, considering the effort they put into making the game, I should get startled and scared, if only to honor their hard work, right?

If I just played it indifferently, saying “Oh, there’s a ghost,” and casually dodging it here and there, how would the developers feel?

They might think, “We worked so hard on this scary moment, and they’re acting like it’s nothing.” If it were me, I’d feel that way too.

[Your tongue is long today, teacher.]

[Hmm… it sounds like it makes sense, but also doesn’t.]

[So, you’re saying it’s scary?]

[Just say it’s scary, lol.]

[??? : I’m not afraid, so I don’t think the viewers will find it interesting.]

[But your earlier remarks were pretty arrogant.]

[Crushed under the calamity you brought upon yourself.]

[The way you’re making excuses is cute.]

[Just pathetic, Kayak!]

“You guys would understand if you played it. It’s not just scary, it’s full of jump scares. The music creates psychological pressure, and it makes you think something’s about to pop out, but it doesn’t, and then it surprises you in the wrong moment. How could you not get scared?”

Even though I was explaining it step by step, the viewers kept teasing me.

I was getting a little annoyed, but what could I do? This back-and-forth between the streamer and the viewers is part of the fun.

Complaining and getting upset like a rookie streamer would be pointless.

Seeing is believing. A real pro shows through their actions, not words.

So, without saying anything, I took action. I moved from my hiding spot around the corner and headed toward the dark hallway, my goal.

“Hieek…!”

I couldn’t do it.

As soon as I turned toward the hallway, I saw a woman with disheveled hair standing at the end of it.

Seeing that, I screamed loudly and ran back to the corner.

I leaned against a wooden pillar I had been hiding behind and took a deep breath.

[There’s space behind the pillar!]

[Your scream is so pathetic, it’s cute, lol.]

[Where’s the ruthless Kayak from Abyss? Who’s this scaredy-cat?]

[Please hug me, the ghost is coming again.]

[It’s hard mode, so it can’t be helped, lol. Meeting the ghost head-on means instant game over.]

[Why did you even pick hard mode then?]

[The host is low-key flexing their game skills.]

[No one told you to play hard mode, but you picked it by yourself, lol.]

[From what’s happening now, hard mode seems like the right choice. If it were easy or normal, it would’ve ended quickly.]

[Wow, but did you see something? The slowdown is insane.]

[Breathing…]

[Please bring the microphone closer to your mouth. Thank you, thank you.]

The game “Dark Temple,” which a viewer recommended with a large sum of money, had a structure similar to other horror games.

The protagonist wakes up in an unfamiliar temple during a business trip, and the primary goal is to avoid the chasing ghost, activate triggers around the building, solve puzzles, and escape the temple.

Honestly, I had high expectations because the person recommending it kept calling it a “god game,” but it didn’t quite meet those expectations.

For one thing, I didn’t like how they just threw you in front of a ghost with no explanation at the beginning. Was I supposed to figure out how to escape on my own?

The immersion with the music and screen shaking during the chase sequences was high, but that was all.

The story I mentioned above was just my own rough guess based on what I experienced while playing.

[It’s still rated pretty high for a horror game…]

[Kayak’s candid opinion, lol.]

[You don’t like the game, huh?]

[Stop making excuses, just finish it already.]

[Kayak/Controversy/I could make a better game than this.]

[I thought the same thing. I don’t understand why this is popular.]

[It’s probably just because the ghost chases you in a really scary way.]

[Games these days are such a mess, so this one’s decent by comparison, lol.]

But regardless of whether I liked the game or not, I had to keep playing.

After all, I was getting paid for this, and now I felt a little bit of frustration too. It was almost a matter of stubbornness.

But not all the news was bad.

Humans are creatures of adaptation, right? In the over an hour of playtime, I had adapted to the game enough.

Although I still got startled and had goosebumps whenever I encountered a ghost head-on, after going through several challenges, my gameplay had improved considerably.

“Hmm…”

I paused for a moment to think. It was about the ghost that had blocked my path when I headed toward the hallway.

Based on the clues I had gathered while playing, I figured that there must be some trigger installed at the end of that hallway.

I would need to activate that trigger to complete the game.

But the ghost was blocking it so blatantly.

“How am I supposed to get through that?”

Should I lure it away somehow? Or should I just take the opposite path?

The latter didn’t sit well with me. After all, the path I had taken to get here was already tough enough. Plus, going the other way felt like running away.

So, I chose the former. I’d try luring it first, and if the chance presented itself, I’d head to the room at the end of the hallway.

[Declaring a head-on showdown, lol.]

[Kayak’s direct confrontation.]

[Since it’s hard mode, you won’t be able to escape on that narrow path.]

[Let’s save first.]

[If I hear that scream already, I’m downvoting, lol.]

“I’m going…!”

With that declaration, I stepped back into the dark hallway.

The faint figure of a woman standing eerily at the end of the hallway as I took a step forward.

To lure her, I deliberately paced back and forth in a spot where she could clearly see me.

Moving in place, taunting her for a while.

The ghost began to approach me, slowly but surely.

“She’s coming!”

[Music plays.]

[Run!]

[The ghost proceeds to hold a one-on-one fan meeting with Kayak.]

[Why are you crying now?]

[I wish someone would follow me around like that, all excited.]

[You’ll die if she catches you, though.]

[Viewer logic…]

[But the ghost is ugly, though…]

[It’s like a chicken coop situation.]

Even though it was clearly nothing more than a programmed AI, the way the ghost read my movements and came rushing toward me with such intensity was downright chilling.

