The ring light was already on, bathing the room in that artificial glow, and my setup was just about perfect. Tonight’s stream was going to be smooth—well, as smooth as it could get with Diana in charge of making sure I looked "presentable."

“You could at least *pretend* to sit still, Kai,” Diana muttered, brushing the tiniest amount of makeup onto my face. “I swear, you twitch more than a hyper-caffeinated squirrel.”

I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet, a small smirk tugging at my lips. Teasing Diana was fun and all, but I didn’t want to risk getting eyeliner in my eye again. That only needed to happen once to teach me a lesson.

But then, something felt...off. My vision blurred for a second, like someone turned the sharpness knob on reality all the way down. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words never made it out.