Chapter 28 – Waves Across the World
The atmosphere in Cal's room remained mostly the same—quiet, dim, and organized with a sterile sense of calm. But within the digital corridors of his channel, the energy had shifted. His recent streams had stirred a buzz far beyond what he'd ever imagined.
It had started with Minecraft, then PUBG, and now Undertale had sealed it. The emotional rollercoaster that his viewers from 2010 had just experienced was spreading across forums, gaming circles, and eventually outside the borders of Japan. The ripple effect was real, and Cal was just beginning to understand how far it might go.
He sat in his chair, legs crossed, wearing his usual hoodie and shorts. His eyes scanned the latest analytics displayed by the system's [Analytics Module]. He didn't need to say a word out loud, though a soft breath escaped his lips as he leaned closer.
[Viewership Summary: Last Stream — "Undertale"
Total Peak Concurrent Viewers: 112,812
Top Regions: Japan, Korea, USA, Philippines, Taiwan
New Followers: +58,191
Total Channel Subscribers: 209,671
Mission Cleared: "Emotional Impact – 100K+" — Reward: +2000 Points]
He slowly nodded.
"112k viewers," he murmured, still in disbelief. "This... doesn't feel real."
[System Message: New Mission Unlocked —
"Global Streamer: Reach 500,000 total subscribers across all time zones."
Reward: Random Tier 2 Gacha Ticket + 5000 Points]
A soft chuckle escaped him as he leaned back. "Global... huh?"
The idea felt strange. He was just a guy who gave up on streaming six months after trying it out as a hobby. Someone with no family to cheer him on, no friends to back him up, no community—until this system changed everything. Now, strangers from the past were cheering, crying, and getting inspired because of the content he shared.
And he was doing all of it alone.
He opened the YouTube app tied to the alternate timeline and clicked the "Trending" tab. There it was—his uploaded Undertale boss battle stream against Sans, subtitled "Impossible Game? Streamer Clears Hidden Final Boss Live!"
Over 3.6 million views. The comment section was exploding with international languages—English, Tagalog, Hangul, Chinese, even broken German.
One user wrote in English:
"I don't know who this guy is, but this is the most insane game I've ever seen. It's not even released yet and he has it in 4K. What???"
Another, in Korean, said:
"That music! That story! 'UNDERTALE'? Who made this?! I want to play it now!"
He blinked as he scrolled, overwhelmed by the hundreds of comments pouring in every few seconds.
[System Alert:
You have received a new Donation from "Anonymous (USA)" – $50
Message: "You made me cry with that ending. I need this game in my life."
Points Earned: +50]
[You have received a new Donation from "Rikuto_K" – ¥10,000
Message: "Please play more of this kind of game. Your reactions are gold!"
Points Earned: +100]
Cal stared blankly for a moment, before reaching to sip from his lukewarm tea.
"Maybe... it's time for the next step."
Two Days Later – March 6th, 2010 – 9:00 PM JST
Tonight's stream wasn't about a game, nor anime. No tearjerking story, no frantic gunplay, no 3D block building.
Cal had something different in mind.
He adjusted his microphone, tested the audio balance, and minimized the chat window for now.
He wore a plain black hoodie with his hair slightly damp, freshly showered, looking like he had just stepped out of a studio even though he hadn't left his room in days.
The screen remained black for the first 30 seconds.
Then—
A surge of visuals: neon lights, abstract shapes, rhythmic pulses synced to a voice.
A voice that, in this timeline, no one had heard yet.
"Ado – Usseewa (2020)" blasted through the stream.
The camera wasn't on Cal. It was a pure music showcase. No commentary. No overlays.
Just raw, unapologetic sound.
And to accompany it? A perfectly rendered custom music video—scenes and animation styles spliced together, fused from Ado's future videos that the system allowed him to stream in 4K.
The chat burst into confusion.
[???]: "What is this? Who is this singer?"
[MIKAchan_92]: "This voice... it's got power... who is Ado??"
[EngSub_Fan]: "That vocal range! This isn't your typical J-pop..."
[iAmKDramaFan]: "Wait... is this AI generated or a real person?"
[USAViewer]: "Yo. This just popped up on my recommendation. I don't speak Japanese but this SLAPS."
Cal had only planned for a half-hour stream featuring two artists: Ado and Creepy Nuts. A blend of future hits that, in the current timeline, didn't even exist. The system allowed him to pull official audio, visuals, and album data from its integrated database.
The next song kicked in.
Creepy Nuts' "Case" accompanied by an urban noir-styled visualizer, showed off the raw energy of the duo's lyrics and rhythm.
Cal watched in silence. The chat exploded in a multilingual frenzy.
And then came the donations.
[New Donation – "Kaze1994": $15
Message: "Can you tell us who these artists are? I need more of this."]
[New Donation – "RascalKorea": ₩25,000
Message: "I feel like I'm seeing the future of Japanese music. Is this real?"]
By the time he ended the stream, Cal hadn't spoken a single word.
And yet, the viewership peaked at 61,122.
[System Notice: Mission Cleared – "Genre Pioneer: Introduce 3+ Future Music Artists to Past Timeline."
Reward: +3000 Points + Unlock: "Custom Music Showroom" Feature]
Cal exhaled and finally turned on the mic after the stream concluded.
"...Thank you for watching. I'll be back soon."
He disconnected.
Meanwhile – Los Angeles, USA – Same Time
In a small apartment not far from downtown LA, a college student named Devon sat stunned in front of his monitor.
He'd just watched the entire stream from a Japanese streamer he barely understood—but the music... the music stayed with him.
"I gotta... save this," he muttered, quickly screen recording parts of it.
Within a Discord server titled "Obscure J-Vibes", Devon posted:
@everyone you NEED to watch this guy. I don't know how he got this music, but this is next-level. It's like... 2025-level music or something.
Back in Tokyo, several indie animators, musicians, and scouts for talent agencies were beginning to whisper the same name: RetroStreamer.
A ghost with no face, no schedule, no origin—but content that pushed the boundaries of everything they knew.
Back in Japan – The Following Morning
Cal stepped out to grab a drink from the vending machine near his apartment.
The streets were calm as always, the early morning breeze cool and light.
No one knew him here. Not his name. Not his face.
But on the screen in his hand, his latest VOD had been translated into Korean, English, and Mandarin within twelve hours by enthusiastic fans.
He sipped his canned coffee, listening to the city breathe.
"…How far can I take this?"
His phone buzzed.
[System Notification:
"International Momentum Detected. Passive Bonus: +5% Subscriber Growth in Non-JP Regions for 7 Days."]
A smirk slowly tugged at his lips.
"Let's find out."
To be continued in Chapter 29...