But I wasn’t new to this.

After several encounters, I had adapted.

This wasn’t my first time playing the game, and I wasn’t about to fall for such predictable movements.

— Uooooohhh…

The woman, with blood streaming from her eyes, charged at me.

Maybe it was because I had faced her multiple times and her movements were etched into my mind, but a thought crossed my mind.

This seems dodgeable.

It was an instinctive, near-primal intuition.

There was no time to hesitate or think.

My body acted immediately on the command issued by my brain.

The result was astonishing.

It was a feat so surprising that even I was a little shocked at my own actions.

[??? What just happened?]

[How is that not a death flag?]

[What kind of movement was that, lol? Your reflexes are insane.]

[Wait, this section wasn’t designed to be cleared like that.]

[Ah, lol. Kayak doesn’t care about design intentions. She just saw an opening and went for it.]

[Usually, even brushing against the ghost’s hem triggers a death scene, but this was fearless, lol.]

[I think I saw someone clear it like this on VTuber, but seeing it live? Wow.]

High risk, high reward.

The result of my gamble was unbelievably sweet.

I managed to evade the ghost without taking a detour and successfully entered the room with the trigger.

After that, everything went smoothly.

The first time is always the hardest, but the second? Much easier.

After several retries, I had reached a level where I could completely counter the ghost.

By the end, I was brazenly facing her head-on and mocking her, so it was obvious how things looked at that point.

“Good girl, come here. That’s right. Good ghost.”

[This isn’t the vibe I signed up for…]

[Where’s the Kayak who screamed earlier? Why’s she suddenly a ghost trainer?]

[What is this, lol? Is she training a dog?]

[I wish she’d treat me like a dog too.]

[Ghost, ghost… It seems this is the end for you.]

— Uooaargh…!

“Yes, yes. Now go in there and never come out. Stop scaring people for no reason.”

Following the clues written inside the temple, I successfully trapped the ghost in a room with a giant mirror.

According to the notes, this was supposed to seal the ghost for good, so I was fairly confident it would work.

As expected, after isolating the ghost in the mirror room, the ending cutscene began to slowly play.

— What was that dreadful temple, really? Even now, years later, I still think about that place from time to time.

— Not that I try to, but certain times trigger recurring dreams about the temple. Each time I have those dreams, I wake up drenched in cold sweat in the middle of the night.

— The ghost’s peculiar, eerie laughter in those dreams is so haunting that it makes me feel as if what happened in the temple wasn’t a dream at all. It feels as if those events were real, replaying in my mind over and over.

— Whenever I dream of the temple, I usually end up sleepless and go for a walk in the dead of night. Breathing in the fresh air often helps me forget about the temple, even if temporarily.

— One such night, after a vivid dream about the temple, I left my house to catch some air. That night, I felt an odd urge to wander further than usual. It was as if something was pulling me forward, making it impossible to turn back.

At this point, I felt something was off and addressed the viewers.

“Uh… This ending seems strange? I’ll keep watching for now.”

— When I came to my senses, I was deep in the woods, surrounded by darkness. A crisp autumn night. Despite the chilly weather, I’d walked here without so much as a jacket.

— Feeling uneasy, I turned around. How had I gotten this far? I needed to head back before it got too late. After all, I had work early the next morning.

— But I couldn’t turn back. Or more accurately, my entire body froze, unable to move an inch. It felt like I was a frog before a snake, with cold fear locking my limbs in place.

— In front of me… the temple appeared. It was impossible. That temple was over 100 kilometers away from my home.

— No…!

— I despaired, again and again. I thought I had escaped, but I hadn’t. Slowly, my vision darkened, and I heard the ghost’s distinct, sinister laughter echoing in my ears…

That was the end of the cutscene.

“Wait, that’s it? Didn’t we escape?” I asked in disbelief.

[Exactly.]

[You thought you escaped, but nope, lol.]

[Back to square one…]

[Guess you’re stuck with the ghost forever.]

[Yandere ghost vibes intensify.]

The ending credits, listing the names of the developers and staff, began rolling up the screen.

If the credits are rolling, this must be the actual ending.

“This ending feels… unsatisfying, hmm.”

[Unsettling endings are the best.]

[People praise it as a masterpiece because of this type of ending.]

[Maybe it’s hinting at a sequel?]

[Aside from the ghost chase mechanics, everything else about this game is just bizarre.]

[Wait, this is what people call a masterpiece? Seriously?]

[This ending seems like it’s for art snobs, lol.]

[It’s not like it’s The Mist or anything, lol.]

As I read the chat, the comments about the ending being impactful and leaving room for a sequel sparked an idea.

A good idea.

The viewers who just watched the ending would enjoy this, I was sure.

Before the ending credits fully scrolled up, I quickly wrapped up.

“Thank you all for watching today’s stream! I’ll be back tomorrow for team practice. See you all then!”

Before the chat could flood with messages, I ended the stream as soon as the words Thank You appeared on the screen.

“Heh.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Maybe it was because this was a departure from my usual stream style, but this unconventional sign-off felt fitting.

A unique game deserved a unique conclusion.

The abrupt ending was deliberate, meant to leave viewers wanting more—an invitation to tune in for the next stream.

You have to leave the stage while the applause is still ringing.

Though I didn’t get to say a proper goodbye this time, that’s okay.

Sometimes, it’s good to mix things up.

[What?]

[Where are you going?]

[Ending the stream right after the game?]

[Lol, what’s this sudden turn of events?]

Watching the delayed reactions in the chat, I stood up from my seat, satisfied.