The screen went black. For a moment, Leo saw his own reflection in the glass—pale, tired, and wide-eyed. Then, the app bloomed into life.

Download complete. We are now installing ourselves into you.

When it finished, the icon appeared on his desktop—a jagged, neon-purple eye. Leo connected his tablet, transferred the file, and tapped "Install." A warning popped up in bright red: This application requires permissions to access your camera, microphone, and location. He hesitated, then hit "Allow."

The link was buried three layers deep in a discarded chat room. It wasn’t a flashy button or a colorful ad; it was just a string of grey text: altenentv.apk.

The download bar crawled across the screen like a dying insect. 10%... 45%... 90%.

He didn't dare turn around. He only watched the screen as the shadow in the app reached out a long, flickering hand toward his digital neck.