10:00 PM.
Under the sky where traces of sunlight had completely vanished, the lights emanating from countless buildings replaced the sun’s role.
It was the time when many people, having wrapped up their day, returned home to spend the last moments of the evening leisurely.
With a “ding,” a familiar notification sound resonated from smartphones, computers, and virtual reality MS rooms.
Upon checking the Sweetch channel notification, most would have tilted their heads in curiosity.
[The broadcast of Friede has begun.]
‘What’s going on? Does she usually stream at this hour?’
With doubts lingering, they launched the Sweetch channel.
The slight lag during entry, unusual for a smooth internet experience, scratched at the nerves of the users.
‘Is the server having issues today?’
Brushing aside their unease over the unusual phenomena, they turned their attention to the list of subscribed channels.
The title of Friede’s broadcast was straightforward yet…
“What?”
It was impactful enough to evoke a stunned, bewildered gasp from everyone.
[Friede Facecam]
‘Had there ever been a title this captivating among the ghosts haunting the Sweetch channels?’ Despite being composed of only five letters, the words carried an irresistible force that compelled anyone to click.
‘Is she finally going to address all the chaos she caused? And the result is… a face reveal?’
Regret surged within.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve caused even more chaos earlier.’
No, such thoughts were a luxury now.
Every second, every millisecond mattered.
They had to enter the stream faster than anyone else.
Fingers tapped the screen.
Mice clicked.
Entry commands were issued in the virtual reality realm.
In unison, everyone attempted to enter Friede’s stream.
***
[Hey, you jerks, can’t you wait your turn?! My stream’s buffering because of you!]
[Did the Sweetch server crash? Why can’t I get in?]
[This is too cold here, desu. Please let me in faster, desu!]
[Tricked by the facecam bait and miserably failed, huh?]
[Skinny with small eyes or a pimple-faced boar… Choose one!]
[My sister is gorgeous, okay? She’s crazy beautiful, Saber-tier face.]
[Upvote if you think people mocking the streamer’s appearance will regret it big time later, lol.]
[20====]
Since it was 10 PM, the time when Sweetch had the most users, the broadcast title drew in viewers like a swarm of salmon squeezing through a narrow gate.
Their desperate attempts to join Friede’s stream reeked of a pitiful determination, enough to evoke disdain from onlookers.
Persistently trying to enter, enduring the wait—it was grueling.
Fortunately, the room didn’t crash due to the excessive queue.
Which meant…
[The great one has descended!]
[Puhahaha!!!]
[Explain yourself.]
[?? Is this the face reveal? What’s going on?]
[Damn it, I trusted you!!]
[Is this the legendary hotspot? Came here after hearing the rumors.]
[Face reveal, face reveal, face reveal, face reveal!]
Some viewers finally broke through the crowd and entered the stream.
What they saw was surprising—a real-life camera showing Friede in her usual splendid cosplay, fully dressed in armor with a helmet perfectly in place.
Under the soft lighting, Friede’s familiar and impeccable outfit shone as always.
Those who managed to join were visibly disappointed.
After all, the broadcast title promised a face reveal.
‘Could it be we’ve been tricked again by this deceitful streamer?’
The chat flooded with rapid-fire comments from viewers armed with equal parts expectation and skepticism.
As the broadcast began and more viewers poured in, Friede adjusted her microphone.
For over ten minutes, she had stared blankly ahead without a word, but this was her first gesture.
Was it because she hadn’t finished setting up before starting, or because she deliberately chose not to? No one could tell.
The sight of her lightly clicking the mouse, typing a few keys, and adjusting the mic and camera was different from her usual self.
The silence was eerie, with tension so thick it made the sound of swallowing seem loud.
At that moment, everyone held their breath.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
Her first words were in her usual tone. A plain and straightforward greeting, asking if she was audible or simply announcing the start of the stream—like most streamers do.
But unlike her calm introduction, the chat exploded with reactions.
Like a dynamite timer that finally reaches zero, the sudden explosion of reactions was fiercer than ever.
“Wait, calm down. Huh, pointless, isn’t it?”
It made sense.
After all, the host of a broadcast with a “face reveal” title had finally shown a reaction.
Friede quickly glanced at her stream settings.
The viewer count was refreshing so fast it was dizzying, like it had a booster attached.
