『Two Months Later』
The world moved on.
Sort of.
The day the Anomaly died was supposed to be a global victory.
Humanity's greatest villain — slain live before fifty million screaming viewers. The president declared a heroic triumph.
A national holiday was proposed. People cheered.
And yet… the silence left in his absence echoed louder than any explosion.
His face had been revealed posthumously.
Derrick Judas. Just some guy from Moon City. A man with a wife and two kids.
The GHC paraded his identity for clout and closure — proof they had won.
His family was detained. Interrogated.
Probed by Mindbender girl, the telepathic empath.
The readings were clear — they knew nothing. No signs of guilt, lies, or complicity. Just heartbreak.
The GHC had no choice but to release the widow and her kids.
The city had banners of him crossed out in red. His helmet smashed beneath the boots of proud heroes.
But Streamscape?
That place missed him the most.
Their top streamer. The most-watched villain. Gone. Deleted like corrupted data.
The meta nosedived. Viewership dropped. Even the people who celebrated his death started whispering:
『Anomaly4Life: It's boring now』
『RealBasedViewer: He's still alive! I know he is!』
『DreamEmpyrean12: Who's gonna cook like that again?』
Some even visited the rooftop ruin where he'd fallen, turning it into a dark tourist attraction.
But not Jason.
Tonight, just like the rest of the days, He was just trying to clock out.
…
It was nighttime at Frymart. One of those nights where the city lights looked like pixelated rain, and the alleys reeked of neon and rotten hot dogs.
Jason, hoodie on, earbuds dead, dragged two full trash bags behind the store.
He moved like a sleep-deprived NPC — just another day, another graveyard shift.
He reached the dumpster and sighed. "Smells like capitalism."
With a grunt, he tossed one bag in.
The second, mid-air, snagged and split — trash spilling out across the pavement like a sacrificed offering.
And right there, gleaming in the middle of it all…
A helmet.
Red-lined. Curved. Smooth. Menacing.
Jason blinked. "...The hell?"
He crouched, picking it up.
"…Must be some cheap Anomaly cosplay thing," he muttered, brushing off a ketchup smear.
But the moment his fingers wrapped fully around it —
A bolt of red code seared through his arms.
"Shit—!"
He dropped to his knees, spasming, his eyes glitching with static.
The helmet pulsed with red lightning, and before he could scream —
WHOOSH.
It latched onto his head.
"No, no, NO!"
He scrambled on the pavement, clawing at the sleek surface, trying to peel it off.
But it wouldn't budge. Not even a wiggle. The red circuitry began crawling up his neck like vines, etching lines into his skin.
Footsteps echoed.
"Yo, Jason? You good, bro?"
It was Harry — another night-shift drone from Frymart, holding another trash bag.
Jason panicked.
Suddenly, the helmet shimmered — reconfiguring, shrinking, and sliding down into a sleek, red-lined bracelet that wrapped tightly around his wrist.
"RAT!" Jason blurted, hopping to his feet and brushing himself off. "Stupid rat jumped on me."
Harry stared. "…Bro. Get therapy."
With a grunt, Harry tossed the bag and left.
Jason, dazed, grabbed his own and followed, eyes locked on the strange bracelet now clinging to his wrist.
...
CLANK.
He shut the door to his apartment, wondering what the fuck was going on this night.
The bracelet sprang to life, launching off his wrist like a coiled snake.
Mid-air, it twisted, morphed, and unfolded into a full helmet again — hovering in the air before him.
Red circuits buzzed around it like fireflies on crack.
Jason stumbled back. "OH, COME ON — "
The helmet locked eyes with him — or rather, its visor glowed like a single, unblinking gaze. It hovered lower, aligning with his face.
And then came the voice.
『Congratulations, You have awakened the Villain Streamer System』
The lights flickered.
Jason's jaw dropped. "What the hell?! I don't even stream — "
『Correction: You will』
"Could someone explain what the fuck is going on?" Jason blurted out, eyes wide, breath ragged.
The helmet buzzed in the air like it had a personal vendetta against silence.
A screen flickered alive before his eyes in a blinding flash of crimson and static.
『Your legacy has been chosen. The Harem Streamer System has selected its new host.』
Jason blinked. "A new host? Wasn't Anomaly your former host?"
『Yes. But the previous host has died. You have been chosen in his place.』
Jason immediately waved his hands like he was swatting a persistent Jehovah's Witness. "Whoa, no thanks, I'm not interested in all of that."
The helmet let out a sharp mechanical whir as if it was offended.
『We have already been linked. There is no backing out. Also, don't you need help escaping this… bondage?』
"What bondage — "
Suddenly, the screen zoomed out, showing a high-definition 4K scan of his tiny one-room apartment.
The flickering bulb, the chipped paint, the suspicious stain on the ceiling that may or may not be shaped like Florida, and the crusty microwave that groaned like it wanted to die.
『Behold. Your kingdom. Your humble fortress. Your empire of filth.』
Jason rubbed his face. "Okay, okay, I get it. Jesus. What do you even do?"
The helmet floated lazily around the room like a smug AI drone that had watched Ex Machina too many times.