The hospital loomed like a rotten tooth against the blood-red sky.
"This," Aria Thorn said, gripping her staff so hard her knuckles paled, "is the dumbest idea you've ever had."
Liam Crest adjusted his drone, its lens catching the flickering "MERCY GENERAL" sign—now missing the "M" and the "L", leaving it a taunting "ER CY GENERA".
"Correction," he said, grinning, "this is the second dumbest. The first was letting you be the one holding the grenade in the mall."
Aria's glare could have melted steel. "That was your grenade."
[Audience: 87]
The number ticked up as Liam stepped forward, his boots crunching on broken glass. The hospital's doors hung crooked, swaying slightly in the wind like a beckoning hand.
[Anonymous Viewer: Entertain us, streamer. The night is long.]
Liam swallowed. Okay. No pressure. Just survive a haunted hospital full of ghost monsters for an A-Rank skill. Easy.
He forced a laugh. "Alright, chat! Tonight's spooky special: Ghostbusters: Apocalypse Edition! Let's see what's lurking in the dark!"
Aria muttered something about idiotic sacrificial lambs before following him inside.
The lobby was a graveyard of overturned gurneys and shattered IV stands. The air smelled like antiseptic and decay. Liam's drone cast a pale blue glow, illuminating dust motes dancing in the beam.
Then the first whisper came.
"Liiiiiaaaam…"
Aria's staff snapped up. "Did you—"
"Liiiaaam… you shouldn't be here…"
The voice was everywhere and nowhere, slithering through the walls. Liam's breath fogged in the suddenly freezing air.
[New Message: Survival Challenge – Mercy General]
[Objective: Survive until dawn.]
[Restriction: No leaving the building.]
[Reward: A-Rank Skill – Astral Echo]
Liam exhaled. "Well. No takebacks now."
Aria's jaw clenched. "If we die, I'm haunting you first."
Then the lights went out.
The first attack came without warning.
A skeletal hand burst from the wall, grabbing Liam's ankle. He yelped, [Flash Step]ping away just as jagged fingers scraped where his leg had been.
"Okay! Okay! We've got physical ghosts! Chat, you seeing this?!"
Aria was already moving, her [Eagle Eye] scanning the darkness. "They're in the walls. And the floor. And— shit!"
A gurney flung itself at her. She dodged, but the next one came faster, then another—furniture hurled by invisible force.
Liam's mind raced. Ghosts. Hauntings. What do Astrals find entertaining?
An idea struck.
"Aria! Play along!" He grabbed a broken IV pole, holding it like a microphone. "Ladies and gents, tonight's exclusive investigation: Is Mercy General REALLY haunted?! Let's find out!"
Aria looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Are you serious?"
"SPIRITS!" Liam bellowed, spinning dramatically. "SHOW US A SIGN!"
Silence.
Then—
A cabinet slammed off the wall, barely missing his head.
[Audience: 112]
[Fan Gift: Holy Water (Fake) Acquired!]
A vial of glowing liquid appeared in Liam's hand. The label read: "100% Genuine Fake Holy Water – Now with Extra Sparkles!"
Liam blinked. "Uh. Thanks?"
Aria snatched it. "It's a joke gift. They're mocking you."
Liam's grin turned sharp. "Or they're giving me props." He uncorked it, splashing the liquid at a creeping shadow.
The shadow hissed, recoiling.
Aria's eyebrows shot up. "…Huh."
Liam winked at the camera. "Chat, we've got a weakness! Time for a ghost hunt!"
What followed was the most deranged game of cat-and-mouse ever broadcast.
Liam turned every near-death encounter into a spectacle:
Dodging a chandelier? "Folks, that's what we call a light scare!"
Aria stabbing a ghost in the face? "And the Oscar for Best Supporting Murderess goes to—!"
A hallway stretching infinitely? "Welp, we've entered the Backrooms. Chat, spam 'F' if you've been here!"
The Astrals loved it.
[Audience: 200]
[Fan Gifts: 9]
But the hospital has it own intentions.
The final challenge came at 3 AM.
The morgue.
The freezer door creaked open on its own. Frost spilled out, curling around their ankles. Inside, the corpses weren't human anymore—twisted into puppet-like shapes, strings of shadow pulling their limbs.
One turned its head.
"Liiiaaam… join us…"
Aria's grip on her staff faltered. "We can't fight that many."
Liam's pulse pounded. Think. What's the play?
Then he remembered the [Barrier Pulse] —a one-time shield.
He grabbed Aria's wrist. "When I say go, run for the exit."
She stiffened. "What are you—"
"CHAT!" Liam yelled, stepping forward. "LAST COMMERCIAL BREAK! STICK AROUND FOR THE CLIMAX!"
He activated [Barrier Pulse].
A dome of light erupted around him—just as the corpses lunged.
They slammed against the barrier, shrieking. Liam gritted his teeth, feeling the shield crack. "Aria NOW!"
She didn't run.
Instead, she grabbed a fire axe off the wall and charged.
"DIE AGAIN, YOU BASTARDS!"
The axe cleaved through the first corpse. The others turned—just as Liam's barrier shattered.
He [Flash Step], reappearing beside Aria. Back to back, they fought:
Liam with his fake holy water and desperate quips.
Aria with her axe and a snarl that could curdle blood.
Then came Dawn light.
The first ray of sun pierced through a broken window.
The corpses screamed, dissolving into smoke.
Silence.
[Challenge Complete!]
[Reward: Astral Echo (A-Rank) Acquired!]
Liam collapsed against a wall, laughing weakly. "We lived."
Aria dropped the axe, breathing hard. "Never. Again."
[Audience: 300]
[Anonymous Viewer: Until next time, streamer.]
Liam's smile faded. Next time.
Outside, a new message flashed:
[Stronghold of the Lost is watching.]
[Beware the Tyrant.]