With so many people gathered, there was no shortage of questions, but Friede didn’t bother responding to each one.
If she tried addressing every comment, she wouldn’t finish even if she talked all night.
Moving her mouse, she reinforced the chat settings with maximum restrictions: donations disabled, followers-only mode, time limits, and chat frequency control.
Even so, the atmosphere burned hotter than in other broadcasts, though at least now it had calmed enough to feel somewhat manageable.
***
-Click.
Friede pushed her chair back slightly.
The camera installed on her monitor now displayed her fully seated form, along with the chair that had moved backward.
She stared at the monitor for a moment before raising her hands.
Her movements were deliberate, slow enough to feel frustrating but elegant, with not a single tremor in her graceful arms.
Both hands slowly rose to the sides of her helmet, gently touching and lifting it.
-Swish.
Golden hair, spun from sunlight itself, flowed freely into the air.
Despite being pressed under the helmet, her flawless golden locks cascaded like a delicate waterfall.
Underneath, her face was revealed—features rivaling those of a goddess. Her deep blue eyes sparkled like sapphires, radiant and gem-like.
***
When most streamers reveal their faces, they show traces of shyness or awkwardness in their expressions.
But on the face of the woman now before them, there wasn’t a single sign of emotion.
The stream plunged into an eerie stillness, as though sinking into the depths of an abyss.
The chat, which had just been bustling with activity, froze completely.
Not a single message appeared.
No one typed on their keyboards or touched their devices. They had all been robbed of the will to do anything except stare at her face.
“Does that clear up your doubts?”
The voice that broke the silence wasn’t from the chat but Friede’s own soft and melodic tone.
With a flick, she tossed the helmet aside, far enough out of view that it disappeared from the screen.
Returning to her original seated position, she spoke in a calm tone.
“Explanation complete.”
The audience, enraptured by her mysterious and ethereal beauty that transcended human appearance, suddenly snapped out of their trance as if waking from a dream.
Her statement became a catalyst.
As if ashamed of their earlier silence, the chat erupted at a terrifying speed.
[Holy crap, this is insane!]
[An… angel?]
[This is Friede?]
[Lol, to the people who called her ugly, RIP.]
[Sis!!!!!! Keep showing your face!!!!!!]
[Wait… I’ve seen her somewhere before?]
[Wasn’t she that girl at the opening event?]
***
“Oh, right. The girl at the opening event everyone keeps mentioning—that was me.”
“Time flies, doesn’t it?”
She never expected to reveal her identity like this after all this time as a streamer.
“I was planning to save this for later, but the atmosphere seemed right, so I started this stream to tie up loose ends. I’ll be wrapping up soon. As for my next stream? Hmm, tomorrow might be difficult. I’ll post a notice later.”
With her confident declaration of ending the stream, the chat exploded in protest, using all the tools they had left to voice their dissatisfaction.
Friede, however, remained calm, nodding as if everything was proceeding as expected.
Such reactions were natural, and even if it had ended quietly, that would have been just as natural.
After all, this broadcast was only intended for the face reveal.
She had achieved her goal and saw no need to linger any longer.
Responding to a few standout questions from the chat, Friede spoke with an air of composure.
“Yes, I understand how you feel. But I have no desire to continue today. Just as I understand you, I hope you understand me.”
[What the hell! Ending the stream now, seriously?!]
[What’s your name? Where do you live? What are your three sizes? What school did you graduate from? Where were you born? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? How many guys do you know? Do you have siblings? Sisters? Younger sisters?]
[I’m serious about marrying you. I’ll email you my resume—please respond after reviewing my credentials.]
[Hey, is your pubic hair gold too?]
Despite the multi-layered restrictions she had placed, the chat seemed to recover its overwhelming chaos.
Even Friede herself tilted her head, puzzled at how the chat managed to maintain such momentum.
‘Oh, I see. This is why.’
Checking Sweetch on her smartphone, she saw her stream prominently featured on the main homepage with her face revealed in the thumbnail.
She had surpassed being just “Friede the Soul Warfare gamer streamer.”
Now, her face alone had drawn the attention of every ghost on Sweetch.
Even triple-layered walls like those of Constantinople couldn’t hold back an army of a million.
268,597 viewers.
A figure that rivaled global tournament streams.
This was the real-time viewer count for Friede’s stream.
That day, Friede set a record for the highest viewership for an individual stream.
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