Mr penis

The second silhouette stood behind Yoshi for only a heartbeat.

Tall.
Still.
Watching.

Then—
as the lights flickered one last time—
it dissolved into the shadows like smoke being pulled backward.

No footsteps.
No door.
Just gone.

Randomiser grabbed Cornball’s sleeve.
“Nope. NOPE. Ghosts are NOT ON MY APOCALYPSE BINGO CARD.”

Cornball gently peeled him off.
“I don’t think ghosts usually weigh enough to make metal footsteps, dude.”

Norther exhaled slowly, trying to steady his nerves.
“Whatever it was… it didn’t want to be seen.”

Shira rubbed her arms.
“That doesn’t make it better.”

Yoshi stepped forward, scanning the hallway.
“When I tracked you all here, it felt like someone was following me.
I thought maybe it was a survivor. But…”
He glanced back at the group.
“That thing didn’t move like a normal person.”

Curator nodded, their expression tightening.
“We need to figure out what’s in here with us.”

Before anyone could respond—

A soft, breathy laugh echoed behind them.

Everyone turned.

Devesto.

Still on the ground from Yoshi’s tackle… but sitting up now.
Smiling.

Not a smug smile.
A wrong one.

“See?” he whispered.
“I told you there was something else down here.”

Mewo grimaced.
“Bro. Stop smiling like that. You look like a dollar store villain.”

Devesto didn’t even look at her.
His eyes were fixed on the darkness where the silhouette had been.

“It left because it saw me,” he murmured.

Shira rolled her eyes.
“Please don’t start your creepy monologue arc.”

But Devesto continued, calm and eerie:

“It doesn’t like being watched.”
He tilted his head.
“It hates light.
It hates noise.
And it hates me the most.”

Corpse.Bride stepped back.
“Nope. I’m not doing this. Not with him acting like a possessed IKEA employee.”

Goober clung to Yoshi’s hoodie.
“W-Why would it hate you the most?”

Devesto blinked—slowly.
“My theory?”
He licked his lips, like he was enjoying the fear simmering in the group.
“Because it knows me.”

Nobleranger stepped forward immediately, voice firm.
“No. We’re not doing this. You’re not scaring everyone on purpose.”

Devesto’s eyes flicked to him—too wide, too shiny.

“I’m not scaring you,” he whispered.
“I’m warning you.”

Randomiser pointed a shaking finger.
“Nope. No. You’re doing The Voice. The Scary Voice. Stop it.”

Cornball crossed his arms.
“Sit down and stop acting like you’re summoning the apocalypse manually.”

But Devesto didn’t sit.

Instead he stood—slowly, deliberately—like a puppet being lifted by invisible strings.

Then he leaned close to Toady, invading their personal space in the most Devesto way possible.

Toady didn’t flinch.
But their eyes hardened.

“Back up,” Toady warned.

Devesto whispered:

“Do you know why the shadow didn’t hurt me earlier?”
His grin sharpened.
“Because I’ve seen it before.”

The group froze.

Yoshi stepped between Devesto and Toady, posture tense.
“You’re going to take three steps back,” he said calmly, “or I’m going to politely break your nose.”

Devesto smiled dreamily.
“You can try.”

Yoshi took a step forward.

And for the first time—the first time ever—Devesto actually stepped away.

But he never looked away from the darkness, still smiling.

Still whispering.

“…It’s been following all of us.”

Mewo yelled, “Dude, SHUT UP—”

But then—

Something in the dark whispered back.

A faint, almost inaudible echo:

“…us…”

The group froze.

Corpse.Bride covered her mouth.
Randomiser fainted for exactly half a second.
Goober squeaked.
Norther went stone still.

And Devesto…

Devesto shivered with excitement.

“Oh,” he breathed.
“It heard us.”

Toady exhaled sharply.
“Alright. That’s it.”

They grabbed Devesto by the front of his shirt—

And shoved him back against the wall.

Toady’s voice was low.
Controlled.
Terrifying in a way Devesto had never been.

“You’re going to tell us EXACTLY what’s following us.
And you’re going to stop making it worse.
Now.”

The lights flickered again.

The shadow at the end of the hall shifted.

And far, far away, something metallic dragged against the floor.

Devesto smiled wider.

“Fine,” he whispered.
“I’ll tell you.”

He leaned closer.

“But you won’t like the answer.”