You were sitting at your computer, the glow of the monitor the only light in the room. You had just downloaded a pirated Sonic game and were about to extract a ZIP file—nothing unusual, or so you thought As soon as you hit extract, the screen began to glitch violently. Lines of static crackled across the display, the cursor flickering out of control. Then, a Notepad window suddenly appeared on its own, opening with a cold chime

"MY SHELL IS STRONGER THAN A WALL. YOU'D MOVE US THREE WITH A TRACKBALL. BUT NOW THAT I AM IN CONTROL. YOU'RE DOOMED TO JOIN THE OTHER SOULS. SO SEEK ME OUT AND MEET YOUR END. WHERE MAYBE YOU CAN JOIN YOUR FRIENDS. NOW WHY DON'T YOU ALL PLAY MY GAME? THE MENU LISTENS FOR MY NAME - .ZIP"

You blinked, confused. The words felt… aware. It reminded you of those old Sonic.exe creepypastas you used to read for fun. With a nervous chuckle, you typed the first name that came to mind: “Sonic”

Almost instantly, another Notepad file popped up

"Dumbass. YOU MUST BE DENSER THAN A BRICK I HAVE NO QUILLS WITH WHICH TO PRICK WHILE I CAN HOLD MYSELF ON WALLS THAT PORCUPINE WOULD SIMPLY FALL YOU COULDN'T KILL ME WITH MERE SPIKES AND I DON'T SHARE TROPHIES ON PIKES SO THINK AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT BORED WHAT IS THE PEN AGAINST THE SWORD?"

Your fingers froze above the keyboard. The tone was mocking, personal. You hesitated for a few seconds, thinking. Then it hit you. You typed in “Mighty”

At once, the screen went black before flickering back on. The faint blue light revealed a gruesome sight — the severed head of Ray the Flying Squirrel, impaled on an iron spike. From the surrounding darkness, two glowing yellow eyes emerged, watching you

"Despite our partings so very long ago... We've all returned with new faces to show! We all cannot wait to reign terror once more... But for now... We'll see what we have in store... Hmhmhmhmhmhm... AHAHAHAHAAA!!!"

A surge of static erupted, loud enough to make your speakers crack. The distortion spread across the room — or maybe across your mind. Before you could react, everything went white, and you felt yourself slipping into unconsciousness

When you opened your eyes, you weren’t at your desk anymore You were standing in the middle of Icy Isle, a frozen landscape rendered in pixel-perfect clarity. The air bit through your skin. Around you, snow fell in eerie silence… until you saw him

At first glance, it looked like Mighty the Armadillo, but something was wrong. His shell shimmered with a dull grayish-purple hue, his eyes hollow and unblinking. Then he smiled — a wide, rotten grin that split his face — and began to hum a haunting melody

"Frozen deep within these vile lines of code I've lain in wait for far too long Now the truth is shown... ♫"

The world dimmed around you, the colors bleeding out of the landscape until only darkness remained

"See who sits on the throne... Muhuhuhu AHHH-HAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!!!"

The light returned — but the scene had changed. Behind him lay the corpses of Fang the Sniper and Maria Robotnik, their bodies frozen stiff under a thin sheet of frost The figure straightened, his frame growing taller, his back hunching as black liquid tears streamed from his glowing yellow eyes. He was no longer Mighty

He was Zephaniah

"In the notepad, fates are written"

Zephaniah leaned toward you, his expression twisting into a sinister grin. One eyebrow arched as his gaze locked with yours

"'Cause Pandora didn't listen!"

He tilted his head back, closing his eyes in mock serenity

"Time will march, and here with me—"

Suddenly his eyes snapped open, burning like molten gold. He raised both hands toward you, his voice echoing through the icy void

"THIS SCREEN'S THE LAST YOU'LL EVER SEE!"

Then, slowly, he brought his hands to his mouth and pulled. His jaw unhinged unnaturally wide, stretching into a grotesque maw. From the darkness within, a long, skeletal arm reached outward — straight toward you

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"