The first thing Zhao Lian felt was weight. Not the weight of her body, but the weight of silence—so thick it pressed against her ears, against her chest, until she thought she might suffocate.
When her eyes fluttered open, she found herself lying on a bed softer than clouds, its silk covers stitched with constellations that shifted when she moved. Above her, the ceiling glowed with stars, real ones, suspended in some endless sky.
She sat up too quickly. Her breath hitched. This wasn't her room. This wasn't even her body.
A mirror stood across from her bed, gilded in gold, tall enough to hold the world inside it. Slowly, she swung her legs to the floor and staggered toward it. Her bare feet touched marble colder than ice, but she hardly noticed.
The girl in the mirror was her. And not her.
Slim. Sharp-eyed. Her lips curled in a sly grin she had never dared wear. There was arrogance in the tilt of her chin, laughter in the way she stood, as though the world itself was a game waiting to be played.
"What—?" she scowled, raising her hand. The girl raised hers too, but it was leaner, faster, a hand made for mischief.
Then, a sound broke the silence.
[System initializing…]
A glowing screen blinked into existence before her eyes, numbers and symbols dancing like fireflies.
[Welcome, Player. You have entered the cultivation game: Up Miss Bratz.]
[Objective: Collect the Lost Relics—Handle of Flaw, Threads of Truth, Heart Ember, Mirror of Echoes.]
[Warning: Player survival is limited. Three deaths will result in permanent erasure.]
Her scowl deepened. "What kind of scam…?"
The mirror version of her gave a smirk so cocky it felt alive. For a moment, Zhao Lian had the strange thought that the reflection wasn't copying her—she was copying it.
And then the last line flashed.
[Stage Villain has been released.]
Somewhere beyond the starry ceiling, laughter rippled—a boy's laughter. Light, playful, yet sharp enough to cut. The sound crawled beneath her skin, both angelic and monstrous.
Zhao Lian clenched her fists. She didn't know where she was, what this game wanted, or why her body had become this… bratty, mischievous version of herself.
But one thing was certain.
If the game thought it could control her, it was sorely mistaken.